Back to School...

Summer came and went!  Wow!  We were mostly busy doing, well, not much!  Sweet.  We did have a new niece born to Blake and Crystal, Laura Anne.  That's pretty exciting!  The rest of the summer was pretty basic stuff, like camps and parks and the pool...  Lijah learned to ride a bike!  We had a nice time sleeping in and doing whatever we wanted to that day!  Now it's back to the old routine!

The kids are at Trinity Christian School again and are loving it.  Ruth's disappointed that we have a three day weekend because she'll miss school on Monday!  Heh!  Teachers are fun and awesome...  and this year the kids are old pros.  They went to school last year and are pretty comfortable now.  (The previous three years we homeschooled so sending them to school last year was big stuff!)

Kev is back to school, too!  He's teaching Bible again at TCS as well as doing their tech/computer work.  It's been a busy month of preparation for the new year!  But now they're all off and running!

I'm home with little Mr Adorable.  We hang out with the puppies and try new things like applesauce and cheerios, sitting and rolling all over the house, and reading new books and singing songs together.  It's a pretty good deal!  :)

our five out at Springlake Park

first day of school...  2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th grades!

Growing, growing...

Isaiah will be 4 months old on May 13th, Mother's Day, which is also the day he'll be dedicated at church!  He is growing sooo fast and is a happy, chubby baby.  Such a blessing to our family!  He's smiling and laughing and learning to use his hands to grab things...  Love that baby boy!

3 months old, with his monkeys

happy baby

Our family of seven after church on Easter Sunday

Blake, Crystal, Emma...  love these guys!

Gray Hair

Even to your old age and gray hairs 

    I am he, I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

    I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

Isaiah 46:4

I recently read this verse and thought of my parents.  So, even though we lived in the same town, just a few blocks apart, I wrote it out in a little note and sent it to them in the mail.  (My mom loves mail...)  She read it and said how she used to think that was far off...  now here it is.  


Now just last month, my parents moved into an assisted living home in Grand Forks.  God's timing.  We've been worried about them since we moved back to the states.  Mom's been in a wheelchair and needing extra help with things while Dad is in the early stages of Parkinson's Disease.  He continued to help her at home until he hurt his back/leg.  Then they were both in a wheelchair (or taking turns with the one they had!).  We called it.  


Together with my brother, Blake and his wife, Crystal...  we called around and found a place for them to live safely and easily.  Not in Williston.  They are on the waiting list for the place here but it will be a while before they move up and are able to move in.  They needed help right away.  So...  off they moved to Grand Forks where Blake and his family live!  They  had openings and would take them right away!  Crazy.  Unexpected.  Good.  Sad.  Relieved.


We'd checked into places here a year ago and thought they should get help and would eventually move in to a place here in Williston...  But off they went to the other side of the state.  My dad had been in pain for a month or so and to the doctors for a few weeks.  Blake and Crystal came to visit for Easter... and took them back with them!  


They are going to move down to the first floor in their building soon (from the third).  Someone's coming to help with dressing and bathing and diabetic needs.  They'll get help cleaning and with meds, if needed.  Meals are handy.  Both Mom and Dad have had Physical Therapy.  The people working there are treating them well.  They have their own little apartment and are having the walls painted with colors Mom picked out!  So overall, I think they're doing well.  But of course, they miss home.  And we miss them!  We'll make a few trips over there this summer to see them - and to meet our new baby niece who's due in July!  

Out to eat at Red Lobster for Mom's birthday!

I'm thankful they still are close to family able to enjoy them and that they're getting the help that they've needed.  But I'm mostly thankful that: 


Even to my parents' old age and gray hairs 
     God is He, God is He who will sustain them.
God has made them and will carry them;
     God will sustain them and will rescue them.

Breath

I love to feel Isaiah's breath as he breaths on my neck, or shoulder, or chest.  What is it about the simple inhale and exhale of air?  It's so peaceful and refreshing and good.

As I sat pondering that one day I got to thinking about the song Breath of Heaven.  How powerful is the breath of God?  Breathing life into creation.  Breathing truth and life into our lives still today.  Involved in our daily-ness.

In order to feel someone's breath, you need to be close to that person.  Maybe it's the intimacy of breath that's so sweet.  There's trust and tenderness in Isaiah's little baby breaths, or when I feel Kev breathing in the middle of the night...

Do I feel the tenderness of God's breath?  Am I close enough to enjoy that intimacy?

Pour over me your holiness.  Breath of Heaven...

Isaiah Mark!!

ok, so it's been a busy two months!  :)  let me introduce our newest blessing:

sweet baby boy

Isaiah Mark
January 13th, 2012
8 lbs 4 oz

He was born healthy, strong, and beautiful!   He even scored 10 on his initial apgar test!  We are all smitten!  He has slipped pretty easily into the Crawford bunch and is growing tall and slim so far!  We are enjoying smiles and coos now and getting about 5 hours of sleep between feedings at night!  He's growing fast!

all of us, just 2 hours after Isaiah's arrival!

I just have to look at Benjamin to see how fast this will go!  :)  Mr 13 this month!  He only has 5 more years with us!!!  Can that be right?  Ruth also had a birthday this month...  Little Miss 9 Years old!  And Elijah turned 7 just five days after Isaiah was born!  (his b-day was Isaiah's due date!)

Elijah's 7!

Ruth and the girls from her class celebrating at the park!

oh yeah, I had a birthday in Feb, too!!  :)

happy baby!

We have a growing family in more was than one!  Thankful for our newest Crawford!!

Soooooon?

about 38-39 weeks...  this is how Ruth thinks her mama looks!  :)

We are all pretty much ready to meet this little guy!  Hannie follows me around and asks if it's time yet.  "Are you having contractions?"  Elijah loves to feel the baby move and hiccup.  Ruth wants to be able to snuggle "like normal" again.  Benjamin just wonders how he'll get to his next basketball game, I guess!  Ha!  Waiting, waiting.  We thought he might come after Christmas.  I had some good, regular contractions...  but nope.  Still waiting.  Kev asks, "Did your water break?"  Nope.  Heh.  Not yet.  I'd like to be able to be myself again, too, but am trying to enjoy his movements and squirms.  Won't be much longer and he'll be right here in our arms hiccuping.  Exciting days are just around the corner at the Crawford house!

The other day Elijah whispered to my tummy while he lovingly rubbed it, "Soon you'll be here.  And I'll be your master..."  Ha!  We have a little Jedi waiting to find his place among the brothers...  :)  When Elijah was just born and still in the hospital, Benjamin came to meet him and whispered, "I'm your big brother.  And I'm going to take good care of you."  You can see where that's taken the two of them...  Master and Padawan!?  :)  Love our boys.  All three of them!  And our two little girl mamas, too!  (They'll help with everything - but diapers.  They heard boys spray!)

Merry Christmas!

Our Family on Christmas Eve

Christmas in Williston North Dakota!  Who would have ever imagined that we'd all be back in Williston to have another double Christmas with both our families!?  Wow.  Has it been 10 years since we've done that?  We usually do try to get to both our families to celebrate Christmas but this year everyone was right here.  Nice.  Otherwise we probably wouldn't have seen any of them unless they came to visit this 8+ month pregnant lady!  Heh.

The Johnson side of family 

We spent Christmas Eve at church with Kev's family and then at my parents' house for supper and presents.  It was great to be with them and also with my brother and his family.  Emma is two and a half and a busy, smart little curly headed girl.  The kids love their cousin!  We're fairly smitten, too.  Crystal is expecting again this summer and so between the two of us...  well, it's kinda pregnant city!  Ha.  My parents are also having some health issues and Mom fell a few times over the holiday.  That's kinda scary and makes us all concerned about their safety.  You can pray for them and us!  In our family picture at the top, Hannie and Kev are quickly turning their heads in response to her falling in the kitchen...  love my parents...

We enjoyed being together that evening, packed up and headed home to get settled much later than we usually do...  to get up and head over for more celebrations at Ed's and Sharon's place!  :)

Crawford side of family...  doing Nathan's smile!  :)

Kev's two brothers came up to spend Christmas with all of us while his other brother and his wife stayed in MO this year.  So we were just missing two of our family for celebrations.  The kids LOVED hanging out with their uncles.  We probably see these guys the least since they live in MO and OH.  But when we see them...  they are bffs!  :)  After breakfast and skyping with Scott and Saralynn, we all headed to OUR house and had a big double Christmas meal with both sides of our family!  I love that our families can do that.  Our kids are so blessed.  We are so blessed.

Double family Christmas dinner! 

Thankful for Jesus and God's grace and mercy this Christmas.  He is our greatest gift.  Everything we need...  Peace, Joy, Comfort, Wisdom, Hope...  baby in a manger.  He has blessed us with one blessing after another.  Merry Christmas!