New Addition...or should we say...Additions!

We are so excited and proud to announce that we are proud new parents...

of three...or four...baby birds!!

That's right! The eggs officially hatched late last week, and the mother bird has been busier than ever. She is constantly flying back and forth finding food, cleaning the nest, worrying...is this what I should expect of motherhood?

Watching Animal Planet from our own patio door has been so amazing. I'm not sure if you know this, but I am very afraid of birds! Yes...I love the movie "The Birds" by Alfred Hitchcock (it's the first question everyone asks me, so I thought I'd clear that one up). But, I hate the way they perch, swoop, travel in large groups, attack me (and my dog)...need I go on? When I found out that we had a bird's nest on our patio, I was quite unhappy at first. But, as I watched the mother bird prepare her nest and care for those sweet, little eggs, I was so amazed by how God gave animals such knowledge. As my mom pointed out, animals are the only creatures who are natural mothers - - the rest of us (humans) have to be taught how to do so much on this earth.

As soon as I saw those three (or four) little fuzzy heads bobbing up and down in the nest, I fell in love immediately. Shawn has had no choice but to love them...poor thing. The first thing I ask him to do when he goes downstairs everyday is to check on the babies. My mind is overwhelmed with thoughts of them: Are they getting enough to eat? Where will the mother find food? What if they fall out of the nest? Will they/Did they survive their first rain? Will they like me?! I can't wait to watch them grow up and take their first flight. I will post a follow-up video of their adventures soon. I'm trying hard not to name them, because once you name them, you're attached for life!

It's so awesome how much we can learn from animals - - motherhood being one of those things. God has really created an incredible world! I guess this is a great prep for Shawn's and my own "bird's nest" one day.

A Stratton Family First

So here's the deal...I have heard about the wonderful world of blogging for quite some time now, and No, it's never sparked my interest....until now I guess. I have always held and will always hold friends and family close to my heart, and I've learned that this is by far the best way to keep them updated about us and for us to know what's going on in their lives. Just so we're clear, I am sure that I (Alisha) will be the only one contributing to "our" site, but please know that Shawn love's you, too :^) and I will be speaking for both of us. This could actually be a good thing - I can make myself shine, and Shawn, well...not so much! I'm kidding.

So where to start? Let me just tell our story...

Shawn and I met through his sister Heather (shout out to Heather!). I was at Piedmont Park walking my little darling Annabelle, and Heather noticed how similar our dogs looked.

Getting to the point, she learned that I had a lot in common with her brother, and she was crazy persistent to get us to meet each other. Our first encounter was at her house, and well, let's just say Shawn did a lot of talking and I did a lot of listening. The crazy thing was that I was connecting with every word that came out of his mouth. So yes...I was quite impressed, but it just wasn't enough. We met a second time right before we were leaving for our summer vacations (Shawn to Cali, and me to NYC). All three of us went to this cute 70s club and danced our hearts out...some better than others haha. Before we went our separate ways, Shawn held my hand and the connection was definitely there...and strong. We kept in touch every single day for that summer via text messaging, phone calls, e-mails, etc. and literally fell in love in a month (Shawn also had a $1000 cell bill waiting for him at home).

Shawn and I began dating the day he got back home. It took an enormous amount of sacrifice, patience, prayer, and driving every weekend, but ultimately it led to our engagement.

Shawn, the romantic and sports fanatic that he is, proposed to me at 8pm on Friday April 13, 2007 in Braves stadium at the 755 Club overlooking the outfield. Being that he had "fake proposed" to me several times leading up to this event, I did not believe him at all...until I saw the hostess snapping photos of us. It was by far one of the most amazing nights of my life. My first answer was "Shawn, this is neither the time nor the place to play around!" followed by an "Oh my gosh...you're serious," to an "Of course! Yes!"

Shawn and I were married three short months later at 5pm on Friday July 13, 2007 in Smithfield, Virginia. We both agree that this was the happiest day of our lives. We spent two amazing weeks in St. Maarten for our honeymoon, and we are looking forward to many more travel opportunities together as husband and wife.

We moved into our new, College Park home together in July after the honeymoon ended. Shawn is currently teaching Spanish and coaching Varsity baseball in Dekalb county, but he recently signed a contract to work at my school in August. I teach Spanish and coach Cheerleading and Soccer to a vibrant group of middle schoolers at Woodward Academy. We keep very busy, but we know it's all worth it when summer vacation comes around...paaartay! Shawn, Annabelle and I live a very eventful life, so I'm sure we'll have lots of news to come!

Enjoy!