R&R

We've only just begun...

2012-02-05T20:14:00.001-05:00

I'm thankful! What a wonderful year 2012 has been and it's only February!! At the beginning of this year, Ryan received a promotion - Store Manager of the other Rent-a-Center in Asheboro!!! He has done AMAZING things with the store already! Within 3 weeks of working there, they went from being the bottom store with the worst numbers in their region to being NUMBER 1!!!! Yes, I'm a little proud. It's been stressful, but he's handling it so well! And it's not going unnoticed.

I also have had a few changes this year. I was working at a construction company for the past year and few months. In the middle of January I was let go from that company -- difference of personalities? But I was immediately blessed with another job which is SOOO much better! Better pay, better job expectations, better people. I'm the Office Manager of Carolina Roofing and Construction Services. They've been in business about a year and a half. It's a great group of people and I feel so blessed to be in the position I'm in! In fact, Ryan has just signed on to work as a Roofing Consultant part-time! Exciting stuff. It's just so nice to be at a location where I feel respected and what I have to say matters. They also seem to like me for my goofy self!

The Lord has truly blessed us already this year. I'm not sure what we've done to deserve such blessings as we are receiving, but I will continue to turn to Him with a grateful heart. I hope all of our friends and loved ones also have a fantastical 2012. We've only just begun!!!

This time of year.....

2011-11-05T19:12:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe another year is coming to an end ...... and yet, here we are. In 23 days from now, Ryan and I will be celebrating our 3 yr anniversary of saying "I choose you forever". I'm so thankful for this time of year - with Thanksgiving, our wedding anniversary, and Christmas around the corner, the opportunity to reflect on my blessings is placed in my lap. Life is not simple -- if it is, I'm not doing something right. I've been blessed with a family that loves me and encourages me to continually better myself. I've been blessed with a husband that loves me unconditionally and does all he can to provide for our little family. He encourages, supports, and even chastens when necessary so that I can find the better way to live. I've been blessed with the Gospel of Jesus Christ which allows me to know where I came from, why I'm here, and where I'm going if I continue to choose living my life in accordance with Him. Our happiness should not be controlled by others, but be a choice of our own choosing. I choose whether or not I pray. I choose whether or not I read my scriptures. I choose whether or not I'm going to conquer the "natural man" today. The Lord wants us to be happy all the time -- not just when things are going smoothly or everyone sees it "our way". Life is about choice and with our choices come consequences - good and bad. I'm grateful to know that with my heart being led by the Spirit, happiness and blessings can't help but find their way into my life. "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." D&C 82:10

I'm choosing to be thankful. I'm choosing to follow my Savior's example. I'm choosing to be happy.

My girls

2011-06-05T08:04:00.003-04:00

For those that don't know, this is Tiffany Peters. She introduced me to Ryan.....eternally grateful.

Kirsten......I can't compete with those eyes!!! LOVE this girl.

Linda Peters.....a strong and wonderful woman who has faced trials and tribulations in the past 3 yrs that have, though it's been extremely difficult, allowed a strength and faith in God to shine through that others never reach in a lifetime. Thank you, Linda, for continually being that example for me.

And thanks for the giggles, too.

Picture time!!!

2011-06-05T07:47:00.002-04:00

We had a fun photo shoot with our extended family, Linda Peters and gang!! Here are some of the snapshots we got!

Do you ever.....

2011-03-22T13:55:00.003-04:00

Do you ever feel....so much stress that the thoughts in your mind move in slow motion? Do you ever feel....so many different emotions at the same time you confuse your brain so instead of showing the emotions you shut them all off? Do you ever feel....sadness and immense love at the same time, but aren't able to express either? Do you ever feel....um, like a Katy Perry song? Sorry, didn't mean to sound like that. :) I'm not ready to express my world right now, but I needed to put something down on "paper" to start my writing juices flowing. I'll come back to this.

Actually....

2011-01-29T10:32:00.002-05:00

We are moving next weekend. And since I have a ton of things to get done today I can't spend too much time on here so here's the run-down: We're moving next Saturday. Ryan quit his job so he can go to school (probably in the fall). I'm still working. I'm TOTALLY stressed out. And I think a massage and then a hot tub is what I need.

I'll check back in a couple of weeks. yee-haw!!

I took this picture a few weeks ago on a walk through the park Ryan and I did one Sunday afternoon.

2010-12-11T13:17:00.001-05:00

I'm back!

2010-12-11T11:35:00.002-05:00

I know it's been forever. But I've been encouraged to update and try keeping it updated. So pre-New Year's resolution here we go!

Life is good. I'm enjoying my job -- I just had my 3 month mark there and some days I can't believe it's been that long and others......I have to double-check that it isn't 3 YEARS instead. :) But I do enjoy working again and contributing to our little family.

Ryan is doing well. He's still working at RAC but there is a light in the future...our goal is to have him quit in the beginning of the new year, maybe do something part-time, and to enroll in school in the fall!! Fingers crossed.

ALSO. We are moving in March. Our lease is up April 1st and we are opting not to renew. We are moving to Greensboro and in with my mom and dad. They are going on a mission soon for our church and we will stay in their home while they are gone! It's DEFINITELY going to be an adjustment for everyone involved. Especially since we don't know when they will be leaving so we will be co-habitating for a while. It will be nice to be closer to work, though!

Well, I haven't spent much time at home recently so I'm off to laundry, dishes, dust, and vacuum! Sounds fun, right? You're welcome to come join me!

2010-12-11T10:48:00.001-05:00

guess what...

2010-09-03T17:46:00.001-04:00

I'm a WORKING GIRL now!!! The legal kind. :) I had a job interview today and apparently it went well enough for him to hire me on the spot! SO! I won't see the inside of my house from 7:15 - 5:45 M-F! I'll keep you posted on how it goes! I start Tuesday! yay! After 2.5 yrs of unemployment, this feels good and weird at the same time!

aren't they sweet?

2010-08-30T19:50:00.003-04:00

left to right: Frankie, Maggie, CC

They wanted to be close to Mommy but Mommy wouldn't let them on the bed while she was folding laundry. So this was the next best thing. :)

yeah yeah...I know.

2010-08-30T14:52:00.002-04:00

I don't update enough, I know.

I just had some thoughts today - it's been a very productive day for me. I wasn't able to go workout with my sister, but I didn't let that get me down (it does a little, James...). I decided to be productive and actually get some stuff done around the house. I've done all the dishes AND put them away, taken meat out of the freezer because I actually have a plan for dinner, cleaned out the litter box so maybe the cat will quit peeing on Ryan (seriously), moved 4 loads of laundry but still need to put away, and organized the bills so I won't forget about them!!! AND sent necessary church emails. See?? A good day. And it's been FUN, too! So then I think 'Why am I not this productive all the time since it seems to bring me happiness??' slothful i am. Well, today I conquered the 'natural man' and found out a clean house really does make one feel good! :) Now if I could just make the dogs magically stop shedding THAT would be a miracle.

Look what we got.....

2010-06-17T11:40:00.004-04:00

So our cat, Brey, got herself knocked up. And this past Monday, June 14th, she gave birth to two beautiful babies!! I just wanted to share some pics. I know I haven't posted in a while, sorry about that. But we're alive and well. Still LOVE our house. Hope everyone is doing fantastically! Summer is busy already.

Who knew...

2010-05-15T22:33:00.002-04:00

We recently moved into our first home - a place to call our own. In this home are two rooms aside from the kitchen, family room, and bathroom. In the larger of the two we've claimed it as our bedroom - our sanctuary, if you will, despite the mounds of laundry that NEVER seem to get smaller or disappear all together. In the other room, we had our "movers" put all the 'I'm not sure where I want this yet' boxes. Yesterday I decided it was time - time to see something besides the dogs crate and boxes. I cleaned out the room. I didn't feel safe going up our attic stairs (they are old and not the safest) so the closet in this room became a downstairs attic - and I'm absolutely amazed at how much I was able to put in there! The dog crate was moved so it's not visible from the kitchen anymore and the table that we've deemed as my craft table is now located where it needs to be so I can see to my left our backyard and if I swivel my chair I can turn around and look out the other window and see our garden. For whatever reason, when I sat in my chair behind my table and looked around at what I had just accomplished, it brought me to tears. To feel the love of my Heavenly Father in my home is a wonderful feeling - knowing that it is by His Hands we are here. And I even get a craft room? How blessed am I? I have a room in my already cozy home where I can be me - space to use my creativity that flows through my head daily. On the wall is a huge mirror that reflects light and on the other wall is one of my favorite paintings - "The Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh - offering peace as I look at the artist's brush strokes, wondering what went through his mind as he painted. Did he know he was creating a masterpiece? Do we realize what we create could very possibly be a masterpiece? Do we recognize that WE ourselves are masterpieces? Who knew that one simple room in a simple home would simply bring to mind how wonderful life is and that at every opportunity we should turn to Him who created us and give thanks for all that we have - starting with one simple room.

A few more happy house pics!

2010-04-25T21:34:00.005-04:00

CC scoping out the neighborhood - wondering why the neighbor's kids are so loud. . . . .

Our cute bird feeder and wind chime - the chime belonged to my grandmother.

I love our Welcome sign. It's hand-painted on a piece of slate.

Once you're in the sun room here is the door to the family room! And our coat rack. . .

And our latest addition to the family - a Papasan chair!!! We are both in love. It's super cozy and having it pushed against the wall makes getting in and out a touch easier. :) I got the chair on Craigslist (of course) for 20 bucks. And the cushion on clearance at Pier 1!

So this room is officially our serenity room - in fact, as I'm getting ready to go to bed, I left Ryan out there in the chair...snoring.

And please note....

2010-04-06T23:15:00.003-04:00

Our personal touches aren't up yet. No pictures or cute mantle or ya know - stuff that makes it your own. So just look at the big picture and then I'll take smaller pictures of the little things. :)

....and the living room

2010-04-06T19:42:00.004-04:00

Our cute fireplace - see the mirror above it? I got it for 2 bucks. It had a yucky gold frame - a little spray paint and voila - lovely white. :)

Isn't it beautiful?!? It's a lot bigger in person than it looks in this picture!

With the table assembled.

Side door which leads to the sunroom and our lovely quilt rack. And CC.

Big cozy black chair - the gem found on craigslist!! And the case next to it isn't staying...it's going to our bedroom.
Room by room our life is becoming less chaotic. And I'm so thankful - we've truly been blessed in this move.

What's this?!

2010-04-05T15:51:00.003-04:00

You might be asking yourself, "What's Rachel doing with a box full of stained glass pieces?!" Well, I guess you'll just have to wait and see!! It's gonna be good.

And so it starts to come together...

2010-04-05T15:46:00.003-04:00

So you might be curious why the washing machine is sideways....or order to allow the tubing behind the washer to reach the pipe that gets the water it has to sit like this. Funny, eh?

First view of the kitchen. Don't the cabinets make you happy?
Ahhhh....sunshine. Love it.
And something a little fun for the new kitchen. We saw these and loved them.
More to come later.....................................

Who does she think she is?

2010-04-04T23:39:00.003-04:00

So I brought our cat, Brey, to our new home yesterday and I've kinda been watching her to see how she likes it. At the old place she's been indoor/outdoor (mostly outdoor) and coming here I'm not letting her outdoors for a good while because I don't want her to run away. So I've been curious to see how she likes the place.....Ryan found her today in an unexpected location and apparently she's quite content with her new surroundings. . . . . . . .

Yes.....on the shelf in our closet. We sure love her.

I will post pics of the new place - perhaps tomorrow. So everyone can see the "before". Though I will say that the kitchen has been unpacked (hallelujah!!) so you won't see the 9 boxes we emptied!! It feels good to be unpacking.

2 more things!

2010-03-22T08:55:00.005-04:00

I knew I got something else from Kirkland's!!! Isn't this the cutest recipe book holder?!?! Yeah. I pretty much am in love. I've been looking for one of these and seriously, this fell right into my lap. Guess how much.....go ahead. Guess.

$12.00!!! Yes, that's right. Can you believe it? Yeah, me neither.

love it.

And then there's this little beauty!! Pier 1 Quilt Rack. Ryan and I were walking around the store, pretending like we had endless amounts of money while knowing in reality we couldn't afford anything in there, when we spotted a box tucked in and almost hidden between two large pieces of furniture. Upon inspection, what should it be? But the quilt rack of my dreams! Okay, I didn't dream the exact look of it ( do like the way it looks!) ....but the price was even BETTER than my dreams! $25.00 I'm not even kidding. The girl that works there said she believes the only difference between last year's model (our purchase) and this year's model (pictured below for $99.95) is the direction the scrolls go. So we haven't even taken it out of the box yet....can't wait!!

2010-03-21T20:58:00.004-04:00

Welcome to our color swatches!!! Left to right: 2nd bedroom, our bedroom, bathroom, and living room!!! The kitchen is already a nice beige so it will remain untouched. We are SUPER excited to get the painting done. And we failed to get a price check on the paint so we aren't sure how many rooms we can do at once but we are definitely starting with the living room!! Aren't they beautiful?! Yeah....we concur.

Next - our new lamps. There are 2 of these (identical) and they will go on our freshly painted nightstands in our bedroom. $20 on craigslist.

Next we have our beautiful new pillows that match our walls beautifully. If you click on the picture it will give you a closer look. Kirklands - we love that place.

This would be our BIG purchase : A NEW SOFA!!! The pillows look cute online but in person they were ...... less than desirable. The couch material is almost like a corduroy but softer and the sofa is pretty large! Thank you Rooms To Go!!!

So I recognize this is a kitchen table.....I couldn't find a picture of the coffee table so just picture this with shorter legs. This is actually a piece we got when we first were married. Well, a few different times one or two of the dogs thought the legs were chew toys....so our cute piece ended up being not so cute. So we are going to sand that down and paint the legs black and then make the top a mosaic. But we really do love the look of it like this.....so when we found another one on serious clearance, we got it. And we will take the paint from the living room and paint over the very nice green legs so it will match our living room! The top will remain the walnut brown. And naturally we will take pictures when that happens. And the mosaic one will go into our 2nd bedroom (which will more than likely become the office.)

So there ya have it. We are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited to move. I wish it was tomorrow.

Pictures to follow soon

2010-03-16T22:25:00.003-04:00

Ryan and I had a wonderful day today making small purchases (and perhaps a big one) for our new home and we are SUPER excited!!!!! :) I will take pictures soon and get them posted. :)

You might call us crazy.....

2010-03-10T14:42:00.003-05:00

and we accept that. Remember Gus? That big happy poofball? Well apparently we were only meant to have him for a short amount of time. No, he didn't die. He has a new family that seriously needed the love and goofiness only Gus could provide. Ryan and I felt like we should find him a new home before we moved into our new place (lots of reasons but we'll just say the Spirit moved us). I contacted my friend who gave him to us and she found the perfect family for Gus. A friend of hers had recently lost their family dog and her 8 yr old son was ready to love on a puppy again. When Gus became available, my friend felt it was the right fit. And after meeting Gus' new owner and hearing about her family and knowing she has a huge fenced in yard, I felt good about it. So Gus (now spelled Guss) has a sweet, adoring little 8 yr old brother to wrestle with and do all sorts of fun stuff. They love him (I've seen the pictures to prove it!) and I'm glad we could "foster" Gus for a few weeks before his real family was ready for him. Do I miss him? Sure! Do I miss worrying about what he was going to chew up next? No. Not even remotely.

Gus and his new big brother

Look what WE did! :)

2010-03-09T23:44:00.006-05:00

So.....Ryan and I are moving, right? (April 3rd, by the way) We have a dresser that goes in our room that we planned on taking with us and amazingly enough, I found two identical nightstands that match the dresser perfectly on craigslist for $5 each! So we decided that we should paint them...and then we thought, crackling would be nice. And would you believe that they have crackle spray paint?!?! True story. So here's our story in pictures of taking our drab nightstand and turning it into a masterpiece. (This project will be duplicated on the other nightstand as well as the dresser.) Click on the pictures for a closer look!

Before

My handsome painter

The base coat (I wasn't present during the crackling phase)

Studying his task at hand.

And so it begins:

Wow....just the base coat makes such a difference!

Moi happy with what's going on!

The one side I painted! I contributed!

Oh so pretty.

Doesn't that look amazing?!

We put the original hardware back on, btw. And doesn't it look awesome!?

Yeah. We love it. Don't you? It looks like a whole new piece of furniture!

Who are they?

2010-03-04T10:08:00.004-05:00

This past weekend I had the opportunity to see my 2nd family!! Growing up I probably spent more time at their house than I did mine. Of course, Casey (Beki's husband) didn't come into the picture until further down the road.

Nalani and her sweet baby girl, April.

Apparently it would be rather difficult to convince anyone Adia is the milkman's daughter instead of Casey's. :)

Beki & Me. BFF for 22 yrs and still going!

Adia snuggling up to her mommy!

April was all smiles!

Eliza and Beki - definitely related.

Guess what we got!!!? No, not another animal.

2010-03-01T16:22:00.005-05:00

New purchase!!! So....we're moving soon (I hope) and we've got a sectional to go in our living room. There's a window that would feel very empty without a piece of furniture underneath so we've been toying with the idea of a loveseat or oversized chair. So I've spent FAR too much time on craigslist, but look what I found!! Sorry they aren't the best pics, but you get the idea. And............. I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE IT! It's SUPER soft and cozy and big and lovable and all that good stuff. And just to clarify, I am talking about the chair, not my father. Even though he also is all of the adjectives mentioned previously. Oh, and you might wonder how much we paid for the chair? $45. True story.

Something old and something new. :)

Very happy with my purchase. Yay for big cozy chairs!!

Irresistible!!!

2010-02-23T11:23:00.005-05:00

Needed? No, definitely not. Loved and adored? Absolutely. You can call him Gus.

Great Pyrenees. He's going to be huge. And as you can tell by the last picture his favorite place to lie down is right by the food and water bowls. The kid's a porker!!! And he tinkles enough to prove it! It's like if he feels the slightest inkling to pee he does. grrr..... we're working on that. Don't ya just love him? Poofy ball. Snowball. Abominable snowdog. Fluffernator. After all the many names we discussed...we realized - he's just Gus.

Keep on keepin' on!

2010-02-07T22:25:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to check in and let everyone know that we're still on for getting the house. The current resident is still looking for a place -- and we definitely understand making sure you take your time to find the right place!! Plus, a little bit longer won't hurt the savings account.

Ryan is still at his job. I am still at home. Oh! Last week Ryan and I decided that we needed to get a membership at Costco....Mom asked us to get one at Sam's instead since she has one at Costco. That way, we have the best of both worlds!! So that's just what we did and we were glad since the membership fee is cheaper at Sam's!! So we're excited to buy in bulk. Our freezer has never been this full! :)

I'm kinda sleepy now so I guess I'm done. I hope everyone is doing well! I'm sorry I don't keep in touch better, but please know you're in my thoughts. Cross my heart.

A little snow .....

2010-01-31T00:10:00.003-05:00

Here in Carolina we don't see much snow. So when it comes, I take pictures to document. Evidently I enjoy taking close-ups.

Couple more pictures

2010-01-21T14:19:00.003-05:00

Front of the house

Side porch

New adventures of the Hawks!

2010-01-17T23:03:00.004-05:00

So.....our new adventure?! MOVING!! We've found an adorable 2 bedroom/1 bath home in Asheboro. We will move by March 1st at the earliest (just depends on when the current tenant finds another place to live) and we are SUPER excited!!! Sorry the pictures aren't better, but we'll be going back this coming week. I'll try to do a better job. And it was dark outside so this time I'll try to get pictures of the outside.

Master Bedroom

Laundry Room

Wonderfully spacious kitchen!

2nd bedroom - the Duke blue will have to go....

Deck - and there is a wonderful backyard to go with it.

Cute bathroom - tub is behind door.

Side door to screened in porch - commonly used door.

Front door. This room will look totally different with our furniture in it....our couch will be up against that back wall so there will be lots more floor space.

Ya-hoo!! :)

What's this?! A post?!

2009-12-14T10:31:00.005-05:00

So I have this....thing about posting. I, for whatever reason, feel I can only post if I have pictures to go along with it. This will not be the case today. I'm just going to type some things and be done with it. Life is interesting right now -- Ryan and I are doing well.....enough. I've really been struggling with not having a job. We really REALLY want Ryan to go back to school so that he can get into a profession that will allow him time home with the family while providing for us (meaning, I get to stay home). But he can't do that until he can quit where he is. And he can't quit where he is until I have a solid job that will provide for us. We are also trying to make the best of where we are living - it's not ideal but we can't beat the rent - so here we stay for a little while longer. There's more going on but it's not exactly post material -- I can say that we are building a stronger relationship with our Father in Heaven so that we are sure we are on His path rather than our own. Trusting in Him doesn't come as easily as giving in to Satan's temptations. And Satan really is a punk -- he knows just what buttons to push. But if prayers are being offered every day and the scriptures are being opened and read every day, you truly do feel those protective walls of the Spirit going up around you and your family. That's a wonderful feeling. It's good to take stock of your life and change what you're not happy with. I know I'm grateful for a good man who loves the Lord. He has a strong testimony and is lead by the Spirit to bring his family closer to Heavenly Father. He supports me, lifts me, and loves me. I'm so thankful we were married in the temple and we have opportunities every day to live the covenants we made to each other as well as Heavenly Father.

Okay. I'm off to fold laundry.

Today is the day!!!!

2009-12-08T10:20:00.002-05:00

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE HAS ARRIVED!!! Ryan and I are SUPER-DUPER excited!!! Perhaps I'll take the camera with me when we go to purchase it and post pictures later.....perhaps not. Today is also the day we buy food for the house again!! Won't that be nice. This is all I've got for now.

Birthday happiness!

2009-11-09T16:38:00.003-05:00

Trying to be modest? I just love the shoes.

I love this look because it's like she's asking if she's in trouble for touching it.

"This is great! I'm squishing it and making a mess and everyone is happy about it!!"

She's such a poser. It must be great to be 1.

Sick of being sick!!

2009-10-11T20:42:00.002-04:00

So this past week has been a pain in my rear-end!!!! No wait.....it was my head. I caught the lovely head cold that's been going around and MAN has it been miserable!!! I haven't left my house much less my bed! Ryan has been wonderful -- making dinner, doing the laundry, waiting on me hand and foot. Of course, that's how it always is so...... But I'm doing much better and since Ryan has been sleeping on the couch and refusing to kiss me, we are hoping he is safe.

He's still working ridiculous hours and I'm in a play which will show the first week in November. I will post later exact details so you can come and support the show! Life is good -- at least we have an income coming into our home, a roof over our heads, and we still love each other! :) We're coming up on our 1st anniversary and I feel so blessed. Ryan said to me the other day, "Can I say something to you without you getting misty-eyed? I love you more today than the day I married you." awwwww...... love him.

Labor Day 2009

2009-09-30T15:49:00.008-04:00

Sorry for the picture overload, but for Labor Day, Mel, Ryan, and I took the boys to the beach. This first picture is their reaction to seeing the ocean. The rest are pretty self-explanatory. Enjoy!

By the way, Ryan intentionally closed his eyes for this. punk.

Birthdays are fun!!

2009-09-16T19:09:00.002-04:00

Even though I wasn't home to celebrate, my friends where I was staying made me a cake and said Happy Birthday numerous times throughout the day. They're the best!

Grandpa

2009-09-09T23:39:00.004-04:00

Today my Grandpa passed away. Yesterday morning he had a hemorrhaging in his brain (or however you word it) and it caused him to fall. Because of his dimensia he sometimes left the assisted living facility where he was living and walked across the street (unknown by the attendees) to his church because he thought it was Sunday. This happened yesterday morning so when he fell, he hit cement. He was taken to the hospital but there was nothing the doctors could do but make him comfortable and they basically gave him no more than 36 hours to live. By the time I arrived at the hospital, he was comatose. He stayed that way until 3:55 pm this afternoon when he finally decided to stop being stubborn and allow the Lord to take him home. Mom, Dad, my sister, Melanie, and I were all present when it happened and I held his hand. Even though he was a month shy (today) of turning 92, it's still hard for me. I don't do death well, despite my sure knowledge of living forever with our loved ones. I know he had a good long life but here are some things I'll miss - the way his eyes sparkled when I showed up for a visit; the way it took him 10 minutes on Thanksgiving to back out of the driveway because he kept running into Dad's flowerbeds; the way his nose still honked every time I touched it, even after 28 yrs of honking; the way he pocketed oranges while he was at lunch, took them back to his room, placed them on the counter or refrigerator and forgot about them. When I was little he let me sit on his lap while he read the newspaper. When I was a little bigger, he taught me how to cast my fishing pole. When I got married, he signed our picture frame "love Grandpapa" and giggled because he thought that was funny - I never called him that. I'll miss how every time I said I love you his response was, "I loves you too". I'm grateful for the time we had together here and look forward to our time after this life.

1075 KZL - Mama Pike's Cleaning List

2009-08-31T13:41:00.002-04:00

1075 KZL - Mama Pike's Cleaning List

I saw this on their website and thought, "This is a good list!" and I love Sister Pike, so here it is - my 'plan' on housekeeping.

Can you tell me what you see?

2009-08-26T14:16:00.003-04:00

Brey had a good time tormenting the fish. She does it on a daily basis. She is behind the tank and since we don't have anything on the back glass we can see her stalking our water friends.

Great website

2009-08-21T13:44:00.003-04:00

So my friend, Kirsten P., told me about a website where you can have fun with your pictures and add some really cool effects. This is my first picture I've messed with but I'm looking forward to doing more!! http://www.picnik.com/

Funny Pampers Commercial

2009-08-20T10:35:00.001-04:00

My brother sent me this link and it made me giggle. So I wanted to share.
http://www.pampers.co.uk/en_GB/video/babyseyes.jsp

Uncle/Nephew moment

2009-08-08T15:12:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I know it takes a second to get into it, but once Ty starts tickling Ryan, it's all worth it. Ryan can't stop Ty from tickling because he's laughing....it's cute.

What we grew this year...

2009-08-08T14:34:00.002-04:00

Don't those look absolutely delicious?! Oh they were.

Once there was a (cucumber) snowman......

We still haven't eaten the cucumber yet, but we thought it turned out cool -- it grew in between the mesh lining we had set up for the vines to grow up. We're very thankful for all the food we've received this year from our garden.

Just for clarification

2009-08-07T13:59:00.001-04:00

No one "forced" Jake to go into the dog crate. It was locked for the purpose of a funny picture. At ANY point he could have gotten out but chose to sit there instead. Jake plays in the crate with the dogs on a regular basis so it wasn't anything new for him to be in there with them. I shared the picture because I thought it was fun and it makes me sad that it was ever thought by anyone in our family that I would maliciously punish a child by locking them in a cage.

Here I am!!!

2009-07-15T11:20:00.002-04:00

So it's been a while. I've been wanting to put pictures up, but just haven't had time to do the fun resizing and cropping stuff. I'm still looking for a full-time job. Thankfully, Ryan still has his. We are in the process of looking for a house to rent. We have been talking and praying about this and we are going to find a house to share with my sister, Melanie, and her little family. We all feel it will benefit all of us. So yeah, that's what I've been doing the past few days -- househunting. At first it was fun -- now it's just consuming. Oh well. It will be for the best in the end. That's all for now! The search continues.

Another day another headache

2009-06-22T16:15:00.002-04:00

Seriously. I have a headache I can't get rid of. Ugh.

Life is alright. I'm looking for a job more adamantly right now. I've applied to be a nanny, receptionist, and to work at the Woodforest Bank in the Siler City Walmart.

Since the last post we got another kitty....well, she kinda got plopped into our laps. She's wonderful -- she's brown and grey therefore her name is Brey. She had to do a little warming up to everyone, but she loves the dogs (wrestles with them, eats their food, meows when she has to go potty) We love her and are grateful to have her as part of our family.

Frankie is still having a pottying problem. I won't go into the details about cleaning out his crate but man, it was nasty!

CC is good. She was very happy to see me after I had been gone for 3 days -- she couldn't stop licking me.

Ryan and I are doing well. The sooner I'm blessed with a good paying fulltime job the sooner he can leave our personal hell we call Rent-A-Center.

There's our quick update! When I get to my camera I'll post pics!

Sad day for the Hawks...

2009-06-03T14:42:00.002-04:00

This past Thursday Ryan and I took little Scotchie to the doctor -- she had stopped eating and threw up a yucky worm. The vet gave her medicine to kill the worms and said there was a small chance that since the infestation was so large the worms might clot together and not be able to pass through her intestines. BUT she said that happens more in dogs than cats. So we had to force-feed Scotchie and make sure she was drinking her water. The next morning she was not doing better. I took her back to the doctor and unfortunately there was a clot. If they gave her fluids it might soften enough to get it moving through the intestines but there was a chance of it rupturing her little insides. And the doctor also thought she was anemic....it was a sad day. And the doctor only gave her a 25-50% chance of the fluids working. We had to say goodbye to our perfect little kitten. So that's that.

Quick update

2009-05-27T11:40:00.002-04:00

I feel like it's been forever since I've posted something, so I'm going to do a quick update (in case anyone actually is interested...)

I was sick a couple of weeks ago with a nasty head cold that kept making 2nd and 3rd appearances. I thought it left but no, I was wrong. Then, of course, I gave it to Ryan who still spends half the night coughing. But he's a trooper and goes to work anyway.

Scotchie (the kitten) is sick and we're not sure what it is. The poor little tyke lays around all day sleeping and doesn't play at all. She's not eating her food, but I did get her to eat some tuna fish. She's become VERY vocal and wants to go outside with the dogs. When I do let her outside she uses the bathroom. She's goofy.

Frankie is a mess. He's started a new thing of growling and barking at Ryan for no apparent reason. And then going up to him with a wagging tail and a tongue ready to lick. We're going to monitor that behavior but if it continues, Frankie will have to find a new home. We can't have that kind of aggression....but he's really a pansie! We aren't sure if jumping out of the car window did something to his brain. We are debating if he needs to go to the doctor or not. Catscans are expensive!

CC is her usual 'wish I was a human' self. She loves playing with her siblings and especially Daddy when he comes home from work.

So that's that! Our garden looks fantastic! I'll take some pictures when it stops raining so you can see the reason for our excitement!!

Hey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-11T00:02:00.002-04:00

Happy Day AFTER Mother's Day!!! Bet nobody saw THAT coming! :)

Call me crazy.

2009-05-02T00:30:00.003-04:00

So last night I had to run over to my bishop's house to drop something off -- I had my niece, Natalie, with me, and we decided to take the 2 dogs since they love riding in the car. Now, they LOVE having the windows down, but I can only put them down so far since I'm thinking they might do something drastic. Well, tonight, drastic struck. I have to lock the windows since CC & Frankie have both figured out how to roll them down. I had unlocked the windows so I could adjust them because they were too far down. I had just finished fixing one and started working on the other when all of a sudden Natalie starts screaming that Frankie rolled the window down and JUMPED!! We were going about 40-45 mph. He hit pavement and kept running. We had to chase him with the car for a minute, he crossed the road, and at this point I've got the car pulled over and I'm calling him. He looks at me, takes a pee, and then runs back to the car. The only injury was a minor pavement scratch that just took off some fur. Fun times with psycho dog.

What's up there? This is our newest (and final) addition to the family -- as far as pets go anyway.

Kisses for CC!! You can't help but love that.

Check out that paw!! She's getting ready to do something!

Sleepy kitty -- this is Butterscotch Hawks. We lovingly call her Scotchie. She adores us and the dogs and the feelings are mutual all the way around. She's fantastic.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

2009-05-01T13:12:00.003-04:00

Isn't he cute......

It's my sweet husband's birthday!! He's 25 and still young!!! It's our first birthday as a married couple. :) Yeah, I still giggle about being newlyweds. Anywho, Happy Birthday to the love of my life and my best friend, Ryan Hawks!! :)

Thoughts

2009-04-28T10:19:00.003-04:00

Ya know, I guess I was thinking that I had to have pictures in order to blog....okay, well, I prefer to have pictures because I'm a visual person. But today it's just words.

I have a couple of friends that highly encouraged me to try-out for Triad Idol - the local version of American Idol. So I did. It was awful. It was in the mall, the microphone was incredibly too loud, and it was just....awkward. I sang "Stay" by Sugarland - well, 30 seconds of it. My voice was shaky. People clapped. I made it to the next round which is this Sunday where I will have another 30 seconds to sing either the same song or a different one. At least this time I won't have to sing at the mall. I get to sing at the Masonic Temple in Greensboro and for a mere $5.00, anyone can come listen to 30 seconds of me! It's ridiculous sounding to me. Don't pay for it....it's not worth. Unless you're my husband. So yeah. That's what's going on right now.

Antiques!!

2009-04-23T14:47:00.007-04:00

I went with a friend and her son to a cool antique place and took just a few pics:

We saw an old printing press table...

and one of those ....picture - thingy's......

and some pretty stained glass:

We had lots of fun exploring!!

The other day....

2009-04-23T14:26:00.003-04:00

The other day Ryan and I were driving home when we passed a cow field with an unusual visitor grazing with the cows:

Yes, that's a deer. That's the second time I've seen him "hanging out" there.

Easter Sunday

2009-04-23T13:48:00.002-04:00

Sorry for not posting recently. Here's a couple pics from Easter Sunday:

Spiritual Sunday

2009-04-12T21:46:00.003-04:00

Do you ever have those Sundays where the Spirit just takes over and it's like you suddenly have NO control over your tear ducts? Yeah, that was today for me. I had the privilege of being the special music for Sacrament meeting and I was doing fine until close to the end when my voice just stopped and the tears began. (Thank you, Mandi, for continuing to play) And yet people came up to me afterwards and told me how wonderful it was. They told me that it showed that I was truly feeling what I was singing and that it was a testimony. I sang "For Me Alone" by Sally Deford. You can go to her website and listen to someone else sing it if you're really interested (www.defordmusic.com). I was also touched today with everything that was said about the Savior and all He's done for us and continues to do for us. I'm so thankful to have Him in my life - knowing that He and I should have a closer relationship than we do right now and knowing that I'm the one keeping that from happening. I'm so grateful for the Atonement and I love knowing that I have my husband for forever -- and our future children (not planning anything in the near future) -- as long we keep the covenants we have made with Heavenly Father in His Holy Temple. It's so great to be a member of Christ's church. Rock on.

SCORE!

2009-04-09T11:06:00.005-04:00

Yeah, so we've been needing a new kitchen table. So what does any good wife with a budget do? Scopes out the yard sales. I checked one out last Saturday and found this:

And guess how much we paid. This is an Ashley Furniture pub table with 4 chairs.

$50!!!!

I was so impressed with my find. Yee-haw.

And here are some pretty pictures of the flowers Ryan bought me:

BFF's

2009-03-31T01:32:00.003-04:00

Sorry if it seems like all we do is post about our dogs, but they are part of our family!! I got some cute shots of them today and wanted to share. The silver/black spots is CC and the white/black spots is Frankie. They can't get enough of each other. It's great to have a friend for CC.

I lived!!

2009-03-29T19:01:00.004-04:00

I had decided that it was definitely time for the Spring haircoloring project. So I bought the lovely highlights in a box from Walmart and asked my friend Teresa if she would do the honors. She agreed and I have to say.....I'm not sure if I will ever be ready for that adventure again. I am grateful my ears are still normal looking -- I swore by the way she was attacking them under the highlighting cap that I would have to wear bandages for while!

Fun Times at the Hawks Haven!

2009-03-28T09:22:00.005-04:00

Last night we had Natalie (our niece) spend the night. After 3 rousing games of Candyland between her and myself (of which she won all three....I'm sure she cheated) she played for a bit on the Nintendo DS while I checked email and watched the Carolina game. I then went into the kitchen to finish up some things and Ryan put in Iron Man so he and Natalie could watch it. When I entered the room 20 minutes later, this is what I found:

Totally zonked out. Nice.

And we've had a friend visiting our house. He might stay.....we'll see. CC loves him.

Sorry for the sniffing picture.....they wouldn't hold still. But isn't it crazy how much they look alike?! They play the same, too.

Our newest addition!!

2009-03-25T00:11:00.004-04:00

So we've been wanting to get a fan for our living room for a while and finally it's here!! We put it up together and didn't get mad once!! (That's better than when we put the light up in the kitchen....) So we were nervous/excited to turn the switch on but it worked! :) The only problem is I picked up the wrong lightbulbs for it. So we'll have light tomorrow.

We also came home to an excited CC covered in dirt. It was amazing to watch the dirt wash off and our cute black and white puppy emerge from the filfth! She's so pretty when she's clean.

Yeah....I'm super sleepy so this is it for today.

Fun Family Times!!

2009-03-22T22:17:00.005-04:00

Dad is receiving the "Silver Beaver" award from the BSA (Boy Scouts of America) this coming Thursday. Tonight we had a family dinner and were able to tell him about this -- he was speechless. The Silver Beaver is a prestigious award in the scouting community so it's a very high honor for Dad. It was a really cool thing to share as a family. And dinner was good, too.

2009-03-20T12:53:00.001-04:00

2nd Post!

2009-03-20T12:29:00.003-04:00

I am proud of myself for coming on day 2 of our blog to update again! I was so excited when I got home last night to show Ryan the hard work I put into creating our blog. The first thing out of his mouth? "Why THAT picture?" I told him to shut up. After I post this I'm going to go on Facebook and let everyone know we have a blog and to come see it!

Today is pretty outside. I have a dog who sits on my bed with her nose pressed against the glass and whines to go outside. So I take her outside only to have her whine to come in when she realizes I'm not staying out there with her. She's a butthead. But we love her. Her name is CC and she is absolutely part of our family. I'm her Discipline Lady and Ryan is her chew toy.

Well, that's all for now! Who knows, I might come back later! :)

Here we are!!!

2009-03-19T15:18:00.005-04:00

Well, we've finally entered the world of blogging!! I've been working with Jamie for over an hour trying to get something cute put together. And so I think we've accomplished that! I still have to learn about how to post pictures so please bear with me as our blog is "under construction".

We've been married 111 days now!!! (Yes, I still have the counter thing going on my Facebook profile) We are loving it -- it's super nice to not have a curfew anymore! :) Ryan and I are still learning things about each other every day!! We both have callings at church -- his is ....well, we aren't sure exactly. It has something to do with helping the Elder's Quorum do missionary work - he schedules the men to go out with the missionaries once a month. I suppose that's the easiest way to say it. My callings are: Ward Missionary - I teach the Gospel Principles class every Sunday which is fantastical and I frequently go to appointments with the missionaries. Right now I'm helping teach new converts the New Member Lessons which is fun because I get to bring out the visual aids I used on my mission! (I've been home 4 years now!! Can you believe it?!) I also have a Stake calling - I'm the Public Affairs person for our ward. I think that means I help the ward connect with the community and do service stuff. It's fairly new so I'll let you know once I understand more.

Well, I suppose for a first entry this is good. I just wanted to post a quick update on what's going on in our world. Hope everyone's great!!