MERRY CHRISTMAS 2010
We are so excited about Christmas this year at HojoCircus! Tony strung the house with lights way before Thanksgiving, the gingerbread houses are made & nibbled on, the tree is twinkling & presents are just everywhere. It has been a wonderful year & a great time to celebrate!
We’ve had many blessings this year. Desiree & James bought a new house in Jenks & have managed to replace most of the necessities of life that were lost in their house fire last year. A few irreplaceable treasures were salvaged from the ashes, such as some very singed & smoky photo albums we were able to restore. They also rescued some of her paintings as well. Desiree stays active in SAA, an advocate group for the medical student spouses, writing their newsletter, fundraising etc. She still works from home, teaching at Univ of Phoenix, & seems to have succeeded at cloning Supermom. James is a sleep deprived 3rd year medical student. He is in the midst of Rotations, which means he works in a different field of specialty each month for 22 months. This month is labor & delivery & Dr. James recently delivered his first baby. He said she was very slippery! Little Alex welcomed a baby brother Jaycen, his sequel, on May27th. He is a redheaded little charmer. Alex, 2, is bilingual & delights in repeating everything he hears & sees with sometimes disastrously hilarious consequences. He also has a clean fetish & likes to pass out coasters. Jaycen is adventurous. He crawled at 5 months & is in constant need of rescuing from Alex who adores him & thinks Jaycen can do anything he can! Jaycen has a mischievous streak & a great sense of humor.
Bryan & Stacy had a difficult year working many long hours at their café. The food was delicious, the atmosphere cozy & the economy bad. Sadly our wonderful MOO COWS had to close in November despite many valiant efforts to make it work out. Closing the doors was like losing a dear friend. Little Justin turned 4 in Nov. He calls & gives me directions to his house when he wants me to visit, which delights this old Dramaw! He spent the night with me one night & lasted till 12:30am when he woke up & said it was time to go home. That is the longest he has lasted away from Mom & Dad! Bryan became a Supervisor at Kimray this year. They have been turning their garage into a new living room & it is looking terrific. Justin & Dad still love to race around on the four-wheeler & give Mama Stacy heart attacks! He still thinks his Dramaw can work miracles & maybe I still have a few up my sleeve!
Shawna is the case manager at DaySpring Villa, a shelter that stays at capacity with abused women & children. She is the children’s coordinator, leads Monday & Tuesday night groups, works with family drug court, and is blessed with freedom to share her love of Christ there. She does the work of 3 women and often jokes that she is mom to 55! She also works with the children at Celebrate Recovery Wednesday & Friday nights at her church & teaches the 2 yr old Sunday School. She volunteers on the Tulsa Task Force with Oklahoman’s Against Trafficking of Humans (OATH). Shawna can make a workaholic look lazy and is always looking for spare time donations. She is wary of Tulsa drivers after surviving 2 separate wrecks this year, both the other driver’s fault. Aimee & I kidnapped our Nonnie over fall break. We drove to Kentucky to see Granny & the family, & then ventured to Chicago where we had the time of our lives!!! You’ve never lived till you traipsed the Windy City with that redhead, it was so fun!
Gloria & Vince both started back to school this year. Vince is training as a welder. He seems to have a knack for it & is advancing quickly. Gloria is back at UCO earning her teaching degree. She works or studies most of the time & is making awesome grades! With work & school they both stay super busy. Zaiden is the light of their lives. I watch Zaiden most days and he helps me with chores & ‘forces’ me to nap. I exercise by chasing him. I put up gates in self defense. He can say many words now. ‘Tank too!’, ‘Love you’, ‘Here go’, ‘What dis?’, ‘Come ere’
Daniel cooked this year at the Café. He is considered an artist at seasoning food. He is now job hunting & considering welding school. He keeps us away from the TV & our brains from atrophy by hosting family game nights. He talked me into an electronic Monopoly! He also got me hooked on an internet smart phone. My cell phone is officially smarter than my brain now. Daniel challenges us to Wii games & Guitar Hero & is the King of Monopoly. Who needs Donald Trump? Daniel tore up his knee & the surgery was May 27th, the same day Desiree went into labor with Jaycen. I raced from an OKC hospital to a Tulsa hospital all in one day!
Aimee is growing up too fast. She has her driver’s permit now. She is in 10th grade home school & loves Biology. She dissected her first frog last week & thoroughly enjoyed it. She keeps looking for other things to dissect. Beware! Aimee has her first boyfriend, who masquerades as the Carney Bulldog mascot. She dotes on him & he on her. They are only allowed family dates. I chaperone & I’m allowed to bring my camera & wait for the opportune embarrassing moment! Aimee is our resident blonde/brunette. She says the most amazing things sometimes. Desiree, Shawna & I will text each other our latest “Aimee-isms” Recently she warned me of an old couple who were walking in front of my car: “Mom, don’t hit the Presbyterians!” I asked: “You mean the pedestrians?” “Whatever” she replied, oblivious to the malapropism. Good thing they weren’t Methodists…
Michaela 11, an impish 4ft 7 ½, changed her last name to Johnson last July. She is official now, no chance of return! Micki has brought her grades up in school & loves playing clarinet in band. She was a ‘pink lady’ in the Christmas musical: ‘Dr. Newheart’s Christmas Cure’. Her tissue stuffed bustle alone made the play a hit as it entered the room before she did! She is our Diva. She loves to primp & dress up. I’ll admit the girl has style. Lord help me when she turns 13! Mic & Katie both played well on the Tiger’s softball team last summer.
Katie, 10, is a 5ft 2 ½ inch Amazon. She is matter o fact, opinionated & we are working on all of the above. She just gave her heart to Jesus last month & is eagerly waiting to be baptized. Katie is very athletic, loves to read & has star quality. She had a lead role in the musical. She practically lives for softball & basketball.
Tony & I (& Aimee) ventured to Washington DC last summer with the Trotters & Camin. We toured the Whitehouse & Capitol, met Mary Fallin & literally walked the soles off of Tony’s shoes. The cheapest pair we could find to replace them was $65...sticker shock for a man who buys his shoes at yard sales! I’m not sure who was more shocked, Tony, whose jaw dropped at the price of the shoes, or the salesclerk when I mentioned his last two pairs cost $1.50!!! Tony’s arm is about 75% restored from last year‘s wreck & God gets all the glory! With his arm & my slow moving, arthritic knee, we have truly paid the steep price of “an arm & a leg”. He is driving again, against all reason & sanity, & he loves being “Poppy” to our four grandsons.
I am still Ringmaster of my Circus. What I say still goes, mostly right out the window! We tend to have a full crowd most nights, besides the 9 of us still living under one roof, We also have our fair share of spectators & drop ins, esp. on the weekends. We serve enormous quantities of food with no dishwasher but our hands & the laundry cycles are endless. But life is always interesting at the Circus & at least we are never bored.
I still manage to scrapbook, I’ve read thru quite a bit of the Bible this year and I’ve found the OT is more interesting the older I get. I’ve ‘discovered’ facebook is a great way to quickly keep up with friends & distant family. I occasionally blog about our “life in the center ring”, but not often. Most days I am privileged to watch grandson Zaiden. He is my snuggle buddy while I sip my morning coffee. J
We gutted & remodeled the hall bathroom this summer & finally replaced our drippy roof. As a concession to aging, we surrendered our favorite woodstove for a gas log fireplace. I can no longer bend on my knees to keep the wood fire blazing. Getting old is certainly not fun, romantic or enjoyable. It’s more like a bad comedy..
With so many married children, I decided the best gift this year was to give them the holidays at their own homes, and a chance to make their own traditions. It was painful, but I surrendered my claim on Thanksgiving Day & Christmas Day so they could make those special pj clad memories. We are celebrating both on the day after from now on.
I’m still working on my bucket list & kicking that bucket gets closer all the time! I am so thankful for my many wonderful friends & my ever faithful family that love & support me & put up with my crazy forgetful personality & idiosyncrasies.
It’s no surprise to hear that I am inordinately proud of each of my 8 children, and my 4 grandsons. They are the light of my life, the spring in my step & the very reason I believe I was put on this earth. But even they cannot compare to my Lord & Savior. I am truly grateful for all God has done for me & I testify that He never fails, He is always faithful, and He truly is the Reason for this Season.
I still love living in my little one block town, where no one locks their doors & Sundays still mean going to church & a roast in the oven. It’s a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business, but only so they can pray for them & lend a hand. There is no place else I’d rather be then where I am, surrounded by the best friends & family in the universe. I’m so glad for the impact you have all made on my life. I couldn’t have made it without you!
WITH LOVE FROM MY CIRCUS TO YOURS…
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM HOJOCIRCUS
Tony & Kathy Johnson, Daniel, Aimee, Michaela & Katelyn
