Getting Back On The Horse.

Just in time for the New Year, we’re back!  I know it’s been a long time since last we wrote - I’m sorry about that - but, we’re here now and ready to catch up a bit!

First , let me just say thank you to those of you who actually read the blog {back when we maintained it better} and have reached out to me to ask when we would be writing/updating it, you are blessings to us! It’s heartwarming to know that people care about our family so much!  It is because of you, and because of our wish to leave a memento for Madison, that we decided to get back on the horse and start writing and posting more often. 

The last time I wrote was on February 22, 2013, the day before Madi’s 15^th Birthday. Yikes! And, even then, I wasn’t doing a very good job of writing/posting.  So, naturally, lots of things have happened within the past year.  It would be impossible to make up for lost time by going over all the things that happened, but I do want to touch on a few highlights quickly.  From here, the plan is to write as often as we can to avoid more “catch up posts”’ like this one.

Here's a few pictures from Madi's 15th Birthday...

We’ll start with my favorite girl ever… Madison.  Madi is in 10^th grade now and is almost 16. You can’t see me, but I promise, I’m wincing having to write that.  I’m trying really hard to not think about how little time we have before she graduates – or even worse, how little time we have before starts driving. Ugh!!!

9.27.13 – so grown looking and she’s wearing a little makeup these days. 

Madi continues to be a kind, respectful, companionate & loving kid. The teenage years, so far, have been kind to us; she hasn’t turned into the hormone raging, out of control teen that everyone warned us about. For that, we are thankful and acknowledge that we are truly blessed. It definitely can’t be solely based on our parenting skills!  

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10.25.13 just before homecoming 

She’s doing great in school.  Currently she’s on Christmas break, which means we’re already halfway into the school year.  Another shining example of how quickly time flies! And, although the season is over, she ran Cross Country for the third year in a row.  She improved on her 5k time and I think overall she had a fun season and enjoyed spending the long hot hours running with her friends and new coaches.

Jack switched jobs about 9 months ago and continues to work very hard for our family.  He left the company he had worked for for just over 10 years to peruse a totally different career path.  And, although he was traveling a lot in the beginning, he is now working from home most of the time. It’s nice. Real nice! Not just for Madi and I, but for him too. He likes what he does and is, for the most part, very pleased with the switch. I continue to be impressed with his work ethic and his ability to do pretty much anything that his is tasked with.  He’s one smart, smart dude. 

Jack – on his Birthday back in April last year. 

As for me, I decided a year ago that I wouldn’t be going back to school.  I wanted – needed (for my sanity and happiness) to get a job.  Thankfully, Jack was open to me finding work in something I enjoyed, something I was passionate about.  And, it’s a long story of God opening doors for me at just the right time, but I am now a certified-Yoga Instructor and a baker at a bakery.  They are both passions of mine. Y’all know I love to cook and fitness has always been important to me. So, both jobs are a perfect fit for me. Doing things that I would do anyway - working out and baking –but getting paid for it…how awesome is that?!?!  

Bella is still our four legged baby!  She is spoiled rotten and is lovin’ every sweet moment of life.  Unfortunately, she tore her ACL and meniscus right before Christmas and had surgery to repair them on Friday of last week.  But, she is doing great with no issues or problems so far. She seems to be heading toward a really fast recovery!  

Old Tex is still with us. He is the best cat! Such a sweet little gentleman!  Jack adopted him before we were married and can’t remember exactly how old he is, but we are figuring he’s about 15.  He’s our little buddy!  

 

Sadly, Cassie passed away on June 11, 2012. It was so sad and so hard to let her go. She had been a part of our family for 11 years.  She was my very first cat so she will always be really special to me.  

She sure was a beauty!

And! We are excited to announce that we have a new addition to the Johnston family! 

He’s name is Louis Nix III (if you’re a Notre Dame fan, you’ll recognize the name!) and he is about 8 months old.  We got him just over 2 months ago and like most kittens, he is crazy! He loves to play and sprint around the house attacking anything in his path.  Tex is not happy with this new, energetic cat that is constantly annoying him.  Louis is constantly grabbing on to his neck and taking him down. Tex, being too mature for his childishness, gets very angry with this!   

All dressed up for Halloween

Louie (our nickname for him) can also be very loving – purring loudly and rubbing his face on yours when he’s in his sweet-boy mood. 

He’s got a great personality really!  I’m pretty sure Jack is his favorite due to his willingness to play/fight whenever Louis is riled up.   

Well, that’s my update - in a nice little nutshell.  I hate that I missed posting so many pictures and events, but hopefully, I can waive some of them into future posts

From our family to yours, may you all have a wonderfully blessed New Year!    

Sorry for such a grainy picture {it was taken in a dimly lit restaurant with my cell),

 but it is, sadly, the only picture I have of all three of us taken anytime recently.

saturdays in the fall...

Image via Wikipedia

As my lovely wife hinted at in her earlier post, I wanted to take a few minutes to post an update on my beloved and newly respected Irish. Last week the boys surprised me with a shut-out of a Nevada team that had a few weapons of their own on offense. Notre Dame's defense perfected the bend but don't break approach despite seemingly blitzing someone on every down. On offense, I thought that we looked as good as advertised and seemed to have not missed a beat from the performance against Hawaii in the bowl game last year. Unfortunately, I still wasn't blown away with our ability to run the ball at will or to stifle our opponents rushing attack. Nevada has three 1,000 yard + rushers on their team but, I guess I am nitpicking quite a bit to hope that we would keep them from gaining any yards. I guess that's part of being a fan for some of us. I definitely have a huge chip on my shoulder when it comes to outsiders criticizing my team (that often includes family, Dad) but, I deep down really do expect perfection...on every single snap. Of course, as a true Notre Dame fan, I also expect my boys to win every single game. Yes, that's right, every single game. Even though a part of me is realistic enough to know that many times, this is unlikely, there is another part of me that thinks, no matter what, no matter who, no matter where, the Irish can and should beat these guys! Lou Holtz isn't the only one to suffer from these delusions. So, our opening game left me feeling like the team looks to be about where they should be but, this week is Michigan in the Outhouse (Bighouse). In the interest of not offending anyone, I won't go into much of what I think about Michigan's program. I also hate to blast them, and then set my team up for failure. You see, I'm also ridiculously superstitious when it comes to my Irish. I'll say this, anything can happen when these two teams get together and the underdog wins more often than not, of late. I'm not at all sure what we'll see today from either team. Michigan definitely looked better than last year, seems to have a lot of speed and should be able to run the ball on our defense, unless they totally surprise me (I hope!). I think we'll be pretty good at defending the pass with their freshmen quarterbacks and our experienced secondary. I think it will likely come down to whether or not our offense has improved as much as I hope they have. If our line gives Clausen time to get the ball out to his receivers and we are able to run the ball effectively to keep Michigan from sitting back in pass coverage, we should be alright. In fact, if all these things happen, I don't think Michigan can stay in the game with us. But, I'm just not real sure how much of this will fall into place for us against Michigan on the road. Honestly, it is now or never for this team, in my opinion. I will leave you with a Michigan story. It was earlier September. The year was, 1994. Notre Dame spent the offseason before recovering from being robbed of the National Championship after beating the number 1 ranked Florida State Criminoles head to head. I was a freshman and already swept up in the craze of Irish football. I was fortunate enough to attend my first ever home football game in Notre Dame stadium against Michigan. Both teams were highly ranked and the game had National implications. We were coming of a road win against Northwestern and the game went back and forth. Notre Dame trailed late in the fourth quarter when Ron Powlus threw a pass into the endzone, right in front of the student section and Derrick Mayes made an unbelievable one-handed catch. We went ballistic! I thought, this is what Notre Dame football is!!!! With only seconds left on the clock, Michigan took the kickoff, a few quick completed passes against our prevent defense and marched their kicker out to kick a game-winning last second field goal. I thought, this is what Notre Dame football is???? The love began for me that day and so did the pain. Neither has been far from the other for these past 15 years. So, I pray that when the scoreboard reads zero later today, it will also read: Notre Dame 100, Michigan 0. But, I'll take 30-14 and a continued break from the pain. If any of you would like to check out a really great blog all about Notre Dame football created and maintained by a team of talented writers who know what they are talking about and also often have lots of great pictures and videos, check out The Blue-Gray Sky.