Numero Cinco!!

Well, here it is. My youngest just turned 5! I officially have two KIDS! No more toddlers running around the house. I don't hear NO or MINE anymore. my house rings with "yes ma'am" and "may I please". Well, maybe it's not exactly like that, but my house is a lot more calm then it use to be! I have loved watching Christian grow! Right now his main loves are video games and anything hot wheels. His favorite food is Doritos, and he prefers juice over milk. He'll eat just about anything I give him. He misses his friends Nadia and Evelyn from Mexico and also misses tacos and papaya. I love my little boy!

Yesterday we celebrated his birthday with some family! It was nice having family around, it has been a long time since we have lived near family and we have been enjoying it! Last night Ann Baker made some baked potatoes, chicken nuggets, fried shrimp & mac 'n' cheese! It was a feast and very yummy! I brought over a cars cake and there were lots of presents! It was a good time!

His cool Cars cake! Thanks Wal-mart!

Opening a present from his great-grandmother!

Aunt Ann and Uncle Kevin help put batteries in the cool talking globe they got him!

Making it to Lubbock...

We arrived in Lubbock on Sunday around 8:30 in the evening. We spent most of Sunday in Abilene visiting our sponcering church and also some of Chris' family. It was a long but very fun day!

Since we have been in Lubbock, we have been very busy. Monday morning we got up and took Alison to school to get registered, and she went to school that same day! She seems to like it. She has several "best friends", although she can't remember their names. Her gym teacher likes to speak to her in spanish. Alison says that he is very "impressed" with her. Also, I bought her the school lunch for this week and she is begging me to send lunch. She won't even eat the sandwiches because of the wierd cheese. The problem is, school lunch costa $1.50 so I doubt that I can send lunch cheaper than that! So I will be spending more money to send her lunch to school! Oh, well. As long as she eats!

Right now we are living with Chris' cousin Lonn and his two roommates! It's a bit crowded, but everyone seems to enjoy having the kids around, not to mention so homecooked meals! The are very gracious to let us stay! Our house should be ready the 1st of February, we are looking forward to that!

We are re-connecting with some "old" friends! Last night at church we ran into so many people! I am really excited about my friend Jamie Sanchez (sorry, I don't know her married name!) We are both from Pueblo and she was an AIM assistant while I was going through AIM. I haven't seen her in ...years! Turns out we will be living within walking distance of each other! The kids (both) also loved their classes at Sunset. We also have been asked to join a small group at one of the elders homes. We had such a warm welcome! (Mainly thanks to Toni Burns who called ahead! I can't thank you enough Toni!) Anyways, we feel really content to be here! We can't wait to get setteled, but we are enjoying God's blessings as we go!

Arriving in Houston

After a very long, but uneventful trip, we made it to Houston! We made it with about an hour to spare in order to ring in the new year with Guy and Nan! We stayed in Houston until the 3rd and then we came up to my in-laws house in Bryan, Tx. Today we will travel to Abilene and will stay we some more of Chris' family. Tomorrow we will visit our sponsoring congregation. After church we will drive onto Lubbock where we will begin a new ministry. If you are wondering what you can pray for, I have a list:

Our car, it's making funny noises.
Our transition back.
Raising support (again).
Alison's transition into a new, and very different school.
The work still to be done in Leon.
Our new ministry in Lubbock.
And last, praise God for the amazing things he has already done for us. He has taken care of us and has blessed us more than we could ever deserve!


Chris, reading a story to Alison, Christian and Aspen!

Saying Good-bye

To say our last week in Mexico was hard is a bit of an understatement. We had to say good-bye to many good friends, to a church we had worked so hard for, and to a place we called home for four years. The feelings I am feeling are so hard to explain. I am grateful for the time I had their, for the friendships I have made that I know will last a lifetime. I am sad for people I left behind, for the AIMers I won't be able to continue to minister too, for Patricia, I woman whom I can call a best friend. I am angry at those who we had to leave without getting a goodbye from, because what they thought we should do differed from what was best for our family. I am in awe at the mercy and love God showed us through so many friends. In the end, when times are tough, you find out who your friends are. Thankfully, we have so many friends who helped in our transition out of Mexico. The church, with whom we gave our heart and soul to for so many years, truly blessed us on our way out. They were examples of faith, love and loyalty. We are proud to say that we were able to be amongst them, even for a short time. And to the Rush's, the Henderson's and the Burn's, we can't think you all enough for being their in our time of need. Thank you for listening and talking to us. Your love and encouragement has been felt in bounds. I pray that God will continue to bless you and your ministries the same way He has used you to bless us. We could not have gotten through the difficult process without you guys. And to the Gary's, we pray that God continues to bless your time in Leon. I know as teammates, we weren't always the best, but when it counted we always worked well together! Thanks to everyone who prayed for us and our work in Leon over the years! God has done a good work there and I know that he will continue to do so...


Our small group. and others, got together and had a night of prayer. It was an amazing time!



My good friend Patricia! I will miss her so much!



Our last night we stayed with our good friends Martin and Patricia, these are their daughter's Evelyn and Nadia.



Their son's, Joshua and Leo.


Our car was packed full! We could not have done it without James Henderson!


Our last wave good-bye! We will miss you so much!

Christmas...

My sister, April, was able to come down this year for Christmas. It was a bit crazy because it was our last week in Mexico! But we tried to still make sure it was special for the kids! April ended up being sick for most of the visit, but we still had fun!


Alison finding what Santa left!


Christian finding what Santa left!


Christmas dinner at Chili's with the AIMers!



The kids loved having Aunt April here!



Grandma sent a gingerbread house to decorate!



Afterwards, we ate it!

Christmas Program...

Every year the kids have a Christmas program. This year was fun because Christian was in school as well! Here are a couple of pics!

While Christian sat in the middle of the stage the kids all ran around looking for him. They said, "Where is Christian Johnson, where is Christian Johnson?" When they found him he responded (imagine, if you can, the sweetest voice you've ever heard), "I'm right here! Waiting for baby Jesus!" Let's just say, I cried! It was so precious!


This was him saying his line!


Alison had a fun dance! She was so excited because she got to wear her PJ's!