I’m gonna miss this

Someday I’m going to miss the snaggle tooth smiles, and the countless questions, and the made-up bedtime excuses, and all the giggling.

Someday I’m going to miss make-believe, and imaginary friends, and spilled milk, and Candyland, and all the jokes about poop.

Someday I’m going to miss washing sand out of their hair, and giving magic boo-boo fixing kisses, and telling princess bedtime stories.

Someday I’m going to miss cutting up a dozen hot dogs, and stepping on army men, and noisy car rides, and dandelion bouquets.

Someday I’m going to miss matching dresses, and messy rooms, and constantly refilling the soap dispenser and TP.

Someday I’m going to miss falling into bed every night exhausted, and reading books that rhyme, and painting little fingernails pink and sparkly, and stopping to inspect every bug.

Someday I’m going to miss all this crazy.

And some days I have to remind myself of this when I think I’m going crazy.

Because this stage in my life is fleeting and I need to redeem the time that is given with my crazies/blessings!

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”  Ecclesiastes 3:1

New Look

So what do you think of the new look?  Fran from Small Bird Studios did a fabulous job with the design and was so patient with all my delays and changes!  I love it!  You can still get to this site through [prayforjohnsonfamily] for now, but [heart-momma.com] is the new address.  I decided on that name because when Ava was born with her heart defect (for the story on that go here) that’s what I became…a “Heart Mom”.  But I see it as so much more than that.  While Ava’s physical heart is important, the state of her, and all four of my children’s, spiritual heart is so much more important.  I’m a “Mom”, which means I do what all mom’s do in caring for my children’s physical needs (i.e. cleaning, feeding, etc…) but I always want to see more than that.  I want to see their deeper needs as their Mom.  I want to mother what’s inside of them and not just their outside behavior.

Ahhh…I love fresh beginnings and newness (is that a word?) don’t you?  I’ve been planning out this new blog design for quite a while and right now just seemed like the right time.  There is so much “newness” in my world right now and I’m so excited to share it with you all and continue to journal about my little life.  I want to remember this crazy time in my life and all that God will teach me through it.

So, on to what you really want to see…wedding photos!  Dustin and I got married on March 31st at our church and it was just absolutely what I wanted it to be!  Simple, laid back, meaningful, warm, and fun!  I’m so thankful for all the help both behind the scenes and on the actual day.  I couldn’t have done it without all those so willing to help me out.  Planning a wedding while raising two small children is no small feat…but I’m so glad I put in the effort because it turned out to be a day full of blessings. From the beginning we tried to eliminate anything extra and just try to make it simple and focus on first of all, honor to the One who brought it all about, and second, on the making of a new family.  So, while there were a lot of people who attended the wedding, the wedding party was just Dustin and I and the kids and I loved it like that!  We wanted the kids involved but we also wanted it to be fun for them.  So all three girls were flower-girls (which they were thrilled about!) and Linc walked me down the isle as the “Best little Man”.  The two older girls brought us our rings when we exchanged them and instead of lighting a unity candle, we had all the kids come join us on stage for a time of prayer as a new family.  The reception was planned with them in mind.  We set up a little carnival and served pop-corn and cupcakes and cookies and other sweets.  We hung hundreds of balloons from the ceiling and had a fun photo booth too.  We wanted the kids to enjoy the day and they loved it!  There were so many special moments during the day and we were beyond blessed!

The next day, Dustin and I flew away for two weeks in Hawaii.  Ummm, yeah…it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!  Relaxing on a beach with zero responsibilities was rough, but someones got to do it.  But it was seriously so good for us to start out our marriage like that because we hit the ground running when we got home.  We are definitely still adjusting to life with four kids and all but every week that goes by I feel like we are finding our groove more and more.  God is so good to give me little nuggets from His Word or encouragement from a friend to help me along.  We’ve had some rough moments, but even in those I know God has a plan.  I’m wanting to do a post devoted to the kids soon so I can introduce my two new crazies!

I’ll end this post with some verses from Psalm that I have been reading and re-reading and re-reading.  Who knows?  Maybe they’ll end up in a post all their own!

Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.
How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.                                                                                                       10 Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.

Psalm 36:5-10

I’m baaaaaack!

Just some quick random thoughts today bullet point style:

  • God is good!
  • Life is crazy!
  • I have no idea where the last few months have gone…oh wait…yes I do :) Wedding planning, Christmas, wedding planning, kids, kids and more kids, homeschooling Ava, getting households ready to merge, wedding planning, going on dates with my man, wedding planning, working on re-designing my blog (should be coming soon!), aaaaaaand…wedding planning :)
  • My baby girl Ava turns 6…yes SIX…this week! I’m so thankful for God bringing her into my life for the past six years. She is such a blessing!
  • So…I’m not sure I mentioned this already, but wedding planning is in full swing and the big day is coming up super fast! So fast that I haven’t had a moment to put any details on here. If you would like more information shoot me an e-mail in the next couple days and I’ll hook you up :) (DnJrankin@gmail.com)
  • God continues to be exactly who He says He is…faithful, loving, merciful, and full of grace. I’m so thankful for His leading in my life and I’m so excited for the plans He has for all of us in the future!
  • I have a serious addiction to Skittles right now.
  • I love spring and all the spring flowers and I love that it’s come early in my neck of the woods! Just an unexpected blessing :)

That’s it for now!

Lincoln-isms #2

I know it’s been FOREVER since I posted.  The holidays were crazy around here and life is just crazy…but so good!  I have sooooo much I would love to write about so before my brain explodes I will hopefully get back into my blogging groove.  Until then, I’ll leave you with some things Mr. Linc has been saying lately that, as his Mom, I think are worth remembering and sharing.  Enjoy :)

  • “Bye Mom.  We’re going to a man place.”
  • “I not a baby…I a BIG man!”
  • I love cats, and elephants, and my Mom…and tigers!”
  • “You are nice and cozy!”
  • “I hiding from you…cause I’m pooping.”  (yes I realize that this may be a sign that he’s ready for potty-training.  Yay me.)
  • “I can’t get in my bed because there’s lots of spiders in my bed and they will crawl on me…so I will just wait to get in bed until you come and squish them.”  (that’s one of the more creative excuses I’ve heard to not go to bed.)
  • “Hmmmm…let’s think about me for a minute.”
  • “Alright Captain Hook!”  (I’m not sure where he got this but it cracks me up when he says it to me)
  • While rocking him one night he said, “When I a big man, I’ll hold you Mom.”
  • Me: “Hey Linc, do you know where my tape is?”  Linc:  “Maybe a spider ate it or somethin.”
  • “Thank You God for movie.  And thank You for supper.  And thank You for train track.”
  • “That’s what boys do…we make messes and play with toys…and everyting (typo intended).  And we take baths.”
  • We were talking about his allergies in the car one day and Linc said, “I’m not allergic to you Mom!”  (no my sweet boy, you’re not)
  • Me:  “What are you doing Lincoln?”  Linc:  “I’m just throwing things in the fire.  Just for fun.”  (oh boy.)

Story Time Pt. 6 :)

“Oh, sing to the Lord a NEW song!  For He has done marvelous things…”  Psalm 98:1

This is the verse that I read the next day.  I kept reading it over and over trying to let it sink into my very distracted brain :)   I just felt like there was something I was supposed to see and then the word “new” kept jumping out at me.  Because that is exactly what the Lord was doing to my heart!  Not that I didn’t have reasons to sing before…that wasn’t it.  But it truly felt like God was teaching my heart a brand NEW song to sing.    It was like God was melting away the hard shell that I had built around my heart to protect me from being discontent with being a widow and single mom.  God, in His love and mercy was melting that shell and awakening something wonderful and it wasn’t the same song, second verse…oh no!  It was a brand new song!  And that knowledge helped explain the weird almost burning sensation I had been feeling in my chest over the past few days.  Because when Josiah died I felt an actual physical pain in my chest that made it hard to breathe sometimes, so why wouldn’t I feel something when God was completing His healing and bringing new life in such an amazing way?

So, D and I started dating!  We talked for hours and hours and hours and hours about pretty much everything.  We found that we agreed on most things.  And God started knitting our hearts together.  It didn’t take long before we realized that we cared for each other deeply…that we loved each other and that God was leading our lives to becoming one.

So…a few weeks ago after we had been dating for a while, D and I were out on a date and he took me back to the place where our relationship started…the coffee shop where we met that first time.  And D took me over to a tree nearby and told me a story that I had not heard.  He reminded me of our texting “conversation” before we had that first meeting when he told me that he wanted to have a date with me.  Well, unbeknownst to me, he had been standing under that very tree that night.  He talked about how he had asked me a question that night we had been texting (when he asked me if I wanted him to stop communication and give me time to think and pray) and it was a difficult question to ask but that he had felt at peace with asking it because he fully trusted that God was in control…and now he needed to ask me a different question…and he got on one knee in the snow and mud and asked me to marry him and become his wife!  I said something super romantic like “are you messing with me?” and then I said “Yes!”…and then I couldn’t remember if I had said yes so I said it again :)   My eyes teared up a little but mostly I just couldn’t stop giggling!  It was like God had wiped away my tears and replaced them with a bubbling joy that I could not contain!

So, we are engaged :) and planning a wedding for the spring :)   And that is where I’m going to end this series because I think I’m up to date now.  But it’s not the end of the story…oh no!  Lord willing, it’s only the beginning!

Now…it’s finally time to reveal the true identity of the mysterious “D”.

His name is Dustin and I am beyond thankful to God for bringing him into my life!  He loves the Lord first and foremost.   He’s sweet, and funny.  He’s a talker and a great listener.  He pays attention to detail and reads people really well.  He has two beautiful daughters and is a very fun Daddy :)   He challenges me.  He’s not afraid of criticism or correction.  He has an amazing story of God’s grace in his life.  His honesty is refreshing.  And he loves me…like a lot :) I’m SO blessed!

 

**I’m enjoying all your comments and encouragement so much!  Thank you!  While I understand you may have questions please understand two things, I may not have time to answer all of them and also, I have not shared every detail of our story for a reason and I trust you can respect my privacy and right to do that.  Most of all, I want to bring honor to my King in what I write…after all, our story comes from Him!

Story time Pt. 5 :)

(Sorry for the delay in posts. I could give you some excuses but I figure you want me to just dive back into the story instead, so here you go…)

Saturday finally came. The big day where D and I would meet and see where God took us. I woke up early that morning, got ready, and headed to our agreed upon meeting place….a coffee shop. I was remarkably calm. I had no doubt that this was where God was leading and I had always felt very comfortable talking with D before this so I wasn’t worried about that.

D was already at the coffee shop when I got there. I had a suspicion that he probably got there much earlier than we had planned…it was just a hunch but it turned out to be correct :) I was not nervous…at all. But I noticed D’s hand shook a little as he got his coffee. He told me later that he just didn’t have a clue what I was going to say so that’s what made him a little anxious. We found a seat and started talking. We talked for at least three hours without stopping. We covered a lot of ground in a wide range of topics. From finances to kids to God’s timing to…well, you name it and we probably covered it. We pulled no punches. We saw no point in doing that nor did either of us feel we had that luxury. This was a big deal that didn’t just affect our lives but our kid’s and families lives as well.

But at the very beginning of our conversation, right after we sat down with our coffee, D looked at me and said he had something kinda crazy to tell me. He prefaced this by saying that he didn’t think too deeply into dreams but this dream was one that was worth telling. He had just had this dream the night before and in his dream he was in his bedroom sitting on the bed. He was just sitting and when he looked up, Josiah was standing there and Josiah said “here’s what you need to know about Jess” and then in the dream Josiah went over to the dresser, opened a drawer and pulled out an envelope, and handed it to D. D opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper, but when he looked down to read it he saw that it was blank. D then looked up and instead of Josiah standing there, it was D’s wife Becca. She looked at him and smiled and said “It’s OK. It’s really OK.”

And then D woke up.

Both Josiah and Becca were very altered by their cancer when they died, but in D’s dream they were both fully restored and dressed in white. He said it was just so clear and real feeling.

Wow, was all I could say after D was done telling me his dream. Now I don’t put much thought into dreams either, but I believe God can and has used dreams if He wants to…and I don’t believe that dream was a coincidence. God is a God of details and His hand was so very evident in the details of bringing us together.

At the end of our conversation that day, neither one of us quite knew how to leave it. It was clear to both of us that God was doing a work, we just didn’t know where it was heading yet…or what to call “us” exactly. But we were both just excited, wherever God led us!

I drove home and decided to try to take a nap. That didn’t work. So, I made a quick lunch and drove to the park to try to eat. Well…I still couldn’t really eat either. But I also couldn’t stop smiling…I mean literally, I really couldn’t stop! Eventually, I drove over to my parents house to talk with my Mom and I was telling her about how the morning went and I said “Mom, I’m just so…happy! That may sound silly, but it just feels so good to be happy…it’s been a while.” And that is how I felt and in my text messages back and forth with D…he felt the same way! God was working and in His goodness and love He was bringing such a giddy, wonderful, warm, deep, happiness into our lives and it was SO good!

…………………………………..

To be continued…