Asher Kerrigan

Our church community has a new addition!

Every Wednesday night, Zach and I meet with our church small group. I love that Living Hope is a church made up of small groups. In fact, a few nights ago, Zach and I were discussing how blessed we feel that God has given us this special group of 14-15 people. I don't know where we would be or how our marriage would be surviving without each and every one of these people. This group provides so much accountability, support, wisdom, and encouragement. We learn together, teach each other, and grow together.

That level of support played out this past Wednesday night. Early Wednesday morning, we all received word that Elyssa's water had broken. We immediately started sending out emails and making phone calls, quickly changing our routine Wednesday night plans- so that we could meet as a group in the Kerrigan's hospital room. When we arrived that night, Elyssa's contractions had just started and you could tell the anticipation was building. It was like most other small group nights- with everyone laughing and goofing off. The only difference was that every few minutes, we would stop so Elyssa could survive another contraction in quiet.

Within a few hours, Asher Kerrigan entered the world. Elyssa bravely gave birth with no drugs. There was not a doubt in our minds that she could do it. This morning, Elyssa and Asher are both healthy and happy. We couldn't be MORE thrilled!

I hope to have a picture of Asher up soon! In the meantime, here are a few pictures from Mandy's camera taken throughout the night.

Very Scary...

I woke up to this story this morning. This plane followed the same path we took on Saturday, from Istanbul to Amsterdam.

It's devastating for the lives lost, but amazing at the same time that more people were not killed. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this crash.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Zeke Says Hello To Memphis

I'm definitely much more of a photographer than a videographer. Luckily for me, though- I have a husband who is in love with his video feature on his Blackberry and happily takes up for my slack in that area.

Here's one of my favorites that he captured of sweet little Zeke during our trip. Hopefully, I'll be able to post a few more of his clips soon.

Istanbul Wrap-Up

We're just a few hours away from boarding our plane and heading back home. We've had such a good time and will miss Dan, Tami, Zeke and Kaiyah SO much, but it will also be great to see our family and friends again.

You can get all our final updates on my photography blog by clicking here.

Istanbul: Day 3

Today the sun came out a little bit and we were able to go around and tour some of Istanbul's most famous places.

But at the end of our active day, this was still my favorite picture. Tami took this of Zeke and me playing doctor. I was trying to fix his hurt finger. I love these kids!!

You can see a lot of today's pictures on my photography blog.

Istanbul: Day 1-2

Day 1


Day 2

Randomness

1. As long as I can remember, my Mom and Dad have always given me a Valentine gift of some sort. Today, they gave Zach and me our Valentine's Day surprise a little early! This picture was taken with my cell phone- so the quality isn't that great- but you can imagine how excited I was!!!!!!!!



2. Mandy finally posted her pictures from our Girl's Night this weekend. We all got together with Katie's new fire pit. We roasted hot dogs, marshmallows, and played Dance Dance Revolution (DDR as Anna refers to it) all night long. I'm constantly in awe of the support I have with these girls.

3. Zach and I are leaving tomorrow on our trip. I have a to do list staring at me right now with at least 30 things on it before I can leave. One of those things consisted of getting all my pictures edited from the weekend. I've finally posted those on my photography blog. You can check them out here.

4. My new addiction: Sugar-Free Vanilla Latte with Fat Free Milk from McDonald's AND Lipton's DIET Green Tea, Citrus Flavor (cold in the bottles). I'm in NO WAY a health nut. Seriously- in NO way. I love all things sugary, buttery, salty, and filled with fat. I sometimes think I could survive on nothing but meat, potatoes, and cheese. HOWEVER- I try to find some good healthy alternatives when I can. My health nut of a brother suggested the sugar-free, fat-free vanilla latte from McDonald's. I almost gagged at the thought- but surprisingly it is SOOO good. I have had to stop myself from getting one every single morning. In Tennessee, the small one is $2.50. Not Bad.

5. I'll have internet access from Turkey- so I'll be posting regularly, I'm sure.

In exactly 48 hours from now, Zach and I will be on an airplane, headed to see my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew.

I'm SO excited.

We'll be meeting up with them in Istanbul for the week. There is SO much we're dying to do and see. But most of all, we can't wait to see these faces!



In the meantime- here's a little special put together by The Today Show about Istanbul.

Zach's Day with Syd

On Friday, I woke up with the crud that's been going around. On Saturday, it got even worse. We were supposed to go visit Syd that day, and Zach thought it would be a good idea for me to stay home. I took him up on his offer and stayed in bed until almost noon. I spent the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing, besides sleeping here and there. I'm trying to get myself better before my big trip this weekend (which I'll be blogging about later).

Also- I think it's good for Zach and Syd to be able to spend some time alone, anyway.

Zach took a few pictures of Syd during their day together. These are SOOO her! She's such a goofball- I LOVE IT!

It feels like these past few weeks, I've needed a weekend to recover from my weekends. This weekend, I had 5 photo shoots (2 of which were out of town), a party in Nashville for one of my best friends, and a superbowl party with friends.

Because I was completely wiped out and exhausted by photo shoots, I did NOT do a good job of taking pictures this weekend. I did, however, steal a few off of Martha Jo's facebook page of Jessica and Josh's fiesta in Nashville. Jess and Josh are getting married in March, and in their honor, a few of Jess's college friends threw them a couple's fiesta. They're such a cute couple!! I'm literally counting down the days until their wedding!

I LOVE to sing, but I am absolutely HORRIBLE at it. Insanely horrible. So bad, in fact, that when it comes to worshiping and lifting our voices to God, I often wonder if God means "everyone but you, Elizabeth." I'm kidding, of course, but I am THAT bad. My inability to sing or do anything that requires vocals or tone has always been a subject for entertainment for my family. I remember my brother Fred, standing in the kitchen with me once, saying "Ok- Elizabeth- you can do it... just sing after me." We stood there for about half an hour, as he tried to get me to follow the notes, but for some reason, I was physically unable to do it.

I've always said that coming from a large family keeps me grounded. My brother, Dan, recently filled out one of those "25 things about me" on Facebook. This was his number 11.

11. On American Idol last week, there was a really really awkward moment with this girl who was voted funniest person in her high school, and Kara, the new judge, thought she was trying to make a joke out of the audition. When I think of it now, it still almost makes me sick to my stomach on her behalf. I think mostly because she kind of reminded me of my sister, Elizabeth.

I haven't been following Idol much, yet, so I had no clue what he was talking about. I look it up and found this.



Lovely...

This also makes me think of another time. My family and I all went to see a movie years ago. When one of the scenes started, I quickly noticed EVERY member of my family snickering, trying to hold their laughter in. The more the scene went on- the harder they laughed, glancing over at me with an "I'm sorry, but can you honestly say this doesn't sound like you?" kind of glance. I'm sure you all remember the scene.

We're Back...

We're back from California! I've posted all the details on my photography blog. You can also check out Anne-Camille's blog and Jamie's blog for more pictures as well. It was an extremely quick- but motivational trip. I'm SO excited for 2009!

But right now, I'm just happy to be home, in my sweat pants and curled up with my husband. It's nice to be home!

More to Come...

4 hours and counting...

Until our plane takes off for Costa Mesa, CA!



I'll be spending the weekend with these crazy girls as we get some one-on-one advice from the talented Drew Bittel.

Jamie and Anne-Camille are on their way to Memphis right now! I'm SO excited!!

You can read more about our trip here.

JAREN, WE'LL MISS YOU!!!!!

5 Years

I cannot believe it has been five years since our first date. I have a lot of completely gross and PDA-ish things to stay, but I guess I'll refrain right now out of respect for my blogging friends.

Just know that I love you so much and am happier now than I ever could have imagined 5 years ago!

(2004)


(2009)