Happy Birthday Mike and Reeves (it is kinda crazy my parents 2 son-in-laws have the same bday)

Well because of Sat and Sun nights being busy with RUF things, Mike and I have his bday dinner on friday night. Mike grilled out steak and I made rolls, twice baked potatoes, brocolli, and dirt cake (Mikes fav). I also gave him his bday gifts. He knew what one of them was (a grill kit) but I suprised him with another grill tool that he wanted. It is a thing you stick in the meat and it tells you what temp that meat is and how long you have been cooking it and beeps when it is done. Because our grill is 3 stories down from us I thought this would be great as it also has a pager that you can take with you and so Mike can come inside with me and know what is going on with the meat downstairs. He seemed really excited about it so I was glad.

Saturday night we had an RUF movie night at our apt and borrowed the projector from the church to put the movie on the wall. We completely rearranged the den so that all the sofas were on one side. Checkers was quite fascinated with the projector and looked at it for about 30 minutes not know whether to attack it or not.

The whole RUF group

Erica, Tori, me, and Claire
Mike, Eric, and Jeremy at lunch

Mike and I at the aquarium (sorry its a little blury)
The real live black bear

This past weekend we were in Gatlinburg for the church's college retreat. There were about 60 students from UK, EKU, Asbury, and Georgetown. It was a perfect weekend as the leaves were gorgeous and the weather was perfect. We got in around 8:30 on friday night and had a short meeting and then went to our cabins. The cabins were great as they had a bed for each person, a living area, a kitchen, and then a porch with a hot tub. There were only 5 to 8 people in a cabin so it was really nice. Saturday we had a big breakfast and then our first meeting. The meetings were neat because each campus ministry represented (campus outreach, RUF, and campus crusade) spoke at one meeting on how to reach our campus for Christ (each took a different topic- prayer, holiness, and love).

After the first meeting we went to lunch at Applewood farm and has some good homecooking and apple butter. We then had free time to go to the Auarium or the mirrer maze and then just walk around Gatlinburg. I have decided that Gatlinburg is the Myrtle Beach of the mountians. It wasn't quite as bad but it had all the tackiness and tourist attractions that Myrtle has. It was still fun to walk around though. Later that night we had another meeting and then dinner and group time (seperating into our different campuses). This was a great time of fellowship and good time to hear the students thoughts on what they saw as problems on the campus and in their own lives and how to address these things. After this we went back to our own cabins and just hung out. I got a phone call at about 10 from Mike though that there was a big bear behind their cabin. Me and 3 girls went running over to see it. It was awesome to be that close to a bear but very safe. Needless to say many other people came over to see it and it was a very exciting night.

Sunday we had a meeting and then basically left. Mike and I stayed around for a little while longer to go to the outlets because they have my formal and everyday china outlets up there. We ended up getting 2 more settings of our everyday because I was running out of plates when students have been coming over for dinner. It was a long a weekend but overall it was a great trip.

Checkers making sure the pumpkin has been thoroughly cleaned out
Checkers fell asleep in Mikes hood one day when he was working on his Bible study

Mike and Jay working on the storm trooper
Megan and Tori carving the cat

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! Well this is a little late as halloween is almost over but it was still what we did for halloween. After RUF last night (tuesday) we had a pumpkin carving contest with the opportunity to dress up if you wanted to. We had a great turn out and it was alot of fun seeing how creative everyone is. I was really impressed with our students ability to carve pumpkins. We even had a Cinderella carriage carved out. I unfortunately did not get a picture of it. Mike and Jay carved a storm trooper pumpkin. Jay is part of some national group that dresses up like Star Wars figures and goes to schools and such to put on shows for people.

I have to admit my favorite pumpkin was the one Tori and Megan did for Checkers. It was a cat face and they carved a C on the back for Checkers. Mike and I put it on our front porch and lit it for tonight. We also tried to get checkers to take his picture with it but he was more interested in climbing in it.

There was also some great costumes with the Cat in the Hat, Indiana Jones, House (from the TV show), and even the football coach Billy Gillespie. The night was a late one as we did not get home until one a clock and then had to unwind for about an hour before we went to sleep. The party was a great success though and I think everyone had a great time with some students even showing off their dancing skills to Michael Jacksons "Thriller". Hope everyone is doing well. We have a busy weekend with the college retreat being in Gallatin friday thru Sunday. Two of our students that arent going are going to come house (mainly cat) sit for us. We really appreciate it and hope Checkers is well behaved.

Blakely and Mike in their matching shirts

Hello all! Mike and I have had a crazy weekend since we had 2 RUF activies. On Friday night we had our Barn Dance. We had this last year and the students really enjoyed it. It was a great turn out and the weather was perfect, not too cold and not too hot. I made white chili and two types of cornbread (one plain and the other brocolli)which turned out delicious. I am glad because now I have two good recipes to use. Mike and I both really enjoy square dancing and I think it helped everyone get to know each other better and be more comfortable.

We woke up early saturday morning since we were throwing a tailgate. It was quite crazy trying to get all the food ready and cornhole and other games together. We are beginning to wonder what Brad is going to do w/out us next year as we bring alot of things to activies, but hopefully leadership from the students will step up. Mike also got to use his cornhole boards for the first time. They look really good white but he will put something on them as soon as he decideds what. He put alot of work into them and they are really smooth. We finally got home last night at 9 exhausted. I was quite annoyed with how dirty our small apt was so I got a second wind and cleaned until 10:45. Mike offered to help or do it but Checkers had been home all day by himself and someone needed to play with him, so I told Mike too since I was the one that was soo annoyed by the apt.

Today was relaxing and we feel a little ready to start a new week. We are beginning to have students over every monday night for dinner which is alot of fun but it takes about 3 hours of cooking because I try to do a homemade meal. I am experimenting with lots of casserole dishes though as those are easier with only one dish to clean up after the meal. We had 9 boys here last monday night and wow can they eat. We are having girls tom so I am not preparing quite as much food.

I made Checkers a bed for his cage today and I am proud of how it turned out. It looks a little like a baby bed but thats okay. He already likes it though as I caught him cat napping on it this afternoon while I was finishing sewing the other piece. I am excited he likes it and I think it will be great for when we travel.

At Buffulo Wings watching the Alabama game
Trying to be strong while I get the shot
Dad and Mike at the place where we picked up the kitten
The kitten by his water bowl in the kitchen

This past weekend, my parents (Liz) came to visit and they brought all our cat supplies because we got a kitten! On Friday we went to Sams and then came home and fried chicken- Mike was very excited because he got fried chicken, rolls, roast, brown rice, and cookies- all things he loves but I dont make very much.

Saturday we went and got free flu shots. It was crazy how many people were out there. I did not really care to go (for any of you who know my normal reaction to shots), but it was good to get it and well it saved 60 dollars. The rest of the day was mainly spent watching football and eating bbq. We also worked a little bit on putting Mikes stocking together as I have finishedit =o). Clemson and Alabama both played frustrating games but at least Alabama pulled it out.

Sunday we went to church and then played cards. At 2 we met the adoption lady in Southern Kentucky to pick up the kitten (he doesnt have a name yet- we are open to suggestions). From there my parents headed back to SC and mike and I headed back to Lexington with the new addition to our household. He is very cute, small, and fuzzy. He is much more shy than Oscar was and it is taking him a little while to get adjusted and explore. We figure this is a good thing though in that he will hopefully be very happy staying indoors with us. We are both very excited and looking forward to raising him.

RUF Girls Night....So sorry it has been forever since I have last blogged, but we do have some exciting news since then so it is going to have to take up 2 posts. First we had our girls and guys nights on Sept 28. The girls had an Audrey Hepburn themed night. We had soup and salad and then a chocolate fountain for dessert. It was very delicious and I think everyone had a good night. Later that evening we had a competition to see who could dress up a girl on their team the best as Audrey. They had to use a roll of toilet paper, a scarf, and a flower. This was a very funny endeavor and created alot of laughs.

There are no pics of guys night since I had the camera, but they grilled out and played pocker and had a cornhole tournament. They had a great turn out with some of the guys Mike has been establishing relationships with the past year, who havent ever been to RUF coming. This was great and it seems like they all had a fun time.

Here are a few pics from the stuff we had going on first week with RUF. Mike and I are pretty exhausted and have felt pretty busy with having stuff most nights of the week and at least one day of the weekend. It has been fun to have the students back though and we are anticipating the rest of the semester. I really have not done very well at taking pictures so sorry I dont have more.

On a whim Saturday morning, Mike and I decided to go garage saleing (I dont know if thats a word, but I hope ur okay with it) and we found a beautiful table like one I had looked at earlier this year and almost bought. Since our current table is a loner from a family in the church, I have always been keeping my eyes open for a good deal. It took a while to decide but we finally decided to buy the table and we would just shop around for chairs to go with it. The table is in excellent condition and was refinished about 2-3 years ago. I am not quite sure if the woman knew what she was thinking as she gave it to us for 25 dollars and I have seen tables exactly like this selling for 225 and they werent in as good condition.

We found these chairs at an antique place in Versailles (a town over from Lexington) today. We liked them because we thought they did not look too dressy like some antique chairs can and they are really comfortable (they are also a good size-- older chairs tend to be smaller). I dont particularly care for the fabric on the chairs, but yet again another project for another year. I think this will be the last of our furniture buying since we spent the last of our Christmas money, but we both feel very satisfied with our furniture and how our place looks. Although the table looks a little out of place in a more white accented kitchen. Hope to talk to each of you soon!

The Craigslist find....I had seen these chairs a couple of weeks ago on craigslist and thought they were pretty but he was asking to much for a used chair, but then he came down so Mike and I decided to go check them out yesterday. They guys was very nice and he even came down more in price for us (I think he felt bad for us because we are a young, poor married couple) and then I asked him ab the antique harp table because he hadnt advertised it yet on craigslist and he basically gave it to us, so I was super excited and Mike and I are both glad we got it because we think it looks better between the chairs than the round table I was going to put there. The chairs need recovering but I think we will tackle that in another yr or so once we are more settled. I was afraid they would look to dressy but I think we will be able to make them still look welcoming and they are comfy.

Mike and I went to an Arts and Crafts fair at a park down the street from us this past sat and enjoyed walking around and seeing everything. We got this little painted Scarecrow gourd to have around the house because we thought he was cute.

My mom also sent the new yellow skirt for out table and I put that pic up because it looks much better than the khaki colored skirt (thanks mom =o). I am also in process of making another horse pillow to go on the new chairs.

From the top of some famous statue in B-ham (sorry I cant remember the name rt now)

I didnt realize it but I had these few pics from Scott and Jessica's wedding the weekend of the 11th. We had alot of fun this weekend and really enjoyed being back together with our old friends and hanging out. It was a busy weekend but at the same time refreshing. I got to go shopping with girl friends and Mike had 2 guys nights and played some poker. Rob and Tiff were nice enough to open up their house for us and let us stay for 5 nights, even though they barely saw us except to sleep. We did get to see them on Sunday though and really appreciated their hospitality.