William (Joseph or Judah) is here!

My  baby girl...had her second baby boy today...

I'm sitting here at 3:12 a.m. writing this.  Today has been a miracle day.  Life has been an emotional roller coaster since last Thursday.  Sunday evening, it all took a turn for the worse.  Lindsey hadn't felt the baby move...she wasn't doing well herself...so they went into the hospital 'for observation'...  a C-section was immediately talked about by the doctors...

 

So many prayers were being said for Lindsey and the baby...

and today...those prayers were answered

 

William came into our lives at 8:03 p.m.  The actual induction of the labor had started 4 hours prior.  It ended up being 4 hours of intense...really intense labor.   She went from being dialated to 5-6 to delivering in less than an hour. 

Look... THIS is a gift from God...

All babies are a gift...

but the faith of Lindsey and Donnie has been rewarded with this little man...

 

My baby girl...she is so strong...so determined...

 Donnie is an amazing father... Lindsey could not have persevered without him...

 and without the prayers of so many...

 Lauri was their Doula..both with Benjamin and with William.  She is also amazing...so calming...

This Mimi is thankful beyond words...

Another little man to love!

Thank you, Lord!

Chase

Do you remember playing chase when you were little?  I know my 4th graders just love any kind of PE game that requires a form of chasing.  Emerson and Benjamin had their own game of chase last week.  It usually involved Emerson's 'binkie' (aka blanket)...and a little tug-o-war.

They played so hard for their two days together...and laughed equally as hard!  It was so much fun to just sit and listen to them...

At one point, Donnie asked, "Do you ever remember having so much fun in your entire life?"

I love these little men!

Spinning

Last Wednesday and Thursday, Benjamin and Emerson had a grand time playing and laughing, and playing and laughing, and playing and laughing! 

 They had been playing legos, and I don't know how this started, but all of a sudden, I noticed both the boys in the plastic tub...with Donnie spinning them around.

Fun, fun, fun...is what they had!

Sometimes they were spinning a bit fast! Just wait, there's more posts coming up with them playing together!

At the park

 

We went to a park in Newark last Monday.  It was a 'playdate'.  Benjamin had lots of little friends there.  He enjoyed climbing in this little cave with a perfect little sitting ledge! 

 This is his friend Annabelle.  She is precious!   Annabelle is the one who gave him the giraffe that's in photos I posted of him earlier.  Annabelle's parents are from South Africa.  Her mama is pregnant too!

 This is a new friend.  Her name is Jordan.  Benjamin and Jordan got along instantly.  When he was driving, she walked up to him and he told her he was "driving to Betty's house."  Then, being quite the gentleman, he asked, "Do you want to go with me?" 

We had fun blowing bubbles. 

 Here is our little driver... driving to Betty's.  (aka Oma)

He loves to drive...he's always loved to drive.  As a matter of fact, as I'm writing this, he's asking me to go get in Mimi's car so he can drive!

Church on Sunday and more DBJ IV photography

Val, Bri, and Lindsey

On Lindsey's birthday, we started the day at church.  Lindsey's friend, Val, who now lives in Washington, was here visiting.  I was excited to see Val and her new daughter, Bri.

The name of the church is 'The Bridge'...and there is a little bridge that Benjamin decided to play on for awhile.

There were some rocks...

great rocks for stacking...

He decided to stack 3 rocks...

Ooops..........

 "Mimi, this is a BIG rock!" he told me.  It was, and it didn't stack.

At that point, Benjamin decided he wanted to take some pictures.  He likes to put the strap around his neck and start snapping photos.  He's actually pretty good!  I tried to do a slide show of his pics, but can't seem to get it within the margins of this blog...

After wearing himself out, he decided he needed a drink.  He loves to get his own water from the jug.

This is not taken by Benjamin....but by his Mimi.  I asked him to get in the picture, but he answered with his favorite word, "NO!"

Lindsey's birthday

My baby girl turned 31 years old.  I loved that we were able to spend it with her this year.  The last two years, her family has taken a trip during this week...but not this year!

Benjamin was excited to sing 'Happy Birthday' to his mama.  He was equally, or more, excited to 'blow out the fire'...

Benjamin doesn't eat sweets..at least sweets with regular sugar.  So he was unsure about the cupcakes.  Lindsey was wondering if it was the first time he had had chocolate.

 

Lindsey opened her cards and gifts...

Benjamin was ready to help with the opening, too.

"My name is Candle!" Benjamin said.

It was a great birthday spent with Lindsey, Donnie, and Benjamin!