Johnston Christmas Letter 2011

Merry Christmas 2011!

LIFE – Hmmmm, where to begin? Our lives are so full, and we continue to thank the Lord for the opportunities we’ve been given. The church continues to grow in many ways. We were able to add a youth pastor to our staff this past January (Woohoo!) and a junior high ministry to our weekly programming as well. I am still heavily involved in the women’s ministry and have been thrilled with the response to our weekly Bible studies. Jeff continues to lead and shepherd the church with excellence, and we are so thankful to be serving among such an amazing group of people. http://www.kvcommunitychurch.com

I am excited to say that our basement will be finished this year. And, yes, that’s a faith statement, but Jeff has been working diligently to get this completed. We cannot wait to have a finished rec room and office down there. I can feel my productivity increasing just thinking about it, and we’ll have more space for the toys that seem to keep multiplying!
We did a bit of vacationing this year which we love…In May, my mom and I took an AMAZING trip to Europe where we visited Italy, Greece and Turkey. Even now, months later, I find it difficult to describe everything we saw! Let’s do it again, Mom! Then in August, our family was blessed to be able to vacation here in Ontario with dear friends of ours from Florida. We loved staying at the Great Wolf Lodge and doing Canada’s Wonderland until we dropped from exhaustion. Let’s do it again, Tremels!

LOVE – (our children, of course!)
Carter is 8 now and is ignoring my desperate pleas that he stop getting older. We are still waiting for him to lose his baby teeth, so at least his teeth are listening to me! He continues to read incessantly, and will play his DSi as long as he is allowed (and sometimes more, ahem.) He is in Grade 3 this year and is realizing that school is getting harder each year. He is having to work on his organization skills for sure! He loves having sleepovers with his best friend, Spencer and it is so fun to watch him interact with all his friends… He is pure LIGHT to us.

Mykah is 4 ½ and not so little anymore. She is unbelievably helpful and would be happy to cook all the meals around here. Daily I hear, “What are we making today, mom?”. She took her first dance class this fall and loved it, especially her dance outfit. She started Junior Kindergarten and goes to school Tuesdays and Thursdays and every other Monday, which she really enjoys. It’s official that I’ve been training her well – she asked me recently, “Why can we go to Target again?” (Oh, I LOVE IT!!!!)… She is pure JOY to us.
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AND OTHER MYSTERIES –
We got a puppy! His name is Harley and he is a golden retriever/chocolate lab mix. While he is a wonderful dog, I am still trying to figure out how we went to the church for our annual Fall Festival and came home as dog-owners! (Pray for me!) Carter now says, “Every day is the happiest day of my life” (How can we NOT keep Harley after that?!). Mykah says “We love Harley, but we are still getting used to him.” (Did I mention she often sounds like me?!)

We are also almost through the quite lengthy process of becoming foster parents with the Children’s Aid society here in Hamilton. We will be taking in babies and toddlers (one at a time!) and are looking forward to sharing the gift of our family with children in need. Apparently our new family motto should be “Let the chaos in!”  You can keep up with us throughout the year at http://www.everydayspectacular.com – my irregularly updated blog.

We are trying to live this Scripture, one that we also pray for you… “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

At Christmas and always, we pray God’s richest blessings over your life!
Love: Jeff, Carrie, Carter & Mykah Johnston…and Harley