So I Won't Forget

I have to write these two things down so I don't forget them.

The other day Damaris and Didi were playing outside near a rose bush and Damaris says, "Hold it (the rose bush) by the leaves so you don't get any storms (thorns)."

As I am getting Damaris some milk she says, in all seriousness, "Cow milk comes from".....long pause...."the pond!!!!"

Ezekiel has said some insightful and quite humorous things recently as well. I wish I could remember them to write them down.

I love these kiddos. They are constantly saying things that make Tim and I laugh. They are truly gifts from God and we are cherishing these gifts!

Random

Sweet hugs on the front steps before Ezekiel's first day of Kindergarten. He's already been in school for 4 weeks and is doing really well. We're on the countdown to his first break which means we get to go to the beach with our family!!!

The sillies! Damaris and Didi doing what they do best- playing and loving on each other.

Mama and Maris. Not the best pic of me but I think Maris looks so sweet. She is so full of life and such a talker. And SUCH a girl. I never thought I would have a prissy, little girl who loves shoes, clothes, and makeup, but I LOVE her!

Newbies

This post is about all things "new." In early August we enjoyed participating in our friends adoption fundraiser. Some of our closest friends are adopting a baby girl from Asia and we were able to be part of bringing their "new" baby home. Our kids played lots of games, which cost a quarter, to help raise money for the "new" baby. Here is a picture of Damaris playing a chopsticks games. You had to grab a marshmallow with your chopstick and carry it to another bowl without dropping it. Damaris liked doing this since we try to use chopsticks when we eat rice at home.

In addition to playing games at the adoption fundraiser there was also a silent auction. Below is a picture of what we won. A brand "new" Chinese outfit handmade by the very talented Betsy Treece. Damaris loves it and she looks adorable in it. Oh and it's pink too. We also won one for Didi but he's not big enough for it yet.

And lastly a "new" room. Here are the kiddos on Damaris' very big girl bed. We picked out some girly pink and green colors and a quilt that was on sale at Target. Viola...a new room in a weekend. Now she has her own room and the boys bunk together. This pic is missing the chair railing Tim made for it. It's such a fun girlie room now, but honestly she really misses staying with her brothers. She asks if she can sleep in the room with them some times. Who wouldn't want to bunk their cool brothers.

Family Reunion

This July we had the chance to spend the weekend in the mountains of NC. We were excited about seeing our extended family during the Johnson Family Reunion. We had talked about this trip for quite a while with the kids, preparing them for the boat ride down the cold, mountain river, and sleeping outside in the tents and the barn. July in Raleigh was incredibly hot and we were really looking forward to a little reprieve in the mountains. Little did we know how much of a reprieve we would get.

It was unseasonable cool during our time in the mountains. Even still, we put our bathing suits on and tried to brave the cold, mountain water and now cold, mountain air. I was really surprised how much our kids enjoyed playing in the river even though it felt like we were walking around in a tub of ice water. The outside temp was 61 degrees when we went down to the river. Compare that to the 102+ degree temps we had been having in Raleigh. I think we would have played longer in the river if the kids lips and finger hadn't been turning blue. They were having a great time.

Nana came with us to the mountains. I love this picture of her and Damaris under the umbrella. In addition to the temperature being in the low 60's, it was also raining.

Didi didn't brave the water except maybe to put his toes in it. Instead he played with everyone else's fishing poles. I love this pic of him. I think it shows his personality well. He is such a little ham and keeps me laughing a lot.

The brave ones!

Here are Damaris and Ezekiel sporting their lifejackets that Uncle Lynn got them. The water was freezing but they didn't want to get out.

We all had a great time visiting with our family. Our kids kept talking about Uncle Lynn and Aunt Ruth and playing with their dogs. We always enjoy being able to spend time with our family in the mountains.

It's Been A Long Time

It's been a long time since I updated our blog. So much has happened in our lives since the last post which was close to a year ago. Here are a few snippets of what's been happening in our life over the past year.

November 2010- Ezekiel turned 5! We also found out Tim's dad wouldn't have much more time to live.

December 2010- Christmas with our families and ALMOST had a white Christmas. It started snowing Christmas night and we woke up to about 8 inches of snow the day after Christmas. Braved it in our Outback with all three kids and made the trek to S.C. and had a blast sledding with our family.

January and February- They were kind of a blur as we sought to spend as much time with Tim's dad and our family in Blanch.

March- John Howard Chilton, a man who undoubtedly loved "His Savior Jesus" passed away. One thing I was so encouraged by as I saw my father-in-law passing away was that his default was always "Praise the Lord" and asking people "Who's my Saviour?!" I hope and pray that I will long to see my Savior as much as he did and my default, as I age, will be singing His praise and not withering in pity. We miss him dearly but are so encouraged in our hearts by his faith and that now he is not seeing "face to face" (I Corinthians 13:12).

April- A tornado, or two, hit Raleigh and caused some damage to Ezekiel's school. He ended up being out of school for about a month while the facility was repaired. We enjoyed having him at home more often and having his teachers in our home.

May- It was hot.

June- It was hot too. Ezekiel and Damaris took swimming lessons. Damaris took with her buddy, and my nephew, Heath and her papa. Ezekiel took here in Raleigh through Parks and Rec. They are both doing well in the water and having lots of fun. Ezekiel can swim without his swimmies or life jacket and Damaris will actually let go of us in the water. We have had a lot of fun going to different pools this summer and it's been easier for me to manage all three at the pool by myself since I only have to hold Dietrich now.

Ezekiel graduated from pre-K in June and my nephew Caleb graduated high school!!!

We spent some time visiting my family in June.

July- It's crazy hot and the humidity has been around 89% here. I couldn't believe it the other day when I saw the temp was only 75 degrees but right when we walked outside we were drenched with sweat. Tomorrow is supposed to be 102 degrees. Early this month I got to visit my lifelong friend Tammy, who lives in Florida with her cute three year daughter and her husband. That was a real treat taking Damaris down there and letting our daughters play and catching up with each other.

That's brief catch-up over the past months/year. Here are a few recent pics.

My prissy sissy. Damaris (we call her sissy) loves all things girly. She wants to wear a dress everyday, wants new shoes more than she wants toys, and always carries her purse with her. She's pretty good at picking out what goes in that purse too. She usually has some Kleenex, her cup, chapstick, and her all time favorite hand sanitizer.

Heath, Ezekiel, and Damaris getting ready to go fishing with Papa and Daddy at Mr. Mike's pond. They were determining who was going to catch the biggest fish. They caught a few but lost two fishing poles in the process. It was a little traumatic for Damaris seeing her pole sink to the bottom and us not being able to reach it in time.

I love this picture of Dietrich. It really captures his personality. He is so much like Tim, just a real character.

Damaris and Sophie

My lifelong friend Tammy's daughter. She and Damaris are four months apart, the same distance between Tammy and I.