Two of a Kind...Workn' on a Full House: September 2011

1 Samuel 1:27-28

"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.

Matthew and I had serious talks about if we were going to have Isabella baptized or not. I grew up with the understanding that children are baptized as babies and devoted to the Lord by their parents. Matthew grew up with the understanding that children are dedicated to Christ and at a later date the child will decide to dedicate themselves to the Lord with a baptism. After many discussions with our Preacher (who also married us), each other, and hours of prayer we decided that we wanted Isabella to live her childhood led by the Lord. If when she is older and chooses otherwise that is for her to decide. We feel this is what was best for our family and I am not trying to say it is right or wrong for any other family.

On September 25, 2011 Isabella Faye was baptized at the same church Matthew and I were married in. It was very special to us. You were dressed in a very simple white dress that Grammy bough you, with white socks, and an embroidered bib. We were surrounded by our family and friends. You did well in church (something that has not been easy for you since you were in my belly) and even slept after you were baptized. Thankfully Uncle Bryan took pictures because I was a little flustered (but atleast we made it to church on time).

Pictures From Our Special Day

Isabella we have dedicated you to Christ. We will do our best to guide you and lead you through life holding the Lord in our hearts. We are proud of you and love you very much.

In August of 2010 I was a mess. I was getting very impatient with the entire process of conceiving. I had miscarraiges, taken hormones, taken other meds for other reasons. Every bump in the road I felt was possible had happened. Any women with hormone issues knows the ups and downs. Any couple with problems conceiving knows the highs but mainly lows. And Matthew was sure I had almost hit my breaking point. My birthday was fast approaching last year and he was bound and determined as always to make my birthday special and of course he did. But my melt down happened the day after my birthday. Tears, sobbing, sniffles the whole SHABANG! I just wept to Matthew and told him that all I wanted for my birthday was a baby. I didn't care about any gifts. I knew that God had the only gift my heart really honestly and truely wanted. Little did I know that in August of 2010 He (and Matthew) gave me the best gift I could ever ask for, Isabella Faye! So now in 2011 we get to spend our birthday with you.

This is my birthday gift this year. Balloons (I love balloons) and cute little Isabella!

Of course Matthew and I both celebrated another year of being older we did other exciting things this month.

We took our first vacation as a family!!

We used Great-grandma Mary's timeshare again this year and hopped to one of our favorite destinations, Daytona Beach, FL. Matthew and I have been there three times together. It is getting a little run down and we are probably going to change beaches next year, but it was still good to get away. Another exciting part of our trip was meeting Andrew and getting to spend a few days with him. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip:

This is Andrew flying his kite. It was a major attraction for everyone on the beach. He flew it up above some high rise apartments.

This was the view of the sunrise from our balcony. I definately could've gotten used to this.

You spent a lot of time in your stroller. It was fine with you because you wanted to watch EVERYTHING that was happening. However, it did put your cheaks available for squeezing by the old people at the resort.

The happiest place for you on vacation.

Daddy shaded you while you played in the sand and let the waves roll in on you. You weren't too sure of the waves but didn't want to stop playing.

This picture says enough.

Our family vacation 2011

Another very exciting thing that happened was Matthew's fraternity brother got married! (Finally) Kelly Houston & Michael Foster got married 09/04/2011. It is hard for us to attend many functions because of Matthew's work schedule and now having Isabella, but we are SO glad that it worked out for us. It was beautiful. The wedding was being held just down the road from Matthew's Aunt Janice so we were able to attend the wedding and Isabella could stay with Nana and Aunt Janice. However, Isabella did make an appearance at the wedding. She gave Kelly a run for her money on best dressed though. Congrats Michael & Kelly! We are so happy for you two!