Who wants to help write a children's book?

I am writing a Children's book of ABC Proverbs and I need your help! I have a list of the ones I want to use (below) and I need a story or devotional to illustrate each one. We have a few friends who are artists that I am going to ask to jump on board for illustrations. The idea is to create a book for children to help them understand and memorize scripture so that they can begin to hide God's word in their little hearts. It will also facilitate open family communication about God's instructions for life with discussion questions after each story.
We have a book we love like this by Susan Hunt called My ABC Bible Verses that our kids have already memorized. Having them in ABC order is an excellent way to jog their memories. (as well as our own) After searching for a similar book with no luck I decided to focus on Proverbs and write my own. I have some ideas for stories and devos, but we need 26...one for each letter and I am too impatient and creatively challenged to think of that many in a relatively short period of time. I'd like to have it written by Christmas and ready to publish after the first of the year. Lofty goals, maybe...but I am tired of starting things and not finishing, so I am putting a deadline on this one.

Come on Mommas & Daddies, Grandmas & Grandpas, Aunts & Uncles, put on your thinking caps and write a story or devotional for one of the Proverbs below...If nothing else, you will have a sweet keepsake to pass on to your own kids and grandkids someday.

Who is onboard? Leave a comment or email me with the Proverb you want to choose so we don't have multiple stories for each proverb.

-An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. Proverbs 24:26
-Blessed are those who are generous because they feed the poor. Proverbs 22:9
-Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3
-Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your feet from evil. Proverbs 4:27
-Ears that hear and eyes that see, the Lord has made them both. Proverbs 20:12
-Friends are always loyal and a brother is born to help in times of need. Proverbs 17:17
-Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23
-A Happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. Proverbs 15:13
-If you find honey, eat just enough – too much of it and you will vomit. Proverbs 25:16
-Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. Proverbs 3:13
-Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value a man who speaks the truth. Proverbs 16:13
-Let another praise you, and not your own mouth. Proverbs 27:2
-Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand. prov. 19:21
-No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD. Proverbs 21:30
-Obey my commands and live. Proverbs 7:2
-Pleasant words are like honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24
-A Quick tempered man does foolish things. Proverbs 14:17
-A Righteous man cares for the needs of his animal. Proverbs 12:10
-Stay away from a foolish man for you will not find knowledge on his lips. Proverbs 14:7
-Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
-Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper. Proverbs 11:11
-The Violence of the wicked will drag them away for they refuse to do what is right. Proverbs 21:7
-When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him. Proverbs 16:7
-An eXcellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. Proverbs 31:10
-Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you. Proverbs 11:17
-Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.

typical nightly antics...

On a typical evening after dinner and baths, if we aren't having family worship with James on guitar, there is a good chance there is a lot of silliness going on. Well, even if we are having family worship, there is usually a lot of silliness going on. Our kids love to sing and dance. What kids don't, right? Tonight, it was the bath flute that got everyone "wild up."

The Most Beautiful Necklace EVER!!!!!

LOOK at this necklace! Jeka and Matt got it for me for my Birthday and Matt just brought it over. Isn't it lovely?! I LOVE IT LIKE CRAZY! Thank you Jeka and Matt!!!I wish I could have gotten a better pic, but I don't have the camera or the skills.

This beauty was made by the vintage pearl.

Where's the baby?

This is Lucy's favorite toy lately. She carries this tiny baby around everywhere and puts it in weird places. Here is just a small sample of what she does with the baby. She hides it with the head peeking out and giggles. She tries to sleep with it too, but I am paranoid that she will bite the head off and choke on it, so I won't let her. Click on the pics to zoom in. The first one is the funniest.

what i am loving right now

I am loving that Shelby and I can snuggle up and read together now. She is reading chapter books silently and really enjoying it. It is something we can do together that makes it special for her to be the oldest. Being the oldest of 4 means she has a lot of responsibility. I think being able to share this sweet time with me has really helped her to feel the benefits of her age.


I am loving this Avani skincare my mom bought me at Sams. Jenn and I used it while she was here...(Another thing I LOVED was my sweet time with her) and it made our skin so soft! We could really tell a difference. It almost seemed to plump it up too. Jenn is on a mad hunt to find it at a Sams in KC b/c it was only $75 for the whole set there and each individual product sells for more than that anywhere else you find it.


I am loving my newest cleaning product. My own creation from a recipe I found on the internet. 1/3 bottle vinegar, 2/3 bottle water, several drops of peppermint essential oil and several drops of lavendar essential oil. All of these have natural anti-bacterial properties and they ward off scorpions. They also smell heavenly together. Shelby cleans the bathrooms each morning with it and it makes the whole house smell fresh and clean. I get the oil from my favorite online vitamin/supplement store, Vitacost. It is so CHEAP and the shipping is always $5 no matter how much you order. We get several supplements from Vitacost that cost almost double in health food stores. They also have gluten free products, skincare products, and lots more. I Love Vitacost!


I am loving this cereal!!!!! I mix it with my cinnamon Puffins and it is delicious. Even though it has chocolate, I can still eat it, for some reason. I usually can't have chocolate at all without it bothering my bladder. I think if I hadn't discovered this yummy stuff I might have already lost my baby weight. Many days I have it twice, once for breakfast and then again for a nighttime snack.


I am loving these Garden of Life Perfect Food supplements. This has replaced Juice Plus in my medicine cabinet. I never thought it would happen, b/c I love JP, but this has most of what JP has and more. It has tons of super antioxident rich foods plus probiotics and greens. It is really expensive at Whole Foods, but on Vitacost it is very affordable.

PJ today

I wish I had mad photography skills and I could make a baby smile for a picture...She is still sweet even if I couldn't catch a smile. I swear, she looks different in every picture I have of her. It kind of freaks me out b/c she could be taken for like 4 different babies if someone was only looking at pics. That is how it is with newborns, I guess.

James made Preslie Laugh!

This isn't a pic of her laughing, but I love it! Her chubby little cheeks, Ugh! Last night James was singing songs to her and making funny faces and she laughed. She cracked up! It was so cute. She smiles a lot, but hasn't laughed until last night. James always gets the first smiles and the first laughs. I think it really helps him to bond sooner than most dads, so I can't be jealous. Besides, I can't deny that he is the fun one.

Recent Family Pics

Our three older babies aren't babies any more. At almost 7, 5 and 2, they are growing up so fast!


Here is our big family! I still can't believe this is our life sometimes. Am I in a dream about another woman who is living the life I want to live? We have FOUR children! How awesome is that?


Preslie has such piercing blue eyes. She is an old soul in a newborn's body. Her expressions remind me of her aunt Jeka, who also looked like an old soul as a baby. Not that she looks like her, but she always looks like she is taking it all in and knows exactly what is going on around her. No blank stares for this baby!





Shelby is such a doll. She is starting to look like a young lady. She just lost her two front teeth an she is still beautiful!


Lucy and Daddy...I love her huge eyes and crazy hair!

real life snapshot moments...

James pretty much has to lock the kitty up if he wants to play guitar without his help. Who knew the guitar was a cat toy?


Another artistic Shelby shot. She caught Preslie under the new playmat my mom bought for her. It has been a life saver the past few days.


Here is Lucy sharing her blanket with Preslie. Look closely and you can see that she is rubbing it on her face. She does the same thing to herself when she is sleepy, so this is definitely a show of affection. So glad we caught this on film b/c it is one of those first tender sister moments.



Glad Shelby or Jesse caught this one too. Here is me on the phone yesterday, dragging a fit throwing Lucy back into the house b/c it was way too hot to be outside. Ahhh...real moments.


Sweet brother. He is so good to Preslie. They all are, really. I am so blessed to have kids who love one another so much. Yes, the older ones do fight sometimes, but 90% of the time they are best friends.

long time no post...

Preslie is at that stage, that all of my kiddos go thru about this time, when she wants to be entertained or held all of the time. With Shelby it was easiest, b/c she was the only one and there was no one to jump on her head. She'd lay on the playmat for a while, then swing in the swing for a bit, then move to tummy time, exersaucer or bouncy seat. There were plenty of things to rotate her through. It cracks me up how much I wanted to make sure she was stimulated during her awake time. I felt like if she was awake, someone should be talking to her, or singing or reading to her or she should be in one of the previously mentioned play contraptions. No wonder I felt like it was harder with one than four! It was a little more difficult to keep Jesse occupied or entertained b/c Shelby was always vying for my attention or trying to pick him up. I still rotated him b/t play areas and talked and sang to him, but much less. Lucy was 3 years younger than Jesse, so she was safer than Preslie when I'd put her on a pallet or in the swing, but I didn't have near the time to rotate her or make sure she was stimulated. She was on my hip, in a carrier or just held a lot more. I did have more time to enjoy her because Shelby and Jesse entertained one another a lot, but I remember that it was a little frustrating not being able to cook or be in the computer without holding her.

It was such a short period of time, though and now I wish I could hold her while she slept again. She wasn't feeling well this afternoon and I tried to rock her and sing to her. She didn't want to be held. It made me sad. Granted, we were on a park bench in 100 degree heat (but we were in the shade).

So, long story short, Preslie is at that stage and I can't rotate her thru the stations, b/c she will get attacked by the cat or the 21 month old. The cat scratches her toes and Lucy bites her toes. She gives her babydolls and pollies by throwing them at her head. She also tries to pick her up and drag her around or smother her with a million blankets. We can't put her down when Lucy is around without watching like a hawk.

And while I have so many blog posts swirling around in my head and so many memories I want to be sure to record, I have very little hands-free time for the computer. What is more important, making memories or recording them??? I have to ask myself this a lot.