Johnson Family Update Easter edition

So we had a fun Easter weekend. For the first time CGJ and SGJ dyed Easter eggs.

Then we used the left over colored water as water color paints. This held their attention for a very long time. LVJ played in her activity seat and I relaxed. Water color painting for the win!

The kids got new Easter outfits. We all sang, "Jesus is alive. He is risen --risen!!!" It was an awesome celebration and weekend of worship.

After church we hunted eggs and ate a lot of candy.

Changes and New Adventures

Well, we are in a season of change. It started in 2016. Some changes were big like...
* I resigned from my teaching position and entered into a full time stay at home wife and mom lifestyle.

* Handsome Husband resigned from his job and moved into a different position and company.

* LVJ was born.

Some changes were small yet still really important like...

*Pumpkin britches is now 5 and she has out grown that nickname. Here I'll call her CGJ. She spent a year being a ballerina.

*Sammy G (SGJ) turned 4 and decided he liked green beans and mashed potatoes.

* We have a long haired energetic mixed Weiner dog named Riemann.

*We have a cat named Davros the exterminator.

* I have a hairstyle instead of mom hair. (See photo)

Some changes have unexpectedly influenced our lives like...

* The kids and I committed our Thursday mornings to Bible study with Bible Study Fellowship International. <--- so many changes have occurred in the kids and me... The study of John has changed our hearts, minds, and actions and I'm excited to study Romans next year.

One recent and major change is that I deleted all social media and mindless gaming apps from my phone. Through the study the Holy Spirit showed me that social media had become an idol for me. God asked me to give it up and choose obedience over my desire to  seek others approval, over my laziness of chilling out on my phone, and over my false need to be "connected". I'm still navigating this one. Blogging occasionally is what is appropriate for my family and self right now. It will allow me to still document and share our life while I actually live my life intentionally in the moment.

* My pregnancy and LVJ's fourth term resulted in a dependency on TV to make it through the day. We gave up TV for a month to break our habit and committed to spending more time outside as spring like weather blessed the TN valley early this year.

* My dear friend asked me to do a book study with her. She chose One Thousand Gifts  by Ann Voskamp. My heart has been transformed and soften more than I ever imagined. I didn't even realize how ungrateful I truly was/am until reading this devotional. I now have a better understanding of praying without ceasing and having joy regardless of circumstances.

All these changes are evidence of God's love and grace for me (and my family).

Some of the changes​ have been easy while some have been difficult. Some have been undeniable joyous blessings from our Mighty Father while other have been hidden blessings as he has painfully pruned things from our lives leaving us better when we didn't know we were unwell.

All the productive change takes faith and a greater dependency on God.  When I handle the change in my own strength or when I try to control, manipulate, or compromise the change I grow weary. It's not my job! My job is the daily choice to surrender to the change. The daily choice to recognize God's graces and hold to his promises.

Promises!

He will always be with me (Hebrews 15:5). He desires for me to be complete and changes me for the betterment of myself and others resulting in His glory (James 1:2-4). He has already triumphed over the sin I get entangled in (1 Corinthians 15:57). When I repent and choose His ways, he makes me clean again (1 John 1:9). His ways are better than mine (2 Samuel 22:31).

So on this adventure I go (some days kicking, whining, and pouting but always choosing to believe God's promises). And, when I can't rejoice in the change itself, I praise God for the purpose of the change. He has never stopped sanctifying me and for that I am grateful.

Week 7: Menu July 19

This week our menu was GARLIC CHICKEN Massaged kale, SHRIMP PESTO PENNE Grilled grapes, PESTO SAUSAGE PIZZA, CHICKEN SALAD PITAS Green beans and bell pepper sticks, and PORTOBELLO CAPRESE Avocado Caesar salad. 

Garlic chicken

The grilled chicken was juicy and favorable. Can I just say I love how much we are using the grill this summer!?! It yields delicious foods and little to zilch clean up in the kitchen. :) this was our first experience with raw kale. It wasn't bad but I'd rather it be cooked into a soup. :)

Shrimp pesto penne

We subbed salmon for shrimp this week because we had leftover salmon and it saves money to use what you got. The pesto was homemade and wonderful. We skipped the cheese in it due to allergies and used walnuts instead of pin nuts since we already know DD can eat walnuts. We were fasniated by the grilled grapes; however, I much prefer frozen. :) Overall, this meal was a crowd pleaser at my house. (Pasta dishes usually are!)

Pesto sausage pizza

Another favorite dish this week. Charlotte and I skipped the mozzarella cheese. This dish was pretty straight forward. It is my family's opinion that you can't go wrong with pizza. Yum!

Chicken salad pitas

This meal was my favorite this week. We subbed soy based yogurt so it would dairy free. I typically like to use coconut based yogurt, but our local store is having trouble with the manufacturer because they are temporarily out of stock. :( This chicken salad used the grilled chicken from meal one.  It was the kind of chicken salad that includes grapes (my favorite). I enjoyed how the grapes added crunch and a burst of sweetness and moister. Sorry the picture doesn't show the chicken salad itself, but I promise it is in the pita. We were super hungry and weren't thinking in terms of pictures. 

Portobello caprese

It has come to our attention that the meatless option each week is not our style. For example last week the meatless option was the squash filled ricotta cheese sandwiches and this week this mushroom dish. I <3 mushrooms! I love them on hamburgers, steak and pizza. I do not love them on their own. I was starving when we finished this meal. Also did not get to enjoy the avocado Caesar salad due to our avocado issue (see previous post). Needless to say, from this point on... We will be contemplating the meatless dish each week and possibly skipping it. We will not buy the ingredients for the dish, but will sub in an old favorite or design a dish with all the knowledge the fresh 20 has taught us. :)

Here is an example of a self creation we had Sunday night....

Steak and mushroom pizza.

We used the remaining pesto as our base and leftover portobellos for a topping. We then added steak that was rubbed with salt, pepper, and chili powder. James had left over mozzarella. I had goat cheese (from next week's menu), and Charlotte went cheese-less. We topped it with the honey lime sauce from the corn a few weeks ago. Delicious! 

Weight loss

James: 13 lbs

Felicia: 9 lbs

Week 6: Menu July 12

This week our menu was TEX-MEX SLOPPY JOES Watermelon feta salad, GRILLED SALMON Honey lime corn & Mango salad,  BEAT THE HEAT TACO SALAD Guacamole, RICOTTA SQUASH SANDWICHES Black bean stuffed avocado, and PASTA PRIMAVERA Watermelon slices.

Everyone loved the tex-mex sloppy joes. It was a favorite for this week. It was different from the sloppy joe I grew up loving (a bottle of ketchup in each batch). This had carrots and tomato paste. We used honey to slightly sweeten the mixture. We had watermelon as our side an omitted the feta cheese.

James and I enjoyed the grilled salmon. Charlotte loved the corn. The honey lime sauce was a great touch. It tied the corn to the salmon. I have corn classified as a cookout or BBQ side, but the sauce gave the corn a level of elegance that matched the salmon. This was Charlotte's first experience with mango. She loved it. The salad was well balanced with sweet, crunchy, and earthy flavors and textures.

Beat the heat taco salad used the meat from the sloppy joes. This meal was average in my book. I was super disappointed about our lack of homemade guacamole with this meal. For some reason. I cannot purchase a ripe avocado. And surprisingly unripe avocados are hard as a rock and resemble the taste of raw broccoli. :/

We made the ricotta squash sandwiches using better than ricotta cheese substitute. I cannot tell you if it was the substitute or the original recipe... But I can say that this meal was awful. So awful, we spit our one bite out and then ordered cheese-less pizza. Also again our avocados were hard as rocks. I tried the black bean and mango mixture, but felt that it did not have balance or a good flavor. The beans totally overpowered the mango.

We did not make the final meal because I was pretty discouraged by the previous meal and the overall state of avocados that I purchased. So I am a little frustrated this week, but I refuse to quit on our journey with fresh healthy eating. We are saving lots of money and losing weight.

Tune in next week as we make our own pesto and introduce Charlotte to mushrooms.

Weight loss update:

James: 12 lbs

Felicia:  9 lbs

Week 5: Menu June 7

Our menu this week was CITRUS GRILLED CHICKEN &Jicama corn salad, STICKY GINGER ORANGE SHRIMP With broccoli &brown rice, GRILLED CHICKEN TACOS & Pineapple salsa, PINEAPPLE PORK &Ginger soy sauce, broccoli & brown rice, and CHEESY CHILEQUILES & Fried eggs. 

I was having a pampered chef party this week, so we only needed four meals. Due to allergens, we decided to omit the last meal of cheesy chilequiles & fried eggs. It was difficult to find jicama. James ended up visiting Whole Foods on the Northshore to buy it. It was surprisingly tasty. Here is our week summary.

Chicken grilled chicken

This was a delicious dish. The chicken was juicy and flavorful. Charlotte and I enjoyed the jicama. It had a sweet starchy taste. This week we used fresh cilantro. I love cilantro. In this meal, it's spicy flavor was a refreshing countertop the sweet corn and jicama.

Sticky ginger orange shrimp

Another delicious meal this week. The shrimp and broccoli were loaded with flavor. There were chunks of orange peel in this dish. It called for zest, but Ido not have any tool that will zest. So, I will be purchasing a grater and handheld juicer ASAP. :)

Grilled chicken tacos

My favorite meal by far! We repurposed the grilled chicken from day one to create these tacos. Again plenty of cilantro to counterbalance the sweet flavor from the pineapple. Yum!

Pineapple pork

I desired more flavor from this dish. The broccoli, pineapple, and rice had a nice flavor; however the pork fell short of my expectation. This was not abad meal, just nota super one either.

Next week we introduce Charlotte to Salmon and Mangos.

Weight loss thus far...

Felicia: 8 lbs

James: 10 lbs

Summer 2013 Family Travels: VA

The second Saturday of July, James and I loaded up the kids and a picnic and headed to the Carroll Reunion. The weather was great and scenery beautiful. Even though I didn't officially know anyone there, they are my family and they made that evident through their compassion and conversation.

From the moment we arrived, my family members helped us carry our lunch up the hill. They each conveyed to me how much they loved and adored my late great grandparents. I will always cherish the stories they told me. All the recounts had a few common denominators: attending church, genuineness, and compassion. What a wonderful legacy to have left behind!  

Charlotte enjoyed chasing balls and balloons. She danced to music and ran in the field. Charlotte also enjoyed the playground at the park. Samuel was soaking up the love! Everyone held him and cuddled him until he was spoiled. :) He laughed and talked carrying on with the best of them.

We didn't have a camera, but here are some shots from Facebook.

We are already looking forward to next year's reunion and hoping to do some hiking at Natural Tunnel State Park as well.

Summer 2013 Family Travels: WV

So I'm taking a break from my Fresh 20 blogging to record some of our family adventures this summer. Regular food oriented blogs will resume next week. I <3 food!  :-)

Our first summer trip was to West Virginia. James is saving vacation days for our fall break trip and thanksgiving, so he stayed home and worked. My sister and mom decided to travel up with us instead.   We left EARLY. It was around 3:30 am when we got on the road (middle of the night is best with little ones). Despite our intentions of making great time while they slept, our 7 hour trip took 11 hours. The rain slowed us and we faced obstacles that included properly securing the car seats and a flat tire. 

Though the day was trying and LONG, God blessed us with generous and compassion people. 

We loved seeing our WV family. We ate amazing meals, swam in the pool, and enjoyed fireworks. I love taking advantage of every opportunity to allow Charlotte and Samuel to form relationships with their cousins. Some of my fondest memories as a child are of playing with my cousins. Here are some pictures that captured the fun. 

Mamaw, Charlotte, and Samuel

Charlotte enjoying Oreos by the pool.

Rod, Cindy, Charlotte, Thomas, NaNa, and Mamaw enjoying the sun and pool.

Charlotte loves taking pictures on the iPad. 

Thomas came to see what the fuss was all about.

Then he tried it out for himself.

The rest of the photos were taken by Mom, Cindy, Aunt Jo, or Aunt Rita.

Me and my sweet daughter, Charlotte enjoying time together in the pool.

The girls at the block party.

NaNa, Samuel, Thomas, and Charlotte at Mamaw's kitchen bar.

Love these collages that Aunt Rita made of the girls talking.

Sophia is showing Charlotte something interesting!

First shot of all four cousins! It makes me think of our old family photos of Michael, Mark, Cindy and myself!  I hope these kiddos will keep in touch and make many memories just like we did when we were kids.