Family Pics

These are pictures from when my brother-in-law Ernie was up last week with my niece Maddy. We had lunch together one day with my nephew Josh, my sister Camille and niece Dajia.



Maddy took this picture of me at Chuck E Cheese....can you believe I didn't get one picture of us together?




Josh, Maddy and Dajia....smile big!



Maddy's buddy Zach...Zach is actually my first cousin; however, he is Maddy's age. So I am more like an aunt to him and Maddy.



My Maddy! She has grown so much and is such a delight....love you tons



Me and my nephew Josh. Josh lives in Gig Harbor, and is a football player for his highschool team. The girls just love him.



Ernie and Josh! Watch out Ernie, Josh is almost taller than you!



Ernie and Dajia...she sure loves her Uncle Ernie!

Bull Riding Pics!

Here are some pics from Bull Riding that I went to a few weekends ago! I love to watch bull riding...Yes, I do love the cowboys too!



Me and Adriano Moraes, one of the top PBR rider's...he is from Brazil




The main bull fighter for the night!





One of the other bull fighters that night!




Some bull riding action....8 seconds is a long time to stay on top of a bull!

Holly's Bacholerette Party Pics!

These pictures are in honor of my friend Holly, who is getting married tomorrow, September 1st. We had her bacholorette party a few weekends ago, and had a lot of fun. Princess hats for everyone!!!!


Holly...the head princess for the night...the bride!





Holly's sister Heather



Holly's sister-in-law, Mandi





Me!



Me and Barb, Holly's mom goofing around at dinner at The Cheesecake Factory!

Church Today

I was laying in bed this morning (after the alarm clock went off) debating on whether to get up and go to church, or sleep in a bit more. I kept thinking that I didn't get enough sleep seeing as how I didn't get home until after 1am from work and then I had to do the whole work thing all over again today. However, I knew that I needed to get up and get going! I sat next to friends James and Marcie this morning, and she said that if it was such a big debate within that it must mean God had something he wanted to tell me this morning through the word being preached!

What did I learn? "Jesus is MY EVERYTHING!" Not sometimes, not when I'm in a good mood, not when I am desperate to pay this month's bills...but all the time! Through good and bad, Jesus is my everything. Friends aren't my everything. Money isn't my everything. My car isn't my everything. My everything is only found in one place and that is Jesus Christ. I'm glad that I wake up every morning and have the opportunity to decide whether to get up for church or not. There are so many people that don't have the same opportunities that I take for granted! No more debates...Jesus is my everything!

Pastor also spoke about breakthroughs today. Here are just a few key points that I picked up on as he was speaking about the last few chapters of Job:

1. "I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you" 42:2--God can truly do anything He wants to and no one...especially me...is able to stop Him. He can make a way where there seems to be no way. He can provide finances when you don't have two pennies to rub together. He can heal the blind and the sick. Isn't it great to know He can do whatever, whenever?!!!

2. "I had heard about you before, but not I have seen you with my own eyes" 42:5--Amazing how Job was such a righteous man before everything bad happened to him. However, during that time of blessing he states he had only heard about God...after his children, livestock and very way of living was wiped out he saw God with his own eyes and knew God so much more intimately. Because Job embraced his personal pain he was able to deepen the quality of his realtionship with God! I want this!

3. "We are confident that as you share in suffering, you will also share God's comfort" 2Cor1:7--this is hand in hand statement. You must suffer to be comforted, you can't have one without the other. As I know that I want God's comfort, I know that I will go through suffering...it isn't an option...so don't going looking for the back door to get out of the suffering that comes.

4. "So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning" 42:12--I don't regret the past, I don't think that I have lived life to the fullest, and I don't think I have seen the greatest portion of God's blessing in and through my life. The best years of my life are still to come!! Yes I believe this even as I see 32 looming on the horizon!

Thank you Jesus that I got up out of bed this morning and heard the word of God spoken into my life! I thank you that you meet me right where I am at, knowing at all times what I need and how I need to get there! I give everything into your hands...the worries I have right now about finances, my car, and relationships. They are not mine to worry about, but they are yours to work in and through. I know that you have only the best in store for me, and I continue to press into that which You have called me to!!!!

Hmmmm...what's up doc?

So, I thought I should make my blogging (and real) friends happy (here you go Marcie) and do a post update about my life. I am doing this today, as the fair season (for me) starts tomorrow, and I am going to be working insanely long hours and many many days. The Evergreen State Fair starts in Monroe tomorrow, and throughout it's 10 day duration I am working 80+ hours, plus still working a few events for the event planning company I work for. And...I am not even working on August 31st and September 1st as I am helping my friend Holly with her wedding that is on the 1st.

Then I am off to the Ellensburg Rodeo on Labor Day...working of course, but still having fun. KMPS is sending a "FUN" bus over to the rodeo and I am the staff person that day. So I get a free ride to the rodeo, tickets into the rodeo and lunch...all for sitting on the bus and playing trivia with our DJ and bus riders! Sometimes I love my job!!!

Then the Puyallup Fair starts on September 8th! I thought I'd take it easy this year, but no...got roped into helping at the cow barns for the actual fair on top of working for KMPS. So I am generally going to be there every day open to close! Lots of hours...some money! :)

I went to the PBR (Professional Bull Riding for those who aren't a part of the PBR world) last Friday. It was held at the Puyallup Fair...it was good, not as exciting as some of the other circuits. I did get to sit and have my picture taken with Adriano Moraes who just happens to be one of the greatest bull riders ever, and Brazilian hottie to boot!

I went to a Bacholorette party on Saturday for my friend Holly. We went to the Cheesecake Factory....OMG...that place is great. It was my first time there and the food and cheesecake was fantastic. Oh...the peach bellini? Wonderful!!!! We went to Holly's cousins condo for a slumber party afterwards...had some laughs...more drinks...even more laughs...some red face embarrassment when presents were open...and generally just a lot of fun!

The last couple of days have been the best as my niece Maddy was here in Washington with her Daddy to pick up his oldest daughter and visit his son. It was so GOOD to see Maddy after so long. I hadn't seen her since February! She is my best bud...when my sister and family lived here, Maddy and I did everything together! So on Sunday I had lunch my sister Camille, Brother-in-law Ernie, nieces and nephew Josh. Then Maddy came home with me, and on Monday I took her and our cousin Zach to Chuck E Cheese! Then yesterday we hung out together, saw a movie and just cuddled as we knew she was leaving soon! It is so hard to say goodbye....but I am planning on moving there, as well as visiting at Christmas time so the days will go by quick. At least I hope they do!!! Sorry I don't have any pictures to put up...I have them, but I don't have cables or a docking port for the camera I use...so I generally have to go to Walmart and put my pictures onto disc...but haven't had much time for that, so no pictures for awhile!

So, in a long nut shell, that is what I have planned and what I have been up to. I'm sorry that you probably won't get much out of my the next few weeks as I am working so much, but I will try to pop in and say HI!

Oh, one last thing....MY BIRTHDAY IS COMING SOON!!!!! I will be 32 on September 16th! I love birthdays...even though mine isn't always celebrated like I would like (as my family is bad about getting excited for birthdays) I think it is a great to be celebrated! Whoo--hooo!!!


PS...anyone else having problems uploading pictures to their blog? I do it 4-5 times and the picture never comes up...frustrating!!!

MC Dinner Auction

Hi all my family, friends and countrymen out there in blog land!





Our Masters Commission is having their first ever dinner auction this November 3rd. We are trying to raise money for approximately 30-40 individuals to go overseas to India and Thailand on a missions trip in February 2007. The past two years we have taken students to Singapore, Malayasia and Indnonesia.

This years trip will include visiting New Delhi, India, where we will be prayer walking and hopefully visiting some orphanages. As well as working with groups that are established in the area that have various ministries already established. It is never our intent to go to a country and start a new program, but instead to go there and support and uphold the work already being done by Christian men and women.

From India we will travel to Bangkok, Thailand. The details have not yet been finalized, but we may have the opportunity to travel to the north by Laos and work with an individual who has a church planted there. We are also hoping to help in some way with groups that work with the child prostitution that is so rampant in Bangkok.

I am asking if anyone who reads this, if you are able to donate some type of goods or materials that we can auction off. We are looking for gift certificates to restaurants, coffee shops, tourists activities from Seattle to Portland. We are also looking for contacts that can help us procure such items as cruises, airplane tickets, and even a NEW CAR! If you'd like to help out with a donation, please feel free to email me at mc@p4square.com You can also call me if you'd like at 206-276-9332. We have our church's 501-3C paperwork available for any who donates, as we are a non-profit organization and you receive a tax write off.

If you are interested in attending our dinner auction please let me know as well. Tickets are set at a very reasonable price (I believe a couple is $50 or thereabouts). We want to raise at least $30,000....but I am dreaming big and hoping for $$70,000--$100,000.

Thanks for looking! If you can't donate or attend the dinner auction, please keep us in your prayers!

Blessings
Rachel

Annoying Habits

This post is dedicated to my best friend Susana!

Do you have an annoying habit that bugs the crap out people? Do you belch in public? Do you twirl your hair? Ok...so here is my annoying habit....

....I, um...um...I don't sing the right words to songs! I'm most famously known for singing, "I can see clearly now, the sun is shining...!" I know, I know what a dork I am.

She gets quite irritated...well maybe not irritated, but she can't fathom why after so many years of her correcting me I still can't the words RIGHT! What are the correct words again?

And when I don't know words at all...I just simply make them up. And I think that life should be a musical. Don't you agree? You have a bad day...you break out in a song about how no one loves you...you have a great day, you and everyone surrounding you breaks out into this big song and dance routine...doesn't it sound great?

Anywho...just wanted to let you know a little bit more about me! What do you want me to know about you?

Susana....I promise to try and remember how to sing the songs, but you and I both know that probably isn't going to happen anytime soon...nor would I be the dorky best friend if I all of sudden remembered words to songs?!?

Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

After working last night, I headed inside the Key Arena to watch the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert. It was kind of a long road into the concert though...at first I wasn't even going to go in, but just head home. However, I did decide to go watch a few minutes of it (might as well, as it was free for me!) with my fellow co-worker Wendy. As we are waiting around outside seeing if we have to do anything else for work, Flo our afternoon Traffic Diva was hanging around. She mentioned that a listener had sent her some tickets that he couldn't use...they were floor tickets (at this point we didn't know where on the floor), and she gave them to us!

So we go into the show, find our way down to the floor, get directed to the row that we are to be sitting in, and to our amazement......the usher pointed to the first chair said, "This is seat #1, you are #'s 12 and 13...all the way at the end". Where was the end of this row? Right next to the STAGE, SIX ROWS FROM THE FRONT!!! Double Whoa!!!

Oh, it was fantastic! Both Tim and Faith opened with a duet, then Faith sang for quite some time on her own. Then they both came back out...then just Tim, and then they finished together. She sounded wonderful and looked gorgeous...Tim was, well...Tim!




This is the view from where we were sitting. I was directly behind this man in the red shirt. Yes, I sat resting on the stage! Awesome!!



This is just about how close we got to Faith at points during the show. I was impressed by how well she sang! And she has tons of energy...I guess that's what being a mom of three does for you!


Some nice people behind us took all these pictures for us and emailed them to us. This is a shot that we specifically asked her to take...Tim's um..rear! Just lookin' Faith!



What a cute couple they make!


Tim again!

Ebay/IPod Update...Chomp Chomp

Ok, remember the last post I did I stated that I wanted to buy an IPod; however, something like that isn't in my budget right now. So I decided to do some power selling on Ebay...I've bought and sold before, but no power selling before. What is power selling you ask? Let me tell you...instead of just selling one or two items I had 40 some items up for sale...mostly stamp/craft stuff that I am not using anymore. So,I just finished my first round of power selling and how much did I make?

$182!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW!!! Even I was shocked....that means I only need another 100 bucks to buy my IPod...I'm going to get it much sooner than I thought. YEAH!!!!!!!!!

Ok..why the chomp chomp in the title?

I was at the post office mailing a few of my ebay sales off to those lucky recipients somewhere in this country...and standing behind me was this older gentleman (Older than me, but younger than 60). I started to hear this chomp, chomp, chomp noise...so I casuallly turn around to investigate. The guy behind me is blissfully unaware that the gum he is chewing is absolutely driving me nuts. Yes, the chomp, chomp, chomp noise was coming from this gum smacking imbecile. Now, I hate to be harsh and call people names, but seriously...do you have to chomp your gum in my ears????????????? UGH!!!!!!!!

And you know when you casually turn around to look at your surroundings, people usually get the hint if they are doing something obnoxious and stop. OH NO, not this guy...chomp, chomp, chomp...swish it to the other side...chomp, chomp, chomp. Lord, let him have to scrape gum off the bottom of tables when he gets to heaven!

Goals

Ok...I know that people normally make goals at the beginning of the year, but how many people actually keep those goals? And who said I was normal? Yeah, yeah you can quit laughing now!

So here are my goals for the next year...most are just things I want to do or buy...but goals nonetheless:

1. Buy plane ticket to go to California to visit my family for Christmas
2. Save money for trip to India and Thailand...MC mission's trip in February
3. Save money for trip to London and Paris...going with the family I live with next June
4. A 30GB IPod...want before my trips...using money I make off of Ebay to buy this
5. Trade my car in and buy a Jeep...soft top preferred...older model not new
6. Participate in a weekly small group...yes I know I should already be in one!
7. Move to California next June
8. Laugh more and enjoy life...wait I already do this! Yeah for me!

Do these sound selfish? I know I do a lot of things and travel a lot; however, since I'm not married and have no kids, I figure might as well do it now. I really just wanted to put these down so that I could see them and visualize what I am wanting to do this next year.

My Little Man!

My sister Shannon sent me this picture of my nephew Mason today! He is going to be 3 on August 26th...doesn't he look like a handsome young man? I love Mason and think he is one of the greatest kids out there! It is fun to talk with him on the phone...although he can be a bit tempermental and yell at people if they don't hand him the phone fast enough!!!

Mason, I love you, Love Auntie Rachel!!!

**After viewing my blog, the picture looks funny...don't know why,
so just ignore it! :)**