Broken Resolutions :(

So... 2012 started out like many other years with broken resolutions after the first week!

My "resolution" this year was to blog at least once a week and it is now Monday of the SECOND week of January and I am just now writing my first blog-- and it is sadly about my broken resolution about blogging! Story of my life my friends!

I hope you are having better luck with yours. Did you make a resolution this year?

Johnston Christmas Letter 2011

So, I've never written one of these so don't get your hopes up! But here we go-- an attempt to sum up all the ups, downs, and crazy ins and outs of 2011 in 4 or 5 short paragraphs :)

Duane continues to be a success with our small chicken business! Of course he has surrounded himself with great people to help him succeed and he loves what he does now more than ever before. Duane made a decision to begin helping with the high school youth group at church this summer. He attended Beach Retreat and it was...um... out of his comfort zone to say the least but he loved it. This fall he signed up to lead a Collision Group that meets on Wednesday nights. The bible study group is made up of 11th grade guys and he is challenged every week :)

I (Erica) continue to help Duane market our business. I have so much fun planning events and keeping up with our community. I jumped head first into volunteering at Emma's new school and I have enjoyed being involved and meeting new people! The first half of 2011 I was wrapped up in "newborn" world.  The second half of 2011 I managed to finish a few DIY home projects, teach VBS, survive a roadtrip with the kids, and embraced being a taxi driver for my kiddos social calendar. Let's face it: I'm a MOM- 'nuff said :) 

Emma is a 14 year old trapped in a 4 year old body most days! Her spunk and confidence has served her well in her first year of pre-school. She is enrolled at Holy Trinity Episcopal School, a local private school, in the Pre-K 3 program. She has been awarded the Classroom Leadership Award, is learning to spell, write her last name, simple math, Spanish, and learned "Duck, Duck, Goose" in P.E.  She is truly something special! Emma conquered riding her bike earlier this year, saved up to buy her trampoline with garage sale money, and ice-skated for the first time. She has also been a great big sister to her brother.

Mason's first full year of life was full of firsts! First word: Dada. First tooth: 4 months. First chicken nugget: 7 months. First steps: 14 months. Now he is walking, babbling, throwing fits, and CLIMBING on EVERYTHING! Everyone was right-- boys are a different breed of human-- but they are so snuggly! We had some health concerns with Mason this year and after many, many appointments at Texas Children's Hospital (and lots of prayer) he seems to be perfectly healthy. Mason loves being outside, climbing the Chick-fil-A playground, and LOVES tamales, apples, and bread baskets :)

We are looking forward to a FUN, HEALTHY, and FANTASTIC 2012!

Merry Christmas <3
The Johnstons

   

Tradition

We don't have a lot of family traditions in my family and Duane and I haven't established too many traditions of our own either.  We do have one that began when I was a baby and is something that I continued with my kiddos.  Check out the photo below... 

That's right the words on the bottom say "Baby's First Christmas 1983". This was my first Hallmark Christmas ornament that my parents bought me my first Christmas.  I have an ornament from every Christmas since 1983 until I got married. Each year my mom would pick out an ornament that represented a milestone in our lives or something that we liked/were into and some are just cute ornaments with less of a "deep" meaning! When I grew up and married, my mom passed the ornaments on to me to decorate my tree with.  I love unpacking my past in the form of ornaments every year when we decorate our Christmas tree! 

When Emma came along it seemed only natural to continue the tradition that I had enjoyed as a child and we bought her first Hallmark Christmas ornament.  The ribbon says "Baby's First Christmas 2007".

We have purchased a Hallmark ornament every year for her and now she is getting to an age where she loves to hear the story behind why mommy chose a certain ornament for her.  I try to get one that represents who she is that particular year.  This year Emma received a "Tangled" themed ornament which represented her first movie theater experience and her beginning phase of "princess obsession"-- I knew it would happen eventually! :)

Of course, when our bundle of love Mason arrived, the tradition continued!  The price tag on the onesie reads "Baby's First Christmas 2010".  This year Mason received a Little People Fire Truck Hallmark ornament to represent his rough-n-tumble start into toddlerhood... and it was just so stinkin' cute!

Decorating my Christmas tree is one of my favorite things to do because it truly reflects who we are as a family and has a lifetime of great stories to tell.  Duane and I also buy ornaments for our milestone events as a couple.  We have a "Couples First Christmas 2004" and "First Home 2010".  By the way, the ornament care is taken very seriously-- every onament is repackaged in its orginal packaging with original bubble wrap-- I mean I am my mother's daughter :)

The Elf

The return of the Elf on the Shelf has been a wonderful addition to our family once again this holiday season. Last year his name was Elfie... this year it is Christmas Elfie... next year who knows! Emma loves looking for him every morning and is very impressed with his "hiding" and "climbing" abilities. The power of the Elf is amazing but I don't know who has more fun-- Emma or Daddy (who scouts out Elfie's new hiding spot daily)!

Fish Heaven

"Emma, I think that your fish has gone to Fish Heaven."
...Silence...
"Emma, it looks like Goldie went to be with Jesus tonight."

Her little face just dropped and she gave me a hug. I don't think she knew how to process her feelings.  Suddenly the tears began to fall and she told me that Goldie went to be with Jesus and was happier there because Jesus had a bigger fish tank than we had and the tank had more fish so Goldie was making new friends.  She figured Goldie was getting lonely all by herself in our tank. 

I told her that even though Goldie's heart was with Jesus in Heaven that we still had to bury her body that was here.  I told Duane to get the fish out of the tank and prepare for burial.  Thankfully, Emma wasn't able to get a good look at Goldie dead in the tank because the fish had been sucked up against the filter and was attached through suction.  Not how one wants to remember their beloved first fish I assume!  I told Emma that it would be best to do a burial "at sea" or otherwise known as DOWN THE TOILET.  She told Duane that she did not want to watch so she gave Goldie her last goodbye, Duane prayed a beautiful prayer of remembrance, and Goldie was flushed. 

This was Emma's first big loss and she was very sad for the rest of the night but did come to the conclusion that it would be OK to replace Goldie with a different fish in a few days.  She made sure I knew that she will never forget Goldie.  This was a relief to mommy-- not because I want fish-- but because we paid enough money for the starter tank that something needs to live in it!

Emma is resting now but I am sure tomorrow will bring renewed grief and agony when she remembers what happened tonight when she got home....

Caught Red-Handed!

This is the face of our 1-year old being CAUGHT red-handed as he broke into his diaper bag and helped himself to a bag of snacks before dinner.

Need I say more?! I suppose I will tell the whole short story.  I, the tired and over-worked mom in this story, was busy preparing dinner before we went to church.  Emma was on the potty. Duane was on a conference call off-site.  I was about 3/4 the way through dinner when I realized that it had been WAY TOO quiet for WAY TOO long so I called out for Mason. No response.  I called out again. No response.  Half panicking I left the kitchen to round the corner and the face pictured above is the face I see.  Followed by this face when I asked him what he was doing...

At that very moment Emma calls me from the potty proclaiming proudly that she has gone poo-poo and wants me to go see it.  Then the timer goes off signaling that I need to remove the dinner pan from the heat per the instructions.  So, I weighed my options on which item I should tackle first.  I chose Emma and the potty-- praying that my bathroom wasn't in disarray and the trip to the potty was indeed successful.  It was so I cleaned her up, washed my hands, and decided the timer was the next priority when Duane walks in.  Welcome to chaos, honey! He grabs the timer and turns off the stove.  Then it was back to Mason who was sitting proudly holding his empty bag of Kix and was saying, "Nack, Nack!" -- translation: snack, snack-- victory written all over his face.

It is new to us...

It is never fun having friends move away especially when they are fantastic friends like the Kozuls.  I am happy to announce that we get to have a little bit of them everyday in the form of Iva and Alena's former swing set which now resides in our backyard.  It took a bit of planning and researching to make it happen BUT it has been worth every second.  The timing could not have been more perfect either as the swing set was re-constructed in our backyard on Emma's actual birthday--September 28th! It was a huge surprise when she came home from school and found it!

There are going to be many, many memories made on the swing set including bumps and bruises, tea parties in the clubhouse, and fights over swings-- thank goodness I get to watch some of them from the comfort of our sofa while they enjoy their "new" playset! Thank you Sarah, Vince, Iva, and Alena for making these smiles possible for my kiddos!