Boys Night Out

The same day that G-Bear and I got to go out for our Girls' Day Out, 

T was able to take E-Bear and Buddy Bear for a Boys' Night Out!   

It was a Friday night, and T was covering a local high school football game.  

The boys were over the moon with excitement to get to dress in their sports gear and join Dad on the sidelines for a game.  

T took the boys to McDonald's before the meal, for which the boys couldn't have been more excited.  They each got a monster truck in their Happy Meal, which only added to the euphoria.  During the game, the boys were so good for T.  They were mesmerized by the action and even memorized several of the players' names.  

 E-Bear and Buddy Bear are avid sports fans just like their Dad, and they felt so grown up being able to be on an outing just with him.  Even though it was late when the game finished, T decided to make the night extra special for the boys and capitalize on the fact that they hadn't yet had a treat.

So afterwards, T took the boys to Red Robin's for root beer floats.  Can you tell what the ultimate treat is for our family?!  Note the sign -- I love it!

The boys did tell me, though, as soon as they got home.  I am happy to say that I think they used sensible moderation and discretion and each had only float, but I was careful not to ask too many questions :)

Happily Ever,
Queen B

One July Afternoon

It's another perfect July day.

The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the garden is lush because it rained last night.

T is home early.

He has set up the Slackline between our two trees in front.

The speakers are playing our favorite songs.

It is rest time, but pretty soon the kids are beckoned outside.

They can't resist T and his Slackline.

T has spoiled me.

I have a chair in the shade.

I have our baby in my arms.

I have a sweet tea in my hand, made by my sweet T himself.

From my seat in the shade, I get to enjoy 

the sight of my three oldest smiling and laughing,

bouncing T off the Slackline, trying their balance,

playing catch with our tiny black mitt and a bright tennis ball.

From my seat in the shade, looking down in my lap,

our newest addition is snoozing in peace,

where just days ago a round belly was seen,

which now feels strangely far away.

And the kids are laughing, and T is ever smiling, 

and there is a breeze in the shade and the baby's at peace,

and my tea is very sweet.

I would bottle this moment if I could.

Happily Ever,

Queen B

E-Bear on the sidelines

Guess who go to watch from the sidelines with Dad for the first time on Friday night?

E-Bear was a great helper for his dad.  He even got compliments from the team's athletic director.

They had to stay until the bitter end of the game, (and there were fireworks!), so our little guy didn't get home until 10pm.  Although he fell fast asleep on the ride home, he quickly woke up enough to tell me all about his exciting night.  We're so glad you had fun, E-Bear.

G-Bear, Buddy Bear and I had watched our favorite PBS shows together and at chocolate cake after J-Bear was asleep to make up for the fact that only one kid could go with dad.  G-Bear and Buddy Bear were pretty thrilled with their deal too.  For that, I was truly thankful.  

Happily Ever,

Queen B

Dinner on the porch to celebrate Boards

T passed his Boards!

Thank you, Jesus.

Such a monumental occasion merits a night out to celebrate.

Unless you find out the news at 5:30pm on your way home with four tired kids 

and no babysitter is available.  

In that case, you go to plan B: put tired kids to bed early and get Indian take-out.

Hang a few porch lights, light a few candles, buy a few Izzes,

spring for the palak paneer AND the tandoori chicken,

and you have a veritable feast fit for ANY super special occasion.

After all, we've hoped for and looked forward to this day for years.

What a wonderful way to celebrate.

Congratulations, T.  

He's Done! The Boards of July

Forget the Ides of March.

We've been wary of this month for several years now.

This week, T took his final Board exam for his specialty.

Oral exams are intimidating.  This one is down right spine tingling.

But today, thanks be to God, he is finished.

We won't know the results of the exam for several months.  Even so, there is plenty to reflect on this experience that we have weathered together.  I asked myself so many times over the past few months, 'how can I show love to T as this exam looms?'   T is so cool calm and collected, and leading up to the exam, he rarely complained.  Even so, the preparation for this one was burdensome and exhausting for both of us.  I am always tempted to misread exhaustion as disinterest.  My best plan and surest defense was to keep 1 Corinthians 13 at the ready.  I had to constantly remember that love is patient and kind.  My love must bear all things, believe all things and hope all things.   I could bless his longest preparation days by going the extra mile, lavishing patience and understanding and creating a welcoming, relaxing haven for his arrival home.  If my day had been crazy, it was just all the more opportunity to accomplish these things out of love.  

Exams are hard; so is love.

In the life that T and I have chosen, we must pass the exams. 

But we must excel at love above everything else.

Congratulations, T.  I love you and I am so proud of you.

Best wishes for Friday the 13th

We are not superstitious.  I honestly didn't know that yesterday was Friday the 13th until dinner time.

But, if we were superstitious, T may have stayed home from work yesterday.  As he headed out the door, little Buddy Bear met him on the stairs and gave him a cheerful hug good-bye:

"Bye, Daddy!  Have a good day!  Don't get killed!"

"How's that for a Friday the 13th greeting?"  T asked at work.

Thankfully, our day was quite uneventful :)

Happy 35th Birthday, T!

Somehow, I managed to surprise T for his 35th birthday last week.  I assembled seven close friends, planned an adults-only dinner, and managed to organize everything with a babysitter (thanks,  MoMo!) and the restaurant without him knowing.  Whew!  My heart was racing even as we walked into dinner -- I wanted him to be happily surprised!  And he was.  He was so surprised and so happy.

After a wonderful dinner, we all took turns toasting T.  Here is the toast I offered.  To my love, in Him, from her.

A Toast to My Dearest T, on the Occasion of His 35th Birthday

"Thirty-five things I love about you"

35.  Your fashion sense, which always outshines my own.

34.  Your dancing ability.  For a boy who grew up in a school where dancing wasn't allowed, 

you are impressive.  I am pretty sure I first held hands with you during a dance class.  I've loved dancing with you ever since.

33.  Your sense of adventure.  Whether flying in a trike, tandem biking, hitting Disney World or driving across California with all kids in tow, you're ready.  I love getting to be along for the ride.

32.  Your love of sports, especially all things Alabama.

31.  You are clean shaven (most of the time).

30.  You love your grandmother's cooking best, and you don't complain when I try my best but still can't quite make it right, the way she did.

29.  Your gift of giving gifts.  Whether a flower smile, a princess crown, an Indian cookbook or an awesome bike, your gifts are always well-considered, thoughtful, and generous.  You are a great gift giver.

28.  You are a DJ ability.  Your music is always the best and most fun to listen to.

27.  You are respected at work.

26.  You are loved by your patients.

25.  You come home happy everyday.

24.  You come home happy when I need you to come home.  And you can hear it in my voice.

23.  You love electronics.  I do not.  Our family benefits tremendously from your skills, and so do our children, who enjoy sharing electronics with you.

22.  You are good at resting.  I am not.  You help me rest, and you give our children a great example of restful relaxation.

21. You rarely loose your cool, as in, almost never.

20. You are patient with me and everyone else.

19.  You love the fairytales (whether part of a Disney World adventure or encouraging our sons' love of superheroes), but you live in pursuit of the real Happy Ending.

18.  You are not afraid of uncertainty.  Whether facing the Match, job prospects, new little ones or the many unknowns of life, you are unshaken because your faith rests in the One who knows the future and you are secure in Him.

17.  The way G-Bear reflects you.

16.  The way E-Bear reflects you.

15.  The way Buddy Bear reflects you.

14.  The way J-Bear reflects you.

13.  The way you love G-Bear.

12.  The way you love E-Bear.

11.  The way you love Buddy Bear.

10.  The way you love J-Bear.

9.  You have embraced fatherhood with a whole heart.

8.   You are a Southern gentleman, and you are teaching our sons to be gentlemen as well.

7.  My mom loves you.

6.  You miss me.

5.  You love me better everyday.

4.  You know me well.  Who else gets a perfect score on the pre-marriage "How well do you know your fiancé" exam?

3.  You know me well and you married me anyway.

2.  You pray.

1.  You love God first.  You always have, and I pray you always will.

And, one to grow on:

I love your age.  I have loved everyday that I have had with you so far, T.  I look forward to everyday ahead.

On Guys weekends, breakfast biscuits, mom's group and Robie the iRobot

I am going...to miss T during his annual Guys Weekend coming up.  He has planned the group gathering again this year.  While it is always a lot of work and sacrifice to make it happen, it is always a weekend that blesses him and our family.  He comes back refreshed and encouraged, supported and challenged, a stronger husband and father.  I am so grateful that these wonderful Christian men continue to be part of T's life.

I am hoping...for the success of a new mom's group that is starting at our church.  I am helping to arrange childcare at our house once a month for all the pre-schoolers and toddlers of the mom's who attend the group.  I am hoping this will free moms up to attend the group, facilitate friendships among these great kids, and not result in the crumbling of our home ;).  Today, we hosted three caregivers and ten kids, ages 18 months to 5 years, and it was great!  The kids read a story, did crafts, sang songs and had snack and playtime, while we moms discussed the great topic of gift giving all by ourselves.  I am praying that these mornings will be a blessing to both kids and moms, to help us all in our walk with the Lord and each other.

I am learning...to make biscuits--real, southern style biscuits.  I have tried and failed numerous times since T and I got married, to my great disappointment.  T loves biscuits, thanks to his Grandma Cookie's awesome baking skills and general upbringing in the South.  But, he has had to settle for the refrigerated dough type.  Until now, that is.  I think I may have found the recipe we've searched for, thanks to Southern Living Magazine, and I think I have figured out the technique (fingers crossed!).  Last weekend, we celebrated Nana's arrival with breakfast biscuits!  Hooray!  They tasted great and looked like the real thing.  Now if only I can do it again this weekend....

E-Bear and I celebrate buttermilk biscuit success.

Around the house...we have a new friend, "Robie" the iRobot.  Robie came highly recommended by Aunt A, and now I know why.  He is a great new buddy to have around the house.  I wasn't so sure I would like him.  T, however, made the recommendation when he heard how often I was sweeping the kitchen floor on a daily basis.  Now, Robie keeps me company nearly everyday during afternoon rest time.  He follows me around, vacuuming, as I pick up the toys, books and chairs in his path.  He also works hard when I leave to pick up the kids or run errands during the day.  While we are still experimenting, I think he's a keeper.  He's much cheaper than a cleaning service and has far fewer side effects than the caffiene I would need if I were try to clean our floors on a daily basis.  Plus, the kids LOVE him!  They love to either sit on the couch and watch Robie work or follow him around the house.  He is quite the pied piper!

I am pondering...when to start J-Bear on solid food.  We are closing in on her 6-month mark, and she is starting to have trouble sleeping at night (because she gets hungry?).  I can't believe I will get to introduce another little soul to the wonderful world of solid food.  Sweet potatoes are looking good right now, so I better start pureeing for sweet J-Bear's upcoming meals.

(Thanks to the Simple Woman's Daybook for the inspiration!)

One year of work for T!

I am thinking...that today is the one year anniversary of T working at his practice.  What a blessing the past year has been for our family!  After so many years of training, we have been so grateful to see the other side of residency and fellowship.  There are certainly challenges in the first year of a medical practice.  But, T has weathered each of them with his signature calm and poise.  When we look back on this first year, I can assure you we won't remember the challenges, but instead the blessings we have received.  T has been home some mornings for breakfast, we enjoy a new norm of family dinners together, T is able to attend school and family events and we enjoy greater free time together on the weekends.  I am also thankful for the way that T enjoys his work with his patients and comes home so happy.  We are grateful for the friends we have made through his practice, the hardworking team members that help him everyday, and the support and mentorship of his partners.  May God continue to bless this path!

A Happy Father's Day

"Our feet are small,

our eyes are wide,

we make a mess,

we like to hide;

And when our busy day is done,

we thank the Lord there is someone

named Daddy who is here to teach

and help us, life and dreams, to reach."

~Happy Father's Day, 2013

Happily Ever Johnson

This Father's Day, 

Baby J-Bear is thankful for her Daddy's safe arms,

Buddy Bear is thankful for Daddy's love of basketball,

E-Bear is thankful for Daddy's love of Superman,

and G-Bear is thankful for Daddy's jokes and hugs.

I am thankful for the love of my life,

the father of our children,

a great protector and leader for our family.

Happy Father's Day to dads everywhere!

Happily Ever,

Queen B

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Just when you think we celebrated allllll our birthdays,

June rolls around and it's time to celebrate T!

Happy birthday, Super Dad!

This year, the Bears and I decided to throw T a "firefly" birthday party.

When T was a little boy, Nana used to tell him that his birthday would be "after the fireflies come out."

T and I still take great delight in watching for fireflies as his birthday approaches.

This year, the spring has been so cold and snowy that we still haven't seen any fireflies!

We decided to fix that for T's birthday.

Our blinking Christmas lights did the trick!

There is no celebration like a birthday celebration with our crew.  Buddy Bear gets so excited to sing "Happy Birthday" and blow out the candles.

He had been practicing throughout the day!

Thankfully, between an early birthday dinner with Nana last week,

and our family celebration this weekend (Chicken fingers! Ice cream cake! Hooray!),
there have been plenty of candles to blow out. :)

Happy birthday, T.

You really do light up our lives.  

I am so thankful to celebrate another year with you.

The Doctor is IN

Remember this guy?

T's first day of residency.

Today, T has been at his new job for two weeks.  Hallelujah!  Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves.  We are so thankful to be entering this post-residency phase of life.

Belated, here is our front step photo from his first day.  I told him he looked very trustworthy, definitely someone to whom I would recommend patients. :)  

As our kids grow up and have their own first day jitters, it will be fun to pull out these pictures, and others like them, and remind our bears in real terms that "we can relate!  We've been there!"

So far, the beginner jitters have been manageable, as T has a great work environment and supportive co-workers.  I have a feeling he'll be hitting his stride sooner than he thinks.

As we round the two week mark, we remember to give a big "Thank You!" to all of our family, loved ones, supporters and educators who have helped our family get to this point.  Thanks to the love and support of so many, T is off to a great start!

A Basketball Birthday for 33

I couldn't resist throwing T a basketball birthday party this year.  

After all, birthday parties are the epitome of celebration for our kids right now,

and who can ever outgrow a birthday party?

We chose the basketball theme because it is well-known that T was number 33 on the court

during his long, illustrious years playing basketball.  What better way to celebrate the arrival of his 33rd year?

T was gone for two days leading up to his birthday, so the kids and I worked hard to make his cupcakes and decorate our living room with shakers and basketball festiveness.  The kids colored a picture of T playing "against LSU," and we made placemats out of basketball coloring pages for everyone to enjoy during the birthday lunch.

E-Bear was so kind to lend his basketball hoop to the cause.

 We surprised T by picking him up at the airport and bringing him home to his birthday party lunch.  The kids could hardly wait to give him his presents, so we did that first.  They were so excited to open his present for him: new basketball shoes and laces!  (T already had guessed his present because he had seen the charge on our bank statement -- it is impossible for me to surprise him!)

Then G-Bear proudly gave T her present: a custom birthday coloring book that she assembled herself. She had worked really hard to put it together for him.

 What a fun afternoon!

MoMo and Papa had no idea, but their birthday card was perfect for the occasion.  T absolutely loved it:

You can find more great "Inherit the Mirth" greeting cards at DivinityBoutique.com

The inside of the card said it all:
"There's no denying it's your birthday....
hoop, hoop hooray!"

Happy Birthday, T.  We love you, 33.

The Big 33

He's tall, 

he's handsome, 

and now he's 33 on more than just the basketball court.

Happy 33rd birthday to the man of my dreams. 

Buddy on a Bike

Times have changed,

T at 13 months with his family at Hilton Head.

but many things remain the same. 

Like Daddy, like Buddy.

Buddy Bear at 12 months, my buddy on the bike.

Happily Ever,
Queen B

Fellowship Milestone

For those of you who are not up on the latest in college basketball, this week marks the end of many teams' seasons.  This is huge in our life because T has been covering our local ACC basketball team as part of his fellowship year, and man, do these ACC teams travel a lot.  T is coming home tonight as I write this, and I couldn't be happier.  Of course, the fact that T is coming home now rather than Sunday night means that his team lost their game today.  *Sigh*  I am sorry to say that I am happier than most local fans tonight.

So, tonight, a toast to "Doc" T, his fellowship milestone, and the team he has enjoyed covering this season.

Residency Graduation Day

Today is our day to toast five long years of residency,

from the first days,

to the last days,

and all the days between,

T's pile of consult cards from one 6 month rotation,
and his completed operating case log book.

here's to the skilled and compassionate surgeon you have become,

and the loving husband and father you have remained.

Congratulations to T and his fellow chief residents on their graduation today!

Hallelujah!

The Fanciest Car in the Lot

The kids and I racked our brains for a good way to make T feel special today for his birthday.

I mean, it isn't easy!  

1.  The guy is up and out to work right after Baby Bear and I fall asleep for the night (ok, this is a slight exaggeration.  Neither T's wake up time nor Baby Bear's sleep schedule is quite that bad),

2.  He is in the operating room all day (no chance of surprising him there), and

3.  There is always the dubious possibility of something mucking up our evening plans (for instance, last year, T was on call on his birthday.  By the time he made it home, we had finished eating dinner and we were singing "Happy Birthday" to his cake.  He blew out the candles, took one bite of his dinner and then got paged back to the hospital.  He didn't even get to eat his piece of cake!  Good grief.)

Whew.  What to do?

Fortunately, by the end of breakfast, we had come up with a plan.

We would decorate T's car.

Now, this is not as easy as it sounds.  

We had to overcome the following obstacles to succeed in our plan:

1.  We had to find the car.  T was going to be operating between two hospitals today, and we didn't know where he parks his car at either of them.

2.  We had to fit our secretive decorating in between our very important playdough making class this morning (hooray for summer learning!), an afternoon birthday dessert surprise pick-up (oh, we are so sneaky), a mid-errand potty break for mom, Baby Bear feedings, preschooler attention spans, and nap time.  

3.  Dreaded decoration malfunctions!  We had brought ribbons, party hats, streamers and recycled printer paper to decorate the car.  But, woe of woe, we forgot the markers at home!  No markers to write a happy birthday message on the paper?  Eek!  Quickly, we searched every nook and cranny of our spacious Sienna minivan and came up with one dried up black pen.  Seriously?  My car is not that clean.  How is it possible that there is not a single lost crayola, rejected restaurant crayon or forgotten med school highlighter anywhere in the car??

Well, we figured out which hospital to go to, thanks to T, who called with his update as we left our playdough class.

We found his car, thanks to some sharp thinking (and a few prayers to St. Anthony for help!).

We managed to apply the decorations before any of us died of heat stroke in the 100 degree parking lot.   Thanks to my hearty helpers, E-Bear and G-Bear, our nearly dried up black pen, and Baby Bear who looked on contentedly from his car seat:

Me: "G-Bear, you hold the ribbon bag and hand me the ribbons!"

G-Bear: "Okay!"

Me: "E-Bear, you hold the letter pages and tell me the letter as you hand it to me!"

E-Bear: "Okay! First one is H!"

Me: "Great!  Now, somebody hand me the tape!"

The car looked sufficiently silly by the time we finished.  We wished the car a happy birthday (at E-Bear's request) and then headed home for naps, miraculously before any of us had a melt down.  

Needless to say, T was very surprised.  Everyone in the parking lot wished him happy birthday :)

Oh, the things we do for love!  

Happy Birthday to my love

There is only one Prince T,

and we are celebrating him today!

I am hoping that I am the first to wish him Happy Birthday this morning.  

He's bound to receive many kisses from the royalty around here,

which of course is well deserved.

And, even though he is our hard working daddy,

we'll be working hard to make him feel special today.

Happy Birthday, my love.