I can't believe it has been a month since my last post. Sorry everyone (if anyone is paying attention).
We went to the doctor today and Sammy measured 6lbs. 10 oz. Everything looks right on schedule. Lauren's birthday prediction was this Saturday, but that definitely does not look like it will happen. My prediction of May 6 is looking better everyday. Sammy wanted some IHOP, so we both ate some Rooty Tooty Fresh and Frooties for lunch.
Our house is officially a disaster area. We have been moving furniture and putting new furniture together. We are scrambling before the third part of the family arrives. Today is Independence Day, so there should be a lot more time starting tomorrow.
Lauren is feeling great and looking even better. Everyone says pregnancy suits her well. She might just get her wish in the coming months.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
50 days and counting...
Well, we are almost there...tomorrow will be an even 7 weeks to the due date. However, Lauren is predicting April 19 to be the day our little boy sees daylight. She is claiming motherly instinct...and also hoping against hope because of our big baby genes. That is also Fiesta weekend...another big weekend where something always seems to happen.
I'm predicting May 6...we'll see who is closer.
So...instead of 50 days...it's between 36 and 54 days...take your pick.
I'm predicting May 6...we'll see who is closer.
So...instead of 50 days...it's between 36 and 54 days...take your pick.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Fore!
Went golfing on Sunday...got sunburned. I also lost three balls. Not a good day, but a fun one. FYI...golfing with a hangover is not a good idea. The only cure is three Tecates on the front nine...and that is exactly what we did. Hair of the dog!!
Golf is another reason for the greatness of spring. As the PGA tour gears up for the Master's, I gear up in my own way...losing golf balls with a flair. I never thought I would be one to watch golf on television, but it is easy to lose an afternoon watching Tiger, Phil and crew spend some time on the links. Watching brings a sense of calm to me...I would even call it mindless bliss.
I'm getting old.
Golf is another reason for the greatness of spring. As the PGA tour gears up for the Master's, I gear up in my own way...losing golf balls with a flair. I never thought I would be one to watch golf on television, but it is easy to lose an afternoon watching Tiger, Phil and crew spend some time on the links. Watching brings a sense of calm to me...I would even call it mindless bliss.
I'm getting old.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Matthew Kelly inspiration
The Beauty of Friendship
There is nothing more beautiful in this life than a good friendship. When I was a teenager, my father held out his hand, spread his five fingers wide, and said to me, "If you find five true friends in your lifetime, you will have lived a life infinitely blessed." At the time, I thought it was a little strange because I had so many friends, but as the years have passed, my father's wisdom has become more and more apparent.
Friendship
The question I have struggled with over the years is, "What constitutes a true friend?" Perhaps it would be helpful for you to pause for a moment and reflect. Who are your true friends? What makes them good friends?
As a child, I thought friendship was about hanging out together all the time and sticking up for each other when others were critical or cruel. In my adolescence, I thought a true friend was someone who liked everything you liked and never did anything to upset you. But as an adult, I have learned that the defining quality of a true friendship is when the other person encourages you to be all you can be, challenges you to become the-best-version-of-yourself, and vice versa.
What sort of people do you like being with? What types of people give you energy?
As I look at my life and my years of traveling, there are certain people who I yearn to spend time with. Some days, as I walk through the airport and look at the television monitors to see which gate my flight is leaving from, I look at the list of cities and one will catch my eye. For a moment, I wish I were going to that city. Why? Because there is someone in that city who inspires and energizes me to be all I can be.
I love being around people who are constantly striving to better themselves. They energize me. They inspire me. They challenge me.
Socially, I try to surround myself with people who make me want to be a better person. I admit they are not easy to find, but when you do find them, they are more precious than any treasure or pleasure this world has to offer.
If you want a litmus test for choosing friends, use this question: Will spending time with this person make me want to be a better person?
Spiritual Friends & Loneliness
I try to apply this truth not only to my social life, but also to my spiritual life. This is why the saints are such good friends. They challenge us to become all we can be and encourage us to become the-best-version-of-ourselves. But the real beauty is found in their method. They don't preach endless sermons, and they don't try to impose their views on others - they challenge, inspire, and encourage us simply by living their own lives to the fullest. That is the social dynamic of holiness. It is attractive, and it is contagious.
If you and I sit down at lunch and you order soup and a salad, it makes me think twice about ordering a double cheeseburger with bacon and fries. If my friends are going to the gym after work, I feel that inner nudge to work out myself. If a colleague is honest and humble about a mistake he has made, I am humbled by his example of humility.
Goodness is contagious. The problem is, so is evil. The challenge for you and me, as Christians in the midst of the modern world, is to be examples of good living.
None of us realize how much we influence others. Everything you do, people are watching, and everything you say, people are listening. The influence of your words and actions is contributing to the way they live their lives. In A Call to Joy, I wrote, "You will learn more from your friends than you ever will from books. Choose your friends wisely."
This is why the saints are such treasures. They may have lived in another place and time, but they can be true friends. I'd rather spend a couple of hours with Francis of Assisi and Teresa of Avila than with some of my contemporaries on a Friday night getting drunk. I'd much rather spend time with dead people who inspire me to be all I can be than with live people who lead me to be just a shadow of all God created me to be.
I promise you, it is better to spend time with dead people who bring you to life than with live people who lead you to death.
From time to time, I meet people who are dating a person they know they don't want to spend the rest of their lives with. If you ask them why, they say it is because they don't like being alone. I have learned it is better to be alone than with the wrong person.
Don't be afraid of your loneliness. Use it as an opportunity to befriend people who inspire you. Harness your loneliness as a chance to befriend the saints.
There is nothing more beautiful in this life than a good friendship. When I was a teenager, my father held out his hand, spread his five fingers wide, and said to me, "If you find five true friends in your lifetime, you will have lived a life infinitely blessed." At the time, I thought it was a little strange because I had so many friends, but as the years have passed, my father's wisdom has become more and more apparent.
Friendship
The question I have struggled with over the years is, "What constitutes a true friend?" Perhaps it would be helpful for you to pause for a moment and reflect. Who are your true friends? What makes them good friends?
As a child, I thought friendship was about hanging out together all the time and sticking up for each other when others were critical or cruel. In my adolescence, I thought a true friend was someone who liked everything you liked and never did anything to upset you. But as an adult, I have learned that the defining quality of a true friendship is when the other person encourages you to be all you can be, challenges you to become the-best-version-of-yourself, and vice versa.
What sort of people do you like being with? What types of people give you energy?
As I look at my life and my years of traveling, there are certain people who I yearn to spend time with. Some days, as I walk through the airport and look at the television monitors to see which gate my flight is leaving from, I look at the list of cities and one will catch my eye. For a moment, I wish I were going to that city. Why? Because there is someone in that city who inspires and energizes me to be all I can be.
I love being around people who are constantly striving to better themselves. They energize me. They inspire me. They challenge me.
Socially, I try to surround myself with people who make me want to be a better person. I admit they are not easy to find, but when you do find them, they are more precious than any treasure or pleasure this world has to offer.
If you want a litmus test for choosing friends, use this question: Will spending time with this person make me want to be a better person?
Spiritual Friends & Loneliness
I try to apply this truth not only to my social life, but also to my spiritual life. This is why the saints are such good friends. They challenge us to become all we can be and encourage us to become the-best-version-of-ourselves. But the real beauty is found in their method. They don't preach endless sermons, and they don't try to impose their views on others - they challenge, inspire, and encourage us simply by living their own lives to the fullest. That is the social dynamic of holiness. It is attractive, and it is contagious.
If you and I sit down at lunch and you order soup and a salad, it makes me think twice about ordering a double cheeseburger with bacon and fries. If my friends are going to the gym after work, I feel that inner nudge to work out myself. If a colleague is honest and humble about a mistake he has made, I am humbled by his example of humility.
Goodness is contagious. The problem is, so is evil. The challenge for you and me, as Christians in the midst of the modern world, is to be examples of good living.
None of us realize how much we influence others. Everything you do, people are watching, and everything you say, people are listening. The influence of your words and actions is contributing to the way they live their lives. In A Call to Joy, I wrote, "You will learn more from your friends than you ever will from books. Choose your friends wisely."
This is why the saints are such treasures. They may have lived in another place and time, but they can be true friends. I'd rather spend a couple of hours with Francis of Assisi and Teresa of Avila than with some of my contemporaries on a Friday night getting drunk. I'd much rather spend time with dead people who inspire me to be all I can be than with live people who lead me to be just a shadow of all God created me to be.
I promise you, it is better to spend time with dead people who bring you to life than with live people who lead you to death.
From time to time, I meet people who are dating a person they know they don't want to spend the rest of their lives with. If you ask them why, they say it is because they don't like being alone. I have learned it is better to be alone than with the wrong person.
Don't be afraid of your loneliness. Use it as an opportunity to befriend people who inspire you. Harness your loneliness as a chance to befriend the saints.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Matthew Kelly
Yup, we fell in love with Matthew Kelly again. If you have not heard of this dynamo...check out his website. We heard both of his talks this year and have replaced Terry Hershey with the "must see" of Congress. He is only 34-years-old, but he has done so much in the past ten years that you would think he was twice that age. The way he views life and offers his perspective on how to live to be "the best-version-of-yourself" makes you walk away with a keen sense of improving. I know he sounds like all the other self-help gurus, but he is most definitely not. Amazing to say the least.
Of course, Lauren had to get his book signed and dragged me into the mix. I didn't mind meeting him, but I did not want to look like a teeny-bopper, screaming over The Beatles...even though I did want to scream and touch his face. Turns out his security force is pretty quick to react to fanatics.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Congress weekend...
Let's all go hang out with 40,000 Catholics! Matthew Kelly, Terry Hershey, Cardinal Rog and the rest of the gang are hanging out at the Anaheim Convention Center. Good times. Well, if you think analyzing your life and discovering that you have been doing things completely wrong the past twelve months is fun.
The funniest part of Congress is Friday at meal time. All the Catholics go to the snack bar and the catering staff never understands that Congress Friday always falls during Lent, yet, every year they serve specials of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and beef soup. Hmm...let's survey the market segment and see the demand before we offer the supply...12th grade economics.
We will be buying bibles, discussing Terry Hershey topics, falling in love with Matthew Kelly again, dodging a few nuns with canes, sampling some Dippin' Dots, holding Ed as he cries off his thirties, skipping some afternoon sessions, napping, eating, singing, praising, clapping, praying, confessing, wandering, walking, tripping, falling, spending, borrowing, carrying, laughing, crying and leaving.
A full weekend. See you Monday.
The funniest part of Congress is Friday at meal time. All the Catholics go to the snack bar and the catering staff never understands that Congress Friday always falls during Lent, yet, every year they serve specials of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and beef soup. Hmm...let's survey the market segment and see the demand before we offer the supply...12th grade economics.
We will be buying bibles, discussing Terry Hershey topics, falling in love with Matthew Kelly again, dodging a few nuns with canes, sampling some Dippin' Dots, holding Ed as he cries off his thirties, skipping some afternoon sessions, napping, eating, singing, praising, clapping, praying, confessing, wandering, walking, tripping, falling, spending, borrowing, carrying, laughing, crying and leaving.
A full weekend. See you Monday.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The Slowest Sports Month of the Year...
Ugh...finally February is coming to a close. Baseball players have reported to Spring Training, NCAA Basketball is nailing down who is going to the Big Dance and basketball and hockey are in the stretch run of their seasons. Wow...we have to stoop pretty low to entertain ourselves in February. I went to Vegas this past weekend and had to put a bet in on hockey...Go Ducks!
Even horse-racing has taken a turn for the worse as California tracks have replaced the dirt with an artificial surface...much to the chagrin of the betting public. We have yet to make heads or tails on how this affects the handicapping.
This Thursday, the Dodgers play the Braves in the first spring training game. Friday is the first televised game...March can't come soon enough.
On another note...I've actually been reading books and talking with my wife...turns out she is a pretty nice lady.
Even horse-racing has taken a turn for the worse as California tracks have replaced the dirt with an artificial surface...much to the chagrin of the betting public. We have yet to make heads or tails on how this affects the handicapping.
This Thursday, the Dodgers play the Braves in the first spring training game. Friday is the first televised game...March can't come soon enough.
On another note...I've actually been reading books and talking with my wife...turns out she is a pretty nice lady.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
It's Human!
Here is the latest picture of Baby Johnston. We are pushing ten weeks until the due date and we are all getting excited. Mom is getting bigger, but since I was 10lbs and she was almost 9lbs...we know Lauren is in for a big belly.
We went to our doctor a few weeks ago and she said she would not be doing an ultrasound until 37-weeks. This was much too long for us to wait and we wanted to know for sure if we were to expect extra baggage in the crotchal area. We had heard stories of babies who were thought to be one gender, end up being the other. So Lauren persuaded the nurses at Queen of the Valley to do some investigating. They did all the crotch shots and other angles to make sure we were seeing what we were seeing.
It's a boy...unless it's a girl that incredibly knitted a purse and stuck it between her legs. But, I'm going with the boy theory.
Friday, January 25, 2008
99 days and counting!
The date is approaching fast! Lauren's belly is growing and little Samuel is kicking like a rugby player. I think he sees mommy's bladder as a big soccer ball. Great job, son.
I think the education is about to begin. We bought "The Baby Book" by Dr. William Sears, which was recommended highly from friends of ours. He wrote the book from asking parents around him what they did for this and what they did for that. It looks like a pretty extensive book and I plan to use it to become the best father possible. Obviously, you don't learn to be a dad by reading a book, but at least I can learn from other people how to not completely screw up the kid. But, that is not a given either.
I will let Lauren deal with "The Birth Book", because all I have to do is pick the cigars...right?
I think the education is about to begin. We bought "The Baby Book" by Dr. William Sears, which was recommended highly from friends of ours. He wrote the book from asking parents around him what they did for this and what they did for that. It looks like a pretty extensive book and I plan to use it to become the best father possible. Obviously, you don't learn to be a dad by reading a book, but at least I can learn from other people how to not completely screw up the kid. But, that is not a given either.
I will let Lauren deal with "The Birth Book", because all I have to do is pick the cigars...right?
Thursday, January 10, 2008
It's a Boy!
Well...at least that is the first call. We have all heard the horror stories of doctors being wrong, particularly after all the baby clothes have been bought. "I thought you guys didn't want to know", I hear you say? Well, here is how it went down.
So, we went to our appointment for the normal checkup. The baby had gotten big enough for our doctor to do all her usual tests...checking the four chambers of the heart, two kidneys, stomach..."Oh...and it's a boy!". Lauren and I just look at each other with mouths open. Oops.
So, it's a boy for now. But, we'll check with her each visit to make sure it stays the same. I'm getting ready to sign him up for Little League. Do they accept payments for Spring 2013?
If you are having trouble seeing what the ultrasound is showing...picture the baby looking at you (you can see one eye socket) with his hand to his face in the "thinking man" pose. He might even be flipping us off.
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