Sunday, November 30, 2008

blessed


This year more than ever have we felt so incredibly blessed! Nolan has brought such joy to our lives. And over this Thanksgiving weekend we have had a lot of time to relax, spend time as a family, and reflect on all of our blessings. We were visited by my brother Tyler for the holiday and have spent the past few days watching a lot of football, eating good food, and trying to stay warm! I'm sitting here now in my cozy family room with my 10 foot Christmas tree glowing and the Bears game mumbling in the background reflecting on all that I am thankful for.
Here's just a few:

* My funny, handsome, and self-sacrificing husband. Thank you for giving up your Sunday's of football for shopping and outings with Nolan. You make us feel so loved and important!

* NBJ. He's happy, silly, and so dang cute! Even when he's screaming. (Side Note: We found out all the shrieking was because not only is Nolan getting in all four top teeth, but he also has a double ear infection! So now I am also thankful for Amoxicillin.)

* Family- near and far. We have learned so much from all of you about love, faith, and fun! Thank you for your support, encouragement, and so many good times!

*Friends: Mark and I both still have close relationships with our friends from high school and college. We have been blessed by lasting friendships with those who truly know our hearts. We are so thankful to have people to talk to, laugh with, and lean on.

* Our church and Small Group...we love having a place to go to be challenged and fed, to learn more about God and to serve others. We enjoy worshiping, serving, and having a caring place for Nolan to grow up to learn about Jesus.

* I could go on and on...our jobs, our house, our day care provider, etc. etc. etc. But I'll stop there for now. But, oh, one more thing...I am so thankful that I have the next 5 weeks off!

I can't wait to sleep in, chill at home with Nolan, run errands during the day, have time to bake Christmas cookies, go Christmas shopping, and have a few night outs with Mark! I'll be able to blog a lot more and keep you up to date on all of our busy-ness!

Check out our video below to see all of our adventures from the past weekend- Thanksgiving, and pre-Christmas fun! (Hence, the music...Charlie Brown.) Thank you Uncle Tyler for a very fun visit! Nolan LOVED pointing at you, cuddling with you, and laughing at your crazy faces! See you at Christmas!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Counting Down

We had our first official snow today! I woke up, got ready, walked down the stairs to start my day and looked out the window to see what looked like a blizzard outside! It didn't snow for long, but when it did, it fell hard! The kids at school were super excited to wear their snow boots and play in the dusting that was left at recess. Mark said that Nolan was mesmerized by it as they drove to Vickie's house for the day. It will be fun to watch him experience all the joys that Winter brings! And it definitely helped us get in the spirit...yes, I know it's early, but I found myself listening to Cozy 101 today- all Christmas music, all the time, until Christmas day! We even headed out to the mall tonight to do a little browsing for ideas for Nolan for both Christmas and his birthday. That didn't last too long though- it was nearing bed time and he started to get fussy, and it was COLD! 27 degrees! So we ducked into a few stores, bought him a new pair of mittens, and were on our way.

It has been a rough month of teething and a bottle and bedtime routine are necessary at exactly 8 each night! Nolan already had his bottom front teeth, his top right tooth popped through on Halloween, and now he's working on his top left tooth! He has been a pretty easy baby, but boy, does he have it rough with these teeth! His new favorite activity seems to be screeching and screaming like a girl when he's in pain! He just wants to be held and attended to at all times! So, hopefully this is just a phase, and it will pass soon! Pray for his teeth to come in, and to come in quickly!

Despite the crankiness, we have still managed to make time for a little fun this month! I posted some pictures from the past week or two. Playing in the leaves, wearing his new and first pair of Nike's, and trying out his new front facing car seat! What a big boy! We are anxiously awaiting my next track off. I teach 7 more days and then will be off from Thanksgiving break until after the New Year! It will be a great time of year to have some down time and to get to experience all that the Holidays bring with Nolan!

A glimpse of the girlie shriek!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Happy Halloween

We had a wonderful evening celebrating Nolan's first Halloween! Growing up, my mom always made us the best, most creative costumes: the statue of liberty, a skunk, lotto ball, rubix cube, Wonder Woman. She always took the time to make sure that we didn't look like everyone else trick or treating! We were unique...and that's exactly what Nolan was this year. Keeping with the Johnson tradition, Grandma helped us make his first costume this year- a Dutch boy! To honor Mark's family heritage and to remember our good ol' times in G.R. Thanks Bing Bong we loved it!

We had a busy night hopping around from Oma and Opa's house, to our street, to Ernie and Kim's and Nolan loved wearing his costume and kept his hat on all night long! His wooden shoes were a hit and we couldn't have asked for better weather! We trick or treated with family, friends, and neighbors. Then Nolan went to bed at Uncle E.'s and we broke out our costumes. Enjoy the show!