The month of May via my facebook status updates

• Erin Branham stocked up on formula and diapers today. (Not gonna lie breaking news on swine flu made me nervous. I’m over it now and have a month’s worth of formula and diapers to show for it.)
• Erin Branham loves my family. They're so sweet and lovable with their big chubby cheeks!
• Erin Branham pink eye
• Erin Branham I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!
• Erin Branham I always love my husband... but today I am especially fond of him. I came home from having fun at a baby shower to find that He CLEANED THE GARAGE!
• Erin Branham the Installation service last night was AMAZING! ONE SERVICE... we had ONE SERVICE!
• Erin Branham accidentally sent out my timesheet to our entire staff today. AWESOME JOB ERIN!
• Erin Branham going to starbucks with some lovely ladies to event plan tonight... kind of like girl's night.
• Erin Branham Has no need to watch reality tv...thanks to status updates I already know who got voted off of EVERYTHING!
• Erin Branham doesn't like American Idol, and I really don't like status updates about it.
• Erin Branham happy day- Bellie is napping, my house is nearly clean, I have 3 new pairs of shoes, and I may even get in a nap! Oh, and I don't have to go to the Ridge but ONCE this weekend!
• Erin Branham Jimmy took Isabelley and I on a date. She loved the water fountain and we loved watching her discover something new.
• Erin Branham what an interesting day- we went to the mall and Bellie gagged herself and then puked everywhere... then she whined when I tried to walk away from a TV playing a rap video... then she squealed and yelled at the fountain...Finally we took her to a picnic where she made a serious fashion statement and tried to eat another baby's foot. Only my kid.
• Erin Branham Isabelley is stinky today. I guess going without a bath the last two nights will do that.
• Erin Branham had a nice nap and a family walk this afternoon. I love Sundays.
• Erin Branham about to go to bed at Mimi's. I brought Bellie to see her familia and watch her cousin graduate tomorrow.
• Erin Branham Isabelley dragged herself forward just a tad today (army crawl style) I don't think I can call it crawling, but it was better than going backwards!
• Erin Branham is watching music videos with Bellie.
• Erin Branham hoping for sunshine tomorrow!
• Erin Branham We had sunshine JUST long enough for a fun time at the pool!
• Erin Branham is watching the 4th movie this weekend... such a nice relaxing weekend!
• Erin Branham Thanks to Bobbi & Nicole I have been inspired to plan my meals for the week: Mon- take out pizza, Tuesday- a chocolate chip cookie and hardboiled egg (Jimmy's at a mtg), Wednesday- Cereal/eggs, Thursday- something quick on our way up to West Palm, Friday- another meal on the road on our way to VACATION! Ah, another week of being a domestic goddess!
• Erin Branham thinks Isabelley might be sick. My poor baby!
• Erin Branham is STILL waiting for my husband to get home from a deacon mtg. What the heck- 3 1/2 hours long!
• Erin Branham Isabelley is FINALLY sleeping. Her afternoon nap has been a nightmare today!
• Erin Branham is baking- That's right I'm in the kitchen. The peer pressure got to me. I'm now making two things of Amish Bread. Not gonna lie I'm not feeling it. It's called friendship bread cause you can share a "starter" with someone elsebut it's kinda like saying "Here have some work. You can spend a few hours in the kitchen, & your husband can make 2 trips to the grocery in one night!" So... anyone want a starter?

Why I haven't posted in oh a month or so...

I've been busy with my girl! Look how little Isabelley has grown:

a few days old-


8 months later-

What Happens in Naples Stays in Naples...

The retreat was fantastic... needless to say I missed Isabelle but I had too much fun to be sad about it, and actually I missed Jimmy more! My post title was actually announced by our retreat leader (I'm pretty sure it had to do with an expenditure she made while there ;) and it was very fitting.

Here are my top 5 memories that I'm allowed to reveal:

1. Late night talking which led to a split contest and cheering in our room. (I roomed with our pastor's wife, our music pastor's wife, and another deacon's wife. We are so mature.)
   
2. An impromptu photo session at the beach. America's Next Top Model has nothing on us.
   
3. Our mandatory hour of quiet time (bible and praying kind of quiet time).
   
4. Getting pulled over on our way back from dinner- yes I was driving, yes our pastor's wife was in the car with me, yes she took our my bible and placed it so the cop could see it, yes our music pastor's wife was in the back seat, yes she was prodding me to try and cry, no I didn't get a ticket for the illegal left turn that I made.
5. Time with my friends, learning together and from each other. They are amazing women.
   

I'm Leaving!

Tomorrow will be the first time that I leave Isabelle for an overnight trip. I'm SO looking forward to going, but I'm a little nervous about leaving her. To try to prepare Jimmy I have been telling him for weeks now, "Now, when I'm gone, don't forget to..." He's probably ready to tell me to shut up already, but he's kindly refrained.

Where am I going, you ask? Naples for a women's retreat. It was already planned for New City, and so I'm looking forward to spending time with my sisters (mostly New City women, but a few Ridgers too) and hearing some great teaching. Oh and did I mention sitting by the pool without the baby whining for my attention?

I'm SO hoping that I will be able to focus on being there and not be thinking of Jimmy and Bellie constantly. Don't get me wrong I want to miss them, but there have been times since she's born when I leave her with a babysitter and feel anxious the entire time I'm gone. It's terrible. Actually, come to think of it, during most of my life I have not been "in the moment." I constantly think of what's next or what was etc. I wish that I was wiser and had enjoyed each phase of life more instead of longing for the next step. (Maybe I should title this post "Patience: My Lack of It".)

So today, I'm working on preparing Isabelle and all the baby paraphernalia she needs while I'm gone, as well as packing and wrapping up any last minute registration stuff for the retreat. The more prepared I feel the better I am able to enjoy time away from her. So, I've set up a bag of clothes and diapers for each day and instructions for each day and so on... Jimmy is either going to be very thankful or annoyed with my obsessiveness.

In other news, we've now worshiped as one church for two Sundays. It feels like it has been FAR longer which is making me impatient. I'm impatient to be more united, I'm impatient to get settled into my position there, I'm impatient for Isabelle to get more adjusted to being in the nursery there, etc! And I feel like in some ways it is going to take a miracle to get our church united under one vision. Jimmy has told me that I need to just be patient, and that our God IS a miracle worker so we ought to be praying fervently. UGH I hate it when he's right.

That's all my rambling thoughts for now. See you when I get back.

Random Info

Bellie just started babbling and saying "dada" and "mama"- although she seems to have no idea what they mean. How come then she says "dada" when she's happy and "mama" when she's crying? Little punk!

News from Casa de Branham

Nothing too exciting but I don't have time to write much but a list:

1. We had the BEST Easter. Service was unbelievable- 5600 people attended. The sermon was great, and people seemed so excited. Most importantly God was glorified. And then Bellie was an angel all day and we got to see our family!
   
2. I'm working night and day getting everything ready for our women's retreat next week! So excited for it, but a little nervous to leave Bellie for 2 1/2 days! (Okay a lot nervous but I'm trying not to think about it.)
3. Yesterday was my first day in the office at the Ridge, and Bellie's first time in the nursery during a workday. It didn't exactly go as planned. I was totally overwhelmed, and she decided not to nap. UGH
4. Tomorrow we try again. Please God, let it go better!
5. I chopped off my hair! It's now a little darker and shoulder length. I love it!
6. And here's a couple of Easter pics:

Thoughts from "the Doggett'

Happy Holy Week... we're having our first joint worship service this Sunday. I'm very much looking forward to it. (Oh, and the staff meeting went wonderfully on Tuesday. Our pastors rocked it, and people were taking their ties off mid-meeting.)

There have been several things that I've read lately that have just been so spot on where I am right now, I just have to share them.

We've been going through a marriage book in our bible study, and so I've been doing a Daily Word devotional focused on marriage to complement it. Then I started reading Unfashionable, our pastor's new book. God's timing is so perfect- just as we're merging/marrying our two churches I am studying both marriage and what the church should look like.

So, here are my favorite thoughts from this week:

• "A husband and wife who keep using a magnifying glass on each other's faults will soon find their love being burned up...We're to love each other deeply... one commentator calls this 'strenuous' love." (Daily Word based on I Peter 4) I was so convicted because I am SO quick to see the things Jimmy forgets to do, or to see the flaws and problems with the Ridgers. As if I'm perfect!
• In Unfashionable, I loved a section that discussed tribalism and segregation in the church. Tullian talks about how we often unintentionally segregate based on music preferences or age. "It's a declaration of doubt about the unifying power of God's gospel." (p. 100, Unfashionable) WOW. That stings because I can see how often I would rather stick to what I like, and attend worship with people like me who like the same things. I have been thinking all along that Coral Ridge has all these petty problems that we are inheriting- like music style. Maybe I need this merger just as much as they do though because here I have been comfortable sitting in my seat on Sunday with music I like and people who look like me.
• And my favorite thought of the week, from Jim Doggett summarized (aka the Doggett thanks to Kim): "I think the most beautiful sounding worship to God is when we sing a song in a style that we may not like because we know that our brother standing next to us has an easier time worshipping in that style. God must just love that!" What a picture of the sacrfice that we are to make, and the benefit that we reap because of it. God is glorified when we lay down our preferences and differences! And we see God more clearly because of it.

Now, if I can only live a little more like I read these things. I am begging God to make me a better more sacrificial wife, a wiser more insightful mother, and a kinder more loving coworker.

My Little Isabelley Button

The Button had a checkup today at the doctor, and she is 15 pounds- double what she weighed when she was born. She's growing up.

Nothing remarkable happened at our appointment, but I do think it's worth mentioning that the doctor thinks she's both very cute and very smart. And since she sees a lot of kids, I'm gonna consider her opinion with some weight! Here are Bellie's latest:

• She sits up- although she balances herself on her hands like King Kong.
• She no longer cries herself to sleep at night- she now yells. That's right my child doesn't coo, she squeels and hollers.
  
• She sometimes gets an eyelash stuck in the outer crease of her eye causing it to get swollen. The crease is similar to an Asian person's eye, but Isabelle's is there because she has such fat cheeks.
• She loves the pool.
• She has grown out of a bunch of clothes, which makes me sad and makes me certain that God is going to give me another girl next.
• She thinks Jimmy's parents dog is HILARIOUS. (I missed it but apparently she was laughing a lot the other night at him.) Figures. I hate dogs.
• She mimics things we do like waving, and she LOVES when Jimmy mimics the noises she makes. It's very clear that she knows he's playing with her because she makes a noise, and then waits for him to repeat and smiles. Then she changes her tone for the next noise and repeats. So darn cute!
• She frequently wakes up in the early morning (5/6am) and plays for a while in her crib and then goes back to sleep. It's fine with me- I refuse to go in before 7:30 and many mornings I don't even hear her because I shut both our doors.
  
• She still let's her head droop a little most of the time. I'm certain it's because her cheeks are so heavy. Jimmy joked the other day that she's going to walk down the aisle at her wedding with her head hung because of those cheeks. My poor chubber!
  
• She is my sweet little angel baby- so happy and silly!

Can't wait to see what's next- although I am not looking forward to teething!

Farewell to Monarch

Tomorrow is our first joint staff meeting with the Ridgers and the New City staff... although I guess we're all Ridgers now! I'm a little nervous, and a little sad. I will very much miss our old staff meetings, and I'm nervous to see how different the atmosphere will be.

I have to admit that I'm exhausted already. Not only do we have a job to do that is completely different from what we've been doing because of the merging (you know, that whole event coordinater position) but we're also trying to build trust and friendships with the other staffers and with the congregation as a whole. It's overwhelming. I'm not sure who decided I was qualified for this, but into the deep end I plunge!

Thank goodness for my husband encouraging me, and guiding me AND for preaching like we heard yesterday. The sermon entitled Triumph through Defeat was incredible and convicting for our last week at Monarch. Tullian spoke strongly about living out the gospel, reminding us all that God never uses people who prefer safety over sacrifice.(Jimmy helped with that summary thanks to his notes that he took on his blackberry. Side note it's INCREDIBLY embarrassing when he takes notes on his blackberry because I'm sure that the people around us think he's texting or something.)

So, I'm writing this mostly to remind myself what to focus on tomorrow... Our staff has been called to out love one another, and to live out the gospel. For me that means listening to my coworkers and encouraging them whenever I get an opportunity, and discerning when to stay strong because the issue involves minsitry philosophy and truth, and when to sacrifice my personal preference. And all that has to happen with patience and love.

I told Jimmy yesterday that my good friend and coworker Becky Dietz has been such a good example for me. She leads others by making sure to never micro-manage. When there is conflict, rather than harsh correction she points back to the guiding principles and asks if our decisions fit. Oh yeah, and she's funny too.

So here's hoping that I show even an ounce of the gospel to my neighbors tomorrow. My heart is desperate to make the Ridge our new home, and to be an agent of transformation in my little spot.