The McMillins

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. :)

Gretchen was up until 2 A.M. last night making breakfast for her Bible Study for this morning. Zach woke her up at 5:30 A.M. this morning. So, she's pretty tired today.
Corey just got off of night work this morning. He had his Bible study at our house this morning after getting off work. So, Corey kept Zach at the house while Gretchen ran the food over to her Bible Study. She figured the other women wouldn't appreciate bringing a sick child to be around their kids. (I know we wouldn't like it)
Zach didn't want to take a nap today, even though he REALLY needed one today since he went to bed last night at 10:30 p.m. (b/c of being sick) and woke up at 5:30 a.m. So, she told him to lay down in his bed while we watched the Disney Channel. She rubbed his back and he was asleep within 5 minutes. He really needs his rest.
Nothing is really going on. Corey has been working a LOT of overtime the past 2 weeks. He's back on schedule now, though. Gretchen and Zach have only seen Corey 2 days in the past 2 weeks. It's been tough but we made it. Gretchen has been going Christmas shopping trying to get that out of the way so we can all enjoy the holidays. Plus, she wants to make sure she has plenty of time to do lots of baking and crafts! :)

Gretchen took Zach to school this morning. It's been so nice that she can have some time to herself and get things done. She went to the gym and then did some Christmas shopping and a little bit of birthday shopping. She's trying to find Diego party supplies so she doesn't have to order them online but it looks like she's going to have to.

She's been going to AC Moore almost everyday b/c she has these coupons that she can get scrapbooking supplies fairly cheap. She's doing a MARINE CORPS scrapbook for Corey. She's really gotten into scrapbooking... and cooking! Can you believe that? Plus, she wants to start sewing. Can you believe this is the same woman? lol

Today was Corey's second day off, but felt like the first day since he had to sleep yesterday from coming off of night shift. He had Bible Study this morning while Gretchen took Zach to preschool for the first day. She's been really excited about Zach going. He's so smart and he really needs the socialization. It'll be good for him. It's at a christian preschool, which is even better.

The preschool is about 20 minutes away. So, Gretchen went shopping at AC Moore to look at scrapbooking stuff. She also got to do some birthday shopping for Zach, since his birthday is coming up and also did some Christmas shopping. It was nice to be able to do that alone. Tomorrow, Corey and Gretchen will be taking Zach to preschool which will give us some time alone.

When Gretchen and Zach got home this afternoon, we all had lunch together. Then, Zach and Corey took a nap. When they got up from their naps, the two of them went to go get a drink from the gas station together. Corey loves his Arizona Green Tea w/ Ginseng & Honey. They don't sell it at the grocery store so Corey has to go to the gas station to get it.

Yesterday, Corey turned 31!! Gretchen made his favorite muffins, banana w/ caramel on top, and made his favorite homemade mocha coffee that he likes. His Bible Study group came over to the house and they shared this breakfast with him and then had a good bible study. It started raining during their bible study and then it ended up pouring all day long. It was an answer to Corey's prayer b/c he always talks about how it NEVER rains. He likes his yard to look nice and green. Then, Corey got to play his video game all day long and then Gretchen and Corey studied Matthew 24 together for 2 hours.

Gretchen had made plans to go to dinner with our friends, Doug and Leslie and their 2 kids. So, we went to dinner at 4:30 p.m. Then, they were going to come back to our house and we were going to have some cake and ice cream. Well, Gretchen forgot the ice cream. So, Doug and Corey went to go get ice cream while Leslie and Gretchen went back to the house. While they were getting ice cream, Gretchen had secretly gotten his other friends and our neighbor to come over to the house for a surprise party for Corey's birthday. He was soooo surprised! He absolutely LOVED it!

Gretchen has been sick for the past week. She's had a lot of sinus pressure, headache and some coughing... not to mention the congestion. Zach has been sick as well with a really bad cough. Fortunately, they are both getting better now. Gretchen felt absolutely horrible and couldn't do anything with Zach. Zach was allowed to watch TV all day b/c all Gretchen could do is lay down. Corey did very well in helping with breakfast and trying to take care of Zach as much as he could even though he had to work. He also made dinner for everyone before he went to work. Gretchen felt some relief knowing that she didn't have to do some of those things and could just lay down.

Gretchen thought she was doing better and decided to help Corey wash/ clean the truck. (both inside and outside) After vaccuming the inside and cleaning everything inside, Gretchen didn't feel very good and had to lay down. Sometimes, we think we're better than we really are.

Corey had Bible Study at the house yesterday. Max decided to spray on the couch 15 minutes before everyone came over. So, Gretchen had to clean that up while Corey was finishing up edging the yard so that the guys would notice how nice the yard looked. lol Later in the afternoon, we watched "Left Behind III: World at War". It was really good!

Sorry there aren't any pictures. The website won't let us download them. We're contacting someone to find out what's wrong. :)

We woke up yesterday morning to cat spray on our black leather couch. Of course we knew who the culprit was.... MAX. He has done this before. Gretchen took him to the vet when we first moved down here b/c he was doing that. It turned out that he had a UTI. So, we had to give him some pills to kick the infection. It worked. He stopped spraying on the couch. We think it's a UTI again b/c he is going to the bathroom A LOT and he keeps cleaning a certain part of himself. So, Gretchen is taking him to the vet today. He's already sprayed the couch twice today.

While Gretchen is taking the cat to the vet, Corey is taking Zach and going to fill his scuba tanks. He's going scuba diving tomorrow and is SOOO excited. We're hoping that he will catch some fish that we can throw on the grill. Free food.... gotta love it! Corey just got a new spear gun that he REALLY wanted. This will be his first time trying it out.

The other night we went to a Japanese Steakhouse. It was Gretchen's first time going. It was really cool watching the guy cook in front of us and especially the fire that he had go right in front of us. Plus, he made a volcano out of an onion. It was fun and interesting. Zach seemed to really enjoy it. We went with our friends, Mike and Kim, and their 2 girls who are age 6 and 4. Zach seems to really like playing with their 2 girls.

There's a movie theatre that has free movies on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings during the summer for the kids. So, yesterday we went to see the movie "Polar Express". Gretchen brought some snacks for Zach in case he wasn't interested in the movie but he did really well. It was his first time at a movie theatre and he didn't budge once! He watched the ENTIRE movie and didn't want it to end when it did end. We think the big screen and the good movie contributed to his paying attention to it.

Corey got his birthday present early! Gretchen and Zach gave him a stainless steel grill. The old grill started smoking and almost burned the house down. So, we got him the grill that he wanted.

Can you believe it? We have been married 6 months TODAY! Wow! What a 6 months! It has definitely been a learning and adjusting time for both of us. As in every marriage, there are good times and bad times. For the most part, we really try to be sensitive to one another's feelings AND we try not to take each other for granted.

Some people will tell us that it's only like this b/c we're "Honeymooners". We agree to some extent but your relationship and your passion for one another is all in what you put into it AND it's about keeping Jesus as your center point. Jesus is the one who GUARANTEES that your relationship will be "till death do us part". The GREATEST attribute that Gretchen LOVES about Corey is how much he really tries to be like Jesus. He really tries to be humble and love Gretchen as Christ loves the church and gave Himself up for it. He is best at being a spiritual leader, not only to Gretchen but to Zach as well.

Our family is blending very well. Corey has really adjusted well to his role as both a Father and a Husband. Gretchen has adjusted, as well, to being a housewife and stay-at-home mom. She loves the time she gets to spend with Zach AND Corey. Although we love Zach and we focus mostly on raising him in a Godly manner, we make sure that our dedication and love for one another comes FIRST (after God). Zach will one day grow up and move out, then we're stuck with JUST each other. lol So, we make sure that we have that good balance and our priorities in the right order. It's probably harder for Gretchen than it is for Corey. :)

The ribs turned out VERY well. Gretchen liked them but wouldn't eat them on a regular basis. She likes chicken better. Corey LOVED them! He just HAD to take a picture of them.

Zach and Gretchen went to the YMCA today while Corey was sleeping. Corey is working nights this week. When Gretchen first took Zach to the Child Watch area, Zach didn't want to go in. We think he may have been overwhelmed by all the kids in there. After a few minutes, he seemed to warm up and Gretchen was able to go work out. Gretchen really enjoyed working out. She did an hour of cardio. When Gretchen went to pick Zach up, he didn't want to leave.