My sweet boy turns 12 today!

Twelve years ago today, at 4:20pm, Frank and I fell in love with a 10lb 3oz (ouch!) bundle of sweetness that we named Austin Dean Johnson! Austin was such a good baby and so easy, I wondered what I had done in this life to deserve such a treasure for a baby. Everyone told me it was such an adjustment to go from one baby to two, this was so not the case with Austin. Truly the only time that we heard much from him was when he was hungry, which seemed to be most of the time :) and if he was hurting. He was so content to just sit with me or in his swing and watch his big sister play in front of him. Always the sensitive child, he would want to give his toys to other kids who wanted what he had, and often would find himself without in a group setting since other kids would just play around him and use what he might be playing with. To this day, he loves to be home with his family and truly is a "mommas boy". We don't look at this as a sign of weakness or demeaning of his character. He truly enjoys being with me and I with him and I LOVE the glimpse into the future that I am getting into the man that he is becoming and will be one day. This boy will be a sensitive and loving boyfriend and husband one day. This boy will be a loving and gentle daddy one day. This boy will be a man with integrity and honesty and a deep love for his Heavenly Father. I love him so much and I adore my moments with him. He is one of my greatest treasures and blessings here on this earth :)

Austin is active and is learning to love basketball and baseball. He is your average 7th grader with curiosity about new things and how they work! I love this about him. He learns all he can about a subject when he is really interested in it and such a joy for me to homeschool! He is growing by leaps and bounds, sometimes over night it seems but certainly in weeks at a time. He is now taller than his dad and wears the same size shoe, but still loves to walk up to his Dad and say, "I love you Dad". These moments melt my heart. He has close friends now, and enjoys his independent time with them. I am so glad that he has these moments in time to have as memories. His sister is still the apple of his eye. Yes, they still squabble from time to time, but those times are farther apart now and he truly would do anything for her and they have more secrets between the two of them and they are each others greatest fans! The twins think he is the next best thing to slice bread :) I love to watch them light up with delight when he is willing to play with them. Colby thinks he is the strongest brother ever, and Cam has the hardest time falling asleep without his big brother there to protect him while his sleepy eyes succumb to slumber. Coaches tell us what a great kid he is. Easy to coach, respectful, helpful and a joy to have on the team. How this mommy's heart swells with pride when she hears these words. Words I have spoken to myself and to Frank on many occasions but a whole new feeling when a stranger says them to you :) Family members gush at how he loves to be with the family and takes care of the little ones in our family. He's smart and articulate and learns things that most people might find a little boring and mundane, not Austin, he'd rather figure it out instead of glazing over the top of it!

We are so blessed! I thank God for each of my family member daily, knowing all to well the size of the hole that is left in our hearts and lives when someone that we love so dearly is taken away from us. Austin makes my heart full of love, joy, and pride and I couldn't be happier than to be on this journey called life with him as my son and to be his mother!

Happy 12th Birthday Austin! I love you more than all the stars in the sky.

Love,

Mommy

I aspire to be this woman......

Enjoy!

Bountiful Blessings~ Better late then never :)

So behind the ball this week! We are still functioning in screech mode here in the Johnson family.. and when we aren't screeching somewhere we are so tired that this momma can't keep her eyes open long enough to be on the computer to type my blessings out! So here goes what has been floating around in my head in the blessing compartment of my brain:

~ Watching my son Austin and his team win their major league baseball division! Finally he gets to be on a championship team!! He had a great season and it was fun to watch him develop more into a great athlete! Great job Austin, mommy is so proud of you!

~ Getting to take the boys to the lake last week. It was a beautiful day to be on the water with a picnic lunch and I enjoyed watching them play together as 3 brothers. They love each other so much and it was fun to watch that in action.

~ The Faith Kidz Carnival! It was a wonderful day and it was so great to celebrate the day with the families of the Faith Kidz :) The weather was perfect, the team of workers were perfect, and the families are still telling me that they had a great time! More rewarding than all that is the reasons that we were able to do this. The kids memorized their monthly verses, brought their bibles to church, etc! How great to celebrate with them in this way!

~ Spending time with my BF, Devon! We were able to spend some time together this past week and it felt so good to be with her :) Even though it was working most of the time, it was fun to just be around her and laugh and talk! She is so good for my soul! Thank you God for your gift of her friendship.

~ Lessons that I am learning. They are quite painful actually and I am struggling with most of it, but I do know that when I am at my weakest, God is able to be the strongest and I rely even more on Him which I know is His desire and design.

~ A card that a sweet friend in our church sent to me this week! Timing is everything and this lady doesn't even know what is going on with me, but she was thinking of me and all that "must be going on with how crazy things are in Faith Kidz and I just wanted you to know that I am praying for you and your family". God is so good to use His people in such ways. The little things mean so much in times like this!

Keep looking up and your blessings will come down!

Hugs!!!

Mommyhood.... not for the weary or faint at heart!

Wow, has this been a really emotional couple of weeks in the parenting department. I have always loved being a mommy and still do, but boy, this is tuff stuff. I know that God doesn't give us anything that we can't handle without His help, but there are definitely times that I think He has mixed me up with another lady named, Janet Johnson. This lady must be more organized than I am, much more patient, never loses her temper on her children, always has a smile ready, all the time in the world to spend one on one time with each of them, always shows Jesus in her actions to others... the list is endless and I am not that woman. The only thing that I can say is that I love them more than myself. I would die for any or all of them if necessary. It kills me inside to see them in pain or hurting either at the consequence of a choice that they have made or because I have had to punish them for something. I know that this is only a piece of the pain that my Heavenly Father must feel when I disobey or have to suffer a consequence of a bad choice. The pain He must feel from me on a daily basis...." Lord, please help me to do better at disappointing and disobeying you! Continue to work on me to become the woman and the mom that YOU would have me to be. Please let me show Christ to my children so that they would want to know You better and more intimately. Thank you for choosing me to be their mommy. It is my greatest blessing in this life and I thank you for "loaning" them to me. I continue to stand in awe of your greatness and generosity of these gifts!"

Bountiful Blessings~

We had a really great long weekend this past week and blessings were bubbling all over the place!

~ I am so blessed to live in this country! The freedom that we have to worship God, come and go as I please, etc... I am so grateful to all the men and women who fight for that freedom for my family and I!

~ Getting together with friends! We went with some friends to the street dance that our community has every year during their July 4th celebration :) We had the best time dancing the night away as families and really enjoyed each other. What fun to hang out and exercise at the same time!!!

~ Watching our daughter become the woman she is becoming. She is kind, considerate, loving, funny, beautiful and simply a joy to have in our lives. As she is becoming older we are watching our roles change from parents to friends and advisers. It truly is a blessing to have such a grounded loving daughter such as Kendra! I love you, Boo!

~ People who have stepped into offer to help us out during this time of financial transition for us. We still have many uncertainties about the future, but God continues to provide for us and uses His people to bless us along the way.

~ Another 2lbs down in my weight loss journey! This is coming off slow but still coming off and for that I am grateful! Also, my blood pressure lowered alot and my anemia seems to be under control as well. I am only taking sleep medication once or twice a week too! Things are definitely getting better!

~ Another new family adventure to a place on the coast that we haven't been to before! I highly recommend that if you are able to get to Moosepoint State Park in Searsport that you do. It was a lovely area with nice picnic areas, lots of tide pool finds, a playground, and a nice walking trail that Frank and I were able to explore. Looking forward to going back again when we have a little more time :)

~ A husband who loves to show the world just how much he loves me! Sometimes I watch other couples and men and watch how they treat their wives and I just shutter. I truly love having my hand held, my doors opened for me, winks and looks across the room meant only for me. Frank is truly a gem and I am so glad that he is mine. I love you babe!

~ Two days of sunshine! After lots of rain in June the sun was such a blessing. We are looking forward to more of that :)

Hope you are feeling blessed this week as well! Hugs!!!