The Big 2-8 & An Egg-citing Easter

On April 1st, Cody turned the big 2-8. It truly seems like five minutes ago I was dressing Hayes up in a 0-3 month onesie painted with "Happy Birthday Daddy" and I can't believe it's already been a year! Hayes was excited to help Daddy celebrate and was a great assistant when it came to tearing up the gift wrap on his presents. I am so thankful to be celebrating Cody's birthday for the ninth time, and look forward to many, many more. He is truly the best husband and daddy we could ever ask for, and we couldn't be more thankful that God gave him to us.

We celebrated his birthday all week with dinner out at Texas Roadhouse with MiMi and Uncle Cale, followed by his favorite home-cooked dinner on the actual day, and then that weekend we headed to SA for a visit to Cody's new favorite place, Top Golf. I can safely say that he's mildly obsessed with the ability to experience the thrill of golf with a cold drink in hand in a city setting... now if only he could figure out how to bring that down south so we could go more often!

I unfortunately was sick as a dog for most of the weekend with what ended up being diagnosed as bronchitis and an ear infection, but that didn't stop me from joining in all the festivities. Considering Cody's birthday weekend happened to be Easter, I wasn't missing the chance to celebrate one of my favorite times of year! After Top Golf we did the obligatory La Cantera shopping trip, and Sunday we went to church, ate a yummy lunch and hunted eggs again. Hayes loved it as much as the first time around! Easter remains my favorite time of year second only to Christmas. So much joy comes with the comfort of renewed life that comes through the resurrection, and it is a constant reminder of the miracles that we have been lucky enough to experience through the years of our marriage.

 Hayes was excited to open his Easter basket from MiMi and Pappaw!

 Helping Daddy open his gift 

 Daddy and his mini-me, in living color and canvas form!

 Sippin' his White Russian like "the dude" at Top Golf

 Snuggles with my boy at Top Golf

Let the Easter festivities begin (again!)

 Sassy Aunt KiKi

 My sister cracks me up. Only she would try to negotiate with her one year old nephew and convince him that he should hand over all of his dollar eggs because eggs filled with coins are "more fun for him". 

Pre-church photo op. Churchill Baptist invited all members to bring flowers to place on the cross before the service. It was absolutely beautiful and the perfect symbol of the joy and celebration of the resurrection. He lives!

Celebrating a Life and Legacy

On what would have been Grandma's 90th birthday, we had a celebration of her life to honor the legacy that she and Grandpa have created in the Johnson family. The outpouring of love was incredible, and we could not be more proud to be a part of her family. As someone who joined the family by marriage, I must say that I have never been so moved, touched and blessed by the memoir of someone's life as I was by Grandma's celebration service. Through the message that Lynn delivered, we were all reminded of the importance of living a life dedicated to others, and most of all, the Lord. Grandma will be greatly missed at each family celebration, but she will always be with us through the delicious recipes from her cookbook, Fiddlesticks, the endless squeals of excitement from her great grandchildren during the holidays, and the love that holds the Johnson clan together.

 

We spent Grandma's birthday weekend just the way she would have wanted-- with lots of family and a celebration of life. After the service on Friday the family came back to Lynn and Tami's for dinner, and on Saturday we shared in a huge Easter egg hunt with all of Grandma's children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

 Who wouldn't want to be a part of this family? 

 

 All of Grandma and Grandpa J's great grandkids!

 Hayes Man's first Easter egg hunt

 Before the "real" hunt, the kids hunted for puzzle eggs and worked on teams to put them all together. Hayes was captivated by the older kids working on the puzzle!

 

 

 

 Four generations of handsome!

 

 

 

 

 Pappaw told the story of the Resurrection with Easter eggs. He had everyone's attention and it was so fun watching the kids listen and interact.

Church on Sunday morning with the whole clan. Love these people!

Kathleen Norma Johnson

On March 20th, Cody's sweet Grandma Johnson went to be with the Lord. After 90 wonderful years, we celebrated her life just the way she would want us to with a weekend full of family fun. Grandma Johnson was the true definition of a Proverbs 31 woman, and I am so thankful to have been able to know her for the last 9 years. She was a blessing to so many people, and Cody and I reflect daily on the impact and legacy that she left that we are so proud to be a part of. Below is her obituary, which I want to be able to look back on in future years.

Kathleen Norma Johnson, 89, went to greet our Lord on Friday, March 20, 2015. Katy, as she was known by her family and friends, was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.

Katy was born March 27, 1925 in Harlingen, Texas to Howard and Mary Dodson. She grew up in Santa Rosa, Texas where she graduated from high school, and then continued her education with a degree in home economics from Texas A&I University.

Because Katy grew up on a farm during the Depression, she was prepared for both the joys and difficulties of being a farm wife after marrying the love of her life, Alden, her husband of 67 years. After teaching school for a few years at Lyford, she became a stay at home mom.

Katy was always active in the Lyford community. She was active in the Lyford Woman’s Club, the Lyford PTA board, the Lyford Methodist Women association, the Texas A&M Mothers Club, the Cotillion Board and most recently she and Alden were named Don and Dona of the Algodon Club.

Katy’s faith in God was strong and she served in the Lyford Methodist Church for over 60 years. She helped instill Christian values and character in her children and grandchildren who have all accepted Jesus as Lord and are faithfully serving in their local church.

Katy enjoyed traveling, reading, fishing, crossword puzzles, collecting nativity scenes, gardening, cooking and watching the cooking channel. Her family honored her by compiling a recipe book called Fiddlesticks whose copies have been enjoyed by family and friends. Even until her mid 80’s, her husband, sons, son-in-law and any other hungry soul who happened to show up around lunch time were blessed by her wonderful meals.

In retirement, she and Alden made wonderful memories with their children and grandchildren at South Padre Island 6 months out of the year where they also faithfully attended the Chapel by the Sea.

Her greatest legacy was her dedication to serve others and show her children and grandchildren what a Proverbs 31 woman really was all about.

Katy is survived by her husband, Alden, of Sebastian, Texas, her children: Richard (Cheryl) Johnson of Harlingen, Ann Jud (Mark) of Harlingen, Wayne Johnson (Susan) of Austin, Lynn Johnson (Tami) of Harlingen and Sherry Johnson of Katy, Texas She is also survived by one brother Harlan Dodson (June) of Center Point, Texas, 13 grandchildren and 24 great grandchildren.

Special thanks go to Lisa and Kenny Salazar of the Spear Home and their loving caregivers, the Hospice Staff, Mary Cavazos and Cindy De la Rosa.

A celebration of her life will be held Friday, March 27th at 3:00 pm, at Christian Fellowship Church, 901 N. Loop 499 in Harlingen under the direction of Duddlesten Funeral Home in Raymondville.

Par(tay) Over Here!

Let me begin this post by letting everyone know that coming up with the perfect golf metaphor that encompasses the fabulousity of a woman like Denice Brown is not an easy task. But when I thought about the events of last week, the words "par" and its close relative "partay" naturally came to mind, so here we are. We celebrated Mom's big 5-2 at the hottest place for faux golfers to sharpen their skills (and enjoy a carafe of mimosas and some really good food), Top Golf. It opened recently in San Antonio and Cody has been dying to get his booty into one of their bays and hit a few golf balls, and his mother-in-law lovingly obliged by donating her birthday celebration to the cause. I don't know who was more excited between the two of them, but all of us had a lot of fun aiming for targets, soaking up the gorgeous weather, and as previously mentioned, sipping on tasty drinks and appetizers. Grandma and Grandad came down to get in on the celebration, and it was so fun to see them play with Hayes. He of course loved being outside and despite Top Golf falling right at nap time, he couldn't have been better behaved. Give this boy a little sunshine and fresh air and he is good! We had a great weekend relaxing in SA celebrating GG!
 

 

One thing was solidified over this weekend- boy loves him some chocolate! He comes by that naturally. :)

Cale's New Casa

There's nothing like owning your own home. The sense of freedom, accomplishment and relief that comes when that last dotted line is signed is a feeling unlike any other, bringing to mind ideas of renovation, repurposing, and of course, parties! We were excited to share in the celebration of Cale's first home purchase last week, and can't wait to see what he does with the place. It is a classic 1950's charmer not too far from Calvary, where Hayes goes to school. With Cale's sense of style and knack for just the right touch of funky, we have no doubt that it will be one awesome bachelor pad in no time.

When I was little, I remember celebrating moving into a new house by eating pizza in the floor before move-in day, so in my mind there was no better way to celebrate Cale's housewarming than by doing just that. Cody, Hayes and I picked up some pizza and presented Cale with a bottle of wine, which he so generously shared with us as we had a dinner picnic in the carpet of his new living room. After his first taste of pizza, Hayes decided it was pretty good stuff, and he had fun being "one of the guys" and hanging with Daddy and Uncle Cale. This was one of those moments that makes us so thankful to be back in Texas, and in the same town as our family. Congrats, Cale!!