"it won't be like this for long"

My sweet little lady is 9 months old... she has officially lived longer outside of me than inside of me. I find it hard to remember what it was like having her grow inside of me.... feeling her kicks as I fell asleep...longing for dr.'s appointments so I could hear that precious sound of her heart beating. I try to remember, but most of the time I can't. So I am going to try harder to write everyday down :) To document the things that happen as she grows into this beautiful, spunky child of mine. I haven't written an update in a while so here is just a little bit of what life is like with Norah.

In case you didn't see Rachel's blog post about Norah: (http://fotogirl14.blogspot.com/2011/02/norah-kathleen.html)

She posted a few of her 9 month pictures along with her nicknames (minus sputnick...no one REALLY calls her that...we just tease her about her huge noggin. :)

Her nicknames include: Junie Bug ( really any variation of bug: love bug, bugaboo, beetle bug, or bugga), Norah Beaner (given to her by her daycare teachers), Booper, Katie Girl (given to her by my daddy) and Norah Kate (the only nickname denis ever uses... he's big on calling her by her actual name!)

What she's up to:

Crawling like a maniac. She has been crawling since she was 6 months old. She always wants to be on the move.

Walking along furniture/around her play table/pushing her shopping cart. She does circles around her table touching all the buttons as she circles around, dancing at each new song.

Stands for about 10 seconds on her own. Usually only when she doesn't know she is doing it. She's like Grace, there is no practicing. It is all on her own terms. She has her own opinions that she is making quite clear these days.

Sleeping through the night. She started dabbling at sleeping all night at about 12 weeks, then stopped for a bit and started again at 4 months. She started by sleeping about 8 hr stretches and now sleeps from 11-13 hrs a night. We found that when we put her to bed earlier she sleeps longer. But it isn't always possible with the schedule we keep. Sometimes we keep her up just because we miss her. She doesn't sleep well at daycare so she has gotten in the habit of taking an evening nap. She falls asleep around 5 or 6 and sleeps till about 7-7:30. She wakes up (or is woken up) to eat, get a bath and goes right back down at 8. She is starting to sleep a bit more at daycare so i hope that helps rid the evening nap. Days she is not at daycare, she takes 2 super naps and no evening nap.

She is growing at a pretty average rate. Her percentiles are in the 60's, except her head :) (that is in the 80's) but we love her big head of curls :)

She loves to play on her own. She has a basket of toys she plays with, but she prefers daddy's books and cd cases or a plastic cup or bottle. She loves to take her toys and crawl into the kitchen and bang her toys on the hard floor. She loves the sound it makes. She also loves crawling under the table and standing up in the middle of all the chairs. Then she plays the chairs like a drum. We have one chair that is metal. She prefers that one :)

She loves her food! She is still eating some baby food each day. I like her to eat her cereal for breakfast still. She eats table food for lunch and dinner. Some of her favorites are: pizza, chicken nuggets, ham, hot dogs, toast with peanut butter, CHEESE, pasta, and fruit cups. She definitely prefers feeding herself rather than being fed. I have a feeling she will be only only table food here soon. She is still on soy formula, but we have given her cheese and yogurt with dairy in it and so far so good. We will have her tested for a dairy allergy at her 1 year appointment. Hoping to be able to make a smooth switch back over to regular milk.

She is still a cuddle bug. I love that she will still fall asleep in my arms. Every sunday I come home, scoop her up and cuddle her while we both sleep. Sometimes she will sleep in my arms for more than 3 hrs. It is most beneficial when she is sick because she will sleep on the lounge chair with one of us. She just seems to sleep better than way when she is sick.

She loves music. She will "sing" and dance and clap along with the music. She gets quite excited. Her favorites: Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson! I'd like to say she loves listening to me sing, but normally it is what puts her to sleep. :)

She LOVES harmony. I know she is closer in age with Makaela, but I feel like Norah and Harmony are already best buds. But at the end of the day, I am just very thankful that she will grow up living near hear cousins. I hope they grow to be as close as sisters.

She is DADDY's little girl... If daddy is in the room, no one else matters. She says DaDa constantly as well. She squeals when he comes down the stairs. Cries at the door when he leaves. Crawls up on his lap when she is tired. She is just smitten with her dad. I think she gets it from me :)

She seems to do something new with each passing day. She makes us laugh so much. She brings so much joy to our home... the unspeakable kind. We pray that never changes. I never knew I could love like this. It overwhelms me almost daily. I must tell Denis everyday "I just love her so much..." :) The other day Denis told a friend of ours "What are we going to do when we have a normal kid someday?" Meaning Norah is just an incredible baby. We don't take it for granted either. God just seemed to know what our home needed. He knew what it was missing. It was missing Norah. Now that we have her, I don't remember much about life without her. We know our family isn't complete yet and we dream about our family growing. But for now, we are soaking in every moment with our sweet little lady. Loving our family of 3.

Write Everyday Down

Recently a recording artist by the name of Jason Upton came to our church for our One Thing conference. I was more than a little excited when I was told he was coming. I have been a fan of his for about 8 years now. He is an incredible worship leader and speaker and one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. During his worship concert he sang a song called "Write Everyday Down." He reminded us that we need to record our days so that the world would know that God was alive, even in times such as these. How often do we let a day go by where we don't see God in it? But there He is. In our every breath. We don't always reflect Him, but He is there.... there in it all.

This January was a very significant time in my life. I won't go into what has taken place in these past last month because 1) I am still trying to wade through it all and 2) well... it's not all to be shared. Sometimes God moves in our lives in such a beautiful way that i don't want to ruin it by letting others impose their opinions or their "that ain't nothing" kind of attitude. I don't expect everyone to understand how significant the laying down of my own yoke and taking up his really is or how it came to be. Like the hymn says "This is MY story, this is MY song." I am sure over the next month I will share some of what God has shown me. But other things I will keep between me and the Lord... and I think He is a great secret keeper.

January also marked 10 years of being with Denis. I took sometime one evening to write down our days. Now, there are many MANY other days that have made marks on our relationship. But again, some things are better left between Denis and I. But I did build a bit of a road map of our story together. I love the quote from Just Married that says: "You never see the hard days in a photo album, but those are the ones that get you from one happy snap shot to the next." Our story is still being written. And the most some of the most significant moments are the ones that cannot be captured by a camera. So I am determined to do better at writing down everyday. Because what doesn't seem significant today, may be pivotal to our tomorrow. Here are a few of my days over the past 10 years that have helped build my story. *i have done this to the BEST of my memory... forgive me if a few of the days may be a bit off*

Day 1- January 31^{st 2001}- Denis and I knew we had feelings for each other around Christmastime 2000, but there were some complications surrounding us that needed attention before we could become official. We spent the month of January praying, fasting and seeking the Lord about our relationship. On January 31, 2001 Denis drove 2 hours down to my parents house to ask them for permission to date me. I had no clue that this event took place until Denis picked me up from my dorm room and gave me an incredible diamond necklace. And even though it was our first official day of being “Denis and Becca” we, that night, promised each other our forever. We knew. We just knew. And we were right.

Day 293– November 20 2001 Day Denis proposed- Denis proposed to me at Spot Coffee in front of my sisters and some of my closest friends. It was completely unexpected because it was a GIRLS night out. He surprised me by showing up to coffee. After some small talk he told a story about the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. One he wanted to impact the kingdom of God with, one he wanted to have kids with, and one he wanted to grow old with. I don’t remember much of what he said because I was in tears. He gave me a dozen roses and got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said yes. J

Day 328 - December 25 2001our first Christmas together- I loved our first Christmas together! We took engagement pictures and scored big on the after Christmas sales in preparation for our Christmas wedding!

Day 486 – June 1 2002 Our first apartment- We were on the hunt for our first place since both of us were no longer at RWC. We found a quaint little place right near my job. He moved in right away with Larry! It was our first home together.

Day 689 - December 21 2002 Our wedding day- Best day of my life. We stood before our family and friends and promised forever. We are still walking out what “I DO” really means. It isn’t always easy, but I’d choose him over and over again.

Day 690-692 – December 22-24 2002 our honeymoon- We spent a few days in Toronto. That’s really all I care to say about our honeymoon.

Day 2065 - September 30 2006 Hired at TFH- The summer of 2006 changed the course of our lives. Denis and I were volunteering on and off through the summer helping out the worship leader at that time. One Saturday Pierre was leading worship and asked me last minute to lead a song for him. (otherwise known as the moment that changed everything). I have been leading worship ever since. We love being a part of the team at TFH. Honored to serve God and His people.

Day 2207-2211 – February 19-23 2007: Our fist big vacation: Cruise- Everything was changing so quickly. We were learning to live life in a totally different way. By the time January came around, we were very stressed and unsure of ourselves (well I was at least). So last minute Denis (and his brilliant self) drove down the street to the Travel Agency and next thing I know, we had a cruise booked for 2 weeks later! It was 5 days of absolute bliss. We left all our cares behind and soaked in the sun and relaxation.

Day 2477- November 20, 2007: Harmony was born: She was born into this world and I was instantly in love. They say there is something so special about the first. I know she isn’t MY first…. But she was the first baby that showed me a different piece of myself. The piece that hurts when she cried, when she was hurt or when she stuck out her little quivering lip, the piece that burst open when she laughed, or said my name for the first time… Her middle name says it all. Joy.

Day 2763 - September 1, 2008: Rach and Mike move to Rochester: I finally had my best friend back near me. My world was right and has been right ever since. I love living life with them. How did we ever live 4 hrs apart…

Day 2896– January 12, 2009: Our First: I had a dream on that Sunday night that I was pregnant. We were headed into our 21 days of fasting, so for piece of mind I took a pregnancy test. It was the first time I saw those 2 beautiful pink lines. I went running into the bedroom to tell Denis the news. We were floating.

Day 2830 – January 16, 2009: Heartache: We found out a few days later that we had lost the baby. I still think about ‘her’ everyday. I will remember and never forget. “We’ll just let Jesus hold you till Mom and Dad can hold you. You’ll just see heaven before we do…”

Day 3010 – May 10, 2009 Mothers day-Bittersweet: It was a difficult day to face. I was supposed to be 6 months pregnant. But at the end of a hard day, I hear a knock at the door. I was John and Amy. To make a long, emotional story short, they came bearing the greatest news… they were expecting. Suddenly my heartache became less achy.

Day 3079-3085– July 18-24, 2009: Missions trip to Mexico: A week I will never forget. I still go back and look at picture of those faces that stole my heart away. It was my first mission’s trip, and definitely not my last!

Day 3102- August 16, 2009: 2 lines in ’09: It was a Sunday. I was feeling so sick. After barely making it through church, I slept all afternoon only to wake up even sicker. Denis was out with friends and I asked if he would come home. On his way home he picked up soup, Gatorade and 6 pregnancy tests! I hesitantly took one, and again, saw those beautiful pink lines. I let my joy overshadow my fear and soaked in that moment. Norah was on her way…

Day 3147 – September 30, 2009: We saw our baby for the first time: There she was. Up on the TV screen. Little heart beating away quietly. She was alive. She was real. She was ours.

Day 3203– November 25, 2009 It’s a……: GIRL! She didn’t cooperate at first. We almost didn’t get to find out. But last minute our Tech told us the news. Girl. We were having a daughter. Not how we had planned it…. But better.

Day 3355- April 26, 2010: Norah Kathleen Johnson: Born into this world. I could never put into words the way I felt when I heard her cry for the first time…. The moment I saw her sweet face for the first time has been etched into my very soul. I will dedicate my life to showing her just how much Jesus loves her.

Day 3618- January 14, 2011: Mini Sisser: Makaela Reese was brought into this world by the bravest woman I know. Let the record show. C-Sections are not for wimps. My sister walked bravely into the OR and came out a beautiful mother of 2. I love this little girl. She looks just like her pretty mommy J

Day 3635 – January 31, 2011: 10 years of togetherness: I love being Mrs. Denis Johnson. We have had our share of heartaches. Our share of dark days, trials, and pain. But we have also shared thousands of laughs. Thousands of kisses. Denis has taught me to love. He has pointed me to Christ in times he didn’t have the answers. He has held me in my lowest points. He has celebrated me publicly. I am proud to bare his name and to have mothered his children. Love you babe. Here’s to Forever….