Thanksgiving

I don't often post without pictures, but I just want to express my thankfulness this year. Not that I haven't been thankful in years before, but I just want to tell you how thankful and happy I am. Something I am working on in my life is to see the cup half-full compared to half-empty. I don't enjoy thinking that way, so I am trying to change my attitude!

*I am so thankful for my salvation and relationship with Christ. I am so easily sidetracked and overwhelmed with the busyness of life that I often take advantage of the gift I have been given- thanks to a wonderful Christian home and family that helped lead me to Christ.

*I am so thankful for my husband of four years. Not only is he gorgeous, his insides are beautiful and he is truly an amazing husband. I love how we know each other so well and have a bond no one else can fill. I love that he is Godly and desires to lead me and our family in the same way. He's such a great father to Adam and such a great husband to me.

*I am so thankful for my beautiful son. I have only been a mother a few months, but it is such a remarkable experience to have, and for that I am so thankful. I am so thankful to the Lord that my pregnancy and delivery went so well. I think over and over again how blessed I was to have the perfect delivery that I prayed for and planned for. Thank you Lord! I love our son so much and can't wait to see him grow and hope to help him be thankful also.

*I am so thankful for a beautiful home that will be more beautiful someday... :)

*I am so thankful that we can pay our bills and know we will be taken care of. We both have great jobs that treat us very well. As much as I yearn and pray for something else to be able to stay home, I am thankful I have a job when a lot of people don't have jobs right now, and it is a job that works with me and our schedule.

*I am so thankful for my parents and Amos' parents that have stayed married. It's such a good thing that often isn't the case anymore.

*I am so thankful for my siblings and their spouses. I have to say, my two sisters (and Mom of course) are my best friends. After being with my sisters this weekend I was reminded of how much I love them and how much I enjoy being with them. As they would probably agree, I act a little different around them, meaning I laugh and act a little weirder than normal. It's fun to do that every once and a while. Anyway, I am so thankful I have them as my best confidants and loyal supporters. I love you girls!

* I am thankful that I have a future that is promised, secure, and exciting. I look forward to what will happen, and so look forward to my eternity with Jesus. I love that I have future that is promised. So exciting!

Hamby Family 2009

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Dining Room Done... For Right Now....

Here are some pictures of our finished dining room. Well, besides windows,floor, and a much needed new table which will happen some day. I'm just excited to get one room done. We're happy how it turned out.

Cast your vote!

We finally got our dining room painted!!!

One room half-way done, about a dozen more to go! :)

I have had several color choices that I couldn't decide on for the life of me, then Amos and I found a color that we both liked and we did it. It wasn't even a color we were interested in at the beginning.

Which one do you think it is??????

Here are some before shots of our dining room. Boring and ugly!

Next week all my siblings and parents come to town, and I am overly excited. I haven't seen Ruthann since May when Adam was born and I haven't seen the Johnson's since August. They are coming for a wedding that my Dad is doing and Ruthann is a bridesmaid/Thanksgiving. I am hosting all the Hamby kids and their spouses, and Micah of course. It will be so much fun having a house full. We have a lot of cleaning and prepping to do still, hopefully it will all get done!

I'm sure I will have a lot of pictures to post.

Until next time!

Okay, I will give you a snapshot of what color we did. It made the room much darker and very cozy, which we wanted. I will post more pictures soon after I decorate and get the finished project.

Adam is bad! :)

Adam is bad.... I turned around to get his food off the counter and he had very quickly grabbed some bread from the bowl and helped himself to eating it. It made me laugh that he would think to do that because he has never eaten normal food! He must learn a lot from us. So cute.

I love being a mom!!

Click on the link below......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-2kEnz97eI

5 Months Old!!!!

Our Little Lion

It's a litle early for Halloween, but we had a harvest party at our church and I had to dress up our Adam in this cute costume. Thankfully it was quite warm and I don't think he even knew he was wearing it. He is so cute......

Look at that smile.... he just melts my heart!

Not too much to blog about....

Not too much going on these days besides working, cooking, cleaning, taking care of a sweet baby, and Amos working until 12 some nights because of the harvest season. We are enjoying life and each other. Here are some recent pictures.

We are excited that Adam ate his first rice cereal!

This is me trying to feed him.... not much of it stayed down... we'll try again!

I don't like when Amos does this....:)




Adam playing.......




Adam playing with his Great-Great Grandma Wooldridge

Adam playing with this new friend Tucker Houck.

Here is a link to some fun pics I created and following are some examples.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=323688&id=703425526&l=c3bedcaa9d

My hubby was adorable!! ( He still is.....)

I got some of these old pics from the Greene's this weekend just love some of them. Amos was so adorable, along with the rest of his siblings. I hope Adam starts to look more and more like him.

What do you think of the hair? :)

Esther and Joel's Wedding

We had a great time this weekend with family and friends at Esther and Joel's wedding. It was a beautiful weekend and we are so happy for them.

The Newlyweds

The Greene Brothers

The Greene Family

Mr. Adam Greene

Uncle Jeremiah and Adam

Esther and Joel Meeder

Amos and Rachel Greene

Overnight Changes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA1CsXGdIPg

(You might have to push play to get it going... it wasn't working well?)

(Click on the above link to have a conversation with Adam!)

Adam has changed.... like overnight! It's crazy.

Some of our new favorite things about Adam:

*He sleeps through the night.... so wonderful.

*He is so cute.

*He found his arms the other day and enjoys them.

*He also found his hands and it's cute to see him slobber or play with them.

*He has beautiful eyes.

*He is getting more and more independent and can actually hang out by himself some.

*He is getting really close to rolling over... I can't just put him on the table for a sec like I have been doing.

*He is talking up a storm and has so much to say.

*He is getting more fun and active and just so adorable.

*He laughs and giggles when I laugh at him.... so cute!

*He smiles so much... I can't help but smile back at him.

*He is getting close to being potty-trained.. just joking. Maybe in a few months. :)

We both love being parents. It's amazing how much joy they bring.

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I went to visit my family in DeWitt this weekend and had a great time.

I made it to Ryan's amazing cross country meet. He got 5th place out of hundreds of runners as a sophomore. I can't believe how proud I am of him.

We also got to watch him do a great job at his soccer game made up of select soccer players.

It was a busy, but relaxing weekend spent with my fun family.

Happy 4th Anniversary to my Amos!

Happy 4th Anniversary to my beloved Amos.

These have been the best four years ever and I look forward to many, many more. You are such a wonderful, Godly man and an amazing father to our Adam. Your faithfulness, unconditional love, encouragement, and love are things I don't deserve. Thank you for your awesomeness.

I love you!

Happy Anniversary!

A lot of firsts....

Adam got to go to his first Iowa State game. He loved it! He was awed by the crowd and lights.

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Adam got to go to his first rodeo! He loved it!

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Adam got to sit in the booth by himself...... at least for a few seconds.

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Adam got his first camo hat. We went shopping and such in Des Moines for my birthday and he walked away with more new items than I did. I love shopping for him!

We also had a big tailgating party at Wilson Toyota and Adam got to meet Cy for the first time. Maybe next year he will be a litle more scared. It was fun.

Adam Went Shopping

We went to Minneapolis this past weekend to visit Amos' grandparents. They had never met Adam so we thought we would enjoy one of our last weekends before Amos starts his busy harvest season. We had a relaxing time and they enjoyed meeting our baby. We went shopping and got some new adorable outfits for Adam to wear this fall. He is modeling a couple outfits for you below. If only he knew how adorable he is! :)

Our 3-Month Old

We can't believe Adam is growing up so fast. It has been so fun lately. He is smiling and laughing and so cute. We are having so much fun watching him grow up. He is growing out of his clothes so quickly and his chubby rolls are multiplying. We love our boy!

Camping Trip!

We had so much fun last weekend camping with our friends. It was Adam's first time camping and my second time. We had fun boating, eating, and spending time together around the camp fire. I hope this will be a new tradition for many years to come! Thanks Jenica for putting it all together for us. It was fun!

Baby Adam

I got these beautiful pictures taken when Adam was only two weeks old. He looks so much different now! Thanks again Rebekah for beautiful work!

Grandma's 70th Birthday!

This past weekend we had a big get-together for my Grandma's 70th Birthday. It was fun to spend time with my Mom's side of the family. Here are pictures of this weekend!

Babies everywhere!

Here is a clip of a Adam and Micah this past week. It sure is fun having them together. I know it will be more and more fun as they keep growing up,,, and after they get another cousin this March. We are so excited for Ruthann and Dustin!

Animoto.com

Animoto.com

Tennessee!!

We had a great family reunion in the beautiful Smoky Mountains. We were blessed with several beautiful ( and huge ) cabins way up in the mountains. It was great spending time with a lot of extended family that we had not seen in about 8 years. We have all changed a lot since then!


Adam's first flight! He did so well. We had a guy next to us tell us he was aggravated that he had to sit by a baby but was so pleasantly surprised that he did so well. He said we had a great baby.... nice!



Uncle Ryan is the best uncle. He played and laughed with Adam a lot. He will be a fun guy to have around as our kids grow up!



All of the Hamby/Allen clan at our cabin... and we were still missing a lot of people!



Adam with his Great-Grandma "Nan"



A cute picture I captured of my two guys.



Adam and his Papa



Here are a few pics of us waiting in the airport... all day long! Both of our planes broke down so that caused us to miss flights. We finally got home at 3:00 in the morning.
Thank goodness Adam did well. It was a long day!

Good Bye, So Long!

We are on our way to Tennessee.... but I wanted to post these pictures from recent. Adam is almost 2 months old so we had to take his pictures before we left.

The other pictures are from our weekend with the Greene Family. Amos' great aunt died so we had a big family reunion this weekend. Not everyone was pictured, but there were a lot of people here from all over the country. I enjoyed getting to know a lot of them and hear about the memories and history they had in Ames.

Some more pregnancy pictures

Even though we are not (thankfully!) pregnant anymore, I wanted to share these pictures with you from when I was expecting Adam. Our friend Amy did a great job! I am blessed to have such talented photographer friends.

Safety First

After much criticism from my mother and grandmother, we bought Adam his first life jacket. We were planning on getting one, but I guess it didn't happen fast enough. Thanks for caring ladies! :)

Amos brought Adam to me this morning. I couldn't figure out what was taking him so long. I opened my eyes and found Adam happy as can be in his new life jacket. So cute.





I bet Adam is afraid he might have to start wearing it in bath tub also. He loves bath time!

Nike Boy

Is it bad to enjoy playing dress-up with Adam like I did when I had dolls? :)
I kind of enjoy dressing him up like a doll. I guess I should enjoy it while I can because I can imagine him in a few years as he is gaining indepedence picking out his own clothes. Anyway, here are a few cute pictures and hopefully the video works and you can see him in real life. I wanted him to smile but not this time. I'll get it on tape one of these days.

More summer fun!

This has been a fun summer! I sure have enjoyed staying at home this summer with Adam. I am staying a lot more busy than I thought I would, but that's just fine. I can't complain!

Big praise! I found an awesome Christian neighbor to watch Adam for the one day I needed. Surprisingly, she had been praying about it without me even knowing. So we are so happy a big prayer request was answered.
Not that I desire to go back to work..... :)

Next week we get to go to Tennessee for the Hamby/Allen family reunion. We are so excited and so happy our awesome family gets to meet Adam.

Here are some updates and pics of what we have been up to.


Adam's first church conference. We have a lot of boys that will have fun growing up together!


Amos' sister got married a couple weekends ago. She married a really nice guy from Switzerland.


Two of our beautiful nieces Ida and Audrey



Our other beautiful niece, Naomi


Lydia and Danny, the newlyweds


Me and cutie Adam


Cuties Amos and Adam


The Greenes


We are having a very successful garden this summer. Somehow this zucchini was hidden and by the time we found it, it was huge! I am having fun looking for as many recipes as I can for zucchini. We also have a ton of cucumbers coming quickly, plus basil, cilantro, watermelon, peppers, and yellow summer squash.


If you look closely, you can see Adam's eyelashes are growing in long. I know this is only a big deal to a mother, but its exciting. I think he will end up with Amos' eyelashes, long and beautiful.

And finally, Adam's first boating experience. He did really well, most of the time. He is such an outdoors baby, just like his Daddy!

Summer Fun

Happy One-Month Birthday Adam!

We can't believe that Adam is one-month old today. I don't think I have ever had a month go as quickly as this one did. It was a great month. We have enjoyed Adam so much. We know we will enjoy him more and more as the months go by.

Adam is getting so big! He is following people and voices, especially his parents. It's adorable. He is constantly grabbing things which is cute also. The smiles are coming, mostly when he is falling asleep.

So, one month down, plenty to more to come. We love him and think he is the cutest baby ever. We plan on taking a picture next to this teddy bear every month so we can see how he has grown.

Adam's Nusery

Here are a couple of pictures of Adam's nursery. I think I might make more changes and we aren't completely finished, but you can get the main idea of what it looks like. He's sleeping in his nursery now. It will be fun to see him enjoy his nursery more and more as he grows up.

Busy, Busy

We have been busy!

It has already been 4 weeks since Adam entered our life. It has been wonderful and challenging! We are busy trying to get Adam on a schedule ( Thanks to the encouragement of my sister Rebekah who lives by the book "Baby Wise"). We have had some good nights with four hours without being woken up, and some bad nights with only an hour or two. I guess that's expected with a newborn!

Adam has been a joy though. He is so cute! I think he just went through a growth spurt because he is already growing out of some of his newborn clothes which is crazy! His double chin is growing quickly. :) He is so sweet.

My sister Rebekah and her newborn Micah spent a week with us. It was wonderful. We tried to get them on the same schedule the whole time. It didn't happen until the last day. That's okay. We got some great pictures of the boys together. We can't wait to see them grow up together.

Amos had his first Father's Day. We went out to a great lunch and spent the day together.

This has been a nice relaxing week which I haven't had since Adam was born. It has helped with establishing a schedule for Adam.

We have a busy summer still. Amos' sister, Lydia, is getting married soon, we are going to Tennessee for a family reunion, we have my Grandma's birthday/ family reunion, a trip to Michigan for the Rinehart wedding, then Amos' other sister, Esther,is getting married in September.

By the way, if anyone reads this and has any ideas on how I can make money and stay home with Adam, please let me know. I am planning on returning to work in the middle of August, but it's going to be hard. I am thankful they are going to work with me, but it's obviously not the ideal way to raise my baby. Just a thought....

Here are some pictures!

Sweet Boy

Yesterday was my due date, and I am so happy I am not pregnant anymore!:)

Adam is doing well. His jaundice level went down and he's looking good. Mom and Ryan were over this weekend so that was fun. We have two showers for Adam this week plus my sister and her baby are coming from Colorado. How exciting.
Here are a couple new pictures of my sweet boy.

Our Yellow Son

We are spending some quiet time in the hospital right now while Adam is enjoying some warm time in the incubator. We spent the last few days having him wrapped up in a billirubin blanket and that wasn't successful. We went in again today to get him tested and his level was high enough to admit him. It is heart-wrenching to see your precious 5-day-old baby in a plastic box with his eyes covered and not being able to hold him as much as you want. No fun! We are praying this works well and we can go home tomorrow. Thankfully the warm lights are comforting to him and he has been so good and quiet. This is hard.....

Our New Life

We are now home and enjoying starting our new life. A very new life....

Here's the story of my birth with our son Adam. Quite the experience.

Last Thursday I was enjoying some cable TV at my Grandma's house since I was told to rest as much as possible. After getting up I thought I wet my pants! It was quite the surprise! I thought it would go away but it didn't. I couldn't believe what happened. I called Amos and he was in shock, considering I visited him at work just a few minutes earlier and I had no signs of anything.

We both got home as quickly as possible and threw everything into the car. Thankfully we had actually packed the night before, I guess I was nesting without knowing it would happen so soon!!


(Me after my water started breaking,,,, time to get to the hospital)

We went to the midwife to see what we should next. They did a couple of tests just to make sure it was really amniotic fluid and I failed both tests. I couldn't believe it and was so curious to find out what was really happening if that wasn't my water breaking. They sent us to the hospital where we got another test and the result was me being admitted so we could have our baby!



(Mom and Amos resting before the big delivery...)


(Boy or Girl.... which will it be???)


My labor intensified throughout the night. It wasn't pleasant at all, but I did it anyway! I was honored to have both our Mothers in the delivery room and two other "Mothers" Marty and Danelle. They were such a help and comfort.

My contractions got really bad towards the end, obviously. I was able to labor in the whirlpool for a while which helped only a little. After that I pushed for about 2hours which was very long. Adam's head was turned so it took longer than expected.

Even though the whole process was painful, I was so blessed to have the midwife and nurses follow my desired birth plan. I wasn't hooked up to anything so I could move around like I wanted. I really wanted some pain medications at the end and I knew that would happen in the transition stage, but I prevailed.

I delivered Adam at 5:30 Friday morning after a long day. It was so worth every ounce of pain. He is so awesome. ( Even though at the minute he is screaming his head off while Amos is changing his diaper. )

Amos is such an amazing Dad. Wow is all I can think of right now. He changed instantly when he became a Father to Adam.


(Don't mind the way I look, just look at my adorable husband. This is when we realized he has an adorable dimple on his cheek.)



I loved my stay at the hospital. It was my first time ever to stay in a hospital, and I'm glad it was for a happy occasion. They took such good care of us. We had a lot of guests and family. It was a fun time. Adam's Great Great Grandma came for a visit. She just loved him. We got some 5 generation pictures.










I have plenty more to share but my precious needs me, what a good feeling!

More to come......

We have a son!!!

Welcome to this world Adam James Greene!!

I have so much to say and tell everyone, but we have been so busy with our new son and all that entails. It has been a blast and we love him so much. He's just perfect!

I'll fill you in on the birth story later, if interested.

He was born at 5:30 AM on May 29. He weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces, 19 inches long.

Our favorite thing is the single dimple in his left cheek... so adorable!

Just to keep you in the know...

Just an update on my pregnancy....

I went to my appointment this week and my blood pressure went up so they were a bit concerned. I did some lab work and had a high level of uric acid. ( I think that's right???) So I have high blood pressure, high acid, and excessive swelling.

I went in today because my Mom made me check my blood pressure before we have a busy weekend ( She also had preclampsia when she was prego with me) and my blood pressure went down a bit. Yeah! I had some protein so there was another sign.

So, I feel fine but was told to be resting as much as possible. I had to start working part time.

If things don't get much better Tuesday at my next appointment, they might have to induce, which is NOT on my NATURAL birth plan. Thankfully the midwives are aware of the natural plan, but if my health is in danger, I will do whatever it takes to make sure I am alive to hold my new baby. Thankfully the baby is healthy and kicking a lot.

Can't wait to hold my baby.....

I'll keep everyone updated on what happens. I trust God knows exactly when my baby will come into this world... so there isn't much need to worry.

No matter what, it's coming soon!!

Debt-Free!!!!

I just want to announce that Amos and I are debt-free (besides our house)!!!

We are so excited and so thankful for the class our friends put on at our church to encourage us to get things moving. Being debt-free has been a great intention for a long time, but nothing really motivated us to do it.

So, that's all I wanted to say about that, and we are very happy.

Another good thing- I am going to have a baby like in 3 weeks. Oh my goodness. Where have the 9 months gone? I am having fun nesting and getting things organized in my home and nursery. There is still a lot to do, but if the baby came today, I think we would be okay. I am not having any signs of labor, so it might be more than 3 weeks. That's okay. It will happen when it's supposed to happen. So, keep reading, maybe someday soon I will have a post with our baby. Super excited!!!

Sweet Thing

How can I possibly love a child so much without even meeting him?

Maybe it has to do with Micah being my own blood relative, but man, I love that baby so much.

The Johnson family is at home now and doing well. I'm very jealous that the whole family is there without me! Dad was blessed to be able to surprise them and fly out today for the weekend. It will be his first time to officially be a Papa. So fun.

Have a great weekend. I have a lot to do.... my turn is getting very close which makes me a bit nervous... and so excited.

More pictures.....

Okay, Now I'm an Aunt!!!!

What a night!!

Here is my story about Micah Thomas Johnson.

I got my first text yesterday morning from Rebekah, very early. She said her contractions were about 10 minutes apart and she was going to see how it went. She called a few hours later and said she was in labor for sure. How exciting!

Ruthann got to her place and they took a walk and such, trying to get things going. Her contractions got stronger throughout the day. They went to the hospital late afternoon and things started getting serious.


Thankfully Ruthann was on the phone with me and my Mom ( who was driving as fast as she could to get to Denver from DeWitt, she made it an hour after Micah was born. ) She was able to keep us filled in since Rebekah was in no condition to talk.:)

A bit later Ruthann called and said she was going to put us on speaker phone because Rebekah was starting to push. It was awesome to hear.... well, sort of. It was extremely difficult to hear my little sister in pain, but she did great.(Even without an epidural!) She only pushed for 20 minutes or so and I could hear the excitement!

I finally heard the word "boy" and couldn't believe it. It was so awesome. Then I started crying when I heard Micah make those precious baby cries. So sweet.

Mom and baby are doing great.

He weighed 7 pound 4 ounces, he has a lot of strawberry-blonde hair. I think he looks a lot like a Hamby baby. We'll see though.

That's about all I know right now. I am dying of jealousy that my Mom and Ruthann get to be there for it all. I get to meet him next month.

Oh yeah, Ruthann got to receive Micah and put him on Rebekah's chest. How awesome is that?

So yeah, I'm super excited and am so happy for the Johnson's.

I'm sure more pictures will be coming shortly.

I'm about to be an Aunt!!!

(This picture was taken several weeks ago,,, and she was ready then to have this baby)


My sister is in labor!!!!!

I am so excited!!! I so wish I was on my way to Colorado with my Mom right now. I got a text early this morning from my sister who had been up for a while. She said... are you awake? Well, yes, I was from then on. Her contractions were about 10 minutes then. She went to the midwife and she said she is in labor. She gets to go home and try to sleep to gain some energy before she gives birth.

Man I am excited. What am I going to feel like in a few weeks when it is me? Yikes!

Pregnancy Pictures

Thanks to my very talented friend Rebekah, I got a nice batch of pregnancy pictures. She is so sweet and so good at what she does.

Be aware: If you don't want to see a big belly, cankles, that big line of my stomach, chubby cheeks, etc. etc. etc..... don't look at these! Rebekah did the best with what she had. :)

Enjoy!

If you are interested....

As you know, I have a recipe blog all set up that I continue to add posts to after I try new recipes.

I was requested to comment on the recipes so I did. I rated almost all recipes on a scale of 1-5 and added some comments.

They are just my opinions.....

So, if you ever try any of them, let me know. Some of them need some help so I'm always open to help.

www.rachelgreenesrecipes.blogspot.com

Have a wonderful day!

Spring Shower!

This past Saturday was my first baby shower... and it was wonderful!!

My dear friend, Katy, put a lot of love and time into the shower for me and my baby. I was humbled by people's generosity and love. I feel so blessed and now have a lot more baby stuff.... time to have a baby!!

We went to Des Moines and purchased my car seat and stroller so we can leave the hospital after we have our baby. I think I am set to go. I guess I will have to wait a bit for baby clothes since we don't know what we are having.

Seven weeks left... going fast. The nursery is coming right along. Amos has one or so coats of glossy stuff left for the wood floors then we can move furniture in after I am done painting them. I will post pictures of that soon.

Here are a few pics of the shower....

10 weeks left!!!!

I CAN NOT believe how quickly this pregnancy is going! I am on the countdown from 10 weeks now which is so exciting.

I am feeling pretty good still. My swollen feet aren't very enjoyable, but I will survive. I didn't think it would hit this quickly, but it has. I am ready to wear sandals all the time! :)

The baby is doing well. We had another midwife appointment this past week and I am meausuring normal, which people probably don't believe it. I look much bigger than I should be.

My favorite thing going on now is being able to see my baby move all around in my tummy. It's crazy how much it moves, like all the time!!! I even had a salesman who was able to see my stomach kick which was funny. It's probably the best feeling in the world, to know my baby is growing and kicking. I think I will miss it once my pregnancy is over, even though I can not wait to hold my baby... whatever it is!!

We still have a lot more to do before our baby gets here. Hopefully it will all get done soon, even though planting season is coming up!

Until next time...

Interesting Reminder

I watched this clip from someone and thought it was very funny but so true- just a good reminder of how spoiled I am and most of the world.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk7nKjr9Keo

( I don't know how to make it work so you can just click on it.... so you will have to copy and paste it. Sorry)

Beginning of the Nursery

We have finally started working on our nursery! Praise God! I had some very good friends TELL me they were going to come over and paint my nursery.. even though I wasn't prepared. What a blessing. We met at Lowes, got the stuff, and got working.

Vicki- Thank you for your help with colors for the nursery. Your help made my whole paint-buying experience easy and hassle free. Thank you- you are very talented and knowledgeable when it comes to paint and colors. You are awesome!!

The room looked pretty bad beforehand, as you can tell in the "before" pictures. I also painted my changing table. There is a lot more to do though... including:

*Painting the ceiling
*Buying and installing three new windows
*Finishing the closet
*Sanding and staining the wood floor
*Buying and installing new lights and light switches, etc.
*Painting and putting together the rest of the furniture
*Buying all the fun accessories to make the room complete
*Then I get to have my baby and enjoy the room

Colorado

Here are some pics from my time in Colorado a couple of weeks ago. It was a lot of fun. Rebekah had a large shower from her church that was fun. We took a lot of pictures of me and Rebekah being pregnant together, but I won't show many of those because we usually had our bellies exposed... and yes... mine is probably bigger than hers even though she is a few weeks ahead of me. :)

We are getting excited for her delivery in a few weeks then mine! Yeah! It's coming quickly!

I have an additional blog now.....

After trying to find many ways to keep my recipes organized.... I decided to start a recipe blog so I can have access to my already-tried recipes. I have hundreds and hundreds of recipes in binders still that I want to try. I still need to find a way to organize those. Anyway, feel free to browse my recipes, try them, or give me any opinions you might have. Hope you enjoy!

www.rachelgreenesrecipes.blogspot.com

Colorado was great. I'll post pics and write about it later.

Enjoy this beautiful Iowa weather!

I am posting almost a week later, but we had a great busy weekend. I'm tired so this won't be long... but here are a couple of pictures from last weekend. It was a blast to have John and Laura back and the Lowe's.

There are some new "growing belly" pictures down a few posts.

Until next time.....

DeWitt and Valentine's Day

I have had some good weekends lately. Two weeks ago I was able to "work" by driving a Lexus to the Quad Cities then was able to stay with my family for the weekend. Not too bad while on the job. I got to watch Ryan play a basketball game. I love watching him play. Not only is he a great athlete, he is the least selfish player. I love his character and sportsmanship.





This past weekend Amos surprised me with a romantic weekend get-away. We realized we won't be able to do much more of the spontanous things, so we'll enjoy it while we can. We ate at a Latin King in Des Moines which was really good. We also stayed in a suite with a hot tub and everything. It was the same place we had our first two nights of our honeymooon, so it was special. We had so much fun, and relaxed a lot!


Me right before we headed off to our surprise weekend.


Amos enjoying our free robe, pretending to be an ultimate fighter,,, (never going to happen if he's still married to me:)


Me in the room off our normal room in the hotel with a fireplace, tv, and jacuzzi.

My new sweet baby - Baby Greene!

So I am having fun with this, while bored at work. They somehow combine our faces and create what our child could possily look like. I'm just not sure.... I know this sounds horrible, but I pray our baby looks a bit better than these pictures. Is that bad? :)

Fun Picniking.....

Amos and I had a fun weekend. One of these days we are going to have to grow up and do adult things, but for now we are enjoying our time together and with friends. We spent some quality time together in front of our fireplace Friday night and enjoyed a fun weekend in Des Moines baby registering and spending time with friends. Sunday was the fun superbowl party, which I actually enjoyed the last quarter. Now it's getting close to another weekend!

I enjoy editing some pictures on picnik, so some pictures I had a little fun with.

Amos and I enjoying our fireplace




Me pouting after I couldn't fit in my jeans anymore so I had to change into my maternity jeans while in the car... the belly band just isn't going to work much longer.


I was super excited about getting a couple free diapers from our registries. So cute! I can't believe our baby will be that small...


Me and my friend Jenn from high school. It was so good to see her!


Superbowl party!






There is also another belly picture added to the last post of my growing belly.
Just to let you know....

Growing Belly

Well, time to blog about our pregnancy. We are almost halfway there and it has gone very well so far. The first trimester I felt really tired and a bit queasy at times, but nothing too bad. I talked myself out of if most of the time. My second trimester is going well. I am growing very quickly. I don't feel as tired and I don't feel sick. I'm kind of shocked how quickly I am growing though. I am reading that our baby grows so much during these next few weeks so I'm not too surprised. So if you are shocked how big I am and how big I will become, just look at the little space my baby has to grow. I can't even imagine how big I will be in a couple of months. It's all worth it though!

We had our ultrasound this week and it was just wonderful. I just couldn't believe how quickly our baby was on the screen. I don't think it really hit us until we saw our precious baby moving inside me. He/she was so sweet, a little alien looking, but so sweet. It just made me so excited to meet our baby. So now we wait for 4 more months. It sure is going quickly!

Sister Book

I made this book for my sisters this Christmas.... mostly because I am sentimental and this year has and will bring a lot of changes to our lives. I love my sisters. :)

Happy New Year!

Hello 2009!

I can't believe it is alreay here. This will be a year of hopeful fun changes. Amos and I are so excited to see all that will happen- including the birth of our first baby in June. We are excited for the last few months we have together, alone. We look forward to getting our nursery and home prepared for our family addition. We had a great 2008 but look forward to what's next.

We had a great New Year's Eve- and probably the last for a while of staying up so late. I can't say we have stayed up until 5 in the morning for many, many years. I couldn't stay awake towards the end but it was worth it. It was fun to spend time with friends and be entertained by the "rock band" that was being played all night. Here is a clip of Amos singing- a little high for his normal singing voice, but funny anyway.

Christmas Time

It's getting close to Christmas. I can't believe how quickly it is coming up. I love looking forward to short work weeks.

We had a great time at Ruthann and Dustin's Iowa reception Friday night. We have had fun having them at our house. Sadly the weather has been so freezing a lot has been postponed, but it's always a little fun to stay home for a whole day!

This week we get to go to DeWitt after work on Christmas Eve and spend a few days there with the whole family. We are so excited!

Here are a few pictures of our weekend. Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Busy Winter

Amos and I are enjoying our winter so far.... everything besides the unimaginable cold. I guess we have to expect this when we live in Iowa.

We had a fun, busy weekend. We finally got to spend time with friends. It doesn't seem we do that enough. We had a good time with the Heller's, Abby, and Becca. Then I got invited to go to Davenport the next morning. We got to meet and spend time with Uriah Gorman and his parents... plus I got to surprise my parents. They had no idea I would arrive at their back door. It was fun. I had a fun time with Becca and the Vinchattle girls.

We have another busy week. I have all my siblings coming to stay at our house this week because we are having Ruthann and Dustin's wedding reception this weekend. I am so excited to spend time with them. It should be busy and fun.

I have a lot of cleaning to do... until next time!

There is a heartbeat!

Amos and I had the best day yesterday because we got to hear our sweet baby's heartbeat. After a difficult first appointment (not too difficult, but I had to do a lot of things I don't like to do that aren't very comfortable), it was so awesome to hear our baby's heart.

I had been nervous for weeks now that for some reason we wouldn't be able to hear the heartbeat. It was a growing area for my faith, but of course God was good! I kind of wanted to take pictures or something so I could remember the first time, but it happened so quickly and I wasn't dressed too modestly. :) She was listening for the hearbeat and couldn't find it right away. After she found mine she kept looking and finally heard it. She turned it up so Amos could hear it. What an amazing, awesome thing to hear. I wish I could of listened for more time, but was so thankful to be able to hear that. I'm still floating.....

So that was fun. I'm beginning to show more I think... not that I should be yet.... but it's just happening and that's okay. Bring it on, stretch marks and all.

I have another appointment next month when I can meet another midwife. I don't get to choose which of the four midwives they have. Whoever is on call that night or day will be the lucky one. The appointment after that will be our first sonogram. We won't be finding out what it is but at least we can see it. So exciting.

Until next time....

Business Card Holder

Weird thing happened this morning.....

I was sitting at my desk and this old guy came up and asked if he could have my business card holder. I of course thought he was joking because I have seen him before and most old guys joke around with me for some reason. So he quickly grabbed the holder and left my cards just sitting on my desk. I'm thinking, "Okay, it's not really that funny, you can put it back now." He kept walking away. "Oh my, he is serious!?!?!" So I looked at my friend Suzy and was kind of confused about what happened. My manager saw us laughing and asked the man if he stole my holder or if I gave it to him. It was funny. I was a bit sad that my holder was gone, but I could survive. He came back a few minutes later and kind of threw it back to me and cursed out my manager who accused him of stealing. Then he walked away. Kind of awkward. He walked up to me a couple more times and said the exact same thing. I was happy to have my card holder back. He went up to another salesman and asked for his card holder... I think he was trying to get a free Christmas gift for someone. Thankfully we had a big stack of phonebooks and he wanted one of those and we happily gave it to him. My salesman who was working with him said this was completely out of character for him. His wife even said that something isn't right... so I hope he's okay and I'm happy to have my desk complete.

Tomorrow Amos and I get to go to our first midwife appointment. I am so excited. I really hope we can hear the heartbeat. I think that will really make it real for both of us. I'm a bit nervous...not sure why. I keep praying for peace and am reminded to completly trust in the Lord for the health and safety of our sweet baby. I'm excited for tomorrow.

Good Recipe

Hello All!!
It has been a while since I have posted anything. Not much has been going on.... nothing different than work, house, harvest season, and sleep.

I can't seem to get enough sleep these days. I am happily growing a baby inside me still (this week it is the size of a prune:) I am feeling pretty icky most of the day but it's worth it and I can't complain about it too much. I am about 10 weeks this week, so only a few more weeks until I am out of my first trimester. Crazy. I have been reading that in these next few weeks our baby will just grow so much. I can't wait. I am feeling a bit bigger, but probably not showing too much to the outside world. I'm looking forward to showing a bit more. Someday soon!

I had some sweet girls over this weekend. It is always fun to host. It's a lot of work but worth the sweet fellowship. It's not every day I get to use my china! Here is the lasagna recipe I made which I thought was good. It's very rich but had a lot of flavor.




Chicken and Spinach Alfredo Lasagna

INGREDIENTS:
1 (8 ounce) package lasagna noodles
3 cups heavy cream
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (10.76 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
5 mushrooms, diced
1 roasted chicken, shredded ( I bought one already done from the store)
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed ( I cooked before to get rid of extra moisture)
3 cups shredded mozzarella
cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
2. In a saucepan over low heat, mix together heavy cream, cream of mushroom soup, Parmesan cheese, and butter. Simmer, stirring frequently, until well blended.
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the onion in olive oil until tender, then add garlic and mushrooms. Mix in the chicken, and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Lightly coat the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with enough of the cream sauce mixture to coat. Layer with 1/3 of the lasagna noodles, 1/2 cup ricotta, 1/2 of the spinach, 1/2 the chicken mixture, and 1 cup mozzarella. Top with 1/2 the cream sauce mixture, and repeat the layers. Place the remaining noodles on top, and spread with remaining sauce.
5. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until brown and bubbly. Top with the remaining mozzarella, and continue baking until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Wedding Pics

Here are a couple of links to my facebook pictures of Ru's Wedding. So, if you don't have facebook, hopefully you can click on these two links and look at the pictures. There are more, but these are a good portion of them.

(For some reason you can't just click on them, so for some of you- highlight the site, right click and copy, then go to the bar and right click paste- then enter. :)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=170992&l=bf11b&id=703425526


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=171003&l=5fb30&id=703425526

Ruthann and Dustin's Wedding

We had a great time in Colorado for Ruthann's wedding. I have many pictures to edit and show, but I'll just let you have a preview of how beautiful it all was. The weather was perfect, the wedding was beautiful, and Ruthann looked amazing. Her and Dustin are having fun in Florida and on a cruise. Here are a couple of pics- more to come, hopefully soon.

Fun News

My dear friend Amy had her second son early this morning. We actually went to dinner last night in Stratford and we had to leave early because her contractions were coming pretty quickly. I took her and her son Isaac home as slow/quickly as I could. I was so careful and praying the whole time that deer would stay away and the other cars would be attentive. Thankfully we got home and she had her 9-pound son Eli a few hours later.



I am pregnant! Yeah! I'm not very far along but I'm way too excited not to share it with everyone. I'm probably due in June, sometime. I'll fill everyone in as it progresses. I found out last Wednesday. Yes, I took a picture of me and my three pregnancy tests before I told Amos. It was kind of fun, and difficult, to have no one know besides me and my baby. Too bad I still have a hard time believing it.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Time for a wedding

Ruthann and Dustin have had a photography school at their camp for a couple of weeks so they have been able to be models a few times. Here are some good pictures.

Ruthann is looking more beautiful- you can tell she is ready to be a bride! I am getting so excited for their big day. Two weeks from tomorrow I will be heading to Colorado for a few days to help get ready for their big day. How exciting!

Happy Early Fall!

Happy Early Fall!

It is feeling like fall already in DeWitt, Iowa. I am enjoying my vacation here and looking forward to having my husband pick me up tomorrow night. I have had plenty of time to relax after several busy days in a row. I hated to see my sisters go home to Colorado, but had so much fun with them while they were here.

My sisters came in from Colorado Thursday night. We went to the Cafe to announce Rebekah's big news. We had the waiter bring out 6 baby bottles with water to announce it to Mom and Grandma. He told them they were the drinks of the night. My Mom was confused since it was just water. Then she started figuring it out and starting freaking out. She couldn't figure out which daughter was pregnant. She started crying and hugged Rebekah. It was a fun surprise. I'm glad we got her reaction on video.





Since Ruthann was home for a few days, we had to fit several wedding showers into a few days. It was busy but fun!

Friday night Re and I threw Ru her lingerie shower. It was a lot of fun! She felt loved and got some good stuff.







Saturday Ru had her Ames church shower then we went to our cousin's beautiful wedding. It was so good to see all our loved ladies from Grand Avenue who were able to shower Ruthann and also see a lot of family members for the wedding.







We went to DeWitt and got to see our parent's house for the first time. It is so adorable. I'm so happy the Lord provided the perfect house for them. I got to spend my birthday with my family (sadly without Amos). We watched Ry play his soccer games and yes, he scored two goals for my birthday gift. I was very proud. We went to the Olive Garden and my family affirmed me as they presented me with their gift. It was very special and encouraging. My Dad is always good at doing things like that for us. I'm getting old folks.





Ruthann had another shower from our parent's church here in DeWitt. People were very generous to Ruthann without ever meeting her. Ryan also had a cross country meet where he won the whole race. I was so incredibly proud of him! He started off strong and beat over 100 runners. Proud sister!









I've had plenty of time to relax, do some fun projects, hang out with local friends, spend time with my awesome family and their animals :), and spend time in this adorable town. It's small, but all the houses are so adorable. I'm happy they are here.

If you are interested in seeing some more pictues not posted on this blog, you can click on these from facebook. If it doesn't work, copy and paste it.

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=156997&l=dbe7d&id=703425526

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=156993&l=b4e3a&id=703425526

Fun weekend

We had a fun relaxing weekend, for the most part. A lot of our friends came to town. We got to spend some time with them.

I was home by myself last night while Amos was out camping with some friends. I was in the bathroom and saw something flicker around the light in the hall. I was really hoping it was a big bug, but of course not- it was a huge bat. I couldn't believe it.
Of course my husband was gone and I was trapped in my bathroom. Esther's cats also saw the huge thing and were trying to catch it for me. If I wasn't so scared I would have been entertained by the active cats. Thankfully we have a door that opens to our second level porch so I quickly opened that to see if it would fly out. Of course a cat decided to go out there so I tried to rescue her before the bat got tangled in my hair or anything. So scary! I somehow got both cats in the bathroom with me before the bat or cat got attacked by the other. I didn't actually see the bat fly out the door, but he wasn't flying around anymore and the cats had calmed down. I slept in our room with the door closed and woke up several times with dreams that it was flying around my room.

So that's my interesting weekend. Amos is going to get in our attic and figure out where the heck they are coming from.

This next week or so is going to be fun and busy! My sisters are coming to town and we have my cousin's wedding plus three showers for Ruthann, including one me and Rebekah are throwing. Then I will be in DeWitt for a week doing wedding stuff and enjoying a week off work!

I miss my husband!

I miss my Amos.

He is having a very enjoyable time in Canada fishing and enjoying the Lord's outside beauty, but I still miss him.

Come home soon babe!

That's all I have to say about that- :)

A day without remembrance

I started my day hungry and thirsty after not being able to eat or drink anything for way too long. Because of some internal bleeding, I was in the hospital and went under, which was a first.

I remember this morning some, with an IV, waiting for my doctor. I remember the warm blankets they put on me and next thing I knew, they were trying to wake me up and I didn't want to- it was too good of a sleep. :)

I came home and slept all day long- it was nice. I don't remember much of any conversations I had today, which is abnormal.

My diagnosis: I have some infection in a part of my stomach that will be healed with some antibiotics. Thank the Lord it's nothing more serious. I'm happy it's all over.

Early Anniversary

Amos and I had a great, excellent, wonderful time this weekend celebrating our anniversary a month early. Since his busy harvest season is coming up quickly, we thought it would be fun to get away for a little bit to celebrate our coming up 3-year anniversary. We spent some time at the fair, went shopping, went out to eat, watched a movie, and stayed at a nice hotel in downtown Des Moines.

Engagement Pictures~

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Engagement!

My sister Ruthann and her fiance Dustin got engaged this past Friday night. Super exciting! They are planning an October 18 wedding in Colorado and a reception in Iowa later this year. She has been really organized ( taking after me of course :) and has a lot planned already.

My new collection~

I have been starting to collect "Fiesta Ware". It is colorful and can be quite fun to collect. I am planning on building a cabinet in my kitchen to display and have for practical reasons. I have many more colors to go.

For Marcie

Marcie-
Here is your family's former cat- Spicy. She's sitting on my lap right now. Her and Tinkerbell live here now since Esther is staying with us for a bit. They are sweet cats who really love each other.

Heavy Heart

I was just informed that a high school classmate killed himself. I just don't understand. I know it's hard because I have never been in someone's shoes where they find that's the only way out.

I just saw this guy last week at my dealership. We chatted and caught up with life- and I heard a lot about his future plans. I don't understand.

On my way home tonight I was just humbled by the Lord's goodness. My classmate has been married and divorced twice, at the age of 24.

I think it's so hard to understand because I have a Lord who has saved me. I am so incredibly thankful for my amazing husband who I would never even consider divorcing and an enternal hope.

*************************************************************************************




On a happier note, my garden is growing. I am trying to find good recipes for zucchini bread because I have a ton. I seriously thinks it grows overnight. We also have tomatoes, basil, watermelon, and peppers growing. It's kind of fun- and saves us money.

************************************************************************************




We had a fun surprise when Amos' brother Nathaniel and family came into town from New Mexico. We have the most beautiful nieces in the world. They are so sweet. Ida would just let me hold her and she wrapped herself around me and gave me the biggest hugs and kisses. Naomi is the oldest niece who is beautiful, tall, and sings with this mature jazzlike voice. So sweet. Audrey, the baby, is adorable and so beautiful. I would hold her and she would put her head on my shoulder and cuddle. It was a blast to spend time with the whole family.

4th of July Conference!

We had a blast this past weekend at Hidden Acres. We were challenged spiritually and had a great time with friends. We even had a fun game of spoons with many girls- I think we all had some war wounds. It was a blast!

Happy Birthday Alyssa!

(Make sure you hit the little play button in the lower right corner after it downloads)

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Two Busy Weekends!

We have been busy!

We had two busy weekends, and now I'm ready to stay home for a while! :)

A couple weekends ago we traveled to Waukon for my brother-in-law Matt's sister's wedding. We had a fun time.

Last weekend we went Lake Lotawana in Missouri. My great Aunt and Uncle renewed their wedding vows. We had a blast with the family. We spend the day swimming, boating, eating, jumping off the high dock, and relaxing.

I put more recent pictures on this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=120638&l=ec379&id=703425526

Have a good week!

7 Random Things About Me

Marcie tagged me in an email, if that's allowed. So I'll do this.... if I can think of 7 things.

1. I don't eat or drink the ends of things. I never have been able to. It is so gross to me. Like a banana for example-I will take both ends off before I eat it. And anything I drink- it seems to be so gross at the end. The drink is all warm and probably has backwash in it.

2. I have prayed for my husband, Amos, way before I met him. When I was an immature teenager dreaming of my prince charming, I made a very detailed, very shallow, very silly list of things I wanted in a husband. Some of them being taller than me, beautiful eyes, lots of siblings, etc. Then when I was older and a bit more mature, I made a top 5 list that I would be praying for more specifically. Some of them being his Godly character, good personality, etc. Amos honestly hit everything on my shallow list and my more mature list. It was so evident he was the one I had prayed for for so many years. I love that man!

3. I have hair-o-phobia. It's not really a diagnosis, but I really hate hair not on the head. It makes me sick! All my friends know how it upsets me (jokingly of course) to throw their hair on my floor. I've gotten used to it from them, but it still grosses me out.

4. I was a nanny in New Mexico for a year-and-a-half. It was a very difficult time for me, but I am thankful the Lord worked it all out for His good! I am so thankful I had the chance to learn to take care of a home and be a single parent. I would never do it again, but am thankful for the chance to learn.

5. I am planning on making a cookbook, someday. I had a period of time when I was able to print off a ton of recipes and organize them in books. Now I am putting them on my laptop in different categories with a few pictures. I rate the recipes after I make them so I will know what to do with them next time. It might take several years to do this, but it's a fun hobby I have. I also wouldn't mind going to culinary school, someday. :)

6. I am an extremely organized person. Sadly, with us fixing up a house that will take several years, things won't be organized for a while. I am usually very organized in all areas. I would love to have a job of organizing people's homes. Nothing can get that much gratification that quickly. I would just need help teaching the people the organizing habits after I leave the job.

7. I am really into natural births. When I was a nanny in New Mexico, they were very natural people and their daughter was born at home. The Mom really taught me some things about babies and the whole natural delivery. She's not the only reason I so strongly desire natural births, but the first to open my eyes. I would never put anyone down for their own choices for their deliveries, but my desire is to do what is best for my baby and me. We'll see though- I can't say I have ever been in that position before! :)

I will tag Liz Monroe, Katy Strohm, Dani, Ruthann, Kari, Jenica, Ashley, Kaci, Sarah- Is that too much? I guess you don't have to do it if you don't want to! :)

Parkersburg Tornado

On our way to Waukon, we stopped by Parkersburg to see the town after the tornado. I was speechless. I don't believe you can fully understand the effects until you see it in person. It was horrific!

The main drag of town was completely gone. We went through some other parts of town and they were not affected as much. People were still looking through their old homes to see if they could find anything special to the them.

It was hard to hold back the tears for these families. I can't imagine what it would feel like to lose it all. This world is not our home!

Poor Baby

On our way back from Waukon, we saw this adorable deer on the side of the road. The ditches were full up to the road with water, so I'm assuming his mother was made to leave her home. Poor baby. We turned our car around along with another guy. The baby was shivering and was too young to walk. The guy picked him up after petting him and put him in his truck. The sweet deer cuddled up to the heater right away. So precious!

Oh Dewayne!

My nephew DeWayne Johnson was very bad today. My sister and brother-in-law were enjoying a lunch with some friends. A lady came up to them and asked them if they had a green Honda. They said yes. Then she asked if they had a black lab. They said yes.

She told him DeWayne took a joy ride and their car was in the ditch. How funny is that? I guess he had taken off the break and did something with the gears. What a funny story.

The awesome thing is he drove past several gas tanks, cars, and people and didn't hurt a thing. What a miracle, a funny miracle!

My parent's new house!

My parent's got a new job in DeWitt, Iowa. I am showing off some pictures to their family and friends who want to see their new place. The Lord was good to them! I am super excited to see what God has in store for their new life!

The very modern, updated living room




The cute dining room with opening to the living room

The large backyard

Dad's new garden

Mom is super excited for her new washer and dryer

The basement


The super cute kitchen

The cute bathroom, yes, mom got the shower curtain also

The cute arch in the living room to the dining room

Another cute bathrooom

Please be in prayer

Please be in prayer for my new cousin. My aunt Stephanie had twin boys last week. Hunter Thomas was about 5 pounds and is doing well. His identical brother, Jack Sawyer weighed a little less and is having serious problems. Today he was going to have open heart surgery, but was not stable enough to have the surgery. Please pray he can be stabilized enough so he can have surgery and go home!

Thanks for your prayers dear friends.

I am freaking out!

As I am relaxing on the couch, I hear Amos and my brother Ryan jumping around upstairs. They were nice and quiet watching a movie, then something happened. They ran downstairs and they both would not tell me what's going on. I finally got Ryan to break down and tell me there is a bat in my house. How in the world did it get here?

I am so grossed out. My parent's cats were running around crazy because they could hear it making some kind of clicking sound. Then Amos had to show it to me, which I could care less for. Thankfully it didn't look like this picture, but it was still not pleasant. Thankfully my brave husband ( and with my brother's help) took care of it, somehow. I don't really want to know, but I'm happy I have a protector.

For Ruthann

Here are some pictures for my sister Ruthann of her beloved friends, the Runyons. They are the most wonderful and beautiful family.

An Assortment of Ugliness

Let's see how well you know me!

Here are some quizzes for fun. ( I'm enjoying a slow day at work, can you tell? :)

http://www.bored.com/cyberquizzes/quiz.php?id=78680

http://www.bored.com/cyberquizzes/quiz.php?id=78681

Good luck!

( This is my parent's cat Monet, being protective of my fish Lily.

We have our quiet times together in the mornings while she sun bathes.)

This past weekend was fun and productive.

I got to spend time with my beautiful friends and their husbands,
plus- I got some new furniture!

I have been looking for a tv armoire for a while now, even though it's not ready for our home. My friend Amy found it for me and I'm very thankful.
Now I just need a finished home to put it in!

I only have 7 chapters left until I am a medical transcriptor or transcriptionist-whatever. I am getting very excited and can not wait for this chapter to be done.

Good Bye Ruthann

My youngest sister, Ruthann, moved to Colorado this week. I am so happy she was in Ames for this period of time. I felt so blessed she was able to work with me for many months. I felt we grew and matured together these past several months. Some of my best memories were lunches together ( when we were still able to have them together). I will miss you Foof!

Family Time

This past weekend my grandpa passed away. Even though it was a hard, emotional, and busy week,

I think we were all thankful we had quality family time.

Grandma and Rachel The Hamby Family

Amos with the beautiful flowers from our family. Which is more beautiful? :) The predictable Hamby Kids Mom and Rachel

Amos and Rachel Two of my favorite men! My husband Amos and my Great-Grandpa Schubert. Both amazing!

Happy 30th!

I came home from work on Monday and Amos surprised me with an ice cream cake, which I love. I laughed when I saw the "Happy 30th". I asked Amos if he had gotten this from someone at work because they were trying to get rid of it or maybe he went to the store and this cake was on sale because of the writing. Who knows. Then he reminded me that it was our 30-month anniversary. Wow! I was blown away by his thoughtfulness and love to me. What a husband!

Just some pictues

Something Fun

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

I found this website that allows me to make free scrapbooks on line. I can't really do anything like printing them off without paying but that's okay. Kind of cute. They have all sorts of fun ideas.

Something interesting~

This has been an interesting week at work, so far.

The other day I was interviewed for a commercial for Wilson Toyota. It will be on Fox Sunday, February 24 and the next two Sunday nights in March.
It shows after the 9:00 news. I have no idea how it will work out because I can honestly say I am not a natural in front of the camera. So feel free to watch it if you want a good laugh!

Today a celebrity came in! I saw this man across the way covered in blue tattoos. I didn't think I saw correctly until he came my way. I asked if I could help him out and I ended up showing him some information on some cars.
He even asked what kind of car I drove.
Not until later did I realize he was the most tattooed man in the world. Duh! Why didn't I say anything? I know I have seen him on tv and in magazines, but for some reason I thought," Rachel, maybe there is more than one completely- tattooed- covered -man in this world!"
Duh!
But, he was really nice.
(I had a hard time not looking at his horns he had inserted into his forehead or his ears that were cut to look like puzzle pieces or something.)
All I can say is I am going to pray for this guy because what a awesome testimony it would be if he came to know Jesus Christ~

So that's my fun story of the day. Here is the website. He's also in the encyclopedia with his ex-wife who is tattooed as the tiger lady.

http://www.theenigmalive.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Enigma

Tag You're It!

I tag Liz Monroe and my sister Ruthann next....

I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 5 items.
You can only pick one thing from the following departments. What is it?

1. Produce: Zucchini
2. Bakery: Soft Yummy Rolls
3. Meat: Steak or chicken
4. Frozen: Ice Cream of any flavor
5. Dry goods: Popcorn

Let's say we're heading out for a weekend getaway. You're only allowed to bring 3 articles of CLOTHING with you. So, what's in your bag?

1. Jeans
2. Sweater
3. Socks :)

One task you wish you were better at doing?

1. Making Amos' love language my own ( quality time )

One Celebrity you wish you looked like (silly, I know:))

1. Rachael Greene ( Jennifer Anniston from Friends )- I think Vanessa Williams is so beautiful with her dark skin and blue eyes

If I were to listen in on one of your conversations throughout the day, what 5 phrases or words would I be most likely to hear?

1. "Wilson Cadillac Toyota Scion, this is Rachel"
2. "Why does that cost so much Amos?"
3. "It sure is freezing cold in this house!"
4. "Oh my gosh! I'm so cold!"
5. "I love you Amos Greene!"

What 3 things do you find yourself doing every single day, and if you didn't get to do, you probably wouldn't be in the best mood?

1. Kissing Amos good-bye and hello again
2. Sleep
3. Eating ice cream ( just joking )

What 5 places do you visit roughly every week?

1. Target
2. Church
3. My parent's place
4. Bank
5. Some Grocery Store

If you were to shop at three stores for a whole year to supply your wardrobe and money was not an issue, which 3 would it be?

I don't really know any expensive stores...
1. Old Navy
2. Target
3. Yeah, I can't afford to go shopping too much, I'm not even sure what's out there :)

You just scored tickets to the taping of any show that comes on t.v. of your choice. You can pick between 4, so what are you deciding between?

1. Wheel of Fortune
2. American Idol
3. Heroes
4. The Office

You're hungry for ice cream. I'll give you a triple dipper ice cream cone. What 3 flavors can I pile on for ya?

1. Cookie Dough
2. Mint Chocolate Chip
3. Something with marshmallows,nuts,anything chunky
(Can I get that in a bowl please?)

Somebody stole your purse… in order to get it back, you have to name 5 things you know are inside to claim it. So, what's in there?

1. IB Profen
2. Wallet
3. Planner
4. Gum
5. Fruit leather- it has been in there for weeks

If you could go back and talk to the old you, when you were in high school, and inform yourself of 4 things, what would you say?

1. You should be so excited to meet and marry Amos Greene!
2. Be more involved in sports or activities
3. Witness, Witness, Witness
4. Life goes on very quickly after high school, it's so great!

My Surprise Christmas Gift!

I was thrilled beyond belief after arriving home from our long trip back from Colorado on Christmas. I went to the front porch and Amos pointed out this beautiful bench! I was shocked. We had noticed our neighbor wanting to sell it months ago and I seriously wanted to buy it but money was an issue. I never thought Amos would buy it for me. The funny thing is we visited our neighbor before vacation and I saw the bench sitting in her house. I asked if she had kept it for herself and she told me she was holding it for someone's Christmas gift. I had no idea.

I have the sweetest husband..........................

Christmas in Colorado

We had a wonderful time vacationing in Denver. My sister Rebekah and her husband Matt were kind enough to let us stay in their apartment while in Colorado.

We had so much fun spending quality time with the family. I tried snowboarding which wasn't fun at all. Amos had several days to snowboard without me holding him back. :)

We got to celebrate Dad's birthday, go bowling, to a movie, spend nights playing games and laughing our heads off, hang out in downtown Denver, then celebrate Christmas together.

It was a very relaxing and enjoyable vacation.

I have way too many pictures to post on my blog so here is the website to look through more pictures.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=80573&l=dfc79&id=703425526

Beautiful Double Wedding

Here are some pictures of the double wedding. I can't believe I don't even have a picture of one of the brides. :)

Marcie and Rachel

Emmaus Girls