Sunday, December 27, 2009

Christmas at Home

After a long drive back from Georgia, I realized that there really is no place like home. Before we left for Georgia Shea and I went out to eat with his aunts and mom to exchange gifts. There was no big family gathering, which was really nice. We spent Christmas day at Shea's parent's house.

Unfortunately we awoke Christmas morning to pouring down rain. It didn't ruin our day though. We spent the day just relaxing, opening gifts and talking about how great next year will be with a little one here.
Speaking of William, even though he is not currently present he was showered with many, many Christmas presents from Shea's family.
We had a wonderful holiday. I will cherish this first year Christmas together forever, knowing that holidays in the years to come will never be the same. I so look forward to sharing next year with my baby boy.
Here are a few pictures.....





A Very Frady Christmas

This Christmas was really special being our first Christmas together as a married couple. We had to find a way though to fit in both families. I am so happy with the way that it worked out. We left Tuesday the 22nd for Kingston, Georgia the home of my Uncle Joel and Aunt Beth. It was a six hour drive, which is nothing considering that I used to live sixteen hours away, but being nearly 7 months pregnant sure can make a long car ride not so fun. I was so glad that my whole family made the trip. I got to see my sister and brothers, my dad and of course the one I looked forward to seeing more than anything....Asher. I even got see cousins for the first time in maybe 10 years.

We had a great couple of days. There was lots of good food, tag football, jumping of the trampoline and just the pure enjoyment of being together for the holidays.

Here are few pictures.....I must warn you though, someone took a razor to my poor nephew's beautiful blond hair. So dont be shocked by the images of the little bald boy....he is still adorable.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

maternity pictures

Regrettably I haven't had any photos taken of me during my pregnancy to show off the growth of my belly. I am really just not thrilled with the way I look pregnant and that is most of the reason I haven't taken any. But I know that I will regret not documenting this special time in my life.
When Jamie was pregnant with Noah, she did this awesome picture of herself in the mirror. While trying to figure out what to do about taking my own her photo came to mind. Jamie, I hope you don't mind me copying you!
Here are a few that I took.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Catching Up

It seems like every few days I think about something that I need to post. It just seems like the actual appointment to sit down and do it never arrives. There are several events that I needed to post over the last month or so , but I kept putting it off. So, now I am going to cram them all into one post and just try better next time.
First of all.......at the end of last month I had the pleasure of going to Jacksonville, FL to visit my dearest friend, Jamie. It was the first time I have seen her since stopping by on my way home from our honeymoon.
This was especially exciting because I got to meet the newest addition to the Graston family, little Noah Justice.
The time I got to spend just sitting and talking with Jamie was all very refreshing. In a way, when I am with her it feels like going home, to a place that is familiar and comfortable. Her friendship is so precious to me, so necessary almost like oxygen to my soul at times.
Another great pleasure from the visit was that I got to take photos of Jamie and baby Noah together. They are very sweet pictures. I really loved being there with a brand new baby. It only made the yearning for William's arrival next year even stronger. I got some good baby 101 from the best mom in the world too. I wish she could be here to give me a refresher course when he does finally arrive.
It was a wonderful trip and I cant wait for my next one! Here are few pictures of Jamie and Noah.




I enjoyed the visit but was anxious to get home to see Shea and the dogs, what began as only a few days from home though turned into almost 9 days away on the way home.
Shea called me as I was driving back to tell me that he had the dreaded H1N1. That meant that I couldn't go home. Thank God I was gone the days that he was exposed to the swine flu. The Lord shielded me and my son.
Luckily we have a wonderful family here. Aunt Theresa allowed me to stay with her until it was safe for me to return home. As Shea rode out the flu, I was living the high life. Enjoying the magnificent view of the river from her condo, being treated life a queen. Shea said every time he called me we were always doing something. One of this family's favorite pass times is Scrabble....and we played a lot of Scrabble.
Here is a picture of that majestic view of the river.


And here is her cute dog, Willie. He dressed as Batman to pass out candy at Dianne's house.a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1UuajMR5K-Rts75l40fWk9yVHpzaXPiQt_qA_9qHz5kOhtD4yCYyx1pnwvRWaYAjpffZtsrYHHIXtMSCb6f4riyDZRqJYNJJNltjQRRPcOnv03-Wo0439v-gyRZ94muITEaeZXxFAhSLf/s1600/HPIM8633.JPG">
Last week, another one of our wonderful aunts, Aunt Cathy asked us to house sit for her and Uncle Tim. We took care of her 3 dalmatians for a couple of days. It was a lot of fun. We got to spend some time with Shea's cousin Mark too. It felt like a little mini vacation for us as well. It's nice to get away even if just for a short time. Even if it's not in a hotel in a land far away!
In case you haven't noticed.....(for the most part anyway) we are all dog people in this family!


Finally one of the last big events of this month........we celebrated Aunt Cathy's birthday with her on Tuesday. A hand full of us went to Outback for dinner and then headed over to her house for some.............you guessed it SCRABBLE. Another note on that little game of Scrabble...... I won! Just thought I would throw that in.



Now, November is almost over and the last event of this month will be Thanksgiving. Let's hope that I post photos and memories from that day before Christmas gets here.

Life is hectic right now, but it's starting to fizzle down. I have finals coming up in the the 2 weeks and a couple of research papers due. I am looking forward to this semester's end. At 25 weeks pregnant, I am noticing that my brain does not function at it's highest levels. I am praying for clear handedness the week of finals.


Pregnancy is beginning to get pretty cool! Finally, at 21 weeks I felt the baby move for the first time. I was at Jamie's house laying on the floor when felt him for the first time.
I called Shea to tell him about it and he said....." I am not sure you should be doing that, you could crush him." Once I figured out that it was easier to feel his movements whe I lay on my stomach, I did it all the time.
At 22 1/2 I began to feel him more throughout the day. It is one of the coolest experiences. Last night for the first time Shea put his hand on my stomach and felt kicks. That was also really special. I love experiencing him in new ways everyday. I think almost daily about how blessed I am to be giving the gift of fertility and motherhood.

I thought these were cute pictures of the dogs.........






This is one of my favorites!! This is how I feel 90% of the day!

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Gender Revealed.........

October 15th has been the most anticipated day of the pregnancy thus far. We we got to find out the sex! It was a really special day. Shea and I shared it with his mom, Angela and Shea's aunt, Theresa.
We arrived for the appointment and we were taken back for the ultrasound. It was all so exciting, that finally we were going to know. The ultrasound tech didn't look at gender first though, it wasn't until after 5-10 minutes that she got an image of the baby and said "it's a girl." Shea and I were really happy but had felt all along that we were having a boy (of course we will take what ever God chooses).
I had even bought 2 boy outfits with airplanes on them. Shea said, "looks like you have some things to take back."
The ultrasound lasted for about an hour, and about 20 minutes after she told us the it was a girl we heard her say, "uh, ohhhh?" I, of course, thought what is wrong with my baby. She said everything was fine, but she had big news about 5 minutes later. She said "it looks like your baby is a mischievous little boy!" She told us that what she thought originally were girl parts, were actually fingers. He had his hand covering himself.
So that was the official verdict...WE ARE HAVING A LITTLE BOY!
Shea of course is to excited, he has thought of nothing but having a son one day. I am thrilled as well. I was the oldest, and being a girl I always thought it would be really cool to have a big brother. Shea and I still cant get over how we found out. It is a really funny story.
To celebrate the occasion our sweet Aunt Theresa took us the the Irish cafe, Blue Rose ("blue" to celebrate having a boy of course).
Here are a few picture from this precious day in our lives.
............ and of course a scrapbook page for my precious son, William Shea.


Monday, September 28, 2009

YUMMMMY!!

I am finding that the most enjoyable part of pregnancy is the funny cravings. I have not craved anything like pickles in my ice cream, nothing funny like that. Really it is more like things that I never really thought of before I was pregnant. I now know too what a craving for something really is. It is not just a thought of "oh, that would taste good." It is more like I dont want to eat anything other than that.
My first one at 7 weeks was butter pecan ice cream. After it was satisfied I didn't want it again.

Then while I was sick all the time, all I really wanted was popsicles and ice. Lots of ice!!! Ice in anything that I would drink. Really I just loved anything cold and soothing.

So the last 2 weeks have been very interesting. All I could think of was boiled peanuts and pizza. The funny thing about that is that in all of my life I have never even really liked pizza. I am from Georgia so of course like any southern girl I love me some boiled peanuts.

Poor Shea has had to listen to me talk about pizza every time a commercial comes on. First, I thought let's do this the healthy way and eat a whole grain Kashi pizza......but this baby wanted something better.

Last Thursday we went to Rob and Bonnie's house to watch South Carolina beat the #4 team in the country. GO GAMECOCKS! My wonderful husband ordered us some Papa Johns pizza. Yummy!

Now, the boiled peanuts request is a little tricky. It turns out that the only farm in the south that has any is the Free family farm in Swainsboro, GA (Jamie's family). Shea questioned my sanity though when I talked about taking a trip to get some. I have really searched high and low.

Don't worry there is a happy ending to the story.......Shea was at work on Saturday and a girl came in with a bag full of boiled peanuts trying to get rid of them. He told her about his pitifull, pregnant wife and walked away with a bag full. So that night I got the surprise of my life (except for getting pregnant after being married 2 weeks). I loved every bite. And much to my surprise I am still craving them.

Wow, I cant believe that I just rambled on and on about pizza and boiled peanuts......there really isn't a lot going on in my life it seems!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Gamecocks vs. UGA

This past weekend finally got to use one of the coolest wedding gifts that we received. My wonderful brother Ricky bought us tickets to the always exciting USC vs. UGA game. Shea and I are South Carolina fans of course while my family members are staunch Georgia supporters.
We drove to Macon on Friday to check into our room. I got to spend some time with my family which I enjoyed. I especially enjoyed seeing Asher. He turned 2 on Thursday and is as cute as ever. His animated personality keeps us in stitches.
We drove to Athens for the game Saturday. It was an exciting game to see in person. Shea and I were way out numbered. Our team played a great game but unfortunately did not win.
I am hoping this will become a new family tradition every year. Playing against each other was cool to see all together. It was terrific weekend full of fun, excitement and more importantly family time.
We had an awesome time! Thank you Ricky!!!


Thursday, September 10, 2009

I have been told that after you have a baby that there is very little time for scrap booking. I am sure this is very true. One of the first goals I made when I found out that I was pregnant was to complete our wedding scrapbook at least digitally before the baby is here. I am sure that after his/her arrival the furthest thing from my mind will be archiving my wedding day. I am sure that all of my focus will be on scrapping first baths, smiles, etc. Our wedding was so beautiful and sweet, everything I could have imagined and I don't want those precious memories to be swept under the rug never to be archived.Before I found out about the baby I had already completed a few pages. Since then, I haven't done any (I haven't even opened span Photoshop in over 6 weeks). I am beginning to feel human again though so it is time to put my goals into actions.Completing our wedding album is among those at the top of the list.

Wedding Bouquets

This is a page of my bridesmaids and I picking out our bouquets the morning of the wedding. We went to the marioI got a ton of compliments on the flowers. I have to say that they were really beautiful. The wonderful lady that helped is one of my fondest memories of that experience. She shared genuine joy with us in the celebration of the moment and was honored to be a part of it.
It was a really creative way to take care of one of the biggest parts of a wedding.....but just awesome if I do say so myself!
This is a picture of Jamie, Me and Nicki with our bouquets. I am going to include in another page. I got it after I had already made this one. I thought I would throw it in this post though since it's us girls and our flowers.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Well today has been one of the best days I have had in quite a while. When I say best, I only mean that luckily I have kept some food down, my brain hasn't been all that foggy and I didn't want to go to bed today at 6 in the evening because of pure exhaustion.
This first trimester has been quite a ride. I am 13 1/2 weeks now and hoping that these awful symptoms will begin to taper off. I am feeling pretty good now .....and hoping that it lasts.

I started school back last week. My schedule is really hectic and exhausting, but I am trying to remember that getting all these classes done now will be far easier than after our baby is here.

I am so blessed that this semester my wonderful husband has given me the gift of not working. For the first time since I was 16, I don't have a job! It is hard for me to sit back and allow someone to take care of me. It is really a gift right now to focus on school and preparing for the little one.
Shea has been the best husband the last 2 months. He gets up with me durring night if I am suffering a migraine, or sick. All throughout the day he by my side taking care of me and baby. I couldnt ask for a better nurse than Shea.
The dogs are both doing good. Their lives have changed a lot in the last 2 months. Not as many walks, or trips to the dog park or beach. They are hanging in there though. They are such a comfort to me on my worst days. If I just need to lay down for a while and swim in my own head, they are right there. There is one on each side of me, loving on me, caring about me and the most important thing of all..........feeling sorry for me.
They are such sweet boys.

As for our little bun in the oven, everything is coming along. The doctor says that he/she is a strong healthy baby. Only about 6 more weeks until we get to find out the sex! I cant wait. I am defiantly too impatient to wait until the birth. A lot of people keep telling me that we should, I know I would not last. Shea even suggested it once. I kindly replied " have you met me"?
So that is the update in the Drolet household. Not a lot of excitement going on. Just ordinary life.

I will try to do better at putting my thoughts on here more often. I am not a good cyber friend. I am not good at this or facebook. But I really would like to try to keep up with this more, even if just for the sake of a little journal of this time in my life.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Rethinking My Wedding......

I saw this video on the news and thought...."wow that is memorable!"
We should have done that! I can just see it now, booty shaking all the way, Nicki, Jamie, baby and all. How hilarious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Time Flies

I realized today that it has been one year since I moved to Charleston. It went by so fast. My life has changed in huge ways since moving here.

I fell in love......got engaged....got married and now I am going to be a mama!

It has really been an amazing year. Probably the best year of my life so far. I love my life here. I love my new family and this beautiful city.


Pregnancy so far has been good. I am extremely tired, a little sick, but I know many mothers who have had it much worse....so I will not complain.

If the wives tale is true, that have heart burn means that your baby will be harry, then this child is fit for a zoo, because I have the worst heartburn.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Psalm 33


Psalm 33:7-10

He gathers the waters of the sea into jars ;

he puts the deep into storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the LORD;

let all the people of the world revere him.

9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.



I read Psalm 33 today. The beauty of His creation never seizes to amaze me. I am not sure how anyone to could see a beautiful sunset and not be blown away by His majesty and power. To me though, as I read today it is the realization that He made it all for me that takes my breath away. All for the enjoyment of His beloved (me). Not only that! Also that He, in all of of power, infinite splendor and glory, is not consumed with the wonders of His creation of this earth and world, He is consumed with love and awe over me.


The last part of Psalm 33 is beautiful.


Psalm 33:11-22

11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

13 The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.

14 From the place of His dwelling He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth;

15 He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.

16 No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

17 A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy,

19 To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name.

22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Just a little rhyme......

First comes love....



Then comes marriage....






Then comes Joanne with a baby carriage!




That's right, a baby carriage! We are having a baby. It was totally unexpected, not planned, but the greatest gift to date.

We are so happy and thrilled. We cant wait to meet this little one. I am due at the end of February, so I am 5 weeks along.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Jamie: A Beautiful Mother, Wonderful Friend



Today is a very special day. It is the 6th birthday of an adorable little boy.....Jamie's oldest son Luke. Anyone that knows Jamie knows that there truly is no other woman like her. Her heart is the most pure of anyone I have ever encountered. Daily, I say at least once " Jamie would do it this way...." or "Jamie says......." It is no secret that in every sense of the word she is my hero.
This post is dedicated to her.
Not only is today the day that this eternal soul was born into this world, it is also the day that a mother was born.
Jamie is the kind of mother that I hope to be one day. I don't even think she realizes how wonderful she is!
When she talks about these 3 boys of hers, her face is full of delight.
Only the Father knows the countless hours that she has spent in prayer for them. And in prayer over the details and decisions that she faces as their mother. She listens for the voice of the Lord and seeks His wisdom.
If I could have chosen my mother.....I probably would have chosen her! But, then I would have missed out the beautiful friendship that we have.

So happy six years to you Jamie You are an AMAZING mother.
Happy Birthday to you Luke! I love watching you grow up. I pray that daily as you grow, that will grow even more into a man after God's own heart.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Beautiful Summer Day

Yesterday, in the early afternoon I went out with my camera in search for beauty. We have been blessed with so much rain in the last 2 months, so the flowers have bloomed beautifully!


Here are a few that I took and a couple of pages I made with them. Enjoy!



Capturing a bumblebee at work.......



Monday, June 15, 2009

June So Far

I noticed today that I haven't yet posted some of our highlights from this month. We still have a good bit of the month left but here is a review of the first half.


Wyatt Graduated Kindergarten

Our good friends Rob & Bonnie invited us to attend their oldest child, Wyatt's graduation. He is such a smart kid and a lot of fun to be around. The highlight the evening was him winning the award for reading (having read to him) the most books. He had over 700 books read to him in this school year. Everyone was so proud, but no one was more proud than him!




Of course we cant forget Ella ( she will not let you). What a cutie! She loves to have Shea "pin" her around. She has us all wrapped her around her well polished little finger.






Snake Drama

Jamie has a had so much snake drama lately and now I have had my own. A few days ago, Shea was playing outside with the dogs. While Mr. Mark and I were inside. We all of a sudden heard Shea yelling "Dad, get the gun.....it's a rattlesnake."

Mr. Mark grabbed his gun and I of course grabbed my camera. This boy was big!




That day I gained even more respect for Mr. mark. From 15-20 feet away he took this snake out with a head shot. Here is the picture as he shot the snake.




I am so grateful that everybody was okay. Shea said that Game actually discovered the snake. It took Shea a moment to realize what he was looking at, but finally did. He said that there seemed to be a natural fear in Game of the snake.
Hopefully it will be the first and last time we encounter one of these creatures.


Living the Good Life


Daily life around here is really very simple. School keeps me very busy. Married life is wonderful. Our daily life is pretty routine. What to some may seem boring keeps me quite content. Mornings are spent drinking coffee and for me just trying to wake up (I've never been great at that). We usually take the dogs on a long walk, followed by the entertainment of watching my dogs play in the kiddy pool.

I am trying to take more time out for photos. Not just ones of the dogs, but of my beautiful surroundings as well.

Here are a few...





Okay, well I had to throw in a few of these gorgeous boys.


Hope you are all having a great summer!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Wishing & Discovering

For the last 3-4 months as I planned my wedding, I was excited about many, many things.....but if anyone knows me well they know that the scrap booking to come was what I couldn't wait for. I have been saving ideas and inspiration for what I hoped would be the most amazing wedding book of all time. Each day since I received my photos I have gotten in Photo Shop, opened some of my favorite images, made a 12x12 format and then.....NOTHING!
I have had a hard time placing words with images and colors that match. Each photo is priceless to me and placing them on a page seemed to take away from the sheer beauty that I would hope to emphasize.
So, yesterday as I was playing with my wedding photos, I just had to go in a completely different direction.
Daily I look at Jamie's blog. I love to read of the daily adventures in Grastonland. Jamie posted these pictures of Jacob a couple weeks ago. It reminded me of my own childhood. I spent a lot of time with my maternal grandparents as a child. I remember a home they had where I played in the backyard. Unusually alone, or my grandfather would sit with me. He would challenge me to find the most 4 leaf clovers in a clover bed. I guess it wasn't a very well kept yard because among those clovers there were hundreds of dandelions. I loved to blow the petals off of them. I still do. I cant help myself. I wonder what it was that I wished for? As I look around now, in my tiny house, unfinished floors....and mountains of school work that I sometimes feel will never end. I have to believe that most, if not all of those wishes have come true. My life is beautiful. I am richly blessed. I am discovering in this season that there is a Father that hears the wishes of my heart. The ones that are unsoken and the ones that blew in the wind of my own breath as a child. He is a Dream Maker.
Today if I came across a dandelion I know that I would have to make a wish. I know what it would be for...but if I tell you may not come true, so I will hold it close to my heart.
I hope that Jacob wishes on thousands of these in his lifetime
.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Wedding Pictures!

I got my wedding pictures a couple days ago from my photogrpaher. They are really good! I think she did a great job. I am so happy to have so many from her and from others that took a lot too.