Life in Idaho Falls!

Greetings Johnson family,

Yes, you are finally hearing from the Tim Johnson family. It is
coming up on a year now that we have moved our little family branch
to Idaho Falls. It has been a year of transition and growth for us.
Mostly just a lot of catching our breath from the first 12 years of
our marriage. Tim and I were just like the frog that crawled
comfortably into the pot and the heat just steadily rose and last
December/January we were quite done after years of consistently
boiling. Our little family is very happy with our little part of the
world. This Monday we closed on a house that we will be moving into
the first of January. (We will still have lots of room for visitors.)

Dr. Johnson loves his job. He goes to work and gets to do exactly
what he wants to do with his day. He has made a lot of breakthroughs
with his work this last nine months. This Fall his 3rd paper was
published and he has a couple in the workings. We should know if it
becomes a permanent position by early spring. We are pretty sure
that it will. If it doesn't then I guess we shall be moving on once
again. One thing is for sure Tim is much happier than he has been in
years...

The girls are growing up so fast. They all adjusted quickly and made
new friends. Andrea is still playing the piano - she is preparing
for two music festivals that are later this Fall. She is going to
play the viola for the school orchestra so we shall see how that
goes. She is a wonderful babysitter. Hailey has been playing the
violin and loves it. She loves to write poetry, all things fashion,
and her friends. Her and her sister are taking swimming lessons
right now.(It's much easier to get into a class in the winter
time:). Julia continues to entertain and surprise...We have learned
that although it appears that she is off with the mother ship she is
absorbing every bit of information that she can. I love talking to
her teachers because they describe an entirely different child. Miss
Ella is just fun. The other morning at 2:30 a.m. she woke up and
Tim set her on his pillow for a minute when he came back she waved to
him and said "My bed go to Ella's bed" They went back and forth for
a bit and they reached a compromise leaning towards Ella's favor.
That little story describes her life quite well. She loves her
sisters and shopping.....

My life has changed a lot in the last year. I miss working on
certain days but for the most part I can't imagine going back. I
miss my patients more than I thought I would and the instant
gratification of a completed job, respect, adult conversation,
respect. :) We are pretty busy with our callings. Our Ward
resembles a college ward in that there are maybe 8 families in their
30's and only about 5 of them active. There are only a few older
couples. Our service has been a blessing to us. A lot of things
that I really had no time to do are finally getting started. I have
become a family history addict. I have a lot of work to do. Our
family also can be sustained for longer than a month. Food storage
is something I never dreamed I would get excited about. Dad is still
wondering when we are getting the chickens to eat all of that wheat. :)

All in all we are reveling in the ordinary. It is awesome to sit all
six of us in the same living room for a half hour and watch t.v.
together even if it is Hannah Montana. I just know that our Heavenly
Father knows us and what we needed for our hearts. I wouldn't have
chosen Idaho Falls for an answer to my prayers in a million years but
here we are reminded of and recognize His hand in our lives daily.

We miss and love you all. We are looking forward to seeing all of
you during the holidays.

Love, Tim, Amy, and the girls...