I'm not an anxious person...

I'm really not. Although it seriously runs in my family. However, I'm finding it hard not to be anxious about EVERYTHING having to do with this baby. Is it a boy or girl? What will we name it? How will we prepare the house? What do we need to buy? And when do you start doing that?

We had a doctor's appointment this week and they wanted to hear the heartbeat. A nurse came in with the doppler thing and clearly stated that she was no expert at this and may need to get someone else to help her. Ummm...ok? So she starts moving the thing around on my belly and nothing is coming up except my own heartbeat. She asked if we knew what we were having yet. We said no. She said, "well little girls like to hide from this". I'm just going to chalk that up to the fact that she clearly sucks at her job and did indeed have to get someone else to find the heartbeat. Just another thought to run through my mind for the next month before we actually get to find out the sex.

I hate that I can't feel the baby move yet. I read somewhere that some people can feel the baby this early, but usually not first time mothers. However, I also read that if you hold a flashlight up to your belly, the baby will run away from the light. I think I might try this and see if I can feel any "flutters". Has anyone else tried this before? Probably not because it sounds kind of ridiculous, but I'm not above that. Okay maybe I am above that.

Exciting News in the Johnson Household

Well, things have been awfully busy around here. Tom has been busy getting another year of Young Life rolling. And while I have been helping him with that, I've mainly been busy growing a baby in my belly. WHAT??! Yes. You heard right. Tom and I are expecting our first bundle of joy in May. We have already had several high school students offer to babysit, to which I have quickly replied, "not a chance". Well maybe one of MY girls could do it, but definitely not one of Tom's boys. Am I being protective already? Anyway, we are definitely excited, but I don't think it has really sunk in yet. I have been reading some books, magazines, etc. which have been mostly helpful, but I have read several things which made me think "WHY WOULD YOU TELL ANYBODY THAT?" On one hand I want to be prepared, but on the other I don't want fear and anxiety to rule my pregnancy. I do wish somebody had warned me about the *aahhemm* "internal" ultrasound. For those of you who had children awhile ago, they may not have had this lovely technology around then, but for you newer moms: shame on you for not warning every fertile woman about this! HOWEVER, it did allow us to hear the baby's heartbeat at only 8 weeks, which was pretty incredible. Needless to say, I am a busy lady working 40+ hours a week, being a Young Life & Young Lives leader, committee member, and sane person in Washington. I'm going to try my best to keep up the blog during this exciting time though. Here is a pic of a cute little sign my co-workers posted on my office door after I told them the news.

Finding humor in hard places.

I went back to work full time in August. This time around I am doing foster care and adoptions. It is super busy all the time. On my second day back I already had 15 children on my caseload. Ahhh!! The thing that makes this job bearable is the great group of people that I work with. We always help each other out and vent in our offices about the ridiculous situations we deal with. In a job where you hear about horrific things on a daily basis, you have to find some time to laugh. Here are two little gems from last week: A father told his social worker that he had a medical condition which made marijuana stay in his system longer than 30 days. Yeah....I'm gonna need a doctor's note on that one. A little girl was surprised at the diversity in her new school. She said "I don't know if I should call them, the people with dark skin, or black people". Her therapist suggested, "Why don't you just call them by their names?".....Good call.

Summer Recap

What a summer it has been. I have been all over this stinkin' country! It started with our YL assignment in Colorado. Here is a pic of me at the top of the hike. We trekked 5 miles up to 12,000 feet. It was by far the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. But the view....indescribable. A picture just doesn't do it justice.

After we got back from Colorado, we were home for about a month before we headed to Windy Gap with our high school friends from Washington. Here is a pic of me and my cabin on 80's night.


We pulled into Washington at 3:30am from Windy Gap. We had 1 day to get some laundry done and then we hit the road again. This time, Tom and I were driving 2 minivans filled with leaders, teen moms, and babies. Lake Champion was our destination for YoungLives camp. During the week, Tom and I were able to visit some of his family in Massachusetts also. Here is a pic of the two of us at a Baltimore Orioles game on the way up to camp, and one of all the strollers parked outside of a cabin at camp




We returned from YoungLives camp at midnight and then left at 10am the next morning to head to Topsail Beach for a much needed VACATION. It was awesome.


Now it's back to the grindstone.

Glamour Shots

These pics are courtesy of our good friend Lindsay Hancock. She did a little photo session with Tom and I on the banquet night at Windy Gap last week. Check out her other stuff... LMHphotography

Backtrack to Bachelorette Weekend!

My best friend got married in April on the beach, which was beautiful. Of course I don't really have any pictures from that. BUT I DO have pictures from the bachelorette party!! We rented a cabin in Weaverville, but spent a lot of time in Asheville. It was a blast! On Friday night, we had a lingerie shower for the bride, played some games, then made smores over a campfire outside. On Saturday, we walked into downtown Weaverville for lunch and just hung out at the house. Then late afternoon we headed into Asheville for a wine/beer tasting which was so much fun!! After that it was off to dinner and then out on the town! We ended up going to the gay club because all the locals said that was the best place to dance. And if the bride wants to dance, then WE SHALL DANCE. Here are some pics. Enjoy!

I'm The Luckiest

We arrived at Young Life's Frontier Ranch in Buena Vista, Colorado about a week ago for our 3 1/2 week assignment. I've never been further west than Nashville, TN so this has been a monumental trip for me. To say that this place is incredible would be a huge understatement. It's impossible to see this view and not praise the Lord for magnificent beauty. A picture just doesn't do it justice. On top of the physical beauty, there is nothing better than being surrounded by people who are loving each other like Jesus loves each of us. Every time new campers step off the bus to a glorious welcome of cheering and screaming, it makes me cry; just in anticipation of the gracious God that they will encounter while they're here. I'm hoping to get some better pictures up soon, but for now, check out my friend Leslie's blog who is also here on assignment:

http://ashevillesloan.blogspot.com/

She posted a video of the flash mob dance that took place last night at club. I'm going to try and video it from the back of the room next week to get a better view, but it was AWESOME. I am so thankful that my husband works for Young Life and I get to do things this.