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!!)