Lake Accotink

This past week has been gorgeous in DC! We've enjoyed the cherry blossoms and weather in the 70's!

One day we took a fun trip to Lake Accotink with some friends. We walked around the lake (about 4 miles), played on the playground, and had a picnic lunch.

All 6 kiddos. Love the little spouts on top of the girl's heads.

Can you say, "double stroller?"

Up the hill with hippo in the stroller.

This is just a beautiful walk!

The "big" kids enjoyed themselves by the lake!

Our Home...

A few of our good friends from CA have asked to see some pictures of our home, so that's what this post is all about! We are so thankful for this place God has provided for us! We live at the end of a cul-de-sac and have a creek running through our backyard. We've seen deer and fox back there. The girls have a slide and swings, too. A huge plus is that we're 3 minutes from church!

Here's the front shot. We're still getting white rain gutters, black shutters on all the windows, and a white storm door. I'm looking for potted plants to put on the porch. I'd like to get some patio furniture for the backyard as well. So many fun projects to do!

Here's a view from the front door out to the street. Maddie has been a really sweet big sister to Savannah. They hold hands walking up the steps and through the yard!

Maddie in her room. She loves the colors, and now we finally have things on the wall!

A little owl theme going on.

And a goofy pose!

Daddy putting Savannah to bed her her room.

This little project above her bed only cost me around $10. The hoops are from Good Will and the fabric was very inexpensive. Savannah loves it!

This is kinda a strange cut out in our wall at the end of the upstairs hallway. It's actually a door to the attic. We painted it with chalkboard paint, and now I'm going to be writing verses in it!

These are just a couple shots of our home. We love it!

I'm still looking for living room chairs, family room chairs, basement couch, daybed, sun room furniture, and other odds and ends. I know they will come in time (looking at Craigslist). It's fun to have projects to look forward to doing.

Oatmeal Pancakes...

These babies are a new Team Johnson favorite. Laura Leach made them, and all 4 of us just loved them. I'm putting them in the breakfast rotation now :)

Oatmeal Pancakes

Whisk together:

1/4 cup flour

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 T sugar

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t cinnamon

1/8 t salt

Combine:

1 cup buttermilk

2 T melted butter

1 egg

Add to flour mixture, stirring just till combined. Coat griddle with cooking spray. Spoon 2 1/2 T batter onto griddle. Cook until bottom is lightly browned, flip, repeat! Makes 8-10.

Enjoy!

Doing Yard Work!

My little worker putting her gloves on!

Neal and Mark came over and helped Maddie (ha ha) clear some dead trees from the backyard. Jesse's project has been draining a couple ponds so that the mosquitoes don't make our yard their breeding grounds. Both girls love being in our yard- we're almost always outside. From tad poles to swings, to the creek, the bikes out front, and all our neighbor friends- we just love playing in the fresh air!

Morning Walks

We've been loving our morning walks with Sarah and her two cute kids lately. We've taken several routes, but this one to some nearby ponds was my favorite. It happened to be Sarah's birthday. She's been such a sweet new friend!

Maddie and Isaac being silly!

This is the day before my mom left for CA. I'm so thankful she stayed with us for 3 weeks. It was fun showing her around D.C., seeing our new life, having her here when Jesse was out of town, and for us to just be together during the day! I am sad to see her go. Having your mom within a short drive is certainly a blessing. I will miss this. And I know my kids will miss their Papa and Mimi tons. We are thankful for the time in which we live- we can Skype, call, and make trips.

(Yes, my kids are still in their jammies.)

Good morning, little guy! I woke up finding this cutie under my kitchen sink. I didn't have the heart to do away with him, so I just let him free in the backyard. Aw...

Friends in Our Home :)

It's been a blessing to have people in our home! Now that we're a bit more settled, we're starting to host :)

Here's Maddie eating her ice cream under the table as the pastor's wives chat! She had a wonderful evening staying up late with us ladies.

The girls shared their first Dip Stick the other day- blue tongues and fun!

We had the Pinkston's over for dinner tonight, and the kids fished tadpoles out from our little pond. So much fun...

Maddie Pinkston even got to take a few home.

Everyone had fun playing on our swing set. We're so thankful for this home and yard. The weather is warm this week, so we're enjoying being outside even more.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Our family has always loved a Strawberry Spinach Salad. I made the dressing with Worcestershire Sauce, sugar, and a bunch of other ingredients and loved it. Well, our first night in NOVA, we had dinner at the Leach's home, and Laura made us a spinach salad with an alternative dressing that I just love.

As you can see, there's spinach, strawberries, chicken, and candied pecans. Here's the recipe for Laura's dressing:

Combine in a blender:

1/2 cup sugar
2 t salt
2 t dry mustard
2/3 cups vinegar
4 scallions, chopped.

Slowly add 2 cups canola oil.
Stir in 3 T poppy seeds.

This makes a generous 2&1/2 cups.

Enjoy! Spring is just about here :)

While Daddy is Away

First of all, here's a beautiful shot of the Capitol Building with the reflection of the sunset. The other day a friend took my mom and I on a driving tour of D.C.

While Jesse has been in CA this week, my mom and I are having fun! We've been walking with a new friend and her kids a few mornings, had a couple play dates with new friends, and even made a wreath for the front door!

I followed a wreath tutorial I found on Pinterest. Here's how it's done.

We also went to Old Town Alexandria for dinner the other night. You might be able to spot the Capitol Building far away in the background from the pier here in Alexandria.

Today was pretty special because we had our friend from CA, Kim Small, come visit us. Kim moved to VA a little over a year ago, and lives about an hour away from us now. We had a wonderful time catching up!

Both our husbands are at the Shepherd's Conference in CA, so we had an afternoon together!

Our Trip to the Capitol

Last Monday Julie (left) gave us a tour of the Capitol building. Julie goes to IBC, and is Senator DeMint's assistant. We are starting the tour in his office.

Here we are walking the underground tunnels. Aunt Jennifer, John and Lisa, Mom, Deb, Dad, and Aunt Dottie.

Here's an unusual view of the tower.

This white star on the floor is the architectural center of all of D. C. Everything in the city is built around this place.

Here is the Capitol's dome.

Another view...it's quite amazing!

We had a wonderful time going on the tour- thank you Julie!

That afternoon Papa did a little digging in the backyard.

Mimi and Maddie

Mimi is staying here until March 14, so we have some time left to play!

Of course, Madison wanted to help dig a trench.

Deb and I oversaw the whole plan from the deck :)

After a while Madison thought she could help by picking the daffodils and putting them in our little pond!

This week all the family went home except Mimi. My mom is staying with me as Jesse's goes to Shepherd's Conference this week.

Jesse's Installation Service

We had a glorious day Sunday celebrating our family's move to Immanuel Bible Church.

Michael Easley, who was the lead teaching pastor at IBC in the past, preached the installation service.

Here's a little video snapshot from the service: http://vimeo.com/37750901

We were completely surprised to find out that one of the elders at IBC asked John and Lisa Martin to come sing at the service. We were so excited to have them there. I was filled with tears all three services as they sang! John MacArthur also had a video trailer that was played in the morning. He was extremely encouraging towards Jesse and the church here.

All the music that morning was incredible!

The elders prayed and layed hands on us at the end of each service.

After church, we came home for lunch with all the family that came in from out of town. There was Deb, Dad, Mom, Aunt Jennifer, Aunt Dottie, Gale, Jim, Aunt Deb, Great Grandma and Great Grandpa, and Kevin Edwards. Kevin came to the morning services, stayed with us that afternoon, and prayed at the evening service- we were so glad to have him here!

Gigi put the finishing touches on the horse Grandpa made.

Can you believe Grandpa made this wooden rocking horse?! The girls absolutely love it.

That evening, there was another service where Jesse gave a devotional from Colossians 1. The Martins and others lead beautiful worship, my dad closed in prayer, and the church body all signed a Bible for Jesse.

After the evening service, we had a dessert reception in the atrium.

It was a wonderful day celebrating what God is doing in our lives and the life of this church. We are so thankful for our family making the effort to be here, and for this body of believers that have so warmly welcomed us.