Sometimes you just gotta stop and dance! =)

We just finished lunch and decided it was a perfect time to crank the music and practice our dance moves! =) Bella enjoyed lunch in her pj's, tu-tu and ballet slippers......so please excuse the cheese still on her face!

Our tender-hearted little missionary =)

After returning from my morning run yesterday Jer shared this picture with me.....

Isabella saw this commercial come on TV about poor, hungry orphans.....and she immediately went over and started feeding them her cheerios while saying, "baby...baby!...baby?....baby."

Just a cute little picture to share with ya'll......though I was convicted when I saw it. How often do we offer the most precious possession that we so love and treasure to give to those in need? Let me tell you, cheerios are Bella's prized possession at this stage in her life. Her sweet, tender heart wanted more than anything to help feed that little sick baby. Just another sweet mommy moment that the Lord used to teach ME! =)

Photo Shoot with Ga-Ga and She-She!

Earlier this summer, Isabella had the privilege of spending the weekend with Jeremy's parents (ga-ga & she-she). We are very blessed to have a grandaddy who is so talented and a she-she who keeps us smiling! Just thought I'd share some of our favorites....... =)

7 Prayers a day....

One of my friends from college read my post from yesterday and shared with me this awesome idea she got from a Bible study a few years ago.....so I thought I would copy and paste that on my blog too! I don't know about you and your family, but we need all the prayer we can get! Satan is ready and trying to attack.....so we better have our armor on and actively combatting him and his evil schemes! I've found in my life that praying scripture and dwelling on God's Word is the #1 way to live in the Spirit!

For these prayers, we can insert our child/children's names in the blank, cut them into strips and post them around the house. =)

1. When she wakes up: "Let the morning bring ____ word of your unfailing love, for she has put her trust in You. Show ___ the way she should go for to you she lifts up her soul." (Adapted from Psalm 43:8)

2. When she is getting dressed: "Therefore, as God's chosen child, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Lord help her bear with others and forgive whatever grievances she has against others. Help her forgive as the Lord forgave her. And over all these virtues, help her put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Adapted from Colossians 3:12-14)

3. While she is eating: "Teach ____ the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Teach her that she can do everything through him who gives her strength." (Adapted from Philippians 4:12-13)

4. When she goes out of the house: "_______, do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- His good, pleasing, and perfect will." (Adapted from Romans 12:2)

5. While she is taking a bath: "Lord give _______ clean hands and a pure heart, and let her not lift her soul to an idol or swear by what is false. Let her receive blessings from the Lord and vindication from God her Savior. Let her be a part of the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God." (Adapted from Psalm 24:4-6)

6. When she is going to bed: "The Lord Your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." (Adapted from Zephaniah 3:17)

7. While she is sleeping: "I pray that ______ will do everything without complaining or arguing, so that she may become blameless and pure, a child of God, without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which she shines like a star in the universe as she holds out the word of life-in Christ that she did not run or labor for nothing." (Adapted from Philippians 2:14-16)

Praying for Isabella....

Lately, I've been desiring to have a more structured prayer plan as I pray for Isabella each day. You know....we pray before meals and bedtime and I pray for her during my quiet times, but I've just been brainstorming ideas that would be practical yet effective for a busy mom! So, I came across this website: http://pastoralcareinc.com/Articles/31childrenprayer.php

I'm always inspired and learning creative "mom tips" by reading my friend's blogs so I thought I would share this practical tool I came up with the other night! =)

I pretty much copied and pasted this 31 days of prayer on the website to Word, but then I went back and changed the general "child" or "children" to "Isabella." I changed the font to make it pretty and printed it out on nice linen paper. I'm going to hang it on her door with ribbon......and now every time I lay her down to sleep or late at night when I tip-toe in to see her sweetly sleeping, I now have a specific prayers with scripture that I can pray over her! Each number corresponds with the day of the month. I figure I can do this for a while - then I can change up the prayers/scripture. So anyways, the Lord helped me create this tool as guidance to pray more specifically for my sweet baby girl and I just thought I would pass it along! =)

"The prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective!" James 5:15b

Happy Birthday Maddy!

This past weekend, we traveled up to Columbus, Mississippi to celebrate little Maddy's first birthday. (Maddy is Jeremy's brother's little girl.) We stayed in a cabin on a lake which was just about 1 mile from their house. It worked out just perfectly and we loved the beautiful lake and park!

"Grandaddy" aka "Ga-Ga" enjoyed having his two baby girls together.......

Jer and I had a nice 5 mile trail run together early Friday morning around the lake. While breakfast was cooking, the guys decided to try and catch a fish........

Bella wanted to help...

Maddy and Bella had so much fun playing together!

Maddy got a new baby grand for her birthday.......

The girls played a nice duet and then Bella played us a special song. =)

They splashed in the tub together.....

and then danced to the music (please excuse the baby booty....Bella enjoys being "free").

The party was a blast! Lots of fun new toys to try out.....

Cotton candy made by "Uncle Jer".......

Cupcakes too!

The cousins had so much fun together......

We look forward to the next time we are all together!

Cornstarch.....the new "air conditioned sandbox!"

Yesterday, after we all finished lunch, Jer and I were relaxing on the couch for a few minutes before nap time. Bella was quietly playing in her room.......or so we thought! Then, all of a sudden we heard a little noise in the kitchen......and this is what we found.......

Someone opened up the baking drawer and found the cornstarch! But, surely it couldn't be this little innocent face!??? We got a nice laugh.......took some pictures to capture the moment.....then cleaned up the mess! =) (notice my cell phone under the chair and yes, it still works just fine!)