Praying for Your Children

I saw this posted by a Facebook friend recently, and I thought this was so great that I wanted to share it!  I pray for Judah everyday, but it is nice to have a specific prayer for his life each day of the month.

Here is a list of 31 ways to pray for your children.  You can read the article here or copy this list.

1) Salvation  
"Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory" (2 Timothy 2:10).

2) Growth in Grace  
"I pray that they may 'grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ'" (2 Peter 3:18).

3) Love
"Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to 'live a life of love,' through the Spirit who dwells in them" (Ephesians 5:2; Galatians 5:22).

4) Honesty and Integrity
"May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection" (Psalm 25:21).

5) Self-Control
"Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, bu let them be alert and self-controlled in all they do" (1 Thessalonians 5:6).

6) Love for God's Word
"May my children grow to find your Word more precious than gold, than much pure gold, and sweeter than honey from the honeycomb" (Psalm 19:10).

7) Justice
"God, help my children to love justice as You do and to 'act justly' in all they do" (Psalm 11:7, Micah 6:8).

8) Mercy
"May my children always 'be merciful, as [their] Father is merciful'" (Luke 6:36).

9) Respect (for self, others, authority)
"Father, grant that my children may show proper respect to everyone, as your Word commands" (1 Peter 2:17a).

10) Strong, Biblical Self-Esteem
"Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are 'God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus'" (Ephesians 2:10).

11) Faithfulness
"Let love and faithfulness never leave my children, but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts" (Proverbs 3:3).

12) Courage
"May my children always be strong and courageous in their character and in their actions" (Deuteronomy 31:6).

13) Purity
"Create in them a pure heart, O God, and let their purity of heart be shown in their actions" (Psalm 51:10).

14) Kindness
"Lord, may my children 'always try to be kind  to each other and to everyone else'" (Ephesians 4:32).

15) Generosity
"Grant that my children may be generous and willing to share, laying up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for eternity" (1 Timothy 6:18-19).

16) Peace
"Father let my children make every effort to do what leads to peace" (Romans 14:19).

17) Joy
"May my children be filled with the joy given by the Holy Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 1:6).

18) Perseverance
"Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to run their race with perseverance" (Hebrews 12:1).

19) Humility
"God please cultivate in my children the ability to show true humility toward all" (Titus 3:2).

20) Compassion
"Lord please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion" (Colossians 3:12).

21) Responsibility
"Grant that my children may learn responsibility, 'for each one should carry his own load'" (Galatians 6:5).

22) Contentment
"Father, teach my children the secret of being content in any and every situation, through Him who gives them strength" (Philippians 4:12-13).

23) Faith
"I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children's hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them" (Luke 17:5-6, Hebrews 11:1-40).

24) A Servant's Heart
"God, please help my children develop a servant's heart, that they may serve wholeheartedly, 'as to the Lord, and not to men'" (Ephesians 6:7).

25) Hope
"May the God of hope grant that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness through the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).

26) Willingness and Ability to Work Hard
"Teach my children, Lord, to value work and to work hard at everything they do, as they are working for the Lord, not for men" (Colossians 3:23).

27) Passion for God
"Lord please instill in my children a soul that follows hard after You; a heart that clings passionately to You" (Psalm 63:8).

28) Self-Discipline
"Father, I pray that my children may develop self-discipline, that they may live a disciplined life, doing what is right and just and fair" (Proverbs 1:3, 1 Corinthians 9:27).

29) Prayerfulness
"Grant, Lord, that my children's lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to 'pray in the Spirit'" (Ephesians 6:18).

30) Gratitude
"Help my children to live lives that overflow with thankfulness, giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Colossians 2:7; Ephesians 5:20).

31) Heart for Missions
"Lord, please help my children to develop a heart for missions, a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples" (Psalm 96:3).

{Judah} 10 Months Old

This has been a huge month of development for Jude!  I can't believe how many things he has learned how to do that he could not do one month ago.

He's started pulling up to standing.

He can go from laying down to sitting up.  This made naptimes a little more interesting because it became so much more fun to play before falling asleep! :)

Jude is waving and clapping.  

And he's getting to be a pretty fast crawler!  Still mostly with is belly on the ground, but can on all fours now too.

Jude is a pro at drinking water from his sippy cup and has gotten so much better feeding himself.

He also got his first haircut!

Favorite things: 
-Fisher Price Little People farm (plays with it everyday)
-wooden spoons
-taking baths
-watching other kids
-Daddy coming home from work (It is so cute to see him screaming and kicking when we watch his car pull in the garage!)
-Cheerios

Happy 10 months to my little boy...not a baby for much longer!

Travel Shots

We are one step closer to being able to travel someday soon...we got our shots yesterday!  We brought our immunization records with us so they could be checked over by the nurse and it turned out that we only needed about 3 vaccines each, plus the oral dose of typhoid.  They weren't bad at all, except that the yellow fever definitely has a bite to it.

Drew's picture happened right when he was making a face at Jude. :)

Four years ago...

...we said "I do" on a hot July day.  Happy anniversary to my wonderful husband!

Over the last four years, we've made lots of great memories but have also had challenges together.  We have:

-been on an Alaskan cruise for our honeymoon

-gone to Sarasota, one of my favorite vacation spots from when I was a little girl

-switched jobs

-completed paperwork for an Ethiopian adoption

-joined a small group, which has strengthened our faith and friendships with other believers

-become an aunt/uncle to our sweet nieces, Lucy and Penelope!

-become parents!  Adding Judah to our family has been the most life-changing and amazing experience!

Next step: get our referral, travel to Ghana, and bring home kid #2!

2 Months Waiting

Our dossier has been in Ghana for two months already.  We are really enjoying our time with Jude, but are feeling so excited to know who are next little one will be!  I've been picturing that little face for a long time, so I am really looking forward to the day when we can see him or her for the first time.

This month of waiting went pretty fast.  But as more time is going on I keep wondering when we'll get our referral.  For now, we are keeping busy chasing after our little boy.  He's just getting bigger all the time...at his nine month check-up we learned that he's 22 pounds (83rd percentile) and 30.25 inches (99th percentile).  Tall boy, just like his grandpas!

Two months down, hopefully not too many left to go!

Here we are at a friends' adoption fundraiser...it was HOT that day.  Jude was there for only fifteen minutes, but the shirt had to come off and he was just diving in the the snow-cone ice!

4th of July

We spent Judah's first 4th of July with friends.  We grilled and Judah got to do one of his favorite things - play with other kids.  His little friends are a few years older than him and were so sweet to keep him entertained.

He spent a good part of the night playing with new toys and eating bites of sweet potato fries.

It was super hot outside, but we stayed long enough to watch some sparklers on the driveway.  He loved it!

Azonto

I found this video the other day and thought it was fun.  Click the link to learn more about the dance craze "Azonto" that is really popular in Ghana!  Can't wait to go there... :)

"Could Ghana's new Azonto dance craze take over the world?"