[dwell] Deck the Halls

A sneaky peek at some Christmas decor happenings in the Johnson household! P.S. if you follow me on Instagram (chrissydj), you have already seen these :) We purchased a new camera during Black Friday, but it's been kind of wonky... so camera photos you shall see!

A look at the Johnson ornaments through the years... our engagement in 2008, first Christmas in 2009, first home in 2010, and a fun snowman ornament from 2011. Now I just need to buy a 2012 ornament for this year!

 Our other first Christmas ornament, from Hallmark

Where we will hang the Christmas cards we receive.

No fireplace or mantle for us, therefore we use our entertainment unit shelving for our stockings!

 

 Table setting! I need four more red chargers to complete the table, but it's pretty for now.

 

Happy Tuesday!

 "But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.'" Luke 1: 30-33

[photoaday] Week Forty Seven

Holiday week! Bring on the fun and random pictures!

[psst: if you take photos this week, use my button on your blog post and leave me a comment on THIS post with the link to YOUR blog post with your photos.... that's not confusing at all, is it? once you do that (and assuming you're a follower of mine), I will feature your blog one time with a few of your photos! remember, sharing is caring :)]

[monday] Our church collected canned goods and other Thanksgiving food items, as well as frozen turkeys, to pass out to families in need. We had 45 bags/turkeys and ran out in like 5 minutes. It was crazy!

[tuesday] Let the holiday traveling begin! Chloe loves spending the night at Nana and PawPaw's house!

[wednesday] Spending time with our adorable nephew, Wyatt, and precious niece, Clara! Just a small glimpse of what Nate and I will look like with our children! Someday...

[thursday] Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours! Well, my dad's side anyways!

[friday] Thanksgiving #3 with my mom's side of the family! We had a Mexican food competition, ate, and then played games and handed out prizes for the best food. Fun was had by all!

[saturday] Our best friends (whose wedding was last weekend) spent the night at our house Saturday night so they could leave for their honeymoon cruise on Sunday! I am so jealous (because I want to be on a cruise!!!) but so excited for them! They will have a wonderful time!

[sunday] It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Happy Monday! Teacher friends... did anyone else have a crazy day like me?! Wowza.... 17.5 more days for me!

"No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." 1 John 4:12

[love] Christmas Tunes

Hello hello!

We are DONE with our traveling and crazy-ness (for a few weeks, anyways), so I hope to get on the blogging wagon again soon and be more consistent with my posts. I wanted to pop in tonight to share an awesome Christmas album that Nate discovered tonight:

"Holidays Rule" features various artists from today singing the classic Christmas songs we all love. Nate and I like modern music with a unique twist to it, and this album delivers just that. Especially during this season where the same songs get played over and over and over and OVER again... it's nice to hear something unique!

Disclaimer: Now don't get me wrong, I  l-o-v-e  me some Christmas jams both secular and those celebrating the birth of my Savior. Heck, Nate and I are both Christmas babies, so we hold Christmas time close to our hearts! It's just nice to hear various takes on the classic songs. And P.S. they didn't pay or perk me to share this sale/album... I just thought it was neat!

I think because of Cyber Monday, this album is on sale on Amazon for $3.99. Download it straight to your computer! We enjoyed decorating the house today with our Christmas goodies! See ya later, fall decor! Another disclaimer: I am not a professional designer and I don't make millions- therefore we don't have THAT many decorations, but we are pleased with the way our decor turned out this year! A sneak peek:

Have a great week! It's going to be tough... I enjoyed my 3.5 days off last week for Thanksgiving! Back to the grind for 3.5 more weeks and then two weeks off for Christmas! I think I can, I think I can... can I get an amen?!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

[love] UT Game with Nate! #13

13. Attend a UT game with Nate: Hook 'em, Horns!
Completed November 10, 2012

Another 30 before 30 item done and done!


I was so excited when our associate pastor of worship/outreach offered to take Nate & I to a UT game in Austin! He played for the Longhorns in the late 80s/early 90s, so he was able to take us to a couple of "behind the scenes" areas, as well as hook us up with some awesome seats in the end zone.

A little history: UT stands for the "University of Texas", their mascot is the Longhorns, and their colors are burnt orange/white. I am about 99% sure that everyone should know who they are, but you never know! I was actually accepted to UT when I applied for college and was **this close** to attending. My brother, who is three years older than me, was a Longhorn and graduated from there with an English degree. He told me that I could come, but he really thought I wouldn't like it because it is so big. I eventually went to DBU, obviously, which was the PERFECT choice for me, but I still adore my Longhorns and we are definitely a Longhorn family!

Check out our day of fun at the game!

Our seats were in this end zone! So fun!

The players coming out of the tunnel... 

The band! One of my favorites parts of football... that is the inner band nerd coming out of me! I played flute for seven years and marched in high school band for three of those years :) The band did a great halftime show in honor of Veteran's Day where they played each military branch song and morphed into a vehicle from that branch (army: tank, air force: plane, navy: sub- my favorite one)! They also honored Coach Royal who had passed away that week (he was the Longhorn coach for a longgg time and the field is named after him).

 

The mascots interacting with one another (they were playing Iowa State)

 

So neat being close to all the action!

 

UT has three cheer squads: an all girl squad (below), male/female squad (where they are partnered up to do partner stunts), and an all girl pom squad (dancers, if you will)! The squads rotated the field after every quarter, so it was fun to see all of that action too!

We were also next to the cannon... good NIGHT it was loud! The first couple of times they shot it off (during a score or kick off), we all thought we were going to have a heart attack! But by the end of the game, we were used to it!

After the game, walking through campus

 

We were walking behind some UT players! Aaahh! And we stopped to pose by some statues as well. Yep, TOURIST written all over us!

This is Coach Rucker, who is friends with our friend. We were able to enter the players building where all the trophies are displayed and we even went down to locker room level to check out the weight room. We didn't see the locker room (obviously: the players were in there!) but we saw a lot of players exiting the locker room... we even saw David Ash (the quarterback) from a distance!

Nate & Chad posing by the 2005 National Championship trophy.

 

Nate and I posing with the Heisman trophy from 1998 (Ricky Williams)

The 2005 National Championship trophy!!!

It was such a fun day: especially fun because the Longhorns won! We are hoping to go to at least one game a year from now on. When my brother and his wife come back to the States (they're teachers in S. Korea), we hope that we can go with them and my parents!

Have a wonderful Wednesday! Enjoy family time this week: we are en route to Nate's grandparents house for a day/evening filled with yummy food and jam sessions (they're all musicians)!

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

[photoaday] WeekS Forty Five and Forty Six

Yes, weekS. I have two weeks of photos to share with you! And they are JAM packed! Gotta love the holiday season.

[psst: if you take photos this week, use my button on your blog post and leave me a comment on THIS post with the link to YOUR blog post with your photos.... that's not confusing at all, is it? once you do that (and assuming you're a follower of mine), I will feature your blog one time with a few of your photos! remember, sharing is caring :)]


[sunday, nov 4] Nate stirring up my ice cream like my dad used to do when I was little... Ha!

[monday, nov 5] My sweet girl and I watching the door, waiting for Nate to come home from a church meeting.

[tuesday, nov 6] USA! USA! Voting in the Presidential election.

[wednesday, nov 7] Life of a pastor's wife? Eating with the hubs in his office on Wednesday nights.

[thursday, nov 8] Oral surgeon consultation visit for my wisdom teeth... yep, ALL FOUR are getting removed v-e-r-y  v-e-r-y  soon. Have you had yours removed? Did they put you to sleep? I'm getting the IV to be put to sleep and I'm so nervous! People keep telling me that I'll be asleep before I even realize it... SOOOO hoping that's true!

[friday, nov 9] Kindergarten field trip to the farm!

[saturday, nov 10] YES! Nate and I went to a UT game together- and yes, these were our seats!!! 30 before 30 item!!! Expect a post this week. Since it is a holiday week (even though I have school Monday and half of Tuesday, UGH) I am **fingers crossed** free for more blogging time. But family will come first!

[sunday, nov 11] A few ladies and I from church threw a baby shower for another church member, Jesica, and her husband Eric! They are expecting a baby girl in December :) it was SO fun! Recognize those paper banners? Yep, I made them! You know how I love to sew paper!

[monday, nov 12] We had an Operation Christmas Child packing party at church! OCC is through Samaritan's Purse where you fill a shoe box with toys, toiletries, candy, etc, and the shoe boxes are delivered all around the world to children who wouldn't normally receive a Christmas gift. The staff who delivers the boxes also share the love of Christ! The connection? A gift can change your life (the gift of Jesus' love and forgiveness)!

[tuesday, nov 13] My darling and I at home :) Love these moments with my best friend!

[wednesday, nov 14] Packing, packing, packing! Wedding weekend for our best friends!

[thursday, nov 15] Road trip music? Holly: Sirius XM! That would be the XM Christmas station: it switches from the "Love" station to the Christmas station every year. Love when that happens! And this song is in my list of top three favorite Christmas songs!

[friday, nov 16] Rehearsal for the wedding! The venue was so modern and trendy: loved it!

[saturday, nov 17] Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Gaskill! Their wedding was absolutely adorable and lovely: totally vintage themed, which is so them! Burlap, lace, lights, candles, books, antiques... it was absolutely gorgeous! Expect a post with pictures this week as well!

[sunday, nov 18] Football watching party with my dear friend, Emily, and our families. So fun to reunite with family/friends during trips home!

Happy Thanksgiving week! Does anyone else have to work like me? Luckily, it's only for one and a half days... we will be doing all things THANKSGIVING in Kindergarten! Wish me luck!

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." Colossians 3:15