Christmas 2009 Update

Dear friends and family,

We hope that 2009 has brought you a year of blessing and joy. Because we are big music fans, we have chosen to catch you up on our year with a few song titles. Sing along with us!

Going to the Chapel… We walked down the aisle and spoke vows to each other on April 18th, beginning our married life together. Surrounded by family and friends, our wedding day was a wonderful celebration, filled with joy, laughter, food and, of course, great music!

Soak Up the Sun…The day after our wedding, we headed off to a weeklong honeymoon is Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We relaxed and recovered from the wedding, enjoyed spa treatments and delicious food, drove a dune buggy through the dessert, zip-lined across a canyon and rode on an America’s Cup sail boat.

Leaving on a Jet Plane…Bethany continues to jet set around the country producing live corporate events. She has been at One Smooth Stone for 4-1/2 years and this year took her to Nashville, Colorado Springs, Atlanta, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, and Minneapolis, to name a few.

Working Man…Nate has been working at Christianity Today as a Marketing Coordinator since April of 2008. He currently markets Leadership Journal and PreachingToday.com, two resources for church pastors. He especially enjoys staying up on new media and creative ways of marketing his products online.

Into the Ocean… We enjoyed 4 days at the Gran Melia Resort in Puerto Rico in August, a trip we termed “Honeymoon Dos”. While Bethany worked on an event, Nate laid by the pool and photographed iguana. We enjoyed a few days together on the beach before returning home.

Sunday Morning… We became members of Parkview Community Church in Glen Ellyn, IL in January. We are blessed to be a part of a great church community, where we serve on the music worship team and participate in a weekly small group bible study.

Home for the Holidays… In September, we moved to a 1 bedroom apartment in Wheaton. Better location, more affordable and well-suited for just 2 people. We’ve made it home and decorated our first Christmas tree together a few weeks ago!

Born to be Wild… One of our favorite pastimes has become going on “food adventures”. In addition to trying new local and ethnic restaurants, some of the interesting foods to come out of our kitchen have included sushi rolls, pad thai, fresh pasta and ravioli, paella, curried lentils, and trifle.

Love and Marriage… We are enjoying married life…sharing a home, making memories and getting to wake up every day next to each other. Even with our differences and quirks, we love each other very much and still make each other laugh.

May 2010 hit every “note” you hope for. Merry Christmas from the Johnsons!

- Nate and Bethany

“Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100