i love this time of year!

i can hardly believe it's christmastime again! the year goes by faster and faster... since my last post bobby has had his first set of chemo and is currently doing his second treatment... he doesn't look forward to them as he doesn't feel that great for a couple days but is always glad to see them end for another month! after his first round he caught some type of virus and was really laid up for about 2 weeks... feeling worse than when he was on his chemo... but he has since gotten over that and we had his first mri since before his radiation on the 1st of december... we were less than excited for the trip as the doctor had warned us numerous times that the scan could look worse than before his treatment but to try not to get too discouraged as they mainly do this first mri as a baseline for later comparisons... but God had an amazing plan in store for us that day! when the doctors saw his scan the word they used to describe it was "AWESOME!" Praise the Lord! we were so excited to see the differences in the scan and have comfort in the improvements... such a relief! we would ask your continued prayer for bobby that he wouldn't come across any more bugs this winter as they will really wipe him out with his low immune system! but we are praising God for his faithfulness and the good report we got last week! thanks to all for your many prayers and support!

we were able to enjoy a great thanksgiving holiday with both our families and will look forward to doing the same at christmastime... as long as the weather allows! remember that Jesus is real reason for the season! Merry Christmas!

sorry it's been so long...

as i writing this we've been home for just over a month! the guys were able to finish up harvest before halloween this year which was such a blessing after last year's dec. 3rd finish! bobby jumped right into fieldwork when we got home and loved every minute of it! he was able to have a month off and recovered amazingly from his treatments! we had a check-up with dr. buckner mid-oct. and everything looked good! he got us all set up for bobby's chemo treatments... bobby had bloodwork done at the end of oct. but his levels were too low to start on the chemo so he had to wait and week and have his bloodwork done again! the second time everything looked good and he was able to start on his chemo on nov. 8... the first couple days it didn't bother him at all and never did make him sick just really wore him out... he was taking almost 3 times the dose he took while he was having his radiation treatments but it was only for 5 days this time! PTL! his last dose was friday, nov. 12 and he is almost over the tiredness and just "blah" feeling as he calls it! it's hard to convince him to just slow down and rest after he was feeling so good... but now he'll know what to expect next month! he will have check-ups with both doctors, an mri, and bloodwork on dec. 1st and will have his second chemo dose shortly thereafter...

since i last wrote our little girl also turned 1! she had a big bash with all our family and friends and we were also able to celebrate the end of bobby's radiation treatments as well! such a blessing! we had woody and cowboy and minnie mouse at our house for halloween! what little cuties we have! but we may be a little bias!

also don't think i've shared on here but we are expecting baby johnson #3 mid-march! so i'm just over half way there! i will try to be better about putting updates on here!

almost done!

as i'm writing this we've made it almost all the way through bobby's radiation treatments! he had 6 1/2 weeks of treatments and we are down to only 2 treatments left! we are eager to be back home and bobby is more than ready to be in the field! he has done remarkably well with his treatments and is eager to enjoy his month off before going back on the chemo for 5 days/month for about 6 months! we are so thankful we were able to stay with family up in rochester rather that living out of a hotel room! we thank you all for your prayers and support during this time and ask that you continue to pray for our family!

what a month!

many of you that may follow our blog will know that we've have quite a month! but for those of you who don't let me fill you in!

july 18th: i took bobby to the emergency room because of dizziness and nausea... in the weeks leading up to this he had had some what we thought were migraine headaches!
july 19th: bobby was lifelighted to sioux city with a mass on his brain
july 21st: the mass is removed from his brain and we find out it is a type of cancer and will need treatments!
5 days after surgery we headed home to recover!
aug 3: bobby has his staples removed and everything is going well!
aug 4: emergency trip one more time as dizziness and nausea are taking over!
aug 5: back home, just needed to be bumped back up on his steroids for swelling!
aug 11: we headed to mayo to meet with a specialist there and found out that though his tumor is still a very serious, aggressive type, that they have figured out that it is a little bit different kind that responds well to treatments!
aug 23rd: he will start treatments at mayo for 6 1/2 weeks of radiation and chemo!

so as you can see we have been thrown into a whirlwind of emotions! we are so thankful to have so many amazing family members and friends along with our church family that have been right there beside us, holding us up! we are truly blessed! please say a prayer for our family as we go through the coming weeks! we serve a faithful God who loves us more than life itself! He will bring us through!

Ponca State Park

this last weekend we went to ponca state park with the schweitzer family! we had beautiful weather and a great time! we did some fishing and laiken "caught" his first fish with some help from aunt andy! he wasn't about to touch it, but had fun reeling it in and seeing it up close. we played some games outside and enjoyed lots of yummy food (probably too much!) we had a lot of fun just being in each other's company! the whole family got to come along, including one of our cousins! we had a great opportunity to take some family pictures, so we jumped on that chance since we had everybody present and the weather was cooperating! we were in a gorgeous park right along the missouri river! we missed my sister andrea's boyfriend zach as he had to stay home to work! maybe we'll get him in the pictures next time! ;) here are a few snapshots of our time at ponca!

father's day and a trip to nebraska

we celebrated father's day by spending the day with our daddy! we had pizza in the park and played for a while and then returned home and enjoyed having daddy around all afternoon! we got to go camping up at paullina with grama and grampa johnson before heading to nebraska! laiken and dreleigh both love to be outside so we spent a lot of time on the slides and swings! it was gorgeous! we also just returned from a great trip to nebraska! we had a blast and got to relax a little too! we swam, played ping pong, and got to see some extended family too! dreleigh even got to try some sweet corn! we are so blessed to have such amazing family! enjoy!

busy busy bunch!

haven't had time to update for a few days now! we were a busy bunch! we went up to paullina camping for a night and then headed off to the CWS in omaha on our way to my parent's house! we had a great time but it was very very warm! luckily my parents were willing to take the kiddos and head on home because i don't think they would've enjoyed the long wait and sunny line! but we sure had a great time! will upload some pictures when we get back home!

it's the weekend...

today was the first saturday in quite some time that we were home with no plans, so the kids and i ran some errands and played in the park and then came home for lunch... after naptime we enjoyed a leisurely time in the family pool and homeade pizza for supper! i really enjoyed being able to spend some quality time with the kiddos and i think they enjoyed themselves too! unfortunately bobby was in the field spraying so he missed out, but we took lots of pics to fill him in! enjoy!

a new adventure!

i have always enjoyed looking at other people's blogs so i decided to start one of our own... some of our family lives a ways away so i thought it would be nice to be able to share with them the everyday happenings in our house! our clan is constantly on the move! we hope you enjoy trying to keep up with us!