Ring Bearer & Flower Girl

Our wonderful babysitter, the Amazing Miss R, got married this weekend.  G-Bear and E-Bear were fortunate enough to be the flower girl & ring bearer, respectively.  We are still re-living the fantastic experience of getting to be a part of Miss R's & Mr. Z's special day.  At dinner tonight, when T asked G-Bear what she did today, she replied, "We had a great time at the wedding."  

Here are a few of our favorite memories from our big day.  Thanks to Miss R, her family & Mr. Z, who lavished love and tenderness on my munchkins and included them in such a cherished day. 

First, there were many preparations:

Getting dressed with the wedding party at the church.

T was in charge of helping E-Bear with the bow tie.

Miss R even took time out from her preparation to braid G-Bear's hair.  Wow.

Getting ready with Jr Bridesmaid (and our beloved friend!), H.

Had to take a photo shoot break to pass some time.

Gotta love the smile on this guy.

Dressed up and looking good.

 Then there was the official photo shoot,

The bride and her adoring entourage.

 and some last minute practice to make perfect.

In the real procession, the kids blew away my every expectation.  They not only walked together down the aisle, but G-Bear dropped her petals and E-Bear smiled beautifully.  The only near-panic moments came after they successfully made it down the aisle.  E-Bear was distressed that he didn't get to go stand with Miss R, who arrived shortly after him, and G-Bear was distressed that the runner was pulled up the aisle, covering the petals she had carefully dropped for Miss R to see.  I assured her that she could drop even more petals for Miss R on the way out.  

Then there was the rice toss for the happy couple,

a few hugs and enthusiastic waves good-bye,

A few enthusiastic hugs and waves good-bye

 and of course, family pictures before the dinner dance reception.

MoMo & Papa were so proud.

Our whole crew

After dancing our hearts out at the reception, T and I carried the happy and exhausted flower girl and ring bearer to their chariot toward bedtime.  As we left the reception, G-Bear sighed blissfully, 

"Wow, THAT was a long party. And VERY fun."

Congratulations to Miss R & Mr Z.  

We love you.

Grocery Bag

Welcome back, grocery bag!  There is something so soothing about getting control of meal planning early in the week.  It is a blessing I have missed for the past several weeks.  Enjoy our meal ideas for our week.

Day One

Tortilla Soup with Cheddar Biscuits

(Thanks to Aunt K for serving this fabulous meal while we were in Boston.  

The soup below is adapted from her recipe)

Had to snap this photo quickly, before the kids gobbled these up!

Happily Ever Johnson's Favorite Tortilla Soup

2 quarts chicken stock

1 cup onion puree

28-32 oz tomato puree

1-2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

2 cups (15 oz) cooked black beans

4-6 diced corn tortillas

1 tablespoon cumin

2 tablespoons chili powder

4-5 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayene pepper to taste

2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernals

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)

Combine all ingredients except corn and lime juice in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Add corn and lime juice and heat 15-20 more minutes, until heated through.

Serve with avocado, sour cream and shredded cheese.

Note: This method is for a thicker soup.  If you prefer a thinner soup broth, you can combine and heat the ingredients on the stove for 30 minutes and serve immediately.

Day Two

Crockpot Maple Apple Pork Chops

from Finding Joy in My Kitchen

(Original recipe calls for pork roast, but I needed a recipe for my chops!)

Day Three

Honey-Chipotle Spare Ribs and Corn Thyme Polenta 

from Everyday Food Magazine

with steamed carrots

Honey Chipotle Spare Ribs photo at Everyday Food Magazine online

Thyme Polenta photo at Everyday Food Magazine online

Day Four

Sweet Potato Quesadillas from Animal Vegetable Miracle

with Spinach Souffle  from Everyday Food Magazine

(I call this dish "Green Egg Pie" and the kids love it.  The souffle tastes just like the Stouffer's souffle I remember loving as a child)

Spinach Souffle photo at Everyday Food Magazine online

Day Five

Chili with buttermilk biscuits 

from My Recipes

All American Chili photo at My Recipes.com

Buttermilk biscuit photo at MyRecipes.com

Not quite your style this week?  Find this and many other menus for the week at Menu Planning Monday hosted by Organizing Junkie!

Daybook for October 2010

Welcome, October!  We are glad you are here!

Photo Calendars by WiddlyTinks.com
What better way to start the month than with Daybook reflections?  You can always find this Daybook at The Simple Women's Daybook.

Daybook Reflections for October 1, 2010

Outside my window...
The leaves have turned bright red and yellow.  The colors are truly spectacular against a bright blue sky.  
I am thinking...
Of how much happened in September and how blessed we are to have made it to October.  The end of summer, the start of preschool, a trauma rotation for T, Boards for me, a trip to Boston to visit Aunt K, Uncle T and cousin Sparky, what a month.  October is such a beautiful bridge to the holiday months.  We are going to soak up every minute of it.
I am thankful for...
A new month, a new day to parent again.  I have been trying to figure out how to push the "Reset" button in my parenting with G-Bear and E-Bear.  After my month of Board studying, during which I was much more tired and anxious than usual, we developed some bad interaction habits.  Tired and short on time, I have been more flustered in my parenting than usual.  I have noticed my children, in turn, have seemed more out-of-sorts.  Reflecting on the negative patterns of behavior was my first step to eliminating them.  Not that I crying about it to T and praying in desperation didn't help a lot to.  My next step toward success was changing my approach to the cycle of behavior.   Thanks to God for my friend Kat, who recommended the Love and Logic Institute and their parenting techniques.  Today, I have truly turned over a new leaf.  The past few weeks I have dreaded parenting.  Today, I have reveled in it.   I can't wait to get the book or take a class.  I needed some practical tips, and I found them at Love and Logic.  My approach has changed and it is already making a tremendous difference.  
From the learning rooms...I am eagerly searching for short learning activities to do with my sweet E-Bear while G-Bear is at school.  He misses G-Bear so much, and I think he would enjoy the time we have together so much more if we had special "school" things to do together.   If anyone has suggestions or resources for an almost-2 year old, please send them my way!
From the kitchen...I am stocking the fridge with fall produce to get us back in the swing of meals after a month of Boards and a week on vacation.  Hallelujah!  Grocery Bag, I have missed you.
I am wearing...My first sweater of the season.  What a great way to welcome October.
I am creating...
A calendar of fun, fall family ideas and events.  Cooler nights and days are upon us.  My favorite splash pools and go-to summer outings are either closed or out of season.  Time to find kid-friendly activities for fall and set myself up for winter success!
I am reading...
I WISH I was still reading my Magnificat.  Some mysterious stranger sent me a gift subscription the past two months.  But just as mysteriously as it arrived, it stopped coming.  No Magnificat for October in my mailbox.  I need to find a new daily read.
I am hoping...
To get  a pumpkin with the kids at the farmers market this weekend.   We will have to decorate it, give it a name, and put it out on the front porch.  I love fall.
I am hearing...
Nothing but the peaceful quiet of naptime.  Sometimes silence is golden.
Around the house...
We are cleaning out clothing shelves, packing away summer clothes and putting fall clothes in their place.  I feel so blessed by our friends who GAVE us a whole garbage bag FULL of 2T clothes for little E-Bear.  Beautifully cared for hand-me-down jackets, shirts, pants: it was like Christmas opening up the bag.  Never underestimate the blessing that hand-me-down clothes can be to other families.  His shelves are full of beautiful clothes and I didn't have to spend a dime.  It is a blessing we are going to remember, and hope to one day pass on.
One of my favorite things...
Reading stories with children.  Yesterday I was the parent reader at G-Bear's preschool.  We brought one of our favorite books by Terry Golson,

Oh, it is a fabulous book.  I just love the suspense and enthusiasm with which kids enjoy stories.  We were all breathless with excitement to see where Tillie the Chicken would lay her egg next.  E-Bear and G-Bear have read the book with me dozens of times, yet they were still so excited to.  Books are wonderful.  

A few plans for the rest of the week(end)...
It is a rare wedding weekend blitz for us this weekend!  The Amazing Miss R is getting married tomorrow.  E-Bear has is tuxedo.  G-Bear has her dress.  They are wearing their official "Ring Security" and "Flower Girl" shirts today for the rehearsal (gifts from Miss R).  We can't wait.  And I am praying that my kids won't be the most memorable part of the ceremony procession tomorrow :)
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...Ministry to Children is a new site I found that has wonderful Sunday school resources and coloring pages for kids.  Here is one that I just love, perfect for the first day of October.  

Great ideas and coloring pages at  Ministry-to-Children.com 

Worthy of the Calling

Dear Queen B,

On behalf of Ephesians 4:1-3,

I would like to urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received as a Christian.

Be completely humble and gentle.

Be patient.

Bear with others in love.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

This is your calling.  Today.  Tomorrow.  Always.  May God give you grace to live it.

  

Lookin' Good

Can you guess who is the first guy in Happily Ever Johnson Land to own a tuxedo?  I will give you a hint, it isn't T.

E-Bear has a new tuxedo!  Who knew they came in size 2T?  That's right, our little big man is going to be (provide all goes according to plan) the ring bearer on Saturday in Amazing Miss R's wedding.  Don't worry, his "tuxedo" is 100% polyester and it costs less than I would have paid to rent one for him.  I felt like I was getting a steal of a deal.  Or saving us right into the poor house.  One of the two.

I promise pictures from the wedding this weekend.  He is going to look so handsome.  Just like his daddy.

Finding Contentment in Two Worlds

As I continue to work through my decisions regarding medicine, residency and what is best for our family, this recent piece in my alma mater's Alumni Weekly caught my eye.  The writer is a graduate of Princeton, Harvard Business School and mom of two.  While choosing to keep a foot in the professional world, she has passed up attractive jobs that would require longer hours and more time away from her kids, instead opting for positions that aren't as stimulating but allow her flexibility or part-time commitment so she can spend more time with her kids.  She reflects honestly and openly in her piece about her discontent and struggles with this, wondering if, "in being unwilling to give up either world, did I end up doing a poor job in both?"

Canyons: alluring beauty, beasts to straddle

Like the author, I realize that it is a privilege to have the opportunity to wrestle with the problems of how/whether to straddle the mother/professional divide. Sometimes, though, the privilege feels more burdensome than uplifting.  The divide can feel like a canyon, and while canyons are alluringly beautiful in their mystique, they are a beast to straddle.

I realized, as my heart resonated with her struggles, that I have a real problem with contentment.  I am not content to have others determine my path, nor am I satisfied by having the opportunity to choose for myself.  What gives, Queen B? 

This weekend I attended a Christian Women In Medicine conference for a few hours in Providence, RI.  As I described my current position and decisions to others in a small group, one woman encouraged me with Proverbs 16:9:

"A man devises his way, but the Lord directs his steps."

It is my prayer today that the Lord would be the one to direct my steps in the next year as I make hard decisions about my work/home life balance.  I pray for all other mothers who are privileged enough to have to face similar questions, but find them burdensome rather than freeing.  And I pray that my contentment would not lie in a hope of a "perfect balance," (because really, IS there even such a thing?) but in the Lord who is my Savior and Creator, who created me to love Him, love others, and do His good work in the world.

Happily Ever,

Queen B

p.s. The piece is called "A Foot in Two Worlds."  It is available online and was printed in the September 22nd issue of the Princeton Alumni Weekly.

Beantown

The kids and I are loving our post-Boards celebration trip in Boston.  We are visiting my sister, brother-in-law and my niece, and even GrandMo tagged along.  It is a glorious fall weekend here, reminiscent of the lazy days of summer.  Today we arrived early to the Boston Beantown Jazz Festival in South End, to partake in the freebie samples, the amazing food, the Target Family Fun Park and of course, the Jazz music.

The Target Family Fun park was amazing.  This is a shout out to all my buddies working at home headquarters, who are coming up with all these great philanthropic Target Corp ideas.  You know who you are.  We are loving it!  The area had an "Instrument Petting Zoo" filled with all the orchestra instruments you can imagine for the kids to try out.

Uncle T helped G-Bear with the flute.

E-Bear tried out the trumpet.

 The trombone was particularly popular.

After we painted pictures at the painting easels, colored real tote bags for the kids and tried out the percussion section,

E-Bear, undaunted by the size of the drum.

X is for Xylophone!

Team Johnson on the snare.

 we just had to make a stop at the inflated jumpers and the ball pit.  My munchkins wasted no time mastering the art of ball pit jumping:

All this fun was free!  Plus, free face painting, soft pretzels, slushies, and a huge inflated slide for the kids.  Once again, thanks, Target!

We had a nice long walk back through the city before hoping on the T to get home.  You should have seen the enthusiasm with which we ride the T.  The kids couldn't contain their peels of delight as we walked (they jumped) on.  Other passengers couldn't help looking in our direction, wondering if we were serious.  Choo!  Choo! Whoo hoo!  WOW!  The delight of children brings a smile to even the roughest faces.  And we got plenty of smiles.  Thank you, Jesus.

Happily Ever,
Queen B

Multiple Choice

A 29 year old woman walks into your office with her two children.  She states that she is exhausted from studying for her recent board exam.  Her brain feels like it has been put in a blender on the "puree" setting.  She states that she took the exam yesterday and it was very challenging.  She is not sure how she performed, but she is relieved it is over.  Her children are precious and adorable and you find it difficult to pay attention to their mother because her story is very boring.  She does not smoke, takes no medications, has no major medical problems and lives with her husband and two children.  Her family history is non-contributory.   

Which of the following is the next appropriate step in your management of this patient?

A.  Offer to babysit her children so that she can take a nap for an hour.  When she thanks you and says that won't be necessary because she will try to go to sleep at 9pm tonight, breathe a sigh of relief.   

B.  Tell her that even if she didn't pass her exam that God still loves her and has a reason why she would need to commit time to study for it again.

C.  Remind her to get a lot of sleep tonight because tomorrow she is taking her children on a flight to visit her beloved sister in Boston (and thank goodness that her mother is flying with her this time).

D.  Hold up a mirror so that your patient can she her greasy hair, wrinkled t-shirt & jeans, the circles under her eyes and say, "well, look at it this way, at least you are smiling."

E.  A, B, and C, but not D, because even though D is true it wouldn't be a nice thing to do.

Hooray!  We are coming back to life around here with a lazy morning (no early morning studying!), loads of laundry, kitchen clean up, and nice long afternoon naps.  Our treat of the day was getting E-Bear a haircut and going to G-Bear's preschool pictures.  The photographer even took some pictures of E-Bear for us, which made me eve more thankful that we had just gotten his haircut (goodbye, fraternity boy hair)!   What a nice change from the past few weeks.  

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for me and to those of you who kept us going with your love and friendship during the past few weeks.  I am so grateful!

p.s. The correct answer is E.  I know D is tempting.  Resist the urge.  

Board Exam!

I am on the verge of emerging from my board-study haze.  Boards is on Tuesday, and while part of me worries about not performing to my expectations or (eek) not passing, I am mostly just wanting it to be over.  I don't know that I have done a great job of balancing my studying with all my other responsibilities this time around.  I sure have tried, but it will be nice not to have the cloud of a big exam hanging over my head all the time.

So, no posts from me tomorrow....because I will be doing last minute cramming.  Sorry, Grocery Bag, you will be neglected once again.  Survival study mode means lots of soup, leftovers and last-minute meals around here.  Thank goodness for MoMo, who is feeding us tonight and tomorrow.

On Tuesday, I will be running the gauntlet of multiple choice for 9 hours.  If you think of us that day, please pray for me!

It is good to remember that God's plan for me is already in place.  The test may be hard or easy, but He will  decide my future.

Surprise for MoMo!

Our beloved MoMo and Papa have returned safely from their romantic Canadian get away!  

As promised, it is time to reveal my present to MoMo for her 60th birthday.  With the help of over 30 family members and loving friends, I put together a book for my mom: 

"Celebrating 60 Years of Greatness!"

Thanks to the 30+ people who contributed, this present really was a testament to the amazing woman who is my mom.  The book was is 40 pages long:

People from all arenas and periods of her life sent me emails, letters, photos and handmade pages that I was able to compile into the book.

What a little cutie!

The time, creativity and love that people poured into their contributions was heartwarming:

The GrandMo Paperdoll page, complete with interchangeable outfits and accessories of infamy, was particularly spectacular:

More examples:

We were so excited to give MoMo & Papa hugs and the present that we were waiting for them when they pulled in from the airport.

We snatched them away to dinner so that we could give her the gift right away.  G-Bear was especially proud of the card, because she had signed her name for the first time:

The first reactions:

Grandmo couldn't believe it.  She was totally surprised and overwhelmed.  She couldn't wait to get home to start reading the book.  

Trust me, it will take her a few days.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to each and every person who helped contribute to this present.  It meant so much to my mom.  Our personal family experience has taught us that we must take every opportunity to tell our loved ones how much we love them while we are still together in this life.  When it comes to my mom, 40 pages of love is just a taste of how many lives she has blessed, but it is a fantastic start.