here they are!

Yeah! Finally got the pics to post. Even though Becky wasn't crazy about her dress, she did manage to fall asleep in it by the endof the night!

one picture

Okay. I got one picture to post, but I'm done trying. I keep getting error messages. I took this tonight. Becky is sitting in my mom's old rocking chair that she gave to me to use that I just got painted for Becky. She kept wanting to sit in it before I had it done, so she was pretty excited to bring it in the house tonight and try it out.

new venture

I've decided to try something I never, ever in a million years thought I would do. I'm going to sell Homemade Gourmet! I never thought I would be a person who did homeshows, but I love this product so much, (it's food) I figured why not give it a try? I just got signed up on Saturday so I don't have a whole lot of information to share. I have ordered everything I hope to need, though, so I hope to be up and officially running next week. This is their Mission Statement: With God’s help, Homemade Gourmet® strives to bring families back to the dinner table by providing quality, affordable, easy-to-prepare meals, education and direct sales business opportunities. After having Becky, I have realized how much I valued eating dinner with my family every night, and Al and I have worked hard to make sure that we eat as a family. While in our busy lives it can be tough to find the time to sit down, I truly believe it helps us to connect as a family. It sure doesn't hurt that Homemade Gourmet makes the food preparation a snap!

Check out my website to see what it's all about at www.homemadegourmet.com/JosieJohnson. Let me know if you're interested in hearing more about it or would like to have a show!

wedding pics

Well, I can't get pictures to post tonight for some reason. If you want to see all the pics, clink on the link to our Shutterfly pics on the right. It's under Kenny wedding 2007.

Becky wasn't crazy about being flower girl. Her and Bode actually had a blast on Friday night, but were wore out by the time the wedding came around. I can't imagine that taking them to the park for an hour in the morning had anything to do with them being tired! Becky actually didn't really like her dress either and kept pulling at it. I don't think she smiled for one picture, but she was still cute and well-behaved.

week in review

Decided to give Becky some curl in her bath one night this week. Trying to decide how much gel we'll need for the wedding? Let me know if you think curly all over or just the back.....

I don't know. It looks pretty cute to me all curly, but it doesn't stay that way unless wet. I'm sure one of these days I'll be frustrated with how curly it is when I can't comb it any more!
Becky spent about 10 mintues walking back and forth putting each item in her cart. Gonna be a great grocery shopper. HA!
Becky discovered Sesame Street tonight. She was SOOOOO excited!!
Not giving up a smile, but looking cute, as always!I told her I was gonna get her! I love it when she laughs!
Just showing off for me now, but had to share anyway!Hope you all had a nice weekend. Becky and I spent a lot of time together, which was great. Al spent time working. Poor guy. On Saturday he worked in the basement. Today he decided to try and fix the bathroom sink. Fixing it turned into buying a new cabinet. I am so proud of him. He did such a great job. Who knew I married a handyman?
Al was sad he didn't get to spend much time with us this weekend, but Becky was fussy and pretty clingy to Mommy anyway. Her nose has been running pretty steady. Must be working on a couple more teeth! Went to the mall and shopped yesterday. She was really good. I had a lot of Goldfish and books to keep her busy! Then we went back today to return things I bought. Otherwise, we mostly stayed inside. We sure are tired of the rain. We need to get out to mow, but our yard hasn't had a chance to dry out. Pretty soon we're going to be overcome by grass...especially where Al put fertilizer!

Hope you all have a great week!

fun weekend

Here are a few pics from the weekend. What nice weather we had. WOW!!! Becky cried a couple times when she had to go inside. Her and Bode had a lot of fun playing together. Becky found his slide on Saturday night. They were so funny and entertaining. I think they have a lot of fun times ahead of them!

If you want to see more pics, click on the link to Our Shutterfly pics on the right, and it will take you there!

just because

Here are some pics I have taken the past couple weeks. Since it's been a while, just thought I would post.



Sitting on the couch like a big girl.

I still like my bear, but I only stayed in the chair for one picture this time!

Look at all my curls!
And all my teeth!

Tickle me, Elmo! Tee Hee! Becky has just started like Elmo when he vibrates. It is so fun to watch her laugh and giggle!

the binkys are back!

Call us pushovers if you want, but we just had to give them back. Becky never did take another nap, so she was going on 30 minutes of sleep. While she was pretty good, she was walking around in circles by the end of the night, not really knowing which was was up. She STILL cried for 30 minutes! Then I went up and told her she was fine. She almost fell asleep on my shoulder, she was so tired. I laid her back down, and she continued to cry. While she was crying, Al and I decided we were just going to let her have it. She stopped crying and fell asleep! She did wake up again at 11, though, and I went in and gave her one, and she immediately went right back to sleep. We decided that if she only has it when she's sleeping, it can't be all that bad. Besides, Grandma Donna thought we were being pretty mean. :) I think we only needed one person to tell us that she was pretty little to be taking it away. So....she has them again today. When she's a little older and can understand better why she doesn't get to have it, we'll deal with it then! I do have to say that she slept in this morning and is in a MUCH better mood than she was yesterday.

no more binky!

Al and I decided it was time to take Becky's binkys away. The doctor has strongly encouraged it, and we want to have it gone by the time she has her 18-month appointment in May. Too bad Becky isn't quite ready to give it up! We took it away last night. Actually had her watch us throw one in the trash before going to bed. We let her stay up a little later so she would be really tired. She cried about 20 minutes and then fell asleep for about and hour and a half. Then she woke up and cried some more. I went up and told her she was okay and rocked her for a little bit. She cried another 15 minutes after that and then went to sleep. She did manage to sleep through the night, however. We thought we were in the clear. NO SUCH LUCK!!!! Becky got up way too early this morning. She only took a half hour nap so far this afternoon. She is not liking not having her binky at all! We're staying strong. We'll let her stay up for a while this afternoon and just put her down when she's dog tired! She's on my lap right now pressing keys on the keyboard. She thinks she's pretty cool!

pics for fun

Just because I love taking pictures of Becky.......

Easter weekend

Here are just a few pics from our Easter weekend in Spencer. We had a great time. Becky got to dye Easter eggs, read books with Bode, open doors, and hang out in her Easter dress.

weekend in Mt. Ayr

Playing with Charlie. Daddy doesn't like him, but I sure do!
Hi, Mommy!
Sitting with Great Grandpa Skarda
I found a chair just my size!!! My very own gate to open and close!!

We spent the weekend in Mt. Ayr with my family. Becky wasn't crazy about going to sleep, but once she finally did both nights, she slept through the night. She should have...she was tired by the time she finally went down! We got to see a lot of family and just relax. It was a great weekend. Becky was very busy running around playing. She only had a half hour nap today, but was very good in the car on the way home. Good thing it was only a half-hour ride! She cried a little when she went to sleep tonight (because she wanted to stay up late and play, I'm sure), but I think she only cried about a minute before she just was too tired to keep it up!

Have a great week!

Mmmmm....DIRT!!!!

It was so nice this past week and weekend, that Becky enjoyed playing outside. Her and I spent Friday walking around the yard and up and down the steps waiting for Al to get home from work. Then she discovered the dirt. I decided to let her play in it for a while.

I'm not sure she liked it on her hands very much!

I finally got her to look at the camera. She was pretty proud of herself because....

she had managed to get some in her mouth!

Look, Mom! I'm hungry!

Okay, Becky! Now I've got pictures to embarrass you with in your scrapbook!

I really didn't let her eat dirt forever, I just waited until she put her hand in her mouth one more time. Then we went inside and washed her hands and mouth. It's pretty hard to tell her no, though, when every time she does it, she emphatically says, "Mmmm" and looks at me and dares me to tell her that it's, in fact, not good at all! Gotta love being a parent!

16 months

Hard to believe Becky is 16 months old! She had a doctor's appointment a month ago. I have been super busy and just haven't felt like getting on the computer to do fun stuff after working on transcripts all day! I am finally caught back up, and decided it's time to get back to it! Anyway... all was well at Becky's appointment. She is still at the 50 percentile for weight and 75 percentile for height. Both doctors called her perfect. Can't complain about that!

All has been well in our household. Al is fully recovered from his surgery and has started doing more around the house. Becky is walking all over the place and testing limits. She does not like to be told no. If she is told no, she will likely throw herself on the floor and wail. She will continue doing that until she is picked up and removed from whatever she is told no about. (mainly touching the stove in the kitchen)

We have had some nice, warm days. Becky has been having fun playing outside both at day care and at home.

Well, tried posting pics, but they don't want to post tonight. Brenda has been having trouble with that and has switched to another web site. I will try again in a couple days. My suspicion is that there is just too much activity on the internet this time of night. That should be my cue to go to bed! Will try to post a couple pics this weekend and then be better about updating!

Such a good helper!

Nothing like a little help from a toddler to make you smile....it had kind of been a crazy day, running here...running there. Becky and I ran errands after work: picked up our taxes to be signed, stopped by the grocery store. She was good in the store, but getting hungry and impatient. There were way too many people there and too many distractions. Anyway, was feeling frustrated when I got home. Becky was starting to cry because she was hungry. Al took her so I could carry in the groceries. He was struggling to get her something to eat because she was standing at her booster seat making her "I want up to eat" noise. (I don't know how to blog the noise she makes, but I'm sure you can all relate! kind of a cross between a whine and a growl.) I open up the fridge to start putting things away. I put one thing in the fridge. I turn around, and Becky is squatting down by the grocery sack. She takes the yogurt out of the bag and hands it to me! She did that with everything in that bag and one more. What a big help she was being! Sure made me smile and just wanted to share!

Not a baby anymore

Hard to believe Becky is 15 months old today. It goes so fast! All is well here. It has been a slow couple weeks with Al recouperating. He went back to work today after two weeks off. While he was ready to get out of the house, I'm not sure work was what he really wanted to be doing. Good thing he is going to start nursing school in the fall! He got his acceptance letter a week ago that he can start the nursing program at DMACC. Going back to work at his desk job today helped reaffirm that, yes, he wants to go to school!

Becky has had a busy couple weeks. She got her first "injury." She fell on her face at day care and got rug burn on her nose. Ouch! She slipped on a toy trying to get to the lunch table. She sure is her mother's daughter, she loves to eat!!!

As you can see, it really didn't slow her down much at all!

It was so warm yesterday, we took her outside to play in the snow. She lasted long enough for two pictures before we had to pick her up. Just not crazy about the snow.

Today, the reason for my post, actually...Becky started transitioning to the toddler room. While Al and I are glad that she's doing so well and is ready for the activity of the toddler room, it really makes you face the fact that your little girl really is becoming an independent person all on her own. She has been sleeping on the cot for a week now. They tell us she just lays down and goes to sleep and gets up after her nap like a big girl. Hard to believe how much she has grown and how much she has learned. She is walking all over the place. She is still very cautious, and when she does fall down, she is usually graceful enough to land on her bottom. She is also saying a few words. She knows where her nose is, but hasn't really gotten any other body parts figured out. She loves reading books and is always bringing a book to Al or I to read to her. Sometimes all she really wants to do is turn the pages but after reading through the same books over and over, that's okay with us!

Here are just a couple pics I wanted to share of Becky eating a sucker and some pudding.

We're home!

Thought I had better get a post out to let you know that we are home. Al was released from the hospital at about 2:30. He has a prescription for Vicadin to help with the pain. He is only in moderate pain though, and that's only from the strain on his abdominal muscles during surgery. He seems to be in good spirits and is looking forward to getting a good night's sleep tonight. He also seems a little too excited about his weight restrictions. The only thing he is really sad about is that he can't lift Becky or the cats. I don't think he's too heartbroken about not being able to vacuum or take out the trash or carry in groceries or ..... wait a minute! Did he just write down everything that I couldn't do after my C-Section? Nah. (His eyes did light up when he realized he wouldn't be able to change the litter in the cat's litter pans for at least a couple weeks though!) He really does have a weight restriction of 15 pounds for 6 weeks. That is likely to go down if his recovery continues to go well. He has a follow-up appointment to see the surgeon on Wednesday.

Larry and Donna came to visit this evening. It was nice to have them here. Well, hope everyone is having a good night. Thanks again for all your prayers. I'm going to go hang out with my honey :)

Where's Al?

Thought I'd better let those of you curious know where Al is (see below for details on why). He is at Methodist in Room N679, bed 2. The phone number is 241-6568. I really don't think he will be there much past noon, but wanted to give that information anyway.

PRAISE GOD!

Praise God for all he has blessed us with. I wrote this while at the ER with Al tonight and thought I would share my thoughts:

Writing this while waiting for Al to come out of the recovery room. Why is this always the hardest part? Seems to last forever. Had to have an appendectomy. How crazy is that? Everything went well. No problems at all. Al is such a trouper...I think he was a little in denial about the pain. "If I deny it, it can't be appendicitis!" I said to him, half-joking this morning about the pain in his side, "I hope it's not appendicitis." Well, 8 hours later, it is. Actually, more like 12 by the time he went in for the actual surgery. Thank God for a successful surgery. Thank God for Brenda. She picked Becky up from day care and fed her and watched her so I could be with Al. It sure helped to ease my mind to know she was safe and not at the hosptial. Even though I could do nothing for Al, it was a good hour and a half before we ran out of things to talk about and turned on the TV. (we did just spend the whole weekend together!) Praise God for the nurses that took care of Al and the doctors and the anesthesiologist. Praise God for the people who talked to me in the waiting room. Praise God for all our family and friends who prayed for us tonight. Now if I could just see him. This is agony!

It was about another 45 minutes before I actually got to go back into the recovery room to see him. He had his humor intact, though, and asked me if the doctor told me they took a toe to help him with his balance. (of course, by the time we got up to the room, he asked me the same questions and wanted to know when I got there, but that's okay.) I felt slightly bad about leaving him by himself, but he had a morphine drip going and will hopefully be able to fall asleep before very long. I left Becky at Brenda's ~ way too cold to bring her home in the middle of the night!~ I will go pick her up in the morning. Al wants to see her, so I'll take her to say hi before we go to day care. If everything goes well throughout the night, he will be released midday tomorrow. They did a laproscopic surgery. He has two small incisions on his abdomen and an incision through his belly button. Sure not what it used to be! When they do these in the morning, the patient is usually home that same day! Since the surgery was so late at night, though, they are keeping him so the doctor can check on him tomorrow.

Thank you, God, for blessing our family and watching over us tonight. Please continue to bless us and those we love. Amen.