Merry Christmas to everyone. We're so thankful to have such an amazing family and friends.
The dogs are enjoying the morning running around in the snow, Mark and I just had our breakfast. Now we're getting ready for the drive to Detroit to see family.
Have a safe and happy holiday!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Michigan or BUST!!!
View Larger Map
Our trip starts tonight. We drive from KC to Effingham, IL where we're spending the night. The next day, we jam up to Michigan!
We have two dogs in a little tiny civic and terrible weather! Wish us luck!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Not bad for a floor that previously had 6 layers of vinyl and glue on it!
Mark has been working hard on scraping the floor so its ready to be sanded and refinished when we get back from the holidays!
Doesnt that look amazing compared to the before picture?
Before:
In between:
Doesnt that look amazing compared to the before picture?
Before:
In between:
Thursday, December 17, 2009
December snow and a visit from Lisa!
Mark's sister Lisa is famous for having travel troubles... It was only appropriate that we got 2 inches of snow the day she arrived. Thankfully, the snow came after her plane safely landed and melted before she left!
The dogs were excited to have their aunt in town and snow to play in!
This series I like to call "Slappy is going down" starring our foster dog Abbie!
We didn't do much while Lisa was here because she visited while we were both in finals, but we did make a trip out to the Louisberg Cider Mill in Louisberg, KS.
Mark made sure to snap a few photos of Sassy in her elf hat.
All in all it was a nice visit, and we're glad the snow is gone! Mark has one more final left tomorrow and then he can relax... of course by relax, I mean work on the baby's room!
The dogs were excited to have their aunt in town and snow to play in!
This series I like to call "Slappy is going down" starring our foster dog Abbie!
We didn't do much while Lisa was here because she visited while we were both in finals, but we did make a trip out to the Louisberg Cider Mill in Louisberg, KS.
Mark made sure to snap a few photos of Sassy in her elf hat.
All in all it was a nice visit, and we're glad the snow is gone! Mark has one more final left tomorrow and then he can relax... of course by relax, I mean work on the baby's room!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
2009 in Review! (long post)
2009 has been a really crazy year for us. Lots of good, and certainly a lot of not so good, but all in all, we're feeling blessed and we're moving into 2010 with a lot of hopes and dreams. The baby is born in April, I graduate in May, Mark graduates in August, we open a chiropractic practice! What an exciting year ahead!
2009 started out well. We really didn't do a whole lot in the first part of the year.
We had a few foster dogs. We still have Abbie, but she is our last foster for a long long time. I have officially taken a break with the rescue and will not be fostering or doing anything else, so I can focus on our family.
Hamilton aka Hammy or Hamster
Abbie the abbigator or destruct-o as we lovingly refer to her as.
We went to Paris, France in March. It was amazing, so wonderful and a great bonding opportunity for Mark and I. I am really glad we did this before the baby was born.
We bought a car from my good friend Lisa and drove it home through Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and into Missouri. This was another trip that I can't even begin to describe. Life changing! We had an amazing trip, saw the Grand Canyon, Historic Route 66, Painted Desert, the studio where Buddy Holly recorded all of his famous songs, Muleshoe, TX, Amarillo, TX, Oklahoma City, OK and home. It was so fun. We fell in love with Flagstaff, AZ and the food in the southwest was better than anything!
The Grand Canyon
Possibly the best meal I have ever eaten in my life in Flagstaff, AZ.
Painted Desert
This is outside of the painted desert in New Mexico.
Albuquerque has amazing food too!
Mark about to explode holding a guitar in front of the microphone that Buddy Holly used to record, and his amp.
The biker bar we ate at on Route 66 in Amarillo.
We went on a road trip to Memphis by way of Arkansas in the summer time. It was blistering. We saw the Sun Studios, Stax Museum, Graceland and Beale Street. We also ate some amazing BBQ.
In line at Graceland
We found out about the baby in August and found out she was a girl in November:
We went to Michigan later in the summer to spend some time with the dogs and family. Beans, Slappy and Pokey had a great time on Lake Lansing on the boat, and Ill never forget that day!
We lost a friend this year. Ryan Goodman was killed on his construction site leaving behind two young girls and a loving wife. We were very saddened to lose such a great guy.
We also lost our beloved Beans. I am still not comfortable talking about it because my heart is broken but he was a great, though troubled friend.
2009 started out well. We really didn't do a whole lot in the first part of the year.
We had a few foster dogs. We still have Abbie, but she is our last foster for a long long time. I have officially taken a break with the rescue and will not be fostering or doing anything else, so I can focus on our family.
Hamilton aka Hammy or Hamster Abbie the abbigator or destruct-o as we lovingly refer to her as. We went to Paris, France in March. It was amazing, so wonderful and a great bonding opportunity for Mark and I. I am really glad we did this before the baby was born.
We bought a car from my good friend Lisa and drove it home through Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and into Missouri. This was another trip that I can't even begin to describe. Life changing! We had an amazing trip, saw the Grand Canyon, Historic Route 66, Painted Desert, the studio where Buddy Holly recorded all of his famous songs, Muleshoe, TX, Amarillo, TX, Oklahoma City, OK and home. It was so fun. We fell in love with Flagstaff, AZ and the food in the southwest was better than anything!
The Grand Canyon Possibly the best meal I have ever eaten in my life in Flagstaff, AZ. Painted Desert This is outside of the painted desert in New Mexico. Albuquerque has amazing food too! Mark about to explode holding a guitar in front of the microphone that Buddy Holly used to record, and his amp. The biker bar we ate at on Route 66 in Amarillo. We went on a road trip to Memphis by way of Arkansas in the summer time. It was blistering. We saw the Sun Studios, Stax Museum, Graceland and Beale Street. We also ate some amazing BBQ.
In line at GracelandWe found out about the baby in August and found out she was a girl in November:
We went to Michigan later in the summer to spend some time with the dogs and family. Beans, Slappy and Pokey had a great time on Lake Lansing on the boat, and Ill never forget that day!
We lost a friend this year. Ryan Goodman was killed on his construction site leaving behind two young girls and a loving wife. We were very saddened to lose such a great guy.
We also lost our beloved Beans. I am still not comfortable talking about it because my heart is broken but he was a great, though troubled friend.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Half Way Done! 20 Weeks!
We're at the official half way point today. I cant believe that 20 weeks from today is our due date. We're really excited. Its been a whirlwind week with everything else that's been going on. I'm just glad we have our little girl to keep us company. Thanks for all the well wishes.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
In much happier news: IT'S A GIRL!
We found out Friday that our little Mark Jr. is actually a girl!
Stay tuned for names!
We're due April 21st, 2010!
RIP Beans McCheese Hanses
I wanted to let you all know that yesterday at around 5 pm we had Beans put to sleep. He bit a close friend of ours while we were out of town. For us it was a last straw. We had the mobile vet come over and do it in our home, so we could hold him and tell him that we loved him. He passed very peacefully, and will be cremated.
Its been a long and hard weekend for us, and we appreciate all of your support. I enclosed some pictures of him on Lake Lansing in Michigan this past summer. Contrary to what everyone thought, he wasn't nervous and had an amazing time on the boat. Its rare to capture a moment of him smiling, but he had such a great time, he couldn't stop smiling. We will spread his ashes here in Michigan this Christmas.
Rachel & Mark
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Our baby will be 18 weeks tomorrow!
ALMOST HALF WAY THERE!
Tomorrow is 18 weeks. Our babycenter.com thing says that the baby is the size of a bell pepper- 5 1/2 inches long.
We have our ultrasound the day after Thanksgiving to determine the sex and exact age of the baby- we're getting the measurements and all of that. We will post pictures as soon as we get them!
Tomorrow is 18 weeks. Our babycenter.com thing says that the baby is the size of a bell pepper- 5 1/2 inches long.
We have our ultrasound the day after Thanksgiving to determine the sex and exact age of the baby- we're getting the measurements and all of that. We will post pictures as soon as we get them!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Celebrating 8 years of being together!
Mark and I have been together for 8 years today. Its been a great 8 years, and I look forward to the next 8, and then the next 8 and so on!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Slappy doll! Cutest thing ever!
When Mark and I found out we were pregnant the absolute first thing I bought was a custom made stuffed animal that looks like Slappy! Yes, I am that insane. Anyway, the artist just finished making it and its pretty much the cutest thing ever!
Her name is Stacey and she owns Three Red Trees, its an etsy.com store. She custom makes dog stuffed animals out of socks and donates 10% to dog rescues!!! How awesome is that? Plus she is a local Kansas City artist. Anyway, here is a link to her stuff: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20638455
Her name is Stacey and she owns Three Red Trees, its an etsy.com store. She custom makes dog stuffed animals out of socks and donates 10% to dog rescues!!! How awesome is that? Plus she is a local Kansas City artist. Anyway, here is a link to her stuff: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20638455
Monday, November 2, 2009
Slapasaurus is closer than she appears
We went hiking again this weekend in Weston, MO. It was almost 80 degrees and sunny. The dogs got to swim and we got to hike. It was amazing! Slappy had the time of her life (again).
Friday, October 30, 2009
First Ultrasound, Heart Beat and Birthing Center!
Sorry for the HUGE picture, but if you look closely you can see Mark Jr.'s little face. We saw him/her wiggle all around, wave, kick and move. It was pretty amazing. So far, so good! Two arms, two legs and Mark likes to also point out that the baby has a head... good times!
We visited the birthing center yesterday as well, and its pretty neat. The midwives are all SO NICE. Everyone in the place is excited and happy, and its just got a really positive vibe. I was so scared of the sterile, hospital feel of a hospital, and this is such a nice change. They have different themed rooms, with beds, kitchenettes and bathrooms with tubs. I am going to consider the water birth, but I have to take a class on it first, to learn about the technique. The neat thing about the center is that they have photos of all of the families and babies that are born there, and they're all so different. There were very ethnic families and very normal looking people. It was nice to see the variety of people who are willing to use the midwives and facilities.
Our midwife was very cool about Mark being a chiropractor and kept talking to him like a doctor, which I always appreciate and love. I think he does too :)
Afterwards, we were in a very Latin American area of Kansas City, KS and we stumbled upon a little central american restaurant and wandered in. There was one lady working, and she didn't speak english. Luckily for me, I am an ace at ordering food in Spanish (not really) but she got our orders right and it was AMAZING! We thought that our move to KC would inhibit our love for pupusas, and this is the second place we have found that serves them! YAY!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Hiking in Weston Bend State Park, Weston, Missouri
Sunday we took Slappy and Pokey hiking with Nicole, Spot and Jinx. We drove out to the Weston Bend State Park in Weston, Missouri so we could hike on the shores of the Missouri River. It was amazing and the trees were really great. It was a sunny and warm day. On our drive back, we got a phone call from a friend talking about the thunderstorm that was hitting Kansas City. We arrived home to pouring rain and thunder. Not bad for a morning spent hiking.
Mark and I spent the remainder of the day watching football and baseball (Stupid Angels!).
Slow going... but getting there!
Look at the floor! This is 1 whole day of work with Mark scraping. The mineral spirits didn't work nearly as well as the water did, so he is going to use water this weekend and try to get up another section of the glue. Once that is up, the floor is in pretty good shape, aside from the nail holes that are 4 inches apart!
Once we get this all sanded down and stained, we're going to move our bedroom into the back room that is currently our guest room. The office (the room Mark is scraping all the glue up from) will be the baby's room and our master bedroom now will be a guest room/tv room. We figure that we're going to have a lot of guests in the upcoming year, so we might as well make the room comfy.
Once we get this all sanded down and stained, we're going to move our bedroom into the back room that is currently our guest room. The office (the room Mark is scraping all the glue up from) will be the baby's room and our master bedroom now will be a guest room/tv room. We figure that we're going to have a lot of guests in the upcoming year, so we might as well make the room comfy.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Harvesters!
Hey all-
Food banks are really low this year. Even if you can't do a lot, every little bit helps!
Don't ask me to explain that picture!
Food banks are really low this year. Even if you can't do a lot, every little bit helps!
Don't ask me to explain that picture!
Hideous Flooring... lots of work for Mark!
Mark was able to chisel off all of the nasty layers of vinyl tile that was glued to the flooring. We were grossed out at the lovely glue that was left on the floor. It is stinky and gross, and probably full of asbestos. We kept it wet and he wore a mask, but how gross!
This weekend, while I am in class, Mark is going to attempt to get the rest of the floor glue up. The water idea didnt work so well so he may need to use mineral spirits which cause birth defects. So we're going to put up plastic, get him a mask and keep me out of the house as long as possible. Here is to renovating!
This weekend, while I am in class, Mark is going to attempt to get the rest of the floor glue up. The water idea didnt work so well so he may need to use mineral spirits which cause birth defects. So we're going to put up plastic, get him a mask and keep me out of the house as long as possible. Here is to renovating!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)