Christmas 2010

2010 marked Derek and my first year as husband and wife! We got married 3 weeks after Christmas, so last year at this time I was anxiously finishing up wedding details and getting ready to move out of my parents house. This year has definitely been different! I had my first Christmas away from my parents and brothers and celebrated with Derek's side of the family. He has had quite a few holidays with my side, given that we met at school and lived in the Santa Cruz area for almost 4 years, and my parents lived about 45 minutes away from us. We had a great day...woke up early to open stockings and presents, and a little later went to see his dad, step mom, and other sister and brother. Later on we came back to his parents house and had a big Christmas party with both sides of their families. I have survived the first big Ramsdell/Brown Christmas gathering :) AND! April and Tommy, who live in Boston (which is just about an hour away from us) came up for the party. April and I went to school together, and lived on the same hall. We have been good friends for a few years and somehow both ended up on the East Coast :) It was so good to see her! It's amazing how welcoming a friendly, familiar face can be after spending a few weeks with people you are still getting to know.

So far, living in New England has been great as well as challenging. I finished my semester the week after we arrived (I got an A in Econ!!) which was a great relief. We've been unpacking boxes we need and storing those we don't need now, and have been searching for jobs. We have both had a few prospects come up but no job offers yet. It's frustrating, but we are trusting that God is bringing about the right jobs with the right pay for us soon. His parents have been very gracious to us and are helping us look for work and being patient that we haven't found anything yet. I am not sure I've ever had so much free time on my hands...I don't have work and school doesn't start again until January 3. I've been enjoying some relaxing and lazy days :)

Like I expected, I have been freezing since the day we arrived. Apparently, its not cold yet! But tomorrow (or I guess today technically) we are supposed to get a blizzard. A blizzard? That's always been a dessert at Dairy Queen for me. We'll see how this goes.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, celebrating Christ's birth! I know that this year in particular I have felt incredibly blessed.

The Johnson's first Christmas

Normally I'm not too sentimental, but I did get us a "our first Christmas" ornament :)

She was my present last year...she is so darn cute!

day 1.

We made it! We're here!

Traveling with all our luggage AND the cat was one of the longest, most ridiculous, and stressful experiences of my life. But, we survived and arrived safe and sound, the cat only slightly worse for wear. None of our luggage got lost, and no flight delays.

Today, for the first time in a long time, we slept in without setting an alarm. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't a slave to boxes and packing. For the first time all week I've been able to sit down and do homework! The semester ends next week, and I am counting down the days (8 to be exact).

I'll post some pictures of our sweet house later :) Well, its my in-laws house, and its gorgeous. It is nice to not be crammed in a tiny apartment anymore with limited storage and no space for anything. I could get used to it, pretty quickly :)

mmmmmmmmm

I feel like I have gorged myself today. My three favorites places in the Bay Area center on food. In order, they are: 1. Dana Street Roasting Company, 2. In N Out, and 3. Taqueria Vallarta (Taco V). I have had all three today. It was the trifecta of deliciousness. And I don't even feel bad about the calories.

Now tomorrow night, for dinner, I get Nicks Roast Beef. NICKS ROAST BEEF!!! If you've never eaten there (and chances are you haven't because there is only one in the world, and its in Beverly, Massachusetts) you are missing out. I have been dreaming about tomorrow night for months. The last time I had Nicks, which was when we went to Boston in March, I ate there three times within about 5 days. My poor tummy couldn't handle any more rare roast beef sandwiches, but I didn't care. So good! And I'm going to be minutes from it!

The next time I post I will be in New Hampshire. Weird. Goodbye California, you've been good to me.

%@#$%@#$!@#

well, since its technically the 1st of December, we move tomorrow. We are leaving our apartment just before 7 am tomorrow to get to the airport on time. I may not sleep tonight. The past few days have been insane and I almost managed to forget that I need to work on homework this week. I am overwhelmed and I'm sure I've worked myself into a frenzy. If I have to pack one more box I might snap...too bad there are probably about 3 boxes left. I'll leave those to Derek.

So...homework. Lets see if I can bring a coherent thought to anything right now.

thankful.

I have an infinite number of things to be thankful for. And it feels like this year, more than any other year, my heart is full of gratitude to the Lord for the life He has given me. So, in pictures, the top things I am thankful for this year.

Derek and I started dating almost 4 years ago and on January 16, 2010 we got married! I am so lucky and so thankful to have him as my husband. He truly is my best friend :)

 On January 20th, (four days after our wedding!) my little brother Kenny got deathly ill. We found out he had double pneumonia, caused by the MRSA virus. He nearly lost his life; all the doctors were telling us to start saying goodbye to him because there was no way his lungs would be able recover from the damage that was being caused. However, God healed my brother and today he is alive and well! He was in the hospital for over a month. That picture was taken a couple of days after he was able to wake up from the drug-induced coma he had been put in. Seeing my little brother smile again was one of the most thankful moments I've ever had. Medical professionals are astounded that he is not only alive but does not have any lingering effects from his illness. This next picture was taken in early June, only about 3 and a half months after he came home. I am so unbelievably thankful that my little brother is alive!

I am so thankful for my whole family. The only person missing from this picture of the Christenson side of the family is my grandma. I have great parents, great siblings, a beautiful niece, a great aunt and uncle, and great cousins! This picture was taken in March, after Kenny came home. Our out of town family came in to celebrate his being home from the hospital. We have become a stronger, closer family after the events of the past year and I love each and every one of them dearly.

I truly got blessed and married into a wonderful family. I have a great new mom, dad, and sister! They have been so supportive of us and have really welcomed me into the family. I love them and I am looking forward to getting to know them better after we move to Boston! I get to have my first Christmas with them this year; I'm very excited :)

My list could definitely continue, but these are the highlights. Happy Thanksgiving!