Something new

"Can you put something new on your blog...some more pictures of David? Or a video of him wiggling around? I keep checking and looking at the picture of him in the carseat."

Yes, Mom, I will put something new up here. The current photo/video selection is not the greatest, but here's what we have!

Sleeping in his pack n' play. He's naked b/c all of this clothes are dirty already. It's safe to say the plumbing works! Also, Mac has made sure to give Davey all of his best cars to "make him feel better."

He's a super sweet snuggler...

He looks like a turtle to me. (Anyone seen that movie "The Never Ending Story?" I am telling you this is the exact face of the turtle in that movie!) He's looking less "turtle-ish" these days, but here he is the day he came home from the hospital.

Here he is today...getting so much bigger already!

And here's a video. Not exactly "wiggling" around, but it's what we've got! Besides, who doesn't like watching a baby sleep?

Going Home!

David Hudson Johns

"Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise"

-Matthew 21:16

Little Davey.

Sick again.

Hang in there buddy. :-/
We love you.

Sticker Books...

What a nice, relaxing pre-bedtime activity.

They were playing so nicely with the book. I started to rest and read my own book and suddenly it sounded like there was a lot more going on than just placing stickers on a page. Yep, things deteriorated  pretty quick.

Eatin' Crow

Ever heard that phrase before? I remember the first time I heard it and how weird and funny it sounded. I was working at an FCA camp in the south when one of the staff workers from Alabama said it with her southern accent. It took me a while to get over the mental picture (for some reason I picture a blackbird flying out of a pie?), but eventually I was able to understand the idiom (when you are proved wrong after taking a strong position...kind of like having to "eat your words," "eat your hat," etc.)

Well, I am officially eatin' crow today! For 9 months I have been announcing with the utmost assurance that "this baby is coming early!...Probably even in November! The due date (Dec.23rd) is definitely wrong!"...and on and on I have gone.

Turns out this little guy or girl seems quite cozy right now. Could it really be that we may not meet him or her until Christmas...and maybe even January? Yep. Could be.

Have you ever eaten' crow? It doesn't taste very good.

God, thank you so much for making this crow a little easier to swallow. The phrase that He keeps speaking to my heart is: "My timing is always perfect...do you believe that?" Yes Lord, I do believe it, but can you help to believe it? He has.

I have had such convincing and painful contractions the past few days that I have been SURE I was in labor...only to hear my Lord say, "it's not the perfect time quite yet."

So, I have decided to change my tune a little. NOW I am saying, mostly to myself, this baby is definitely coming at just the right time! It's kind of exciting and relaxing at the same time, looking at it like that.  

They will know we are Christians by our love...

Does that title sound a little trite to anyone? It used to sound that way to me. But not anymore. 

Here's a just a few out of so many reasons why that phrase is really special to me now.

Last night I was up until 5am with painful false labor contractions that came at least every 10 minutes. Ellis was off to work before 6am, and he will not be home until some time tomorrow morning. Then he will need to sleep for several hours. When I "woke up" this morning, the thought of getting through the next couple days on just an hour or so of sleep was pretty overwhelming. 

We have been house-bound for a couple of weeks due to sickness, and even though the thought of trying to go to church sounded hard, staying stuck at home for another entire day sounded even harder. We somehow got to church, and one of the ladies who saw me "walking" (I use that term loosely!) came over to me and said, "let me take Mac and Corrie for you to Sunday school and the nursery." She was so kind and loving to them and they were so cute holding her hands as they walked down the hallway. I sighed with relief when I sat down and rested on my chair.

We had a guest speaker who spoke with such brokenness and humility during the sermon...it was all I could do keep from bawling right there in my chair. I decided to try and sneak out early so I wouldn't have to try and talk to anyone. I knew I would just start crying and there would be no stopping it. 

Thankfully, my best attempt to avoid human interaction was foiled. One woman saw me and stopped me. She looked me in the eye and said: "Can I help you? Tell me how." I looked in her eyes and I knew she meant it: she really wanted to help. "Yes. You can. Would you help me with Corrie and Mac this afternoon after naps?" 

At 3pm this woman came to my door and played with Mac and Corrie, got me water (or whatever she could think that I needed) and got them ready to go to AWANA at 5pm. Even though Corrie is too young, she took her along too. "No problem! I will keep her with me and we will have fun. What can I get you at the store? Please tell me." 

When the kids came back, they had dinner from McDonald's in-hand, and the groceries were delivered right to the kitchen table. I had almost the whole afternoon to rest (and even watch the most exciting Redskins game in years). 

I so enjoyed having this Christian woman spend the afternoon with us today. It blessed my heart in such a special way to laugh with a friend and rest. 

In my wildest dreams, I did not imagine provision like that for today...

This past Monday we were also blessed with the kindness of some Christians that we have gotten to know. Mac and Corrie have been so excited about Christimas trees this year, and Mac has kept asking, "Is it time yet? Is there going to be a Christmas tree yet?" I really wanted to get our tree up and decorated, but I could not imagine how I would have the energy to do it. 

Around 6pm on Monday, some friends came over and we had pizza, decorated cookies and got the Christmas tree up and decorated. I did not have to lift a finger, and believe me, all of those activities took a lot of energy with Mac and Corrie! I loved seeing them having so much fun. It was my heart's desire for them to get to enjoy those things...it was such a gift to have our friends come and serve us like that. 

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” 

-John 13:35

Mac is Back!

Yesterday we had our first official day with no throw-up in the past 2 weeks....phew. Can you hear the sigh of relief?

Mac woke up today ready and rearing to go! Ate all of his cereal (yes, it was a measuring cup and tupperware kind of morning).

And he has been playing in his usual "Mac" ways. Can't just drive the trains on the table...they must all hang precariously over the edge!

And a side note to you, little baby #3: now that your big brother and sister are feeling better, feel free to make your appearance any time now!

Breaks my heart

Hey there little Macky.

It breaks my heart to see you so sick. You have been throwing up and having trouble keeping fluids in for several days, and its been taking its toll on you. I can see each ounce of weight you have lost and all the little bones that used to be hidden by your naturally stalky build.

But even so, you have hardly complained and have been so very sweet. The other morning when you woke up, you asked if I would sit with you and watch Dumbo with you on the couch (on top of the plastic picnic table cover we have learned to keep there until this bug is gone). You hugged me and said, "Mommy, I am hugging you just like Dumbo is hugging his mama!...I love you mama." And you snuggled up so sweetly against me.

Today you woke up and said, "mommy I have a very special surprise for you." Then you came and presented me with a "beautiful blankee." (A strip of fabric you found somewhere).  You have been making sure I have it with me wherever I go. Blankees are very important!

Yes, seeing you sick does break my heart. But walking with you through it melts my heart. We are praying for you and doing everything we can to help you get better soon.

We love you Buddy :)

Time to buy stock in Clorox...

And Drano. And Pedialite.

I guess we were about due for another series of unfortunate events around here. Around 6pm on Wed. night, Corrie came crying over to me on the couch saying "my mouth hurts!" Next thing I knew, she was throwing up everywhere. "Oh man...The couch!" I picked her up and made my way as fast as I could (about the pace of a snail) to the bathroom...meanwhile she threw up several more time all over the floor, her clothes, my clothes, etc.

I will spare you the rest of the details from that night, but I will say that after the third round of throwing up, cleaning up, taking baths, etc, I had reached "triage" mode again. When Corrie thew up all over the carpet in the living room, I didn't even try to clean it...just rolled it on up and dragged it out to the trash.

The next few days we had lots of diarrhea messes to clean up. Sorry, I know that's gross to say, but it's true. I just kept thinking, "Man, thank goodness the rest of us are doing okay"....

Saturday night around 3am Mac was up crying. He said, "mommy my mouth hurts and yellow things came out just like Corrie did...on my pillow!" Here we go again!

We had a little more throwing up in the morning, but not anything too bad (all things considered). Both kids even got out their pillows and blankees and laid on the floor together. It was cute.





I thought we were doing pretty good by the time lunch rolled around..."hey, maybe it's a good day for a little bit of  chicken soup." Corrie liked it.



When I called Mac in to try it, he walked into the kitchen and starting throwing up all over the floor. By this point I had learned to just keep the kid in one place until you are sure they are totally done. I put Mac in the tub and said, "don't move!" and then put a big towel over the floor in the kitchen until I could get Mac cleaned.

I think it was around this time when Ellis said, "how long has our drain been clogged downstairs?!" Oh man. Ellis said it was bad. Like, taking pipes apart bad (i.e., no using the kitchen sink or washing machine), which meant after getting the kids and floors cleaned, my only option was to rinse the towels, sheets and clothes in the bathtub the best I could while I hoped that Ellis could get the drain fixed soon.

After getting Mac clean, it was nearing nap time, and Mac waited patiently while I put new sheets on his bed. He got in bed to wait for me to read him a story, and that's when I heard some coughing sounds. Yep. A lot more throwing up.

Meanwhile, Corrie was still having trouble keeping fluids from coming out the other end. So, this was the scene at our place for the rest of the day. Laying on the couch with the pillows and blankees and drinking the Pedialite.

By the time bedtime came around, we hadn't had any messes for several hours, and I had told the kids we would decorate our mini Christmas tree. And good news about the pipes! Just a couple bottles of the strongest Drano known to man, and Ellis using some tool named a "snake," and we could now start washing dishes and clothes. Things were looking up!

I got out the mini tree and it's little mini ornaments and started to show the kids how to decorate it. That was when I suggested that Corrie change seats and come over closer to the tree...and that was when I smelled something...and saw a lot more than what I smelled! A nice brown hue all over her clothes and chair. Doh!

Back in the tub, Corrie! Once I had her clean, Mac walked into the bathroom and started throwing up. Quick, Corrie out of the tub and Mac in the tub! Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that the throwing up kid needs to be facing into the tub and not out of it. Before I knew it, the whole bathroom floor and bathtub were covered in throw up. I was covered too. I just stared at for a minute, not believing it.

Then I heard Corrie: "Clean my foot please?" Your foot? I had tried to keep her out of the bathroom, so I didn't think there was any throw up on her. Then she said, "I make pee-pee!" Oh. Yep, there was the puddle under her, half on the hallway rug and half on the floor. Okay, both of you in the tub!

After finally getting everyone and everything cleaned up, we went back to the Christmas tree. This is how I will choose to remember this weekend. They had so much fun putting the little ornaments on, and they could hardly contain themselves when the lights came on. :-)

Both kids went down for bed pretty well, and it was finally time to lay down on the couch and relax.......

That's when we heard, "Mommy, I did it again!" Poor little Mac. Here we go again!

Wild Woman

It's sweet to see how Corrie is able to hang in there with her big brother when they play together. (I know plenty of 3-year-old boys that can hardly handle his energy). She has such a "girly" side, but she also has a wild side. Really wild.

Mac and Corrie, I am so glad that you guys are able to have so much fun together!

(Passing the time while waiting for our friends to get out of the bathroom at Wegman's)

Junk Drawer

Does anyone else have one of these? Ours happens to be the silverware drawer, and this is the first time we have lived in the same place long enough for our junk to gather for more than a year.

Mac has just recently realized he is tall enough to look inside the "treasure" drawer, and he is finding the craziest, weirdest things.

It is a dream come true for him.

He gets so attached to the funniest things. For the past several days, it has been the ketchup packets he found. He takes them everywhere and can't stop talking about his ketchups with the "tiny green plant with the red tomatoes," and is especially enthusiastic about explaining that "the tomatoes are so squishy!"

Camo Corrie

There are two Johns' kids in this picture.

the alphabet train

Last time Mac & Corrie saw this toy, they had a very tough time sharing (well, I guess I would have to say there was pretty much no sharing, just crying).

But not this time! :-)

Here is how they played for the better part of an hour. Very sweet.

Welcome to the princess!

A little late, but couldn't help but document Mac and Corrie in their costumes this year. Mac insisted on wearing his spiderman mask, but he would only wear it like a hat. After they got their costumes on, they just stood there and stared at each other and admired each other's new look. When they started talking, it was pretty funny.  (Translation below)

Corrie: "That's Spiderman! That's spiderman"

Mac: "No Corrie, you're not spiderman, you're a princess! I'm spiderman. You're a princess and you have tiny little wings..."

"LOOK GUYS! Welcome to the princess!"

Sunday

We did it. Against all odds, we made it to church this morning. And what an unexpected blessing it truly was. Here I thought that Mac was coloring nicely on the children's bulletin. Then I looked more closely and saw that he was just stabbing through the paper and making the pencil stand straight up in the air. 

But the biggest accomplishment of the day was the annual Thanksgiving dinner. So far, we have attempted to partake in at least three other big church family dinners, and each time we have somehow ended up so far away from the food that by the time we got to the buffet, there was pretty much no food left. The last time I was so disappointed I actually cried. I was so hungry and the kids had waited by themselves at the table for at least 15 minutes for their food.

But not this time! Not only was Ellis able to come, but we got there 1/2 hour early, and we sat at the very first table closest to the food. Success!

The Awana kids sang such a cute Thanksgiving song before the meal. Mac wanted to stay and watch with us instead of singing. He and Corrie were both mesmerized! 

Mac and Ellis spent time building fork and knife structures while we waited to eat.

Mommy and Corrie just enjoyed hanging out and playing with the fake leaf decorations.

We all left with nice full tummies, except for Mac. He would only eat the bread and butter. He loved playing with his fishing pole toy that the doctor gave him for enduring his flu shot the other day. 

  

All in all, a very fun time. It's always fun getting to be around our church family.

And this one has nothing to do with our Sunday church service or church dinner, but I just could't help but share:

 

My wildest diaper-cake dreams have come true!

Did I really just do that?

Yep. I did. There comes a time when you start to employ a triage strategy to keep things going, particularly at 4am.

You have enough days in a row of waking up several times a night to go to the bathroom, wait for the sweet little baby in your abdomen to settle down, comfort a crying, sick child, give medicine to a sick husband, try to find a sleeping position that is remotely comfortable...and eventually it all just becomes one big blur of a normal night-time routine.

And you also find that you adjust your standard of acceptable night-time interventions. Well, let's just say you stream-line things a little.

When Mac woke up this morning, I heard him saying, "I don't want the towel." What? Oh yeah. Now I remember. He woke up crying at 4am because he had wet the bed. Apparently, I went to the linen closet and put a towel over it. Okay buddy. Back to sleep! Seemed completely rational at the time.



Don't worry buddy, this is just a season (a memorable one!) We'll get it together soon. :-)

Did that sound a little Orca-ish?

Took me a while to realize what on earth Corrie has been saying lately, but now we see that she is already on her second language. Yep, she speaks whale.

Comfort

My arms were made for you two. 

And we were made for His:

"He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart." -Isaiah 40:11

Corrie Johns

Corrie has been doing awesome with potty training. I mean, to her, it seems like, "yeah, I make pee-pees in the potty...what's the big deal?" 

Well, we have had a few incidents lately though, and this has been the common state of her bed as the sheets and blankees are being washed.

But even though cleaning sheets gets a little old, cleaning Corrie is always fun :-)

            

Another thing about Corrie is that she shares her brother's love for Ranch dressing. Mac will eat almost an entire bag of carrots if he can dip them in ranch, whereas Corrie will eat an entire bottle of dressing if she can just lick it off of the same carrot over and over again. 

We keep encouraging her to "make crunchies with the carrot like Mac!" But she really doesn't care. Well, the other night I noticed carrots missing from her placemat...and when I looked at her she said, "I makin' crunchies!" Hooray Corrie!

But then when I was getting ready to clean up saw that we are not quite there yet on the whole "eating carrots" idea. Yes Corrie, good job on making crunchies! But please don't spit them out all over the floor :-/.

"My eyes have seen your salvation" -Luke 2:30

This week's Awana memory verse is a little tougher than the last one. So far, here is what Mac and Corrie have gotten down:

Mac: "My eyes see...SPIDER-MAN!"

Corrie: "My eyes...PRINCESS SHOES!"

We're getting there. :-)

Lord, would give them eyes to see Truth? May they see and experience that Your salvation is even better than Spider-Man and princess shoes.

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you..."

-Ephesians 1:18

And this one made me cry...

Yep. An unexpected family birthday dinner - all of us together! And even some "ear treasures." (Mac's words for earrings :-).