Elisabeth Elliot

This woman and her wisdom have impacted my life in so many ways. I have several of her books and have read them over and over again! Here is a devotional she wrote that I just read and loved it oh so much. I am so tempted to allow my fear to creep up and take captive of my mind. These are great words for us all to be reminded of, and take rest with the fact that our Soverign Lord has it all under control! :)


Elisabeth Elliot's Daily Devotional

Title: I Will Not Be Afraid

Author: Elisabeth Elliot

News reports come every day concerning economic and political calamities about to befall us all, not to mention famines, tornadoes, earthquakes, and volcanoes, things which may at any moment strike us or people we love. There are always plenty of good reasons to be afraid--unless you know that things are under control. A Christian has this "inside information." Things are, in fact, under control. God is our Refuge, our Strength, our Mighty Fortress. Nothing will get by the moat of his protection without his permission. To be afraid of what happens today or what may happen tomorrow is not only an awful waste of energy, it is not only useless, it is disobedient. We are forbidden to fear anything but the Lord Himself.

When Christians in China were being hounded to death in the 1930s, one of them (I am told) wrote this simple song, which has helped me in countless times of fear ever since I learned it as a high school girl:

I will not be afraid.
I will not be afraid.
I will look upward, and travel onward,
And not be afraid.

Will power, of course, will not always overcome human emotions. But willed obedience to the One who is in charge, coupled with prayer for his help in vanquishing our natural fears, is something else.

Thoughts on Tuesday

"Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us."

I've been mediating on this verse for a few days now. As some of you know, I am somewhat scared of flying and I will be doing it for the first time with my daughter, which adds a whole new element to everything. Thankful that I have the Lord to trust in and cry out to. I know he will protect us!

I'm a big girl now...

because I am almost 9 months old I think I can do anything.

For instance, look at me here, I can crawl and get anywhere I want




I can swim in the pool all by myself




I don't need mommy's help with standing up, now I can stand up and get into all kinds of fun things






And I can take a bottle...Now Daddy can feed me and I love it, I should have done this sooner!


Mommy took this picture of me while I was sleeping, even though I think I'm a big girl I am still Mommy's little baby...


Love, Sawyer

On the move

I've been waiting for this day for some time now, and it's finally here. Sawyer started crawling this evening! Clint and I are so proud of her...as of tonight our lives will never be the same :)

Here is a video of Saw Baby hanging out in the kitchen, her new favorite playground (which that brings a whole new level of discipline that I will chat about later)


These next 2 videos are from today and these are the first times Sawyer has really crawled...enjoy!





Have a great weekend!!!

The bigger the better???

Sawyer received some big bows a few days ago in the mail...at first I wasn't sure what I thought about them...but after putting them on her I just think they are too cute! I know some would oppose but oh well! Enjoy looking at this precious girl:









Right now she is cutting her top two teeth, she is going to look so stinking cute once those come through! She is starting to eat lots of more finger foods and I am feeling a bit more adventurous with what foods I give her.

In other news ( yes our life does consists of other things besides Sawyer, haha) Trinity, our church met for the first time in a community city in our town. Clint and I took care of the kids, but we had a pretty good turn out and we are getting ready to start up community groups this week, which is really exciting! And we are preparing for our trip to Louisville coming up in two weeks. I am so pumped. I am just praying that Sawyer adjusts well, feels good, and has a great time...we are counting down the days in the Casabella household.

I"ve been trying to upload some videos that we have taken recently but we are having issues with it...hopefully we can get that working.

Have a great week!!!

Happy Daddy's Day!

First off Clint and I want to give a shout out to the men in our lives who have played such a huge role in who we are today! Michael Dixon, Michael Casabella, and Steve Blanchard we LOVE you all so much!!!! Thank you for all the sacrifices you have made for us, and loving us the way you have. We are so blessed to have you as our Fathers.

Also, Clint is such an amazing daddy. The way he loves Sawyer is so precious. He would do anything for her, his sweet daughter. I love watching him play with Sawyer, he can get her to giggle so much easier than I can! The way Sawyers face lights up when I say, "Wheres Daddy" is too sweet. She starts looking all over the house for Clint and then onces she sees him she goes crazy...melts my heart. This girl LOVES her daddy!!!

Clint, Thank you for being one incredible Father. Sawyer is so blessed to have you as her Daddy and I know your relationship will continue to grow over the years. Thank you for providing for our family and leading our family well. We love you so much Clint/Daddy!!!!

Sweet Sweet Summertime!

The weather has been beautiful up here, and we are loving every minute of it! Sawyer LOVES being outside, as soon as I put her shoes on and head to the door, she starts kicking her legs and flapping her arms, she gets so excited...I love it!

My mom got us an umbrella for our patio, I am so thankful because now Sawyer and I can sit on the patio during the day. It is so fun. I get a snack ready for her, and then grab some favorite toys and we sit and watch the world go by. I hope she continues to enjoy this because I love it! Here are some pics of Sawyer enjoying life




Today we went to the park with Bethan and Jane ( our neighbors and close friends). The girls had a blast and Bethan and I had great converstions!!! It was so delightful...Thank you God for sweet summertime and sweet friends!!









I love watching Jane and Sawyer interact, they are already sweet friends and Sawyer can't even talk...it is going to be so sweet to watch their little friendship grow! Sawyer is already learning so much from Jane, and Clint and I are learning so much from Brandon and Bethan!!!!

Hope you all are enjoying this sweet sweet summertime!

Sophie+Sawyer

Sawyer has a new best friend, it's Sohpie the giraffe. I have heard so many great things about this little, rubber giraffe. Well, the rumors are true! Sophie has become one of Sawyers favorite toys to play with. Thanks Grammie!!!

Tooth!

I know you all are dying to see Sawyer's tooth, I finally got a good picture where you can see it



Do you see that little white thing popping up in her month??? That's it!!! She has been a little fussy butt these past few days, but I know it's just a phase, so I am trying to enjoy our time together and cherish these moments! ( I feel like I always say that, haha)

And because I just can't get enough of little miss Sawyer Beth here are some favorite pictures I have taken recently. These first ones are from a few nights ago, when Clint and I took Sawyer on an evening walk. Their is a park really close to us, so we walked up there. Sawyer had a blast! Her new favorite thing to do is hold your hands and walk around ( this is wearing this momma out).






This is a precious picture of Sawyer with our neighbors daughter Gianna! I watch Gianna and Marissa every Friday, and Sawyer loves her little buddies.

Delightful

This is how I start my day


It's the small things in life!

Thursday Thoughts

Clint and I try to read a devotional every morning together, we fail half the time! But that doesnt stop us from at least trying when we can. Here is what we are reading now: Voices from the Past- it's a devotional reading written by different puritans. Today's one was by John Owen. Here is a little portion of it:

" His blood ( meaning Christ) has a double consideration: not only atonement and reconciliation, but also purging and sanctification. He offered himself not just to make atonement, but also to sanctify us by the sprinkling of his blood. It is by faith we receive the purifying virtue and influences of the blood of Christ..."

Thankful for the blood of Christ! May we never take it for granted.

Videos

So I have had some of these on our camera forever!!! Sorry for posting them so late!

Here is Sawyer reading one of her favorite books, she usually looks at the book and starts giggling so hard, this time she was a little tired and started fussing toward the end...oh well though!



Here are some videos of Sawyer eating





Here is Sawyer attempting to crawl, she has gotten better since this video, but it's still cute!

8 months

Well Sawyer is 8 months old...I love it!!! Clint and I have absolutely loved this month. She gets cuter by the day, and it's crazy to watch her learn and grow everyday. Two words describe Sawyers 8th month: hungry and mobile.

These past few weeks Sawyer has had such an appetite, I can't feed her fast enough. If she sees me fixing her food in the kitchen she starts screaming...it's funny but a little annoying =D Here are her new foods:

-Yobaby Yogurt
-Whole wheat bread
-Pears
-Cauliflower w/ garlic and butter
-Green Beans
-Squash
-Zucchini
-Peaches
-Potatoes

I think that's it! She pretty much loves everything except for potatoes...I'm not sure why she hates them so much, they don't have that much flavor, but even if I hide them in her favorite foods she will gag and spit it out...silly girl! She is getting much better with eating finger foods, she still just prefers her puffs, but she did eat some diced pears and did good with that.

Here is what her schedule looks like:

-Wakes between 5:30-7:00am (some days she gets up super early, not sure why)
-Nurses around 6:30 or 7 depending on what time she gets up
-Breakfast at 8ish (usually a fruit)
-Play/Walk
-Nap at 9ish
-Nurses around 11ish
-Play
-Lunch around 12ish
-Nap around 1:30
-Nurses around 3ish
-Dinner 5ish
-Bedtime between 7-7:45pm

She still gets up usually once a night, I nurse her and then put her right back to bed. I know she doesn't need that feeding AT ALL, it's just a matter of letting her cry it out. I've always said once she hits 9 months I am going to do my best to cut that feeding out. Now that we are going to Louisville in July, I'm thinking I will work on cutting it out after the trip!

And guess what...Sawyer finally has a tooth! It's her bottom left one. Teething might be a long process for us. She was pretty fussy for a few days, thankfully she slept pretty good.

Crawling/Walking is in the near future! She loves holding your hands and walking all over the place. Crawling is not her thing, but I am not giving up. She can go from sitting to almost standing, she will master this I'm sure by next month. And she will go from sitting to all fours, but she usually starts screaming once shes in all fours.

OKay enough rambling...here are pictures of this big girl:

Thursday's Thoughts

Psalm 127:3-5 says,

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."

Thankful for the blessing of Sawyer! She's our reward!

To all the parents out there...may you thank the Lord today for all your sweet children!!!