Who had Who for Christmas 2011

Hello all:
I thought everyone might enjoy (especially those who couldn't be with us) seeing the list of who had who for the sock exchange.  If you have not opened your sock gifts yet you may not want to read any further.   Here it is, I think it is correct.

Grandpa     Chris shopped
Grandma    Kurtis shopped
Randy        Samuel shopped
Pam            Grandpa shopped
Sarah         Dave shopped
Dan            Grandma shopped
Olivia         Vicki shopped
Mary          Cassi shopped
Kurtis         Tim G shopped
Charles       Hannah shopped
Dave           Andrew shopped
Cassi           Randy shopped
Adelynn     Sarah shopped
Tim S           Olivia shopped
Vicki            Pam shopped
Hannah       Kate shopped
James          Charles shopped
Andrew       Auntie shopped
Erik               Dan shopped
Samuel         Adelynn shopped
Tim G            James shopped
Auntie          Mary shopped
Kate              Tim S shopped
Chris             Erik shopped

Happy New Year
Love
Auntie

Merry Christmas from the Givan House
This post was inspired by Kate.  She recently read an article about family Christmas trees and ornaments.  It said that ornaments can tell a families history.  Here is some of our history.  Enjoy.

This year Chris had a tree at his Eco House.  It is pretty cool and just decorated with whatever they could find.  Have fun looking for common household items (and not so common) in the pictures below.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Love Auntie

Merry Christpostmas

Holiday Greetings to all from the Johnston household!

Charles here, writing for Mom and Dad and of course ME!

For those of you who are not able to be in our company this Christmas, Mom Dad and I thought it might be nice to have a special blog post that includes some highlights from our season so far.

Of course, you cannot separate the Johnston Christmas traditions from our outdoor display. The set-up changed this year although the religiously themed decor remains on 12th street at the front of the house facing the church. We were pleasantly surprised this year to have people stopping and commenting on the decorations as we were setting them up. We think they're pretty special and it is nice to know that people appreciate them too.

Next, I had the privilege of traveling to NYC this year to celebrate my graduation from Kansas State. It was a lot of fun spending the time watching shows and seeing the Christmas season in a New York state of mind. In addition to all the activities, Dad, Tim Shook and I got to spend quite a bit of time with Mary and Kurtis and I played Santa Claus by bringing all of their Christmas goodies from Kansas to their apartment in Brooklyn (note their "Christmas Tree" behind Kurtis). We left NYC having had a backstage tour of Radio City Music Hall where we saw some of the key players in the live nativity.

But the highlight of every Christmas holiday is getting to spend time with family and friends. Love to all and Merry Christmas.

Charles

Almost 2012

It looks like this could be the last post of 2011! Where did this wild year go? We have had so many personal ups and downs, learning opportunities and reflection time. We have come so far in this year alone and even life’s events right now are no exception. At this moment, my Grandpa is clinging to life in the hospital. He has gone from good to bad in minutes, then right back up again, shocking doctors. Brain bleeds have started and stopped simply miraculously. Saying goodbye to someone who has lived a long, fulfilling life, complete with a romantic 66 year marriage, should give a person many words to say. But in moments like that, words tend to leave the mind. On Wednesday, we truly believed he had hours to live. We all said our goodbyes. Before I walked into that room to tell him goodbye, I could think of all the things I wanted to talk to him about. I wanted to tell him how awesome Heaven is going to be, what a good job we are going to do taking care of my Grandma and that it is really okay to go ahead and go. But as soon as I walked in, words escaped me. The poorly constructed sentences I blurted, paled in comparison to the thoughtful words I had formed perfectly in the waiting area. I found myself standing over his still, peaceful body, choking back tears and trying to put syllables together. I knew what I really meant and what I truly wanted to say, but when a soon-to-be-widow of 66 years is sitting there listening with tears quietly falling down her cheeks, and a supportive husband’s hand comforts heaving shoulders, the silence is almost too loud to think. That was definitely the most real and profound moment of the year. Life is short, so tell those around you that you love them and do it as often as you can.

All is Calm…

On a happier note, this year has also been a year of miracles. Mainly recently, off the top of my head I can think of 3 that have occurred in our lives since September. The power of prayer has been so real to us this year.

Every day this year has been a learning experience. We are learning to parent a toddler, balance money in a new way, balance time, re-divide responsibilities, balance family and friends and knowing when we need to have time for just ourselves. We are beginning to look ahead to the future; from our future family, to future home projects, to vacations, to the next new dinner recipe. We are learning to look to the past and have fond memories of it, and maybe not so fond memories, but they all were the ones that brought us to this place. We are relishing the present – as always. We enjoy our evenings together and our short weekends as a family. We are gaining new responsibilities – which means Adelynn is gaining learning opportunities. We are making new friends – which means Adelynn is doing the same.

Sorry for the somberness of this post, this is an unusual time for us right now.

However, we enjoyed Christmas with everyone! I found one picture on my camera.

Our camera broke right when we got to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. It’s just my luck that way, I always forget my camera, and the one time I am proud for remembering it, it breaks. Moral of that paragraph: I really am the reason we can’t have nice things!

In honor of the Christmas spirit, I have included some pictures from the Parents As Teachers Christmas party!

Sniffing the holiday scented cotton balls. Cinnamon, Peppermint, Gingerbread, etc.

Riding the “Sleigh” with Leyton. He’s a buddy from play group. You can’t tell from the pictures, but she had fun and would been a passenger the whole evening!

Playing in the “snow”.

It was pretty fun!

She was very concerned and had to make sure she cleaned up any of the “snow” that fell out

Then she had a cookie while we stood in line to see Santa.

Santa was not a favorite… not even Mrs. Clause!

But she was safe once again

Have a Merry Christmas!! Love you all!

Hello everyone:

Thanks again to everyone who helped to make Hannah and James wedding so special. I thought I would share what we did the week before. I hope to have pictures loaded at some point in the future:)

Tim was in Ariz for school meetings so he didn't join us until Monday. The rest of us met in Tulsa so that Erik could show Hannah and Andrew his "new life". We enjoyed a tour of the campus. All of the kids then went to the Colin and Brad show for the evening. I guarded "THE DRESS" and the dog in the motel room.

During the week we ran errands, finished gathering things, etc. Hannah and James opened some wedding gifts. And Ember smiled as she had everyone gathered up - at least for a short while.

Wednesday evening we went to Tim's cousin, Pat's house. Quite the nice place. The ladies made Thanksgiving food in the kitchen and the guys practiced wedding music in the parlor/dining room.

Thanksgiving day we went to a ranch which belongs to James's mother's cousin. Lots of room to walk in the "hill country" which reminded me of the pasture except that it is not flat. Everything is so dry there, we even walked in the river bed. We ate in a big open building that had a kitchen at one end. Erik enjoyed playing with one of their dogs as he can jump almost straight up and quite high as you will be able to see in the picture.

Since returning from Texas, we have been getting ready for Christmas. And so we will plan to see most of you on the 18th. Love Vicki

Charles' Graduation!

Four generations attended Charles' Masters Graduation at KSU on December 9, 2011. We are proud of his accomplishments. Here are a few photos of the event.

Happy Holidays

Today it was 26 degrees with a wind chill of 6 degrees so it really feels like winter has arrived.

I thought it might be a good day to finish my shopping and it was quite pleasant. Seems like most people decided it was too cold to be out so the crowds were very slim. No pushing or shoving to get to the sales. One could move at your own pace and not have to hurry.

Grandpa worked at the Friends Shop and he saw very few customers too.

Not a lot has happened here this past week since the bus trip to Austin. I think the saying no

news is good news does apply sooo.... I am sending a few trivia questions and maybe a couple more pictures if I am lucky enough to get them in!!

1. Who was the name of Scrooge's dead business partner?

2. What Christmas food is made from "marsh-whorts"?

3. In which author's novel is it "always winter but never Christmas"?

4. Who wrote the poem, "The Cultivation of Christmas Trees"?

(maybe more pictures next time, I think I need another lesson on how to )