A Mom's Heart

LILY"S HERE!!!!

2009-09-20T19:53:00.006-05:00

Well I have I said throughout my pregnancy that Lily would be different than the other two because so many things in my pregnancy was different. I was very sick the first 4 months, felt pressure early on with her didn't gain as much weight and actually lost weight towards the end, and had Gracie and Ella at 38 weeks! VERY DIFFERENT! So I should have not been surprised about Friday. We went in Thursday night to be there early Friday morning to start the induction ( I have not had to be induced before). So Friday morning the doctor comes in breaks my water and we are all expecting a baby by lunch. Well Little Miss Lily had other plans. I would not progress in my labor even with my pitocin at max levels. All staff was surprised as well as my family. Hoping to get some sleep, I asked for the epidural with the hopes of helping things move along. I realize now that as much as I have wanted to deliver one of my children naturally the Lord answered. By the time I had Lily the epidural had worn OFF!! Glad He allowed me to get through the contractions! I am very thankful for my doctor and for the wonderful nurse the Lord provided for me. Their patience through Friday was amazing and really set my mind at ease. I just knew I was going to have to have a C-section. They were confident they could get the baby here without all that. The nurse knew just what to do to help her progress and to get me ready. She knew how bad I wanted something to drink so towards the end of my progression so she rewarded me with a popsicle. All I can say is that that was the best tasting popsicle I have ever had!!!!! 30 minutes later Lily was in the world!

There is no better feeling in the world to be able to see and hold the wonderful creation that the Lord has been forming inside of you for 10 months. Absolutely the best feeling in the world! As I look back on the long day and think about the many times I got poked with a needle (veins kept blowing), shaking excessively from the epidural, throwing up because of the medicine in my body and most of all the waiting, it was ALL WORTH IT!!!!!! I wouldn't take it back for the world.

She is so precious and such a gift from God. A miracle that has come from above. I am sometimes without words when I look at her and cannot help but just sit and thank the Lord for our precious miracle. Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement through the last few weeks. I was amazed how how many or our family members were able to share in this day with us and stuck with us until the end! We are so blessed to have friends and family like you all!

Here are some snapshots from the day, hope you enjoy!

Lily Claire Johnson

9lb 5oz 22 inches

10:02 pm

Ella was amazed that she was actually seeing Lily!

Gracie thought she was afraid of us because she wouldn't "come out"!

Her favorite thing to do know is sing to her especially when she is crying. She was so upset that she couldn't take her home with her that night!

Cass took off work and surprised me when she showed up to my delivery room! She is such a blessing to me!

Daddy came at 8:15 in the morning thinking she would be born early, little did we know! He stayed until she was born!

Couldn't say enough words about this special woman in my life! What a blessing she is to me and to my children! She has been the girls "babysitter" and they are loving it. She might need a vacation but what love she gives my children! I couldn't thank her enough!

My nurse and encourager! What a blessing!

Too cute!

So tired!

A little sisterly love!

Gracie showing Mary Katherine her baby sister!

Lily's great grandmother Gran

Ella does not like to hear her crying. She was loving on her telling her she would be okay!

The family of FIVE!!!

Awaiting Lily's arrival!!!

2009-09-06T22:34:00.004-05:00

So I decided that since the girls were always wanting to paint and get creative that I would let them paint my belly. All I can say is that it was an experience. Cass really painted the smiley face and we then let the girls do whatever they wanted. Of course all the paint ended up on me and not them. Gracie was really careful and Ella was well.. she was Ella. Hope you do not mind the bare belly!

Ella still thinks she has a baby in her tummy!

Too cute not to post!!!

And the fun begins!!!!

Ella is so concentrating on her part. She wanted to paint the upper half along with my shirt! Gracie was just so excited to be painting my belly.

The final masterpiece!

I cannot believe that in just a few short days, hopefully only days, that I will have three precious, amazing and beautiful girls! I have been truly blessed by the LORD!!!!!

Princess Tea Party

2009-09-06T21:23:00.029-05:00

I can remember a little over 4 years ago, waiting for the arrival of our first child. We were so anxious and nervous. Certain things started to happen and we were textbook ready. Everytime something happened we got out the book and read it. Like every birth is like the book!! We spent all day in the hospital on Sunday thinking I was in labor only to be sent home in despair. Six hours later I was back in the hospital ready to have her. So much for the doctors knowing when you are ready too! He said it would be at least a week before I had her. My mom and sister all went home only to get up at 3:00 the nest morning to drive back to Birmingham. They were in the parking lot when she arrived!

All this to say, even though I am about to have my third, I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I remember the way she looked and how she looked up at me for the first time. I didn't want to stop holding her and four years later I still do not want to put her down.

SHe told me the other day that she didn't want to grow up because she wouldn't be able to fit into my lap! I love those times! She is so much fun to be around and is always the life of the party. She loves to perform for everybody and is such a big helper. SHe is tenderhearted and has such a repentant heart. SHe loves to sing, dance, read books and play the guitar with her daddy! The truth is I do not want her to grow up but reality is she is! The Lord has blessed us with an amazing daughter and I am always reminded that she is HIS child. He has such a plan for her life and I cannot wait to see what that plan is going to be.

For her birthday we actually had 2 parties. Since all my family is 2 hours away, Ryan and I decided to drive to Evergreen and have a small family party so everybody would not have to drive to our house. She had so much fun! We gave her a bicycle and she did not want to get off of it. My mom also gave her a kitten. (Ella got one too since she got rid of her paci!) Those were the highlight gifts for sure. If those poor kittens last another month at our house we will be doing good! Here are some pictures from that party!

My dad and brother are popping Ella's toes! I can remember them doing that to me when I was little. It really hurts!

One proud little girl!

Singing Happy Birthday!

Getting everything adjusted!

He would kill me if he knew I put this on here. Ryan actually is the one that told Gracie she could have a kitten. I was shocked because Ryan does not like cats. He goes outside with the girls all the time now to pet them! He loves them!

Riding our bike a few days later.

We then had a Princess Tea Party on her actually birthday with a few of her friends. I wanted something a little less low key than in the past and for sure something that we could do inside! A friend of mine's mom had all the tea party accessories and the girls had a blast. It was all worth it when we decorated and Gracie saw it for the first time and her face lit up!!! I would do this again in a heartbeat! Here are some pictures from that party!

Tea party is set!

So many pretty princesses. We even had Belle come!

We actually had tea! Those girls drank that stuff up. They loved it. I think they mostly loved the sugar cubes and milk they could put in their tea!

WHo would have thought that a girl would be so excited about a tool set but this little girl was! She had been telling my mom for months that she wanted a tool set like Daddy's so she got her one that could be safe!

I decided to do something a little different this year. We made a craft. I got the girls to decorate a frame with rhinestones and Ryan printed off the picture we took of them. They then got to carry them home with a gift from the party. The girls were super excited and loved making the frames!

We had lots of fun and were all tired by the end of the day! THanks to all my family and friends who helped me get everything ready and cleaned up. I will have to post pictures later of Gracie's other favorite present. Cass came and painted polka dots on the wall in her room. She LOVES polka dots and was super excited about them.

Hopefully the next post will be about Lily's arrival!!!!!!

Twinkle Toes!!!!

2009-09-05T16:38:00.009-05:00

Well I have never been the most coordinated person in the world and to none of our surprise Gracie has taken after me. SO when she said she wanted to take dance I was a little worried about her coordination and how she would perform. I was totally surprised! SHe did awesome and I couldn't have been prouder! We went to get her outfit and she told everyone we passed in the store that she was going to be taking dance. We got back home and she immediately put on her leotard and shoes and would not take them off. THis was three hours before her class! While at class, she could not stop smiling. Concentrating the whole time on what she was suppose to be doing. I loved it! On the way home she thanked me numerous times for taking her. So worth it!

Ready to go!!!

She is in a small class with only four girls so she gets lots of attention!

Always watching her feet!

The bar is so much fun to her. They get to tell it "Hello".

SHe practices this move all the time!

This was her all time favorite thing in the world at dance class. She got to show different emotions and her favorite was grumpy! Every time we go back to dance she wants to do this!

All in all we had a great time and are ready to go back every week! I cannot wait to see her at the end of the year and all that she will accomplish!

Been a little busy!

2009-08-10T20:26:00.020-05:00

Well for some reason my pictures posted before the text and I am too tired to change them so oh well!

It has been a long time. Things have been a little crazy around here! We have had a little bit going on around here. Both the girls have gotten a "new"room. Ella was put in her big girl bed and received all new bedding and accessories. She has done really well in her bed except for getting up really early and coming downstairs and the times we have caught her in bed with Gracie just staring at her waiting for her to get up. I heard her go into Gracie's room one night and so I went up there to get her. I watched at the door where they could not see me. Gracie was reading books to her and being really sweet until Ella starting making some noise. Gracie kept telling her to be quiet and Ella just kept doing it so Gracie told her "when I tell you to stop that means stop!" Ella being the stubborn child that she is kept on so Gracie told her if you don't stop I will spank you with the spanking spoon. Ella stopped long enough for Gracie to continue reading and then started back. Gracie was at her last straw and told her if you didn't stop then she was going to tell Mommie she was out of her bed. Ella said no and I heard Gracie say, " Mommie Ella is out of her bed and in my bed!" really light so only the two of them could here what she had said. Ella thought she had been outed! I stuck my head around the door to see what they were doing and Ella saw me. She got up out of the bed and slammed the door in my face. When I walked in she acted like she was suppose to be in there. Priceless!!!!!!!!

Gracie has also got a new bed and bedding and she is so proud of it showing everyone that comes to the house. Her furniture is being painted as we speak and are excited about seeing the results.

I will have to post pictures of their rooms when I get a chance.

The girls in my family all went to the beach in the middle of last month and we had a blast. The kids all went (gracie, ella, addy, and bailey) and to our surprise none of them wanted to go the actual beach. We asked them several times but they always said NO! The place my dad has is really different from other places at the beach. The pool has a really nice kiddie section and a nice sized area of sand for kids to play in at the pool. Since the pool was extremely cold they spent most of the time playing in the sand. It beat having to haul everything to the actual beach and clean up was so easy. Just throw them in the pool!!! Addy learned to swim a little better and to use a snorkel and Gracie will actually go under water without being scared now! We accomplished a lot in just a few days! My brother came down to spend a night with us and I took some pictures of him on the beach with his kids. They turned out better than I thought especially since my nice camera ran out of battery and I was forced to use the one I carry in my purse. I will post some of these pictures.

So as you can see we have been busy! This is just a few things we have done. Getting ready for Lily is coming along although still slow! Maybe I can convince my Handy Dandy Helper (CASS) to come help me for a few days!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-07-18T09:13:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to make a quick post and tell Ryan HAppy Birthday! Thanks for always being so generous with your time for me and the girls. You are such a blessing to us and we appreciate all that you do for us! Hope this day is as wonderful to you as you are to us!

Beach TIme!

2009-07-16T20:57:00.022-05:00

Ryan, the girls and I got away this past week and it was so much fun! My dad has a place in Gulf Shores so we headed down there last week and enjoyed our time. If you know Ryan and I then you know we do not care that much about the beach beach. WE both hate the salt water and sand. Don't get me wrong I loved it growing up but there is something about having to get sand out of other people's crack that just turns me off! However, we go to the beach and get all sandy and even get in the water ( if you call getting in, your feet) all for the girls! They love the sand. The sacrifices that we make for them. Give me a pool at he beach and I am on vacation! The condo we were at had a really neat kids area in the pool. THe girls were pretty satisfied on being there so we divided our time between there and the beach. We were able to take some family pictures which is always fun with two little ones. Here are some of our favorites.

This is as far as we get into the water!

This kinda took her by surprise.

Who knows what we are doing here?

Loves Loves the sand!

She gets so tickled about things!

Family portrait. Lily is in there somewhere!

Sweet Sisters!

THey love their Daddy!

But not as much as they love their Mama!

So innocent!

What a beauty!

Not long before there is a third little tagalong.

Lily!!!!

Always wanting to play!

My Babies!

One of my favorites!

They can love on each other when they want too!

Sorry there was so many pictures. It was hard enough to narrow them down to these. Hope you enjoyed them. We are headed back to the beach on Sunday for a girls trip with my Mom, Sister, Grandmother, Addy and Bailey (poor thing). Maybe I will come back with some more pics.

A lot harder than I thought....

2009-06-22T08:46:00.003-05:00

Okay so this blogging thing is alot easier to just read than to actually post! We have been extremely busy around here at the Johnson household. I ventured off with our youth group for a week of summer camp. I swore that I would never do that again while being pregnant but I did. It was alot of fun and a very challenging week! The girls had a blast visiting with my family and doing everything from riding donkeys with Pop, to going to the park with Cass, to just being spoiled by Nana! They were not ready to come home.

We have been just as busy around here. Our pool went through a stubborn period where everything we tried we could not get it to turn blue. Finally we did the inevitable and had to drain it and refill it. I do not look forward to that water bill. We recently also did some major landscaping in our front yard and it has only lead to me getting up early most mornings to water the plants! I will appreciate them in about a year when I am not 7 months pregnant and standing outside in the humid atmosphere trying to help them survive. I cannot imagine what August is going to be like with the weather already at 100 degrees. I have done this once with Gracie and my poor ankles have never been the same!

VBS is in full swing around here. I am teaching the 2/3 year olds. I know, what was I thinking?!!!!!! I chose this group because so many times people think this age group is only about babysitting them but I am constantly amazed at how much these little ones can remember. Gracie memorized 26 Bible verses this past year in Awana and still knows them. She does so much better than her momma! We go from 5:30 to 8:30 every night. I do not know who was worn out more last night!

Lily is growing and getting bigger (because Mom is getting bigger). I am still trying to decide on what to use in her room. Ella is getting a new makeover in her room and getting a big girl bed. I need some prayers. She loves her sleep but she also loves to get up early some mornings. With the ability to get out of her bed, I might be in trouble. SHe is talking so much more now and loves to give out kisses. Gracie is still our lovable Gracie who loves to be in the crowd talking to people. We are trying to treach her how to swim without floaties. She is getting better. SHe jumped off the diving board the other day and has not stop taking about it.

I will have to post some pictures later since I forgot how to do it. I am so dependent on my husband when it comes to this area of my life!

TO my husband, THank you for being who you are to me and to your children. It is such a blessing to see you with our girls and to see how they love their daddy! You are not only the provider for our family but our protector and our leader. Watching you with our girls brings a smile to my face because of the love that you show them. THey look up to you and value what you tell them. I love the way that you have never backed out of parental duties such as changing dirty diapers, bathing the girls almost every night, and putting the girls to bed. THe many piggy back rides that you have given is far more than we could count. I cherish the fact that you desire to spend time with your girls together and individually. I look forward to the upcoming years of parenting three girls with you! THank you for being am amazing Father who models after his Heavenly Father. You are the best and we love you so much!!!!!

Finally I am posting!

2009-05-29T09:13:00.014-05:00

Well after I have officially had this blog for a year now I decided that it was about time to publish something on it. I guess I have finally found the time since mom has the girls until next wednesday. I am going to youth camp with our youth and I am missing them like crazy! Only 5 more days to go!

Most of you that will be reading this already know that we are expecting our third daughter in Sept. We are very excited!!! Gracie said when we went into the ultrasound that she just needed one more baby sister. I guess she got what she wanted. She also thought that baby Lily was coming out that day, She came over and held my hand and told me not to cry! Precious!

Ella just likes to show everybody my belly and kiss my belly. Things are for sure going to be different around here. I am trying to convince her that she is a Big girl and not a baby anymore. We are still trying to potty train. She loves to not wear a diaper and sit on the potty unless she actually needs to go. We are still working. She is not as easy as Gracie was.

We went to Disney a couple of weeks ago and had a blast. We were a little concerned that Ella might be too young but she loved it. The excitement on their faces when we they saw the castle was priceless. Ella got very good at waiting in lines. I wanted to buy a backpack leash for her and Ryan refused. He was right about her not needing it. I guess those first few spankings of her running off really did some good!

Here are a few pictures of out trip.

The girls seeing the castle! So excited!

We saw Mickey and Minnie several times and the excitement was always as if they has never seen them!

Gracie had been waiting very patiently to see Cinderella. She couldn't stop smiling.

Ella's face is priceless!!!!

She never took her eyes of his feet!

Having tea at Minnie's house!

We probably act like animals sometimes and need to be in a cage!

Well I guess I am officially a blogger! Hope you enjoy the journey of me documenting our family!