Little Miss Naomi

Our niece Naomi Linnea Johnson was born on Saturday night. Congratulations Cam and Linnea!!! Since we live close by, we were lucky enough to be able to meet her when she was just a day old (actually less than that). Naomi is just adorable, already looks like her big sisters and is doing well.




But going back in time a bit...

We happened to be hanging out at Cam and Linnea's house on Saturday and this is the last family shot of the Johnsons pre-Naomi taken about 4 hours before she was born.

Praying together for the safe arrival of Naomi before Cam and Linnea went to the hospital. (I believe Linnea is having a contraction.)

And here's that little answer to prayer!

And the two extremely excited older sisters visiting Naomi for the first time (I didn't actually get a picture of them altogether though).

Me and Naomi

Matt holding Naomi for the first time

We love you Naomi!

Budding Trees

You know how I mentioned before that I have this compulsion to take random pictures? Well, yesterday I couldn't resist the beautiful colors of the green budding trees against the gray sky (the fact that I was taking the pictures during extra long stops at Stop signs is besides the point).

The contrast was more amazing that these pictures can capture but you get the idea. And with our less-than-favorable weather continuing here in Chicago, it's nice to at least see Spring even though we can't really feel it.

Loving Smoothies Lately

Smoothies are one of those things that are easy to forget but are worth remembering for sure! Simple, fast and nutritious...what more could you ask for? This is one of our go-to breakfasts in the Johnson household. Actually, it all started when my sister and I (another Johnson household) used to make them a ton together when we lived with them last year. Well, I guess the habit stuck.

Here are my suggestions:

I combine lots of frozen fruits (no need for ice, cause the frozen-ness works like ice too) with...

...some yogurt. I usually use some vanilla yogurt and kefir like this strawberry kind
(kefir is more liquidy so no need for extra milk either).

And you gotta have some bananas...makes every smoothie better.

There's really no need to add sugar cause the fruit and yogurt are sweet enough.

Yum!

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Is It Spring Yet? Try # 2

Remember a few weeks ago when I declared it was Spring? Well, it turns out I was wrong! We have unfortunately had awful weather in Chicago this week. It snowed over night on Sunday so we woke up to slush on Monday...shouldn't happen at the end of April! Then every day this week was cold, rainy/sleety and gross! But being from Chicago, I guess this sort of thing is somewhat expected.

But today it is sunny with a high of 64. Might not sound so great to some but to us it is wonderful! So I'm gonna go ahead and declare again that it is Spring! (Although I think I saw a 30 or 40 degree day thrown in the forecast this week.)

One of my favorite things about our place when we moved in over the summer were the huge trees out our window. The trees and their green leaves fill up our whole view on the East side windows and they bring lots of chirping birds...so I was super excited to see the little buds popping up again!

Johnson Cheesy Potatoes

When I posted on Matt's birthday dinner there was a request for the 'Johnson Cheesy Potatoes' recipe. First of all, the reason why I refer to them as 'Johnson Cheesy Potatoes' is because there are also 'Wallgren Cheesy Potatoes'.

Different styles. Both delicious. Impossible to choose. Johnson style recipe comes to you from Matt's aunt Terry's book of recipes "More Simply Delicious" and the recipe itself is credited to Matt's great-aunt, Shirley Brundage.



The Recipe:

• 8 medium potatoes
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
• 1 (8 oz.) sour cream
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt (or you can substitute fresh garlic, I used 2 minced cloves)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup cheddar cheese (or a bit more if you love cheese like me)

The Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Peel and boil potatoes until fork-tender. If using fresh garlic, add to pot with boiling potatoes.
3. Drain then mash potatoes with an electric mixer
4. Add the rest of the ingredients except for cheddar cheese. Beat until fluffy.
5. Pour into greased casserole dish and bake for 1 hour
6. Add the cheese on top for the last 10 minutes of baking

I mean, how can something with butter, sour cream and cheese be bad?