What a week!

I thought this picture of Zayne illustrated really well what our week felt like. Happy, crazy, fun, and a whirlwind. I will give a rundown of the week in more detail below, but the opening of Rudino's Pizza and Grinder's went amazing! It is a lot of work and lots of hours for Micah and my dad, but we are having a blast. The Rudino's guys from NC who had been with us for the first week of opening all headed home today. Which means today is the first day on our "own." This is also the first day Micah has left the computer home with me :). Ok, below is a snapshot - in words - of our week.

Monday - The Rudino's guys come into town and we start prepping and making food. Micah and I had a really good friend come for a visit from FL. He was actually in Jackson doing some computer work for New Tribes Mission Bible school and we got to have him up for dinner. It was so special to have him come and see our life here. We got to show him all around the business and he ended up coming both on Sunday night and Monday and got to taste the first pizza. Monday we also had a couple family and friends come into the restaurant. We didn't have much food, but they got to taste a couple things and we had fun just hanging out.

Tuesday - This was the family and friend night. It was a huge success and really fun for us and especially my parents to be able to give back to some of the community for all they have done for our family. We had about 50+ people. Zayne was the biggest success of the night. He got to spend part of the day with "Safta" and then came and entertained everybody at the restaurant.

Wednesday - Official Opening Day! This was a busy day with a steady crowd at both Lunch and Dinner. It was fun as our first order was from the new church we are attending here - Grand Ledge Baptist. I guess all the employees they hired are doing great and learning really quickly. Micah is really good at everything he does and the Rudino's guys were all amazed at his calm, confidence - That's my Man!

Thursday - This day was a bit slower, which gave everyone a chance to catch their breath and work on organizing and getting procedures set up. We still had a pretty steady crowd though and Zayne and I went for a visit to see everyone. Zayne loves going and seeing Micah and walking around the kitchen looking at everything.

Friday - This was a busy day again. It was our busiest day yet and everyone who comes in seems to really enjoy the food. It is a really fun, family atmosphere. Micah didn't get home until 12am and then we stayed up talking until 2am. Zayne woke up at 3 am for some reason and then again at 6am. Needless to say we are a little sleep deprived, but happy and so looking forward to Sunday( our one day off!)
Hope this gives a little into our week!

Uncle Siah

Here are some pictures of Zayne and my brother Josiah. They always have lots of fun together trying new things. Josiah likes to put Zayne in all sorts of funny positions. Today, he had Zayne inside the cookie container at the business. Zayne isn't quite sure what to make of it all and just sort of stares us at Siah like he is wondering what they are going to get into next. I have a feeling Uncle Siah is going to be a favorite playmate!

Rudino's is set to open on Feb. 25th. Crunch time! We are having a blast though and everything is looking awesome. Zayne hasn't been feeling the best the last few days. I think he caught another viral infection. It isn't as bad as the last one though and he seems to be on the mend now. Speaking of... I need to give the little guy his bath.

Tim Horton's Coffee

This Sunday it was WAY to cold for another hike so we did the next best thing... Went out for coffee. Micah grew up in Canada and loves Tim Hortons. Michigan has just started getting a few in the area and there is one about 15 minutes from our house. It was such a fun, relaxing outing. As you can see Zayne loved every minute of it and is probably going to be a coffeeaholic like his dad :). After coffee we drove around to some other parks in the area and scouted out some fun Summertime things to do.

We also went to Grand Ledge Baptist Church Sunday morning and once again really enjoyed it. Micah and I both feel very at home there and every week feel challenged. What a blessing to find a great church on our first try! God continues to lead and guide in our lives even when sometimes we feel it is in the wrong direction - ie North instead of South :).

The business is set to open next Monday. Rudino's Pizza and Grinders has been freshly painted, cleaned, remodeled, and is now just waiting for the food. It is actually a lot more complicated than that, but bottom line, we are getting ready to open!!! The official opening is Feb. 25th and we will have a Grand Opening sometime in March. We are all super excited - if you are in the area, come on in for some AWESOME pizza and super AMAZING staff/owners :)

Getting so Big!

Zayne is growing up so fast. I sometimes wish I could just push pause for awhile. I really enjoy this stage. He is almost 6 months and is just so interactive and fun. We love spending all day together. Today we went to "Mom's and More" a bible study group at the Church we have been going to for the last couple weeks. We really have been enjoying it and I think we found a "chuch home." This is the one that is only a couple minutes from our house, Zayne likes the nursery, they let you bring coffee mugs into the sanctuary AND they preach from the Bible. Can't get much better than that! Well, I should go help Micah with the little guy. As you can see from Zayne's shirt at the bottom, he is an awesome dude!

Fitzgerald Park

This is the park that we walked to on the nature hike. It has all sorts of trails, a little theatre, a sledding hill and tobogan run, rock climbing and a little childrens playground. I think it will quickly become a favorite place of ours. We are really starting to enjoy the area we are living. It is nice everything is so close by and the town seems to try and make it a pleasant and inexpensive place to live. We even found out they have a free ice skating park, with free skate rentals. All the ice and snow has melted now, but don't worry - it's MI and I'm sure will all be back next week! :)

Some Black and White

A few more of of the Sunday Hike - In black and white.

Sunday Hike

The last few days have been beautiful here. Today it was in the 60s. On Sunday we took advantage of the Spring like weather and went for a nature hike on the trail behind our house. We had so much fun. It was so nice to get out! Zayne loved it and made it almost the whole 2+ miles before falling asleep right at the end. Here are some pictures of our time. Above are a few of Zayne getting dressed and ready to go. My mom bought him the long underwear and they are so cute!

Here is us by the river. Our house faces this view. It will be really fun in the summer when we can really get out and enjoy the beautiful landscape.

Wonderful Hubby!

This morning, I was reminded once again what a wonderful husband I have. It is still freezing here, although suppossedly 30 is a "warm front" around here. Anyway, today I was headed to my first time at "Moms and More"-A group for mom's with young children at the Church we tried out on Sunday. I was totally out of gas, but promised Micah I would stop at the gas station right up the road before I went to the group. He headed off to the business and a few minutes later I made it out the door. When I got to the gas station, his gray truck was waiting and he jumped out and filled up my tank. I was able to just sit in my warm car. While maybe just a little thing to some, this is the type of thing Micah does everyday all day long for his family. He is constantly putting us first and our needs above his own. He is the man I dreamed was out there and never really thought I would find. I am so glad he is in my life. I caught me a good one and I'm playing for keeps! :) Happy Friday!

Wordless Wednesday

"Kisses for Mommy"

New Highchair

The Pictures above are just too cute not to show you all. Zayne sports these huge smiles all day long. I think he is starting to teeth for real now. He chews on anything and especially loves fingers. He is like a little puppy dog, trying to get whatever he can in his mouth. We have some teething toys and I think I am going to get him some of that orajel and also the little netting teethers that I can put fruit or ice in.

Below are a couple pictures of Zayne in his new highchair we went and purchased at babies R us yesterday. He loves it! It is perfect for our house as well, because it is space efficient and sits on the chairs we own. It was cheap too! Tonight we are having one of my friends from highschool over for dinner. It has been fun reconnecting with people and catching up. Oh - my mom's birthday was a success. We had it on Sunday as a combined Superbowl party - her idea - isn't she a perfect Mom for 4 boys?! We had tons of good food, ice cream cake, and lots of LOVE!