The Reason

I've been overcome the last few weeks with just how incredibly lucky I am. I never waste a single moment telling my husband and my children, "I love you." I never say no to an opportunity to lay on the bed and watch TV for a few minutes with Jake before school and I almost always let Brooklyn stay up "5 more minutes" if it means snuggling with her on the couch. I find myself staring at the kids in awe at just how beautiful and healthy they are. I am so incredibly lucky.

I am also lucky that I have been given the opportunity to give back. God not only gave Chad and I the gift of music, but also the gift of ministry. Every Sunday night, we are blessed to be able to share God's word and his news through music at church. And, every December, the band gets the opportunity to bring music to the homeless community at the local night shelter.

This Monday, we loaded the band up and headed over there to sing some original songs, some praise and worship songs, and of course, some Christmas carols. I am not gonna lie....we had a rough start. Steve was unavailable to come and play drums so we decided to go "acoustic." Unfortunately, acoustic was still too loud and we had to make a quick last minute run to the church for a microphone that could plug into Chad's guitar amp. Chad wasn't feeling well all afternoon and once he started to sing in practice, realized that, to keep himself standing, he probably shouldn't sing too much. So, it really ended up being Emily and I sharing one mic (thank you, Altoids!) hitting the songs in our "girl repertoire."

We started a sound check, singing "Open the Eyes of My Heart." There was one man there standing in line to enter & check in who said "Oh, I love that song! Will you sing that again?" Well, we really don't make it a practice to repeat the same song twice in a row, so we told him we would play it again at the end. After about 15 minutes, he asked again, saying "I really need this for my heart today." That caught my attention and I told Chad that we needed to do this for him. We played for about 30 minutes more when they started clearing the room out. I told Chad, "we really should do that song again for him." So, as he was leaving, we called to him and said, "here you go!"

Well, you would have thought that we gave him a million dollars. He walked over, sat down in a chair right in front of us, closed his eyes, and with tears streaming down his face and hands lifted, sang with us.

It was all I could do to make it through the song.

To me, that was Christmas. Not only giving a gift to someone- but giving a gift that they truly needed. And for a man that probably needs a heck of a lot, it was truly humbling to realize that our song was what he needed that day.

The story doesn't end there. It turns out that this man also gave a dollar (maybe his only dollar?) to baby Silas, who was there with us. Tucked it right into his back pocket "because he was beautiful." And there was the other man who handed Brandon a Christmas card for us. It was a card he had received from a church (maybe the only card he received this year?). But, he re-wrote it to us as a thank you card for coming and sharing our gifts. Two men who have so little to give, yet giving all they had. It's like the woman in the Bible who gave her last coins in the temple. True God moments everywhere that night and I was so thankful, once again, to experience it this week.

I am truly blessed and I really do have all I need, but I can't say I am always completely satisfied with my wardrobe, my home decor, or the balance in my bank account. But I thank God again for the reminders this week that (1) I am richly blessed, and (2) of course, it's always better to give than to receive.

Especially when it's the perfect gift.

The Secret Life of the American Working Mom

Ok only a few of you will get that blog title, and if you do I won't tell if you don't. :-)

But, my "not so secret" secret life revolves around our Christian Rock Band.

And though we play every Sunday night, a standing gig, leading our church's evening Contempotary worship service, there isn't usually any huge breaking news to share.

Until now.

A few Saturdays ago, we had the honor and privilege of meeting one of our favorite Christian musical groups- Casting Crowns. Grammy award winning Casting Crowns.

Unbelievable.



They did a signing at Family Christian bookstore and because Emily, one of our band members, works as a manager, we not only met them, but we gave them this...



Yeah, we did a bit of self- promotion. :-)

Emily and Luke were actually with them "hosting" for the day and not only had time in the van transporting them but also ate lunch with them.

And talked about us.

A lot.

They were all really nice and agreed to listen to our CD and all took press packets back home. Who knows what will happen from it- if anything?

But it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And a great story.

Newly single

Not the best title, but it caught your attention, didn't it? :-)

Well, technically we're MAKING a new single.

Grace Reigns Down is.

We were in the studio last week recording a brand new single for the band.

It should be ready to share reeeeeallllly soon.

But, if you just can't stand it and want to hear it, then come to Shout at 6:30pm Sunday night. :-)

[If you need details message me.]








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Band Busy-ness

Check out my other blog to see exciting things happening with our band, Grace Reigns Down!

Let the festivities begin! (the first of several posts looking back at our Christmas celebrations)

We started our Christmas celebrations at Jake's school on Thursday, December 23rd. His teachers had a class party complete with yummy snacks and a "Secret Santa" gift exchange. This is probably the best year to do Secret Santa since the kids can't say anything to each other yet- ha ha!


Jake and Ansley killing some apple juice. (I'll just save this photo for the wedding slide show- ha ha!)


Such a handsome little boy.


Opening his gift from Olivia, his Secret Santa. It's a really neat popper thing.

We then left the party and headed over to Greensboro Urban Ministry, the local food pantry/night shelter for the homeless. Our church hosted the meal that evening and Grace Reigns Down provided the music. It's always an uplifting and God-blessed event, but that evening was particularly special because it was Jason's last time drumming with GRD. We will miss him so much when he leaves in January to start Graduate School in Savannah!

Did someone say FREE t-shirt?

I wanted to also share this contest on my personal blog. Please hop on over to GRD's blog and show us some love. :-)

Here's the contest...

We are excited to announce our first-ever GRD Blog Contest!
Here's what you have to do:
1. Become a Blog Follower of Grace Reigns Down. (To do this, just scroll down the righthand column and click "Follow.")
2. Leave a comment on THIS POST about why you love GRD.
3. Do both these things before Friday, November 12th at 11:59pm.

*We'll hold a random drawing on Saturday, November 13th, and announce the winner then!**The winner will receive a FREE newly designed GRD t-shirt! We'll even mail it to you if you can't make it to the show, so anyone can join in the fun and enter the contest!!! Good luck!

Shameless Plug...

The band has been busy....why don't you hop on over here and see what we have been up to. :-)

It's a tough life...

...being the children of rockstars. :-)

Rockin' Out!

On Sunday, our band, Grace Reigns Down, once again had the opportunity to play our largest show of the year, Greensboro's CROP WALK for Hunger. We played on a stage set up right outside the Grasshopper baseball stadium for a crowd of SEVERAL hundred people. It is always an awesome afternoon, but with spectacular weather, it was a perfect day.

Thanks to Chad's 5th grade teammate, Lauren, who snapped some pics of us that day!

we interrupt this blog...

...to introduce you to a new blog!

The band that I play in- Grace Reigns Down- has started a blog to help keep our fans up to date with our shows, the album, and all that's going on with us.

Visit us at http://gracereignsdown.blogspot.com/.

Won't you please bookmark our page, become a Follower, leave some comments, and check back often?

Grace Reigning Down On Me!

We had an awesome show Saturday night at our church, First Lutheran. It was our first show since CROP Walk in October (when I was 37 weeks pregnant!), so it was great to get back out there playing our music. We had a wonderful opening act, God's Allies, made up of 13-18 year old kids from a Thomasville Youth Group. Then, we played a 45 minute set.

This was also a benefit for Greensboro Urban Ministry, and from the 175+ attending the show, we collected 475 pounds of food and $130 in donations. Yay!

Flying Solo

So, besides the 1/2 hour each weekend morning that Chad runs out and gets coffee and a random hour or two here and there, I have not had both kids by myself. Wednesday evening, I put myself to the test when Chad went into the recording studio to work on our new album for Grace Reigns Down.

I am working at my office Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, so those days, I pick up Brooklyn from school and bring her home. We came home around 5:30 where my MIL was watching Jake. She stayed around for a few minutes so I could start dinner, change clothes, and unpack all my stuff (mainly breastmilk that I pumped at work). She left around 6, and I soon had Brooklyn eating dinner (Easy Mac, crunchy Chinese noodles, and a yogurt with Oreo crunchies) and I was reheating my dinner (leftover Thai from lunch). I ate my dinner quickly and then settled on the couch to feed Jake. So, though quite an eclectic meal, it was a well-balanced dinner for both Brooklyn and Jake, and both my kids were eating at the same time.

Success #1!

Jake is at his happiest right after he eats and can sit for a good while in his Boppy and watch the world around him. We have about 15-20 minutes of good "can occupy himself time."So, as soon as he and Brooklyn finished dinner, I herded them both upstairs and started Brooklyn's bath. She was sooooo good (baths can sometime go either way with her) and just let me quickly bathe her, get her out of the tub, and get her PJs on while Jake sat in the hallway in the Boppy.

Success #2!

So, by now, I am feeling quite cocky.

Do you see where this is headed?

Jake needed a bath sometime in the next day or so, so I though "no time like the present! I can do this!" Brooklyn was watching Nick Jr on my bed, so I moved Jake and his Boppy to the bedroom and started his bath. We use a baby bath tub on our bathroom counter, filling it from the whirlpool tub and then filling the sink with clean water for rinsing the soap off. I filled the tub and began to move it over to the counter when, all of a sudden, I am soaking wet from the legs down. I completely forgot to put the plug in the bottom of the tub and water was pouring out everywhere!

I had floaded the bathroom floor!

I quickly plugged the tub and threw our bathtowels down on the floor to soak up the water (it needed a good cleaning anyway). The kids were still watching Nick Jr on the bed (well, Jake was looking in that general direction) so I cleaned it up quickly and continued on....both kids were gonna be bathed tonight, darn it! So, bath was filled and ready to go, and I stripped Jake down and laid him in the tub.

Forgot the towels.

As Brooklyn went to the linen closet to get towels, I looked over to see a water fountain arching from the tub directly into the sink with clean water. My son, whose "wee wee" is usually always covered with a washcloth, but was not because Brooklyn was getting the towels for her forgetful mama, had proceeded to pee straight up from the bath tub, skipping over the counter, and directly into the sink of clean water! It was amazing to see his aim and accuracy and quite hilarious, but now I had dirty "clean water." Brooklyn came back with the towels to find me laughing hysterically and shaking my head in disbelief.

Maybe you had to have been there.

So, as Jake played in the tub, "wee wee" now covered, I poured the dirty "pee-pee water" out and refilled with clean water. Jake was soaped and rinsed, dried and clothed, and the three of us made it downstairs by 7:30pm to watch some good old episodes of "18 kids and counting." Chad came home at 8:20pm to two kids fed and bathed (with baby sleeping) and a very proud wife. :-)

The (First) 12-ish Days of Christmas

Well, as it does every year, December is always filled with some wonderful events, parties, and activities for the Johnsons. Here is a recap:

December 1-6: We had three shows with GRD. We went and played at UNCG's Lutheran Campus Ministries, Confluence Coffee in Winston, and Greensboro Academy. Fun shows- fun people!

December 7: Brooklyn's stage debut in her school's Christmas performance. Notice you will NOT see any pics of her onstage because she was there for only a short moment, but here is her before the show in front of our Christmas tree and with her best friend, Kate, after the show.

December 8: What an awesome night! GRD had the opportunity to go down to Greensboro Urban Ministry and play a concert for the homeless. My mom had my grandmother's crochet group knit 120 hats and another member of our church made 150 fleece scarves to give to everyone who came in for the meal. It was truly an uplifting experience and really made us all remember the Reason for the Season.

December 11: Our annual trip to Four Seasons Mall to visit Santa. Brooklyn and I have an agreement at this point- Mommy will sit with you- you just smile pretty. :-) She exceeded expectations, though, when she SPOKE to Santa, telling him she wanted a baby doll with hair and gave him a high five. I was so proud of my shy little girl!

December 12: TWO holiday parties that day- work for me and our annual Christmas dinner at Memaw's house (both excellent parties with GREAT food)

December 13: We babysat for Zoe, so Luke and Emily could attend Luke's work party. We took the girls to McDonald's mostly so they could go on the Play Place. Brooklyn does awesome on the big slide, but Zoe needed a little help from Chad getting back down. :-)

So, that brings me to this week and several more Christmas parties...I hope I am better about taking pictures for the Second 12-ish days of Christmas!

GRD at the Crop Walk

Most of you know that our band, Grace Reigns Down, had the wonderful opportunity to play at the opening of Greensboro's Crop Walk. We were so blessed to have the chance to play for so many people (especially people who were out there walking for a great cause!). Here are some pics from the day.

Most of the band (I think I am blocked by Luke):

The crowd:

The girls:

Lead singer, Chad:

Brandon, Chad, and Luke:

what's going on with us

There's been a lot going on the last few weeks! Here are some of the highlights:

Jennifer and Jay Weaver said "I do!".....
It was a great weekend with all my girlfriends.....

Brooklyn's hair is growing long enough for a pony tail.....

Brooklyn went to a Japanese restaurant for the first time (and mastered those chopsticks).....

Emily and I were replaced as the background vocalists of Grace Reigns Down....

And I had my 10 year high school reunion....hopefully more pics to come later from that (I was the slacker and didn't pull out my camera that weekend!)

the band continued...

While I'm on the subject, Grace Reigns Down is looking for a few things:
(1) A photographer for some "press photos" (You can be amateur, not a problem, just willing to take some pics of us-at a CHEAP (if not free) price).
(2) More venues- Do you have a youth group at your church or a youth event coming up? Or even a church/family picnic where you need some entertainment? We would love to come play for you!


For more info on the band or to contact us, visit our website: www.myspace.com/gracereignsdown. And become a friend while you are there!

we are...

The band is really taking off.....I mean, crazy how much it's taking off. Many of you may say "You're in a band? How did that happen?" Well, we started Grace Reigns Down as just a "worship music team" at our church's 6:30pm Shout service. Jason started playing drums for us as a Confirmation project, and he just stuck around. :-) In 2005, Chad and I were expecting Brooklyn and needed some extra peeps to help with the worship leading once our precious baby arrived. So, we asked a nice couple, Luke and Emily, who had been coming to the service and mentioned that they were musical, to fill in for us once and a while. (Chad and Emily actually knew each other casually from UNCG, so we had some common ground.) Then, they knew a bass player, Brandon, and invited him to join in. Once we realized how we all just "clicked," we went from a "let's see who shows up to play Sunday night" group to "let's actually offer some consistancy and play every week" band. That was over two years ago. We had Brooklyn, Luke and Emily had Zoe, and we recorded our first Grace Reigns Down album in the winter of 2006-2007. Once we had an album, we started trying to play some shows in the community and get the word out. Since then, we have played various venues around the state, from Oak Hollow Mall in High Point, a coffee shop in Summerfield, a community church in Eden, and Emily's hometown church in Rutherford County (just to name a few). It's great to be out in the community sharing our music and meeting people. We just have a love of sharing God's word with others through our music, and we have a great time just "being" together. We have eight original songs and know tons of Christian cover songs. It's so much fun, and being on stage often takes me back to my "Rhythm and Rhapsody" days at Ragsdale High School. Those lessons in stage presence have paid off! :-) God has truly blessed our group, and we are excited about all that is yet to come. Next stop for GRD? The Greensboro CROP Walk. We will be featured on their city stage in downstown Greensboro, playing a 45 minute set at the conclusion of the CROP Walk. We are so stoked and can't wait to play to this size crowd. What an awesome blessing for us, and for now, we are just enjoying the ride!

catching up

So...

1. The house has been on the market for exactly one month today! We are doing great keeping it clean and have had a steady stream of "shoppers." I have mixed feelings- some days I want to sell right away, and some days, I want to live there forever- just the three of us! I think once the weather warms up for good, things will start moving quickly, so I better prepare myself now. :-)

2. Brooklyn has her first "friends" birthday party on Saturday at the Children Museum. She is very excited about having all her friends come to her party and eat her "Dora and Boots" cake. I'm excited for her, too!

3. Our next GRD gig is on Saturday, March 29th at the Crosswalk Cafe in Eden. I know Eden isn't really "on the way" to anywhere, but we would love to have everyone come out and hear us! If you want more info, you can check out our website, www.myspace.com/gracereignsdown.

4. I am working with a bunch of friends to get together our 10 year high school reunion. This is frustrating. On many levels.

5. Chad started coaching golf last week for Greensboro Academy. Between that, grading papers, and teaching guitar lessons, his work is keeping him pretty busy.

6. Brooklyn informed me this week that her bed was not "comfortable like mommy's." Chad and I may be out shopping for a twin bed this weekend, so if any of you have any suggestions on where to go, let me know!

And, oh yeah...

7. We are going to VEGAS! We are headed to Sin City with my parents, Eric (brother), and Caroline (E's girlfriend) after Christmas for a short vacation! It will be the farthest west I have ever traveled, and we are all very excited. Chad, for obvious reasons, and me, for all the shopping, sightseeing, and cool little places to visit with Brooklyn. I doubt I will even see Chad for the three days we are there- but I am sure my dad will prop him up at the poker table when he gets sleepy. :-)

TGIF!

So, within 8 days on the market, we have had two people come and view the house, and one person make an offer. It's pretty crazy! Now, it wasn't a great offer, so we are back in negotiations, but nonetheless, it's flattering to be wanted. :-) Keep your fingers crossed and the prayers coming as we embark on this new journey!

Tomorrow is our GRD show at First Lutheran's Chili Cookoff....it should be fun! There's rumors about white chili, dragon's breath chili, and many others, so it will definitely be a great contest!

Sunday is Brooklyn's 3rd birthday. That is entirely unbelievable.

grace reigns down + chili = lutheran love

So, I have not really mentioned much about our band in my blog yet, so I thought I would get everyone up to date. We are practicing about every other week (and every Sunday at Shout), and we have shows scheduled for once a month through June. This Saturday, we will be playing at First Lutheran's Chili Cookoff from 5-7pm. So.....if you have the time (and an empty belly) swing on by FLC for some good music, some GREAT food, and some even better fellowship. FLC is located at 3600 West Friendly Avenue Greensboro 27410. Anyone is welcome to enter their chili in the cookoff, but if you would just rather sample other people's dishes, just bring a side dish or dessert to share.