isabelle's big announcement

That's right ladies & gents ... Isabelle is going to be a big sister on or around February 25, 2010. The Phillips family is going from 3 to 4. Izzy's little bro or sis is already a very active little thing. We went to have an ultrasound done yesterday and he/she was moving around so much that the doctor couldn't get a good reading to hear the heart beat. We, however, were okay with this because we saw for ourselves that we've got a healthy baby on the way ... following in his/her sister's footsteps!

big news

That's right ladies & gents ... Miss Isabelle Ruth is going to be a big sister around February 25, 2010. The princess will have to share her throne. What will she do? : )

nap time

Isabelle is still on 2 naps a day - one in the morning & one in the afternoon. The morning one she usually takes in her crib because it's still "cool" enough in our house for her to be comfortable in her room with just a ceiling fan. The afternoon nap is a little warmer & since one or both of us is resting in the A/C, we don't think it's too fair to make Izzy sweat like a pig in her room. (I know, this is SO against BabyWise rules!)

Lately, Mark has been working like a champ in the mornings going out to the farm with Ibrahim. He comes home hot, sweaty & extremely exhausted. But he always has time to eat lunch with us, play with the Belle for a bit & then, if he needs some rest, he'll lay down with Isabelle. I, for one, think it is too precious when they nap together so I like to sneak pictures.

When Izzy sleeps, she sleeps hard! I don't know how her neck is comfortable like this.

I thought it was too funny that they were in the exact same position!

messy eater

As you all know, Isabelle loves to eat - any food, her food, other people's food, it doesn't matter! While she has quite an appetite, she is not too proficient in doing it without making a mess.

Spaghetti ... yum!

Chocolate ice cream ... oh my!

I wasn't supposed to eat it all?!

I like my chinese noodles best when they are on my belly!

giggle box

Only Mark can get a true hearty laugh out of Isabelle. I can get some chuckles but he just has that "magic touch" of a Daddy that gets the best laughs. Just watch & see ...

just like mommy & daddy

Isabelle has started imitating everything we do & it is just downright cute! If Mark makes airplane noises with her toy airplane, she'll grab it & do the same. If we blow on her food because it's too hot, she'll do the same when we hand it to her. If I turn on High School Musical & start busting a move, she follows suite. Her personality is just really coming out lately & we are having SO much fun with her!

Since Izzy's "Let's Rock" shirt is a bit too small for her now, she decided to sport her Daddy's.

She is definitely stylin' in Mommy's sunglasses & necklace.

"Oh Mommy, are you sticking out your tongue? Well, I'll do it too!"

And here is Izzy becoming a musician like her Daddy. Check out the dance moves, too!

izzy & friends

Isabelle loves playing with her friends in Ayorou and meeting new friends. Here are some pictures of the Belle & her posse.

Izzy's BFF is Hawa. They have been friends since before they were born!

Not sure what Hawa is trying to do here but Isabelle does not seem to be enjoying it.

Isabelle's newest friend is Joneo!

This is how they saw the giraffes together!

Hilema "reading" a book to Izzy & her friends, Hawa & Nafissa.

fancy clothes

Yes, Isabelle is a child that lives in Africa at the edge of the Sahara desert. Her yard is one giant sand box. Most of her clothes are stained brown from all the dirt & muck she gets into. But the child does have a few fancy clothes in her closet that we reserve for trips to Niamey. And this right here is one such outfit. The shirt was provided by Aunt BJ & the hip jeans by her Gaga. (Please ignore the food all over her mouth. She was about to hop in the bath!)

daddy fixed my hair

And speaking of Daddy, this is what I found one day when I walked into our bedroom. Mark was watching Isabelle while I finished up lunch & he decided to do her hair ... with her entire box of bows!

living hope ... back again!

We love, love, love having our home church come to visit. They have seen the entire process of what has happened in Ayorou & been a vital part of all of it. They helped us lay the groundwork of prayerwalking all the Songhai areas of Ayorou. They came back to help us evangelize those areas. And after many have come to faith since their last visit, they returned in June to help us in discipling these new believers. They were a blessing to us & our believers.

The week started off to a rocky start with Isabelle being hospitalized due to anemia. Izzy & I had to stay back in Niamey for most of their stay which meant all the cooking responsibilities were heaped on Mark plus his other duties. Luckily, I had done some prep work in cooking ahead of time and all the team had to worry about were the sides or fixin's. They were so flexible & understanding of our situation & went above & beyond to help out. The week really couldn't have gone any better.

It is always "scary" to do disciple trips with a volunteer team. With evangelism, you are hitting different houses each day & you visit whomever may be home. With discipleship, you are asking the same group of people to meet more than once a day for multiple days. In a "schedule free" culture, this has proven difficult more times than not. However, our believers were so committed to coming & studying the Word together. Again, the week could not have gone better. Thank you so much Living Hope!


Joneo, Dwan, Mary Beth & Amanda


Yeah for Living Hope!


Joneo & his African Christian brothers


The ladies helped prepare a traditional African meal for our believers during their last evening in Ayorou. They did everything from cutting the meat to chopping the veggies to cleaning the rice to pounding the spices. And if you know any of the team members, you would understand just how much out of their comfort zone this is ... especially handling the meat! Mary Beth adds the pumpkin to the sauce before ...


...Joneo gives it a taste test...


...the ladies dishing it out...


...the finished product...


...and it is gooooooood!


Of course, after eating one must dance!

bye daddy

Isabelle has become quite the daddy's girl lately. Each night when I carry her to sleep outside, she looks up from our tent towards Mark's cot & says in the sweetest voice, "Daa daa." That's her way of saying goodnight to him. The first thing she does in the morning is search for him & when she finds him says, "Daa daa!" Every morning when he leaves the house she follows him to the door & waves goodbye to him until she can't see him anymore. And as soon as he walks in the door for lunch, you can hear the pitter patter of her feet as she runs to meet him!