Christmas Photos

I've decided that one of my favorite things ever - is receiving
Christmas photos each year. Seriously... I absolutely love seeing
updated pictures of friends and family that I haven't seen in awhile.
Receiving one of these awesome photos in the mail makes me feel
special... and in some twisted way it takes me back to grade school
when the more school photos of friends you had, the cooler you were!
(I'll ignore the eye rolls from my husband, and probably many others,
for that comment).

Listen. I was never popular... so this is my chance.
I've decided to make it a personal goal to collect as many Christmas
pictures of people as possible. Sure, I'd prefer to know them... but
really - no one who sees my collection will have much of an idea as to
whether I know everybody or not! I suppose this goal would also require
that I continue to make as many friends as possible.

So please. If you haven't sent me your family photo, either incidentally
or intentionally... would you mind re-considering for the sake of my
collection and my quest for "coolness"? And for those of you who opted out of this somewhat
oppressive project, maybe you could just take a quick snapshot for my
benefit?? Sure, I'd prefer the fun decor and layout of the Snap fish or even Wal-Mart variety, but Christmas is in fact just 9 days away and I'll make exceptions for the sake of time.

Another point I have to make because it's a little pet peeve of mine. Please don't take offense if you are already guilty of this issue... but please include yourselves in the photos rather than JUST your children!! I LOVE to see those adorable kids growing up... but unless they are paying rent and having the pictures printed themselves... I want to see the adorable parents faces plastered right along next to them as well! Give yourselves some credit! Who cares if you haven't been to a hair salon for two years and have wrinkles mapping their way across your face! Those kids PUT them there and you deserve to be recognized!!

Another tip since I'm now setting some Christmas photo guidelines:
While I have received a couple very lovely "Costco Christmas
Photo" specials... I personally cannot recommend them from my own
experience. Those of you who were privileged enough (or burdened
perhaps), to receive Eric and my photo this year, will notice that we
are a lovely shade of Grinch green. If I had been my mother's daughter,
I would have promptly returned to the counter and demanded they be
re-printed. But... I am pregnant... the line was forever long... my
feet were hurting... and I had to pee. Enough said.

Merry Christmas from the Green Johnsons.

(P.S: Where is everybody out there in blogland???)

Logan, the Sky Angel Cowboy

My mother-in-law keeps finding these great YouTube videos. This one will have you crying in about 3 seconds. It's an actual radio show that broadcasts from Houston, TX - KSBJ. Pastor Mike received this call from a 13 year old boy named Logan who lives on a ranch in Nebraska. We can all learn from kids...

Life

Well... it's been awhile since I've updated (as several of you have been kind enough to point out)! :) Life has been a little busy. I'm trying to grab some overtime shifts whenever they are available while I am feeling good. As I approach my 20th week of pregnancy I'm enjoying the energy that had left me for awhile... and trying to make a few extra dollars to go towards maternity leave!

We found out last week that Eric's step-mom was going to be having a last-minute hysterectomy. Debbie lives alone now, since Eric's dad past away 3 years ago from colon cancer, so we rushed down to Louisville, KY to be with her for surgery Friday morning. The surgery went well, but we received the devastating news that they found she has ovarian cancer - stage 3. It was a difficult weekend for all of us - most of all Debbie... but she is recovering well from surgery, and hopes to be home tomorrow. The road ahead will no doubt be extremely challenging and full of unknowns, as she begins chemotherapy in a few weeks... but we are praying for miracles and hoping to be there for her anyway that we can.

We returned home late this afternoon... I am now at work and Eric is in the middle of his 1st final of the week. He is thrilled that the end of the semester is finally here, and looking forward to a 3 week vacation of baby room projects!! We will know next week whether this baby is a boy or a girl and I cannot wait!

Stay tuned for belly pictures (really guys, are they THAT exciting?). I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that we have not taken even one... somehow the photo documentation of an enlarging stomach along with boobs, chins, cheeks and thighs are really not all that exciting to me. NEVERTHELESS... I know that ONE day MAYBE I will enjoy looking back on these (wonderful??) body changes this baby is putting me through.

For now... you'll have to wait just a little bit longer. At least until I catch up on a little sleep and the bags under my eyes tone down a bit.

Merry CHRISTmas

The video is lacking... but the words are pretty cool!

Break Out the Christmas Lights!!

Maria and her Mommy

Do they look "meant to be" or what?

Maria

Eric's cousin, Brandon and his wife Dayna are adopting a beautiful little girl from Guatemala. Isn't she the cutest thing EVER?! We are beyond excited for them, as they have been waiting for a child of their own for so long... and they have been blessed with the opportunity to give this little girl the ultimate gift of a life that she otherwise would not have.

The international adoption process is long and complicated, but they are trying to be patient as they anxiously wait to bring Maria home to Indiana. In Guatemala, orphans are placed in foster homes - a huge advantage over the orphanages that some countries use - so Dayna and Brandon are able to use a translator and call her foster parents for updates.

Today, Brandon and Dayna left for Guatemala to meet baby Maria in person!! They are not allowed to bring her home (although that probably hasn't stopped Dayna from conspiring a way to sneak her in a suitcase), but they are able to stay in a hotel alone with her while they are there. Please pray for them as they finally have this special time to meet and get to know their new daughter... and pray harder for them as they then have to leave her there and return home empty handed - for now. I know Dayna was hesitant at first about whether visits would be wise... as it inevitably would make the separation harder... but this process is not for the faint of heart and in the end I know, they will treasure every moment they have with her.

Please, please, also be praying for the adoption issues in Guatemala right now. A month or so ago, the President of Guatemala announced that all international adoptions will cease after the first of the year due to various issues. This would include adoptions like Brandon and Dayna's, that are "in process"... as they are still most likely several months away from being able to bring Maria home. Many have been fighting this and right now, it looks like they may allow those adoptions in process to proceed, but many decisions have yet to be made. And even if these families are allowed to proceed, many many children will be left stranded in foster care throughout the rest of the country if international adoption is halted.

So much to pray about... here's another picture for inspiration:

Out of the Mouths of Babes

A "friend" of mine emailed this to me with a note mentioning how glad she was that I have moved out of Reno. While I typically avoid providing anyone with ammo against one of my favorite places (particularly my mother)... I couldn't resist this one. I'm not sure if I believe it... but the school does exist. And it's pretty funny, in a twisted, "what-is-our-world coming to"? sort of way.

This is a picture submitted for a "What do I want to be when I grow up contest", by Amanda Marsh of Westview Elementary School in Reno, Nevada.

We were robbed...

Enough said.

Better Days

Life has been crazy busy for the last few weeks... but we have had several highlights. Here's a few pictures of the fun stuff!

Most recently... Susie and Kira came for a visit. We visited the Indianapolis Children's Museum and Kira had a blast.

We met up with our good friends John, Janet and Henry for the Purdue Homecoming game. Both John and Eric graduated from Purdue... Eric, as we all know loved the school so much he decided to return after a degree in Mechanical Engineering for 5 more years of Pharmacy!

And since we're digging football so much these days... we decided to have some other friends (Ryan, Lori, Emma, Noah, Sarah and Anna) over to the house for the Colts game! We had a great time watching them win (as usual)! We even made caramel apples at half time!