Are you back with your cocoa yet? I hope so because here we go!
We had a BIG year at the Johnson house. We added a fantastic member to our little (can I call it little still with 5 kids?) clan, baptized our oldest child, took the kids to Disney World, and figured out what in the world we will be doing once Wes finishes residency in June 2012. Read on to find out more!
Of course he has also stayed busy at home as a WONDERFUL dad and husband. Our kids all adore him and wait excitedly for his to get home each day. He takes the kids for bike rides around the Lake near our house and makes time to take them on individual Daddy Dates as much as possible! He was also (still) the Elder's Quorum President in our Ward throughout the year until last month when he was released. He is currently calling-free at Church, but the bishopric keeps telling me they need to meet with him...
I (Beckee) was busy as usual! But I got a little break and got to spend my birthday in September at Disney World with the family! I also got to spend a day in Disneyland with my parents and siblings before my sister Melanie left for her mission. And Wes and I went to Chicago for a week (with only the baby) where Wes was attending a conference. Oh vacations are wonderful! What Fun!!
I was the PTO Co-President at the kids' elementary school during the 2010-2011 school year. It was fun and busy and stressful all at once! Made more exciting by the fact we found out shortly before my school year officially started that I was pregnant with our 5th child. I continue to serve in the presidency of our Resident Family Support group-last year as Membership chair, and this year as the Playgroup co-director (again). I am still a primary teacher at church teaching the 6-7 year olds. Starting in January, I will be teaching Armour's class. They are a fun little crew with LOTS of energy.
I continue working hard on my deals blog which is gaining a nice following! You can check it out at beckeesdeals.blogspot.com. It will be PERFECT for all of you fine family and friends as it is "Ah...Deals...Beckee's Deals. Where the beautiful people come to score a deal!"
Solace was baptized on December 28, 2010. It was very special as we were able to baptize her in Utah with our families! It was so neat to see her choose to do that and to have so much family surrounding us! We rarely get that experience living so far from home which made it all the more special.
Solace is 9-years-old, in 3rd grade, and a super genius (a good friend of mine calls all my kids the "Baby Geniuses"). She is tall and seems all grown up. She and her friends are true "tweens" asking for things like makeup AND Barbies for Christmas. Solace tells me she loves reading, spelling, Volleyball (Which she played this year!), getting good grades, being with friends, snow (which we are lacking), family, swimming, The Nebraska Huskers and the Utah Utes. She says, "Happy Holidays!"
Ender is 7-years-old, in 2nd grade and unbelievably creative! He is recently obsessed with Pokemon and has made his own games and cards called "Endemon." They are pretty amazing! He also does quite well in school. He played football for the second year, and was (to quote his coach) "The emotional leader of the team." He is getting pretty great at football and will, I am sure, continue to improve! Ender tells me he loves Pokemon, football, drawing, reading, writing, homework, arts and crafts, decorating, and picking presents for people. He says he also likes making cupcakes.
My little blondie Armour is 5-years-old, in Kindergarten, and already does "mental math" faster than his mom (he's amazing!). He is reading like a pro these days! He played soccer this year and liked it a lot but really liked going to Ender's football games even more. He is pretty excited to play football next year and throws a mean spiral (for a 5-year-old). He is a funny guy and always keeps me on my toes! Armour tells me he likes Sonic Generation, anything Super Mario Brothers, Pokemon, playing dodge ball, going on bike rides with dad, running around, recess and playing Disc Golf.
Kindle is growing up so fast! She is 3-year-old now and is a peer model in a preschool through the school district here. She goes 4 days a week all morning long and loves it. Kindle says she is nice to her friends at school, loves her mom and dad, is nice to her brothers and sister and LOVES being Everest's big sister. She says she loves her baby dolls, decorating the tree, daddy dates, and even mommy dates, Everest, Caillou and most especially she LOVES the Nutcracker Ballet! She wishes there was snow so she could go out and play in it!
Everest Spencer Johnson is our newest family member! We were so pleased to welcome him to our happy family on March 29, 2011. He is awesome! And Huge! At 8 months old he is already 22 pounds and off the charts tall (cannot remember exactly how tall...). I guess we can only blame ourselves for giving him a name like Everest. He is crawling now and trying to walk. And he got his very first hair cut last week.
I still feel a little traumatized from the haircut. He looks SOOO grown up now!
I am sure your cocoa is cold by now, so I will sign off by saying how very, VERY grateful we are for this time of year when we get to reconnect with family and friends. And where we get to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ! What a wonderful feeling this time of year brings!
We hope this note finds you and yours well!
Lots of love,
Wes, Beckee, Solace, Ender, Armour, Kindle and Everest Johnson
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