Celebrating 3 wonderful years!

Today is our 3rd anniversary! This year has been quite the year for us as we welcomed Griffin into our family and became parents!!! We were able to celebrate with dinner and a movie over the weekend. It is amazing how we can go from going to Paris one year to dinner and a movie, but to me it is not about what we do our how much money we spend but simply celebrating the marriage that God has given us. I am so thankful how much He has helped us to grow over this past year and as cliche as it sounds it just keeps getting better and better. Being a mom and dady now, creates a new dimension to our life together. It is the best thing in the world for me to sit back and watch JR and Griffin together. Every now and then I will have one of those out of body experiences where I step back from the situation and think, "Wow that is my husband and we have a son!"


This week have I reflected on how blessed I am. Its not just about celebrating another year of marriage, but instead being thankful that God has continued to keep us together. It is only by His grace that we have remained in happiness together and I never want to take that for granted in a world where divorce is all over the place. To think back on all the many years we have been together and to see how far we have come now- it can only be a God thing :)


I am the luckiest woman alive to have a husband who loves me, takes care of me, and challenges me to honor God in all that I do! I am so thankful for his constant pursuit of Christ and his devotion to our family. I love you sweetie and pray for many more years to come!

I will always cherish the day that we became husband and wife. Here are our pictures from that day.

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

How to push my little man to learn...

It seems that with motherhood you are always trying to soak in every moment that you have with your child right now but also cant help but think ahead. Oh I cant wait until he can sit up, crawl, talk, etc. (and yes I know it will all be here before I know it and when it does come I will be wishing he was not mobile and wanting some peace and quiet ha). But with all of that to say, the planner in me has already started thinking ahead to the days where I can watch Griffin learn his ABCs and 123s, colors, shapes, etc. Again, I do not plan on starting tomorrow or anything but I do want to get a jump start on the best resources to use out there, while I have some time ha!!!

My heart is that I want to start at a young age so that Griffin will ENJOY learning, build confidence and help stimulate his little brain. I have read and heard several people say that kids are like little sponges before the age of 4, as by that time 90% of their brain has already been filled. I am going to be his first teacher and maybe only teacher during that age and therefore I want to give him the very best. I am not out to make him a genius (as I know with our genes I am doubtful that would happen anyways ha), I just want him to enjoy learning and therefore I want to make it as fun as I can, as early as I can!

I know I have several readers that are moms of young children, as well as moms of older kids that have been there and done that so I am asking you to share your wisdom please :)

What books, websites, toys, etc have you found that help out the most? When did you start informally teaching? What other things should this first time mom know???

I am open to ALL suggestions, advice, and really any wisdom that I can gain from each of you. I know that the best people to learn from are those who are doing it already and have been able to see what works and what does not.

I thank you in advance for taking your time to share with me!!!!

Way to go Daddy!!!

This weekend we traveled for JR's MS Bike Ride. He had heard about the ride in New Bern from a friend and decided that he wanted to form a team for someone very special to us who has MS. The team name was "Riding for Mimi" :)

JR has really come to love the sport of biking but has never had the chance to challenge himself for a century ride (100 miles). He got support from a great friend Micah who decided to do it with him and the rest is history!

Best buds having the time of their life... well especially since they can see the finish line!! They started at 8am and finished at 3pm. I am so proud of them!!!

The century riders themselves! Tired but so glad its over :)


We came back after the ride and watched our Vols. Sad they lost of course but still wearing our orange proudly!

JR giving Griffin his first lesson on the bike.



We went with our friends the Grahams and the Edwards. Here are all the girls and their baby boys on Friday. We came early while the daddys were working so we could shop on Friday!

Griffin with his buddy Jonathan David

Sunday afternoon we had a beautiful day to explore Beaufort. It is such a quaint little town and we enjoyed sitting by the water and seeing all of the boats come in. We were lucky enough to have some friends of friends who have a boat there take us out on it! It was our first time in a fishing boat in the ocean... for ALL the Ishams :)

Our little Sailor boy ready for a boat ride!!

Mr. Adorable in his shades

family picture on the boat ride

Happy Birthday Tyler and Happy Grandparents Day!

Today is my brother's 23rd birthday and it is also my parents' first Grandparents Day!! We sent everyone a little something in the mail already and cant wait to celebrate with them all in October when we visit again :)

picture update of our little man!

the new do

I have been debating on cutting my hair short for the past 4 months and I finally did it! It is the shortest I have had it in years and I am still trying to get used to the big change but I think I like it okay :)

JR says I am one hott momma and Griffin still smiles at me all the time, so as long as my boys like it that is all that matters!!!

12-18-09

Today marks the first day of class for our last semester and I cant tell you how excited we are here in the Isham household! It is very surreal that we have been here 3 years already because it has gone by so fast. JR has worked so hard, even when the last thing he wanted to do was open a book to read or study for an exam, and I am so proud of him!!! It has been a running thing since this summer that when school is taking up some of our family time all we have to say is "12-18-09" and it seems to make it easier to push through. Griffin and I are ready to have him back all to ourselves... which will be weird because I guess we never really had him as a non-student. He has been in school ever since we got married and ever since Griffin has been born :)

Now I am sure you want to know what will be next for the Isham's once January comes... and I really wish I could tell you but we have no idea! Right now we are just trying to ask God for His wisdom to show us where He wants us next so that we can best serve Him. Best case scenario for us would be to get back closer to our family, however, we know that He knows what is best for us. If you know of any ministry positions available in your area we are open to pray about them so please pass them along!

And I cant go without saying that I truly have LOVED our time here at seminary. Although I will be glad when JR doesnt have to spend all of his time with his nose in a book, I am sure I will truly be sad to have to say goodbye to this wonderful seminary community we have become a part of and the many friendships that we have made along the way!

Please pray for our family as we seek His will for our next step. And continue to pray for JR as he pushes through one last semester. 12-18-09, 12-18-09, 12-18-09 :)

30 day shred

As a new mom I have found that I love love love everything about being a mom except one thing- the mom body! I swear its so frustrating when I step on the scale and see a weight I havent seen since high school and yet when I look in the mirror I cant help but notice that I have a kangaroo pouch AND my body just isnt the same ha!

Well I have heard of several other new moms trying the 30 day shred and being very pleased so I have decided to give it a whirl! Day 1 has officially been completed so wish me luck on the next 29 :)

Chicken Enchiladas

Hey guys! I recently have gotten on a kick where I am tired of our same ole things we tend to eat every week and was ready to try something new. So I finally tok the initiative to ask friends to share any yummy recipes (that were easy of course) with me so I could try!

I wanted to share this simply yet amazing recipe I recieved from a friend. I am not sure why in the world I am JUST now getting around to making enchiladas because I have heard so much about them and we eat tacos all the time and LOVE Mexican food. Anyways I finally did last night and it was a HUGE hit with the hubby :)

So if you have never done them before.. DO IT! And if I am the last person on earth to finally attempt then just laugh with me and understand cooking it not really my thing and I am just learning ha!

Chicken Enchiladas

1 package of big flour tortillas
Chicken (whole chicken or 4 large breasts skinless/boneless)
Cream of Chicken
Small can chopped green chilies
Sour Cream
1 bag (S~2 cups) shredded cheddar (I like to use the Mexican shredded cheese)
Salsa
lettuce

Directions:
Cook chicken (I boil mine until done) – Remove skin and debone, if needed. Better yet, I’ve even used the baked/rotisserie chicken from Krogers and/or Walmart…also, take off bone). Shred (pull apart) the chicken in a big mixing bowl. Add and mix in….Can of cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup.Small can of chopped green chilies (in Mexican food section)½ cup of sour cream Spread a big spoonful of the mixture down the middle of a big tortilla. Roll and lay side by side in 13 X 9 or larger baking dish. Spray with Pam before putting the enchiladas in the pan. It will make ~8 enchiladas. Top with shredded cheese and bake at 375 degrees until hot and bubbly. Top with salsa, sour cream lettuce, olives, peppers, whatever you like!

Thanks again Diana!!!

Being a mom...

I feel like I have really been neglecting this blog the last 3 months, between updating Griffin's daily blog for him and sitting around holding and playing with him in most of my freetime now days.. there is just not as much time as there used to be :)

I do want to take a minute to share about how my life as a mom has been so far. From the second I looked into that little boys eyes, I was in love. I have always been a lover of babies and children but there is just nothing like having your very own. He makes me smile SO much and there is not an hour that goes by that I dont feel the need to just hug and kiss him to death. It is amazing the kind of love that comes with having a child... truly like nothing else I have experienced. So instant and so much to give that you feel like you just cant give enough.

I have LOVED being at home with my little man! I am so very blessed to be able to stay home and really couldnt imagine having to go back and be without him. He changes every day! I sincerely feel for all the moms out there that do have to go back- I cant imagine how hard it is for you!

Every week it seems as if he is doing something new and it is amazing how I get so excited over the little things that each day brings. A new coo sound, watching him learn to play, seeing him find his hands and just learn something about the world new every day. He has definitely made me learn to love the small things in life and I has slowed my life down too, in a very good way! There are days that I will look up and its already 4pm.. and I think wow what have I done all day ha?

I love the way he looks around the room to find me, when he smiles when he sees me and when he babbles to try and talk to me. I would say he is definitely a Momma's boy for sure and I am loving every minute of the special bond that we have.

The hardest thing so far has been both the lack of sleep and the adjustment to the new 3 hour routine that my life has. For some reason the sleep deprivation did not really hit me until about month 2. I guess I was going on pure adrenaline before then and thankfully God gives you the strength to go on lack of sleep. Now we are up normally twice a night so I am getting more sleep, however all the loss of sleep is finally catching up with me ha! Breastfeeding really has been a blessing too, but the bad part is the every 3 hour schedule. If I want to do anything during the day I always have to make plans around eating times and at first it was hard to do because it seemed as soon as I was done feeding it was time to do it again ha! But it has gotten a lot better recently and being able to pump to have a bottle has helped tremendously!

I could really go on and on and on because it truly is that amazing but I will save it for another time so I can post again.

Hope all my blogging friends are doing well!! And if you ever think that I have fallen out of the blogging world just check my son's blog.. Ill be there :) www.griffinjonah.blogspot.com