House hunting

Yep, we are in the process of looking at houses and this is one we really like...to be continued.

Annual Newsletter 2011

This last year has been overflowing with changes around our house. We have lived in Montana for an entire year now and we are here to stay! Winter lasted a super long time but the sun finally came to stay around May. Our summer was filled with outdoor adventures like canoeing, hiking, camping and biking. We have made a lot of new friends with young families like us but we still miss our friends from many places that we have lived these last 7 years. We moved to our own apartment in Lolo in September that has lots of space and is walking distance to the Elementary School. Now that we are starting to make roots here in the banana belt of Montana we are learning about purchasing a home. So if anyone wants to come visit us the door is open and food is served!

Jeff started the year working hard as a hospital security guard and going to Paramedic classes. He enjoyed skiing on his days off and having the days to spend with the boys. He had a lot of firefighter interviews all around the western US and was put on a few hiring lists. Jeff did well in the Montana Fire Consortium in June and filled out a lot of applications again. In July the City of Missoula's Fire Department offered Jeff a job as a Firefighter and he started work right away. He has a 1-year probation period, got a CDL license and he is still working on his Paramedic.

Johanna has been holding down the fort wrangling the boys and getting accustomed to the area. In August she traveled with the boys alone to the Oregon coast for a family reunion for her mom's family. She likes to work out and do all kinds of art. Refinishing furniture is also a new creative outlet for her and has even sold a couple pieces. She is now an Independent Distributor for a company called Choffy that sells brewed chocolate that is delicious and healthy. She hopes that in the next year she can focus on attaining her Bachelor’s degree again.

Calder finished kindergarten and has made a lot of new friends. He did really well in swimming lessons and next year he will be able to swim all by himself. He also did soccer this year with a company called Soccer Tots and learned a lot of skills. After we moved, we decided that another year of kindergarten (and growing) was best so he will be in 1^st grade next year. His teachers report that Calder is smart, amicable, cooperative, super coordinated and has the best handwriting and drawing skills they've seen in years!

Phaelen turned 3 in August and is growing up so fast. He talks a lot more and is understandable to most people, has a goofy sense of humor, likes playing with other kids and is already good with legos. Since he likes to do as many things as his older brother, Phaelen also participated in Soccer Tots, is starting to draw a lot more and is potty trained. He loves to be involved and help out with anything in the kitchen or handyman work.

We know that this new chapter in our lives is just beginning and we couldn't have done it without the love and support from our friends and family. We know that God has put us here at this time and we will try and make the best of it!

Jeff, Johanna, Calder & Phaelen

The Johnson Pack

Tiramisu Drops

I am not a HUGE cookie fanatic, but I like to try new things so when Jeff saw this recipe in a local newspaper article we wanted to try it because we had an extra container of marscapone cheese, we like Tiramisu (chocolate style) plus we had Choffy to replace the coffee.

1 c. almonds, chopped
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. Choffy or coffee grounds
1/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 c. flour
8 oz. marscapone cheese
2-3 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
- Preheat oven to 350 farenheit and line cookie sheet with parchment paper
- In food processor mix almonds and sugar; then butter, vanilla and salt; then Choffy or coffee grounds and flour and pulse until combined
- Roll into 1 inch balls and press in center for indent and place on cookie sheet 1-2 inches apart
- Bake 10-12 minutes and let cool on cookie sheet
- In a bowl mix powdered sugar, cocoa powder and marscapone cheese; put in pastry bag, or plastic bag with corner snipped off, and pipe into indent of cookies
-Makes 2 dozen cookies, but they are small 

They are super cute, and you could even NOT add the cocoa and it would make them look cuter with just white in the center of a brown cookie. Also, you have to refrigerate them because of the cheese and don't worry about putting them too close to each other on the cookie sheet because they don't expand very much.

Let me know if anyone tries it!

Halloween Party