The newest graduate!

My brother Tyler graduated from UT!!! I am so incredibly proud of him and was so happy to be able to watch him walk across that stage! Crazy to me that I did the very same thing 5 years ago... FYI Tyler, a lot changes in 5 years :)

The best news of all is that TVA offered him a job in electrical engineering and he will start in a few weeks!!! God has truly blessed Tyler with the brains and now a wonderful job. All of his hard work over the past 6 years had now paid off!!

with his girlfriend Cara

with Mimi and Potts


Gibson gang

Griffin crew

This picture just makes me smile! Uncle Tyler the graduate and the future UT graduate Griffin. Well someone will have to carry on the family tradition :)

So proud of you brother! And its great to be a TN Vol!!

I LOVE being a MOM!

We had an unexpected trip to Tennessee this weekend and I was thankful to get to have a surprise time with my mom for Mother's Day. I love anytime I get with her and especially now seeing her with Griffin, its a true joy of mine.

On this Mother's Day, I cant help but just say I LOVE BEING A MOM! This has no doubt been the best year of my life. Griffin is truly a blessing to me. I had always dreamed of being a mom ever since I can remember but there is no way I could have ever imagined it to be this wonderful. In the same way it is also harder than I could have imagined. The sleepless nights, stinky diapers, total change of YOUR schedule and learning how selfish you really are..... all for the greater joy that just a simple smile that he gives me.

Another major thing I realize this year on Mother's Day is how much my mom has done for me. I now understand her so much better ha! For all the reasons mentioned above, knowing that she has loved me unconditionally for 27 years now AND that she was a single mom for many of those years to 3 of us... all just makes me say WOW! She is an incredible mother and I am forever grateful for her.

Lastly, and most importantly, looking back on this first year of being a parent and knowing how much I love my son makes me in awe at how much my Heavenly Father loves me. If I can love Griffin this much just after one year, and He has chosen to give me this perfect gift as a blessing in this life, AND he invented love and has loved me since the world began... Man that is crazy!! I truly love being a mom, no doubt, but in all honesty there are many times when I say, "Lord, I'm not so sure I can do this." It has only been a year and He has taught me so much through it. I have so much more to learn about being a mom, and still even more to realize the depth of God's love for me.

I found this on my friend's blog and wanted to share it because it reminds me how thankful I am to be a mom:

"The job of motherhood feels so vast, and frightening, and unending. I am called to raise these children in the fear and admonition of the Lord and yet there are days that I can't seem to get out of my pajamas much less lead them in a time of prayer. I think anyone could endure the temper tantrums of a small child or the rebellion of a teenager or the constant needs of another if they lasted just one day. But the truth is that these things are the stuff of daily life. And when I am honest with myself, they grind down the rough edges of this woman. Because parenting can not be all about me when diapers must be changed, noses wiped and beds made. In those moments I force myself to take a deep breath and thank God for this season of life. These children. The privilege of wiping noses and bottoms and countertops. A privilege many women would love to have, but don't. I remind myself that the days are long but the years are short. And one day I will look in the rear-view mirror and see empty seats. The cup that is overflowing right now will slowly drain. The stretch marks will fade. And I will find that a new set of daily struggles has overtaken me. When that day comes I will find the strength to face them as well because God gives the grace, daily."
Written by Ariel Allison Lawhon - Proverbs 31 Ministries

Happy Mother's Day to all of you other moms out there. Those that have loved me as their own daughter and those that I dont even know. AND especially to you Momma- I love you! Have a WONDERFUL day celebrating the joy of motherhood!

Blogging for first year!

Im not sure if everyone who looks at this blog also checks out Griffin's own personal blog that I have for him BUT if you dont.. you should :) I have officially completed my blogging goal of doing a post every day of his first year! I plan to continue it for him but just maybe not every single day, that got kindof crazy ha, but I am so glad I did it now so that he will one day be able to check out his birth until first year! http://www.griffinjonah.blogspot.com/

Still cant believe our baby boy is ONE!!!

13.1

This picture is pretty cheesy but it really tells a lot about the last 10 weeks for the Ishams. I got a wild idea that I wanted to do something physical to test myself and "get back in shape after having being pregnant" before Griffin turned ONE.... so we signed up for the Music City Half Marathon. At first I could only run 1 mile without stopping. ONE MILE! It was a rough start to training for sure, especially since the shortest run on the training schedule was 3 miles. So after some tears and determination that I was NOT going to let my mind overcome me... we began our 10 week training schedule in February. It took a lot of COMMITMENT. Running 3 times during the week and doing long runs on Saturdays was hard at first but once we got it into our every day schedules I actually started developing a "need" to run. Let me back up and say... I AM NOT A RUNNER! Running for me was punishment back in high school sports so I always felt that there was no need to run and punish myself. So yea... this was a big deal for me. Very physically challenging, and mentally too!

10 weeks later the day had come- April 24th- Music City Marathon day!!!

My stomach was in so many knots the week leading up and I dont think I slept a solid hour the night before just thinking about it. Saturday morning we woke up at 3:45am to drive to Nashville so we could be there by 6:00 since the race started at 7:00am.

We were so grateful to have my Dad and Sue come and watch Griffin for us! They were great cheerleaders too :)

And 2 1/2 hours later we finally got to them at the FINISH LINE!!!

The race proved to be as tough as I thought it would be. Nashville was VERY hilly and we had not trained with inclines at all. The most we had ran before this was 10 miles and those last 3 added were gruelling! Whew... but we did it :)

And I simply cant say enough about this picture! First of all yes I got this off the website but we do plan to buy it soon ha. This was our team though, me, JR and Phillip. These two were absolutely amazing encouragers along the way and I have NO doubt that I would not have finished if it wasnt for them. They both are better runners than me and can run faster than me, but they promised to run right at my pace and help me get through it because this was my thing and they just wanted to see me do it. Are they not the sweetest?!?!

The celebration lunch with our medals on at Hard Rock Cafe. And that little man with us... simply put- my reason for running! I have never challenged myself like that before and it was so rewarding to be able to say I DID IT!!! I want nothing more than our sweet boy to learn to challenge himself along his life too. Just when life gets tough for him I will now be able to look at him and tell him about this experience for me and challenge him to push through just like I did. It was a great life lesson!

And I think he was proud of his Mommy, Daddy and Uncle Phil :)

Happy Birthday Griffin!!

We cant hardly believe a year has already passed... our little boy is ONE today!!! We will never forget the day he was born- 7 lbs 9 oz, 20 1/2 inches long and absolutely perfect! Our true gift from God!


We had no idea all of the happiness that this little boy would bring us in the days to come, but we did know we were instantly IN LOVE!

Now he is our big boy and continues to be such a joy!

He is such a sweet boy. He loves to give hugs and kisses

His favorite thing is cars. He loves to play with his toy ones but especially loves to ride in big ones. He even makes the brrrrm sounds!

Griffin is a TRUE boy! He loves balls and bats. He knows that he must hold up the bat to hit the ball, and also knows how to throw the ball :)

ALMOST walking- he does great when he is pushing Mr. Lion or is walking from one piece of furniture to the next. It wont be long!!

Griffin, we love you so much and are so thankful that God gave us you. Thank you for all of the laughs, tears, smiles and joy you have brought us this first year. We pray that you would continue to grow into a godly man that follows Jesus! We are so proud to be called your Mommy and Daddy :)

To check out his first year, and I do mean every single day ha.... You can go to his blog at www.griffinjonah.blogspot.com

WE GOT THE JOB!!!!

With a 95% YES, JR is officially the Family Pastor of Bethesda Baptist Church!!!

God is so good and we praise Him!

Humbled by His grace

Yesterday was the most humbling day of my life. For those who have not already heard, we are in the final stages of interviewing with our church here in Durham. JR has been nominated for the Family Pastor position and as a part of the interview process he had the opportunity to preach during the morning service. I dont think either one of us have ever been so nervous in our lives!! Bethesda has about 450 people that attend and this was his FIRST time preaching. And if that wasnt pressure enough, this was what the members would be going off of for the vote next week. Whew all I can say is... I am so glad God is in control!! JR and I both knew without a doubt that God has called him for just this, and yet we have zero experience in a church and honestly no merit to even have this opportunity- its simply God's grace.

JR had been practicing for weeks and I have never seen him work so hard at something. Even still as of Saturday night when we went to bed, he still did not feel confident in himself being able to communicate this message that God had given him. Praise the Lord for the Holy Spirit because he TOTALLY showed up and JR spoke better than I could have EVER imagined. Tears of joy would not stop streaming down my face as I have never been so proud of him in all my life. In Christ alone, the words came out of his mouth as if he had been preaching ALL his life. Simply amazing.

I had honestly been crying even before he had started because as I stood beside my groom in the front row of church and realized that this was really happening, I was overwhelmed. So many emotions all in one moment. Nervousness, excitement, joy, humbleness, etc. He was about to stand and preach God's word. We had really been given this opportunity? But God why? We are not worthy of this. Are you sure you want to use US? I know you know who we are... inside and out. Are you SURE? I simply could not believe how good God has been to us. His faithfulness all along the way, not because of who we are, BUT who He is.

Once the service was over, the overflow of love and support from our church family made me speechless. As they congradulated JR for a job well done and gave him the greatest compliment in the world, saying that they would have thought he had been preaching all his life they way that he was able to communicate God's word, I honestly felt as if I was dreaming. AND seeing our dearest friends we have made these last 4 years as well as both sets of my grandparents there to support us- truly grateful. (My Mimi and Potts drove in from TN, but sadly my Potts had to stay at home sick. AND we got a HUGE surprise from Mamaw and Frank as they showed up, coming all the way from Florida!! I have the greatest grandparents in the world. Never is there a moment in my life when they are not there to support.)

Even as I type this I realize you may be thinking, but Lindsey, why are you so shocked? Yall have been at seminary for 4 years now and you knew that JR was getting educated to be in full time ministry. And you are right, I do know that, but seriously... its one thing to dream it and another to see God reveal it right in front of you. ESPECIALLY when neither one of us had any plans of being a pastor/pastor's wife when we started our journey together nearly 12 years ago. But our life together is not about our plans, but simply God's plans for us because He truly knows best.

The church vote will be Easter Sunday. I will of course keep you updated. We thank you in advance for your prayers, knowing that God is in control and no matter what the decision we trust Him knowing the His plans are best.

Celebrating 27 yrs and 10 months!

This was my first year to celebrate a "mommy birthday" and I'll say it definitely made me feel that much older looking at my baby boy and realizing.. "wow! I am a MOM!" But I wouldnt trade it for the world as he was by far my best birthday present. With simple things as him smiling at me, or laughing at me doing something crazy, or leaning in for a kiss- it was priceless!!


We went to Kanki as a family to celebrate that night and it was Griffin's first experience at a Japanese steakhouse. He was amazed by all the fires on the grills and constant action going on, and it was a long dinner which he did very well staying up past his bedtime!

JR and I had went on a birthday date the night before to do a little social dancing. We learned the Waltz. I LOVED it!

And on top of all of that.... I got to celebrate 10 months of this precious boy today!!!

Thankful for my sweet Poppa!

My heart is saddened today to say goodbye to my sweet Poppa who passed away late last night. My family was very blessed with a father, grandfather, great-grandfather to me, and even great-great-grandfather to Griffin! He brought so much joy, laughter and pure sweetness to our family and we will surely miss him. I am so grateful for the 90 years of his life he was blessed with and thus we were blessed having him in our lives. I rejoice now in knowing that he is with Jesus for all of eternity and I will one day see him again. I know he is so excited to be reunited with his bride :)

I love you Pop!!!

Poppa and JR- Thanksgiving 08

Thanksgiving 08


Pop and all his great and great great grandkids- Thanksgiving 09

5 generations

Griffin and I with Pop at our favorite place to meet- The Cracker Barrel :)

The first and only time Poppa held Griffin-Aug 09

Happy birthday Daddy and 9 months Griffin

Another year to celebrate JR.. and quite the year we have had. He is now both a Daddy and a graduate and as always a wonderful husband TOO :)

We celebrated Sunday with our church family and had other birthdays to celebrate too! Trey, Jacob and Ashley are like family to us and we were so excited to all get to celebrate together!!!

On JR's actual birthday, Griffin and I went to his office to have lunch with him and celebrate with a cake! JR commented that being a Daddy on his birthday is the best :)

All he wanted was a date night with his wife so we were so thankful to get a night with just the two of us! We went to downtown Durham to try something new and ate a wonderful dinner and then played pool... he wanted to "do something besides just eat" ha.

Happy 28th birthday sweetie :)

Griffin is now 9 months old and we simply cannot believe how big he is. A little man for sure! As always check out what he is into each day at http://www.griffinjonah.blogspot.com/