Since its been so long.....

I will just sum up the last couple months with a little preview... followed by ALOT of pictures :)

-May: Started out normal (as normal as life is at 8 months pregnant!). My sisters, Mom and Andrea gave me the best shower with amazing food, friends and gifts! I even got a FUN surprise visit when Suzanne showed up totally unexpected! It was such fun :) Three days after my shower and 4 weeks early, Miss Ella Mae Johnson decided to make her entrance, and a grand one that is! After emergency gallbladder surgery and a horrific (to say the least) labor and delivery, I gave birth to my beautiful, perfect baby girl on 5/14/2010! For being 4 weeks early she did great! She was born on a Friday and we got to go home on Sunday.. that seems like a short stay you ask? NO.. Mommy had been in the hospital since the Tuesday before, so I was ready to go home!!!!

- June: Was a pretty chilled out month, I got to be home with the kids so that was wonderful! We made a little trip to Vegas to see Grandma and Grandpa Johnson, Aunt Leslie and family, and Joey and Andrea.. they all got to meet Ella for the first time! It was a fun trip.. we got to swim with the Motts and hang out with family, and even have fight night with Les and her family... quick and fun! Jeff also started summer school this month.. needless to say, NEVER AGAIN will anyone in this house do summer school :) This month, we also got Ellas newborn pictures and family pictures done.. I think both turned out great!!!

-July: 3rd, we wer able to go to Trevors baptism in Vegas and while we were there, we blessed ella at the same time. It was so fun to have the whole family there, including the Johnson's to share our day! That night, we joined in on fight night at Leslie and Brads and ate lots of good food and enjoyed lots of good company! On the 4th of July, we went to the parade and had a BBQ and fireworks that night, nothing too grand, but fun enough for us! On the 20th of July, I went back to work part time.. Its been hard, but such is life, right??!


-August: has brought us HOT weather and lots of summer days by the pool! We swim almost everyday! We celebrate my parents birthdays this month. I am so grateful for them and their presence in my kids life! I am so fortunate to have aging parents in good health! I dont know what my kids would do without them.. or me too for that matter! Jeff and I start back at school this next week.. He is continuing his nursing and I am headed for the dental Hygiene program.. it will be a long road to hoe, but in the end I am assured it will be worth it!

One last thing... I want to take a little space and focus on my little precious boy... JJ is the BOMB! I love this kid with all of my heart, in fact, my heart is overfilled with love when I look at him. So much attention has been on Ella these last couple months, and this kid has just joined in on the love and attention towards her! He has not showed one ounce of jealousy towards her, he loves her as much as I do I think! He is so protective and loving and thinks the world of her.. He is such a special spirit, and I just marvel at the fact that Heavenly Father found me worthy to care for and raise him. I can only hope I do this kid justice, he is truely one in a million!!!!

As for my Ella girl.. I never thought I would want a girl. And then I saw her! She is my whole world! I cannot remember life without her, everytime I look at her I am floored at her beauty.. her big eyes, her sweet lips and her HUGE spirit! She was surely sent straight from the loving arms of our Heavenly Father! I cannot wait to see who she becomes, I know she has one awesome big brother to help her along the way!!

Thats all for now.. I would really like to see myself get better at posting, I really want this to be a journal for my children one day to look back on and see all of the fun ( and not so fun )things our family has done! Followed are all the pictures that go along with the above :) Enjoy!

I just love that kid up there :)

Precious Ella's newborn pictures...

Heres our {cUtE} family!

Yummy cupcakes, courtesy of Andrea Mott..

And that's my ol' big eyes up top :)

Cute Mom :).... and Old friends (the best kind to have!)

Ellas Blessing... July 3, 2010

Las Vegas, Nevada!

Need a Doc? HERES YOUR GUY!

Dr. Clark has delivered both my kids and I love this guy a ton.

I mean, A TON!!! He is thebomb.com!

Ella Mae Johnson, about 2 minutes old!!!

I {hEaRt} this little guy!

And her too....

PeAcE OuT!! And.... HaPpY SuMmER!!!!

Daddys little patriot.. and as daddy would say:

JOIN, OR DIE!!!

{tHe EnD}

Ella Mae Johnson

Doesnt it just have a special ring to it? We think so. Ella Mae Johnson is the name of the newest edition we will welcome around June 2, 2010 (Or May if she loves her mama!!). I wanted to put it in writing to make it official, and I think this will do the trick. There is a sweet story behind this name, how it came about, and why I think it has a 'special' ring to it...

Back in January, Jeff and I were up in the air about names... we could NOT agree on anything! For my birthday in Jan, Joey and Andrea came up to play for the weekend. Of course while here, Andrea and I were playing on the computer and started talking about names... what they want to name their next one (which better happen soon.. we need our kids close together in age :)), to what we were going to name this one... We were saying every name in the book... Brooklyn, Brinley, Rikki, blah blah blah. I was stuck on the middle name of Mae after my momma. Her middle name is Mae, so I wanted that to be for her... All of a sudden, it just rolled off Andreas tounge and it was decided instantly. Ella Mae Johnson.

This baby girl is a pretty special little bond between the motts and us :) Joey and Andrea were here visiting for Jeffs bday when I peed on the stick and found out she was on her way! Then, they were here when we chose her name, and even had a part in it :)

After we had decided for sure what her name was, I took it to mom and dad.. At first I got a little stink face from Mom, becuase she HATES her middle name, but I dont care.. And she wasnt too sure on Ella.. but it grew on them quick :) While I was there, my dad told me the story of my grandmother (his mom). Her name was Alice Ella Campbell. Her whole life, she wanted nothing more than a grand baby named after her. Dad said NO ONE was going to name their daughter Alice, and no one ever named their daugheters Ella. The closest she got to her wish was my sister Lisa, whos name is Alicia (the spanish Alice).So Grandma died before I was even born, with no Alice. And no Ella.

So, unknowingly, this new baby girl will have a namesake of two generations of beatiful, strong women. Her Great Grandma Campbell, and her Grandma Campbell.

Now, you tell me that name doesnt have a special ring to it :)

We can't wait to meet you little miss Ella Mae!

It's A GIRL!!!

So, most everyone already knows that A) I am preggo and B) Shes a GIRL! But, I still, for my family's memory, want to make sure I document all about this pregnancy...

Its been a rough one so far! I am 20 weeks and still puking. Still tired. Still nauseated all the time. And pretty much feel like I am stuck in my first trimester :) But, I have resorted to the fact that every pregnancy is different, and this one will just be hard! It is OK though becuase Im sure that cute and precious little face will make it all worth it...

Now, on to the fact that 'she' is, in fact, a girl.. I have to say I am really more excited than I thought I would be. I always saw myself as the mom of all boys, so I never really thought about what it would be like to have a girl. Being a girl myself, you would think I would be comfortable with having one! But contrary to what you might have thought, I am scared to death! I really dont know why, but having a daughter is so crazy! I am so excited, though.. I was actually REALLY excited when the ultra sound tech said "ITS A GIRL!"

This will be such a fun adventure, and I am SO excited to see Jeff with a little girl.. plus I can't wait to see what she looks like.. will she look like daddy? me? her big brother? Hopefully her big brother.. he is beautiful!

Speaking of JJ, he is going to be such a good big brother! We still havent quite conviced him that she is a girl, but he will soon find out that he is not having a brother!! And by the way.....

JJ IS POTTY TRAINED!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are SO proud if him.. He has been a tough one and really stubborn about it, but one day he woke up and he decided that he wanted to be a big boy and not wear pull ups anymore, so he just did it! We went and bought him some awesome spiderman and Trandformers undies, and away he grew :( He still wears pull ups and night, which he is not happy about at all, so we have to comprimise and put his underwear OVER the pull ups.. I told him one day he will be able to wear big boy undies at night time, but not until he can wake up at night and go potty. Needless to say, we are very proud of our big boy!!

Jeff is officially a college student. He is at school 5 days and week and works 40 hrs (AND MORE) a week, and he is in Young Mens! He is one busy boy ;) We are so proud of him and what is he sarificing for our family. He is such a good example to our kids and neices and nephews and even the boys at church. Those boys LOVE him and I think he feels the same!

I finally got a calling. I am over the womens sports in the ward. So that has me pretty busy two or three nights a week. I also recently got my hours cut at work, which has turned to be a blessing. It has taken a lot of stress off of me, and I feel like I have time to actually be a momma and a wifee :)

All in all we are doing so good.. BUSY, but good! We are just trying to keep up with day to day life and still remember that being with each other as a family is the most important thing, so we are really making an effort to have weekly Family Home Evening, JJ is finally old enough (HES OUR BIG SUNBEAM NOW!!) to know what a lesson is, and I think it is a really good thing for our family right now with how hectic our schedules are. Thats all for now...Happy Blogging!

A Long Time Comin'......

I really cant believe how long it has been since I have updated our blog.. But today is the day! We have been up to so much since Sept. I will attempt to play catch up through photos! I will start here with the most recent happenings...


We went to my parents ward party and got to see Santa! JJ was so cute, I was so proud of how brave he was and went right up to Santa and told him exactly what he wanted for Christmas, which actually turned out to be a funny story...
So, JJ sits on Santa's lap and tells him that he wants a Transformer for Christmas, as usual, Santa just nods his head and tells him to be a really good boy. Well, that is just not good enough for this cute son of mine.. He gets off Santa's lap and stands there. Santa tells him to get his candy cane and have a Merry Christmas, and JJ says (with his hand reached out) "I SAID I wanted a Transformer, where is it?" We left the room and he said "Mom, I asked Santa to give me a transformer and he didnt even give it to me!" I think we need to explain this Christmas thing a little more in detail!!

This is a true JJ photo op. Always the ham of the party!

I am so bugged that this picture turned out sideways because I SO wanted you to enjoy the beatiful tree.. (and the little boy in the corner picking his nose!!) It has become an obsession. Like Im talking OCD... his nose begins to bleed before he stops!!!!!

This is our cute little stocking shelf. I was just a little proud in how cute I made it, so, for your enjoyment.....

This is how JJ watches TV. He gets all situated on the coffee table and the says "Hey mom, come cover me up!"

Thanksgiving this year was SO MUCH FUN! We got to spend it with the entire (well almost) family! We were left without the company of Ronny and Sherry and fam, which was a big bummer, but we got to enjoy the 5 of us siblings together! Ricky, Robin and kids came out from Oklahoma with the three little ones. We had Jason and Ricky and Michelle. Robert, Tonya and kids, Leslie Brad Zoe and Trevor, and of course Lisa Shane and kids.. and us four. And of course Mom and Dad. It was such a fun weekend, I am so grateful for the family I have been blessed with, and wish I could be with them all a WHOLE lot more!

Here is JJ playing in the leaves Uncle Shane was raking on Thanksgiving Day....

For Halloween this year, we got to go down and spend it with Les and Brad and their family. We had such a good time, and it was a fun thing to do something different and spend a holiday down there with them. JJ was Batman and Kyli was a fairy bat. They had so much fun. We got to go around Les and Brad's neighborhood, and the kids got some major loot! JJ ate his candy for two weeks! While we were down, we also got to have a homemade breakfast with Joey, Andrea and Jackson. Courtesy of Joey the cook! Man it was amazing, I will forever crave those potatoes Joey! After we went trick or treating, we were treated to dinner by Ed and Terrie with the Johnson Clan at Chapala, and my was it was the perfect ending to such a great weekend with family! We got home pretty late, and this little guy was out the whole time!

About a month or so ago, we had a big mishap in our home.. One evening JJ was being a little naughty (I know, can you believe it??). He got himself into a little trouble and stomped upstairs in a huff, slammed his bedroom door, and locked it. About 2.5 seconds later, we heard a roof crashing thud and ran upstaiars as fast as we could. At that point, all I could hear was blood curdling screams and JJ pleading for me to get him out and help him (every mothers WORST nightmare). We were stuck and couldnt get it! As soon as we rounded up a comb and got into the room, we found that his 80 pound dresser on top of him and all I could see was his left hand trying to get free. Between the screams and the cries, Jeff lifted the dresser just enough so I could get him out. The first thing I checked were for teeth and blood. Everything seemed in place, so we moved on to comforting him! He was so shaken up and scared. Thank God he was OK and nothing major happened to him, it could have turned out so much worse. He looked pretty beat up and had blood blisters on his little face and arms where the drawers pinched him. He sported a black eye and some bumps for a couple days, but all was ok...

For Jeffs birthday in October, Joey and Andrea and Jackson came up for some par-tay-n.. This one turned out to be an interesting one! We went to Sushi on Friday night ( FABULOUS!) and then went to a haunted house for Jeffs bday, we had such a blast. It was the scariest haunted house ever, Andrea was out of control scared I thought at one point she may have peed her pants! On Friday, we met up with Kim Bryan and kiddos and visited Staheli Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch. Tons of fun, the boys had to much fun and JJ got to ride a horse for the first time! Then Friday night, Andrea and I decided to make some spooky halloween cakes and treats for Jeff bday party and Trentons baptism the next day. Were were talking about how we had been feeling lately and she said "lenzi you are so pregnant..lets go get a test!" So Joey and Jeff went to Lins and came home bearing pee sticks. Wouldnt ya know, I peed on that stick and it told me I was prego! We went to the dr about a week later and low and behold we are due June 9,2010 with little Johnson number 2!!!! It was fun cause everyone was there at the baptism when I got to tell them what I got Jeff for his birthday!

I just thought this pumpkin looke like a butt. Enjoy.

Betcha cant guess who my family thinks is the village idiot!

Kim, me and Andrea :)

The one and only time in Andrea's life she has looke huge! hahahaha :)

Me and my little guy! I cant believe he will be 3 years old on Saturday. He is growing so fast! He has taught me so much, mostly patience! I truely would be a lost soul with out this guy.. he truely is my moon and my stars.. Im beginning to wonder how I will handle two of 'em though!

This is some cute shelf decor me and Andrea just whipped out like pros :) I think its fabulous, so I thought you might like it too :)

So, hands down my pop is the bomb. He made this for us! It is a mule strap nailed on to a gun holder. A little leather to bind the name board that he carved himself and wa-laa.. you have an awesome original masterpiece! I love it :) I have letters and a big christmas BELIEVE star hanging from it right now. Something I will love and treasure for a long time :)

This is about all I remember for now.. Of course, so much more has happened in the time since I last posted. But, you cant win em all :) I really hope to keep this blog up to date better, I really hope to have a record for my family to look back on and remember all our fun family memories! We hope everyone has a happy holiday season and a very Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

So much to blog...So little time!

Where in the world has the time gone?? I just had to take the time (at work, of course) to just do a post.. a small update! No pictures today as I am doing this in my spare time at work, but lots to tell...

We are official members of our new ward, and its only been two weeks and we already love it! We have been so warmly welcomed and invited...so warm that Jeff already got a calling haha... (I will get one now that I am teasing him, I know it).. He got called to be the varsity coach in young men's to the 14-15 year old boys. I think he will be so awesome at this new calling, and lucky for him the guy over him is a HUGE scout, so they have some pretty adventurous stuff planned! He will be teaching once a month on Sundays, which I think will be GREAT for him. The only sad part is now I lose my Sunday School partner in crime..but then again, who knows how long I will be going to Sunday School with my new calling Jeff is convinced I am getting next Sunday!

WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!! WAHOO!!! It ended up being a short sale of course. It was about 60K less that we owed. Yes, that is how much we lost in ONE YEAR. In 2008 we bought the house with equity, YES I said WITH EQUITY! It was a long hard road of 5 sale fall thru's. Just when we were about to give up, the Lord answered our prayers with a motivated cash buyer. We closed in less than a week from the offer!

We have done some fun stuff lately, so I will try and sum it all up...

In August, we went on a hike in Zions with my brother and sister in law. It was tons of fun, the kids came along too. We had ice cream in the park and ate at a creepy restaurant in Virgin, UT... Once in a lifetime experience that was :)

For Peach Days this year we were graced with the presence of Joey and Andrea and Jack for a FUN filled weekend of food and late night games ( including Andreas major CHEATING on Scattergories!!) Haha Love ya girl! We had SO much fun with them and cant wait till they come up again next weekend for Jeff's big b-day weekend and plates full of Sushi :)
PS.. Andrea, I am STILL waiting for pictures, I will give you till the weekend, then I am gonna kick your butt hehe....

Jeff turns the big 3-3 on Octover 10th... We are planning and fun dinner out and maybe a little party bbq for him on Monday the 12th... We are also going to visit the Staheli Farms Pumpkin Patch with the kiddos.. And if plans go our way we will celebrate with our awesome friends. And maybe even a shopping trip to Downeast Basics home store, just for you Andrea! I want some cute cheap home decorations :)

October 15-18, Jeff gets to go on a vacation with his dad and brother to California to see my nephew graduate Marine boot camp. It will be an awesome trip for them. They are taking dad to their home town of Yucaipa, Ca. and just coasting the highway together. Jeff is so excited to spend some quality time with them and just have a fun boys weekend. Me on the other hand will be starting my second round of HCG, and be home all alone with the little man....

Speaking of HCG, I just finished a 25 day round and lost 20 pounds! I can't wait till the next round so I can get skinny for the Holidays.. only to get chunky again on mamas Thanksgiving stuffing! Really, it was a challenging diet, but I endured and it was so worth it!

Now, for the most important thing yet.... And update on my little man JJ..

He is truly the best thing that has ever happened to me.. I do not know what I would do without him in my life, he is my reason for living! Here are some things about JJ at 2 years and 10 months ( YES, he will be 3 in two months!!!)

- He is obsessed with Transformers and Coraline
- He is the funniest kid I have ever met, really I have never been around a funnier kid. No joke!
- He has a bit of a potty mouth and seems to like the word b-hole. I cannot figure out where he heard it from. Its a little embarassing to admit, but it friggin' hilarious cause he doesn't say the word he actually says "B-Hole".. Really??? Who taught this kid!
- He loves evening walks with mom and dad, I think its his favorite time of day.
- He is going to be Batman for Halloween, his choice.
- He loves mac'n'cheese.
- He loves his mommy... But he LOVES his daddy. Just the way daddy thinks it should be.
- He loves to mow the lawn on the tractor with papa.
- He only goes to nursery because they have tractors. Which is ok with me.
- Everytime we see a tractor, he yells "Mommy, there's a tractor! Im gonna drive a tractor when I be a Farm" (Meaning he wants to be a farmer).
- He loves to play at Lisa's and Gama's and Gampa's while mommy works.
- He comes into mommy and daddy's bed every night at 3am. But goes to bed in his own bed like a big boy at bedtime.
- He has no bed time, he stays up every night with mommy and daddy watching movies and eating popcorn :)
- He is the light of everyones life around him, this kid has so much love given to him, he will be filled up forever.
- He gives the best hugs and kisses and gives so much love! He has the sweetest lips and LOVES to just cuddle.
- He self declares proudly that " I am mommy's baby, but I am daddy's bog boy"

What would I do without this kid?!?! Someday we hope for number two..but for now, I just relish in the moments I have with this little guy!

Thats all for now.. I will be back very soon with some pictures to go with all our fun things that have been going on ( HINT HINT Andrea!)....

Dear Blog,

We are alive. We still exist. We are sorry for neglecting you. We really do love you. We are sorry. We haven't not visited you for lack of blog worthy stories, we just can't manage our time very well. We will be back soon. With lots of pictures. We will give you the attention you deserve again very soon, we promise. We will never neglect you again.

Love,
The Johnson Family.

Farwell....

To the man who brought us Thriller and, along with it, THE most popular song of the 80's.. To the wierdo who swore his white kids were really his "biological' children.. To the man who was born black and then died white... To the worlds best dancer, and the recipient of the "Millenium" award ( who, by the way, will be the only winner of that one in our lifetime!)... To the man who sang and performed the worlds most popular music..To the man who can be identified before the 2nd note of any on of his songs... To the wierdee who hung his kids over a balcony and dressed them all, as well as himself, in the most popular middle eastern fashions... To the man who loved children (which, usually got him into a little trouble)... To the man who was born with a nose, and died without one.. To the man who started the "having a little man next to you hold your umbrella" trend ( P. Diddy thanks you for that one)... and last but not least...

To the King Of Pop.....
Rest in Peace!