Wynnie in front of his locker at school
Dori celebrating the rockin' New year
Happy 2012 to all of your friends and family who share our journey in this crazy life of ours. We hope the holidays brought you peace, health and happiness. We are hopeful that this new year will bring us many chances to see good friends and enjoy good times with our family as all the boys get older and a little wiser.
Our big highlight on Christmas morning was Ben and Alex waking us up with ALL the excitement and commotion humanly possible at 4:45 AM because Santa had dropped off their presents already. No sense fighting a losing battle, we all went ahead and woke up and were opening presents and laughing by 5:00 AM. By 7 AM it felt like it was noon! :) All four boys had a fun Christmas and have been having a nice time playing with all their new goodies.
Chris and I have been able to spend a bit of quality fun times together over this past month. For my birthday he surprised me with a evening out and a fun sleep over at a hotel here in town. It was fun and I was glad we got away for the night... it's nice to take our "mom and dad" hats off for one night and just have fun like the olden days. Then for New Years Eve we had a blast celebrating with our friends in the neighborhood the coming of the new year.
Ben and Alex had a short Christmas vacation but we were all very excited upon the return to school on Jan. 2nd because now the babies are officially schoolmates of theirs. We're grateful that the school district offers special education preschool for children age 3 and up. Dori and Wynnie qualified for enrollment into the Functional Life Skills class at Castle Hills Elementary. All the kids in school stare as we bring the lil babies into the school bundled up in their blankies, but we know the babies are loving it. They come back from their Tuesday-Thursday morning classes absolutely exhausted, but always grinning from ear to ear. All that reading, writing and arithmetic is tiring on the big fellas but we know they are learning and making new friends. Honestly, they have all those ladies wrapped around their finger. They get additional PT, OT and Auditory Therapy through the school as well.
Chris and I are really proud of the impact the babies are making to those around them. Here is an excerpt from an email their Auditory Therapist sent me... it really melted my heart:
I just want to tell you what joy your boys have brought to Castle Hills. I am so proud of you for making the leap of faith to try the school setting. I know that must have been a very difficult decision just have them leave the safety of your home and trust a whole group of new people.
I will be going in every Wednesday morning to work with Wynn. I just wanted to tell you that I think the world of you and your family! I was thinking how many people lives Wynn and Dorrie have touched and it is so amazing and powerful!
Powerful indeed! My chest is sticking out just a bit farther out, and Ben & Alex are excited to walk their baby brothers into school in the mornings. Someone asked me last week "Why do you still call them babies? They are 3 years old now." Well... that's true. Technically they aren't babies anymore, but they are always going to be our babies because they do what babies to best. They give the purest of love, they are happy to cuddle all day long, and their worlds aren't tainted with the stuff that stresses the rest of us. I'm glad to call them our babies because sometimes the best therapy for us is just to enjoy them... no pill can do that.
Well... I gotta help the babies do their long division now! Hoping you get the wild idea to come visit us here at la casa de Johnson, we would love to see you in 2012! With open hearts we hope the Lord continues to bless us and that he will continue to bless all of you as well.
