Ray and Kati

Sweet Fall

2011-08-23T10:00:00.001-04:00

I love the fall. For me, the signs of autumn encourage me, inspire me and remind me to keep my focus on the simplicities of life. Fall brings out the life inside of me. I am comforted by the crisp air, warm tastes and smells and how the sun shines on the trees and casts their shadows on the ground in a way unique to the season.

Yesterday, while I was working, I couldn’t stop thinking about all of the things I so dearly love about the fall so, I decided to write a list. What started as one memory soon turned into a page-full in a matter of seconds and could have expanded several pages further had I taken the time.

I am a lover of memories and associate one of the senses to just about every memory I have. When I feel the crisp air of fall, all I can think about is taking a long walk outside like I used to through my childhood neighborhood of Coulwood. An hour would seem like merely five minutes when I was walking up and down the hilly tree-lined streets wearing a sweatshirt and a ponytail. I think about registering for 5K races through downtown Charlotte and the excitement of being bunched up with hundreds of other runners just waiting for the race to begin while we are all trying to warm up our bodies because the cool morning weather chills our hands and noses. In the early morning or late afternoon, sitting by the fireplace reading with a mug of hot tea, comfy clothes and warm, fuzzy socks just makes me feel like all is right in the world. While I don’t have time today to write about more memories and pieces of fall that I love, I am going to make a conscious effort to write about them in the coming weeks.

I believe the reason I love autumn so much is because it is when I feel the most peace, protection and comfort. It’s as if God uses the fall season in my life to remind me of His love for me…that He will never leave me and everything is going to be alright. I am so thankful to God for fall and the three months of renewal it brings to the deepest parts of my soul.

- Kati

Two Year Wedding Anniversary!

2011-06-17T20:27:00.019-04:00

On Monday, June 20, we will be celebrating our second wedding anniversary. This year, we will also be celebrating seven years knowing each other as well as seven years together (dating, engaged and married). Although we've gone through so much together over the years, we couldn't imagine spending a single moment without each other. With God's amazing grace and strength, we cannot wait to spend the rest of our lives together -- learning, growing, loving and, most importantly, becoming more like Jesus Christ because of each other and how God uses marriage to challenge and refine every part of us.

Below, we've posted one picture from each of the years we've been "Ray and Kati":

Our First Photograph

(Met: September 11 / Started Dating: September 20)

September 2004

One Year Dating Anniversary

September 20, 2005

North Myrtle Beach, SC

2006

Trip to the Melting Pot

2007

Ray's Graduation from UNC-Charlotte

(We became engaged on January 18, 2008 at the Melting Pot)

December 20, 2008

Our Wedding Day

June 20, 2009

One Year Wedding Anniversary Trip to Asheville, NC

June 2010

Our Second Married Christmas in Orlando, FL

December 25, 2010

Two Years Married and Seven Years Together

(Wedding Anniversary: June 20 / Dating Anniversary: September 20)

2011

We Sorta Bought...a House!!!!

2011-02-20T19:34:00.004-05:00

Yes! We did it! On Thursday, January 27, we signed the contract on our dream home! It's located in Davidson and it's perfect!

It has oak hardwood floors, granite countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms, tile in the laundry room and bathrooms, and it's a corner lot with a two car garage...awesome!

Here is the view from the front of the house:

We'll add before and after pictures after we move in, but we close on March 31!

Also, today we bought our first appliances as a married couple! After spending the afternoon at Lowes, Sears, HHGregg, and Best Buy...we purchased a front loading washer and dryer from Sears. They had the best prices and the best service. We worked with Jessica at the Sears Appliance Store at Northlake Mall, and it was great. We highly recommend going there for any major appliances!

More pictures to come after closing!

Hello 2011!

2011-01-01T14:32:00.006-05:00

Happy 2011 Everyone!

It's going to be an awesome year -- I can feel it. I'm so glad to say "goodbye" to 2010 and "hello!" to 2011. This year, Ray and I decided not to make too many resolutions but, here are some goals that we'd like to meet:

Ray

1. Make health a priority and get to 165 lbs

2. Run a 5K (February 5, 2011!)

Kati

1. Practice baking and homemade gift creating

2. Run a second half-marathon (April 16, 2011!)

We also want to grow much closer to God in our relationships with Him, be more intentional about making each other a valued priority (weekly date nights are now non-negotiable!) and build stronger relationships with our family and friends.

For the end of 2010, we spent a wonderful week in Orlando, Florida. While there, we golfed, went to Disney World and relaxed! Here are some pictures from our trip:

In our condo

Outside our condo at the lake

Driving to Disney World!

On our favorite "ride" -- the monorail!

Us from 2007 at Epcot Leave a Legacy (center picture)

Hello Fall!

2010-10-11T08:28:00.003-04:00

Wow! It has been forever since we've updated our blog. We've been keeping up with all of our friends' blogs but I guess it's time to stop neglecting our own. So, what have we been up to?

Well, we've been working a lot, playing tennis a few nights a week and have taken up a love for House and the beginning episodes of Grey's Anatomy. I guess with Ray working in healthcare, we've gained a love for all things medical related. We're not huge TV watchers so we've been catching all of the episodes on Hulu.

We are also so thankful that it is fall! It's our favorite time of year. We've been trying to get outside as much as possible (usually playing tennis) and have planned a long-weekend getaway around the end of October. We can't wait! Another thing we've been doing is dancing a lot...check out our pretty neat video:

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-03T12:44:00.017-04:00

We love the 4th of July and celebrating the amazing country that we live in! Since Independence Day is actually tomorrow, Sunday, our neighborhood decided to have its annual 4th of July parade this morning. It was a fun morning spent with our family watching firetrucks, horses, old cars, dance teams and more celebrate joyously for this very fun and very significant holiday! Below are images from our fun filled morning with our family, especially our sweet nephew Isaac who will be three this November.

HAPPY 4th of JULY!

The Pledge of Allegiance

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under GOD, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

A Little Bit Random...

2010-07-02T20:36:00.012-04:00

Ok, so this blog will be a bit random but we love random! About two weeks ago, our 1993 Ford Aerostar minivan died and we were forced to purchase a new car. After spending several days searching every dealership in Charlotte, and the surrounding areas, we ended up the beautiful car below. It was a great chance for us to compromise with each other and find something that would fit both of our personalities and budget.

Today, July 2, Ray had the day off from work so we have been able to spend the entire day together! This evening, we decided to cook one of our favorite meals: salmon, parmesan zucchini and squash and corn-on-the-cob. We try to not use very much salt when we cook and so we make use of herbs and Mrs. Dash A LOT. We sprinkle it on both our salmon and zucchini and squash to add wonderful, healthy flavor. Below is our newest flavor: onion and herb.

Below is our finished meal! We just boiled the corn, cooked the salmon for 15 minutes at 375 degrees and cooked the zucchini and squash with shredded parmesan cheese for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Delicious!

Our new door mat! We love it. We strive to live life simply and passionately...

Below is our newest art project: an octave of keys from a real grand piano! We are going to glue these together and hang them on one of the smaller walls in our kitchen. We both love music as well as antiques and this is the perfect new addition to our home decor!

Below is an photograph of Ray's grandfather, Ray Franklin Leach, in the Philippines during WWII with a wild monkey that he befriended. When Ray returned from the war, he brought back a beautiful Japanese flag signed by some Japanese soldiers. Because of Kati's passion for the Japanese language and people (she was a Japanese minor at UNC-Charlotte), she was so thrilled when we inherited the flag. Because the size is unique, we are having to create a custom frame. Once we've had the frame made, we will hang it up in our home!

The flag...

Not to Much to Write But...

2010-07-01T09:13:00.004-04:00

Summer is here and we are lovin' it! Although we haven't made it to the pool or the beach yet, we have been able to enjoy being outside and working in our yard and garden. Kati LOVES being able to eat the beautiful tomatoes and cucumbers that have been growing in our garden. We haven't really done any renovations to our house lately but are hoping to start soon with painting and updates. As we start doing more, we will definitely share our progress with you!

But, what we have been up to lately is working...although it doesn't sound extremely thrilling, it does take up several hours of our week and we are so thankful to have wonderful jobs with great organizations. I am still working at our church Monday-Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Ray is also still with Carolinas Healthcare System but he will be starting his new position at CMC-Lincoln on Monday and he will be joining an excellent team -- he couldn't be more excited!

Here's us all excited about summer and its sunshine!

Our cucumbers!

Our One Year Anniversary

2010-06-21T19:51:00.026-04:00

On Sunday, June 20, we celebrated our one year wedding anniversary! To make the occasion extra-special, we took a four day trip to Asheville, NC and stayed at the Whitegate Inn and Cottage. We left Charlotte for Asheville on Thursday morning and returned home on Sunday. Here are some pictures from our wonderful trip!

The sign outside of our Bed and Breakfast

Our room, the Elizabeth Barrett Browning suite

The keys to our room...

Our first lunch in Asheville at the Mellow Mushroom!

They have the best pizza (spinach, onion and pepperoni is our favorite)

Before breakfast on Friday morning at our Bed and Breakfast

At the Biltmore Estate during the Rooftop Tour

We loved playing chess each day!

To celebrate the eve of our anniversary, we went to an amazing chocolate store called Chocolate Fetish and purchased chocolate covered strawberries and raspberries and four truffles...AMAZING

We also had our favorite wine, Moscato

This is us back at our home on Sunday, our one year anniversary!

It's been an awesome year together... we are more in love today than we were on our wedding day and we are so excited for our love to continue to grow during our next forever together!

Only Seven Days...

2010-06-13T20:36:00.026-04:00

Today is exactly one week until our one year anniversary! We would love to share with you some photographic memories of our almost six years together...

Our very first photograph together!

Our second date on September 18, 2004
(with our friends, Tim and Amanda)

Steven and Betsy's wedding on October 16, 2004

Our one year dating anniversary on September 20, 2005

Halloween 2005

Our first professional photograph together in December 2005

Charleston, SC trip 2005

Our very first trip to the Melting Pot in April 2006!

Ray's 22nd birthday on March 5, 2007

We got engaged at the Melting Pot on January 18, 2008!

The day after we got engaged!

One of our awesome engagement photographs

Another one of our awesome engagement photographs

Ray's graduation from UNC-Charlotte in December 2008!

(Kati graduated from UNC-Charlotte in May 2009 but we don't have a digital photo)

Easter at Verizon 2009

Our wedding on June 20, 2009!

So in love...

We're husband and wife and each other's best friend!

Our honeymoon in Williamsburg, VA on June 21, 2009

Rebecca's Shower

2010-06-12T09:45:00.007-04:00

Yesterday night I (Kati) celebrated the upcoming wedding of one of my closest friends, Rebecca. Rebecca and I both work together (but not for long because she is moving!), are running buddies (we ran our first half-marathon together in December!) and are soon to share a wedding date: June 20. I am so thankful for the past year that I have had to get to know Rebecca...she is truly one of my dearest friends and I am just so excited for her as she starts on her new adventure of marriage with Nick. But, I'm definitely going to have to start flying on planes so I can go see her!

The Bride-to-Be!

My other awesome friends and coworkers, Melissa, Amber, Kenzie and Lindsay!

Rebecca and I after finishing our half-marathon!

Crowders Mountain and Our Herbs, Raised Beds and Blackberries!

2010-06-11T12:22:00.017-04:00

Hello again!

Well, since we haven't posted in so long, we are trying to catch up. A few Saturdays ago, we decided to go hike Crowders Mountain -- it was so fun! The trail we went on took us about an hour or two to complete (both going up the mountain and coming back down). We had a wonderful time together laughing and climbing what seemed like 1,000+ stairs. After our hike, we saw that one of our back tires was completely flat and so we ended up going to get all four tires replaced (they were all in pretty bad shape for sure). After we got home from getting the tires replaced, we quickly got cleaned up and headed to our church for the Saturday night service...it was a long but great day together! Here are some photos:

Ok, we also wanted to blog photos of our herbs and raised beds that we blogged about yesterday. Below is a photo of our little herb pot a few months ago when Kati's mom, Robin, planted everything:

Below is how much they've grown!

Below are photos of our raised beds -- we are growing tomatoes, squash, zucchini, lettuce, bell peppers and cucumbers:

Another cool thing is that we have wild blackberries growing in our back yard! We haven't been brave enough to try them yet but we love having them around :)

In Just 10 Days...

2010-06-10T13:00:00.000-04:00

We can't believe it...in exactly 10 days from today, we will be celebrating our one year wedding anniversary! This year has been a wonderful whirlwind of life changes and lasting memories. We have moved twice, had job transitions and experienced our first robbery. But, seriously, we've had an awesome year together. Not only are we husband and wife but, we are truly each other's best friend. This year we've learned how to live on our own and rely on each other and God.

Ok, so here are a few bits of random information about us for 2010:

Ages
Ray -- 25
Kati -- 22
Jobs
Ray -- Carolinas HealthCare System
Kati - Mecklenburg Community Church
Favorite Hobby
Ray -- Golfing
Kati -- Exercising (or at least attempting to exercise!)
Favorite Meal
Ray -- Salmon, parmesan asparagus, sweet potato and homemade bread with EVOO and balsamic vinegar
Kati -- Brixx salad with salmon
Favorite Dessert
Ray -- Frozen fruit (blackberries, raspberries and blueberries) with honey
Kati -- Ice cream (mint chocolate chip, cookies and cream and cookie dough)
Favorite Movie
Ray -- The Proposal
Kati -- Avatar
Favorite TV
Ray -- The Office
Kati -- House Hunters
Favorite Vacation Spot
Ray and Kati -- The Inn at Ragged Gardens
Current Cars We Drive
1. 1998 Toyota Corolla
2. 1993 Ford Aerostar minivan (aka "Big Bertha")
Age of Our Refrigerator
1970s for sure...
Favorite Thing about Our Refrigerator
When the door randomly falls off
Favorite Sounds in the Our House
1. Kati's alarm clock crickets that go off without fail every morning at 6:30 a.m.
2. Buddy's collar-shaking at all hours during the night to let us know that he has to potty

Gardening and Yard Work

2010-06-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

Hello faithful readers!

Recently we undertook an outdoor project! We wanted to really spruce up the curb appeal of our home so we decided to mulch to accomplish this and the results are pretty spectacular:

We also started our very first raised-bed garden in the back yard (thanks to Kati's dad, Glenn, for making the raised beds!). Unfortunately, we don't have the pictures of the stages of our garden set-up (they were on our other computer and well, anyone who knows us knows what happened with that!). But, our tomatoes, squash, zucchini, bell peppers and cucumbers are growing like weeds! We will take a few pictures and post them soon.

We love our home!

Our First Snow!

2010-04-18T18:27:00.011-04:00

Okay...we realize that this post is about 4 months late, but it's better than nothing at all! On January 30, 2010, we experienced our first married snow! Here are some pictures from "Blizzard 2010"!

Enjoy!

It's been a while...

2010-02-22T21:40:00.002-05:00

After looking at our blog today, I (Kati) realized that we haven't written a single thing on here in about five months. Has it truly been that long? So much has changed in those few months: Ray is now back at the YMCA working in the member services and afterschool departments (and spending the rest of his time drumming at Meck) and we've moved from our apartment to a wonderful home that was my grandmother's. I'm still at Meck and lovin' it! God is teaching me so much there. There is so much that I would love to write and need to take the time to do it but...I will eventually (when I can get to a computer and not just my phone) :)

Blowing Rock, NC

2009-09-26T17:10:00.018-04:00

September 6-7, Ray and I took a trip up to Blowing Rock, NC for a wonderful Labor Day getaway. Here are some pictures from our amazing 24 hour trip!

Nothing Interesting

2009-07-27T12:35:00.006-04:00

Wow -- I can't believe that so much time has passed since Ray and I last posted anything on here. The month of July hasn't been very eventful for either of us. We did celebrate our one month married anniversary but, that's about it. Ray and I have been working hard and going non-stop between our jobs, church, and random extras. Ray works Monday - Friday and I work Monday - Thursday as well as Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings. Because I work during the weekends, I have Fridays off which is wonderful because I'm able to take care of our home so that when Ray and I are together on the weekends, we don't really have to do much cleaning (unless I only wash some of the clothes and towels on Friday and have more on Saturday). Ray is actively involved in our church's arts team and on the weekends he drums for the worship band, he has practice the Tuesday evening before and then during the weekend we get to the church at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoons and are there until a little after 7:00 p.m. On Sundays, we are both back at the church by 8:15 a.m. until around 1:00 p.m. Although it is a long weekend every weekend, we love being a part of our church family and it's worth every minute! Starting in August, we will both be working with our church's college ministry on Monday nights as well. This fall will be a busy one! Yesterday, after church, we just hung out at our home doing nothing at all except for taking some time to relax. It was wonderful! Even though it seems like we are always on the go, one thing's for sure...we are so blessed! God has given us jobs that allow us to live and a church family that means so much to us. He's also given us two amazing families (Ray's and mine) that we love more than anything. So even though we don't have anything interesting in our lives to write about from the month of July as of yet, we have tons of blessings! :) Oh yeah, and in December we are going on a week-long vacation to the beach!!!!! We can't wait for that!!!!!

A Couple of This Week's Dinners...

2009-07-05T17:00:00.005-04:00

Ray and I have been making all of our meals at home, except for dinner on Friday night and Saturday night using our weekly date money. We've had a great time cooking together and have already planned our meals for next week and went grocery shopping together this afternoon.

Here is the pizza we made for lunch today. The crust is from Trader Joe's and the pepperoni is turkey pepperoni! We paired the pizza with a salad and had a great meal!

Here is the chicken wraps we made for lunch on Friday, July 3. It was a fun, festive meal!

A Note from Kati...

2009-07-04T15:29:00.003-04:00

Ray and I have now been married for two full weeks...and they've been the best two weeks of my life! While I'm writing this blog, Ray is practicing for tonight's worship at our church. I decided to take this time without him to write about a few of the great things that Ray does -- Ray helps me 150% with everything related to our home and life. In our family of two, Ray ALWAYS washes the dishes, helps wash the laundry, helps fold and put away the laundry, helps grocery shop, helps cook, helps vacuum and mop the floors, helps sanitize everything, etc. In a nutshell, RAY DOES EVERYTHING at our home with me and I am so appreciative. He also makes me laugh all of the time!

I LOVE MY HUSBAND!

Our First Real Dinner

2009-06-29T20:29:00.010-04:00

Tonight, June 29, we prepared our first dinner...the dish? Shepard's Pie! First, we cooked ground turkey and mixed in onions and kidney beans followed by tomato sauce. Then, we put it into a pan and covered it with mixed veggies, corn, green beans, mashed potatoes and cheese. We popped it in the oven on 350 for about 10 minutes and broiled it for about two minutes. The result: delicious food with leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Our First Real Breakfast

2009-06-29T20:24:00.004-04:00

On Sunday, June 28, we made our first real breakfast at our apartment. It was a mixture of strawberries, blueberries, grapes, bananas, nectarines, yogurt, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. It was fantastic!

Our First Grocery Trip!

2009-06-29T20:08:00.009-04:00

We went grocery shopping for the first time on Saturday, June 27. The night before, we planned out all of our meals for the week so that we can cook together and eat at home. Below, the first picture is the Excel worksheet of our meal plan for the week.

Our New Apartment!

2009-06-20T05:49:00.001-04:00

BEFORE

AFTER