About us
- Rachel Renner Jacques
- Hi, welcome to our blog! We are newlyweds living in Memphis, TN. We love life, adventure and of course each other. We're starting a blog to keep track of any and 'all things Jacques' so we can look back and cherish memories from our first year of marriage. We'll be sharing memories, I'm sure a lot of our dog Bella, favorite recipes, books, trips, spiritual thoughts, home projects, and anything we're enjoying in life at the moment! We hope you enjoy as well. Much love, Michael and Rachel Jacques
Showing posts with label Volunteering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Volunteering. Show all posts
Monday, July 15, 2013
It's been a while since I have mentioned Chloe... Not because she hasn't been on my mind (constantly I might add) but because I have been anxiously awaiting news of how her training was going.
(In case you need a refresher: We fostered Chloe and after a month or so we decided to adopt her but shortly after had some aggression issues so he has since been in training in Springfield, TN with a highly recommended trainer. Chloe is above right and our dog, Bella, is above left.).
I talked with Erica and Melanie from Streetdog Foundation (the rescue group I volunteer with and that is helping Chloe find her forever home) and I have exciting news to report!
Chloe's Report:
She is now at a foster home in Dyersburg, TN. Her new foster, Melissa, and her family are going to contiue training with Chloe until they feel she is ready for a home OR may even adopt her themselves. Melissa's 15 year old daughter is in love with Chloe and rightly so. She is so easy to fall head over heels in love with. The report from the trainer is that she is extremely smart, needs an alpha human in her life and also needs a "job to do!". In fact, this trainer also does search and rescue training and has offered to train Chloe for free. Her foster, Melissa, has worked at shelters and humane societies and with rescues so she also has a lot of experience and has trained dobermans in the past. So, not only does Chloe have a strong alpha human in her life but she also may be a search and rescue dog! How cool is that? As always, I stand amazed at God's plan.
This is also something that has been on my mind lately... the need for me to control my life and question the ultimate plan and path that God has in store for me. So often I want to control but this is just one example that shows how more amazing life can be if you "let go and let God". Not only is Chloe better off now, getting the training and lifestyle she needs to succeed but Michael, Bella and I are happier than ever. Life is "back to normal" and Bella is 100% her sweet, prissy and smart self. I love my little family of 3. In fact, we just celebrated Bella's 3rd birthday! I can't believe where the time has gone. Below is a collage of Bella's birthday night. We had a great time!
Monday, January 28, 2013
Weekend Recap:
A birthday, volunteering, Mexican, a movie review, a great sermon and a visit to see two of our favorite people.
Friday
We celebrated my dad's 59th birthday (I cannot believe my dad is almost 60 years old... I still picture my parents at that 35-40ish age) with sushi on Friday night. It was so much fun! Always love great sushi and time with our parents. I truly believe that spending time with both sets of parents is important for your marriage. It's funny how you love spending time with your parents when you're young, then you are too cool for your parents and when you get older love spending time with them again. We are blessed to have great parents on both sides. We love you!
Picture of us and our parents at our wedding from left to right: my mom & dad, me, Michael, and his mom & dad.
Saturday
I am starting to volunteer with Streetdog Foundation. We had volunteer orientation on Saturday morning followed by an Adoption Day Event and I can't tell you how excited I am! If you aren't familiar with Streetdog foundation rescues, rehabilitates, and re-homes stray and abandoned dogs in Memphis, TN. These dogs are so appreciative of any affection, attention and love that they receive. It makes it so worth while. I can't wait to get more involved with volunteer opportunities. There are so many ways to help out!
Definitely check them out on their website and on Facebook.
After volunteer orientation a girlfriend and I decided to make the most of this January patio weather. If you haven't tried Mi Pueblo near the Paradiso, it's a must. They have such a cool atmosphere, great food and yummy drinks... not to mention an awesome patio that over looks Poplar area. We were in the mood for something different so we got their frozen Strawberry margaritas! They were pretty and delish.
Check out their happy hour. It's .99 domestic drafts and $1.99 margaritas!
Saturday night ended with a movie and some ice cream with my two favorites (Mike and Bella, of course). We rented the Bourne Legacy from Redbox and although we enjoyed the ice cream and each other's company... it was a pretty pointless 2 hours. I'd rate it a 5 on a scale of 1-10. The viewers via Rotten Tomatoes seem to agree.
Say yes to ice cream but no to The Bourne Legacy.
Sunday
Sunday morning we did our weekend routine and had coffee, eggs and bacon and got ready for church. It felt good to be back at church after 2 weeks of not being able to go. The sermon was fantastic. It was about God's covenant with each of us individually. I definitely learned some things. One of my favorite things that our pastor said on Sunday is that God gives specific symbols that we are supposed to carry as Christians. He said, "You only have one second to be Christ for someone" meaning that in our interactions with people, we should posses the qualities of Christ. You never know what your kind actions or encouraging words can do for someone. Click here to check it out.
The end of our weekend was definitely the toughest. Michael's sweet grandmother, nanny, who I have come to love as my own, is very sick in the hospital with Pancreatic cancer and we went to visit her on Sunday afternoon. She was only diagnosed about a week ago and went through one chemo treatment. She is now not responsive and they are transferring her to hospice. It is so hard to see those that we love like that. However, if her quality of life is diminished Michael and I both are glad that she will be with the Lord soon. After all to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord and there is nothing greater than that. We also went to visit DD, nanny's husband, who is at Methodist Hospice. He has been there since Thanksgiving and has been eating and doing relatively well. Our hope is that the Lord will give us comfort and peace during this time. Please pray for our family. Nanny and DD are both such a special part of it and we are all grieving.
Love,
R & M
Friday
We celebrated my dad's 59th birthday (I cannot believe my dad is almost 60 years old... I still picture my parents at that 35-40ish age) with sushi on Friday night. It was so much fun! Always love great sushi and time with our parents. I truly believe that spending time with both sets of parents is important for your marriage. It's funny how you love spending time with your parents when you're young, then you are too cool for your parents and when you get older love spending time with them again. We are blessed to have great parents on both sides. We love you!
Saturday
I am starting to volunteer with Streetdog Foundation. We had volunteer orientation on Saturday morning followed by an Adoption Day Event and I can't tell you how excited I am! If you aren't familiar with Streetdog foundation rescues, rehabilitates, and re-homes stray and abandoned dogs in Memphis, TN. These dogs are so appreciative of any affection, attention and love that they receive. It makes it so worth while. I can't wait to get more involved with volunteer opportunities. There are so many ways to help out!
After volunteer orientation a girlfriend and I decided to make the most of this January patio weather. If you haven't tried Mi Pueblo near the Paradiso, it's a must. They have such a cool atmosphere, great food and yummy drinks... not to mention an awesome patio that over looks Poplar area. We were in the mood for something different so we got their frozen Strawberry margaritas! They were pretty and delish.
Saturday night ended with a movie and some ice cream with my two favorites (Mike and Bella, of course). We rented the Bourne Legacy from Redbox and although we enjoyed the ice cream and each other's company... it was a pretty pointless 2 hours. I'd rate it a 5 on a scale of 1-10. The viewers via Rotten Tomatoes seem to agree.
Sunday
Sunday morning we did our weekend routine and had coffee, eggs and bacon and got ready for church. It felt good to be back at church after 2 weeks of not being able to go. The sermon was fantastic. It was about God's covenant with each of us individually. I definitely learned some things. One of my favorite things that our pastor said on Sunday is that God gives specific symbols that we are supposed to carry as Christians. He said, "You only have one second to be Christ for someone" meaning that in our interactions with people, we should posses the qualities of Christ. You never know what your kind actions or encouraging words can do for someone. Click here to check it out.
The end of our weekend was definitely the toughest. Michael's sweet grandmother, nanny, who I have come to love as my own, is very sick in the hospital with Pancreatic cancer and we went to visit her on Sunday afternoon. She was only diagnosed about a week ago and went through one chemo treatment. She is now not responsive and they are transferring her to hospice. It is so hard to see those that we love like that. However, if her quality of life is diminished Michael and I both are glad that she will be with the Lord soon. After all to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord and there is nothing greater than that. We also went to visit DD, nanny's husband, who is at Methodist Hospice. He has been there since Thanksgiving and has been eating and doing relatively well. Our hope is that the Lord will give us comfort and peace during this time. Please pray for our family. Nanny and DD are both such a special part of it and we are all grieving.
Love,
R & M
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