Love

Family Day March 2016

March 20, 2016March 24, 2016by Sheridan Johnson16 Comments

ewq

Today, was definitely not a planned day to the tee, like our usual monthly meetups are. Shane and I were suppose to get our fencing in from Lowes today (we are putting a fence around the front of the yard for the foster/adoption rules/regulations) and of course Lowes forgot some pieces and so we couldn’t complete it today (But that was our intent–to spend today as a family building our fence).

Instead, we spent time with the kids playing (the kids played SO much), and just loving each others company. My parents and my Aunt Sylvia came down from Lockhart and my brother, his wife, and their kids came down from Austin.

I thought I was completely insane to have a family day, on a day that I was coming back from such an emotional womens retreat (Haven of Hope), but that was exactly what I/we needed. God knew I needed to be around those who love me unconditionally, and those who have walked this journey with me, and I loved every minute of it.

We went and bought Easter eggs/candy/baskets for the kids and let them have at it! They loved every minute of it and I couldn’t believe only a few hours with them, would fill my heart so much.

In loving honor of my children, here are the family photos from today:

celebration, Family

11 years down…

March 12, 2016by Sheridan Johnson1 Comment

I cannot believe Shane and I have been dating for 11 years!! Where in the WORLD has all the time gone??

So much as happened that I feel like I want to take a trip down memory lane for my lovely readers!

2005- The year we met and became “official”, I was a little 16 year old teenager, and he was the “older man” (lol), 17, and about to graduate HS.

2006-I drove 5 hours to go visit Shane at Cisco Junior college and spent the night in the boys dorms.. um gross! lol

2007-I graduated HS, went to Shane’s first family reunion (and was SO overwhelmed by the amount of people in his family).

2008- Still doing our long-distance relationship, and met up more times this year and than ever before.

2009- We got engaged a week before I turned 21, and realized that romantic dates involving kayaking, canoeing, or paddle boats, were not so fun.

2010- We got married!! 10-10-10!

2011-We got pregnant with Lamar!

2012- We lost our precious baby boy.. 07-14-2012. I also graduated RN school 12-12-12.

2013- We welcomed our baby girl Brielle 06-14-2013.

2014- We welcomed our precious Rochelle 11-06-2014 and she passed away 1-07-2015.

2015- We bought our first house!

2016- We got certified/approved to foster/adopt!

We actually just got through with our 3 hour home study!! Hopefully everything went well, and we will be adding to the Johnson family soon!! 🙂

We have been through so much in our lives, but we have remained together through thick and thin because God has a plan for the both of us, and our lives together. We were meant to be together, and take this journey through life with one another.

Please join us in prayer as we leap into this journey with foster or adoption and open our hearts to help another child in need.

20160312_195306 — Beautiful flowers Shane got me!! 🙂

Snapchat-6458660289233835100 — Family love!

20160311_200426-01 — Daddy/Daughter love!

children, parenting, photography, Pictures

February 27, 2016March 9, 2016by Sheridan Johnson2 Comments

So precious!
Harmony

Family, grief, growth, loss, monthly update, photography, remember, Rochelle

3 6 5

January 7, 2016January 7, 2016by Sheridan Johnson10 Comments

1 YEAR, 12 MONTHS, 365 DAYS, 8760 HOURS, 525,600 MINUTES, 31,536,000 SECONDS

That’s how much time has passed since Rochelle has passed away. It’s crazy to think that I have made it to this point in my life, and in my grieving process.

In the beginning of this journey, I went through some pretty tough times accepting what all truly happened. I didn’t know how I could have grasped everything that occurred, in such a short amount of time. It wasn’t until I sat down and typed everything up with what truly happened in the moments after her death, that I had to stop and think about how I was feeling.

I had a lot of anger that just harbored within, and at that time I got rid of some much stuff (I still regret giving everything away, some stuff I definitely could have kept)! I didn’t want to see anything that had Rochelle’s name written on it, and I wanted it gone. I was hurt, and in a lot of pain. It took me time to actually go through all of her items, and keep only the special ones. I could feel myself falling deeper into a hole around the three month mark. I had very poor self esteem, and I just didn’t think anything good/positive. I remember having to just pull it together for Brielle’s 2nd birthday party. I tried so hard to be “in the moment” but I just couldn’t. I remember the guilt kicking in, around month seven, and I was hurting so much.

It wasn’t until month eight, that I could see myself turning my negative outlook around, and appreciating everything that God had given us. I loved that I wrote my farewell letter to her through poetry. She was my inspiration to explore deeper and profound feelings for my love of writing.

Somehow, I got the sign I longed for, and that was for God to give me hope again. To listen to myself and my heart, and do that I truly love to do. I started peak an interest in photography, and I loved celebrating her first birthday, and being able to capture it. I loved knowing that she was celebrating with Jesus, among all people, and her brother Lamar. The only word that I could find to describe that feeling is pure magic.

I believe I am a place right now, that I would have never thought possible, just one short year ago. I have many downs, but a lot of ups as well, and with God, family, and friends, we have somehow made it to this day, a year later, January 7th, 2016. Please continue to pray for healing and growth with our family, and that we continue to share Rochelle’s journey, for a lifetime to come.

Here are some of my favorite pictures, ever.