{Food love}

 

{Cucumber & avocado soup, Baked potato soup, & White cheddar & broccoli mac n cheese!}

These are just a couple of Recipes we want to try in the upcoming week :) Yum! 

Soup has been sounding very very yummy lately for some reason! So has mac n cheese! Anyone that knows me knows that throughout my entire pregnancy {so far}  I have been eating LOTS of mac n cheese & any kind of pasta dish. You would think I would be sick of it by now. Nope! 

Will post recipes soon! 

{Rings}

I've been noticing rings a lot lately. I've always loved fun rings, but have always had a difficult time picking fun rings to actually buy and wear. {Mainly because I have short, stubby fingers :) } 

But they are just so fun & definitely make a statement! 

I especially love this turquoise one. My mom & grandparents used to make turquoise and coral jewelry for fun. My mom still has some pieces that they made & they are so beautiful! I would love to learn how to  create such beautiful & fun jewelry! Any one else want to learn? I wonder if there are classes for this sort of thing? {Wouldn't that be fun?}

{Upcoming Projects & first ultrasound}

Here are a couple of things we hope to accomplish within the next month:

{I want to make this lamp & put it over our Dining room table} 

{Would love to replace our tall wine cabinet with this. Great alternative to buying a big Buffet style piece to go  under the windows}

More to come...  :) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today  I had my first ultrasound! Here is a video from the ultra sound of our little munchkin jumping all around :) Its so crazy to think that there is a living thing in my belly! We went not expecting to see much of anything, maybe a flicker for the heartbeat. But we got to see everything & hear its little heart beat. We were both so excited, & i cried {Im a girl... & im pregnant.. its allowed :) } What a blessing :)

{9 Weeks & a life celebrated}

Time is going by so fast already! I feel like we JUST found out we were having a little munchkin, yet, here we are @ 9 weeks pregnant! {Almost done with 1st trimester! Yay!} I forgot to post this yesterday:

{9 weeks}

Yep :) Im just now coming to that point where I'm really starting to feel pregnant. I feel bloated, tired & sick all the time, you know, the usual stuff. :) But its all totally worth it. William & I are so excited to hold our little blessing in our arms come December, it will be magical!

{Every good gift & Perfect Gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.. James 1:17} 

~~~~~~~~

On another note, I feel like i should share with you what the past 2 weeks of our life has been like. Its taken me a while to find the right words to write, but here goes.. 

My husband, my family & I spent a lot of time down town this week & not because we wanted to. You see, My step dad was very ill & has been very ill for a very long time. He went into the hospital on May 11th & was immediately admitted into the ICU unit upstairs.  By the time william & I had heard what was going on, & made our way to the hospital, he was already on life support. He was admitted with "Multi organ failure & Lung failure". We walked into the room to see my family sitting around him, while he was hooked up to a machine that was breathing for him.. It was very scary. My 12 year old sister was so confused & Upset. None of us had ever been in an ICU unit. 

As the days went on, I made my way out to the hospital every morning by 9am & stayed as late as the hospital would allow with my family & my stepdads best friend, Mike. These trips and these long hours began to strain on everyone very quickly, especially me. Not only was i driving out to phoenix (which is an hour away from our house) but I was having morning sickness throughout the day & I was just exhausted.. it was very hard. 

We all constantly prayed for his recovery & that God would heal him so that he could go home & be with his family again, & not in that icky hospital. But soon, our prayers began to change.. As my stepdads stay at the hospital got  longer & longer with no improvement, we all began to realize that what our prayer needed to be, was that, Whatever Gods will was in this situation needed to be done! We wanted him to go home! Whether it meant with us or with our heavenly father. My stepdad realized this too & he knew it was his time. He was constantly begging the nurses & doctors to take the tube out of his throat & just let him be. This was so hard to hear, especially for my young sister. 

Finally, Friday morning {May 20th} the doctors and nurses gathered round & had my step dad make a decision, & he decided he was done. "This isn't living.." he mouthed. The hospital called me & I rushed out to Phoenix as quickly as i could with willy following right after. I was panicking & crying the whole way there because i knew what was in store & didn't know how to prepare myself...  I got there & the nurse comforted me. Right as william got there, {at 2pm} they removed the tube & replaced it with simple oxygen Everything seemed ok.. 

A couple hours went by & we all watched the numbers on the monitor change, going up & going down.. none of us knowing what to expect. Around 8pm, the numbers still looked the same, not great by any means, but the same as they had been for a couple hours. My sister, mom, & Mike decided to step out & get some fresh air, I was in the hall on the phone with my boss, trying to set arrangments for my shift the next day, since we had all planned to not leave the hospital that night & willy was with my stepdad. Suddenly, willy ran out of the room and told me to hurry into the room. I ran in & looked at the numbers on the monitor & they were all dropping very quickly.. I began to panic because only willy & i were in the room.. I called my mom crying and told them to hurry... They made it just in time for all of us to hold his hands and shout out our love.. My stepdad passed away around 830 that night & was surrounding by his loved ones.

It has been a really hard thing to grasp. None of us have ever been in a situation like that. It was very scary & very sad.. but were trying not to look at his passing as a sad thing. We look at it as a celebration. He had been in pain for so long & it was his time to find pain free peace. I find comfort & peace in knowing that he was a strong christian & I know where he is today, in the arms of our loving father, looking down on us.

Thank you to everyone who sent their love & prayers our way these last couple of weeks, we wouldn't have been able to get through this if it weren't for you. 

{Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27}

{Our Sunday: Peach Picking!}

{Brunch}

What should we make with all these peaches?? Any Ideas? 

{Taking a moment to stop & smell the roses}

(idiomatic) To relax; to take time out of one's busy schedule to enjoy or appreciate the beauty of life.

Slow down. Stop and smell the roses now and then.

I think it is so important to just take a moment and remember the little things that you are thankful for, especially in the midst of a crazy day {or week}. I would like to make it one of our goals for the rest of the year, to remember what we are thankful for throughout the day. Even the simplest of things. I've noticed that William & I stress a lot about things we cannot fix or change & that stops today.
Today we are thankful for the love of Irwin. Our puppy Irwin Brings us lots of joy & smiles in busy & crazy times. He is always there to love us & cuddle.. {Maybe its just because we feed him?} None the less, we are thankful for him, even though he is a goof ball :)

{Smelling the roses in our back yard..}

{...eating the roses in our backyard.. oh boy} 

We love him! & we are excited for him to meet the newest little johnston soon. :) A little less then 7 months left! What are you thankful for today? 

{Ziploc Bag Icecream}

So I know dear friends, I am really bad at blogging. I think I admitted that on my last post :) It's been a week since my last post! But it is for good reason.. we have been very busy with some family stuff. We have a dear family member in the hospital right now. He has been there for 6 days on life support. I have been there every day, almost all day..Its been a rough week for all of us, not knowing what to expect from day to day. {Please keep us in your prayers?} So as you can guess, we are needing a lot of comfort right now, & what is more comforting than ice cream? ;) 

When I was younger, my grandma Joy & I Used to make homemade ice cream all the time! We used 2 ziploc bags, Milk & some cherry flavoring :) It was always delicious!  William & I decided it would be fun & calming to do this our selves! So this is how you make ziploc bag ice cream :) 

{6T. salt, 1 sandwhich & 1 Storae size ziploc bag, 1T sugar, 1/2C Milk (or half n half), 1/4t Vanilla extract, some mix ins}

{Put your milk, sugar vanilla & Mix ins in the sandwhich size ziploc. Close the bag ensuring it is properly sealed} 

*Willy used M&Ms

* I used Kit kats :) 

{Fill the larger ziploc about half way with ice & sprinkle the 6T salt over the ice. Then, place the bag with milk, sugar, vanilla  & mixins inside the bag of ice. Make sure both bags are sealed very well} 

{Shake the bag vigorously for about 5-10 minutes}

                                                              

{Empty contents of smaller bag into a bowl & TADA! ICE CREAM!}

{Enjoy!}

{Mothers day & Apple dumplings}

Happy Mothers day to all the mamas out there :) Our mothers day was so fun this year! We made homemade gifts for our moms. We made felted soap & a calming facial cleanser & they loved them both!  {I will add tutorials for both soon} Also, William got me a gift too, {I was not expecting anything this year, because well, our little chickpea is not in our arms yet :) } He completely surprised me! He gave me the cutest diaper bag I have ever seen! It was really exciting for me to get this awesome gift, because it is my first mommy thing :) Its actually starting to feel real!

Later in the day, my mommy & sister came over. William and my sister made dinner. They made Tilapia with Quinoa & Zucchini picked fresh from the farm. It was so delicious! After dinner, we made dessert. We made our families absolute favorite dessert, Apple dumplings.  I got the recipe from my mom, who got it from my grandma, who got it from her dear friend Ruth Denny many many years ago. Our family has made this recipe for years! I thought we were the only ones who had this recipe, but I'm finding out a lot of people have this recipe {I think its because its so delicious, no one can resist sharing the recipe!} Which is what i'm going to do today:

To make Ruth Denny's easy Apple dumplings you need all of these ingredients:

{2 green apples, 1/2 C sugar, Cinnamon, 1 t. vanilla, 1 8 oz can crescent rolls, 1/2 stick butter (i used margarine because i was out of butter sticks)} 

{Peel & core both apples & cut them into fourths}

{Pop open the can of crescent rolls, and roll each apple slice into a crescent roll} 

{Place all crescent rolled apple slices into a buttered glass pie pan} 

{Melt your butter (or margarine) in a microwave safe bowl. Lightly mix the sugar into the butter. ( you want it to be textured so that the sugar will crystalize on the dumplings.) Then lightly stir in the vanilla & pour mixture over the dumplings} 

{Sprinkle with as much cinnamon as you would like, then pour a small amount of Mnt. Dew just  around the edges of the dumplings} 

{Bake at 350* for about 35 minutes. Pull them out of the oven & let cool for a few minutes} 

{Serve the hot dumplings with cold vanilla ice cream  :) Yummy!} 

Did you do anything fun for your mother on mothers day? Or did your family do something fun for you? Tell me about it here! Or if you have a yummy family recipe you would like to share, I would love to try it out :) Happy mothers day! 

{Lunch Date}

Ok, I will willingly admit it... I'm a bad blogger!! Its been almost a week since my last post.. wow, I am so behind! Sorry friends, this last week got a little crazy! I started back to work last Sunday. It was my first time being at work since the beginning of March. {Nice break huh?} I have been at work almost everyday this week, trying to get used to being back. For those of you that don't know, my husband & I work at a restaurant that our family &  family friends own. I run the espresso bar in the restaurant. I make all kinds of fun, classic italian espresso drinks & I really enjoy it! I love Coffee & everything to do with it. {Well, right now, the little chickpea in my belly doesn't really like the smell of coffee, but, we will just have to get used to it again :) }

{A Cappuccino I made the other day. Fun huh?} 

Anywho, in the middle of all the craziness this week, we had a day off & decided to spend the day together! We drove out to old town scottsdale {my favorite} & walked around the little shops. Then we went to Lunch at a place called Big Earls BBQ. It was so yummy! It was a perfect day :) 

{Looks yummy right?? It was :) }