For all of those who have been wondering what we have been up to the past few days...

Last Wednesday night Kolbe started to get a high fever, at one point it reached 104 and he had the shakes. We got his temp down, and we took him to the doctor Thursday morning. He tested positive for the flu and his white blood count was way high. An X-ray confirmed he had pneumonia. Thankfully we caught that early and it hadn't spread too much yet.

You know it's always a great day when you go to the doctor and at the end of the visit you are told to go upstairs to your hospital room. Poor Kolbe, we have taken him to the doctor twice for sick visits and each time he ends up in the hospital. God big or go home, I guess.

So Dan, Joshua, and I went with Kolbe to get him settled in his room. By this point it was nearing lunch time and my sister was able to get Emma from school. It took awhile to get settled in the room, we had to watch the nurses put the I.V. in and get some blood work done. Kolbe was so out of it, that he didn't put up too much of a fight. He was so brave. Even when they were having a hard time getting the blood culture and had to try a few different spots, he quietly looked at me with tears rolling down his face. Heartbreaking. The Mama Lion in me was getting ready to pounce.

Dan had left to go to a meeting and tie up things at work so he could stay with Kolbe in the hospital. It was hard to say goodbye and leave him. I wished I was able to bilocate. Note to self- work on becoming holier. I have to say though, that Dan is a wonderful dad. He was so good with Kolbe and despite the circumstances, they really bonded. Before Kolbe was a mama's boy and I am not so sure if that is the case anymore. They played trucks and airplanes and sang songs and watched movies together.

Back on the home front, Joshua was up most of Thursday night because he was so congested. I was quietly worrying about him too. Friday afternoon my parents helped with Joshua and Emma so I could sit with Kolbe and Dan could go to a meeting. Joshua woke up from his nap with a 102 fever. So mom brought him to me at the hospital and I took him downstairs to the doctor office. Here we go. Round 2. Dan joined me at the doc, and we prepared for worst case scenario and laughed about having two rooms upstairs and playing tag. But praise the Lord, Joshua had a double ear infection! Ok, so poor Joshua...but we were sent home with an antibiotic and that was good news! As I left Kolbe that night, he was crying out, "Untie me, Untie me!" Once again, heartbreaking. Friday night was a long night for Joshua, I was doing what I could to keep his fever down and he was struggling eating because of his congestion. No fun, but at least I was at home.

Saturday Jenn and Philip took Emma for the day and then she ended up spending the night at my parents house. She was good through all of this change, but she was searching some attention and they were thankfully able to give that to her.

My day was spent caring for the babe and also making visits to see the other two and bring them food and treats. The doc told us just one more night in the hospital. By this point Kolbe was feeling better...and getting very stir-crazy. It was a challenge to get an active two year old boy to stay in the bed one more night.

And finally it was Sunday. Joshua was feeling much better and so was Kolbe. We went to see them and I got to witness the nurse take off his I.V. Pure freedom. Kolbe started jumping around the room, he couldnt wait to go home!!

It was such a blessing to have the family together again under one roof.

I am so grateful for my family who helped by taking care of the kids and for cleaning the house while we were away.

For Fr. Dan, who came to our house Sunday evening to celebrate Mass for us.

And for Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart who asked to come pray over Kolbe and for the Duffey family who brought her.

And we are so grateful for all of the prayers from family and friends, especially those of Dan's family who I know would have been here to help in a heartbeat, if they could.

And most of all, thank You God, for trials and suffering, and joy and laughter. Thank You for our family and for our vocation to marriage. Thank You for the gift of life!

Note: I wrote this last night, but never got it posted...

Can I just say that I love being a mom?! But man, what a day. It was one of those days that when bedtime hit, we gave in and left Emma in bed with a million stuffed animals and Kolbe rockin' out to "sweet home Alabama" with his toy guitar. Here are the highlights:
-went to the grocery store with the boys, Joshua was in my carrier and while we were there he spit up and his diaper leaked on me. While at the check out, a woman got in line behind me. She said, "ma'am, do you need some help? I see you have two rugrats with you." Hmmm. Yes, I have vomit and urine on my shirt, and yes, Kolbe is half way hanging out of the cart, but I have got it under control. Anyway my boys are not rugrats. They are beautiful children of God, thank you very much. But of course all I did was smile and say, "thanks, but I've got it."




- Kolbe got into one of my grocery bags and I found him in his room with an opened bottle of scrubbing bubbles cleaner and he was cleaning his carpet. I had a quiet panic attack and then made him get a shower.




-Was starting to think about making dinner and realized that I forgot to buy one key ingredient. Bummer. Most would probably let it go and either go to plan B or cook without that ingredient. But not me, not today. So I loaded my 3 into the van and drove to the store. I pulled out my double stroller and put Joshua in my sling and we went in and bought cream cheese.




And yes, I once again got tons of those "she is crazy" looks. But I didn't care, I actually felt very smart and pulled together. I felt like Supermom. And the chicken enchiladas were delicious.
-after dinner Dan had a movie night with Emma and Kolbe and I went out to Target all by myself. Well, with Joshua, but I felt like I was by myself. He loves being in the baby carrier. He sleeps and looks around quietly. So I got to go to Target, shop and actually take my time. It was awesome.




Oh, one last thing, Emma came home from school very proud with her red ribbon.




In case you were wondering, she is "drug free and proud." Praise the Lord.

I have been a slacker when it comes to blogging. But after receiving some encouragement yesterday, I am determined to post an entry today.
You see, there have been many moments the past two weeks when I thought, "I need to write about this." Like when Joshua rolled over for the first time or ate rice cereal, spit it out and Kolbe gagged. (Of course I don't have a picture or video to document either of those events.)


Or when I worked everything out to drive for Emma's field trip to the pumpkin patch and she said that morning, "mommy, I don't want you to drive me, because I want to ride in Lucy's car." She might as well have stabbed me in the heart.


Or the moment when Kolbe was running around searching for his "purse" and Dan was following him saying, "you mean duffle bag." Classic.
And when in the cry room at Mass, Kolbe goes to the water fountain and decides to turn the knob by the wall and water starts spraying out everywhere...I clearly will have a little Dennis on my hands.





We also helped chaperone the high school campus ministry retreat, and by chaperone, I mean that Dan, Philip, and Anthony were at the retreat and Jenn, Sheena, and I joined forces in taking care of our kids. :)






Emma is definitely a babysitter in training!

Now I must go and deal with the situation at hand...apparently it was time for the trucks in our family to get a bath...


Happy Monday!

As I watch my son play in the dirt at 8:15 am, I thought I would share some secret thoughts of this silly mom.

1. Dan just dropped Emma off at school for her first field trip. And I am not going. Still trying to work through this one. They are going to a farm and going on a hay ride! Why did I not go? Because I was not allowed to bring my 4 month old and I am still too much of a control freak to be apart from him for over 3 hours. So because of that fact, I am missing out on a fall hay ride and some delicious satsumas. Sad Emma:

2. Sometimes I wait to make brownies until the kids are either asleep or preoccupied, not because I want to avoid a mess, but because I want to lick the brownie bowl all by myself. Sinful, I know.

3. My friends know that I love all things cheesy. Being a mother has made it worse. For example, Dan has never returned home from an evening meeting and found me watching reruns of 7th Heaven on the gospel music channel...



4. I am very good at keeping our house in "organized chaos" mode.



I know where (most) things are, but no one else could probably find them. Note to self: work on this.

5. We still have a pet fish. When was the last time it was fed? Don't know. How is it still alive? I don't know that either. Maybe just to spite me.

That's all, folks!

Today we went and participated in the Life Chain. Emma was in a mood while we were there and during the hour of trying to stand up for life, she pouted in the stroller.
However, later while we were playing outside at home, Emma had an idea. She decided to get a piece of the newspaper and took it to the end of our yard and started a protest of her own.




Just look at that enthusiasm.




She sure was making an impact. All for the gift of life.




Or for Auburn's recent loss. Whatever floats your boat. I am focusing on the former.
She was so convincing, she soon had followers.




What a natural born leader. Or enforcer... Once again I prefer the former.




So you can count on the Johnsons to help our world one protest at a time. And may God bless America.

1. Joshua loves his new bouncing play station. It is very helpful to have a fun place for him to play. Just be warned when he is suddenly laughing and jumping in a puddle... Nope, Not water.

2. Having a two year old boy means that sometimes you will just have messy days. I think Kolbe had three baths yesterday. Clothes are so overrated.





3. Don't make homemade pizzas with three kids, while Dan is still at work, and after just mopping the floor. "Mom tantrum" will inevitably occur. Don't have a picture of that, but I do have a picture of the final product, which is quite lovely. Worth it? Still not sure.



4. Letting my 4 year old take pictures of the baby with my phone was a good idea- with cute results.








5. Outings after dinner to get treats are fun! Especially when you plan to see other adults as well. Finding a place that also entertains the kids is helpful too.


I promise they are not in a cage.
It is also awesome when the kids fall asleep on the way home from the fun outing.

6. Krispy Kreme is branching out in their ready made combos to go, quite brave of them.



7. Sometimes eating Cheerios and granola bars for lunch is ok, because, well, Mom is too busy finishing up this post. Oops.

Happy Friday!

Yesterday was the feast day of my favorite saint, St. Therese of Lisieux. My love for her developed in college when I joined the Little Flowers Household. I remember reading her autobiography freshman year and I loved her Little Way and wanted to model after it. I loved my household and treasure the time spent with my sisters: