Friends

We had the pleasure of keeping Wyatt and Ella a few nights ago while their mommy and daddy had a much deserved date night.


They are so sweet with William. Of course the dogs had be a part of playtime.

They love him so much that they fight over who gets to hold him. He is almost as big as they are so I am not sure how much longer this will last.
Ella's turn!!


We got to see them the following night too when we all went out to celebrate Shea's birthday at California Dreaming.
I must warn you that the quality of these pictures is awful, but too special to not post. I forgot to change it from manual seeting for Ricky to take this photo.


William and his Aunt B. She is so awesome! William sat in her lap the entire night. I dont know wanyone that is better with children than our very own Aunt B.

Day 5- Bonnie's Birthday

Today was Bonnie's birthday so I got to spend the day with her and the kids. It wasn't really planned ahead of time. But when I talked to her and she mentioned that she might make her homemade chicken and dumplings there was no question that William and me were on our way. It's a nice thought that you may get to sit and talk with a girlfirend for hours on end, but that is just not reality. With three little ones that is just not possible. We had a lot of fun though. Happy Birthday Bonnie! We had a great time.

This is the photo of the day. It's really not a great picture. But it really captures what I love the most about her. Ella is the spunkiest little thing I ever seen. She says the funniest things, keeping us in stitches all the time. They could do that show "Kids say the Darnedest Things" again with only her and they would have an entire season of material.

My Baby Shower

On Sunday, Carolyn and her daughter Christie hosted a beautiful baby shower for me. It was a wonderful day full of great family and cherished friends.
We had a lot of fun eating, opening presents and playing games. It was a day full of laughter and memories that I will cherish forever.
Here are some pictures from the day.

for baby William

About a week ago I received a package that I had been waiting for. I knew that it was a box of clothes for William, but I am had no idea how much was being sent. The box is huge! Jamie sent me all of the clothes the her baby Noah has grown out of and several outfits that were even passed down from her older boys as well.

I had so much fun sitting on the floor, going through all of the adorable blue outfits, longing for the moment that I put my own baby in them.

To me this was a box of more than just clothes. They are a blessing to us, a blessing because I know that getting rid of such special items came with both joy and sadness for the mama that placed her own boys in these little outfits. I will cherish every item.

Jamie, I want to thank you again for the hundreds of things that you sent for William. And thank you for the shower gift as well.

I thought about posting photos of the some of my favorites, but I will wait until there is a baby in them.

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!

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!

An Irish Girl's English Tea Party

Saturday was a wonderful day. Shea's Aunt Theresa and her very good friend Dianne created much more than a bridal shower.

It was a day full of memories that I will cherish forever. There is so much to be said about that day. It was more than food and gifts. It was filled with a great deal of laughter and few tears. It was a blessing to share the day with my closest friends, my dear sister and my beautiful new family.

The day included my dear Aunt Theresa, who has an Irish heart of gold. Dianne, who co-hosted the day has a welcoming heart. The day would not have been the same without her hand on it. Aunt Cathy, who is truly a special women. She has for the last 7 years made me feel so welcome as a part of her family, even just as a friend to Shea. She never misses a single birthday or holiday. There are no two better Aunts in this world than her and Theresa.

Carolyn, a second cousin of Shea's is a joy to be around, I was honored to have her there as a part of this day.

Angela, my wonderful mother-in-law, words really can not describe my adoration for her. I count her among my best friends. She kept us all in stitches the whole day.

Nicki, my gorgeous sister. No one went through more than Nicki to be there. The day was even more wonderful because of her. The bond between us sisters in truly unique. She has always been one of my best friends. I have shared so much with her, I could not start this new chapter of my life without sharing the celebration with Nicki there. Jamie, my dearest friend. I look to her daily in admiration of her pure heart. I am honored that she will stand by me on the most important day of my life. And my newest friend Bonnie, she is a beautiful person and now one of my best friends. It doesn't feel like our friendship is new, because she has the ability to make everyone around her feel as though they have known her for years.

You ladies made my day! I love you all very much. Thank you for the wonderful gifts, I will cherish them always. Thank you for celebrating with me this memorable time in my life. It has been a season of many blessing. You are all my family and my life is beautiful because of your friendships and love. These memories I will cherish with all of my heart and all the scrap booking that my shelves can contain!



Hope you enjoy the pictures from the day. Thank you Jamie for the wonderful images, and capturing them all.

The Adorable Wyatt & Ella

Usually 1-2 times a week Shea and I hang out with Rob and Bonnie. They have two adorable kids, Wyatt 5 and Ella 2. I love spending time with them. Wyatt has a funny personality, one full of mischief and humor just like Rob and Shea. He is quite the prankster! (his poor Mama, Bonnie has her hands full with Wyatt and Rob) He a ton of fun though and really cute.
Ella is the sweetest little girl. She has a wonderful personality and an infectious laugh. Until I knew her, I had no desire to have a flower girl in my wedding. Now, of course she is my beautiful little flower girl.
For a couple months we have been over at their house pretty regularly and every time the kids would say "where are the dogs.....will you bring you dogs next time?"
So after being asked over a hundred times we brought Game and Moses to meet them.
It was a lot of fun to see them play with the kids.
Game and Moses have totally different personalities......especially when it comes to kids.
Moses tends to hide from kids. He doesn't care for all the noise and just wants to chill out on his own or with me and Shea. Game on the other hand is so loving. They crawl all over him, play with his ears, and play rough with him. He can not get enough of all the attention.
Here are a couple of pages that I made from the day.