Halloween out and about

Happy Halloween Weekend!  The goblins are already out in our neighborhood.  We live in a college neighborhood, so this weekend has been one of the rowdiest of the school year so far.  While I find myself rolling my eyes at all the ruckus passing by our house late at night, the kids have had a much better attitude.   They have being totally entertained by the costumed students prowling the neighborhood this weekend.  


Today we had lots of fun getting ready for tomorrow.  Here is a sneak peak at the 2010 Johnson Pumpkin Patch:

We spent the day trying on our costumes and attending a local business district's Halloween festivities, complete with trick-o-treating through the stores.  E-Bear got really good at saying "trick-o-treat!"  G-Bear was already a pro.

Tonight we went for a walk down to the Minnesota Gopher football stadium to catch a glimpse of the Halloween action and the night game hosting Ohio State.  We stood outside the gates of the stadium with the kids, watching the megatron and oooing at the crowd.  Suddenly, a man inside the gate reached through the giant bars and handed T two tickets for his third row, end zone seats.  "Here," he said, "would you guys like to see the game?  I won't be needing these tonight, they are my extra tickets."  

Oh my goodness! We were speechless!  We raced into the stadium with the kids and found the seats, right behind the goal posts in the middle third row.  We couldn't believe we were getting to watch the game so close to the field.  It was E-Bear and G-Bear's first football game, and we all had a blast.  Too bad the Gophers got clobbered.  You would never know it by the smiles:

We even made it onto the jumbotron, and if you watch field goal replays on YouTube from the game, you might just see us: behind the left goalpost in the third row  :)  


I hope that nice man who gave us his seats could see our smiles from where he was sitting.  I wish he could know how much fun it was for us to get to go to the game, what a truly special treat it was for us.  I was so taken aback by his generosity to complete strangers.  Hopefully our family can pay the blessing forward to others in the future.  Random acts of kindness truly make the world a better place.  


It's been a wonderful Halloween weekend for us so far.   Have a safe and happy All Saints' Eve!  

My Grateful Heart

"Give thanks in everything."  ~1 Thessalonians 5:18

At the end of a long day, when the week is dragging on, giving thanks can be a rejuvenating exercise.  Rather than focus on the negatives of the day, which is so draining, why not end a day with thanks?  

Here are my Grateful Heart mementos from today.  What are yours?

~For my sweet daughter, her amazing flexibilty, and the way she loves school so much.  Two different family friends have helped me by taking her to school this week while I'm at work and our babysitter cares for E-Bear in his cast.   G-Bear has taken the change of routine perfectly in stride.  Every morning, she wakes up hoping that it is a school day.  Today she was so excited to bring Halloween treats to share with her classmates.  When she returned from school with a bag full of candy from the class party, she was so eager to show E-Bear and share it all with him.  Thank you, Lord, for G-Bear.

~For dear E-Bear, who remains happy and playful despite his cast.  Tonight we tried a bath for the first time in his cast, and while he didn't love it, he was a good sport, holding his leg in the air while I sponged him off and scrubbed his hair.   Tonight as he and G-Bear played with her candy on the couch, my heart melted how they delighted in showing each other the "treasures."  He licked his lollypop treat with such enthusiasm after dinner.  May my heart be as thankful for the little blessings of everyday.  Thank you, Lord, for E-Bear.

~For my wonderful T, who never complains when dinner doesn't turn out well and remains ever patient at bedtime (even when I feel frazzled).  He stays up late with me as I study and lets me keep sleeping in the morning as he gets ready for work.  I still think about him all day, whether I am at work or at home.  I am the most blessed woman in the world to be married to T.

~For the chance to study dermatology with great doctors this period, for mentors who invest in T & in me, for all the friends who have helped us get through this week with E-Bear being hurt.  For the Amazing Miss R who loves my kiddos and takes all their up & downs in stride.  We are surrounded by others who have generously blessed us.  

The rest of the day just seems to melt away, doesn't it?

Time to crawl into bed.....

......with a grateful heart.

Life with a Cast

We are making the most of things with a cast here in Happily Ever Johnson Land!  

We are so grateful for all the prayers and good wishes that have been coming our way.

G-Bear has been a great buddy to E-Bear.  
We are finding lots of quality activities to do as a family while sitting around together.  

The conversations between the kids on the couch have been priceless:

Chatting it up together on the couch.

 I must confess there have been several extra computer viewings of Sesame Street the past few days:

So, what IS the Letter of the Day?
Pssst, don't tell Mom, G-Bear is snacking on the couch ;)

We have been truly grateful for friends who have helped us this week as well.  Our friend, Nana V, brought over dinner and surprises for the kids last night.  What a treat for all of us!  I arrived home to an amazing meal prepared.  The kids peels of laughter and joy were a true delight as they opened their surprises.  E-Bear still won't let the new airplane out of his sight.  G-Bear has colored half of her new coloring book.  The smiles say it all:

We're making lemonade out of lemons here in Happily Ever Johnson Land!

Grocery Bag

Gotta have a plan for the week!  It is dermatology surgery week for me, T is buckling down for an upcoming exam and we have one in a full leg cast!  Here's hoping and praying for many guardian angels in my kitchen and in my house.

Day One: 

Ham & Pineapple Pizza with whole wheat pizza dough

The ham is chopped, the pineapple ready.  

Prep the crust in the morning and let it rise all day, 

open some some tomato sauce and mozzerella,

and we are eating in 30 minutes when I get home!

Day Two

Freezer Meatloaf Muffins 

with roasted potatoes and corn

These are the same meatloaf muffins I made 2 weeks ago.

They were awesome the first time. 

I saved half of the batch in the freezer for this week.  

Since they are fully cooked, just warm them and dinner is ready!

Day Three

Slow Cooker Pot Roast 

with onions, carrots and potatoes

Haven't found my recipe yet, but its hard to go wrong with

pot roast and veggies in the slow cooker all day.

Day Four

Butternut squash soup with 

homemade bread

My friend recently posted her recipe for this soup.

She is a fantastic cook, so it goes on our menu for this week.

Day Five

Crockpot Maple Pork Chops 

with Apples and Carrots

This dish by my friend SnoWhite was so amazing 3 weeks ago,

it is making a second appearance.  I can't wait until friday ;)

Blessings on your kitchen this week!

A Johnson First, A Broken Leg

St. Luke,
gospel author and physician.

Last night T and I took the kids to attend our Archbishop Nienstedt's annual "White Mass" for healthcare providers.  The Mass is sponsored by the Twin Cities Catholic Medical Association and is celebrated every year around the feast of St. Luke, the patron saint of physicians, which occurs on October 18th.  We had a wonderful time celebrating and thanking the Lord with friends and colleagues.  But little did we know that we would need the the prayers of St. Luke in a different way later in the evening because.....

...As I made dinner and the kids watched the Alabama game with T,  sweet E-Bear slipped off the couch the wrong way, landed on his leg and wouldn't get up.  No matter how much training you have, minds still spin when you child is howling and won't walk.  I was grateful that my husband is not only patient, level-headed and kind, but also an excellent orthopaedic surgeon.  We let E-Bear sleep through the night in his own bed, but we were up early this morning to see if he would walk. When he still wouldn't stand up, we knew it was time for an x-ray.

E-Bear and G-Bear were both troopers in their own way during our time at the hospital.  Many stickers and plaster wrap later, we had a casted leg!

E-Bear and his cast.  "Don't worry, momma!"

Even though the day was filled with some bummer and we have 2-4 weeks ahead of us with a long-leg cast, we have a lot to be thankful for:

E-Bear is fine and is on the road to recovery.
He holds the record of being the first Johnson to ever get a cast.

The nurses, residents and staff who took care of us all have worked with Todd,

 know us well, and were abundantly kind.  

And we knew that God was watching over and St. Luke must have added his prayers for us, because the orthopaedist who was on call (and put on E-Bear's cast!) is not only one of Todd's favorite mentors, but had been at the White Mass with us the night before as well.  Coincidence?  I think not.

The Merit Badges of Motherhood

Who says merit badges are only for girl scouts?  Here is a great original post by a dear friend of mine, characteristically extolling the impressive feats of mothers everywhere.

"Merit Badges for Mom"

Maybe I will start making Mommy Merit Badge Sashes for all my friend's on their birthdays.  Oh my sweetness, check these out, somebody already makes Mama Merit Badges.  I love it.  Very creative.

MamaMeritBadges.com

Now that I think of it, merit badges alone may not be enough.  I think I am going to add "Chief Executive Officer of Potty Training" to my resume.

Halloween in Minnesota

You know you live in Minnesota when your three year old asks during dinner:

"Mommy, will Halloween be here after the snow comes?"

Hopefully BEFORE, G-Bear, hopefully BEFORE.

Is it really that cold here already?!

Life in Dermatology

Did you know that there are over 2,000 dermatologic conditions that have been described?  Good luck to me, trying to learn them during these next three weeks while I rotate through the dermatology department.  My required, 300 page dermatology text doesn't even begin to scratch the surface!

Medical school is an exercise in humility.  I constantly find my self wavering between relief and gratefulness that I am getting to do these elective senior rotations and horror at the amount of information that I still don't know.  It is sort of like parenting in many ways: I am infinitely thankful for my children and terrified by how much I have to wing parenting most of the time.

I will need more than luck, so wish me God's grace and wisdom as I tackle all these rashes :)

Grocery Bag

Meal planning is one of the keys to success during a first week back to medical school rotations.  There will certainly be unexpected curve balls in the week.  Best to have the fridge stocked and the recipes prepped.  This week is filled with simple, easy-prep meals to get us through.

Day One

Easy Meatballs from Everyday Food
and Oatmeal Irish Soda Bread

with salad greens

These meatballs and sauce are amazing, only requiring one pot. 
You can cheat and just use your favorite tomato sauce instead of making your own like in the recipe.

The bread is my new favorite quick bread. 

I found the recipe in a grocery store flier.

Photo and recipe from Everydayfoodmag.com

Day Two

Lentil Chili

Yum.  I love making this because I have lunch for the rest of the week.

Definitely add garbanzo beans.

Day Three

Skillet Ham with Glazed Pineapple

and steamed broccoli

Super-quick.  Super good.

Recipe and Photo from MyRecipes.com

Day Four

Barbeque roasted salmon from Cooking Light Magazine

and steamed green beans

This recipe is a Happily Ever Johnson Hall of Famer.  

I used it to impress and whoo T way back in the day.  

Fancy enough for company, but comes together in a snap. 

Recipe and Photo at MyRecipes.com

Day Five

Ham and garden veggie shells
from Joy in My Kitchen

This looks like a winner.  Especially after a long week.

Overheard in the house this week 6...

"E-Bear, let's play a game.  I will be the princess, and you can be......just a boy."

~G-Bear