Musings on a Sunday Afternoon

2008 already piles up as days in the past and still we haven't taken the time to update our blog much lately. Fortunately, we are not possessed with such a fan base that we need to update our lives on a regular basis for fear that some will lose interest and drop out. We praise the Lord for that and especially thank You for faithfully praying for us and taking a part of our lives.

Here is a quick rewind for you on what has transpired in our house over the last two/three weeks:

December 16th: Christmas program at Grace and Truth in Aurora, MN and Christmas with the Ortlers. A fun time was had by all, as evidenced by Luke and Denise's face.

December 17th: I Passed!! Yep, that's right. The EMT course came to a close and I was on the positive side of the passing line. Praise the Lord. Many have mentioned to us that they were praying, etc. Thanks!

December 19th: We headed south for Christmas in Western Nebraska. All of Jon's family except Arnie were able to be together for a few days sledding, playing games, watching a lot of fun movies, and tearing up the bathroom. (Something we generally do not recommend doing on Christmas Eve! We did get it put back together again before we left though.) It was Alethia and Anneka's first Christmas and Aiden and Taliah played the bells at a local nursing home service. We love being able to spend time with our families, time that is more precious this year than in years past as we face our soon departure for Brazil (Lord willing this coming spring). Jason, our brother in law, told us to take lots of pictures of the girls so that we could post them on the blog as this will probably be their last chance to appear on our blog. . . I'm sure it won't be the last time but I have included a few anyway.

December 27th: With the van pointed due north and the drivers doing so carefully due to the hockey surface that was Nebraska Highway 71, we spent a day visiting friends in the panhandle before winding up in Hot Springs. It was a good weekend in the Southern Hills with our only disappointment being the snow storm in Chicago that kept Pastor Matt from getting home in time for us to see him. It was a lot of fun to see a lot of people over the weekend.

Since then: Our general goal for the last week has been the preparation of our home for the soon coming addition to the family. Denielle continues to enjoy good health and very few complications and we praise God for this. As the months have turned into weeks and now we find ourselves thinking about it as days, we have found great confidence in the wisdom of God's sovereign hand and abundant provision.

Here is a quick run down of the photos in this post, left to right, top to bottom: Luke and Denise grimace over Christmas; Jon and Denielle get lost in the great expanse of the high plains; Debra enjoys the moment; Jared enjoys the deep snow; Michael and Dayna; Aneka and Alethia; the certificate of completion; Taliah and Aiden play the bells; Denielle enjoys a snooze (in a hammock, under blankets); Philip, Elizabeth, Abi, Jon, and Andrew; the Seven Sisters in White; The Johnson Clan minus Arnie.