Thursday, April 24, 2008


HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY, Grandma!

We hope you enjoyed your surprise party! :)

Friday, April 18, 2008

First Ultrasound


Gretchen went to the doctor yesterday, the first one since finding out she's pregnant. She is officially due November 24th. What is it with these November babies? lol

Everything is normal. The baby measures perfectly. As of today, she is 8 weeks and 5 days. She got to see the heart beating on the ultrasound monitor. There is only ONE baby in there. We were both praying for twins and were a little disappointed to see only one but God definitely knows best.

We're so excited about this new journey. Fortunately, Gretchen saved most of the baby items from when Zach was a baby. So, we don't really need a whole lot. The big things that we need are a stroller (or travel system), maybe a travel swing, a high chair and we'd really like to have a baby video monitor (although it's NOT a necessity).

Gretchen has already started to do a baby registry list at both target.com and walmart.com. She keeps an eye out on craigslist to find people in the local area selling baby items real cheap. As she buys things, she will be deleting things off of the baby registry.
The pregnancy, so far, has been great. No sickness.... just being tired and hungry a lot. She gets nautious when she gets hungry but fortunately hasn't gotten sick.

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Fence is finished!


Our fence is finally finished. After several months of trying to get a fence put up, it's done. We love our privacy and we love how big our backyard looks. We are looking forward to the summer when we can play in the backyard and be outside more. It's VERY exciting! Also, now that we have a fence we can get either a swingset or a trampoline.


Gretchen has been feeling very tired lately. She used to have problems going to sleep but now she's tired all the time. It will pass, tho. :)

Sunday, March 23, 2008

HAPPY EASTER!


Spring is in the air! Not only have we had "Spring Cleaning" fever inside of our house but we've had it on the outside of our house too. This weekend, Corey and Gretchen dug up their tree and all the shrubs that were planted. We then planted a new tree (a red maple tree), 3 Sago Palms and actually put flowers in our flower bed instead of shrubs. It looks sooooo much better! Everything still needs to grow up and we need to put down more mulch but otherwise, it's pretty much completed.

We're suppose to get our fence put in this week. They were suppose to do it last week but didn't and we don't know why. We are VERY anxious about that!

Happy Easter, everyone.... and Happy Spring cleaning! :)

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Happy Bday to Larry!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Corey's Dad, Larry!
We hope it's GREAT!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

UPDATES!!

Ok.... so it turns out Zach and Gretchen BOTH got the flu. Zach seems to be doing MUCH better. Gretchen is too but is still battling a very "juicy" cough. Looks like we'll be back at school tomorrow. FINALLY!

We just got news that Gretchen's mom did well in the surgery. However, while they were originally going to do laproscopic surgery, they ended up having to cut her open (bikini cut) totally. While the Doctor was removing the ovary AND the cyst he found stones that had been dropped in her when she had her gall bladder out years and years ago. They have been sitting next to her Ovary this whole time. They found another stone that was connected to her colon. The surgeon decided not to take that one b/c he didn't want to damage her colon. So now she will have to recover for 3 weeks instead of 1. Please continue to pray for her.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Sickness strikes again...

Zach had a fever last Tuesday of 103.6. His fever came down by 1 degree everyday. Gretchen started feeling ill Thursday evening. Friday, it got worse, but her and Corey went out on a date anyway. They went out to dinner and a movie. Then on Saturday, Gretchen woke up with a fever of 103.7. It hurt for her to get up and walk. Fortunately, Corey was off work and was able to take good care of her and of Zach. She is starting to feel somewhat better, at least the fever is gone, but her throat really hurts from coughing so much and from having to breathe out of her mouth. She wishes she had some chocolate to soothe her throat. :)

Friday, February 29, 2008

Prayer

There have been many people in our lives that need so much prayer b/c of hard times.

The first is Gretchen's mom. She called us yesterday telling us that the doctor's found an ovarian cyst the size of a tangerine in her sonogram. She has to have laproscopic surgery on March 12th to have it removed. She is very worried about it being cancerous. Please pray that it will be benign. Also, please pray for comfort for her mom.

One of Gretchen's friends, Alissa, is 29 1/2 weeks pregnant and her water broke Wednesday night. As of yesterday morning, she was having contractions. Please pray that the baby will be okay. They tried for 2 years to have a baby.

One of Gretchen's piano students' great grandmother is in the hospital on a ventilator and they are going to pull her off of it this week. It's very hard on the grandmother. Please pray for Terrie for comfort. She's really upset about it.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Gretchen Sick!


Gretchen hasn't been able to take Zach to school or teach at his school for the past 2 days. She's been really sick. She had to cancel piano lessons yesterday and isn't even going to praise team practice tonight. Her and Zach are going to the doctor to hopefully get some antibiotics this afternoon. If you've talked to Gretchen, then you have heard how sick she is. She has a lot of pressure in her sinuses. Hopefully she'll feel better by the weekend. :)

Monday, February 18, 2008

Laundry & Cleaning...


Gretchen has been very lazy for the past couple of weeks. She hasn't done much cleaning OR laundry. So, today is "catch-up" day. She cleaned the whole house including dusting, washing floors and washing EVERYTHING!! She has to have a clean house in order to feel "productive".

It was raining this morning and the power went off for about 30 minutes. So, Gretchen and Zach went over some music stuff for a bit. When the electric came back on, tho, it was time to start cleaning again!

Corey and Zach were sick over the weekend. Zach still has a cough, even though he tries not to cough. It's very loose. We might take him to the doctor if it doesn't clean up within the next couple of days. Corey is feeling better. Gretchen is starting to feel sick now. Hopefully it's just a little cold and that's all. The "stomach bug" has been going around at school and Gretchen is REALLY hoping she doesn't get that.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

A Big Kiss


HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

A big kiss from us to you!

Saturday, February 09, 2008


I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your warm birthday wishes and gifts that were given to me. Thank you, Larry and Brenda, for the beautiful flowers (see picture). Thank you, Mom and Dad, for the money and card (see picture for card). Thank you, Grandma, for the card and money. It was very thoughtful of all you and I feel very blessed!

Corey took me and Zach out to dinner last night. I got my favorite cheesecake from one of my favorite restaurants along with some peel and eat shrimp. Then, we came home and watched an animated movie with Zach called, "The Ten Commandments". It was a pretty good movie (very biblical).

Friday, February 08, 2008

Gretchen's 28th Birthday!


Today is Gretchen's 28th Birthday! As the years go by, it just becomes another day. lol It seems less exciting the older you get. Anyone else feel that way?

Never the less, she's grateful that God has allowed her to live this long compared to those who never even reach the age of 28. Time to celebrate!! :)

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Happy 55th, Dad!


HAPPY 55TH BIRTHDAY, DAD!

Don't forget to claim your "senior citizen" discount now! lol

Monday, February 04, 2008

Hawaii pictures!


Here are just a FEW of our pictures from Hawaii. Gretchen is still working on the rest!

Saturday, February 02, 2008

TAXES DONE!!

Gretchen stayed up late last night doing our taxes. She loves doing that sort of stuff. She finished them pretty quickly, tho. We printed them out today. We're going to just review them over the weekend and send them off on Monday! We like to have our taxes done early so we don't have to worry about it.

Happy tax season to everyone! :)

Monday, January 28, 2008

Celebrating 2 Years!

It's our Anniversary!

Wow... it's hard to believe it's already been 2 years that we've been married! Time flies when you're having fun! :)

Friday, January 25, 2008

Safe and TIRED!!


We are back from Hawaii!! It was a long couple of flight rides home, staying up 24 hours, but we are back safe and EXTREMELY tired!! Between the time change and not being able to sleep on the plane (except for Zach), we are definitely "jet lagged".

Zach was so great to travel with. We had NO problems with him. He only watched his "Star Wars" movies not even half the time, he slept another part of the time and the rest of the time he either played his leapster or practiced reading his books. All in all, he was very close to being the "perfect child" (especially on the plane rides).

We had a LOT of fun (the best vacation all of us have ever had) but this weekend is going to be time to rest and catch up on our "lack of sleep". While we want to show you all of our pictures and tell you all about our trip, we are just going to sleep all weekend, unpack and do laundry. We will post more later. :)

Friday, January 11, 2008

Both Corey and Gretchen are sick. Corey started feeling bad at the beginning of the week and now just has a cough. Gretchen started with a slight stomach virus last night. Corey told her NOT to clean today and to just relax. She has only picked up around the house, did some laundry, did dishes and made the bed. She has a piano lesson this afternoon and she just wanted to make sure the house looked "decent". She feels a little bit better after taking a shower but her head hurts.

Many of you know that Gretchen was trying to lose weight. When we went to Maryland last year she was 138 or 139 lbs. Her goal was 135 lbs. Well, she surpassed it and with being sick last night she's now down to 131 lbs. Corey and her both want to see what she looks like at 130 lbs but she's pretty happy where she's at. She'll probably gain some of that weight back on the trip, tho. :)

Gretchen has given Zach 4 piano lessons since the beginning of the year. She has to hold him back from learning so much at one time because he likes to keep going. He's now finished his whole first book of piano lessons (47 pages). He's moving on to the next book. Amazingly, he loves taking piano lessons. Gretchen's taking advantage of it while she can. :)

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Cleaning and Packing

From the day after Christmas, Gretchen has been doing a lot of cleaning. Although, don't let her fool you because she loves cleaning. She took down all the decorations (except the trees), the day after Christmas. Both her and Corey were starting to feel like their house was "cluttered". Then, she cleaned out the "Guest Bedroom" and moved our book shelf out in the family room upstairs. She went through all the books and organized them according to category. Then, she took down the Christmas trees on New Year's Eve.

Now, she has a big pile of "stuff" that needs to be sold and/or given away. She still needs to take pictures of everything to put it on ebay or craigslist.

Last weekend she went through Zach's summer clothes and got his clothes ready for Hawaii. Then, she went through both Corey's and her own summer clothes and washed the ones that needed to be washed. She's got our clothes all layed out and ready to be packed. She's afraid to put them in a suit case yet, tho, because she doesn't want them getting wrinkled. There's some stuff that can't be packed until the last minute. You probably know what those are tho, huh? :)

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 2008

So, how many of you actually stayed up to watch the ball drop? I know we did. This is the first New Year's that we have been together for. The past 2 years, Corey has had to work on New Year's Eve. This year, since it was our first, we decided to stay up and watch the ball drop. It was nice but we were very tired this morning.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 2008

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2007!

MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone! We love and miss you all!! Thank you all for the gifts. We love them! :)

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Can you Guess??


Here are the things that Gretchen wanted for Christmas: a guitar, a flat surface stove, and a microphone to record vocals on the computer (so she can start recording her own songs).


By Corey's wrapping, can you guess what he got her?? :)

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Early Christmas gift :)

Corey and Zach went shopping the other day to get one more gift. When they came home, Corey put what he bought in a box and went upstairs where Gretchen was. He asked for the wrapping paper, scissors and tape. Gretchen said, "Well, since you have another gift that I can open on Christmas morning, are you sure you just don't want to give it to me now?". It didn't take much thought for Corey to say, "Yes". He is always anxious to give his gifts to Gretchen. Plus, it saved him from wrapping it (Corey isn't the BEST wrapper, lol).

He gave Gretchen a Garmin StreetPilot (GPS) for the car. Now, some of you may be laughing thinking that a "woman needs it" but Corey really likes this gift too. You can plug in addresses to save and it can tell you h0w to get there (directing you each step of the way), how fast you're going, how many miles to your destination, averages of almost everything (speed, miles per hour, etc) AND you can look up things in the area like restaurants, lodging, entertainment, intersections, etc. Gretchen wasn't expecting him to get that for her but she and him are both glad that he did. Wasn't that so sweet? :)

Thursday, December 06, 2007

"A Weekend To Remember"


We went on a marriage treat over the weekend in Charleston called "A Weekend To Remember". Originally we weren't planning on leaving Zach with anyone and just going to the day sessions but God worked it out so that we could stay in the hotel and Zach was taken care of. Some friends of ours offered to keep Zach for the whole weekend. We hope someday we'll be able to re-pay the favor.

It was nice to have a weekend of just the two of us but we did miss Zach terribly by Sunday evening. We were able to go out on a date Saturday night and just spend the weekend talking and working on "us" with NO distractions. We bought several books to keep us motivated and even bought a "Couples Series" with hopes to start a home bible study of couples at our house. They also had a game called "Spoueology", which looks like a lot of fun, that we bought. We're hoping to have a few couples over soon just to play that game.

This week has been pretty busy. We have Zach's school "Christmas program" tonight and then our church's "Christmas play" this Sunday. It's a pretty busy week.

Friday, November 16, 2007


Zach had a really good birthday party turn-out. There were 17 or 18 kids plus their parents that showed up. It was a lot of fun!

Gretchen's parents left 2 days after the party. Her mom got sick while she was down here and now Gretchen is sick. She woke up with a sore throat last Thursday and then came the cough on Sunday. That's all she has been doing since Sunday. It got so bad that she hasn't been able to sleep the past 2 nights. She went to the doctor yesterday. The doctor says that she thinks Gretchen has a sinus infection that is turning bronchial (sp?). So, she is on an antibiotic & a cough suppressant. You should see these pills. They are like "Horse" pills.

Corey had shut-down week last week. He worked almost 80 hours in 6 days. He got a little sick towards the end of the shut-down. He's coughing some but not as much as Gretchen. Hopefully he won't get what she has.

We set up our Christmas tree yesterday. Gretchen's parents are coming down for Thanksgiving and we want to have our Christmas decorations already up so we can just relax all weekend. Plus, this will be the last time we see them until we go to Hawaii in January.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Zach's birthday and more


The past couple of months have seem to flown by. Our lives has been extremely busy. Anytime that we do have, we either are trying to do something as just a family or just want to relax.

Zach's birthday is coming up and we should have a lot of fun. A lot of his friends are going to be there, both from school and church. Gretchen's parents will be visiting for the weekend. We're looking forward to them coming down and visiting. Gretchen's even gotten some Christmas shopping done to send back with her parents. She's hoping to get it all done by the end of November, at least for our extended family, but she can't until she finishes getting the rest of the Christmas lists.

The next couple of days will probably go by quick. Gretchen always likes to clean and organize before her parents come down. So, that will be her goal along with running all the errands for Zach's birthday party. Corey's only responsibility is helping Gretchen with Zach and picking her parents up from the airport. :)
We just had our pictures done on Sunday along with Zach's pictures. We'll let you all see them once we get them. :)

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Mi's on our Wii













Corey has been working hard. He's been working about 50 hours a week. Although, Gretchen has been so busy with teaching at Zach's school, worship team practice, bible studies, making food for the bible studies, working with Zach, cleaning the house, paying the bills, and filling in at church for the pianist that she doesn't even notice how many hours he works sometimes, even though she still misses him when he's gone. :)

We have found time to play our Nintendo Wii, a lot. We LOVE playing it. You can make your own characters called "Mi"'s. Let's see if you can guess from the pictures which one is suppose to be who. Can you tell? (these pictures were taken on the TV, that's why they aren't very clear)All three of us love to play tennis and bowling. Both Corey and Gretchen have "pro" status for both of them. We like to compete against each other. We're hoping to get hooked up to the Internet with it soon. Both of our arms have been hurting the past day or so from playing it so much. It's definitely an interactive game. LOL

We're still trying to have a baby. No news right now. Gretchen is already picturing how to decorate the "nursery", which right now is Zach's room. Gretchen is hoping to move Zach into the guest bedroom and make Zach's room a nursery. She's hoping we'll be able to store the bunkbed so that we can use it in the future. Only time will tell what will happen. :)

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Corey's 32nd Birthday!




Last Friday was Corey's 32nd Birthday. He had to work but Gretchen arranged for a friend to keep Zach so that when he came home all we had to do was get ready and go out, just to two of us. Unfortunately, he got out of work a little earlier than Gretchen expected and beat her home. She didn't tell him where she was until she got home. He asked where Zach was and she told him that he was with Kim and her 2 girls.

Gretchen was planning on taking him to a movie and dinner. We got ready and went to see "Bourne Ultimatum". We had just finished watching "Bourne Identity" and "Bourne Supremacy" the week before. We really wanted to see the sequel. We think "Bourne Ultimatum" is the best. It's probably one of the best movies we've seen in a while.

Corey wasn't real hungry after the movie and he missed Zach. So, we picked Zach up and went to Chik F'ila and went home. Zach had a card for him and we had a message cookie for him when we got home.

We've made it a tradition in our family that if someone's birthday falls on a Friday or Monday that we make it a "Birthday Weekend". So, Corey got spoiled all weekend..... not that he doesn't all the other weekends also. Sunday, we just spent time playing games together all day which was a lot of fun.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Promise Keepers

Gretchen's parents came down to see us last Thursday. They had a chance to look at some houses that they were interested in. They are "thinking" about moving down here in 2 to 5 years, after Gretchen's mom is able to retire. Then on Friday, Corey and Gretchen's Dad left to go to Promise Keepers.

As soon as the guys left for PK, Gretchen, her mom and Zach went shopping. They stopped and got milkshakes and rented a movie. They ordered in pizza while they watched a movie. Then, they all got in Gretchen's bed and went to sleep early. The next morning they went to Walmart to do some more shopping and get some donuts for breakfast.

The guys had a good time being by themselves, too. They had some really good talks to and from the Center. They had to drive 2 hours to where PK was. They went to the conference Friday evening and then back to the hotel where they stayed. They went back to the conference the following morning and then came home. They both had a REALLY good time together. Corey definitely wants to go back to PK with Gretchen's Dad again. We think Gretchen's Dad loves being called "Dad" by Corey.

It's always good to see Gretchen's parents but it's definitely especially good that they spoil us by taking us out to eat. Of course, we'll probably do that to Zach when he gets married too. :)

Tuesday, July 24, 2007


Gretchen started painting the master bedroom on Friday morning. She painted all day Friday, part of Saturday and part of Sunday. Corey helped her finish a little bit on the last wall but otherwise she did everything by herself. She taped everything off, painted all the trim, and painted 2 coats over the dark blue. It was a tough job but it's FINALLY done. After the picture was taken, she dusted everything in the room, went through any and all junk that was on the floor, went through the filing cabinet and clothes that don't get worn anymore. The room looks great. The picture is the new color that was painted on over the weekend.

Corey has been working hard on the garage all weekend. He got done all the dry walling and sanding. Then, Gretchen helped him paint the garage yesterday (including the ceiling). Corey says he wants to go back over some of it just to make sure it's got a thick coat of paint on it but after that, the hardest part will be done. Next will be putting fluorescent lights in. That's probably the last of what the money will allow us to do for right now. Corey also wants to put flooring in, a base board and some shelving in it, which should ultimately complete it, but that may not happen until fall or even next year.

You would think we were doing "spring cleaning" right now. Both Corey and Gretchen have been going through EVERYTHING and are in this "THROW OUT" mood. lol We're both just sick of accumulating "junk". Gretchen is going to try to sell some of the stuff on ebay or craigslist. She's done a good job of making some money in the past doing that. :)

Monday, July 16, 2007

What a Summer!


This summer has been.... interesting. After going to Maryland, we had to go to Missouri. It wasn't exactly the most pleasant trip for us so we'll skip telling that part of our summer.

Even though the summer didn't start off being the best, it's turned out to be a pretty good summer. We've been going to a bible study called "the TRUTH project". It's a video series that asks you very logical questions to get you to think WHY you believe what you believe and HOW you know what you believe is true. It's VERY good! It's also been nice being around our friends so much. We've really been enjoying the fellowship as well as the videos.

Gretchen started giving piano lessons about a month ago. She's got 2 students that she really enjoys giving piano lessons to. She's also beginning to give Zach some lessons, though it's not every week. This week she's teaching at Vacation Bible School. She's teaching 3rd and 4th graders. Plus, she's going to start teaching at Zach's school this year.

For the fourth of July, we sat in the back of the truck on our "beach chairs" in a parking lot and watched them. We had so much fun just sitting there as a family watching them together. It was our first year together as a family b/c last year Zach was with Gretchen's parents. So, it was pretty special.

We've been going to the beach a lot this summer. We both LOVE the beach. We only go once a week since Corey works Monday-Friday now. We usually go Saturday morning when the park opens before most of the people get there. Then, we stop and get milkshakes on the way home. It's become a nice family tradition. We don't get to do it EVERY Saturday, but most Saturdays.


We're currently working on finishing the garage and planning on painting our master bedroom. Corey painted it a navy blue color and Gretchen doesn't like it and doesn't think it matches the decor of the room. So.... Gretchen has taken it on as HER project to paint the room while Corey's project is the garage. Gretchen's hoping to get the painting done before her parents come down the first weekend in August.

Friday, June 01, 2007

Missouri


It's been 3 days since we've been home from Maryland and we are back on the road to Missouri. We were originally planning on going out there the first week of July but Corey's grandfather passed today. So, we decided to go out now instead. Fortunately, we have awesome friends who are watching the house and cats for us. :)

It's pretty hard to pack in one night for one week. We actually did it, though. Corey is driving so hopefully Gretchen can sleep some. So, we're off..... yet again. We traveled 8 hours to Maryland and 8 hours back. We're traveling 12 hours to Missouri and 12 hours back. We'll let you know when we get back. :)

Traveling 8 hours


Last weekend, we made a trip to visit Gretchen's side of the family. We had a really nice time. We got to see Gretchen's grandmother, Aunt's and Uncle, cousins, her brother & Sister-in-law and our 2 nieces. We met our one niece for the first time. She's only 6 months old. Corey actually held her, too. It was really good to see everyone, especially since we only get to see everyone once a year. Hopefully some people will come down to visit us. :)

We also got to see Zach's Aunt Janet. She didn't really know Corey, so it was nice that she got at least a glimpse of who Corey is. It sounds like she might come down to visit sometime, which will be really good for Zach. :)

We were at Toys R Us with Gretchen's parents and ran into a friend of Gretchen's, Elesha. She really liked seeing her and her son, Elijah. Then, we went over to one of Gretchen's friend's house, Vanessa. All in all, we had a really nice time. There was only two people that Gretchen wanted to see that she didn't get to see.

While it's always nice to visit family, it's even better to be back home.... especially in our own bed! Our next trip will be even longer.... a 12 hour trip to Missouri to visit Corey's family. Then, we're done traveling for the rest of the year..... at least we think. :)

Monday, May 21, 2007

Zach's Fever


Saturday, Gretchen & Zach met up with some of Gretchen's friends from church up in MD. They were down on vacation. So, we met up with them downtown and had lunch. We walked around quite a bit and tried to show them around downtown, even though Gretchen isn't real familiar with it. Then, they came back to our house and we got to fellowship for the evening. It was such a nice evening.

When we went to put Zach to bed, he was really cranky and wouldn't listen (which is NOT like him at all). He felt really hot. So, we got the thermometer out. The first reading said 102.3 F & the second reading said 102.8 F. Both of us were really concerned about him. Gretchen was suppose to lead worship at church the next day but had to call the Pastor and tell him that she couldn't be there since it was the one Sunday Corey had to work. The Pastor was very understanding, though.

Zach ended up waking up a couple hours later, he was crying & couldn't tell you what was wrong. We think he was just hurting all over & so tired, especially from a busy day. Gretchen was up with him until 2:30 AM. He finally went to sleep for good for the night. The next day, his fever was down to 100.5. Gretchen took him to McDonald's for his favorite pancakes and then had to go to Walmart for groceries. He seemed in a pretty good mood when we got home. He played his video games for a little bit. Then, Corey came home & wanted to go out to eat. While we were out, Zach just looked really tired. We could tell he was sick b/c he didn't eat but one bite of his mac & cheese and when we asked if he wanted dessert he said "NO". That's when you know kids are sick.

He's feeling better today. His fever is probably down to 99. He's developed a cough, now. Gretchen gave him some medicine and he seems to be fine now. We'll see how he does the rest of the day. Keep him in your prayers! :)

Monday, May 14, 2007

Happy Mother's Day!


Corey & Zach made it very special for Gretchen for Mother's Day. They made all these different cards with different messages in them and put them around the house. Then, when Gretchen walked downstairs to the kitchen where they were lined up across the kitchen counter and stove and they spelled out "Happy Mother's Day". Gretchen was so surprised and loved it so much. She definitely felt appreciated.

Corey & Gretchen, together called his mom & step-mom, and Gretchen's mom to wish them a Happy Mother's Day and to let them all know that we love & appreciate them.

Our heart goes out to those who lost their Mother, which I'm sure made the day hard for them. Our heart also goes out to those Mother's who have lost their children and to those Mother's who didn't hear from their children on this special day. We hope you all still had a Happy Mother's Day!

Sunday, May 06, 2007


This weekend, we spent all day Saturday painting our living and dining room. We also picked out drapes and rods for the rooms as well. We actually started painting Friday night. We had decided to paint the room a deep gold color. When we started painting, it was a bright school bus color. Corey was REALLY worried about it. He said that he only wanted to paint one wall and then see how it looked in the morning. He said that if he liked it, he would never question Gretchen's judgement regarding paint again. Well, he likes it.

After we got done painting the walls and finishing the trim, we went out to eat and also went and got rods and curtains for the room. Today, we put the rug that was upstairs, downstairs under the dining room table. We really like downstairs now. It's VERY modern but comfortable. We hope everyone will get a chance to see it sometime. :)

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Zach's Chiropractor Visit


Zach went to the chiropractor for the first time. We both go pretty regular whenever we need to. Zach always goes with us. So, he was pretty excited when it was his turn. They took x-rays of his spine and then made him lay on the table. He was really excited until the Doctor came in and started "cracking" his back and neck. Then, he just stopped talking. He looked at the Doctor with some confusion. The Doctor was really good with him but Zach didn't look too sure about it. When he got done, he talked the nurses' ears off. They gave him yet another sticker after giving him 2 when we had arrived.

The Doctor said that he has a lean in his spine but that it could be from how he was standing. Although, he doesn't think so. So, he will be going over the "report" with Gretchen tomorrow morning and then adjusting Zach again.... and hopefully Gretchen too. :)

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Gretchen's Parents Visit


Gretchen's parents came down to visit with us for the weekend. It was a fun visit. The weekend seemed to go by so fast but it was very relaxing. Everytime Gretchen's parents come down to visit they start to like the area more and more. We're hoping they'll move down here within the next couple of years. They have a very close and special relationship with Zach, since Gretchen did live with them for the first 2 years of Zachariah's life. They are very special to Zach, too. He cried when we got home and he realized that they weren't coming back to our house.

They seemed to really enjoy their visit. Gretchen likes to cook for them when they come down but there are a few places that they really like to eat at that they don't have where they live. So, we go to their favorite places when they are down here. They LOVE our couch. Gretchen's Dad actually fell asleep on it. Corey calls it the "George Foreman" couch because when you sit or lay on it, it knocks you out. lol

Gretchen started back at the gym today. It's been about 3 weeks since she's been. She hasn't been watching what she's been eating (and she's been loving it). Although, she doesn't love the weight that comes with eating what she wants. So, she's back on her diet and back in the gym.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Gretchen...


Gretchen has gained a little bit of weight recently, no more than 6 or 7 lbs (she thinks). So, she's going to go back on her "diet" and start at the gym next week. Her parents are coming down to visit us this weekend, so she can't start this weekend.

Gretchen is thinking about teaching at Zach's school next year. It's really an ideal job for her. She'd be there during the same hours Zach is AND we would only have to pay 50% of the tuition fee for Zach. Plus, the kids are so sweet at the school. The teachers are really nice too.

Gretchen has been cleaning and putting stuff on ebay to sell. It's a great way to get rid of our stuff and make a little extra money. :) She's been trying to figure out how to use some of the software on our computer. We can record from our cable on our computer. She's been recording the "Planet Earth" series. She's been working on taking the commercials out so we can burn them to DVD's. Now, we just need some blank DVD's.... time to go to Walmart. :)

Monday, April 16, 2007

Beth Moore Conference


Gretchen was gone this past weekend to go to the Beth Moore Conference. She left Thursday afternoon and came back Saturday afternoon. She had a great time. She loved having a girls' weekend with NO children. They stayed up late, went swimming, went shopping, ate and of course enjoyed the Beth Moore conference. They had an awesome time worshipping God with 18,000 other women. It's almost a glimpse of what heaven will be like. Just seeing all those women raising their hands and singing to God. It was an amazing sight.

She missed Corey and Zach a lot. What mother and wife wouldn't miss their family.? It's always good to get away from the family for a couple of days. It's so important for women to spend time AWAY from their children, for those who are always with them. It's also healthy for the children. Of course, Zach didn't mind too much. He got Corey all to himself. :) Gretchen really didn't want to leave at first b/c she knew how much she would miss both of them but Mothers often have to force themselves away in order to get the time they need for themselves, no matter how much they know they'll miss their family.

God was definitely at work at the conference. Ten people became christians (dedicated their life to Christ). Beth Moore is so funny and really motivating. She really digs into scripture and teaches you the greek words from the original text of the Bible. Corey & Gretchen both LOVE that kind of teaching.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Bowling w/ Friends


Last Saturday night, our friends watched Zach while we went bowling with some other friends. Zach's teacher at school, Alissa, and Gretchen have became friends. Alissa asked Gretchen if both of us wanted to go out with her and her husband, Mike. So, we went bowling with Alissa and Mike and another couple that they are friends with, Cameron and Emily. We had so much fun. We went to Olive Garden for dinner and then went to the Naval base to go bowling. Cameron is in the Navy, which is how we got into the bowling alley. This bowling alley is nice because it is no smoking. It was so nice getting to know both couples. We are planning on getting together this weekend as well. Here's the guys being all tough. :)

This week is spring break for all the kids. It's kind of nice not having a schedule for Zach. We plan on getting together with Alissa and her daughter, who is 4, and going to House of Bounce this week. That should be a lot of fun.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Canoeing


A week ago, from last Friday, Gretchen went with her Women's Bible Study on a Canoe at a park. She had a lot of fun and some adventure. They went canoeing in a swampy area. They saw some alligators. They canoed down the whole waterway and stopped and ate lunch at a picnic area. Then they canoed the rest of the way back. They had a lot of fun! Here's a picture of one of the alligators they saw.

Corey's been spending time with Zach everyday when he gets home from work playing video games with him. That's the first thing Zach asks Corey about when he gets home. That has become their "bonding time". Although, Zach likes to wrestle with Corey a lot, too.

We had to get a new computer last week. Our other one was having a lot of trouble. We had to redo the entire system and it still had problems. So, we went to Best Buy got another one. We love it! We got a 24" widescreen HD monitor to go with it. It's been nice not having to worry about computer problems. Our last computer was a Sony but we got a lot more system for less money by getting a Gateway instead. We're thinking about making the other computer Zach's if we can ever get it fixed.

Friday, March 16, 2007

New furniture


We finally got the rest of our new furniture this week. We LOVE it! It's so comfortable and warm feeling. We also ordered a modern piece of artwork to hang above the couch. As soon as we get that, we can pick out curtains and paint. We're very excited! The house definitely has a nice "warm" feeling to it. We can't wait for people to come down or out to visit. (especially our family members... hint, hint!!)

We also are enjoying our online subscription to Blockbuster. It's VERY nice. We especially like the fact that we can go into Blockbuster and exchange the movies. That way, we don't have to wait for them to receive it. Plus, we get a free coupon every month to rent either a game or another movie for free. We've found that we've been watching more movies lately. That's probably the only downfall of these types of things. You want to make sure you get your money's worth but you don't want to spend all your time in front of the TV.

This week has been so nice outside. Gretchen picked Zach up from school, came home and took him on a nice long bike ride. He has 2 bikes to ride. One is for kids just learning how to ride and he has another that is a regular bike with training wheels. We've been really trying to get him to ride the bigger bike. The more he rides it, the less scared of it he will be. He did it. He was on the bigger bike a good bit around the neighborhood. Then, Gretchen fixed him a sandwich and chocolate milk so he could have something to eat and drink while she took him on a wagon ride. He LOVED that. It's so nice to be home during the day while all the kids are at school and while there isn't as much traffic going through the neighborhood. Now, we just can't wait to get a fence. :)

Thursday, March 01, 2007

No Gym


As much as Gretchen planned on going to the gym, she didn't. Corey was able to easily convince her to take this week without Zach and sleep in. He convinced her to eat whatever she wanted and to just enjoy her freedom. Of course Gretchen thought it was a good idea as well. She hasn't done much this week except sleep in and watch a lot of movies/ tv shows. This wasn't exactly what she planned in her mind. She planned on really cleaning the house and getting some reading done. Oh well.... there went that plan. lol

So, today she is cleaning some. She did get Zach's room clean. Now she's working on our room.

We went shopping the other night for some furniture for the living room and bought some. This wasn't planned but it was a nice time to go to a furniture store WITHOUT a 3 year old climbing over everything. (We're sure most of you parents know what we're talking about) We're both very picky about what kind of furniture that we like. We finally found a set that we liked and they had a "sale" too. So, we were sold. We should be able to pick some of it up this weekend before we get Zach back. It would be really nice if we could get the painting done before we get Zach but we're not sure if that is going to be possible.

This is Corey's first week with his "regular" schedule. Yesterday he had to work a 13 hour day. That's the downfall of working days, Mon-Fri. If a project isn't done, Corey HAS to stay until it's done. It's been different. So far, Gretchen likes the shift work better. He's not tired on the days that he's off during shift work. Now he comes home from work and is tired everyday. The nice thing about this is that if he doesn't like "days", he can go back to "shift work" in 6 months.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Zach in Maryland


We dropped Zach off with Gretchen's parents this afternoon. :( We're so sad. We miss Zach already. The only reason we let him go to Maryland is because it's his cousin Kara's 4th birthday. We wanted him to be there for her for her birthday. Zach was so excited to see Nana and Pop-pop. We told him we were going to be so sad and he said, "It's okay. I'll come back." Isn't that so sweet?? :(

On the way home from dropping him off with Gretchen's parents (we met them a little less than half way for us), we were talking about how much we already missed him. Of course, we do realize that we need to take advantage of this opportunity for it to be the two of us. Especially since we haven't really gotten a lot of that from the time we even met.

Gretchen is kind of looking forward to this week alone. She can sleep in. She doesn't have to worry about fixing meals for anyone except for Corey. She can go to the gym without worrying about Zach crying because she leaves him in child watch. She's planning on really watching her diet and going to the gym and cleaning the house this week. Oh yeah... and lots of R&R. :)

We decided to join Blockbuster online since we could exchange movies at the store with our online account. We haven't received any movies yet because we just signed up yesterday. So, we'll see how long it takes to get the movies and how their services are. If we don't like them, then we'll be joining Netflix.

Corey starts his normal hours tomorrow. We're pretty excited. Corey's hoping to get up around 4:30 AM so he can go to the gym before he actually starts work. They have a gym at his work for everyone to promote exercise and healthy living. Corey likes it a lot. We'll see how he feels in the morning, though. lol Before Zach was born, Gretchen used to get up and be at the gym by 5:30 AM. That got old quick!! However, it was very energizing and she did see lots of results from it.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

It's time!


It's that time.... to shed the weight. Ever since we went on that cruise, we haven't been eating as healthy as we should. In fact... we've been eating ALL junk food for the last month. Gretchen started her "Fat Smash" diet today. She also starting going to the gym again.... FINALLY! She has tried over the past month but has been sick twice! Hopefully it will stay away this time.

We haven't been doing a whole lot. We sent our taxes off to Corey's Dad. Hopefully we'll be getting that next week. It will definitely help us to pay off our bills. We'll be down to just a house payment and truck payment along with all the utility bills. lol Our goal is to try to pay off the truck next year. Then, we'll start working on paying the house off. That will probably seem like forever. lol :)

We've rented about 4 movies in the last 5 days. So, we figured it's time to join an online movie subscription.

This is Corey's last week of working night shift. It's a bitter sweet thing. He starts working straight days Monday-Friday next week. It will be an adjustment. We know... most people don't understand HOW it could be an adjustment when we're the ones going back to the "Norm". It is though. Technically, we won't get as much time together but at least he'll be home every night with us. :) Plus, it helps Gretchen because now she doesn't have to worry about bringing Zach to worship team practice. Although, he is such an angel while at practice. The Pastor even commented on how good he was. :)

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Gretchen's Birthday!


Thursday was Gretchen's birthday. She turned the big 27!! She doesn't like it at all because it means she's closer to 30. She had a pretty nice birthday. We took Zach to school in the morning. She was sick but wanted to go look at furniture while Zach was in school and while we could do it together. We didn't get anything but we were looking at what we wanted.

We picked Zach up from school and went out to eat. Then, we went to Walmart and got some paint to paint the kitchen. When we came home, Zach took a nap and Gretchen wanted to start painting. We started painting around 3:30 p.m. and didn't finish until 11:30 p.m. Plus, we had to clean up our mess for the next morning because Corey had Bible Study the next morning. We did get all the painting done except for touch-up stuff. It looks soooo much better! We took a picture during the day but it didn't turn out real good because the sun was shining in pretty bright.

Some bad news to report is that Corey is being forced to start working days starting the beginning of March. We're really going to miss having his whole 4 days off. He'll have to work Monday-Friday, 8 hours a day. He has to do this for 6 months and if he doesn't like it then he can go back to his shift work. This affects mostly our vacation. We were able to go to Maryland during his 4 days off. Now, we don't know when we'll be able to go. Plus, we had to cancel our trip to Missouri in March. It's a difficult time but we did pray that if it was God's will that they would make Corey go to all days. So, it must be God's will. Everything will work out. It's just a matter of adjusting. I guess in some ways it could be good news because now Corey can get involved with church. We will see!

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

The Cruise


We had a lot of fun on the cruise. It was nice to spend some time with Gretchen's parents. We didn't see them a whole lot. They took Zach the entire week. We ate dinner and lunch with them several times. We also had a competition game of cards going on between us. lol We played 500 Rummy all week. Most of the time, we would play it by ourselves almost every night but then Gretchen's parents joined in the last 2 days. We did get Zach one time for naptime because Gretchen's parents had a rough night with Zach and needed some sleep. We didn't mind the cuddle time with Zach, though.

We were suppose to go to Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Key West but we lost one port. A guy got deathly sick and they needed to get him medical attention right away. So, we went to Cozumel for 2 days instead and ended up saving the guy's life. We didn't like that we had to miss a port but if it saved someone's life then it was totally worth it. The ship was really good about changing our shore excursions and things like that. Corey ended up going scuba diving while Gretchen went with her parents and Zach to the beach for a couple of hours. The next day, we went kayaking and snorkeling by ourselves. It was a lot of fun. We saw a baracuta, a stingray and lots of tropical fish. It was really nice.


Key West was our last stop. It was nice to be in a clean place like that, compared to Cozumel which seemed kind of dirty. The water was a little bit colder in Key West than in Cozumel. We went parasailing together. It was Corey's first time and Gretchen's 3rd. We asked for them to dip us in the ocean. They certainly did. It was FREEZING!! It felt like they were dragging us through the water. It was so fun, though! After that, we walked around, got something to eat and then went to this place that was right on the water to see the sunset. There were people performing, which was quite entertaining and other people who had stands set up. It was really nice. After the sun went down, we went back to the boat. We were exhausted from all the walking that we did.

It was a nice trip. When we got back, both Corey and Gretchen got sick. Corey got a little stomach virus and Gretchen has a head cold. Oh well.... at least we didn't get sick on the cruise.

Friday, January 26, 2007


We've almost made it. Two more days and it's official. We'll be married for 1 whole year!! Time sure does fly. Don't worry.... there WILL be many more to come! We're so happy and excited.
The first year was a little tough. Of course, we were instant family also. The hardest part was Gretchen moving to a new state and not knowing anyone. Some of Corey's friends' wives really helped with that after about 6 months of being married. So, the first 6 months were definitely the hardest with Gretchen being in a depression and Corey not knowing how to handle that. Then, Gretchen got involved with a women's bible study which helped to get to know more people. Plus, Gretchen was so used to being a single parent that it took some time for both of us to learn how to work together to discipline Zach & other areas of how we wanted to raise our child(ren). Overall, it's definitely been a growing time for both of us. We're closer and much more stable than we were a year ago and that's what counts. God has stretched us and b/c we have had faith in HIM, we have a wonderful marriage.

So... to celebrate, we're going on a cruise.... with Gretchen's parents and Zach. lol Well.... it'll be nice. Gretchen's parents are taking Zach for Saturday night through Monday (at the very least). That way, we can still see them if we want or we can just be by ourselves. Corey is looking forward to EATING! lol He has no idea what's coming to him. He has never been on a cruise before. We feel so fortunate that God has blessed us to be able to do something luxurious as this. If it wasn't for God's blessings that He's given us.... it wouldn't be possible.

Gretchen just started reading a book called, "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp. It's very good. It definitely gives a better perspective on how to parent. We focus on what God wants for him now, instead of what we want for him. That way he understands that it's about glorifying God and not just obeying us b/c we're his parents. We're God's messengers to him. We especially like how he talks about parents being disobedient to God if they don't spank their children. Proverbs 13:24 says, "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." The world wonders why we are living in such a corrupt society yet psychologists are telling parents to do the exact opposite of what the Bible says to do like put children in time out instead of spanking them. They took prayer out of schools, they want to take out "UNDER GOD" out of the pledge of allegience and NOW they want to make it illegal to spank your children. Our society is the way it is b/c it's going AWAY from what the Bible is teaching. A child learns to receive correction, not b/c parents are always right, but b/c God says the rod of correction imparts wisdom, and whoever heeds correction shows prudence (Proverbs 15:5, 29:15; "Shepherding a Child's Heart"). Parents only muddy the waters when the bottom line in discipline is their displeasure over their behavior rather than God's displeasure with rebellion against His ordained authority. We tell Zach, when he disobeys us, that God says that we have to spank him when he disobeys us. So, if we don't spank him then we're disobeying God. He really listens when we tell him that. It really seems to make a difference. God definitely knows what He's doing better than any psychologist. If you are a parent with children living at home and haven't read it, we recommend that you do.

Okay... we're getting off our soap box. No posts for the next week. We will definitely let you know how the trip went. Have a good week, everyone! :)

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Gretchen's Sick


It's been so nice getting back to a normal schedule lately. We're kind of glad the Holidays are over with. There's usually so much chaos and business. Plus, it's nice to have the Christmas decorations packed up and put away. They are nice for a time but can feel like clutter after a while.

Gretchen started back at the gym on January 2nd. The gym was definitely busy with all those people making "New Year's Resolutions". Although, the gym has already slowed down some. Gretchen is trying to lose some weight before the cruise. Corey thinks she looks great already but she's very self-conscious. She was doing really well until she got sick. Last Saturday, she had a really bad headache and could barely get off the couch. It progressively got worse throughout the week. Her head started feeling better and she went to the gym 2 days this week but she started getting really congested. So, she's been trying to rest and eating chicken noodle soup and drinking lots of orange juice to get better. She can't wait to get back to the gym.

We go on the cruise with Gretchen's parents in 2 weeks. We're really looking forward to it. We'll be celebrating our 1 year anniversary on the cruise! Can you believe it??? ONE YEAR!!! It should be fun! We're going parasailing, kayaking and snorkeling on Grand Cayman Island. Corey is going scuba diving on Cozumel while Gretchen, Zach and her parents go to this "Beach Break" thing. Then, we're planning on just relaxing the rest of the trip. It'll be a nice break for Corey since he's been working so hard the past 5 months.

Sunday, December 31, 2006

Happy New Year 2007


HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone! We've had a nice couple of days together as a family. We've been able to relax a lot. Corey has been able to play his xbox 360 except he's had problems with it the past day. He called Microsoft yesterday and they are sending a box to us to ship it in. Hopefully they'll be able to fix it. It plays on a regular TV but when we try to play it on our new 62" HD TV, it won't stay in the HD setting. So, hopefully we can get it fixed so all of us can play it. :)
We got this TV about a month ago. We weren't planning on getting a TV but Gretchen saw an ad on craigeslist.com for this TV. The guy had bought it 4 months prior w/ a 4 year warranty but had measured wrong in his house. The TV was too big for his house. So, we got it for half the price that it cost him (including the stand). It was such a good deal, we couldn't pass it up. Plus, Corey works really hard to support his family.... he deserves to buy what he wants, which he basically does. lol Besides, he has the final say anyway. He IS the leader of our home.

We're not doing much tonight. New Year's isn't a huge event for us. It's just the beginning of another year that we've been blessed to still be here for. We hope all of you have a Happy New year! BE SAFE!

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Our FIRST Family Christmas


We had our first family Christmas together! Corey was scheduled to work but fortunately, his company decided to shut down for Christmas Eve AND Christmas. It was so nice to have him with us.

We had a lot of fun since this was the first year that Zach really "understands" that there is a Santa Claus. We did the usual leaving cookies and milk out for Santa Claus and of course Santa coming Christmas Eve night. We didn't want Zach to focus completely on presents. We want him to realize the most important gift that we were given.... Jesus! We sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus before we opened gifts and he really seemed to like that. He got kind of bored with the Christmas story but he's a pre-schooler.... that's to be expected.

All of us got spoiled for Christmas. Corey got Gretchen a KitchenAid electric mixer. It's VERY nice. You can add attachments to it. He also got Gretchen a new cell phone. It's a Treo Palm 700P. She got that early! :) Of course, Corey got his xbox 360 that he wanted along with the HD DVD player that goes with it. He got lots of games and movies to use on them. He also got a very nice dress watch that he wanted. Santa brought the family a Sony camcorder that has a 3 MP camera in it. Zach got some video games that he really enjoys (the V.Smile learning system and the Leapster handheld learning system). Santa also brought him some slippers, clothes and games to go with the videos. Plus, he got some videos that he wanted from other people in the family (Poppa Larry and Aunt Brandy, Uncle Russ and Kara).

We didn't really do much after opening gifts. Corey played his xbox 360 the entire day (between 7 & 8 hours). Gretchen kind of expected that so she played with Zach most of the day. She didn't feel 100% that day, so her and Zach took a nap. All in all, it was a nice relaxing day! We are so thankful that God has blessed us with the Christmas that we had. This was all possible because of God. Even if we had nothing, we are just thankful that God gave us his most precious gift.... Jesus. :)

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Family Christmas Pictures!


We got our first pictures, as a family, taken together. It was rough. It took 1 1/2 hours to get some good pictures. The very first picture they took didn't turn out very well but that's what we had to go with for the big package. We plan on ordering other ones. It took forever to get a good smile from Zach. He just smiles too big most of the time.


Corey FINALLY has 4 days off this week. Just in time for Zach's Christmas play that he's in at school. It should be really cute. Don't worry... we're going to video tape it. He supposed to be a little shepherd. We have Corey's work Christmas party this week. It should be fun. We'll see how Zach does with a babysitter. :)


We're both REALLY excited about Christmas. Gretchen found out about the gift that Corey got her for Christmas so she already has it. She got a Palm Treo PDA cell phone. It's REALLY cool. It's palm pilot in combination with a cell phone. Plus, it has MS Word, Excel, and Powerpoint on it. It's VERY nice. Gretchen has SEVERAL gifts for Corey but we can't mention them on here until after Christmas. He doesn't know about them yet. ;)

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Our First Thanksgiving!


We had our first Thanksgiving as a family and unfortunately, Corey had to work. However, Gretchen's parents were down for the weekend. Gretchen made everything herself for Thanksgiving. She was really trying to impress her parents. ;) It turned out pretty good. She made a stuffed Turkey, Ham, homemade baked macaroni and cheese, stuffing, candied sweet potatoes, a double layer pumpkin pie, a cheesecake, and a pumpkin roll. It was really good. Gretchen's parents loved it. We think they were impressed. lol

We celebrated Christmas with Gretchen's parents early. Her mom bought her a sewing machine. Now she can really be a homemaker. Hopefully, if she makes clothes, one arm won't be longer than the other. lol ;)

Gretchen was brave enough to go out on "Black Friday" shopping. She got up WAY before everyone else to make it to the stores. She got almost everything she was looking for. She finished Christmas shopping and even finished wrapping the gifts. AAAHHH... how good it feels to be done! :) Now, it's just time to finish baking.

Corey has been working so much lately. He's had to work so much overtime. We're hoping that will end soon, maybe even in a couple of weeks.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Corey working!


Well, Corey just got done working 12 days in a row. He was suppose to get off 2 days but his work called him into work. He had gotten off last Sunday night from work and wasn't suppose to go back until last Wednesday night. His boss called him around 11 A.M. on Monday to call him into work that night for night shift. So, he didn't get 2 days off. He worked straight through. On his last day he went to the gym right after work and pulled a muscle in his shoulder/ back area. He has been in a LOT of pain since he got off work yesterday morning.

Today, we surprised Zach and took him to Chuck E. Cheese. He had so much fun. Of course, Corey had a lot of fun too. We thought it might be fun for all of us have a "family day" and have fun since Corey has been working so much. Then, we came home and relaxed the rest of the day. We ordered pizza for dinner so we didn't have to go anywhere.

Gretchen, in the mean time, has been getting ready for Thanksgiving AND going Christmas shopping. She's ALMOST done. :)

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Resting!


Gretchen was so tired from cleaning so much before everyone came over to the house and from cooking that she didn't feel like doing much this week. Zach didn't have school on Tuesday, so him and her slept in while Corey had to go to work. Poor thing.... he's been working so much lately. Gretchen went to the gym, went to her bible study and has cooked for Corey. She hasn't really cleaned anything until yesterday and today. She did laundry and made sure the house was nice and clean for Corey when he gets off of work tonight.
Zach has been a little sick lately. He's just had a little cold but it's annoying him, you can tell. He doesn't like it very much. We really don't want to give him any medicine. We try not to so his little body isn't getting loaded with medicines. The allergist we were seeing put him on 3 or 4 different medications. Corey asked her if he was ever going to get off these medicines and she said probably not. We stopped going to her b/c she would put him on medicines that he didn't really need. We just stopped going and stopped giving him the medicines. He's been fine.
Gretchen has been trying to finish her Christmas shopping. She's trying to wait until "Black Friday" to get some really good deals. Hopefully by then, she'll be completely done. She is going to make some things for some people but we can't say what it is so it will be a surprise for those receiving it. :)

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Zach's Party!

Gretchen's parents flew in last night. We picked them up at the airport and then stayed up until midnight. Then, we had to get up early so we could show Gretchen's parents this house that is for sale. They are looking at possibly moving down here in the future. So, we were all tired today.
We took Gretchen's parents out to McAlister's for lunch. While we were out we went to "Ross" and Gretchen did some more Christmas shopping. She's almost done all our Christmas shopping! Then, we had to pick up Zach's birthday cake and balloons. We came home and Gretchen had to finish making the crab dip for the party. Corey had to marinate the baby back ribs and get those ready to put in the oven for the afternoon. Gretchen's mom had to do the goody bags for the kids for the party and Gretchen's Dad just kept Zach occupied. We got everything done and Zach had a good birthday party. We think he really enjoyed all the attention.
After everyone left, Gretchen cleaned everything up and finished cooking dinner for her parents and then we just relaxed the rest of the evening. It was a VERY busy day! Corey has to work tomorrow so hopefully the day will go a little slower. :)

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Zach's 3rd Birthday!


Well, the day is finally here when Zach is no longer a toddler but more of a little boy. He is 3 years old! Can you believe it? Time goes by so fast! Hopefully he had a fun day. We tried to make him feel EXTRA special and let him decide what he wanted to do and eat for the day. We figured he'd probably want to eat a lot of junk food. Since he's not allowed to eat that much junk food any other time, we figured he should enjoy being able to eat whatever he wants.

Gretchen got to work out at the gym today and then come home to do more cleaning. She's doing very detailed cleaning. She cleaned the oven, the stove, the microwave, the dishwasher and the refrigerator. She's been very busy. The next 2 days she's going to be VERY busy! She can't wait to be able to relax. :)