Everything was fine in 2009...

I know I am a day early, but I wanted to go ahead and write my end of the year post! 2009 was such a fantastic year for us! We are looking forward to all that 2010 has in store, but we will certainly remember all the fun times we had in 2009! Here are my top 9 memories of 2009 =) (In no specific order)...

1) Our Honeymoon in Italy!! It was such an amazing trip and it is certainly one we will never forget!


2) Welcoming a new nephew into the world and family! James was also born on Katie Anne's 2nd birthday! We LOVE being aunt and uncle!

3) Welcoming Laurel into the world in January! This is one sweet baby girl and I am so glad to be her nanny!!

4) Greg finally getting the motorcycle of his dreams...even if we lost it later =(


5) Greg getting a new car...to replace the bike and to get rid of the car he didn't really like...

6) Family Vacation for July 4th at Rosemary Beach, Fl. Such a fun time!

7) Spending our last year with our incredible small group and going on our last marriage retreat with them to Gatlinburg in September...

8) Celebrating the holidays with all the family and getting to spend Christmas Eve as our own little family this year and making new traditions...
9) Last, but certainly not least, celebrating our incredible first year of marriage on October 18th! Our marriage is simply amazing and we have been so thankful for that! We love each other beyond words and we loved celebrating such a special event! Our anniversary cruise was such fun and such a great way to relax and enjoy one another!

2009 was so very special! However, we are certainly looking forward to 2010 and I will post later about all the things we are looking forward to! Now I am off to take down all the decorations and clean up the house...fun =)

Hatley/Glawson Christmas...

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Sunday we had our last Christmas celebration of the season with my family. We decided to change things up this year and open gifts earlier in the day so that that babies would be awake to open with us. We loved watching everyone open their gifts! I loved seeing that our gifts made people happy =) We got so many wonderful things like a camera, a new label maker, pjs, DVD's, a new leather coat for Greg, a wine making kit, ornaments, a really sweet frame made by Kari, and lots of other things! We loved being able to spend a few days with the family and getting to hang out for a while.

We are so blessed to be so loved by two fantastic families! We had an absolutely incredible holiday season and I am so thankful for absolutely everything...especially the time we were able to spend celebrating with everyone such an wonderful holiday! We love you all and hope you all had a very Merry Christmas =)

Burlington Christmas...

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On Saturday we woke up and packed up the car and head to NC for as few days. We got to Burlington and dropped the dogs off at my grandmother's house and then headed over to my aunt's house for a Christmas celebration with my mom's side of the family. It was so much fun seeing everyone and watching all the little kids play together...it's so strange to have so many babies there now! We ate tons of delicious food and a played a fun game of "Dirty Santa"...which became slightly confusing amongst all the laughter, talking, and forgetting of numbers and how many times something had been stolen =) I ended up with a set of Rachel Ray side dishes (that I really wanted) and Greg got a charging station. I loved watching the kids open their gifts and playing with everything together! It was such a fun time!! After the big night, we picked up the pups and then head to my parents house in Cary and then to bed!

Glawson/ Jones Christmas...

**Warning: This is a long slideshow...but cute nonetheless =)**

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Last night was our Christmas celebration with Greg's family. Cindy made a huge meal of ham and turkey, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, tater tot bacon things, and rolls...YUMM!! For dessert there was homemade banana pudding and cherry dump cake...all sooo good!!After our huge meal we all went to the living room to open gifts. One person would open a gift then choose the next person to open a gift and we went round and round like that until all the gifts were opened! WE had such a wonderful time and received so many fantastic gifts. We loved being with everyone and having such a fun time! We love you all very much and thank you so much for all the wonderful gifts!!

Now we are headed to NC for 2 more celebrations!! Wish us luck on the traffic!!

Johnston Family Christmas...

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Yesterday morning we got up bright and early to open stocking from each other and then to get ready to head over to Greg's cousin's house for the annual Johnston Christmas breakfast. This was my first year being able to attend because usually I am in NC on Christmas morning. It was so much fun visiting with everyone and eating a gigantic breakfast of all kind of goodies!! After chatting and eating a while, we all opened gifts form one another. We draw names at Thanksgiving and I drew Angela (Greg's cousin) and Greg drew his grandmother. Angela had drawn Greg and Mammaw had drawn me...so that was funny! I got a super cute pink sweater form Mammaw and Greg got a UGA Tervis tumbler and a UGA devotional. We had such a fun morning with everyone!! However, we did miss Pappaw being there, unfortunately he was in the hospital on Christmas...BUT we'll get together soon for a big meal with him in January to make up for it =) I hope everyone had a great Christmas morning!!

Our Christmas Eve...

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Our Christmas Eve was absolutely incredible! This was a new celebration for us because traditionally Christmas Eve is spent with my family each year, but since Greg had to work today, we ended up staying in Georgia and will head to NC on Saturday. I am a very traditional person and am not generally in love with the idea of change, but I have to say, this was a very special celebration and I love making new traditions with my husband. After Greg got off work we went to visit with his grandfather (who is unfortunately in the hospital) and then headed to our church for the 3:00 Christmas Eve service. It was phenomenal! It was the "Nativity in Concert" and it was definitely different than what I am used to but it was absolutely wonderful! After church, we ran a couple of quick errands before heading home to make our dinner! We wanted to have a special meal together and therefore I made WAAAY too much food for the two of us but it was very good either way. We had roasted turkey from Honeybaked Ham, homemade macaroni and cheese, corn casserole, green beans, and Sister Shubert rolls. After dinner we decided to go ahead and open gifts before dessert (mainly because we could barely move after dinner). We let the boys open their bones and new treats before we began opening our gifts. I was blown away at the gifts Greg got for me. He is AMAZING! I got him Wii Sports Resort, wireless headphones, and gave him cash and a "certificate" for getting his windows tinted on his car next weekend. He got me: a TomTom, new boots, SPRING AWAKENING TICKETS (!!!!), AND sent me on a scavenger hunt all over the house and outside for my brand new KITCHEN AID STAND MIXER!!! I am SOOO excited about all my gifts!! He is TOO sweet for surprising me with all of these things! After gifts we ate our dessert of homemade apple dumplings with vanilla ice cream..MMmmm!! We had an absolutely incredible Christmas Eve together and I hope you all did as well. Remember the reason for the season =) We have been incredibly blessed beyond measure and are so thankful for that and for each other! We hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Last day with the Harts...

Today was my last day working with the Hart family. Since I will be TOSSing in the Spring, I had to drop some of my work load in order to focus on school and all the work that next semester will bring. It was sad to leave everyone, but I'm sure I'll be seeing them soon to randomly babysit. I'll miss all three kids, but since Gracie and Josiah have been in school, most of my days have been spent with Kristen and I will miss her sweet self very much...especially her calling out "I lub you Jen (what she called me)!" over and over or running to greet me as soon as I walked in the door int he mornings! My last day was a good one and I enjoyed giving the kids their gifts! Here are a few more pictures of the day...