New Home Firsts

One of the best parts about a new home are the first moments.

Today the bears and I watered our first lawn.  We were up early!

G-Bear held the sprinkler, E-Bear carried the hose, Buddy Bear toddled around in the showering water.

~

This afternoon we enjoyed our first playtime in our new playroom.

It isn't up to my standards quite yet, but it holds great potential.

Buddy Bear was especially grateful to find a room with familiar favorites.

He has been missing our toys.

~

Tonight we officially opened the kitchen up for dinner.

It wasn't a home cooked meal, but it was close. 

The best part was sharing peaches and ice cream with the whole family on the patio,

a sweet blessing of making our home in Minnesota.

Moving the Johnsons is like moving the Titanic: it's slow going at first, but then we really settle in.  

 Soon, we'll be hitting our stride. 

Boxes, boxes everywhere....

....but at least they're off the truck!

Our moving truck came yesterday, and we are now swimming in boxes to unpack.  The movers make moving look so easy!  After doing it ourselves five times, I know how hard their work really is.  We were so thankful for their help and expertise this time around.  After only three hours, the truck was unpacked!

Now it is our turn to do the heavy lifting.  Our first job was to make up the kids's room, so that E-Bear and G-Bear would feel right at home for their first night in our new house.  And wouldn't you know, there are plenty of closets big enough for Buddy Bear's bed.  He'll feel right at home!

There are more pictures and tales from our journey to come.  For now, it's back to unpacking these boxes!

We Made It to Minnesota!

Safe and sound, we are here in Minnesota!

We made it

crossing six states,

five Johnsons in tow

four plants stowed

(shuttled to the car roof for each pit stop!)

three days of driving,

two nights of resting,

(one in Louisville and one in Wisconsin Dells!)

and 

one jam-packed car of fun!

Hallelujah!

Moving Day

Tomorrow is moving day.
The truck has been packed.  It left us yesterday.

Our home here in North Carolina is barren and quiet.

It is strange that a place which has been so full of life can look so empty.

Our living room the evening before the movers arrived

As we say our goodbyes with misty eyes,

I am finding great comfort in the things the movers haven't packed, can't take away.

The heart of a home is not the couches, the toys, the dishes, the chairs.

The heart of the home is something we make ourselves, together.

Our apartment mantel

 No many how many moves, 

to the ends of the earth,

He is with us,

and I'm coming with you.

I love you, T.

Thank you, Lord, for our year in Winston Salem.

What I'll miss about NC: T-10 Days Until Moving Day

There is so much I am going to miss about our sweet little apartment here in North Carolina. 

Before the burgeoning piles and moving boxes drive me crazy, 

I'd better record a few of my favorite things.

I'll miss...

The cherry tree outside our bedroom window, the way it makes me feel like I sleep in a tree house

Mom and Dad's room.

The walk to Mr. Gary's office every afternoon to get the mail and a mint with my kids

The way I can pass dishes from the kitchen across the counter to the dinner table

The kids room, where G-Bear and E-Bear slept.

The quiet of the carpeted floors

The kids room and E-Bear's bed.

Learning time, reading time, art time, dinner time, or any other time out on our porch

Our view out over the parking lot and playground, because we always know who is coming and going

Buddy Bear's crib in our hall bathroom (because it won't fit anywhere else!)

Shhhh...don't wake Buddy Bear in the hall bathroom!

The gathering of our neighbors on the stoop every afternoon, in a way that never happened when we first moved here

Washing dishes, watching the kids play on the porch

Our playroom window, filled with our crafts

The playroom in action.

Our playroom, and the hours of fun we've had there together

Cooking breakfast pancakes on the porch because it's already too hot to cook in the kitchen

Swimming in the pool, especially with our friends 

Our Big Next Step

Next week, T will be finishing fellowship.  

His graduation will mark the end of a full decade of medical and surgical training.

This means that it is time for us to make our move, yet again.

We have loved living in North Carolina, and I am pretty sure that we have several boxes in the closet that I have never even unpacked.

All the same, we'll be off again come the end of August.

We are so excited to report that we have accepted a job for T in Minnesota.  It is a great opportunity for our whole family.  We faced a difficult decision, faced with several wonderful practice options, having to choose our location between many loving family members.  We recognize that these kind of difficulties are the best kind to have in life, and we remain so grateful for the support, encouragement and graciousness of both of our families as we contemplated our next step.  Truly, God amazed us in the process of this decision.  We are surprised and excited by the way God brought so many details together.

"Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  

In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path."

~Proverbs 3:5-6

So, bring on the boxes, the tape and the labels!  Thank you, Lord, we're ready for our next big step.

Packing Up the Truck

...The firetruck, that is!

E-Bear and G-Bear were a big help as we pack up last week.  

E-Bear packed up his firetruck with his VIP toys, 

and G-Bear packed a few boxes with essentials for our trip.    

Who needs professional movers with these two around?!  In all seriousness, the kids have embraced the chaos of our move with far greater grace and excitement than I.  That includes Baby Bear, who peacefully slept through much of the packing craze.

Our townhouse home was a great place for us in many ways.   I managed to snap one last picture of our special playroom play space before we began dismantling it.  We spent many hours playing up there over the past several years!  We will have to make our new space just as special, which it will certainly be as long as we are all together as a family. 

 As we finished packing up the real moving truck, the kids were eager to climb up with T and have him assure them that their toys had made the cut.   If you look closely, you might see a stowaway in the rocking chair on the truck (it's E-Bear!).

Tomorrow our truck is scheduled to arrive and we'll be unpacking.  Here's hoping that unpacking will be easier for us than packing was!


Happily Ever,

Queen B

Some like it hot!

After seven days of packing and two long days of driving, we have arrived in North Carolina!

We will spend two days enjoying playtime with cousins E, S, and T 

and then head to our new house to meet our moving truck this weekend!

Thanks for all of your prayers for us while we move.  We miss our MoMo, Papa and Minnesota family, which makes us especially thankful for the warm welcome we have received here in NC!

Top Then Things We LOVE About Minnesota

There is a lot we are going to miss about Minnesota when we leave this week.

10.  The Parks and Trails and Pools:
What would we do without the Minneapolis Park & Rec pools and parks, which have made our summer life with kids so safe and fun!  Como, Harriet, Van Cleave, the Zoos, the Root River Trail, and River Road path have a special place in our hearts.

9.  Van's Auto Service:  Paul is the man when it comes to car repair and check-ups.  He has helped our aging cars stay young!  Thanks to him, we are ready for our cross country trek.

8.  G-Bear's School:  Sniff, sniff.  We will miss her special class and her amazing teachers.  Our next school has big shoes to fill.

7.  The Markets: Farmer's, Mill City, Midtown:
There is nothing like a Saturday morning at the Mill City or Minneapolis Farmer's Market.  We can't pass up the farm-fresh produce, not to mention the cinnamon rolls.  In the winter, Midtown Global Market kept us going with the Produce Exchange and Family Fun Fridays.

6.  Our County Hospital:  It's one of only 4 remaining county hospitals in the country.  It was T's and my favorite place to work on rotation.  Beautiful mission, wonderful place, special patients.

5.  The Train:  The Burlington Northern Railroad line runs between our house and our favorite neighborhood park.  We spent countless afternoons crossing the passenger bridge over the tracks, saying hello to the trains as we went to the park.  At night we could hear the trains passing and working in the switch yard.  We would count the engines as we passed them to take G-Bear to school.  E-Bear especially liked the black and orange engines, and it was always an extra special day if the yellow ones were resting in the yard.  I'll miss the sound of the trains at night.

4.  The Cabin:  Our favorite summer and fall hideaway.

3.  Papa's garden:  G-Bear and E-Bear are always ready to start planting with Papa in the spring.  We'll really miss seeing the final glorious fruits of his green thumb labors this fall.  Plus, there is no better place than Papa's garden patio for.....

2.  MoMo's Sunday Dinner:  Always fabulous, whether enjoyed on the summer patio or inside her decorated dining room.  We've enjoyed every Sunday dinner she's made for the past five years.  Her gift of hospitality makes this one of our favorite family traditions.  

1.  Our family:  The wind beneath our wings for far longer than these past five years, we're tearful to be leaving our Minnesota contingent.  Hold down the fort for us.

Making our move

Well, the time has finally come for our move.  We have had eighteen months to prepare for it.  As our final days approach, I think I have packed one box.  This week is sure to be a whirlwind of activity and emotion.

T and I arrived in Minnesota two weeks before our wedding day.  Our collective possessions fit into two cars and a small U-Haul trailer.   Five years of marriage and three children later, we have ordered a 28-foot trailer for our move because I worry that all our stuff won't fit in a sixteen foot POD.

Moves are always challenging, especially when you have children, especially when you are leaving a place you love, incredibly when you are moving away from family in the process.  Our life in Minnesota has been filled with five years of tremendous challenges and spectacular blessings.  We can't possibly reflect on our time here without praising God for all He has done in our lives.

As we pack this week, we would like to share with you some of our Minnesota favorites.  It will give you an idea of the special place Minnesota has in our hearts.  And, if it feels right, perhaps a few of our favorites will become your own.


Happily Ever,
Queen B