Happy 2nd Birthday Luke!!!!!!

What a fun day we had celebrating Luke's 2nd birthday! Unfortunatly we had to start the day off with a not-so-fun needle stick for some repeated lab work as a follow up from their last doctor visit. In the afternoon we were able to spend time at Hill Ridge Farms in Youngsville.
They have so many fun things to do. We spent lots of time feeding the goats, ducks, catfish and other farm animals! Then we came home to open birthday presents and enjoy some bubbles outside.
Finally we enjoyed some birthday cupcakes!

Happy Birthday baby boy, we are so glad we never have to miss another one again!



On a sad note, if you have not heard in the news, Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman lost their youngest daughter Maria to a tragic accident on Wednesday. We are just heart broken for their family. That family's heart for adoption and their Shaohannah's Hope Ministry is one of the many ways we were able to bring our boys home. We feel as if they are our extended family, and we mourn for their loss and pray that God would comfort them during these difficult hours and days and months ahead. Please join us in prayer for the Chapman family. Jeff, Mer, Luke and Ben

Miss Clara and more fun stuff

We have had lots of questions about how Miss Clara, our 8 year old English Mastiff is handling sharing Mom and Dad with Luke and Ben. So, we thought we would post a few pictures to tell the story. At first the boys were pretty scared of Clara, and she of them. Now she tolerates them, and they LOVE her! She is pretty protective of them though and loves to sleep in their room. She especially likes to lay on their nap blankets when they are not looking! Luke's absolute favorite word is "Doggy".
Clara mostly likes their nap times because they are not chasing after her or making lots of noises, and she can have Dad and Mom all to herself! In this picture Miss Clara is watching over nap time, making sure the boys fall asleep. As you can see, it is not working yet!
At last Clara just gives in to take a nap too, Ben would love to share, but Miss Clara is not convinced!

Here is a morning visit to a park. The boys are starting to enjoy it. The first time we tried to take them they just cried and were overwhelmed. Now they love the slide and swings!

This is just a fun picture of Ben after bathtime getting ready for bed!
And Ben getting ready for his first haircut! Mommy was sad to get rid of all his baby curls, but Daddy did a really good job!
Enjoy!
Jeff, Mer, Luke and Ben

First Mother's Day and Baby Dedication

Dear Family and Friends-




We were very spoiled and blessed to have BOTH mothers with me on my first Mother's Day. My Mom (Becky Kerger) flew in Thursday to spend a week with us and Jeff's parents also came for the weekend. It was a special day for all of us.



All four of us are getting spoiled once again!! Luke and Ben are just having so much, they don't know what to do with TWO "Gammas" to love and play with! I think we will have to run Grandma's bag through some security before she leaves to make sure one of our sons is not being taken home with her!



Both boys were dedicated at our church, Bay Leaf Baptist in Raleigh, Sunday morning. Both boys did okay, until Luke spotted his "Gammas" in the audience and proceeded to point them out and wave. Ben started to cry the minute our pastor put his hand on him. Other than that, all went well. We pray that God continues to give us the grace and wisdom to raise these precious treasures!



Finally, these are just a few extra pictures to make you smile. Yes, you are not seing double.... Ben does have two sippy cups. As you can see, he is pretty proud of himself for finding his older brother's sippy cup without Luke's notice!



Here Luke is enjoying his new glove and baseball. Of course, he is enjoying trying to eat it rather than play catch with it! Luke is becoming quite the ham. His new favorite words of the week are "Cat, Meow, Lion, Alligator, and Ball". He has also discovered how to reach the light switch next to his crib to turn on the light and fan in the middle of the night! Needless to say, his crib will soon be moved!

Believing Him,
Jeff, Mer, Luke and Ben