HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Okay...so I didn't get to the annual Christmas letter this year. Thought I might just be able to let it go for a year. Nope. Decided instead to do a New Year's letter. Then made an even more challenging decision by opting to post it to my blog and Facebook rather than mailing it out. Those of you who know me really, really well know that this took much thought and consideration. Breaking not only one, but two Christmas traditions was quite a decision.

Anyway...on to summing up 2008 at the Johnson house. It's been quite a year...sort of all over the place...nothing ever really felt "settled." There have been some setbacks, some surprises and through it all, very much to be happy and thankful for. Here's how it all played out for us:

In March we took our first real family vacation. Seems like all our trips have always been for something other than vacation and we try to squeeze in a few extra days for some fun and relaxation. This year, however, we headed for San Diego during Spring Break at the end of March. It was FUN! We were gone for Easter and spent Easter Sunday on the beach, playing in the sand and swimming in the ocean. Parker and Faith loved the waves and used little plastic Easter eggs to dig in the sand. We soaked up plenty of sunshine, met wonderful people from many parts of the country and enjoyed our time as a family...just the four of us.

Parker finished third grade in the spring and started fourth grade this fall. He continues to love school. His favorite subjects are math and science, although he seems to enjoy it all. Throughout the year he played basketball, baseball (his first year of kid-pitch) and football. The summer found him at the park right next to our house playing with the many boys in our neighborhood. His hobbies include Star Wars (Scott is so proud), Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokemon, Chaotic, Bakugan and of course anything and everything related to the computer (again...Scott is so proud) or video games, especially his Nintendo DS. He recently celebrated his tenth...yes TENTH!...birthday. Can't believe he's into double digits, already! In October Parker found out he needed glasses and he was NOT happy! However, once he realized that he could actually SEE with them on, he was thrilled with them! Now he feels lost without them. Parker continues to keep us laughing with his jokes and his humor. He had his eyes checked in October and other than needing glasses, all is healthy with his eyes. He's growing faster than we can keep up, as is his appetite and his food selections. Scott beams with pride when he sits next to Parker at a restaurant and hears him order ribs! Like father, like son. Parker is a great kid and really fun to be around!

Faith is our five-year-old little princess, through and through! She is in preschool three mornings per week this year and like her brother, she LOVES school! She especially likes learning her letters and numbers and was very proud to show us the other day that she can count to "69." She is proud to bring home her artwork from school and she can hardly wait to do her "homework." She played soccer this summer and says she wants to be a soccer player when she grows up...oh...and a mom. She loves her Barbie's, princesses, puzzles, the color pink and "helping" mommy. This summer she learned to ride a two-wheeler...no more training wheels for Miss Faith! She received a very early (almost a year-and-a-half early) visit from the Tooth Fairy this summer after playing too rough and knocking out her front tooth...root and all! Let's just say that our little Faithy keeps us all on our toes! After a visit to Mayo Clinic in Rochester during the month of October, Faith's eyes continue to be stable. She does not have vision in her left eye but the right is hanging in there. God has continued to have his hand over her through all of her health issues. What Faith lacks in vision she makes up for in "spunk." She is sweet and funny and like her brother, fun to be around!

Our two four-legged family members continue to add so much joy to all of our lives. "Player" is now three years old and "Max" is a year-and-a-half. "Player" loves to play ball and snuggle. He sleeps with Scott and I, down under the covers by our feet. "Max" is the larger of the two...even though he's the "baby." He thinks he's a lap dog and is the more vocal of the two of them. He likes to "talk" to us and often has a LOT to say. He starts out sleeping with us, too, on the pillows in between us, but then quickly moves to the floor. Right now, as I type, both dogs are sleeping and "Max" is under my desk snoring so loud I can hardly think. Every morning both dogs get to ride along when we take Parker to school. They can hardly wait to get out the door and into one of our vehicles. "Max" starts voicing his desires to go for a ride about 15 minutes before we need to leave and he doesn't let up until it's time to go. He's been known to pull on shirt sleeves to help move us along, while "Player" waits patiently in the living room, just waiting for someone to say, "Let's go!" On Saturday mornings it's not uncommon to have everyone...kids and dogs...in our bed playing and enjoying...as Parker calls it...a "bed party."

Scott has had an interesting year. He continues to teach the junior / senior high kids at our church as well as being the Den Leader for Parker's Cub Scout group, Sunday School teacher for the third and fourth graders at our church and he's the vice-chair of our church's Administrative Council. On June 3, Scott had surgery to remove three more very large lypomas (benign tumors) and also a small cyst on his back. The tumors were successfully removed, although they required drainage tubes for a week, and he healed up quickly. The cyst, however, turned out to be cancer. Leiomyosarcoma (LMS). This one caught us off guard. First of all, LMS is very rare. Second, it's even more rare to have LMS where Scott had it...on his back. It is typically a smooth muscle cancer. Although all the cancer was successfully removed during surgery, it was not within the "margin of error" that the doctor preferred. So, at the end of June, Scott had surgery again to remove more skin from the surrounding area where the cancer was found. Thankfully he did not require treatments but hearing he had cancer again for the fourth time just really hit him...us...hard. It was...and still is...difficult to comprehend and understand. Scott was hit hard again when the company he worked for laid him off at the end of August. After several months of being unemployed, we had pretty much resigned to the fact that there would be no news of a job before Christmas. Ahhhh...how wrong we were. On the Friday before Christmas, Scott was offered a consult-to-hire position at United Health Group in Minnetonka. It was the early Christmas present we had been hoping and praying for. As always...God guided, God protected, God led.

I guess I'm next on the list. Not much new...and since I'm usually behind the camera...no recent photos. I'm still enjoying my job as wife and mother. We discussed me going to work...or more honestly, felt pressure from others...for me to go to work. But after much thought, consideration and prayer, our kids come first. It would change what Parker and Faith know and need and what we want for them. I DO have a job...my family. So, I am trying to keep home what it needs to be for all of us...a place of comfort and peace...minus a few cranky days here and there. I, too, teach Sunday School at our church to the four and five year olds and continue to be on our church worship team. On Friday mornings I volunteer in Parker's classroom. In January I discovered a new hobby...blogging. A friend of mine encouraged me to give it a try and I've been hooked ever since. This same friend encouraged me right before Christmas to try Facebook and now I'm competely hooked on that. I have "met" new people and have found a way to finally express myself through writing. Feel free to stay connected and up-to-date with the Johnson family by visiting us on my blog at www.sjpfjohnson.blogspot.com or on Facebook.

We received a holiday letter this year referencing all the "downs" of 2008...bad economy, high gas prices, a country and world of discontent. Really? Is that what defines your 2008? I hope not. Hopefully the year held much to be thankful for in lean times. Hopefully you were blessed with good health and happy memories with family and friends. Hopefully you saw light at the end of what others saw as only a dark tunnel. Hopefully your children, or your grandchildren or any child...made you smile and see something differently because you saw it through their eyes. Hopefully you found contentment in what many felt to be a world of discontent. Hopefully you felt God's hand over you...over your family...through every up and down that came your way in 2008. So at the start of another new year, may peace, happiness, joy and love be with you and your family. May you feel the presence of God through it all, and may your 2009 be filled with endless possibilities of hope and thanksgiving for all the blessings that God has and will continue to bestow upon you.

From our home to yours...hope you had a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for a Happy New Year!





Love,
The Johnson's
Scott, Jeanine, Parker, Faith, Player and Max