Alaythia Pics #1

We've spent a lot of time praying for this little one over the last nine months or so, and that hasn't changed now that she's born.

...and here is the little munchkin, with a full head of Auburn hair - just like her granny!!

...and of course, no blog post would be complete without a picture of the little princess Sophia.
Here she is - very excited to be visiting her mommy in the hospital.
Mom was pretty excited too, to say the least.

More pics to come later today...
Please continue to pray with us for Alaythia as she continues to recover in the Neonatal ICU.
They removed her breathing machine yesterday (praise God!) and expect that - with time - she will continue to develop. Thanks so much for all of your prayers.

Alaythia Grace Drumm

Yes, this is intentionally just a "teaser" post. More photos to come. Check back soon.

Please join us in praising God for this precious gift of life and love that He has given us.
On August 27th, our daughter Alaythia was born to a very tired mommy and a very proud daddy.
Thank you for all of your prayers, as I know that so many of you have been so faithful to pray for us.

"Praise the LORD!
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting."
-Psalm 106:1

3AM Hospital Trips

Claire and I made a really fun 3AM trip to the hospital this morning in labor.


They gave her a few shots to stop the contractions and sent us home. Although we are now in the "Safe Zone" for delivering a baby, we are technically considered premature for another few weeks. So they thought it would be good to give Alaythia as much time in her mommy's womb as we may be able to bargain for.


So we continue to wait on God's perfect timing, and the exact moment that He has chosen for our daughter Alaythia to be born. In the meantime, I'm thankful to the Lord that I have the kind of wife who can be writhing in agony of contractions one minute, and laughing about the awkwardness of the situation the next minute, knowing that her next contraction is comin' with a vengeance any minute now. Praise God for my amazing wife - the strength and endurance he has given to her through this long and difficult pregnancy has been a sweet reminder to me of His precious love for us, His children. Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement.

Now, go call your mom and thank her for doing the labor and delivery thing for you.
You owe her big time. Seriously.

For His Glory,
Jason

Yes, already a year.

You hear it frequently as a new parent.

The wise words of older, seasoned parents, wishing to impart truth to you.
"Cherish every minute, they grow up fast."
Your mind replies without thought, "Yeah, yeah - I know."
You've already heard it 36 times from every other parent you know.

Claire and I are now beginning to understand why they say this to us so frequently.
Saturday, we celebrated Sophia's first birthday. Our little girl is getting big fast.
I can hear my thoughts, "How did a whole year go by already?
I didn't kiss her enough this year.
I didn't hold her enough this year. A year already?"
I couldn't have held her enough if I had never put her down.

Her personality is a treasure to us. Deep within' this little woman,
God has placed the ability to love us, the ability to laugh with us,
and the ability to sneeze chewed up peaches at high speeds over record distances.
Every time she says "mama" and "dada," we find ourselves captured by the amazing love that God has shown us. His magnificent wisdom in creating the family is a blessing that overwhelms us with joy and gratitude. We live radically sold-out lives of praise to King Jesus - not out of duty or drudgery, but simply as a reflection of our thankfulness to Him for all He has done.

1 year has gone by too fast. I'm thankful we have at least 17 or 18 more with
this sweet little princess named Sophia.
To all of you who were able to come, thank you so much for
celebrating this great time with our family.
To all of you who were not able to make it,
I hope these photos and this video will give you a glimpse into Sophia's special day.

I've talked with enough of you about this to know you'd be interested. So, just in case you haven't seen yet [read: been living under a rock], here it is... well, kinda.

Our Sweet Family Time Away

So with everything going on I decided it would be good for us to get away together as a family.  Jason has had a lot on his plate so I wanted to take him away from it all for a little while (24hrs).  A friend from church helped us and we got to go to the Woodlands resort and we got an amazing room.  As you can see we had a lot of fun too.  They have lots of beautiful pools and so we just spent time together and we even got to go to our favorite restaurant too.  

As you can see Sophia is having a blast.  She is such a daddy's little girl, she loves Jason so much and it is a true blessing to me to see them together.  I praise God for such an amazing godly man for a husband and father to our girls.  We have been through a lot these last few months as we wait for Alaythia and it has been amazing to follow Jason as he sets such an example for me.  We are now almost 33 weeks and never thought we would make it this far.  Praise God!  And thanks for the prayers.  

No Photoshop Necessary

Here are just a few more photos in the ongoing (and neverending) collection of cuteness.

Our busy little girl

Sophia is about to be a year old and she is very busy these days from playing her piano to helping mommy with ribbon, she is always on the go.  It is such a blessing to be able to raise her and teach her to honor God with her life.