Recent Happenings

After some technical difficulties, our website is back up!

A lot has happened since we last updated! One very exciting, notable thing is that my family moved two doors down from us! They had lived in their little house in the city for about 25 years, and it was the only home I remembered as a girl growing up. In mid October they moved closer to us, into a house that fits them very comfortably, and a big yard for the first time! Their lot is the same size as ours--almost an acre. We are so enjoying having them close by!

The other big thing that has changed is that Michael and Bethany are now both in first grade! Though they were doing kindergarten before, it was not nearly as intense as first grade is. I am teaching them at home, and I figured I might as well teach them together. Even though Bethany is technically a year early, I knew she was ready for it. She is completely keeping pace, so it doesn't feel like she is a grade ahead. However, since teaching reading requires lots of hands-on attention, I don't think it actually saves me much time to have them in the same grade. It is extremely time-intensive, but is a good opportunity to spend lots of time with my older children. We try to do school during the little kids' nap time so that we can have as few distractions as possible! I take my hat off to teachers who teach many first graders together, and to homeschool mothers all over the globe who juggle much bigger loads than I have! I am grateful that school is going well, and we are approaching the half-way mark in the school year (we started in late July).

My brother Jonathan got married in August, which was a very exciting event! We are so thrilled for him and Ally! The girls were all flowergirls, and Tom and I were also part of the wedding party. For pictures and more details, go to my family's website, www.alotofstevens.com Jonathan and Ally are setting up their adorable home just a few blocks away from us!

We had a scare back in October. Tom had a severe allergic reaction, and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. The doctor now thinks that he initially reacted to some tumbleweeds he was pulling in our backyard that pricked him. When he went to urgent care for treatment for that, they gave him some antibiotics that the doctors now suspect he is allergic to. The combination of those allergic reactions caused him to get violently sick very fast. His fever quickly went up to about 104, and he was bright red and hot all over, except for his hands and feet, which were white and cold. His pulse when he was resting was in the 140's, and his blood pressure was dangerously low. After a few days in the hospital, he was well enough to come home. He just saw a doctor on Wednesday who specializes in allergies, and this doctor says that Tom's skin is actually still reacting to the trauma, which was about a month ago!

We are grateful for God's merciful blessings that have been poured out on us this year, which we know we do not deserve. We deserve eternal hell, but God has offered us a way of escape through Jesus Christ! That is the greatest blessing of all!

Hopefully sometime soon I can give a short update on each member of the family! All the kids change so fast! :)

Posted by Katie on 11/25/2011 | 4 comments

Through the years I've often figured that I would be taking care of children who were sick with the chicken pox sometime during my motherhood. Well, the time has come! In late May we realized we were exposed to the chicken pox, and sure enough, it started about two weeks later.

Julie got her pox first, and then Ruthie came down with it about 2 days later. A couple of days after that, Daniel got it! A little less than two weeks after Julie got sick, Bethany got it (right as Daniel was getting over it!), and then Michael got it about one day after that. Julie's case was pretty mild, and Daniel didn't get it too bad, either. Ruthie didn't fare as well, but it was Michael and Bethany who got it the worst of all. They are quite covered in chicken pox! This past weekend was pretty rough for Michael and Bethany, but now they are feeling a bit better. We are really looking forward to being done with this! One thing we did learn that helped a lot was a combination of tea tree oil and vitamin E oil (75% tea tree oil and 25% vitamin E). We generously coat all the pox that we can with that mixture. It seems to really help reduce the itching, and the vitamin E is supposed to help with healing (and not scarring). Since people with chicken pox are not supposed to be in the sun, we have been keeping the children inside, which has been hard for our energetic children! :) Though this chicken pox adventure hasn't been easy, we are very grateful that our children are getting it over with when they are young!

Shortly after they came down with chicken pox, Julie and Ruthie were in their “sick room” energetically singing. One of the songs was Romans 8:28 set to music. It is very appropriate for this last month! “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28)

Posted by Katie on 6/28/2011 | 2 comments

Seven years ago, Tom and I were married! What a happy day that was, and what wonderful (and crazy!) years we have had since then! When I look back at all that has changed in 7 years, I am amazed! It has been such a blessing to be married to Tom, who is such a great match for me! Our preferences on just about everything are practically identical, which is something that continues to amaze us! However, we have different personalities and strengths and weaknesses, which is actually a huge blessing! For example, Tom's peaceful spirit of trust in the Lord is a great encouragement to me, since I struggle with worry! I am grateful for every day I get to spend with Tom. Even when we are cleaning up a child's throw up in the hallway at 2:00 am, I can't help but comment to him that even this type of activity isn't so bad when you get to do it with your favorite person in the whole wide world. :)

And now a quick update on all of us:

Daniel:
He is running all around getting into everything! He has a fascination with the toilet water, which is something we have not experienced before (sigh!). He enjoys playing with the other children, going outside, and putting EVERYTHING into his mouth! I'm grateful that he is not a picky eater, but he takes it way too far! ;) He has been eating more and more "regular food" instead of babyfood, which he is extremely pleased about! He charms us with his cute little words (hi, bye, no, and "where'd it go?"...or at least I think that is what he is saying!).

Ruthie:
What a big personality stuffed into a little two-year-old body! Ruthie is our most physically affectionate child, and is always giving us hugs! She LOVES to wear "married dresses" (fancy dresses), but definitely doesn't have the sense of what looks good together yet! She will often wear a full slip over her clothes and run out to play in the backyard (it makes you wonder what the neighbors are thinking!)! She loves to parade around in my shoes, and I have found one of my dress shoes in the backyard more than once! She also loves to put on my nylons--I guess it makes her feel all grown up! She also enjoys dolls, and LOVES flowers! She wants her name to be Ruthianna Faith Johnson (Which is like Julie's name and middle name!), and is very disappointed that her name doesn't have "Ann" in it like her two sisters do! I guess we should have seen that coming! :)

Julianna:
Julie is our enthusiastic energy-giver! Her smile and cheerful laugh brightens our days! Unlike her sisters, she cares very little about what she wears--she just wants it to be comfortable! She and Ruthie are very similar in size, and share the same clothes. She likes to make mud/dirt "food" outside in the backyard, and swing on the swings (she is very pleased that she knows how to pump now!). She likes to have her nap with her blankie, her stuffed bunny, and her stuffed bear, and sometimes it is a challenge to track down all those items before naptime! :) She likes to pick flowers (along with her sisters), and we often have brightly colored plastic cups full of water sitting around with a flower floating in it (usually without a stem!). She has done a few lessons in her first preschool book, and she LOVES that!

Bethany:
I know I say this so often, but if I could describe Bethany in a simple way, it would be "Little Mommy". She LOVES to care for babies and children (and dolls!), and to be a big girl in whatever way she can. She is bursting with initiative, and is anxious to take over the household chores. She will put away clean dishes all on her own, and sometimes will start lunch (though I'm trying to teach her to ask me before she does this, because we can't have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches everyday, though that is what the children always want!). She enjoys working the most of all the kids, and blesses her mommy a lot! She is so eager to learn, and easy to teach. She is almost finished with Kindergarten, and will hopefully be starting first grade with Michael around August (at least, that is the goal!).

Michael:
Michael is the most talkative of all our children, and will frequently be found chatting with our very sweet and friendly next-door neighbor "Mr. Mitson", who is retired and spends most of his day gardening. Michael loves to ride his bike, swing on the swing, help mommy in the garden, dig holes in the backyard, and follow Daddy around doing whatever he does. He says his favorite thing to do is "man work", which is working with Daddy. :) He is so crazy about his Daddy, that when Daddy wants to take a nap, Michael decides that he will, too! Now THAT is devotion! :) He and Bethany like doing school together, and even though school doesn't come as easily for him as it does for Bethany, he is doing a good job and has passed a lot of milestones! I am looking forward to starting first grade with them (and am nervous, too!).

Katie:
Most days we focus on basic survival around here, and I have been trying to learn to cut out activities that use up my time and aren't absolutely necessary. That is easier said than done! My "breaks" recently consist of going out and checking on our vegetable garden, and sometimes watering it as time allows (though thankfully Tom and his dad hooked up a nice drip system that makes my work pretty minimal). On a rare occasion I enjoy weeding or planting more seeds in it. Most of the garden is doing well, but the cucumbers are having a hard year! We recently fixed up a strip of ground near the garden that I am making my herb garden. Since it is not enclosed with fencing, we might end up just feeding the local wildlife, :) but we'll see! I am most anxious to grow my own fresh basil so I can make homemade bruschetta! We are still doing bulk cooking (cooking big batches of food and freezing them), which is an enormous time-saver!

Tom:
Tom works hard all day, and then comes home and works all evening, too! Since moving into our own home, he is really becoming a "fix-it man"! The landscaping on our large property takes a great deal of time, but we love it so much. Right now, the front yard and backyard are full of lots of weeds that we try to keep trimmed. We are approaching our landscaping tasks pretty casually, and are learning that even weeds can be kind of pretty when you are surrounded by pretty trees and a huge, gorgeous blue sky! Tom's "free time" is used up trying to research and shop for a small, used car on the internet. He is currently taking the van to work, so we are a "one car family". I truthfully don't mind staying home all the time, because it is too much for me to go places with all five kids by myself. However, Tom would feel better if I had the van available for when I need it.


We are so grateful for the many undeserved blessing God has poured out on us these last seven years!
"It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night.... For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands." Psalm 92:1-4

Posted by Katie on 6/5/2011 | 3 comments

Yes, we are still alive! I have almost given up on ever catching up with the pictures on here! Maybe the best thing would be to just start from where we're at right now, and someday put up the old pictures!

We have been busy! Here are some of the things that have happened recently:

We are putting in a garden! My brown thumb has not been too successful so far, ;) but I think it was because we planted the seeds too early (in March), and the days following the planting were way too cold. Oops...next time I need to look at the weather report! Some of my siblings did the bulk of the work of making the garden gopher-proof, as well as doing a LOT of digging--no small project! We are hoping to mainly focus on tomatoes and several kinds of summer squash. We are going to try a few other things (on a smaller scale), and if they work, we will try to plant more next year! I hope the garden will make it over the hot summer! We have also been planting some flowers in the front and back yards. That has been a very refreshing project in the last month or two! Tom and I have had fun talking about all the things we'd like to plant, and have mentioned all sorts of possibilities. Michael has gotten in on the excitement, and has been having fun transplanting various weeds in our backyard into pots. :) One day, Michael was all excited because he had planted a "garbage plant". I thought I must have heard him wrong, but as he kept talking, I realized he really was saying "garbage plant"! I asked him, "You mean garlic plant?", and he said "yes." Good...I'm glad we're not going to be growing garbage around here. We have enough as it is! ;)

Another thing we've done recently is conquer the stomach flu. I will spare you the gory details. I will simply say that the dirty laundry stack was extremely impressive!!! It took several weeks for us to get over the flu from the time that the first person got it (Michael), till the time that the last people were totally over it. The Lord was merciful to us, and Tom and I never got it, though we were QUITE exposed to it. ;) Daniel and Bethany were both sick on their birthdays, so we delayed the celebrations till they were feeling better.

Speaking of birthdays, that is another thing we've been up to! I turned 27 on February 27, Michael turned 6 on April 7, Daniel turned 1 on April 9, and Bethany turned 5 on April 11! Tom's birthday is on the 28th, so yes...this is birthday month for the Johnson home!

Some bees around here made our house "home sweet home" for themselves recently! They set up their "sweet home" in the side of our chimney. They would get into the house through the fireplace, which caused a problem! One day, I think we killed over 15 bees in our house! When a "bee guy" came by to take them out, he found a huge hive in there. He gave us some chunks of honeycomb, and took the rest of the hive (and the bees) to his own bee farm. Looking at the honeycomb, I am struck with wonder at the intricate detail. Truly, a great Creator made these amazing little creatures.

I am busy teaching Kindergarten to Michael and Bethany, and am hoping to start them both on first grade in the fall. Bethany would technically be a year ahead, but they love learning together, and at this point she seems to be keeping pace quite nicely. We ordered all their schoolbooks, and then they got here--a big box full! I am amazed at all we are going to aim to accomplish in a year! First grade is definitely much more advanced and intense than Kindergarten. Right now, we are doing school in the early afternoon while Julie and Ruthie nap. We try to also have a Bible story and memorization time in the morning. One day, after hearing the story of Ahab and Jezebel in the Bible, Bethany asked, "Was Jinglebell bad?" (She meant Jezebel! And, yes, she knew the answer to that question! :))

Daniel has sort of started walking. The reason I say, "sort of", is because he will take quite a few steps (tonight he was walking around the living room!), but he still falls quite a bit, and prefers crawling. He is our sweet little sunshine, and likes to “pray”, wave “bye-bye”, and do whatever his big siblings are doing!

Through good days and bad days, I want to live my life with thankful praise for all that the Lord has given me. Whether I am dealing with the flu, celebrating a special birthday, dealing with a huge swarm of bees, or enjoying a new milestone in a child's life, I want to remember that each thing God brings into my life is a gift from Him, and is just what I need. "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Posted by Katie on 4/20/2011 | 5 comments