Praying for my daughters

As I sit down to write this blog entry, Jessica is upstairs, still safely contained in her crib and Ella is currently sitting on my lap finishing her bottle.  I realize that these are the days that I will long for in 10 to 15 years, when both my girls will be teenagers, interested in boys, and driving...yikes!  I wish there were a no-fail way to protect your kids from all the bad that is in the world, but I don't know, nor have I ever heard of such a thing.  Ultimately, our children are given to us so that we can raise them up to leave us, so that they would start their own lives and families.  I've heard numerous speakers on the subject of motherhood & most agree that prayer got them through many tough times with their children.  We already see our girls' little personalities developing and we sometimes laugh while imagining how they will be when they get older.  I don't know about all the other parents reading, eventhough, I look forward to them growing older, I know there are only more challenges to tackle....sometimes it wears me out just thinking about it :)  Something that I've been doing, actually, since they were in utero is to pray for them.  Here are some of the things I pray for (I got this from a mother's devotional):

• Purity: I pray for purity both for my girls and for their future spouses. Their spouses are out there somewhere, growing up as children right now, and what happens in their lives will greatly affect the life of my children down the road.
• Relationships: Above all, I pray that my kids will develop strong relationships with the Lord. I also pray for healthy relationships with each other, with friends, and with my husband and I as their parents.
• Protection: The world is a dangerous place in many ways. I pray for physical, spiritual and emotional protection for both of my kids.
• Personal weaknesses: Every child has their own struggles, whether it’s lying, angry outbursts, disrespect, or any number of other issues. I pray that God will shape their character and turn their weaknesses to strengths.
• Thanks: Each child also has unique strengths that are God’s gift to our family. I thank God for these special qualities and ask Him to continue to develop these characteristics in our children.

For now, I am just enjoying this precious time with 2 under 2, while being mindful & prayerful of their futures.  Yesterday it was so overcast and damp outside, so Jessica got a nice long bath before her nap & had so much fun.  

Still teething & chewing on Sophia

Dental hygiene is very important at our house :)

She got a little aggressive with wave making in the bath....thank goodness for tile 1/2 way up the wall!

Ms. Ella continues to sleep well at night & she is growing like crazy, so she is actually napping pretty well during the day also.  Yesterday, she was being so cute practicing rolling over...I'm hoping to get a video to post this week!  

She's losing a good amount of hair right now also, so if she looks a little balder that's why.  Well that's pretty much all for us.  They've both got doctor's appointments tomorrow & both need shots, so go ahead and start praying for me!  Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday :)