Here is a brief summary of all the wonderful things God has done in our lives in 2009....
We began the year with a wonderful surprise! We found out in late January that we were going to have another baby! Fabulous way to start the year out, I think! With that in mind, we continued on with the day to day with Andrew plugging away at work and school and myself staying home with Daniel, watching him grow like a weed!
In March, Daniel fell and broke his leg! That was quite a trial as Andrew was swamped with work and school (as usual) and I was incredibly sick with morning sickness!! But, God gave us grace, and we made it through, and Daniel was back to running around in no time!!
Morning sickness finally subsided and we were off to visit family in the summer. We went to MN to see Andrew's family in May, and my family in Vegas in June! They were sweet visits with loved ones and unfortunately never lasted quite long enough!!
We then took a mini family vacation and headed of to Chicago for a weekend! We had a great time, as we got to see the Minnesota Twins (that's baseball for you folks who may not know your sports) play the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field! What a treat, especially for Andrew! Below is a picture of Daniel all suited up in his Twins gear, getting ready for the game! We won, by the way! :)
In September we had an unfortunate car crash, smashing our car up pretty well! We of course had some fun with the insurance company, but in the end it all worked out, we got our car fixed, and most importantly, nobobody was injured! All three of us (four included Micah in utero!) were in the car, and Daniel still to this day says "dada, crash!" pretty much every time we get into the car! He also loves to crash his little toy cars and his bike, whenever he can...I suppose we will never live that one down! :)
Then we just continued along with life! I think it was in June we found out we were having another boy, and decided to name him Micah Andrew! The highlight of the summer, for sure! Then we celebrated Daniel's 2nd birthday with good friends Ben and Jessica as they were passing through Louisville on their way back to WI. Daniel got a new bike for his bday, which he plays with daily! He likes to crash it, however, so we always have to keep a close eye on him! He is all boy!! :) Then,four days after Daniel's birthday, of course, Micah came! I was induced Thursday night (late) and had Micah at 2:36 am on Friday! I was so blessed with a great labor, only 6 hours long and only had to do one big push! I am so thankful for that, as I opted out of the pain meds! Yikes! It was definitely rough, but God helped me through and we were blessed with a quick recovery and even got out of that hospital a day early! Woohoo! :)
We celebrated Thanksgiving with some dear friends at our new church, and we had a great time of fellowship! Andrew and I are so thankful for this church we just started attending back in May! We are teaching 3rd-6th grade Sunday school and I am involved in our women's bible study at the moment, where we are reading through Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother. I highly recommend it to all you mothers out there! The women at my church have been an incredible blessing to me as they hold me accountable in many aspects of my life, from being a wife, mother, and even living a healthy lifestyle through smart eating and exercise! God is good to me!
We then spend Christmas with Andrew's mom, Ann, and we are so glad she was able to come stay with us! She stayed for 3 days and absolutely LOVED spending time with her grandsons and spoiling us as well! She rocked Micah to sleep often and spoiled Daniel with treats and lots of fun attention! It was great to have her with us, as she is such a blessing to us!
And now I write this, on New Years Eve, while my hubby is faithfully working hard at work! I have a horrendous cold that has really knocked me down; one that Daniel was so kind to share with Micah and myself! What a way to end the year, I guess! :) I like to think of it just as a reminder of my complete and utter need for Christ for everything, even my health! God is good regardless of our trials and looking back on this year, I am just amazed by how He has blessed us! Blessed us with hard times and fun times, but in either case, He has been sufficient, and has upheld us all with His righteous right hand! I tend to think of this verse as I look back on our past year...
Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed. For I am your God, I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Praise be to God, in 2009 and in the year ahead! Blessings to you all! With much love from the Johnson family!!
Andrew, Rachelle, Daniel and Micah <3
