It sure has been awhile....

Well...thank you (grand and great-grandparents especially) for your patience, I know I have fallen off the blogging horse for quite a while =)

To catch you up to speed real quick...

Family room…..

Our beautiful family room is finished! Scott did such a wonderful job and I am extremely thankful every time it rains for a leak-free roof over my head =)

lets just remember how it all started out.....our little refugee shack

Absolutely beautiful! =) Our first night back in our family room =)

All moved in....this picture is for Stacey thanks for getting me my baskets when you went to Africa for Christmas, I LOVE them, they are perfect! =)

Anniversary....

We celebrated our 4 year anniversary in December. It was my year to plan and I booked a segway tour of the city and dinner at the Stinking Rose. Unfortunately it was pouring and our segway tour was canceled, we are planning to use it after baby number 2 is born since pregnant women are not allowed to take part. The Stinking Rose is a garlic restaurant, it was so good and cute decor. I got crab and Scott got prime rib, we also ordered a hot tub of garlic to dip our bread in...DELICIOUS! We definitely reeked afterward. We went to Tron in 3-D since our evening was cut short. It was a fun time =)

The cute booth we sat in=)

The feast...Yum....

Pretty much four years of marriage has turned us into big nerds...

Christmas……

We had a wonderful time with Scott’s family on Christmas eve. We met up again Christmas day for a brunch at our house, it was so fun getting ready...

Scott's grandpa gave us one of his couches so he could free up space in his condo...here it is all festive =)

I loved getting the table all ready, I used wrapping paper for the "table cloth" and little gift boxes with chocolate in them, I wanted to put little storks or babies in them because we announced our pregnancy at brunch but didn't get around to it.

This was by far my favorite dish to make, Aunt Linda's annual Christmas tree bread, it was my first time making it after watching her make it year after year. It was a big hit and turned out so pretty =)

Scott……

Recently Scott got a promotion at UPS. We are so thankful to Lord and his provision of that job. Pray that Scott would be a witness at work and pleasing to his boss in all things. Also pray that he would be protected from anxiousness and worry as there are lots of expectations to be met monthly.

Amanda….

I am very thankful for the Lord’s strength during this second pregnancy, and for

Scott and his willingness to step in and help me out. My energy has returned the past two weeks and I am so excited to have a little newborn in my arms this August =)

My little sweet cake =)

Liam….

I love this kid so much! He is such a stinker! He is turning into quite the climber and I find him just about anywhere and everywhere. Pray that we would be diligent in our parenting and patient instructing him in the way he should go.

Room update...

Our notorious room is coming along! It is all sheet-rocked and ready for tape, texture, paint and then we can move on in! I am so excited and Scott has done a SPECTACULAR job with the help of MANY others.

Liam loves to watch daddy and grandpa work =)

Reading a book...this kid LOVES books which Scott and I are thrilled about, hope it stays that way =)

Our wonderful can lights compliments to Nick Christy

Many late nights and long hours for this hunk-o-rama =)

This is the sheet-rock stand we rented, it was VERY helpful. Scott found it hysterical that I would prop the sheet rock on my head and then lift it up on the stand...I guess that is some of the African coming out in me =)

Halloween weekend...

On the way to the car museum...

We just got to the car museum and guess who is sleeping?

Someones personal collection of cars....CRAZY

Car heaven

No touching the cars Liam =)

Our favorite car, built custom for a Nepalese Prince

Very first kind of car

I got a new car from the gift shop!

Nursery at church is exhausting....

Ready to get some candy!

Little whiner before trick or treating, I get this face everyday if he wants to go outside and I won't let him =)

Trick or treating

Johnson family thankful tree...

Look who's on our thankful tree (12 weeks in the making=)

Dwight and Angela

Scott and I love the TV show The Office. We paid tribute to it by dressing up as Dwight and Angela for the annual Wenslawski pumpkin party. For those of you not familiar with the show Dwight and Angela are an on again/off again couple with a lot of idiosyncrasies. Liam was a tool man/construction worker. I kept it very simple for him so he could run around and be comfortable. Here are a few pictures...

Photo/Video Update

Wilson from Tim the Tool man =)

Justin from Idaho...thank you thank you

Not sure who this clown is

One side down, one to go

Random Video that has nothing to do with the roof.

Fear

Pastor Jon is working through Luke, yesterday we were in Luke 12. He was recounting stories from Foxe’s book of Martyrs. As he was telling them, I found myself shrinking deeper and deeper into my seat. Everything inside me and outside me did not want to hear stories of gruesome pain being inflicted upon the human body to the point of death. I found myself growing more and more terrified as he went on in more detail than I was comfortable with. This is a normal justified response right? Who likes to hear those things?

As we read Luke12: 4-5 I realized my fear was sorely misplaced. It says, “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes I tell you, fear him!” Talk about a punch-in-the-gut. As I think more and more about this passage I realize I am and have been living a life of fear, worldly fear.

I fear man, physically I fear man. If I count the hours of sleep I have lost looking out our bedroom door and waiting for some man to come around the corner with a ski mask and AK 47, I most definitely, would be a rich woman. Ridiculous, I know but absolutely true. I have always acquiesced to this fear, after several robberies as a child. I believed it was justified. It never occurred to me that it was actually a manifestation of poor theology and poor knowledge of God’s truth. All man can do is kill my body, yes in very horrible ways, but it occurred to me, it cannot be any worse than the torment of eternal hell. Physical pain no matter how long it lasts is temporary. How thrilling!

I am excited and apprehensive to embark on my new desire to eradicate worldly fear from my life. Of course only by God’s grace can those habits change, but that grace is more than sufficient =)

This and That and a day at Fairyland.

I have been hanging onto a coupon for Fairyland in Oakland for a little bit now. We decided to go this weekend since we were taking a little hiatus from construction. We thought Liam would LOVE it and be running around everywhere, nada....he didn't seem thrilled at all. =( The only time I saw him smile was as we were walking to the car and he was on top of his daddy's shoulders. Go figure.

Looking A LOT like his Uncle Michael in this picture...

A day at Fairyland...

In the whale's mouth
Dancing, Liam won a free dance class, much to his dad's horror =)
Train ride

With some weird fairy who kept talking to the dragon
Walked in and found Liam napping like this...

Liam's new favorite toy

More dancing =)