Happy 1st Anniversary Josh & Amanda!

 The whole family...Grant & Weston, Dad, Josh, Amanda, Mom & Me w/ William :)

My sister doesn't blog, but I know she reads my blog, so this one is for her! During high school, Amanda and I really disliked one another. I remember one time in particular that I was so mad at her for something, and I was just crying in the living room to my parents about how I wanted her to just leave or I wanted to leave, I can't remember. We definitely had our moments and high school wasn't a time that I'm proud of...we did not have a strong relationship. I'm grateful that as time passed, and we both grew up and matured that we've grown close. Not only is she my sister, but she is now my best friend.

Beautiful couple...Amanda & Josh

 

Last year on April 30th, 2011, Amanda married Josh. Josh is a wonderful brother in law, and he is always fun to be around. I'm so happy for Amanda and Josh! They've found a best friend in one another and are a wonderful, loving couple.

 Our family...Dad, Mom, Amanda, Me w/ Weston & William, Grant

Congratulations Amanda and Josh! We love you both so much, and we are so grateful that you are such a huge part of our lives and the lives of our boys. Amanda and Josh make a constant effort to visit us and see us and always are present for important events in our lives. No matter the distance, they make every effort to be there. We currently live about 3 hours apart, yet, Amanda and/or Josh have been at both Weston and William's births, both boys baptisms and both Weston's 1st and 2nd birthdays. I know that no matter where life takes them, they'll always be a huge part of our lives. Our boys LOVE "Aunt Anya" and "Uncle Gosh"!

 

Our little family...Grant & Weston and Me pregnant with William

Best Buddies

During our time in Athens, we were blessed to have met some of our closest friends through the in-home daycare that Weston attended. He spent his days with Ms. Mary, and we were so blessed to have her in our lives. She taught Weston so many things, and she loved him like he was her own. We love Ms. Mary, and we make a point to visit her when we go back to Athens and keep in touch regularly!

 

Weston & Brady rocking after Dinner at Bubba Garcia's on SSI

We were also blessed to have met the Smith Family. They also sent their little boy, Brady, to Ms. Mary during the day, and he is two weeks younger than Weston. He and Weston love one another and talk about each other constantly! Now that we are far apart, they seem to talk about one another more, so it's so much fun when we can get our families together. The best part is that we now both have two little boys. Their second son, Anderson, was born three weeks before William. 

 

All four of our boys (L to R): Weston, Brady, William & Anderson

Last week, Andrea was on Spring Break, and they made a trip to St. Simon's Island to visit. We were able to get together twice during their visit, and we took a couple of photos. It was a great visit, and we are so grateful for their friendship. When we are with them, I miss Athens and our friends there so much, and I pray that one day we will live close to this family again. If not, I hope that we can make it a point to get together once or twice each year and visit. I know that regardless of where life takes us, we will stay friends.

 

William & Anderson

The Dating Diva's have changed my life...

Luckily, Grant and I have always had a solid marriage. We've had so many "life events" since our wedding in 2009, that we really haven't had much time for arguing and disagreements. Yes, we've had some for sure, especially during my hormonal pregnancies; however, life has been good, and we tend to agree and get along well. However, those "life events" have also not given us the time to connect and nurture our relationship as husband and wife. Sure, we've grown as parents and responsible adults, but we've not spent time time growing our relationship.

We haven't made the time for weekly or even monthly dates since Weston was born, especially not since William was born, and we moved five hours away from friends and family. It's been tough...then enters "The Dating Divas". I can't remember where I first heard of the website, and I think it may have been Pinterest; however, I found it, and it's changed my life and my relationship with Grant. We don't spend time sharing and talking about our interests...in reality most of our "talks" revolve around work, kids and schedules.

Here is a brief synopsis of the things that we've learned and implemented:
- Weekly Date Nights - Though most are spent at home after the boys are in bed, but we still devote that time to one another and doing something we enjoy!

- 10 Minutes a Day - We spend 10 minutes per day talking about whatever we want to talk about, five minutes each, and we have to talk about something besides work, kids and schedules. You'd be surprised how difficult that really is.

- Put your spouse first, do something small for one another every day, rely on one another, confide in one another, stop the nagging and the list goes on...

We've learned so much and from daily visits to their website and reading their e-book, "The A to Z Guide: 26 Ways in 26 Days to a Happier, Healthier Marriage", our lives have been changed! We are now striving to be the marriage that our friends and families want to model their relationships after! If you haven't done so already, check out The Dating Divas website and facebook page now!

 Grant and I during our 1st Dance after our wedding in May 2009

The best "things" that ever happened to me...

These boys light up my life and make me smile when I'm having a bad day! I can't believe I'm a mommy of two sweet little boys. Though they both have their moments and challenge me daily, we have more good moments than bad, and I'm so grateful for the blessing of their little lives.

Psalm 127:3-5  Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Here we go again...

I've started and stopped many blogs over the years...I can't remember when it all started, but I've been a lover of blogs and blogging since high school. I think my first blog was created using Xanga, and I think I was a junior or senior in high school then.

For a number of reasons over the years, I've closed my blogs or ended them or just stopped posting on them without an explanation, and I'm planning for this to be the last time. I'm not sure where I'm going to go with this blog, but I need a place to share and an outlet to write and ramble about life!

So, here I go on a new journey on a new blog...I'm Rachel, and first and foremost, I'm a wife to Grant. He's our rock, and the center of our family. Secondly, I'm a mother to the most awesome little boys I could ever ask for, Weston (2 years) and William (7 months). We recently moved five hours away from the place that Grant and I grew up in, and we are now living at the beach. We are making new friends and learning our way around, as well as, adjusting to life without family nearby and with two little boys that rule our world.