Snowy Mt. Lemmon

Today, we went to Mt. Lemmon, Tucson's tallest mountain. It was covered with thick snow and we had a blast. We took a picnic lunch which we ate in the truck and then had hot apple cider at this little cute restaurant. We plan to go again soon...it was really fun!

A Great Name

Something just came to me....I was looking here at a book we have on the "Drolet"name. It chronicles the start of the name and what occupations most Drolet's held and where they originated from. It's neat..but it got me thinking.

Somewhere in Proverbs it talks about "a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches"
What if the names we trace through history don't really make all the difference because we have the amazing resposiblity and opportunity to "choose " our name?

We choose what we do with our time, what we think on, what we pay for, what we keep, what we give, what we laugh about, what we celebrate, what we treasure, maybe even what we die for.

This makes our name....this goes down in eternity...this leaves a mark on all the future generations...this causes the ripple effect.

Jonathan's Birthday!

Well, my baby turned 32 on Wednesday! We had a great dinner here at home that I made (notice how I'm complimenting my own cooking....well, it makes me feel better)!!I also made him a caramel banana walnut cake that was a huge hit and HOMEMADE dinner rolls and we had Austin and Cami and their little Finley over to celebrate!
We got him a new pair of shoes for the occasion and he said he had a great time!
No pics were taken...we were all too busy talking about how great my cooking was!!! Ha, ha!!!

Christmas Questionnaire

I stole this from Lauren and would like to hear your answers as well, so let me know if you blog on it!!

1. Paper or Bags for present wrapping?
Definitely paper on boxes. I love that traditional look.

2. Real of fake tree?
Fake...those real needles always make my knees itch

3.When to put the tree up?
The day after Thanksgiving

4. When to take it down?
Whenever the food is fully digested, usually 2 weeks after Christmas dinner!!!!!!

5. Egg nog?
Me, absolutely not but Jonathan loves it!

6.Favorite gift I have received?
A leather-bound study Bible with my name engraved on it from my parents. I was 15.

7. Do I have a nativity scene?
I did, but I cannot find it currently. It's from the dollar store and I'm not too fond of it.

8.Who's the hardest to buy for?
Jonathan's brother, Nathan....this year he'll get a gift certificate because I never can figure out what to get him that's personal!

9. The easiest to buy for?
My mom...she'll pretty much like everything1

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Never heard of doing the second....definitely mail, although mine may not get out till New Year's!

11. Worst gift I ever received?
A White Elephant one that was a toilet paper roll decorated as a swan!!!!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Home Alone, for sure

13. Have I recycled a Christmas gift? Many times, but you will not find out which ones!!

14. Favorite eats at Christmas time?
My mom's pies and her gobble-up salad, which my aunt will be making this year since we'll be doing Christmas with her

15. Clear or colored lights on the tree? I like them both.

16. Favorite Christmas song? O, Come All Ye Faithful and O, Come, O, Come, Emmanuel.

17. Travel or stay home? I like being home, wherever home may be...Arizona, this year!!!

18. Open gifts Christmas Eve or Day?
Definitely DAY!!!!

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Can't thing of anything right now, except the fact that I eat too much

20. Favorite ornament thing or color?
I like all the really old ones that we made as kids and anything sparkly

21. Favorite thing for Christmas dinner?
I love hot green beans almondine and fresh rolls.

22. What do I want for Christmas?
A roth-IRA opened in our name and a new cell phone since mine is a piece.

More Disney Pics

That's a plastic Cinderella Jonathan is kissing, by the way!!!

Grace fell asleep on a bench in a restaurant at Epcot right before the evening fireworks!

And Pinochio gave me a kiss, but we didn't get a picture of that.

Belle was amazinf during Storytime with Belle. She was very original!

Blogging Back to The Greatest Vacation Ever

So, November 9-16th was our vacation of a lifetime! We had been so excited about this trip and we all had a blast. Great weather the whole time, absolutely NO RAIN, the characters were amazing and we got many of their autographs.Very expensive, if you're considering, but we knew that getting into it. We made sandwiches lots of times and that helped. Sunglasses and batteries for the camera were a must and lots of water for all that walking. So fun. Who wants to go with us next time??

Here's The House....Finally!

So, here it is! It's 1600 sq. feet, 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath. Small but cozy. Hopefully you can see the mountain view on the street pic...it's beautiful in person! That's Jonathan napping on the livingroom floor after a day of unpacking!

Love to all!

Thankful For Glory

Today I found myself so thankful for Glory. In the middle of Wal-Mart, searching frantically for my families' favorite Christmas treats, Glory just begins to dump stocking stuffer after stuffer in my basket. Three little girl toothbrushes, three tubes of Cinderella toothpaste, panties, socks, candy and who knows what else. When I looked at her as if to say, " What are you doing?", she immediately said, " Mom, guess what? We're gonna buy a new stocking and put all little girl things in it and give it to a little girl that's poor." I asked if we could exchange the battery-operated toothbrush for a regular since the little girl's family may not be able to afford batteries, but she just said we'd buy lots of those too. We're now home and she's made a long list of more items to buy for our nameless "stocking child." I'm praying that God will show us just the girl to give this stocking too, because it was created with some amazing love.
Sometimes, I find myself nit-picky about the things my children do wrong or could do better at. Today, I will start improving on that. And my shopping budget went out the window on this Wal-Mart excursion as well, but I'm finding that I'm alright with that. It was WELL, WELL worth it!

Sorry So Long!

Hi All!
We are here! In Arizona! We arrived late Friday, December 1 and it was an unusually rainy and cold weekend for Tucson. We are getting settled and have a beautiful view of the mountains from our front door.
I'm working on house pictures and will get those out soon!
The girls are adjusting very well and love their new home and friends. However, they do ask about their Houston friends and family often and that's good.
For those who may not know, we are expecting a third addition on July 18 and we're currently 8 weeks pregnant. I'm tired all the time but not too sick and that's something to be thankful for.
We are looking forward to this new baby and I'm reading all the advice I can get my hands on about how to manage three children when I only have two hands. A bit nervous about that, but we'll figure it out, I'm sure!
We are jumping in here at CommonGround Church to serve and help it grow. We love the people there. They are very nice and generous with their time.
I was able to attend band practice yesterday here and realized how much I had missed that. We had a great time.
The neighborhood just had a new grocery store open called Fry's and my first visit there was really fun. The girls and I tried all the samples!!
I am getting so excited about Christmas! We need to shop some more, me and Jonathan, for some more family members and I'm really excited about getting all the presents wrapped and "bowed!" I just love Christmas! I think I'll make home-made cinnamon rolls that morning. If you have a great recipe, I'd like it.
Well, I love you all dearly and cannot wait to see you and hear from you! Here is all our new information for now! We are renting so this won't be permanent.

The Drolets
181 E. Camino Limon Verde
Sahuarita, AZ 85629
(520) 647-9696

Heading West

Well, sorry so long since the last post. We are back from a wonderful vacation in DisneyWorld and we are now up to our ears in cardboard packing boxes. We will drive away from Green Ray Drive and head to E. Camino de Limon Verde next Thursday evening after the girls get out of school. I know, the street name is weird, it might take a while to get used to. In English, it means the Eastern Way of the Green Lime!
Ha, hilarious!!!!!I will post pics from Disney and everything else after we move since right now that's all I can think about.
Our little Grace is 3 as of the 18th and she lets everyone know it! This weekend is supposed to be really cold and rainy so if you're a Houston friend of mine, come over and drink some hot cocoa with us...

Why I Loved My Job Today

Today, I especially loved my job as a postpartum nurse. I had a 17-year old pt. trying to deccide between keeping her son or placing him for adoption. I got to be right there when she looked at me and said she wanted to take him home. She said the father of the baby was going to start working and she was going to finish schoolThe cool part was that she never got to nurse him yet because she had planned to give him up. When we offered her a breast pump, she filled up a whole bottle and the look on her face when she realized that she was able to give something so awesome to her preemie baby(he was 7 weeks early)! I walked her out to her car and got to say goodbye. I'll think about her alot. She's so young but I have no doubt she'll be a great mother to her son. I also thought it was so great how supportive her parents were. They were right there the whole time, supporting whatever decision she might make. They were great parents.

Pizza, Pizza!

So, I just had the BEST pizza last night! I can taste it right now. My my mom had us for dinner last night and we all made our own little mini Boboli pizzas with fresh toppoings and fresh cilantro. It was heaven on earth. I think I'll start a weekly pizza night!

Someone's Grace

*****THE FOLLOWING IS OF A SENSITIVE NATURE*****

We don't watch the news much, but the following story makes me want to write and write and write.
About 3 weeks ago, a little girl was found in Galveston in a box. She had been dead for 2 weeks at that time. Since then, NO ONE has come forward to acknowledge that she belongs to them. Absolutely, no one claims to know her.
Well, a police detective who specializes in these cases, took it into his hand to giver her a proper burial with a beautiful wooden cross and pink flowers.He named this little girl Grace.
The ironic thing is she is suspected to be between 2 and 3, closer to 3, she has long blond hair, blue eyes and her name is Grace. The computer-analyzed picture makes her look just like our Grace. That hit home. Life is so precious and this little girl deserves to be remembered, to be honored. I'm so thankful she's with Jesus now.They held a beautiful service for her. We will think about her when we celebrate Grace's 3rd b-day in 2 weeks.
Please pray they find someone who knows what happened.

Arizona, Here We Come!

Hey....

so the good word is that we sold our house!

This weekend while we went camping, a couple from Europe made an offer, we countered, they countered, we accepted and we roll our little wheels from the grassy flatlands of Texas to the sandy dunes of Arizona of November 30, approximately, if all goes as planned. Wow, are we excited and freaked out all at once?

My biggest concerns thus far has been to make sure all our friends know and that we get to hug all their necks!

I don't know what we'll do to guarantee that but if you could pass the word along, that would help.

To be honest, out of my whole life, this is THE biggest faith journey I have ever taken with God. I vascillate between trusting Him and deciding what I can do to "make things work out."

Honestly, I think I have a hard time simply being in Him. I always have to be doing something. This'll be good for all of us. The girls are pumped about seeing Mr. Austin(they thing he's funny). Glory can't wait to see my cousin, John Mark, who lives there(she calls him her boy), Grace, can't wait to have Finley over to eat popcorn and watch High School Musical, and I can't wait to get there and blog to all my friends about the rocks in my front yard and the gym membership included in our rental! Not to mention the amazing sunsets.

Ha, if I can just GET to the gym!!!!!!

The job transfer is being worked out as I write..Jonathan's boss took the news great and is supportive. He's quitting his job soon to attend seminary, so like-minded, I guess you could say!

I'll tell my managers tomorrow and that'll be strange. Memorial City was my first job after receiving my nursing degree and I've been there over 4 years.

If you get a wild hair to pack and drink a daiquiri, please tell me. I'll give you whatever you want if you want to help. We have alot to do in the next few weeks!

Thanks for your prayers and your support. We love you!

It's a Cat-Cow Halloween!

Here's the Halloween pic. We sure had fun at our church's fall festival! Tons of candy to prove it and I got a kick out of watching Grace smear her balck cow spots into gray all over her.

Maybe next Halloween I can dress up and share in the candy-getting. Glory asked me this year, "Mom, are you gonna be anything or just a leggier mom"? Leggier means REGULAR. We're working on our consonants!

Great Quote

So, for those of you who know, I find myself fascinated with black history, I LOVE gospel music and would love nothing more than to take a group of teenagers to Ghana,West Africa, on a missions trip. Today I Found this beautiful quote that I'd like to share.

"For twenty years I prayed but received no answer until I prayed with my legs."
-Frederick Douglass, escaped slave

Don't have any profound thoughts on this but I really liked it. This man didn't wait for an answer, he pursued it on foot and became a free man. If you like this quote too, tell why.

Beautiful day today!Not too hot or cold, just right! Jonathan and I spent the day together because he was off and the girls had school. Yay! Went to Whataburger, Target and Walgreens. Exciting huh?
I'll send out pics soon of the girls in their Halloween outfits!

Love to all!
April

Recent Family Picture

Here's our family picture taken last Sunday, Oct 21....we had fun getting these done and Glory and Grace did well for about 20 minutes, after which they began looking for frogs and chasing dragonflies....we went out for Marble Slab afterwards per Glory's request!

Lots of love!

Thought I'd take a moment to honor the sister in my life,Pamela Valentine.

She's 21 years old, loves to be with friends and family, adores her two nieces, and has her own apartment not too far away that she's done a great job of decorating. My favorite thing about her is that she will do almost anything for anybody. She has the gift of mercy for sure and Glory and Grace have certainly figured that out!!! Pamela is a manager at Walgreens, she's cute and single, she has a knack for decorating and she is 6 years younger than I.

What do you love most about your sister, or friend that's almost like a sis?

Get Your Iron

OK, so I decided to push past my fears of giving blood and donate blood yesterday during my 3-11 shift. I can't stand getting stuck! I know, doesn't make a bit of sense. So, I leave my patients in the care of the charge nurse, nervously amble downstairs and wait in line for 45 minutes, get my blood sugar checked, eat an apple and a muffin and then get stuck AGAIN, only to find my iron level is too low and I cannot donate. And I thought I was going to overcome my fears!
To make matters worse, Jonathan hears word of this and totally starts analyzing everything I eat(By the way, he thinks I don't eat enough, I, April, who can eat 5 slices of pizza at a sitting)
Anyway, now I've got his eyes on my every bite! I love that about my husband. He gets all up in your business and that means he cares about you!

Oh, well, all this to say giving blood is a great thing to do, but get your iron up!!!
Foods high in iron are red meats, leafy greens(like spinach) raisins and liver(uugghh!)
Oh, well, maybe next time I can become friends with the blood-hoarding needle of the American Red Cross!

The Saguaros and our Journey

Have you ever wondered how life is like a cactus, aka saguaro?

Our lives are strong, some older than others, sometimes hard to approach, usually beautiful in their own special way,awkward and unbending and always studded with something poky and uncomfortable??

God makes all things beautiful in His time and today I claim that even with my prickly faults and insecurities, I am loved and chosen, not agreed upon, not reluctantly picked last, but hand-chosen by God.My stickers mean nothing to His strong Hand.He will use me and He will use you, prickly or not, IF we are willing.

Thought I'd share some pics of our new landscape we will come to know as home shortly.

Our Houston friends, Austin and Cami are in this first pic with us and they are already in Tucson, gearing up with Ben Barfield(in the 3rd picture) to help make CommonGround Church a place where someone not totally keen on "church" would one want to come and learn how to love their journey with Christ. That's what we're so excited about doing also!

Love to all,

April

Just Because

Just had to practice this whole picture thing one more time!!!

First Pic

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!

I just learned how to post a picture and I'm so excited I almost peed in my pants! So, here's one of many more to follow. Glory and Grace enjoying icecream on the front porch.

Today is Sunday and we went and had our family pics taken so those will follow soon. We went out for icecream after that and tonight the girls are spending the night with their Aunt Pamela so it's a date night for us and we went to IHOP! I love date nights!!!!

The 5 Things I Dig about Jesus

1. He prompts us to do the impossible.
2. He gives us amazing gifts(this is my love language, ok?)
Some gifts he has given me are:
a strong marriage
healthy, mostly happy children :)
a secure future with him
3. He was unafraid to think outside the box( I mean, would we think to make mud out of dirt and spit, tell a diseased man to dip in a river seven times and then heal him?)
4. He cheers for the underdog.
5. When I worship Him, everything else pales in comparison.

Why I Love Friends

5 Reasons I love Friends

1. They tell you if you have spinach in your teeth!
2. They keep your children at a moment's notice and love every minute of it!! REALLY!
3. They are so darn cute when they're pregnant!
(This, of course, applies to my girlfriends only, especially my fried Lauren, in Boston, who is like a sister to me and will make me an aunt in January)
4. They cook great and share the food!
5. They act like they're listening even when you're rambling and sound like a crazy fool!

Today is Friday and I have this amazing thankfulness for my friends. I have many! At least, I think I do unless something has changed and they are all very amazing and God-loving!

The Trip is Coming( and not because my feet are big)!

OK, all, so in one week, Jonathan and I and our friends will be in Tucson, getting a feel for what life would be like there. We're going there with our friends, Austin and Cami. Of course, we are totally excited about going on vacation with another couple and no KIDS!!!!