Happy Halloween!

Cookie time!

Last weekend when Roger was on call we made cookies.

Jena loved helping make the cookies. We made chocolate and peanut butter chip cookies, a Williams family favorite.

Lily decided to supervise from her highchair. She is a manager in the making.

The fruits of our labor.

Jena did well for a little while making the little balls for the cookies. Then she decided to make a monster cookie instead. Every time I gave her more dough she just put in the big cookie. So I baked it just like that.

Here she is with her masterpiece. She said it was for Daddy. She and Roger later shared it.

Here it is next to a normal sized cookie.

Little Mommy

Jena has a baby doll she was given by my uncle and his girlfriend last year for Christmas. She is her favorite toy and she spends a lot of time taking care of her. She often takes Lily's diapers for the baby and has two bottles to feed her with.

Our new puppy

No, we didn't get another dog. My Aunt Janelle sent towels for the girls after Lily was born. A bunny for Lily and a puppy for Jena. Jena loves her towel and asks for it every time she takes bath. She runs are the house barking like a puppy.

Jena's 1st field trip

We went on Jena's first field trip with St John's preschool a few weeks ago. We went to a local farm and saw all sorts of animals. Here are some cows we saw from the wagon ride.

Here is Jena getting ready to learn about the animals with the Nelson kids and their mom, Rebecca.

Here the farmer is telling the kids about all the different animals on the farm.

Jena was very interested in the animals.

Caden, Piper and Jena decided to get a better view.

And on that farm he had a pig. Eeye, Eeye, Oh!

They made homemade ice cream in the farm and Jena really liked that best of all.

Side by Side comparison

Lily 3 months Jena 3 months

Everyone has comments on how much the girls look alike, and they do. So I thought I'd put up both three month pictures so everyone could compare. They do look a lot alike, but each has her own unique look. The one thing we noticed right away is that Jena always had more hair which was already turning blond at birth.

Homecoming

I talked to my sister-in-law this morning and my brother, Ben, is in Kuwait. He is on his way home! Just in case Al Qaeda reads my blog, I won't give all the details. But he will be home by the end of the week.

Lily 3 months

Lily is three months old today. She is growing so fast and learning new things everyday. Recently she had found her feet and is laughing out loud. She and Jena just love each other and are so cute together.

Lily's photo shot

We went for Lily's three month pictures today. It was a slow start and we had to stop so I could feed her. But the end result was good. Click on the collage above to see a larger version of the pictures. I have also post them to our family pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/Roger.S.Wms/lily3months.

Myrtle Beach

We went to Myrtle Beach in September for Roger's residency retreat. We had alot of fun. Here are a few of our pictures. The rest are at http://picasaweb.google.com/Roger.S.Wms/Beach.

This is Clara, the daughter of some of our friends here at Fort Bragg. She is 3 weeks younger than Lily.

Roger and Jena hanging at the beach.

Jena thought it would be fun to be buried in the sand. She thought the whole thing was funny.

Jena (in the sand) with Hannah and Morgan.

Rewind to Denver

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Denver. The rest can be seen on our family pictures website.

Jena discovered a new thing on this trip, the Shirley Temple. Roger ordered some for her during the rehearsal dinner and reception. She thought it was fun to drink a "grown up" drink.

These are my cousins' daughters. Meghan on the left is my cousin Georgia's and Jordan on the right is my cousin Tanya's.

My cousin, Blythe, were her dad, my Uncle Bill.

My birthday was a few days after the wedding, so on Sunday they had a cake for me. I can't remember the last time I had a family birthday. Here I am with my uncle and grandma.

Me and my Johnston cousins, the ones that were present at least. 5 couldn't make it, including my little brother Ben who is still in Iraq.

Here is the whole family.

Four generations of Johnstons.

Here is Jena with Jordan, my cousin Tanya's daughter. Tanya and I are just six months apart in age. We always thought our kids would be the same age! Jordan is really good with the girls though and Jena adores her.

Fayetteville in the news, again...

I hate posting this, but since it has made the national news and this is how I communicate with all of my friends and relatives far away I felt I had to.

http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=306363

Another female solider was killed in Fayetteville, and her husband has been arrested. I hate that this makes the national news when domestic violence in non-military families does not. For those wondering, yes we live near where this happened but we are safe as this was an isolated incident. I don't want anyone to worry about us. Fayetteville is about the same as any other town but because of the base our problems make the news more.

All my Octobers

As most of you know, I am not a girly girl and have never really cared for the color pink. But for October I'm going pink (http://pinkforoctober.org/) and this blog will be pink.

Growing up October meant The World Series and Halloween. It was also the month my Grandma Counsell lost her battle with breast cancer, shortly before Halloween in 1979. So I thought it was appropriate when they made October Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I was 5 years old when she died, my dad was not quite 30. I have happy memories of the time we spent together, but I didn't get to know her as an adult. And I learned more about her after she was gone than I did when she was alive. She was diagnosed before my older brother was born and was grateful to see some of her grandchildren. She fought the disease for 10 years . She didn't get to meet Abby, Lydia, Katia or Grecia. She didn't see her youngest daughter get married.

So this month, Go Pink. And every month, do a self breast exam. And if you are over 40, get a mammogram once a year. Earlier if you have a family history of early cancer. Early detection is key. And don't think it can't happen to you, 80% of those who have breast cancer have no family history of the disease.

http://nbcam.org/
http://ww3.komen.org/home/