Quick (or NOT SO Quick) Review of 2010

So, if you had received our Christmas card or kept in touch, most of the information you already know. I kinda wish I had kept a journal/blog before now to keep up with our adventures...but ohh well. In short summary, here is a recap of our lives in 2010.

January - We settled down from our trip home for the holidays and meeting my brother's girlfriend.  A couple of weeks after Christmas, my brother proposed and she accepted! Also, we had friends over (at the old house) to help celebrate the new year.

A view of the gathering at our house on New Years Day 

Walking away from the fireworks....

The bro and his girlfriend at the time (now wife)..

February - The Hubs and I went on a trip to New Orleans with friends, but not before I spun out the Jeep (the morning of). Luckily, the Jeep was only mildly injured and I was just shaken up. It was at that point that I decided it's days in this house were limited. We ended up selling it a couple of months later to my brother (after it was fixed and deemed suitable for driving in the NE).
March - March was a crazy month...It included taking the said Jeep to AR (from TX) to be fixed while going to a weekend of bridal showers for Bro and Future Wife. The Hubs had a birthday that made him older than a quarter of a century. Oh, and March included a CRUISE to Mexico...like I said...CRAZY!

Cute dishes sis-in-law received at one of her showers....

Sis and I at one of the showers...

 The Hubs and I in Mexico

The fam (plus AR minus bro and sis-in-law)...walkin' on the beaches of Mexico...

April - A trip to Austin for another engagement session. One of my good friends made the trip with me, which made the trip that much more fun!! It seems like more happened this month that I can't remember...but that was the big highlight..

Sis-in-law's wedding shoes...given to her as a gift from her bridesmaids at the shower in Austin 

Yum! (From our Austin trip!)

May - My birthday!! Visiting Fay'ville for one of my good friend (and bridesmaid's) wedding...only to miss the wedding, but I made the reception!!! My birthday!! My brother's wedding in Austin!

 Friend's wedding...er..reception

The fountain where the Hubs proposed...

 Rehearsal Dinner Decorations (as done by my sister and I)

My brother's wedding...

June - Ohh boy...A 10 day trip to Europe...to be specific - Dublin, Wales, England (Stratford upon Avon and London), and Paris.

Dublin, Ireland

 Conwy Castle, Wales

Paris

July - A sly trip to Arkansas to interview for a job (which I accepted the same month). Spending the 4th with the family. Resigning from my job in TX and preparing to put the TX house for sale and moving. Saying goodbye to our TX family and friends.

Picture of the beautiful AR

August - Officially leaving my job. Moving. Seeing my grandma first thing when I made it to AR. Losing my grandma less than 2 days later.  Starting my new job the next day. Finding a new home in our new town. Growing accustomed to living in "temporary housing."

Old Home (Such a sad goodbye...)

Grandma's urn (an even sadder goodbye)

September - Attending an Arkansas game. Closing on our new home and getting to start unpacking our stuff (still not fully unpacked!). Changing positions at work (overwhelming!).

Sisters at the game...

New Home

October - Still unpacking. Experiencing Fall (as in the season...). Friends from TX visiting!!

Blanchard Springs (where we took our friends)

November - Lil sis turns the big 2-1! Selling the TX home!!!! 1st Thanksgiving at the Johnson home. Attending the AR game vs. LSU (and not sitting in the student section!)!!

The day she turned 2-1!

 Our awesome view!!!

Took Back the Boot and the trip to NOLA! Pour some Sugar on me!

December - A trip to TX to visit friends. Decorating for Christmas at the new home. The Hubs getting hired for the Spring Semester!! Christmas Road Trip!

(Pics of December have yet to be uploaded...)

As you can see, it has been a busy year with lots of adventures. Lots of tears and laughes. It is a year we won't forget. Hopefully, 2011 will be calmer and a time for us to enjoy our new home, our new jobs, our closeness to our families. We already have some grand adventures penciled in our calendar for the year and a few goals we want to accomplish by the end of the year. If this year has taught us anything, it's to be open to God's call, to enjoy life and live it to it's fullest, and to continually strive to love each other and grow closer together as we grow closer to God.

We wish you joy, peace, love, and happiness to follow you in 2011!!!!! May God bless you!

Holiday Road Trip!

Note: Pictures probably could be added to this post, but I can't find the energy to go get the camera and download the pictures from it...

Living in the same state as your family and your spouse's family adds a new dynamic to the holidays. It used to be where it was IMPOSSIBLE to make it to both places in a weekend as well as the travel to and from our home. Now, after 3 years of a road trip to one place, we did the unthinkable and road tripped to both families.

We left Wednesday afterrnoon after packing up clothes, our gifts, and the dogs and headed to my parents. My parents have become the unofficial dog sitters (though I think my sister and potentially them are revoking this title). We ate dinner and spent some family time with them that night.

Then on Thursday morning, we got up and packed for the night and headed to the Hubs home town. We got there and ate lunch at one of our favorite places. Did I mention that the Hubs grew up only a few miles from where we went to school? So going to visit is like taking a walk back down memory lane for both of us. After stuffing ourselves silly, we went and visited the Hub's mom for a few. From there, we went shopping and hanging out until 6. At 6, we went to my favorite mexican restaurant from college to meet up with one of my best friends and her two angels boys whom I adore. The boys are both red heads and have great personalities. The Hubs and I both love getting to spend time with them even when they are running on pure sugar. After dinner, we went over to an aunt and uncle's house to spend time with them. It's nice to spend time with them and catch up. We spent a couple of hours over there and then ended the night by spending quite a bit of time with the Hub's mom.

Friday, I got up early and went shopping. One of the downsides (or upsides, depending on how you look at) of living in a small town is there is very little choices for shopping. So, when given the chance to shop at stores such as Target and TJ Maxx, I am all for it. So I did some looking and a little some buying. I still made it back in time to pack and get ready for lunch. On the way to lunch, we stopped at our favorite bakery in town for some goodies (which were left at my parents). We then met the Hub's mom and brother for Christmas Eve lunch where we ate pizza to our hearts content. Then, we went back to the house to open Christmas presents and hang a little while longer.

We left around 4 and headed back to my hometown for Christmas Eve service and the rest of the holiday gatherings. We pulled into Granddad's church just as the Christmas Eve service started. That feels weird to type...Granddad's church. It's been known for so long as Grandma and Granddad's church. It makes me sad that Grandma was not here to celebrate Christmas yet happy to know that she is Heaven and no longer in pain. It was a hard holiday and even harder to think about it now knowing that I'll never have another holiday here on earth that I will get to spend with her. Needless to say, it was sad yet comforting to spend Christmas Eve service at the church that we used to go to almost every year as a child for Christmas Eve service. I did not make it through the service without crying, but what can I say?!?! I'm a softie. After the service, we went back to the house to eat dinner and finish wrapping gifts.

Christmas morning, we woke up and opened gifts as family. We all got alot of neat gifts that we were excited to get. The Hubs got a chimney smoker starter and I got a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer...yes you heard me right....a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer! I'm still soooooooo excited about it. Mom and Dad did a great job on gifts....I'm not sure how, but they got us lots of great gifts! I love that they treat the Hubs just like he was one of us. The Hubs and I did Christmas on Wednesday - he got me a new dish set and I got him new prescription sunglasses (and some video games). After presents, we had breakfast with my granddad (mom's dad), grandma (dad's mom), aunt, parents, and my sister. Then, we got ready for afternoon lunch at my aunt's (mom's sister) house. Most of my extended family on that side was there. We ate, opened presents, enjoyed being a family while trying not to dwell on the fact that one of the main members was no longer here on Earth (or atleast that is what I was trying to do..)... By the time we made it back home, we were all so tired we pretty much passed out. That is after setting up some of Dad's fun gifts.

Sunday morning, I got up and made a trip to Target for the After Christmas stuff. I suceed in making Target happy (i.e. spending a fortune) while buying lots of outdoor lights half off. I think we have enough light to make planes take notice of our house. We will attempt to add lights to the house next year. I can't wait! After a lunch of Prime Rib with grandma and an aunt and opening of presents with dad's family, the Hubs and I packed up as much as we could and grabbed the pups to head back home.

All in all, it was a good holiday weekend. It was full of family and fun and laughter which is just what we needed this Christmas season. Still not sure if it felt like Christmas, but I'll take as much time as I can to spend with my family.

A Letter Says It All...

Do you ever read things you wrote a while ago and cry? I mean full alligator tears, uncontrollable shakes cry. I just had that experience. I was perusing thru FB...ohh the illustrious FB....and found a letter I wrote on FB (not in person, oh how I wish I had) to my grandma. I am not normally a person of regrets, but I have a few there. Moving away, not being there at the last family holiday that she could attend, not sending said note in a letter...I know she knew I loved her beyond words and that she and my family meant the world to me even though I moved 8 hours away. I sometimes wonder if she waited to see that AJ and I made it back HOME before she passed. (I like to think of it positively, though, truthfully I look at the negative side of it and question. Why? Why then? Couldn't I have had just one more visit?)

Anyways, before I continue any further, I thought I would share the letter. The interesting part is that it was written almost 2 months before her passing. The other interesting part is that at that point I did not know that I would do a rememberance of her and in fact I had forgotten I wrote this. The thing is that the letter has many references that were used in the rememberance I wrote.  So without any further ado, here it is:

For one of my rolemodels on her birthday.....

GW...I hope you know how you have and still inspire me..You are one of the most stubborn, strongest, loving people I have ever had the pleasure to know and love. I can only hope that I will be able to adequately depict you...in all your goodness and stubbornness...I only hope that someday I have the impact on someone that you have had on me! I love you more than words can ever express!
I know the potential for you to have a facebook profile is slim-to-none, but I felt the need to write this....as you sleep on your birthday in your beautiful bed jacket!

As a little girl, I can remember being so excited to get to spend the night at your house, and play with my mom's barbies. I can remember Saturday mornings at McDonalds and shopping at Walmart for that toy Dad never wanted to buy me. I remember Sunday mornings..sitting beside you in church..trying to act all grown-up...and always wanting gum...Wrigley's Double Mint. Always and forever! For that matter it was always fun to dig in your HUGE (not so huge by today's standard) to get gum....pencil, notepad, etc. Your purse was like Mary Poppins....

As I grew, I learned to appreciate some of my favorite qualities about you. You are a fighter...for your family, for your church, for the things you believe in...and yet you loved with no bounds...no matter how annoying your 5 girls...yes..5 Girls...of which 2 were identical twins..God knew only you could manage Becky and Barbara and love them to no end....as well as 6 grandchildren...and I don't know how you handled us.

I remember back-to-school shopping days...THE COOLEST! Chuck-e-cheese + Puff's 12 dollar Zoo Temperature Dependent Clothes or the MALL or whatever was cool and hip at the time. I really wondered what you thought when you purchased all of our goodies...and I'm sure part of you was praying that our parents wouldn't kill you for buying what we wanted.

As I moved into Junior High School, I remember calling you because I was sick...or I just didn't want to be there and therefore was sick...and yet you stressed to me the importance of school...Infact, you bribed me to make it through the hard times. Most people wouldn't agree with the bribing, but you and I both know that you gave me the incentive to learn perserverance. I am forever grateful for the lesson...for I know that without perserverance you can not make it through this life.

In Highschool, as in all other times in my life, I remember your looks of pride as you watched me grow, learn, and become a fairly independent, stubborn human being...just like you. The pride in your eyes as you watched all of my plays as well as watched me walk across the stage and on to college is just a glimpse of the love you showed.

As I grew into a young lady - through college and on into THE REAL WORLD, I'll never forget our discussions of where I was going..what I was doing...and did I know Texas was a long way away. God only knows how thankful I am for you being healthy and well enough at the time of my wedding to be there. I remember discussing with AJ where we were going to get married..and the fact of the matter was, that I had to get married in Little Rock, cuz there was no way you were driving "Up in THOSE mountains" just as I knew there was no way I was getting married without you there. As we made the decision to move away from home, away from our families to pursue my job, I remember thinking how I wouldn't get to see you at every birthday, holiday, and family gathering. But I was okay, because I knew you were there, cheering me on all the way.

Over the past year and a half, as your health has declined, I have prayed alot of things..that God will protect you, bless you, and keep you in his everloving arms..that you will continue to be the same woman I have always known...the fighter, the lover, and the most stubborn person...As I said above, you continue to amaze me with your fight to live, your desire to get out of bed, and yet your love for the family. I love that no matter how much food mom brings to you, you swear she can't and doesn't cook. I love that you love to laugh until you cry....which we do well together...I love that you made it to another birthday and have gotten to spend most of the past year in your home...I love that no matter how your day goes you are willing to fight to stay awake even if it is just to smile at me. I love these memories we make as much as the memories we made when we both were younger.

 All in all, I want you to know that you have forever left imprints on my heart and that I love you for all that you are and all that you have done. I hope you have an amazing birthday and I wish I could be there with a tray of lasagna from Olive Garden, but I will be there to visit soon - so we can laugh and cry together and just enjoy our time as we did when I was 5, there was nothing wrong with the world, and McDonalds could cure ANYTHING!

Quick Update Before the Holidays!

We are in the midst our Holiday travels, but I figured this was probably the only time I will have to give a quick update...

So we got back from TX to a house that was missing all of it's Christmas decorations. Needless to say that was my mission...in a matter of days we had the tree and stockings up. Then, we worked on the Christmas cards and Annual Christmas Letter. Those got sent out just in the nick of time. Somewhere along the way, we also put up some of the outside decorations. After all of that, you would have thought I would have been humming Christmas songs..but I wasn't. Still not sure why I didn't feel like it was Christmas, but it hasn't.

In the mean time, work has kept me busy. We had a start up which meant I worked 12 hour shifts for about 5 days..which included last weekend. 10 days in a row! Not the most fun, but a 4 day weekend is awesome after that! I still feel very blessed to have the job I do and to be able to get to do the work I am doing!

Other than work and decorating and the Hubs getting the job (see previous post! So excited about this event!!), we haven't had much other than helping out with Joy to the Children. Joy to the Children is a holiday ministry a local church does to provide underpriviledged kids some gifts and a Christmas party complete with Santa. It is an awesome ministry that gets to the heart of Christmas. We had a great time helping where we could and look forward to getting more involved in the ministry and maybe even the church. We are still searching for a church home, but I think we may be close to closing in on one!

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Congratulations Hubby!

So..if you have read this, you might know that one of the struggles we faced with moving is that we moved without the Hubs having a job. He applied for one in the summer and someone else "more qualified" (and perhaps a friend of a friend of the superintendent) got the job. The Hubs has been substituting for this semester. Also mentioned before, he applied for job that is exactly like what he had to leave for next semester. In early November, he was told he would be recommended for the job to the board. Well if you remember, that board meeting came and went without a vote as well as we found out that it was not a sure thing. Long story short, over a month after the drama of being told he pretty much had the job, the board voted UNANIMOUSLY to hire him!!!

Congratulations Honey! You derserve it! I am so proud of you, not just for getting the job, but for your patience to listen to God as we waited for his timing. It was not the easiest thing, but it was worth it! The doggies and I love you!

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Trip to TX..

Last weekend (well, Wednesday), we started a journey to visit friends back where we used to live. That statement feels very strange. We have several friends there that we miss. We stayed incredibly busy visiting and enjoying what little time we had down there.

Wednesday, we drove to stay with my 'rents and drop off the pups. Thurs, we made the drive on down. Driving reminded me of how I strongly dislike that drive as well as TX roads. I made that journey more times than I want to count. It never got any better. So we made it and the Hubs dropped me off to get my hair done. Yes, I am that big of a nerd that it takes alot for me to trust someone with my hair. When we went to leave, we couldn't start the car. Dead Battery. Must have been all the bad things I had to say about TX. My hair dresser who happens to be a good friend called her stepdad to help us..so an hour later we were on our way with a new battery. The hubs told me that it was the most expensive hair cut I have ever had. I told him not to test me! ;-)
We then made it to the L-town Christmas Parade where we got to spend time with our old small group. After the parade, we went to our favorite burger place. I swear that that place would be a success ANYWHERE. It is sooooo yummy. It was a great welcome. The Hubs and I ended up staying up "late" with one of our friends chatting away.

Friday, I woke up at 6...pissed that I couldn't go back to sleep. One of our friends, R, came over and fixed us a good ole country breakfast. We then went and bummed around Target for a bit looking at baby stuff. R is 5 months pregnant. She told us right before she left. It was one of those bitter sweet moments because she and her hubs are good friends of ours. R had a knackering to see Harry Potter so we all piled up and went a town up to see it for cheap. As we walked out after the movie, we saw a guy riding a horse....only in TX..... From there, we went to dinner with some of our other close friends and caught up with them. After dinner, we headed to a friends house to hang and caught up with a few more people before calling it a night.

Saturday, we got up and headed to P & R's house. P & R have been singularly good friends of ours for over 3 years. Since then, they started dating and during the summer got engaged. We are so excited for them! Their wedding is on our list of trips for this upcoming year. We then headed back to the place we were staying so I could go have girl time with R and her mother-in-law/one of my favorite people. We ate lunch and went to a Christmas Craft Fair. I love those type things! Found a bunch of cute things that i bought and some I passed up but wanted.
The Hubs and I then met up with friends for sushi happy hour including some of the friends we had seen the previous night. I can't tell you how good it is to have real sushi...we don't have a place like that within 30 mi. of here. :-( It was also great to spend time with those folks...sushi happy hour was a regular thing for us back there. It almost felt as if we were living there and nothing had changed...except alot has. We double booked ourselves and so we headed to R's house for homemade pizza with the family and a few close friends. We hung out there before we headed over to another friend's house for a bonfire.

Sunday, we went to our old church (also a sad statement) where we enjoyed seeing our pastor and worshipping with God among friends. We went to MiMi's to eat (like a normal Sunday after church) and then started on our journey back home. We picked up the pups and ate dinner with my 'rents on the way.

Needless to say, it was a long trip, but a good trip. It was filled with lots of laughs, a couple tears, and an all around good time. I have a few pictures to share, but unfortunately did a terrible job of documenting our trip. Needless to say, we miss our TX friends and those friendships, but still find peace and happiness in our new home.

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Thanksgiving and the Holiday Weekend

So somehow, we received the opportunity to host Thanksgiving. I'm not sure how it happened (actually I am, but to protect people I will hold my silence). So the week before, we began preparing the house. One week was not enough time - I ended up running around the day of trying to clean and ultimately felt like it still wasn't good enough, but ohh well.

We ended up having 8 people (including us) here for lunch. Thanksgiving has always been lunch for my family. So the 8 people were us (2), Hub's mom (1), my parents and sister (3), my dad's mom (1) and one of my aunts (1). It was just about the right size, though, we still managed to make too much food and cause mass chaos.

The Hubs handled the turkey (well except the giblets - which will be a story for the ages). My dad, mom, and I handled most of the rest of the food, though, sister got involved in pies. That's her job....pies. Just like mom's job is decorating the table. The rest of the family watched How To Train A Dragon. Didn't see it...still haven't so who knows if it is good. I wish I had taken pictures of the day. It was fun and stressful. At the end of the day, we were all exhausted. Everyone but the Hubs' mom headed home. She spent the night here.

We got up the next morning and she and I drove around town before hitting the Walmart Black Friday. We got a few things of fun and interest including a printer. I know that sounds silly to be excited over, but as some one who wants to start using more coupons and has had a broken printer for YEARS...It's Very Exciting!! We then ate brunch and Hubs' mom left us to ensure she got back home before dark fall.

We got ready, packed up the dogs, and headed for LR for the rest of our fun filled weekend. Friday, we went to the Razorback basketball game, which was fun even though we lost.

Saturday, we got up early and ate breakfast with Granddad. I was thrilled to see him, especially since he didn't make it to Thanksgiving. Then, we got ready and headed out to THE GAME. You ask, what game? The Arkansas Razorbacks football game versus LS...who? ohh yeah, the tigers of LSU. Needless to say, it was an exciting game, which we won! We had great seats thanks to my dad and enjoyed the game. It was my first game to not sit in the student section. (Yes, I have been out of college for a few years.) It's strange not to sit in the student section. There are many positives and negatives..not sure how I feel about it. I'll let you know when I figure it out.

Great view of the U of A

Arkansas "A"

The players running thru the "A"

"GO HOGS" (Upside down)

End of the Game

Celebration!

(Note: The stadium is still PACKED!)

AJ and I then had date night at The Villa...only one of our favorite Italian establishments in the Rock. On Sunday, we got up early and headed home. Sometime Saturday or Sunday, I came down with a severe sore throat so I spent the rest of Sunday on the couch in misery.

All in all, that was our holiday weekend. It was definitely filled with family and fun with little time for rest. We enjoyed our first Thanksgiving back in AR and hope for many more joyous ones here!

I am Alive!

I almost typed "I am Alice!". Needless to say, I am also tired. I want to write several long write ups....and yet I am overwhelmed by lack of sleep and the amount of Christmas decorations still left to be put up...so I'm off to bed instead. I'll try to take some time and give you the Thanksgiving run down tomorrow...and our adventures in TX later this week.