Family

Music speaks to me.  Always has.  Since I was a young child, music has always hit me right to the core.  It allows me to express myself in ways I couldn't have otherwise.  It also speaks to me...in words and ways that are so piercing...so convicting, that had I just heard them in normal conversation, it would not have had the same effect.

This song has come to mean so much to me.  As we begin this new journey...my heart longs for family that I never even knew I had until a few weeks ago.  To many, this sounds crazy...but to a few of you...I  KNOW YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

There are so many children here, and around the world who long for just a taste of what family is.  They ache for family.

My prayers are going out to all of the families and children in Ukraine and to those adoptive families who are seeing little hope.  It is at times like this, when we seem to have no words, no understanding of what is going on.  But as the song below says, "FATHER SHOW US THE WAY
TO FIGHT FOR WHAT WE GOT CAUSE YOU BELIEVE IN FAMILY." We know that God designed families from the beginning and this is His desire for all of us.  We know that orphans are on God's heart...and should be on ours, too. To all of the families who see little hope now, know you and your children are being prayed for, and though things seem hopeless, we know that "Through Him, all things are possible." We serve a savior who is the Father to the Fatherless, and who is all powerful and all loving.

We are so blessed.  I challenge you to share your blessings.  To step out on faith and to share the love of a family with a child who doesn't have one.

Please read these lyrics and click on the link following to listen to this beautiful song.  I hope it speaks to your heart as much as it does to mine.  As I listen to it, I think of my precious D and M who are thousands of miles away.  Who are you thinking of?

"Arrows flying, into silence
Broken pieces lying around where it went down
Waters risen', back to silence
Quietly crying, wondering how
And look at us now

We thought our love would take the world by storm

Are we too far apart?
Two worlds among the stars
You're gonna take a piece of my heart if you leave
So it's two separate ways
Or am I too late to say I wanna fight for what we go
Cause I believe
In family

So are we still trying, or simply surviving
Facing these giants, the bigger they are the harder they fall
But I still believe in the dream we've been dreaming
The hope that we built on
It's never too far, never too far

Are we too far apart?
Two worlds among the stars
You're gonna take a piece of my heart if you leave
So it's two separate ways
Or am I too late to say I wanna fight for what we got
Cause I believe in family
In family, In family

I still believe
I still believe

That we're not too far apart
Two worlds among the stars
Don't take a piece of my heart, please don't leave
It's not too late to say, FATHER SHOW US THE WAY
TO FIGHT FOR WHAT WE GOT
CAUSE YOU BELIEVE IN FAMILY

Copy and paste the following link to listen to this beautiful song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVG4vPPHu7c

Putting my YES on the table

On February 22nd and 23rd, I went to what I thought was going to be a good, fun conference by Jen Hatmaker. It was much, much more. I left changed.  For many months, I have heard that we, as believers should put our "yes" on the table, and see where the Lord leads.  I have held back from doing this...fearful of what He would ask me to do.  At the conference, it hit me like a ton of bricks when out of Jen Hatmaker's mouth came "Just put your yes on the table." This is a phrase that I had somewhat tried to put to the back of my head.  As we began singing, "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters, wherever you would call me..." I realized up to this point I could not sing this from my heart...because I was afraid....I was afraid what that meant for me.   I was afraid to go where my trust was without borders...because I was comfortable where I was. It was at that moment, that I surrendered. I gave up, and I said YES! I left, still not knowing what or where I was being called, but had the peace that the Lord would show me, and make it clear, and give me peace.

Fast forward 2 weeks.  The Lord started making it clear.  I went to lunch with Wendy and we just began visiting about her passion for orphans and hosting.  The Lord used this one conversation to spark a curiosity...an interest...a passion in me.  I began to look through the pictures of the beautiful children, orphans, from around the world, who are hoping to be hosted this summer for 6 weeks in the USA...to experience the unconditional love of a family.  As I was looking...I stopped dead in my tracks as one beautiful little girl had an uncanny resemblance to one of my little girls.  I had an instant connection to this beautiful face.  Then I saw she had a brother too! Piece by piece the Lord began giving me and Stephen the desire to reach out to and love on these precious children. It was such a blessing for Stephen and I to both receive confirmation in our hearts, that this was in fact what we are being called to do.  We've always said if one of us is being called to do something, the other will be as well. We are a team, in this together, and the peace that we have both received is indescribable. So what does this mean?

There are so many what ifs in this situation...BUT one thing I DO know, the Lord is in the midst of this and has made His plans abundantly clear to us, thus far.  I am now surrendering MY agenda, and following after the Lord's call for my life. This is something that was totally unplanned and unexpected for us.   But God's word tells us, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." -Isaiah 55:8.  Instead of trusting in myself, I am putting my yes on the table.  I am trusting in the Father to the fatherless...the Savior of the World.  Pray for us as we begin this unexpected journey... that the Lord will be glorified wherever this path may lead.

I'm thrilled to share these beautiful faces with you:

"D"

"M"

Please pray for these two.  Pray for them now: that the Lord will protect them...their minds, hearts, and bodies.  Pray the Lord will begin to prepare them for the summer.  Pray they will be excited.  Pray they will feel the love that we have to give and will accept it. Pray that they see and feel the love of Jesus this summer.

Pray for the Carlisles: As we prepare to bring two new people into our family for the summer. Pray the Lord will continue to open doors and guide our path.  Pray all the details work out regarding travel, dates, etc.  Pray we will be excited to love on these blessings.  Pray for the family dynamics...that we just mesh.  Pray for a connection.  Pray that we can show the unconditional love that our Heavenly Father has given us.

Please pray for more families to host these beautiful gifts...there are so many needs.  Perhaps God is calling you, just as He is calling us.  Is YOUR yes on the table?? If you would like more info on hosting feel free to contact me or Wendy at wendilynn.farrell@gmail.com.

Memphis Zoo With My Lil' Monkies

Hot day at Memphis Zoo!

Two little monkies looking at a monkey!

This lil' monkey is having a serious conversation!

And these lil' monkies are just plain POOPED!

Last Friday, I decided to take my lil' loves to the Memphis Zoo! We enjoy going to the LR Zoo regularly and decided to take advantage of a pretty Friday and drive to Memphis to see the animals. My brother was brave enough to take the road trip with us. We had a great time....despite the 100 degree temps. While we were there we got to catch up with one of my BFFs Deanna. It was a great time....HOT time, but great time nonetheless.



How time flies!!

These 3 are life's most precious

gifts! I love these babies!

My beautiful Gideon....he makes his mama proud!

Lizzy Bug is beautiful. This girl has more personality

than anyone I've ever met!

Abby Anne is growing up. She gets more beautiful

every day!!

My girls in their boots....

Wow! It's amazing where we are now in comparison to where we were last time I posted on this blog. I am going to do better. My goal is weekly...we will see how that goes. For the time being, I am going to play catch up in this post. The babies turned 1 on September 11th! The year literally blew by...I will admit some of those first few months are a blur, but I have loved having my babies, Lizzy and Gideon, in my life....they are into everything! They are both walking and OH MY are they climbing! They truly are double trouble. Abby Anne is 4! How is my baby girl turning into such a big girl? She amazes me daily with the new things she learns. She is a sponge soaking up everything. She goes to Mother's Day Out 2 days a week where Miss Kristie teaches her all sorts of great things. She really enjoys it and really is learning a lot. She is also involved in Gym For Him (gymnastics at church), mission friends, and choir. She is a busy girl!! We just got our fall family pictures made (which we try to do each year), so I have posted some of those for you to see how my beautiful babies have grown in the past year. I am blessed beyond belief and thank Jesus daily for my precious family. What would I be....who would I be....where would I be without my Stephen, my Abby Anne, my Lizzy Bug, and my lil man Gideon?

GO TIGERS!

Abby Anne and Daddy ready for the game!

We recently made our first trip as a family of 5 to Arkadelphia...or as Abby Anne likes to call it OUACHITA for homecoming. Stephen and I did a pretty good job of juggling the babies. I got to go to the alumni EEE tea that morning and a baby shower for a friend while he kept the babies at Mom and Dad's. Then, he and Abby Anne went to the football game while I stayed home. That night, Abby Anne and I went to Tiger Tunes while Stephen once again kept the babies. All in all in was a good weekend. (Despite the fact that the tigers lost!) I am sure there will be many more trips to Arky...aka OUACHITA in the future with our family of 5!!!

Punkin' Patch with my Punkin'

My little punkin' pickin' her punkin'!

Mommy forcing a hug!

Aislynn and Abby Anne at the pumpkin patch!

On the hayride!

Abby Anne and I got to get out of the house to make a trip to the pumpkin patch with a group of girls from Sunday School. It was a beautiful day!!! Abby Anne and I picked our very own pumpkin off of the vine!! We also went on a hayride! I enjoyed spending time with (just) my punkin'. Next year I will have two other little punkins to take along!!!

Baby Dedication

Sunday, October 4th, we participated in Baby Dedication at church. This was Lizzy and Gideon's first trip to church. We didn't stay-because they are only 3 weeks old- obviously not ready for the nursery! But we wanted to go ahead and get them dedicated!! I have thought about what "baby dedication" really is and really means. We walk in, show our beautiful babies off, say a prayer, and walk out. But the significance is so much more than that. Stephen and I, as parents, have dedicated our precious little ones to the Lord!! WOW! It sounds so easy-but I have put a lot of thought into the whole process. I think back to the story of Hannah in the bible; how she prayed and longed for a baby boy. The Lord blessed her...in HIS timing, and gave her a baby boy-Samuel. She vowed to the Lord that in return, she would dedicate Samuel to him...give Samuel back to the Lord...literally. She vowed as soon as Samuel was weaned, she would take him to the temple and give him to the Lord forever!! Why this though leaves me amazed, I do not know. After all, my babies are FIRST children of God-before they are mine! I pray that I can be like Hannah. The Lord gave me these precious gifts in HIS timing...his perfect timing-just as He gave Hannah Samuel in His perfect timing. I pray I will in turn, give my beautiful Lizzy and my precious Gideon back to Jesus...for Him to use, love, and take care of! As a Mommy-it is so hard to fathom the idea of letting go of your babies for someone else to care for...but as MY mom has told me time and time again- there is no safer and better place for those babies (or anyone) than in the center of God's will!

"Dear Jesus, thank you for my precious miracles: Gideon and Lizzy. Love overflows my heart in a way only you know!! Thank you for the opportunity you have given me to be Gideon's mommy, Lizzy's mommy, and my sweet Abby Anne's mommy. Let me never take this precious gift for granted. Help me to love them and nurture them just as you would. Help me find peace and comfort and contentment in giving them fully over to you. Use my babies to do something great for you! Help this mommy be able to lead each one to you at a young age. Help them each to have a heart that loves you more than anything...I pray this for myself, too!! Use me, Lord, use my family!! Amen."

THEY ARE HERE!

I am so pleased to announce the arrival of my precious babies: Elizabeth "Lizzy" Lynn and Gideon Andrew Carlisle were born Friday, September 11th, at 7:49 am and 7:50 am. Lizzy weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and Gideon weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces. It is such a joy to have two big, beautiful, healthy babies. Stephen, Abby Anne, and I are so blessed beyond belief! Our family is now complete that these two little bundles of joy are here!! I will post more later!! I just wanted to give an update...that the twins are here!! Thank you for your continued prayers...and please...keep them coming!

Why Yes!!! I am pregnant...WITH TWINS!

I am nearing the end of my pregnancy!! Praise the Lord!!! Who knew carrying twins was such hard work!!! I am beyond ready for Elizabeth Lynn and Gideon Andrew to get here!!! I have been pretty much "homebound" for a couple of months now...only getting out on rare occasions. I will be the first to admit....I AM HUGE!! No one needs to point this out to me...trust me...I KNOW! I never thought my belly could get this big...but crazy things happen when you have close to 12 pounds of baby in there. I just want to share for your entertainment some of the comments I have gotten over the past few months regarding my belly:

"Who are we- Octo-Mom?"
"Please tell me there is more than one baby in there!"
"Are you sure it is okay for you to fly?" (Note that I was only 24 weeks pregnant at this time!!)
"You look absolutely miserable!"
"Poor thing!"
"You are as big as a house!"
And my personal favorite is just a plain, simple "WHOA!!!!!!!"

These are only just a few comments I have gotten...not to mention the looks! I will say this pregnancy has had it ups and downs, but I could not be happier to have been blessed with these two precious babies: Gideon and Lizzy!! I know once they get here and I see their precious little faces- it will all be worth it!! NOW COME ON LIZZY AND GIDEON...(2 weeks if not sooner!!)

Lizzy and Gideon's Baby Shower

All of the yummy food!!

Lots of gifts for the babies!

My wonderful friends and hostesses: Molly Strom,

(Me and Abby Anne) Ashley Hooten and Chloe, Ashley Yancey,



Deanna Wallace, and Wendy Farrell.







On June 6th, I had a fabulous baby shower at my sister's (Wendy) house. We had such a good time. Lizzy and Gideon got all sorts of wonderful things that we just can not wait to use! Abby Anne has been "testing out" a lot of the gifts....just to make sure that are ok for Lizzy and Gideon! She is going to be such a good big sister!

Pretty Baby!

Abby Anne had her first big dance recital at Robinson Auditorium in June. They danced to Pretty Baby. Abby Anne is going through a somewhat "clingy" stage right now... I am sure my growing belly has nothing to do with it! I am sorry to say she didn't really seem to "enjoy" the actual dancing part....but she most certainly was a pretty baby...the prettiest one there, in fact! We are glad to have a summer break from dance for right now. We are planning on starting gymnastics in the fall and maybe dance again with Cousin Aislynn in the spring!!

Summer Fun!

I know! I know!! I haven't posted anything in a really long time. Life has been crazy around the Carlisle household. However- I am about to get all caught up! Abby Anne has already been enjoying her suumertime. She loves to be outside...just like her daddy. She has enjoyed her swimming pool, sprinkler, and she LOVES the ice cream truck. All she has to do is hear that ominous tune, "Do your ears hang low?" and she runs to the front door screaming for ice cream...or popsicles anyway!!! We are having a good summer...our last summer with just the three of us...next summer we will have 5!!! I am afraid the Carlisle craziness is just beginning!

WE ARE HAVING..........

A boy and a girl!!! We could not be happier!!! Our little boy will be named Gideon Andrew. Our little baby girl will be Elizabeth Lynn (we will call her Lizzy!) Of course the names are not just random...they have significance. We decided we wanted to use Biblical names- since Abby Anne is from the Bible...okay well not Abby Anne-but her real name, Abigail. Gideon has such an amazing story in the Bible of being a warrior for the Lord, which is our prayer for our little Gideon. It goes further than that, though. Stephen is a Gideon- which for those of you who do not know- is an organization for men who pass out Bibles to hotels, military, schools, etc. My Pop was also a Gideon, so the Gideons have always been special to me. Andrew is Stephen's middle name. As for our little Elizabeth Lynn...Elizabeth of course was the mother of John the Baptist. She so desired to have a baby. The Lord knew her heart and desires and answered her prayers, just as He did for us. Beth is also my middle name! Lynn is my sister,Wendy's, middle name. It is so funny how you can see personality even on an ultrasound. Lizzy was laid back, relatively still, and calm. Gideon, on the other hand would not sit still!!! (Which explains why I feel him all the time moving around in there!) Everything looked perfect, heart, kidneys, bladder, brain, legs, arms, fingers and toes!! The Lord has blessed us above more than we could ask or think and we are so excited to meet our little ones. Abby Anne looks forward to being a big sissy to Gideon and Lizzy, too! Continue to pray for all 5 of us in the next few months!!

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think...unto HIM be the glory!" (Ephesians 3:20-21)

No Thank You!

Abby Anne cracks me up with all of the new things she learns each day...she catches on so quick. Sometimes I wonder just where she picks some things up. Her new thing is that she MUST dance with her daddy each time someone sings on American Idol or dances on Dancing With The Stars. After it is done- she nods her head and says, "Thank you, Thank you!" As if the audience were clapping for her...and only her! We have also been trying to teach Abby Anne to say no thank you instead of just yelling no (or nope!) when someone asks if she wants something. Well-I am now afraid she has picked this one up a little too easily!!! Last night I asked Abby Anne, "Can Mommy have a hug?" And she answered in her most politle, sweet, little voice, "Um...No thank you!!" What a funny girl!!! At least she was polite about it!

EASTER!

We had a fabulous Easter! For starters, Truett got to come home. Abby Anne enjoyed spendingd time with her Uncle T-but didn't get quite enough time in. She looks forward to seeing him again in a couple of weeks. We dyed Easter eggs at Emmie's house on Good Friday. Abby Anne was very "into it." She loved it. She hasn't quite got the concet of how fragile the eggs are though. She enjoyed PLOPPING them down into the dye...so a few eggs were a little cracked...no big deal! Just adds a little character-right?

On Saturday, we went to the Easter Egg hunt that our church has every year. It was a blast! Abby Anne loved sitting in the Easter Bunny's lap and kept wanting to go back to visit every few minutes. (Which I found to be a bit strange since she was terrifed of Santa....but whatever!) She did great hunting the eggs...unlike her mommy when she was a little girl. Hopefully Abby Anne picked up Stephen's Easter egg hunting skills! I will say-that Abby Anne had found one more last egg at the hunt and a bigger boy came and grabbed it right up from under her. I guess I had flashbacks from my childhood, but I was ready to let that boy have it...who cares that he was four and I am 28...he stole my baby's egg!!! Stephen told me I had to let it go-but I am still bitter-can you tell?

On Easter Sunday, the Easter Bunny left Abby Anne an Easter basket full of goodies right outside her bedroom door. It was so exciting. Then, Abby Anne got all dressed up in her beautiful Easter dress, and we went to church to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior. On the way to church, I took the opportunity to talk to Abby Anne about what Easter really means. in the process, I asked her, "Isn't it exciting and wonderful that Jesus did for you and rose three days later?" She responded by saying very excitedly, "BUNNY!" Oh dear!! We might have a little more work to do in that area!! But she is only 2 years old after all. I know the Lord will work in her sweet, tender heart as the days go by. She already enjoys singing about Jesus all of the time! (Some of her favorites are Jesus Loves Me an The B-I-B-L-E.) After church, we went in the HORRIBLE weather (it was pouring cats and dogs!) to go eat with Weezie and Pops and then had an indoor egg hunt at their house. Once again- Abby Anne loved it...and this time I didn't feel the need to threaten or beat up any small children-since she was the only one hunting eggs!

Easter was wonderful. The Lord is so good...what a gift!! It truly is amazing...what He did for us on the cross!

"Night Night Babies!"

Abby Anne is quite the talker these days. She makes me laugh each day. She says some of the funniest things. She is starting to make the connection that maybe Mommy's belly is getting bigger for a reason. She knows the babies are in there, and she will talk to them from time to time. Last night, Abby Anne was sitting in my lap, and she patted my tummy and said, "Night Night Babies!" That was hilarious-but then she followed that up with, "You want an assy?" (FYI- assy is what she calls passy-as in pacifier!!- No Stephen has not taught her any bad words!! HAHA!) I very politely explained that the babies didn't need a passy yet- but maybe a little later they would need one!! See- she is already a good big sister, looking out after her baby brothers/sisters/both!!

She also said something else last night that was just hysterical! She pointed to the freckel on her leg and said, "Mommy, booger!!" I told her that wasn't a booger, but a cute little freckel! I love more than anything being a Mom to Abby Anne. Life has such meaning and joy...and laughter.

A DOUBLE BLESSING!!!!

Stephen, Abby Anne, and I are so excited to announce that we are expecting 2 BABIES!! That is right- TWINS!!!! We are still completely overwhelmed by the whole thing!!! We are so excited, though. As most of you know, we went through a hard time in October when we lost our baby. The Lord has now blessed us, doubly!! We went for our first doctor's visit today. I was so anxious to see that heartbeat since the last experience we had in an ultrasound room did not end the way we had planned. Not only did we see one healthy heartbeat...WE SAW TWO!! The first thing the ultrasound technician said to us was, "Guess what?" I honestly had no idea what she was about to say. Then she said, "There are two in there!!" I just smiled so big in disbelief! Stephen's mouth literally dropped to floor-where it still remains 12 hours later! I am not sure it has really sunk in yet. Stephen told me I need to let off some of my praying because the Lord is answering them double time!! haha! The ultrasound tech also had to label the babies baby A or baby B. She said the way they normally do this is by labeling the one on bottom A and the one on top B. Well- our babies were side by side...these two are already making things difficult!! I have a feeling this is just a small glimpse of how my life will be from now on....these twins in to everything TOGETHER!!! Oh my goodness!!! What are we going to do?!?! (Not to mention our Abby Anne!!!) I feel more blessed today than ever before. Please pray for a healthy pregnancy and for our two babies in what will soon be my BIG OLE BELLY!!!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above." James 1:17

Shud-uh, Mommy!

Well- if you haven't guessed already- the title of this post is Abby Anne's version of "Shut up, Mommy!" You got it- our sweet, innocent little angel has told Mommy to shud-uh! The first time we heard this come out of her mouth- Stephen and I were watching American Idol- and we, along with the people actually auditioning, were singing very loudly and very obnoxiously! Abby Anne yelled at the top of her lungs, "SHUD-UH!" Stephen and I instantly looked at each other and questioned whether she actually said what we thought she had said...she said it a few more times...but then we didn't hear it again until the following week, during American Idol! I once again, decided to sing in my loudest, most obnoxious voice. This time, Abby Anne looked up at me, smiled, and most politely said, "Shud-uh, Mommy!" I had to straighten my face, and tell Abby Anne that she could not say that! (It was very hard to keep a straight face!) And if you are wondering- NO! Stephen and I DO NOT USE THAT WORD IN OUR HOUSE!! I will not tell you who I think she learned it from- but I will say it was being said to a dog- not a person! (You know who you are- you can thank me later for keeping your identity confidential!! haha!)

Abby Anne says sweet things, too! I gave her her supper the other night and walked across the room to continue gathering everything up, and she reached out her hand and said, "Mommy, Pray!" It is amazing how I can learn a lesson from my 2 year old. Even she, at the age of 2, knows how important it is to thank the Lord for the things He has blessed us with. Let's just hope that is what sticks with her, and not SHUD-UH!!

Peppermint Candy Canes

On December 20th, Abby Anne made her debut in her first dance recital. She started taking dance at the ripe old age 2...actually a month before she turned 2!!! Abby Anne danced to "Peppermint Candy Canes." She did such a wonderful job. Her daddy, Weezie, Pops, Emmie, and I were all there to see her in the spotlight. The rest of the family was so sad they missed it, but everyone has watched the video time and time again. Abby Anne also enjoys watching the video, and each time it comes on, does the dance and sings the song all over again! We were so proud of her. Emmie gave her a bouqet of flowers after the recital....because every dancer deserves flowers after she performs!!! Abby Anne has turned into quite the little dancer- I was a little worried at first- but she loves it now! We can't wait to see her in her spring recital!

Christmas at Big Cedar Lodge

It has been brought to my attention that I need to post something or give up this whole blog thing...thank you Effie, for letting Molly know who let me know!!! haha!! Anyway- the first weekend of December, Stephen, Abby Anne and I made a trip to Big Cedar Lodge in Branson. This has become a Christmas tradition of ours. This year, Wendy, Ryan, and Aislynn joined us. We had such a great time. We hung out in our beautiful cabin and just relaxed. We also went on a carriage ride. The whole time all Abby Anne would say is. "WHOA!!!! WHOA!!" It was a beautiful ride that took us all around the resort. We also got our picture taken with Santa at the Landing. Abby Anne refused to sit on Santa's lap by herself- so the whole family had to...that's right!! THE WHOLE FAMILY SAT ON SANTA'S LAP!! What we will do for a good photo op! We plan on returning next year- with the Farrells- and perhaps inviting Emmie and Papa to go along, too!!! To spend some quality time with the grandkids!! (I know they are already looking forward to that peaceful, quiet weekend!!)