Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Littl Red is Riding to BEAT CANCER!!!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Brandon and Chase Johnson
Dear Family and Friends,
The last few days have been filled with unbelievable joy, and overwhelming concern as our precious little boys were born. Amy was induced on Wednesday at about noon, and the doctors broke her water about an hour later, hoping that it would help labor progress faster. On Thursday morning Chase and Brandon were born at 10:30 and 11:15 am, respectively. Our muscle man Chase weighed 6 lbs 13 ounces. About 15 minutes after he was born, he was taken to the NICU. He looked quite pale, and did not cry after birth. The nurses and doctors who attended to him worked with such great skill, that we knew everything would be ok, whatever was going on. They allowed us to see him, and Grandma Hall tried to get a few pictures before he was taken to his new room. Mommy was so happy to be able to see him, and touch his leg before he left. His skin was so soft and sweet. After 45 minutes of more pushing, our sweet baby Brandon was born, weighing in at a sturdy 7 lbs 13 ounces. (You do the math) J We both cried with such great joy knowing that both our baby boys are here. Amy, now exhausted, was taken back to her room to recover for a bit. She struggled to stay awake as people came in with congratulations. Soon Matt joined her, obviously very upset. With tears in his eyes, and the NICU nurse at his side, they explained what was going on with our newest additions.
Within 2 hours of coming up to our new room,
Both boys have been on an antibiotic since Thursday. Again they put them on it as a preemptive measure to attack any problems. When they were born, early examinations showed that the boys appeared to be fighting something that may have been an infection. That is mostly why they are on the antibiotics. They will be on them for 7 days. The tests (blood cultures) that have been done, and as of Sunday night have come back negative! If there was any infection, it would have reared its ugly head by now.
We are doing great. We are still at the hospital doing a hotel stay so we can be as close as possible to the boys. Thursday was one of the longest and most trying days of our lives, but at the same time one of the most incredible. We had a lot of information dumped on us over a very short amount of time. It was very overwhelming, but we knew our families were right there by our side to help bear the burden. We have constantly talked about how lucky we are to have the families we do. Whether here in
We are equally grateful to our friends. We know that you too have sent your concerns for us and the boys to heaven. We feel your love and compassion for us. We also want to publicly thank our new friends here at IMC, the doctors and nurses who have worked to make sure that mom and babies were kept healthy and happy. We are so grateful for your knowledge and skill. We will post any updates, but for now are happy to report they are both doing tremendously well. They were placed in the same room this afternoon so they can hang out again. As all goes well, they will get to come home on Friday. Here’s to a speedy recovery! We love you Brandon and Chase! You are the joy of our lives!!!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Feeling a Little Sentimental
Don't worry, I will post pictures of the house progress soon enough. (I guess "soon enough" would have been over a week ago). Well, whatever. I just have some feelings that I want to share. Sit down, children. It's feelings time.
Tonight Matt and I saw a play at the Hale Center Theatre, Orem called "Over the River and Through the Woods". It is a story about a guy who has 4 crazy, loud grandparents , and how he finds meaning in his life through their lives. It sounds really cliche, I know, but I, as well as most of the audience, was in tears by the end. I know this comes as no surprise, but it really moved me, and I felt a little silly about it.
I remembered last summer when Matt and I saw Les Miserables, and how I felt the same way-moved- as the chorus sang "Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men. It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again!!...". I remember after not too long thinking to myself "Duh! Why am I crying? This is silly!" I started to feel this same emotion tonight, until I realized I was very much not alone.
This brought me to a wonderful book I read that my parents gave me for Christmas a few years ago called "Plain and Simple: A Woman's Journey to the Amish". It's a true story about a woman named Sue Bender. She fell in love with some Amish quilts one day, and it drove her to extreme depths to find what intrigued her so much about these pieces. She ended up finding an Amish family that allowed her to live with them for a few months. In the end, one of the things she found, or at least that I found, is the peace and joy a person can have in the most simple, day-to-day tasks. Their homes are their lives. They cook, clean, take care of gardens, and take care of each other, and that is enough. They don't seek for riches, or praise, or beauty. They have no pride. They enjoy life for what it is. At the end of the day, it is enough to just be together as a family, enjoying the beauty of the plants, or a beautiful night.
That is why I loved this play so much; I remembered the joy the day-to-day things can bring, and how the small things shape our lives in such tremendous ways. It allowed me the opportunity to let some buried feelings rise to the surface, and I am really grateful for that. We came home, and I just wanted to make our home look nice for Matt. I started to clean the kitchen so I could make him dinner, and I really enjoyed myself. It made me remember that life is about much more than doing more. Life is about living, and loving, and serving your family. It's about helping and caring. Of course we have work to do. Of course we cannot change our lives in a moment, but I believe in changing my attitude, and finding that part of me that loves more than anything to serve my husband, that loves the joy of walking through my clean house, and the pride it gives me knowing that it is clean because I worked hard...and sometimes I need a little encouragement in finding that place again.
As I sat wiping tears away from the strong emotions I felt, I had to remind myself that it was ok to be moved, it's ok to have something strike a chord in my heart so deeply. Thanks for such a wonderful date night, honey. I love you.
Happy Birthday Big Boy!!!
Matt's Boyfriend
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Check my other blog!
I have been working hard to lose weight, while Matt has been working hard to gain! Check in often!
-Amy
Monday, October 19, 2009
Making a House a Home
The last time I posted was before we signed on our house, so this is a little timeline of the events since. You will quickly realize why I was so anxious to move. This is what our apartment looked like (to some extent) for exactly 1 month.
Oh wait, what floor?
We loved living in that ward. The people were so wonderful, and the price was too perfect! I will miss my very first garden. Here are some freshly picked Sun Sugar tomatoes. (yes, they are supposed to be orange) They were delicious!
Finally, Aug 26th arrived, and we signed on our house!! Thanks Critchfield, for working with us!! We have a house!!!!
Our first Sunday in the new ward, we made some awesome friends! They have had us over for dinner countless times since we started attending this ward, which was before we moved in! They helped us pack and load the moving truck. We are so glad you guys are our friends!! This is Nancy and the lovely cake she made me for my birthday! It got a little crushed in transport...it has character!! Thanks again for the exclusive party. It was so fun! (now back to work!)
After a few days of mad unpacking/cleaning/whatever, we headed down to St. George for my birthday to see Aida at Tuacahn. We had such a FUN time!! This is Radames and...I forget his name. :( sorry! But dude, you were amazing!!!!!
We had to use KILZ paint in the basement. It "kills" the smell and bacteria, so we used a ton of it! This is Cutie Pants Matt painting the food storage room. Notice the hole in the wall? That used to be a coal chute!! Awesome, huh? Isn't Matt so cute?
This is my papa gearing up to fix this silly mess. The previous tenants decided to tear down this corner wall, exposing the brick, and a big fat mess. You'll notice we had to take the cupboards down to do the job right.
I swear this was clean the other day! This has been the working space for all our projects.
This is my cute Matt.
(Picture hanging in our hallway)
I love this wall! It's my favorite place. It's what you see when first walk in. Thanks mom and Janna for helping me decorate! I am so happy with how everything turned out.
Thanks again to all who have helped us so much, especially our parents! We are so excited to be in our very own house. We would love to have you over!