Protective Parenting Mode

So last night, we're chilling in bed winding down for the night. I'm on my laptop doing some work, and the baby maker is falling asleep. Pretty normal until... THUD!

I heard/felt what sounded like somebody jumping out of a tree onto the roof above our bedroom. As I'm going into Ninja mode looking for the nearest weapon of choice, Beth rolls over and says "Is it 8:35?" I'm like "Screw what time it is - Spiderman's about to get stabbed with this candle holder!" She rolls back over and says "If it's 8:35, the space shuttle just landed in Cape Canaveral."

Candle holder in one hand and alarm clock cord in the other (to strangle, then stab), I whirl around to see that it is indeed 8:35. However, lesson be learned. Next time the Tortuga from Lady in the Water tries to break through our roof and steal our unborn child, I'll be ready.

*Disclaimer - My wife was groggy and half asleep, so if asked she may not recall the true readiness of her husband and verify the details of this story.

Visit with the Flanigans

Our good friends Andy and Melissa Flanigan stayed with us this past weekend. They are from Chicago and are spending the week in Southern Florida for Spring Break, but flew through Orlando to spend a few days with us. It was so much fun to have them! We spent time outside (as much as we could - it was a rainy weekend) went to Downtown Disney, had fires in our firepit out back, grilled out etc.

We had a great Easter at church and I served brunch back at the house. This is the first Easter my mom and dad have been apart since they got married. My mom is currently in China, so we had my dad over as well. It was a great day!

~Beth

The Emotions of a Pregnant Woman...

I started crying standing in front of the peaches at the grocery store the other day. I can't really explain it, I just felt overwhelmed. There were two many options and so many of them were bruised! Luckily Justin was with me. I'm sure it looked hilarious to the other shoppers that two people were hugging in the produce department. :)

3rd trimester

Well, I am now in my third trimester. While overall it feels like I've been pregnant for years, the individual weeks have certainly flown by. I can't believe that in 11 weeks or so he'll be here. The aches and pains of pregnancy have started in full force. While it's pretty painful, it's also so exciting to experience all of these different feelings! It's been SUCH an adventure. I definitely feel him move a lot but I think his personality is going to be more like his Dad's - Keller seems to be laid back. :)

Here's a pic of me at 28 weeks. Sorry that it's out of focus -- I thought my husband was a photographer but apparently.... :)

Things are going really well at home. Justin is still really enjoying his job and likes being at home to get little things done throughout the day. I'm busy at my job training other people on my tasks so that they can do them when I'm out for maternity leave (tentatively scheduled May 26 - August 14).

We have visitors coming this weekend and then also next weekend - more about them later. For the next 6 weekends we have pretty big events planned. I think that this time is going to fly by! I'm really trying to enjoy every day of it...

~Beth

Heidi and Ava's Visit

So one of my best friends - Heidi Dekorne - and her little girl Ava (10 months old, not 11) came into town this past weekend from Grand Rapids, MI. Her brother and his family live 20 minutes from us so I've been able to see her a few times. We spent the day together on Saturday and it was so much fun! It's so refreshing to spend a lot of time with good friends who you don't get to see that often.

Here are some pics from our time together. (note how natural Justin looks with a kid in his arms :) )

Avery's going home!

One of my best friends - Erin Olson -had a darling girl named Avery on February 15th. Avery was 7 weeks premature and weighed 2 lbs. 14 oz. She's been in the NICU ever since. Well, we just got word that she gets to go home today! Congratulations Josh and Erin!

~Beth

The Current "Kids"

So, currently we have two "kids" at the Johnson house. Lynch just turned 5 and Kaia is going to be 4 in a month. It's hilarious how unique their personalities are. We've really come to love them like crazy over the years.

Cats are very territorial animals as some of you may know, so we're trying to "prep" them as much as possible before Keller comes. We won't be able to do that much because they can't smell and hear him, but we're able to do some stuff to prepare. I won't go into it because it's a little embarrassing, but let me just say that we are trying to make the transition smooth for all parties involved. :)

I think Lynch already loves Keller:

And Kaia will hopefully get there someday:



~Beth

Changes at the J House

So...as some of you know, it's been an exciting couple of weeks for us. I'll skip all the gritty details and just say that Justin now has a new job! He's a Project Manager for a Digital Media company. He's going to be self-employed so he'll be working from home. He's really been enjoying it so far which has been such a blessing.

I've been feeling GREAT! I'd always heard how wonderful the second trimester is - and I've been experiencing it full force. I'm at 26 weeks today, so in just a few weeks I'll be in my third trimester. These weeks have flown by. Keller is an active little guy and it has been unbelievable feeling him move around. It's been more amazing than I ever thought it would be...God has been very good to us. They did Baby Dedication at church today and it was amazing to think that in just a few months we'll be up there. Here's a recent pic of my belly ....