December 19, 2009
Christmas Letter 2009
Dear Ones,
Merry CHRISTmas to you! I am writing this to you while I watch our church’s children’s program practice. Kristi is in charge of the program this year and we are very proud of her commitment to our church body and her willingness to serve!
What a wonderful year 2009 has been for our family. Last winter we enjoyed SO much snow which meant lots of snowmobiling and snow forts, and snowplowing for Rick. The girls enjoyed using Matthew’s fast snowmobile when he let them. The season lasted long so of course that meant tripping over boots and snow clothing well into March. It is good that we really enjoy living in Wisconsin! Mandy also moved to Green Bay to work for Bergstrom at their Premier dealership, premier as in Jaguar, Land Rover and warm cookies, coffee and snacks in the waiting room.
Spring brought the end of another school year and the graduation of our senior, Kristi. We celebrated on the lawn of our cottage. It was a beautiful night as friends and family gathered to congratulate her. After much prayer Kristi has decided to pursue becoming a teacher. She had worked with children in our church program and had enjoyed it which led her to think of teaching. Kristi has always been wise with her money and when pricing colleges she found out about Liberty University on-line. Not only did using this on-line university save her a LOT of money, but it gave her freedom to keep working at Charlie’s Smokehouse (much to Charlie’s delight I am sure!) and to continue to work with the children at our church as well. The studying has been challenging but she is doing well and we are proud of her.
The summer brought us into the season of work where we all become very busy. Annie and Melody were my right hand helpers with the cleaning and caretaking work. One of the highlights of the summer was having my sister’s sons, Matteo and Alex here to stay with us. What a delight to have young men in the house. They worked with us and entertained us and gave us great joy. They celebrated Independence day with us, Gills Rock style! They were troopers as we were down to one shower for that weekend with 13 in the house! Summer also found us busy gathering ribbon and lace, tea lights, tulle and other wedding needs, mostly in pink. Wedding showers and dress fittings kept us busy as excitement gathered for the first family wedding! One of the dearest memories of the summer was attending a special Beth Moore women’s conference in Green Bay with four of my girls. What a treat to worship and feast on God’s Word with my daughters. Rick raced but since I am unable to remember any discussion about racing through the summer I am going to assume that it was not the greatest season for Rick. There is always next year. Matthew brought a new truck home but forgot to buy a FORD! It is a nice truck with the extra cab for carrying sisters! I have already been warned that there will be no hay-hauling with his truck!
September 12 brought the much anticipated wedding of Jeni to Jason Whittington. God is so good and He gave us a beautiful warm weekend for the fishboil rehearsal dinner and the day of the wedding. The fish-boil and reception were held in a tent down on the water in Gills Rock. Twinkle lights and many tea-candles transformed the property into a magical garden. Dear friends helped to pull it all together, thanks Mark and Mel! So many memories were created that weekend. Although my parents were not able to travel to the wedding, my family was all present as well as some of my cousins, aunts and uncles and we enjoyed many meals out on our lawn together. The cousins roamed the area playing games and hanging out together and the whole family helped in many ways for which we are very thankful! We know we have gained a wonderful son-in-law.
This fall brought more wind than we have ever seen in one fall season. Rick fished well and we are glad that he and all the guys were safe. We also found out the end of Sept. that my Father has a serious infection in his hip. He has chosen to not do surgery as it is too much of an ordeal as he learned last Spring. We are grateful for the knowledge that my Dad loves God and knows Jesus as his Savior. His passing will be our loss but his greatest gain. My mom continues to model being a wonderful wife and to faithfully care for him. I visited him in Oct. and he gave me his preacher look including the finger waving and told me to make sure that my family meets him on the other side. Oh yes we will Dad.
Grandma Wickman is now 95 and such a sweet soul despite being completely blind. I spent some time with her last week and her memory is much better than mine! The girls decorated their grandparent’s Christmas tree and the house last weekend so that it would look nice for Gloria’s return home. Rick’s mom continues to struggle with leg issues and Rick has been very involved with helping them. We hope things will be easier for them in the next year.
Rick went shopping and bought a bright red FORD and it is an awesome and safe truck. It also has a sweet sound system so that makes it fun for me to use on the rare occasion that I am allowed to! He also started the work of replacing windows so that we can finish siding the house. We may have it all one color by the time we have another wedding! Melody attended her first Packer game which is always a Johnson milestone. She enjoyed it and said it was fun. Another Packer fan in the making! So 2009 comes to an end, another year of the grace and goodness of God bestowed on our family. We look forward to Christmas day when our family (all 9!) will be here to celebrate together. We are blessed with all of you in our lives and we wish you many blessings in 2010.
Our family according to Melody, our budding writer and poet.
MATTHEW is a very good brother. He has made lots of friends at work and they say that he always has a smile on his face. I think he has one of the greatest smiles! . He works very hard at his job and helps people when they need him. He is a very joyful man and we love him very much. We are always glad when he comes to visit.
JENI got married to Jason Whittington on Sept. 12. She works hard, staying on top of her job for Mr. and Mrs. Honnold. Jeni keeps very busy taking care of her new husband and their new dog Bailey. She is a lovely woman and I think she is doing a great job at being a wife.
JASON is a good husband to Jeni. We often brag about him to our friends. He is a very funny, loving and caring guy. Jason is in college and is almost done. He has a good business mind and is smart about money. He is the perfect match for Jeni and we are glad to have him in our life.
MANDY is a happy woman. She has been living with a roommate named Ashley. She is very nice. She is glad Matthew is near so she can call him when has problems and needs his help. She would like a new job and we are praying that she gets one. We love her.
KRISTI is now in college and is also directing our church Christmas play. This is helping her learn how to handle kids and she is doing great. She still loves art and this summer she refurbished an antique vanity for her room. She is a beautiful young woman.
ANNIE loves God. She has blossomed into a beautiful young lady. She does well in school. She loves working with children and helps out with the youth at church doing games and crafts. She is always kind to them and is so nice.
I am doing well in school and love all my subjects. In the morning I have to feed and water the dogs. If I forget, Morgan our lab comes and finds me and herds me into the kitchen until she gets her food. Jazmin does not care because she always hopes we will feed her our food. I like to do crafts and make things. Dad likes my whole wheat honey bread the best. I make it all by hand. I sing on the Worship team at church with my sisters and I fold the bulletins to help out. I am thankful for my family and all the fun we have playing games and reading books together. We are reading Pilgrims Progress right now. I hope that all of you have a wonderful Christmas.
Battles Fought
I am a person that does not take a lot of glory in material possessions but I am thankful for what I have and I do enjoy having tools that work well for me. I bought a new mixer in the past week because my 22 year old Kitchen Aid had bit the dust, no more eating metal dust from the beater and bowl banging each other, just kidding! I also have a new washer and dryer arriving this coming week as my 23 year old Maytag washer died. A washing machine that in 23 years had NEVER been serviced! That is pretty good in my book. I went to Best Buy to buy another set and when told the salesperson that story he commented that I had better not set my heart on another experience like that! “What!” I said, “You mean I can pay a small fortune for a new set and not get the same quality?” He just said that they do not make things the way they used to. Sad. I bought Maytags anyway, if you are still reading this blog in 20 years ( I hope that Lord does not tarry that long!) I will let you know that status on them. By the way, when one has not shopped for washers and dryers in 23 years the prices can be a little shocking! And they do not make large ones that do not have all the bulls and whistles as in multiple buttons. I remember helping my sister Angela with her new washer with all the buttons, one that looked like a small rocket with control panel to match! It was confusing, although with 7 boys she needed something powerful! Ours will have the same amount or more, I am holding classes between CHRISTmas and New Years for everyone in the family to learn to use it. I should teach Rick but I am sure that he will use every excuse in the book to avoid this class! Maybe when he hears about all the buttons!!!!!!
Battles, so things break down in the real world as I can attest to in the past few months. One thing that stands strong is our family. Material in flesh and blood but oh so filled with the the mystery of the human mind and emotions and feelings and thoughts and dreams… beautiful. The last two weeks have been a time of praying and interceding on behalf on one of us, not the first time by any means and not the last I am sure. How wonderful to battle as a family, to gird ourselves up in the Word and pray and intercede. How beautiful to see the fruit of teaching and training that God’s WORD is enough, is the Sword, is our shelter, is the only TRUTH, that the Holy Spirit does minister to us, that we can TRUST our God and call out to Him. How beautiful to see the power of GOOD worship music as it feeds the soul and lifts the spirit and brings TRUTH to our mind. How beautiful to experience as a mom the trust that a child has in me, that I will only tell them the truth, that I will walk with them through this time in their life, that more than a mother I am their older sister in Christ. I write this with tears in my eyes because this battle fought by my child challenged my faith as well, brought me to my knees in complete abandonment to God knowing that in this war between good and evil I must rely on God and believe Him to be all He says He is. I can not teach my child what I do not believe whole-heartedly in and KNOW myself. God showed Himself strong as always, calming, strengthening, giving the Wisdom of the ages to me and giving me sleep when my mind was not at rest. He is so good, I cannot say it enough. I have never been afraid to battle for the Lord and this victory just shows me one more time that we serve a Mighty God!
Because God is so cool……… We were supposed to start reading Pilgrim’s Progress in Nov. for school. It did not happen. Why? Because God wanted it for the last two weeks. That powerful book written ages ago has ministered to us EVERY day. Every day the next adventure for Christian exactly fits what we have experienced in the previous day, completely! And if you have read the story you know how the Scriptures just floods your mind as you read every page and encourages. What a bonus! Isn’t God the bonus God? He takes you through life, this incredible adventure with it’s many hard times and non-eventful times, and hair-raising times, and hysterical times and then……….. bonus, you get a bonus round of Spiritual Wisdom, insights, blessings and delights! Who says this Christian life is boring…. they are missing out on the ride of a lifetime!
Blessed to be in the Army of God, blessed to not be alone in the battle, blessed to know that I do not need to fear, blessed to have a God-fearing family who believe in prayer!
Joyce
December 10, 2009
December 1, 2009
Twas the Night before Opening Season……
Well, the off season of fishing has come to a close. We call it the “off” season but in reality it is a crazy time of playing catch-up on all the other projects in life left un-done since Spring. We accomplished many things on our list but as always did not complete the dreaded list. With Rick’s mom being hospitalized much of the last two weeks he has had many other issues to contend with beside our home. On top of it all Rick also came down with a serious eye infection. After a week of drops to the eye every two hours, or when I could get him to come home and do the drops, his eye is much better. We are thankful. Not only does he need his eye sight as we all do, but he has the most beautiful blue eyes on the planet…….. I am not prejudice, just stating a fact! I would hate to see them damaged in any way!
So yesterday Rick got the good news on his eye and then set to making plans for opening day of fishing which is Dec. 1st, today. I could hear him discussing the weather with other fisherman and then making plans to do the midnight run to set nets. This is a normal event and proving of one’s being a die-hard manly fisherman, kind of like the ice-breaking in April. I didn’t think twice about it until at supper the winds started to pick up and roar. It sounded terrible and so I started hoping that they would not go out and set. But no……… the winds did not seem to concern Rick at all.
I went to bed after 10 and listened to the wind shake the house and thought to myself that certainly Rick would not head out in this storm. It was even snowing, much to the delight of our girls, winter arriving with a blast. Rick came in at 11 to wake me and tell me he was heading out. I tried to talk him out of it, telling him it was too dangerous, blah, blah blah. He told me he would be fine and left. I prayed for him, imagined the worse and thought about being the good fisherman’s wife and staying up to wait for him. Then I decided I was way to tired for that and fell asleep.
He got back in safely at two in the morning! The alarm went off at 5 and over coffee he told me that other guys were out there, it was a full moon, wasn’t to bad for seas, and that it all went just fine. I just glared at him and told him how scared I was when he left. He just shrugged his shoulders. Fear is a choice at times and I should have known better! Life of a fisherman’s wife.
Blessed in this crazy life,
Joyce
November 28, 2009
November 25, 2009
The Day Before
I would really love to be uploading more pictures onto this blog, but that will have to wait until Friday, one of my OFFICIAL days off that I take each year. There is another one, but I can’t remember when it is, I think may be January first, yes, that is the other official day off that I take…. Obviously I am due for one!
It is the day before Thanksgiving when we will have 24 here for dinner and more by the end of the evening as our single guys will come here for desserts. I was planning to eat dinner around 1-2 on Thanksgiving but then realized that there was a Packer game to contend with. Don’t you think these game organizers could ask a woman when the best time for a game would be on a national day of feasting?? WHO puts a game at 12:00???? There is no way I would want to have everything ready for a feast let alone be eating it by 11:00. That is TOO early in the day and we do not eat the Thanksgiving meal in front of the game…. no way! I bravely suggested to Rick and the girls that we could eat at 1:00, that they could miss a little of the game and be done eating in time to watch the second half. Let’s just say that there were no words needed to express their opinion on that idea, the looks were enough.
SO….. we will have folks over to watch the second half of the game and when the game is over we can then start our Thanksgiving meal. It will be fine. Packer games do bring out a fun time, well, that would be IF they win :)
I am not ready! I have been without a washing machine for one week. I have been staining and varnishing the new windows in our living room. On Monday when I took a look at the living room I decided that since everything was off the windows that I may as well paint the living room while we are at it. I don’t know, call me the denial queen….. others have 
. So my sweet husband went back to the hardware store with my color swatch ( I had been to the hardware store 2 hours before but did not realize at the time that I was going to be inspired to paint!) and came home with two gallons of paint, commenting that he hoped it was the right color in a dubious tone. I, still in denial mode, plowed ahead with my plans and after finishing the staining went into paint mode. I started on the biggest wall and after a few rolls of paint started to feel a sickening dubious feeling come over me as well. My color, Maple Leaf, was looking more like lemon souffle and I was worried. My sweet daughters bravely commented on how the color could work, it might not be so bad, maybe a second coat will correct the problem…….. yikes! I knew that two trips to town was one over our allowance so I was not going to be going in to get a different paint. I decided to NOT doubt myself with the color, to trust the sweet man who mixed the paint and pray blessings on him while I painted. By the time we were on the second wall it was starting to look the color I had chosen, a light golden wheat. By the third wall I was thrilled and everyone (except Rick who was being Switzerland) agreed that the color was perfect! I finished the second coat at 8:00 Monday night.
I was really on a roll yesterday until Rick told me that my second coat of polyurethane could not be put on for 48 hours. I thought he had said 4-8 hours and had envisioned putting the second coat on last evening, putting trim on today and then hanging curtains up and rearranging the living room to have it just perfect for company. ENUNCIATION is everything!!!! Now I am envisioning having the trim on but no curtains. It is a good thing that this will not matter to our dear friends. Someday (coming soon) we will have a house with siding all the same color and lights on the porch and a few other things finished. We will not know how to act!
So today is cleaning…. all the corners that are a mess from focusing on the window work. Getting the school-room ready for Matthew, dealing with some laundry as it is beginning to pile up and getting the kitchen and menu up and ready for the morning. What fun…….. Rick is going to put the trim on around the windows. It is raining outside and I have a bad feeling that some cutting will need to be done IN the house. I guess I will do the dusting last!
On Friday I will put the last coat of poly on and maybe later that night hang the curtains. I will also add photos to this blog as we watch Little Women, a Thanksgiving tradition.
So much to be thankful for…
Blessed, even in the chaos!
Joyce
November 23, 2009
Casting Crowns concert
Below you will see many pictures from a recent Casting Crowns/ Matt Redman concert that came to Green Bay. I have to tell you about the surprise that God gave me with this concert.
First, I enjoy going to concert that are about worship, sometimes I go to big multi-group events and I am reminded that there is indeed a difference between entertainment and worship. As for me, I have seven children and a funny husband so I get all the entertainment I need at home! I want to worship with the body of Christ, a little taste of heaven before we get there!
Here’s the thing; I ALWAYS get fantastic seats, ALWAYS! I am spoiled by God over and over again with fine seats every time I attend a concert. After all these years I am used to sitting right up front where the music is not only heard, but felt, right in the heart region. I love it. I know I may be deaf earlier in life but I figure it will be worth it!
When I heard about the CC concert I really wanted to go. Matt Redman is one of my favorite worship leaders and I have used his music for years in our services at church. The girls wanted to see him because he has an English accent….. anyway! I was so busy and I did not call to get tickets, and the concert was at the end of the fishing season and I did not know if it would be a good time to be gone. The concert was on a Thursday night. On the Monday before I felt ok to go and Rick said yes. Since the concert was being held in a smaller and fancier performing arts hall I knew there were limited seats, I knew what would be available would be in the third balcony. The tickets were not cheap as it was a fund raising event, cheapest were $30 with anything down on the floor and up front at $100. So………. I called to order my cheap tickets through Acts 1:8 ministries. I had to leave the tickets at the will call window to be picked up the night of the concert and they couldn’t tell me where we would be seated. Oh well, I thought.
That night we arrived and I got our tickets from will call. I went to one of the ushers and they pointed me NOT to the stairs heading up, but toward the doors for the main floor. I thought this could not be correct but went and stood in line. When we were allowed to enter I gave my tickets to an elderly usher who started leading us toward our seats and as he did he commented that we had really great seats. I honestly thought that he was not reading the tickets correctly and that we were going to be seated in the wrong seats. To my amazement he walked down to the second row to the right side of the stage. Literally 6 feet from the stage. I could not believe it and we were all amazed. All I could do was praise the Lord. It was so fun to thank Him right there and then I promised Him that I would praise Him really well because that was what I was there for!!! I know He likes it when we praise!
All I can tell you about the concert is that it was one of the top 3 concerts I have ever been to. The concert was 3.5 hours long of which we stood worshiping for most of the songs. It was the highest praise and adoration of our God. CC has songs that are heavy in spiritual warfare and to hear 3 thousand from the Kingdom singing together was powerful to say the least. The leaders spoke and challenged us and ministered with words. They have redone some hymns that were stunning. It was a fantastic night of praise with guitars and drums and violins and cellos and flute and piano………. and voices.
One of the beautiful parts of the night was watching my girls worship. I know worship is very personal and intimate but part of the mystery of worship is the drawing in that witnessing another worship does. It was so beautiful to see my girls respond to the Holy Spirit at different songs, sometimes with full voices blending with the rest and sometimes with hands raised, adoring their Heavenly Father. I am so thankful to have children who love to worship and worship unashamedly.
It was a great night. God surprised me again, blessed this daughter of His with second row seats so she could worship in her “comfort zone.” He is so good, He is a detail God who cares about everything including where we sit at concerts. He is so worthy of our praise and worship. With all my heart I believe that these worship events going on around the country are because God want to hear us singing to Him as He prepares to return to get us…….. can’t wait. I am ready.
If you have a chance to see CC with Matt Redman, go, you will not regret it.
Blessed today and singing His praises
Joyce
November 21, 2009
October 22, 2009
Some days ……..
Yesterday started out beautifully. Rick headed out to work at the usual time with full lunch-pail and having had coffee and oatmeal.
I have to explain the oatmeal because I KNOW you are all wondering????
The other night, just as I was falling asleep, Rick asked me if I could make him oatmeal to have with his coffee in the morning. This was an unusual request because oatmeal is healthy and my man will eat the healthy food that I put in front of him (well, most of the time ), but he NEVER requests it. I have never heard him ask me to make that healthy chicken with roasted mushrooms and garlic or request the whole wheat pasta instead of white. Just saying. This startled me so badly that I sat right up in bed and asked him WHY? In my mind were only thoughts of him having suffered chest pains recently, his blood pressure rising, concerns of some kind that made him think eating healthy would alleviate the problem. He rolled his eyes at me, well I was facing his back so I can not verify this but I am pretty sure ;). He responded by telling me that lately the new vitamins I have him taking are upsetting his stomach and he thought a little cereal would help! I was so relieved. I offered him my home made granola but he declined. That’s hippy food and one hippy (guess who) in this family is enough! So making oatmeal has been added to our morning routine.
After Rick left for work my dear friend Kari came in and we had coffee by the fire and had a prayer time together. She has eight children and we now have seven so you can see how we need time for prayer! :)
Bible was wonderful with the girls.
Took Melody to the dentist… no cavities! Only child of ours to reach 11 and not have had a cavity. I think we may have to buy her a car…. just kidding sisters.
School was wonderful.
Then we started to do our cleaning chores. I decided to do all toilets and our tub with Rust-Out. I cannot do it often because it is toxic and bothers my lungs but with the breeze through the windows I thought it would be a good day for this job. We got all the bathrooms looking beautiful and then I left for a cleaning job.
I came back from the cleaning job to find Rick digging a trench from our well casing along the side of the house. We had had water pouring out of the well for weeks but had recently thought that maybe something else was the problem. Sure enough, about two feet down it was evident there was a crack in the pipe between the well casing and the house.
Thankfully Rick is a man of may trades and talents. He went and got his dad’s back-hoe and started the process of digging to find the pipe. That is when he called me out to help. This is when I started to wish that I had paid more attention to plumbing things when we have built the addition.
Rick told me to watch as he dug so that he did not snag the pipe with the bucket’s teeth.
I panicked because I had no clue to what size pipe he was talking about, and I wanted to ask if it was a certain color which would have make it more visible, like bright yellow, or hot pink? I didn’t ask, I just started praying. Being in Gills Rock with the key work being ROCK, you can only imagine the scraping and jerks as huge rocks were dragged out of the hole. My heart would lurch as I hoped that the grating sound was not the pipe being yanked from the well. Rick would dig with the back-hoe, dig with the shovel, dig with the back hoe, dig with the shovel, I think you get the picture. I would watch, forcing my eyes to stay open as I usually shut them when I am nervous, then run down into our creepy crawl-space to give Rick other info that he needed. You can be proud of me because I refrained from giving any advice during the whole procedure, none what-so-ever. I think Rick appreciated it but I can’t verify that either. :)
At one point, a thin tubing came up and Rick thought it was the gas-line. He yelled to me to go shut the propane off at the tank. My blank stare told him that I knew nothing about propane tanks. They are on my list with chain-saws, weed-wackers, battery cables and steering a fish tug straight. Sorry, no-can-do. It ended up being a strange ground wire. 60 years ago they did things differently.
Rick found the leak with the pipe intact, isn’t God good? He called his good friend Paul to discus what to do only to find out that it was Paul’s anniversary and so he was not able to come over, good man!
So I then figured out I was through being Rick’s right-hand-woman and went into scrounge around for something to cook for supper that would not use water. It was an assortment of items, all good and basically Mexican. The bummer was going into the house to bathrooms which were spotless but unusable and a kitchen that did not get cleaned and so the sink was full of dishes. Oh well.
We survived the night with no water, minimum flushes and using toilettes on our hands.
This morning Rick and I sat in the dark coffee-less, I offered hot-chocolate but Rick has never been real fond of that drink. I could have offered granola and milk but, you know how he feels about that!
So another adventure with living with Rick, Commercial fishermen by day, plumber by night!
Blessed, to have electricity even without water because my man does not do electricity. Everyone has their own No-can-do!
Joyce
