Annabel's Art

Finally Annabel is getting better at coloring and drawing pictures. She has had almost no interest up to this point in coloring at all. At church when I pick up her pictures there is usually just one line drawn on it and the rest is blank. I know her well enough to know she drew her one line and ran back to play with her toys. I am always blown away by kids who can sit quietly and color for long periods of time.

Well, the other night we sat together and drew pictures for probably 30 minutes. It was great. Annabel drew pictures of her family. So...here they are.

Her first portrait was of me...

As you can see she has some things to work out.

Next she drew Daddy...



David is looking a little better.

Now for her self-portrait...

And last but not least Jude...

No doubt about it Jude turned out best. It is amazing to me the each picture got a little better. She knew Momma did not turn out right. Well, that is the latest.

Psalms

Okay, so my favorite verse over the last few months has been Psalms 103: 1-6. It gives me so much hope and security in Christ. Here it is:

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, all my inmost being praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-

who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion

who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's

The Lord works rightousness and justice for all the oppressed."

I LOVE this verse. As I have matured as a Christian I realize that a lot of these benefits may not be realized on earth, but we have so long with Christ and I love that as Christ-followers we all are subject to recieve these benefits for our belief! What a blessing to be a follower of Christ. Today I am remembering that the blessings of Christ aren't new cars, big homes or anything that can be purchased here on earth, the blessing of Christ CANNOT be bought. It is such a burden to think that so many people on earth will miss these blessings.

I love the part that God satisfies our desires with good things. We serve a good God, who has our best interest in mind. We have to trust Him through every trial!!

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, all my inmost being, praise his holy name."

Haircuts, Cookbooks and Mommyhood.

Annabel and I got our haircut together for the first time on Friday. She was so cute sitting beside me while the hairstylists did our hair at the same time. Annabel was having conversation with her stylist and it was so adorable. We ended up with very similar styles even though that was not my plan. I figure she will never want the same style as her mom again in her life, so it is probably okay just this once.

David bought me a cookbook magazine and I am going to start my adventure of cooking through it for the next two months. I already have my schedule for dinners figured out for August and I am really excited. I start tonight with a chicken and rice recipe. The funny thing is David surprised me with the cookbook and at first I was a little disappointed because I thought I wanted to pick it out myself. As it turns out it was a great choice because the meals are not too difficult and I don't have to make the decision of which cookbook is best (going back to my indecisiveness). Another good thing about this cookbook they are not grouped into the type of meat...so I can go in order and we get something different each night. I will let you know how it goes. So far I have made a delicious Summer Berry Cheese Pie...yummy!

Jude is getting big. He is sitting up on his own and crawling. He has even pulled himself up to a standing position. He is almost done with nursing and I am having mixed emotions about that. I nursed Annabel for 11 months and Jude is not quite 7 months...but he seems fine with it so that is a relief. It is sad becaue I know he is getting bigger, but good because he is becoming more independent.

Right now I am loving being a mom and wife. I don't know if I say it enough, but being a mom is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. I never want to take it for granted. God has truely blessed me with my family.