2009- A Look Back

2009 was a great year for the Johnson's. Here are some major highlights...

* In March, Brian and I went on our first mission trip together as a married couple. We traveled with some of the youth from our church to Costa Rica. The trip was an awesome stone for our marriage, as we watched God not only provide the money for us to go, but worked through us and our team in incredible ways. We got to go with my Core Group from last year, Brian's youngest brother- Kevin, and our good friend Ashley.

* In May, we traveled to the Happiest Place on Earth, met Mickey and Minnie, road every ride together but one. We also camped in a tent at Fort Wilderness. Did you know that the week of Memorial Day it rained 7 inches in 9 days in Orlando? Well, it did. And we camped through it.

*In June, Brian and I both started graduate school. Brian is working on his MBA while I am getting my degree in Educational Media. We both hope to finish sometime in 2011.

*Also in June I STARTED BLOGGING!!! I just love it!

*In July, I got a new job. God blessed me with an incredible place to work and with 19 precious students to teach and to love.

*In November, we started the process of redoing our kitchen. We got new counter tops and a new backsplash. I also got a new trashcan for Christmas :) We hope to put in new tile sometime soon.

The year has FLOWN by. We can't wait to see what is in store for the next year!

Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve!

Love my life.

10 long hours well worth it.

More to come :)

Some things people don't know...

As Brian and I were driving to my parents house Christmas Eve night, we started discussing things that people don't know about us. We dated for almost four years before we got married, then have been married for 2 1/2 years, so misc. facts we don't know about each other are rare. I am a person who is all or nothing. I either adore it and everyone knows it or I don't really care and it's never discussed.

The following are commonly known facts. If we are friends in real life, you know this....

* I love Jesus. I accepted Christ into my heart at the age of 9 and things haven't been the same since. Though there are ups and downs, it is because of my unfaithfulness, never His. As I said in yesterday's post, He is good.

* I truly believe that my husband is the most attractive man in the world. Seriously, he's hot.

* If there were only one car in the world, it would be the VW Beetle. If there were two, some people would drive the Volvo SUV. I only own one of those though. Daisy, my beloved bug, has been in my life since November of 2002 when I was accepted into Auburn. I was super weird about driving her in the beginning and resorted to driving my mom's 1990 Volvo so the wackos at my high school wouldn't mess her up. I was way overprotective until she reached 10,000 miles, then I chilled out a little.

*Two words- War Eagle. I love SEC football. I always go for Auburn. I never go for Alabama. Mississippi State is my #2.

* I adore Harry Potter. The entire series. Rebecca introduced me to him my junior year at Auburn when Godlet of Fire was coming out in movie. I have since read each of the books at least 5 times. Brian and I actually went straight from the airport coming home from our honeymoon to Barnes and Noble to get Deathly Hallows.

*My cat Bodie is just adorable. And she is the perfect target shot for our new camera. Between Brian and I, she is probably seeing stars.

Here are some facts very FEW people know...

*I love Krystals. Such yummy flavor in such a little burger.

*I had ISS for 3 days in high school for skipping a pep rally. Instead of enjoying the pep rally festivities (which happened once a week since we were in the play offs), I watched Gilmore Girls and ate cookie dough with a friend.

*Growing up, I took 15 years of dance (tap and jazz). I also took baton lessons and piano.

*I stopped eating Chick-Fil-A for about a year after college from eating so much of it at Auburn. Then they came out with the Chick-Fil-A sauce and I am back on track!

*My 7th grade year, I sprained my ankle the day before dance team try outs going into the splits. I didn't make the team. I did the next year though :)

*When I was in elementary school I wanted to be a writer.

*My 6th grade teacher died of a heart attack in the middle of the school year. She was a Christian, so I know she's in heaven, but still it's a hard thing for a 6th grader.

*I was at the Auburn vs. Florida game in 2001. But the people we went with wanted to beat the traffic, so we left the stadium when we were behind and missed the field goal that happened in the last 10 secs. and Auburn's victory celebration. Still to this day I am a little bitter.

Do you have a little known fact? Please share!

Have a wonderful evening my friends!

Merry Christmas! (a little late)

Wow- It has been FOREVER! I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Though it is several days late, I have to say I love the true meaning of Christmas. The fact that God sent Jesus to fulfill prophecy and become the Man who frees us from our burdens and provides us with the peace and hope of eternal life is almost more than I can comprehend. I am thankful for who God is and that He was willing to come to earth. He is good.

It's been a busy 3 weeks for the hus and I (as I'm sure it's been for everyone else). Between finishing up graduate classes for the semester, to weddings, to Christmas break for my wonderful 2nd graders (who desperately needed some time away from school), to spending time with friends and family from out of town, to CHRISTMAS, I feel like we have been running all over the place. Now Brian is sitting quietly on the couch playing his new Madden game and I am happily returning to my bloggy world. Hello, old friend. :)

Brian was off on Christmas Eve so we decided we would spend the day doing fun "together" things before we went to my parents that night. I recieved a William Sonoma gift card from a sweet friend, so we had a blast picking out fun kitchen accessories we would never have been able to buy otherwise. My favorite purchase was the Pancake Pen. We made some delicious pancakes- and they were cute to boot! I handled the pancakes and Brian made the eggs and sausage- so scrumptious. It was amazing how great the pen worked- we spent more time creating pancake designs than actually eating the pancakes. If anyone has extra money lying around (HA!), I suggest you making the Pancake Pen investment. You won't regret it.

Once we finished breakfast, we set up the air mattress in the living room, lit a fire, and watched the movie 500 Days of Summer. I had been itching to see it since I first saw the preview a while ago. It was a little quirky, but overall, a very good movie.

That night we joined my family for our Christmas Eve celebrations. It was the first time my extended family has all been together in a very long time, so it was nice to see everyone. My cousin, Brandon and his wife, Amy brought there 1 1/2 year old. It was the first time we have had a child in the Christmas festivities. I LOVED it. He was so sweet and was into everything. It was just a very cool added element. I can't wait for when there are more.

Christmas Day was great. We spent the day with my parents, sitting around the house, taking pictures with our new camera, and really just spending time together. I love Christmas and the way no stores are open to distract you- it's simply quality time with the people that you love. Wonderful.

Have a blessed evening, my friends!

Dare to DIY- Homemade Gifts!

This week at the Newly Woodwards, it's Dare to DIY- Homemade Gifts. I am a huge fan of homemade gifts. I am one of those people who walk through stores, look at things, and say- I can do that. Then, I either forget about it or mess it up terribly. But it is always fun to try

Paper Covered Frame

My first DIY gift is my paper covered picture frame. I usually buy messed up frames from the clearance aisles of TJ Max or Hobby Lobby since the frame will be covered anyway. That makes this project super inexpensive. I cut the paper the estimated size, then crease the edges to fit it perfectly. I use modge podge to stick the paper to the frame, then put a layer on top. Finally, I use sand paper to smooth the edges. A wonderful friend showed me this several years ago and I still can't get enough! When I went to Christmas Village in November, I saw these frames with a large bow on the top. It was really cute and a great frill to the frame.

Big Sister Shirt

Another teacher on my team is due at the end of this month. When she saw my shirts for my student and her brother, she mentioned she wanted one for her two girls. I really liked the way the shirts turned out last time, but wasn't a fan of the white. This time I used the dark shirt iron ons. It took at least four prints (Word of caution, read the directions on the iron on package- all of them are not like the Avery brand.) When I finally got my patience back, they turned out really good!

Paisley Canvas

Another friend is due in Febuary, so I created a master piece for the nursery. They are using chocolate and primary colors, so I went for the red and brown theme. I painted the background, then used stamp/ stencils for the paisley. I picked a favorite font (Pea Stacy from Kevin and Amanda) and traced it on. When I was finished, I added the fringe on the edge. This was very similar to this previous project.

Cross Picture

As I mentioned in a previous post, I saw something similar to this at Hobby Lobby and wanted to try it out. I used a 5x7 canvas and modge podged a favorite paper. I used a cross from HL and hot glued it on. Finally, I matted it and framed it. I gave one to my GMiL on Thanksgiving Day and she LOVED it. It wasn't as cheap as it could have been, but I personally think it turned out better then the ones at Hobby Lobby.

Thanks for coming by friends! I am looking forward to seeing more crafty ideas!