Merry Christmas... Part 4

Okay, so this is the last one... I promise!  One of the miracles that unraveled at our Christmas celebration this year was that my Nana got her class ring back after it had been missing for 25-30 years!  Apparently, when my biological mom and dad were "dating" (they were only like 14-16 at the time) my mom had given it to him.  Recently, while going through some things in his attic, he stumbled across it, and was able to mail it to me so that I could return it to her this Christmas.  She was so thrilled.  It was something she had always talked about when I was growing up about how she wished she had it- especially when Lyndsey and I ordered our class rings.  So, now she has it back!

Nana's class ring- Valley View High School, Class of 1961

Cousin Sydney, a freshman at Univ of Alabama, wanted "meat money" for Christmas so that she wouldn't have to eat in the Cafeteria all the time!

Deven Shea loved her Peek-A-Blocks from Aunt Z (Lyndsey)

In closing, I hope everyone has not gotten overwhelmed with the magnitute of the 4 part saga of Christmas celebrations at the Isbell House!  I hope you all had a blessed new year and are as excited as I am about 2009!  Love and God Bless!

Merry Christmas Part 3

So I may have drug the Christmas celebrations out a little too long, but this was Deven Shea's first one, so there was lots of fun moments to capture and share!  The second part of our Christmas Journey was coming back to Jonesboro and spending time with my side of the family on the day after Christmas.  We went to my Papa Stark's on Christmas night and had dinner and then had brunch and spent the day at my Nana's on the 26th.  It was so much fun.  

Here are some more pictures!

Deven ready to hit the road again!

Deven and her Nana

Deven opening her "laptop" from Mommy and Daddy

Cousin Abby reading the Christmas story, which I have to say was the most hysterical reading of Luke 2 I have ever heard.  When she got to the verse that talked about how on the 8th day Mary and Joseph took Jesus to be circumsised, she mispronounced the word and after stumbling around a bit, she said, "crucified" and my Papa the Rascal (he's there in the background) piped uo and said, "same thing!" it might have been one of those "ya had to be there" moments, but it had us all laughing til we cried.  Too funny!  Ahh.. Memories!

Christmas... Part 2... Mashed Potato Mess

Okay, so Christmas lunch was over and most of the food was gone.  Deven ate so good- lots of veggies and turkey, but made a big mess in the process so we stripped her down to her diaper and the following video is what transpired as Mommy sat her on the kitchen table.

Here are a few pictures of the aftermath:

Somehow we both ended up with mashed potatoes on our faces!

Belated Merry Christmas Everyone! Part 1

Well, with all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I am a little late getting our Christmas pictures up.  Deven did not rip into presents as I had hoped, but she still had fun with all her new toys.  Tyler and I think we had said "No, No, No" to her a few too many times to keep her curious little hands out of the presents, that when it was finally time to open them, she thought, "I don't know about this!"  After a few presents, she was kinda overwhelmed so we even saved a few for the day after Christmas.  We had a great time though traveling to Charleston, MO to see Tyler's family and then spending the 26th at my Nana's and Papa's here in Jonesboro.  My favorite Christmas present was my clean house courtesy of my Mom who came to clean it after we left for MO.  Talk about a blessing.  That was the best.  Anyway, here are a few pictures of all the festivities:

Deven and Uncle Walker with her "big" present, a "Little People" nativity set.

Deven with her V-Smile from Nonni and Pop

Daddy and Deven opening presents

Fall Fun... A little (ok a lot) late

A few months ago, I thought my memory card on my camera was messed up. Turns out I had just saved the pictures/video on the internal memory instead of on the memory card. These were all taken late Oct/ Early November, but I thought I would share them anyway!

Deven after she finished eating lunch one day.  Watch her little lips at the end.  So cute!

  Deven sitting up in the high chair at Chickfil A like a big girl!

 Her playing with the baloon they brought her, after she pulled her headband out.  Sarah, how in the world do you get Lydia to keep her's in?  It is a constant battle with Deven!

I am going to try to post Christmas pictures and a pre-Christmas peek at all Deven's gifts.  We had so much fun picking them out this year.  I think it was more fun in the toy asiles picking them out than it ever was peeking under the tree Christmas morning!  I spread them all out when we got home just to see what her spread would look like Christmas morning!  So fun!

Meal Plan Monday

I am getting a jump start on my New Year's resolution this year- better meal planning and more meals at home. I feel like I have really gotten out of the habit of cooking and my husband and I both have the waistlines (or lack thereof) to prove it. I have been inspired by the ladies over at Grocery Cart Challenge she feeds a family of six on $60.00 per week!
I am going to try to use less processed foods in the coming year, but for the first few weeks, until I use up what we have and slowly replace it with healthier choices, you may see processed items on the list. Plus, we are big hamburger helper fans around here, so I am sure it will make its appearance here and there to. I am going to try and stick to a grocery (food items only) budget of $20.00 per week as I go shopping. We are pretty frugal and eat with family a few times a week, and eat out on occaison, so this should not be too diffucult.

Here is the plan for this week:

Monday
Lunch: Leftover chicken strips and broccoli cheese rice
Dinner: Chicken tortilla soup with tortilla chips

Tuesday
Lunch: Corn dogs
Dinner: With family

Wednesday
Lunch: Pizza Knots from an Auntie Ann's fundraiser
Dinner: Deersteak and Rice

Thursday
Lunch: Lunch date with Luke and Donna Moore (We are going to Ruby Tuesdays, one of our favorite places. They recently delivered coupons for $10.00 your total ticket, which means that Tyler and I can both eat, frugally, for around $12-15 dollars. That's exciting!)
Dinner: Breakfast for dinner, including sausage, biscuits, gravy, and eggs for four people as the Bennett's are coming over that night!

Friday
Lunch: Chili and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Dinner: Philly Cheesesteak Hamburger Helper

Saturday
Lunch: Pancakes and Bacon
Dinner: Hashbrown Potato Soup

Sunday
Lunch: With Family
Dinner: Out to eat

Grocery List
3lbs of cheap hamburger meat, plan to use rinse method found here
Milk
Bacon
Bread

I have everything else on hand. Not bad at all!

Okay, so there you have it, my first Meal Plan Monday Post!

Turkey Time... and Deven's first ear infection

Well, Tyler and I have been on "Fall Break" this week, but it has really felt like no break at all. The both of us has been swamped with school projects and worse of all, our sweet baby girl has been sick. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Tyler worked full days on campus and then on Thursday we had lunch at Papa Starks (my 92 year old grandpa's). It seems the crowd gets smaller every year. It was particularly sad this year because his health has really gone down hill a ton in the last year. He didn't really interact with anyone that was there too much, just ate and slept in his recliner, bless his heart. That evening, we had dinner with Pat and Justin Register and Justin's Mom and Dad, who were visiting from Alabama. It was a nice change of pace and it was good to see them.

On Friday I worked a split shift in The Children's Place in the mall. 6am-11am and then 5pm-10pm. I did manage to squeeze in a lunch date with my Aunt Pam, Uncle Bill, their two girls and Uncle Rob and Aunt Rhonda and their daughter as well as my Nana, Papa Rascal, and my sister Lyndsey. We ate at Mazzio's pizza which seems like no big deal to most people, but my Nana and Papa probably eat out once a year and it's almost always at Coltons so for them to go to a pizza place is one of the most unlikely things ever. On Saturday, we made the trip from Jonesboro to Hardy to visit with some of Tyler's dad's family. They have a "family house" up there just across the highway from the Spring River. It is honestly one of my favorite places to go. It is not much to look at, just an old house with a wood burning stove and not even air conditioning, but I know when I am there with family there is nowhere else I would rather be. Here are some pictures from the day:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

On Sunday morning during church Deven began to get extremely fussy and her fever spiked at a 103.5 at Nana's that afternoon. She refused to eat and just screamed constantly. Sunday night and all day to today was pretty much no better. She didn't want to eat, sleep or anything- just be held. The Lord was faithful and the only opening her clinic had open for the afternoon was with her pediatrician. Come to find out she has an ear infection in her left ear. We have her on ear drops, antibiotics, and Tylenol now so hopefully she will feel better soon. I know her daddy and I both are glad she is sleeping tonight!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and if you're like me, you can hardly wait until Christmas!

BREAKING NEWS FROM THE ISBELL HOUSE!

Well, maybe not so "breaking" but we are finally filling everyone in on what we've known for awhile...

WE ARE EXPECTING!

We are so thrilled to be eleven weeks pregnant!  I am due on June 23, 2008.  We go to the doctor again on Monday November 24.  

We are excited to be parents again and Deven is excited (we hope) to be a big sister. Tyler and I would love to have a whole house full, so I guess we are on our way! 

Please pray that we will have a healthy, happy nine months and more importantly that we can survive and thrive with two under two!  We are excited and nervous all over again, but that just comes with the territory.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving planned.  We are going to be staying in Jonesboro and hanging out with my family this year. But on Saturday we are going to Hardy to see Tyler's family on his dad's side.  Hopefully I can get lots of fun pictures!

It's incredible how much changes in a month....

When you have a baby at home!!

I cannot believe some how I have not posted an update in almost a month. Deven is getting so stinkin big. She weighs in at 18lbs and is 281/2 inches long. She has really gotten taller, I guess you would say, in the last few weeks. She is crawling all over the place and is getting really fast. It is so funny to watch her. Tyler and I tease and say we are going to make her sponges with rubber bands on them and put them on her hands and knees because even though the floors look clean, her little knees get dirty when she crawls around. I guess that's part of the problem of having an apartment with almost zero carpet! Oh well, not much we can do about that I suppose.

She is clapping, laughing out loud and her two top teeth are almost in... that would bring the count to four! She is eating all kinds of things including Cheerios, fruit loops... when her daddy sneaks them to her, crackers and lots of yummy baby food, of course. She also loves to feed herself and is getting really good with that too. We are also working on the sippy cup. Some days she will do fine with it and other days she will act like she doesn't know what to do with it. Weird.

She was a flower for Halloween and it was so cute. Tyler and I were a doctor and a nurse. Here are some pictures from our church Fall Festival.





Tyler and I are staying busy with school and so glad to see the finish line in sight. I have two more weeks with my internship in West Memphis and then I am done until January. Then, I will be interning in Jonesboro next semester, so I am excited about that. But all in all we are counting down the days til May 9th.

Pumpkin Hollow 2008

Our trip to Chick Fil A last week for pumpkin pictures was a big bummer, so we decided to go to Pumpkin Hollow with the church last Saturday. Deven had so much fun with the pumpkins and she especially loved the petting zoo. She is getting to be so much fun and we love watching her experience new things.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Busy Weekend!

This weekend proved to be yet another busy one at our house. Deven got to spend some time with her Nana Friday night while Tyler and I both worked late. It is pretty crazy trying to balance our schedules, and I am so thankful we have family and friends around to help. Tyler is working two jobs right now and going to school full time and I am doing my internship with the Divison of Child and Family Services in West Memphis and taking 18 hours for school- add a busy seven month old to the mix and you can see why we always look tired!

Saturday, though, we mingled family and school and Tyler and Deven participated in the Buddy Walk for Down Syndrome with me and some of my friends from the Social Work Student Organization. The walk was a huge success and raised lots of money. Tyler and I pushed Deven in her stroller and she loved watching all the people. The Chick-Fil-A cow was there, and she really did not know what to think about that.

The Three of us at the Buddy Walk

For more pictures from the Buddy Walk, visit this site

Saturday evening we had a sleepover of sorts because I was babysitting two little girls that I know through the people I nannied for last year. They are 4 and 6 and since Tyler was working, they along with Deven kept me so busy. I thought I would never get them all to sleep. But, it worked out and provided some MUCH needed extra income. Finances have been quite the challenge lately with me driving so much to West Memphis and gas prices the way they are. I know they could be worse, but I still cringe every time I fill up! I am really hoping I can go to Greene County next semester, at least that would be a full hour off my round-trip commute each day.

This morning Deven woke up at six and just wanted to be held. I am trying not to give in so much, so I tried to let her cry it out, hoping she would go back to sleep. No such luck. After almost an hour of constant crying, I decided there was no hope and went and fixed her breakfast and she was content after that. Tabitha watched her for a few hours today so I could work on school work uninterrupted while Tyler worked. My aunt, who normally keeps her through the week, is on vacation this week, so I am having to make provisions as I go.

We are going to the Pumpkin Patch at Chick-Fil-A tomorrow night- so stay tuned for pictures!

Can I post twice on the same day?

I was going to type more on the last post, but thought the pictures at the end took up too much space. So, I'll post again. Deven's reflux has been awful this week, so I finally took her to the doctor on Thursday morning. They changed her medications from Axcid to Prevacid and upped her Reglan to 1.5 ml. Hopefully, we will see progress with this. Her pediatrician said that we will schedule another Upper GI if she is not signifigantly better in two weeks. Please pray with me that the new meds will work. I dont think the Upper GI will go as well, now at 7 months, as it did at 3 weeks. She cried the whole time then, but now she can cry and say "Mamamama" and make me feel even worse. Friday night she spent the night with my Nana because Tyler and I had to work. I cried so much because I missed her so. The seperation anxiety is really kicking in for both of us. I can't hardly walk out of the anymore without her crying for me.

She really has changed so much in the last week or so. She has started to say "MaMaMa" instead of just "Dadada." Also, she seems likes she recognizes her name now. And, she is has eating all kinds of big girl baby foods and loves her sippy cup, even though she spills it everywhere. She can't suck hard enough for the no-spill ones just yet. She is a ten-to-twelve hour a night sleeper and her Daddy and I could not be happier about that =)

We are still working on crawling, but she gets around mostly by army crawling or rolling. She sits up on her own very well and loves to stand holding on to something. She is very into her Praise Baby DVDs and still loves to play in her exersaucer. We are also working on baby signing and I swear I have seen her do hi/bye at appropriate times and "milk" once while I was making a bottle. I hope so. I have been trying so hard to teach them to her. They are so neat.



We also got a great picture of her in the sink for a bath the other day, so here it is:




My Sweet Deven Shea, 7 months old!

Last Saturday, Deven was in her first pageant. It was the Baby Miss Heartland of the South, a Sunday dress pageant in Paragould at the Collins Theatre. It was a small pageant, only a few girls in her division. In the 8-10 year olds, there was only one girl. Guess she won, huh? Anyway, Deven spit up on her dress right before we walked out. On cue, as soon as I took off her bib. Imagine- my child spitting up. Anyway, she got Most Photogenic and 2nd Alternate in her division. They took a picture for The Paragould Daily Press and I tried to find a copy on Sunday, but couldn't. Sad day. I don't know how often we will do pageants, but I liked them when I was a little girl and as long as she is having fun and we aren't spending too much money, I hope they will be something we can do together for a long time. Here are some pictures from the big day!

Me carrying Deven out.

Her Most Photogenic Photo

A fun week

Last Saturday, Deven was in her first pageant. It was the Baby Miss Heartland of the South, a Sunday dress pageant in Paragould at the Collins Theatre. It was a small pageant, only a few girls in her division. In the 8-10 year olds, there was only one girl. Guess she won, huh? Anyway, Deven spit up on her dress right before we walked out. On cue, as soon as I took off her bib. Imagine- my child spitting up. Anyway, she got Most Photogenic and 2nd Alternate in her division. They took a picture for The Paragould Daily Press and I tried to find a copy on Sunday, but couldn't. Sad day. I don't know how often we will do pageants, but I liked them when I was a little girl and as long as she is having fun and we aren't spending too much money, I hope they will be something we can do together for a long time. Here are some pictures from the big day!

Here we go again!

Ok, so obviously I am not very good at this whole blogging thing, but I am really going to try to keep this thing updated from here on out. My goal is at least one post per week. I think it will be so neat to have our daily lives captured on our little slice of the world wide web, but I have got to make it a priority for that to happen!

Anyway, to give you all an update, Deven is now seven months old. She is the happiest baby, ever- I promise. She is all smiles and giggles 99% of the time. She loves to eat- sweet potatoes are by far her favorite, sing along with her daddy in the car and play in her exersaucer.

Tyler and I are super busy taking care of her and meeting the demands of our senior years of college. The semester is going by at a rapid rate, though and this season of our lives will soon be over. Sometimes, I can't wait.... other times, I am content with it.

Tomorrow, we are going to celebrate Tyler's brother Walker's 14th birthday and I will be sure to post some recent pictures from the celebration dinner. Rumor has it he is getting a Wii... I know he will be super psyched about that.

Well, I think I am going to go ahead and hit the sack... I have an eight o'clock class tomorrow and it isn't getting any earlier!

Our first post!

I have been asked by several family members since Deven arrived if we had a blog. Well, now we do. Just to give everyone an update, Deven Shea Isbell arrived via cesarean section on Friday February 22, 2008 at 8:33 am. She has auburn colored hair and blue eyes. She weighed 7lbs 1.5 oz and was 19 inches long. Here is one of our first family photos.