Anticipation

 This past week has been full of anticipation.  My brother and his wife were  expecting their second baby (this time a boy), to arrive anytime this week on his own since she had her 40 week check-up on Tuesday Feb. 25th. Well little did they know that her body was not ready to push this baby out soon!
  The plan was to keep my niece at my moms house until the baby had come so we can go take her to see her baby brother! So we went to pick up Emma the next day so that they could go into the hospital to start this labor going! (first they had to thin her cervix overnight Wednesday).
 While at my moms house we had a BLAST with Brielle and Emma. Seriously my niece is such a great helper with Bri and definitely hates when she gets upset(so cute, she tries to bring everything to her to soothe her.) They literally played together, ate together, and napped together (well in separate rooms) but it was so fun to see them get along so well and interact with each other! (sorry for the blurriness-they don't sit still very often!)
  That next morning I got the girls up and ready in case we were going to get a call at any minute saying baby Aiden made his arrival! So we waited, and waited, and waited... Well nothing happened all day (my sis in-law did eventually fully dilate around 9-10pm) and since I knew Aiden would be making his arrival soon,  I wanted to surprise them and bring emma up to the hospital for them to spend one last time together as a family of three!!  It was so cute and special and emma was so happy to be there . We left the hospital at 10:45pm and heading back to my moms knowing the next time we would go we would finally get to meet baby A!!  Little did Nathan and tiffany know,  exactly an hour after we left, Aiden made his arrival at 11:45 pm on 2/26/14 at a whopping 10 lb 3 ounces and 22 inches long!  All the anticipation was worth the wait and I definitely can't wait to see him grow into such a handsome young man!!  I love being an aunt :) Congratulations Nathan, Tiffany, and Emma on now being a family of 4!!

ALL. IS. WELL.

  Last night as I was washing dishes,  I was listening to Joel Osteen since I had to miss my Church from Home,  because I had to work 12 hours in Austin.  He was preaching on how so many of us have so many negative things that happen to us everyday,  and all we really need to say is All. IS. WELL.
  So of course this got me thinking of what my step-dad is going through right now, and having to endure so much pain and suffering in these last few months.   He told me when he finally accepted to go on Hospice it's like he gave up his fight (and stubbornness)  with all the doctors and nurses and finally said all is well, so he can be comfortable and his pain can be tolerable. He is staying strong and following orders, and I know God is going to give him the strength that he needs to continue on! He is living every day to the fullest!
  It seems like so many of us (me included),  complain about traffic going to work or coming home,  or the fact that they may not have the money they need to pay a bill or buy something they need but we all just need to know and be reassured that God always provides us with what we need,  it may not be right when we want it,  but God always delivers.

So today,  instead of complaining and stressing about something just say to yourself All. IS. WELL.  It really works.  I hope you all enjoy your day!

This is my amazing step-dad David! 

This little beauty only let me get 2-3 hours of sleep two nights ago,  but all is well! 

Brielle's Birth Story

 Wow this feels like it just happened, but just so I don't forget all the little details I wanted to document Brielle's birth story for me and everyone else that was a part of it to remember! :)
  I was patiently waiting for my weekly appointments by this time, and I was asking to get a sonogram for my 37 week check (which they didn't do,due to the fact that they said the baby reaches a certain size and it's much better to do a vaginal check to see how soft my cervix was and how far dilated I was than to d

o a sonogram at that time since I wasn't experiencing any complications), and so I waited another week and I had my bags packed at this appointment because I just had a feeling that something wasn't right (even though everything checked out fine, it was my mother's inutition.)  I live 50 minutes from my hospital that I was delivering at and I just knew I did not want any complications to happen in between my house and there.  My Doctor said he usually doesn't induce before 39 weeks but I was READY to meet my baby girl and get her out to make sure she is a healthy baby girl.
  Shane and I both prayed that we would be soon meeting our baby girl on our way to our 38 week appointment and that he wouldn't send us home. I was 38 weeks and 5 days at this point and he agreed to send me on over to Citizens Medical Center to meet our bundle of joy even though I was having minor contractions they weren't in a consistent pattern and not doing much to get labor started.  I was dilated to a 4 and 50 % effaced by this point and we walked in at 5:30pm, got all comfortable and set up with an I.V, my blood drawn, and they checked to see how the contraction patterns were on the monitor by 6:30pm.  (All my family had already been called and notified and my Mom and Mike were on their way to Victoria, Tx from Austin and my two best friends Adriane and Lauren were on their way from Hutto,Tx.)  It was then that my Doctor suggested that I get started on Oxytocin (Pitocin) around 7pm- which brings on contractions or make them stronger, and is also used to control bleeding after childbirth.All my family and friends got there around 9pm to join Shane and I! They kept increasing the dosage by 2 units until they hit their max which is 20 units and by this time around 3am, Brielle started having heart rate problems where it would jump really HIGH to really LOW in the matter of minutes and so they stopped the Pitocin because she was not tolerating and tried to reposition me, and when that didn't get the results they were looking for, they applied oxygen by mask to get more to the baby and probably about 10 minutes later she started showing signs that her heart rate was getting back to her normal numbers and they allowed me to use the restroom and connected me back on the monitors so they could make sure she was still doing great.
(right before this occurred I was complaining about how it had been over 12 hours since I had eaten anything and I was hoping to have enough energy to push baby girl out when it came down to it, oh and I was also saying that I wished they allowed me to walk around me to get things going but I knew God had it already planned out and knew I had to be in bed in order to see that Brielle wasn't tolerating the medication.) I was praying and hoping that I wouldn't have to get a C-section for her to safely come out. 
  At 4am, they restarted the Pitocin to get a steady contraction pattern going again and they had increased it all the way up to 20 units yet again because that was when the pattern was the best, and I was at a 6 dilation and 75% effaced at this time. I was laughing and joking with my family all night (since there pretty much isn't any chance to sleep during labor). The nurses were telling me that if I wanted an epidural I should get one at this point (especially if I tear, it would be painful stitching it up) and I had been feeling uncomfortable at this time but I prayed about it and knew I wanted to stay as calm as possible to push her out so I opted to get the epidural (it was the weirdest feeling ever being numb from my waist down!) My Doctor came in to break my water manually at 7am, and I went from a 6 to an 8cm dilated  around 9am. By 11:25am I definitely felt "pressure down there," and alerted my nurse that I think I am ready to push! My nurse by this time was different than the night shift and her name was Courtney and she told me to do two practice pushes.  Well after the first one, she was like "oh no, no more pushing you she is going to come out soon you did great!" So she called my Doctor (Zamora) and he came in quickly, set up the sterile field and made sure the warmer was on for the baby and checked everything and said "ok, Sheridan you can do this." Well let's just say two pushes later I pushed her out at exactly 11:37am and my doctor says "Wow, I have never seen that before." That's never good to hear and I asked what it was, and he said she had a True knot, which is where your baby ties a knot in the umbilical cord and if she were to have tightened it she would have depleted all the oxygen coming from me to her and she wouldn't have survived.  That explained all my uneasy feelings throughout the last weeks and I just think they could have still seen it on a sonogram beforehand. (God is truly amazing and led me to get her out as soon as possible!)  After I pushed her out, I tore a little so he worked the placenta out while massaging my uterus and then sewed me up (thank goodness for the epidural I didn't feel a thing!) 
   She weighed exactly 7 lbs 15.8 ounces (which they rounded to 8 pounds) and 20.5 inches long and didn't cry right away, but when they put her on top of me and started drying her off she definitely cried and let her presence be known.  (Shane, my mom, and one of my best friends Adriane, got to see her come out which I think was so beautiful and amazing in so many ways!) I was able to breastfeed her right away and she had such a great latch! After the epidural wore off, I was able to get up and shower- literally right after her birth and it felt SO amazing to get clean and showered and so many friends and family came to visit I loved every minute of it!

Mike wrote down all of our guesses for the weight and length ! 

So ready to meet baby girl, they had monitors on baby so my gown was up! (Right before this picture, she KICKED me so hard you could see her entire foot right through my skin, so precious!)

So perfect! And so much hair! (No, I did not have one day of heartburn with her)

Sorry it's sideways! (Shane, Lauren, Adriane)

  
  

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Quit complaining

  Those who know me,  know that I LOVE to work out and go to the gym.   I try many new and different classes but started getting comfortable with the same workout classes (step, circuit training),  and even though those classes still allowed me to get sore I just wasn't seeing the results that I was as hoping  for.  (I still love those classes with Christy Fojt)
  I started training to run my first 5k in December and I was up to 2 miles running and bam,  my left knee just started acting up,  slowly but surely it kept getting worse and worse.  I knew I just had to stop training and do something different.
  When I noticed different women getting amazing results working out with Brenda Coleman the personal trainer who works at my gym and  definitely needed a lot of new different workouts that were light pressure on my left knee but still gave me the results I've been wanting and looking for.
  I joined Brenda Coleman the first Tuesday of this year and it has been amazing!!  She had three different packages and I chose the 12 week plan. I am not the type of person to complain during my workouts but immediately she was pushing me to harder and more difficult levels that I have never been too.  Every single workout I have been constantly saying "this hurts"  and "I can't do this" and not giving my all but today I decided I was going to quit complaining and stay positive during the entire workout.  I loved it because I gave my all and my trainer said "wow,  no complaining and you did amazing!!"
  That opened my eyes and I noticed that staying positive and giving my maximum effort is going to get me better results and it makes the workouts so much more enjoyable!!  I am going to stay positive and finish these last 5 weeks strong!!

Brielle- 8 Months/First Valentine's Day

Today it amazes me that our baby girl turned 8 months!! Where has all the time gone?? We have been savoring these precious moments because before we know it, she will be turning 1!! She is in such a fun stage now (I think it gets better and better every month), I can't wait to see how much she develops in these next months!

Height:
28 inches

Weight:
17 pounds 15 ounces.

Likes:
-She LOVES food, I mean anytime anyone is eating around her, she just wants to try it and most of the time she likes it.  Her new favorites are vanilla yogurt, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and cheerios, spaghetti noodles- mostly everything is still baby food consistency and she loves homemade food I try to stick with organic most of the time but baby jar food is ok when we are out and about.
-Looking at herself in anything (mirrors, pictures, my tablet)
- Her wubbanub (pacifier with a stuffed animal) and her daytime naps.
-Balloons.
-Peeking around the corner when she crawls and finds who she is looking for.
-She has grown to love her walker, she can really walk from one room of the house to the complete opposite ( I can't believe she going to be WALKING soon, just blows my mind.)
-Cats
-Pulling all of the pieces of the puzzle out (she hasn't quite gotten that they go back in the puzzle board yet.)
-Making loud noises.
-Bath time.
-The song Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Dislikes :
-Going to bed at night (she still cries for a few minutes unless she is really tired and goes straight to sleep.)
-Strangers.
-Missing nap times.
-When you take away something she really wants (She will throw a fit!)
-Long car rides (getting better though!)

Teeth: 2 (bottom middle teeth, even though I really do think more are coming soon-she is starting to stick her fingers and everything else in her mouth to chew on again! )

Language:Signing and One and two syllable words
Signing: Milk, more (almost!), and all done
Verbal:
-Mama
-Boon (trying to say balloon-haha)
-Aba
-Baba
-Bye-Bye
-Hiiiii
-Wah-wah
-All Done

Since this holiday was another first for Brielle, we decided to take cute pictures and go out to breakfast and get her a balloon which she LOVES. We hope everyone has a great Valentine's day and love from our family to yours!

Here is some cute pictures to leave you with :)

Damaged Goods

  This past weekend my husband and I got to go our second road trip outing without our precious baby girl and we headed on to Houston.  I was so excited because I have always wanted to go to Lakewood Church and see Pastor Joel Osteen in person.  Let me tell you,  I was in awe of how amazing this church was on the inside and how nice and welcoming each and every person was to the both of us!

  First off,  let me explain that his choir was amazing!!  I have never felt so alive and uplifted and danced to every song they sang.  It was amazing and I could feel the Lord letting me know that I was suppose to be there on that Saturday night.
  Victoria Osteen came out first and spoke about praying before it's too late.  She stated that so many of us reach to God during the hard times and times where prayer is needed then and there but times where everything is working out we tend to slack on prayer.  I am guilty of this at times as well.  I have made it note to myself to wake up every morning and say a prayer and be thankful that I,  as well as my family get to see another day.  There are definitely more opportunities I can pray instead of say negative things and pray during many other aspects of my life.
  Joel Osteen then came out to preach about Genesis 21:18 "Arise,  lift up the lad,  and hold him in your hand; for I will make him a great nation."
  His sermon was on removing the damaged goods label from our mind and body.  He said "You have to get out,  you're inside is perfect; it didn't stop your destiny,  you have the blood  of a winner."  This sets home for me when I was called a fat whale,  worthless,  obese, unsuccessful in my middle school/ high school year by my classmates and those labels stayed on me and my back for years until one day I decided  I was worth something.  I knew I could overcome my battles with my weight,  I knew I was going to graduate college and become someone successful and help people in their lives,  but first I had to take off that damaged goods label and throw it away.  He then said "you have to take the hands you've been dealt and make the most of it."

How many of you have been labeled as damaged goods??  Today is your day to step out of that label and throw it away!

I hope you enjoy the two videos I have inside Lakewood Church :)

First post-Introduction

Wow this has been a long time coming,  so I'm brand new to this blogging world!! I would like to introduce myself!  I am a 25 year old, married to the greatest man who I met when I was 16, and we have two children-one named Lamar Grant Johnson born 7/14/12 weighing just one pound who we lost when I was 23 weeks and 6 days pregnant and one named Brielle Diane Johnson who was born 6/14/13 weighing 8 pounds and 20.5 inches.  (wow that was a lot about me in just a few short sentences!!) 
 I graduated RN school 12/12/12 and that was such a dream come true and I am very proud of that accomplishment!!  I currently work two part time Jobs, one in pediatric home health in Austin,  TX and one in the Nursing home that I have been with for three years as a treatment nurse on the weekends. Both of which I enjoy very much and I can't  wait to see which other jobs are ahead in my future! 
I attend St.  James Baptist church in my small town of yoakum,  TX which I love very much! I believe the Lord has blessed me and my family in every aaspect of our lives and I am very excited for our future to see the many blessings that come our way. I gave myself to the Lord a little over two years ago and that was the best decision I have ever made.  My husband,  Shane has always been a devoted Christian and took me to church several times until I finally decided to join the church and he has always been my biggest supporter throughout each decision in my life. 
We have 3 animals - two dogs and one cat.  Our cat is named Oscar and we adopted him three years ago when I started working at the nursing home.  Just before Oscar we adopted our lab/blue heeler mix maddie which is definitely the most hyper dog we have ever seen. Our last pet is our chocolate lab Toby who is two years old and is so kind and loving.  Brielle definitely loves each and every pet and they all love her so much as well!  
I hope this blog isn't too long and that you continue to follow me and my family throughout this crazy,  exciting,  eventful life!  :) 
Here is a little bit of my life