Blog Slacker!!

Ok, so I am totally a blog slacker!! I never thought I would have to admit that, but now I think it has gotten so bad, I must join a 12 step program;) There have been TONS of changes in the Durham house, and I feel like we are just now getting our feet back under us. Now, let's see, where to begin? Well, I guess I can just do a super quick recap, then show some cute pics of the kids.......yeah, that sounds pretty good:) First, I am getting fatter by the second and really feeling well for this fourth pregnancy:) Still having the circulation issues, but probably to be expected when I am on this number! HA! That being said, we MOVED and it was.....well, slow....slower than I ever wanted, but "lesson teaching" slow for sure. I am learning to gain some much needed patience, and drop some yucky perfectionism.....it's a good thing, just not fun. In the midst of the move, the Lord and my Nanny had a beautiful encounter, and she went to live with Him:) The house certainly became a side note, and the new revelation of Godly character and principles was laid afresh in my heart.

So, here we are. All settled in, meeting neighbors, hanging pictures, planning get-togethers and adjusting to STAIRS! Now, I won't harp on this point, but it must be said.....the reality of the level of "out of shapeness" I was in, slapped me in the face when I met those stairs! :) They are Holy sandpaper for me, and I love them.....I do.....I tell myself that everyday, as I climb them exactly 437 times before lunch:)

Kids are healthy, happy and huge! Mayce is as beautiful as ever, and the biggest helper I have ever met. Her compassion level just blows me away. Her favorite phrase is "mom, let me do that. You have a baby in your tummy. Just sit." Now, whose not gonna love that:) Bryce is still my mighty man with passion running out his ears. He loves all, and has the sweetest, most sensitive heart. To say he is a protector would be an understatement! Then, there's little Blake. He is growing like crazy, and not interested in walking in the least bit, although we politely informed him he is a year old now and could start anytime:) He is so love able, and SO inquisitive. I love to watch his eyes when he gets picked up, because they scan the room faster than lightening, taking full advantage of this new aerial view he just received to decide where he will conquer next:) All in all, we are well......and blessed. I see all the works of the Lord over the past ten years of our marriage journey, and if I think of it longer than 2 seconds, I will weep. He is good, folks, really really good. His mercies are new, His Name is strong, His power is mighty and His love is relentless.

Here are a few pics of what's been going on and I promise more house pics soon. Thanks for indulging the extremely long "catch-up" blog, but in a few years, I would have forgotten some of these beautiful times......so you had to put up with the wordy mama today:) Bless you!

Pulled all the Christmas decor out for the new house:) YAYY!

Blake after his first haircut:) He did so good!

He also figured out how to put his lunch in that new hair cut:)

Bryce practicing some "new tricks," as he calls it, on his bike. Notice we do all said "tricks" while bike is completely still! HA!

Our first snow (well, kindof) in the new house:)

One Crazy Weekend!

What a crazy weekend we had!! My mom came down on Thursday night to help me get a jump start on my packing, so Friday we hit the ground running. I had noticed that Mayce had been acting a little different on Thursday, but just thought she was a little tired. On Friday, she seemed a little grumpy and did not eat really well. Now, for the past week and a half, the nasty stomach bug had filtered through both of my boys, but it was fairly mild and went quickly. It had been a week since anyone was sick, so I thought we were in the clear:) Well, we went to bed a little late Friday night, and Mayce wanted her Nana to sleep with her. We had all been asleep about 2 hours when I noticed the hall light and bathroom light come on suddenly. I jumped out of bed to find my mom cleaning off sheets, pillows and clothes because Mayce had gotten sick in the bed. She was laying on the couch, and in the short time it took me to get to her from asking what was going on, she had gotten sick again! My heart broke in a million pieces for her, because she was just miserable. She continued to throw up for the next 3 hours about every 15 to 20 minutes. After the first 5 times, I began to call our pediatrician and the ER. When her doctor called back at 3:30 am, she ordered her a RX for nausea. She took one and fell asleep, with me sleeping on the floor next to her bed. She literally turned over every 5 minutes, and it was very obvious she was hurting. By 6 am the next day, she woke up with a 102 fever and pain. She was very miserable and very sick. I still thought she had a really bad stomach bug, so we began to try the popsicle/juice route for the next few hours. However, I could not get her to try much and her fever was increasing. About 6 pm that night, Monty and I decided to take her to Cooks Urgent Care, and I am more grateful to our Heavenly Father for that wisdom than you will ever know! After an IV, blood samples, Strep test, H*N* test, x-rays, and u-sample, we were very surprised to find out she had a UTI with the main infection being in the upper part causing pain. Needless to say, we were relieved it was not her appendix or any other flu, but we knew this was very painful:( The doctor felt that she might have had a virus too, so all the way around, she was pretty sick. Our experience there, despite all the tests, could not have been more peaceful, and we were blessed by two beautiful nurses who passionately loved the Lord and detected His Spirit in Mayce's little heart. Isn't it amazing how His Spirit just draws "all men to Himself?!" One nurse asked Mayce what her favorite book to read was and she answered "Luke.....from the bible." She just smiled and said "mine are Acts and Romans!" They, then, began to talk about their favorite scriptures:) What a sweet and comforting moment He provided. We ended up coming home around 11:30 pm, after receiving some fluids, antibiotics and nausea meds. I would love to report that she was 100% the next day, but sadly, this will be a few days of recovery. She still has not eaten well, but I am sure in the next few days, we will be up and running:) In fact, her Nana took matters in her own hands this morning and offered her a dollar to eat some toast.....and let's just say, Mayce is a little richer today! HA! Thanks for all the prayers from our dear friends, and thank you, Nana, for serving us and being such a blessing through this entire process!! Please be encouraged today in knowing our God IS a "strong tower for the righteous to run too" and an "ever-present help in our time of need!":)

This was soon after she recieved her IV, which she was such a trooper for:)

(sorry pic is so blurry, all I had was my phone camera)

Durham Family....come out, come out, wherever you are!!

Well, it's been a while since we've been in the blog world, so I thought I would post of few pics of what we have been up to:) Sadly, for a months worth of time, it's not a whole lot, but I forget to take pictures often.....pregnancy brain!! HA! By the way, we are also excited to announce that sweet Durham #4 will be a BOY!! Bring on the quarter backs! We will also be moving in the next 30 days and we are absolutely THRILLED about that:) The kids are so ready for more room and I will try to take some pictures of that little adventure;) Be blessed in His presence today, as you seek to fulfill His beautiful plan for your life.....the joy of that journey will overwhelm you!

Trying to hit the park when it's nice out. This particular day, the kids totally cracked me up! Mayce and Bryce really wanted to play with these bigger kids and were kindof being snubbed until the big kids made a big mistake....stopped to have a play plan meeting! HA! Mayce jumped right in the middle and asked them why they were not letting the younger kids play and suggested an idea of how everyone could play together. In about 5 seconds this group began to take the lead from a 5 year old and the rest is history! Too funny....her daddy was proud:)

Blake enjoying his park experience:) Love the sun grins!

We've also enjoyed digging for worms and trying to sneak them in and show mama.....nasty:)

I have mentioned before how much Blake enjoys being outside, and not much has changed:) We also like to sample the diverse pallet of "food" that the ground has to offer! HA!

Lastly, we have been teaching our 11 month old to read......what? doesn't everyone do this??? JUST KIDDING! I just found him sitting in this chair one day and it was too cute to pass up throwing a book in front of him:) This lasted a grand total of 5 seconds!!

In Your Midst!

"Praise the Lord, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, make mention that His Name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,

for great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!"

(Isaiah 12:4-6)

May you be blessed to know that your Heavenly Father is in YOUR midst today, fighting on your behalf, cradling your heart, and whispering love songs in your ear!

Here's a little bit of my "squishy" to bless you even more:) (Eight teeth and all!) May you be blessed beyond measure knowing you are loved and you are wanted!!

Birthday Bashes!!

So, I turned the big 3-0 this weekend and I could hardly believe it! It seems like since I have been having sweet babies, the years are just slipping by:) I wanted to share some of the incredibly sweet things that my husband did, as well as, some of my very precious friends! First of all, Monty arranged for our little ones to go to Nana and Pops house for 4 days, then he took off Friday so we could just have fun:) We ate out, looked for houses , ate out some more, slept in, then ate out some more:) On Friday night, he asked me to get ready because we had surprise dinner reservations at 6 pm. Well, when I walked out to get in my car, my two precious friends Krista and Becky were waiting there to whisk me away for a girls night out...too fun! We ate at a fabulous Italian restaurant then went to a movie. Thanks girls!! Then on Saturday, we woke up early to look at as many houses as we could, and Monty surprised me before we left with a beautiful book he had made. It was filled with letters from the amazing women in my life, and was intended to overwhelm me with encouragement and love......it WORKED!! I have never read sweeter words and I was absolutely blown away with this act of thoughtfulness! Thank you, baby, for loving me so much that you think of ideas like this. Thank you, Becky and Krista, for being his hands and compiling such a memorable gift! Later that night, Monty had one more surprise up his sleeve as we arrived at a restaurant to meet "1 couple!" (haha) As I walked in, I was honored to find all of our closest friends and my sweet in laws there to celebrate:) After we left there, we went to Krista's for some fabulous homemade cheesecake with any topping creation you could imagine! Needless to say, this was an incredible birthday and I am so very very grateful!! Thank you, Monty, for being YOU and for putting so much effort into your relationship with Jesus, that your heart is truly a gift to anyone you know:) I am honored to be married to you!

(I am sorry I don't have any more pictures than this, but I never had my camera with me on my "surprise" trips:)

Monty brought me this gorgeous arrangement of 30 roses on my actual birthday! I LOVE flowers!

I Smell As Good As.....

Something you need to know about Bryce is he has a super sensitive, go-go gadget, sense of smell! He LOVES when things smell good, and lets it be known when something, or someone, does not smell to his satisfaction. For instance, if I was a little slow to taking my shower one day, he will scoot up beside me, snuggle up, and in his sweetest voice say "mama, you don't smell very good." Yes, it always creates such a beautiful moment between us:) haha!

Well, the other night, my "acute sense of smell" boy got out of the bath and was proceeding to put his clothes on when I heard this declaration from the bathroom..."MAMA, I smell so good.....I smell as good as God!" Lofty, I know, but absolutely precious! And, knowing of Bryce's many phenomenal moments with His Heavenly Father, I have no doubt that when He would "taste and see" of the Lord....He would probably smell Him too:)

Dinner Time

Here's what the Lord showed me today. Hope it encourages you as much as it did me. Basically, this is a VERY quiet time of life for me with three little ones and one on the way. I mean, let's face it, not many people want to do a play date or lunch date with such a big crew and I can completely understand that:) We are a little limited as to how we can be involved and that's just how it is. So, for now, it seems a little quiet and lonely at times. I was asking Him this morning for some encouragement during this season and this is what He said. Why am I not surprised that it was focused inward instead of outward! HA! Simple in concept....but that's the way my mind works, so that's the way He speaks to me:)

I am realizing that if I am not "eating the book" that I am self condemning, lost and insecure. If I am not digesting His every word, then I immediately focus inward, see ALL the shortcomings and miss the "moments." But, when I "taste and see" my senses are overloaded and I wonder how I ever survived without it. If just stuck with self, I would be a miserable being, but to know there is more, more that I can do that has nothing to do with my gain or recognition, well then, there's peace like I've never known. He shows me, little by little, that I don't need to know every facet of my life calling at this very moment. I just need to wake up and ask Him to make me a blessing to someone, somewhere, and He will lay out the rest when He's ready. He asks me to scoot my chair up, put my napkin in my lap and eat like I have never eaten before.....eat the feast that only He knows how to prepare!

Two "Fun Filled" Weeks!!

So, it's been a LOOOOONNNGG two weeks at the Durham house!! It started off simply divine, with my wonderful, handsome, magnificent husband surprising me for our 9th anniversary and whisking me away to the Gaylord Texan for two nights!! It was an amazing surprise filled with 3 days of re-focusing on our family vision, eating wonderful food, catching a movie and shopping! Thank you, honey...I LOVE YOU! My sweet in-laws were so gracious to drive all the way to our home and stay with our kids:) It was so nice to not have to pack everyone up and send them somewhere:) Thank you so much Grammie and Gramps!

Well, our beautiful weekend was quickly interrupted when we came home on Sunday to all 3 kids feeling a little under the weather. We just thought they had colds until that night when we realized Mayce and Bryce had contracted some NASTY virus that shot their fever to 102! On Monday, I took all 3 to the doctor, and as I pulled up, the Lord decided to open up the sky and pour down sheets of rain! Now, I love rain as much as the next girl, but there was no parking space close, and all of my kids were not happy campers. We were completely drenched by the time we reached the door, and Mayce had started to cry because she began to feel sick to her stomach. By this time, I was praying for some serious GRACE!! We got into the doctor, and found out that Mayce and Bryce had canker sores covering their throat....ouch! I could not get them to eat or drink much for the next three days, and sleeping was in short supply. I felt so sorry for my babies! They were miserable! Well, by that Friday they were much better, so we decided to head out of town for my family reunion. We drove 5 hours Friday night and arrived at 11:30 pm. Everyone seemed to be doing well, but on Saturday I began to notice a little difference in my sweet Blake. And to make a long story short, by Monday, he had full blown sores all down his throat, which equalled NO FUN! He was miserable and could not sleep or eat well for 3 days. So, we are now all officially better and SO grateful this is all out of the Durham house!! Thank you, Father, for your grace and strength!

I have posted some pictures from our tremendous "get away," and informed my husband that I could handle one of these little excursions about once a month! HA!

It was so nice to just sit and read the paper....not something we get to do to often these days:)

Good Friends, Good Times, GOOD GRIEF!!

We've been pretty busy around here, so I thought I would do a "one post" catch up:) God is faithful, friends....do you know that? He continues to blow our expectations out of the water and exceed any ideas we could ever have! I LOVE that His glory will be made known, and I pray your are seeing little glimpses of that today!! Blessings!

GOOD FRIENDS:

Jennifer, Jessilyn and Reese Johnson stopped by for a little visit! They are from Midland and it is always SOOO good to see them!

Bryce and Reese

Jessilyn and Mayce

GOOD TIMES:

My sweet hubby brought me these one night after one of those "long" days:) They were accompanied by a movie, cherry coke (my favorite) and chocolate! Now, that's a good man right there!!

Yes, it's true, my chunky monkey is 8 MONTHS OLD, and eatin' Ritz like nobodies business:)

Mayce and Blake had some bonding time the other day while Bryce was sleeping, so she decided he needed to be a super hero with her and get in her cape:) This just about sent him over the happy edge!!

NANA AND POPS....WE LOVE YOU! Our Nana and Pops surprised us last week for a little day visit, and the kids were elated! We had sooo much fun, and have NO DOUBT, we did go to

Chuck E Cheese!

GOOD GRIEF!!!

There are no words, folks....no words.

Lastly, and certainly LEAST, would be this little treasure that my parents so graciously brought for my children, shipped directly from Sodom and Gomorrah, I am sure! It is by far the most annoying duck whistle thing I have ever encountered:) We now must be wearing our bills as we ride our bikes and let everyone know within a 10 mile radius we are coming....thank you mom and dad:)

San Antonio Pics:)

Here are the pictures from the last day in San Antonio:) May all of the Sea World pictures rest in peace! HA! These are from the fantastic Children's Museum in downtown San Antonio and some from the hotel and pool:)

The day we left

Our room

They were worn out by the last day:)

Milking the cow at the museum:)

There was a full size plane inside the museum...they loved it!

Human bubble maker

Riding the loader at the museum

Bubble room

Old bank (working computer that Mayce LOVED)

Old country store

Trolley at museum

Home Sweet Home

Just got back from a wonderful trip to San Antonio late last night:) We had so much fun with the kids! Monty and I laughed on the way back to the hotel after the second day at Sea World, because we had NEVER seen our kids that worn out before. They were so utterly exhausted that they were just crying and laughing for no reason. It was over 100 degrees both days, and we got there at 10 am and didn't leave until 4:30 pm!! I will be posting pictures soon, but unfortunantly all the great shots we got from Sea World were accidently erased by little miss Mayce. She was taking some shots with the camera and just pushed the wrong button and there they went:( She felt so bad, so we tried to take a ton of pictures on the last day we were there:) Anyway, glad to be back....super exhausted and sunburned, kissing Blake more than he probably enjoys, and all Durham's are LOVING being back in our own beds!:)

Please Pray

I am asking for prayer for my sweet friend Jan and her precious family. We have known the Greenwood Family for quite some time and would love for anyone who reads this to commit to praying for her as she walks with the Lord through this significant health journey. She will be updating her status and expressing any needs her and her family might have on her blog which is jangreenwood.blogspot.com. Bless you and thank you!

Now, I Know:)

So, I knew my little chunky monkey LOVED going outside, but, yesterday, he graciously educated me on exactly how much he would like to experience our backyard adventures! Mayce and Bryce were outside swimming, and I was inside feeding Blake with the screen open to hear the kids. As soon as he was finished eating, he began to fuss a little and occasionally look at the door. Now, I know he is only 6 months old, but I will no longer assume the boy doesn't know exactly what he wants:) After changing his diaper, I decided to take him outside for a few minutes before his nap.....that's when he decided to educate me. As we were walking towards the door, the whining began to cease and then I realized I needed to grab my phone. So, I turn away from the door and Blake began to sob so hard, so quickly, that you would have thought someone just gave him a shot. Tears and snot immediately began to flow and he could hardly breathe. At first, I thought he was hurt, but as soon as I grabbed my phone and stepped outside, the crying stopped immediately and he gave me the following little grin as soon as his little hiney hit the swing! Wow, Blake, momma will NEVER forget that little lesson....thank you, little mister:)

Here was one we took later on in the day.....outside, OF COURSE:):)