The Johnson's Top 10 of 2010!

10. Spending New Years and a week after that in warm tropical Costa Rica at the beach with all of the Rices.

9. Going to California in February to see Grandpa and Grandma Wuerth and for Chris to meet my wonderful Grandparents.

8. Summer 2010: Memorial Day at Figure 8 Island with the Johnson's, our anniversary in Charleston, Fourth of July with the playgroup, an August trip to Virginia and Labor day at Figure 8.

7. Celebrating with friends and family near and far. We welcome Rachel Anne Atkins, praised God for Grandpa Wuerth's 90th birthday, partied hard on June 11 when Stefan and Amanda got engaged, celebrated with Rob and Mary Catherine at their wedding in June, enjoyed the addition of Kirby to the Vanderlinden household, celebrated with Stefan and Amanda at their wedding on December 11, 2010, rejoiced when Jed and Carol got engaged December 16th and praised God for the addition of Rosie to the Rice Family on December 28th.

6. Marina Alling Rice joining our family on October 13, 2010 and the wonderful visit we had with all the Rices over Thanksgiving in Virginia!


5. Our first ever entire family Christmas with all of the Johnson's and the wonderful food that we all pitched in to make.

4. Our one year anniversary. We went out for a nice dinner in Greensboro and went to Charleston, South Carolina for a weekend for some sweet couple time.




3. A financial make over courtesy of Dave Ramsey. We started the class in January and have been blessed by all the insight it has given us into our finances and....

2. WE ARE DEBT FREE...a year and a week after graduation we paid off Elon and a couple months later my car! We thank God for the abundant blessings we could do this. Thank you for the extra push Dave Ramsey

1. Our top praise for 2010 was a new job for Kristen. We prayed, we trusted, we prayed, we kept trusting and new that God would provide. In July God challenged me through Psalms and then within a couple days of being debt free God went big and provided a new job. Our year is divided by before the new job at SR Max and after the new job at SR max. It has been an amazing change to be at a job I love and enjoy every day and home life is much happier when Kristen is happy.

We are so thankful for an amazing 2010 and we look forward to what God has in store for us in 2011 and how He will work through us! We hope you and your family have a blessed 2011!

And a goal for 2011: take more pictures!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! We hope and pray that this season is full of wonderful family time, adventures and fun as we reflect on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Coming up next week...my 2010 sum up!

Oh its a wonderful time of year!

10 days till CHRISTmas and we are so excited.

Two weekends ago we went out after it snowed and bought our Christmas tree. This year we have nicknamed it leaning tower of tree. We have it leaning against our back sliding door to avoid having it fall when we are at work. We put up our decorations and we are looking mighty festive around here.

This past weekend was a highlight of December for me. Chris and I went to Cleveland, Ohio to celebrate with my best friend Amanda and her husband (now) Stefan. I was thrilled to serve Amanda as her Matron of Honor (that makes me sound old).

It was an amazing weekend, with lots of memories. I'll sum it up with a couple little highlights:
1. seeing my best friend after 3 months...shortest length in a while.
2. watching as Stefan saw his bride and wife walk down the isle toward him and tears welling up in his eyes.
3. bachelorette party fun!
4. watching Amanda put on her wedding dress and almost crying because I was so excited and it was such a sweet moment.
5. being able to tell Amanda just how much of a blessing she is. If you would like to see my toast look below I have copied it onto here.
Lots of love to Mr. and Mrs. Stefan Schaefer!

Good Evening. My name is Kristen Johnson and I have the absolute joy of being a part of this day for Amanda and Stefan. I remember the day Amanda and I met in my freshmen statistics class at Elon. She was sitting next to me and struck up a conversation which led to lunch and to an amazing friendship. I also remember the first time I saw Stefan. I had gone to Inter Varsity at Elon and he was up there eating worms for a skit. I found out after that night that my friend from statistics class had just started dating the guy that ate worms and later gold fish.

As our friendship has deepened I have watched Amanda and Stefan grow as a couple, encourage each other, love each other and most importantly deepen their love for Christ as a couple. I have many fond memories of time spent with Amanda. From Bible Study freshmen year to pulling off several pranks mostly on Stefan, baking endeavors, meal runs, target sanity runs and after she left to come back to Cleveland, long conversations, trips up here to introduce me to the real meaning of snow and be a part of her family traditions and so many more. I have been blessed with a true one of a kind friend in Amanda. She is a beautiful person inside and out, she is honest and encouraging. Every step of the way she has looked out for my best interest, she has cheered me on in my crazy endeavors, she has cried with me when I needed someone to cry with, she has celebrated joys and successes with me and she has been a constant encouragement to me. Stefan, you have a wonderful person to stand by your side in the adventure of life.

I have one quick story that reflects Amanda, her love for others and her spirit. My freshmen year of college was an adjustment period. I struggled with the newness of everything and being so far from my family. That year my birthday fell on the same weekend as parent’s weekend at Elon and I was next to miserable. I was culture shocked, cold, sick, tired, counting down till I could go home and the invasion of parents coming to see their student was not helping. Amanda found out it was my birthday and took it upon herself to make it one to remember. She picked me up at work and informed me that we were going to her house. When we got there she had invited several friends and made a cookie cake. In an effort to decorate it she had melted chocolate and formed balls to write happy birthday. It was a great attempt but looked a little weird. We pulled the balls off stuck them in a bag, labeled it and stuck them on Stefan’s porch. This was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. That night without even knowing it she gave me a gift no amount of money could have purchased. Amanda gave me the friendship and love I needed at that moment. Everyone in this room that knows Amanda knows this is just one example of many stories that could be told about her going above and beyond in relationships and life.

Stefan and Amanda your marriage is going to be amazing. I have known since day one and through many conversations that you both love and respect each other deeply. Stay centered on Christ, He must be at the center of every decision, conversation and prayer. He has great plans for you and I cannot wait to see and experience with you everything He will do through you as a couple. You will be in our constant prayers as you move forward. I love you all and am thrilled that I get to witness this and be a part of this with you. Take a moment a look around for a second….you are married!! YAY!

Stefan and Amanda, congratulations, enjoy the rest of the evening, your honeymoon and setting up your home and marriage. Here’s to Stefan and Amanda.

Thanksgiving and Christmas!

I am a little late on my December post and have thought of ways to get better at blogging but haven't come up with a solution yet.

Last weekend was amazing, wonderful awesome and just great. We left Wednesday afternoon to make the trek to Northern Virginia to see my family for Thanksgiving. We were hoping and praying for clear roads and no traffic. We did the trip in 5 hours exact with two stops and a couple missed turns to my amazing ability to drive by the exit and say that's where I should be.....whoops. We walked in to everyone still awake, including Sam and Marina, waiting for our arrival. We caught up for a minute and I held Marina and she spit up on me to welcome me and then we went to bed.

Thursday we enjoyed Thanksgiving and Christmas a la Rice. We cooked, we played trains, we ran, we joked, we laughed, and we ate and ate and ate a lot. I was so thankful that we got to spend this time with everyone for the first time since January, we are healthy, I have a new job, our church is a blessing, we have amazing friends and so many other blessings.

Friday we went to the museums instead of shopping to see the dinosaurs, nemo and dory and airplanes at the natural history museum.

Saturday we played outside and inside and just hung out. It was a relaxing day. Sunday we went to church and then headed back to Peter and Betsy's for lunch before Karen left. It was sad to see her go but hopefully we/I will see her soon.

Monday we had to make the trek home after playing in the park with everyone. It was hard to go for me but I know we will see everyone soon. I promise to share pictures soon as I forgot my camera so we have none of our own.

PLANS FOR DECEMBER:
1. This weekend shopping, decorating, catching up, getting ready for.....
2. Next weekend. We are on our way to Cleveland Ohio to be a part of my best friend's wedding. Cannot wait to see Amanda and celebrate her and Stefan's wedding.
3. cookie making, couple time, friend time, work and lots of fun.
4. Christmas with the Johnson's.
5. Most importantly celebrating in the birth of our Lord and Savior and remembering that through every cookie, party, service, decoration and conversation.

Nice things in store for NOVEMBER!

November is a wonderful month. We have lots to look forward to and so many things to be thankful for. This time I am going to try to do my month list by listing things we are thankful for and looking forward to this month.

New jobs....this is old in the sense that I have been at my job for two months but we are very thankful for the fact that we both have jobs that we love and enjoy. It is a blessing to have a double income right now and to be able to give and bless others.

Otoño. So there are no "f" in November but there is an "O" and otoño is fall in Spanish. Yesterday we enjoyed hiking at Pilot Mountain and on the drive out there we kept commenting on the beauty around us. The leaves have changed colors and everything looks so vibrant right now. God's beautiful creation is exemplified this time of year around her.

Ventures...I would say adventures is more like it. This year we have enjoyed spending time with friends and family on many random ventures. We started the year between Virginia and Costa Rica, then back to NC for an overkill of WINTER and white wonderland, wonderful times getting to know friends and spending time with them here, more Virginia with family in May, Figure 8 in May, Charleston for our anniversary in June, Virginia in August, Cleveland in September and so many more trips to come! We thank God for friends, family and all the 'ventures He takes us on.

Exercise. If you know Chris and I, you probably know that we love sports, being outside and working out. I am thankful that we both enjoy said things and get to do them together. I am thankful that we are healthy and can exercise regularly!

Marina Alling Rice. Our sweet niece was born a week and a half early on October 13th. She made her entrance into the world at 12:24 am. We have enjoyed looking at her pictures with Mom and Dad and big brother Sam but really can't wait to get up there to see her in person. We are also thankful that we get to see the entire Rice family for the first time since January in Virginia for Thankgiving!

Best food ever. So I could go on and on and on about how much I like Thanksgiving and the food we intake on that day. I really have learned to appreciate fall-ish food more the last few years. I like warm soup on a cold day, pumpkin bread and other yummy treats and oh Thanksgiving food. Homemade turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans, salad, cranberry sauce, gravy, pie and so on. But what I am truly thankful for is the ability to make all these delicious foods and to be able to spend time with family enjoying them!

Enjoying God's word. I have really enjoyed digging into Esther and I Corinthians this month and the Adoption series at Westover. So much good stuff. I will write more about it in the next few weeks as I get my head around it!

Reading. Over the last two months Chris and I have started reading more for fun. I used to read for fun all the time then college happened. I don't know what about college happened but I quit reading for fun as much. We have been enjoyed getting back into reading for fun and watching Everyone Loves Raymond!

We hope and pray that you enjoy the next few weeks as we remember all those little and big things we are Thankful for and spend time with family and friends. May God abundantly bless you and your family!

Short Random thoughts from October!

October seems to have flown by. Like first weekend and snap your fingers and now it is the last weekend. This month has been wonderful. On October 13 our sweet little precious niece was born at 12:24 am. Marina Alling Rice was 20.25 inches long and 6 pounds 11 ounces of amazing niece.

At Westover Church, where Chris and I go to church they are doing a series on Adoption. Not a sermon series I had ever encountered before but have absolutely loved. The first two weeks we were reminded that God adopted us into his family and loves us so dearly and then this week and next week we are talking about how to live this out. I highly recommend going to http://www.westoverchurch.com/onlineresources/worshipservices and listening to the whole series.

One thing that stood out to me today was the fact that there are 145,000,000 (that is one hundred and forty five MILLION) orphans around the world. Wow....that is like everyone that lives east of the Mississippi. Not everyone is called to adopt a child into their home but we are called to do something. Chris and I will pray and seek for a long time to figure out what we are going to do but we are going to do something very soon!

James 1:16-17: ²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

OCTOBER

Its October and I am behind a couple days but here is what I am excited for this month!

Out with the summer weather and into fall weather. We drastically went from summer to fall...from 95 to 75 in about a day. Along with this wonderful relief from the heat came the fall colds all over the office and into our home. It will leave soon I hope!

Cleveland. I went to Cleveland Ohio this past weekend to celebrate with my sweet friend Amanda. We had a great time working on wedding stuff, seeing her wedding dress, shopping, eating the most fabulous caramel apples, wedding shower, time with my Ohio extended family and fellowship! I can't wait to see her get married in two months and to stand by her side for this joyful event.

Thanksgiving. You are probably thinking that is a November event but November doesn't have any Ts and I am excited for Thanksgiving right now because I get to see my family that is around the world. Chris and I are driving to Falls Church VA to Peter, Betsy, Sam and precious baby niece, Karen is flying in from the cold midwest city of Chicago, Mom and Dad are flying in from the tropics and we all get to spend a couple days together. Eating, talking, eating, touring DC, eating, doting on niece and nephew, eating, family time....I can't wait!

Out with Baseball and onto Football! Much to my nephews dismay I am not as big a fan of baseball as he is. He is just too cute for words when he gets excited about baseball. Now it seems like every night there is football on TV these days. This weekend is the Elon-App State Football game and I am all about some Elon Football...rooting on the phoenix from the comfort of my own home and avoiding going to Boone. GO ELON PHOENIX! I guess baseball is not over but football has taken over so its ok. Chris also just informed me that Hockey starts this week. We base our TV watching on what sport is on TV: football, hockey, basketball, golf...etc...etc!

Births. Our niece is set to arrive any day now or around the 26th. We can't wait to have another little precious girl in our family. We know that Peter and Betsy will again be great parents and Sam will be a great big brother. If you want to see some of the latest and cutest on Sam visit http://the-rice-pad.blogspot.com/.

Everything Soup. I was never a big fan of soup growing up but I have discovered some great soups and my crock pot in the last year. So I am excited that it is cooling down and I can use the crock pot for some delicious soups and come home to a ready to eat meal!

Reading. It is such a joy to be able to read again and not for classes. I should have figured this out earlier but I finally started picking books up again this month. I have also decided that I am going to focus on a couple books of the Bible ever month. In September I read Galatians and Ester. This month I am on Ruth and I think I am going through I and II Corinthians. I love the books about some of the famous women in the Bible. So inspiring for me.

So here is to a great October full of fun, adventures and all sorts of pumpkin and warmth inside. Maybe we will even carve a pumpkin this year since we have been talking about it for 4 years!