Johnson grandkids.....

well.....now that xmas is over, i can post these pics of all 5 johnson grandkids! drew & i and my brother & his wife, gave mom and dad these pictures 4 xmas; therefore couldn't post them till now! although, like a ding-dong....i DID post them for a short time right after i took them!

They are 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

we are getting ready to celebrate "the twins" birthdays this weekend....can you believe that!!! it's been 3 years already!!!! and thank the Lord we've made it thus far!!!! anything is better than that first year.......ugg.......it exhausts me thinking about it!

anyway, here are just a couple of snapshots to share how tiny weeny N&S were!!! they were both exactly 4 lbs 6 oz when we came home from the hospital. VERY yellow when they came home, but healthy! i'll never forget, wrapping them both in bili-blankets for jaundice, and they both fit into ONE bouncy seat!!! what a sight that was!!! and i didn't even get a picture of it!!! oh well......it's very vivid in MY mind! if you'll notice in the above picture, olivia still looks like a bit of baby too.......she was feeding her baby by a bottle.......but it wasn't long after that she only fed her baby by lifting up her shirt! typical for a big sister!!!

i know not everyone will enjoy these pics like me, but it's always fun to look back!!! i'm just thankful i'm not in that stage anymore!!! or at least with 2 in that stage!!!!! while this mathematically doesn't make sense, having infant twins isn't just double the work........it's TRULY about 4x the work of one baby. and no one who hasn't experienced twins will ever understand how that's possible.......but trust me.....it is.

the windmill.....

there is nothing better than sitting on a front porch, listening to nothing but the creeks of an old windmill. this is our neighbors windmill, and it's old and beautiful!!! i was just at their house a little bit ago, where my neighbor and friend, lois, was teaching me some 'knitting' skills! yes, can you believe it!!! KNITTING!!! ha!

anyway, i was walking to the car, and i heard the noise of the windmill turning, and looked up, and saw beautiful white clouds, blue sky, and the windmill. and i HAPPEN to have my camera! so i couldn't resist! such a beautiful sight! don't know if i captured it good enough for you to enjoy it as much as i did......but here it is anyway!

FALL IS HERE!!!!!!

the kids said, "mommy make us a leaf pile to play in!!!"..........so i did. i don't think they quite knew what to do with them after getting in them??? i don't think they understood why mommy was "allowing them to roll on the ground :) " but they did have fun, and this picture was 1 of my favorties.

Couple more favorites......

Like father, like son, like grandson.......

we never really know what our children our going to grow up to be until they get much much older. but, it's becoming quite apparent, everyday, that the older our son nathan gets, the more he loves tractors, combines, wagons, piggies, cows, skid loaders, ect... pretty much anything that daddy or papaw uses. nathan, as he gets older, is becoming easier to take on the farm, where he loves to learn sooooo much of the farming world. oh, by the way, i know this picture would have been MUCH cuter with "work clothes" on.....but he had JUST got out of bed!!!

so this nice HOT morning before olivia got on the bus, we had cement poured for our approach to our garage. i'm inside getting her ready, and my phone rings. my father-in-law is on the other end saying, "you might want to come out here....you'll want a picture of this....." nathan, walked right over, picked up a shovel, and just waited patiently, hoping for someone to tell him to use it! well, i don't think he really got to "help" on this project, but, we did end up with some rocks in our yard!!!!



this picture was "pre-cement"....daddy working on leveling the ground out, when nathan felt the need to find a spot on the skid loader to watch. he LOVES those skid loaders. and once again, he is definitely a "cole jr."......sorry, but only a few people will get that inside joke!

Just a few.....

well, here is "st. esther" and her beautiful family!!! i only posted two poses, because i'm still "sifting" through all the zillion i took.......and man do i still stink at family portraits!! they are soooooooo hard! anyway, i hope we find a couple for you to choose from, esther! love ya!

ONLY A BOY!!!

well...............there's not alot to say about this picture besides he's ALL BOY! and he loved the pool we visited in Illinois! it was more like a mini waterpark v/s a public pool!

ONLY A BOY!!!

well...............there's not alot to say about this picture besides he's ALL BOY! and he loved the pool we visited in Illinois! it was more like a mini waterpark v/s a public pool!

this picture may not be as funny to look at from your view because of the size of the picture.....but if you see the "big" picture......it appears water is spraying from you know where and my son thought it was hilarious!

and there she goes.........

well, today, as for most mothers, was a very exciting and sad day!!! my first child went off to KINDERGARTEN TODAY!!! i did welt with tears, but none really flowed. as you can tell by the pictures, olivia had NO PROBLEMS leaving me today......so therefore, it made the departure that much easier for me!!! i got n&s out of bed to watch their BIG sister get on the bus!!! so there we all sat this morning.......drew holding the camera to video, n&s with their blankets, and the cat...callie! macy and jackson(the dogs) were right there too, but didn't feel like getting their pictures taken this morning!!!

when i look at this picture, i can't believe how "old" my little girl looks! she no longer has the "little" girl look to her......she is truly just looking like a "girl"........and any mother knows EXACTLY what i mean! it frightens me, sometimes, to think about all the hard life lessons she has coming.......and saddens me to think of all the ones that really "stuck in my head". we don't want our children to EVER get hurt physically, or emotionally.........but as we all know, those are the things that truly make us grow, and it's all in God's plan.

the fair and those poor, poor sheep!

we spent MANY a days this year with one of my kids' favorite families, at the local county fairs. the carmony's always welcome us, and especially the kids, to be as involved with their kids' activities as possible! this year, EVERYONE, even n&s got a taste of pulling around those stubborn sheep. i think the sheep were a bit tired of n&s at the end of the day!!! and of course, olivia, our little showman,(as addam would call her) LOVED leading those sheep!!!! she even got to show, and she loved EVERY second of it! i think i see sheep in our future!!!!! and lastly, what little kid can RESIST a gate! every little kid loves hanging, climbing, and swinging on those big 'ol gates at the fair!

Bloomington Children's Museum....

well, we recently went on a "mini" vacation over to Illinois.....yes, I said Illinois! Drew had a "farm class" about corn for two days, and the kids and I went along for the ride. all kids, generally, think spending the night in a hotel is just the bomb! any place they get to spend the night, and have access to a pool 24/7, is a vacation! so while drew spent ALL DAY AND EVENING at his class, i took the kids to a local children's museum....and it was awesome! in these particular pics, their favorite part of the museum was the glass room for painting!!! you get a pallet of paint, a spray bottle, and a squeegee to wipe away your

drawing, and then start all over!!! it was really fun for them...however, sophia ended up with green hair! surprise, surprise! they also had a craft room where the kids had glue, pipe cleaners, cotton balls, construction paper, and scissors to create any piece of art they desire! i soon learned how truly different boys are than girls! sophia enjoyed the scissors, and soon figured out how to use them.....nathan, not so much!!! they were too difficult and he didn't have time for that stuff! because as you can see, he parked himself in front of this window for a bit to watch bulldozers and backhoes at the construction outside!(& he truly planted himself there....that wasn't a "set up" picture at all!) plus, there was a floor was just farming stuff on it......a combine(green of course) a tractor, grain bins, and life-size dairy cows that kids could hook up milking machines too!!! it was truly a great time!

What a Gorgeous Girl!!!!

well, this was a first for me! this is ashley, who is our "babysitter" whenever we need a night out without chill'in!!!! she is an AWESOME babysitter!!!!! i can trust her to take extra good care of all my kids! she asked me to take her senior pics, and reluctantly, i agreed! i have never shot pics of a senior before.....and i must say i was QUITE nervous. and while these photos are probably FAR from the definition of "professional", i was pleasantly surprised! she has the most BEAUTIFUL eyes to photograph! AND SMILE! i didn't get very many "poses"........i'm not that good yet, where i can think of all kinds of fun ways to pose people. but i got LOTS of "portrait" shots!!!!! far many than i'm sure she would care for! however, her and her mom seemed pleased, therefore, i guess i'm pleased as well.

with all that said, i appreciate the patience of her and her mother while i was constantly trying to "figure out" what to do next. then, near the end, i received a very unexpected phone call from husband, telling me his grandfather passed away this morning. he was the SWEETEST, and most loving great-grandfather to my children! they loved him dearly!!! and the fact that he always had m&m's, might have helped a little :) !!! anyway, after pulling myself together and trying to finish pictures, my very last pic i was standing on a chair......when silly me, FELL FACE FIRST ON THE GROUND!!! how embarrassing! and it hurt, too!

so, that was my day today.........so please keep all of our family in prayer!

good night!

thanks to a very good friend of mine, i got to experience a really good concert, IN THE 2ND ROW! it was soooooo much fun, and i truly believe, that although it's very expensive to get those good of seats, it's worth it at least 1 time!!! the funny thing about these pictures, i almost got my camera taken away from me at this concert!!! apparently, they thought i was either a professional(because the camera is so big) and I would sell the pics, or something??? i don't know, but all i do know i am soooooo glad they didn't take it away!!! thanks jodi for such a great time!!!

Olivia's Best Friend.....

this is probably one of my most favorite pictures!!! we had this blown up to hmmm....maybe a 16x20, and was going to frame it and put it in olivia's bedroom. i just haven't got it framed yet!!! i'm always behind......but this was one of those moments where i saw it, hurried and grabbed my camera, and it actually turned out cute! olivia LOVES playing dress up, loves her dog macy, too! so what better pic than to have them both together!

anywho, i love this pic, and hope everyone else does, too!

these next few pics, are of 4 brothers!!! yes, 4 boys!!! and God bless their mother!!! while they are good boys, i can't imagine raising 4!!! anyway, i have taken 3 out of 4 of the boys' pics since birth. which,(you do the math) has been over the past 3 years! : ) hee hee! but, with that said, if there is anyone that can handle it.......this mom can!!!! you are doing great linsie!!!!