Bunnies everywhere!

I belong to the world's most wonderful Book Club. My friend, Suzie, and I "organized" it nearly seven years ago. We started out as a group of a dozen ladies, some of whom I knew well, some I was acquainted with, and one I did not know at all! We have bonded in a very special way and our monthly meetings are eagerly anticipated and every absence is felt - both by the absentee and by the rest of the group. During our time in existence, we have lost a member, Carol Daugherty, to cancer. When we realized that we could never replace her we simply vowed not to try. At that point, our membership became closed.

One of our special traditions is to give a children's book shower for first time grandmothers. I missed last month's meeting while I was in Atlanta celebrating Hattie's arrival. Imagine my surprise last night when I was showered with packages and gift bags. My friends had decided that an Easter birthday could NOT be ignored. Everyone had shopped for a book featuring bunnies or Easter!

Most of you know that Jenny was born on Christmas Eve. Every year she gets a different copy of THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. The poem remains the same but illustrators have such fun depicting their vision of Santa and his visit. Anyway, the book on the bottom right of this photo is THE NIGHT BEFORE EASTER, a perfect companion piece for Jenny's collection. Another sentimental donation is PETER RABBIT'S GIANT STORYBOOK. When Jenny was in kindergarten, she played Mother Rabbit in a production of "Peter Rabbit". Coincidently, the son of another member, not the one who gave the book, was Mr. McGregor! (Since Tom has been spending so much time in his garden, Jenny has taken to calling him Mr. McGregor.) Naturally, I sat down and read all of the books as soon as I walked into the house. Thank you everyone for the thought you put into your purchases, the special books you found, and, most of all, the generosity and love you have shown for the extended Johnson clan, not just last night but always!

I have had several questions about the octopus I was making when I bailed out on Tom at the U-Haul place. Below you will see a few of my octupi and one little fish. These are "tawashies".

A child slips a hand into the octopus' head or into the fish while bathing - a fun washcloth!

It's May!!!

Now that it is May, I decided to dedicate a journal entry to Tom's upcoming retirement! First I will show you our house and part of the yard he will be mowing when I tell you he is out on the lawnmower.

Now you need to see his tractor so you can picture him when I tell you he is mowing the "Back 40", also known as the "softball field" or the "soccer field".

Much of his time will be spent in his garden. I took this picture on May 1. Tommy is surprising me by truly enjoying his time working here. He had a smaller plot last year and all of us he will be feeding are very glad he has expanded

Here he is in his retirement present from me! I only hope he will slow down and use it! He has worked hard all his life and if anyone deserves some hammock time it is Tommy Johnson!

His official retirement date is June 1 but Memorial weekend is his weekend to be 100% off and, if he goes in at all on Memorial Monday, it will only be for an hour! He will only carry the emergency phone one more weekend!

It seems like no time at all since we were counting the days until he graduated from vet school. It has been the perfect career for him. He was meant to be a veterinarian! I should have known that even when we were first dating. I always said that I came third, after basketball and dogs! He did well in his first two careers - coach and U.S. Air Force officer - but I am so happy we took that huge gamble back in January 1974! He gave up a regular commision in the Air Force as a captain on flying status to try to get into veterinary school. There were times when we questioned our sanity - like the semester at the University of Arkansas when he was trying to pass Organic Chemistry with a high enough grade to even be considered for acceptance into LSU or Oklahoma State. Those were the two vet schools that had contracts with Arkansas at that time. OSU took three Arkansans and LSU took six; NINE students from Arkansas were allowed into vet school that year out of the 90+ applicants who all shared the same dream! He'll be the first to tell you that he didn't take college that seriously the first time around. As long as Coach Winningham wasn't mad at him, he was happy. That meant he didn't have the prettiest GPA to offer interviewers, even though he made almost (remember Organic) all A's when he went back to get his prerequisites. Bless the men on LSU's admissions board who knew that they were meeting a man who was serious about joining their profession and who had given up a good career to do so. (He repaid their kindness by saving them from a lawsuit! A frustrated applicant decided he was being discriminated against because of his age. The school's lawyers took one look at Tommy's class in which he would be graduating as a 35 year old and another student graduating at 36 and said, "Let them sue!!!")

I have gotten pretty emotional as I wrote this. I guess you all know that I think I have a wonderful man for a husband!

The Precious Pauls as a family of four!

I finally have my computer back and have been able to download the pictures I took in Atlanta! Here is the first picture of the Precious Pauls as a family of four!

Since I last wrote, Tom and I have spent a week in Atlanta. True to form, Jenny did not let me baby her but I got in some snuggle time with Hattie - and read lots of Henry and Mudge books with Lucy!

Last weekend Tommy and I made a quick trip to Baton Rouge. He had to work until noon on Saturday. We got down there in time to eat dinner at Don's Seafood (still yummy). Sunday morning we lined up at the U-Haul place to get the truck we had reserved. I was amazed that the line would be that long on a Sunday morning. I bailed on Tom and went out to the car to finish an octopus. (New crochet kick for Suzie and me: tawashies) Evidently I missed quite a bit of excitement inside. Maybe I can get him to tell you about it sometime. Finally, Tom and a clerk come outside and head to a fairly large truck. They walk all around it and inspect it. Then the clerk opens the door to look inside. Then he climbs inside. Then he calls someone on his cell phone. Then he climbs back in the truck! When he gets out, he has to admit that there are no keys to be found for this particular vehicle. He and Tom disappear back into the building where an entirely different, larger, truck is rented to us.

We manage to stay together as we navigate BR traffic; thank goodness it was Sunday! We are the lucky recipients of a good friend's need to down-size as he moves from Louisiana to New York. (Thanks, Weavie!) He has left us a garage FULL of nice things: two beds with headboards, two couches, two recliners, a washer and dryer, a microwave, a kitchen table and chairs, a desk, a dresser, and a HUGE projection screen TV! Michael and Jason, two of the Sadden boys, friends from our Baton Rouge days and beyond, help us load the truck and then we take off for El Dorado. The drive was blessedly uneventful! Jimmy, Julie, John Paul, and Maddy meet us at the storage facility and help unload the truck, which could be turned in right on the spot!

This week the plan was for us to go check on Grandma on Tuesday afternoon and then watch Lanie play softball. Jill called me on Monday to tell me that Lanie will be out of the line up with a broken pinky!!! I don't think it will slow her down for too long though. That meant we were in El Dorado to go to DanMan's first game of the season. He has changed so much since last year! He moves with so much more grace - in an athletic way of course!

May is getting crazy! I wish I were in charge of scheduling. Jenny, Eric, and the girls will be driving to Little Rock on Wednesday, May 5, to house hunt. I have been invited to come and play with Lucy during the day because we don't believe she will think house hunting is much fun. I had visions of Jimmy's family and Julie's family (with one of those vehicles bringing Tom) coming to Little Rock for the weekend. Of course, everyone is anxious to meet Hattie! Turns out that I neglected to write a very important occasion on my calendar - Maddy's first dance recital! I knew she had one but I just couldn't believe that anyone would choose Mother's Day weekend to spend in the auditorium - that's one thing I would change if I were in charge of scheduling. Maddy will perform both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Rest assured that you WILL see pictures. Jill's birthday will fall on Mother's day this year - as it did in 1971 when she was born!

The next weekend two of our great nieces (Kristen and Priscilla Forester) will graduate from pharmacy school AND Hannah will have her piano recital. (These girls' younger sister, Heather, will graduate from college over Mother's Day weekend. I already know we'll miss that!) I am hoping that Tom and I can go to the Honors Convocation on Friday night. These girls all came to see Jill's hooding and they were there when Jill "hooded" Jenny! Priscilla did a rotation in El Dorado and we ended up getting to know all the girls better through that arrangement! We'd hate not to attend some celebration.

The rest of May will be busy too but I'll tell you about that next time. I have barely gotten up from my computer chair in the 24 hours I have had my machine back. I have missed it so much! I spent a lot of time trying to find my pictures after I downloaded them. A relatively new camera and a "rearranged" computer had me all confused.

Our Easter Baby!!!!

Hattie Elaine Paul was born on Easter Sunday, April 4, at 2:35 P.M. EST, in Atlanta, Georgia! She weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long - and she has dimples! Lucy is enchanted with her and loves being a big sister, so far.

Jenny and Hattie were dismissed from the hospital the evening of April 5. I left for home EARLY the morning of the 6th. I wish I had a picture of what I saw as I was trying to sneak out of the house. Jenny was on the couch with a sleeping Hattie on her chest and Lucy snuggled up beside her. It was one of the very sweetest things I have ever seen! Speaking of pictures, I have a lot on my camera but I am using a borrowed computer to update my blog.

Tommy and I leave for Atlanta when he gets home from work today. We don't plan to drive the whole way tonight. Tommy had scheduled his vacation for the week Hattie was due. Since she came early and since her other grandmother was able to travel to meet her on Tuesday, I came home to pick up Tom.

I have a funny story to tell before I sign off and go home to finish packing. When Jenny went to her OB appointment last Friday, someone in the office suggested that she go to a particular Italian restaurant for dinner. Saturday night I kept Lucy so Jenny and Eric could go there to eat. When a very pregnant woman enters the restaurant, she is not even given a menu. She is automatically served eggplant Parmesan. Babies are supposed to be born within 48 hours after the mother has eaten her meal. Jenny said that the walls are covered with pictures of babies who were born before the 48 hours were up - and now Hattie gets to join them! If the woman does not deliver within the time frame, the restaurant gives her a $25.00 gift certificate; if she does the baby gets a special shirt! I will try to post a picture of Hattie in hers when she models it!

Guess I had better get ready to head back to Atlanta!

Waiting in Atlanta!

I have been in Atlanta for a week now. We don't really expect Hattie to arrive for a little while yet but I am still watching Peaches like a hawk! Due day is three weeks from yesterday.

Jimmy's family just checked in from home. They made the drive back to El Dorado from Atlanta today. We were really busy for the four days they were here. I was a little afraid that all the activity would be too much for Jenny but she was the tour director-in-chief! We all did CNN, Coca Cola Museum, Georgia Aquarium, a Civil War museum, Fernbank Natural History Museum, Andretti's Indoor Karting, and the Atlanta Zoo. The boys went to an NHL game and the Cyclorama while the girls shopped. Lots of cameras were flashing non-stop but I don't have anything I can post yet.

Grandma staying in Sherwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Well, fiddle!!! I took such a pretty picture of Grandma with my phone while we were visitng her yesterday. I was able to save it to my computer by sending it to myself via e:mail but now I cannot upload it to this blog. All I get is a bunch of letters and numbers. Wonder what I am doing wrong.

The decision has been made for Grandma to stay in the facility where she is currently living. Her address is:
Sherwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
245 Indian Bay Drive
Sherwood, AR 72120

She loves to get mail - HINT, HINT!

Our version of March Madness!

I have a busy week ahead as I prepare to leave for Atlanta early Friday morning. Jimmy's family will make the drive on Saturday to spend their Spring Break in the Peach State with our Peaches - and the rest of her family. Jenny and Eric need to attend a birthing class on Saturday so I am going to travel a day earlier than originally planned. We had always been going to go in two vehicles so that I could stay on and be of some help while the whole extended family waits for Hattie to decide to make her appearance. Papa (Tom) will fly to Georgia after the birth to meet his newest granddaughter! We will drive home together at the end of his week-long vacation.

Can't believe this will be Tom's last vacation before he joins me in retirement, the ultimate vacation! He is surprising me by really looking forward to it; he's counting down the days - and the number of weekends he still has left to carry the clinic cell phone - FOUR!!!! Jimmy says the EHS coaches are all betting that "Doc" will pull a Brett Fauvre when it is actually time to walk out the door of Goodwin Animal Hospital for the last time as a practicing veterinarian. He is going to keep his license current so he can help out should the need arise. A young couple is buying his share of the practice so there will be times when both of them will need to be away from work at the same time. I know Tom; he won't be able to leave Charlie alone to work himself sick. Their practice has grown to the point that one vet cannot handle it solo.

Big decisions are being made about Grandma's care. It looks as if she will be moving to Elm Croft, a beautiful facility in Maumelle, Arkansas, this week. She has done amazingly well since her hip surgery. Everyone who has met her in the hospital, St. Vincent's Rehab, and Sherwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has told Alton and Tommy how impressed they are with her quick wit and her cooperative spirit during various difficult, painful therapies. We are so proud of her!

Hope Atlanta is ready for the Johnsons! We have lots of things planned: aquarium, zoo, cyclorama (a re-enactment of the Civile War Battle of Atlanta); NHL, Margaret Mitchell House, Coca Cola Museum, Six Flags, Stone Mountain. Not sure what else our tour guide, the eight months pregnant Jenny, has arranged for us. I was worried about her having a herd of company at this time but she is excited about having things to do to keep her mind and body busy while she waits for Hattie to give an indication that she has chosen her birthday!

On a side note, Julie successfully registered Maddy at High Goodwin to begin kindergarten in the fall! I surprised myself by crying when Julie texted me as she was leaving central office. Hugh Goodwin is such a big part of my life and I am so excited that Maddy will be able to be in the History Parade, the Nutcracker, Schoolhouse Rock - just so many neat things!!!! She'll even check out books that I bought!!! Jenny and Hannah are both HG alums so the family tradition continues, after a detour where DanMan, appropriately, went to the Math and Science School.