She's One Week Old!

Mama Gray has been with us for the past few days. She's wonderful, and Sofia has really enjoyed being with her grandma. We've enjoyed the great food! There's nothing like mama's cooking! Sofi is absolutely adorable, as you can see.... she has definitely stolen her daddy's heart!

Sofia's first few days at home

Uncle Earl Tori Denkers

Thank you Aunt Ernestine and Uncle Marshall! Sofia loves her bouncer!

Below: Sister Davis, Melissa, Catherine, and Frankie - Sofia's friends from church - we love you!

Sofia Frances Gray has arrived!

BIG Day for us...We had our baby, Sofia Frances Gray this morning at 10:28 a.m. She is 6 lbs., 3.3 oz, and 18 inches long. We are absolutely in love with her! San went in for a doctor's apt. and found that she was already 4 cm. She just wasn't feeling the contractions! We went home and to our offices to do some last minute things, get our bags, etc. we went back to the hospital at 5:20 a.m. They broke San's water and VERY quickly she progressed to 8 cm. She got an epidural in time, before the contractions got too bad! Thank goodness! We are sooo glad that GiGi (San's mom) was there to help us! We couldn't have gotten through this without you! We love you soooo much! After the epidural, and about 40 minutes of pushing, Sofia arrived! Mom Gray, we can't wait for you to get here on Saturday and meet your granddaughter! We love you too!
We are all doing well and Sofia is sooo beautiful! Here are some pictures:

This is us as we arrived at 5:30 a.m. to our birthing suite at St. Vincent's.

(This is Amber, our nurse. We LOVE her. She has taken such good care of us all!)

Young Women - Baby Quilt

The young women that I work with at church are all between the ages of 12 and 18. They are sooo wonderful and I LOVE working with them. They are beautiful, artistic, smart, talented, and dedicated to the principles of the gospel!
They suprised me last night with a quilt that they had been working on. It's absolutely beautiful so far! Thank you LeighAnna for getting it started and for doing the majority of the work! They brought the quilt last night for us to work on tying it for our activity. Here are a few pictures:

Happy Mother's Day

We have been blessed with the most amazing moms and want you each to know how much we love you both! It's because of you and your great examples that we feel equipped to be parents.
This poem reflects what is in our hearts:

The Love of a Mother
Author Unknown

A Mother's love is something that no one 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 splendor miracle, man cannot understand

And another wondrous evidence of God's tender guiding hand.

Birmingham Shower

The ladies that we attend church with were so kind and threw us a shower today. We had so much fun seeing everyone and just enjoying their company! It was extremely wonderful to hear their counsel and advice as mothers. I really look up to them and love them tons! Thank you Jamie Denkers for organizing!

Happy Birthday Mom - May 8, 2008

Today is mom's birthday! We LOVE you so much and are grateful that you are a part of our hearts and lives. You have always been there for us and love that on this special day we get to honor your birth!

Soon to be Baby! - May 7, 2008

Well, we just came back from the doctor's office and found out that our little Sofia is head down and could come at any time! Basically, we only have two weeks to go...Wow! If we haven't gone into labor by the 21st, then my OB wants to induce. We can't believe that she will be here soon. It's amazing to think that this little spirit will soon enter the world and that we have been chosen to be her parents! What a precious and beautiful gift! We now feel pretty ready for her. We've gotten a lot done (thanks to Simon and Dee-Dee) these last few weeks and definitely feel like if she were to be born tomorrow, that we would be ready!

Nursery - In Progress

Dee-Dee came to visit this weekend and helped us get Sofia's room organized. We really love and appreciate Dee-Dee coming to visit us and taking the time to drive from Atlanta. She painted letters to go over Sofia's crib and also painted shelving for the wall. We also washed all of the clothes, sorted through things that Sofia will definitely use, put the bassinet together and changing table (Well, Simon did this...). We also got another car seat, so that we have one for each car. We got a lot accomplished and still have a lot to do, but we feel like we are finally ready for Sofia's arrival. Here are some pictures of the nursery and bassinet (that is in our bedroom):
(By the window in our master bedroom, you can see the bassinet. Isn't is cute?)

(Here is the crib, with the cute letters Dee-Dee put over the it. Also, notice the cute burp cloths that have Sofia's name embroidered on them. So cute!)

(Above picture: Isn't this adorable? Dee-Dee painted the shelf and the boxes as decorator pieces.)

Baby Shower at San's Office - May 1, 2008

Today, we had a baby shower at San's office. We are so blessed to both have such wonderful jobs and people that we love to work with! They are truly wonderful and very sincere in treating us so kindly and generously. Here are a few pictures:

(Picture above: Isn't this the cutest diaper cake! It even has Sofia's name on the top)

(This chocolate covered strawberry tree was amazing too...Thanks Janell!)