Thankful

   After hearing of the shooting this morning in Connecticut, I just had to post about how thankful I am for my family, their safety and their health. I love my family with all my heart and cant imagine how awful it must have been to be a parent of a student who attended that school this morning. Who knows how long they had to wait to see if their sweet baby was going to run out into their arms safely. My heart just aches for all of them. What a tragic event! It is a scary world we live in today and I am just thankful for each new day I get with my husband and our gorgeous daughter. I am going to hold Savannah and Cory extra close today and be sure to tell them constantly how blessed I feel to have them and how much I love them.
  
Here are some just some of the personality traits Cory has that I admire and that I am thankful for:

• he is selfless
• he is loving
• he is honest
• he is smart
• he is SO funny
• he is patient
• he is courageous
• he is genuine
• he is sacrificial
• he is loyal
• he is generous
• he is punctual
• he is tolerant
• he is empathetic
• he is compassionate
• he is protective
• he is understanding

Some of my favorite things I love about Cory are:

• his eyes
• his hands
• his laugh
• I love when we cuddle on the couch
• I love how he always holds my hand while we are driving in the car
• I love when he sings in the car and doesn't know all the words (Sorry honey)
• I love how he always kisses me on the forehead at night before we go to bed and in the morning when he wakes up.
• I love that we say "I love you" over ten times a day
• I love when we are just goofs together
• I love what a great example he is to me everyday
• I love when he plays with Savannah

Here are some of the things about Savannah that I love:

• her smile
• her sweet eyes
• her little nose
• her feet
• her hands and how she holds mine
• her pretty lips
• her laugh
• her cute little fanny( SORRY SAVANNAH)
• I love how she mimics Cory and I
• I love when I go to get her in the morning and she is so excited to see me
• I love her big open mouth kisses
• I love when she "talks"
• I love when she pretends to talk on the phone
• I love when we read books together
• I love bath time
• I love peeking at her when she sleeps, she looks like sleeping beauty
• I love when she walks as we hold her hands
• I LOVE when she plays hide and seek
• I adore when she "sings"
• I even love when she is frustrated and has a little tantrum

These are just some of the things I came up with on the spot but the list could go on forever. I am thankful for everyday that I get to enjoy these moments with the two people I love most. They are my world and my joy and I will cherish them with all of my heart for time and all eternity.

Growing too fast!

Ok! So everyone told me to cherish every moment because they grow up too fast and boy they were right. Thank heavens I have enjoyed and cherished every moment we have had with Miss Savannah so far. She is the sweetest and funniest girl and I feel so blessed to have her. Right now, she is pulling up on everything, and today she walked along the furniture. She loves getting to eat new things and she thank heavens, is not a binky baby. Glad I don't have to pry those away from her. One of her new favorite things to say is "ya!". I was teaching her "no and yes" one day and she gets they are opposites lol. She will always crawl over to where the DVDs are and she tries to pull them out. Cory, in a deep voice will say "Savannah no." Then Savannah, in a deep voice, will say "ya." O my, we are in trouble. She LOVES to dance and she loves to copy everything we do. She is smart too. If we play a beat on the table, she can do the exact same thing back to us. Its pretty cool watching her learn and grow up, but I do so miss when she would just cuddle up in my arms all day. She is the greatest blessing and I love her to the moon and back. I miss things from the past but I have a lifetime of memories to come with her.

Life Changing? Absolutely!

I recently posted on my facebook that I am a health coach for a fantastic program and that it has changed my life. I know when you hear things like this it is easy to think what a bunch of crap!  I have struggled with my weight going up and down since the 8th grade and I know it is a miserable feeling. I could never figure out how to get weight off and maintain it and after a few years I turned to not eating. I figured I rather not eat and lose weight then try to eat and keep fluctuating. I was barely surviving. But hey, at least I was skinny right?? No, that is not right. I eventually started eating again after much concern from my best friend and family members and when I did all the weight came back and then some. I never knew how to eat properly.  It wasn't until after I gave birth to Savannah and gained a lot of weight with my pregnancy that I was motivated to make a change. I didn't want a quick fix, I wanted to gain healthy eating habits for life and I wanted to be a good example to my daughter of how a healthy woman fuels her body and takes care of herself.  I had a few relatives who started this program and they just looked fabulous. There skin was glowing and they were extremely healthy. I decided to look into the program for myself and I fell in love with it within the first week. In just seven weeks I have lost 18lbs in a healthy manner and have lost 4 inches off my waist and 4 inches off my hips. More then the weight and the measurements, I feel healthy, energized, I sleep better and I feel like I have a glow. I have not been this passionate about something in so long that I had to payback this amazing program and become a coach. I know I can help people successfully drop 2 to 5 pounds per week and gain optimal health. Please contact me with any questions you have.

After 7 weeks on the program

O how time flies!

The past nine months have hands down been the most exciting of my life. Savannah is just the sweetest girl and brings so much joy to our lives. The past few weeks have been huge for her, she has started to "crawl, just today she started to pull up on things and SHE GOT HER FIRST TOOTH. The reason I say "crawl", is because she doesn't have it down 100% but she can get around with her army crawl/scooting, believe me. I am really in for it when she decides to finally take off.

 It really does get more fun the older your children get, but I still LOVE the baby stage. I miss when I was able to just cuddle her whenever. Nowadays she just wants to play so sitting still is rough lol. Savannah is starting to have favorites and it is so cute. Out of all the toys she has her two baby dolls are her favorite. She has one that is wearing a little cow costume and her face just lights up when I hand it to her. She also LOVES fruit, she always has but now is even more vocal about it,when she eats she goes "mmmmmmhhhmmmmm" . She is starting to get more interested in books which is very exciting, and sad for me, she is starting to get less interested in bows. It takes about five seconds for her to take one off after I put it on. Her absolute FAVORITE thing to do right now hands down, is sitting up. I put her on her belly and by the time I sit down, she is sitting up like a big girl. Now I think it is the cutest thing in the world but it has led to some hilarious nap times. I lay her down and she sits right up and sometimes we go back and forth at this for a while.

Just recently we had to take down her beloved swing because she decided she wanted to be an acrobat and she would hang her upper half off the side, so we switched it out with a jumperoo. My mom was able to find a nice lightly used one for her and as she says " its a lallapalooza of a toy!" That it is, I don't think I have ever seen so many things to look at on one toy and Savannah loves it.

 I cannot believe my little girl is going to be one in just a few short months. I am so thankful Cory and I have cherished her babyhood as much as we have because time goes by so fast. It has been a blast!

Our recent and upcoming adventures

   I have not been able to write a post until now because we have been extremely busy here at the Johnson home. Life has never been  better, but we have been SO busy. A little over a month ago we moved into our very first home in Provo, Utah and we adore it. There is something about having a home and knowing it is yours. Here are a list of things I love about this house.
- having a washer and dryer
- having a fenced in yard
- having two bathrooms
- having tons of storage
- having a cast iron wood burning stove
- AND BEING ABLE TO HAVE A DOG!!!!
   Anyone who knows me knows I am absolutely an animal lover but especially a dog lover and we recently added a super cute puppy to our family. I was searching on KSL one evening and saw his picture and knew he was my puppy. He stole my heart and I had to have him. We named him Bear and his dad is a pure bread golden retriever and his mom is a black lab. He is such a good puppy!!! He is four months old and is already potty trained and he knows how to sit and lay down. Now when you hear four months old you would never expect him to be as huge as he is but he is easily already like 50 pounds. Here is a picture so you get the idea.

   Now I cant wait till we make some progress on getting are yard looking pretty because it is an amazing huge yard. Our home is on a third of an acre so we fenced in a portion so I would have a place to take the kiddos out to play and then you walk out of the fenced in yard to a park lol. Its not really a park, but it certainly could be. It is huge! Now, here is the shocker. I never pictured myself having lots of animals but when we purchased this home it came equipped with chicken coops, so you can imagine where I am going with this. Now we have CHICKENS! They are a little dirty but pretty cute. I just told Cory we could have them but I will NOT eat them. YUCK! Once we got the chickens, I decided I wanted a goat, so now that will be our next adventure. As we make progress I will post some photos but right now we need to give our lawn some tender lovin care, so no pictures yet ;).

NOW FOR OUR EXCITING NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS

   Ok so next week we head to California where we will be for less then 24hours before heading to Miami to take a cruise with my sweet mother and father-in-law, Tawnie and Jordan Jensen, Kyle, Kodey and Tyler. We are going on a Caribbean Cruise and I am soooooooo EXCITED!!!!! I have not been on a vacation like this in years and it is going to be SO relaxing and fun. I cant wait to take Savannah in the water. I know that might sound silly but she loves bath time so I am thinking she is just going to be way to cute in the pool and at the beaches. We have so missed having family close so we are ecstatic for the opportunity we have to spend a week together in paradise. After the cruise we get to spend a few days with my side of the family too so we are anxious as can be. I miss them all like crazy.

   AS if life couldn't get more exciting.......IT DOES!!!! Cory's parents will be moving to Utah at the end of June!!!!! We are so happy that Savannah is going to have grandparents and uncles so close. And Mr Tyler will be living with us for a while when they are waiting for their home to be finished. YAY!!!! 

   We are so thankful to Mom and Pops for their generosity in taking us on this upcoming trip and are so excited for the quality time we are going to be able to spend together. Nothing is better then spending time with the ones that you love.

  

Loving Life

I know this is going to sound like an exaggeration but since I was young I knew that when I "grew up" I wanted to be a mommy. I wanted to be a stay at home mom and wife. May sound like a boring life to some people, but to me it is the most rewarding job you can have. I love children and I love caring for them. Having a baby girl of my own has been the greatest blessing. My entire day and evening revolves around Savannah and tending to her needs and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Things happening in month 5 with Savannah:

• She is a chatter box...... She loves to talk! I have no idea where she could have got that from ; )
• She is also now able to sit in her bumbo seat without having a bobble head lol
• She eats all the time and I am so happy that she is gaining weight like a pro
• She smiles ALL THE TIME 

• She giggles!!!
• She is teething so EVERYTHING  is in her mouth

• She has mastered passing objects from one hand to the other
• My favorite thing..... is her playing with her little feet!

I am so thankful that I have been blessed with a beautiful family. I am thankful that Savannah is healthy and that I have the option to work out of my house so I can be a stay at home mommy. I love my life and cherish every day. This year is going to be the best!

Get your gag reflex ready.....lovey dovey stuff right here

   Recently I have spent a great deal of time thinking about how blessed I am to have Cory as a husband. He has so many qualities that I absolutely adore! Since the very first week we hung out I knew he was "the one", the man I would spend eternity with. He is kind to everyone around him, he is smart, he is handsome as can be and when he looks at me I feel like I am the only person in the room, the only person that matters. He makes me feel pretty, even on days when I feel like a complete mess. And he makes me laugh constantly.
   The first time Cory and I met was in 5th grade. At that time, we were friends from church but I would have never imagined we would later fall in love and get married. I mean come on! Who marries someone they met back in the fifth grade. Well, life had big plans for the two of us but my life was going to go on a crazy journey before our paths lined up again. Cory has always been a strong member of the church and a great example to those around him, having been inactive for a couple years, I knew I needed a change and that I wanted to be back at church.  The happiest I ever was growing up is when I was at church so browsing on facebook one day, I came across Cory and he had just got back from his mission so I knew he would be a great person to talk to. I had been going back to church but wasn't as invested in it as I should have been. The only thing holding me back was me. Well Cory invited me to a church institute class and we started going together every single week. Pretty soon Cory and I were combined at the hip. I would finish work and head straight to Castaic to be with him. I remember calling my grandma saying " Grandma, I just want to let you know that I found the man I am going to spend the rest of my life with." Of course my sweet grandma being the lady she is just said " Well isn't that great!" She was not the only person who received that phone call. I didn't even know if he felt the same lol but I just knew with everything in me. I couldn't picture my life any other way.
   Everyday I fall more in love with him. Having a baby together gave me a different appreciation for him and made me cherish our love even more. I am constantly counting my many blessing and cant wait to see what the rest of our life has in store for us.

Gallbladder Shmallbladder

   Soooo timing is apparently not one of our strengths in the Johnson home. On February 8th in the evening before Cory and I went to bed I started getting what I thought was bad heartburn, so I asked Cory if he could grab me some tums. Not ten minutes later I was in an excruciating amount of pain, it literally took my breath away and I couldn't sit still. Not only that but the pain was so severe that I physically got sick to my stomach. I know it sounds dramatic but I felt like someone was crushing my chest. Well the pain died down after about thirty minutes and I was able to at least stay in bed sitting up but I still was in pain. The next morning when one of my girls was getting dropped off, her mom brought up that my episode sounded exactly like when she had a gallstone attack which is apparently a lot more common after pregnancy. So she recommended I go to the doctors and be seen. Well I go to the doctors office and the doctor said "Could be gall stones, could be an ulcer." So we did some blood work to figure what was going on and he said we would have the results tomorrow. Well five days passed and we heard nothing so Cory and I  figured that it must just be an ulcer so I was just trying to deal with the discomfort. Well on day six of dealing with this pain the doctor called and explained that they called in a different acid reducer to the pharmacy because my insurance wouldn't cover the initial one they called in. While I had him on the phone I figured hey, why don't I ask about my blood work. Well after some talking he realized they had forgot to check my results and when he found them he was shocked at the results. My liver function levels were extremely elevated so the next day I had to have my blood work redrawn  and the following day an ultrasound. It turns out I have gallbladder disease and need to have my gallbladder removed. Luckily it is a short recovery and we have tons of people willing to help us out. Cory is amazing and has been playing Mr Mom since I have been feeling so icky and my mom will be flying out to help with Savannah when they do the surgery. Just happy to know what is going on and glad we have the ability to get it fixed very soon. Thank you everyone for your good thoughts and prayers!

P.S. Cory you are an amazing amazing husband and father and I want to say thank you. You have helped take some stress off my shoulders and are so great for doing so much around the house on top of all your other obligations. Savannah and I are truly blessed. <3

Exciting stuff!

   Just last week Cory and I found out our offer was accepted on a HOUSE! It is so cute and we are so excited to move into a bigger space. I think Cory and I would both agree that our favorite part is the backyard. It is a HUGE yard. I am exceptionally excited because I will have a space outside were I can take all my girls to play and get some fresh air, it will be good for all of us. Its going to take some work and needs some TLC but the interior of the house was completely redone and is gorgeous. Here is a picture of the front of the house, keep in mind the grass is dead because of the snow here. We will post more pictures once we are all moved in and it looks super cute.

   On another note, Miss Savannah is as cute as ever and we just fall more in love with her everyday. She is growing so much! She gets taller and taller and now is twelve and a half pounds. She is still our skinny minnie but she is doing great. Ever since the beginning of January she has slept through the night, we are talkin eleven hours a night. She is so great and is on a good schedule now. Something Cory and I cant wait for, is for her to laugh! I am hoping it comes soon. 

   As  for Cory, he is doing great in school as usual and is such a hard worker. He is at work by seven every morning and usually goes straight to school from there. Then after a long hard day, he comes home and helps out with everything that Savannah needs. He is such a great daddy and Savannah just adores him.The second he walks in the door her eyes are glued to him and she just smiles and tracks him wherever he goes.

   I am still doing daycare out of our place and I love it. It feels so nice to be back to work. I am watching Miss Taylor and Miss Lily still and I have two new girls.The new girls are sisters and their names are Izzy and Zoie. They are all adorable and all at different stages so it is very fun and gives me a lot to look forward to with Savannah. 

   The Johnson family is busy but we wouldn't change a thing. We are so happy and just really enjoying this stage in our life. 

Savannah at ten weeks old!

   Our sweetheart Savannah is ten weeks old now and we are having more and more fun with her everyday. The past two weeks have been so great. She smiles all the time, coos all the time and she finally started liking bath time. This week was exceptionally great because she started sleeping for longer stretches and the past two nights, she slept through the night.

   Last night, Savannah had Cory and I laughing hysterically because during bath time she started kicking her legs and waddling her little body from side to side making the water splash out all over the place. While she was doing this she had the funniest look on her face and when I would say "Savannah, are you splashing baby??!!" she would get the biggest smile on her face and she just kept splashing away. It is so cute how in just a few weeks she could change so much. Before, she use to cry when I put her in her little tub and now she cries when I take her out.

   Cory and I are getting such a kick out of watching her grow. We both love when we walk into her room to get her and she is in her crib smiling because she hears us coming. She is such a good baby and I cant wait to see what the next few weeks have in store for our little family. Fun times are ahead, that is for sure!