Special Delivery!

What a difficult week we have had dealing with various family health issues. We have spent this week on our knees in prayer and drawing close with our Lord. And in His perfect timing, God sent us a reminder today of his faithfulness, love, and grace. And it literally arrived on our doorstep! Graham's book, Hero's Tribute, arrived today! He received 50 copies and they are oh so beautiful :) This day has been so anticipated and dreamed about over these years. And I think that it is fitting, in light of the book's theme and message, that when this day has finally come, the Lord has shifted our mindset and priorities so that we are focused on the love we have for each other, our wonderful family members, and our precious Lord and Savior. My prayer for the book has always been that God would get the glory and that we would be focused on "success" for God's Kingdom. I am so proud of Graham and all he has accomplished. And I know this is just the beginning too! So, Graham, as you embark on this new, exciting adventure as a published author, I am so honored to be by your side for the journey, cheering you on every step of the way!

Books will be in stores very soon! Be sure to get your copy or order online on Amazon. And we are so thankful to everyone for your love and support!

Last week

Last week my "nesting" went into overdrive and I dove into a few home projects around the house that I've been dreaming about doing for months (maybe years). I took the pregnancy nesting drive to get me motivated! First I installed a silver tin metal looking backsplash in the kitchen behind the oven. Then I put up new drawers pulls and cabinet knobs throughout the kitchen cabinets. We didn't have any before so that was a lot of drilling but I'm very happy with them and the backsplash. I'm slowly trying to bring our kitchen out of the 80's. And I did it all by myself too so I'm extra proud of my work! I also hung pictures of Nicholas in our hallway ("The Wall of Nicholas" I am now calling it). After getting his 2 year pictures made, there were just so many pictures of him so I decided to organize them to one wall showing his progression from baby to now. And after the baby is here, he'll get the opposite wall. We definitely need a bigger house to display all of these pictures as the kids continue to grow! And the last project that I started was picking out the paint for Nick's big boy room. Unfortunately Graham hurt his back last week so he wasn't able to paint yet. Hopefully soon we'll be able to get that done too and soon Nick will make his transition.

On Saturday, I went out to meet some friends for some volunteer work and the boys were getting a day of Daddy/son time together. They ended up spending the entire day without me as I was in a minor car accident. I was so thankful that I didn't have Nicholas in the car with me and that myself and the baby weren't hurt. The accident turned into a hit and run as the teenage boys in the car fled the scene. I spent the afternoon and evening in the hospital being checked out by Labor and Delivery just to make sure that Baby G was ok. My sweet mom stayed with me through the whole thing so that Graham could be home with Nicholas. One little gift from all that was the opportunity to be hooked up to the monitors and hear the baby's heartbeat and all of this movements for many hours. He is one strong baby with a super strong heartbeat and he just loves to wiggle and kick and dance in there. It's amazing how much you can love someone that you've never even seen before! I am praising God for his protection and care throughout everything on Saturday. God is so good and so faithful!

Fairmount and football

We spent our Labor Day weekend visiting with Grandad and Kaki up in Fairmount. I love going to their home because it is always so relaxing being up in the country. Kaki spoils us with delicious meals and life is just a little slower when you're lounging in a rocking chair on the porch overlooking their view of the valley. And soon things will be even more relaxing up there as they are in the middle of putting in a pool as well as some remodeling and expansion on the house! It's going to be beautiful when they are through. Friday night we went out for Mexican food which was lots of fun and very yummy. On Saturday the boys started out the day with a dip in the hot tub! Then of course the day was filled with lots and lots of college football. Nicholas even fell asleep in Grandad's arms at one point while watching football. While the UGA game did not go as we had hoped, it was fun to watch the first game of the season and see Nick's craziness and excitement while watching the game. Graham has trained him well and Nicholas goes nuts for all things Bulldogs and was incredibly excited for the game. Nicholas filled the rest of his time by playing with their cars and trains that he loves and of course digging in the rocks outside (his favorite). Unfortunately, he ended things on a bad note on Sunday morning by "waking up on the wrong side of the crib" and having numerous tantrums as we were trying to eat breakfast, pack up and leave. He was having some cold symptoms and must have been worn out by all the fun of the weekend as I had to put him down for a nap as soon as we got home (2 hours early) and he slept for 4 hours.

It was a great weekend though and we can't wait to go back in just a few weeks to test out the new pool! Thanks Grandad and Kaki!!

(Somehow Kaki and I didn't make it into any pictures from the weekend! From the pictures it looks like a boys weekend.)

First day of preschool!

Today was the big day! My baby went off to school for the first time! We got off to a good start in the morning without running late and I was even able to take some pictures of the big day. (Of course since he hates his picture taken I had to bribe him with a granola bar though). Then we were off on the Garrison School Bus to make it to preschool. The teachers recommend that dropping your child off in the carpool line is the easiest and smoothest transition for the children. I was very apprehensive about not walking him to the classroom but thought that the teachers know what they are talking about and I wanted to do this the best way possible. Well as soon as the teacher opened his door, he burst out crying. I gave him a kiss and tried to reassure him and before I knew it they were walking inside. I drove next door to my gym to go work out and sat in the parking lot and cried! I suddenly had no idea why I thought it was a good idea to sign him up for school and I just kept imagining him crying all day long. It took everything in me to not turn around and peep my head in the window to check on him. After praying and crying for a bit, I composed myself and went for my workout. Ok, and I'll admit that I had to call Ashley and cry a little to her and then later when Graham called, there were some more tears. It's the pregnancy hormones, I promise! It felt like the longest 4 hours of my life, not knowing if he was loving it or hating it. But soon I got into my chores of laundry, coupons, grocery lists, and then I hit the grocery store. Before I knew it I was almost running late to pick him up! Wouldn't that have been nice to be late for carpool on the first day! When I pulled around, there he was standing on the curb, holding Ms. Sheri's hand with the biggest smile on his face. He was so excited about his day. Ms. Sheri said that he did wonderful and had a great day. She said he and one other student did the best in the class and never cried. He even ate all of his lunch! During the car ride home he was so happy and was telling me all about his day of playing with cars, singing songs, and that he liked his teachers. He said he can't wait to go back on Wednesday! And now that I've gotten my silly emotions out of the way, I'm looking forward to Wednesday too!

Athens

What a wonderful weekend we all had! Friday started by Nicholas and I going to meet his teachers. At first he was apprehensive when walking into his classroom. After a few minutes his teacher asked if he liked cars and he literally jumped out of my arms and yelled "bye-bye" to me without turning back! Then in a few minutes another little student came and he ran up to her, so excited to have a little friend. I know he will do just fine in school, of course that doesn't stop me from feeling a little nervous and emotional about tomorrow.

Next we loaded up the car and headed down to Peachtree City for Nicholas to spend the weekend with Aunt Lauren, Uncle TJ, and Trip and Mady. Nicholas was so excited and didn't get off to a great start as he wouldn't take his afternoon nap. But I think overall he did well. He had so much fun playing with his cousins and he's already asking to go back again sometime. He refused to talk to me on the phone the entire weekend and was calling Lauren "mom" by the end of the weekend. He really felt right at home. We are so thankful for Lauren and TJ for having him--I know it wasn't easy!

Graham and I had a great time with each other this weekend. We had a dinner and movie night on Friday then headed to Athens Saturday. Graham got to eat at some of his favorite places and we had a great time shopping in downtown Athens. It was so nice being back in Athens where it all began and reminiscing about our favorite places, including this picture in front of the fountain at Herty Field where Graham proposed. We were even able to meet up with Graham's freshman roommate and his wife on Saturday night which was nice catching up.

We ended the weekend with a family birthday celebration for Graham and Lauren. What a wonderful weekend it was for us all! Hopefully Nicholas will be able to stay awake for his first day of school. :)

Graham's 30th Birthday

In true "Aunt Carol style" as we joke in my family, Graham has been having a wonderful birthday celebration, multiple times over. And we're still in the middle of it! This past Saturday we had our first low key get together with my side of the family to celebrate. The funniest part is that Nicholas now really understands that birthdays=cake. He spent all Saturday demanding cake, blowing any surprise for Graham that I had gotten him a cake.

Yesterday was officially Graham's birthday. He started the day with a birthday breakfast and then off for a full day of work. While he was at work Nicholas and I made cupcakes for him (since the previous cake had been eaten). Now, unfortunately I'm not much of a baker so Nicholas has never baked with me before now and didn't understand the concept of waiting to eat the cake. I managed to avoid a meltdown by showing him how to decorate with sprinkles. He had so much fun and went through 2 1/2 bottles of sprinkles, most of which ended up on the floor! When Graham got home we did presents and cupcake (and according to Nicholas, Graham is turning 2) and then Mommy and Daddy went out for a date!

Today, Graham took the day off and we decided to have a family fun day. We went to Chickfila and met Papa for lunch and then took Nicholas to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time. It took him a little bit to get a hang of things but soon he was having lots of fun. His favorite games were that ones that he and Daddy would do together like basketball and skeeball.

This week's excitement continued as Graham and I went to Parent Orientation tonight at Nick's preschool. It was an informational meeting to get us prepared for the school year and tomorrow we take Nick to meet his teacher. I've been really excited about preschool starting but after going to the meeting, it all hit me and I'm nervous now and hope he does well. I can't believe he's actually going to be going to school! It's going to be an exciting weekend as Graham and I will be going to Athens and Nicholas will be spending the weekend with Aunt Lauren, Uncle TJ, Trip and Mady. I know he will have a wonderful time and hopefully he will be still standing on Monday for school to start!

My Bulldawgs!

Here is a little peak into what has now become a nightly ritual for the boys after dinner. Nicholas begs to listen to "Go Dawgs Sic Em" as he calls it. Immediately when the 4th quarter song comes on his hand goes up and he knows exactly what to do. He loves dancing with his crazy daddy and has his own little touchdown dance. Graham has trained him well! We can't wait to see the fun he will have this football season watching the games and doing touchdown dances with his Daddy. They are quite a pair. Before we know it there will be another little guy joining in on the fun too!

Speaking of Graham, his book, Hero's Tribute, went to the printer last week! It will be on book shelves in October! We are so thrilled and just can't wait. I am so proud of him and know it will be so successful. God is using his book in a powerful way and I am so blessed to be able to stand by his side during this whole process. The publishers have already asked him to start working on the sequel and to send them the synopsis! I'd say that Graham has lots to celebrate on his 30th birthday next week! This is quite an exciting year for the Garrisons. I love you, honey :)