Tyler's Big Boy Room!

After Christmas we decided it was time to move Tyler to his big boy bed! We have had his bed and bedding for awhile and after we got back from traveling we went mattress shopping. The day we brought the mattress home, Tyler was SO excited we were setting up his bed. He just kept saying, "I want to go night night!" He has really done great in the transition to a big bed and I'm so glad. I was a little worried, especially about nap time. The first week we had to discipline him for getting out of his bed at nap time, but since then he really hasn't tried to get out. If he does, he knows he is going to get in trouble. His room is a work in progress, but I like how it has turned out. I went with a fishing theme and wanted to create a cabin type atmosphere. I bought bedding that he can grow up with even if we take all of the fishing stuff down. He is so proud of his new bed!

Tyler ready for bed!

A view from the doorway.

A closeup of the bed. Eventually the boys are going to share a room and I already have bedding that matches for Cooper. We are planning on buying the same bed for Cooper when we move him to a big bed.

The kids table where they color, read books, and work puzzles. I put decorative fish net up and hung old fishing lures all around it. I'm using it as a bulletin board and hanging the kids art from the hooks in the lures. This is one of my favorite parts of the room.

The bookshelf is now by the door.

We moved the train table from the gameroom into his room at the foot of his bed. This is the wall that is still a work in progress. It is just such a big empty wall. Any suggestions are welcome!

B-I-B-L-E

The Lord has done great things for us...

... And we are filled with JOY! (Psalm 126:3) About a month ago we had our last service in our old church building. We recently moved into an amazing building where our whole church meets together. Anyway, during that last service our pastor talked about why we should take the time to remember what God has done in the past. He said that it allows us to show our gratitude towards God and helps us trust him for the future because of his faithfulness in the past. He went on to tell the history of our church and the amazing things God has done for us and through us. Anyway, I thought it was an amazing sermon and I thought it would be nice to remember what God has done for our family this year. I'm going to be honest...it has been a tough year for us, but through this year God has shown his faithfulness to us and his provision in incredible ways. He has strengthened us as a family and shown us His great love for us.

In January we started our Dave Ramsey cash budget and I'm so glad we did! We would have never made it through this year if we hadn't really gotten our finances in order. It isn't always easy to stick to the budget, but we have been blessed by being faithful. In March we decided that we were going to use some savings and bonuses Travis received to add on to the family room to try to help the house sell. God had another plan and we decided to give the money to our church building fund that we had committed to a couple of years ago. Read the full story here. Back to that in a moment. In June we realized that Travis was going to be out of work soon and we began praying about what God would want him to do. Travis felt like God was calling him to farm, but I wasn't totally sold. We made a trip to Harlingen to visit and God spoke to my heart and gave me a verse (Deuteronomy 6:18) as an answer to our prayers. "Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers!" So we decided as a family that we would move to Harlingen and he would join his father and uncles on the farm. If you haven't heard the full story you can read it here.

After we made the decision to move we felt like God would sell our house quickly and the farm would have a great crop to allow us to easily join the farm. Boy, were we wrong!!! In July a horrible hurricane blew through the Rio Grande Valley and completely wiped out the farms cotton crop. It was devastating to the farm and we just couldn't understand what God was up to. Zac let Travis know in August that he would have to let him go at the end of September and so we decided that we would move in October because we would have no income here. Needless to say, the farm really wasn't in a great position to bring us on because of the devastating year they experienced. In September, Hurricane Ike blew through the Houston area and was more of an annoyance than anything to us. Little did we know, God was going to use this storm to provide for our family. Travis got several jobs to repair homes that suffered damage from the storm. Out of that work and through word of mouth, he has gotten numerous referrals for additions, remodels, and repair. In October, we got great news in that a family was going to lease our house for 18 months with the potential to buy at the end of that time. We were thrilled and decided we would be moving in mid-January. Unfortunately, a couple of weeks later we were once again devastated! They decided to cancel the contract and move elsewhere. We really were heartbroken and couldn't understand why God would do this to us! During this time I remember our pastor saying during several services that in the end God is going to be proven faithful. He is always faithful to us, even when it doesn't seem like it at the time. Well, I definitely wasn't feeling it at the time!!! Through the next couple of months we had a couple of second showings and of course we (or probably more like I) would get my hopes up and nothing would happen. But even looking back now, I can see God's faithfulness to us through this year. He was faithful to provide for our family when we didn't know where our next months income would come from. He was faithful to us and allowed us to meet in our new church building that we sacrificed and gave money towards- if we had moved in October as we originally thought we would have not been able to attend church in our new building. And I believe that he will be faithful to us and sell our house in the future- in his time. God has provided so much work for Travis that we think we will be able to stay here until the end of the summer. And we are believing God for a great year on the farm that will allow better circumstances for us to join his father and uncles. We are already praying for the crops that they haven't even planted yet! I believe that this entire year has also been preparing us for the lifestyle that we will lead as farmers. We will have to completely depend on Him to take care of us. We won't have a definite paycheck every year, but that doesn't matter because I know that he is going to take care of my family.

This year has been an emotional one, but God has taught us so much. God has taught us how to give up control, how to completely depend on Him, and just how much He really does care for us. We are so blessed!

Trip to the Zoo!

Today I ventured out early this morning with the boys and headed to the Houston Zoo! We got a family membership to the zoo for Christmas- thanks Hoovers! It was a beautiful day for the zoo and was not crowded at all. Tyler has been begging to go back to the zoo since September when we went in Tyler while we were evacuating from Hurricane Ike. Tyler loved every minute of it, while Cooper was more hesitant. He liked seeing everything from the stroller or from my arms, but the minute an animal got to close or made a loud noise he came running back to me. In the children's zoo they have some large signs with buttons you can push to hear the animals sound. The sounds are pretty loud and it really sounds like the animal is right there next to you. When Tyler pushed the cow and a loud Moooooooooo came out, Cooper freaked out and would not stop crying. It was pretty funny. We had a picnic lunch while we were there and then headed home soon after. We got home and we ALL crashed! If we all need naps then you know we have had a fun day!

Tyler checking out the llama. Eat the food, Tina! (I just had to include that movie reference!)

Tyler poking his head out of the prarie dog holes. Cooper wanted to go in after he saw Tyler do it, but when I tried to get him to crawl in he chickened out.

Watching the zookeepers feed one of the animals.

Tyler is not quite tall enough to be a giraffe! Maybe one day.

When we were at the Orangutan exhibit the male came over to the window and just sat there and stared at us. Tyler got right up in his face and talked to him and I got the best picture with him!

Christmas Part 2

Travis' parents came in town on New Year's Eve to celebrate Christmas with all of their kiddos. On New Years Eve they babysat our kids so we could have a date. We rang in the New Year with some Pappadeaux and a movie. It was great and we enjoyed our time together. On Thursday, Ross and Kim, Kelsey and Charlie, and some surprise visitors came to the house to celebrate Christmas. Everyone except Richard and Cheryl knew that Kristi and her family were coming to complete the celebration. Kristi and Josh live in Jacksonville, Florida and we are rarely all together anymore. It was a great surprise and we had a lot of fun together. On Friday we all headed to Katy to Ross and Kim's and that night all of the girls headed to a baby shower for Kelsey. We spent the night Friday and then headed home one tired family! Here are some pictures from our time together:

Grandma and Papa with all the grandkids. We can't wait to add Callie in April! (This is the best picture I could find of all of them.)

Cooper ready to open presents.

Cade, Bailey, and Tyler ripping open their presents!

Cooper looks very serious about opoening his gift!

Christmas Part 1

Last week we traveled to Tyler to celebrate Christmas with my family. My family and my mom's four sisters and their families get together every year Christmas. There were a ton of people there this year and it was a little chaotic at times with the kiddos, but overall they did fantastic with all the commotion. The boys had fun opening presents and Tyler kept asking to open more presents throughout the afternoon. Unfortunately, I didn't have anymore presents for him to open. In fact, we still have presents under the tree for the Johnson side of the family and he managed to open one of those Monday morning! I was blow drying my hair and I turned off the dryer to hear a strange noise that I couldn't identify. I went to go check on the boys and realized it was the shredding of paper as he ripped through the wrapping paper. I managed to stop him before he actually opened the box! What a stinker! The boys got a Ford F-150 Power Wheels Truck from my parents that they LOVE! Tyler drives Cooper around in it and Cooper controls the radio. They have driven that truck non-stop since they opened it. It was definitely the highlight of their Christmas!

On Christmas Eve before bedtime in their Christmas PJs. (This was the best picture I could get!)

Papa putting the truck together. He has had the box for weeks and decided about 10:00 on Christmas Eve night to open it. That is when he realized they actually had to assemble the truck! DUH!

Papa and Daddy working hard.

Tyler was very excited about finding out what Santa brought him.

Cooper ready to open his stocking.

Tearing into his stocking!

Cooper was so excited about his animal crackers we had to open them immediately and have some. They didn't last long!

Opening presents!

Cooper opening his basketball goal.

Tyler seeing the truck for the first time. Priceless face!

Going for a joy ride.

My favorite pic!

Merry Christmas from the Johnsons!

Best Buds!

Tyler and Cooper had some friends come and play with them on Monday. Here is Natalie and Tyler enjoying some lunch together. Natalie is one of his best friends and he loves her so much! In fact, he has been carrying the Murthas Christmas card around for the past couple of days and everytime we ask him if the Murtha girls are his girlfriends he gets the goofiest grin on his face!!! It cracks us up.

CHEESE!

17 Months!

I can't believe my baby boy is 17 months!!! He is going to be 2 before I know it. I really don't know where the time has gone. I think the first year of his life is pretty much a blur anyway, because I was so busy between both of the kiddos. Cooper is really turning into a big boy. He is trying more and more to say new words and he nods in the cutest little yes and no when you ask him questions. He and Tyler are interacting more and love playing together (as long as Tyler is being nice)! Cooper is a great brother to Tyler. He always loves to bring him his juice cup or toothbrush and is very good about sharing toys with him. He is a BIG snuggler! Travis and I are always trying to get him to snuggle with us instead of the other one. He loves to give kisses and he will even let you rock him a little before bed. His favorite foods are Pizza, Peas, Fettucine Alfredo, and French Fries! Obviously, not a big fan of the healthy foods. He gets so excited about Pizza and he says, " Zza, Zza, Zza"! Here he is enjoying Pizza night at our house:

Pizza, Pizza!

Happy Boy!

Cheers!

A Christmas Miracle!

IT'S SNOWING!!! It has been snowing in Houston since around 4 o'clock and it is still coming down right now. Yesterday it was seriously 80 degrees and we had the A/C cranking. Today it is freezing and snowing! Only in Houston! We drove to church tonight in the snow and it was so beautiful! I told Tyler this afternoon that it was snowing and I got him all excited about it, but I don't think he really understood why it was so exciting! I'm sure by tomorrow it will all be melted away and the A/C will be back on, but tonight we are going to enjoy the snow!

Thanksgiving Part 2

On Thursday morning we packed up the kids and all of our junk and made the 7 hour drive to Oakville to spend Thanksgiving with Travis' family. We were all glad to get out of the car once we arrived. Most of our family knows my great love for Oakville, for all of you others I will share the story. The first year we were married we spent Thanksgiving with Travis' family. They always go to Oakville and spent the long weekend at a house that has been in my mother-in-law's family for many years. Travis' grandmother lived there as a young girl and the house has remained in the family, but no one currently lives there. Over the course of the long weekend there are up to 50-60 people that come and hang out. Most people camp out in tents on the land or find a spot in the house to sleep. One other thing- only one bathroom!!! Remember 50-60 people come and hang out. Since then they built another bathroom on the outside of the house. So back to our first year of marriage. My in-laws had pity on me and rented a hotel room for the girls in Travis' immediate family, but the last night there weren't enough people sleeping in the house to justify spending that last night in the hotel. So I slept on an aero bed in the living room of the house. Let me insert something here: During the day we had seen several mice running around the living room floor, so some mouse traps were set. The house also has wood floors. Back to the story: So that night while trying to fall asleep I hear SNAP (the mouse trap) and beating against the wood floor (the mouse trying to get out of the trap). Well, later that night I feel something move across my neck. Of course I totally freaked out!!! I swear that it was a mouse, but of course Travis and everyone else likes to give me a hard time and try to convince me otherwise. Since that time everyone gives me a hard time and everyone in my family wants to see pictures of the house and where we stay. So here you go!

The boys absolutely loved every minute they were there! They had so much attention and they could just run wild outside. They rode four wheelers and Tyler went hunting with the guys (he rode in the truck). Tyler was so upset when we told him we had to go home. The boys were completely exhasuted from the week. They slept most of the ride home and then Tyler asked to go bed at about 6:30 last night! Unfortunately we got some sad news when we got home. Travis' grandfather passed away yesterday afternoon. It wasn't totally unexpected, but it was still hard to hear all the same. So we will be back on the road tomorrow afternoon to attend the funeral. His grandfather was a wonderful man and we will be celebrating his life.

The infamous living room!!!

The other side of the living room

And the other part of the living room.

The side of the house

Front part of the house

Cooper sitting for a moment

Papa Pappy riding the four wheeler

Everyone brings chairs to sit around the porch and campfire. We were all sitting around one day and Tyler found a chair just his size and pulled it in the circle!

Daddy and his boys going for a ride.

Kevin was practically begging to make the blog! Are you happy now, Kevin?

Papa Pappy and two of his #1 fans!

Cooper ready for bed!

Shelby- one of the boys cousins.