Double G&J Ranch

The Cookman's come for a visit!

2009-09-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

We were so blessed to have our good friends, Dale, Betsy and Cael come and see us in August! They were moving from CA back to MN and decided to come by way of the Durkee Ranch. We were so excited to see them and to finally meet their son, Cael. He and Hope hit it off and had a great time together...they are now great buddies! Cael got to experience some "firsts" at our place, too...horseback riding, jumping in a bounce house and riding on a tractor. We had a wonderful visit with them and look forward to many more visits!

Dale, Betsy, Cael and our 4 kiddos Grace, Cael and Hope hanging out in the Bounce House
Dale, Oden the dog and Nolan...Nolan LOVED Oden! He would follow that poor dog all over the yard! Oden never got his usual naps with Nolan around...

Hope and Cael playing Super Heroes...very funny!

Guy and Cael

Dale and Cael on Cael's first tractor ride

Hope was very excited that she got to give Cael his first horseback ride

Cael and Hope...new friends

Betsy during dog feeding time!

Hope and Cael playing Yatzee

Hope turns 5!

2009-09-04T20:58:00.001-07:00

Hope turned 5 in August...it's hard to believe that our little girl is getting so big! She got to experience her first "friend" party. We have always just had family parties for her, so she was very excited to be able to invite a few friends from church this year. We first celebrated with Mamaw and Aunt Tammy a couple of weeks early. Then she opened presents from us on her actual birthday, followed the next weekend by her friend party...I was partied out by the end of it! :-)

Hope and her friends She wanted a Minnie Mouse theme, so we had Minnie ears for the girls and Mickey ears for the boys.
Hope and her Minnie cake

Her Big Wheels from Mamaw

Very excited about her Princess trash can from Tammy for her room!

Hope and Mommy with the first Minnie cake I made...I forgot Minnie's eyelashes on this one! The second one was better...

Celebration of the Razorback

2009-09-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

Only in Arkansas would you have an afternoon devoted to Celebration of the Razorback! :-) Seriously, the U of A was celebrating a hundred years and had a fun family day of autographs, music, balloons, face painting and picture opportunities with coaches and mascots. We had a great time!

Head Football Coach Bobby Petrino

Joy with the girl mascot
Nolan couldn't get enough of this guy...he wanted to take him home with us! (Grace wouldn't take a picture with one of them...once again they are opposites!)

Mommy and Hope

Hope with some of the cheerleaders

Daddy, Nolan and Hope with Tusk

The only picture I got of the day that has Grace in it in...sort of! Posing with our awesome balloons!

Nolan got a basketball

Hope got a pink razorback...surprise, surprise!

Joy 30 -35 weeks

2009-07-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

Joy is growing up so quickly. She loves sitting up now and grabbing anything and everything she can get her hands on!

35 weeks

34 weeks-first time swimming

33 weeks-Father's Day

32 Weeks-just too cute!

31 weeks
30 weeks

July 4th Fun

2009-07-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

July 4th is always fun...we have a church fellowship time the Wednesday before...lots of food, volleyball, egg toss, balloon toss and of course fireworks. Then on the 4th, we went to the Springdale parade and then that night hung out with the Chamlees to do sparklers and watch some more fireworks. Nolan tossing Daddy and egg...that silly egg didn't break until after the fireworks!

Hope doing the egg toss

Volleyball fun

Twin hugs

Nolan enjoying the fireworks...he kept asking for more!
Grace liked them too

All dressed up for the parade
Waiting for the parade
Our cute little cowgirl

Hope having sparkler fun Nolan's first sparkler

Grace's sparkler

Garden/Outside Fun

2009-07-20T10:34:00.001-07:00

We have been enjoying the outdoors at our house. Here are some pics of the kids playing and also some of our garden.

Grace and Nolan cooking me a meal in their playhouseHope and Joy on the swings
Hope going down the sprinkler slide...Grace and Nolan not too crazy about it as you can tell!

Slip and Slide...again Hope was the only participant!

Grace getting her shoes back on

Nolan loved to supervise

We love to have lunch on the picnic table

Our cucumber and squash garden that has gone CRAZY!

The main garden

Now just waiting on the veggies!

Minnesota Trip

2009-07-20T10:12:00.001-07:00

We got to travel to MN at the end of June...unfortunately it was not just a family visit, but as to attend my grandmother's funeral. She is with Jesus now and no longer in pain for which we are grateful. On a lighter note, we got to spend time up at Chad and Jackie's house, Dad and Mom's house and also Kyle and Coralie's house. Needless to say, Guy got real good at unpacking and packing the Yukon!! So here are some photos from the trip...not in the right order, but I'm just trying to get caught up! :-)

Aunt Coralie and Nolan Uncle Kyle and Daddy with all the kiddos for bedtime devotions together.
Guy and I with our precious nephew, Jesse and Matthew (and Hope).

Our traditional cousin picture...minus Maya and Elijah

Joy meeting her Great Grandpa and Grandma Peterson

Joy enjoying Daddy's arm at the Rochesterfest parade

The Durkee fam at Oxbow Park/Zoo

Jesse

Jesse and Joy

Dad and Mom have this fun roller coaster toy...Nolan and Hope LOVED it!!

Going to the man-made beach with Chad, Jackie, Maya and Elijah (Chad, Jackie and Maya in the background)

Joy's first swim!

Grace, Nolan and Matthew attempting to play tether ball

Kids cooling off in Chad and Jackie's back yard

Are we there yet??

Are we there yet?? Take 2!

Playing in Papa and Grammy's sandbox

The end of another Awana year

2009-07-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

We finished another year of Awana. Hope had a great time being a Cubbie again this year. Getting her awards from Commander Mommy! :-)

Guy got to baptize one of our T & T girls!!

Ms. Jerry Ann and Grace during the ceremony
Mrs. Sarah and her son Robby took care of Joy during the ceremony

Hope standing in line waiting for a balloon during our celebration time

Nolan enjoying his cookie!
Cookie time for Hope

Our little Cowboy and Cowgirls

2009-07-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

The kids have really gotten into riding Dolly as much as they can. Hope has gotten to where she can ride completely by herself without a lead rope. Dolly does very well with all of them. She is very gentle. Papa Durkee came to visit at the end of May so he got to see all the kids on horseback and meet Joy for the first time. Our Dancin' Cowgirls!

Our Tough Boy!I love this picture...the twins were watching Guy saddle up Dolly and I was trying to keep them out from under his feet. Hope riding with a lead rope...now she does it all by herself!

Papa and Nolan

Daddy has been waiting for this day! Soon he and Hope can go for long rides together!
Papa and Joy

Joy 24-29 weeks

2009-05-24T15:52:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it's been forever since I've updated our blog! So here's a whole month and a half worth! Don't stop after reading this entry....scroll down until you hit our trip to Branson with the Chamlees...that's where I started updating today! You can tell it's spring here and we've been outside a lot. I haven't spent much time on the computer and none on scrapbooking...oh well. It is just too nice outside and I have too much to do! :-) So here's our last month in blog form. Let's start with Joy's growth...here she is from weeks 24 to 29...

24 weeks...giving kisses to Daddy

24 weeks...enjoying the porch swing together
25 weeks-loves to sit up as much as she can...getting close to doing it all by herself

26 weeks-Joy's one of a kind smile...she lives up to her name!

27 weeks - Now that she knows how to roll, she has become a belly sleeper

27 weeks- Snuggles with Nolan

with Grace

Kisses for Hope

28 weeks- going down the slide with Hope

29 weeks- playing with her toy in bed...she now knows how to move all over this crib!

29 weeks -Sitting up by herself!

Bubbles!

2009-05-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

After having LOTS of rainy days in the past couple of weeks, we decided to enjoy our gorgeous sunny day by blowing bubbles! The twins hadn't done this yet, so they had fun eating more than blowing (ugh!) as I tried to show them how to do it. Lots of laughs and memories!

Razorback Baseball

2009-05-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

We had been wanting to go to a baseball game for Guy's birthday, but it got rained out. So finally on May 15th, we were able to take in a game. They even had fireworks afterwards! Hope talked Daddy into getting popcorn...her favorite part of the game next to calling the Hogs!
I couldn't believe how well the kids sat during the game...I guess we have a house full of sports lovers! Here Nolan is sharing his hat with Joy.

Joy's first Razorback game!

Mother's Day

2009-05-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

I had a great Mother's Day thanks to my hubby and kids! Guy surprised me with beautiful roses and a fun new shirt, Hope made me a beautiful picture and card and the kids gave me 3 new rose bushes for my flower bed. Later, Georgia, Jack and Tammy met us at church and then spent the rest of the day with us. I made us pizza for lunch, but Guy made us a yummy steak dinner later.

Guy's birthday and a Mexican Fiesta!

2009-05-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

On May 2, we had a Mexican Fiesta at church. We had great food and the kids had a great time breaking the pinata. Hope and Nolan loved every chance they had to swing and take a hit. Grace, on the other hand, didn't want a thing to do with it! You'll see her expression as you scroll down...I was also able to surprise Guy with a birthday cake! Happy 35th Babe!

Hope taking her turn

Grace wanted Mom to hold her instead!

Nolan proved that he wants to be a ball player!

Guy's cake

Baseball themed of course!

The twins found a place to sit and I couldn't resist taking their picture!

Hope made her Daddy a pen holder for his desk

Guy's excited about his Alan Jackson book

Guy with the meat slicer he's wanted since we registered for our wedding!

Daddy and his kiddos

Joy learns to flip!

2009-05-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

In April Joy learned how to roll over by herself. She learned from her back to tummy and then tummy to back on the same day! After that day, however, she would only do back to tummy. (now a month later she does both). So here she is on her first sucessful roll...I can't believe I was able to find the camera fast enough!

Getting the leg over...

Different angle...Nolan cheering her on...

up on the elbow... and a "good job" pat from Nolan...

I think I did it!
Yep! Look at me Mom!

Branson with the Chamlees

2009-05-24T14:21:00.001-07:00

We had a chance to go to Branson for a few days with our good friends, the Chamlees. We took in a day of Silver Dollar City (of course...it's like our Disneyland!), went to Branson Landing, played mini golf and shuffleboard at the hotel and just enjoyed our time together! Thanks for being such great friends guys!

Mikalah, Hope and Grace on the frogs...their favorite!

Nolan, Logan and GuyMikalah, Nolan and Quinton on the train

Mike, Grace and Guy

Hope took our picture...sorry you got cut off Debbie!! Guy, Jen, Joy and Debbie

Hope and Logan

Playing mini golf and the hotel...it was quite the adventure!

My funny Guy...

Joy and Mikalah...so cute!

The Durkees

The Chamlees

Easter Fun

2009-04-21T14:30:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the HUGE entry, but our family LOVES EASTER! Thank you Jesus for giving us LIFE! Here are our highlights...egg decorating at home...Nolan and Grace's first time actually helping...if you can call it that!

Easter morning is always fun getting everyone dressed up. Here is Joy in her dress...more fabric and lace than baby! Thanks for the cute dress Mamaw! (see all the kids at the top of the page)

After church we had to do our traditional egg hunt inside because it was raining!

Grace and Nolan's first egg hunt too!

Family picture

Looking at the "goods"

Fun with the bunny ears at home later

Joy 23 weeks

Full of personality as usual!

Doing our egg and basket hunt at home...Hope reminds me of myself so much it's scary...can you see the "excited hands" Mom and Dad??

Grace found one!

All done!

Hope's basket...Princess mostly of course! Thank you Dollar Tree!

Nolan is too excited...no time for pictures...wants to dig in!

Grace is all smiles!

Hope stuffed a whole Peep in all at one time!

Nolan's first Peep and candy actually...

Grace's too and she's loving it!!

Egg photo fun

New Haircuts!

2009-04-11T12:13:00.001-07:00

I have been wanting a different haircut for awhile now...so I've been growing out my bangs so that I could try something new. Mom and Dad gave me some money for my birthday (I know that was awhile ago...takes awhile before a stay-at-home mom can arrange for such things! :-), so on Thursday I finally was able to go. Once Hope figured out what I was going to do, she wanted her hair cut too! After a LONG discussion of what a haircut means (Permanent...can't glue it back on!) we compromised on the length. She wanted it as short as mine, yikes!! 4 inches later...and A LOT less money than Mommy's!...

Before...(Mommy and Daddy love her long hair)

Holding some of cut off chunks!

The new length!

Jen's new look

Joy at 22 and 23 weeks

2009-04-11T12:04:00.000-07:00

Joy got to try out her exersaucer/jumperoo during this week. She loves having something "new" to do! She really gets her legs going at times. She has also discovered her tongue...she loves to make silly faces...

22 weeks in her jumperoo

22 weeks playing with her tongue

23 weeks sitting in her bouncer watching us color Easter eggs

Horse and Tractor Rides

2009-04-11T11:52:00.001-07:00

For a long time, the kids have been too scared to ride the horses, but lately they have shown some interest. In fact, while we were at the zoo, Nolan saw the zebras and said, "I ride!" So one evening after Guy had been working outside cleaning up the tree mess, he came in to get the kids for a tractor ride. Well, that also turned into a horseback ride! :-) All 3 (Joy is not quite ready!) loved both and didn't want to go in even though they were cold and it was getting dark. Grace and Nolan even liked when they got to trot a little...their little faces were in the biggest smiles!

Grace and Daddy on Dolly

Nolan is all grins!
Hope's turn

Hope and Daddy take a ride in the pasture around one of many burn piles!

Nolan is just a LITTLE excited about getting to ride the tractor!

Mommy even got to take a turn driving!

Grace was all smiles until she had to get off...similar reaction to having to get off a carousel!

A Day At The Zoo!

2009-03-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to go to the Tulsa Zoo with our good friends, the Chamlees. The weather was perfect and the kids (and parents!) had a great time! The last time we went to a zoo was when the twins were just a few months old so they really enjoyed seeing all of the animals.

The kids pose by the Tulsa Zoo wagon

Joy's first zoo trip
Hope and Nolan play on the zoo playground

Nolan and his buddy, Quinton

Big grins from Grace

The girls pose by a beautiful penguinJen and Guy pose on the tortoise

Some of the monkeys we found at the zoo!

Guy and Mike decide to find the kid inside of themselves!! Love it!

More cute zoo animals!

Looking at the giraffe

Hope was excited to find the zebras!

The whole gang enjoys watching the chimps play

Grace and Daddy by her zoo favorite...elephants!

Hope and the cute Artic fox

Grammy came to town and Twins' birthday

2009-03-27T11:50:00.001-07:00

Grammy drove down for a week to celebrate the twins' second birthday with us. We had a great week together and the twins had a wonderful birthday! It's hard for me to believe that they are already 2!!

Grammy brought her homemade playdough and playdough tools....FUN!

Mamaw helps Grace and Nolan take out their golf set from Grammy and Papa

Mamaw and Grandpa Jack gave the twins their own trikes

Grammy shows Nolan how to use their new teeter-totter

Grace gets her first look at her "Ellie" cake that Mommy made for her...I think she likes it!

Nolan seems happy about his horse cake too!

Nolan says, "I'm 2!"

Grace says, "Me, too!"

Grammy shows Nolan how to swing

Grace is just a little bit excited about her shot

Grammy and Joy

Hope gets some Grammy time

We took Grammy to Chuck E. Cheese...here they experience the roller coaster ride!

Getting BIG smiles from Joy

Joy at 16-21 weeks

2009-03-27T11:32:00.001-07:00

I'm way behind again in posting "growing" pictures of Joy...so here she is from weeks 16-21!

16 weeks-Learning to like tummy time!

17 weeks- a little pouty face...really just "another picture, Mom??"

18 weeks- Sorry I couldn't get this one to rotate...Joy and her usual smile!

19 weeks - Getting a "smushy kiss" from Nolan!

20 weeks- Really getting this tummy thing down! Look at me!

21 weeks - Play time with Hope and loving it!

Joy at 12, 13, 14 and 15 weeks!

2009-02-19T11:20:00.000-08:00

I have been bad about posting week by week pictures of Joy this past month, so here they are. She is growing up too fast!

12 weeks...full of smiles

13 weeks...kisses from Nolan and Grace

14 weeks...not quite a thumb sucker, but a fist!

15 weeks...snuggles with Hope

A Valentine's Night in the 50's

2009-02-17T14:19:00.000-08:00

Our church put on a Valentine's event...a night set in the 50's! We were to have fun trying to dress up in that era...Guy and I did our best with what we had in our closets. We got to sit at the same table as our good friends, Mike and Debbie....made for a fun evening!

Joyce and Bobby...so cute!

Marvin and Carolyn went all out!

Our "Grove Diner Staff"...they did a great job!

Lovebirds!

Roses from my sweetheart!

Our Night at Chuck E. Cheese

2009-02-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from our fun night at Chuck E. Cheese. Good friends gave us a gift card for Christmas, and Hope has been dying to use it, so this past week we finally got the chance. It was a lot of fun, but we were tuckered out by the time the evening was over! We didn't even get close to using all our tokens, so we will be heading back before we know it! Nolan's face was priceless as he realized the jeep moved up and down.

All 3 in the roller coaster simulator

A carousel built for three...perfect until Joy can ride! :-)

Taking a break to eat pizza

Taking a ride in the Cheese bus!

Hope tries out the basketball game

The Ice Storm

2009-02-06T20:38:00.001-08:00

Well we made it through the ice storm. It started Monday night, January 26th. We woke up Tuesday morning and couldn't really tell the amount of ice accumulating by looking outside. By 8:30 am we lost power. We waited for a little while, but it didn't take long for the house to get chilly. Guy started calling around to ask friends if they had power or not. We debated driving to Fort Smith where Guy's mom lives, but we weren't sure if that was the smartest thing to do...driving in the ice that is. We ended up going to our friends, Sue and Gary's for awhile. It was an interesting 3 mile drive because we had to move several limbs off the roads as we went. Long story short, we hung out at Sue and Gary's until they lost power in the late afternoon. We then had to go to Fort Smith. We stayed there until Saturday. Then we moved in with other friends, Wendell and Carol, until we finally got power back this last Tuesday. What an adventure! Sure made us thankful for the power, heat and water we now have!

This was how thick the ice was on everything Tuesday morning...it got even thicker later on.

These pictures show the damage we came back home to...

Needless to say, Guy will get a lot of use out of his new chain saw!!

What a Surprise!!

2009-01-23T11:50:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful surprise this last week! My brother, Kyle, called on Wednesday morning and basically asked, "What are you doing this weekend?" I said, "Staying at home...why??" And he said, "We are coming to see you!!" Needless to say I was thrilled! Kyle is a plumber and the job site was closed for the rest of the week due to extremely cold weather and because the brick layers were behind...so they decided to drive to Arkansas! They pulled in around 2 am Thursday morning and stayed until after church on Sunday. The kids at a blast together during the day and Guy, Kyle, Coralie and I had a ball playing Hand and Foot each night after the kids went to bed. What great memories! Thanks you guys for taking the time to come and see us...we love you!

Matthew, Grace and Nolan are ready for bed
Nolan LOVED having another little boy to play with! They are only about 4 months apart so I'm sure they will be good buddies!

We had a 50 degree day so we enjoyed playing outside...here the kids are playing in our treehouse.

Matthew, Coralie and Jesse taking a little walk.

Aunt Jen/Mommy giving car and wagon rides!

Having fun in the swings

Our adorable nephew, Matthew

Kyle and Matt try out the slide

Our traditional cousin picture!

Matthew, Kyle, Coralie and our newest nephew, Jesse...2 months old on the day this was taken

Uncle Kyle and Aunt Coralie with all the kids

Matthew is so sad that he has to say good-bye! Just kidding...he just really wanted his Daddy.

Joy at 11 weeks

2009-01-23T11:47:00.000-08:00

Our little girl is growing up way too fast!

Some January Fun

2009-01-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share some photos of the kids from January. The first couple are of Joy at 9 weeks. As you can see, she is a girl full of smiles and chubby cheeks!

The next couple are taken in Branson. We got a free trip through our timeshare if we went for a couple of days, so we enjoyed some family time in the condo.

Here's a fun picture of Hope and the twins getting ready to say prayers before bed time. I'm sure they would have loved to all sleep together, but I don't think they would get much sleep!

Here are the kids having some fun wrestling time together...Nolan is always the clown...

Our cute chubby baby Joy...she is a healthy 14 lbs. at 2 months!

Joy at 10 weeks getting LOTS of kisses from Nolan and Grace.

Hope got some wonderful hand-me-down gifts from some friends at church. Included in all of it were lots of Princess accessories for Hope and Joy's room. The cute little chair is fun for Hope, but also perfect for Joy!

Lights at the Square

2008-12-30T13:04:00.001-08:00

On the way home from Mamaw and Grandpa Jack's house, we stopped by the Fayetteville Square to see the beautiful lights.
Of course they have a Razorback!

Our cute kids

Hope wanted to take our picture...not too bad for a 4 year old!

Christmas Morning

2008-12-30T12:29:00.001-08:00

Christmas morning was full of excitement, too!

Tammy made these stockings for me for Christmas, and I sewed on our names. It was fun to have matching stockings for Christmas this year...thanks Tammy!

Hope got Princess dominoes

Princess Grace

Nolan got some hot wheels

After it was all said and done, Grace still was hogging Nolan's cars...at least she has on a crown this time and not his ball cap!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-30T12:12:00.001-08:00

We opened presents from our family and Papa Durkee on Christmas Eve. As you can see from the above photo, Nolan, our little ham, was ready!! Grace turned into a little tomboy in the last week, so Nolan's baseball cap is a permanent fixture on her head these days (yes, even to bed when we don't want to fight the battle!). Anyway, we had a fun evening together as all 3 LOVED ripping into the wrapping paper. Joy looked on from her nearby bouncy seat. :-)

Hope was super excited about her princess tea cart from Daddy and Mommy.

Our cute Grace and a present from Papa.

Nolan's "cheese!" grin...including a little supper leftovers..yucky!

Nolan had to hang on to his ball for the rest of the evening (including while he opened the rest of his presents) in fear that Grace would try and take it away! I guess Daddy and Mommy really goofed up buying her a purse and tea set...all she wanted were Nolan's trucks and balls!!

Joy getting her present from Daddy and Mommy

Visiting Santa

2008-12-22T10:16:00.000-08:00

We got to go back to Branson this last week with Guy's mom. She, too, loves to go to Silver Dollar City to see all the beautiful lights. While we were there we got to see Santa. We didn't go last year because Hope was still scared of him, but she was willing to try this year. So Nolan got to go first. He completely surprised me at how willing he was to sit there PLUS have a "Nolan" coversation with him!

When I went to pick Nolan up, Santa told me, "He says he wants a truck and a ball." I said, "Sounds about right!" I guess Nolan knew what he was doing!

Next was Hope...still a little shy, but she managed a smile and to tell Santa she loves anything princess.

Then Joy got her first picture taken with Santa...and I couldn't ask for a better one! Santa was so sweet...he even gave her a kiss!

Then came Grace and she was NOT happy about this!! Santa tried to pout with her, but all she wanted was back into her own Daddy's arms. :-)

All of us in front of the HUGE tree

2008 Christmas Programs

2008-12-22T10:02:00.000-08:00

Our kids got to be a part of a couple different Christmas programs at church this year. On Sunday morning last week, our choir performed a Christmas Cantata (Guy was a part of this too). Hope got to be an angel that did a little dance routine to one of the songs.

Here she comes!

Hope doing her performance

Later on that evening the kids involved in Sunday School and Awana performed a Christmas play. Hope was an angel and the twins got to be barnyard animals. (That way it didn't matter if they wandered around on the stage!) They did really well though and actually hardly moved.

The host of angels

Mary, Joseph, Jesus (no that is not Joy!), and the barnyard animals. Nolan is the horse and Grace is the cow.

The whole group

Our little actors...Ashley, do you recognize the cow outfit? You gave it to me for Hope years ago!! :-)

A Short Trip to Branson

2008-12-22T09:55:00.000-08:00

We found a last minute opening at our time share in Branson so we decided to take it. We got some Christmas shopping done, enjoyed all the beautiful lights at the Branson Landing and just had some fun family time together. We always go to Silver Dollar City when we go to Branson because we have season passes, but they weren't open. So it was fun to go and see some different things around the city this time. The Landing was almost empty so the kids had fun walking by themselves...or should I say running by themselves!

All of us in front of the beautiful Christmas tree

Guy was so excited to see the General Lee! His comment, "Jimmy, eat your heart out!" :-)

Our Growing Joy

2008-12-22T09:48:00.000-08:00

Joy is growing like crazy! She is 8 weeks old today already! Here are some pictures from the last month...she's been smiling since 5 weeks, but she is all huge grins now! 5 weeks old

6 weeks old

6 1/2 weeks old

Joy's Dedication

2008-11-20T12:46:00.001-08:00

We had the opportunity to dedicate Joy to the Lord last Sunday, November 16th. Our good friend, Mike, shared a short message, Scripture and prayer for Joy. It was very special. It was also special because my parents, Guy's mom and her husband, Jack and Guy's sister, Tammy were all able to be with us. It is our prayer for Joy and all our kids that we raise them the way that God would want us to and that they will one day accept Jesus into their own hearts.

Fall Fun

2008-11-20T12:31:00.000-08:00

Well Joy is now 3 weeks old and I'm adjusting to life with 4 kids! Needless to say, the blog has gotten shoved to the bottom of my priority list, but I'm taking a little time today to post some pictures of what we have been up to. My mom was here for 3 weeks to help me out and I'm so grateful for her extra set of hands. Dad was here to drop her off and then pick her up. While she and Dad were here we had Halloween, including pumpkin carving and trick or treating, and some leaf jumping moments.

Papa and Grammy jumping in the leaves with the kids
3 days after Joy was born, Mommy still had to be apart of the pumpkin carving!

Our cute little trick or treaters!!

Daddy, Max and the kids enjoying the leaves and the fall weatherMommy and Joy have fun watchingHope LOVES this time of year...just like her Mommy!

Our Bundle of JOY is here!

2008-10-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

Our little girl arrived exactly 2 weeks early according to her actual due date, but she is strong and healthy! Joy Brooklyn Durkee weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. and is 20 1/4 inches long. I was scheduled to have her a few days early by c-section due to my previous one with the twins, but she had her own ideas! For once this delivery had nothing to do with high blood pressure either. I simply went into labor on my own and got to experience contractions not induced by any medication. We actually had to rush to the hospital as my contractions were down to 3 minutes apart. We arrived a little before 6 am and she was born at 7:14 am. Needless to say, they wasted no time! Since this all didn't go "as planned" we have a lot of people to thank as they stepped in to help take care of our other 3 children. Our good friend, Debbie, took our call at 5 am and came over to stay at the house until noon. (Thanks for taking on my dirty kitchen...the one I planned on cleaning that morning!!) Jerry Ann, another friend from church, came over from noon until Guy went home to put them bed for the night. Cathy also came after work to help out. And while all this is going on, my parents quickly packed up, Dad wrapped up bids at work, and took off in the car to get here by 9 pm that night. They graciously jumped in and took on all 3 kids until Wednesday afternoon when Guy and I and Joy got home. Guy's mom unfortunately got sick or else she would have been here as well. Anyway, we are now home and adjusting to life with another baby. At times it feels like a 3 ringed circus, but we are so thankful for God's miracles, his control and his perfect timing...even when it doesn't seem perfect to us. Thanks for all your prayers and your continued prayers. We couldn't be happier and feel more blessed!
Our Joy

Mommy's first time holding Joy
A very happy Daddy with his kids

Mommy and Joy

Daddy and Joy

Ready to go home

Mommy and Daddy are ready to go home too!

At home, Nolan, Grace and Hope can't wait to kiss their little sister!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-21T09:34:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we took the kids to a local Pumpkin Patch. They had so much fun running around and attempting to pick up all the pumpkins!

They had these cute cut-outs for the kids to put their faces through...

Mamaw and Grandpa Jack had spent a few days with us and got to go along.

I took MANY more pictures, but I will put more on our Snapfish album at the end of the month. It's my favorite time of the year, so I go a little crazy with all the fall and pumpkin pictures! Hope you are all doing well. Just a couple more weeks and we'll be uploading pictures of our new little one!

An Old Fashioned Church Hoedown

2008-10-13T09:34:00.001-07:00

Our church had an old fashioned hoedown this last Saturday. It was easy for the Durkee family to dress the part! Thanks to Guy's love for horses and Papa Durkee we seem to have a lot of "cowboy" stuff around our place. Hope had just gotten her outfit from a lady at church who made it for her, Grace's outfit was Hope's when she was little (from Papa) and Nolan's chaps were from Papa and his boots were once Guy's when he was little! Ready to head out the door
Family picture...even pregnant Mommy managed to find an overall dress in her closet!

Daddy and Grace listening to dancing instructions

The recreation committee did a great job! They provided a perfect "hoedown" meal: fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, biscuts and several kinds of fruit cobbler. Then we had square dancing and marshmellow roasting around the bonfire. It was a fun evening!

Here He is!

2008-10-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

Here's the promised picture of our new nephew, Elijah Charles Erickson. He was big enough to wear a pair of adorable overalls home from the hospital!

New Nephew!!

2008-09-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

My sister, Jackie and husband, Chad had their baby boy on Sunday, September 28th...one day before my Mom's birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom! Jackie was going to be induced on Tuesday because the doctor thought the baby was going to be pretty big...and boy, was she right! Elijah Charles Erickson arrived weighing 9 lbs. 10 oz. and 22 inches long. Jackie was doing fine, but Elijah was turned a funny way and wouldn't drop so they ended up doing a C-section. Both Jackie and Elijah are doing great and are due home tomorrow. Hopefully soon after I will have a picture to share!

On the home front, we are five weeks away from welcoming our little one into the world! We got the crib set up today so it is becoming a reality of how close we are. Can't wait to find out what this 24/7 kicker looks like!

Enjoying the AR State Fair

2008-09-25T08:50:00.001-07:00

On Monday we drove to Fort Smith to see Mamaw, Grandpa Jack and Tammy. The state fair is going on so we took the opportunity to go on half-price armband night. The kids had a great time riding the rides as many times as they wanted to. We even got all 3 to ride the real ponies! (Huge accomplishment!) We couldn't get any pictures, because the charged an outrageous price to have it done. The kids went strong until 10 pm and then crashed as soon as they were put to bed. Definitely could not do that schedule every night of the week!!

Hope, Tammy, Nolan and Daddy on the carousel.

Grace never looks like she is having fun, but then doesn't want to get off!

Helicopter ride

Nolan really got the waving thing down after only a few rides

Hope loved this ride!

Some of the Cutest Razorback Fans I've Ever Seen!

2008-09-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

The Arkansas Razorback football team played a big game last Saturday against Alabama. Unfortunately, the score wasn't so great for us at the end, but our three kiddos cheered them on anyway! We went to a family fun day at the grocery store (which was a silly waste of time, but the kids had fun anyway) and then went home to watch the game. Hope says her favorite team is the Razorbacks...her Daddy is so proud! :-)

First time Haircuts!

2008-09-17T09:20:00.002-07:00

You might think that first time haircuts refer to the twins, but it actually refers to Hope and Nolan. Hope has been needing a trim for a LONG time but she was always to scared to have it done because she loves her long hair. Well Nolan NEEDED a haircut badly and I convinced her to have me trim hers as well. Granted it was only about an inch, but it still counts in my book as her first cut! She sat still very well and didn't seem disappointed or upset at all. Now Nolan was a different story...

I had trimmed Nolan's hair a while back just around the ears and neck, but have never given him a full "cut". His hair on the top of his head had gotten ridiculously long...in the wind he looked like the little old men that do the "comb over"! Anyway, getting him to sit still was more difficult than I thought it would be...I had to call it quits and then I finished the job this morning! :-) It's not a great cut, but he looks so grown up now...it's hard to tell a difference in the photos, but we can see a big difference at home. He's growing up!! Grace appeared to want hers cut, too, but Mommy isn't ready to do that yet...just getting long enough to do cute pigtails!

Go Cowboys!!

2008-09-17T09:20:00.001-07:00

We had plans to go to our friends house for dinner and to watch Monday night football: Cowboys vs. Eagles...however, due to the strong storms over the weekend, they were still without power. So we went out to eat and then came home to root on the Cowboys. I had to get a picture of Daddy with his little cowboy fans. We had bought both of these outfits for Hope when she was little and they work perfect for the twins now. Hope was extremely disappointed that she didn't have a Cowboys outfit, so we will be working on finding her a shirt before the next game! :-) The Cowboys didn't let us down, but gave us an exciting game to watch and a win to celebrate!

Our Funny Little Monkeys

2008-09-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

We came home from church on Wednesday night last week and I was taking off my shoes to look up and see our funny little monkeys all posing together! I told Guy to grab the camera quick and he managed to get the picture before they changed their positions. They think they are so funny when they peek between their legs. They keep us laughing...

A Couple of Days in Branson

2008-09-05T10:14:00.001-07:00

We got to take a couple of day get-away to Branson over Labor Day. We always enjoy our time there and we all love to go to Silver Dollar City. The twins tried out the frog ride this time and we found a new area to play in filled with foam balls. They loved it! We also enjoyed swimming at the resort but I forgot to bring my camera. :-( We did manage to escape most of the rain, but it rained all the way home! Daddy and Nolan on the frogs.

Grace was content to sit in the middle of all the balls!

I couldn't get Nolan to look at me for a picture. He was too busy throwing the balls and then cleaning them up!

Hope and Grace are ready for the frogs!

Hope's favorite part of the ball area was shooting them across the room.

Sweet Bedtime Routine

2008-09-04T10:20:00.001-07:00

I know this is kind of silly, but this is one of the sweetest moments of my day. Yes, I love the quiet time with my hubby and the house is quiet...(I love being a Mom, but everyone has their limits! :-)) But I really love the way the kids all lay on the rug in the twins' room for bedtime prayers. They are so sweet and cuddly and started this little routine all on their own. It started soon after Grace and Nolan started to walk. We brush their teeth and then they run into their room and bury their faces in this furry rug. Then we pray together as a family followed by lots of hugs and kisses good night. Now granted, not every night is sweet and cuddly (especially after a long day and everyone is extremely tired), but this night was a fun moment and a picture I will cherish for the memories it reprensents.

Mamaw's Visit

2008-09-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

Mamaw, Guy's Mom, got to come and spend a week with us...August 21-28. Because she only lives an hour away we get to see her about once a month but for only a day or two. So she decided to come up for a week so she could get some good play time with the kids. I loved having another set of hands around to help out with the kids and she even helped clean around the house...Moms are great! She also loves to take pictures of the kids so here are some she took that week.

Cuddle time on the couch and cute grins!

Princess Hope

Mamaw loves to rock, so we brought out the rocker from the twins' room and Hope had to get hers too!

Playing dress up with hats is a favorite playtime activity right now...poor Nolan often gets stuck with the "girly" ones, but he doesn't seem to mind!

Coming Quickly...

2008-08-20T09:04:00.001-07:00

We had a doctor's appointment on Monday and he asked us when we would like to schedule our C-section for this new little one. Guy is now a worker at the voting polls around here, so we asked to have it scheduled sometime after the election. Dr. Mason was going to check to see what the hospital had available, but we should be scheduled to have the baby on either November 5th or 6th...that is, if my body can make it that far. With my last two pregnancies I have gone a couple of weeks early due to high blood pressure. So we are praying that that won't be the case this time. Anyway, that date is coming very quickly it seems...only 11 weeks away...Yikes!! Soon, our home will have another little blessing!

More Fun from the Trip

2008-08-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

While we were there, the Olmsted County Fair was going on. We love to go and see all the animals and of course, eat fair food! Like I said earlier, Guy's favorite (and mine, too!) are the yummy cheese curds! He's trying to find a way to bring them to the Arkansas fairs...

Here we take a break to eat and the kids enjoyed playing with some matchbox cars and stretching their legs.

Mom and Dad also took us to Wabasha, MN where they have a neat toy store with a hand carved carousel in it. This is one of Hope's absolute favorite rides so she had a blast! Grace and Nolan looked like they were not having a good time, but once we tried to take them off it was a different story! Grace had a death grip on the pole and was not going to be removed easily! We also enjoyed ice cream and looking at all the toys in the shop.

Another highlight was celebrating our nephew, Matthew's, first birthday and Hope's 4th birthday. We had a great family day together with both my siblings and their families. The house was very "busy", but the kids had a ball together and I think Grammy and Papa were having fun, too. By Christmas we will add 3 more little babies to the Peterson family: Jackie is due end of September, I am due early November and Coralie is due around Christmas!

I will be sending out all of our trip pictures on Snapfish as well.

Our Trip to Minnesota

2008-08-07T14:13:00.001-07:00

We had the opportunity to go and see my family from July 28th to August 5th. While there we got to see family, celebrate birthdays, go to a Twins game, go to the County Fair and eat yummy cheese curds (Guy's absolute MN favorite!), go swimming at the new Stewartville pool, visit a toy store with a handcarved carousel and spend a lot of time with cousins, Grammy and Papa, and Aunts and Uncles.

Hope was so excited to see her cousins! Here she is giving Maya a big hug.

Nolan and cousin, Matthew, played in Maya's sandbox together.

All three girls played on the swings.

Next onto the Twins game...the kids did great and seemed to really enjoy it! Hope asked where Papa had gone and got extremely excited when she realized he had gone for a HUGE tub of popcorn!

The Twins Give the Pool a Try

2008-07-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

The twins got their turn to try out the pool. At first Nolan wasn't too sure, but it didn't take long for him to figure out that he could walk all over the pool in his floatie! We had fun as a family cooling off (a little)...it was more like a big bath tub!

Our Little Swimming Pool

2008-07-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

Well, we broke down and bought a little swimming pool last week. (Gotta love Big Lots and their great deals!) Hope was very anxious to get it up, so Saturday we took on the challenge. Hope is very excited to swim and thinks she will this afternoon even though it's extremely cold well water filling it!

Well, as you can see, Hope got her wish! Thanks to 90 degree weather, the pool sitting on concrete, and being right in the sun, the pool warmed up a little...well enough to get in it. Let's just say I found it quite refreshing after I got used to it! :-) Our little pool is only 10 feet wide and about 2 feet deep, but it will be great for the kids to play in and for Mommy and Daddy to cool off a little.

Getting Started...

2008-07-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm going to give this blogging thing a try. I have a few friends in California that do this and they say it's easy...we'll see about that! Anyway, this week has been busy with Vacation Bible School. I have been able to help out in Hope's class which has been an adventure! Last night we had 8 preschoolers, two not quite 3 year olds, too. They keep me hopping! I think Hope's favorite part is the music. It has been fun to spend time with her and see her interact with her friends.

Our other news is that Grace has started to walk...finally!! Guy got some great shots of her taking those exciting steps. Once Nolan saw what was going on, he decided to "remember" that he knows how to do this and joined in...quite humorous!