Christmas Letter 06

For those of you who missed them, here is a quick catch up on our lives over the last few years in the form of our Christmas letters.

Merry Christmas

From The Johnsons

Dearest Friends and Family,

It’s that special time of year again. You know what I’m talking about. When the weather dips into the 60’s between 80 degree visits from my favorite Santa (Hint, its not Claus, its Ana. Sorry big guy.) Time to wake your wetsuit from its long summers nap for an early morning session. It’s that time of year when the good folks at Disneyland commemorate the miracle of Christ’s birth with their own miracle, nightly snow flurries on Main Street. Its time for high school marching bands, classic cars, and B list celebrities to converge on Hollywood for the worst 3 hours of television this side of an MLS soccer game. That’s right folks it’s the Christmas season in Southern California, and I love it!

For years I have heard every excuse in the book from all you season loving freaks and I just don’t buy it. To me nothing says Christmas like a long strand of colorful lights hung with care on the nearest palm tree or boat down at the marina. Oh, then there’s my favorite part of a SoCal Christmas…being able to feel my fingers and toes when I venture outdoors.

For all of you who received our Christmas letter last year (and with this, a second Johnson family Christmas letter in hand you can now consider yourself a seasoned veteran) you may recall my hypothesis that no one really reads these things past the first paragraph. So to you who have made it this far I say you must truly be a good friend because even I am having a hard time reading this garbage. That being said it has been a wonderful year to be alive and to be a Johnson.

We started the New Year with a new address, moving from the cozy confines of Uptown Whittier to far off East Whittier. This move effectively flipped our commute times as I am now 3 minutes from school and Erika 12. Erika continues to wow and amaze the people she works with, with her fire for teaching. Even more impressive than that is the fact that she continually impresses me with the depth of her commitment to her kids at school. She of course has many other talents to speak of, foremost being the ability to keep me in line (which really is a full time job). She continues to teach aerobics four times a week and is mothering a family of orphaned baby meerkats. (Ok maybe not that last one, but she could if she needed to).

This year found us in a new church setting, meeting with the people of east Whittier in the Santa Gertrudes Ward of the LDS church. We have had the opportunity to stay young at heart through our service in teaching the three and four year-olds in Sunday school, and most recently the teenage boys and girls through another calling. Serving in the church is such a blessing that requires great humility, because if you don’t have it those two groups will teach it to you.

I continue to advance in my schooling as a Doctor of Chiropractic. This past year has been the beginning of the pay-off for the hours of hard work in the classroom, as most of my learning has been of the hands-on variety. I have been lucky to be surrounded with great mentors along the way who have each lead me to greater and greater heights in this profession that I love. The culminating event in this chapter of my life will finally take place in April when I graduate with honors from LACC.

May this Christmas season find you happy and well, and may the warmth in your hearts from family and friends make this Christmas a SoCal Christmas wherever you are.