The long - overdue update of the Johnson's Life!

WOW WOW WOW... Where do I begin??

I am sitting in Montana overlooking God's glory in the form of hills, mountains, lakes and trees.  This place is truly one of my favorites in the world.  Even better, mom and dad are here to share in this wonderful experience.  We are 'making memories' and I think mom and dad are getting a new-found respect for what it looks like to speak 20 times in 2 weeks!

I think we need to go back a bit to update our life!!

We found out that our "Sweet Pea" is a GIRL!!!!  After an amniocentesis we also learned that she has perfect hearing and is not even a carrier of the Conexxin-26 gene!  We are overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement!

We officially have a name for this little princess... ARI LA NELLE GRACE JOHNSON!  ...and man oh man, this was NOT an easy decision!!  We have come up with so many beautiful names, but none of them really felt like 'the one'.  I honestly believed she wouldn't be named until after she came out.  We thought we were going to name her Selah, even though Bob's niece is named Selah.  We wanted something beautiful, strong, graceful and artistic.  

Thank you Jesus for giving my sister-in-law, Lynn a prophetic dream about our sweet girl!  After lots of begging, she shared the meaning of the name she dreamt and so we did some research and got SO excited when we heard 'Ari'.  It means:  Voice of the Lion, gentleness of the wind!!  WOW!  

We are eagerly preparing for this little one's arrival!  We are getting closer and closer to being prepared for her!  A few days before we came to Montana I had multiple doctors appointments for Ari and between those appointments Bob asked if I wanted to go look at the crib I want.  I told him that I would love to!!  So, we went to the most amazing baby store ever in Walnut Creek to "look" at our crib.   I went and asked the salesman how long it would take to order one.  He said it would be 6 weeks or so before it would be in.  Well... My amazing husband said, "I bet you have one in the back."  The sales guy was not quite catching my husbands wonderful surprise!  So he said, "I'm pretty sure you have one in the back under Bob Johnson!"  AHHHHHHHH!!!!  I began jumping up and down so much I thought I could have gone into labor right there!  I was screaming, laughing, hugging... and of course, jumping!  What an amazing surprise!  I'm SO excited about our crib!  It is little and perfect for our house!  

Cade likes his sister's new crib!  

Cade is doing incredibly well and is amazing all of us daily with how much he is learning!  This has been my favorite age so far (well, I think they are all your favorite) because it seems like he learns something new every day!  He is communicating to us through speech and sign.  He begins school on August 31st and we are SO excited to get him into a consistent program!  He is doing tasks with his speech that they wanted him to be doing by age 2!  As his grandma would say... "He's a genius!"  

We recently had Heather Armstrong take some pictures of all of us for our website and his 1st birthday!  

He is truly a joy and a delight to our lives!

Nash and Rilie are doing amazing as always!  They are the most fun, easy going kids in the world!! I'm not sure they are so excited about summer quickly coming to a close, but man did we have a fun summer!  We took them to Texas for vacation and made some of the best memories!  I think my favorite of all of them was going to Hurricane Harbor and having the sky open up and DUMP rain on us while we were trying to eat soggy Steak-n-Shake cheeseburgers!  We were all laughing SO hard!  None of us had ever been in rain that was that extreme!  It was CRAZY!!  Here are some pictures from our awesome vacation!

Our sillies!  

So, that's all for now... Cade is awake so I'm gonna sign off!

ACTIVATION DAY!!

It never ceases to amaze me how crucial days in your life come and go just as quickly (sometimes even more quickly) as all the rest.  We have been anticipating this day since we made the decision to do a cochlear implant, over 7 months ago.  March 24, 2010, one truly amazing day.

Our appointment was at 9 this morning, which for us means leaving the house at 7 (Yuck) because we must leave time for Starbucks!  We got there and saw a box big enough for me to fit inside of sitting outside the 'Mapping' room.  Could that seriously be our device, or rather, all the stuff that came with it?  Yep... it was our box, very big box of stuff!

So they began the MAP by attaching the device to his ear and the computer ran a test to make sure all of the internal pieces were working properly.  Once that was done they turned it on!  They started at a very low volume.  Since Cade has had such great success with his hearing aid, we knew he would respond well to sound.  Often times with little kiddos who have been profoundly deaf their whole life they will get frightened when hearing for the first time.  By far my favorite moment was when she turned the volume up on the device and he immediately responded to sound.  His daddy was holding him and he turned and buried his head in his chest.  Daddy kissed him as if to say, "It's okay buddy!"  ...and after that, he was great!

Sarah, the Cochlear Implant Audiologist went over our 'case' of stuff that came with the device as well as the remote.  There are 4 settings on the remote that as he gets older, he can make as specific as he wants. For now they are just basically soft to loud.  We will keep him on 1-2 for the next few days and gradually work him up to the louder volumes.  We will go back on Tuesday for them to do another MAP to turn it up a bit more.  They don't want to overwhelm him or he will constantly pull it off.

We have noticed so far that with his implant he responds similar to how he does with his aid on.  Understandably, that is with it on the lowest setting.  Plus, it's a bit difficult to know what he can and can't hear since when he is playing, he is much more into whatever he is playing with.  :-)

It has already been such an incredible experience and we are excited to see all that is to come!  God is so good!

I am currently uploading more pictures and video's so you can see it all happening!  Thank yall so much for your prayers!!

The World's Greatest Surprise!!

WE ARE PREGNANT!!!!!!!  Okay, so I was totally going to write this long blog and then say that at the end, but I just couldn't wait!  Here's the story :-)

Bob and I enjoyed a great 5 days in Emeryville at a hotel compliments of mom and dad (and Aunt Kay for groceries!!) and while we were there we went into Baby Gap.  I was looking at all the adorable baby clothes and Bob held up this precious little girl's outfit.  As we were leaving he said, "You know your pregnant, right?"  "HA" I believe was my response!  I just told him that he was funny even though the thought had crossed my mind.

Unfortunately I had no idea when my last period was so there was no way for me to figure out if I was late or not.  Plus, with Cade it took FOREVER (okay, I was like 3 days late) for that second pink line to show up!  So, when we got home I knew I had a pregnancy test in our medicine cabinet.  I thought, this is dumb for me to be taking this because even if I am pregnant, it will not show up yet.  Well... sure enough!!!  Less than 60 seconds later... 2 PINK LINES!!!  I think I have looked at the test like 100 times... it seems so surreal.  I think my immediate excitement is more extreme the second time around only because I had NO CLUE what to expect with Cade.  I wanted to be pregnant so badly and was so stoked that I was, but I almost didn't believe it!   With this little 'Sweet Pea' I know what to expect and I know how much love is going to overwhelm me more every day!  It is so amazing!!

Okay, back to the story... So, I immediately ran to the top of the stairs and yelled down at Bob (I have no idea how women wait and wrap a present!!  I am entirely too impatient for that!) "Baby can you come here??  QUICKLY!"  He said, "Well, I don't know about quickly, but I'm coming."  I'm literally bouncing and head into our room.  He follows me in and I (shaking like a leaf) hand him the test.  He immediately looks at me, I squeal and we hugged... like 4 times.  Cade wasn't sure what was going on, he just knew he was getting squished!

We skyped in with mom and dad... grandma screamed and grandpa asked if we knew what caused that! LOL!  So, after calling Grandma (Redding), Aunt Kay and a few others... on went the BU2 picture!!

Esther wrote Surprise on my belly and we took the picture!!  Rolf said, "Well, this is proof that something amazing is on the horizon!"

We are so overwhelmingly excited to be having another baby!  We all so far think it is a girl (including daddy, who is rarely wrong!) but just like with Cade... we will be SO happy with either!  The kiddos will be 18 months apart, we think!  I believe that I am due at the beginning of October, but I don't know that for sure.  If that is true, I am 5 weeks pregnant now!  

We have no idea what the next 9 months hold or what our life will look like when this little one is born.  That aspect of it is a bit scary, but we know that God knows and that he is in control.  We are going to start speaking truth and life over my belly daily.  We continue to contend for Cade's perfect hearing and believe that this little one will have PERFECT hearing in Jesus name!!

We love yall and thank you so much for the prayers, support and encouragement! 

Until Further Notice...

This has been a roller coaster season of not understanding much of anything that is going on.

Both of my boys are sleeping and there is worship music playing in our hotel room.  I was able to get a few hours sleep once we got home from Cade's pre-op appointment.

Cade has been coughing off and on for the past few weeks.  His nose has been a bit runny and he just hasn't been at 100%.  I have done literally EVERYTHING I know to do in order to get him better.  His surgeon put him on an antibiotic that he reacted to so we had to take him off.  He has been sleeping with a eucalyptus filled humidifier, rubbed down with an all natural version of vapor rub, eaten only organic foods and so much more.  On top of all this we have been covering him in prayer and worship music.  Well... surgery is a no go.

The Nurse Practitioner came in and checked his lungs and told us she would have to clear him with the Anesthesiologist.  While she was gone the child life specialist came in to walk us through what the process would be.  She came back in the room and said they couldn't risk the increased chance of him getting pneumonia.  It felt like we were kicked in the gut.

I went through this ridiculous overflow of emotions from angry to confused to hugely disappointed.  The most difficult part by far was the fact that Bob and I had emotionally prepared our hearts for what was happening.  We both called our moms and said, "It's canceled and we don't want to talk about it right now... we will call you later."  Looking back, that wasn't quite the most sensitive thing we could have done in that moment.  So, after some tears flowing from a weary heart and a good nap, we have come to terms with it.

After much begging from my mom and dad :-) we have made the decision to stay in Oakland through the weekend and make it a really joyous and fun time with just the three of us... something we haven't done too much since Cade was born.  (The just 3 of us time, not the fun part - lol).

We are walking distance from several fun shops and restaurants.  Our cabinets are stocked with groceries and our hearts need peace and rest.

As of now, the surgery is rescheduled for the first week in March (yuck) but there are 2 dates between now and then that we could get into if other people cancel for whatever reason.

Above all else, we know (even if we forgot it a few hours ago) that God's faithfulness, grace and mercy are overflowing and we can tap into them at any point in time.  We also know that his timing is perfect and like my sweet friend Inga said, maybe God will have a surgery day of his own with Cade tomorrow!!

Choosing to walk around rocks of offense we don't understand and focus on The Name Above All Names!!

We love yall,
Bob and Kimberly

Oakland Extended Stay!

We are here!  No turning back now!! :-)  My amazing parents blessed us with 4 nights in a hotel close (2.33 miles to be exact) to the hospital.  On top of that my amazing Aunt Kay gave us an abundance of grocery money!  So, we packed up, went to whole foods and here we are!

The room is quiet and peaceful and we are so thankful to not have to make the hour, plus, drive over and over again.  It is almost 1 am and I so should be sleeping!  I'm not sure if it was the cat-nap I took a few hours ago or my brain is just spinning, but I can't seem to sleep.  Uffda!  Luckily Bob is snorin' away next to me (hehe - I love that man!).

Cade is amazingly unfazed by the craziness and is happy as always.  He is sleeping sound with a eucalyptus humidifier next to him!  Chest congestion GO!!

At this point, Bob and I are doing well.  Bob still thinks it feels somewhat surreal.  I agree, it does.  I am just ready for it to be over and to be getting out of the hospital.  The surgeon made my heart feel good when he said he was a nervous wreck when his son got tubes in his ears!  There is something about the word 'surgery' and your child in the same sentence that is difficult to swallow.  It's as if you have complete tunnel vision and can only focus on that one thing until it is done.  (I was a mess trying to do laundry this week!)

I also think about all of those parents out there who have babies going into surgery with little hope of survival, much less a great outcome.  It quickly puts our life into perspective and I realize how truly blessed we are.

Going into it I have no paradigm for how I am going to feel when I have to hand him to that nurse.  I assume I will tear up a bit, put my worship music in my ears and worship in the waiting room.  If there is one thing I know for sure it is that the Holy Spirit shows up every time we worship and honor him... Therefore, I plan on doing just that!  :-)

Thanks for the prayers!

"It's Genetic"

Well, we went in for our pre-op appointment for Cade's surgery!  We were super blessed to be able to have insurance approve him at such an early stage!  January 29th at 8:30 Cade will be getting is implant in his right ear!!  We made the decision to go with the Nucleus 5.  This device is 1/2 the size of all the other devices on the market right now, and since Cade is still so little (8 1/2 months) we decided the smaller device would be a better option.

At our pre-op appointment with Cade's surgeon, Dr. Murray, told us that Cade's hearing loss is a result of a gene called Connexin 26.  Basically what this means is our future children will have a 1 in 4 chance of having a hearing loss.  While that was difficult news to swallow, the part that was even harder was the doctor saying Cade has a 90% chance of losing the hearing he has in his left ear and will need a cochlear implant on that side as well.  Well, we serve the God of the 10% and we do not accept that report.  We continue to believe for complete healing in his body in Jesus name!

The silver lining on his loss being Connexin 26 is that it rules out all other ailments that come alongside of a hearing loss.  The kids with this gene also seem to thrive the most with a CI.  The doctor said he felt it was good news, despite seeming to be devastating.

Cade is currently within-normal speech range for his age... which is AMAZING!  He is saying, "dada, mama, baba, mmmmm" and blowing bubbles all the time!!  He is so much fun and one of the best babies ever!  We are honored to be his parents.

Going into his surgery, I am a bit apprehensive, which is to be expected.  I think Dad is more nervous than I am, at least at this point.  We are both excited, but very ready for the actual surgery to be over with!!

GOD IS FAITHFUL!!!!

From a Mountain to a Molehill!

Boy did I make a big deal out of nothing!  Yesterday was Cade's CT Scan to see if he is a candidate (structurally) for a Cochlear Implant.  They told me he was going to have to be sedated but staying in the hospital overnight would not be necessary.  The sedation part I was not much a fan of, but then I heard the words "possible intubation" and my mama mind went to FREAK OUT!  Okay, so I didn't actually freak out, but I admit... I was dreading it.  I didn't want my baby to hurt or be in pain or have a sore throat or any of the above!  Plus, having been in the medical field I understand the possible complications of an intubation.  These are complications that with any one else you just right off as Never Gonna Happen, but for some reason when it is YOUR baby they are talking about (or even husband for that matter) you mind automatically goes to the worst possible case scenario!  DUMB!


So I was told he could not eat after 9am.  So, at 8:15 I nursed him for like 30 minutes and then gave him a bit of rice cereal to try to help curb the no eating for hours and hours.  (He goes 10-12 hours at night, but 3-4 during the day.)  So we get there and are in the waiting room with 3 or 4 other kiddos running around.  At this point he was still happy and I was so focused on my word game my mind was off of the worst case scenario.  In the moments when that would come in, I would just align myself with the Word of God and remind myself of truth.  Then I would speak Psalms 91 over Cade & back to figuring out if a male or female turned in the number one vote for the boot company. :-)


About this time a woman came out and told us they were running an hour behind, which at this point would put us at 2pm before we would start the sedation process.  "The Sedation Process" YUCK!  Bob and I were super polite, because hey, it wasn't her fault they were behind!  Back to my puzzle I went...


A bit later they came and got us to go through his pre-op questions.  "Pre-op"  What a stupid name for a simple CT Scan... Why not call it the Pre-Picture Questions??  OP=OPERATION and operation in 'Mama mind' = SURGERY and surgery in mama mind sucks!  So in one simple phrase they took me from just a picture to SURGERY!  


So after the questions, weight, exam blah blah blah... the moment finally arrived!  We met the anesthesiologist who was very sweet and basically told us that she was going to give him a little gas through a mask and that he would go to sleep.  She let us stay with him until he fell asleep and then ten minutes later we saw him in 'recovery'.  


Okay, mama mind recovery is a large room with ten or so children who are just getting out of surgery and they are separated by large curtains.  Reality recovery was basically just like a hospital room in the middle of the radiology department to monitor the babies after their anesthesia.  


When we saw him he was sleeping like he always does.  He had his arms above his head and his little legs all frogged out.  :-)  They immediately let me pick him up and a few minutes later he woke up crying.  Hey, he hadn't eaten in 7 hours, what else would he do??  So, the nurse stayed in the room until we made sure he could suck and swallow well.  It took all of 2 seconds to figure out he was fine with that, then off we went!!!  


My mountain of a day that I was dreading to the point of tears turned out to be a no big deal molehill!  


GOD IS FAITHFUL!

Preparing us for surgery day... in more ways than one!

Well, the day has arrived!  Today is they day Cade gets his CT Scan to see if he is a candidate for a Cochlear Implant.  I used to work in radiology so I understand a CT is not a big deal.  However...  they have to sedate him to do the scan... and he has to have an empty stomach.


SO, I just finished feeding him.  He's stuffed!  I nursed him for 25 minutes or so and then gave him some rice cereal! Now the trick of "Please don't puke" begins! 


As of now I feel peace about the day.  I trust the doctors and I know he will be okay.  That is not to say that I am not dreading them putting an IV in or dreading leaving him while the test gets done.  They have told us we will get to see him in recovery and once he wakes up and is eating we can take him home.  


We will see how it all goes!  I will post afterwards to tell how everything went wonderfully well!  

SHALOM FROM HEAVEN OVER OUR FAMILY TODAY!!!!

The first of many!

I heard a great author once say, "Always write to the trash can."  In other words.  If you constantly write with the intention of throwing it away, your concern for what others will think will quickly go away.  Although I'm not exactly writing to the trash can, I am going to attempt to pretend I'm doing just that.

I've felt for quite sometime that I should write a blog telling our story as it unfolds.  After several confirmations that I should do so I finally listened and so now... here we go.

My husband and I are at a place in our life where we are abundantly blessed, but at the same time we are definitely getting refined by the fire. I believe with all my heart that God is ALL good ALL the time, and there are no exceptions.  However, I do believe that he will take any situation that is negative and turn it around for his glory.  He has an ability to breath life and hope to the dying and hopeless.  

Three and a half months ago our little prince was born.  Robert Cade Johnson weighed 6 pounds 1 ounce.  He was perfect!  What a great day that was!

During my pregnancy I devoured every piece of information I could get my hands on to prepare myself to be the best mother I could be.  I wanted to give him every opportunity to succeed at anything he put his mind to.  

I read a story that went something like this...  "I planned a trip to Paris for years!  I worked out every detail and dreamed about every place I would go.  The day finally came to take our wonderful trip!  We boarded the airplane, but when we landed, something didn't quite make sense.  We were in Holland!  I didn't understand, we hand planned a trip to Paris. Holland is a beautiful place with so much to offer, it just wasn't what I expected or prepared for."   

Two months ago, we received the news that our sweet son was hard of hearing.  He was diagnosed with a profound (total) hearing loss in his right ear and a severe hearing loss in his left ear.  That was a day I will remember for the rest of my life and those are words that are never forgotten.  The question then became,  was a I going to dwell on the fact that I was not in Paris, or was I going to be overjoyed with all Holland had to offer?  

I made the decision to dive head first in learning all I could about Holland. I immediately went into research mode to be able to give him the best I could.  Initially, my husband felt shock and numb.  After tears and prayers, we knew what we knew which is... GOD IS FAITHFUL!  We both knew that this would be temporary and that one day his ears will open!  However, just as Joseph did all he knew to do in the natural, until the supernatural came through, when he found out Mary was pregnant... we made the decision to do all we could do for him in the natural while still fighting and believing for the supernatural.  We know our son is healed, we are just waiting to see the physical manifestation of that healing! 


...more to come!