Why I love my wife

Jennifer,

I believe that God has a plan for each one of us.  We may not listen to him all the time, but I know that he spoke loud and clear when he put you in my life over 10 years ago.  You were exactly who I needed at exactly the right time!

You are such an amazing mom to our (soon to be) 5 beautiful kids.  I'm amazed at the miracle that is growing inside you at this very moment.  I am so proud of you for being so strong during the horrible morning (all-day) sickness that you have had with all of your pregnancies.  Thank you for being open to God's plan for our family and for bringing each of our children into this world.  God has a plan for each one of them that we can't even begin to imagine.  Thank you for choosing to invest your precious time into each one of them through giving them the gift of a Catholic education at home.  You are an amazing teacher and God is working through you to transform our children into the men and women of God that they will one day become and the ultimate goal of getting them to heaven.

I am truly blessed to have you in my life each and every day.  You make everything worth it.  Going to work to provide for you is a blessing because I know that you are following God's calling of raising our children in such a loving home.  You are my best friend!  I'm so glad that we are able to share everything with each other.  I know we have a crazy schedule and very little one on one time, but each minute that I get to spend with you is such a gift.

I love that you love to coach basketball so much that you do it while being 4 months pregnant.  I love that you want to fight me to coach Logan next year even though you will have an infant to take care of.  You are such an awesome coach and the kids really do listen to you and are learning so much from you.

I love you because I know that we are going to be together forever and ever, amen.  You are my partner in this life and I'm so blessed to know that our bond is a God given sacrament.  I don't have to wonder if you will stick by me if things get tough or if things get really good.  You are always going to be by my side.

Happy Valentines Day!  I love you.

Matthew


Thanks for Teamwhitaker for the idea and Thepracticingcatholic for starting it.

On Veteran's Day - Remembering Gary Johnston

I want thank the brave men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces.  Some have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe and defend our freedom.  One was my cousin and here are all of the websites and memorials that I have found on the web.

Gary S. Johnston
May 24, 1985 - Jan. 23, 2007
Parents:  J.B. 'Nubbin' and Angela Johnston
Member of St. Mary's Catholic Church Windthorst, TX
Graduated from Windthorst High School in 2003
US Marine Corp Sergeant in Iraq
Enlisted: May 2004
Radio operator to 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary out of Okinawa, Japan
Killed in the line of duty as a result of a bomb blast while serving in Iraq in the early hours on January 23, 2007 in Al Anbar province, Iraq
Purple Heart

In memory of:

Honoring, Remembering Sgt Gary S. Johnston, USMC

Force Recon

Windthorst has lost a beloved son, a brave soldier.

Conservative Propaganda
Freedom Remembered
Dod Identifies Marine Casualties
Find a grave

News articles:
Corps Stories
The Washington Post

Windthorst High honors fallen Marine with street name

Windthorst mourns the loss of one of their own

Windthorst Community Honors Three Fallen Hometown Heroes

America’s Fight For Freedom

Grieving US families talk of unwavering support for Iraq war

Small town America's war dead

An American family's grief

The hero who casts a long shadow

Tributes on message boards:

USMC Parents.com

Legacy.com Guestbook

Songs:

Prayer for the military Song by A.W. Love

Lyrics: I went to a funeral in a small country town, a lonely bell was ringing and there were lots of flags around. a local paper told of how a hometown hero fell, people came from everywhere to bid the young Marine farewell. tears started flowing as the taps began to play, I closed my eyes, held my wife, bowed my head and prayed. Father up in heaven I come to you in prayer, I beg for peace in the middle east and for our soldiers over there. Father please bless today our daughters and our sons, give them strength and courage for their work left to be done. Lord guide them thru the danger that they're in, keep them safe until you bring them home again. Thank you for our daily bread and the shelter we live in, most of all for Jesus Christ who came to set us free from sin. thank you for our freedom and the old red, white, and blue, I know so many people have got it worse off than we do. Lord be with all our soldiers overseas, and please God bless America and always keep her free. Father up in Heaven, I hope you hear my prayer, I beg for peace in the middle east and for our soldiers over there.

Info: This song pretty much wrote itself. Ever since 9/11 and the "war on terror" started, I have always tried to keep our soldiers in my thoughts and prayers. However, sometimes almost everyone gets caught up in a whirlwind of worries and troubles of building a future for ourselves, and we tend to forget the brave men and women who are "over there" defending our freedom. For me Jan. 23rd 2007 was a wake up call. Sgt. Gary Scott Johnston, a 22yr. old Marine was killed by an I.E.D. while leading a door to door search of buildings in Iraq. Gary was an ornery kid from Windthorst Texas. a small close knit Catholic community in the heart of farm and ranch country in the north central part of the state. IF, there is such a thing as an awesome funeral, Gary had one. One of Gary's comrades escorted his body from Iraq back to his hometown, every time they changed planes the young man never left Gary's side until he brought him home and turned him over to his parents. The Patriot Guard, a motorcycle club that pays respects to fallen heroes, lined the steps up the hill to the church. each stood silently dressed in black, holding an American flag, they also escorted the funeral procession from the church to the cemetary. Gary was named after his uncle who was killed in the Vietnam War, they are now buried beside each other in Archer County, Texas. Gary's mom Angela, is my wife's cousin, she made my wife's wedding dress 20 yrs. ago when Gary was just a kid. I am honored to be related to this wonderful family. The young Marines that laid Gary's body to rest were nothing short of impressive, anyone who has a doubt about the courage, and valor of America's men and women in the military, need only to attend a funeral for one of these Heroes, and we all should thank God that we live in the United States of America.

Cooper's 3

Cooper is such a joyful addition to our family. It's amazing how different and unique each one of our children are and Cooper is such a loving, gentle little boy. He loves his brothers and sister, but especially loves snuggling with Reed. He loves trains but all that he wanted for his birthday was a yo-yo. After searching at Walmart and Target, we finally found one at Dollar General.

3 years

2 years

1 year

6 months

On his birthday!

Update on Goals

I have been doing ok with staying on top of my goals for the new year. We have had a few set backs with the kids being sick, Reed not sleeping well, and sleep deprivation. But that's why they are goals and not resolutions.

1. Blog once a week: I was doing good but the illnesses set me back. But will keep working on this one.
2. Less time on FB: Doing much better with this one. :)
3. Re-organizing: I have been successful with this one. My latest big project was re-organizing the kitchen cabinets for better storage.
4. Working out: Failing at this one. But we are taking a trip to Las Vegas in June and I am officially motivated.
5. Cokes: Doing good with this one. I think I have lost 5 pounds just by doing this. But do need to drink more water.
6. Being on time: Getting much better at this one. Now I am only about 5 minutes late instead of 20 minutes. And I am sometimes even on time!!!!!!

A House With Sick Kids is .......Can we say challenging!

After our wonderful wedding fun this past weekend we arrived home to a snow covered house and yard. But that wasn't all. We had two very sick kids, one with a temp of 103. We debated as to what we should do since it was Sunday but I knew exactly what they had....croup. Reed wasn't too severe but Cooper was really sick. I was worried about his breathing and after talking to the on-call nurse I decided we needed to see someone. We took them both to an after hours pediatric doctor and to our surprise only waited about 10 minutes. Our total time there was about 45 minutes. That beats the 4-5 hour ER visit. While waiting for their medication we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed back home to pick up the older two kids from a friends house.

Monday was a pretty tough day. Both boys were up all night and Matthew and I were walking zombies. I was able to squeeze in a 45 minute nap, thank God, that enabled me to make it through the day without losing my mind. Another VERY rough night followed and last night was much better. The boys are still VERY fussy and coughing all day but we are slowly getting better.

The house, not so much. It's bad enough to come home from our trip and have to unpack, but coming home with 2 sick kids.....well, lets just say it looks like a bomb went off in my house and I can't see the carpet. There are clothes everywhere, dishes piled high, mail from weeks ago, and the bags are still packed. I did manage to get a little bit of laundry done today and I paid the bills. I am very proud of my accomplishments. We are definitely in survival mode but God has taught me to slow down, embrace the hugs, and just snuggle with my sick babies. I have the rest of my life to do chores, right, LOL!

Wedding Weekend Fun

Sarah and Brandon got married this past weekend and we had a blast celebrating their beautiful day. Abi and her cousin Annie were the flower girls and look absolutely beautiful. It was a great weekend of family, fellowship, friends, and fun. And boy do those Simmons' know how to throw a party.

New Year's Goals, Not Resolutions

I have decided to set goals this year for 2011 instead of resolutions. I think setting small goals that are achievable and manageable will make me more likely to accomplish them then to set large resolutions and fail at them.

Goals for 2011
1. Blog at least once a week.
2. Spend less time on Facebook. (Blog instead)
3. Re-organize my entire home (this is a BIG one but will be broken down into smaller goals each month.) I will focus on one small area of my home each week to clean out and re-organize. Everything in my home will earn a spot, or be gone forever. I am tired of the clutter.
4. Work out 2 times a week. This is a big one. I must start small or I will quit.
5. Drink only 1 Dr. Pepper a day. I tried to give this one up all together but with sleep deprivation I NEED it.


These are just a few. I have more but will add them another time.

Our baby turns 5!

Baby Reed is Here

Baby Reed joined us on December 31, 2009. He weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. Here are a few pictures until I can post more!!!!

When will baby arrive?

We are patiently awaiting the arrival of baby Reed. He is due 17 days from now and we are so thrilled to meet him. I am dilated to a 1 and 30% effaced as of 36 weeks. No change for this week. With Logan and Abi I was induced and Cooper arrived 10 days before my due date. I am hoping he will arrive before January 2, but who knows. I have had to use pitocin with all my labors and would really like to not have to use any labor inducing drugs. I still want the epidural though. My water broke with Cooper but labor was not progressing so we had to use pitocin.

In the meantime, we are staying busy by trying to keep the house clean and laundry done. The kids and I spend hours a day doing crafts and coloring. I make my own homemade cards and the kids love to design their own with my supplies. Logan is actually becoming very talented at it.

Christmas is 9 days away and the kids are getting so excited. They are so happy that their cousins Caleb, Kyle, and Ann Marie are coming and Papa, Yaya, and Aunt Jojo. We are all thrilled that everyone is going to be together on Christmas. It is a blessing. We wish baby Catherine could be here but know that she will be spending her Christmas with Jesus himself. We love you Baby C!!!

Hopefully the next post will be more news on baby Reed. Until then, patiently waiting..............

The Loss of Our Precious Niece

We are sad to say that on November 22, 2009, our beautiful nine day old niece has joined our Lord in heaven. There are no words to describe the pain we are feeling. I have never felt 'real' pain until now. I struggle everyday to understand why this has happened, but can only trust in God for comfort. I think why I am having such a hard time accepting all that has happened is because it has been such a shock. I am not sure if I was not aware of the seriousness of her condition or was in denial, but her death leaves me dumbfounded. Through Baby C's death I have learned so much about the importance of family, how fragile life is and nothing should ever be taken for granted, that we are not invincible and bad things do happen, and that all the little things that our world, including me, seems to be so consumed with really aren't that important at all. I miss baby Catherine everyday and wish I could hold her. She has touched so many lives in just her nine short days on earth. Thank you God for our precious niece and I looked forward to holding her in heaven.

Baby Catherine, pray for us!

Our Wonderful Weekend Away

We were very blessed to have the oppurtunity for one last romantic weekend away before baby B arrives to The Inn on Granbury Lakes. It was the most beautiful place I have ever stayed. We had wonderful food, massages, golf, walks by the lake, we saw a musical, and relaxed with no respnosibility for 3 days.

Halloween

Matthew and I had a weekend get away on Halloween, so the kids were with family on Saturday. Here is a preview of the costumes before we left. Abi was Tinker Bell, Logan was Captain America, and Cooper was a Lion.

Its a BOY!!!!

I wasn't scheduled for a sonogram until 20 weeks but when I went to the doctor yesterday I got the surprise of an early sono to find out the sex of the baby. I have always had the feeling it was a boy but I guess a part of me was hoping for a little girl ONLY so Abi had a sister. When he said a boy I was shocked because I can't believe I will have a third little man in the house. Wow, 3 boys plus daddy. Man my grocery bill is going to be very high in a few years. We are so thrilled and can't wait to meet the little man. We have no idea for names and probably will never decide. We have a really hard time with the boy names.

Baby B #4

We are so thrilled to announce that we are expecting another baby in January. Here is a sono from today. We feel so blessed to be given another baby. God is so good.

Easter 2009

Here is an Easter Picture of the kids. We had a blast hunting eggs. They really got into it this year.

Goofy Pictures of Kids

My brother stayed with me for a few days and when he was here he discovered this program that makes crazy faces from your picture. Matthew and I were putting the kids to bed upstairs when I heard my brother and his friend down stairs laughing so loud. I was thinking, "What in the world is going on?" I went down stairs and realized that my brother was not working but playing. He discovered this creation. Below are pictures of my kids using this program.

How weird are these pictures?

I am a terrible blogger.........

I really enjoy reading everyone's blogs and follow them almost daily, but never seem to keep mine updated. My goal is to at least post something new once a week, then work my way up to more. I thought I would start small and not get overwhelmed. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to blog and post your stories. You motivate me to do better.

Birthday Party

Logan and Cooper celebrated their birthday's together this year. Logan turned 4 and Cooper turned 1. We had a Spiderman themed party, including a pinata. We had a large turnout and the kids had lots of fun. I can't believe another year has already come and gone. Happy Birthday to My Boys.

Abi's Excuse for Not Cleaning

Abi: "What are you going to do tomorrow when I am at school, Mommy?"
Me: "Well, I thought I would run some errands and clean the house."
Abi: "Oh, mommy. Thank you so much for cleaning up."
Me: "Your welcome. But I think maybe you should clean the playroom."
Abi: "Oh no mommy, I can't."
Me: "Why not Abi?"
Abi: "Because I am too tired and if I do clean the playroom, I will get sick."

I wish I could use that excuse...............