Still 2010

It is a sign of the times that I had to fix the date in the Subject Box from 2011 back to 2010. It's not that I'm ahead of myself, but that I've been doing a lot of things in preparation for 2011. That's going to be a big year. Kristofer is set to graduate from high school. God willing, I'll have a real job. Keith may be working a different type of job at Delta that will keep him busier than ever. There are just a lot of things up in the air. As usual.

It's Monday this morning. I've already done three loads of laundry and a load of dishes. I've had time to read God's word -- which always puts things in their proper persective. Kids are off to school. Baby is sitting in his bouncer seat beating up on his toys and talking to himself. (He has just caught my eye and may decide that he doesn't want to be in the bouncer seat anymore, but in my arms!) He is such a good natured little guy until he is thwarted in what he wants, whether it be food or attention or a nap.

This afternoon, I'll be going to the high school to meet with Kristofer's guidance counselor. We really need to start putting some plans into action for life after high school. He's not going to be able to take the path that Keri Lynn has taken, in that his grades aren't fabulous. What I'm hoping is that he'll be able to find some kind of work-study program, an internship of some kind, that will help him get his degree and learn some important work skills to get him settled as a working man. It's hard to believe that my sweet little baby boy who told our life story to strangers in the supermarket is getting to be so grown up. He has so many talents with his creative bent. He's also very good with technology. That's why he is so in love with his new camera that he got for his birthday. If you're not on facebook already, then you'll need to be just to see his beautiful pictures. He wants to take a photography class, and I'm hoping he'll be able to take one in college. I don't think he has enough time left to take one in high school.

Look who's seven months!

Isaiah 25:6-9

The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow,
And refined, aged wine.
And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all the peoples,
Even the veil which is stretched over all nations.
He will swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth.
For the LORD has spoken.
And it will be said in that day,
"Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us.
This is the LORD for whom we have waited;
Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."

Job 19:20

Did you know that the phrase "skin of your teeth" originated in the book of Job? Check it out! I never noticed it before!

My bone clings to my skin and my flesh,
And I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.

Titus 2:3-5

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

Happy 4th!

Look who's five months!

Super Mario Beatbox

WATCH: Marine Stuns Crowd at Tea Party | The FOX Nation

WATCH: Marine Stuns Crowd at Tea Party | The FOX Nation

Prager University: The American Trinity

Back to school

It's official.  I start my Master's program on June 7 -- less than two weeks away!  So excited about this opportunity.  God willing, by the end of next summer, I'll have a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT). 

It was kind of surreal finding my way around campus yesterday, at the age of 44, amidst a group of summer school kids, with my baby stroller!  Hahahahahaha!

Look who's four months!

Changing it up

I'm changing the format for my blog just a little.  Less words and more pictures.

There are two reasons why I'm making this change.

The first reason is kind of silly.  I usually send out a group email and then copy and paste it onto the blog, but for some reason the copy and paste feature has not been working lately.  It's very frustrating.   So rather than write it all out over again, I'm going to either summarize or write about something completely different or just post a picture related to what I wrote about in the email!  How is that for flexibility!

The second reason is Facebook.  With Facebook, I've become less faithful to the blog  I write daily on Facebook, sometimes two or three times a day.  Ad nauseaum!    However, the blog still serves a purpose, just as email does.  So I'll continue to maintain these for the time being.   And since my blog is imported to Facebook, I'm writing and posting pictures with Facebook in mind.  Please please join if you haven't already!  I'd love to keep track of you this way!

So that's what is going on with me.  My next post will begin the change.  See if you can see the difference!

Kathleen with three of her BFF's!

Suffering for Jesus

As I write this, Keri Lynn is up in the air on the way to Japan!  Woooo-hoo!  She's "suffering for Jesus" in business class.  Poor thing. 

It's a 14 hour flight.  When she arrives, she'll be 13 hours ahead of us (EST).  So strange to think that she'll be on the other side of the world!  Wow!  The privilege of traveling!

The kids are finishing up their second to last week of school, then we'll be heading into summer.  The days are warm and humid.  It definitely feels like summer already.  It's hard not to turn the air conditioning up and up and up!

I'm finishing up the paperwork for my school starting in June.  A lot of the financial aid that I was counting on isn't coming through, but there is one special grant for graduate students that are committed to teaching in low-income/special needs schools.  There are also loan forgiveness programs for teachers, so I'm hoping that it will end up costing fairly little.  It's tough getting more education so that one can actually get a job!  Ack!

Baby Dedication Day

The sands of time

Keegan is just a few days short of his fourth month! He has grown a lot lately. It won't be long before he's sitting on his own and eating solids. He enjoys playing with his links, batting hanging toys, eating his shirt, and stuffing his fists in his mouth. When I'm late with his bottle, he declares a national emergency. He enjoys "talking" to people. He's just all around CUTE. Love that boy!

My oldest baby is preparing for her trip to Japan. She leaves on Thursday and will be gone for nearly 2 1/2 months. We are running around doing last minute things. I have been overwhelmed with the way so many things have fallen into place for her for this amazing trip. Funds are pretty much all in. She even got a dog-sitting and babysitting job this weekend that earned her a little extra spending money. Whew! I can't wait to see how the Lord will work in her this summer. And I can't wait to see Hongodai Church in action! It is a wonderful community of believers -- a great example to us here in the States.

The rest of the kids are finishing up the last two weeks of school. We get out earlier than most because we start at the beginning of August. I like the schedule. The summer is a little shorter, but we also get more time off during the school year. The kids are more than ready to get out of school!

I was recently made aware of a program available at a college south of where we live. It's a Master's Program that starts full time for the summer, continues at night through the school year and then finishes up full time through the next summer. I'm hoping to get into it this summer, starting June 7! God willing, by the end of next summer, I'll have my Master's in Special Education and be employable. Not that there are any job offerings right now. Our county, as are so many counties, is cutting the education budget like crazy. But eventually, they'll need to start hiring again. And I'll be ready!

We've been struggling mightily with me out of work completely all this last year and that pesky mortgage still due every month! But our bank is at last working with us with a loan reconstruction. Please pray with us, that all will work out in a beneficial manner for us and for the mortgage company. We love our house, but we are prepared, if we need to, to downsize. God is so very gracious to us! There has never been a time that our family's needs have not been met!

The College Girl is Home!

Keegan's normal sleeping position with hands up at his head

I've got sunshine!

Yesterday, along with the dreariness of a rainy day, Kody was sick and threw up three humongously gross piles of vomit on the carpet and breakfast room floor. Since I was overdue for a trip to the grocery store, did I have any paper towels? No. Napkins? No. Did I want to use some old towels? No. Did I want to even deal with the vomit? No!!! So I got Kristofer to at least get up the main disgusting part of it by scraping it onto some cardboard box pieces. (At least I think that's how he did it. I didn't stick around to find out!) Instead, I put Kody in the bathroom and went back to bed after the kids left for school. Then, when Keith got home, I told him about the mess that was now increased by yet more vomit or, as it turned out, diarrhea in the guest bathroom where Kody stayed all day.

This mess prompted a trip to the store to buy a STEAM CLEANER! Our third since our move to Georgia! We wear them out, you see! Anyway, it had been a couple of years since we'd had a working steam cleaner, so we were very excited to put this one right to use! Keith got a ton of hubby brownie points taking care of the dog mess.

Now we've got to deal with the turtles. It appears that both of them have FINALLY kicked the bucket. I actually feel kind of bad for them, even after all of my fussing about their stinkiness. With all of the excitement of having the baby, we've been neglecting them. I think they died of lack of water. Poor things. Turtles don't bark or make themselves a nuisance when they need water like Kody does. I think from now on, we will avoid all things amphibian and reptilian.

Today, the sun came out again. My heart lightened along with the weather. This winter seems to have been exceptionally cold and long -- others agree with me, so I know it's not just my hormones talking. It was warm enough today to even go for a walk! I am SO looking forward to spring. We've been in the 60s all week, and it has been heavenly!

I got a ton of stuff done today because of the sunshine -- a lot of phone calls, laundry, dishes, and desperately-needed organizing. But I didn't get to the grocery store like I had wanted to. So, Keith picked up some McDonald's chicken sandwiches and McDoubles for the hungry mob. (We only serve the very best of nutrition here at the Johnson household.) Only, I really wanted some chips and salsa. Badly wanted. At the urge-of-crying wanted. In fact, what I really wanted to do was take the whole gang off to El Charro's, our favorite Mexican restaurant, but it wasn't going to work with Keith's schedule. So, he surprised me and brought home some chips and salsa along with McDonald's. Chips and salsa have never tasted so good!

Keith has been scoring some very excellent husband points lately.

Daylight Savings Time is coming once again. I get so depressed when I have to wake up an hour earlier. It takes a good couple of weeks to get used to the time shift. It's just not natural! I guess I am not a morning person AT ALL! It seems like we just got back to Standard Time!

Keegan turns seven weeks tomorrow. He is growing like a weed. Maybe it's all the rain and cold. Nothing to do for him but eat and grow and fill his pants and eat and grow some more. He is already wearing 3-6 month clothes and becoming more and more animated. He makes us all into ridiculous sounding fools when we're around him because we'll do anything to make him smile and coo at us.

Sometime next week, Keegan should be wearing 12 month clothes, or maybe 2T. Good grief, kid!