Christmas

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!  This was a picture Devon and I took with my cell phone on Christmas morning and texted to our families to say Merry Christmas :-)

We had a truly wonderful few days of Christmas together.  We had several things planned, but the weather kept us from doing 2 out of the 3.  We were able to do our "annual traditional snack supper" with Annie, Robbie, Nathanael, Rachael, Thom, Jacqui, and Julia.  We didn't get a picture of the great spread or great group of people this year...we'll have to be better about that in years to come.  Annie and I decided to make this an annual event to keep the Kelly tradition alive.  Christmas Eve dinner consists of snacks...the most important being the cheese & sausage sent to us from Wisconsin :-)  That is what all of us Kelly's think of when it comes to Christmas Eve dinner...Wisconsin cheese & sausage!

Christmas and the day after were full of Devon and me time!  It was wonderful.  We were suppose to go to Devon's parent's house for Christmas dinner and a movie and then go to my best friend's parent's house for Sunday breakfast...but the snow kept both of these events from happening.  Devon and I did little productive around the house...we just enjoyed each other company, watched some movies, played a couple games, napped, and ate too much food :-)  It is hard getting back into reality after 3 leisurely days like this.  We are both very very thankful for the rest and relaxation!  Especially before our baby boy arrives...in approximately 10weeks! 

Up Early

Well, I'm up early due to achy hips.  Whew.  The good news is, it's usually not this bad in the mornings.  If it were, I don't think I'd ever have a problem getting up on time to get ready for work :-)  I knew I would end up waking Devon up with all my tossing and turning and moving to try and get the achyness to stop, so I decided to go ahead and get up.  It's actually kinda nice getting up early when it's not cause you have to immediately get ready for work.  I've gotten all our Christmas gifts and cards ready for people Devon works closely with, my co-workers, and our neighbors all done and ready to deliver.  This year for Devon's people we're giving them hot chocolate in these cute little tins that I picked up at Michael's and Hobby Lobby.  Our neighbors are getting this same thing :-)  and my co-workers are getting little homemade soaps I picked up a couple months ago during a girls weekend trip to Roanoke, VA.  I really do think it's neat to be able to do a small something for people like this in your everyday life.

Now, I'm sitting here with a fully belly and a hot cup of tea enjoying the Christmas lights while I write this.  Thank you Lord for small treats like this.

I can't believe it's the week of Christmas already.  Where did 2010 go???  It's scary how fast a year can go!  My best friend ,Heather, and I were talking the other day about how long we have known each other and how long ago we graduated from college.  We essentially said it does not make sense!  I mean, we can remember what we have done since the 11 1/2 years ago we graduated from college...but it still just doesn't make sense that that much time has passed.  I still feel like college was a year ago...and that I'm still in my early 20s!  Of course I wouldn't change anything, but it still doesn't make sense.

On another note, Devon and I had our all day birthing class yesterday at the hospital.  We left with a "certificate" of sorts.  I guess we're "ready" to have a baby and then take it home with us...eek!  11 more weeks until the little guys due date.  Again, time is flying by.  Lots to get done before he gets here.  But I don't think we'll ever feel completely "ready."  It's gonna make us rely on the Lord all the more.  Exciting, scary, unbelievable, humbling, responsibility, joy, awe...just some of the emotions that go through this hormone fluxing pregnant woman as the days pass by.

Thank you for reading this definite rambling post!  Blessings on your week of Christmas!  May you truly see God in the details of your days.

a few pics of "the bump"

I'm finally doing what I've mentioned a couple times now...posting a couple pics of the growing baby "bump."  I really don't think you can call it a bump anymore, ha ha!

Overall things are going wonderfully with the pregnancy.  We're 28wks along...so we'll get to meet our little man in 12 weeks!  I'm starting to think about all the things we need to get done before then!

Enjoy the pictures.  They are self taken with my cell phone :-)  If you're wondering about the background...I've taken these while at work.  It gets really slow sometimes while I'm at this office, and since I don't have an actual office or computer or anything, I have to fill my time with something while waiting on patients.  (Don't worry, most of the time I keep plenty busy between the two offices!)

"bump" at 6 months

"bump" at 7 months

Rachael update

I got to spend the afternoon with Rachael yesterday :-)  Let me tell you, life is hard, huh.  This sweet little thing sleeping on my chest while I dozed on the couch as well.  Annie was able to shower and rest, which is a praise!

Overall things are going pretty good.  She's not gaining her weight back as quick as they'd like, but it's coming about a 1/2 oz per day.  They're having to watch her closely for the dairy allergy her brother had.  Unfortunately today she started showing some of the same signs.  Atleast mom and dad know what they're looking for this time.  Thanks for continued prayers for the Freeman 4!  (Annie, Robbie, Nathanael, & Rachael)

Rachael Leigh Freeman is here!

Rachael Leigh Freeman

Born 10/26/2010 3:14am

5lbs 15oz, 19in long

This is a picture I stole from my twin sister's twitter page.  It's Nathanael's first meeting with his new sister. 

I am so blessed by this family! 

I know Annie, Robbie, Nathanael, and Rachael would cherish any and all of your prayers as they begin this new chapter.

Robbie's b'day dinner

Warning:  rambling post below

Yesterday was my brother-in-law, Robbie's b'day.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBERTO!  (if you didn't gather...that's my nickname for Robbie)  I spent the afternoon over at their house helping Annie (my twin sister) get things cleaned and ready for the big b'day dinner.  Annie is 9 months pregnant and having contractions on a regular basis, so it was great that it worked out for me to be able to come over and help.

Side note:  if you read this, pray for baby Rachael.  She's begun measuring small, which is causing some concern from the doctor.  Annie will be going back to see them on Monday to measure fluid levels and see if Rachael has grown at all.  If she hasn't this means the placenta isn't doing what it needs to be doing any more and they will most likely induce Annie on Monday.  So pray that Rachael grows and the fluid levels stay good.

Devon came over as soon as he was done with work.  He and I played outside with Nathanael while we all waited for Robbie's family to arrive for the celebration.  1st Nate wanted to drive his car.  Below is him (sporting his new favorite duck hat) parking his car between Aunt Mandy's and Uncle Devon's.

Then he wanted to ride his bike, but he ended up riding in circles around his yard and onto the street (i think he likes the bumps).  Devon decided to pull out the back seat of his jeep and sit while Nate rode in circles.  Of course Nate thought that was really cool, so the bike riding went to the wayside and he had to sit with Uncle Devon. 

At some point he lost interest in the seat and his bike helmet.  Devon decided to sport Nate's helmet and I relaxed on the seat.  Hence the below picture.

Side note:  I don't think I've posted on here the offical...WE'RE HAVING A BOY post!  We found out a couple weeks ago that baby raisch is a boy.  So far all is growing healthy, Praise the Lord.  We're half way along in the pregnancy.  I promise to post a pic or two of the growing baby bump.  We truly are blessed.

Girls Weekend in Roanoke, VA

You gotta love how you can steal pictures off facebook.  That's where I got this picture of some of my best friends in the world.  Thanks Tiff!  The four of us met up in Roanoke, VA this weekend for a girls weekend together.  It was a blessing beyond words.  What a gift to have friends like this where you come together and pick up where you left off, and never hesitate to be your complete self.  We talked, laughed, played some cards, walked around a couple towns, SNACKED, talked, and laughed some more. 

Tiffany and I realized this weekend that we have known eachother for amost 20 years...20 years!  My life is richer because of this girl...truly richer.

I've known Rosemary & Jeanett for well over 10 years now.  Before I moved to Shelby they were my family in Raleigh.  We lived together for 4 years, 4 great years.  I tell people often, the three of us had a roomate environment that is rare and special.  Like I already said...we were a family.  What a blessing these two are to me.

Rosemary, Jeanett, & Tiffany.  Oh how I love you ladies!  Thank you for such a wonderful weekend together!!!  I can't wait till girls weekend 2011 :-)  Phil 1:3

Recipe

I know this isn't going to be an exciting blog post...but I get giddy when I make this Lentil soup recipe and I thought I'd put it on here.  I made this last night, and am having it for lunch...and I'm counting down the minutes till my lunch hour.

This is my mom's Lentil & Sausage soup.

1 onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
2-3 stalks of celery
1 bag of lentils
1 package of Kielbasa sausage (I use Turkey Kielbasa)
2 cartons of chicken broth
1 bag of baby spinach


-Rinse & check your lentils for any dirt or rocks
-Saute up your onions, garlic, and celery in a little olive oil
-Add both cartons of chicken broth
-Add rinsed lentils
-Add cut up Kielbasa
-Bring all of this to a boil and then reduce heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are done (+/-1.5hrs)
-Sometimes I'll add some extra water cause I know it's going to lose some juice through this cooking time, that's up to you
-Right before you're about to eat, add the bag of spinach and let it cook for a few more minutes
-serve and enjoy!

unexpected blessing

I woke up this morning knowing that one of my main priorities for the day was getting to the grocery store to buy laundry detergent.  I had let mine run out and didn't want to just go anywhere to buys some.  You see, I REALLY want to use my coupons, but I've gotten a few weeks behind on cutting them.  Over the past several days I've been meaning to get my coupons up to date and then look and see who had detergent on sale and then go use my coupon there.

Well...I had waited to long, and had resolved to just going to the nearest grocery store this morning and buying detergent without a coupon.  I went to Food Lion at 8am this morning and headed directly to the laundry isle.  There were several brands on Food Lion special, so I was happy that I was going to save aleast a few dollars.  I ended up getting the Arm&Hammer brand (never got it, but how can you go wrong with A&H?).  I found a good deal on razors and honey nut cheerios.  I was quite happy with my belongings and headed to the checkout.  The sweet sweet lady behind the register saw that my laundry detergent was on a good sale as well (made me feel good).  She then said something about there being a coupon???  huh?  She pulled out an envelope with several pages of coupons printed off the internet.  She found one for my detergent and cut it out and scanned it.  I saved another $1.00 on it!  I was so thankful.  I then asked her, "do you just keep these up here?"  She then told me those were her own personal coupons!  She was giving me that one.  I didn't know what to say.  How kind of her!  I told her thank you many many times and that I didn't deserve it, but she assured me that I did. 

What a sweet blessing from this lady.  I walked out thinking about making her some cookies or brownies and bringing them back to her to show my appreciation.  Over the top?  maybe?   But still, I was so blessed by this small act.  I've got my 2nd load of laundry going already :-)

buying and selling

Does it seem to anyone else that buying goes in spurts???  It kinda seems that way to Devon and me.

this week Devon purchased this

we are trying to sell this

and this

and this

Oh, and last weekend we drove down to Greenville, SC cause we found a great deal on Craigslist for this

baby furniture

Cause God is blessing us with this come sometime around March 5th

1st pic of Baby Raisch

I think the busyness has ended...

Devon and I have been going non-stop for a while now...but I think the busyness has ended.  Here's a brief description of all that the past 7-8wks have included:

May 1-2 we fly to Milwaukee for Grandpa's 90th b'day (the flight experiences are a blog all in themselves)
May 7-9 camping with great friends in the moutains (can't wait for the next one already)
May15 day trip to Roxboro for Philip's graduation (woohoo!)
May 21-23 trip to Warrenton, NC for my cousin's wedding (and great family get-together!)
May 28-30 hosted the appgirls reunion at our house (so wonderful!)
June 9-13 i went to Seattle for Joe's graduation from grad school (congrats again buddy!)
June 20 day trip to Ashville for some time at the Biltmore (we finally used our annual passes)
June 26-27 trip to Greensboro for Heather's baby shower (she's beautiful) and then toRaleigh for a last min overnight with Rosemary & Jeanett and then to Cary to spend time with Grandpa Joe and Grandma Betty (adopted grandparents of mine)

We're home for the next few weekends and then headed on a little weekend trip for Devon's b'day.  I have truly loved everything we've done and people we've been blessed to visit with.  I am glad to be home for a few weeks straight now :)

Thanks for listening to my ramblings!

a confession

A confession for the few of you who read this blog...Devon and I have let our garden go. Everything is overgrown almost completely. We were out there a couple weeks ago working hard and feeling like we were getting no where. We looked at eachother and agreed...lets forget the garden FOR NOW. We want to try and make some raised beds and transplant the few plants that were actually growing. Now, it is 3 weeks later and we haven't made our raised beds and...well...thanks to our neglet and God's great rain...the garden looks horrible.

BUT here's the thing...three things seem to be surviving all on their own. Kale, 3 tomatoe plants, and brocolli. I actually cut some kale this afternoon and we're going to have it with our dinner tonight. It'll be the 1st time we've ever had kale and the 1st time I've ever cooked it...so I guess I should say, we HOPE to have some kale with our dinner tonight :-)

A second confession...I'm writing this blog when I should be mopping my floors for the 5 adults and 3 children who are going to be our house guests this coming weekend...

Wisconsin or bust...

Grandpa's 90th b'day!

I am so very thankful that Devon and I were able to make the quick trip to Wisconsin for Grandpa's 90th birthday party.  I don't get to see this side of the family very often, but they are so great to be around.  And I love the above picture!  Look at how similar grandpa still looks to the framed picture of him!  Handsom!  And, check out the cheese sandwhich on his cake :-)  Perfect for grandpa's cake! 

I love you grandpa!  Happy 90th! 

garden woes

So...Devon and I are beginning to wonder if the garden is gonna produce anything this year.  Maybe we're not being patient enough.  It is the first time for both of us doing this.  We tilled up a pretty big area of land and one of our biggest problems is weeds (aka:  grass and clovers!)  I truly cannot keep up.  I'm able to keep the tops of our rows pretty clear, but the sides are beginning to look like full rows of grass.  That cannot be good.  Some of this grass is so deeply rooted, that all I do is break it off. 

I was really excited about our radishes.  They seemed to be one of the only things really growing.  I looked at the seed package and it looked like the radishes met all qualifications for picking.  I was beyond excited to go out there and pick them after church on Sunday, I could hardly get home fast enough.  Well I went out there took the below picture...picked a radish only to not find a radish at all.  I dug deep thinking that it had to be down there somewhere!  (i've learned where it should be now, don't worry).  I then saw the tinyest little bulb that I believe was suppose to be the radish.  Sad.  I put it back into the ground hoping that maybe a little more time would make it plump up.  Who knows... 

Our Spinach is little, but it's there.  Our tiny little kahl plants are being nibbled away.  Our broccoli has little plants, so here's hoping!  We got one tomatoe plant budding up...which I was very excited to discover!  Nothing coming up in the carrots or peppers areas. 

The question is...do we perservere and go ahead and plant our beans, squash, and zuchnni? 

I know one think I've learned is that I think we need to start our plants ahead of time next year, in those little black plastic trays (don't you love my garden lingo).    Nothing like learning as we go :)

Easter Weekend

We had busy, but great Easter weekend.  It's hard to start the work week after such a nice weekend together.  Devon thankfully had Good Friday off.  He did get called into the airport for a couple hours Friday morning, but it worked perfect cause I was on a quest to find some cheap shoes to wear while working in the garden.  I went to about 6 different stores searching and ended up back at the first place we went...Good Will.  I got a $3.49 pair of Avia tennis shoes...and also picked up a $2.50 pair of camoflauge pants :)  You see, Devon has a pair that he wears all the time doing yard work and I couldn't pass them up.  So we both had on our camo pants and then Devon brought down two of the below hats for us to wear.  I wonder what the neighbors thought...

We worked in the garden for about 5 hours Friday afternoon.  One of the hottest days of the year so far...in the mid 80's.  Needless to say, we both started our farmers tan in style.  Devon worked hard tilling up the ground (for a 2nd time to make sure it was good and ready for planting), while I worked on getting all the weeds and rocks out and raking the soil into our rows.  We planted spinach, kahl, broccoli, radishes, tomatoes, green/red peppers(we don't know which), onions, and carrots.  We still have some more tilling and planting to do, but that'll be in a couple more weeks.  We have green beans,  lima beans, cucumber, squash, zuchinni, cantalope, and watermelon to plant.  I'd like to get some sweet potatoes too!  And, we've talked about getting some blue berry bushes and maybe doing a few strawberry plants.  This is the first time for both of us doing a garden...we may be being a little over zealous on our first try...but we'll see! 

Saturday we worked on Devon's house.  He's got a little one bedroom house that is located in one of the...hmmm how should I say this....well, the house isn't located in the best area of Shelby.  There are break-in's, fights, and gun fire on a regular basis.  We're wanting to fix the house up a bit and sell it.  So, if you're one of the 3 people who may read this...pray that we get the house fixed up and sold quickly.  It will definitely be a weight off our shoulders to not have this house over our heads anylonger.  Devon spent the morning working on the yard and I spent the morning puddying holes and dry-wall.  I'm honestly excited to see what this little place is gonna look like when we're done!  I pray that the right owner comes along. 

Saturday evening Devon's sisters came over and we all went over to Annie & Robbie's and dyed Easter eggs with them.  It was a lot of fun!

Devon's sisters spent the night with us.  We got up at 3:20am (yes you read that correctly) and got ready and headed to the Easter Sunrise Service at Chimney Rock.  it's an annual tradition for the Raisch family.  This year Devon and I were the only ones who were going to be able to make it, so the girls stayed with us.  It was a beautiful beautiful way to begin Easter day.  I'm so thankful to truly understand the significance of what Easter Sunday represents.  So thankful that Jesus Christ conquered death and now all our sins are forgiven and we have direct relationship to God Himself!  AMAZING!   That is another entire blog post all in itself...

We made it back from the service in time to go out to Ihop for breakfast and get to the YMCA where our church meets.  Devon was falling asleep to the left of me and his sister, Jamie, was falling asleep to the right of me.  It was hard not to chuckle.  At one point I put my arm around Jamie and put my hand on her head so it would stop bobbing up and down.  We definitely enjoyed a long afternoon nap yesterday!  We decided not to work in the garden or on the house yesterday afternoon, but just relax and enjoy some time together.  I'm truly blessed...

One Year

So my last blog was March 22, 2009.  I thought it'd be fitting to start my blog back today :-)  It will still be full of ramblings, but quite possibly ramblings about some different things seeing as how this past year has been one amazing journey!  God is so good to me and I'm truly truly thankful.  Lets just see if I can highlight my year away from the blogging world...

May 2009 - got engaged to the most amazing man, Devon Raisch
June 2009 - September 2009 - busy planning our wedding, buying a house and fixing it up. 
September 5, 2009 - blessed beyond words to marry Devon (never believed that day would come and then God completely exceeded my expecations.  amazing...)  Devon and I still talk about what an amazing wedding day it was.  I could write an etire post just on this day alone.
September 5-12, 2009 - honeymoon in Alexandria, VA.  (such a wonderful wonderful week!)
September 2009 - present - playing house :-)    Loving married life.  Maybe it's because both Devon and I are a little bit older getting married, but we still on a regular basis say things like, "you're really here" or "look what we get to do" or "look at what God has given us"  etc, etc, etc

I pray that daily we'll continue to put God first, eachother second, and as a result continue to dance through life together.  I'm not ignorant of the difficulties of life that come up, but I'm not gonna sit and expect them to come around the next corner.  One day at a time, living each to the fullest as best as I can, and we'll see what life holds :)  Thanks for reading and welcoming me back to the blogging world!