One Grateful Mama!

"When they see among them their children, the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel."

(Is. 29:23)

(Thank you, Krista, for being able to capture the heart of my children in a picture. You are so gifted!)

What's Been Goin' On!

Well, here are a few pictures from our week:) Blake is quite the healthy boy, weighing well over his birth weight already! He has already nestled his little self right into our hearts, and we can't get enough of him! Bryce just goes around all day saying "mom, he's so cute!" and Mayce just wants to kiss him, hold him and put him in her little stroller:) I love it. We also had two special guests this week that we were thrilled to see! Thank you, Melissa and Isaac Terry, for hanging out with us and bringing your beautiful joy into our home! I love you, dearly, and can't tell you how much your visit meant to me:) So, here are some random pictures from our current "never a dull moment" life:) What beautiful gifts our Father lavishes upon us!!

Okay, so Blake wasn't too thrilled about this pose, but the kids sure looked cute;)

She would prefer to do this all day long...and yes, this big man is ONLY 2 weeks old!

I nibble those cheeks OFTEN!

Playing with precious Isaac
I would like to eat him up!!
Just had to throw this one in here. This was a "daddy/bryce time" creation! I was impressed.

Family of Five!!

Hi friends! Here are a few more pictures from our exciting weekend of meeting little Blake:) Wanted to share a quick story from the weekend that involves...you guessed it...Bryce and his beautiful way of thinking:)

He and Monty went to run an errand while we were in the hospital, and Monty asked Bryce, "what should I call Blake, since you are my little champion?"

Bryce quickly responded with "well, little man of God!"

Then Monty asked "what does that make you then, Buddy?"

Bryce then said "Big man of God, dad!"

So, here I am....living with THREE wonderful "Men of God" that come in all sizes;) Be Blessed!

Waiting for Blake to arrive!

3:42 pm

The kids were super concerned for their "baby"

Pops and Nana

Grammy and Gramps

Uncle Shane

Big sister Mayce

Big Brother Bryce



Going home!!!

Meet ~ Blake Michael Durham

Here are a few quick pictures from Dad. Many more are coming from Mommy later today!

Born: November 21, 2008 - 3:40pm
Weighing in at 8.1 lbs and 20.5 inches long

After 6+ plus hours of waiting they finally meet brother BLAKE.

The Gifts You Just Can't Buy

We found out on Monday that our newest little gift will join us on Friday!! Monty and I are thrilled, but I am not sure we could ever top the excitement of the kids:) They are so adorable, and I could not be more blessed to know that they are welcoming their brother with such joy and anticipation. They decided the other day that they wanted to get Blake a present. I told them that was a very sweet idea, and the next thing I know, they called me into Mayce's room to show me what they had come up with:) Yes, they decided to shove themselves in a box and give themselves as a gift! I told them that was the best gift they could give him, then, sadly, I had to explain that they couldn't stay in that box until he arrived. I did promise, however, that someday I would tell him their sweet plan:) Please keep us in your prayers as we pray for His presence to be so evident in that hospital room on Friday. After all, it's only in His presence that we find the fullness of His joy (Acts 2:28), and we could not ask for anything more as we welcome Blake into our Father's world:)

Blake's Blessing

Some of my precious girlfriends threw us a shower a few weeks ago in honor of little man Blake:) They decorated a little room at La Madeline and we had a very girly time! I did not get any pictures with my sweet mom and mother in law, but I am so grateful you both came and I love you very much!! We were blessed beyond description and I want to also say thank you to my sweet friend Heather for driving all the way from Borger, TX to celebrate with us:) Mayce was so excited for the "girl time" and loved every minute! She thought she was about 15 and had herself a big ol' bacon quiche:) I was proud! Anyway, thank you girls (Krista, Becky, Susan, Lea, Melissa and Stephanie) for being the hands of Christ and blessing us so much! We love you!

Mayce and Addison (Heather's daughter). It has been over a year since they have seen each other, so needless to say, they were attached at the hip:)

Yes, Stephanie, I was able to read every gift you wrote:) HA! You are so sweet!
The awesome canvases that my dear friend Laura DeSpain painted for the kids:) She is unbelievably talented!

Fall Festival

We absolutely love to go to our Fall Festival at church, and we get entirely too much candy, cotton candy and popcorn:) Our sweet Grammy and Gramps have gotten to go with us for the past 3 years, and this year by far, was the best weather!! As the kids are getting older, we are noticing they desire to try the bigger, more daring, rides. This year was no exception, and we did have to try the ZIP CORD ride!! I fought off wanting to puke by watching my little babies literally fly through the air, but they had an absolute blast, so I kept my mouth shut:) HA! Also, I know you might be wondering how I could go from bed rest one week to walking around a stadium the next, but I assure you I had Dr.'s permission:) The only stipulation was that I had to have my sweet husband carry a lawn chair around and I had to sit while we waited in every line:) It was pretty hilarious having to sit at every stop, but I got to be there, so it was so worth it!!
Please continue to pray for the release of our Father's plan for our country:) Be blessed!

Chillin' in my chair, waiting to go in to stadium

The ZIP CORD!

This is right after they let her go and she smacked the opposite bouncy wall because she was so light:) It was so cute and hilarious:) She thought it was pretty funny.

Cotton candy face

Every year Grammy and Gramps ride the train with them right before we leave. This was Mayce's "I'm kindof done taking pictures" face, and of course, Bryce and Gramps had to give their little shout out to the Longhorns:)

35 Weeks:)

I have some precious girlfriends whom I haven't seen in a while, so I post this for Jenn, Heather and Melissa:) This will be my one and ONLY prego pic, I can assure you! We are so excited to meet little Blake, but are so grateful to our Father for His perfect timing:) Love you, girls, and I can't wait to see yall again!

Man Time

So, Blake tried to pull a fast one on us Sunday afternoon, and thought he needed to come a little early!! Needless to say, we landed ourselves in the hospital for the night, and my parents drove in to stay with the kiddos until we figured out a plan:) Such a blessing....thank you so much Nana and Pops! When we came home on Monday, Nana took Mayce to the store, and since I am on bed rest for a few days, Bryce decided to stay with his Pops.
He was so excited and came running to my bedroom screaming
"We're gonna have some MAN time!"
Me: "Oh reeaaally, what are you gonna do?"
Bryce: "We're gonna watch man bideos!"
Me: "and what 'bidoes' would those be?"
Bryce: "uhhh...mom, YOU KNOW....COMMERCIALS!!"
I'm not sure if Bryce has ever actually seen a commercial, but it was definitely yet another classic Bryce wording moment;)

Jamie, Dillon and Drew:)

My sweet sister in law and precious nephews came into town this weekend and it was such a blessing to see them:) Little Drew is already 4 months old and so full of sweet boyness!! He is yummy:) Thank you Grammy, Gramps and Jamie for such a great weekend! We love you!!! Precious Drew

Bonding time:)