Blessings

Well, a lot has happened in the past week and I certainly know that Heavenly Father is aware of our little family. The first thing that happened (the day after the last post) was that we found out we would be able to move into a place that will be a MUCH better fit for our family and more affordable. It is the perfect size and in a great location. The next several blessings were that we had a very strict budget for furnishing our new place, but needed almost everything . . . couches, kitchen table and chairs, computer desk, living room tables, night stands, etc . . . and we were able to get everything for less than we had budgeted (thank you craigslist!). To top it all off, today David received a letter to come test and interview for a job that he really wants and even if he doesn't get it, it's nice to know he at least qualifies for an interview. Anyways, I am so grateful for all that we have been given and I know that we are being watched over.

One of Life's Little Joys

This little boy brings so much light and joy into our lives. We are so grateful for him!

Oh, Life

So, I'm realizing that I haven't been posting very often because at this point in time . . . well the past year really we've just been trying to get through each and every day. Ever since David graduated our lives have been quite a struggle, which has been a great disappointment because we were always under the impression that a college degree was the ticket to success. Yes, he has a job . . . but he really doesn't like, he works 50-60 hours a week, and he's still not getting paid enough for us to really survive. Thankfully we have amazing parents that give us some help, but I think we've certainly reached the point where we want to be able to support ourselves. We've spent the past year applying for different jobs but nothing has worked out. Dave is now studying to the GRE in the hopes that graduate school will help with the situation. Anyways, we know this is a trial from which we are supposed to learn a great deal and slowly I think we are starting to understand. I now try to take advantage of every little joy in life. Dave and I are closer than we have ever been because we have been through so much together. We know that family is really what is most important and we will direct our future to keep our family close. There is so much more we have learned, but I think we still have a way to go. I'm just grateful for the gospel and the love of the Lord and my family . . .

Finally!

After nearly 5 years of marriage, we finally have a head board for our bed! We didn't want to spend much money and we wanted something that we would really like, so David made it (I made the fabric inserts). It really didn't take very long and we spent less than $150, which is pretty good for a nice head board. David loved having something to work on and he's planning to make a foot board as well. I have a feeling we'll be doing a lot of projects like this in the future because it's something we enjoy doing together and we can get exactly what we want.

Where have those Johnson's been?

This past month has been a very busy, fun, and full one for us. We moved about 6 weeks ago (and still feel like we're getting settled). I went down to Cedar City for a few days to see some plays at the Shakespearean festival and then we went down to Arizona to visit my family for a few days. We celebrated cousin Kourtney's wedding and all of David's family was in town for that. David's parent's had a home-coming party and we've been enjoying spending a lot of time with them. We've also been enjoying the outdoors, water parks, Thanksgiving Point petting zoo, and growing zucchini and tomatoes out our ears! Things are finally settling down and now we can start getting more prepared for this little baby to join our family in just a couple of months! (Hopefully David can take the GRE and get a new job in the mean-time).

Twuk!

Luke's absolute favorite things in the world are his cars and trucks (though he calls any vehicle a truck). I think his fascination started when we took Grandpa's truck camping earlier this summer. He will sit and play with his trucks all day long and doesn't get tired of them. David's going to make him a toddler bed that looks like a truck which we are pretty excited about (I love having a handy man husband!)

Vacation

We went on our family vacation this past weekend and it was a great experience. This was our first road trip with Luke (a 5 1/2 hour drive ended up being more like 8!) and it was a bit more difficult than we had anticipated. He wouldn't sleep for more than about 30 min at a time in the car and on the way up he took only 2 naps and on the way back he took only 1 (but we stopped more on the way back and he did much better). We learned a lot about how to travel with a toddler and our future trips will be planned out a little better to accommodate children more. Despite Luke's dislike of the car we ended up having a really great time and we're so glad we went. We drove through a little bit of Yellowstone and saw Old Faithful, we went on a few little nature walks and drove up the summit of a few mountains. The views are awesome! We were disappointed that we didn't really see any wildlife, but the scenery made up for it. We went to a chuck wagon dinner in Jackson which was a lot of fun, but we couldn't enjoy the show because Luke had had enough. We also walked around the shops in Jackson and had fun making our dinners on a fire (we slept in a little cabin.) Anyways, it was a short trip, but we really had a great time and would recommend it to anyone!