And this week at The Duke Academy....

This week's lessons have been about Leukemia. Holly was able to come over and teach the first lesson on Monday (pictured) to inform the kids about Matheson's disease and treatment. I took the boys to choose bandana's so they could "match" Matheson and have a little fun wearing them. As you can see Camron is not in the picture b/c he was not "feeling" the bandana! Aren't they all cute! There is also a picture of the Jaxon's wearing face masks like the Barber boys wear when they go see Matheson in the hospital. Of course I had to add a picture from the Caringbridge site of Matheson wearing his DUKE blue bandana....TOO CUTE!

Beach Field Trip

We had a GREAT time this weekend at the beach! The kids learned a lot about water and ocean animals! Take a look at the pics!

A winter wonderland!

The boys woke up to snow this morning. I LOVED the excitement on their faces when they looked out the window and saw the white blanket covering everything outside! We quickly had breakfast then layered up! They ALL loved it at first. Jaxon loved it ALL and would probably still be out if I let him. Caden could take it or leave it. He is just happy standing there letting it snow on him. Camron on the other hand....not so much! He wants to touch it BUT doesn't want his hands to get cold. Kinda hard, but he tried. I will post a few pics so you can see the excitement. Oh, and one of Maggie in her first snow of course!

Hope you are all enjoying this! It isn't very often we get this weather!

March for Babies

I can't believe it BUT it's that time of year ALREADY! Time for the Duke family to start raising money for a cause that is near and dear to our hearts....the March of Dimes, to help fight against prematurity. Those of you who are old friends, are aware of this and those new to our blog may not be. Camron and Caden were born just before I was 29 weeks pregnant. They weighed a little over 2 lbs each. They both had a hard fight when they were just a few hours old. Thanks to research done by the March of Dimes, their lungs were able to work properly. Take a look at the picture of them below when they were 1 month old (maybe a little more)...all I have to say is WOW! My boys have come a LONG way! The walk is on April 25th, we would love to have a large group this year! I am hoping to have great shirts made! Our website is www.marchforbabies.org/dukeboys .

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

Rub-a-dub-dub, 3 "men" in a tub.....

How cute are they?? Camron and Caden LOVE having a part time little brother to "take care of". Here they are "washing" Jones' hair by squirting water out of the duckies! Later, we spiked their hair and they were rock stars! They thought it was hilarious looking at each other...then I broke out the mirror and they realized they all had funny hair!

Of course the smiles are no where to be found when the camera is on them!

go together like salt and pepper

Yesterday at MOPS, we made salt and pepper shakers for our craft. I know this picture isn't the best quality b/c it was taken with my cell BUT you get the idea. When together, you can see what the picture is supposed to look like, but apart, it wouldn't make much sense. The verses given were Ecclesiastes 4:9, Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. and Matthew 19 5-6, "..therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not separate." I just loved the idea of this craft and what it stood for so I thought I would share. Salt and pepper are "supposed" to be together as are man and wife.
Thanks Christy for a great craft!

This makes my heart happy

"Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forget about the one's who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it. Friends are like balloons; once you let them go, you can't get them back. So I'm gonna time you to my heart so I never lose you."