39 weeks!!

Sorry for the lack of posts...my computer has been with the geek squad for the past couple of weeks (still is), so I have not been doing too much on the computer! Hopefully I will have it back up and running soon. :)

Here is the lovely photos of me 39 weeks pregnant! I thought I would give you both angels ;) (sorry...my dress sort of blends with the background). I have four more days until my due date! Yipee!! It truly is an amazing and wonderful to see that the Lord REALLY has brought us through these last 8 months and that the end is actually here! Praise God!! There were times when I didn't know if I would make it. Praying the Lord brings her sooner rather than later, but also praying for trust in His perfect plan, even if that means waiting a few more days...which may feel like weeks :)! We are very eager to meet the precious girl the Lord has been forming in my womb!

Johnson Family Vacation

I want to start by apologizing for much of the writing, which appears to be a giant "link". I don't know what went wrong, but am frustrated with my new computer, as it doesn't let me copy and paste pictures where I want them instead of dragging each one individually (which takes forever!). Also, every time I download new pictures, new gaps are created...I fix the gaps and save it, but when I publish the post, the gaps are still there. So I tried to cut and paste the pictures using the Html, which did not work, and also somehow changed my writing to "links". So this is what you get, as I have already spent too long on this one post dragging the pics! :) Some of you probably have no clue what I am talking about, but if you do and have a solution, I would greatly appreciate some imput. thanks! :)

Well, it feels like a lifetime ago that we took our trip to AZ and the East Coast, and that's probably because it was!! Linnea still has strong memories from the trip and talks about her relatives often (out of the blue!).

We first stopped in AZ for Aaron's "little" brother's graduation from highschool, which was a sweet occasion to be around for! We were so proud of Zach, and it was fun to cheer loudly for him as he received a Christian Character award given to one boy and one girl. I think I almost cried. ;) Seriously, though! What matters more than glorifying the Lord in your daily life?!? We also had fun swimming, thrift store shopping, and just catching up with family. I will admit though, I was a much less energetic person than normal...I think really starting to feel LARGE and tired! And sadly, I was not on top of the whole camera thing during our time there, so there really are not any pictures! Hopefully Liz did better than I did!
Grampy being silly at graduation!
We then headed on out to Buffalo, NY, which was a long day of travel, but Linnea did fantastic on the plain! We were SO thankful, because the Lord made it quite clear through some other children that it could have been a MUCH harder experience! From Buffalo we drove down to visit my grandarents, Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. We havn't seen my grandparents since I was pregnant with Linnea, so it was an ABSOLUTE blessing to spend some time with them and allow for them to get to know Linnea! And we hadn't seen my Aunt and Uncle since the wedding, and even then, we didn't really spend much time with them, as it usually goes with weddings! It was so fun to reconnect with them. We arrived on Memorial Day, and they treated us to a yummy BBQ, a super exciting boat ride (I hadn't been on a boat in SO many years!), and more fun in their back yard. Linnea LOVED her older cousins, Michael and Joey!

Uncle Jimmy looking good drivin' the boat! :)

Linnea enjoyed scticking her feet in!

Michael had a track meet while we were there, which was SO fun to see him run! He did a great job!
It's the day after Memorial Day where the trip started to get a little hard. I came down with the stomach flu, which lasted for three days. I am so grateful that my grandparents and family were so understanding and willing to take care of me, and for my sweet, sacrificial husband, who became a single parent! Talk about trusting in God's sovereignty, as this is not what we envisioned for the majority of our time with my grandparents and family! I would have loved to have more conversation and make more memories, but the Lord had other plans! And because of this, I did not got any pics with my grandparents, but I know my Aunt has some good ones, so hopefully I can get a hold of those! ;)

The third day of my stomach flu, we drove over to the east side of NY to end our trip with Aaron's brother's family. We made a pit stop in the town I grew up in, and even got to drive by my old house, which looks exactely the same! :) We were able to spend a little over an hour catching up with my best childhood friend, which was so fun, despite me feeling so ill. And let me tell you...it was a beautiful GREEN drive...another special treat to see God's creation!

This ones for the fam ;) It really looks the SAME!

Laura and I! :)

We then arrived in West Point, NY, which is beautiful! We had a wonderful time catching up with more of the Johnson clan, and Linnea just adored her cousins! She still talks about Ben and baby Andrew! Aaron came down with a cold the first day we were there, and I was just starting to eat again, so they were so sweet and sacrifical in taking care of us and nurturing us back to health. Thank you Corry and Dan! My human self just felt so bad that we were not the best company, and couldn't have more "fun" with them, but the slogan kind of became "It is what it is," and we wanted to make the best of it! And we truly did enjoy just catching up and spending time with one another. Westpoint Military Academy is magnificent! We thouroughly enjoyed all the architecture and beauty of the campus, and had fun exploring a little around the area. We had fun walking on a bridge overlooking the Hudson

Daddy and Linnea watching a train come in...

Bena and Linnea doing what they did most of the time...having a great time playing together! Ben let Linnea where his fireman hat! :)

My sweet "little" nephew, Andrew!

Taking a tour of Westpoint!

The "gang"...yes Andrew looks as big as Linnea...and that's because he almost is! :)

Linnea enjoying being a "baby" while she still can!

Up......and Down

Aaron's parents actually flew in the last night we were there, as they were coming for a visit to NY right after us! It was fun to be together as a whole family (well, we missed the two youngest Johnson siblings), and I think "Grammy and Grampy" had a good time being with ALL of their grandchildren. :)
The trip home seemed really long...poor Aaron wasn't feeling well, and Linnea was a bit whiny, but again, it really was a smooth trip and we made it safely home! I think once we got home, we were really able to rest up and "recover" from our sicknesses! :) Even though the trip wasn't quite what we expected, we are still very thankful we got to spend time with our precious family, which doesn't happen as often as our families expand! God is SO good!

Our VERY Happy 4th!

For the 4th of July, we headed up to Northern CA about 4 hours to visit some friends who moved away last summer, and also some more friends who we havn't seen since their wedding in January! I can't tell you what a blessing it was to see our wonderful friends, John and Whitney and their new, adorable little guy, Jackson! It was wonderful to catch up and have encouraging fellowship. It was just precious to get a glimpse of what it will be like for Linnea to have a little sister. She was enamored with baby Jack and constantly asked to hold him. I figured she would get bored of holding him after a while, but we almost always had to tell her it was time to be all done, and she wasn't always quite happy with that. She also wanted to constantly "boop" (poke) him in the nose...really cute, but not such a good idea! :) We also had a great time with the Toland's in Gilroy, but will have to wait for any pics, as I havn't downloaded them yet!

Some fun videos...

These videos are about one month old (maybe a little more for the first one). I was planning on posting them as well as a few other things while we were on vacation, but I wasn't on the computer much due to some unforeseen circumstances. More on our vacation to the east coast later! :) For now, enjoy Linnea, who has grown up so much more even since these videos!

Technically, I think these stickers are from Grammy AND Grampy... so sorry Grampy for leaving you out! :(


This is often Linnea's interaction with Hannah these days, and it is quite adorable! I wish I could have captured more how Hannah likes to be Linnea's little mommy, but you can sort of hear it in her tone of voice!


And last but not least, Linnea's harmonica jam session with Daddy!

Pride Goeth Before the Fall

That would be from Prov. 16:18, and let me tell you, I have been experiencing some serious falling the last couple of days!

...It all started with me sitting in the doctor's office and watching a clip from Accent Living on "Toddlers and Temper Tantrums." I was shocked at the terrible wordly advice being given, and the horribly behaved children being shown as a demonstration of what they called a "normal stage in life that all parents will have to deal with." They were saying that parents simply need to be prepared for these "fits" and to accept them for what they are.

The basic thinking is that a parent needs to identify why their child is throwing a fit and change the circumstances to help him cope better....i.e. - make sure they get enough sleep, give them foods they enjoy eating while still trying to be healthy, try not to do things you know will upset them, etc. The kicker came when she said, "Temper tantrums are really just a normal and even healthy stage of development where a toddler is learning how to assert himself and gain some control of his life."

WOW! And what made me really sad was watching the woman sitting near me nodding at this and buying into it. I wanted to yell..."It's called SIN, and yes, ALL toddlers will be born with it, but they need to learn obedience and submission to authority, they need to be taught the gospel and how sin separates them from God, and they need to understand that their sinful actions result in consequences, not in a change of circumstances that is more to their liking!" No, they won't understand the depths of these things at such a young age, but the training begins here.

Ok...so these were some of my thoughts. And here is where the pride begins to seriously take route. I begin to think to myself, "Wow, Linnea never throws tantrums like that, because we have taught her that that is disobedience to Mommy and Daddy and disobedience to the Lord, and there will be consequences for her actions." I'm thinking we are doing a pretty good job right about now. Sure, there are days where I wonder if she will ever stop sinning and I am at a loss at how to be a godly mother, but overall, I was pretty proud of myself.

So I think the Lord decided to crank things up a notch for Aaron and I. :) Defiance and rebellion have been rearing their ugly head in Linnea, and "no" has officially become a very tempting word for her (you see...I thought this would never be a problem, because she "knows better"...haha...you see this great pride of mine!?). She enjoys throwing things when told she can't have something she wants and she likes to hit mommy and run away after she has already been spanked for something. I then start to wonder what went wrong, and feel like I'm losing any wisdom I may have had!

And this is where the serious humbling comes in. WHO AM I to think that I can control or change my daughter's heart?!? Yes, I am called to be faithful in training her up in righteousness, but I have no right to think that any change in her is because I am a "good" parent. I am starting to realize that it's true...she really is COMPLETELY in the Lord's hands, and no matter how badly I want to see her defiant, rebellious heart change towards me (and ultimately towards God), I can do nothing but bring her before the throne of grace, begging the Lord to save her little soul (as soon as possible, I usually pray!)

THEN I read an incredibly fitting post on my sister's blog! She copied and pasted a post by Kevin DeYoung, which not only gave me a good laugh, but gave me some great things to think about! I would highly recommend taking the time to read it. What I came away with is that above all, I am responsible to love my Lord and Savior so much so, that my children can witness that love on a daily basis. I want the gospel to be lived out in my life. I can't control Linnea's heart, plain and simple, but I CAN love her with the love of Christ. I am going to fail many times as a parent, or shall I say I already have, but that is where the beauty of the sovereign power of God lies...He promises to work even through my imperfections, and her salvation is in HIS hands, NOT mine!

So, after one of the hardest mornings yet for poor Linnea, who had a few spankings and three periods of sitting on her bed, I am officially humbled, leaning on the Lord for strength and wisdom, and SO thankful that HE is faithful to work out His perfect plan through imperfect me, even when it comes to parenting! May He continue to dig the pride out of me, and keep me on my knees before Him!

Photo Update!

Here are some pictures from the last month or so! Enjoy...

Linnea's first Easter egg hunt!

Sometimes getting ready on Sunday mornings is for some reason an emotionally difficult task....

...Thankfully once she knows we are leaving, she cheers right up!

First time in her "big girl bed"!

Having Hannah over for a sleepover...they stayed up way too late! :) ...And so it begins...

Trying on Daddy's shoes!

This would be one of our happier Sunday mornings! :)

On our way to Glendale to hear her little sister's heartbeat!

And that about sums it up! I know...I'm sorry...there are no pictures of Mommy and Daddy! We will have to make sure and get some of those next time. :)

This is Beautiful....

I read this quote on girltalk a week ago, and it blessed me immensely. Evey word is beautiful, and I pray it encourages you as it has encouraged me...whether in the little or big trials.

"My grace is sufficient for thee." 2 Corinthians 12:9

"God's grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and trials of believers. Saints bear up under every discouragement, believing that all things work together for their good, and that out of apparent evils a real blessing shall ultimately spring--that their God will either work a deliverance for them speedily or most assuredly support them in the trouble, as long as He is pleased to keep them in it....He who would glorify his God must set his account upon meeting with many trials. No man can be illustrious before the Lord unless his conflicts be many. If then, yours be a much-tried path, rejoice in it, because you will the better show forth the all-sufficient grace of God. As for His failing you, never dream of it--hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted to the end." Charles Spurgeon, Morning & Evening, March 4, morning.