Just a few scenes from Christmas time in Florida. From Mom's traditional 'Nativity Row' next to the kitchen sink to the tree with very familiar decorations to a hodge-podge of color to....what's that? Snow in Florida?!? Not exactly snowy weather Christmas Day, but there sure was a lot of foam on the surf at Melbourne Beach!

We did something a little different this year and spent Christmas Eve, Christmas, and a few days after at the beach! We highly recommend that for some wonderful R&R! We didn't want to be home if we couldn't have everyone with us(ahem....certain Idaho folks!)

What an absolutely wonderful couple of weeks we've had with everybody home! Sadly, the time passes far too fast and its suddenly time for everyone to go back to school, work, and their own homes. Thanksgiving time reminds us about all of the blessings we have and we all hopefully name 'family' at the top of that list. The 'Proclaimation on the Family' promises, to all, that our greatest happiness and joy in this life comes from our immediate and extended family members. To our children: Mom and I are incredibly proud of each one of you and the good choices you have made and you are the joy of our lives together! To our son-in-laws: We love you like our own and are grateful for the valiant men you are. The new family members and friends you bring have enriched us!

Another great lady in our family is your great-great grandmother, Ruth Anita Jones Chisholm. From her pictures you'll be able to see the resemblence to Momma and now you know where Momma gets a lot of her beauty! Ruth Chisholm (aka Mommie) was Nana's mother. She was born in Tennessee(in 1889) and moved with her parents to Florida when she was very young. Her father, Caleb Jones, was the pastor who established and built the First Presbyterian Church in Kissimmee(historic landmark). Ruth met her future husband Andrew Chisholm(also a pastor) at a church service where he was speaking after a friend encouraged her to go along. Nana was the oldest of their 4 kids and there was also Burke, Ralph, and Andy. The family lived in Kissimmee for a while before moving to Orlando, on Lake Pineloch.

Ruth was always 'dressed to the nines' and properly coiffed(always used Pond's cold creme every night), she loved gardening(hence Nana's green thumb) and is remembered for her great sense of humor! Her rose bushes were incredible and she could easily root a cutting and raise it until it was a bush. She was also a great seamstress and during the Great Depression would sketch the clothes in the department store display windows and would take the sketches home, make the patterns, and create the same clothes for husband and kids. During World War II, she worked at the canning plant in St. Cloud(now a part of Peghorn Park). On trips to the beach, she would tie ropes on the boys' legs and tie the other end to her own waist so that if they got into trouble in the water she could pull them out!

She could definately see the bright side of things and knew how to live life well until the day she died(1972).

Our prima ballerina, Emma, debuted last night at the St. Cloud community center! It was part of a fundraising activity for Breat Cancer Research and was part of Noah Cassidy's Eagle Scout Project. It looked like they raised quite a bit of money!

Dad was one lucky guy to get to go out to BYU this weekend to see Will and Andrew! If there had just been one more day, he would have been off to Idaho to see Pencie and Madelyn(maybe Rachel and Robert, too....). Friday evening got off to a late start, with I-15 shutdown north of Provo. But a trip to The Malt Shoppe for a world-famous milkshake topped off the night just fine!

After breakfast at Kneeders, we headed off the BYU Bookstore to get eveything we'd need to be appropriately attired for the big game. Before we could make it into the stadium, we had to stop and get a J-Dawg(with their secret recipe sauce) and watch AC take the Marine Corps challenge. The game was a nail-biter, but the mighty Cougars finally prevailed 42-35!

It was time to do some sight-seeing from high above the valley at Squaw Peak! Dad almost lost his grip and went over the edge. We managed to dodge some drunks and hunters at the top and made it back to Provo for a night of eating(Bar-B-Q!), bowling(who won?!?), and movie-going(Eagle Eye).

We had a blast! Special thanks to Momma for staying home with the other 7 boys!

Momma and I celebrated 27 years of married bliss this past week! There's no way it has really been that long, seems just like last week. Momma did promise to keep me at least another 27! Love is a many splendard thing! It all started at the Temple in Washington, D.C. and now we have 4 wonderful kids, 2 outstanding sons-in-law, and 3.5 incredible grandkids! We celebrated by going to the Orlando Temple Friday night(and of course, Cracker Barrel afterwards...the perfect evening). Families are Forever!

To fully know where you are going, its important to know where you have come from!

John Johnston, your great-great grandfather, was born in Ireland in June 1843, in the midst of one of the potato famines that ravaged Ireland in the 1840's and 1850's. Sometime between 1850 and 1852, the family immigrated to Southeastern Ontario, Canada. John, his brother Robert, and father John farmed the land and homesteaded in Huron County, north of the Great Lakes.

It was there that he met Sarah Jones, born in Ontario in 1851, whose family had immigrated from Wales several years before. They married in December 1875 in Seaforth, Ontario and initially settled near their families.

Many folks were moving to the United States, where there were new opposrtunities to aquire land. John and Sarah moved with several other families in the area to a settlement appropriately named "Canada Hill", near St. Paul, Nebraska in 1876. They homesteaded there and began a family. Between then and the early 1890's they farmed and John also worked by shipping horses for the U.S. Government. The horses would be taken by train from the Great Plains to points in the eastern U.S. On one of the trips, he visited Central Florida, at the end of the railroad line, a new town named Kissimmee. The entire family moved there in the early 1890's and settled near the railroad tracks and also farmed a large piece of land on Boggy Creek.

The family remained in Osceola County, following John's death in 1915. His wife moved to Avon Park(in Highlands County), where she lived until her death in 1931.

This is the family of your great grandfather, Joseph E. Johnston.

Hey Family!

We hope it has been a great week for everyone!

Mom and Granny started out in Las Vegas yesterday and got home eeeaarrllyy this morning with Parker.



As the plane approached Orlando, the whole city lit up in anticipation of Parker's(and Mom and Granny's) arrival

Here they come off the plane!

After a great night's rest, Parker was up to meet all of his brothers and get to know his new digs!

All in all, the newest addition to the Johnston home is acclimating well!

The last rays of daylight wander across the marsh