Finally.....another post to my blog.....

Had you given up? Wondering when I was ever going to post another blog? Well, here it is, full of pictures of you guessed it, our children:

This is our beautiful Isabella at her May dance recital. The theme was "Broadway" and she lit up the stage with her grace and beauty!

Our baby girl, Emma, with her new sunglasses ("mine gasses" - according to her)!

Isabella and Emma enjoy a field trip at the St. Stephens Fish Lift for homeschool.

Emma finds another use for the potty seat that she's not yet using - thank goodness!!!

A Really Cold Trip

Recently, the girls and I headed off to the frozen north of Canada for a quick visit. We had a great time with our friends and Canadian family there. Here are a few pics of our mini vacation.

This is beautiful Bella, with her IPOD in her ears, of course, as we travel down the road.

Here's sweet little Emma nestled in her car seat. She did really well for such a long drive!

This snow bank was in the middle of a mall parking lot (so high you couldn't see the store fronts behind it!)

This is a shot into the backyard of our friends' townhouse. The snow on the table was at least 14" high!

This is our friend Courtney with Emma! We had a great meal together and had some time to catch up! We love you Courtney!

We brought our friend Danny home with us! Emma found his shoulder to be a cozy place to rest at this visit to Tim Horton's!!!

Holiday Memories

Okay...I know. It's been almost a month since my last post. I could blame it on the holidays, but truthfully, I've just been enjoying my family. I wanted to share a few pictures with you that were taken over the season...This first picture is of Emma kissing her baby ornament on the family tree. She did this every morning without fail when she first woke up.

Nothing gave me more joy than to hang Emma's Christmas stocking on our dining room mantle this year. Just one more to hang when God gives us our son (hopefully by next year). Zoey, the poodle got her own stocking this year too!

Isabella showing off one of her presents from Aunt Robin. She just loves the group Pure NRG and this is now her "Bible bag" for church. It contains her bible, a notebook and pen to take notes, and some other goodies for my little tween!

Zoey's favorite place to sleep was underneath the warmth of the family Christmas tree lights in the dining room.

I am certainly not a professional photographer, but even my friend Nikki, who is, told me that this was a great picture. I was really proud of myself. This is our annual gingerbread house we make every year. This year's was exceptional, because Aunt Robin helped us build it!

Who says lions can't be tamed? Our Isabella can tame anything...

Orangeburg Civic Ballet's Nutcracker

This weekend, my oldest daughter, Isabella, participated in the Nutcracker, put on by the Orangeburg Civic Ballet. The OCB is under the very capable direction of Mrs. Tamalyn Blackman and was a beautiful production. Although we're pretty tired from all the rehearsals and late nights, it was worth it all to see Isabella doing what she loves. Here's Isabella with "Miss" Tamalyn.

I love Christmas!

I love Christmas! It's my very favorite time of the year. This picture was taken last Saturday at our homeschool choir performance. With some forethought, I would have dressed Emma in something Christmasy, but she was wearing pink (that is a variation of red, isn't it???), covered up by her aqua blue jacket and let's not forget that paci (we never leave home without it!). Our good friend and great photographer, Nikki, took this picture! The girls are just beautiful in it and I'm so blessed to have them! They are my joy in life next to having Jesus as my Savior!

The choir performance went well. All the children sang their little hearts out. It was a great day!

Random Thoughts and Pictures

Okay, I am completely bummed.....I spent Thanksgiving Day on the couch, not able to pick my head up off the pillow while my family and some close friends of ours, enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving meal at our church. They had a wonderful time. I on the other hand, well.......I wanted to blog today, and since I have no happy Thanksgiving Day pix to share, thought I would offer up some random thoughts and pictures. Enjoy!

This is one of Emma's favorite things to do and sometimes can buy me a good ten minutes of work time, until she starts eating the pieces.







What is he doing, you ask? Well, it would be great to say that he is fixing something. However, he wasn't, he was looking for something that fell under the cabinet.



I rarely have time to spend time with just Bella alone, but recently, we took a mosaics class together and created two beautiful stepping stones. This is my beautiful Bella with her stepping stone. She chose an original pattern of a horse that was very challenging, but she did it wonderfully! The stone is beautiful, but Bella takes the prize for beauty in this one!

The Place of Surrender

God has me in a difficult place right now. I probably should say that God is with me in a difficult place right now. And, of course, as He always does, He's given me a song for this season of my life. I've become a real fan of Natalie Grant lately and there is a song on her CD, Relentless that is really speaking to me right now. Hopefully it will speak to you too......

Back At My Heart
Strong on the outside
But coming apart at the seams
That's me
Tragically always together
But bruised underneath
That's me
I stand, just to stumble
Tripping on my pride
Why do I always try to hide

Meanwhile, back at my heart
I'm desperate for all that You are
Undo me, take me apart
Meanwhile, back at my soul
Mend me, Lord, please make me whole
You know just where to start
Back at my heart

Patiently waiting to pick up
The pieces of me
That's You
Healer of hearts
When the world leaves it broken in two
That's You
Maker of heaven, the sky and the sea
When you stretched Your arms
You reached for me

Meanwhile, back at my heart
I'm desperate for all that You are
Undo me, take me apart
Meanwhile, back at my soul
Mend me, Lord, please make me whole
You know just where to start
Back at my heart

Back at my heart
Back at my fear
Back at my brokenness
Lord meet me here
Though I'm exposed
I'm not afraid anymore

I'm desperate for all that You are
Undo me and take me apart

Healer of hearts
When the world leaves it broken in two
That's You

Natalie Grant - Relentless