There's the Connie and the Leeza

Condoleeza Rice was in town a few weeks ago as a featured speaker for the Richmond forum. As part of her program, after the intermission she wanted to play the second movement of the Brahms D minor Violin Sonata. So the forum people called the symphony and the symphony called me. They announced me as the "accompanist" but I'll take it. The experience was a little surreal. I'm not prone to being star-struck, but this was different. A truly amazing lady.

But check this out too:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=meyXZoEsFC0

Progress!

We reached a major milestone today in our big project. The carpet guy installed the carpet out in our music room which completes the room. I did a couple of fist pumps and then brought the girls out to check it out. They liked the room quite a bit because there is no furniture in it yet so they've turned it into their very own dance hall/race track. It was fun to see them having a good time in the new room but my enthusiasm waned a bit when I looked over just in time to see Audrey wiping her bare bum along the new carpet. The carpet was also christened by Maisy moments later by all of slobber failing from her mouth due to the fact that the ceiling fan was on. A few months ago, I teased Maisy by putting one of her toys on the ceiling fan and then turning it on. Ever since then, if she sees a fan on, she assumes that one of her toys is on it and she will sit or stand under it for hours, staring with crazy eyes and breathing so loudly that you have to almost yell to hear over all of noise. So, the new carpet is no longer pristine but I'm still a happy camper. Special thanks to Dad who offered some expert tile help. I'll be adding a murphy bed in the coming months and the space will also have a full bathroom which should be completed in a month or so. So, family and friends, Hotel Johnson is now accepting reservations!

Audrey-Speak

Some favorite Proper Nouns in Audrey-Speak:

"Chicky" = Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's dog Tiki

"Buddy" = Woody from Toy Story

"Blue Tomato" = the Blue tango, which is Grandpa Jay's favorite ballroom routine to perform with any willing grandchild. Audrey is a fan.

I'll add more when I think of them

Natalie's Blessing Day

Today was Natalie's blessing. I (Karen) got to dress Natalie up for the first time. Before the blessing, I usually just take my babies to church in whatever sleeper they are wearing for the sake of convenience and less laundry. However, on blessing day, I love getting them in their white dresses, tights, and cute shoes for the first time in their lives. It's like a rite of passage almost as much as the blessing. (Notice Julia behind me taking the picture by remote. It was the only way we could get her to appear in the photo)

Before and After

Karen told me that I should include a "before newborn" and "after newborn" photo of my face. So, here they are.

Recent Snow

We got a large snowstorm a few weeks ago. This may not look all that impressive to you folks in Utah but it was one of the largest snowstorms in VA history. I might add that it took me a total of about 7 hours to shovel the driveway. Right when I finished shoveling, I turned around and saw Winston, the very naughty neighborhood bulldog, walking up our driveway.

Newborns

You may have noticed that I haven't added any entries since Natalie's been home from the hospital. There are at least three reasons for this. First, my laptop got dropped one too many times last month and finally died. In three short years, the poor computer went from a shiny new piece of art to a bruised and battered and, finally, broken machine. Let's just say laptops and small girls don't mix very well. Second, I've been busy finishing our music room in the new detached garage. If I get an hour or two, I try to spend it chipping away at the project. The good news is that I'm almost done. The bad news is that if I continue at the rate that I've been going, I won't be done until May of 2019. Okay, that's not quite true. I hope to be done within a month's time at which point we'll start taking reservations for Hotel Johnson. The third and most significant reason for my lack of blogging is the fact that newborns are put on this earth for one reason...TO SUCK THE LIFE OUT OF PARENTS!!!! Sure, they're cute. Yes, they smell good. And yes, those little smiles do light up the room. However, they also cause certain things to happen to parents' faces and brains that far outweigh the cute little things that they do. For example, in the six weeks since Natalie was born, my face has gone from a normal albeit slightly wrinkled state to a grotesquely distorted and nearly unrecognizable condition. My brain has, admittedly, never worked quite right but the problem has exploded to the point that I'm considering writing my own name and telephone number on my hand every day just in case I can't remember.
Do I love my new daughter? Absolutely!! Am I grateful for her? Without question. Do I enjoy the newborn stage? Let me answer that by having you take a look at my face.
Here's a couple of recent pictures of the happy times.