EA's Baby Book

As I have mentioned before, I love Shutterfly. I just finished EA's baby book and am excited about the option to share it with y'all. 

Enjoy!

Click here to view this photo book larger

You'll love Shutterfly's award-winning photo books. Try it today.

Goodbye 2011!

This year I...

became a mom

started an online business

decorated and crafted
sold my faithful VW Beetle
became the owner of an SUV

became a graduate of graduate school

learned about selfless love

came to respect my husband even more than before

developed a greater understanding of my Lord and Savior

2011 in Review

January. We're pregnant! Auburn wins the National Championship.

February. Knit Day at the McFarlands.

March. Savannah.

April. Honda Grand Prix.

May. Trip to Gatlinburg with the Johnson's.

June. Getting ready for our Sunday School baby shower.

July. Maternity pictures by Cadence Photography.

August. EA's best friend, Johanna was born!

September. Our lives were changed forever.

October. Pumpkin patch. First Auburn football game. Happy Halloween from our little candy corn.

November. Black Friday shopping.

December. First trip to the beach. Merry Christmas!

2011 Blog Recap

Following Chrissy's lead, I am featuring my most popular blog posts of 2011 based on comments. Thanks to everyone who has commented this year! And to those who haven't, I would love to hear from you!!

January-

Same Kind of Different as Me

This post featured a book review on the awesome story by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. Such a picture of the work of God in people from all different backgrounds.

February-

Then and Now

I announced my pregnancy to the blog world!

March-

A Lot of Good Food

This post featured some of the delicious meals we enjoyed on our trip to Savannah.

April-

We're having a...

Our gender reveal post!

May-

The Last Day, a New Beginning

Transitioning from teacher to stay-at-home-mom.

June-

The Possibility of Early Labor

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Preview. :)

July-

Celebrate!

I finished graduate school!

August-

Baby J- Week 37 Nursery Reveal

I celebrated 37 weeks by sharing pictures of our nursery!

September-

Introducing Emily Ann Johnson

October-

The Pumpkin Patch

Documenting our family trip to the pumpkin patch!

November-

Favorite Things Party

I linked up with the Nester to document some of my favorite things!

December-

Insta-Friday

I linked up with Life Rearranged to note some fun Instagram pics!

Happy New Year everyone!

EA's first Christmas

Christmas is so much fun with a baby! It was so awesome to make Christmas memories with our sweet little girl- I can not wait for the Christmas's to come!

Opening a gift from Annie and Poppy

Hanging out in her new red wagon

Looking at her stash from Santa

Merry Christmas from the Johnson's!

Last minute decor

Several months ago, my friend Beth talked about a Pinterest find that featured old Christmas card pictures and numbered them according to the years.  I loved the idea but never found the time to get the pictures printed. She mentioned how much her kids loved looking at past pictures and it dawned on me... I kind of like that too :)

A few weeks ago, Shutterfly offered a great deal that included free prints! I quickly got our Christmas card pictures from the past and a few pictures from the years we didn't send cards printed, then used my Cricut to create a background. I finished them off with the years on the back.



My favorite part is seeing where we have been and what we have done each year we have been married. I imagine hanging them from our steps when we are in a larger home, but loved how welcoming they looked on our entry mirror.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Handwritten Wishes Christmas

Customize your Christmas cards this holiday at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Just beachy.

We went to the beach this weekend.

The weather was amazing.

For EA, the verdict is still out.

For B and A, it was absolutely perfect.

Tour of North Alabama

Yesterday, Brian and I decided to take advantage of his day off and the incredible weather to head up to north Alabama. The foliage has been so pretty so we knew that no matter what the day brought, it would be fun.

 We have been looking for a new coffee table for quite some time... our current table was a hand-me-down from my parents and though it is still in good shape, it is topped with glass, which makes me nervous. Our good friends Rob and Ginny have gotten great deals from Akins "Dogtown" Furniture near Ft. Payne, so we decided to check it out. The prices were incredible and they had amazing furniture for every room in the house. They charge significantly less if you are paying cash, which we didn't know, but will definitely come more prepared the next time. We found a coffee table we really liked but with EA and the carseat, it didn't fit in the back of the Highlander :( We plan to order it sometime soon and have it delivered to Dogtown's sister store in Calera, which is much closer to our house. 

This cage was sitting right outside the furniture store. I found it ironic that there was a cat outside of "Dogtown." It was really cute... not sure why it was hanging out outside.

 After we left the furniture store, we drove to Little River Canyon. It was pretty cool outside, so we had to get EA wrapped up.

The view was absolutely gorgeous. As you can see in the pic, we missed the leaves by a week or two, but it was still so pretty. The best thing was that this was only 2 hours from our house- much closer than the 4-5 hours it takes to get to Gatlinburg.

 Finally, we stopped by the Unclaimed Baggage store in Scottsboro. I have been wanting to go there for ages, but the opportunity had never really presented itself. Once baggage has been unclaimed for a certain amount of time, airlines send the items in the bags to this store to sell. As far as I know, this is the only store like this in the country.

Inside, it was pretty stressful. There were racks and racks and racks and racks of clothes- for men, women, and children. They also had electronics, books, DVDs, purses, shoes, and lots of other things. I found that I wasn't really in the digging through clothes to find a jewel mood, but we did end up with a few good deals- Brian got a nice Tommy Hilfiger belt that flips from black to brown as needed, and EA got two new pairs of footie pjs with the Carter's tags still on them. They weren't super cheap, but were still less expensive than they would have been in a store.

The day was so much fun. We saw a lot of Alabama we have never seen before and really enjoyed our time together. Even better, we were home by 7:30 and were able to relax in the evening- the joys of a day trip!

13 on Thursday

Today, I am following Rebecca's lead and noting 13 things that I did today.. or that have simply been on my mind. Look here and here to see some of her recent 13 on Thursday posts. Enjoy!

1. I had the longest doctors appointment of my life. I started with an ultrasound, then had a nonstress test, then finished with an actual appt. with the doctor. Good news, she is weighing 6 lbs. 11 oz, which is good for a gestational baby. Bad news, the doctor said she might be LATE. This goes against everything I have been planning. Please pray for Brian and I to have patience.

2. After our Bible study on Tuesday, I have been focusing on Proverbs 31 in my time in the Word. This is a passage I have read a million times since I was in college, but had never read BEFORE I was in college. It is a challenge and encouragement to see what and how I can benefit my husband both throughout life and spiritually. It is such a desire not only in my marriage and life, but also in how I hope to portray a Godly woman to Emily Ann.

3. I adore the songs Remind Me (Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood) and Dirt Road Anthem (Jason Aldean). I have listened to them at least 50 times in the past week and begin most days listening to them. 

4. I have been in a super crafty mood over the past two weeks, but somehow the mood is rubbing off and leaving me a little stressed. Our living room looks like a craft bomb went off.

(This is from CLEANING up- imagine what it looked like before!)

5. Brian took a 1/2 day off work today to go with me to the doctor. I believe he should work half days all the time.

6. Brian's bros, Scott and Kevin, joined us for dinner. I love a good sloppy Joe and couldn't live life without tater tots.

Here they are enjoying some cookies during a break from the Wii game Golden Eye. 

7. I hate parking decks. Especially hospital parking decks.

8. I am shocked my Cricut hasn't broken from overuse. I am pumping out the banners and signs on a daily basis now!

9. I got amazing new pillows and picture frames to put in the living/ dining room for my birthday. I credit my immediate desire to change the room around to Pinterest and nesting. Once the room is clean, I will post pictures.

10. I had breakfast with one of the teachers from my school this morning. It was so good to catch up with her. Teachers have to be back on Monday and I don't have any plans on Monday. Super strange.

11. Kevin brought our maternity pictures when he came tonight. They are absolutely incredible. He and his friend Ethan took so many amazing pictures. I will do a full post with more pictures but had to share a *spoiler.* Check out the Cadence Photography website to see some more of Kevin's work!

12. I am dreading child birth.

13.  I can not wait for our little girl to be here. My excitement is more than my dread.

Have a blessed Thursday!

26

Today, I turned 26 years old. It was truly a magnificent day. One of my closest friends, Ashley, had her sweet baby girl, Johanna, I got to spend the day with my mom, and the evening with my wonderful husband and good friends Rob and Ginny enjoying Mexican food *SCORE*. Basically it was perfect.

As I look back on the past year, it seems weird that it is over. I have always had huge expectations for my 25th year. There is something about the fact that I was a quarter of a century old and now I am closer to 30 then I am to 20.... though I guess for all purposes, I have been for a year now. My parents also used to tell me that I could't get married until I was 25. We only missed it by 4 years and a couple of days :) 

Here are a few of the highlights from the year...

We found out we were expecting a little girl in September!!

Auburn won the 2010 National Championship

We saw Brad Paisley in concert for the 3rd time.

We enjoyed a wonderful trip to Savannah.

I also completed graduate school, though I am still awaiting my diploma.

It was an incredible year! I can't wait to see all that 26 has to offer!

Sweet Ride

Last night, Brian got to take me for a ride in Alabama Power's all electric Tesla Roadster.

It was a sweet ride and doesn't require any gas. It was absolutely incredible! 

Thanks to our friends Brad and Katie who hooked us up with the opportunity!

Have a blessed night!

Birmingham Celebration Date!

Brian and I debated between spending the weekend in Atlanta or just staying here to celebrate his birthday and my being done with school. He was out of town this past week, so we decided an out of the ordinary Saturday in Birmingham would be fun. We were SO right!

We slept a little late on Saturday morning, then went to Waffle House for breakfast. It was *SO* good and was actually a perfect meal for my diet. Because of the celebration part of the day, I did get a cherry coke- not the bobo cherry cokes from the grocery, but an honest to goodness coke with cherry syrup. It was delicious, but super sweet. My body doesn't really know what to think about these things anymore.

After breakfast, we made our first stop of the day at Pepper Place. This is a huge Alabama based farmer's market that has all sorts of fruits, veggies, fresh flowers, fresh cheeses and eggs, and homemade jellies. They also sell different homemade crafts, which I have to admit, were my favorite.

It is called Pepper Place because it is located in and around the old Dr. Pepper factory. The fun buildings and signs made great decor and ambiance.

There was a woman taking part in the Harry Potter read-a-thon. She was sitting there reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It took a lot of self control to not sit at the table and listen to her.

Brian and I loved walking around the area, but were shocked at how much great stuff there was right there in the middle of Birmingham. It might have been the first time to stop by, but it certainly wasn't the last!

After Pepper Place, we drove down a little and stopped by Sloss Furnace. I was a little sketched out at first, but it was a really cool (and free!) place to explore.

Next, we went to Vulcan, but we didn't go up. I am deathly afraid of heights and it seems to have grown since I got pregnant. Behind the statue, there is a gorgeous view of Birmingham, so Brian and I enjoyed that for a few minutes before we headed to lunch!

For lunch, we ate at the Urban Cookhouse. It is a scrumptious deli with lots of Alabama grown products. I had a turkey sandwich and fruit and Brian had a braised pork sandwich on homemade yeast rolls with mac and cheese. It was so very good. It was also good to be able to have a seat and get off our feet for a little while!

After lunch, we walked around Homewood and looked in the shops. I got an amazing deal on some bags and bought a ball for Emily Ann, but found lots of treasures that I would have loved to have purchased. Brian was a fabulous sport and shopped without complaining. Such a doll!

When we finished shopping, we headed to an overlook that looked over the hospital where Emily Ann will be born. We had a time of prayer for our sweet baby and the doctors and nurses that would be delivering her. Though the entire day was a blast, this was by far the best part of the day. The overlook was gorgeous and the time with Brian was so so precious. I was so blessed by the leader my husband is and adored that opportunity.

We finished the day with splitting a midnight magic chocolate chip cupcake at the new Gigi's Cupcakes in Hoover and a $5 pizza from Little Caesar's (and yes, in that order :) ). 

It was such a fabulous day and we didn't even have to drive more than 15 minutes! 

I hope everyone else had a fun and relaxing weekend!