Fiasco

The keys have been lost for 5 hours now... 5 LONG hours. At first it wasn't too bad, searching my parents house for the Navigator keys but now its to the point of exasperation. Aaron, Chris, Dalton and I were supposed to take my parents car back to Waco because we're going to drive to Amarillo tomorrow night (the heater in Aaron's car isn't working and its 30* in Amarillo). We were all ready to go at 4:00 when my dad realized that he couldn't find keys. We searched the house for OVER 2 hours and nothing turned up. My dad finally gave in and called a locksmith and guess how much its going to cost to get a replacement key made....$180. Yep, crazy huh? Especially considering that we don't even need the locksmith to unlock the car because the Navigator has one of those touch pads on the outside, all we need is a key to start the motor. The locksmith came over an hour ago and he's still outside working. We're loving getting to spend extra time with my family, but we need to get to Waco. I'm pretty sure that this is all part of some elaborate plan to get us to spend the night in Rockwall - My parents would just love that!

Oh and today we celebrated Christmas with my family. I got a lot of wonderful gifts, but my sweet husband gave me the best one.... A giraffe print purse that I've been eyeing forever!

REJ

Merry Christmas.... Love, The Johnsons

White Rock and White Christmas

Last weekend was a bast, but I think it left me feeling more tired than refreshed. Saturday was the WHITTLE FAMILY CHRISTMAS. Every year about 65 - 70 of my relatives got together at my parents house and we eat, play games, and exchange gifts. This year we did a white elephant gift exchange and I got the game "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" Its pretty fun...but honestly its a little too easy (not for me..I got most of the questions wrong, but all the other adults were doing great)

Then on Sunday morning I walked the White Rock 1/2 Marathon with two of my favorite people in Waco - Kim Scott and Jennifer Baker. We also used to be involved with the BU Spirit Squads and even though we don't do that together anymore, we've all stayed great friends. We woke up bright and eary on Sunday, donned our running gear, and headed out to Dallas. Unfortunately nobody told us that it was going to be 38* and drizzling - Ughhhh my hands went numb the second I stepped outside. I got so cold that I put on someone's discarded beenie just to keep my ears warm. Yeah, I know its sorta gross...I found the beenie laying beside the gutter on the streets of Dallas but I was seriously THAT COLD. We did have an awesome time just hanging out and talking for about 3 1/2 hours. And even though we walked 13.1 miles...I really felt like I could have kept going. I've already talked to my mom and I think she and I maywalk/jog one in the Spring. I did have to stop for a sandwhich half way through (that's how you know you're a little piggy - you stop for a sandwhich halfway through a marathon!) I mean, I was hungry..what can I say. There was a 7 Eleven and so I stopped and it sure was worth that extra 2 minutes it cost me.

Kim Scott's birthday was yesterday, so I want to give a little shout out to her. She is an amazing woman and I don't know if I would have made it through college without her guidance. I love her and I am so thankful for her friendship!

In other news...Aaron and I are hosting a Christmas Party at our house tomorrow night. And how many people are coming? Well, I'm glad you asked.... 70! Yeah, don't ask me what we're going to do - in fact, we don't even really have a plan. Our house will only hold about 20 and thats pushing it. It was supposed to be a Come and Go Church Christmas Party, but all of the sudden the entire church decided to carpool together and that means that they will ALL arrive here at exactly the same time (YIKES). We are just going to hope for cold weather, build a bonfire out back, and try to shoo people outside to sit around the bonfire.

I'll let you know how it goes....

Pace,
Rachael

13.1 Miles

I don't really have time for a post, but I wanted to let all of you know that the White Rock 1/2 Marathon went really well.... I even had time for a sandwich at Mile 7 : )

Christmas Questions

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Definitely wrapping paper - I think wrapping gifts makes Christmas more fun

2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial, but I LOVE real ones too!

3. When do you put up the tree? This is our first year to have a tree and we put it up Thanksgiving weekend

4. When do you take the tree down? Hmmmm don't know yet

5. Do you like eggnog? Love Love Love it!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Go Kart

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yup

8. Hardest person to buy for? My brother in law Chris

9. Easiest person to buy for? Aaron (or myself - lol)

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? An ugly belt with sparkles all over it... I think I got it in 4th grade, but I remember loathing the very idea of wearing it

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Love Actually or the Holiday - I know these aren't classics, but they're SOO good

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I actually just bought the first of the presents Wednesday night. Next year I'm going to start shopping in October so I can hit up all of the good sales

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Egg Nog, Buckeyes (homemade chocolate, caramel, and peanut butter candies) and Summer Sausage

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Either

17. Favorite Christmas song? Carol of the Bells, Oh Holy Night, Angels We Have Heard on High, Silent Night, We Three Kings, Little Drummer Boy... I love them ALL

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We ALWAYS travel... in fact I've only had Christmas at home ONE time in my entire life - weird huh?

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Hmmm... Rudolph, Dancer, Prancer, Comet, Vixen, Cupid, Dasher, Donner (How many are there)

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Open one present on Christmas Eve (always pj's) and then the rest on Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Greed and Business

23. What I love most about Christmas? Getting to spend time with family and I love all of the holiday parties!!!!

Life's Funny Like That

Well we had an awkward / funny moment today....

Every month or so Chris is supposed to meet with his CASA worker. Now CASA workers are Court Appointed Special Advocates and their purpose is to check on foster children and then represent them in court as an outside, but very informed source. (Ex..If a foster parent abuses their foster child, the foster child can tell their CASA worker and then the CASA worker will be a witness for the child once it gets to court) Anyways, I got a call yesterday at work from Chris' CASA worker. He introduced himself and told me that his name was Eric and that he was coming to Waco on Saturday and wanted to know if we had time for him to come by and check in on Chris. I told him that it was fine and then started to give him directions to our house. He sort of stopped me in the middle of my directions and told me that he used to live in Waco and that he was sure that he could find our place just fine. So to make a long story short...We agreed to meet Saturday at 4:00 pm.

Okay fast forward to last night...we all went bowling in the SUB and as we were leaving we decided to head over to Common Grounds because one of my friends bands was playing (yea-Chris Pearson!) and I wanted Chris to get a little taste of Baylor life. While we were waiting in line we saw tons of flyers for the band Quiet Lovely that said they were playing a show the next day. Now, two of Aaron's really good friends (Jonathan - a really good friend & Eric - a friend through Jonathan) are in that band and Aaron got kind of ticked because his friends hadn't let him know that they were coming into town to play a show. So Aaron told Chris all about his friends that were in the band and how cool they were, all of their fun college adventures, and how Jonathan was in our wedding ect....

While we were sitting around drinking our frozen Milky Way's last night, Chris told us all about his CASA worker and how cool he was. He told us about how Eric would sometimes buy him video games, UT stuff, or other little presents. We talked for a while and became apparent that Chris really liked his CASA worker and it was kind of fun hearing about the bond they'd formed over the past couple years.

Okay now fast forward to 4:00 this afternoon... I'm looking at the clock thinking "the CASA worker should be here any second." All of the sudden we here a knock on the door and when Aaron goes to open it, I hear him say "Heeeyyy, what's up dude..." So I'm kind of upset with my husband for handling our first meeting with the CASA guy so unprofessionally (I mean we're supposed to act like parents - know what I mean?) So anyways, Aaron's going on and on about how great it is for this guy to stop by and how he's missed seeing him. And I'm still thinking that my husband is acting REALLY weird and all of the sudden Eric walked in and I realized that Eric isn't just some CASA guy, he's also Eric the guy that plays the drums for Quiet Lovely / Eric the guy who's bed I sleep in when we go to Austin and stay at his house. CRRRAAAZZZY!

Lets just say that it was hilariously funny and really awkward for about the next 5 minutes as we all tried to be friendly and business like at the same time. Finally we just gave up and just hung out like usual. So after that whole story...here's what it boils down to

1. Quiet Lovely had a show at CG's, so Eric thought that he might as well see Chris since he was in town.

2. Eric didn't realize that we are foster parents.... especially foster parents to one of "his" kids.

3. We didn't know that Eric worked for CASA

4. Aaron thought that Eric was just stopping by since he was in Waco for the Quiet Lovely concert...he had no idea that Eric was Chris' CASA worker

4. Chris didn't know that his CASA worker was in a punk rock band

5. I laughed for a good 5 minutes about the fact that I'd slept (several times) in Chris' CASA worker's bed. (It just seems weird)

I don' t know if I did a good job explaining everything - but how random right????

delay

I'm sorry. I've been very slow about blogging lately and I know that you are all just dying to hear about life in Waco...so let me help you catch up.

Thanksgiving was awesome! After getting off to a slow start (Aaron had to finish some stuff up at the church on Wednesday night) we drove from Waco to Rockwall, but we got stuck in TONS of 1-35 traffic the whole way there. Chris slept through most of the drive...Vader threw up twice...and Aaron doesn't have heat in his car. So, yeah the drive was not my favorite but thankfully it only takes an hour and a half to get there. We had dinner with my family on Wednesday night and then my brother Grant took Chris around Rockwall to meet some of his old high school buddies. Aaron and I just spent the evening talking with my little sis and parents. On Thursday my mom and I power walked (Sara Whittle can POWERwalk!), then I made a pecan pie, then some cousins came over Thanksgiving Dinner. It was pretty chill this year because only one family of cousins came over (there were only 17 people) usually when we all get together the number gets up to near 80 or so. That afternoon we went to see "Dan In Real Life" which is now my new favorite movie. Its HILARIOUS good clean humor - Go See It! I honestly can't really remember what we did on Friday...hmmm..nope don't know. But, on Friday night we made a big bonfire out on our land and about 25 people came, hung out, and made smores. One of my very best friends and her husband came which made it a great night. Then on Saturday we went and ate lunch down at the Harbour and then headed back to Waco. So yeah, it was a great Thanksgiving Break!

This week has already been crazy and I have a feeling that with the holidays approaching I'm only going to get busier and busier! I had to go to Temple on Monday to take a HUGE test. It was similar to the PSAT and the math section made me want to cry. But, I did my best so hopefully I'll pass. Then yesterday I found out that my boss is leaving the WRBN and taking a job at Truett to be the Director of Development (pretty much he'll be in charge of raising scholarship money for people like my husband). I'm so excited for him, but I'm really nervous for the Waco Regional Baptist Network and for myself. My boss was SO laid back and just really great to work for. I'm really going to have to start praying that my new boss is sort of the same! Oh and with him leaving...guess who that leaves to run the office....ummm me. Yep, I've only worked here for 6 months and already I'm going to be in charge. CRAZY!

Well, Aaron is waiting to take me to lunch - I LOVE him!

RJ

A couple more

hehehehehe

true love

White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha (mmmmm yum)

I 'm not a big Starbucks fan. In fact, I don't even really like coffee that much except during Christmas. See, that's when Starbucks brings out all of their very best holiday drinks: Gingerbread Latte, Eggnog Latter, Peppermint Mocha, and now...White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha!

If you haven't had one yet - you're going to love the indulgence

almost the BIG day

Here comes Turkey Day, Here comes Turkey Day...with lots of gravy on the side. Family and friends, and all the relatives wanting to stop by... (this is the song I made up about Thanksgiving. Its sort of to the tune of "Here Comes Santa Claus")

Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays. In fact I probably like it even more than Christmas. I think its because Christmas around the Whittle house is always jam packed with activity after activity. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is a great time to chill, eat, and watch some football. Oh, and I love the Macy's Day Parade...when I get up for it. This year Thanksgiving has taken on a whole new meaning. I mean I'm in to the piligrims and indians and so forth, but I'm really starting to see a whole new meaning behind Thanksgiving. How cool is it that we can set aside an entire day to be with family and friends and just be thankful for everything God has blessed us with. Aaron and I love the moments where we are overcome with thankfulness for the Lord. I really hope that true thanksgiving will be our focus on Thursday. It's going to be pretty hard to keep that focus because the turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes are going to put up a hard fight...but I think we can do it.

Hooray for turkey, Hooray for stuffing, Hooray for family, and Hooray for true Thanksgiving!

Team Mom

Last night was Chris' first basketball practice. The coach called yesterday morning and asked if we would let Chris stay after school and practice with the team. Of course our answer was yes - Aaron and I always talk about how exciting it is going to be to watch our kids play sports and now we finally get to do that! I can't wait to buy some spirit apparel and maybe even one of those little buttons with Chris' picture in it!

After work I drove over to the Junior High to pick Chris up and there was a little confusion about where the 8th grade boys were practicing. As I was making my 3rd trip around the school looking for some sign of basketball practice, I noticed another mom trying to get into the building. I let her in and asked her if she knew where the 8th grade boys practiced bball. She said that she had two sons on the team (she has twins!) and that they usually practiced in the Junior High gym, but that maybe they had walked over to the Primary School. We decided to walk through the blistering wind to go see if the boys were over there. As we walked, we started talking and let me tell ya'll ....this mom is so cool and nice. If I had to guess, I would say that she is in her late 20's / early 30's, but who knows. Her name is Courtney and she lives right up the street from us. We decided to switch phone numbers and maybe do some carpooling since we live SO close.

Now this might not sound so exciting to any of you...but it has been really difficult to become friends with people that live near us. Everyone that I'm friends with lives on the other side of Waco and it takes me nearly 30 minutes just to get to their house (yes, Kim and EJ I'm talking about ya'll) I do have a good friend that lives near the Baylor campus, but she's almost never in town and she's leaving for a 4 month internship in DC soon. I really want to become friends with some women that have awesome husbands that Aaron can become friends with. We honestly have 0 couple friends that live in Waco. Actually I take that back - We sort of have two different sets couple friends that live in Waco / Hillsbourgh, but in both sets the wives are nurses and work nights so we never get to see them.

Anyways...this little post has shown me that I need to make more of an effort to maintain the friendships that I do have in Waco and I need to get out there and start meeting people on our side of town.

C Bluff represent - woot woot!
Rachael

24-13=11

Hi everyone,

I'm sure that you are all at least a little interested in how things are going now that Aaron and I are parents to a 13 year old boy. Well....To be completely honest, things are going GREAT! Chris seems to really fit in the Johnson household. He and Aaron have a lot in common - Everything from their love of football all the way down to they both like mayo on their sandwiches. He's really outgoing and talkative, was really involved in his old youth group, and likes animals (which is great since we are pretty much starting a small farm in our backyard)

Today was his first day of school at Connally Junior High and I think he was a bit nervous, but I would be too. Middle school can be tough! When we went to enroll him yesterday there was this poor little nerdy kid that came into the office and literally dropped the 5 books and spirals that he was trying to carry. And guess what he was coming to the office for: Yep, he'd lost his glasses and wanted to know if the janitors had turned them in. Anyways, hopefully Chris will have it a little more together than that kid : )

Aaron and I are slowly adjusting to parental communication - yeah, friends..get ready for it. Its kind of weird because I now understand how difficult it is for parents to communicate and why so many fights break out. I mean, we've only been doing this for 2 days and already we've had trouble adjusting our schedules to meet eachothers needs and to meet Chris' needs.

Ooops... I'm late for a work meeting - More tomorrow!

Countdown

This time tomorrow night Aaron and I will be parents to a thirteen year old boy... YIKES! The countdown has officially begun.

Homecoming and 1st Sunday

Waiting

Hello little bloggy friends....

Well, I've got some news that I just know you've all been waiting for. The time has come for Aaron and I to finally have a foster child placed in our home. We found out yesterday afternoon that there is a 13 year old boy named Chris that needs a family. We had really always said that we wanted an elementary age child, but Chris actually meets that request because he's in the 4th grade. So......after a lot of prayer and discussion, we are going to go ahead with everything and just keep looking to God for guidance.

This is HUGE. I mean really HUGE. The caseworkers think they are going to bring Chris up to Waco tomorrow afternoon and so starting tomorrow I will become a mother. wow. This is something that we've prayed about, talked about, taken classes on, but when it finally comes time for it to happen everything can be a little intimidating. Deep down we are really excited, but there is just so much that is unkown about him. We don't even really know what he looks like - The reports we received said two totally different things. In one report he was 5'2 and in the other one he was 5'9. (yeah a 5'9 4th grader...?). The reports try to give us a clue into his personality, but there really isn't a way to know him until we meet him. So, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE say a prayer for us this evening!

Oh wait... I seriously just now got a call from our case manager and they are going to bring Chris up on Monday. So, we have a few more days to prepare (whew!).

RJ

Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

I just thought everyone would like to know that I FINALLY brought something "home made" to potluck dinner....And it was fabulous. In fact, I might even venture to claim that it was the most popular dish there! For over a year now, I have been wussing out and buying pre-made items to bring to different functions but now everything is going to be different.

Hip Hip Hooray to broc and cheese! (and to my mother in law for the recipe)

Tradition

If you've ever seen the play "Fiddler on the Roof, " you'll probably remember a song titled "Tradition." Its the opening song and its sung by the main character Tevye. Its a great song and when I wrote the title to today's blog the song popped up in my head and I'm pretty sure that I'll be singing it for the rest of the night.

Anways.. I've been thinking a lot about traditions because Aaron and I are a little family of two, but someday we hope to have a posse of little rascals. Now growing up my family always made fun of me because I was SO into traditions. I remember crying when my mom told my sister Katie that she could where pants to church instead of a skirt. Those tears were not flowing because I felt God was dishonored by pantaloons... oh no, it was just that we had always worn skirts to church and what was the world going to come to if we stopped wearing them. And for your information., as embarrassing as this is.. I was in middle school.

Okay, back to the whole point of today's post - This weekend is Baylor's Homecoming. Aaron's family is coming in town to celebrate and I'm so excited to see them. We are going to have a great time going out to dinner, playing games, and showing them around our new church. The only problem is... nobody really cares much about the traditional Homecoming activities that are going on this weekend. Nobody but me that is. I love the Friday night bonfire and pep rally... I wait all year for SING and the happy little costumed dancers...And how could someone sleep through Waco's biggest parade? I'm a little worried that if we don't attend these events this year, then we might never attend them...because after all, traditions have to be started sometime, right?

Now, for those of you that go/went to Baylor you probably think I'm crazy for wanting to attend these activities...but you have to remember that I used to be a Baylor Cheerleader and I pretty much live for this kind of stuff.

HHHHeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyy SIC'Em Bears!
REJ

Lometa Fall Festival

Skyler and I were in charge of the tattoo booth


















Me and Cheyenne both look scary in this picture.. At least her crazy look comes from the makeup. Mine is au natural.


















Who knew that the toughest kid in LO would dress up like a blue bunny???


















Cheyenne and her sweet nephew






















Me and my girl Willow. I taught her in Sunday School this last year... She is CRAAAZY, but in a good way!























I love you Christopher!!!


















Jess, me, and Skyler or as we are better known....Football Fan, Prarie Girl, Butterfly Princess























Little Skyler in his too small costume - I wanted to take this little nugget back to Waco with me. He's absolutely adorable and I'm going to miss him so much!


















Me and the Goth Princesses...otherwise known as Shawnee, Crystal, and Shelley

No Words

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ! The ladies at church decided to make Aaron's Fall Festival costume. Should I be worried that they made him something so fruity? I think this was their revenge for us leaving Lometa

Care Net

Tonight I'm volunteering at Care Net Pregnancy Center. I've been volunteering there for about a year and I absolutely love it!

"The mission of Care Net is to facilitate the delivery of valuable, life-affirming, evangelistic ministry to people facing unplanned pregnancies and related sexual issues. We carry out this mission by supporting the largest network of pregnancy centers in North America and by operating the Option Line call center and website that assists women in need 24/7."

My job at CareNet is client intake... I don't know if that's the official title for what I do, but that's pretty much what I do. On Tuesday evenings from 5:00 to 7:30 I usually talk with two or three clients. While their free pregnancy test is being run, I talk with them about their background and sexual history. Then I go check their pregnancy test and we go from there.

If the are pregnant we start discussing options... like whether they are going to keep the baby, place it to be adopted, or whether they are considering an abortion. We are definitely against abortions, but its important for a woman to know all of her options so that she can make the best decision. Abortion clinics don't tell the woman anything... all they say is that its a medical procedure that is painless, easy, and will solve all of their problems. We talk with our clients about abortions and we go step by step through the procedure. We hope that they will choose life for their child, but if not then at least they know what they're getting into.

We also talk a lot about future plans... Having a child is a life altering event and most women who come to Care Net aren't really ready for it and definitely weren't planning on it. We get them set up with Medicaid, WIC, and give them information about different resources here in Waco.

If the woman isn't pregnant then we talk about abstinence, self worth, and relationships. If the woman is interested, we give free STD tests and talk with them about different diseases that come with promiscuous sexual activity.

CareNet also offers all kinds of classes and counseling sessions... everything from money management to breastfeeding. We do a healing after abortions class, as well as one on miscarriages. The women are invited to attend Bible Studies and there are even classes for soon to be dads.

All in all...CareNet is an awesome place. It meets a HUGE need in Waco and in several other communities all over the US. I got involved in it because my mom has been a CareNet counselor in Rockwall for several years. She would always tell me amazing stories about the women she met with and eventually I decided to see if we had a center here in Waco.... and we did. I did some training and now it has become a wonderful part of my life.

I thank God for CareNet and for all of the staff and volunteers who keep the ministry going!

Working for the weekend

Today is a fabulous Friday...No, there's nothing special about it, but I think that ALL Fridays are absolutely fabulous. How could they not be?

Aaron and I don't really have any plans for the weekend...actually all of our plans are a little on the boring side, but I'm actually really excited about them. Wanna hear? Okay, so tonight we are going to go on a motorcycle ride, then I'm going to work out, then I'm going to the store to buy some heavy duty cleaning supplies and something for dinner. Then I'm going to go home and cook dinner and then clean with my heavy duty supplies. Sounds like a blast, eh?

Tomorrow, we will probably do some more cleaning and maybe even paint our gigantic 5 ft tall dog house that Aaron built a while back. Aaron, me, Obie, Potter, and Vader can all fit comfortably inside it. Yeah..its that big. I'm still not really sure why he built it SOO big, but he's very proud of it, so I figure its best not to say anything too negative. Some of ya'll may be wondering who Vader is...well he's our brand new puppy! He was originally a gift for my younger brother Kyle, but that didn't work out so now he's ours. He's half Australian shepherd and half border collie and he looks just like Obie. In fact, Obie seems to think that he's her puppy! I'll put a pic up soon..I promise!
And yes, we do have some of the nerdiest named pets... Obi Wan Kan obi, Harry Potter, and Darth Vader. HA - I love it!

On Saturday night we are making the trek down to the LO - Its their community Harvest Festival and a few of our youth group girls were nominated to walk in the pageant. I'm not really sure what all goes on at the Harvest Festival, but we wouldn't miss it for the world. It was horrible when we told our youth group that Aaron had taken the position at Hilltop. All of the girls started bawling and a few of the guys even teared up. So, we plan to be in Lometa a lot this next week because Aaron starts at Hilltop November 1st. We plan on still going down to Lometa every once in a while for some of the kids major activities...but it just won't be the same and that's going to be hard.

Anyways... I better get back to work.

Blessed Assurance,
Rachael

I Got You Babe

That't the song I'm listening to right now - I love Yahoo Music! If you haven't checked out yahoo music, then you are missing out. Its free and its awesome..I can listen to hundreds of different genres of music at work. Like yesterday I listened to Irish folkdancing, Latin hip hop, and new country - not bad, eh?.

Things in my life are going great -
Aaron accepted the job at Hilltop and is now a PASTOR (yay, I'm so proud!)

I'm headed to Rockwall in a few minutes for a doctor appointment and some good ol family time

And

Its finally FALL outside!

I don't really have much to talk about - just wanted to let everyone know that I'm having a great day and hope you are too!

Peace, Love, and Joy!
Rachael

The Big 26

Today my wonderful husband turned 26 years old! Its so crazy to think that I met him when he was just a cute little 19 year old.

We met because I was going on a hangout date with his friend Brock (you know, one of those weird freshman things where you aren't really sure if its a friends thing or a date) Well anyways, we were going up to Common Grounds to hear a band - I think Graham Colton or something like that. Well Brock decided to invite Aaron to come too. So, that infamous night I came walking out of Memorial (yes, I was a dork and lived in Memorial) in my pajamas. And the rest is history... Aaron thought I was hottie in my pjs and I thought he was the most hiliarous person I'd ever met. An now we are in LOVE!

Today has been just a chill day - We slept in until 8:30. Went and picked out the cutest puppy for my bro Kyle. (more on the puppy later). Took Obie to PetsMart to get some dog food. Watched a lot of college football - Yes, Baylor still sucks! I took a nap... and now I'm blogging. Tonight we're going to go to dinner at Roadhouse and I'm going to give him his gifts. I got him a lot of good stuff this year. But, you'll have to wait until later to find out what it is.....

In the A.M.

Sweet Kisses

EJ's baby shower - Baker, EJ, and me

My Manly Man

The Potmeister


Shelley and Shawnee's Sweet 16

Some of the youth group gals

Bestie friend Kat and sweet Hannah

Yay... Only 4 days old

My favorite restaurant and favorite dress





I just got back from an early morning walk with Obie... I love waking up early and seizing the day! Now its time for some raisin bran and a shower....

Scrub a dub,
Rachael

Delight

Hip Hip.... HOORAY! We finally got our new work computers in! I L-O-V-E my new Dell laptop. It still has a few kinks, but its so much better than my old computer.

Oh and by the way - Aaron is preaching "in view of a call" this Sunday at Hilltop Christian Fellowship. The Question and Answer session went really well. In fact, I loved it. Everyone was so loving and welcoming and they asked great questions! I really hope that this is where God will use us. I already know that God is doing and will continue to do great things at Hilltop. ***If Aaron becomes the pastor out there, then he will be one of "our pastors." I'll get to send him all kinds of WRBN emails and maybe I'll even stick him on a few of our committees!

The Bair Foundation called this morning to talk about a foster placement. Three children ( 2, 3, and 4 years old) need a home. They've been in foster care for a while now and their current foster mother doesn't "want" them anymore. I hated having to say no, but I don't really think that Aaron and I can handle three children right now. Especially ones that aren't school age...We keep praying that the Lord will bring us the right child - please pray with us on that!

Oh and by the way... My little brother Kyle is 17 tomorrow! WOW

Pace,
REJ

Q & A

Now I know why people warned me about the trials of being a pastor's wife....

Tonight Aaron and I are headed back to Hilltop Christian Fellowship for a question and answer time. Now that might seem painless.... but it could get scary. They are going to have Aaron and I sit and answer different questions from people in the congregation. Now some of the questions will be easy - like "where are you from?" others are going to be more difficult such as "please describe your thoughts on salvation." Or they might bust out something like... "How do you feel about homosexuality, abortion, politics (or any other random touchy subject).

AND THEN they get to decide whether they like Aaron and me based on how we answered the questions.

YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh the joys of being a pastor's wife : )

Life Lately

Hello Bloggy Friends...

I just thought I should give ya'll a little update on whats been going on in Team Family Love. Hmm..where to start.

I guess we'll start with today. I took a mini vacation from work (half day yesterday and all day today) because we were going to go camping in Arkansas. Its fall break at Truett and Aaron and I LOVE camping, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. But, things didn't really work out, so now we are just spending a relaxing weekend in Waco.

Aaron has been asked to preach at a church in Crawford, TX this Sunday and we are really excited to see what comes from this opportunity. He preached there a couple Sundays ago and the church seemed really interested in us. They've been without a pastor for a while now and they think that Aaron might be a great fit!!!! This would mean lots of things for us - We would stay in Waco after Aaron graduates from Truett, Aaron would be preaching (we both really believe that God has called Aaron to pastor), He would get lots of experience in a relatively "low stress" environment, and he would make 3 times as much $$$$.

But, there are a couple negatives - We would have to leave our kids in Lometa. We love them so much and have formed some great relationships over the past 2 years. Its hard to walk away from kids that you've seen a huge transformation in. But, we know that its God that is doing the transforming (not us) and God is still and will always be in Lometa. Also, I was really looking forward to going somewhere "different and cool" when Aaron graduated. I'd been picturing Colorado, Oregon, or maybe somewhere on the East Coast. Umm Crawford is pretty much Waco and although I like Waco its definitely not "different and cool."

Some of ya'll maybe wondering whats going on with the whole foster care situation... Well the past two weeks have been really stressful for me. See the Bair Foundation found a sweet little 6 year old girl that need a home, but she was having some medical issues. The state kept saying that they were going to release her to us, but they never did. So for two weeks, I kept thinking "today is going to be the day they release her to us." But, sadly it never happened. I found out this morning that they actually placed the little girl back with her family, so hopefully that's a good thing. This morning when I talked to the Bair Foundation, they asked if we could take a 17 year old girl and her baby................................................
Ummm, when they asked I was speechless because I didn't want to say "no" but I knew that it wouldn't really be a good placement. So, eventually I said "no" and I just have to trust that God is going to provide a better home for the girl and her baby.

Okay, last thing - Tomorrow, Aaron and I are going to GREEK FEST! How cool, right? I've never been to a Greek Festival, but I already know that its going to be great. Its happening at the Greek Orthodox Church in Waco and there's going to be lots of food and dancing!!!

Alright...its time for brunch (otherwise known as scrambled eggs and biscuits and jelly)
RJ

About Us

1. Who is your man? Aaron Matthew Johnson
2. How long have you been together? We've been married 1 year and 3 months
3. How long dated? A little over 2 years
4. How old is your man? 25 (about to be 26 in a couple days!)
5. Who eats more? Aaron, but I can hold my own
6. Who said "I love you" first? Ummm...me but only cause I knew he was IN LOVE with me
7. Who is taller? Me - I used to think it was a little strange, but now I think its totally normal
8. Who sings better? We're are both pretty decent singers, but the most fun thing is when we sing duets and both try to sing worse than eachother...its hilarious!
9. Who is smarter? A$ - The guy knows Greek (yep..he's a greek geek!)
10. Whose temper is worse? Unfortunately mine
11. Who does the laundry? We both do - But Aaron is way more picky about it than I am
12. Who takes out the garbage? Usually Aaron, but I help out if it doesn't smell too bad
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do because its Aaron's job to protect me if anyone breaks in!
14. Who pays the bills? We both do
15. Who is better with the computer? Ummm both of us are sort of terrible at computers
16. Who mows the lawn? Aaron... I on the other hand unsuccessfully try gardening
17. Who cooks dinner? Usually me, but Aaron is a great helper
.18. Who drives when you are together? Usually Aaron, but he hates driving the Cougar because its SOOO girly!
19. Who pays when you go out? Aaron
20. Who is most stubborn? Hmmm probably me
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? AJ
22. Whose parents do you see the most? Mine, because they are so much closer. We love going to Amarillo though!
23. Who kissed who first? Hmmm I think it was definitely him.... Our first kiss was my freshman year - SOOO long ago!
24. Who asked who out? Well, I told him that I would be his girlfriend if he wanted me to.
(and he did!)
25. Who proposed? Aaron and it was amazing!
26. Who is more sensitive? Both of us can be pretty sensitive, but in general I think I'm a little more "girly" about it
27. Who has more friends? We both have lots of friends
28. Who has more siblings? Me... 1 sister and 2 brothers!
29. Who wears the pants in the family? Aaron... but sometimes I try to stage a takeover and thats when things start going downhill

Baskets of Hope

Ohhhh, I'm smiling already - just thinking about the story I'm about to type has caused me to break out in a huge grin.....

Tonight was the first Waco "charity event" that Aaron and I have been invited to as a married couple (we are have finally made it to the elite circle in Waco - lol) Actually, we were the guests of my boss and his wife - we got to sit at their table for the Christian Women's Job Corp yearly fundraiser called "Baskets of Hope." The CWJC is an organization that provides Christian job and life skill training for about twenty five women a year - it is an amazing ministry and REALLY helps a lot of women in McClennan county. To raise money people in the community donate baskets filled with all sorts of goodies, then everyone who comes to the dinner has the opportunity to participate in a silent auction and bid on the baskets. This year there were over 100 baskets donated and almost 500 people in attendance.

Now, I've never been part of a silent auction but tonight I learned how addictive they are. Ummm...as we were walking around checking out all of the baskets, I noticed the most wonderful one of all. It was a golf bag with a putter, golf balls, golf picture frame, tees, and all other sorts of little golf items. I grabbed Aaron to show him the basket and he thought it was really cool. Well, the tag on the item said that it was worth $400 and the highest bid they'd had so far was only $120. So I knew there was no way that I could pass up a steal like that... and so I put my name down for $121 (I didn't know that they had encouraged everyone to bid in $5 increments). Anyways...I went and ate dinner with our group, but the whole time I was a little worried that somebody was going to outbid me. So about halfway through dessert, I got up to check on my basket. AND...Two guys were out standing beside the basket and both of them had outbid me. Well, I wasn't going to stand for that - I put my name down again and upped my bid. To make a long story short - I had a sweet old lady that took a liking to me and everytime someone would mark the basket up, she would come get me so I could up my bid. I eventually pleaded with all of the other bidders to stop bidding on my basket (Yes, I actually pleaded!). And in the end...I WON THE GOLF BAG!

But, the funniest part of the story is what Aaron said as we were walking to the car. See, I was so excited that I won the bag...you know, talking on and on about what a "great deal" I'd gotten since I paid less than half what the ticket said the bag was worth. Finally Aaron just looked at me and reminded me that because of my pleading and discouraging everyone from upping my bid - I had just taken away at least $200 from the charity that we were supposed to be raising money for.. HA HA HA.. here I was looking at it like discount shopping. So pretty much..I'm a cheapskate for charity!

Oh well...Aaron loves his golf bag birthday present and I definitely plan on going back next year, so I can do some more discount shopping!

Pictures

City Girl

Hi hi hi everyone...I've been so slow to update my blog. I think about doing it everyday, but for one reason or another I forget and so the updates lately have been few and far between.

This past weekend I spent a CRAZY weekend in NYC with 6 of my amazing college roomates. We all studied abroad together in Florence, Italy and immediately became soulmates. I'm freaking serious. I only see these girls once a year because we live all over the US, but when we get together its like magic. Let me give you a rundown of the roomies....

Jess (Turkey Weenie): Somehow a lot of our get togethers always seem to be on this gals birthday - She is so amazing, beautiful, funny, and crazy. But has a serious side and is an amazing friend. I feel like she's the one that pulls the whole group together and I love her for it! Oh and she's got a great boyfriend too!

Amy (Amo the Lamo): You never know what crazy thing is going to happen next when Amy's around. She is probably the most spontaneously funny person I have ever met. She loves to laugh and have a great time, but she has a beautiful heart. She works for a nonprofit that builds playgrounds in underprivileged neighborhoods. And she's stinkin HOT and let me borrow a fabulous dress this past weekend!

Kristin (Krissy B): I don't even know where to begin. I met this girl on the plane to Italy and she's not even an "official" roomate, but the second that we met her we knew that we had to adopt her into our little group. She is an amazing friend is always watching out for everyone. She has great style and somehow turned a pair of old pjs into a sexy little dress - Don't ask me how but she did it. And with her gorgeous red hair , how can you not like Krissy??!

Melanie (Smelly Mel): No, she doesn't really smell - I don't know why we settled on that nickname, but we did. Melanie is a tough gal from Jersy with a heart of gold. She loves hard metal, but somehow puts up with all of our girly dance music. If you catch her in the right moment she'll even bust out a dance move or two. Mel just recently bought a house in New Jersy and loves to garden. Oh and she's a great artist too...We all LOVE Melanie and for some reason she loves us too.

Sarah: Umm Sarah never really got a nickname that stuck, but she doesn't really need one. Just saying her name makes us all break out into HUGE grins! Sarah is the craziest mix of ideas, philosophies, passions, ect. You never know what Sarah's knew idea is or where she's moving to next. Literally no idea. Earlier last year I called Sarah and was informed by her mother that she had moved to Switzerland to join a Christian Commune called L'Abri. <--See what I mean? Sarah is absolutely amazing and I wish that she'd move to Texas because I know we'd have a blast. Oh and she's got a smokin hot body! (HOLLA!)

Beth (Bethy): Beth wasn't able to make it to New York this year because she didn't have the money - Want to know why... Umm she was saving for a TRIP AROUND THE WORLD! Yeah you read that right. Anyways, Beth is fantastic and I'm so bummed that she wasn't there because I really need to catch up with her and see what's going on in that girls life.

Sorry that was so long, but these girls are fabulous and those descriptions didn't even begin to do them justice! We had the best time together and I'll hopefully get some pictures put up tomorrow night and tell you more about the trip and everything else that has been going on in my life lately!

REJ

Kickin It Old Skool

Last night Aaron and I thought it would be fun to invite a friend over, order pizza, and watch a movie. Since I needed to clean up around the apartment, I sent Aaron to Blockbuster. The picture above is the movie that he returned with...."Kickin It Old Skool."

Now in his defense, he had great intentions... see the girl we invited over is an amazing hip hop dancer and Aaron thought that she'd really get into the movie since its all about dancing. Well lets just say there wasn't much to "get into to." It was probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I was a product of the 80's and everything, but I didn't get very many of the jokes and there was only about 5 minutes breakdancing in the whole movie. But, what amazed me the most was how we all just sat there and hoped that it was going to get better.... Oh well, what else is there to do in Waco on a Tuesday night?


LYLAS,
Rach

Whirlwind

Sorry I've been so slow about updating... Things have been pretty normal, but busy. I went to Rockwall yesterday after church and spent the evening with my family. We went down to The Harbour and ate at Glorias (amazing!). Then my parents showed me all of the new shops that are opening up down there. My parents have done a great job getting that place up and running. For those of you that don't know, my parents are real estate developers in Rockwall and their newest project is a wonderful shopping center on Lake Ray Hubbard. There are tons of great restaurants, shops, fountains, a movie theater, Hilton hotel, a lighthouse, and boat docks. So yeah - I'm really proud of them!

After dinner we came back home and just sat outside on the porch and talked for over an hour. I miss the days of just sitting with my parents and just talking. Then my sister and I drove into Dallas and I spent the night at her place. I absolutely love spending time with my family - I wish that I lived just a little bit closer to them, so that I could see them every couple days instead of every couple weeks.

Today I went to a Baptist General Convention meeting and Paul Powell was the speaker (shout out to Truett Seminary) He spoke on the history of Texas Baptists - it was pretty cool. After that I went over to Katharines apartment and spent an hour with her and little Hannah. Yep, my godchild is still as beautiful as ever.

Aaron is telling me to hurry up because he wants me to go with him to the driving range - I like golfing alright, but I only last for about 15 minutes then I'm ready to move on to a more active sport (or at least one that I'm better at!).

RJ

Photos

Aaron and I at Paliminos with the whole family on Saturday night.

Family Christmas Card shot...you can't tell, but I have on my infamous 1 piece!!!!!

Two of the most important men in my life

I'm so glad that I got married - I think this picture represents daily life for me -n - Aaron

Awesome Innertubing!

Here are a few pictures from my life lately. Most of them are from boating with the family on Labor Day. I'll put up a few more tomorrow....

So Fresh and So Clean

After realizing that I was giving myself a headache trying to read my blog, I decided to go with something a little more neutral and easy to read. So here it is...the dots. I hope you like the new look - if I receive complaints I can always change it back.

Today has been a great day. I had a 7:00 am meeting with a website designer and even though I was not happy to have a meeting that early..it all worked out in the end because I got to eat breakfast at Panera Bread. Their cinnamon crunch bagels are delicious! Isn't it funny that I think today has been great all because of a cinnamon crunch bagel?? Well, at least it doesn't take much to keep me happy.

Oh, the one negative in my life these days is that I have poison ivy. For those of you that know me well - you're probably laughing. You would think that I worked as a lumberjack in the woods or something because I get poison ivy ALL the time. I was covered in it when Aaron and I went to Spain for our honeymoon. Ughhhh stupid Potter (the cat) gave it to me. He goes off exploring behind our house and he usually brings us back a "nice" surprise: dead lizards, mice, or in this case poison ivy.

Such is life..
Rachael

Hooray for the 30th!

Let me tell you all the reasons that I love today....

Numero Uno: I get paid today!!!! Yay, I love having money! Now, don't start to think that I've become overly concerned with getting rich or anything, but I am really excited that its payday here at the WRBN. See this month I spent some big bucks on a semester tanning membership (yes, I know - you don't have to remind me that its bad for me...everyone needs a vice right??) and I had to buy $300 worth of tires for the good ol' Cougar. So, yeah the last 15 days have been kind of tight, but not anymore!

Numero Dos: I got to go by FBC Woodway and hangout with EJ for a little while. She's a very busy woman (she has to get out 1,000 peices of mail by the end of today), but she took some time to chat with me. Oh and I became an official notarty while I was there, so the visit really paid off in the end.

Numero Tres: In a few minutes I get to order new computers for the whole office. Whoohoo for Dell and their magnificently fast desktops and laptops. Oh and I get my very own laptop to tote around all over town --- Yay the computer guy just walked in the door while I was typing that so, I will have to finish this post in a minute ---- Okay, I'm back. So, if your office ever needs new computers or a computer tech guy let me know. David Neibel is awesome! He just saved us $4,000 on new equipment and he uses military talk (ex. He was spelling out my email address to Dell over the phone and this is how he did it: Romeo, Alpha, Cat, Horse, Alpha, Elephant, Love) and thats just my first name! Anyways, it kind of made me giggle

Numero Quatro: I'm hanging out with Baker and Kim Scott tonight. We are ordering pizza and watching Medea's Family Reunion. I love girls nights

Numero Cinco: Its almost Friday...which means A$ and I are headed to Dallas/Rockwall to spend time with family and friends. So far we have bowling and boating planned. Oh and lots of laying out by the pool!

More Tomorrow....

Obie Trice

Yesterday our poor little puppy, Obie, was hit by a car. Here's what happened: I woke up and let her outside about 7:30 am like I do every morning. Aaron usually brings her back inside when he gets up around 8:30. So, I went to work and figured that yesterday would be like any normal day. Well at 9:00, Aaron opened the back door to let Obie in, but she wasn't there. Since she can jump the fence, Aaron wasn't too worried when he saw that she wasn't in the backyard. He walked outside and started calling for her. Usually she just laying down under our carport - but not yesterday.
After looking all around the house, Aaron jumped in his car and drove up and down our street for like 30 minutes. When he came back he saw Obie laying down in the corner of our carport. Aaron jumped out of the car and started calling Obie because he was going to spank her for running away. He called her for a few seconds, but she was unresponsive. That's when he knew something was wrong. He walked closer and saw that her belly and back legs were covered in blood.
So, Aaron rushed to the vet - on the way there Obie started to go into shock. When they finally got to the vet...the veterinarian discovered that Obie had huge chunks of flesh ripped out of her legs in several spots (we think this is from her being scraped over rocks on the road). In several of the spots you can see all the way down to the bone. She also had a lot of blood in her lungs, so they had to hook her up to a ventilator to help her breathe.
Anyway, they didn't think she was going to make it....BUT she did (thank goodness). They can't really do anything for her besides give her antibiotics. We took her home last night because the vet said there was no purpose leaving her up at his office. They don't have any staff there at night, so if she got worse or died she would at least be in a comfortable "safe" place.
So we brought Obie home yesterday afternoon and let her camp out in our room. We made a pallet on the floor for her, but after we left the room she somehow jumped up on the bed. ***We were really surprised because she literally can't even walk or breath, but she somehow jumped 3 feet up*** Anyways, our bed in now covered in blood and smells awful, but at least Obie's comfortable, right......?
Aaron took Obie back to the vet this morning, so they could start stitching up her wounds and give her some more medicine for her lungs. Good thing we only spent $23 on this dog when we bought her - because we're going to have to shell out the $$$ once we get this vet bill (YIKES!)

Oh and I included a picture of Potter, so that he doesn't feel to left out.