Four Generations!!!

And here is the ONLY halfway decent picture of the four generations. Who would have thought it would be so hard to get them all to smile at the same time?

A Visit from the Great-Grandparents!

Daniel's Grandparents from West Texas came down for the weekend for Christopher Duke's(Dan's youngest brother) Graduation Ceremony. It was a big event! It was a blast having most of the immediate family around. Ian especially liked having the chance to grab Great-Grandmother and Great Granddaddy's undivided attention! Here he is brushing up on his reading skills and showing off his squirminess!

A Mother's Love...

A Mother's love is something
that no on can explain,
It is made of deep devotion
and of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish
and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it
or take that love away . . .
It is patient and forgiving
when all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
even though the heart is breaking . . .
It believes beyond believing
when the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty
of the rarest, brightest gems . . .
It is far beyond defining,
it defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret
like the mysteries of creation . . .
A many splendoured miracle
man cannot understand
And another wondrous evidence
of God's tender guiding hand

A day at the Park

Ian, Mommy and Daddy went to the park for a Jada's birthday.
We had so much fun. Ian was swinging in the swing and running around all over the place.

It was a sunny day, and the wind was blowing, so Daddy decided to take a "breezy" picture of Mommy and Ian.

First Video Post!

This is a great video of Ian learning to use a spoon...

Left to Right: Monica(bride to be),me,and Bethany(Daniel's sister)

I love this picture,Monica's mom, Marie took it during the bridal shower Bethany and I threw for her on Saturday night. We had a blast. Bethany and I look pretty good for feeling so exhausted! I am so excited that Monica is getting married in just a few weeks. I have known her since we were little kiddos and am proud to say she is one of my best friends. I love you, girl!

Good times with family

Ian and his Great Pop-Pop

Ian and his Great Mom- Mom

Ian with Uncles Josh and Jason

My awesome parents

Grandma and Grandpa,the Birthday Boy

We went out to eat to celebrate my Grandpa's birthday last week and I had fun taking pictures of everybody.Here are a few. Looks like I managed to get everyone but Jimmy-sorry! We had a great time visiting with my Mom's parents while they were down from Pennsylvania for the week too!

Too cold for swimming!

So we decided that since it hit 85 degrees last Saturday that it was warm enough to go for an afternoon swim after Ian's nap. WRONG! After spending the 30 minutes putting on swim suits,finding the beach towels, rubbing each other down with sunscreen,and attempting to blow up Ian's floating device(which the cat previously attacked we soon found out),we headed out to the pool only to find out that I couldn't stand to put my feet in the water. So we packed up and headed back to the apt to hang out on the roof-top patio. On the way back,I decided to snap this picture...I didn't go through all that hassle for nothing!!! I just love Ian's floppy hat. Daniel thinks it makes him look a little girlie,I think its one of the most adorable hats ever.

Sunny Days in the Sandbox

I love these pictures of Ian and Maddox playing in the sandbox at Maddox's house. They had a blast! They are dirt-finding pros now! Every day after nap time we go out for an hour of playtime and when we come back in,we HAVE to get a bath before doing anything else!

He Grows Up So Fast

I guess I never realized how fast time can fly by until I opened up this blog and realized a year had gone by! A year! And no ordinary year at that... It contained Ian learning to crawl, and walk, and talk, and run. This year holds memories of laughter and tears, anger and happiness, and lots of growing up on everybody's part. Ian will be 18 months on the 20th of April. Our lives are forever changed for the better, and I hope to continue to share that life through this blog and our Picasa Photo Albums at www.picasaweb.google.com/ddukefamily. I promise I'll update those soon too!

Keep reading, and feel free to comment, I'd love to hear from ya'll!

daniel