Valentine's Bike Ride

So this post is a little late - but better late than never, right?!

This year Valentine's Day kind of snuck up on me. I mean, I knew it was coming (it comes every year), but with work and life, I just let it come up on me without planning for it. You see while Randy and I were dating, I would plan for a month or two for something special to do for him. I made him picture frames with pictures of us in them one year and the year before we were married, I made him a t-shirt that says "I heart Rachel." I have one that says "I heart Randy." Last year I made him a collage that listed things I love about him. Well, this year I struggled. Not because I didn't try, I just was having creativity-block. So I did the next best thing. I bought Randy books. Crazy? I know. When I met Randy he wasn't into reading for fun. I LOVE books. That all changed when me and my brother got him to read the Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker. He loved them! So I got him 2 of the Books of History Chronicles. I think he has already finished them both. lol!

We went out to eat on Friday the 13th (to avoid the crowds) and on Valentine's Day we went bike riding at a trail in Grapevine. It was supposed to be a beginner/intermediate trail. I've never been mountain bike riding with Randy before, so wanted to start off easy. I crashed within 5 minutes of starting the trail. Thankfully I landed on the rocks instead of the cacti plants on the other side of the trail. :) After letting me know that I'm never to use my front brake, and helping me get my bike back up, Randy led the way again. Yeah, I think we must have found the intermediate parts of the trail. There were several dry stream crossings that were a little challenging for this beginner. But I stuck with it and Randy encouraged me the entire way. We finally found the easier part of the trail and I was finally feeling comfortable riding. We rode for a while and then decided to turn around. I'm pleased to say there were no more major crashes, just one big bruise on the back of my calf from my pedal. We made it! It was pretty fun. I definitely want to go again. Afterwards, Randy took me to Ritzy's - a great hamburger place in Grapevine. It is really similar to Steak-n-Shake, but their shakes are twice as big. All in all, it was a great Valentine's day.

Countdown to G-Day

Check out Jami's blog where I am guest posting today. I'll try to get some pics on here later on today.

http://teamcope.blogspot.com/

Baby Gatlin's shower

So I know I said I would blog about our Valentine's Day, but I'm going to interrupt and blog about Baby Gatlin and his upcoming arrival.

Randy & I met Seth & Jami (and Mason & Elli) when we first started coming to TCAL (before it met in a school). Randy immediately bonded (don't tell Randy I used that not-so-manly word to describe him) with Seth. They were two peas in a pod. So much a like that sometimes it was/is scary. Anyways, I met Jami and we became friends. Little did I know how close we would be 3 years later!

Life happened and Seth & Jami had to move away for Seth's job. They packed up everything (including my ECU sweatshirt) and moved out west. We missed them, but TCAL was growing so we were making new friends. Then in the summer of 2007, we were at Lake Joe Pool for a baptism service/celebration. Who walks up? Jami and Elli!!! I was so excited. We caught up with them and started hanging out again. Jami started helping me with KidRidge stuff (blessing in disguise) and the guys picked right up where they had left off.

Fast forward to this past summer and we found out they were expecting. Mason and Elli were going to have a little brother/sister!! We helped them move to a new house and get settled in. They found out baby Gatlin was a boy and then all there was to do was wait - until February. Since this was their third, and most people don't get/give showers for the third child, Courtney and I decided we wanted to give them a diaper shower instead. Diapers and wipes are something you can always use when you have a baby - so no harm in people giving more. We started planning and I found the cutest paper at Hobby Lobby. We used it for the invitations and Courtney used it for decoration at the shower.

I got the idea to make a diaper cake and with Courtney's help, it turned out rather well.

The shower was this past Saturday, which was a little late considering Jami is having a c-section tomorrow at 7 am. But it worked for us and was a great time of celebration and anticipation. Here are some of my favorite pics from the festivities:

From Baby Gatlin

The diaper cake, and muffins

From Baby Gatlin

The clothes line full of little clothes

From Baby Gatlin

The guests

From Baby Gatlin

The games

From Baby Gatlin

Opening presents - lots and lots of diapers and wipes

From Baby Gatlin

Elli opening her Big Sister shirt

From Baby Gatlin

Elli opening Baby Gatlin's Little Brother Shirt

From Baby Gatlin

Elli opening Mason's Big Brother Shirt - you can tell she was excited

From Baby Gatlin

More presents

From Baby Gatlin

The guest of honor and hostesses - Janet, Courtney, Jami, & Me

From Baby Gatlin

Jami and Jen - sisters

From Baby Gatlin

The clothesline after the presents were opened - new outfits

From Baby Gatlin

One last diaper cake shot

Jami is having her c-section tomorrow morning at 7 am, so if you are up that early say a prayer for her and Seth. I'm going to be guest blogging on her blog with updates (i.e. pictures) as I get them. Stay tuned to meet little Gatlin!

My Latest Project (sneak peak)

So I didn't want to ruin the surprise but had to show you my latest project. It is for our friends' kids and their new baby on the way. Won't these make a great photo op?

From The Harrelson Family

From The Harrelson Family

From The Harrelson Family

I do have one more project, which Courtney helped me with, but I don't want to ruin the surprise for the shower. Here is the best I could do for now:

From The Harrelson Family

Where did the month go?

February is halfway over and where did it go? The past 2 months have just flown by for me. Since we got home from New Year's, stuff started and hasn't stopped. My January blogs cover most of what happened in January, so I won't recap that again.

Brian, Janelle, and Jonathan came and spent the weekend with us a few weekends ago. It was fun having a 2.5 yr. old running around our apartment. We had dinner with Jacob and Laura on Friday night, then woke up early on Saturday to go help Jacob with his Storybook House he was building at the Dallas Arboretum. Brian and Randy left before Janelle and I, because they were starting work early. Plus, we figured a 2.5 year old wouldn't enjoy having to stay out of the way all day, so we didn't leave until 9. We go out to my car to load Jonathan's car seat, and for the life of us we couldn't figure it out. See my car has the LATCH system in it (just like Brian's car did), so Janelle and I tried using it to secure his car seat. It wasn't working. Jonathan was getting restless so Janelle suggested I take him down the slide on the playground right next to our apartment. The first time down was great. But I must preface this next sentence by saying, I think this slide is a little too high off the ground - that or all the wood chips under it had been moved. Anyways, Jonathan loved the first time and said "again!" So Aunt Rachel loaded him up and up we went again. Something went wrong though as we were coming to the bottom of the slide. I lost my balance and fell forward - with Jonathan on my lap. He hit first and I was trying so hard not to crush him. At first he was stunned, then I picked him up and saw it. His first big strawberry on his chin. I felt awful! I gave him to Janelle, who by then had heard the crying and ran over. She got him cleaned up and I went to work on the car seat. Still no luck. We ended up using the top LATCH and the shoulder belt - that seat wasn't going anywhere. Finally by 10 we pulled out of the apartments and headed to Dallas. Jonathan was a trooper though, he did forgive me and let me play with him the rest of the weekend. He did get a cool "battle scar" out of it all.

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

We finally arrived at the Arboretum and set out to find the guys and Jacob's house. We hung out and watched the guys work for a few hours. They really accomplished a lot that day. Eventually it was time to head home for Jonathan's nap. He was so tired all the way home and came so close to falling asleep that we thought for sure he would crash once we were home. No way! This little guy came to life the moment we walked in the door. Janelle and I, on the other hand, had to fight to stay awake.

From Drop Box

Our men got home a few hours later and we had spaghetti for dinner. Well, we did. Jonathan wanted Fruity Cheerios. :) That's what vacations are for, right? To be spoiled at the aunt and uncle's house? Sunday morning we all went to church together and came home for lunch.

The weekend was great and we are so glad you guys got to come spend it with us. We'll have to do it again soon!

I have more to post about my brother's birthday and our Valentine weekend, but I think I'll cut this off for now. Stay tuned! Hopefully it won't be another month before I post again!

My week

It's Friday afternoon and I am waiting for Randy to get home from work. I am glad it is Friday, but wow! It went by fast. It seems like I just woke up on Monday morning and now tomorrow is Saturday. Anyways, enough about my hang-up on how fast time flies and more about my week.

• So this week was the official "close week" of our division since the sale to QualxServ was final on the 14th. Let's just say it was a busy week. We had to make all the closing JE's for US and Europe. Ahhh! And in the middle of all that, audit requests and reporting. Yuck! (I know most don't have a clue what I just wrote about, but oh well. I'm venting.)


• I "cooked" dinner almost every night this week. This is a big accomplishment for me. Not that we eat out all the time, but dinner time is not always my favorite. Something about driving home in Dallas traffic, then trying to decide what to cook for dinner that Randy will like and not take up all night, just not always my favorite thing to do. But this week, I got groceries right after work on my way home, came home, put steak fingers in the oven, made a salad and mixed up some gravy (yes, I used the packaged kind), and dinner was done! And it really helped that Randy helped me put up all the groceries and the dishes in the dishwasher. Then Tuesday night, I made a zucchini/rice/cheese casserole with some chicken strips. Broccoli has never been one of my favorite veggies, but Mom made this dish when we were little. Basically it is the same as broccoli/rice/cheese casserole, but with shredded zucchini instead. And Randy liked it! There was plenty to freeze for later, so that is always great. Then I made tacos (with Randy's help again) on Wednesday night. We had leftovers last night and I think that is what is on the menu for tonight as well. Little steps are a start. I'm excited. I even have a few ideas for new dishes next week. :)


• Remember the bike from the last post? Well, Randy calls me on Wednesday and says "I think I found you a great bike." I responded with, "huh? You already found a bike." Apparently on his day off, he was scanning Craig's List and found a women's mountain bike for a great price and thought it would be perfect for me. So he went last night, looked and it, and bought it. Yes, we have 3 bikes now!!! My living room is starting to look like a bike shop. It really is a great bike. Metallic blue and small enough for me. I can't wait to go ride it with Randy. Not sure what he is going to do with the other 2, but if you are interested - let me know!


• I'm sick! I woke up yesterday with a cold/sinus infection/allergies. Basically I have stuff in my head that is too gross to mention on here. And I had to cancel meeting a friend tomorrow because I don't want to share all my germs with her 3-month old little girl. :( I was really looking forward to it. Oh well. We'll just have to reschedule.

I think that is all. I'm off to clean our apartment. It really looks like a wreck. Gotta get it in shape before a certain family comes to visit us next weekend! We get to meet our "nephew" for the first time. We can't wait!

Celebrating 100!

That's right, I have been waiting all year (all 20 days) to post my 100th post. I really meant to post on New Year's Day, but busyness and life got away from me. So here it is Post #100!!! Yay! I feel like I should throw my blog a party, so I am. Here are 10 of my favorite posts from the past year and a half: (I really love all of them, but these were really fun to write)

• Randy's Birthday 2007
• Haircuts, fish and frogs...oh my!
• My 25th Birthday
• Our First Year
• Wedding Cake
• Married to a Paramedic
• Gross!
• TGIF
• Saturday Morning Cartoons
• And since I can't leave the rest out - all of my posts about our families.

So here is where you come in. Vote by leaving a comment on which blogs have been your favorite to read. If you want the easy choice, choose one of the above. If you have some extra time on your hands, then I challenge you to go back through our blog and find your favorite entry. I'll leave this open for a while, since I know some of my readers don't check the blog out on a daily basis. :) J/K!

So what else has been going on? For New Year's we went to Tyler to visit Randy's dad, step-mom, sister, brother-in-law, and neice. Fun times. Then we both headed back to work. My company just sold our division and the sale was finalized last Thursday. So currently we are in the process of transitioning over from the old company to the new one. Be praying for me during all this. They told us no big changes will take place for 6 months, but after that we don't really know.

Randy started working full-time with AMR this month. He's working everyother weekend now. Big adjustment for us. Not bad, just an adjustment.

Oh, and have I mentioned how much I love my husband and his resourcefulness? He is always looking for bargains and such. Last week he comes in from taking out the trash and says "I found you a bike!" I'm like, "Really? Where?" He says, "the dumpster." Completely with a straight face. I looked at him like he was crazy. Let's just say he wasn't. Someone had gotten rid of a bike that is the same model as his current mountain bike, just a few years older. He cleaned it up, bought a few new parts for it and guess what? Brand new bike! It is too tall for me to ride, but I can ride his other one so he can ride the new one and I can ride his now. Yay for Randy! He's the best. :)