Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The Johnson's 2008
Dear Friends & Family,
I debated whether or not to do a Christmas newsletter this year. Usually the letters are filled with beautiful pictures of Johnny & little Suzie and relay wonderful news of how successful the year has been.(I do have the beautiful pics :) However when I reflect on this year I see alot of tough things that the Johnson's came through, and continue too. But again there has been so much to be thankful for and becasue of that I write to you and ask each one you to rejoice with us.
As most of you know Bryan separated from the Air Force back in Sept. of 07, during that time we were living in Utah, and decided it would be best for our family to relocate back to our lovely South Carolina. Though we missed our dear friends and church. It was so nice to be home, back in " God's Country" as we call it. Shortly after relocating to SC Bryan was hired on with Sears Holdings as a Store Manager for K-mart. He completed many months of training and finally received his first very own store located in Florence SC. We built a beautiful house this year in Florence, and settled right in! Unfortunately this great job soon became a nightmare, I won't get into the details but not to our surprise but in an untimely manner, some events took place which forced Bryan to resign last month. As we have all felt the effects of the economy, right now jobs are hard to come by even with fancy degrees. I know many people have asked if we regret getting out of the military and the answer is still no way, yes the transition is rough, but we are still thankful.
The boys are doing very well in November Gabriel turned 5 and Nicholas 2. They just love being brothers and keep me very busy. Gabe this year was diagnosed with a neurological language disorder that effects his language and fine motor skills. He is currently in therapy 3 times a week and goes to a tiny Baptist Kindergarten where he is in a mainstream 4K class. They have a Montessori type teaching which has proved to be an amazing tool for Gabriel's learning. He loves school and is doing much better. He is starting to talk more in complete sentences and they believe that he will no longer need to be in a special education class. We praise God for keeping His hand on Gabe it has been an amazing process to watch him work through these issues. And God continues to provide amazing teachers and therapists that he loves!
Nick is your average 2 year old running around, talking, and getting onto it all. This year however after a bad scare he was diagnosed with a life threatening peanut allergy, along with a handful of other allergens. It has been a huge adjustment to say the least (next time your in the store turn something around and check the ingredients, you'd be surprised!) but we are eternally thankful that we caught it before it was too late. Other than that he's as healthy and wild as a little boy could be!
I have been a busy girl this past year keeping all these boys out of trouble! But in the midst of all that I found an outlet, or mommy time, or an escape as it sometimes is. That is I finally pursued my love of photography which has turned into a little business for me. I have had an amazing time with it, and so look forward to what comes next. You can check out my latest work at http://www.nicholealexandraphoto.blogspot.com/ :)
Well that pretty much makes this the longest Christmas blog ever but, thanks for continuing to read it, if you've made it this far. To sum it all up I will have to say that even in the midst of all we've been through this year it is one of the best Christmas's we had, so thank you K-mart, you saved Christmas! We have been able to make up for so much lost time, and focus on each other and the true meaning Christmas! We've been able to reflect on God's goodness to us and His continued promises for our family. We are truly getting to see what the Johnson's are made of:) Don't get me wrong I am still hopeful for a Hallmark Christmas miracle in the form of a J.O.B but am just in peace with this moment!
I want to thank each one of you for your continued prayer, support, and friendship. Through the good and the bad y'all have been there and each one of you truly mean the world to us.We love you all and please have an amazing Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love Always,
Bryan, Nichole, Gabe & Nick:)
I debated whether or not to do a Christmas newsletter this year. Usually the letters are filled with beautiful pictures of Johnny & little Suzie and relay wonderful news of how successful the year has been.(I do have the beautiful pics :) However when I reflect on this year I see alot of tough things that the Johnson's came through, and continue too. But again there has been so much to be thankful for and becasue of that I write to you and ask each one you to rejoice with us.
As most of you know Bryan separated from the Air Force back in Sept. of 07, during that time we were living in Utah, and decided it would be best for our family to relocate back to our lovely South Carolina. Though we missed our dear friends and church. It was so nice to be home, back in " God's Country" as we call it. Shortly after relocating to SC Bryan was hired on with Sears Holdings as a Store Manager for K-mart. He completed many months of training and finally received his first very own store located in Florence SC. We built a beautiful house this year in Florence, and settled right in! Unfortunately this great job soon became a nightmare, I won't get into the details but not to our surprise but in an untimely manner, some events took place which forced Bryan to resign last month. As we have all felt the effects of the economy, right now jobs are hard to come by even with fancy degrees. I know many people have asked if we regret getting out of the military and the answer is still no way, yes the transition is rough, but we are still thankful.
The boys are doing very well in November Gabriel turned 5 and Nicholas 2. They just love being brothers and keep me very busy. Gabe this year was diagnosed with a neurological language disorder that effects his language and fine motor skills. He is currently in therapy 3 times a week and goes to a tiny Baptist Kindergarten where he is in a mainstream 4K class. They have a Montessori type teaching which has proved to be an amazing tool for Gabriel's learning. He loves school and is doing much better. He is starting to talk more in complete sentences and they believe that he will no longer need to be in a special education class. We praise God for keeping His hand on Gabe it has been an amazing process to watch him work through these issues. And God continues to provide amazing teachers and therapists that he loves!
Nick is your average 2 year old running around, talking, and getting onto it all. This year however after a bad scare he was diagnosed with a life threatening peanut allergy, along with a handful of other allergens. It has been a huge adjustment to say the least (next time your in the store turn something around and check the ingredients, you'd be surprised!) but we are eternally thankful that we caught it before it was too late. Other than that he's as healthy and wild as a little boy could be!
I have been a busy girl this past year keeping all these boys out of trouble! But in the midst of all that I found an outlet, or mommy time, or an escape as it sometimes is. That is I finally pursued my love of photography which has turned into a little business for me. I have had an amazing time with it, and so look forward to what comes next. You can check out my latest work at http://www.nicholealexandraphoto.blogspot.com/ :)
Well that pretty much makes this the longest Christmas blog ever but, thanks for continuing to read it, if you've made it this far. To sum it all up I will have to say that even in the midst of all we've been through this year it is one of the best Christmas's we had, so thank you K-mart, you saved Christmas! We have been able to make up for so much lost time, and focus on each other and the true meaning Christmas! We've been able to reflect on God's goodness to us and His continued promises for our family. We are truly getting to see what the Johnson's are made of:) Don't get me wrong I am still hopeful for a Hallmark Christmas miracle in the form of a J.O.B but am just in peace with this moment!
I want to thank each one of you for your continued prayer, support, and friendship. Through the good and the bad y'all have been there and each one of you truly mean the world to us.We love you all and please have an amazing Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love Always,
Bryan, Nichole, Gabe & Nick:)
Jingle Bells
Here's a little holiday spirit from the boys, Gabe learned Jingle bells at school and now both of them love to sing it about 50 times a day!:)
Boys 08 Birthday Movie
Every year I make a slide show of the boys to play on their birthday showcasing the last year in photos. With two November birthdays I decided to do them together this year!
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