WOW! Where Have I Been?

Well, since I last blogged, forgive my slackness, I don't feel like we have had a busy summer but I guess we have had lots of fun!  My sweet cousin, Lauren Cross, married the man of her dreams at the end of July, which brought lots of family to Montana from IL!  My dad has 6 siblings including his sister Mary here, and basically 3 siblings and their families came out for the wedding plus my grandma!  That was a ball and all my family came except my dear brother-in-law, next year we are going to get his butt out here!  Pardon my typing!  My family and my cousin Laura were blessed to spend time up at Flathead Lake at the Cross' cabin.  Tom, Titus and I camped one night in the yard there!  We all went to Glacier Nat. Park from there and did an amazing hike at Avalanche Lake there!  I was so excited to show my family the beauty of Montana and to make sure they had a good time.  We came back to Missoula for the wedding and before they all left we did some bike riding and we took my nieces to a sweet park and the Carousel while my parents and sisters went rafting down the Alberton Gorge!  My nieces are 8 yrs. and almost 2 yrs. and both of their first times here and Titus had a great time with them.  Gracie was a great helper with the two younger ones and Bella said Titus' name with the cutest ring to it, I miss hearing her say his name!

We also went for about a 20 mile bike ride on the path along Hwy 93 from Lolo to Florence and back!  When we pulled up to Subway in Florence to eat, this is what Titus was doing in the bike trailer!  So cute!  I thought I was going to die that day and I WASN'T pulling the trailer, Tom was!

We have been enjoying all kinds of food and smiles this summer!

Including trout on the grill and zucchini!  Mmmmmm!  Go hubs!

We went for a hike along Cache Creek Trail down off Hwy 12!  Titus loved the water and loves throwing rocks in the water (or down the neighbors stairs).

We made our first homemade ice cream with the ice cream attachment for the Kitchen Aid (we have had it since we got married in 2009).  Mmmmm!  Homemade Flathead Cherry Ice Cream!  Go hubs!

Labor Day weekend we traveled over to WA and visited some dear friends, the O'Dells, in Spokane.  Titus is missing due to the fact that he had not woken up for the day yet and this was at about 9 am their time!  Yes these 5 adorable kids are all theirs!  (L to R: Acacia, Naomi, Adelyn, John, Justus, Joyalise & Beth)

Once Titus woke up that morning, we headed on to Richland where Tom's brother and family now live.  We enjoyed our time with them as well and the girls definitely enjoyed showing us their ballerina moves, thank you Zowee and Noelle for always being ready to entertain us :)

We got one night of real camping in, which was interesting, Titus woke up and it felt like he was awake for about 2 hours before I could get him back to sleep!  Like our Jumbo Marshmallows?  The smores that night were terrific to say the least!

Our campsite out at Trout Creek off I-90, yes we have a little 2 man tent, which we love and stay warm that way on the cool Montana nights!

Our little camper and his poking stick that he loved walking around with!

Our Trip to Illinois

A complete family picture of Mommies immediate family, from L to R, Pappa, Gammie, Alicia with Bella, Jeremy (Alicia's husband), Gracie, Becky, Daddy & Mommy with Titus.

We had a very good trip to Illinois this past week. We flew into Cedar Rapids, IA on the 13th from Missoula with only one stop in Denver, CO. Titus did very well flying and I don't think the air pressure bothered his ears too much that I could tell. They say to have them nurse or suck on a pacifier during the take off and landing to help their ears but he only nursed half the time and seemed fine the other times he wasn't. My dad picked us up from the airport and we headed to Galena, IL where both of my sisters and parents live, amongst many others on my dads side of the family. My mom was busy making a big dinner for all of our family to come over and enjoy. We had many good meals while we were there and we had three family Christmas'! My parents just moved back to Galena after living in WI for about the majority of 17 years now. Galena is where they grew up and met and I did also until 8th grade year. The Lord provided them a beautiful place just about 3.5 miles outside of Galena with 10 acres. The house is the nicest house they have have ever had and has 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. So they are very close to both of my sisters and the two grand kids that are there, which makes everyone very happy.

On Wednesday my dad and Tom went and cut down a huge beautiful tree for us to decorate that night before we would have our family Christmas.

Friday Tom got to enjoy ice fishing all day with Jeremy. They both love ice fishing so that is a great blessing for them to connect in that way. I think they caught 12 fish between the two of them. I got to get my trimmed by Alicia, she does hair in Galena amongst other services there.

Saturday was my dads side of the family Christmas at Great Grandmas house. I took my pumpkin dump cake and it was a hit! My cousin had her first baby this year too so Titus got to enjoy little Nolan, he is 4 months old.

Sunday was my moms side family Christmas out at the Apple Canyon Golf Pro Shop! Now my moms side does Christmas a little different than most of you would. We have what you would probably call a 'talent show.' You don't have to participate but some people write a poem to share with the family (yours was beautiful aunt Sandy) and some people sing some of their favorite songs like karaoke but there is no screen with words! Gracie was very brave and got up there and sang a Taylor Swift song! She brought tears to my eyes because she is growing up too fast for her auntie and she knew every word! She went 2nd and when she was done I asked if anyone could top that, cuz I didn't think so! Ha! Then she tried a couple other ones that she didn't know so well but very cute. I think Tom and Jeremy thought this was a very different way to do Christmas but it is fun for the family and very funny at times.

Monday was our travel day again :( We were sad to be leaving and both of my sisters got teary eyed to see us go. Both my parents and Becky took us back to the airport and Tom and I hadn't gotten the same flight home but I went on standby and got on his flight out to Denver with him but once we got there I was stuck there for a couple hours cuz his flight to Missoula was overbooked. So he got into Missoula around 9 pm and Titus and I got in around 12 am! I was so exhausted and had a terrible headache but Titus just slept the whole time. When we got in thou it was just at the time of the lunar eclipse which was cool! It felt nice to be in our own bed but I am still missing them all.


Mommy got to meet her niece, Bella Jean, for the first time. She just turned 1 year November 11! She loves any kind of food, dancing and her big sister.


Four Generations: Great Grandpa & Grandma Berning, Pappa, Mommy & Titus @ Galena Stauss Senior Care where Great Gramps now resides.


Goofy picture of Gracie and us, we had just finished watching the first Narnia movie with her and she was spending the night at Gammie and Pappa's with us. We had lots of fun with her and we hope she comes to Montana to spend a month with us next Summer!


Tom and I got to enjoy a date one night after Titus went to bed! We went into town to enjoy what they call the 'Old Fashioned Christmas in Galena' with the 'Night of Luminaria'. They have around 5,000 luminaries lit along Main Street, hills and stairs throughout the town! We got some chocolate at the old Candy Kitchen store before we climbed the old Galena High School Stairs (around 180 steps), enjoyed the view with some chocolate and came back down.

Our First Family Thanksgiving Adventure

Well our Thanksgiving trip to Colorado was great all the way around. We did end up leaving a little later than we wanted due to weather but we got on the road Wednesday morning just when Titus was ready to take his morning nap. He did really well and actually slept almost the whole way to Billings which was where we stopped to spend the night. Thursday traveling for him was a little different, he was not as happy to be in his car seat as the first day and he was in it longer on Thursday. But I did sit in the back with him for a while and discovered that he couldn't move even his arms a whole lot since mommy was strapping him in with his winter jacket on! But we made it into Colorado to our destination at Larry & Linda's (second cousin of Toms') just in time for dinner. Mmmm, it was all very good, my personal favorite besides the star turkey of course, was the sweet potato dish that Gary (Larry's brother) made. It was soooo good and I thought it was a shame that Tom doesn't like sweet potatoes but I ate his portion!

Then we had to load Titus up one more time to make it over to Rich & Carols' to stay til Saturday morning when we would get back on the road. Our stay was great there and it was so good to see Grandpa and Grandma enjoy their grandson when he would let them. Sharon, Carol's sister, (in picture above) also stayed with us there to visit while we were there. I was determined not to put Titus in his car seat on Friday to give him a break, I thought that was only fair to him with 4 of our 5 days of travel being in the car for long hours. So we played some games and played with the baby, Titus got really tired during the day but wouldn't go down for a nap, I don't think he wanted to miss any action or miss out on time with Grandpa and Grandma.

We had him of course sleeping in the same room as us this whole time on our trip which he hasn't done since he was 3 months old and I was impressed. I did hear him wake up at least once every night and he would just put himself back to sleep. Such a good baby he is.

We headed back then on Saturday and the roads were pretty much fine the whole way, wet in areas. But mommy didn't strap him in in his car seat with his winter jacket on this time and he did even better! He hardly complained at all, if he was awake he would just play with his toys on his bar and I didn't have to even sit in the back with him at all. He was a trooper! Tom did all the driving which was so nice of him.

We had many things to be thankful for over the holiday and everyday we do. God answered many prayers to keep us safe and to keep Titus happy during the traveling. And we had a good visit with Grandpa, Grandma, aunt Sharon, Larry, Linda and Gary. Titus just loved all the attention he was getting at the Thanksgiving table. He was soaking it up the little ham. And our car ran good for that long trip, it has some issues that need to be addressed but it did fine.

Now we will be getting ready for our IL trip, coming up in just 12 days! Yikes! I am so excited, it has been a year and a half since I have seen my sisters and the rest of my relatives. I am so excited for all of my family to enjoy Titus, it is refreshing to me as a stay at home mom to have other people enjoy him and all I have to do is feed and change him. It kind of recharges me and he is such a good boy too.

We will be trying our first foods on Sunday! He will be 6 months old and we are going to try that rice cereal and see what he thinks!? I am just going to take my time with it though if he ends up not being to interested. Everything you read these days as far as development and when you go see the Pediatrician are letting you know that they are finding more and more links to allergies due to starting foods too early in babies and nutritionally they say that they don't need anything else the first year if they are breastfed. But they do after that so they need the know how by then and that is why you introduce it before a year. Besides they are also finding that you as a mom are less likely to get breast cancer if you breast feed. So either way it doesn't matter to me, I plan on breastfeeding til he is a year anyway unless he weans himself before then. With all the allergies that his cousins have on his dad's side I don't want to take any chances. I even am going to avoid introducing potential high risk allergy foods until he is older than 6 months to try to prevent it. Basically no dairy, nuts, eggs, wheat based products, fish or chocolate until he is 9-12 months.


Mommy found some long underwear and some sweet wool socks for Titus before our trip just in case the weather got bad or something and we got stranded. I wanted to make sure he was warm and he was enjoying this box for a little while. His eyes always look big in our pictures because he is looking at the red eye light on the front of the camera! Ha!

Weekend at Flathead Lake

Well we spent the weekend at Flathead Lake at the Cross' cabin again. We were there with them and my cousin Laurens new fiance, Jason and his parents, and a friend of Heidi's. It was so relaxing for us but the weather was kind of weird. It would be sunny and then it also was storming at different times with hail. Titus turned 8 weeks on Saturday and he not only had slept his longest ever on Friday night with 8 1/2 hrs but on Saturday up at the lake he rolled over twice from his tummy to his back. He would only do it when Tom and I were watching and it was so cute. He is really starting to "talk" to us too, he sounds so cute. He has an appointment this week on Friday for his 2 month check up, I am so excited to see how much my big boy weighs. I did go swimming this time and the water felt a little cold but good. I didn't touch it before getting in because I knew it would be a little cold and take me longer to get in if I felt it.

Snoozin' in the hammock with dad, while mom goes for a swim off the dock.

We had crazy weather up there, sometimes it was sunny and then sometimes it was storming with hail!

Hangin' with Nate while he plays Farkle with dad and mom gets something to eat.

Snoozin' with dad on the couch up at the lake.

Crazy Summertime!!

The summer is going by so quickly and Titus is now 7 1/2 weeks old! Wow! What a blessing though to have his arrival start our summer. Then my parents were here June 20th thru July 1st. We had such a good visit with both of them but I had a really good time with my mom. I took her to the Saturday Farmers/Peoples Market and "Out to Lunch @ Caras Park" on Wednesday. Tom enjoyed cooking for them a few dinners on the grill and we got to celebrate Father's Day and my birthday while they were here. Gammie really got to enjoy her grandson and Papa did in the spare time that Gammie wasn't! My aunt Mary and my dad looked around at lots of property just in case they ever decide to head west! Who knows, only God right?
Then Tom's parents were here July 2nd thru the 11th. We also enjoyed their visit, we took them "Out to Lunch @ Caras Park" while they were here. We all hung out a lot in Lolo where Kevin and Carolyn and the girls live and played some games and ate lots of food. Grandma enjoyed rocking and walking Titus when he was fussy and snuggling with his warm body and Grandpa enjoyed afternoon naps with Titus.
Since then we have seen 3 old Missoula friends who were visiting. An old Missoula roommate of mine who now lives in Kansas with her husband and 2 girls. We are both moms now and that is so cool to me, I don't feel that old but I guess I am. A mutual friend of ours from California also came through, he had taught Tom how to fly fish and I was in his wedding, needless to say I was upset that his beautiful bride was not here to visit. And another mutual friend of ours, whom we both got to know at different times in our lives, from Colorado with her four children came through too. It was so good to catch up with these friends and to be encouraged in how their lives are still pursuing God.
Kevin and Carolyn and the girls are now in process of moving to Arizona. They are going to be support staff down at the New Tribes Mission Aviation Headquarters for possibly the next couple of years. They are still hoping that they can head to Papua New Guinea when they come through all the health issues with the girls. God already has them on that road in a huge way. Kevin actually left today with all of their stuff and Carolyn and the girls will fly down on Saturday. We are of course sad to see them go, it has been sweet to have them here the last year to get to know them for me and Tom has really enjoyed his time with his little brother.
Besides all the visiting we have just been trying to enjoy our summer with our new son. He is so adorable and beginning just in the last week and a half to smile at me in response to my smile. God's blessings are so sweet. Enjoy the pics and I hope to update sooner next time.

I just gave my horse, Piper, away to a man who is persistent yet has a kind hand. Piper is now 7 years old and to my neglect and lack of time he has not been broke yet, I had gotten a saddle on him and did lots of ground work with him but being his age, he was a handful and required someone more skilled than I to train him fully. I am actually a little over 29 weeks pregnant in this picture!

My parents took us up to Lindey's Steak House in Seeley Lake for my birthday for dinner. Mmmm it was so good, our dinners came with pickled watermelon rind and it was actually surprisingly good.

Tom took 3 students backpacking with him the 15th-18th into the Great Bear Wilderness which is part of the Bob Marshall Complex. He wanted to go in to visit one of our former students who is working in there for the summer, Ethan McKee in center of photo, to bring him encouragement. It was 18 miles in because of a misunderstanding and then 14 miles out, each all done in one day! Way to go, that is my awesome husband! While he did that, Titus and I went to Flathead Lake and spent the weekend at the Cross' cabin with them and about 10 others. It was very relaxing for me even though I missed my husband terribly.

The four Johnson men: Rich, Tom, Titus & Kevin, along with sweet Zowee, she adds beauty to the picture!

While Tom's parents were here we celebrated all three of our wedding anniversaries with a recipe for grilled chicken that Tom wanted to try. Of course, Kevin was helping in his own sort of weird way, ha, jk Kevin. His parents celebrated their 40th this year! Praise God for your love and commitment.

Our friend, Brad Trosen, was up for the challenge presented him while playing "Would You Rather...?" He had to keep his mouth wide open and have "Goof" written on his forehead with lipstick for one players full turn. Him and his family recently moved from Missoula, him and his wife Laura and son Ian are headed to serve in ministry with CMA in Senegal, Africa while their two daughters Hannah & my sweet Emily are living in Minnesota. This was our last hang out with them before they left in mid July.