Meeting Ashley

We took a road trip to Garden City, Kansas this weekend to meet our new great-niece, Ashley Alexandra (I somehow feel adamantly opposed to be being called a great-aunt, though...)  Shawn's brother's daughter, Kristen had her two and a half weeks ago (and, I continued to marvel that she didn't sit in a corner, rock and cry at any point during our visit - unlike me two and a half weeks after giving birth).  Ashley wasn't in anyone's plans, but she is darling and precious and sweet and wonderful - and clearly a gift from God.  So, just like all the times life throws curve balls, our family will keep putting one foot in front of the other and doing what needs to be done. We'll say loads of prayers for each other and put all our faith in the fact that God has only the best in mind for all of us.  And we will be oh so thankful for the beautiful gift of Ashley.  We couldn't adore her more.

I asked Spence if I could leave him in Kansas and take Ashley home with us - kind of like a trade.  He said no.  So, I came home with the same two kids I left with.  And, I won't be facing any federal charges of kidnapping and crossing state lines.  I guess that's probably a good thing.

The Johnson clan

Elizabeth, G'Pa (David), Kristen, G'Ma (Marie), Little David, Spencer, Will, Shawn and Ashley!

It always amazes me to see newborn babies anymore, now that mine are so very far removed from newborns. Without fail I think, "This might be the tiniest baby I've ever seen." And, without fail, they always weigh somewhere around three pounds more than Spencer did at his smallest. Three pounds isn't that much... unless it's half your body weight. Case in point: Ashley weighs 7 lbs. 11 oz. - while looking like the tiniest baby I've ever seen. There was a point in Spencer's life when he weighed 4 lbs. 11 oz.  I think it must fall under "selective memory".

On the way back we hit the Liberal, Kansas Mid-America Air Museum.  It was cool.  There is a plane just like the one Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens went down in "The Day the Music Died".  There is the only remaining Osprey airplane that was one of three experimental planes built during the Vietnam War.  There are helicopters and bombers and so many more planes than I have the knowledge or vocabulary to describe to you.  It's unbelievable that they're all just sitting there in Liberal, Kansas.

However, this is our second stop in Liberal to visit the Air Museum and it is not passing my attention that Shawn is refusing to take me to Dorothy's House (from the Wizard of Oz), also located in Liberal.  Rude.

Watch out world.  If these two ever get some rotor blades on their helicopter, they'll be a force to be reckoned with.

Anyhoo... Home again, home again, jiggity jog...  And another week has begun.