Best week ever!

Yup.. that about describes it! We have had an amazing week here in the Johnson house. Not at all because anything monumental happened but because it was a great week, that's all! The sun has been out all week and warming up our home. The boys have been playing outside all week too and that makes for very happy and tired guys by the end of the day. Princess and I have had lots of chances to sit on the porch in the sun and talk, this is memories I will keep with me for the rest of my life! My sweetheart and I have had the chance to walk together and talk about stuff, how precious that time has become in this very busy life that we live. We really are enjoying our new home and all that the area has to offer to us!
We celebrated St. Patrick day in true Johnson traditional fashion, complete with a well planned leprechaun trap designed by the truly crafty 8 year olds! Nicely placed and well thought out, we set the trap and waited.... those leprechauns are tricky and got by us again this year, but didn't disappoint us and left gold wrapped chocolate and gold glitter to let us know he had stopped by :) I don't know how many more years this will work but for now, I am enjoying watching their team work and the childhood excitement that they share. On a side note, I said as much to my sweet man and the Princess was walking by and said "Mom, as if! I am going to be 17 this year and I still wait to see if we caught him." I have mentioned how much I love her!
My sweet young man participated in a baseball clinic this week and is really excited about playing ball this spring! Apparently he made an impression on the coaches during the clinic. He participated in a clinic from a town near us and more than one of them asked him what town he was from :) We are looking forward to seeing him play and improve this year!
Health wise, I am feeling awesome! I am working out 5-6 days a week, noticing small but important changes in my clothes and such, and have lost a total of 12.4 lbs in a little less then 3 weeks. More importantly is my energy level is soaring and my emotions are just about as high! My wonderful love made it a point to tell me he likes how happy and full of energy I have been the last couple of weeks! He gives me the best compliments :)
So all in all, best week ever for no reason at all but really all the best reasons... 5 of them to be exact! Hope you are all doing well too! Enjoy your weekend friends :)

Praise and prayer!

Dear God!

Wow, what a day! I just wanted to thank you, to truly thank you for using me today for Your purposes. When I stop and think about what all transpired today and how your Holy Spirit was at work, I am so awe struck that I can't find words to describe the feeling. For you to use me, this cracked and worn vessel to help lead one of Your children to you, what an honor and a privilege. Thank you for using me!
You know what all was going on, You knew that I was getting caught up in the admin. stuff , and You knew that I needed a reminder of exactly why You have called me to do this job of leading little hearts in Your name at FEFC. I could almost hear the angels rejoicing and everything else just disappeared for me, it was really about You, Jesus.
Please help me always to remember that moment. To remember why we do what we do. To remember that in a hundred years from now, that is what matters most!

Humbly in Your work~ Amen!

Lovin' Life!

Things I woke up thinking about this morning.....

• The sunshine coming in my window put an instant smile on my face!
• My hard working husband pitter pattering around the kitchen making sure to be quiet to not wake any of us knowing we need to rest.
• My body aching from my new exercise routine. Although I am aching, I know it is working and that believe it or not made me smile!
• The eight year old boy snuggling next to me is growing up fast, but having these few precious moments with him are timeless to me and I tear up thinking about them ending soon.
• My overachieving daughter heading out the door to her CP Bio class at the local high school. She is working so hard at so many things in her life. I am so very proud of her and know that my time of parenting is coming to an end and needs me more as a friend and a mentor then she does a mom right now.
• My other eight year old enjoying teasing his older brother! His laugh is contagious and you can't help but laugh with him even if you don't know what he is laughing about. God gave me this boy to remind me to laugh much and often.
• My sweet and serious twelve year young man who is finding out what kind of guy he wants to be. He doesn't like how he is seeing people treat others and he doesn't like to hurt other people with his words or actions. Thank you God for giving him a sweet spirit!
• The way that my husbands kiss goodbye still melts me and gives me butterflies almost 16 years later! Thank you God for a loving spouse to walk beside me in this journey we call life.
  

As you can see, my mind was working immediately upon eyes opening but it was all good and I didn't want to miss one moment of it! Life is good today!

Wonderful week- end and a wonderful weekend!

What a great end of the week (week-end) and weekend we had! We started off getting together with friends on Friday night at the local Mexican restaurant. I was a little bit nervous since I had been so careful all week with what I had to eat and watching my calories. I wanted to make sure that I made the best choices possible as well as knowing all too well that I would be enjoying some Mexican beverages and knowing that would put my calorie count up. Just the same I determined to go out with my sweetie and enjoy the night and not over-think anything especially the food! It was a wonderful evening and I really enjoyed spending time with my best friend and catching up with two other wonderful girl friends. I got home and baked 8.5 dz. chocolate cookies to go with the two pans of brownies that I needed to take to a basketball tournament early Saturday morning. Saturday I got up early enough to get a workout in and out the door by 7:3o am! Off we went... grocery shopping, work at the tournament selling concessions, and getting Kendra to work. Then it was time for me to go and have lunch with the lovely WPG girls (my neighbors)! What a great time I had hearing the stories from these ladies (all of which were in their sixties and one was eighty-four), they had such a wonderful connection and I was so honored to be a part of it all! Then I rushed home to get ready for an evening of fun and games at our house. I made a from scratch minestrone soup. It was so yummy and most seemed to enjoy it! Followed by a great game of boy vs girls Guesstures game. The girls won of course but there were too many moments of pure belly laughing... another ab workout for the day, I'll take it! After our friends left.. it was on to getting things ready for Sunday morning. Sunday morning came early, actually the same time as usual but I was dragging... playing the last two nights had caught up to me. Off I went to worship with and serve the kids of FEFC and before long was right into routine. We had a great morning and by 1:00pm I was ready to get home and relax! Oh, my dear sweet friend T found me a wicker porch set so that perked me right up! Woohoo! The rest of the day and evening was spent doing nothing else but snuggling, loving and resting. It was just what we all needed. A great night of rest brought me to this morning. Up I rise with a new energy and ready to get the day going. Laundry in.. check, homeschooling started... check, beds made... check. On a role! Now, for the dreaded workout and weigh in! If you read my previous post last Monday, you will know why I was anxious about the weigh in part. I knew that I had cheated some but tried to be careful, worked out 5 out of 7 days, and didn't drink soda or eat after 800pm. So off to the Wii I head with a prayer that God would allow me to look at whatever the results may be, with a clear head and heart and no misconceptions of what I am trying so hard to lose of myself. I was so thrilled to see that I had lost 5.3lbs! Imagine what it would have been without the little cheats I had along the way... not focusing on that... soooo grateful for the loss!
So to wrap it up, we had a wonderful, busy weekend and I was so tired but it was so worth it. And the fact that I can get back on track this morning was exciting to me. I just might find myself looking forward to Mondays again :)

Simply thankful....

This morning while sitting and having my tea, Colby walks by me and announces to his daddy and I that his heart is so thankful this morning. I looked at him and said, "Why baby?" Thinking he must be talking about the $3.00 the "tooth fairy" left him last night... Oh no, he says, "For my family, and my friends, for my comfort, and for God creating me." {{Insert beaming, teary-eyed mommy here}}
Thank you Lord, for a quick reminder to be grateful for the things in life we so easily take for granted!

Man, when he is on the job... its full force ahead!

Holy crap! Look out.... he's busy! By he, I mean Satan a.k.a the devil himself. I have been listening to close friends and family and knowing that he is on the move, but yesterday he attacked me and hit me so hard, it dropped me to my knees and quickly.
I made the decision last week to get back to getting healthy again. I had taken a 5-6 month hiatus... not really watching what I was eating, exercising when it fit in (not very often), and feeding my emotions. This left me feeling tired, cranky, jealous, and sick. I did really well through the weekend, which included a weekend away with 10 other adults. Junk food was everywhere and meals included bagels, pizza and spaghetti, ugh!!! But previous planning allowed me to bring things to eat that were better choices and I wasn't really hungry so the temptation stayed at bay. This is the part where I need to give props to my girls over at the PWLFA( you know who you are(: ) they prayed me through the whole weekend! Anyway, all this to say that I was off to a good start!
Yesterday, I woke up feeling good, even pleased with myself. Very confident with my choices and how the weekend went. I had a great quiet time with God, really good breakfast choices and homeschooling went well. Then it crashed... I jumped on the Wii for the first time in months. Trying to mix some things up, I got the wii fit out and jumped on the balance board which weighs you and does your BMI... I gained quite a bit of my weight back and my BMI was back up. I felt all the air release out of my body like the air out of a balloon. Still I grabbed my determination and got to work. Forty-five minutes later, I finished my aerobics and sat down at the computer to drink a big glass of water and catch up with friends on FB. There staring at me in my face was a picture from the weekend of me on the beach with my sweetheart... and the only thing I could say was "Oh my God". Not meant to be disrespectful to my heavenly Father, truly a cry out to God! I was so appalled at what was staring back at me, that I dropped into a heap on the floor in tears. Why should I bother? I have so much weight to lose, so much exercise to do. I immediately fell back into a deep hatred for myself and started frantically looking for answers to gastric bypass surgery, the only fix I could think of. I didn't come up with any answers and finished the day in a glummy funk to which my dear family had to contend with all night. My poor husband!
I woke up this morning feeling sad again but not as bad. Then I looked back at yesterday and realized something good happened... I didn't feed my emotions. I stayed on track and didn't overeat! That is a huge accomplishment. I never would have done that in the past. So, I have rededicated my efforts. Today is a new day and God has my hand. I asked Him to take Satan away from me and guide my hunger, my efforts and my mind. Together we will cause Satan to stand in the unemployment line :)

Amazed!

If you have never had the chance to walk the beach at night (yes, even in February... in Maine) and look at the ocean and the stars in the night time......... you definitely need to do it!