Good job Moose!!!

Mason competed in the Regionals in golf yesterday and came in 2nd so he is going to STATE finals next week in Murfreesboro!!!! Good job little bro! I am so proud of you :)

Happy Anniversary Links!

Happy 2nd anniversary Jessie and BJ!!! Enjoy your last anniversary with no kiddos :) They are expecting a baby girl in December and I am so excited!!!! Love you guys!

Preparing for our Trip

4 days and counting until we head to Paris! I am still somewhat in shock but having to come to more reality as we prepare for the big trip. Phillip got me The Little Black book of Paris and it has been a great guide to tell us what we need to make sure we see while we are there. We are staying at the Trianon Palace and Spa in Versailles. I am very excited b/c this may just be the nicest place I have ever stayed!!! It used to be a palace that King Louis XIV built for his mistress that they have now turned into a hotel. It is on the outside of the city of Paris but only 11 miles from the Eiffel tower so we should be pretty close to just about everything. So far we have done our research and mapped out just about everywhere we want to go. I think we will do the Fat Tire Bike Tour one of the first days we are there to get a general idea of the area (thanks Kat for this tip!) We will also will get to go to one of their very large flea markets, which will be very interesting to see what sort of things they have! We of course are going to all of the famous museums and hot spots of Paris too and I am so thankful that we will have plenty of time to explore by just walking around on the streets. I will have to say though that I think one of the things I am most excited about is getting to go to Disneyland Paris! Who would have known they had Mickey and Minnie there... thank you little black book once again :) This will almost be like 2 vacations in one since we now wont have to go to Orlando to experience Disney world too.... well at least not until the kiddos get big!

We of course are always up for any suggestions that anyone might have. I have never experienced going overseas for a vacation so I am sure there will be a lot to learn. Yes I know everyone there speaks French and you should hear my little French man trying to speak it to me at home already ha! We are so excited that we already got the suitcases out this weekend... it will be here before we know it!!!!

The story of JR and Lindsey

I often get asked the question, "So how did you and JR meet?" Since we will be celebrating the big 10 year anniversary of the day we officially became a couple this weekend, I thought I would tell you how the story of us goes....




It was 1993 that the Isham family moved to Rockwood, after being a military family and having lived all over the US. I was in the 5th grade and I actually met Phillip first because he was in the elementary school with me at the time. I knew of JR as Phillip's brother and because he quickly became part of the popular crowd. The Isham boys were known as heart-throbs and all star football players. Here is a classic picture of the Isham boys back in that time-

Once I left Ridge View elementary school and moved up to Rockwood Middle School, JR and I became friends by default, as we had the same group of friends. We as 6th grade girls thought it was cool to have 7th grade boy "friends" and so thats when we all became really close. I was closer with some of his friends actually and even dated a couple of them too ha! Our group of friends all belonged to our church youth group, which was a great bonding experience for us all.

Fast forward 4 years- us both watching each other date other people along the way and never really having an interest in each other. Our youth group went to Six Flags the summer of 1998 and this was the magical time that sparks began to fly between the two of us. Once the group got there we decided to divide up into groups to go around to all of the rides, and by God's great choice JR and I ended up with Brooke and Chandlar, who were our friends that were dating at the time. Anyways the story goes that we flirted pretty much the whole day and then on the way back home on the church bus we sat together and had our first kiss. And when JR says that I am the one that laid it on him he is totally fibbing :)

We didn't start dating right away but knew that we liked each other. Funny story about lunch time breaks when we would see each other we would flip each other on the arm as to say "I like you". Yes we were cool and had code language haha.. it was so elementary but we love to laugh about it now. I wish I could remember exactly what happened on September 27th to make us start dating then, but as far as I can remember it was insignificant. We were as serious as we could be at the age of 15 and 16 once we started dating. I will never forget him saying to me, "Alright well if we are going to make this official then just know that I am in this for real. No more games!"Here is one of our first pictures as a couple at my Nanny and Poppa's house. I had just got finished with basketball practice and he with football practice. Here we are at JR's football banquet in December of 1998. This is probably the most hilarious picture of us in the dating stage b/c we look like we are in our 40's instead of only 15 and 16. Gotta love the sweater set, bangs and that mexi stache and tie!

And here is the first prom together- JR's junior prom in 1999. We continued to be very involved in our youth group together and loved having my Mimi and Potts as our youth leaders. I would definitely say that God used this time to mold us into a couple and really taught us many things, though we were still so young. I wish I could say that there were never any bumps in the road, however we did break up on the occasion. Typically it was never longer than a month or so and then we realized that we just couldnt be apart. I do not remember the first time we separated, so I will just put one in here now for that time. We had many great high school memories together- some of those best times were during football season when I got to be his #1 fan. JD and I never missed a game, traveling all over the state with our team. Go Tigers :)

And you remember the dress up days back in high school? Well our group of friends loved to go all out and therefore this is an example of us one Halloween- Dr. and NurseAnother thing we loved to do as a couple was volunteer at a Muscular Dystrophy camp in the summers. JR had been a couple of years before we dated but I jumped in shortly after. We love all of the campers and counselors we were able to meet there and still consider them all our family.

My junior year of high school and JR's senior year was definitely a rocky spot for us. We had dated for over a year at that point and I thought I was ready to move on. We broke up in February and did not get back together until that next summer. I hate that I missed his senior prom, graduation and such.... and I honestly NEVER thought we would be getting back together this time.
BUT of course you would know we would have to get back together since you know we are married... and we did! Fall of 2000, was my senior year of high school and JR's first year at UT. He joined KA fraternity and invited me to their Old South Ball formal. You will notice if you click on the picture and zoom in that I have a black (or really more purple) eye. I was in the middle of softball season and got hit by a fly ball.. thanks JD! haha just kidding :) But yes, as one of my first times meeting all of his new cool college friends, I was THAT girl with the black eye.

Here we are back at prom again- this time my senior year 2001

And I am finally out of high school! Now headed up to UT where JR is and I absolutely cannot wait to be a VOL!We loved going to the football games together and both intensified our level of loving the VOLS. Of course living around Knoxville all your life, you are already a volunteer fan, however there is just NOTHING like being a student and cheering on YOUR team :)
I joined Phi Mu sorority my freshman year of school. This was a great decision for me coming from a small high school to such a large college and not really knowing ANYONE. Once I became a Phi Mu though, that quickly changed :) I loved taking JR to our date parties and formals... we always had a blast dancing the night away.
For JR's 22nd birthday we added a new member to our family, Ole Major Boy Isham. All JR had ever wanted was a chocolate lab and so I was very excited to surprise him with this! He and Major became the best of buds... and had to because I broke up with him again shortly after this birthday. It was never anything that JR did wrong, but instead it was just me being a silly girl. At this point I was a junior in college and we had been together for 5 years and I knew that JR was ready to take the next step into marriage.. however I was not. We broke up in February and with every intention of it being THE END. He was very caught off guard and hurt and needless to say we did NOT remain friends.

That summer I went to be a counselor at Camp Greystone in the eastern mountains of NC. Little did I know that it would be there that God began to speak to me about who I was as a woman and in the same way showed me truly how great of a man JR really was. Why had I ran? Was it because I was just scared? Was I really supposed to marry this man? You see I always knew that he was a great boyfriend, but in all honesty I never went on to thinking about that next step. I had in my mind that there was no way I could marry my high school sweetheart and therefore there was no sense in the two of us to remain dating. I had one more year of college left and I wanted to be on my own.


After breaking up that February, we did not speak again until the next Fall.. and that was only because he was my intramural flag football coach. This was rather difficult to do because you have to remember we had dated so long before that we had the same circle of friends, same hang out spots, etc, so therefore what it really meant was that JR just ignored me. For the longest time it didnt bother me and I just let it go, but there was just something still ringing in my head after that summer I had spent away at camp. I fought my pride hard.. and I mean hard! I had said for so long that it was over... and I meant that. Why would I go back now after we had been apart for 9 months? Well I will tell you why, because I knew I was making a mistake! JR was graduating in December and moving to Atlanta and I knew that if I didnt push away my pride and tell him how I REALLY felt, then I would lose him forever. I wrote a nice long 12 page letter to him explaining that I knew he was the one for me and that I was so sorry for all I had put him through. I gave him that letter on December 2, 2004 before heading to Atlanta for the SEC championship game. I honestly didnt know what he would do and was expecting the worst since we had ended on such bad terms, but either way I knew I had to tell him or I would regret it for the rest of my life.

JR remained close to my grandparents even after the break up. My Mimi was going to his graduation on December 14th so I decided to go with her. This is by far the most awkward picture we EVER took together. He had read the letter and knew how I felt, but we had yet to talk about it... so this was our first encounter in person at his graduation. He asked me there to meet him to talk that night about everything. He will tell you that he went into that time knowing that there was NO WAY he would get back with me after everything I had done and all we had been through. What he didn't realize was how much he really was still in love with me, and through that alone he was able to forgive me. "I don't know how this is going to work, or even if it will work, but I do know that I still love you even though I don't know why, so I am willing to give it a try to see how it goes." HOLY COW! I couldn't believe that he really said that, as again I was expecting him to tell me sorry but I was too late. We had had many turning points during our relationship, but this had to be the biggest. We knew we were in this for the long haul now, and little did we know exactly what all God had in store for us.

The day after Christmas JR moved to Atlanta to work in real estate with Pulte Homes. I went down the weekend of New Years and amazingly, God had healed us both so much in that short 3 weeks, that everything was very much back to normal. Of course in the back of JR's head he was thinking "Oh no is she going to run again?" so I had to continue to reassure him that I was there to stay.
I finished my last semester of college that Spring and we burned the roads up between Knoxville and Atlanta. We would see each other at least once a month and he of course still came up for my formals and mixers with Phi Mu. During the course of that semester, I made the decision that I was going to also move to Atlanta once I graduated in May. I had some girls that I knew were also moving there as well, so it worked out great for me to have a roommate. I moved down on Memorial Day weekend, May 2005. I started off serving for that summer and then became a Pre-K teacher for the following year.

That November we decided to take a missions trip to Africa. JR had always sensed a calling to go there and God changed my heart to the same once I heard the information on what we would be doing. We came back from this trip forever changed. It was both of our first missions trips and we were able to see in such a real way what God's mission for us is here on this earth as Christians- to go and share the gospel with the nations. Once we got back home from our trip, we could not get the thought out of our minds about serving in full-time ministry. JR became uneasy in his job, we became very involved in First Baptist Church Woodstock, and God began to change our long term life plans. We were not really sure what it was that God wanted us to do, but we felt certain that we must begin with seminary schooling. We visited Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, NC in April of that year. Upon arriving on campus we immediately knew that this was the place for us and we moved here in July.


Back up to December 27, 2005, as something very important happened that day as well. JR proposed to me in front of all of our friends and family. It was a very special day for both of us and one that we had waited for for so long now. To get the complete proposal story click here. He did such a great job! That February we added Isham #4 to the mix- Miss Maddie Mae! We wanted another puppy and knew that Major would need a girlfriend too :)
On September 23, 2006, almost 8 years exactly to the day we very first started dating, we became husband and wife. It was the most amazing day of our lives and I was so excited to become Mrs. Isham! At last :)
I think the lesson that people can learn from our story is let go of your own plans (remember mine was NOT to be with JR for the rest of my life) and instead let God's plans take over. What He had planned has been far beyond all of my dreams and I continue to think each day that things could be so different right now in my life, and yet I am SOOO thankful it turned out just the way it did.

Now we have been married for 2 years and are still living in Wake Forest finishing up seminary. God has been so good to us these past 10 years of our lives. We had many turns and bumps along the way, but God has proved faithful to show us that we are right where He wants us to be, in love and with each other. Now we are expecting our first child in April and we could not be happier to add to our Isham family!

Thank you for taking the time to hear the story of us :)

Celebrating 2 years and one BIG surprise!!!!

Last night we celebrated our 2 year anniversary together as man and wife! I made the 2nd edition of the Isham family year book with memories we have had over the last year together. To view that book you can go here. But little did I know JR had a MUCH better present for me :)
He took me to this very fancy French restaurant and it was a nice surprise. We had talked about going somewhere that we had never been before to make it special and I told him to pick. Although it was a little deceiving from the outside, it was a perfect choice! The food was excellent and what came next was just a surprise.....
He gave me this beautiful card and wrote some very sweet things inside talking about how thankful he was to have me as his wife, etc......

and then at the bottom there was something attached that gave me this look of SHOCK!

You can read for yourself what it said.......

Can you really believe it!!!! All this time I have been thinking that we were going to go out west on our trip that I posted about just on Monday, and he has been planning a surprise for me elsewhere. WE ARE GOING TO PARIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What it also said in the card was that he wanted to do something for me that we may never have the chance to do again... and make my dreams come true. You see he has always asked me since we first got married if I could go anywhere in the world where I would want to go--- and I always said Paris. My sweet husband chose to give up his dream of going out west to make my dreams come true and take me to the most romantic city in the world!!!! Holy cow I was in so much shock, and honestly still am haha! This is a once in a lifetime trip that we get to take before we become parents and I could not be more grateful!!!!

Happy Anniversary to the sweetest and most amazing husband in the world!!!

Here is the video of me opening the card and realizing my surprise.

10 weeks

Our baby has fingers!!! And all of its major organs too!!! Man that is so cool to me that it can be so small right now and yet already have all of these developments in its body. I am so excited that week 10 officially marks that we are 1/4 of the way done. Each and every day, and second honestly, I think about this little one and I just cannot wait to meet him/her!

I have been feeling great and I am so thankful! My energy is back and now I can eat just about whatever I want... with the exception of a few things of course ha! I can definitely tell that my uterus is expanding, or at least assume that is what's making my stomach pouch out so much now! I keep telling everyone that notices that it is almost like I need to be self-conscious of my little pouch since right now it is at the point somewhere between- okay Lindsey did you just eat too much today or are you really starting to show????

Yesterday as we celebrated 2 years of marriage and 10 years of being together total, we were just in awe at how God has blessed us. We are beyond excited to become parents and pray for our little one every single day. Thanks again to everyone for the anniversary wishes and the prayers all along the journey of Lindsey and JR :)


Though she's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of her development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in her body rapidly grow and mature.

She's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including her kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. Her hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over her heart, and her feet may be long enough to meet in front of her body. The outline of her spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from her spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with her developing brain and sits very high on her head, which measures half the length of her body. From crown to rump, she's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

2nd anniversary

Today is our 2nd anniversary!!! Man it is crazy to think that we have already been married 2 years. This year has created a lot of memories for us together and will definitely be one that we wont forget. From lots of UT football, to Isham Christmas traditions, to welcoming our first nephew into the world as well as 3 of our best friend's babies, and now looking forward to welcoming our own child into the world... whew what a year :) God has continued to bless our family. It has by no means been an easy road, but He continues to amaze us with His abounding grace to us. JR, thank you for being such an amazing husband to me! There is no doubt that you continue to love me more and more every single day and I am so thankful. I am so grateful that you are the one I get to spend the rest of this life with! This next year will be one of many new changes for us, but I have no doubt that with God's help we will prevail together. I love you!

We will be celebrating our anniversary on our trip out West that is in just 2 short weeks! I cannot wait to have a nice long trip exploring the world with my hubby :)

Watch this video montage to get our 2nd year of marriage in review:

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A special thank you to the Looney's for letting me use their wedding music in the montage.. and Tom the wonderful singer that you hear :)

Our trip out West

I wanted to give you a brief rundown of the wonderful trip we will get to take for our anniversary in just 11 days! We both decided that we wanted to get some traveling in before the baby came and so I knew JR had always wanted to make a trip out West and therefore this is what he has planned for us..... (enjoy the pics courtesy of the internet. I hope to get some pretty good ones myself while I am there too!)

An all American round trip of the Western Frontier beginning in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We will rent a car to make the rest of our travels as we go from place to place. From Jackson Hole..

then heading up into Yellowstone

then down to the Grand Tetons,

then across Wyoming to Breckenridge, Co,

Then down to US 163 (Forest Gump Road) and into Monument Valley,

then to Hoover Dam

and the Grand Canyon,

and then a ending with a night in Vegas before flying back.

A lot of driving and so many adventures waiting for us.. I cant wait!!!!!!!!!!!!

The bumbo seat and questions for moms

Funny story: Last Friday during lunch I decided to roam around on Craig's List to see what sort of baby goodies I might find. We have decided not to get anything until we find out what the gender is, however when I found this Orange Bumbo I thought... but orange can go either way :) Anyways I just emailed the seller to see if they still had it or not because I knew that we had seen these seats that were all the new rage all over the place, however I had never seen an orange one. So I get a phone call about 15 minutes later and it was Christina. We talk all the time so I didn't think anything of it until she said, "hey are you looking for a Bumbo seat?" I laughed and said yes, but still didn't catch on that SHE was the seller. This was Isaac's seat that she received from her friend and he never quite got into sitting in it... so NOW its Baby Isham's. Thank you Todd family.. we are so excited :)



Okay all of you mom's out there.. I know of Craig's list, ebay and such, but where are some other places to find good deals on baby items?

We are also in the midst of thinking about a crib and nursery furniture and are in limbo as to whether we should try and find a used one that we can afford, or if we should go all out and buy a really nice one that can make it through all of the Isham children. I am all about being realistic so I am asking you for the truth... can you really re-use the crib with each child? Also where is the best place to find the most reliable, nice and good quality furniture? Have any suggestions on where to look that you have already found?

Good old fashion Corntoss

These past few weeks we have had a Corntoss league for intramurals. Leigh, Abby and I made up the girl team Carter and it was so much fun! I obviously cannot play any contact intramurals anymore so I was thankful that we started this new game this year. All of those TN tailgates paid off I think too :)

Just trying to get that beanbag in the hole!

Abby's killer wind up

Leigh loved to get low and shoot from the hip!

We ended the league on Tuesday, but here is everyone that played. Great job to everyone!!!

9 weeks

And BAM.... there it is! Haha for some reason at night my belly is showing more than during the day. This was last night at about 9:30 and as you can see there is a little "bulge" as I like to call it :) I am feeling a lot better this week as apposed to the constant nausea that I have felt the past 3 weeks. My energy seems to be back as well, so I am feeling like a new woman! Of course there are still bad days, but overall I cant complain. Once I started feeling better last weekend, I began asking my other friends who had been or are pregnant if I should be worried since I was not feeling sick anymore (almost as if the sickness assured me that everything was okay).... and ALL of them said, "NO girl, you enjoy your easy pregnancy while it lasts!"

I will have to admit that this waiting between each appointment has been hard. My next appointment isnt until week 13 so I have 4 more weeks before then and it is so nerve racking! I am anxious to get past this first trimester to say the least and I know that God does not want me to be fearful, but instead trusting in Him that He is in control. From the little that I have already learned about what my life is now like as a mom, I can definitely say it is easier to not be fearful of things for my own sake, but a lot harder when it comes to my little one... and yes I know there is so much more of that to come :)

This was week 7

How your baby's growing:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

Sewing Sunday

This past Sunday I finally got some motivation and decided to fulfill my friend Jessica Lewis's order! I am so excited to be making these things for her for a good friend of ours and I just know that the new baby girl will LOVE all of the pink, just like her mom and Aunt Jess :)


And knowing that if there was ever going to be a John Deer Queen in my lifetime, it would be the little girl of my friends Tabitha and Trampas! So I made these burp clothes and a blanket for sweet Emma Rue :)

Time with the Walker's

Last night we got to spend some time with the Walker family as it was our turn to take them dinner! I still cant believe Jackson is 9lbs and 9 ounces (and that was the last time they checked so he is probably more now!) When I was holding him last night I just looked at Amy and said, "I still cannot believe this BIG thing was curled up inside of YOU just 2 weeks ago :)


Jackson's floor time with Dad. BJ was keeping him awake so that he would sleep at night and he did really well at it! I love seeing BJ morphed into Dad mode :)

Over the Hill at 3-0!

Friday night we helped the Lewis family celebrate Michael's big 30th birthday! Jordan surprised him by having a ton of friends at the Mexican restaurant and it was a success! We had a great time!

The Lewis 3

JR being the baby hog for sure! But I guess it was good for him to get practice :)

Lily Lew

Lily liked her Uncle JR holding her. I snapped a shot of her holding a finger with each one of her hands.. she was so content.

Happy Birthday Tyler!

Happy 22nd birthday Bro! I love you :)

We sure have come a long way.....

Updated: Baby Emma Rue

Trampas, Tabitha and Gracie Rue Welcomed Emma Genevieve Rue into the world this morning. Tab had a C-section. She weighed a whopping 9 lb and was 21 inches long. I stole this information from Maranda's blog ha! thanks for the info :)

Posted at 8:00am
Today is Tabitha's c-section! Please pray for her, Trampas and Gracie as they prepare to welcome Emma into the world. As soon as I hear something I will let everyone know :)

8 weeks

Hearing the heartbeat for the first time this week was the best sound we have ever heard! Yes it seemed fast, but thats what the doctor said was normal. And I keep saying that at 143 beats per minute, the baby was trying to tell us that she loved us :)

I am still feeling ok. Right now the biggest thing for me is to find something that I want to eat that actually tastes good when I get to eat it. Several times I have craved something and once I had it, it just wasnt the same! I can also tell that I cant suck in quite as good as I used to be able to. By no means am I "showing" however I can definitely tell my body is changing :) I will post a picture of my belly once you can actually tell something.. dont worry ha!


New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

8 week ultrasound

Today we had our first doctor's appointment and it was AMAZING! We just love our doctor, Dr. Holton, AND we got to hear baby Isham's heartbeat so of course that was something we had wanted to hear for so long. It was 143 beats per minute strong and I am measuring right where we had expected with a due date of April 22nd. As you can see from the ultrasound picture the baby has grown quite a bit in the last 2 weeks since our last ultrasound (pic here). We will go back in 4 weeks for our next appointment and until then just continue to ask for your prayers for Baby Isham. God is so good!

Happy Birthday Hope!

Baby showers

I had two more baby showers this weekend! Leah Finn who is having her second child, a son named Baxter, and Tiffany Salisbury from our church who is having her 4th child, baby girl Blandina. Here are the burp clothes that I made out of soft flannel fabrics I found online.....

And the lovely personalized bib. I made the same thing for the girl shower I went to but was in such a hurry I forgot to take pics :)

Duke Football

Well it definitely wasnt an SEC football game that we were used to but we still had fun! We had been dying to get to watch some college football so we decided to head over to the Duke game on Saturday to cheer on Coach Cutcliff and the Blue Devils. We were so thankful to get tickets from a long time Roane County friend, Wes Pickell, who is working for the team... thanks Wes and Ashley! The devils did very well but had a tough loss against Northwestern. I am honestly beginning to wander if we should start cheering for the team we want to lose since both weekends so far our teams have lost :((

Benjamin Jackson Walker

Benjamin Jackson Walker was born Sunday, August 31st at 5:30pm. Amy went into labor Saturday night and they went to the hospital that night at 8:30pm. JR, Natalie, Kelsey and I went to the hospital right after church and meet up with Autumn and Corey and Amy's entire family. We waited... and waited... and waited :) By 5:00pm they realized that Jackson was too big for Amy to have naturally and therefore even after full blown labor, she would need to have a c-section. Everything went well with the surgery and 9 pound 6 ounce Jackson was born!!!!

Politics

I do not normally get into all of the political things but I think as an American during the voting year of a President it is important to at least know the basics. I wanted to pass along this information that was emailed to me because I found it very interesting. Who will better serve our country as President? Two more months and we will know what America thinks, make sure your vote counts!

Voting Guide

BARACK OBAMA	KEY ISSUE	JOHN McCAIN
Supports Co-sponsor of the "Freedom of Choice Act"* "I have consistently advocated for reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President." *Note: The "Freedom of Choice Act" is a bill that would invalidate virtually all state and federal limitations on abortion, including partial-birth abortion.	Roe V Wade	Opposes Voted to oppose Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that allows abortion for any reason. "...We would be better off by having Roe v. Wade return to the states ... I don't believe the ...Court should be legislating in the way that they did on Roe v. Wade."
Opposes Ban"I am extremely concerned that [Gonzales v. Carhart*] will embolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict a woman's right to choose, and that the conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade." *Note: Gonzales v. Carhart is the April 2007 Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Act.	Partial Birth Abortion Ban The partial-birth abortion procedure, used from the filth month on, involves pulling a living baby feet-first out of the womb, except for the head, puncturing the skull and suctioning out the brain. The great majority of partial-birth abortions are preformed on healthy babies of healthy mothers.	Supports Ban Voted for the partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. "Today's Supreme Court ruling (in Gonzales v. Carhart*) is a victory for those who cherish the sanctity of life."
Supports Voted against legislation in the Illinois State Senate that prohibited taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for abortion. His campaign has stated that he "does not support" the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion through the Medicaid program.	Taxpayer Funding of Abortion	Opposes Voted in favor of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion through the Medicaid program. Voted consistently against federal funding of abortion.
Opposes Voted to block a bill that would have required an abortionist to notify at least one parent before performing an abortion on a minor girl from another state.	Parental Notification Law	Supports Voted to support a bill that would have required an abortionist to notify at least one part before performing an abortion on a minor girl from another state.
Opposes Voted three times against a bill in the Illinois State Senate that would have provided protection for babies who survive abortions equal to protection received by babies who are spontaneously born prematurely.	Protecting Abortion Survivors	Supported Voted for legislation that provides protecting for babies who survive abortions equal to protection received by babies who are spontaneously born prematurely.
Supports Co-sponsored a bill (S. 1520) in 2005 that would allow the cloning of human embryos to be used in research, but prohibit placing them in wombs.	Human Cloning	Opposes His campaign website states that he "opposes the international creation of human embryos for research purposes."
Obama: Voted in favor of funding embryonic stem cell research. "Embryonic stem cells can obtain from a number of sources including in vitro fertilization... We should expand and accelerate research using these embryos..."	Embryonic Stem Cell Research	McCain: Voted in favor of funding embryonic stem cell research. "I believe that skin stem cell research has every potential very soon of making that discussion [embryonic stem cell research] academic."
Obama: Voted against confirming Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito. "With one more vacancy on the Supreme Court, we could be looking at a majority hostile to a women's fundamental right to choose for the first time since Roe v. Wade. The next president may be asking to nominate that Supreme Court justice. That is what is at stake in this election."	Judges	McCain: Voted to confirm Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Pledge to appoint judges like John Roberts and the late Williams Rehnquist. Believes that the moral authority of our judiciary depends on judicial self-restraint. He believes judges should strictly interpret the law, and not legislate.
Obama: Support full civil unions that give same-sex couples equal legal rights and privileges as married couples. Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have defines marriage as between a man and a woman.	Gay Marriage	McCain: Believes that marriage must be protected as a sacred institution of a man and a woman. Co-chaired the Arizona Marriage Protection Amendment campaign in 2006.
Obama: "We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace..."	Immigration	McCain: "As president, I will secure the border. ...Tight border security includes not just the entry and exit of people, but also the effective screening of cargo at our ports and other points of entry."
Obama: "Let me be clear: there is no military solution in Iraq, and there never was. The best way to protect our security and to pressure Iraq's leaders to resolve their civil war is to immediately begin to remove our combat troops. Not in six months or one year -now."	Iraq	McCain: "I do not want to keep troops in Iraq a minute longer than necessary to secure our interest there. Our goal is an Iraq that can stand on its own as a democratic ally and a responsible force for peace in its neighborhood. Our goal is an Iraq that no longer needs American troops." Strongly disagrees with those who advocate withdrawing American troops before Iraq has become capable of governing itself and safeguarding its people.
Obama: "We had a situation surrounding Terri Schiavo... that eventually allowed Congress to interject itself into that decision-making process of the families. It wasn't something I was comfortable with, but it was not something that I stood on the floor and stopped. And I think that was a mistake."	Terri Schiavo	McCain: "It's an American tragedy and i hope that the next time we're presented with one of these situations we'll perhaps approach it in a more measured and reasoned fashion."

7 weeks

We are at lucky number 7 this week and I am going to call this week my "sleep/pee all the time" week ha! Man I get up at least twice every night, not to mention about every other hour at work to go to the bathroom and I just cant get enough sleep right now :) This long weekend was great b/c I had a nap Saturday, Sunday AND Monday for at least a couple of hours. I know my body is working overtime right now and it is to be expected to be sleepy, but man sometimes I just wish I had my energy back. Everything else has been ok though, no throwing up yet, but very nauseated just about all day long. We have our first visit to the doctor on Monday and we look forward to hearing Baby Isham's heartbeat this time, as well as getting another picture :)

Update for week 7:

How your baby's growing: The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.



If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.

Happy Birthday Christina

Happy Birthday Christina! Sadly this is the only picture I have of the two of us and her little 4 year old Maisy was the photographer ha! We need to get a better one soon girl... Love you! :)

Happy Anniversary Mimi and Potts!

Thank you for showing us all how you can still be so in love after 46 years!!!