Home?

This is the home that we made an offer for on Wednesday.

Pray that this is where God wants us to be and grow our family. If not, there will be something bigger and better for Team Johnson!

Outdoors.

The weather today was incredible. Just enough sunshine to get outside and take a few photos.

Etsy Finds.

Etsy finds Tuesday!

(personalized guitar pick by Gracen's Designs)

(teapot clock from Decoylab)

(laser cut art by Julene)

(family necklace by Madison Reece Designs)

(reversible floral print sling by Lucky Baby Slings)

(diaper and wipes case by Kicks and Giggles)

1. Gracen's Designs.

2. Decoylab. (one of my faves.)
3. Julene.
4. Madison Reece Designs.
5. Lucky Baby Slings.
6. Kicks and Giggles.

Home is not where the tax credit is.

Gosh, it's been a while since I posted anything.

Our lives have been turned upside down by looking for a house. We have looked at close to 30 homes, and found 2 with some potential. For our price range, they are all fixer uppers. Thank goodness I have people that will be doing that for me. My Dad said find something with good bones that has a decent kitchen (cabinets are really expensive to replace) and we will do the rest. I would love a house with a brick exterior, hardwood floors, an open kitchen, but apparently this combination is extremely hard to come across. We went and looked at these yesterday:

This house was PERFECT. Great bay windows, vaulted ceilings, and the best part, it was in our price range! Josh and I were thrilled! I left immediately to fill out the paperwork to make an offer. As soon as we got to the office, we got a phone call that the house was sold. WHAT?! The real estate agent that I spoke with said that there were no offers! He was not well informed apparently. I have to just start taking this $8,000 tax credit out of the equation. I keep thinking how great it would be for our family; our debt would be paid off, we could save a decent chunk of it for Bean's college fund. There are just so many good things one can do with that kind of money. But when I think about buying a house just to get the tax credit, I know that all I will be getting is a house, not a home. This was the first house that I felt like I was walking into my future home. Thank goodness that the neighborhood is all the same kind of houses. If we cannot find something by Friday (the day that the credit ends) we will make a move on one of the other two that are in the neighborhood.

My brain feels like mush, my body is sore from being in the car all day, but I am still trying. We will find something, and it will be home.

These are just a couple of the beautiful photos of Violet I received from my cousin at Green Apple Foto. I have spoken of her talent before here on Waiting for Bean. She was really great to work with and the result turned out so great!

10.10.10

INCREDIBLE.

I found this post at one of my favorite blogs, Pacing the Panic Room. I was so inspired by this idea that I committed myself to becoming a part of it. I think the idea is so incredible and I cannot wait to see what the outcome looks like. I have no idea what my documentation will look like. I am sure that it will include the beautiful things that have been put into my life, whether that include people, places, things. I look forward to seeing what others will choose to put into their films. It's a great look at others perspectives.

I will be participating...will you?

Ideas.

I have SO many ideas that I would love to put into my (possible) home. Here are a few that I cannot live without.

My mind cannot stop thinking about all the projects I want to start! I really love making a house a home, and I think I'm prettty decent at it. I have been reading a few DIY blogs, which have lead me to post this. I am so inspired by the work that these women do! These are three particular favorites of mine right now.

Young House Love

The Lettered Cottage

The Inspired Room

Check them out, I hope you enjoy!

Woo!

It's official...we are starting the process of becoming homeowners. The next few months are going to be very exciting.

Also official, Bean's first teeth are coming in! I felt in there a couple of days ago and I feel ridges! This explains why our nights have been so sleep deprived. She gets pretty grumpy, but she has maintained somewhat of a pleasant attitude. I assume in the near future that this will drastically change. I am not looking forward to the rest of them coming in. It's so hard to deal with because there is nothing that I can do. We are calming her with Hyland's Teething Tablets, a lot of cold carrots and frozen washcloths. They seem to be helping, but then again, the tooth is barely visible. I just can't wait to see that tooth when she smiles!

Tick Tock.

This semester is really kicking my butt. I have homework every single day (M-S) and I feel like I am running on empty. It's hard enough being a mom, add on top of that studying and homework. I cannot wait until these classes are finished. That's the thing with online school that I don't appreciate; there is no spring break, no summer vacation. It's two 9 week classes back to back to back to back. Someday I will be finished, and it will be great. Creatively I have run into a wall as well. I don't have time to sit down and make my stuff. I have so much inspiration right now, but no time to start anything. I can't wait to get back to it after these two classes are finished. I really love what I make and keep hoping that my Etsy shop will take off. I don't do it for the money, but it's a bonus for sure.

I also have been thinking lately about having another baby. No, it's not in the works anytime soon (hopefully) but when/if it does happen, how am I going to be able to do all of this? Being a mom is all about multitasking. I'm just not sure how much I could take on. School, work, and all the other daily craziness. Is it possible, or am I just thinking way ahead of myself? I suppose I prepare for the worst, therefore my expectations are met and exceedingly surpassed. I would love to finish school first, but God sure does have a funny way of bringing things into your life when He wants them there, not you. I have learned that the hard way.

Wish me luck in the next few weeks because I know my workload for school is only going to increase, and Bean is getting a tooth. (Number 1, woo!) I would really appreciate it!

ER.

I never want to have to spend another day at the ER ever again.

Friday night Bean was running a slight fever. We put her to bed and she slept all night. The next morning we took her temperature and it had lowered a bit. I went about my morning like usual. Chores, homework, just hanging out. I put Violet on the couch next to me and she had no energy. She was really slow to respond and didn't want to play or move much. I took her temperature again and it said 103.4. I called her Dad and I took her to the Urgent Care. They checked her out and since there were no obvious signs of infection they recommended that we go to Cardon's (Cardon's is the new childrens hospital at Banner Desert). The doctor at Urgent Care mentioned that it could be a few things; a urine infection, kidney infection or spinal meningitis. How do you say things like that to a mom without having her lose it? He left the room to gather my paperwork and I just held Violet and cried. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want there to be anything wrong with her. I was by myself and it was too much.

We got to the hospital and they ran a blood test, a urine test and gave her an IV. No fun to watch. I think Josh and I cried the entire time that she was being poked. We waited, Bean slept, we waited some more and Bean slept some more. Finally, around 10:30 pm we learned that she has a viral infection. You cannot treat viruses with antibiotics. Bummer. All in all, I was glad that it wasn't too serious. Thank the Lord.

She is doing okay though! One day at a time!

We are so close to crawling! I give it 2 more weeks max. Now I will have to start worrying about baby gates since we have 2 sets of stairs in the house. I haven't been able to capture it on film yet for fear that she will topple over when I am clicking away. There will be pictures and video. Promise!

Bean is almost mobile! I can't believe it.

1,095.

April 8th is a day of remembrance for me. It was the first day of a new start for my son. It was the first day of his transition into a new family. I remember the night before. Cameron was really sick with a double ear infection. He was really wiped out. All he wanted to do was lay with me, be in my arms. I held him all day and all night. I don't think that I understood what was about to happen the next morning. There was a lot of weight in that night. I wish that I could go back to that night and really soak up every second of it.

I have been thinking a lot about him this past week. I think about him every hour of everyday, but more this week. I feel like I am a totally different person now than I was then. There has been so much healing and so much redemption come into my life in the 3 years that he has been gone. I have a wonderful new daughter that I cherish more than life itself. I wanted to be a parent back then, but now after having "lost" that, it's all I want to do. I want to spend every second with her. I learned from him, and I thank him for all the lessons I took away from the experience. I am no longer a caregiver, but I am his mother. I will always be his mother. He's lucky...he has two.

I miss him being here today. I know that I will miss him being here tomorrow. I will miss him being here everyday until I die.


Cam's last day at home.

Airplane ride to California.

First time in the sand.

Cam with his 3 brothers.

Cam and I at my wedding.
(He walked me down the aisle with my Dad.)

Hiding.

One thing that happens when you become a parents is the acquiring of many things. Baby toys, clothes, blankets. Everything in your house seems to double for this new little person. Sometimes I sit back and wonder where it all came from. I have been desperately craving minimization since 2010 began. Donating or selling the things that we no longer need, creating a house of less clutter and more much needed space. My house is not tiny by any means (1380 sq. feet) but I get the feeling that we are not utilizing our space as well as we could be. Here are some inspiration ideas that I came across.

I would love more organized spaces for so many reasons. To keep things neat is number one, but just to be able to walk into a room and not see everything laid out everywhere. Storage and peace of mind for inexpensive. Is that so much to ask for?

Greatness.

I've taken a lot of pictures of Violet before, but have come close to nothing like this. Chelsea from Green Apple Foto (my cousin) is the genuis behind this pictures. She specializes in families and children. She is amazing!