Dance Dance Dance

Competition season has come and gone!  This was our first year and it was amazing.  We competed in 3 different competitions and did great in each.  We traveled to Athens, Atlanta and Chattanooga to compete and had a great time.  Taylor's company performed a jazz routine to 9 to 5 and a lyrical routine to Lightweight.  All of the companies performed a production number called Flamboyant.

Here were our results for the year:

Stage One:
Flamboyant:   1st place platinum and 1st overall
9 to 5:             1st place high gold and 5th overall
Lightweight:   1st place high gold and 4th overall

Star Systems:
Flamboyant:    1st place and 1st overall
9 to 5:              1st place
Lightweight:    1st place

KAR:
Flamboyant:    1st place
9 to 5:               1st place, judges award "smiles for miles", 2nd place overall
Lightweight:     1st place, 1st place overall, Champions, Invite to New York City

Never Trust a Weatherman!

So my Wednesday Wisdom ( a day late ) for this week....

 

Never Trust a Weatherman!

 

 

Once again we have been duped!

 

My kids heard the weather and was expecting snow.  No SNOW for us!  Just yucky Cold and very windy weather.  When we heard this earlier in the week we were in t-shirts and shorts.  My youngest had on sandals.  So for those of you up north enjoy your SNOW!!!!

Wisdom Wednesday: The boob tube :)

As the new year begins I have decided that every Wednesday I will share some sort of wisdom from us to you.  So here is the first one:

I remember growing up watching shows with my mom... 
Those shows were
1) Family Fued

2) Dallas

3) Star Search

4)Dynasty

5) The Cosby Show

6) Family Ties

Now that my children are older, they control the remote when my husband is not there.  The shows today are so different than they use to be.  During our Christmas Break several adults were talking about how shows have changed over the years.  We began this conversation with MTV as it is known now.  But there was a day when it was known as Music Television.  Yes and ALL they played was Music Videos, now they don't play videos at all.  The only thing you can find on MTV is some raunchy reality shows (EX: Jersey Shore).  The other night the kids and I were watching Family Fued together and it really HIT me how everything has changed.  As we were watching family fued the category was things Tarzan may do before bathing.  The answers given were so vulgur and the words used in the answers for this question and others were so embarrassing.  Here Adam and I sit watching this show with the kids and just look at each other and laugh when one of the answers pop up and it is " VA-JAY-JAY"  Really!!!!!  Do I need to explain this to my 8 year old over dinner.  I wanted to share with you some of the shows that we love and you can be judgemental over some but I do think that they are decent for your family to watch ( considering the options ).

1) Duck Dynasty
How can you argue with watching a show that ends every episode with a family dinner and prayer!

2) Once Upon A Time
We love the fact that ABC combined a fairy tale and a prime time show with magic, love and evil.

3) Dance Moms
Since the girls are so wrapped up into dancing how could we not watch this one.  We sit in amazement at the cruelty of the parents involved and Thank God that we don't have that where we take dance.

4) Toddler and Tiaras
With two girls the pageant world lights up there eyes.  The crowns and glitz and makeup and the whole 9 yards of the production of a pageant are so entertaining to little girls.  We may be criticzed for this one but we enjoy this show!

5) Honey Boo Boo
Yes I admit it.  My Family Watches Honey Boo Boo.  We fell in love with her when she premiered on Toddlers and Tiaras.  We were so excited when we found out she was getting her own show.  We tuned in and found out the little girl was actually from Macon, GA not far from us and it sucked us right in.  The craziness and all is like a huge magnet keeping us glued to our TV.

6) Dancing with the Stars
Did I mention we love to dance.  So this one is just a natural fit for our family

7) The Voice
We just began watching this one towards the end of the year.  We really enjoyed the competition and plan on watching the next season.

8) Anything Disney:
Does this one even need an explanantion?? 

 

Just thought I would share a few of our favorite shows.  Until next Wednesday Wisdom :)

New Year ... New Outlook

As the New Year came and went I contemplated what our New Year's Resolutions would be.  Of course I want to lose weight, have more money, have a more organized house/life...  But what I truly feel will be my New Year Resolution will be a closer relationship with my family.  As I reflect on how fast we got here to 2013, it pucnhes me right between the eyes how FAST time has gone by.  Where is my sweet baby that rode her john deere tractor to her nana's house by herself?  What happened to my sweet baby that had to double fist her paci???  Too much precious time has been lost on things that don't matter.  So my resolution this year is to spend more Quality Time with my family!

Chik-Fil-A Appreciation Day

Did you eat your Chik-Fil-A today?  I did check out my other blog to read my story!

www.churchplanterswifey.blogspot.com

Back to School Again

Did those words come out of my mouth?

YES they did.  Where has the summer gone? 

I went yesterday to register my girls for school.  They were both excited about their teachers for the new school year.  I was excited for the teachers they got as well.

As I left Lakewood yesterday it hit me....  Taylor will not be here next year!  WOW!!!  We have always said we have many years to worry about what we will do with her after she finishes Lakewood...  but that time is closer than we think.  As I got in my car, I thought .... my girls are about to enter 2nd and 5th grade.  What happened to day care and sippy cups????

Crowning Moment

How in the world do I let my children talk me into the things that they do????  Well we are on yet another adventure......  This weekend we will be participating in the Miss Phenix City Pageant.  Yep!  You heard me....   Tillery will be competing in the Little Miss Phenix City pageant and Taylor in the Pre-Teen Pageant.  They wanted to do it so I agreed....  Little did I know what would come with it.  Every Friday we have fun Friday where we go and do something fun.  We have done the movies, Chuck E Cheese, beach & white Water this summer.  Well this last Friday we spent all day picking out their picture for the program and for the photogenic competition.  Then went shopping!!!!  I already had two dresses that we had bought for another event that I thought would be great.  Well little did I know the girls thought differently.  Tillery was pretty easy her dress fit and she wanted a new sash and needed new shoes and of course a new hair bow to match her new sash.  Taylor on the other hand a lot more difficult.  I found the fabric at Hobby Lobby and ribbon as well.  We got Tillery's shoes and Tillery is READY!!!!  We shopped all day for Taylor, I must say she is lot like me when it comes to shopping.  It drives my husband NUTS.  But hey we both know what we are looking for and are a little picky.  Did I say LITTLE?  I would say that my husband might say that is a slight understatement.  Taylor needed to find a Party dress and her talent is optional.  Well we looked for a party dress.  She has a gorgeous one that she wore and looks great on her.  So after all day looking, I convinced her that this was the dress and we went and bought shoes to go with the dress.  When we got home I decided to go online and look at the dresses they wore last year.  PARTY DRESS????  All the girls had on long formal pageant dresses.  SO I took a deep breath and sent a lady from the pageant an email asking what was the correct dress for the pageant.  Her response was basically it says Party Dress but some choose to wear something more formal.  Basically it was up to me.  AHHHHH!!!!  Here it is Monday and NO DRESS!!!!  So Monday's mission was to find a dress.  I am not a crazy pageant mom but I do want my child equipped with what she needs.  I never want to set them up for failure!  So my mom took Taylor to the local pageant shop in town.  The dresses that they had were a little out of our price range.  The were kind enough to tell us about another shop in the area that had dresses.  I get a text at work about the dress and how it is the dream dress.  I agreed! So we now have the dress. 
For talent, Taylor decided to do her tap dance that she learned at dance.  It is to Zoot Suit Riot.  It is a really good dance.  After watching her practice I decided to call her dance instructor for a little help.  Well she agreed and met with Taylor and worked with her for an hour.  She helped Taylor out a lot and is meeting with her again tomorrow.  They also decided to bedazzle her costume. 
So here it is Wednesday and the girls are going to practice with someone today on their walk.  I honestly feel like I could be on an episode of Toddlers and Tiaras.  I had no idea that we would do ALL of this.
I am excited and the girls are excited as well.  If you are not busy this Saturday please join us at CVCC to cheer them on in the Miss Phenix City Pageant.  I will also blog tomorrow again on our pageant update.  :)

My Oh My

WOW!  It has been some time since our last post.  So let me use this post to give a brief update....

• Pregnancy  --- We found out on our 11th week that there was no baby!  This was very difficult for our family.  As unexpected as the pregnancy was we were sooo excited to be adding another to our little family.  We told the girls and they were completely devastated.  We cried and in the midst of the hurt we grew closer together.
• End of School -- we finished out the school year with all a's and b's.  Both girls got 1 B all year.  We are so proud!  Taylor also received an award for getting 1st place in the science fair project.  they will be in 5th and 2nd grade this next year.  Time sure does fly!
• Taylor's Birthday -- Taylor turned 10 last month.  We partied for days.  I agreed to a sleepover and the girls had a blast.  We camped out in the backyard and stayed up all night.  The next day we had a pool party for family / friends.  Then on her birthday she wanted to go eat at Shogun.  So like I said earlier we literally partied for days!
• Quick Trip -- We tagged along with Adam to Appalachicola.  He was going fishing and we tagged along for a beach trip.  We needed a getaway ao bad so this was sooo needed. 
• DANCE -- We had our dance recital and it was amazing.  Both girls did so well.  Taylor tried out and made dance company.  This is a group of girls that are selected to travel and compete.  I am very excited for her.  She is dancing with Prodigy and funny thing is...  The guy who owns it danced with me years ago...
• Church -- We had VBS last week and we had so many kids!  Each night the numbers grew throughout the week.  It was a very successful week!  Not only did we celebrate VBS that week we also got to celebrate a big step in the growth of our church.  We have now started building our church.   We were granted land from Russell County board of Education.  This is such a great thing and I can't wait to keep you updated over the next months to come.

Johnson Party of Five

Yes the title is correct!

The Johnson family will become a party of 5 in November. 

Dance Moms

Okay so I will start off by saying that we have COMPLETELEY enjoyed our time not being so busy with softball.  We have enjoyed being at home together!  Doing so we have enjoyed watching a couple of shows as a family.  Our favorites:  Once upon a time, GCB, and Lizard Lick Towing.  Adam and I enjoy Swamp People.  The girls don't to much care for this one but we love it.  We can't wait for Toddlers and Tiaras to come back on.  Tillery started watching The Voice and I don't like those type of shows but we did watch last night to see who got sent home.  Last night we stumbled across a show ....  Dance Moms....  WOW!!!  If you have not watched this please do! It was amazing and so reminded me of the way that people act in any competitve sport.  Here is a clip:  The new season Dance Moms Miami aired last night and we can't wait for the next one...  Just what we needed another tv show to DVR...

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day

From the Johnson's



Until Next Season

My name is Courtney and Yes my family watches and loves Toddlers and Tiaras!

My family ( and yes including Adam, when he is home ) will sit down and watch this show.  We laugh so hard and our hearts go out to some of the girls during the season. 

Our favorite episode from the season featured a little girl from Georgia who completely won our hearts.  Tillery still yells "Honeybooboochild!".  Here is a clip so you can see for yourself.

As you can see the mothers on this show are INSANE!  And of course they love to portray us southerners as just that. Our favorite on the show is Makenzie. We fell in love with her a few seasons ago when she completely reminded us of Tillery. She had a "NINI". And her very outstanding attitude was a lot like that of our own. Here is a clip of Makenzie...



Adam and I always sit in amazement at the moms and sometimes dads on the show... They talk about diets to 6 year olds, wax a four year old's back, tell them how awful they did, and the list goes on.. The worst mom of the season defintely went to this crazy mom.



As you can see we enjoy this show and can't wait until the new season!

Boogie Shoes

So the girls have been taking dancing for a few weeks now and really enjoy it!  Taylor is taking tap and ballet. Tillery is taking hip hop.  This completely fits their personalities.  Tillery's costume will consist of black hoodie and pants with blue converse and a blue tutu and Taylor's costumes are more frufru.  I am so glad that they found something that they enjoy!  ( and that is is girlie too )

What a change in pace.....

As to my surprise...  The girls informed Adam and myself over the wonderful break that we had, that they no longer want to play softball.  They want to try something different.  We were both a little taken back at first.  All the time and money that we have invested so far.  I mean softball equipment is not cheap and neither is pitching lessons once a week.  But after lots of discussion and talks with the girls, we have decided to let them do exactly what they want to do.  Tillery will begin theatre this week.  She is completely looking forward to it.  Taylor will begin dance.  This is what they wanted to do and I am really excited for them.  We will keep you updated on their progress!

Welcome 2012!

As we begin a new year it is a great time to reflect on the last year...


Our family started 2011 living in a foster home.  Living with us was a 17 year old teenage girl.  WOW!  I do not look forward to those years with my girls.  We welcomed into the home several kids whose story would absolutely break your heart.  We welcomed Gabriel at the end of February.  We immediately fell in love with him.  It was a MAJOR adjustment to have a baby in the house again.  As we started 2011 we thought that we were suppose to Foster little did we know what we were about to embark on.  In April a great group of people form our church Golden Acres planted a church in Fort Mitchell.  We did this with no seminary education.  It was a group of several couples that put our heads together and we DID church the way we thought would work best for the environment.  We launched the church on Easter Sunday.  We had no idea how many we would have that Sunday but we were blown away by the great response.  Months of hard work had paid off.  We are continuing this effort every Sunday.  We have met some really great people in the Fort Mitchell area and we are looking forward to what is to come.  In May we said goodbye to the teenage foster child that had lived with us for 6 months.  At this point we decided for the sake of our children and our sanity, that we needed to move back into our house that did not sale and focus on our family and the church.  We moved home in June and we took little Gabriel with us.  We enjoyed traveling this summer to the beach and our time back at home.  We were playing softball and even had a travel team that traveled every Saturday and played ball.  The girls enjoyed this while it lasted.  We started school in August and the girls are now in 1st and 4th grade.  We have been busy with school projects this year.  In November we said goodbye to Gabriel, it was really tough on our family.  We look at it now as not having him leave us but adding to our family.  The wonderful couple that he is with, we consider family.  We enjoyed Christmas and New Years with family and friends.  We look forward to what 2012 has in store for us.  Welcome 2012!

In a month...

Well lets see.  It has been a month since my last post and let me see if I can briefly update you....

Been unpacking for what seems like forever!
Taylor has had a couple of Travel Ball tournaments and we have done really well, we even got to play in a World Series tournament and beat the best team there.  We play this weekend in Enterprise against a bunch of teams we have never played against.  GO CV SOFTBALL!!
We signed up to play Fall Ball..
We started school...  Yes we have been in school over a week.  We have a first grader and a fourth grader and LOTS of homework each night between the two.  They both love their teachers this year.
We survived VBS!!!  We had our first VBS at the Fort and we survived... 
We enjoyed all of our Fun Fridays together... The last one we went to White Water and we all had a blast!
My sister got engaged and we are all in the wedding in December, we got to go dress shopping and all got fitted for dresses.

I think that is the big things that we have done in the last month.  We still have Gabe with us and he is crawling now.  Will try to update again before next month.

On my mind

It has been quite some time since my last post.  Since then we have been very busy.  We moved back home, we have been continuing our work at The Fort Church and it is growing, we took a trip to the beach, we had all-stars tournament ( and won), and we had our first travel ball experience.  Also in this time we got Gabe back.  The Aunt decided that it was not going to work out to have Gabe placed with her.  It breaks my heart to see kids tossed around.  What kind of system do we have?????  I have learned over the last few months of fostering children that our system straight up SUCKS!!!!  If yesterday's trial of Casey Anthony wasn't enough for an indicator.  A woman that murders her child gets away with it.  I can't be the judge of the woman.  There is only one true judge.  Where is justice in this world we live in????  For example, we had one child that lived with us that had been in and out of the system since they were 6.  They were placed with a sibling that was only 5 years older.  A 22 year old individual will be the primary caretaker of a 17 year old, a 13 year old and a 5 year old.  Tell me how in the world is that in the best interest of the child???  We had another child that was obviously abused by a male.  She would not look at Adam and was VERY disrespectful to him.  I woke up the first night she was in my home and found her sleeping with her hands down her pants.  She told me so many stories.  She had been thru more at 4 years of age and seen more things than I have.  When i told our system about it, I was told to take notes just in case it ever came up in court.  She was placed back with a family member.  Where is the protection of that child???  It saddens me to know that we pay all these tax dollars and our children are in this type of danger everyday.  These are just a couple of the stories I have more.  My stories don't even break the ice of the children that are in custody of the state.  I remember that I was told when we first started that foster children have a vicious cycle to break.  Once they end up in foster care, then their children are likely to end up the same way.  I have seen this to be proven true.  There are beautiful children that could be adopted by families that would love them and give them the world, but our system is so deranged it wants to protect the parent... NO WONDER PEOPLE PAY THOUSANDS TO GO OVER SEAS TO ADOPT.  I never understood why people would do it, but now I do.  I just had to rant and rave! 

Little Man!!!!

I found out today that Little Man will be placed with his family this weekend.  I am very excited and very sad all at the same time!  We received him on Feb 22, which is almost exactly 4 months ago.  He was 2 months old when we got him and we fell in love with him immediately.  He went right along with us everywhere we went...  church, shopping, ballfields, practice, you name it he was there!  Everyone commented on what a turn around and what a great personality he had.  I have to admit he RARELY ever cries, well unless Tillery is trying to play with him like he is a baby doll.  I know my family was blessed by the time that he spent with us.  Here is a pic to brighten your day !

All- Star

Just when we thought our lives were going to slow down....

Tillery and I have been enjoying our afternoons together when Taylor and Adam are at Travel ball practice.  They have been practicing about twice a week and we have a tournament in three weeks.  The girls that Adam picked to play on the team are a good group of girls and from what I can tell enjoy  and play well together.  The parents are great too!  There are a lot of dads that stepped forward to help and you can tell that they want their child to excel at softball.  Which is a MAJOR plus on a travel team.  We decided to join with CV Baseball Academy and be their first girls team.  They have nice facility and for a small monthly fee we can enjoy the place :)  Adam particularly likes it because they can now practice rain or shine and it is a great place for Taylor and Tillery to get their lessons in.

We just found out... ( well we knew for a while but couldn't make an official announcement until June 4th) that Taylor made all-stars! 

The coaches from all teams picked the girls from the league.  The league decided to do two teams for their age group this year.  We have an 8 year old team and a 7 year old team.  Adam and Shawn Austin are coaching the 8 year olds and Curtis Greene is coaching the 7 year olds.  The thing is we may end up playing the 7 year old team in the tournament.

So just as we thought things were slowing down now we are practicing for both teams.  Adam is only making his team practice once a week since his entire team made all stars...  Thanks for the break!!!!

Actually we enjoy our time at the fields and both Adam and myself and the girls have made some really good friends there.

SO if you aren't doing anything next weekend.. Please come out and support your Phenix City Girls Fastpitch League in the 8 and under Regional tournament! 

We are proud of you Taylor and wish you the best!

Sweet Summertime!

We enjoyed our quick trip to the beach this past weekend!  We are looking forward to returning very soon.