Happy Birthday Rexy Poo!

Six years ago this week Rex was born in a small town in Russia. He was only 3 pounds 7 ounces but was a true fighter (he still is). Because of the unselfish acts of a young girl we were able to adopt him and make him a part of our eternal family. I often think of that young girl and I have a great love for her and I am grateful for the choice that she made. What would we do without our sweet boy?
From the first time we saw you Dad and I have been in love. You were so happy and smiley, how could we not. We knew from the first time we met you that you were meant to be in our family. What a joy you have been ever since. We love you so much Rex. We love all of the special letters you make us, we love how much you take care of and love Asher, we love that you are a good example of reverence for your younger brothers. You put a smile on our face every day. Thank you for being our little "Roger".

1st birthday2nd Birthday3rd Birthday4th Birthday5th Birthday6 years old

Thanksgiving with the Brown’s

For Thanksgiving this year we thought we would start a new family tradition. It turns out we are not the only ones with this tradition! We had quite the turn out. Funny I thought it would be an intimate little gathering:) I guess Walt's house was the place to be. We were glad we could make it. There were a few things missing....we missed you Jori, Adam, Trevor, Elizabeth, Tuff, Lauren & Katie!

The Johnson's before and after

I was looking at pictures of Asher when he was born and could not believe what a change he has made, so I thought I would share all of my families "growth".

Asher at 3 weeks when we got to take him home.

Asher today.

Jett In the Togliotti orphanage in Russia.

Rex in Sizran Orphanage in Russia.

This is the first time we met Them. (6 months).....and this is them now. Hard to believe they are the same boys. They sure are handsome.

And so we don't leave any one out and you can all get a good laugh...... this is Ryan and me when we got married.I know we haven't changed much:)

Asher's blessing day

We finally got to bless Asher last Sunday. It took us so long because every fast Sunday we had something going on. We were so glad that so many of our family and friends got to come down and be with us for Asher's special day.


Julie was nice enough to let us use the outfit that Ryan wore when he was blessed. I think he looked so cute in it.

Ryan got Asher ready and when he got to church his out fit was backwards and inside out. It added personality!

My Mom took these pictures, I think they turned out so good. Thank heavens for our traveling photographer. We think she is kind of neat:).

David Johnson, Chis Hill, Grandpa Johnson, Ryan, Asher, Papa Brown & Trevor. Thanks guys!

This is Asher's 3 generation picture.
We are so grateful for our sweet boy. We are so glad that he is a part of our family. He is such a joy. We love you baby Asher!

Because mullets are no longer in style....

Not that having a mullet made Asher less adorable, but as the hair person in the family I felt it my responsibility to make sure no male in my home had long flowing hair around his neck. Especially if the said person was bald except for around the neck. And so at 4 months old Asher gets his first hair cut. He was quite a champ about it too, until I started cutting:)










Asher sporting his first mullet.

Before after

Happy Birthday Gramma Luvlee

Happy Birthday Gramma! We wish we were with you. Here are some things we love about you.
Rex- "I love when you do nice things for me like letting me get snacks in your drawer I like when you read me books. I like your pirate ship and your bikes."
Jett- "I love when you have camp Gramma Luvlee and take me fishing. I like when she plays with me, I wish she could take me to the store and I wish she could come to our house so we could feed the ducks. I love the letter book she made me."
Mom, I love the good example you are to me of service and charity. When I grow up I want to be just like you. You make my kids feel special and loved. Thank you for all you do for us. We love you and hope you have a happy birthday.


This is Asher's present for you! He loves you too!!

With a little determination, dental floss and Grandpa Johnson...

When Rex sets his mind to something he is pretty persistent. One of his bottom teeth was a bit wiggly so him and Grandpa Johnson worked on that thing until it came out. I thought using dental floss was just for movies or books but apparently the Johnson's have been doing it this way for years! Works pretty good. Rex is now short one tooth. He looks great.


Jett tried to compete with the excitement and since he couldn't get any of his teeth to budge this was the best he could come up with!

Hi Jori!

Adam bought Jori a sassy new laptop so that she can keep in touch with the fam through the blogging world. Welcome Jor! Love you!

Ready or not.....

Just when you think you have some control over things you always get a reminder that your not the boss. In our case Asher was the boss and our well planned summer was not so smooth, but it was great! Even though it took me 7 weeks to post I do have a good excuse.

Our summer started out right on track. Ryan began studying for the bar and I began the count down for baby. We made a couple trips to the Valley and put an offer in on a house in the Red Mountain area. After many, many phone calls and working numbers over and over we finally were able to get financing figured out and our offer was accepted. We were supposed to close on the 21st of July which would work out perfect for us to move in after Ryan took the bar. I was bummed that I would be 8 months pregnant and not able to help much. Long story shortish, I got flown out of Show Low to the Valley with PIH and was on bed rest for three weeks. Thankfully our families stepped up and helped with the boys (I don't know what we would do without Cassie and Granny-Ryan's mom)Thanks to good friends and family coming to visit the time did not go too slow and I was able to get three more weeks of growing baby in. Asher was born on the 5th of July at 2:57 in the morning. He weighed 4lbs. 2oz. and was 17 inches long. After three weeks in the NICU we got to bring him home (one day before Ryan took the bar). He is doing great and at 7 weeks old weighs 7 pounds and is 20 inches long. We are all in love with him!

Asher chillin in the NICU. His pacifier is bigger than him.

Rex is so in love with his new brother. He was concerned that he looked like an old man when he was born. He loves holding the baby and asks to touch him every few minutes. He is the best big brother.
Jett is glad that his brother is here because he is glad his Mom is out of the hospital. He did not like being away from his Mom and Dad and would say he wanted to go back to Nebraska so we could live together. He can't wait for Asher to grow up so he can teach him baseball.
Asher going home, YEA!!!
Between hours of studying Ryan would take a break to come hold Asher. He could not have squeezed any more into his month.

We could not have made it this summer without our Mom's. Thank You Grandma Luvlee for your three weeks of getting me to and from the hospital, being our picture person and endless hours of sitting in the NICU and thank you Granny for making our boys summer a good one even if they did get a little spoiled and you went a little crazy:)! We love you guys!

We made it!

Well after three years of hard work Ryan has graduated (I am only one month late posting). I would have to say that Law school was not easy but also some of the best years we have had. We loved being in Lincoln and meeting such good friends and neighbors. The boys and I are so proud of Ryan and how dedicated he was to his studies. We are glad he is a smarty pants! As much as we will miss Lincoln it it so nice to be back in Arizona and close to family.!

In order for us to keep in touch with our Lincoln friends we have decided to give in and become members of the "blog world." This is a big step for me since I, up until this point, have been an anti-blogger. Lincoln has been such a great experience for our family. We will always have many fond memories and some of our favorite friends in Lincoln. I plan to post every six months at least.