Meet Mikayla, today’s #meetamom and the mama owner behind Isaac + Elizabeth. Isaac + Elizabeth offers Bible based learning tools for kids – mostly puzzles that teach Bible based stories or key passages of Scripture like the Fruit of the Spirit and The Amor of God. Her puzzles are hand made and cut at home, made from wood and beautiful! And, what’s beautiful about Mikayla is that she has never been in this for financial gain, it’s only for the Kingdom. Her desire is to reach parents and help them bring Jesus into their homes in ways that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to. Her dreams for her business are whatever God’s plans are and nothing more ❤.
Check out Mikayla’s interview below to learn more about the inspiration behing her business, how God leads her in business and motherhood, and how she balances it all (….or doesn’t as she admits!).
Where are you from originally and how long have you lived in the North Houston area?
I’m from the Conroe area, I’ve been here my whole life!
How many kiddos do you have and how old are they?
2 – Kohen Isaac just turned 3 and Oakley Elizabeth is 8 months.
What are your favorite local things to do? (with kiddos or just for mom!)
We recently found out about free play days at the Woodlands Church during the week and it’s so fun! Other than that, we’re all about parks and walking trails to find neat things along the way! Boy mom – he leads the way on that. Haha. Mom doesn’t get much solo time if I’m being honest. Ha.
As hard as it is to find the time, what’s something you do just for yourself?
There really isn’t much time but I love to write. I’m a calligrapher as well, so lettering is therapeutic for me too! …except when it’s for work. There’s just something about being able to go at your own pace and be creative!
One thing people would be surprised to know about you…
We actually don’t watch TV in our home. If we do, it’s RARE. I always used to wonder how people did it.. But now that we have kids, our home is a much more peaceful place without news and shows that aren’t honoring to God. (Cocomelon doesn’t count. I’ll admit that!)
What’s the best mom advice you have ever been given (or your own advice to mamas out there)?
Honestly, we’re all just surviving. No one tells you how hard parenthood is from every aspect – emotionally, mentally, physically, even Spiritually. I think the most important thing I’ve learned is to bring God into situations as often as possible. He teaches me so many things through my own words to my children, I think just having an open mind and heart to His voice through figuring out motherhood is the most important thing. And, PRAY OVER AND FOR YOUR KIDS ALWAYS. Seriously. Make it a non-negotiable every single day!
Tell us about Isaac + Elizabeth! When did you begin this business and what products do you offer?
We just launched in July! We firmly believe in raising disciples and raising a child up in the ways of Christ. The Lord put it on my heart just this year after our daughter was born. I was doing calligraphy and baby name signs, monthly milestones, custom orders, ect. And it was hard enough to do custom orders like that with one kid, so I knew good and well I couldn’t do it with two. I began praying for a way to truly honor God through a business and have a way to make extra money without all the extra work that is custom/personalizable goods and He quickly and amazingly revealed to me what He wanted from me. We offer Bible based learning tools for kids. Mostly puzzles that teach Bible stories or key passages of Scripture like the Fruit of the Spirit and The Armor of God. Teaching little ones these things is crucial, it’s best to start them young. There weren’t many products like that on the market, if any (that we know of), so it’s been nothing short of a blessing to have pre-designed products ready to ship while assisting other parents in raising disciples for Jesus.
What was the inspiration behind starting Isaac + Elizabeth?
So honestly, my son. 100%. He’s very, very intelligent and at about 2.5, he sparked this INSANE interest in puzzles. He was doing 48-72 piece puzzles by himself! I just remember looking over at our Melissa and Doug spelling board puzzles one day and heard a gentle whisper that gave me the idea to do that same thing – except for Bible stories and lessons. I made a few different things and let Kohen play with them to test the durability, if he could do them even with the wood tones only, to see if he even liked them – he loved them. Asked to do them over and over. Before long, God kinda just nudged me and said, “Other parents need this. Share it.” He woke me up at 3am with the business name (both of our kiddos have Biblical middle names on purpose) and there was such a peace about it. No second guessing, I just did it and I loved it. He was just firing ideas at me left and right – so quickly that I was just scribbling things down as quickly as I could! I still have yet to make even close to all of them!
Do you make the puzzles and other products by hand? Where did you learn to do that?
My background is just all creative things, honestly. Haha. I have a Bachelor’s degree in interior design and worked for a commercial architecture firm in downtown Houston before I had Kohen, so I’ve always been design-minded. There, I learned the programs that I use to design my puzzles. I have a laser cutter at home, so that’s what I use to engrave and cut them! As far as the designs go, I hand draw all of the illustrations digitally and then drop them into a program to make the overall design.
What did you do before starting your own business (or still do if you still work outside of Isaac + Elizabeth)? Have you always been entrepreneurial and creative?
Kinda answered this in the previous questions so I don’t want to be redundant but first worked at a commercial architecture firm straight out of college and then started a calligraphy business where I did wedding and event signage, baby name signs, monthly milestones, stocking tags, etc. basically just anything that could be hand lettered! It was lots of on demand custom work, so it was very time consuming, which then led me to praying about a way to create products that didn’t require basically starting from scratch with every order.
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, mostly because I love the freedom that comes from working my own hours, at my own pace, doing what I love but also making lots of time for family. I have always been pretty creative!
What has been the most rewarding thing about what you do?
Definitely when parents share their babies’ playing with our puzzles. I love hearing how much these kiddos already know about the Bible and Jesus, it speaks volumes about the parents and I admire that so much. But also, parents’ responses absolutely blew me away – it’s like they had been searching for something like this but could never find it. I think it’s amazing that so many other parents have the same desire as me – to raise little disciples.
How do you balance owning your business and being a wife and mama?
Truthfully? I don’t. Haha. It’s hard, very, very hard, especially since both of my kiddos are home with me all day everyday. We’ve made it an absolute priority to spend time as a family in the evenings when my husband gets home. Dinner together every single night and usually baseball in the front yard or a walk through the neighborhood. Most work gets done after the kids go to bed, but if more time is needed, I utilize nap time for work instead of cleaning! Still working on getting a set schedule going – we’re finally starting to get some consistency out of our 8 month old so that definitely helps!
What are your future plans and dreams for Isaac + Elizabeth?
Truthfully, I don’t know. I’ve learned that my plans don’t matter whatsoever if they’re not in line with God’s and I just don’t know where He’ll have me in the future. Will it be homeschooling so I have even less time to work? Or will it be the kids being in school where Isaac + Elizabeth can grow? I’m not really sure, but it’s something that I’m just trusting Him with day by day. I’ve never been in this for financial gain, only for the Kingdom. My heart isn’t to make money, it’s to reach parents and help them bring Jesus into their homes in ways that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to. If it’s God’s will that this business become hugely profitable – so be it. If not, so be it. As long as it’s reaching people that need to be reached (which I know He can and will do), then that’s a good enough motivator to keep me doing what I’m doing.
To learn more about Isaac + Elizabeth & shop:
Website: https://isaacandelizabeth.com/
Instagram: @isaac.and.elizabeth