I think I feel like blogging... a little.

Just to recap some things from last year... 2009 for those of you that get a little confused by that. haha. The holidays were really nice. My sister & family came down for Thanksgiving. I enjoyed having all of them here. When they left, it felt wierd to have the house so quiet again.

Christmas was good too. We went to TN the weekend before. Although my weekends there are always hectic, it makes me SO happy to be with my friends & family. I like to be busy and well, Macon, GA just ain't the place to do that. Maybe I will get my 'moving' miracle THIS year. :)

Mom, Dad & Santa were VERY good to Kailee & Madelynn this year. :) Somehow they manage to make the nice list no matter how naughty they are throughout the year.

This was the first year in our entire marriage that Lance actually stayed awake to see the ball drop. HAHAHA! So after kissing our girls & each other, we went to bed. Lame, I know... but so much better than out partying with the crazies of the world.

So far, the new year has been good. Nothing exciting has happened... but nothing bad either. Not for us anyway. We are planning on coming to the youth thingy (not sure if it's a revival or what.) at Antioch Valentine's weekend. Sister Cox is preaching. If you can come, you should. She is SO awesome!!!

Guess that catches everyone up for the most part.
Hope January is being kind to you all!

Until next time...

BYE 2009!

2009 has been craaaaaaazy.

Although I hate to see the holiday season end, I'm SO ready for a new year.

Bring it 2010!

What I want...

Every now and then, I get these wild hairs and think 'I'm going to come up with a great invention and be a millionaire!' or 'I'm gonna make a demo, someone's going to discover me and I'm going to be a famous singer... and be a millionaire!' or 'I'm going to come up with a great home business for stay at home moms and make millions.'

Haha! Those things will probably never happen but I like to dream.

I thought I'd list some of my dreams.


1)As a child, I always said I'd be a teacher. I don't know why... because I ALWAYS hated school. Something about being the teacher appealed to me though. I always enjoyed helping decorate the class, staying after school to help the teacher clean or grade papers. It was a lot of fun. While I wouldn't go back to college to become a teacher now, subbing interests me. Maybe one day...

2)Using my skills as a massage therapist. The thought of having to take the board freaks me out. I've forgotten most of the information they crammed into me in less than a year. After going to my first professional massage therapist in May, I know my skills are MUCH better than her's. My RA wouldn't allow me to work full time but part time would be great. There's excellent money in it. Maybe one day...

3)I'd love to go to school for esthetics and incorporate it into a massage therapy/spa type business. I love facials, body scrubs, etc. It'd be something I'd enjoy doing. I'd like to be able to hire my nieces to come help me out. Maybe one day...

4)CSI. I want to be a crime scene investigator. I love crime. That sounds warped, huh? It just interests me. I don't like the evil of it of course but to be able to go in, investigate a crime scene and help catch the criminal.. it interests me. :) Maybe one day...

*sigh* Maybe when both my girls are in school, I can do all of the above. :0D

Maybe...

Time for an update????

Maybe later. :0)

I told you HE was able!

I got a text from Jodi earlier. She said that the surgeon told them he is confident that Johnny will make a full recovery over time. It could take up to 6 weeks for the blood to absord.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

FULL COVERY!!! PTL!

Johnny Bare

April 1990. We moved in at 894 Irma Drive.
That's when I met the Bare family.
Jodi specifically. We are close in age.

So many memories.

Almost 20 years.

Johnny Bare is 57 years old. He recently retired early.
He & his wife, Barbara, sold their house of 30 years on Irma Court.
They moved to the Atlanta area. Roswell specifically.
Barbara's mom is 85 and in her final years. She wanted to help care for her.

With all their children grown, in stable marriages with stable jobs, their own lives, they packed up their life in Tennessee and moved 4 hours away.

John just bought a boat. He's always loved to fish.

He, his wife & sister in law/Barbara's sister, Patsy, took the boat out on the lake Sunday. November 8th. I wonder if they ever thought they'd retire and move away to GA. Enjoying their 'golden years' together.

After spending some time at the lake, they prepared to leave. John collapsed. Unconscious.

Several years back, I remember him having a brain tumor. It was inoperable.

John suffered a stroke that day. They found bleeding around his brain. He has paralysis on his right side, he's unable to speak & aspirates on liquid.

The doctor has said the damage is permanant.

John is aware of what is going on. He cried when the speech therapist tried to work with him. He cried when the doctor said the stroke was severe and the damage is permanant. He cried when his children came into the room.

He expected a new life. A life of relaxation, leisure. Whatever he wanted to do.

This whole situation makes me so sad.

Since being in the hospital, he's had an MRI showing the bleeding has stopped. He had some swelling as well but that has since stopped. He has experienced some discomfort. He is only able to take liquid tylenol at this time. He sleeps alot. His blood pressure has been unstable. They feel it could be from over-stimulation. He's also had a fever but that has stabilized.

I know when your parents are in such a situation, you feel like you have to be the strong one. They have 3 children. Jessica, Josh & Jodi. I know that they must be feeling overwhelmed. They must be wondering why they are going through this. I'm sure they're wondering where they go from here. How much of this is really permanant? What is life going to be like now?

I honestly don't see how people make it without the Lord. I'm so glad that this family has faith in God. They know where their help will come from. They know who to call on.

As long as there's breath, there's hope.

Miracle. John needs a miracle.

With God, ALL things are possible.

Stroke is just a word to God.

By His stripes, we ARE healed.



Everyone who's reading this & believes in miracles that only come from a mighty, merciful, amazing God - please pray for this family. Pray for healing, strength, comfort & peace. Pray for the medical staff caring for him. Pray that this situation can be a testimony to unbelievers. God is more than able.

Excitement, stress, sadness, uneasiness, disappointment, frustration, aggravation, grief...

Those are all the things I felt this past weekend. I don't feel like posting about it all right now. A lot of it, I'd rather forget.

GA Fair

If any of my TN friends have ever been to the TN state fair, or even the Wilson County Fair, the GA fair totally puts those to shame. This fair is HUGE. 5 times bigger than any other fair I've been to.

Lance got off a little after 12 today, we got ready and loaded up for the 30 minute ride to Perry, GA. Kailee was very excited to be going to the fair. We made sure to tell her over & over that if we were going to pay for the tickets, she was NOT going to chicken out and not ride anything.

After buying tickets, which were $1.00 a piece(!), we scanned the rides and decided what was worth forking our tickets over for. I paid $20 for 22 tickets. Each ride averaged 3 tickets. We gradually figured out that Madelynn couldn't ride ANYTHING (due to height restrictions) except the carousel. Major bummer. Lance went down a big slide with Kailee and Madelynn was not happy to be waiting on the outside.

We had to convince Kailee to only ride/do things ONCE. It was such a rip off. Kailee was just under the line to be able to do things alone. Next year she should be over the line - but this year she fell on the 'must have an adult ride too' category. Grr. And to top it off, they wanted 3 tickets from Lance/Me too! COME ON! Do they really think we get a thrill out of kiddie rides? Certainly not. Those people are making a fortune, which I guess is the point.

Typically, we have no problem going past all the random vendors who insist YOU NEED to win a prize for your children. Well, there was this very witty guy who was guessing weight/age/birth month. I thought, okay, I'm a pretty curvy girl but I'd like to think I hold my weight well so I think I can trick him. He was soooooooo close but I got him. I was a little offended that he got so close but I set myself up for it so I'll deal. Haha. When I approached the scale, he said 'you know you're not small but you got it all.' HAHA. I like that. :)

After I won Kailee a cheap sword, Madelynn got a little upset she didn't have anything so Lance let him guess his weight. He got Lance! So of course, we had to try again for Madelynn's sake. The guy said even if he was wrong, he'd let Madelynn have whatever she wanted. We let him guess her birth month and he got it. He was good! We chatted with him a little bit because he was a friendly guy and then thanked him for ripping us off and were on our way. Haha.

I couldn't leave the fair without getting a funnel cake so once I got that, I was ready to head home. After 4 hours, it was getting a little chilly and the wind was a little brutal.

Tonight will be our first night using the heat. I think it's supposed to be 45.

I made a pot of homemade vegetable beef soup earlier today. It seems like the perfect night for it.

Well, hope you all have a great weekend!
That's all from me for now. Until next time...

Is it possible to catch up?

I can't believe it's been such a long time since I last blogged.

A lot has transpired over the last few months, I'm not sure I want to even TRY to catch you up on everything.

August, we took the kids to VBS @ TCOG in Antioch, TN. Kailee really enjoyed it.

September was Kailee's 4th birthday, Madelynn's 2nd birthday and the assembly. I wish I had another weekend to spend with everyone I got to see at the assembly. I didn't get much one on one time with people but it was nice to at least SEE them. Maybe we should have more than 1 assembly a year? HA!

October 7th was Lance's 40th birthday. He didn't want anything big so we only went to dinner. I don't think he was thrilled about turning the big 4-0 but he's healthy, strong and doesn't look his age so he should be thankful. :)

October 23th will be mine & Lance's 5th anniversary. We will be in TN during that time, preparing to renew our vows on the 24th. That's a little over a week away.

Other than planning a 2nd wedding and taking care of the girls, there's not much more to report.

I hope each of you are doing well and enjoying this Fall season. I love this time of the year. Today is the coolest day of the season so far. It's only 60 outside. That's fairly cool for GA. I LOVE it. I have the windows open. No air or heat running. Ahhhhh.

Tomorrow, we are planning on going to the fair in Perry, GA. It's about 30 minutes from here. It's also where I found the dress I'm wearing next weekend so hopefully it will be ready and I can pick it up then and not have to drive back on Saturday. We will see. I'm just glad I found something. I was getting worried.

That's enough from me. Until next time...

Look! I Blogged!

...and I changed my layout.

GO ME!

BreakTime

It's obviously been awhile since I've psoted. I've not been good at the blogging thing for awhile so I think I'm just gonna take a break from it.

Hope everyone is doing well.
Love each of you!

TTFN! (ta ta for now!)

I've decided to take a STAND...

...not knowing I'd lose some of my friends.
BUT I would rather live RIGHT, than in hell lift up my eyes!




I wonder what all will be risked when standing for the truth.
Some of us have been in different situations where we've lost those we thought were our friends. Some of us have lost property, church buildings, money.
Some of us thought we would lose our minds.

But after all of it is said and done, NONE of these things move me.

Thank you Jesus for truth. Not what I perceive to be truth but what is the actual, unadulterated truth of God's word. Nothing twisted, nothing false.

Thank you Jesus for complete peace... knowing that I know what I know what I know what I know. And I know what I know is completely in the Lord's hands and HE will take care of it all. I don't have to worry about any of it. I don't have to get in a huff. I don't have to ask 'where do we go from here?' HE is completely in control.

*sigh of relief*

Slowly but surely.

I've had several people ask about Daytona pictures. I am in the process of editing them. That takes awhile and it takes even longer when you don't feel like doing it. I will eventually get them done so CHILL. :)

Stare at these while you wait.










"I don't want my picture taken!"

...prayer...

I need it.
Thanks.

Who's a good blogger?

Not I.

I just haven't been in the mood.

Since I don't blog too often anymore, I just wanted to pop in and let you guys know that we will be making a trip to the beach. I'm not sure if we are leaving this afternoon, tomorrow morning or next week. HAHA! There's a story to all of that and I just don't feel like going in to detail. It's nothing bad - we are just tossing around some ideas. So anyway... Whenever I finally get down there, I will be sure to update with some photos of what all is going on while we are there.

The girls woke up at 530 this morning. I am so sleepy. I don't know WHY in the world they decided to get up that early but they did. Can we say 'EARLY NAP'?!

Wooooooooo. My eyes are blurry due to being sleepy so I'm gonna end this.

Have a good Tuesday!

PEACE

Well Hello There!

Yes, I know it's been quite some time since I've posted but really, why post when you do the same exact thing eeeeevery daaaaaaaay?

There's nothing to report from the Johnson home. Just being a mommy. That's it.

I have to go to the dentist today. It's funny because usually people panic over such but when you're with your children 24/7, it's almost like a spa treatment to lay in a dentist chair while they buzz away at your teeth. HA!

So anyway... just letting you all know I'm still alive.

I can't imagine.

Boxing champ Mike Tyson's 4-year-old daughter Exodus died Tuesday in a Phoenix hospital after accidentally getting her neck wrapped in a cord from an exercise machine at home.

"We are grateful for the tremendous outpouring of love and prayers from all over the world," Tyson says in a statment. "There are no words to describe the tragic loss of our beloved Exodus. We ask you now to please respect our need at this very difficult time for privacy to grieve and try to help each other heal."


Click here to read the entire article.

"This is gonna be a funny story to tell!"

That's what I was thinking as I was laying on the table getting my body wrap.

This past Tuesday was THE day for my spa day. I was so excited to be going to do something different and relaxing.

As I arrived at the place, I thought to myself, "I am in the ghetto." I found the place on the internet so I had no idea where it was or what it looked like except for the photo I saw on the website. The website was very nice so I figured the place must be as well. Don't get me wrong, the INSIDE was pretty nice but the outside was a little worrisome.

I parked my car and said a little prayer for it. I didn't want to go back out there to a busted window or my car sitting on blocks. HAHAHA. So I got out and had to walk from the back parking lot, down the sidewalk of a busy road and around to the front door. I TRIED to open the door but it was locked. I can't say that I blame them! I rung the doorbell and someone came to open the door. As soon as I was inside, she made sure to quickly lock the door behind me. LOL!

I filled out the appropriate paperwork and was called back. When I saw the girl that would be doing the massage, I wondered if she would be capable of deep tissue. She was 5 foot and MAYBE 100 pounds. Since being out of college, I had not had a 'professional' massage so I was really interested in seeing what her technique was and if I would be able to compete if by chance I decided to go to work one day.

2 words, I ROCK. 2 more words, SHE DOESN'T. I requested a deep tissue massage and got a quick, light massage. She didn't even turn me over and do the front of my legs and arms. BOOOOOOOOO! AND it was supposed to be 60 minutes and she only spent 30! GRRR! I was not relaxed.

After my massage, I was handed a robe and slippers and left to wait until the Doc was ready for me. I guess the lady is called a Doctor because she's a Chiropractor as well. Anyway... I waited a good 20 minutes in a room with no chair. My robe wasn't comforable and one of my slippers had a yellow stain. >:0s

The girl that did my massage finally came to get me to tell me the doctor was ready for me. I asked her if I was supposed to leave all my stuff in the room or bring it with me. I wasn't about to leave my purse unattended. She told me to just bring it with me. For those of you who may have a business one day that offers spa treatments, please make a place available for your client's things! There was no hook to hang my clothes, no safe for my purse, nothing. As I was grabbing my things, I was TRYING to keep my robe in place. The girl didn't even offer to help me. I was struggling to hold my robe, not lose my yellow stained slipper, carry an entire outfit, plus a purse AND shoes. UGH!

I hobbled over to the room and met the girl that was going to be doing my facial and body wrap. She was nice and personable. Although my massage wasn't great, I was hoping that the doctor/the owner of the company would make the remainder of my visit RELAXING. I was there to RELAX.

I was given my instructions and she left the room so I could get into place on the table. I was to lay facedown on a sheet of plastic. Well, when she came back in, I learned that I was on the table facing the wrong way so I had to try to peel myself off the plastic, hoping to not take it with me while getting up and then turn around and face the opposite direction. She didn't leave the room for this part. So while trying to PEEL off the plastic, I was half way around and accidentally kicked her. HA! Sorry lady. It was the least I could do for such an odd spa experience.

The body wrap was again, not such a great experience. The stuff she smeared all over me was kinda stinky. Oh, wait, I gotta tell you about the undies they gave me so if you're a guy and uninterested about what a spa treatment is like, skip the next paragraph.

I was given disposable underwear. I was thinking that they would be a COMPLETE pair of underwear. WRONG! It was g-string. AND you guys know I'm not a small girl. I think these undies were a size MEDIUM for my XXL booty so it was more like wearing a thong. NOT comfortable. SO try sliding onto a sheet of plastic in a disposable thong with someone in there watching you! I did have my robe over the top of me but STILL!

Okay, moving on. The point in the body wrap is to pull the toxins out of your body through your pores. I was laying on a heated table, on a sheet of plastic, with green stinky stuff smeared all over me - then she had me turn over, another difficult task, and smeared the stinky all over the front. After I'm thoroughly covered in green stinky stuff, I'm then wrapped like a mummy in plastic and 3 more layers of I don't know what. I COULD NOT MOVE! She said claustrophobic people can't have body wraps like that unless their hands are free. I'm not claustrophic but I was about to request to have my arms freed too.

After being 'placed back in my mother's womb', I was told that she would begin my facial since I had to stay wrapped for an hour. You would think that after 2 previous disappointments that I'd cringe at anything else coming at me but nooooo, I was hoping for yet another relaxing experience. GUESS WHAT! I was wrong. Ha.

My facial is started by hot, steamy mist blowing in my face. I do not like to sweat and to me, that is not part of a RELAXING facial. After being steemed for who knows how long, she rubs some stuff on my face, she checks my skin, explains a couple of things and then LEAVES THE ROOM! She left the room for 30 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You DO NOT leave someone on a heated table, wrapped in 4 layers with steam blowing in their face for 30 MINUTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could feel myself starting to go into panic mode. I was sweating. IT WAS HOT! I was starting to wonder if I'd be able to get out of the wrap if I needed to. I was wondering if I was going to need to yell for someone. I started to pray for her to come back SOON. LOL. I wasn't feeling claustrophic, I was feeling HOT! Way too hot! I had these little cotton things covering my eyes and I thought I'd probably feel better if I could just get those off. I shook my head to one side and one of the cotton things fell off. I shook my head to the other side and the other one fell off. Hahaha. About time I thought I was going to have to come up with a way of escape, she came back.

I don't think I'll be going back there. Although she did offer me a job...

So much for relaxing.

Mother's Day - Phase II

My mom is going to be here some time this afternoon.
Tomorrow I am going to have a SPA DAY! WOOHOO!
I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!
I can't tell you how bad I need it.

So tomorrow starting at 2pm...
60 minutes facial
lactic acid peel
60 minute deep tissue massage
60 minute body wrap

COME ON TUESDAY!

My Mother's Day Present...

If you haven't heard yet.

Volvo S80


(mine has a sunroof & 4 doors)