Psalm 34:18~"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

I spent last Sunday afternoon with my cousin Stacy at SHMC Children's hospital. I feel that the details are too private, and maybe even placing this obituary on here is as well. I just know there are a lot of you that read this, and are faithful in prayer for those who are in need. So thank you to everyone who already has been, and to those who will now join in on lifting my cousin, and her family up to the Lord. I'm so sick over this I can't get it straight this week. In a blink of an eye she lost her child. As a mother, I CANNOT imagine, nor do I ever want to, what it's like to lose your child, your sweet 9 year old boy. I wish I had words to lighten my cousins agony, but words are not enough. My heart and soul ache for this family. I wish I could take away their broken hearts. Everyone that knew Brady a little, or a lot, could see his contagious spirit immediately. His smile melted hearts. Brady is in our hearts forever!
JOHNSON, Brady J. (August 06, 2000- April 11,2010) Brady Jae, passed away peacefully after a nine year battle with Spinal Muscular Atrophy in the arms of his Family. Irreplaceable Son, Grandson, Great Grandson, Brother, Nephew, Cousins, Friend, hero and comedian. He is survived by his Mother and Stepdad: Stacy and Rusty Melcher, Father and Stepmom: Joshua and Liz Johnson, Grandparents: Karen and Jay Gertlar, Randy and Lisa Johnson, Siblings Ashton and Ava Melcher andCarter Johnson, Aunts, Uncles, Great Grandparents, Cousins and a endless list of friends. He was an inspiration to all who met him and he lit up the room with his infectious smile and humor. Special thanks to all the medical staff at Rockwoood Clinic, Shriner's Hospital, Sacred Heart Hospital, The Muscular Dystrophy Clinic, all the Staff at Browne Elementary and anyone else who made an impact in his life, you truly enriched his time with all of us.

Laughter...it does a body good~

I have to say that for most moms, the bulk of our laughter comes from the things are kids say or do each day. Oh Nolan! NJP was taking a bite straight out of an apple and said "Ewww, mom I took a bite and there's a booga(booger.)" I went over to him and he was looking at the core of the apple and seeds. I laughed and told him that it was just the seeds inside of the apple. He went back to his snack and then with a scowl he set the apple on top of the cutting board and said "I'm not going to eat the seeds because that's gwoss." Unfortunately he's picked up some verbiage from his sister that I'm not thrilled about, and gross has been one of those things. I'm sure I'm to blame for some of the "bad words" at times too, darn my mouth.

This morning he told me "I want to go to school like sissy too!" I told him he's still a bit too little. He said "But I'm a big man mama." He is going to miss Olivia so much next year when she's in school full day(which I can't even talk about yet, I'm not ready either!)

I included some pictures of my wild monkey eating frozen baguettes of bread. Hmm, I'm not sure why they were so tempting to him, they were rock hard and he insisted on nibbling on them until he could bite little pieces off. That was a day I was so desperate to just unload the dishwasher in peace that I just let him. I know, I continue to lose my vote for the best mom of the year award!

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! Spent Easter day with our families, stuffed ourselves full of delicious food(and sweets galore,) enjoyed the beautiful sunshine, and are all beyond ready for a good nights sleep. It was a great day!

He is RISEN, Indeed!

My friend posted this on facebook today, and I wanted to share it. I've only seen The Passion of the Christ once, and wow, it's very intense, and I thought it was amazing. When I watched the clip today, seeing the look on Mary's face makes me weep immediately. This entire video brings me to tears. To even think about one of my children going through that type of torture just rips my heart out! I still cannot fathom how she must of felt watching her son go through all the torture he endured. Even though Jesus was aware of what was happening, and the sacrifice he was making, I still can't imagine. At the same time, how great it is that we can celebrate HIM during this Easter weekend and what he did for US, paving the path. Blessings to you all, and Happy Easter!

Early Birds!

My children have been waking up before 6AM nearly every day for weeks now. I am NOT a morning person so this is very difficult for me! If I could just get to bed by 9PM each night it wouldn't be as big of a deal. The kids were ready to start the day so early and I saw something on Sprout on how to make silly hats this morning. I didn't have all the supplies so made do with what we had. Don't laugh, I know they aren't very good, I'm not creative! So NJP's is a silly puppy hat, and Liv's, a bunny with one floppy ear. The kids have been wearing them all morning. Happy Spring, and WELCOME April! Come on warm weather!

Why have I forgotten about how GREAT the Library is, and it's FREE?!

So Olivia asked me a question the other night when I was putting her to bed. *Let me just say it was on her mind because they've been waiting for baby chick's to hatch out of their eggs at school. She asked me if the eggs in our fridge have chickens in them. Okay first of all, that grossed me out to the point where I haven't been able to eat eggs all week. I sure hope I wouldn't crack open and egg where a chicken tried to form, DISGUSTING, ew! Liv has been asking about eggs all week. I told her we'd go the the library and she could find some books about eggs, chickens, farm animals, whatever she wanted that would inform her about the egg to chicken process. The kids and I went to the library yesterday and it was so much fun! I ran in to the storytime lady and she walked around with us and showed me some of her favorite children's books, and took Olivia over to the section on eggs & chickens. We ended up leaving with 16 books. My friend D said that Shane was probably thrilled at the fact that I took the kids to do something educational, & fun without spending a dime. I love it, so true! I have to be honest, I did wipe the outsides of all the books with a Clorox wipe because I don't know who's hands they've been in. That shouldn't surprise any of you who really know me~LOL! Nonetheless, I've missed the Library and hope this is the start to a weekly visit for the kids and I. So many great books, DVD's, and well, the kids can pick out books and learn about anything!

Olivia's Spring Program

Olivia had a spring music program 2 weeks ago. This year the school had all the classes together, so it was packed! I wondered how Liv would do with over 200 people in the audience, and I have to say, I’m so proud of her. Those of you that know her have seen how shy she is. At first you could tell that she was looking around for us and wondering what the heck was going on. She warmed up after about the first song. It was really cute, and of course I got a lump in my throat as soon as they started singing. Kids are so cute, and when they’re singing things about the word, or promises of God, it touches my heart even more.
*I tried downloading the video for 6 hours with no luck. I think because it was recorded in HD so my the file was HUGE. I'll keep working on it. For those of you who live close to us, I'll show you when you're over next. The video's are awesome, and pretty darn funny!