Happy Anniversary, Jonathan!

Well, guys, yesterday, May 20th, was our 8th wedding anniversary and we had a great day together.
My Aunt Dottie kept the girls all day and Jonathan and I just drove around Tucson together and had fun.
First, we went to out 4D ultrasound which was our anniversary gift and little stinker wouldn't turn his face to be seen so we had to reschedule. That was disappointing but we'll go back and he better cooperate then or we'll have to have a talk, mom and son! He did show us his cute bottom, though, several times and he is definitely a boy, which was nice to confirm once again!

We got new brakes on the truck which was another UNEXPECTED anniversary gift to me from Jonathan. Oh, well, such is life. At least we have a truck, right? That's how I had to look at it.

We then went to lunch at On The Border for delicious Mexican food and I loved it. We even got dessert which was so amazing, given that we hardly ever get dessert at restaurants.
We went to my 31 week checkup together and heard little man's heartbeat and all is well with him and I.
We walked around the mall and got a beautiful silver Brighton nightlight for the baby's room. His first gift from Mom and Dad!
After we picked up the girls, we came home and watched Night At The Museum and ate M&M's on the couch. The girls liked that alot!
Anyway, it was a simple day but so fun to just be together. We've had a great 8 years together and I'm prouder than ever to be married to Jonathan. Happy Anniversary, Babe!

This comes from the Drolet that never writes in this thing, Jonathan.
I gotta hand it to my wife, she is quite the writer when it comes to her wonderful tributes to all the moms in her life. My eyes are still soaked.... Anyway, this blog goes out to my beautiful bride that I've known since December 10th, 1997, where I met her for the first time inside a Chick-Fil-A of all places! We've had some great times together on this journey they call "life". We've had our share of huge disappointments along the way, but we've also had our fair share of God's mercy and amazing blessings along the way also. April has always remained true to me and stood by my side, even when she probably would have rather given up. She inspires me to believe that God can do anything through me. I have a low opinion of myself, but she pushes me to look deep inside for that leadership and giftings that God has placed in my life and to USE them no matter what the cost. That has been a hard process for me, but I'm not stopping. I love the way she comes up with creative games to play with our children, and how she loves make blueberry muffins in the morning. She loves to have me make her coffee, and I love how she just absolutely can't drink it unless it has about a half cup of creamer in it! I love it when she's really tired and she'll mix her words and sentences all up and in the wrong order. I love it that she gets so excited when she goes to Walmart with competitor's coupons and Walmart takes them, man she gets fired up about that! I love it when she takes the girls to the public library to pick out a "few" books, and comes home with around 30 books and dvds! I love it that she has such a tender spirit to people that are in pain and that have less, I love it that she wants to adopt a little child from a third world country someday, I love it that when she leads worship, she inspires people to open their hearts to worship God. I love April Rebecca Drolet for all these things and so many more. But most of all, I love April because on May 20,2000 she said "I do" .

Tribute to Moms!

So, Mother's Day is tomorrow and I love this day! It makes me feel kind of like an actress or someone in the spotlight for some reason. I read today that if moms were paid in dollars for what they actually do daily, they'd clear six figures easily. Well, I'm here to tell you the moms in my life are worth way more than that. You couldn't put a dollar sign on anything about them. Here they are and here's what they mean to me..

My mom, Anne Valentine...
You grew me for 9 months and then just kept on growing me, teaching me how to forgive, how to show mercy, how to always lend a helping hand, how to be quiet when necessary, how to make a killer strawberry pie, all the important things that really matter. You had no idea what I was feeling with that gross post-partum depression but you just said we'd figure it out and take it slowly. We did and it went away, finally.You helped us drive the big moving truck here so I wouldn't be by myself and when we got here, you helped settle everything while I wasn't feeling well. You stay up late and you get up early, but you don't complain. You just do the next thing.Mainly, you taught me that this body is only temporary, so spend time on my soul, which will last forever. I will, Mom.

Martha Walworth aka Nana( passed away in 1996)....
Well, you gave me my mom, which says it all. Missionary to Mexico, faithful to Tata for all those years, mother of 6 children, survivor of cancer. You were strong and you were tough and you did things not because they were easy but because they were right. You loved watching me play basketball and your cheers were the loudest. You taught me to tithe, not eat too much sugar and how to cut a banana into my cereal. You always won at Scrabble and you never missed a daily stroll to stay fit. You often held Tata's hand and I know why. He treated you like the princess you were and are. I miss you.

Pamela Murphy, aka, Meme(my dad's mom)...
Laughter erupts when I think of you, Meme! You love to laugh. Laurel and Hardy re-runs will always be my favorite memory and sleepovers with all the girl cousins. You are generous and never missed taking me shopping on my birthday. You survived cancer gracefully and bravely. You are organized and precise and you mean exactly what you say. Your British blood runs through me and I'm proud to have it. Speaking of, "petrol" sure is high these days so "queue" up and get ready to pay.

Virginia Valentine, aka, Tahna(my dad's stepmom, passed away May 3, 2008)
I still can't really believe you're gone. You held the best Easter egg hunts and made sure Santa got just the perfect gifts when we were kids. You even had Santa show up in all his attire, with sleighbells and a big sack full of goodies. You went all out for Christmas! I definitely want to be that kind of grandma. You supported my mission trips and asked questions and then really listened to the answers.
You were genuine and also very firm. You liked makeup and pretty jewelry and you were one mighty pretty lady. I miss you already and love you.

Shirley Bush(Jonathan's mom)...
You're gentle and an amazing listener. You were actually ok with me marrying your one and only child and that took a load off, for sure!!!! You enjoy a good serving of Blue Bell, a pastime we will share for quite awhile. You encouraged me through nursing school as you've been a nurse for, what, 30+ years? You gave me the best gift in the world, your son.Thank you for raising such a gentleman. I love you.

Christine Drolet(Jonathan's stepmom)...
You usually just know what I like!! You gave me that beautiful Brighton necklace when Grace was born and the cute purse on my last b-day which I still always use, and cute jammies at Christmas. You shared your post-partum blues story when I thought I was going to fall apart after Glory was born. You braided the girls hair since I'm terrible at it and you taught me how to make meatballs and cut an avocado. I really miss you here in Arizona but absence is supposed to make the heart grow fonder, right? I love you, too.

29 Week Pic

So, I've been off on my weeks. I thought I was 27 weeks but I just turned 29 so here's the ever-growing belly and the ever-growing baby boy!

Our new fave pastime is to spin around in the office chair as fast as we can. The girls giggle until they're so out of breath! Grace's favorite attire as you can see, is her princess panties. It's so hard to keep that girl dressed. These are some of the last pictures we'll get to post of the naked child. Hopefully Baby D. will like clothes a little better!

Tagged by Jennifer

Well, I just noticed I was tagged by my friend, Jenn, for this next blog, so here goes!

What I was Doing ten Years Ago?
Preparing to graduate high school, working at Chick-Fil-A and leading the youth worship team.

Five Things on My To-Do List For Today?
What To-Do List?....I have to-do list that says I need to make a to-do list :)

Five Snacks I Enjoy?
Chips and salsa
milk and graham crackers
cheese sticks
apples and almond butter
dried cherries

Five Things I Would do Were I a Billionnaire?
Buy 5 houses in cash, one for us, one for my sister, one for my parents and two for single moms.
Take a stinkin' awesome vacation with our whole extended family and pay everyone's way.
Adopt a black boy with curly hair from Rwanda and a little girl from China, debt-free of course.
Find 5 couples who want to adopt and make it possible for them.
Take our whole family to Indonesia to visit Selvy, the little girl we sponsor through Compassion International.

Five Bad Habits?
Not being consistent with training our girls.
Waiting too long to eat and then eating like 99 Chips Ahoy.
Assuming that Jonathan knows what I mean.
Not journaling frequently enough, procrastination, basically.
Not following through on a good intention.

Five Places I've Lived....
Hmmmm...my mom's womb
North Carolina
Texas
Arizona
...who knows what next?

Five Jobs I've Had?
house cleaner
babysitter
gymnastics instructor
nanny
registered nurse, my current profession.

I tag Brittany and Lauren.

Girl's First Slumber Party!

This weekend, our friends, Austin and Cami, went to Phoenix and we had the privilege of keeping their daughter, Finley, overnight. We all went out for great Mexican food and got lots of looks. Looks that seemed to say,"My word, they have three girls and another one on the way? What are they thinking?" Our table was a bit comical, I thought myself. Rice falling everywhere, queso all over shirts, and then the funny story of the evening. Right as the hot enchiladas arrive, we all have to use the ladies room. So, I lead the three girls straight into the men's restroom, not realizing what I'm doing until I see a side shot of a man using the urinal. Oh my word, what have I done, I'm thinking? Meanwhile, the girls have already rushed ahead of me into the stall sections. So I creep behind this sectional by the door so this man won't see me and call for the girls to get out of the bathroom. But, they call back, "But we haven't gone potty yet." This conversation repeats itself several times with no change in answers. Desperate, I run back to our table which is very nearby and tell Jonathan to rescue the girls in the men's restroom. As soon as he gets there, Grace has already come out of the restroom screaming that there's a " man in there." The man is right behind her, explaining to Jonathan what he thinks happened. He has no idea that "prego-brain" had everything to do with the embarassing scenario. So Grace screams for a while and then we enjoy our enchiladas and I wish I could have a margarita to ease the tension!

Today, I took the girls garage-saling and then to the Tuscon Chalk Art Festival, where local artists display their chalk art all over the concrete. It was fun. We all had a great time and the temp got up to 94. We made sure to wear sunscreen and we packed a picnic lunch which was nice. I got a little taste of what it would be like to have three girls and it wasn't bad at all. Only extremely dramatic! But I sure am thankful we're having a boy. Now I won't be the only one with bathroom duty!!!!!!

The Shadow of The Almighty

This is the name of the book I'm currently reading. It is the story and biography of Jim Elliot, missionary and martyr to the Auca Indians of Ecuador and written by his widowed wife and mother of their infant daughter. Amazing book I'd recommend to anyone wanting to live with purpose and hold life on this earth loosely.
One quote from him I'd like to share was written to his 15-year old sister in spring of 1948.

It reads," Fix your eyes on the rising Morning Star. Don't be disappointed at anything or over-elated either. Live every day as if the Son of Man were at your door....Walk as if your next step would carry you across the threshold of Heaven. Pray. The saint who advances on his knees never retreats."