IT'S A BOY!!

He has arrived! His name is Wyatt Jack Johnson and he weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was 20 1/2" long. Labor and delivery was VERY quick! It was all done in an hour and a half! Louis had come home from work and woke me up around 1 am on Friday the 13th and we were talking for a bit when I shifted my weight and we both heard this 'pop' sound. I thought Wyatt had punched me because I felt it in my lower abnomen. But soon after contractions started and the bed was getting pretty wet, so we got the kids up and dressed and dropped Zach off with Great Grandma and Grandpa (Caisha witnessedWyatt's birth first hand!) and sped to the hospital in Ames. Louis had called ahead to let the hospital know we were coming and also called the dispatch center where he works to let them know what route we were taking in case the police saw us speeding through town. We hit almost every red light, but only slowed down. My contractions were less than a minute apart at this point. We got to the hospital around 2:30am where they wheeled me up to my room and at that point I started pushing. Of course, the nurse kept telling me not to push since she hadn't checked me yet to see how dilated I was. Once I got onto the bed she checked and I was at 7cm, so, of course, they told me not to push! I told them "I"m not pushing; my body is!" Three more pushes and Wyatt's head was out. That was a short relief for me, and then the Dr. said I needed to push one more time and Wyatt was welcomed into this world at 3:03am! I will fill you in on more baby news another time as I am off once again!

Pregnancy Dr. Appointment Update

I just wanted to update everybody on how things are going with the pregnancy. I had a Dr. appointment today. I am 3cm dilated and about 85% effaced, so I don't think the baby will be here on my due date which is tomorrow (Friday the 13th!) but it is possible that there might be a baby by Monday! The weather is suppose to warm up by this weekend, so I will get the opportunity to get out and get moving! Yeah!! The kids have soccer games Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon, so I will be driving back and forth for those this weekend.
As a side note, as of right now, we are thinking of having the baptism on June 3rd, so if you are immediate family, please keep that date in mind! We would love to have everybody attend!
As always, I will keep you posted on the newest developments as they happen!

Dr. Appt.

Well, I don't have much to report. Not much has changed. I am still about 80% effaced but now about 2 cm dilated. I also lost 1 pound. I suppose if the baby decides to wait until after my due date of the 13th, it won't be so bad if I start losing a pound a week instead of gaining a pound a week! I still have my fingers crossed that there will be a baby before the 13th. I'll keep you posted!

Dr. Appt. update

Well, I really don't have much new news. I am still 1 1/2 cm dilated but am now about 80% effaced, so when the baby does finally decide to make an entrance it should all go fairly quickly. I only gained 1 pound over the past week, so that brings me to a total of 32 lbs, I believe. Dr. Lines doesn't see anything happening before Easter, but as with every pregnancy, things can change quickly! I will keep you all posted!

Quick Pregnancy Update

No, the baby has not arrived yet! But I will be surprised if I make it through the week. I know my due date it April 13th but I REALLY doubt that I will make it to that long! The baby just keeps dropping lower and has now reduced me to "waddling". I try not to, but my hips and legs just don't move the way I would like anymore! I'm trying to take it easy to see if I can at least last until the first week in April, but I really need the hours this week at work, so I will be attempting to get in 40 hours.
This past weekend we did finally get the library set up nicely. We moved the queen size bed that was in the babies room downstairs into the library, so it is now a real nice guest room, so when people come to visit (hint, hint) they will almost have their own little Suite to stay in since there are pocket doors leading into the piano room that can be opened to enlarge the room. We still need to find a door that goes on the opening into the library from the kitchen hallway. Hopefully it is one of the 5 doors in the garage. Louis was also able to rearrange our room to allow for the babies bassinet. The arrangement turned out very nicely. I even ( finally) planted the iris' that mom had given me last fall. They survived living in a bucket, in the house all winter! Caisha and I also finished up scraping paint off and cleaning all the hinges and doorknobs for the built-in cabinets in the baby room. All that's left is to hang the doors back up. I still have a long list of things I would like done before the baby arrives, but fear that there is just not going to be enough time! Most of it is cleaning type stuff.... sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, etc. The kids have been a big help with a lot of that.
Wish me luck and pray that I make it through the week!!
As a side note....I won't be posting as often for awhile, since we do not have a computer at home. I will be going to the library occasionally to check email, etc.

Baby will be here soon!

I had a Dr.'s appointment today. So far I have gained a total of 31 pounds, which my Dr. is very pleased with. At this time I am about 1 1/2 cm dialated and about 70% effaced. Dr. Lines says nothing will happen within the next week, but it is very possible after that. We will have a better idea after my appointment on the 28th. I am hoping the baby will be born the first week in April (not April Fool's Day!) Dr. Lines says that once I do go into labor she fully expects me to go fairly quickly as everything is very soft and it shouldn't take much to dialate all the way. I liked to hear that! Today I am feeling pretty good. I slept pretty well last night after Louis snuggled with me for awhile. Monday night I didn't sleep much at all. My whole body ached! Both Monday and Tuesday were hard days for me. I am pretty sure it was because the baby was dropping further into position. I think it was hitting some nerves into my legs and putting a lot of pressure on my pelvis area. I woke up this morning and was actually able to lay on my back for a little while! It felt great to be able to stretch that way!! I am getting very excited for the arrival, but I am content to wait until the first week of April. Hopefully it won't be too much later than that if it doesn't happen then.

Updates

Well, we survived the 2 weekends in a row of ice and snow! The first weekend we got about 3/4" of ice and then it snowed about 10" on top of that! Louis had to prop up some of the branches on the pine trees to keep them from potentially snapping our power line into the house! The 2nd storm actually happened on a Thurs. & Fri. We got more ice and then another 8"-10" of snow again! We hadn't even dug ourselves out from the weekend before. Needless to say, I did not venture to work those two days. The first attempt at getting out was on that Sunday and then I still wasn't able to get out! Both Louis and I managed to get the Vue stuck in the driveway! Louis did go to work since the dispatch center really needed him there to answer 911 calls, but he had the police driving him back and forth between Ames and Boone. The kids (& the dog) had a great time with all the huge snow piles in the school parking lot! We were lucky in that we never lost power, but I know a lot of houses were not so lucky. We also only had 2 branches on our lilac bush break off, while lots of people around town were losing entire trees! It was a mess for quite awhile. The last couple days we have had 60-70 degree weather, so all but the biggest piles of snow are gone. Now we just have mud everywhere!! I am hoping since we are already half way through March, that we are done with the snow storms for this season! The pictures above are of the lilac bush and it is usually standing pretty upright! There was a lot of weight on those branches.

In other news, my pregnancy is progressing quickly! The baby dropped this past weekend, so I have been pretty uncomfortable the last couple days. It's the worst at work, since I don't have anywhere to lay down to relieve some of the weight on my hips and back. I've been experiencing Braxton hicks for about a month now which adds to my discomfort. I've been trying to tackle unpacking all the boxes we still have in the library and piano room but it is pretty slow going since my movements are pretty awkward. I did get all our books organized and put on shelves along with sorting through all our video tapes and DVD's and getting those organized. My stash of "garage sale" items is getting quite large. The kids are very excited about having a garage sale this spring and hopefully we will get it done this year! Both kids, especially Caisha, are always looking for ways to earn a little money, so they have been pretty good about going through their toys and weeding out the ones they really don't want anymore. Louis and I are planning that I will take 3 months off work (as long as money holds out), and in June, Louis will take a month off and spend it up at his parents (Jack & Lynne) along with me and the kids. I will probably be making a few trips back to Boone just to check on the cats (neighbors will be caring for them). Bronx (the dog) will be with us up at the farm. I don't think he is going to want to come back after an entire month there! Sometime in April, after the baby is born, I hope to get my garden started and planted. So far I have sweet corn, beans and carrots planned along with some flowers to plant around the dog run. Some day I hope to put in a sand box for the kids where the (very sad) pine trees are. Hopefully we can get someone to come out and cut the trees down for us. Louis has gotten a good start on clearing the branches off, so it will just be a matter of cutting them down without taking down the power lines that run through them! If anyone has the inclination to do a little manual labor (I don't have a tiller) I could sure use the help breaking up the ground in my backyard for the garden! Over the years I plan to expand the garden and flower beds to take up most of the backyard, that way we don't have to mow very much lawn! The biggest chore to tackle will be digging up the bushes in front of the house and transfering them to the back yard. I am hoping Louis will get the carriage house completely tore down this spring, too. Any help on that would be greatly appreciated, also! I would love to have visitors after the baby is born. If you are going to be in the area or just need a short vacation you are here-by invited to stay at the "Johnson Manor"!

Professional Pregnancy Pictures

When I was 28 weeks, Louis and I took a trip up to Minneapolis and had some pictures taken with a great photographer, Paula Preston. I met her through my pageant endevours. She is sooo much fun to work with! Here are a few of the pics.

Plumbing Experience

A couple weeks back, I decided to fix the leak in our kitchen faucet. After testing the existing parts as being the culprit for the leak, we found that they were not the problem. The hot water side was the side that dripped, so we had to always keep the water turned off under the sink. It was a pain every time I wanted to run the dishwasher because I had to reach under the sink and turn the hot water valve on, which is getting more and more uncomfortable as my pregnancy progresses. I finally decided that I would just replace the whole faucet. I thought, "How hard can it be?" ! It wasn't hard to do, but when you get the wrong parts, then misplace a part, then buy that part, then find the original part....it got to be a little frustrating! Not to mention trying to fit under the sink, inside the cabinet, to unhook pipes and then re-attach them, without a good angle to get at them!.....The story is this. I purchased the new faucet and finally wrestled the old one out to find that the whole faucet was made of plastic, including the part you attach the water pipe to. That would explain why it was leaking. It was a piece of crap! Anyway, I got the new one put in place without too many difficulties, had everything hooked up and turned on the water. No more dripping!! I was so happy.......until I looked underneath and saw water leaking out of the connection(compression) joint! As you will find out if you do some reading, compression joints are a one time deal! If they fail, you have to replace them, so I ran the 15 miles to Lowe's to get a replacement compression joint. If I had been smart, I would have brought the "failed" part with me. I didn't. I ended up with the wrong part. So the next time I went in to Lowe's I took the compression joint, the adapter that it was attached to and the copper water pipe. I figured that way I could not lose it! It was about 18" long. WRONG! I get home with my new parts, which now consist of flexible hose instead of the copper pipe, which eliminates the compression joint dilemna. But the part that I really needed to keep track of was the adapter piece that everything connected to, and I managed to misplace it! I looked in the car, on the ground, in the house and even had the store look for it! To no avail. So I drove the 15 miles to Lowe's (because I was determined to finish this!) and picked up a new adapter piece. Of course, that is when I find the original piece! So back to the store to return the new part. It was a long and drawn out process that, in the end, with all the right parts, only took me 20 minutes to complete! I really like the new flexible hose instead of the copper pipe and thought maybe I would replace the cold water side, but decided that I am not going to fix something that isn't broken! Not after my experience! I will be staying away from any plumbing renovations for a while!

Dog Run Update

This is the original height that Louis built the Dog run. Bronx just sailed right over without any effort.

This is what the Carriage House looks like now. Hopefully Louis (& friends) can get it all down this Spring. I would like to start preparing the ground for a future garden and transfer the bushes in front of the house to the back yard as a barrier between us and the school parking lot.

The Dog Run is finally complete!! Louis had to keep building it higher to keep Bronx in. All the materials used to build the dog run are from the carriage house you see in the top photo. I plan to plant flowers that like to climb to cover most of the walls. If you know of any plants that would be good for this, and aren't totally invasive, let me know! It will be interesting to see how it all looks in a couple years! The first photo is the start of the shelter within the Run for Bronx to keep warm in this winter. (If/when it turns cold!) It will be raised off the ground and "insulated" with sheetrock, carpet and blankets...If Bronx would ever leave the blankets alone!

Long Awaited Pregnancy Photos!

I finally got around to having some pics taken. Caisha did the honors one morning when I had an audition in Des Moines. (Which I got!)I am about 24 weeks along.

God answers prayers

Patience does have its rewards! That is one thing that I have to work on daily when I pray for or about something. I must remind myself that it is in God's time, not mine that my prayers will be answered. Of course, sometimes the answer is also, No. The reason for this blog is that one of our prayers was answered this past weekend! As most of you know, Caisha is taking piano lessons. In order for her to practice at home her teacher lent her a small electronic keyboard....nothing fancy, but effective. Caisha is now getting into moving her hand positions up and down the keys and having to play loud and soft. Both these things are not possible on the little keyboard. She has been praying every night for a piano for the last 6 months. I, too, prayed about this because I was not sure how we would ever afford a piano, even a used one! On Friday Louis came home from work and told me that he got us a piano! A co-worker of his had a piano that she REALLY wanted out of her house. She was giving it away free to anyone willing to pick it up and move it out of her house! Louis jumped on that opportunity right away and told her he could have it out of her house the next day! He spent part of his evening at work, talking to his friends and calling them to see if they would be available the next day to help move a piano. We also had one volunteer their horse trailer to transport the piano in!! All in all he got 7 guys to move the piano and haul it from Ames to Boone! We were blessed with warm, sunny, dry weather and a great group of friends! Saturday morning they all delivered it to our house! It is beautiful! I would guess that it is made of cherry wood and pretty old; at least 75+ years old. It is an upright and is a perfect fit for our house! I could not have asked for a more beautiful piece of furniture. It is exactly the type of piano I wanted! Caisha has played on it every day, multiple times. I have played a bit myself and have surprised myself at how quickly it all comes back to me! God does work miracles every day and this one was a big one for us! It strengthens my faith and hope that God does want to give me the things I want and need. I just have to be patient and trust in Him! Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

General Updates

Well, the dog run is still not able to keep Bronx in! Louis said he thinks he came up with a way to keep him in....which will be good since the weather has now turned pretty cold! Bronx would be much warmer in the snug little shelter that Louis built in the dog run. Right now he is tied to the corner of our garage and has to make due with an open, collapsable kennel on the garage floor. I did weave a few blankets through the slats, but Bronx tends to tear pretty much everything apart! Hopefully he will leave it alone long enough that he will still beable to snuggle into the blankets at night....at least until Louis gets the dog run secure. Louis said he will probably work on it today.
Caisha did very well at her recital! She said she was shaking the whole time, but I didn't notice at all. Unfortunately Great Grandma Chloe took a small tumble earlier in the day, so she was unable to make it. She is doing fine. Caisha has now volunteered to play a couple songs at her Sunday School Christmas Program. She just got 2 songs from her teacher, Miss Bohnker. She's not sure she will be ready in time with both songs, so she is leaning towards playing "Away in the Manger" and a song out of her lesson book, "Chime of the Bells", that she already knows. She will also be reading a few lines to introduce the songs that their choir will be singing. Zach also has a few lines in the Christmas program and he is suppose to have his memorized! Their Christmas Program is on the 17th.
For Thanksgiving we headed up to Milford, IA and spent a few days with the kids' Grandpa & Grandma Johnson. We had such beautiful weather! The kids spent a lot of time outside! It was an even better weekend because we had Nala with us. The kids were all a big help to Grandpa and Grandma. The plan is that we will have Nala the next 3 weekends before Christmas. Unfortunately we do not get her for Christmas.
Both Caisha and Zach are doing great in school. Their teachers are proud of them and had very nice things to say about them. Every teacher that Caisha has had says that she always has a smile on her face and is the motivating force in the class. She is always the first to volunteer to help out (teacher and classmates). Caisha is positive that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up and is already loosely planning her future around that. Zach is your typical boy, as he says that he wants to be a professional Football player! But, if he can't do that, he says he would like to be a football coach for a professional football team. He said he would start out coaching the ISU Cyclones football team....to get some experience first...then he would move onto a professional team! I don't ever remember putting that much thought into the things I wanted to be when I was younger! I still had no idea half way through my senior year in high school! Zach is devouring books! Ever since he got a book from his Godmother, Colette, he can't read enough! Thanks Colette!! He is improving on a daily basis. Last year he was struggling a bit with reading and was getting some extra help at school, but he did so well last year that he didn't qualify for the help this year! *yeah* He is still considered "low risk" in comparision to most of his grade, but he is slowly closing the gap and should be right on target, or even slightly above, by the end of the school year.
Christmas is just around the corner! We started putting up the Christmas tree last weekend but never finished it, so that is on our agenda this weekend, along with putting plastic on some more of our windows, and hopefully, finishing up the drapes for the living room! I managed to get one drape done and hung before Thanksgiving and it looks fabulous! Only 3 more to go! Then onto making the curtains for the girls room! When they are all done I will post a few pictures.
If I don't get another post up before Christmas, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Remember that Christ is the reason for the season!

Second Baby Ultrasound

On Monday we had our second ultrasound to check the babies heart. We had to go down to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines this time. I took the whole day off work since the appointment was at 1pm. Louis took off the first half of his shift, so he didn't have to be at work until 7pm. The ultasound went real well. We had a Sr. med student do the initial check and she couldn't stop saying what a beautiful baby we have! And so well behaved! She said it was a great way to start her afternoon! If you chose not to read the previous blog about the sex of the baby I will not give it away here. I am right at 18 weeks and the baby weighs 8 oz. and is 8 inches long! The babies legs are definately longer than they were a month ago at that ultrasound and it knows how to kick with them!! *smile* The babies favorite position seems to be with its head down in my pelvis and I can tell when it is there! During the ultrasound the baby was all stretched out and still had lots of room to grow into. Louis thought the coolest part was when we got to watch the baby swallow....seeing its tongue move and the opening and closing of the mouth.....it was kind of cool. During most of the ultrasound, the baby had the hiccups. I'm not looking forward to those when it gets bigger! Whenever Zach had the hiccups it made me naseaus! Caisha is very anxious for the baby to be born. It would have been cool for her to see the ultrasound. We do have a book that shows the baby at the different months in pregnancy, so she has a pretty good idea what it looks like. Zach doesn't talk much about the baby. I think he is still absorbing the information and seeing how things go once it is born.
On a different note, Caisha has a piano recital tonight. She will be playing two songs from heart and singing "Over the Rainbow" with her teacher accompaning. Great Grandma and Grandpa will be there, so she is super excited!

Dog Run Progress

Well, Louis thought he had the dog run all finished over 2 weeks ago when his dad, Jack, came down to help. It looks a lot better than I had thought it would (which is good!), but it didn't keep Bronx (the dog) in!! He jumped right over it! Of course, they had only built it about 5 feet tall, so it was a breeze for Bronx. Since then Louis came up with a way to increase the height to around 8 feet tall. He worked on it on his three days off and thought again, that he had it finished. Well, this time, it did keep Bronx in for a while, but he did eventually find a way to jump out! Louis hadn't quite finished raising the height above Bronx's shelter and had temporarily put a few boards on top that maybe came to about 7 feet. I figure that is where Bronx is jumping over. We are finding that Bronx is VERY athletic!! I don't have any pictures developed just yet, but when I do I will be posting them and explaining the different stages of building. Hopefully this last effort at "securing" the dog run will work, which will be around the 7th & 8th of this month (Louis' next days off). I will keep you posted!

Baby Update! (If you want to be surprised on the sex of the baby, DO NOT read this!)

Things got a little busy at work the last 2 weeks, so I haven't had the chance to post anything lately. Here is the latest news concerning the baby!
On Tuesday I had a Dr.'s appt. where I had an ultrasound done. The main purpose of this ultrasound was to check the lining of my cervical opening to make sure it had not thinned due to a procedure I had done 8 years ago. Dr. Lines is treating me like I am over the age of 35 since I am so close to that number. She wants to make sure everything will go smoothly for me. Anyway....since we were doing an ultrasound on my cervix they also checked the size and development of the baby to reconfirm my due date. They originally had said my due date was April 16, but have now pushed it up to the 13th. I figure I will have the baby on Tom's(Louis' younger brother) birthday, which I believe is the 9th. I seem to be good at that, being that Caisha shares her dad's birthday and Zach shares mine! The nurse technician said everything looked great with the baby and that it weighs around 5 ounces. She asked if I wanted to know the sex of the baby and since I have already known (mother's instinct) and Louis wants to know so he can tell Nala so she has time to digest the info, I told her sure. My "feeling" was confirmed, so I am now 3 for 3 on knowing the sex of my babies based on my instincts. Here is where you will want to stop reading if you do not want to know until the baby is born! Louis had always thought he would only ever have girls, but he put in his "order" shortly after I found out I was pregnant, for a boy. I am happy to say that once again I deliver! The nurse technician was pretty positive that it is a boy! I got a few ultrasound picture, which the kids thought were great! And Caisha took one to school today to announce to her class that she is getting a little brother soon!
I do have another ultrasound on November 13th to check the baby's heart development since both sides of our families have histories of heart problems, including Nala (very minor). At that time they will be able to get a better picture of the baby and since he will be older they should be able to confirm the sex at that time, also. Louis will be going with me to the one on Nov. 13th. He would have gone to the one on Tuesday, but I didn't realize they were going to do an ultrasound of the baby, too.
I haven't gotten any pictures taken yet since I really haven't started to show until now. As soon as I get some I will be posting them.

Idiocysm

Just heard this on the radio and found it humorous, if not somewhat true.

"Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than living in your garage would make you a car!"

First Baby Appointment

This morning Louis and I went in for our first baby appointment! Everything went real well and we got to hear the babies HEARTBEAT! Everything seems more "real" now. Initially, I seemed to have gained a bit of weight, but I have leveled off. I think my body just got excited about being pregnant again and just remembered from 8 and 10 years ago what it is suppose to do. I've probably gained about 4-6 pounds and I am 11 weeks along. Dr. Lines says that my uterus is the perfect size for how far along I am, which made me feel better. I was a little concerned at how quickly I started to show that maybe I was carring twins, but it doesn't seem to be the case. *Phew* As we were listening to the heartbeat, the baby was moving around, too! It was so cool! I can't physically feel the baby move yet, so it was neat to hear it move around. I will be going in for an ultrasound the end of November to check the babies heart as our families have histories of heart problems. I am sure that Louis will ask to know what the babies sex is at that time. I am still unsure that I want to know ahead of time. I kind of like the suprise! Although, it would be cool to see if I am right about my hunch that it is a boy, along with one of Louis' co-workers who is right about these things 90% of the time. We are both soooo excited!

Just a few more Pictures

Zach with Grandma Lynne showing in the "Get of Sire" Class (I think. Could be "Get of Dam")
Caisha showing "Angel" with her brother, the yearling bull, in the "Get of Dam" class (I think that is the right class) Anyway, the calf and the bull are sister and brother.

More Fair Pictures

Out for the Herd Class
Jack setting up the Yearling Bull for pictures. Isn't he nice! Just needs horns.
Caisha showing with Great Uncle Tom, Grandpa & Uncle Tom. This is definately a family affair! I believe it all started with Caisha's Great Great Grandpa E.O. Johnson
Winning Premier Exhibitor and Premier Breeder Awards. Would you believe some of these animals family lines date all the way back to the late 1800's!