Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas (a little late) and Happy New Year!

Things have been a little crazy around our house over the last few months.  Just when I think I am getting things in order, things start to spin until it is crazy again!  I keep moving forward, but not always at the pace I want or the way I want.  However, things are moving forward!

Life is great!  A positive attitude goes a long way in life.  Last fall I had a number of people ask me how I was able to deal with being away from my husband and caring for the 3 kiddos on my own.  My answer was simple, I depend on God!  Don't get me wrong, there was a time I struggled and when I questioned what was happening, but I have learned that God knows what is best for us.  We need to trust him and believe in him.

For Christmas the kiddos and I travelled to South Dakota.  The girls were excited to go visit Grammy and Papa and stay at their house.  We went up a day earlier than I had anticipated going, but I am glad we did.  We were in Sioux Falls for a week and enjoyed our time up there.  My sister, Rachel, and her husband, Josh, and son Mason also made the trip to Sioux Falls from Baton Rouge.  It was a great Christmas with family and we had lots of fun throughout the week.  We visited Santa at the mall, did some shopping, enjoyed family dinners, and played with the kiddos alot!

The girls got to enjoy the snow and loved it.  Julianne, Katelyn and Papa went sledding down the big hill, made snow angels, and built a snowman.  Katelyn now loves the snow and stayed out the whole time with Julianne and Papa.  I was so proud of her.

To burn off some energy Brian took the girls to a place that had indoor bounce houses and they loved it! I loved it too because they got back to Grammy and Papa's with less energy.  Everyone (except William because it would have been way past his bedtime) also got to to watch a Skyforce basketball game.  The girls enjoyed it, especially Julianne.  It was a fun game, that unfortunately the Skyforce lost by 1 point right at the end!

We left the following Wednesday from Grammy and Papa's.  While we had fun and enjoyed the visit, I am sure glad we left when we did.  We made it back to Chillicothe safely and only had to drive through a light fog off and on.  Rachel and her family were not so lucky.  They were supposed to fly out on Thursday and the weather took a turn for the worse.  Ice and freezing temperatures kept them grounded and after sitting in the airport for around 4 hours and delay after delay their flight was finally cancelled.  They were able to re-book, but they didn't get on a flight until late Sunday afternoon.  They made it home safely late Sunday night and were glad to be back in Baton Rouge!

On New Year's Day we celebrated with Brian's Mom and Dad.  They came to our house and we had lunch.  After lunch we opened presents and had a great time!

While we had extra time with Brian, the time seemed to go really fast.  However, each of us girls had the opportunity to go on a date with him.  I got to go out to dinner at a wonderful restaurant, Seasons, with him and some great friends.  Julianne and Katelyn both got to choose an activity to do with him.  They both chose a movie, but didn't want to go together so Brian got to see Yogi twice!

So, all in all we had a wonderful Christmas and thru it all we remember that Jesus is the reason for the season and we continue to celebrate his life everyday and not just one day in December!

Happy 4th Birthday Katelyn!

Today is the day, Katelyn is celebrating her 4th birthday!  She doesn't know it yet, but we are heading to Kansas City for a little shopping, some game time at Chuck E. Cheese, and then out to dinner at the place of her choosing.  We have had a great morning so far.  I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, put candles in them, and sang happy birthday to her. 

It is hard to believe that it was 4 years ago today that Katelyn made her swift entrance into this world.  Brian and I headed down to Kansas City around 6 in the morning and I was induced by 8:30am and had her about 4 hours later!  She was born at 12:28 p.m., weighing 8 pounds and was 20 inches long.  Today she is around 35 pounds and 40 inches.  She is a blessing in our life and can't wait to see what the next year brings!

 Welcoming Katelyn!

 Katelyn's 1st Birthday

 Katelyn's 2nd Birthday

 Katelyn's 3rd Birthday

 Happy 4th Birthday Katelyn!

Here is a little something I wrote for Katelyn's teacher for preschool, I think it describes her perfectly!

Katelyn is a spunky little girl who is easy-going and loves to giggle.  She is very out-going, but can be very bashful.  She loves to talk and be the center-of-attention.  She has an older sister, Julianne and a younger brother, William.  Katelyn is constantly asking questions and exploring in a quest to learn everything her sister knows and more.

Katelyn gigles quite often, causing the rest of the family to giggle and laugh.  When she is not giggling she is smiling.  Katelyn loves to tell jokes, tickle and be tickled, and just be plain silly.

Katelyn enjoys being with others.  She loves to play games with family, friends, and especially her sister. Some of her favorite games are UNO, Clue Jr., and Littlest Pet Shop.  Katelyn also enjoys using her imagination playing with play-dough, building with legos, and playing dress-up. On nice days you may find Katelyn outside swinging, chalking, or riding her trike..  She loves to play outside most days and enjoys the warmth of the sun.

Throughout the day Katelyn enjoys time to herself.  During this time we often find her "reading" books, coloring, or playing her leapster.  Other times she likes to cuddle and watch tv.  Her favorite shows include Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Wipeout, and Tom & Jerry. 

Finally, Katelyn is involved with dance and gymnastics.  She attends class for both, but is found practicing at home quite often. 

Katelyn is excited to be turning 4 and looking forward to lots of fun times during the year at home and at preschool!

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY KATELYN!  We love you!

Mommy, Daddy, Julianne, and William

Control

So those of you who know me well, and even some who do not know me so well, know I am a control freak.  I like to be in charge, know what is going on, and be in on making the decisions.  This can be challenging at times, especially with 3 little ones, a husband living 6 hours away, and single parenting during the week.  I feel like I am managing it all very well during the week, but it can be very challenging.  Some days are more stressful than others, though I am pretty sure I bring that upon myself alot of times. 

For those of you not following what I am saying here it is, "My name is Becca Johnston and I am a control freak."  For as long as I can remember I have loved to be in control.  I want things to be perfect.  Why let others do it if you are just going to have to re-do it so it is "perfect"?  I have taken many personality tests only to find out what I know, I am an extrovert who is a Type A personality.  I want to be in control! I need to be in control!

When I was in elementary school (before we typed papers - gasp) we would "long-hand" assignments.  My assignments needed to be perfect.  I would usually use pencil on a "rough draft", though I never handed in the rough draft, and then re-write it in pen so it was perfect.  I would even start over on the rough draft if there was an error and I couldn't erase it to my liking!  Yes, I was that anal.  Sometimes I wish I still was like that with certain things.  Though, it is probably a good thing I am not! 

As I got older, I liked to be the planner.  I planned birthday parties for my friends....once we did a video scavenger hunt.  I had to be meticulous in my planning, down to the minute of where we were going to be  because other friends were dropping off the clues ahead of us and other friends were meeting up with us (pre everyone having cell phones).  I loved it...I loved being in control.

Even with my kids births I had some control.  I knew what day they were going to be born on.  I was careful in picking the day, I wanted things to be perfect for my new little one coming into this world.  I know, that no matter what else happened on that day, I always welcomed my perfect little baby!

I still love to plan and I carry my planner with me everywhere.  I have my days and weeks planned out ahead of time, sometimes 3-4 months out, at least.  When one summer vacation is over, I like to start planning the next one.  I don't want to miss out on something fun and exciting!

Being a control freak or Type A personality definitely is challenging.  I don't want to change it for the world, because it is who I am.  So, instead of changing me I just make adjustments and move forward.  I bury myself in other things to keep my mind off that which I cannot control. 

But I will always remember, "My name is Becca Johnston and I am a control freak!"

It's Just One of Those Days...

It's just one of those days to put on a big smile and take a step forward.

It's just one of those days to cry a little and then wipe the tears away.

It's just one of those days I am thankful to be enduring it, for I love every moment - easy or hard, good or bad, happy or sad.

It's just one of those days to ask for forgiveness and to be forgiven.

It's just one of those days to forgive.

It's just one of those days to lift my worries to God and say a prayer of thanks for His unconditional love!

William's One Year Check-up

Yesterday William, Katelyn and myself headed to Kansas City for William's check-up and a little shopping.  Here are William's new stats:

Weight: 23 pounds 6 ounces
Height: 29 3/4 inches

When I did he birthday blog I took a guess at his weight and height.  I guessed he weighed about 24 pounds and was between 30 and 32 inches tall.  I wasn't too far off on either.  The other big news from his check-up, the doctor gave me the okay to put him forward facing.  I wasn't planning on doing this until at least January, but he constantly fights getting in his carseat and screams when he is in in.  During the hour and a half drive to KC yesterday he screamed for about an hour of it.  After a good conversation with the pediatrician, I put William's carseat forward facing and he loves it!  He loved to just look at the window and point at things.  The drive back to Chillicothe was much more peaceful!

Becca

The leaves are falling...

We have two huge, old trees in our front yard that provide wonderful shade during the hot summer months and lots of leaves in the fall.  The girls love to play in leaves and got to last week (luckily, because the lawn man came to mow and clean up the leaves the next day).  I got some great pictures of the girls and the neighbor boy, Connor.  Connor and the girls play together almost everyday, going back and forth from our house to his.  It is great to have friends so close for the girls, especially one close to Katelyn in age.  Enjoy the pictures!

Julianne wanted to be buried in the leaves, so Katelyn and Connor obliged.

Connor wanted to be buried, but didn't want his face covered, can't say I blame him.

Katelyn would sit in the leaves, that is it!

Action shots! 

Julianne and Connor went to climb the tree, so Katelyn was having fun by herself raking the leaves and then tossing them in the air!

Julianne and Connor

And, while all the leaves were gone at the end of last week they are just as many on the ground again!  The kids can't wait to play in them some more.

Julianne and the missing tooth!

It all started a few months ago when Julianne told us a tooth was wiggling.  We wiggled it a little bit and so did many more.  She was so excited that she had a loose tooth!  She wiggled it over and over, and we wiggled it to.  It was getting a little looser each day, but it was still hanging in there.  The stubborn little tooth did not want to come out.  The tooth started to tip forward and got a little looser, but it just wanted to hang out in her mouth.  Last week Julianne asked for me to take a look at it and she even let me try to pull it, but that stubborn little tooth would not come out!!

Then Saturday night, my mom commented on how loose Julianne's tooth was.  I told her we tried to pull it but it just wouldn't come out.  Then I looked at Julianne smiling at me with the tooth completely tipped forward!  Oh, I was quite excited, so I asked Julianne to go and get a kleenex so I could try and pull it out.  After I tried pulling it earlier in the week, I told her we she let Brian or Grammy do it, but she refused and said I was the only one who could.  I was flattered and frustrated at the same time.  Anyways, she got the kleenex and I pulled, but that stubborn tooth would just not come out!  I looked in her mouth and could see the adult tooth.  I wiggled, pulled, wiggled a little more, and pulled again.  After a little screaming and a few wimpers that stubborn tooth came out!!

So, I dug out her tooth fairy pillow, she put it under her pillow and the tooth fairy brought her $5!  She was super excited.  Oh and Grammy gave her another $5 for it!

Here are a few pictures of Julianne and the missing tooth...