Dead baby chick in our breakfast Eeew!

It's not even 9am and already we've had an exciting morning.
Summer and Caitlin got up to run their mile, as they are training for Civil Air Patrol.
Noah and I watched the very talented Bobcat driver tear up the street in front of our house, and put the concrete pieces in a VERY BIG truck.
Then, we all came in and started to make french toast for breakfast. As we were cracking the eggs, one had blood inside of it (Eeew!)
We opted not to eat it, and we moved it to a plate to check it out. Here is a picture of our dead baby chick that almost ended up in our french toast.

Camp LutherHaven

Our field work church in Avilla held their services at Camp LutherHaven this morning. We worshipped, had a potluck lunch, and swam in the lake well into the afternoon. It was a blast! I wonder if we could get called to a camp? Hmmm.

FREE SCHOOL SUPPLIES

A local business called Windows, Doors and More held a Big Back to School Celebration on Saturday. The kids shared free cotton candy, pizza, lemonade and ice cream.
Everyone (except Noah, who was too little) got to jump in the moon walk toy, and loved it!
They gave away prizes; Ethan won a backpack, and Jacob won a water bottle. Their ad offered free school supplies, which we stood in line for, thinking that we would get paper, pencils, rulers and such. Actually, they handed out a $15 gift card per kid to the United Art and Education store. We had a blast shopping, and ended up getting a few small things, like a meter stick and a new dry erase calendar. But, we also bought the Elenco, Electronic Snap Circuit set (over 300 projects). An expensive, but very cool science kit that we have been wanting, but not buying because it is $63! What a great day!

Video Camp

The four oldest of our half dozen are spending two days at Video Camp. They are taking a short script, playing parts, working with camera equipment, editing software and making a short movie.

It is a two day intensive camp, and they are having great fun. Mom has been busy at home with the little ones, and hasn't had a chance to take any photos. But, a reporter from the Journal Gazette was out there yesterday.

Here is a link to the shots that they took.

Ludington, Avilla, and other Fun places

Don has finished the first year, and now is on to summer Hebrew. The work never ends, but the time is flying by. Here are some photos of fun things we've been doing lately.

Avilla Days, local festival in the town where our field work church is. Summer worked the food booth, Ethan was crowned Avilla Kiddie King, got to ride in a convertible in the parade, and Caitlin got an opportunity to open for the band that was hired to play at the pavilion in the evening. A great day all around.

Ethan got to talk live on the radio. It was very exciting to be interviewed by the DJ after being crowned king.







Don has completed his first year of Seminary and has started Hebrew this summer. Time seems to be flying by. Here are some photos of things we've been doing.


Ludington Marina Playground, Father's Day weekend, Loved that we got to see the Badger pulling out of port while we were there. Only in Ludington!








Cub Scout Day Camp, Ascension Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne





The Mermaid Festival, North Webster, IN

Don's Got Issues

There are only two ways to get an Issues, Etc t-shirt.
You have to make a personal appearance or be chosen for sound byte of the week.
When Don went to visit the St. Louis campus, the guys all stopped by the station and introduced themselves on the air.

Smart Enough to Come In Out of The Rain

It's been raining for a couple of days and it's muggy, so I opened the back door to let in some fresh air. Noah walked right outside to play. A few minutes later, he came back in, soaking wet, but smiling.

Civil Air Patrol Open House

Rock Climbing at the YMCA

This Week at Seminary.

Click here for radio blog

This is a radio blog, remember to turn up the volume on your computer. Guys from Fort Wayne and St. Louis talk about the classes that they are taking and some of what they are learning during their time there.

It provides a great opportunity for your congregation to hear from some of the seminarians.

Growing Up Baby

Noah this morning was playing around with his toys and I thought it was cute that he had grabbed the fire hat and the fire truck from his toy crate. I got out the camera, and caught him just in time to watch him put on the hat. He is so proud of himself.
I've also noticed how much the kids have grown since we moved here, especially the little ones. Noah was just 7 months old, and now he's nearly 1 1/2 and using a bowl and spoon and walking around. Jacob was almost three and barely talking, now he's using complete sentences and carrying on conversations - when we first got here, he wouldn't talk to anyone at church, now he participates in Sunday School discussions. The changes in the older kids are more subtle, but there. If you haven't seen us since last August, I'm sure you'll notice the differences the next time we get together. For now, I'll just keep trying to share moments with you through pictures.

Spring Break is Over - Half way through 1st year!

Wow! We are half way through the 1st year of Seminary. Six months from now, we'll be a Sem-2 family. Some days, I feel like we just got here.

We just arrived home from a trip to Michigan. We visited with family in Ludington on Saturday, went to church at Trinity Reed City on Saturday night and worked at the Fantastical Talent Show at Redolencia in Ludington on Sunday. The kids did a great job and now Corinne has a lot of film footage to edit and a DVD to make.

Caitlin played her guitar (sort of, she's just starting to learn it) and sang Happy Birthday to her mom. Summer was the MC and hostess of the event, and she made the most of her moments on stage. Tyler and Ethan performed a short skit that they made up together. Daddy took Jacob and Noah to the park, but he'll get to help with the DVD, so he'll see the performances many times.

Corinne is taking some classes at IPFW, including journalism and just got her first article published.
Here is a link to it.
The Communicator is the college newspaper. She has another story scheduled to run in a future edition of the Fort Wayne Family Magazine.

Half way through the break - Mom speaks

I try to keep the blog updated with photos and kids activities, but I wanted to take this opportunity to let everyone know how I am doing.
Don has been off school for one week now, and apparently that is enough boredom for him - he's been getting the garage and yard cleaned up and yesterday he organized the pantry. I LOVE IT!
One more week and he'll be back in class - (sigh)
He is looking forward to classes starting back up though, because he is learning so much. I hear him say over and over how brilliant the professors are.
The kids are spending this week rehearsing for the FANTASTICAL talent show at REDOLENCIA coffee shop in Ludington, MI.
We'll be there next Sunday, March 14th 1pm - please come and see us!
I'm in charge of videotaping the event and we will have DVD's available for sale a week after the live show.
I'm taking several classes at IPFW (Indian Univ. Purdue Univ. Fort Wayne). I just finished my last class of the week and now I'm on spring break too.
It's starting to feel like home here now, and everybody seems to be finding their place, even me...
>I've been asked to write an article with tips on how to manage a large homeschooling family for Fort Wayne Family magazine;
>I am being considered for a writing position at The Communicator (IPFW paper);
>I am making large posters with the words to "I am Jesus Little Lamb" for our church's deaconess to use in teaching the song to the Sunday School children;
>I was asked this morning to help with the summer's VBS program, so I've added that to our calendar
> Oh, and I almost forgot, I was nominated and elected to the position of Vice President for next years SWA (Seminary Wives Association) board.
I've always been happier staying busy, and we do have to keep a pretty strict schedule to get everything done, and sometimes I feel like I'm driving (literally, driving) around in circles dropping off and picking up to get everyone to and from all their activities.
Even though this upcoming week should be completely free, we've filled it with rehearsals so that we can participate in next weeks talent show. It seems that no one around here is able to just sit still for any length of time, and I suppose the blame begins with me.
We miss our family and friends back home, but we have been very blessed during our time here, and I am very grateful for all that God (through His faithful children) has done for us.
Corinne

ON BREAK, but still thinking about school...

Here are a couple of photos of Tyler's Ship he built from a kit he got for his birthday. And, a fun one of Noah playing Peek A Boo!
Don is on break and we all appreciate having him home. We do have a lot of catching up to do over the next two weeks. If the weather warms up, we might even try cleaning out the garage - LOL
We are planning a trip to Michigan the weekend of the 14th.
Don has two weeks until classes start up again, but he is already looking for the best prices on books, so he can get them shipped in time if he has to order them online. Next quarter, he'll be taking Confessions, Gospels II, Baptism, Homiletics and New Testament, plus he'll continue with Field Work and Greek Readings.
We've been bargain hunting as much as possible, and Don has more than half of his books already. Here are some that he still needs to get:
Augsburg Confession: Commentary (Lief, $18.40)
Sources & Contents of the Book of Concord (Kolb, $23)
Book of Concord (Kolb,$29)
On Being a Theologian (Forde, $17)
The Renewal of Liturgical Preaching (Bass, $14.50)
Preaching for the Church (Caemmerer, $16.80)
Ancient Christian Commentary (Just, $28.80)
Anchor Bible Mark 1-8 ($36.12)
The Lukan Passion & The Praisworthy Death (Scaer, $60)
Lectures of Christian Sacrament ($11.20)
Bible & The Liturgy: Liturgica (Danielou, $24)
Augustine & The Catechumenate ($30.36)
This is just the short list of required books; there is a much longer list of recommended books that he doesn't think he'll ever have time to read. However, if anyone knows how to give us more time in the day - we'll gladly take it! If you don't have a miraculous way to give us more hours in the day to get things done (like reading all these books), but would like to help out this quarter... please contact the Seminary Bookstore and purchase a gift card in the name of Donald Johnson.
I (Corinne) am still working on the technical issues of posting video - especially after last night when I tried to capture video of Caitlin singing and was only able to get about 30 seconds in the middle of her song. GRRR! But, I think I may have a solution, just one more thing for my to-do list. Our last YouTube post was over a year ago, so it's time to get busy on this video issue.

Go Baby Go! - Noah Walking

Up until today, Noah has been pulling himself up and moving along the walls and furniture, even sometimes walking along with someone holding his hands.
Suddenly, this morning, he just stood up and walked across the room without holding anything. I quickly grabbed the camera and encouraged him to do it again.

Toddler Mantra

If I want it, it's mine.
If I give it to you and change my mind later, it's mine.
If I can take it away from you, it's mine.
If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
If it's mine, it will never belong to anybody else, no matter what.
If we are building something together, all the pieces are mine.
If it looks just like mine, it is mine.

Pictures, pictures, pictures!

For those of you who love to see pictures - here is a public link to a photo album I just posted on my Facebook Page. Corinne

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049198&id=1475272427&l=f7df2474f3

Just another day at the Johnson house

This is just a little clip of Caitlin that I think is really funny. Summer is learning to use Power Point and so decided that Caitlin would be the subject of her presentation. Caitlin is working on writing a story to share with the homeschool group next week. So, as Caitlin is sewing together the book she made, Summer is hounding her with the camera like paparazzi. Finally, Caitlin agreed to sing, but not put down her project. Here's the clip that Summer ended up with.

It's pouring car repairs

Oh, when it rains, it pours.
The Johnsons seem to have bad luck with vehicles.
As you know, we had to replace the engine in our van just days after we arrived here.
Since, then, we've had it back in for minor glitches a couple of times.
Today, it is sitting at the garage again.

The driver side window got stuck in a crooked, partially open position, which we would have lived with if it hadn't been below zero and blowing wind right in Noah's face. We probably could have stuffed something in there and made it work, but by the time they called me, they had already fixed it.
$234.84
The headlights quit working; kind of important for safety reasons:
$63.29
The incessant squeaking that we've been trying to ignore, turns out to be a leaking water pump that is dripping onto the serpentine belt. The water pump and the belt have to be replaced. We could keep driving it until we raise the money, but Corinne has to drive to Michigan next week to do more repairs at the Scottville property, and it could go at any time, which would not only be leaving her and the kids stranded somewhere, it could also destroy the engine we just put in, soooo
we decided to fix it now
$419.84
The windshield has a pretty big crack in it - another $262.94 - UGH! We are going to wait on that one for now. He recommended several other things, but by that point, there wasn't any more room on the scratch pad to write down all the other suggested repairs.

We're thinking of encouraging the children to pursue auto mechanics as a career; they could probably just take care of Mom's car and stay in business.

On a more positive note: We have been blessed with many financial gifts over the past month and we had saved up enough money for Don to take Hebrew this summer. So, we can use that money to pay for the repairs. And, although the student loan money is pretty much used up, we are expecting a substantial tax return to help get us through until September.

The Lord continues to provide for us in a great many ways and we are grateful. We have everything we need, and there are only a few places we have to drive to; we could get by without a vehicle if we had to. It is convenient to have though, so we are praying that it makes it through seminary. We are trying to be good stewards with it and keep up with the little repairs before they become too big to fix.

January Newsletter

January 2010 is nearly over and the Johnsons have been in Fort Wayne for 6 months now. If you are wondering about this months newsletter; we just didn't get one made this month. The days seem to be flying by and there is so much to do, and we're barely keeping up with this blog.
As we mentioned in the December news, Don is taking 18 credits this semester, so his time away from studying is very limited. The city of Fort Wayne offers many interesting activities, and we are constantly trying to find a balance between time at home and time on the run.
Corinne is taking an online class at IPFW called "Journalism: Reporting, Writing, and Editing" This class is a perfect match for her interests and has her running around town covering events. She is also taking a Visual Communication (aka Photo-Journalism) class at the college, and that one has her running all over taking pictures of the news. This coming Saturday, the entire family will be attending the Fort Wayne Pro-Life Rally so that mom can 'report' on it. Well, everyone except Summer as she will be on a youth group trip this weekend.
We have started to inquire about houses that might be for rent next year, and we've even begun packing up some things (mostly books that we want to keep, but won't be reading in the next few months).
We are rewriting the business plan for our Ebay store, as Ebay presents a new fee schedule to begin in March.
We still struggle to find and keep good renters in our Scottville property, and are now offering it for rent with an option to buy. We are hoping to have it sold by the time Don is finished with his studies at CTSFW.
Fort Wayne has been particularly cold recently - it is physically painful to go outside. We've been trying to stay inside, but there are some things worth going out for. Like the kids singing in chapel this morning. Of course, Don has to go out every day for class, but the rest of us are trying to stay in and stay warm.
Sorry we missed the print version of this letter this month, we'll try to do better in FEB. :)

Help CTS Help Haiti

While the primary function of CTS is training the next generation of Pastors, there is much more happening within that context. Concordia Theological Seminary is working in the name of Christ throughout the world, and is therefore directly affected by the catastrophe in Haiti. Currently, CTS has a Deaconess serving in Haiti with her daughters, and one of Don's classmates has just returned to his home in Haiti to be with surviving family members.
Here is a link to a report on the situation from Deaconess Intern Alyssa Stone in Les Cayes, Haiti.
ALYSSA'S REPORT
We encourage you to visit the CTS website as they post updates on the situations of friends and family connected to the seminary, as well as plan to send a group of students on a mission there this spring
CTS SITE

Fun in the Snow!

Lots of fun for everyone except Noah.
Momma wouldn't let him out to play.
So, Jacob came and played with him.

Cool Cardboard box trick

You've all heard the expression, "kids have more fun with the boxes their gifts come in ..."
Well, here is a perfect example of one kid (Jacob-age3) making great use of his cardboard box.


Big Girls Rock Too!