News News News, Read all about!

Hi friends,

As you know, I mentioned in my last post some interesting stuff about "new" news in the Johnson Family, but that I couldn't yet disclose that top secret info. Well, the news is now indeed being spread abroad. I've told my family. I've told close friends, and now i'm telling you.

The Move:

Virginia is going to be our new home as of the beginning of November!! That's only 2.5 months away, folks! It'll come fast, and there's a lot to get done, but the way it's all coming together is pretty amazing. We can tell that the Lord Jesus Himself is active and working in our lives, orchestrating all the events perfectly.

Why are we moving across country?

There are literally so many resons, some of the main being:

1. Mike can get schooling done, which has been a burden on his heart for along time now.

2. Live rent-free and being able to save money.

3. With baby coming, i'll have plently of help.

4. Family.

5. There seem to be jobs out there, more so than here in CA.

6. Less expensive in general.

7. A great family-oriented place to raise our kiddo.

8. It's beautiful.

Falalalala.....

We'll be driving the entire way, across the whole united states, which will be an amazing site to see, since neither of us have had such a fantastic opportunity for site-seeing. My plan is to take pictures of every "Welcome to..." sign that I can. :-) When we leave i'll have a decently sized baby bump at about 6.5 months. It may be a little uncomfortable driving for almost 3 days about 2800 miles, but I imagine if i'm able to stop here and there and stretch the limbs, I should be fine. We'll be praying about it though, of course.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Big Bellies and Big Times

I'm 13 weeks today, you guessed it. Well, not that my belly is huge yet, which it's not, but it is starting to abound, and I can feel it. It is strange and feels strange, and seems strange all in one, but so interesting and amazing!

That's not the only news on then waking horizon, though. There's another surprising option making itself readily available to our family, Mike and I. I'm not so sure i'm able to disclose the news as of yet, but when I get the word, I will. If you are reading this, though, you can be praying for us as we seek God's wisdom on the timing of things' exciting things!

On another note, I made my first Beef Stroganoff the other night when my husband and I had a guest over for dinner. It turned out great! That's what recipes are for, aren't they? See, I'm usually the "I'll take a risk and add some of the things that I think will balance the dish out well," type, but because I tend not to cook beef all that well unless the crock pot is doing the work for me, I decided to follow the recipe pretty closely, at least for the cooking of the beef, anyway. I didn't stray too far away this time. The trick?

The trick to perfectly browned beef strips is to take your 2 x 1/4 strips of top sirloin steak, cut against the grain, and dry them off well. Moist beef doesn't brown properly. Guess who I learned that from. Yeah, Julia Child. Anyways...then you lightly dust them in flour, and cook in batches just until browned on either side. take them off of the heat once browned, and place on a plate until you need to warm them through, near the serving of the meal. Once your Stroganoff sauce has been reduced and is just about ready to serve, you add the strips of steak to the sauce and let them warm through JUST for 2 minutes, and then serve with freshly chopped parsely. The beef comes out with the perfect "medium" texture and doesn't end up too chewy. Voila! I took the recipe from the classic "Joy of Cooking" cook book, but you can take it from just about anywhere since there are nearly a million different variations. I took it from JOC, because it seemed classic, and that's all I wanted.

11 weeks along

Today is the mark of 11 weeks along with baby-love-Johnson. We go in tomorrow for another ultra sound and small check up to see how things are going. I hope all is well, as it seems that it is. I have no discomfort which indicates a healthy pregnancy thus far.

We continue to think of names, which is exciting. We have a name for a boy, it's very "english," but will not yet be disclosed ;-), and we're working on a name for a girl. We have her first name, but middle, not so sure. Do we want 2 middles names like daddy, or do we want only one, like mommy? Who knows!

I'm just so grateful to the Lord for giving me the prescious gift of my sweet husband. I know that the baby is going to be important as well, but I must strive to keep my hubby as my number one priority, as he and I are one flesh. Keeping a marriage strong through the child bearing years is so vital, because the truth is- in 18 years, your little ones will be all grown up and probably working their way out of the house...and then when they are gone, it's back to you and your man! I love it.

Such sweet family times are ahead!

P.S.

This picture is sweet, isn't it? He's offering me a tiny little pink flower bud he found whilst out and about in the cool newhall air on a walk. :)