Sunday, December 8, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Our Engagement Story
I haven't blogged in AGES...I know. I've been busy between getting a full time job, buying a house, packing, moving, and renovations! Whew. I wanted to backtrack and post the story of our engagement back in 2011 so I will have a copy on the blog. Then eventually I will get around to blogging about our first home!
As most of you know, I grew up (for the most part) in Ohio. William and I had been dating almost 10 months but he had never been to Ohio and had only met one of my best friends, Sarah Harrison. I so badly wanted him to be able to meet the people that know me better than I know myself, so I began to plan a trip to Memphis, TN with my two best friends and their husbands. We chose Memphis because it was halfway between Texas and Ohio and only an 8 hour drive. My birthday was June 16th, so Will told me that my big present this year was going to be the cost of the trip.
When the day finally came, we planned to head out after William got off work at 3:30. Little did I know he was actually napping at his parent's house, where he had gone to pick up my ring. I met him at his apartment and he made up some excuse about needing a shower and took the longest shower ever. I was anxious to get on the road because I knew it would be after midnight when we got to Memphis (he was just stalling). We finally left, and Will told me we would have to stop by his work because he forgot his wallet (not true...), so we're driving toward Acura when he merges off the highway at the airport. SURPRISE number one! Poor Will, I was so confused and got a little upset asking if we were flying to Memphis instead (I love road trips, Will doesn't. I thought it was a cop out. Ha) He just told me to wait and see, so I of course kept bugging him with "Did they fly here?" "Are we flying to Ohio?" "What's going on???" We get to the parking garage and I put on my makeup (I wasn't going to waste it on a road trip!) and I found out we were indeed flying to Ohio! This is why he pulled all the stall tactics, because he knew we would make it to the airport a few hours early.
We flew into Dayton late Saturday night and Ben and Lisa Spahr met us at the airport. We went back to their house where Joe and Sarah Harrison soon met up with us. I was so excited because Will finally got to meet my best friends, and he just fit into the group so perfectly! The men ran to Walmart because William needed to buy a few things, and this is where the boys finalized the proposal details while we girls sat at home watching extreme couponing. Before everyone dispersed, they asked me what I wanted to do the next night and I said I wanted Marion's Piazza. They're sneaky...William had already planned to take me there before proposing because he knew it was my favorite, but they let me think I was the one to plan the day!
The next morning was a whirlwind of introductions. I took Will to Tim Hortons (stickin' to my Canadian roots) for coffee and Timbits before going to my old church to meet everyone. Then it was off to my hometown of Brookville, OH. The drive around Brookville took all of five minutes, but it was so exciting for me to be able to show him the high school, my old soccer fields that are now corn fields, the houses I grew up in, and our 3 stoplights. Yes 3 stoplights, it's a thriving place. Next William got to meet some of my family! We stopped by my Aunt and Uncle's house and surprised my Grandpa on father's day. After that It was off to Marion's for dinner with Ben, Lisa, Sarah, and Joe.
The pepperoni and sausage pizza was as incredible as ever, but Will didn't each much (if you know Will, you know this is RARE). While we were eating someone mentioned that we should go to Cox Arboretum after dinner to walk around because it was so nice out that evening. I of course, being the difficult person that I am, said that my stomach was hurting and I would rather just go back to Sarah and Joe's to play games. I was overruled, but didn't put up much of a fight and we headed to the beautiful gardens. When we got there we all chatted about how nice it was and how almost 5 years ago us girls had gotten our senior pictures taken there. We came up to a pond and stopped in front of some gorgeous hydrangeas (my favorite!!) to take some pictures. Somehow when we stopped, Ben had my camera and was ready to take pictures. I thought that it was odd, because Will was supposed to have it...but he shrugged it off saying he knew I would want pictures of us; which I did. So Ben started snapping away, then Joe whips out his iphone to take pictures of us too. I thought this was strange and wondered why Joe would want pictures of us (he was actually taking a video thinking Will was about to propose). While we were standing there taking pictures, I was hugging Will and felt him start to shake. This was what FINALLY clued me in that something was about to happen. The poor boy's knees were a knockin' still when we left that spot and continued on the path around the pond. About 20 yards away from that spot was a gazebo. Everyone made small talk as we headed towards it, everyone except Will who was silent. When we got closer William pulled me aside and led me into the gazebo where he proceeded to get down on one knee and pull out a ring more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed of. The next part is pretty much a blur because I was in shock. He told me that I had probably figured it out by now, but the trip to Ohio wasn't just a birthday trip, he had planned it for another reason. He told me he loved me and asked me to marry him, and I said, "Oh my gosh...YES!" And he put the ring on my finger!!!
It was the perfect proposal! My best friends and their husbands were there filming it and taking pictures. They left us alone for a few minutes then we walked over to them and they celebrated with us. As soon as we got back to the cars we called our families, and then tried to change our Facebook relationship status to "engaged" on our phones. It didn't work out too well so we fixed it later ;) June 19, 2011 is one of the happiest days of my life so far. It was perfect, but I know there are so many more perfect days ahead. I'm so thankful for William and what God has done in each of our lives to bring us to this place. We can't wait to start our lives together and pray that each step of this process is done in a way that brings glory and honor to Him!
He popped the question...
Sunday, June 19, 2011and she said "yes!"
I'm just going to preface this by saying I am the girl that is NEVER surprised, I figure everything out. However, William truly surprised me and I'm so glad that he did!As most of you know, I grew up (for the most part) in Ohio. William and I had been dating almost 10 months but he had never been to Ohio and had only met one of my best friends, Sarah Harrison. I so badly wanted him to be able to meet the people that know me better than I know myself, so I began to plan a trip to Memphis, TN with my two best friends and their husbands. We chose Memphis because it was halfway between Texas and Ohio and only an 8 hour drive. My birthday was June 16th, so Will told me that my big present this year was going to be the cost of the trip.
When the day finally came, we planned to head out after William got off work at 3:30. Little did I know he was actually napping at his parent's house, where he had gone to pick up my ring. I met him at his apartment and he made up some excuse about needing a shower and took the longest shower ever. I was anxious to get on the road because I knew it would be after midnight when we got to Memphis (he was just stalling). We finally left, and Will told me we would have to stop by his work because he forgot his wallet (not true...), so we're driving toward Acura when he merges off the highway at the airport. SURPRISE number one! Poor Will, I was so confused and got a little upset asking if we were flying to Memphis instead (I love road trips, Will doesn't. I thought it was a cop out. Ha) He just told me to wait and see, so I of course kept bugging him with "Did they fly here?" "Are we flying to Ohio?" "What's going on???" We get to the parking garage and I put on my makeup (I wasn't going to waste it on a road trip!) and I found out we were indeed flying to Ohio! This is why he pulled all the stall tactics, because he knew we would make it to the airport a few hours early.
We flew into Dayton late Saturday night and Ben and Lisa Spahr met us at the airport. We went back to their house where Joe and Sarah Harrison soon met up with us. I was so excited because Will finally got to meet my best friends, and he just fit into the group so perfectly! The men ran to Walmart because William needed to buy a few things, and this is where the boys finalized the proposal details while we girls sat at home watching extreme couponing. Before everyone dispersed, they asked me what I wanted to do the next night and I said I wanted Marion's Piazza. They're sneaky...William had already planned to take me there before proposing because he knew it was my favorite, but they let me think I was the one to plan the day!
The next morning was a whirlwind of introductions. I took Will to Tim Hortons (stickin' to my Canadian roots) for coffee and Timbits before going to my old church to meet everyone. Then it was off to my hometown of Brookville, OH. The drive around Brookville took all of five minutes, but it was so exciting for me to be able to show him the high school, my old soccer fields that are now corn fields, the houses I grew up in, and our 3 stoplights. Yes 3 stoplights, it's a thriving place. Next William got to meet some of my family! We stopped by my Aunt and Uncle's house and surprised my Grandpa on father's day. After that It was off to Marion's for dinner with Ben, Lisa, Sarah, and Joe.
The pepperoni and sausage pizza was as incredible as ever, but Will didn't each much (if you know Will, you know this is RARE). While we were eating someone mentioned that we should go to Cox Arboretum after dinner to walk around because it was so nice out that evening. I of course, being the difficult person that I am, said that my stomach was hurting and I would rather just go back to Sarah and Joe's to play games. I was overruled, but didn't put up much of a fight and we headed to the beautiful gardens. When we got there we all chatted about how nice it was and how almost 5 years ago us girls had gotten our senior pictures taken there. We came up to a pond and stopped in front of some gorgeous hydrangeas (my favorite!!) to take some pictures. Somehow when we stopped, Ben had my camera and was ready to take pictures. I thought that it was odd, because Will was supposed to have it...but he shrugged it off saying he knew I would want pictures of us; which I did. So Ben started snapping away, then Joe whips out his iphone to take pictures of us too. I thought this was strange and wondered why Joe would want pictures of us (he was actually taking a video thinking Will was about to propose). While we were standing there taking pictures, I was hugging Will and felt him start to shake. This was what FINALLY clued me in that something was about to happen. The poor boy's knees were a knockin' still when we left that spot and continued on the path around the pond. About 20 yards away from that spot was a gazebo. Everyone made small talk as we headed towards it, everyone except Will who was silent. When we got closer William pulled me aside and led me into the gazebo where he proceeded to get down on one knee and pull out a ring more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed of. The next part is pretty much a blur because I was in shock. He told me that I had probably figured it out by now, but the trip to Ohio wasn't just a birthday trip, he had planned it for another reason. He told me he loved me and asked me to marry him, and I said, "Oh my gosh...YES!" And he put the ring on my finger!!!
It was the perfect proposal! My best friends and their husbands were there filming it and taking pictures. They left us alone for a few minutes then we walked over to them and they celebrated with us. As soon as we got back to the cars we called our families, and then tried to change our Facebook relationship status to "engaged" on our phones. It didn't work out too well so we fixed it later ;) June 19, 2011 is one of the happiest days of my life so far. It was perfect, but I know there are so many more perfect days ahead. I'm so thankful for William and what God has done in each of our lives to bring us to this place. We can't wait to start our lives together and pray that each step of this process is done in a way that brings glory and honor to Him!
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Christmas Card
Hand Drawn Joy Religious Christmas Card
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Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Date Night
I'm just going to preface this by saying I obviously really like my mustard striped shirt, because I wore it a lot this fall! And you will see it again in these pictures--oops!
Will and I got a gift card to Texas de Brazil from our best man as a wedding gift! It was so thoughtful of him and we waited a long time to put it to use. Will made reservations for Friday night Nov. 2nd because his softball team had a bye week. It also happened to be our 8 month anniversary making it extra special. It was a gorgeous night and this was our view as we drove into downtown Ft. Worth.
I love my husband, he's so handsome--and he's all mine!
Some of the leftover meat on my plate. I'm not going to lie, I don't think I'm a very big fan of lamb. The flank steak is BY FAR my favorite thing! Poor Will had a little trouble with the name "flank" steak.
I almost had this tootsie pop for dessert, but apparently at fine establishments like this, cheesecake is more suitable. Oh and those cinnamon bananas that clear your palate-- AMAZING!
Dulce de leche cheesecake was amazing, but we had to take most of it home.
After dinner we stopped by Starbucks to grab a coffee and walked around downtown.
We even walked past this place, where we were married exactly 8 months before!
While we were at dinner Will got this really excited look on his face and told me that he had something he needed to tell me. It sounded serious, but he didn't look serious. He said that he had booked tickets for us, back in August, to fly to Ohio to meet baby Jude Thursday the 8th. BEST HUSBAND EVER AWARD!! He is so good to me. The Lord really blessed me when He gave me Will. I am so undeserving of Will, but even more so undeserving of the love of a Savior who took my place and died for me. I am reminded daily of His love because of my husband. Will had been so excited about the secret trip. He planned it for a week after Jude's due date, but because Jude was almost a month early, we didn't get to meet him till he was 5 weeks old. I had even been pretty rotten towards Will because I wanted to be with Ben, Lisa, and the baby so badly right after he was born. All the while he was just patiently waiting to surprise me with the tickets. Love him.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Halloween-ween
If you haven't seen the new ABC comedy "The Neighbors" then the title of this post may not make sense. The show is pretty funny. It is about an American family teaching some alien's how to live like humans, and the aliens just so happen to call halloween, halloween-ween. Anyways, we don't really celebrate halloween but thought it was a good excuse to dress up and have a little get together with some friends this year! Will did a great job decorating the apartment while Haley and I cooked up a storm in the kitchen! We had it on a Tuesday, the night before hallowen, and ended up staying up way past our bed times.
This little guy was our cutest guest. I loved his little bones outfit (technically they were pajamas, but who puts pajamas on their dog? That's just mean!)
My boss let us borrow a lot of her decorations. She got this candelabra at an estate sale and it is absolutely gorgeous! The silver was tarnished so it fit in great as a decoration.
The food table! We had mummy dogs (hot dogs wrapped in crescent dough), seven layer taco dip with a sour cream spider web on top, dirt pudding with gummy worms, chips and queso, a veggie tray, cupcakes, and pumpkin bread. Haley also brought a yummy sangria, and at about 10:00 the ladies made a pot of coffee to keep us awake, haha!
Some decorations.
We had a homeless man show up, oh wait, that's just Allen.
Will was Mayhem from the All-state commercials. I was a Martin High School cheerleader (thanks, Hannah!)
Cupcakes!!
We had a great time with great friends!
Fall Happenings
I've already talked a little bit about how much I love fall. I do, I'm crazy about it. It is such a beautiful season. This year we took fall family pictures and they turned out so good--thanks Andrew Czap!
Fall in Texas is a bit different than fall in Ohio, but as a new little family we wanted to start some fun traditions. We were in grapevine and drove past a little pumpkin patch, but it was SO crowded! I mean throngs of people crossing the streets everywhere and parking far away in the neighborhoods, so we decided to hunt for another place. We ended up going to the pumpkin patch in Colleyville off Hall Johnson, Hall's Pumpkin Farm. It was much less crowded, and even had a corn maze that was bigger than I expected. This was Will's first corn maze experience (oh the shame!! ) and he LOVED it! Next year maybe we will go to a real one in Ohio that takes more than 15 minutes to get through!!
Getting started in the little $5 maze.
Which way do we go??
They had some huge pumpkins!
And cute little cut outs for pictures. Do you see that little crowd of people in the background? We followed a sign that said "Farm Animals" and walked way out there to see a goat and a pig. Fabulous. Haha!
We had so much fun acting like little kids and just enjoying the beautiful day together!
I love this man, even if he is bad at taking pictures in the sun:)
Texas State Fair
I'm a Texan now. And as a Texan it is my duty to attend the great Texas State Fair and eat all of the fried foods I possibly can. So that is exactly what we did on Sunday, October 14th. We have sort of made it a tradition to go with the Mitchell's. This tradition has nothing to do with the free tickets they provide, it is because we love them!;) Chris and Haley really are amazing friends, and we do love them! This year we parked in Grand Prairie and rode in on the TRE. It was great not having to deal with any traffic, and much cheaper than paying for parking! While I was in the shower, hubs ran to Einstein Bros Bagels to get breakfast. Pumpkin bagel with pumpkin spice cream cheese...he is the best!
We were so excited about the fair! And the weather was absolutely perfect that day! This is us riding into Dallas on the TRE.
First things first-- a picture with Big Tex! We are glad we got this picture because he burned down that Friday. Electrical fire--oops!
And this is the ridiculously long line for a Fletcher's corny dog! My favorite food at the fair. We waited and got them later on the day because this line was crazy!
MMMmmm and here it is! Mustard is the ONLY way to eat them. I am not much of a ketchup person.
It looks like Boris has eaten way too much fair food. He is LARGE!
We spend most of the fair walking around looking at exhibits and listening to to live music. Oh, and eating plenty of fried food. Don't judge us but this year between the two of us we ate frito pie, sausage on a stick, fried autumn pumpkin pie, two lemonade shake ups, and two corny dogs. Yum. And yuck, all at the same time! We usually ride the Texas Star but we had a train home to catch. We will see you next year, great State Fair of Texas!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Jude Walter Spahr
Tuesday, October 2nd was a crazy and amazing day. I found out while I was at lunch that one of my very best friends, Lisa, was being tested for pre-eclampsia. Less than an hour later her husband, Ben, texted me to let me know that they were going in for an emergency C-Section and their baby boy would be there within an few hours. My emotions were ALL over the place that day. I teared up I don't know how many times and just prayed and prayed for peace and safety for all three of them. It was really difficult for me to be 1,000 miles and not be able to be there physically to support them.
Precious Jude Walter Spahr was born at 4:01 on October 2nd, 2012 weighing 6lbs 3oz. His due date was October 29th so he was 36 weeks along, but after delivering they decided he was actually only 34 weeks. Y'all that is a big baby for only 34 weeks! If carried to full term he could have been 10 or 11 lbs. He is the most beautiful little baby boy, and I am so in love.
Because he was born so early, Jude's lungs struggled a bit. He has been on and off of a ventilator and has a feeding tube. He was taken to the Nicu while Lisa was take to post op for a few hours. On Thursday he was transferred to Children's Medical Center in Dayton where he is doing fantastic! Lisa was discharged on Friday and is now able to be there with him. Pray for this family as Jude continues to strengthen and grow. Ben did not even get to hold his son for a few days, and I know that was so hard on him! God is gracious and we are so thankful for this new little life!
I am so excited to be "Aunt Rachel" to baby Jude. I'm just waiting for the day that I get to go to Ohio and hold him!! How sweet is this new little family? And how AMAZING does Lisa look just days after having a baby?! Not fair ;)
Precious Jude Walter Spahr was born at 4:01 on October 2nd, 2012 weighing 6lbs 3oz. His due date was October 29th so he was 36 weeks along, but after delivering they decided he was actually only 34 weeks. Y'all that is a big baby for only 34 weeks! If carried to full term he could have been 10 or 11 lbs. He is the most beautiful little baby boy, and I am so in love.
Because he was born so early, Jude's lungs struggled a bit. He has been on and off of a ventilator and has a feeding tube. He was taken to the Nicu while Lisa was take to post op for a few hours. On Thursday he was transferred to Children's Medical Center in Dayton where he is doing fantastic! Lisa was discharged on Friday and is now able to be there with him. Pray for this family as Jude continues to strengthen and grow. Ben did not even get to hold his son for a few days, and I know that was so hard on him! God is gracious and we are so thankful for this new little life!
I am so excited to be "Aunt Rachel" to baby Jude. I'm just waiting for the day that I get to go to Ohio and hold him!! How sweet is this new little family? And how AMAZING does Lisa look just days after having a baby?! Not fair ;)
This little life is such a sweet gift and he has been entrusted to the BEST parents who adore him! Please pray for their family and that my little "nephew" Jude would be able to go home soon!
Birthday Boy
It's the start of birthday season around here. Will's birthday is October 8th, and my mom's is exactly a week later on the 15th. Then we have one birthday a month through January. Will had been talking for weeks about wanting an ipad for his birthday, and since the iphone 5 was coming out soon I decided to give it to him early. I'm not a huge fan of crowds and I know that Apple stores are CROWDED when a new iphone comes out! When we went to get his ipad, we ran into DeMarcus Ware, a linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys. You bet I creeped and took a picture! Ha.
On Saturday, October 6th, I invited some of Will's
friends to a party at Joe T. Garcia's and then back to the apartment for cake.
We had 16 people and it was pretty chilly that night because a cold front had
come through making it 55 degrees. That would have been perfectly fine if it
wasn't an outdoor restaurant! Luckily they have heaters so it turned out great!
Sorry this picture is bright and blurry, its the only one I have of us!
We took a panoramic picture while waiting in line and
my brother, Kyle, moved during the picture. Look what it did to his head! HA
hilarious :) Now I just need to update my iphone so I can take these awesome pictures!
I was lazy this year, and luckily my husband LOVES
cookie cakes, so that's what we had!
I couldn't find my birthday candles so we lit a tea light. Whatever works, right?
Monday was Will's actual birthday, so after he went to bed on Sunday night I tried to make it look a bit festive for when he woke up! Monday is probably the worst day to have a birthday, so I hope it made his day a bit brighter.
We have a tradition, passed down from my Aunt and Uncle, to wake up the
birthday boy/girl on their birthday by singing happy birthday while
bringing them a muffin with a candle for them to blow out. So I secretly
bought some chocolate chip muffins and woke him up this way. I can't
wait to continue this tradition with our little family! Monday night after work we went to Trail Dust Steak House for his birthday dinner. He got his favorite, chicken fried steak. Can I just say that I didn't know what chicken fried steak was until I met my husband! Then again, I didn't know what an avocado was until I was 20!
I just love my husband and I am so thankful for him! He is so patient with me and loving. He is a gift and I am excited to see what the Lord does in him, and in our relationship this year!
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