Twins are home!

Our 18th and 19th nephew and niece have arrived home safely! Mr. Ayden Michael is doing great...he was the bigger of the 2 weighing in at 6 lbs., 3 oz. Miss Addison Grace came in quite smaller at 5 lbs., 1 oz....but has lost weight and Friday weighed only 4 lbs., 7 oz. Mommy Christina is doing well, although very tired. Daddy Shayne goes back to work today...sleepless nights and working all day- yikes! Big sisters Brylee and Blakely are on top of the world about the new siblings; big brother Brennan is a typical 3 year old boy- just wants to play, play, play! Please keep them in your prayers...pray for Ayden and Addison to gain weight quickly and keep growing healthy and strong; pray for Shayne and Chris- that whatever sleep they get, it may be restful and fill them with energy, and prayers that they continue to adjust to life with 5 beautiful children! Thank you for lifting them up!

P.S. Oh, I'll get pictures of them up sometime...you know how behind I am!

Here & There

Trinity loves Ally-girl...Trinity is chit-chatting with her...talking to Ally like she's a person...which, Ally is part of the family!

Eli trying his first bites of cereal. He wasn't too sure about it at first, but after about 6 weeks of eating solids, he loves them! Sometimes I can't get the spoon to his mouth quick enough!

I think I had just taken a picture of Eli and of course Trinity wanted hers taken, too. This is her 'cheese' smile...what a goofy girl!
We dedicated Eli on March 1st. He did so good- smiled and cooed the whole time! We're with our pastor, Mike Kuykendall.

What toddlers do...

What do you think Trinity is doing? Playing 'This Little Piggie' with Eli's toes? Oh, no, not our daughter...(move down to next picture)...

She is picking out Eli's 'toe jam', yes, you read right, picking out his toe jam! Almost every day as soon as she gets home from the babysitter, she sits down, strips off her shoes and socks and picks out her toe jam...she thinks that everyone needs their toe jam picked out!

Eli- 5 months old!

Elijah Ray

There are some friends of ours who had their little boy, Gage, 2 weeks after we had Eli. After Bible study one evening when both of them were around 4 months, we had them on the floor together...they were hilarious looking at each other. They'd smile and coo and 'talk'...we wanted to know what they were thinking!

I love this picture of him...all smiles like usual!

Bathtime pictures are so sweet...all bundled up and smelling so good! Ready to snuggle and go to bed!

Sweetness and Independent

I love this picture of Eli...he was just over 4 months and was completely exhausted and fell asleep on the floor with those 2 middle fingers in his mouth...pure sweetness!

For those of you who have toddlers, you'll know exactly what I mean when I say- independent!! Trinity thinks she can do it all by herself...her, she decided she wanted her pj's on...she forgot to take off her other clothes first! She was pretty frustrated when she couldn't do it all by herself.

Aaahhh, bath time- one of the best parts of the day...kids smelling so sweet and fresh and all bundled up in the towel- pure sweetness!

JOY- that's what I think of when I look at Trinity in this picture- one of my favorite pictures of her and I! Most of the time she is so full of joy and love and smiles for everyone!

A few more...

All of a sudden I noticed it was awfully quiet in the living room where Trinity and Eli were. I walked back in and this is the scene I find...Trinity had covered one of Eli's toys with a blanket so that both of them could hide from me! She's starting to learn that one day he'll be able to play with her...I think she just wishes it was sooner than later!

When I lifted the blanket I was greeted with, "Peek-a-boo, Mommy!"

When we moved Trinity into another room before Eli was born we painted her room. I couldn't find a quilt or comforter that I liked, so I called upon my mom to make one. She worked so hard finding a pattern that would match the room and we were able to pick out fabrics together and she spent countless hours sewing- and learned some new techniques in the process! The quilt turned out absolutely beautiful and looks wonderful in Trinity's room! We often talk about who made the quilt for her and she loves to shout, "Mimi!" Thank you, Mom! It's a gift I treasure and will mean so much to Trinity when she's older!

Bouncing on the new quilt!

Our little boy looking so handsome!! He has a smile that lights up the room and melts my heart and his big, blue eyes are so full of life!!

Here and there...

More pictures from January...

Our nieces and newphew, Brylee, Blakely, and Brennan, came to play for the day. They had a ball playing in Trinity's kitchen- all dressed up to cook a great meal! And, Brennan and Trinity played really well- they have a love/hate relationship. We keep telling ourselves that one day they will get along! you know how toddlers are...one wants what the other one has...wait, does that ever end?!

Blakely and Brylee snuggling up with Eli. Brylee loves sitting and holding Eli...she's going to be a terrific big sister to the twins!

Elijah Ray- 4 months


Just thought he looked so cute in this jacket with ears on the hood!

Zachery Ray's 3rd birthday...he's a John Deere boy!

Baking with Mimi

Mid-January we traveled to Mom and Dad's in Danville to watch one of our newphews, Trevor, play basketball, and to go to another newphew's, Zachery, 3rd birthday party. Trinity's favorite part of the whole weekend was baking with Mimi. She loves to be on the counter helping make whatever I'm cooking or baking. She wants to be stirring or tasting or just sitting on the counter playing with utensils.

Spread it out!

Roll it in the flour- the best part- lots of flour to get everywhere!

Punch it down!

End of 2008...

Finally...we're back up and running!! I have lots of pics to add to the blog, so check it frequently! Being the ABC person (as my friend Belinda would say...you have an ABC personality, not DWZQ...meaning, everything has a place and has to be neat and orderly for me!) I'm going to start where I left off and start adding pics. Plus, you can see how much the kids have grown, especially Eli!

One of my closest friends, Belinda, met the kids and I in Hays for the night. We walked around, had dinner, and watched Cinderella, Trinity's favorite, while eating popcorn. It's always so refreshing to be around Belinda! Eli was just over 3 months here. I can't wait to keep uploading pictures so you can see how much he's changed and grown!!

If this little girl had a pool in her room, she would play in it all of the time...she loves water! She looked at Grandma Aldridge's pool the other day and asked if she could go swimming! She didn't quite believe us when we told her it was too cold.

Belinda, Trinity, and Eli relaxing while watching Cinderella. Oh, Be taught me how to give baby massages on this trip...Eli was so relaxed when she gave him one!