We are not only sprinting to the end, we are on a dead run! William is one of the remarkable people we have met lately. Notice how he must sit almost doubled over in the front seat in class. He sits near the front because his hearing is not good. It would be wonderful for him to have a set of hearing aids, but those kinds of things are not for the average person in the Philippines. William was given some type of drug when he was younger to slow his growth. Instead of slowing his growth it curved his spine. He has a very difficult time walking and sitting is even a problem. He is amazing.

What a great week!

<--------- Elder Richards and I SkimBoarding in the Massive rain ponds outside our apartment!

Jaime Brousseau

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Is That a COUNTDOWN? I think someone is getting a little TRUNKY!!

Mission memories!!

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Lissa and her two daughters. The one on the right is getting baptized in April. They have changed their lives all the way around and now she's a WARD missionary! The church is true!!

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Burning a shirt, tie, and pants to represent 18 months, 1 year, and 6 months in the mish! just a tradition. I'm a little late, but oh well! 21 month mark will do i guess! Boys will be boys!

Elder Whipple and I

SNOW IN TEXAS. It doesn't happen often, but It does happen. This was the first time in a LONG time that texas has gotten SNOW! Don't worry it covered the ground and melted in the same night!! Gotta love TEXAS

Kim and Joe's Yard Sale Christmas!!

(I hope Kim doesn't mind if I share this from an e-mail. I loved it. Mom)

I just read the "haircut" episode. I laughed soooo hard!!! I am reminded of Elder Worthlins talk this past conference. He mentioned the importance of laughing in situations like that instead of getting so uptight and reacting in anger. Klay is a perfect example! What a fun couple.

We had a great Christmas. In October I got this idea to have a yard sale Christmas. Since it is warm basically year round here there are always great yard sales on Saturday to go to. I have enjoyed going out with the kids and finding great deals so I decided that this year I would buy Christmas presents at yard sales. Might sound a little quirkey but it was fun! And I spent less than $100 on Christmas--except for the family Santa gift which I bought on ebay :-) Joe was a good sport about it. He always seems to guess or find or know somehow what I am going to give him for Christmas. This year I got him! Christmas morning after everything was opened he said, "You know, I never in a million years would have guessed that I was going to get a set of elephant book ends from Vietnam that were 70 years old." I finally did it! A surprise Christmas present!

Those Stripling Warriors!

Armed with the Word of God and great confidence!

"Maraming Bulo"

Dear family,

We are so proud of all of you for going to Utah and helping Grandma and Grandpa Johnson with repairing, fixing, cleaning and visiting. You are wonderful!! We are "maraming bulo"--puffed like a ball--with pride of each one of you. I can almost hear Grandma telling everyone that comes to the house about her worker children.

Dad thinks I hang with the natives a little too much. What do you think!!

I have a whole new appreciation for "building codes." We came upon this structure on our way to Banaue. Believe it or now, it is a little gift shop/residence. It takes courage to stand in the overhang, but we have courage.

Also, a recent picture of Dad, standing in the wind. Isn't he handsome?

We love you all and pray for you by name--daily! Now, be good and do good.

Mom

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson

On December 6 the whole Johnson Clan headed down to Provo to help Grandma and Grandpa Johnson get a few things taken care of before winter and to help get the Christmas decorations up. It was so fun to see them and, even though I think all the people wore them out, they were happy for the company. Grandma had even arranged for lunch that was like a Thanksgiving feast! Even though we told her we would take care of it there was ham, rolls, potatoes, corn, and jello waiting at the lunch table for all of us.
Grandpa is 96 and grandma is 87 and they still live in their home and take care of each other! What wonderful people they are! It's amazing to hear their stories and just be around them. It's hard to catch a picture of grandpa since he hates having them taken, so this is the best we could do. :)Grandpa has been working on his fence for 8 years because it has been falling over. The men took it into their own hands and completely tore it down and rebuilt it. Doesn't it look great?Boys will be boys :) Who knew a wheelchair could be so much fun?Kim and Kaelyne put the lights on the tree and then Lexi and Callie decorated it. Grandma was so excited to tell her visiting teachers that her two 8 year old grandaughters decorated it for her. All the babies that "helped" so much! (Ellie, Avrie, Harley, Grace) But grandma loved seeing them and holding them.
Everyone for one last picture at the end of a hard working day. What a fun day it was!

New Baby

Jodi and JD's beautiful baby boy. The girls and I went and took some pictures to post so Grandma and Grandpa Johnson and those not in IF could see the new baby.

Beautiful Port Lavaca Beach

Our district right after playing a little Beach Volleyball!!!

Miracle Baptism

This is Eva, She was baptized on saturday! She has quit smoking after being addicted since she was 14!!! She and her husband both said it would be a miracle if she ever stopped!! Well the scripures say that God never ceases to perform miracles and here is living evidence!! This is the Lords Work!!

DANG TEXANS

LIVIN THE TEXAN LIFE!!!

Elder Curty and Estrada

Johnson Family FHE

This Monday we had a big Johnson family home evening and had an intense night of kick ball.

Avrie was a good little cheerleader for the girls team.

Daidree and Callie posing in the middle of the game.

The kick ball game for the little kids. (This is the game Mark chose to participate in...)

Kalen going in to home base while Geoff tries to help out the girls.

Two little monkeys climbing in the tree.

Popsicles to be had by all at the end of the night (notice Mark is joining the little kids again!)

We all had a blast so thanks to Kaelyne for putting it all together! But we did miss our 3 little missionaries! :)

Un Buen Equipo!

Victoria District! Anything for a picture right? 3 of us are from Idaho, 1 from utah, 1 from california and 1 from Mexico! Workin Hard and Havin FUN!!!

Los Papi Chulos!

Man, I think Texas has really gotten to me! A member had a few extra suits so we decided to try them on! ~Los Papi Chulos!~

Those tender mercies of the Lord

Kyle seems to keep busy most of the time but sometimes wonders if they will be as busy as he would like next month. He does make sure that he makes time to play though. About a week and a half ago, he and some friends went 4-wheeling. I think there were about 10 of them alltogether. Kyle made it through the day okay, but the 4-wheeler did not. He said that about an hour and a half into the ride, he rolled the 4-wheeler. Fortunately he was able to jump off before it rolled and was not hurt. Ironically, I had just talked to my sister about insuring the 4-wheeler and was going to do it the following Monday. Such is life. :) We are slowly fixing the 4-wheeler and are extremely grateful that he wasn't hurt.