Carolyn Maxine Walker Johnson

My gramma went home to be with Jesus this evening around 5:45 p.m. Her death was not sudden or unexpected. She has been living a sort of half-life for the past year and a half, and to be totally honest, I was relieved when I heard the news. My gramma was a feisty, independent, on-the-move lady who always had somewhere to be and someone to visit. Being confined primarily to her bed these last few months at the mercy of everyone else's schedule took her spirit away a lot sooner than her body was taken away. No way to spend one's last days, and yet as some wise person once said, it is a gift to experience our bodies failing us so we can genuinely embrace death as a blessing and crave it. I know my gramma craved death. She has missed my gramps since he died two and a half years ago much more than she anticipated, I think. And she has mourned the loss of her "able" life. I smile to think of her spirit reunited right now with her husband, her parents, her five older siblings, and dozens of her lifetime friends. And she's in the presence of Jesus. Not too bad for a September evening...

My gramma would quickly silence me with a "ppffttt" and a wave of her hand if I tried to wax poetic about how fantastic she was; she was one of the least boastful and self-centered people I've known. Fortunately for me, the reality of who she was and the kind of grandma she chose to be poses no need for over-exaggeration: every time I saw her, from my earliest memories until the last time I saw her with my husband and daughter 12 days ago, she made me feel like her world was richer, more beautiful, and more blessed because I was in it. Every time. What a priceless gift for a grand-daughter to receive from her grandma. That kind of love is permanently woven into the fabric of children's hearts and has a quietly profound impact on the way they view the world and, perhaps more importantly, themselves. Gramma (and Gramps) loved her grandchildren deliberately, generously, individually, joyfully. For me, my grandparents' love has always provided a beautifully human and tactile metaphor for how much our Heavenly Father loves us...

I miss you, Gramma. I've been missing you for months now, and my heart insists upon being sad even though I know you wouldn't want that. I am thrilled that you are Home, and I am genuinely comforted knowing that I will see you again someday. I love you...and I'll have the 49'ers at the Pancake House and a trip to Nordy's in honor of you this week :)

Our Chatty Girl

Here are a few videos of our favorite girl for you. The only one that needs a bit of explanation is the first one. Madelyn was blowing bubbles in her milk one day when we were out in a restaurant and Kurt told her that we don't blow bubbles when we're out and about (a standard that I would've also set). A few days later while eating lunch at our house, she did the same thing and then stopped and looked at me and said "Daddy say 'no no no' blowing bubbles." I told her that it was ok for her to blow bubbles when we were at our house, but that out in a restaurant, it wasn't polite (a standard that I was sure Kurt would've been just fine with). What she took away from that conversation was what you will see in the video--evidently "the location" didn't really register with her and all that mattered was "Daddy said one thing and Mommy said another." So the attempts to parent-split begin...

September Shenanagans

Madelyn is officially two years old. I'm quite sure I will say this every year, but I can't believe it. I can't count her age in months anymore. She's looking more and more like a little girl and less and less like a little baby (thank God for night-time--she still looks like a baby when she's sleeping!). The little nuances of her personality are emerging every day. And most amazingly, she decided four days after her birthday that it was time to use the potty...which she has done without accident for three straight days now. Who could've guessed that Mommy and Daddy would get a gift for Madelyn's birthday too?!!

Kurt took her birthday off of work, and the three of us had a fun day together. We visited the playground at Washington Park in the morning and then took our pancake-loving girl to the "Original" Original Pancake House for lunch (even Maddie "mm-mmm'd" when she tasted their pancakes!) Amazing!


A couple days after her birthday, Madelyn got to spend the weekend with Nana and Papa while Kurt and I ventured up to Seattle to see Pink Martini with his parents and sister at the Chateau St. Michelle winery. If you have never had the ear-candy delight of listening to Pink Martini, you must leave your computer immediately and download all of their albums. This post can wait, people :) They are native to Portland, so Kurt and I have had the fortune of seeing them several times. They always put on a marvelous show, but what could be better than sitting on a lawn surrounded by rolling hills covered in grape vines whilst sipping Chardonay and Cabernet Sauvingon? With fabulous company! We had a great time (in spite of the horrifically intoxicated floozie, er, woman sitting next to us who finally staggered out behind her husband mid-way through the second act. Honestly. Why pay all that money for a ticket when you're not even going to remember the event? Whatev.) Kari played quite the hostess, and I left her apartment on Sunday with a list of adorable decorating ideas. Anyway, it was a fabulous weekend for us, and Maddie enjoyed the full attention of her Nana, Papa, and Auntie Kelsie, so she certainly wasn't missing us much (though she did cry for us before bedtime, which, admittedly, made me feel kinda good). We are so blessed to have our parents close by so we can all have little weekends like this--thanks to both of our families! (p.s. We don't have any photos of our trip to the winery because evidently, the winery falls just below Langley on the security scale and we had to take all of our cameras back to the car. Grrr.)

Finally, here are a couple of photos of our house. The first is from April 2008 when we pulled up the front lawn and planted some new plants. The second is from just a week ago. Amazing how things grow, hey? We look forward to planting even more in the front yard next spring, and we're also planning a major overhaul of our backyard. Fun stuff.

Purplicious Perfection!

Madelyn will be turning 2 (TWO!!) on September 10, so we had a birthday party for her yesterday. I love planning parties and I especially love a good theme, but I was initially a bit stymied as to which theme to pick for this party. Madelyn loves Elmo and Abby from Sesame Street and she loves Curious George as well but none more than the others. It finally occurred to me one day that my daughter has a particular passion for the color purple. When we began working on colors with her, we focused on the basics--you know, red, blue, yellow. She didn't seem to be particularly interested and she certainly wasn't distinguishing any one color from another, and then one day, inexplicably, she correctly identified everything purple that crossed her path. Go figure. Since then, she has gravitated toward all things purple and will answer "purple" if you ask her what her favorite color is (which is now a fully informed assessment since she has also correctly learned the rest of the rainbow).

Hence, a Purplicious Birthday Party.

It was quite a houseful, but the kids all did great and seemed to really enjoy playing together!

Lea, mercifully taking charge of helping the kids frost and decorate their purplicious cupcakes.

Madelyn specifically instructed both Kurt and me to wear a "fancy dress" to her purplicious party. Neither of us had anything that would suffice, so I went shopping in my sister's closet, which will from now on be my favorite place to shop (she being the maven of all things stylish and whimsical). Kurt managed to talk Maddie down to a purple button down, which he pulled off quite well. I was impressed, actually, with all of our guests' purple ensembles! Well done, folks!


We put on some music at one point and had a little dance party. Here's Maddie gettin' down.

Beach Trip 2009

Every year at the end of the summer, our group of friends escapes to the Oregon Coast for a few days to relax, laugh, eat yummy food, and feel the sand between our toes and the salt air in our lungs before launching into another busy year. Kurt and I are blessed to be a part of a friend community that is intentional about the time we spend together and the types of relationships we want to create and nurture. We are eight very different people, but we share a common faith and a value of family, and we just like each other a whole lot. In the last six years, we've added seven whole people to our little community which has only made these little beach adventures all the more fun and wonderous...nothing like children to make you see the world with fresh, excited eyes. Here are some photos from this year's trip to Waldport, Oregon:

Nicole with her little girl, Sarah, and Molly with Ian and Alli's big girl, Abbi.

The kitchen was awesome! Huge and fully stocked. We bring all of our food with us and cook some seriously yummy meals.

Molly and Pat's little guy, Graham. Such a cutie!

Should I be concerned that my not-even-two-year-old voluntarily cleans off her feet without having to be told?

Madelyn, Rachel, and Abbi itching to walk to the beach.


Lighting on the beach is always just gorgeous.

I don't always look like Ringo. The sea air is not friendly to my hair.

"I run so fast! I run so fast!"

Good thing they had a big table.

The Waldport bridge was just out our front window. So pretty in the morning mist.

The babes of the group: Sarah (9 mo.) and Graham (14 mo.)

Pat and his boy, Graham.

Molly and Graham.

Kurt and Eli.

The Stroller Gals: Maddie and Rachel

The sign of a truly great weekend :)