Weekend in Greensboro for Granny's Funeral

Micah's grandma, Granny, passed away this past week. We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go back down to Greensboro, NC to attend her memorial service. The service took place in St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. The service was interesting. They had almost the whole service written out in the program so that the guests could follow along and would also know when it was time to chime in.
The day was very rainy and dreary. It was raining especially hard at the beginning of the service when all of the family went out to the Urn Garden for a prayer ceremony. So many little kids and so few umbrellas....it was interesting, but we all made it through.
Our favorite part of the indoor ceremony was when Tom and Charles (Micah's uncles) took the opportunity to stand up and share memories of their mother that they hold dear to their hearts. It was very touching. Poppy was able to make it to the ceremony, and even though it was very hard for him (as is understandable, they were married for over 70 years) it was good to have him there.

Granny with Mummis in August 2005

Granny and Poppy in August 2005
Here we are with Granny and Poppy in August of 2008
Cousin Jess with Poppy at the reception Sept 26th
Our youngest neice, Lydia at the reception. She's so cute!
Hannah, Abigail, cousin Zach, and Joseph enjoying lunch at the corner table.

My Best Friend's Wedding Day!!

Rebecca is my best friend. We have been friends for about 14 years and today she got married!! Micah and I were so excited and priveledged to be able to attend her wedding. It was a beautiful day, beautiful ceremony, beautiful music, and a beautiful couple pledging to spend their lives together ~ what more could they ask for!!

When I got home tonight, after I dropped Micah off for a meeting, I had a lot of time to think, and since we just recently left Rebecca's wedding, my thoughts turned to her and the wonderful friendship that we have shared for so many years now!

We have been through so much together. We met in 1994 the first summer that she and I signed up to be Junior Volunteers at Martha Jefferson Hospital, I guess you could say we became "fast friends". We hit it off right away, we just clicked. We did everything together that summer, we volunteered for the same departments and ate lunch together, spent nights together, we even inherited fun nicknames together (remember "right lung" "left lung"), and just had fun!!

Since those good ol' days back in 1994 when we would spend what seemed like our lives at Martha Jefferson Hospital with all of the friends we had made, we have come a long way, we have been on trips together (gotta love amusement parks and great pictures....especially the roller coaster shots!!), we've cried together, we've laughed together, we've had "fallouts" ~ some pretty big ones ~ but we have always made up and we have met our boyfriends, who became our fiances, who are now our husbands!! We are starting our own families now ~ but through all of this and all of the journeys ahead true friends we will remain!!

Beck, you were an absolutely beautiful bride today!! Thanks for including us in your special day!! I love you and am so glad for the friendship that we have built and look forward to many more good times to come!! I wish you all the happiness in the world in your marriage to Timmy!

Our first picture together in 1995

Carving Our Pumpkin in 1998. Beck did one half and I did the other!!
Playing around in our apartment at JMU in 2001
A trip to Oktoberfest at Busch Gardens, October 2004
My Wedding Day, December 16, 2005
Us Today on Beck's Wedding Day~Spetember 21, 2008

Happy Birthday Sarah!

We got the opportunity to go to NOVA again this weekend to visit! And this time we had 2 main reasons to go....1) Nathan and Sarah had asked us to watch the kiddos while they attended a special meeting at the temple on Saturday morning, and 2) Sarah's birthday is TODAY and so we were able to also be there to celebrate her birthday and be a part of the family dinner! It was a very nice weekend.

Friday night Micah and I got to go to the Temple and then we went to Nathan and Sarah's to spend the night...it was late when we got there, so no one was awake, but we got to see everyone bright and early Saturday morning! We had a blast with them, as usual! Joseph and Hannah went to church that morning to practice for their primary program today (Joseph was playing a song solo on the violin....we got a sneak presentation last night and it was GREAT!!). While they were gone, Micah and I decided to take Lydia and Abigail on a walk around the neighborhood, since the weather was perfect!! We grabbed the kids, the stroller, a bike for Abigail and we were off. The walk was great, Micah really got his workout in. First he pushed Abigail up all the hills. Then, halfway through our walk, Abigail decided she didn't want to ride her bike anymore and that SHE wanted to be in the stroller. I was game, and then Micah gladly volunteered to carry Lydia in one arm, and Abigail's bike in the other all the way back home, while I pushed Abigail in the stroller!! What a great dad he is going to be!! When Joseph and Hannah came back we had lunch and got ready for naps and quiet time.

Later that afternoon we got the chance to visit with our dear friends, the Murchisons, they are always so willing to have us over and almost everytime we go they serve us dessert!! Yesterday they even gave us this darling little pink hat for Emily!! It is so adorable! Once Emily arrives I am sure there will pictures of her showing off her adorable hat too! (So stay tuned!!).
That evening was Sarah's birthday dinner. It was nice. The food was yummy, and the company was great and Sarah got to open presents! I mean, seriously, birthday parties don't get much better than that!!

Hope your birthday was wonderful today Sarah, know that we love you!!!

Now here are some pictures from our weekend journey to NOVA!!!!

The Princess, adorned in all her "Sparkling" Glory

And we are off for a walk!!

Time to Switch Positions!!Cuddling in the Chair, as Sarah opens her Presents!!
Sarah, and her excited birthday look!!

1st Trip Coupon Shopping as a Couple!!

As most of you all know, once our little Emily arrives I will have the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom, which I am VERY excited about!!! As I prepare to leave my job and "switch careers" I am also looking for all sorts of ways to save pennies. One of my most recent ways is to coupon shop. I "posted" about a month ago about my very first trip out coupon shopping with my mom ~ well last night Micah and I embarked on our VERY FIRST TRIP together coupon shopping!!

My mom, being the deal-finder that she is, always keeps me up to date on what's on sale and who is doing double or triple coupons. Well...Harris Teeter just started their TRIPLE Coupon days (up to .99) yesterday and it is on through the weekend. Since Micah and I are heading out of town this afternoon for the weekend we knew last night was our chance!!

Micah had a home teaching appointment, so I waited for him to return home from that....but once he pulled in the driveway I was ready with coupons and money in hand and we were off!! My parents had just finished their trip through Harris Teeter and called to give is the scoop ~ she wanted to give us a "heads up" on a few things so that we wouldn't lose hope if we couldn't find all that we were hoping for. So when we pulled into the parking lot (since it was already 9pm!!) I told Micah that the deals might not be too great today and we might be out in no time! Boy were we wrong!! We were so excited when we got to the check-out with our purchases ~ we got $33.00 worth of groceries (approx.) for $11.45!!! We could not believe it! And the best part (other than saving $22.45) was that it was all items that we need and use!! You see, that is our philosophy with coupon shopping, it is okay for us to do it as long as two criteria are met: 1) We purchase items that we will use and 2) that I don't travel all over town looking for the deals. These are just our family guidelines that we have set and we know that different families set different guidelines and parameters for themselves and as long as we are on the same page as a family that is what counts:)

So if you are in the area and are a coupon shopper you might want to stop by Harris Teeter sometime before Sunday and see what kind of deals you can discover!!! Happy Shopping!!

A Copy of our reciept from our Family Coupon Adventure last night at Harris Teeter

A Beautiful Saturday visit with Grandparents & 23 weeks pregnancy update!

It has been too long since we have gone down to Shawsville, VA to visit with Grandpa and Ann (Micah's paternal grandparents). The last time we were there was the Saturday just before we found out that we were having a baby!!

We had a really nice visit. Grandpa seemed to be in really good spirits. When we pulled up at his house, he was outside wiping down the Cadillac (we always look forward to those special rides when we visit!). First he treated us to a yummy lunch at a little place called "Hale's Diner". The food was great and home made!! While we were there he and Micah were remembering times past of visiting together and eating at Hale's....apparently there was a time that Micah even stood on his head on Ann's front porch....I told you he has always been a monkey!!

After lunch Grandpa took us to the local library that had recently been upgraded/renovated. There he showed us a little garden area that had been dedicated to Grandma Ann....it was quaint and serene. We went into the community center and were walking down the hall wehn he non-chalantly pointed to a sign on the wall which read, "The George A. Gray Gallery". Micah and I were both in awe, but Grandpa was just like, "Yeah, they decided to name this Gallery after me". It was perfect timing as we were able to get a tour from the couple who took care of the museum. They were nice and very knowledgeable, and apparently good friends with Grandpa too! They talked a good while about Shawsville's history. When we left the museum Grandpa showed us the library, which had a new computer lab that he and Ann had donated funds to make possible. Their names were on a plaque on the door.

Later that afternoon we made it over to the nursing home to visit with Grandma Ann. At first she was sleeping and kind of groggy once she woke up, but soon she was asking for help getting up. Her nurses got her up and dressed and then we wheeled her down the hall in her wheelchair, and as we were walking and talking we heard some fun music playing in the activity room....so we strolled on in there. One of the residents was playing the piano and it was pretty peppy music ~ so almost immediately Ann perked up and in no time, I was sitting there holding Ann's hand and another resident had pulled Micah out to the floor and they were dancing!! It was so fun to watch! After a little while, Micah came over to Ann and grabbed her hands and they started dancing too (Ann from her wheelchair of course. It was a really tender moment. I would look over at Grandpa periodically and you could tell he was becoming emotional, he was just so happy to see Ann in such good spirits!)

We are so grateful that we took the opportunity to visit with them on Saturday. We don't get down there nearly as often as we would like, but it always warms our heart to see their undying love for one another each time we go. It does a heart good to see two people so in love:)

Here are some pictures from our day! Life is beautiful and Families Can Be Together Forever!

Grandpa, Grandma Ann, and Micah all ready for a walk! (Micah put his sunglasses on her in the beginning and she must have enjoyed them, she didn't take them off until we were leaving!)

Micah having some fun on the Piano
How cute are they out on the "dance floor"
Taking a Moment to dance with Grandma Ann - look at that nice big grinTaking a Moment out to Smile for a Photo ~ Can't you see the joy on Grandpa's face too?

A little update on our pregnancy.... I am about 23 1/2 weeks along right now, and let me just say, our little Emily is a mover already. Being able to feel her squirming around is so fun! I can tell when she wakes up, when she naps and when she is sleeping for the night! Yesterday evening I was getting a little worried because I hadn't felt her moving in a couple of hours. We went for a walk after church...nothing.....ate dinner......nothing....showered.....nothing.....I didn't feel her moving until we sat down to call Mummis! Then when she heard Micah on the phone talking she starting moving like crazy!! It was awesome, still Micah hasn't been able to feel her yet, but I know it is coming soon:) So, all seems to be progressing along normally. That is the latest!!

Here I am in Emily's Room at 23 weeks and Counting!

We Registered!!!!

This post is mainly for fun, since we know there is no topping our big news (at least until she arrives in all of her preciousness and beauty!!) We went and created our Baby Registry at Target for our little girl last night! It was a good time ~ good times are made even better when you take your camera along with you on a "normal" outing. We had so much fun looking through all of the adorable baby items and clothes that Target has to offer. I had fun choosing things and Micah enjoyed playing with the scan gun!! You would be suprised just how embarrassing it can be to set your camera up for an automatic picture in the middle of a baby isle, but because of who we are we did it anyway!!

And it has come to our attention that in our last post, that since we were so excited about having a little girl that we forgot to share her name. The reasoning behind that was two-fold: One, because we were so excited that we forgot and the second was because we were still a little unsure that day. But I thought about it that night and all day on Saturday and then we decided to stick with the name we originally decided upon, so our little princess is going to have the name of Emily Marie Gray!! We are so excited to meet her in just over 3 months!!

Now time to enjoy some funny pictures.......

~Having fun and Being Silly at the Beginning of our Registry Spree~

It's getting late and Micah is getting serious with that Scan Gun!!

But finding the stroller of his dreams made the whole night worth it for him! Doesn't his face just say, "Can we get this one, PLEASE??"

I consented to Micah's request and we came home with the jogging stroller. The reason we got to buy our stroller last night was because my grandma, Mema, actually gave us the money to buy a stroller when we started the adoption process. Ever since then we have been looking for THE STROLLER for us and last night we finally found it!!

We Are Having A ......

.....little baby GIRL!!! We could not be more excited:) The ultra sound went great today! It was the first time that we got to see our sweet little baby moving around.....and she was definitely moving today! Although she was extremely shy of the camera (either that or frustrated with all the poking and prodding!!) because it took the doctor quite a while to get her to turn around so that we could get a front view of her and have a look at her in 3D.
It was such an amazing experience. I was in awe the whole time that this little moving baby was living, breathing and growing inside of my tummy! Going to the ultra sound today DEFINITELY made it even more real, and unreal at the same time - the fact that we are actually going to have a little baby coming into our family in just a few short months! It is also hard to believe that we are already 22 weeks along! "Time Flies on Wings of Lightening" sometimes. We are doing the best we can to cherish the little moments together. After our ultra sound at 9am, I had my regular check up at 10:30 (which we were a little late for). All seems to be going well there too! We got to hear her heartbeat again and it sounds just as strong as ever!
After our appointments were over (since Micah and I both had the day off from work) we were off to buy our first baby outfit and of course we were in search of PINK!! So we went to 3 stores and finally found the perfect pink pants suit!! It is going to look absolutely darling on her!
The rest of the day we were able to relax and have dinner with Mommers and Dooders (and Jessie L. came over too, so that she could celebrate our good news). We kept the gender of our girl a secret until dinner time, which wasn't easy. Then we brought in a cute little bag with the pink outfit wrapped up inside. Mommers and Dooders opened it together and saw that it was pink! It was so much fun!
So, we know that ultrasound photos aren't the best of quality, and they won't mean as much to you as they do to us, but here are some of the best ones that we got.

Our baby has big feet, just like Micah!
Here is a 3-D ultrasound image of the baby's face and left hand. Some of her face is obscured, and the umbilical cord is going right over her lips, but she is still cute to us.

We Have a Sky Light!!!

Micah has been on vacation from work this week. He gets four weeks of vacation a year and this is his one week that he uses to relax and work on house projects! So, this week he has been busy reading up on how to make music in your own simple home studio, books on how to build your own shed and the project that he chose to tackle this week was......to put a sky light in our bathroom!
Today our bathroom went from being the darkest room in the house (with no windows and no natural light) to being the brightest room in our house (with the exception of our office....the "happy room" which is painted in a bright yellow color called "beach ball").
I was so impressed when I came home from work to a totally different bathroom. I saw the light illuminating from the room as I stood down the hall in the kitchen. I absolutely love it!! Micah did an amazing job, and he also did a great job taking pictures throughout the process to document it for our blog and our family journal!! Although these pictures are great, trust me they do not do justice to how Great it looks in there now! I think this success has gotten Micah excited to add more skylights throughout the house now!! I am excited, because our house can always use more natural light!
I am really grateful to be married to such a handy husband! Enjoy the pictures!!!!

~Getting Ready to Begin....Going into the Attic~

~ Preparing to cut the hole in the bathroom ceiling~
~Up on the Roof....at this point, he called me at work every half hour just to make sure I knew he was okay. If I didn't hear from him every 30 minutes, I was instructed to try to call him, and if I didn't get an answer I was supposed to call 9-1-1! Boy was I grateful for all of those phone calls I got while I was at work today!~
~The Finished Product Up on the Roof~
~Micah posing with the part of the ceiling that he cut out in the bathroom~
~ Ta Da.....Introducing our Brand New Sky Light!!!~

A Few More Fun Tidbits about the Grays!!

(Just had to add a picture for fun)

Us in India, November 2007, All Decked Out in our Indian Attire

Here are a few more fun facts about Micah and I:) (My answers are first and Micah's are second...but that is pretty obvious)Hope you enjoy reading, and that you get to learn a little bit more about us through this post. Life is good. Keep Smiling and Always Know that You are Loved!!


4 random things I like about my husband:

~His Bendy Thumbs
~The way he talks likes the King of the Lemurs to make me laugh - and it works EVERY TIME!
~The fact that he goes with me to ALL of my OB appointments without any questions or hesitations
~The way he reads Harry Potter to me and does all the different voices


4 movies that I would watch more than once:
~Titanic
~My Best Friend's Wedding
~The Notebook
~The Holiday
** I am a total sucker for any Romantic Comedy!! Surprise Surprise!!**



4 tv shows I watch:
(I really don't watch much tv, but when I do get the chance here's what I like:)
~ American Idol ( I do make time for this one whether I really have the time or not:)
~Don't Forget the Lyrics
~Friends
~Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader



4 places that I have been:
~Utah
~Washington State
~Alaska
~INDIA:)


4 people who e-mail me regularly:
~My Sweet Husband, Micah (It is so fun to get emails from him periodically during the day!!)
~My Sister-in-Law, Ruth
~My Aunt, Tede
~And of course I have my BLOGS that I check regularly which help me stay in the loop with other people that I care about:)



4 favorite foods:
~ Macaroni & Cheese (in a box, homemade....it doesn't matter....my Mema used to fix it for me for lunch every day when I younger and I NEVER got tired of it:)
~ Spaghetti (When I was living at home, me and my two older brothers took turns cooking dinner for the family one night a week, and when my night rolled around everyone knew it was what it was going to be.......SPAGHETTI
~Right now (as a pretty permanent pregnancy craving) I LOVE Baked Potato Chips!!
~Banana Smoothies (with milk, a little protein powder and sometimes some cherry juice) - another pregnancy food



4 places that I would like to visit:
~ Hawaii
~ Australia
~ Italy (I want to go back with Micah so that he can show me all around and teach me about the culture)
~ I can't really think of a 4th place right now, I am really a home-body at heart...so I like our home in our small town of Ruckersville!! (I am sure that comes as a big shock to most of you!)



4 things that I am looking forward to in the coming year:
~ Having our first baby!!
~ Going on Vacations
~ Being a Stay-At-Home Mom and taking care of our baby!!
~ Spending Time with my Micah



Now my turn:

4 random things I like about my wife:
~ Her cute smile
~ Her nice, small feet
~ The way that she laughs when she has just made a fool out of herself (a rare occurance)
~ Her positive attitude


4 movies that I would watch more than once:
~ Singing in the Rain
~ Star Wars 'A New Hope'
~ Back to the Future
~ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade


4 tv shows I watch:
~ That's easy. I don't watch any. But to be fair, these are ones that I have watched in the past:
~ Dark Angel (Most episodes)
~ Star Treck - The Next Generation (A lot of episodes)
~ Night Rider (A few episodes)
~ The Cosby Show (A few episodes)


4 places that I have been:
~ Niagra Falls
~ Rome
~ New Delhi
~ The Alps

4 people who e-mail me regularly:
~ Holly (naturally)
~ Ben (for my church calling)
~ That's about it. Most of my e-mails are not from actual people. Now that's a scarry thought.

4 favorite foods:
~ Pasta al pesto
~ Homemade Salsa (all different kinds)
~ Lasagna
~ Macaroni and Cheese (The list could go on and on)

4 places that I would like to visit:
~ The Grand Canyon
~ Florence, Italy
~ Australia
~ Ireland

4 things that I am looking forward to in the coming year:
~ Having our first child / becoming a dad
~ Building a shed
~ Recording my first song
~ Trying new dinner recipes

Friday Fun at Busch Gardens!!

This past Friday we took the day off of work and went with Mommers and Dooders to Busch Gardens for the day! We were a little worried at first about the weather, since it had been raining pretty steadily on Wednesday and Thursday, but luckily for us Friday was a beautiful day!! It started out with some pretty thick clouds and some drizzle, but by the time we arrived at Busch Gardens it was sunny!!!
This was the first time that all four of us had gone to an amusement park together, so it was definitely a memorable day! Mommers, Dooders, and Micah got to ride all of the roller coasters that they wanted to (they even rode The Griffon....I was so proud of Micah for being brave enough for that one! I know I wouldn't have been....even if I wasn't 5 1/2 months pregnant and banned from the roller coasters). Micah and I did however get to ride the Log Flume together...Dooders and Micah both assured me that the baby would be fine since he/she sloshes around in fluid all day long in my tummy anyway:) I am glad that I rode it, I got pretty soaked, which is what I needed as it was starting to really heat up around 3 o'clock!!
We also were able to see some great shows while we were there! Our favorite was called Pet Shenanigans....we got to see some pretty ordinary pets doing some great tricks! We went to see a show called, "Oktoberfest" in the country of Germany, and I think that was probably the baby's favorite; during that show there was a lot of music and dancing and the baby was moving around like crazy, which made it a fun show for me too!!
And of course we brought our camera along and took some really fun pictures during the day too! It was a lot of fun and I am thankful for two wonderful (and fun) parents who like to go to amusement parks as much as we do! Enjoy the photos!!!!

Here we are at the Beginning of our Day!!

On the Griffin....Look at those faces! I don't usually consent to buy these pictures, as they are outrageously priced, but this one was a must have!!!
They came off of Apollo's Chariot Victoriously!!
~ Micah posing for a silly shot just before riding Alpengeist~
~Dooders and Micah giving it their all~
~Micah ready to enjoy a ride on the Bumper Cars!! What a handsome face!!~
Posing by "our tree" ~ this time we were able to almost have the whole tree in the picture!!