A little link to share

Betty’s introduction and a little announcement are up on my blog today!

Productivity vs Pleasure

Hello Family!

Sorry for the delay! This has been quite a year - one of which James and I both seem to be favoring productivity at the expense of pleasure. We both have just finished our first year in a new job and are currently re-evaluating how to balance work and life for the coming year. The first relaxing project for me as the summer began was planting a few herbs. Our apartment is on the second floor, but we have quite a bit of balcony space, which seems to be working well so far.

Basil and Thyme

Mint and Rosemary

James and I enjoy spending as much time as we can outside, so we are trying to actively make time to walk, jog, swim, and kayak. Our latest trip to the Lady Bird Lake hike and bike trail down town was full of wildlife. We saw two lizards, quite a few turtles, and a water moccasin (a big one)!

Next on the list of summer's fun activities was a visit from Mom, Dad, and Samuel! We started with a unique Austin sushi experience at a restaurant called Roll-On Sushi Diner. They have rolls you've never heard of or tasted before, but they are exceptionally yummy and help with the city's motto "Keep Austin Weird" :-)! We decided our favorite was The Grouch with guacamole - roasted chicken, green chile, jack cheese, caramelized onions, arugula, chipotle aoli, and sushi rice rolled in a soy wrapper.

Roll-On Sushi Diner in Austin, TX

As we are posting on Father's Day, we would like to recognize all of those Dads out there that have given us so much. Thank you Grandpa for showing us how to raise a family and keeping us close even though many of us are now miles away from home. Thank you to my dad for instilling in his children a curiosity that continually refreshes us as we travel and wake up to new days full of possibility. May God bless them and Uncle Randy, Uncle Tim, Dan, and David! We not only have Dads, but we have engaged and loving fathers that truly care, say it and show it! THANK YOU!!!

James and I are looking forward to visiting Andrew and Katie in Chicago this July! I plan to be back in Kansas at least once this summer although I don't quite know when yet. Until then, take care and remember to do the things that make you smile!

Love,
Hannah and James

Johnston life

Things are always consistent but never boring at our house!

We traded blog dates with the Rivers because things were exceptionally busy at our house during our time slot. Now that the wedding is over, we can breathe again for a couple of weeks before a trip to KC. What kept us busy you ask? I will tell you.

After spray tanning for the first time last Thursday, (with bridesmaids for the wedding) I had some color for the first time… well, ever! It was cold! It was such a foreign and awesome experience! Dave just kept staring at me and saying “It’s so weird to see you tan!” We’ve known each other for half our lives, so I can see why it’s strange to him!

Friday morning Pam came to watch the girls because I went to get pedicures and pre-wedding stuff done in Wichita. Friday night we had rehearsal and dinner. Adelynn had so much fun dancing and playing with the two flower girls (age 5 and 3). I had my last sleepover with Amee (bride), and we turned in early and got up early – which is the opposite of every sleepover we have ever had!

We were at the church at 7:30am with Starbucks in hand. We spent the morning relaxing and getting ready for the day.

(Throwback to 5 years ago Friday!!! – when the roles were reversed.)

I was lucky to get to walk with a friend of mine from my 8th grade class. (Tristan Fouard) The whole wedding was a little reunion, and when you have 21 classmates, it’s fun to see everyone again.

After the reception wound down, we sent Ava with my parents to go home to Pam who had Adelynn (she was sick) and we went to dinner with close friends and some family for more wedding celebration in Wichita. We got home in time for bed. We got up for church the next morning then went to scarf down lunch and for me to head to our Women’s Ministry “P” Party at Regena Garber’s house.

After the party I got home at 7, cleared my calendar for Monday, and went to bed. I had about 6 awake hours at home over the weekend.

Women’s Ministry is something I love to be a part of. We get together about 2-3 evenings a month at Metro to plan events for the women in our church – our quarterly events include all 3 campuses. We are always there until closing time, and when the weather allows, we finish our conversation outside after 10. Dave knows not to expect me home early on those nights I have done this for a year and have loved every minute!

For this party, I was in charge of music and making cups for our parfait bar – I took light responsibility since I had such a wild wedding weekend!

Regena’s poppies are beautiful! She’s sharing her seeds, so watch for some of these beauties at our house next Spring!

This weekend was much calmer for us. We had a couple of BBQs, a swimming night, family time, time with friends and actually got out to go to a movie!

Bruce has started sleeping with Adelynn during nap and until we send him to the basement for the night. It’s taken 3 years, but he finally loves her

Speaking of cats… we have a new one. Not intentionally, but because she found us. And surprisingly, Dave is the reason we are keeping her.

This is Betty. She lives outside (and in the garage at night) for now until her ear mites are gone (they are contagious.) And then she will move inside. We aren’t sure of her story, but she is very young and playful. She was skin and bones when she came to us and didn’t know how to use a litter box. Thankfully she has made a great home here.


Ava is 3 months old already! She is constantly complimented on how happy and content she is. She’s a good baby and an awesome sleeper! At night she consistently sleeps 11-12 hours straight without stirring and during the day takes about 4 naps. Most are an hour and one is 3 hours. She laughed out loud at Dave on Saturday – twice! Then again at my Dad that night. It’s not a belly laugh yet, but it’s such a sweet giggle.

Adelynn danced in the rain.

Ava asleep in the ring sling.

The library had a Summer Celebration on Friday. Adelynn did many things and got lots of fun prizes, this is her helping with a volcano.

She was kind of small to do the sack race, but wanted to anyway. So he carried her and helped her “jump” the whole way. He was so sweet. Then we went inside and signed up for the Summer reading program. It’s not really a full summer long when the program is only 10 books… we signed up Friday and we are done now and headed to the library tomorrow to claim our prizes!

Sister still loves her baths!

Adelynn doesn’t want her to be bored!

It’s rough when you are too big to nap and too little to skip nap.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Summer!

Rivers Ripple

We are another 3 months out! Where did the Spring go? Summer is upon us, warm weather has finally decided to stay, and we are looking toward some exciting times this summer.

Most days are busy, even if we are just around the house.

Sarah has continued to be at home full time, although she did start back to ViaChristi Rehab in April. She plans to pick up some extra PRN hours while there is easy childcare available(thanks Grandma)!  Rainbows continues to use her to score Sensory Profiles and will contact her as needed.  The two and three year old Sunday school class has kept her on her toes-we'll take the summer off.  She has tried several new recipes, including several related to her recent dairy-soy free commitment. She has almost read two books, and has managed to squeeze in a visit/walk/coffee date with a friend

1x/ month (barely!).  

Dan has continued with his work at KWCH. He is still enjoying it. Over lunch, he runs regularly and has ran 2 5Ks this spring.  Olivia has been inspired to run as a result.  "I run, like daddy!"   While he's been on hiatus from church band, Dan has been leading a Transformers music band for a gig in August and working on his Brisco comic(if you'd like to see the comic and don't do Facebook let us know!).

Olivia is 2.5! She is beginning to be even more independent and enjoys doing things herself. Daily she's testing boundaries, learning new things, and playing hard. Livee is taking 'nastics at the Y with Sarah. She's also expressed interest in soccer. Recently, she got a trike. Her favorites continue to be dress up, puzzles, LEGOS/blocks, and painting.  She still enjoys baking.

Kinley, now 23 weeks (5 months), is beginning to blossom into glimmers of her personality. She is easy-going and sweet and likes to be held and cuddled. She's had quite the past 3 months, medically speaking. Since the beginning of April, we've been to the doctor every week. Visits to our regular doctor, dermatologist, cardiologist, and gastroenterologist have lead to cleared cradle cap, the discovery of a hole in her heart(ASD) and a heart murmur, various reflux med trials, and a mysterious rash that comes and goes. We also suspect a dairy and soy sensativity.  Although she often stirs at night due to her reflux, Kinley is now sleeping in her crib in the girls' room.  Kinley's favorites are her crinkly toys, soft toys, and laying on the floor to play.

Not to be left out, Brisco had a UTI and we discovered he has a heart murmur in April.  His allergies have flared up a bit in the past few weeks, but it could be because he has Olivia convinced that she should share every bit of food with him.

We enjoyed our trip to NYC to see Aunt Mary and Uncle Kurtis in March. Various spring visits and activities helped the never-ending winter seem tolerable. Although honestly speaking, it's been a bit more stressful with the medical appointments, challenging toddler behavior, and finding a balance.  Just in case we don't have enough to manage, as we head into summer, we are preparing to put our house on the market! Anyone want to watch girls while we clean, touch up some paint, and simplify? 

Catch our happenings(likely abbreviated for a bit) at theriverscurrent.blogspot.com