It's A Miracle...It's A Baby...It's A Girl!

                              Babies are miracles sent from above,
                     that fill our lives with joy and love!



Our new baby arrived at 1:04 early on the morning of Friday, May 13th, 2011!
We couldn't be happier with our sweet new bundle...what a precious blessing straight from the loving heart of God...it overwhelms me with humble gratefulness to Him!



Aliyah Barbara Faith

Aliyah~"Exalted, praised, noble"
"A woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised."
Barbara~Named after her sweet maternal Grandma~
Faith~"Unquestioning belief and complete trust in God"
"If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed...nothing shall be impossible unto you."

Checking out our brand new baby shortly after her arrival...yep, Kaiti, it's really a baby sister!!!:o)






Hi Daddy Dear! Here I am!

Taking turns holding our new baby sister...
Kaiti's turn~

Damien's turn~

Our great midwife, Brenda...
She's been with us through thick and thin for nearly the past ten years; the last five pregnancies. We're blessed to have her as a friend and midwife!

After our nice herbal bath. Auntie Ness was here for the birth too...it would seem strange to have a baby without Auntie Ness being here! Matter-a-fact she and Daddy even delivered one of them when Brenda didn't make it in time:o)



Getting Aliyah dressed for the first time...
it always reminds me of something I read one time about turning a little angel into a human -:o)



Big brother Chad (or Dassy:o) She looks alot like him!



And big brother, Aubrey--
could any little girl ask for finer big brothers!?!


 

Jensy wakes up to a big surprise!

One of the first things he said was "tummy"--proof that he did have clue though! LOL!



Big brother Jens...he loves babies and likes kissing his little sister on her soft head.









And last, but not least, big bro Ty and baby Aliyah--

 

Baby Aliyah in her cradle---I have to admit, she hasn't spent much time in it though--she likes to be snuggled up with Mommy (or at least Mommy likes to have her snuggled up with her!:o)



Grammie getting to meet her new namesake!




Baby Aliyah and Pop



Sweet Baby Girl...



Aunt Amie and the little cousins with Kaiti & Aliyah~



How special! Aunt Mary Joy got to meet Aliyah before having to go back to California! And Uncle Marlins and the cousins got to see her before leaving for Honduras...



Proud Papa with his two babies:o)



What could be lovelier than snuggling with a sweet newborn baby! Precious little sisters!






"While you can't recall what you did with your newborn all day, somehow it took every minute of your time."
So thank you, with all my heart, to my own family first of all, for all your wonderful help...I couldn't do it without you! And to my extended family...your thoughtfulness and help is also so appreciated! And to all our kind friends who brought/sent food...what a blessing it was to our family! You're all so awesome!!!!! I thank God for each one of you and pray He will bless you all in a very special way!

  

Mother's Day & Getting ready for Baby



Mother's Day~2011




All my sweet blessings!
(Baby undercover):o)



My little guy "helping out"



Getting ready for our new baby...

My sweet little helper, Kaiti~



My grandparents gave us this baby cradle when Chad was a tiny baby so whenever we have a new baby, it's kind of a "pre-baby ritual" to get the cradle ready again. So this was what Kaiti & I were doing:o)



Celebrating Tyler's 15th Birthday



Bright and early, on the morning of April 16th, God blessed our home with a blond-haired, blue-eyed baby brother. I used to call him "my angel"~ but even though he was still my angel, he grew into a tough-as-nails little "all-boy"...one who tried eating an earthworm when he was little and saying it tasted like cheese or needing stitches in his chin! He is still all-boy...one who likes hunting and fishing, and is a great help outdoors around the farm, although I must say he can also make an awesome batch of grape-nut cereal too!:o)

 

On his birthday, Daddy took him and some of his brothers, to Springfield where they hung out and had a fun time at Bass Pro, ate at McAllisters and went birthday shopping for a new bike. Here he's trying out a four wheeler for the fun of it...but a PINK one?!:o)





Daddy, Ty, and Damien posing with a real stuffed teddy bear at Bass Pro~



The Budweiser horses were also visiting there that day--not that we're into the Budweiser part, but the huge horses were sure cool!



After they got home, we had a birthday party here, with a chocolate chip cookie cake and home-made ice cream--



Birthday presents...



"And this one's from us!" (Kaiti & Jensy) A cool new Red Head tee-shirt~



Always funner when you have help!:o)




Trying on his new turkey hunting hat from Damien~



Birthday party at Pop's house...hey, wait a minute, how old are you? Looking good for a guy of 51!



There, that's better!!!! Soon enough, let's not rush it!:o) This time he had a fruit pizza for a birthday cake~




His birthday gift from us...a new bike. And a matching one for Aubrey for his birthday (in August), because it's alot funner to have a pal to ride with!:o)




"Oh, the eagerness and freshness of youth! How
the boy enjoys his food, his sleep, his sports, his
companions, his truant days! His life is an adven-
ture, he is widening his outlook, he is extending his
dominion, he is conquering his kingdom. How cheap
are his pleasures, how ready his enthusiasms!"
-John Burroughs




"May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And... 
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand."
***********
You are such a special part of our family~
We love you, Ty!



Happy 9th Bithday, Damien!

Damien Isaiah Ray







After not having a baby in our family for awhile,
Damien was a sweet and special blessing!

~Why God Made Little Boys~
God made a world out of His dreams
Of magic mountains, oceans and streams,
Prairies and plains and wooded land.
Then paused and thought "I need someone to stand,
On top of mountains, to conquer the seas,
Explore the plains and climb the trees.
Someone to start out small and to grow,
Sturdy and strong like a tree" and so
He created boys, full of spirit and fun
To explore and conquer, to romp and run
With dirty faces, and banged up chins
With courageous hearts and boyish grins.
When He had completed the task He'd begun,
He surely said, "That's a job well done".






Sometimes Damien gets in with the big boys...




...and somtimes he's in with the little ones---



By nature he's pretty laid back and very friendly.
Matter-a-fact his name means "loyal friendship", and to
 Damien, everyone is a friend he hasn't met yet!
He likes animals and helping outside with the farm work.



And he had his heart set on a "John Deere" birthday:o)

Actually Damien wasn't supposed to come until January sometime, but he decided that he was big enough (at almost 9 lbs.!) and came on his Grandpa's birthday just three days before Christmas. So we usually celebrate their birthdays together and even though it is so close to Christmas and all the celebration and excitement that goes with that, we try and make sure his birthday is kept as his birthday. Damien had the cake and Pop had the pretty fruit dishes-:o)

Blow, Damien!!!

Opening birthday presents...

Cousin Steven and Kaiti observing his progress:o)

His own first Bible, from Mommy & Daddy--

And what could this long package be???

A BB gun!

Damien's sober look---dressed up in some of his new birthday duds-his new hat from Aunt Amie and his new sweater from Chad- Some of the guys in our family like clothes and some of them mainly appreciate being clothed!:o)

"You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again."





"O LORD, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done marvelous things,
things planned long ago."
Isaiah 25:1

We praise God for you, Damien... May your life always exalt Him for the wonderful thing He did when He planned and made you! We love you!!!