Not your typical baby toy

Tyler's love for pirates has led to a love of skeletons and bones. This little skeleton, AKA "Jared" is one of Tyler's favorite toys...he plays with it all the time and knows the names of almost all the bones. For some reason, little Luke is completely intrigued by this toy skeleton. He absolutely LOVES it and will crawl at top speeds to get his hands on it! It cracks me up to see my sweet baby crawling around with a skeleton. Who knows, maybe he'll be a doctor someday!

The Countdown...

We are so excited to be having a special visitor come next week.... Jeffrey's mom, otherwise known as Grandma Kae. For weeks, Tyler has been asking me how many days were left until Grandma Kae was coming so I decided to make a countdown chain to help him out. Every morning Tyler runs to the chain, rips off a link, does a quick count, and then excitedly lets the whole family know how many days are left. My boys sure love their Grandma Kae!

tagged...

Thanks Kenise!

10 YEARS AGO...
I was in my first year at Southwest Missouri State University and living in Marshfield. I was working at the library and as a cake decorator part time. I don't remember much about this time except that I was having fun hanging out with my best friends, Kim and Melanie, enjoying college life and all the freedoms that come with it.

5 PLACES I HAVE LIVED...
1. Springfield, MO
2. Kansas City, MO
3. Provo, UT
4. Orem, UT
5. Virginia Beach, VA

5 THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST...
1. Take the boys to a birthday party at McDonalds
2. Mail a package to Jeffrey
3. Clean out my pantry
4. Try to catch up on laundry...if that is even possible!
5. File my taxes

I ENJOY...Spending time with Jeffrey (I REALLY miss this), playing with my boys and watching them play together, being outdoors, scrapbooking (I definitely don't do much of it these days, but I still love it), going to the beach, taking naps, watching LOST and HOUSE and now American Idol, baking, quiet nights when I can relax a little

3 BAD HABITS...
1. Craving sweets every night when the kids go to bed
2. Staying up WAY too late at night
3. Biting my nails

5 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT ME...
1. I got my degree in Cell and Molecular Biology and originally wanted to go to medical school.
2. I bungee jumped from 150 feet
3. I became obsessed with running during my third year in college, usually running about 4-8 miles daily. I still love to run but can't seem to find the time these days! I still dream about running in a marathon someday.
4. I am terrified of the dentist. When Jeffrey was in school, he claimed that I was one of his most "anxious" patients.
5. I absolutely LOVE cereal...I just did a quick count of how many boxes that I have....sixteen!! My all time favorites have got to be Honey Bunches of Oats and Golden Grahams, but Special K Chocolatey Delight is coming in at a close second lately.

5 JOBS I'VE HAD...
1. Coached a 9-11 year old juniors volleyball team
2. Library administration office during college (doing secretarial work)
3. Waitress
4. Summer camp counselor for elementary kids
5. I worked in the homes of developmentally handicapped adults, helping them to go shopping, cook meals, exercise, and basically take care of themselves. This was a tough job, but I learned so much.

WHAT I WILL BE DOING IN 10 YEARS...
Hopefully we'll be settled into a nice home with a little bit of land, either in Oregon or Missouri and Jeffrey will have his dental practice up and running. We'll probably have a couple more kids, maybe even a girl? I'll have two teenage boys....wow! That's kind of scary! All of my kids will most likely be in school, so I'm not sure what that will be like. I'm sure it'll still be pretty busy but oh so fun!!!

Okay, so I guess now I've got to tag someone. I'm not sure who's already done this...I think I'll tag Jessica and Beth!

quiet

My mom gave me this little pillow last month and I just have to laugh every time I see it. It is so fitting for my life right now. There are very few moments when it is quiet in my home. Sometimes I miss peace and quiet, but it sure doesn't compare to the laughter and giggles of my boys when they're all playing together and having so much fun. I'm sure some day I'll have a nice quiet home and miss these crazy days, so for now I guess I'll just sit back and enjoy!

Our Little Family

I just thought I'd give an update on what we've been doing the past couple of years.......After Jeffrey graduated from dental school in May of 2006, we packed up and moved to our new home in Virginia Beach (after a 10-day getaway to Hawaii without the kids!!!). He began his 1-year AEGD residency program at the naval base and we quickly fell in love with this area. We LOVE being so close to the beach!! Throughout the year, he had the opportunity to gain additional training in the various specialties of dentistry. Last June, he finished the program and reported for duty to the USS Harry S. Truman, a Naval Carrier. He's been in and out a lot with the ship's deployment schedule and is doing great, but missing home a lot these days. Luckily when he's gone we are usually able to talk on the phone a few times a week and e-mail almost daily. My days are kept very busy with our three boys. They are full of energy and I absolutely love being home with them each day, even though they completely wear me out!! They seem to be growing up way too fast! We plan on being here for another year and a half, when Jeffrey will then be able to start practicing on his own. We're not sure yet where that will be.....most likely Missouri or Oregon. We REALLY miss being near family!

Tyler Johnson

Tyler is five years old and becoming incredibly independent. He is very creative, constantly coming up with little "inventions" and drawing masterpieces. He absolutely loves pirates... STILL....and knows everything there is to know about them. He enjoys riding his bike and scooter, being outdoors, reading books, playing with his friends, going to preschool, and playing with his little brothers. Tyler has been such a big help to me since Jeffrey left. I have woken up many mornings to find that he has made me breakfast (usually consisting of a tomato, a bowl of cereal, some kind of fruit, and water), and he always seems to know when I need a big hug. Tyler is a wonderful big brother and I am so proud of him.

Ethan Richard

Ethan will be three years old in a couple of weeks and is my little bundle of energy. He is always on the go....running, jumping, dancing....sometimes it makes me tired just to watch him! Ethan adores his brothers and is always trying to make one of them laugh. Ethan is into anything that moves....cars, trains, airplanes...and can be found singing to himself throughout the day. His favorite expressions are "that's so COOL" and "I'm a good boy!". My little Ethan is such a carefree little guy who loves life and is constantly coming up with ways to make me laugh. It is sometimes a challenge for me to keep up with him, but he is such a joy to be around.

Luke William

Little Luke joined our family in May of 2007. He had a rough start and spent several weeks in the NICU with PPHN (Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn), a very serious lung disease. When I look at him now, it's hard to believe that he was so incredibly sick. He is now a healthy 8 month old and into everything. He has recently learned to crawl and seems to get faster every day. He also started pulling up a few days ago....it's a whole new world for little Luke! He is definitely my easiest baby so far, with the exception of his first month! He wakes up once a night and is a very happy little guy during the day. He has such a sweet, loving, and determined little spirit. He loves his big brothers, who can make him laugh in an instant. I love my evenings when we can have our quiet time with just the two of us. I feel like he brings balance to my crazy life. I can't imagine life without my sweet little Lukie.