New Room Decor

So, here is a picture of the baby's room in progress. I thought I would share because we received some adorable bedding from a friend (thanks again, Tiffany!) and just had to redo the whole room! We had Drew's safari-themed bedding up which we thought looked pretty neutral but when a little girl is coming, you really start to like pink! - even if you think you never would, it gets you!
It's a perfect time to find decorations that are pink because of Valentine's Day coming up around the corner. And as of today, as long as she doesn't come in the next 12 hrs or so, she'll be born in February for sure. :)

Raymond Edward Drouet 1920-2009

My grandfather passed away last night. My dad said it was a very peaceful experience - one minute he was breathing and then there was a long pause, Pop took one last breath and it was over. My dad said he was in no pain and he was ready to go. I got the phone call around 1 a.m. and my dad's calm demeanor over the phone made hearing the news that much more peaceful. It's still very hard not being there - David can't go either because at this point, I could give birth any day now.
I am so fortunate to have grown up with my grandparents in my life. When other families were taking vacations, we were at my grandparents house always spending time with cousins and extended family. When other kids were doing summer camps, we were visiting our grandparents for 2 weeks every summer. What a blessing in my life to have truly known my grandfather, to know about his life and to have a relationship with him. He will be missed greatly by all of us who knew him and loved him very much.

Pop

I got a call last week that my grandfather was in the hospital and as the week progressed, we learned that he was being sent home with hospice care. His kidneys have failed, he has congestive heart failure and he has diabetes on top of everything which he has had for years and years. He is home now with hospice nurses but most importantly with my grandmother who he has been married to for 66 years, his children (my dad and his sister) and lots of family members and friends stopping by to say goodbye.
He isn't in pain but the doctors have told us that he has days to live. It's been hard to come to the realization that this is it; this is when we will lose him. I knew at Christmas (which is when this photo was taken) that it could be my last time to see him, hug him and tell him I loved him but to not be able to be there is so hard. I only have 2 weeks to go until this baby comes and I cannot travel. I am heartbroken about this - I know Pop knows I love him - he knows I care and I've been interested in his life doing family history research/interviews and all. But I can't believe I can't be there with my family to say goodbye and to celebrate his life, for his is truly one to be celebrated and commemorated. He has been a great example to me about what family means, what true faith in God is all about and what it means to laugh in life. I love you, Pop.

Girls' Night Out!

We had a girls' night out last night at La Parilla in Newnan. Thanks to Laura J. for planning it and getting us girls to actually take some time out for ourselves! David and some of the husbands met at Chick-fil-A with the kids and enjoyed their time there. It was a fun dinner considering it might be a while until I get "alone time" again. The food was yummy, the company even better and who can resist good Mexican food? Thanks girls for making it a fun night!!! :)

My boys

David is playing basketball on Thursday nights with a lot of his guy friends from church. He is loving it, and I see him doing these push-ups more and more lately... Drew has decided to join David in his own way! :)

Baby shower

Last night the young women of our ward hosted a baby shower for me. It was done so well, and it was so much fun. I appreciate all the hard work they did to make it very special, especially Hannah and McKenna who did everything! The girl stuff is just irresistible and too cute for words. Thanks to everyone who came and were so generous and thoughtful. It really meant so much.
This is a picture of Drew with the balloon we took home - he asked me, "Did you go to a birthday party for baby Dilan?" It was so cute and I explained to him that yes, the young women had a party for me and the baby. He was so excited to get the balloon and eat the cake I brought home.
More pictures and details to come on the party... :)
see a picture below at 37 weeks!

37 weeks

I had my weekly appointment today and no change - still only half a cm dilated. I didn't think there was much change; I wasn't feeling much different. I am glad though because I really just want her to come on time and stay in there as long as possible to grow as much as she can and come when my family gets here! :)

Family Photos

We took our professional photos the last weekend of November this year for Christmas and to document our family before the baby arrives. Here are the ones I bought for our photo album. Enjoy! :)

Primary Breakfast

Drew attended his first Primary activity at church a couple of weekends ago. It was the annual teacher's breakfast where the kids get to wear their pajamas, have breakfast with their teachers, and get to know them better. I gave him a new pair of pajamas to wear - Mickey Mouse pajamas - and he absolutely loved them. In fact, he stayed in them the rest of the day!
In dropping Drew off at the activity, I stayed and talked to some parents for a bit and then went to run some errands. He had no problem with me leaving which was great. When I came back, Drew was dancing with all the other kids and when he saw me there, he told me to go away and stopped dancing. Apparently, he is liking this independence thing! He had a lot of fun eating pancakes with his friends and is enjoying being in primary. The last picture is a shot of he and his friend, Jake, showing each other their bellies - I think Drew was particularly showing Jake his "owie" he got at Jumping Jelly Beans on his tummy.

36 weeks

So, I had my first weekly CHECK-up today - emphasis on the doctor checking me of course. I remember it being uncomfortable last time with Drew and sure enough, it was again this time. Yikes! I always tell David after these appointments that I feel a little violated... BUT moving on...
The baby had a strong heartbeat and her head is down and in position so that is good news. The doctor said I am only dilated .5cm so not that much and she thinks we still look good at having this baby on time. So, all is well and good! :)
My goal this week is to get a list going on the things I need to feel truly prepared when she comes.

8 Year Anniversary!

Last Tuesday, January 6, marked David and I's 8th wedding anniversary. We swapped babysitting with the Hunter family and went out Friday night for sushi and did the whole Hibachi thing. We had a good time and renewed our tradition of swapping sentimental cards (no gifts because of Christmas) and talking about the past 8 years and what we've done with it. We also like to discuss what the next 8 years might look like and where we will be then.
Above is one of our engagement pictures and below is a picture from dinner last Friday. David put it best when he said, "The last 8 years have been the best years of my life!" I liked hearing that and had to agree. Happy Anniversary, David - here's to an eternity with you! :)

Getting ready for Baby

I thought I'd document some things we are doing getting ready for the baby. Drew has all of a sudden gotten interested in his baby doll we gave him a few years ago and he's been feeding the baby at the table when he eats. He also recently asked me, "When is my baby sister coming out?" Of course, it may be because I told him his baby sister wasn't coming until after Christmas and he's figured out Christmas is over. :)

Drew is also learning to go pee on the potty without our help at all. So, he goes in there all by himself and does his thing. I imagine this will be critical when I am feeding the baby, etc.
And just recently, he's been asking me to feed him his food saying he can't do it. So, some of the regression has begun but hopefully we'll get it out of the way a bit before she arrives.

Christmas Stocking

So, this has been my latest project... making this Christmas stocking. It has been so much fun and it has helped me rest and relax since we've been home from our trip. My mom made all of our stockings just like these years and years ago and they are still hung up every year in her house. She had bought some more to make in the last few years because we've added to the family and she never made them so she passed them onto me. It takes a lot of time but I really enjoyed doing it. I am hoping to make this one for Drew and one for the baby to leave at her house (keep our own stockings at our house) because we wake up on Christmas morning at my mom's house each year. Anyway, I have to resist starting on the baby's stocking and actually finish getting ready for her to come! :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2009 is already special for us because our daughter will be born in the new year. We are looking forward to her arrival in only a matter of about 5 weeks or so! We celebrated with the Homer family who are our good friends here in PTC. We had finger foods that were delicious (and we ate a lot considering we had already eaten dinner!) and we brought over some sparkling grape juice to help celebrate! We had great conversation, even better company and played bowling and guitar hero on their new Wii. It was a lot of fun and we couldn't believe Drew made it until midnight! Of course, we got home at 12:15, not wasting anytime to actually get some sleep in the new year. Thanks Homer family for making this new year a memorable one. :)

A new SUNBEAM!!!

Drew is officially in Primary now at church. He is no longer in the nursery but has his own 3-yr old class called the Sunbeams. He was so excited to be a Sunbeam today. The whole primary sang, "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam," to welcome the new Sunbeam class and all of the Sunbeams stood up there and sang. Drew loved it and sang very proudly.
This is also his teacher, Sister Kartchner (who is a friend of mine!), with Drew on his first day of class. He loves her already and kept saying her name to me when we got home. Sister Kartchner asked each Sunbeam to bring their own Book of Mormon to class so I made sure and put Drew's name on the outside of it. While the primary was singing each song, he kept grabbing his Book of Mormon, opening it and acting like he was singing out of the hymn book. I guess I need to teach him that the hymnal is green and the scriptures he has are blue!
We are so happy to see Drew growing up and participating in church. It makes for a very proud parent day to say the least! :)

More Christmas

We also had a wonderful Christmas with my family! We stayed a few days before Christmas with my mom and her husband, Sam. The boys played golf Christmas Eve morning and then we all pitched in to make a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner that night. We opened our presents where Drew got a Thomas scooter and helmet as well as Cranky - the crane from the Thomas series - from my mom which is what he totally wanted. He was a happy little boy. He got new Thomas winter pjs from us as well. I got a whole new set of towels and the best new Chanel make-up brushes from my mom. David got a golf push-cart which was on his list but he had no idea he was actually getting. It was a lot of fun! The best part as always is giving our gifts out and enjoying our family getting their things we have been planning for months to give them.

On Christmas day, we went over to my dad's for an afternoon Christmas dinner where my grandparents were there as well. My dad cooked a very tasty meal of course and then we opened gifts there. It's always fun to get items from my grandmother as she passes down her collective things and my dad is so good at buying the kids their gifts! I don't know how he does it but he always gives Drew things he doesn't have and things Drew gets excited about. It was a great time and we were even able to go over the next day as well and spend more time with them.

We had such a good trip home for the holidays. Thanks to all of our family and friends who made it very special!!!

Pistorius Christmas

We had a great time celebrating Christmas with David's family. We were able to spend the entire weekend before Christmas with everyone and it was a blast. Drew had so much fun with his cousins, he woke up each morning saying, "I need my cousins." We made gingerbread houses as families (our family chose to make a train), we had a nice Christmas program with singing and talked about the real meaning of Christmas, we had wonderful food and company and were able to attend church with David's mom which is our old ward. David's mom did so much and we truly appreciate all of her efforts. We missed David's oldest sister, Amy, and her family who live in Utah but we truly had a fabulous time with those who could be together!

Drew's bedroom

I think I'm finally done with Drew's room... at least for now. We got (or should I say Santa brought) a Thomas mural for his big wall, my dad gave him a Lightning McQueen clock for Christmas and so we hung those up on the final wall. I put his precious moments that he gets each year from my grandmother on his dresser and we finished the train decal underneath his name. We also added a Thomas nightlight (that is entirely too bright) for his room as well. Again, I think I am finally done and actually like what I see when I go into his room.