#6

I'm sure you're asking yourself "what in the world does #6 mean?"  

Let me answer that for you - Sadie has been losing teeth every few months.  Tooth #6 is lose and has been for a few weeks now.  Tonight she comes into me and tells me that #6 is bleeding when she brushes it.  She says," what does the tooth bleeding mean?"  I said," well, that means that it is getting looser and will be ready to be pulled soon."  She FREAKED out!!!!!!  Full out crying and hiding her eyes on the couch, all while curled up with her back to us.  She wiggled it for me and it seems pretty lose, so we'll continue to watch it, but since we leave for Hawaii in about 5 days, I either need to pull it before we leave, or there's a good chance she loses it while we're gone. 

Soooo..........stay tuned to find out what happens to tooth #6.  

Hawaii Trip

My mom has been planning to take me to Hawaii for years and it's never been the right time.  She's been on chemo, kids too little, I was working,  etc.  This summer, we decided it was a good time because she's healed from her cancer and my kids are older now and can handle the trip better.  So, she booked us on a cruise to HI in January.  I'm so excited, and we kept it a secret from the kiddos till Christmas morning, that is when we revealed to the kids about their trip.

Les and I bought them luggage for the trip (and for Christmas), so my mom and I gathered a few items to put into the bags as clues for them to figure out where we were going.  Sadie got it the minute she started looking at the clues...........I was shocked at how quickly they figured it out.

The kiddos were in shock and didn't even know how to answer or act.  Zachary then got scared b/c he's been studying The Titanic and said," I don't want to go, I'm afraid it will sink."  We explained to him that the likelihood of that happening was very low b/c the Titanic sunk over 100 years ago (115 1/2 years to be exact).  He has already counted the lifeboats from a picture of the ship that we received in the mail today.  LOL  I think he's getting used to the idea.  Sadie has been learning to hula dance and has shown me her "moves".  They've both been putting on the hula bra and hula skirt.  I keep trying to get a picture of Zachary in it, but he has been to quick for me.......HA!!!  I hope to get one for blackmail in the future.........HAHAHAHA!!!

Here are a few pictures of the reveal on Christmas morning.........enjoy!!

Opening the first bags...

More clues in Zachary's bags...

She had guessed Hawaii before this and now she's looking at the postcard.  She was correct!!

They're soooo cute - I love these 2 so much and I'm excited to share this experience with them too.  I'll miss the hubby, but he'll be home working and then building at our land.  He's excited to be building and hunting.  <3 him and appreciate him "letting" us go for so long without him.

Mom, thank you for making this possible for us - I am beyond ecstatic!!!! 

Hawaii memories....here we come!!!

Johnson Family Christmas!!!

Johnson Christmas - we had a lot of fun and I hope that you enjoy these pictures also.  Merry Christmas to all of our Family and Friends!!!  We love you and hope you remember that Jesus, is the Reason for the Season!!

Zachary and Mommy :) 

Sadie looking like a rapper.........she was so cute with this hat on.

Christopher looking like an Elf and acting the part too.......pretty funny!!!

Kimberly, Caleb, and Damira 

Zachary was so excited over this Lego set, he could hardly stand it....HAHA!

Zachary and Caleb - they're so cute together and have a bond.  So sweet.

The guys in their matching shirts...

The ladies in their matching shirts...

The girls, Sadie wouldn't look up.

ANNND, that's a wrap on Christmas - love ya!!!  :)

Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful family filled Christmas with both my side and Les' side.  We had a lot of laughs, games, gifts, food, and a wonderful reminder from my dad how we are Jesus' gifts when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior.  Jesus is the TRUE meaning of CHRISTmas and nothing should get in the way of Jesus and what He did for you and me.

Here our a few pictures from our Christmas with the Cornelius side of the family (Johnson coming next...stay tuned!).  :)

The girls being silly and having fun.  Lots of laughs!!

Sock Exchange!!

Zachary and Tyler wrestling and playing football. HA!

The guys playing cards...

Hannah, Sadie, and Whitney at Lakepoint Church for Christmas Eve Service. 

Zachary, Tyler, Jude, and Caleb at Lakepoint Church for Christmas Eve Service.

Our Family Photo - I just love this picture of us!!

The CornAck Family altogether for a picture - Love this one too.

Christmas Cookies

So excited - I just sold some Christmas cookies that I cut and decorated yesterday!!!  Woo Hoo!!

Talk about making a gal feel extra special b/c someone liked her cookies enough to BUY them!!

Here are this years cookies.  Sadie helped decorate some of them too.  Great memories with my girl!

Stuff or Memories??

Which would you choose, stuff (material items) or memories (seeing things, doing things, etc)???

My hubby and I have been talking about this some the last several weeks.  I choose TIME together!  Which means, memories for me!!  I don't want/need "things", but I desire to give my kids the gift of my time and seeing the world (or at least our country) together.  There's nothing more desirable; then to be with my little family that God blessed me with.

We leave this Saturday to go with my side of the family to Colorado.  I'm excited to be going with everyone and to see many things (we have crammed the vacation full of sights!).  We're going to Caplan Mountain (NM), Pikes Peak, Royal Gorge, Durango train to Silverton, and some other places along the way.  It will be a fun time and lots of memories.  :)

To be continued....

I don't know what I want to say, but I know that I want to write something...

Where do I start?  Where do I end?  What's all going on in my mind?

One thing I am toying around with in my mind is when do I want to start school for year??  I DON"T KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!  I usually prefer year round schooling and was planning on starting in July, but this July is busy.  We are keeping my nieces and nephew this summer 3 days a week; then my niece and nephew will be here in the middle of July for 1 month.  We're going on vacation in July; which knocks out another week.  I'm thinking that we might just  have to be more strict with school time off and not take off November.  We'll see..........LOL  I'm not even going to worry about that because that is a decision for another day, not today!

Matthew 6:33-34,"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own."

Organizing...Ugh! LOL

I've been working on minimalizing and organizing our house.  I have gotten rid of some stuff, but I still have a LONG road ahead.......HA!  It's no easy task when it's hard for me to let go of some things. 

I have been through my clothes, but I'm sure I could still get rid of some of the things that I have in my closet.  I was looking UP today and saw my tote of purses, I'm thinking I might try to tackle my purses/bags next.  I like collecting them, but I have a purse that I use now that I absolutely LOVE! 

I have also worked on our refrigerator and actually cleaned and organized it last week.  What a job!  Shelves aren't exactly the lightest things, but not the heaviest easier, but awkward.  You know?!

I have worked on my book collection and have it all piled up for my hubby to carry for me to Half Price Books.  I have 1 more book shelf to go, but it's small and in my room.  I went through all my bookshelves in our office/school room, so that was wonderful to go through all those books. 

I have tried to get the kiddos to purge some of their toys, but that's like trying to put a cat in a bathtub....HAHAHA!

Anyways, here we go, on to the next chore!!  :)

May 25th

May 25th was a very fun day for us as homeschoolers.  Zachary and Sadie finished their curriculum.

Zachary finished 2nd grade - Adventures through MFW (US History).
Sadie finished Kinder - God's Creation from A to Z & the History, Bible, and Science part of Adventures. 

Zachary will now be starting 3rd grade - Exploring Countries & Cultures (World History).
Sadie will now be starting 1st - Learning God's Story & History part of ECC.

They will be starting Enrichment classes on Friday's this Fall.  They'll each be taking 4 classes.  I'm excited for them!  I'll be co-teaching 3 classes and then cleaning.  I'm excited to see how it goes and I really hope they love it!!

We've started summer and I'm working on when we're going to start for the year.  I prefer year-round schooling since we take a lot of weird dates off for various reasons.  :)  I have most of the curriculum that we'll need and ordered the rest today.  YAY!!!

Here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!

Claytie Bear

Claytie Bear, you'll be missed by us so much.  As I have pondered over the last few weeks of all the funny memories that I have with you, I can't help buy smile and laugh.  All of our times together have revolved around laughter, either laughing with you or laughing (respectively) at you.  You're a wonderful man who LOVED bigger than most.  You were super patient, but also were very ornery. 

I'm so glad that I was able to be by your side for almost everything these last 20 years.  I've learned a lot in helping to take care of you: how to give shots (even when you holler out to tease me), how to stick your finger to check your blood, how to work on a diabetic's finger/toe nails, and so much more that I can't think of at the moment.

Many of my memories are either about: pee, poop, blackheads (hahaha), throw-up, and women.  The BEST memory, and one that I will forever cherish is the time when you, my mom, and I were traveling somewhere and we got on the topic of faith and Jesus Christ.  You weren't for sure if you were going to Heaven, and we talked to you about it and you prayed that day.  Praise the Lord!  This memory is the one that I will always remember and thankful that I was able to be there when you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Because of that day, I know that you are in Heaven and dancing on the streets of gold with Creator and Jesus.  I miss you a lot and still haven't accepted fully that you're gone, but my heart knows that you're healed and happier than you've ever been.  It's bittersweet and I will miss you till I see you again.  I love you, Claytie Bear, you'll always have a special place in my heart and in the hearts of my kiddos.  <3

Till we meet again, Bear!!!!!!!!!!!!


Passed Away - Sunday, May 7, 2017
Funeral - Thursday, May 11, 2017
Graveside Service - Saturday, May 13, 2017

Co-Op

Yesterday was an exciting day!  I registered the kids for 4 classes at the co-op that we're apart of.  I'm so excited for the classes that they'll be taking.  I only had to change 1 class of Sadie's, so now we're all set and ready to go.  The classes that I'll be co-teaching in, sound like a lot of fun too.

I'm in 1 of Sadie's classes and that's it.  I'm excited for the kiddos to learn under someone else "enrichment" classes.  They'll be taking:

Zachary - Lego class, PE/Gymnastics, Science for Boys, and a Math class to work on his times tables.

Sadie - Mammal class, PE/Gymnastics, Math for Munchkins, and a Glittery Art Class.

They are excited about their classes and each helped me decide what to take when I had a question.  We're all paid and ready to go!!  Woo Hoo!

Now to get the last 5 1/2 weeks of school done, and be ready for family to be staying with us at the end of this month.  I'm so blessed by homeschooling and thankful that God laid this on my heart.  I'll continue to do it until I feel God calls us away from it, who knows when that'll be!  Till then.......here we go!!!!!!!!!

EEK.............yummy!!

I was so excited b/c this morning I realized that I had not signed up to try to win the cupcake Friday give away at a local bakery near me.  I went ahead and did it b/c I hadn't seen a winner yet, so about an hour later, I got a message that I had won!

I went to pick them up and my friend, Ashley, had been on my mind.  I decided to call her and see if she was home, and I would drop some off for her and her family.  She was home and the kids and I swung by.  My friend and I each had a cupcake.  We were able to just chill, hang out and visit while the kids played.  My friend shared with me that today was her mom's birthday (her mom passed away several years ago).  I'm so happy that God used me to be with my friend for a few hours to help her on this day. 

Listen to that still, small voice, you never know how God's going to use you to bless someone else's life.  I am blessed!!!

Happy Weekend!!!

Conflict Resolution Done Right

Les and I are doing a class at church called The Art of Marriage. Last night we were talking about conflicts. One thing that really stood out for me and I think applies to marriage and how we deal with others is, " The goal for conflict should be oneness." I have been continuing to think about this and how I can carry it out in everyday life.

Mark 12:30-31 NKJV
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Sadie

This girl never seizes to amaze me.  I love seeing her model our behaviors, well, the good ones.  ;)  LOL

Recently, I had prayed that God would give me an opportunity to use my faith boldly and have someone to witness to.  You can read about my experience with the post before this one.

We were flying home from AZ this past Tuesday, and Sadie has been sick.  We sat down next to an older woman named, Mary.  Zachary had been talking to her about Legos, Minecraft, etc.  I asked her if she was from Texas and she went on to explain that she was on her way to visit her cousin in Texas b/c she had lost her husband in February.  Sadie pulled down her little face mask (she was running fever, coughing, and snotty) and asked Mary if she knew Jesus.  Mary said that she did and that she knew that her husband was with Jesus.  Mary said that she was very sad since her husband died.  Sadie said," can we pray with you?"  Mary talked a moment and then said," yes, she would like that."  I asked Sadie if she wanted to pray or if she wanted me to pray.  Sadie wanted to pray, so we bowed and Sadie had the sweetest prayer.  Mary ended up sitting right behind us on the plane and a few times Sadie would turn around through the crack in the seats and tell Mary "hi".  It was amazing, awesome, a blessing, etc to see my daughter, demonstrating what she has been learning.  I am so thankful to be homeschooling my kids.  I pray that they will continue acting out their faith and that they continue to reach others through the name of Jesus.

Proverbs 22:6 NIV

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. (Bible Gateway)

Divine Appointments

Do you think that they exist?  I do and I pray for them to happen too.  Just a week or so, I had been praying that the Lord would bring someone into my life that I could witness to.  I had somewhat forgot about that until I got home the other day, get this, spreading God's love to them. 

Here's the exciting story!!!!!
Okay, the kids and I had to run to Wal-Mart to get a few ingredients that I needed for this homemade, TO. DIE. FOR, fudge cake.  I was in my closet before we left trying to figure out which shirt to wear.  I decided, after passing it up several times, to wear a t-shirt that says," God's Love Never Fails".  I put it on and out the door we went.  We went through Wally World and got the stuff that we needed.  We were waiting in a check-out that seemed to be taking FOREVER!  However, we just stood there laughing between the 3 of us, talking about candy bars, etc.  This lady behind me told me that she liked my shirt.  I smiled and said," thank you."  I smiled at her a few more times and then she asked me if I would pray for her.  I put my hand on her back and told her I would, but then all of a sudden, words were falling out of my mouth.  I told her," after we both check-out, can I pray for you before we leave?"  She looked at me and said," yes."  I finished checking out and went to the side to wait for her.  I briefed the kids on what we were about to do and why the lady needed prayer.  Her granddaughter had just died of cancer and she was only 25 years old.  I can only imagine the pain that her and her family must be going through.  She told me that her son, the girls dad, was upset and mad at God because He allowed her to die.  I didn't have any words besides words of comfort.  I prayed for her and loved on her for a moment; then we both went our ways.  The kids and I talked about it all the way home; which was only 10 minutes, but I think it really made an impact on their lives.

Once I got home and thought more about it, I remembered that I had prayed for someone to witness to.  He answered my prayer and thankfully, I was obedient this time.  I had prayed that He would allow me to be bold enough to say something.  To God be the glory!

I am so excited that God, my CREATOR, answered my prayer and brought someone into my life.

Palm Sunday

This is one of the most important Sunday's that we have, as Christians.  This week represents our Lord & Savior's last week before He paid the ultimate price for my (and yours too!) salvation.  Today was the day that Jesus rode into the city on a donkey and the crowds were praising Him and laying down palm leaves for him to cross over.  Then it all changed this week, Jesus went from being praised by the people to the people yelling," Crucify Him!, Crucify Him!"

I'm going to be intentional this week with my kiddos as we study the Bible and what the Bible says about Jesus, the week before He hung on the cross for us, His death, and Resurrection Sunday!!!

Hosanna!  Amen!

Missing my Uncle Wawee

Here I am eating some of his good ole sausage. Thinking about him today. He's been gone a little over a year, yet we haven't forgotten about him. 

Yay!!

I have been meaning to put this back on my phone to record our lives!!

love

Busy Day

Let's get today started.  It's somewhat busy, but what keeps me wanting to stay home is the cold, rainy weather and a snuggly little girl who is a little under the weather.  Who wouldn't want to stay snuggled in bed with Miss S?? 

However, dentist appts for both kiddos await us, along with a lunch date at my parents' house, and then on to giving my uncle a pedicure and manicure.  Then church tonight!

Wowzers!!!

Our kids are growing up so fast.  They're about to be 6 & 8 years old.  Makes me sad, but makes me happy too.  I'm so proud of each of them and what a year 2016 was.

Highlights:
*Sadie asked Jesus into her heart and was baptized in Sammie's pool at her senior apartments by my dad (Poppy).
*Zachary finished1st grade and learned to read.  This was my biggest fear of homeschooling - teaching my kids to read.  I have never taught anyone to read, so it scared me.  However, he's now reading around a 3rd grade level and he's in 2nd grade. 
*Sadie started kindergarten and is really enjoying school a lot.  She is doing good with learning all her sounds, we teach phonics, not just memorization.
*Caleb was granted by the court to live in Texas with his dad - HUGE accomplishment!!!
*Les and I purchased land in East Texas and hope to build a little cottage/cabin in the future.  Maybe retire out there someday, who knows!  God does ;)
*We camped a lot last year; which was awesome.  Nothing like waking up out in God's creation, our CREATOR of all this beautiful eye candy.  LOL
*God healed my mom from cancer - AMEN!!!!!!!!!
*Zachary had his first grand mal seizure over the summer; which put me into a crying spree, but I really like his neurologist and I trust in the Great Physician.

So much more, but I'll keep those memories for myself and my family.  <3

Make today a great day in the Lord!!  To God be the Glory!