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!!!