Johnson's July

The summer seems to be going by quickly…school is just around the corner and I am doing the unthinkable…sending my baby to kindergarden, which means all the kids will be in school, and yes that means a little more free time, but it also means that the kids are growing quickly and before we know it, they will all be teenagers and then missionaries, and married, and wow!....I just hope to live to see it all.  But like Jenny always says to the kids, “you can’t get older…you can’t grow big….you have to stay my baby forever.”   Sometimes I wish I was back in the olden days of 4 kids 5 and under, all at home, all right where I can see them.  But then again, it is so much fun to watch them get bigger.  Their appetites are bigger…(a little crunch on the food budget)  There brains get bigger…as they are so smart in so many ways.  There skills get bigger, as we have watched Tanner advance in guitar and Marshall play in soccer tournaments.  And their testimonies are getting bigger…as we watched Friends and Family of Kymbles get baptized and Tanner got to go to scout camp with Travis and learn a lot of great things.   We survived the Johnson Family Reunion which was at our house.  The kids loved playing with cousins for 4 days…loved the day on the lake, and of course g-ma and g-pa “j” whom we don’t get to see very often.  Thanks to mom and dad for letting us swim and eat and watch movies and borrow tables and chairs.  You are constantly serving us and we appreciate it.  We are looking forward to Bear Lake and hope to see most of you there.  And those that aren’t…we always miss you, talk about how we miss you and hope to someday see you there as well.  Till next time…signing off…The Johnson Crew

 

Travis Johnson

Varian, Inc.

Global Spends Optimization Manager

(W) 925-942-4855

(C) 801-549-7261

 

I forgot to give you Jordan's new address.  It is Elder Jordan Pitt
                                                              P.O. Box 887
                                                              South Royalton, VT
                                                              05068

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jordan's letters

Dear family,                                                                                  July 21, 2008
    Just so you all know I won't be able to check my e-mail while I'm in this area.  All the libraries nearby are closed on Mondays.  So---break out those pens again and give the old fashioned way a try.
    I guess i"ll just give you all the brief about the new area.  The area itself is a tough area.  It is huge geographically but there are basically no big towns so all the houses are spread out.  It is close to where Joseph Smith was born.  The church building is by the monument so I'll be there at least every week.  
    The teaching pool.  There is only really one man we are teaching and he has been taught for months and months.  Hopefully we can help him finally decide to be baptized but he has some big word of wisdom issues he'll need to overcome. 
    the members.  There hasn't been a baptism in a long time so the members aren't too fired up but there are some really nice people here.    They  are trying to get the ward more excited about missionary work.  There are some members who have already said they will help us out when we need it so that's good. 
    The living arrangements.  We live in the basement of the Bishop's house.  He is really young and kind of interesting but he is     a good guy.  His family is up in Canada right now so we haven't met them.  (His wife is Canadian.)
    Transportation.  We do not have close to enough miles.  The area is just too big so it will be tough.  We drive a 2008 chevy Malibu which is nice but the past two Elders used most of the miles so we have been biking a lot.  Apparently missionaries here have to bike in order to be able to do everything they want.  Biking has been tough especially in the rain but our spirits haven't been dampened even if everything else has. 
    The companion.  Elder Williams is from Sandy, Utah.  He has only been out one transfer (6 weeks)  but he is an awesome kid.  He wants to work hard and be obedient so we are getting along very well.  I like him a lot.
    We have been working really hard trying to figure out who's who and where's where as well as trying to find people, to teach.  We haven't had a lot of success yet, but it really isn't getting us down.  We are happy and we know we will see miracles soon.
                                                                                                                                                    Love Elder Pitt



Dear Family,                                                                                                                July 28, 2008
    Another week come and gone.  The New Englanders are beginning to talk about how winter is just around the corner.  I can't really believe that but I guess it is not too far. I'm just excited for the fall that comes between then and now. 
    I think that I probably worked harder last week than any other week of my mission and in all the areas, that is, spiritual, physical, mental, social.  But I can also say that I haven't been too much happier (at least consistently) at any other time than I am now.  I truly feel live I am giving it my all and doing my best.  That doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement though, because there certainly is.
    The brethren have said that in Northeast North America missionaries ought to be teaching at least 20-25 lessons a week.  I don't believe I have ever done that in my 6 months out so it's definitely a challenge.  Bur Elder Williams and I are taking it personally and we created a plan that I think will help us achieve our goal.  We've seen some improvement but we still have a ways to go.
    President Jensen came out teaching with us for one lesson this past week which was cool.  The assistants also came and tracted with us.  On one day we biked 32 plus miles and on another we walked probably 15 or more.  Timmy, our one real investigator, come to church yesterday.  The members have been feeding us fairly well.  We sat down and talked with one of the senior couple missionaries here (there are many) and talked about what they do.  (Mom and Dad, I'm excited for when you can go.)  We had interviews with the President this week.  We also found a few potential investigators. 
    I really don't have too much to say and I kinda feel bad about it.  I know my letters have been short lately.  Maybe that's a sign that I'm working hard or maybe just that the work is a bit slow in this area.  Maybe a little of both , I don't know.
    Elder Williams and I are trying to consistently pray that we will find at least just one person who is actually really interested in learning.  Just one that we can really focus on teaching and progressing.  We'd appreciate your prayers, too.  I love you all.
                                                                                                                                            Love, Elder Pitt

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3 MORE WEEKS!!!!!

well family i must apologize for not writing for so long. i really don' t have an excuse but i want you all to know that Jenna and I are doing great down here in sin city. as of today we have just over three weeks til we will be in the motherland again, and with these 107 deg. days i will surely be glad to get out of the heat. i will be sad however to leave my job and the people i have worked with. that have been so great to me and i really have learned so much. don't tell mom cause she won't be to happy but they have pretty much offered me a job when i graduate. i am not sure if i could do the vegas thing, it has been fun but i really miss the mountains and cool nights and most of all my wonderful family. however it would be a great opportunity to work with this company again they really treat their employees right. jenna and I definitely haven't made any for sure decisions yet but its good to already have an option for career.

some of you might be wondering about what the house picture is doing on our blog but i just wanted to show everyone where they will be able to find Jenna and I for the coming up school year. after many attempts to sign contracts we finally stumbled onto this one and it was exactly what we were looking for (except for the pink kitchen). we are really excited and hope that it will be good even though we have never been there yet. i emailed everyone about keeping your eyes open for a cheep washer and dryer. or even free if someone is just trying to get rid of it. please just let us know if you hear anything.

well i am sure that most of you are wondering about how we feel about being married now that we have been married for so long...haha. and i tell you what, it is better than i could have imagined. i really am thankful i found jenna and that she took a chance on me. sometimes we reflect on how fast the process went and wonder why none of you tried to stop us...we did it crazy fast. but we know that the lord is behind it so that's what really counts. our love for each other grows with each day, and i feel like the luckiest kid ever.

we found out a bit ago that the family trip is the same time that we will be in Cancun on our belated honeymoon. we feel horrible about it but we just didn't know when we booked everything so there is not much we can do now. just know that we will be thinking about you all and realizing that you all would rather be with us. anyone up for a tan contest....cancun vs. bear lake?

well to finish off i just wanted to thank all those who gave us advice about insurance stuff, from the looks of it we will probably go with USAA. anyhow thanks again for everything we really love you all. have a wonderful august and we will see you all soon.

July21

Hey Family,
 
Natalie, Noah and I sure do love it up here in the Pan-handle of Idaho.  Work is going well.  Church is keeping us both busy enough.  Some weeks we have 2 missionary discussions, and a new-member discussion in our home.  It's fun to be part of the missionary program so much.
Noah is doing great.  Still no words yet.  Funny, 3 months ago he said ball and bubbles, but a week later he resorted back to oooh and hasn't said a thing since.  His doctor said if he doesn't start talking by 18 months, to take him to a speech person.  Any suggestions by those who may have had a similar experience?  Otherwise, Noah is awesome.  I really see a lot of me in him, not really in looks, but in his personality and it's so fun.
Natalie is doing great in young womens, and daily shows how strong she is at staying on top of what's important.  She's so patient, loving, caring and compassionate to all who are around her.  She's a great example and I'm so lucky she's mine.
Work for me is going just fine.  I love my family and feel so lucky for all of our blessings.  We are waiting to here back from some landowners about our proposal to buy 25 acres of beautiful country.  As soon as we know, we'll let you all know.  It's pretty exciting.
We think of many of you a lot, and hope y'all are doing great. 
If anyone needs to get away and enjoy a little R and R, our house is always available.
 
Love you guys:  Nat, Ammon, Noah

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Summer Fun

I first want to thank everyone that could make it to Meggie's birthday party. She loved all her new presents and toys. Even though everyone thought I was crazy for bringing Santa to her party, to this day she still brings it up, she secretely liked it. I cant believe she is already two. Anyway this summer has been fun with swimming, bike riding, Lagoon and parks. Ever since Jacks preschool stopped, he has been acting out more so I put both kids in gymnastics, to give them something to look forward too. We took the kids to Lagoon this past week and they had a blast. Jack wanted to ride all the big kid rides, but the only one that he could ride was the Bat, he loved it. Meg was satisfied with Puff the Dragon. We are planning on going to Disneyland in September and the kids are now so excited cause we told them its just like Lagoon but 10 times better. Jordan and I are heading off to Vegas this next week. Jordan had a conference down there and his work is paying for me to go too. Anyway we are meeting up with Hyrum and Jenna so that will be fun. We are going to see circus o le and Les Mis. It will be a fun week. Well we hope all of you are having a great summer too. Love the Browns

Mary's Musings...

Family,

I can't believe it is already the second week of July. I missed all of you on the 4th and want you to know I was thinking of you at the parade, at Meg's party, etc. I can't believe Meggie is already two! It was a fun day for me as well mir, when she was born. Standing outside your room and hearing the doctor yell, "It's a girl!" was awesome. I didn't believe him at first, but when I saw your face I knew it was true. And after all our debating I'm glad she is your "Meg" and I also feel honored that she is "Meg Elizabeth."
As for me, therapy continues forward. My doctor (Dr. Kan--said like Kahn) is awesome. He is so good to me and is doing all he can to help this therapy do as much good as possible. He has told me, "Your brain is very stubborn and doesn't respond the way it is 'supposed' to...but it has intrigued me and I am determined to figure it out!" That meant a lot to me because it is usually at this point that my doctors say, "You know, your brain is really stubborn and is not responding the way it is supposed to...so I just don't know what else to do for you. Good luck." So I'm thankful for his persistence and help.
As many of you know, I spent the 4th of July at Sam's Zollinger family reunion. (Martha's maiden name is Zollinger.) It was hard, fun, good, and I felt honored and blessed that they wanted me there. I know many of you were probably like, "Hmmm, she never comes to our family stuff and yet she went to theirs..." and I hope it didn't hurt any feelings or make you think I like them more! Being with them makes me feel closer to Sam and I seek that closeness and feeling whenever possible. Also, I don't want you to think that it is just our family I get really anxious around and have to escape. Usually when I feel a panic attack coming on, that's when I go upstairs. However, at Park city I didn't have anywhere to go when this happened and I ended up having a full-blown attack that was pretty rough. Thankfully, one of God's tender mercies to me was that it was Martha who found me and she helped me through it. I tell you that, not to be like "Oh look at me and how hard it is," etc., but I tell you that so that you can know that YOU (as in the family, kids, etc.,) are not what I am avoiding when I am not around...it's the panic attacks I am trying to avoid. I hope that made sense and if it didn't, all I was trying to say is, "I love my family and I'm so grateful for all of your love and support."
This month I also had another article come out in the Wasatch Women magazine. I didn't write this one; instead, it was written about me and my experience with an eating disorder. I hope that it is okay with all of you that I went so "public" with this. I prayed and fasted that the article would be something that was helpful and good, and the girl who wrote it, (Brooke Walker from Studio 5 is the one who wrote it) told me that she prayed hard about it as well. I think I feel good about it...it's hard to be objective when it's YOU, so you'll have to let me know what you think. Thank you Alicia, for all your help as well. It means a lot to me that you would take so much time to help me out.
Well, I don't want to write a complete novel, so I'll sign off now. I really like this blogging thing...keep it up!
Love you,
Mary

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Cost of Auto Insurance **POLL**

So a few of us were talking the other day about auto insurance--who we have our coverage through, who's the cheapest, how much we pay, etc. We thought it might be a fun idea to have everyone post their info here in the blog so we could all compare. Take a look at your policy and post the info here....maybe we can help someone in the family save some money :)

Here's ours:

USAA
Cost: $255/6 months ($42/month)
Coverage:
Bodily Injury: 100,000/300,000
Property Damage: 100,000
Uninsured Motorists Bodily Injury: 100,000/300,000
Underinsured Motorists Bodily Injury: 100,000/300,000
Personal Injury Protection
-Medical Expenses: 3,000
-Funeral Expenses: 1,500
-Work Loss: 85%
-Survivor Loss: 3,000

Medical Expenses - $13,000 per person

Deductible:
Comprehensive: 500
Collision: 500

Rental Reimbursement: 30/900
Limit per day/maximum: $21.60

June Review from Ryan & Jen

We'd first like to thank all of you who came out to Joshua's baptism on the 5th. We're sure it wasn't great timing for you all given the holiday the day before, but we appreciate your support and as always, it's good to see you and visit with you.

June was simply filled with preparing for and attending a lot of events. Sarah and Joshua celebrated their birthdays, we had our 11 year anniversary, Hyrum and Jenna got married of course, and we had a couple of BBQ events as well. Intermingle all those things with daily life happenings and whew! it was busy... But when there's so much going on, Jen and I realize that it's the non-events that are just as exciting. Our in-home dates, watching movies together with a bowl of ice cream, sharing what we've learned from our scripture reading, and talking about our day, our children, and what's on the horizon. We think sometimes that we all look for exciting out-0f-the norm "vistas", but sometimes our definition of what those vistas entail, can change depending on what life is serving up at the moment.

Anyhow, I wanted to share a nifty insight Jen shared during one of our scripture sharing moments. There's a scripture in Alma 17 where Alma and the sons of Mosiah are headed out on their mission to the Lamanites. And they were going through some hard times. Amidst their affliction, the Lord tells them to "be comforted". And the scripture continues by saying "And they were comforted." Applying that to ourselves, how often does the Lord tell us to be comforted and we choose not to be comforted? We continue to worry or get stressed or somehow believe that we aren't worthy of such comfort. But if the Lord thinks we are, and tells us (in varying ways), then we should truly believe it and let that comfort and peace wash over us to build us up for what's coming next.

We hope everyone's July is a great one. We have one significant change coming up shortly which promises to test our limits, but the Lord will certainly pave the way. As he always does. Continued good luck Jordan on your mission. We enjoyed "seeing" you via the video we saw at the wedding dinner. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Aaron and Ardi as you adjust to a new little one in your home. And we know that each of you have your own things you're going through and hope that you'll continue forward with faith.

Great Video Ryan & Jen Clan, and Happy 4th

That was a great video guys. Ryan & Jen, we'll call you soon to find out the intricate details of how you did this. The 4th of July in Memphis was good, we took the kids and saw a fireworks show. It's all they could talk about for weeks, then as soon as the show started, they were scared by the loud noises and wanted to go home. Go figure. They did end up making it through, and did still like it. Caleb is growing fast. He is smiling and cooing more, and looks exactly like Matthew did at that age. I'm glad we have a nice 2 girl, 2 boy team running around. They are a lot of fun. We'll talk to you all soon. If anyone wants to hear some "interesting" stories, or why we should wear seatbelts, give me a call. My trauma rotation was very informative on those subjects. Take care y'all. We love you. The Ketchers

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I love the fourth of July

I love this time of year. I love the hot weather, I love swimming and flowers, I love going to parades and fireworks, and rodeos and getting snow cones. I love America, I think back to being in Russia, and it makes me just appreciate our country and all the wonderful things we have here, we truely are blessed. Megs birthday is also this month, and truely that was one of my best days. The surprise of having a girl that july day was so awesome. She has been pure joy. I love to spoil her. I cant believe its been 2 years too, time does go by fast.
The wedding was wonderful, thanks for all those who helped I know Alicia and I and mom appriciated it. Hyrum and Jenna so many people love you. It was fun going down to vegas too. Isaac and I had some good bonding time, plus we rode the new ride at the top of the needle. It was awesome. It was definelty too hot though. I could never live there.
Hope you all have a wonderful month and yea for blogging.