Pictures from Grandma Johnson's Vault

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TWO VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE!!!

No pictures this time.

Cole Fred Johnson is six years old today. He is a very special ball player. Look back on the blog. Happy birthday Cole!!

And, we can't forget Robert Matthew Johnson, who is 32 today. He is very special too. Happy birthday Matthew!

Blinky

Claire was explaining to me this morning that her and her friends have a contest where you keep blinking as long as you can and whoever lasts the longest wins.

blinky from Daniel Johnson on Vimeo.

The Comeback Kid

Here's what my staff made for me. I think I look good and just may get the tattoos to match. : )

Btw--started back to work today. Am doing a Memorial Day bike trip with Nathan. Am feeling about 90% after 8 weeks. Amazing really. I still have fatigue issues and stomach complications but think I am lookin smokin hot in my thinness. Karen doesn't agree though. She wants me to gain some weight back.

Was nice seeing folks at the reunion!

Jonah's New Doo.

When not wearing a hipster hat he's sporting faux hawk like his Dada.

HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY TO EMILY MELINDA KATE!!!!

This Baby's Stylin...

Little dude goin to the St. Louis Zoo. And in fashion. By the looks of it he's enjoying it.

Oh boy, Jonah is always going to be dressed well--between all his nearby aunts, uncles, grandparents, and general admirers. And I guess he's figured out it's better not to fight it--go with the flow. : )

He's already showing some spunk in personality--loves to scream all of a sudden. Then smile like it was the best thing he's ever done.

Noah enjoying Aden's bouncer.

Aden's first picture with the Easter Bunny.

Pink Pigs are funny, I don't care who you are...

So, proud grandparents are at Walmart and find this squeaky toy that sends Jonah into hysterics. So for 20 minutes we oink the pig while folks look at us like we're nuts. I am sure you could hear it all over the store. But proud grandparents are in their own world and squeak away regardless. And it was worth every squeeze. We haven't heard him laugh out loud in person too much so we were just going nuts with it. Poor Jonah got all laughed out. But Grammy snuck it to the cash register and it's now at home. He loves it.

While I have you--my recovery: It's going well. No complications from the surgery. Just a nasty painful scar to deal with, sudden bouts of fatigue, and weakness due to loss of weight. But being back in Edwardsville is doing me wonders. I gain a little stamina every day. Like today at Walmart--the first time I've made it through a full excursion without having to go sit in the car. And I've been working on unpacking all the clothing from my apartment--moving it in--hanging it up. So light chores are really helping to get stronger. And I've been eating like that squeaky pig. Karen made good old fashioned tater tot casserole tonight, with bison meat, and I stuffed myself.

And then my fabulous brother in law cooks grilled chicken for me, fish and other. Then to top it off out local Annie's custard place has a baby sized chocolate custard with chopped nuts that I can manage without affecting my sugar too much so I am going to fit my jeans again in no time.

When I'm not eating or finding shores, I take advantage of the hammock Karen got me. When I need rest that's where I am--hours at a time. I don't sleep--I just rest, think, and thank God for seeing me through this ordeal. I am blessed.

I hope to see most all of you at the reunion!

Stephen

Spring Fever

Jonah outside today enjoying some sun--first time in ages the sun has been out. I took him for a walk around the block in his stroller--part of my therapy. Notice he's wearing a Cub's jacket though. We keep looking for a Cardinal's one as it's dangerous territory here to be wearing Cub's clothing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, #54, TO PATRICIA LOU, BETTER KNOWN AS TRISH!!!

Good Stuff

Family,

Sorry I haven't update the blog in a long time. This has been the busiest time of my life by far. I won't bore everyone with the details, but I am now the Senior Pastor at our church. It has been great but very busy. The church is doing really well and I love leading it.

The boys are doing great. They are growing every day and becoming funnier with each moment. I love being a dad.

Mary is doing great...and not so good. She is great in that she is pregnant! Not so good in that she suffers with all day sickness. Hopefully that will pass soon.

Here's some stuff to catch you up on my family:

Lincoln...being his happy little self

Linc's first haircut

Don't know why they did this, but they love being brothers.

We've actually had to enforce a new rule at our house...NO WEAPONS AT THE TABLE!

Lincoln has this face he makes all the time where he is trying not to smile. This is it.

You can't teach this kinda cool. He did it on his own.

Lincoln wants to do what his brothers are doing. It is too hard to stand next to them so he gets on the table.

Brothers

Round 2 of 6. All of my boys have had two sets of tubes in their ears. This is Lincoln's second set.

After surgery

Cole's first day of baseball practice.

Lincoln was not feeling good this week. He was really tired. I was getting ready as the boys were watching a video and when I came out, this is what I found. Lincoln was out. Cole is such a good big brother.

Lincoln saying his words. He's talking a lot now.

Watch Lincoln run by and do a sucker punch on Cole. Lincoln is a perfect little brother...

As you know, staring contests are big in our house. Just listen to Titus talk. I love it. Also, this is a magic trick that Mary and I do where she just appears. See if you see what I mean.

Claire's Music Program

Claire had her annual spring music program tonight -- including a solo (in Spanish even!)

She wore a new dress, sweater and shoes and has been excited for days. I got all of my running around done by the time Claire was out of school, so I decided to surprise her by going to get her nails done. The look on her face when I told her where we were headed was priceless. I hope to see that as much as possible for the rest of my life.

She was raving about the 'jacuzzi for my feet' and massage chair all night!

Her feet were really ticklish!

It was pretty fun taking her for her first nail experience.
I hope this is just the first of many days like this that we have!

The woman who was painting Claire's nails, Annie, put flowers and sparkles
and polka dots on her nails for free because she had a special event.

And for the grand finale, I got one of Claire's two lines that she sang during her solo --
camera ran out of memory. :( It's better than nothing though, I guess!

Recovering

So, I am in Naperville. Mom and Dad are staying with me this week and taking excellent care of me. It hasn't been easy. For them. : ) This apartment is small and claustrophobic. We plan excursions each day to get out and break the day up. Tonight, Scott came by and we went out to a restaurant--my first since release. I don't know about them but I had a great time. I don't have a ton of energy but hung on enough to enjoy the conversation and great food.

Now the plan is to go to my doctor Friday and have my staples removed. And to get a good report so I can go to my real home in Edwardsville. Saturday! I am so homesick. I think it's been a month at least since being home. Seems longer than that given this all began in January.

My surgery seems to have gone superbly and all my blood work and vitals prove it. That's the important part and is progressing well. The only nagging issues are a nasty scar, weak muscles, low stamina, fatigue, and difficulty walking. But even day by day I see improvement in each so I am confident I will make a full recovery in time for the family reunion. I hope to see all of you there.

Anyway, this is my recovery pose. And BTW, it's the camera color that's off, not me. : )

Stephen