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)