Sweet little ones

Life is moving so fast these days, that it seems ridiculous for me to try to go back and catch up on blogs that have never been written. Most days I'm just flying by the seat of my pants anyway! So I just need to take advantage of the few, quiet moments I have to blog, journal, or whatever it may be, and make the most of it. I have the utmost respect for all of you dedicated and faithful bloggers out there, because blogging consistency does not come easy for me! As if you hadn't noticed! But I did think it was time for a little "shout out" to any readers that I do still have. :) So, "Hello out there!" These are the sweet faces that are keeping me busy these days...

The Gift

So the idea of me writing a blog every day for 25 days straight was a lofty goal! And obviously, one that I have not accomplished. But that's ok...there is blogger grace for me, and I will gladly receive it. :) But I will say the giving has been fun! However, today, I want to veer from the "giving" stories for a moment, and share what's been on my mind lately.
Christmas is 5 days away. I've been reminded lately that this season, though full of events and gifts galore, may not always be the most joyful time of year for everyone. Sometimes it brings pain, heartache, suffering, reminders of things and people lost. Sometimes, because of life's circumstances, it may feel heavy and difficult instead of light and carefree. Reality is, we live in a broken and hurting world where these things do exist... where we experience sadness and loss...where we can feel sorrow and pain in one moment, and joy and life in another. It's confusing and messed up, just like all of us are. :) But the good news is, there is one Gift that can change it all. One Gift that gives us hope. One Gift that reminds us the pain and suffering, the sadness and hurting won't last forever. One Gift that can make life and us not so messed up after all. The Gift: JESUS. He's all we need. He's all our world needs. He is HOPE. He is JOY. God sent Him to earth because He knew we needed a Savior...we have been and will always be in desperate need of a Savior. And praise God, we have One. JESUS. We are desperate for Him and for His grace. We long for the day when He shall return...where He will wipe away every tear and heal every wound. Until that day, we will WAIT for Him and cling to the hope we have in Him. And when the realities and hardships of this life set in, I hope that I...and WE...will remember that HOPE. And remember that we can find Joy in HIM, despite the surrounding circumstances.
Last night I attended Ryan's sister's (Jami Smith) Christmas concert. It was beautiful. Ryan sang with her, which made it even more beautiful to me. :) They sang this song together that I can't get out of my head. Maybe you've heard it. It goes along with everything I've been talking about. It's called Lament by Robbie Seay. You can listen to it here.
We need Him. I pray that you know Him, and that you will experience His Hope, His Grace and His Joy this season.

Days 4 & 5 - Giving and Receiving

Wow, I've never blogged this frequently EVER, in all of the 3 years that I've been blogging! ha! This is good for me. :) So, day 4, Saturday, was kind of a whirlwind of events for us. Didn't really get to do a giving "event" like I would want. However, I did find that my mind was focused on giving a lot throughout the day...intentional Christmas shopping for other people, baking food for people, etc. I had to make a quick run to the grocery store, and when I got there, I immediately saw the Salvation Army bell ringer out front. I knew that this time I couldn't just pass by. So, I dug through my purse searching for as much change as I could find, and on my way out of the store, I stopped to drop it in the bucket. It was a small act...a VERY small act. But I have to believe that somehow, at some point, it will help someone.

Later that night, a strange chill QUICKLY fell over me. It was weird. All of a sudden, I got a fever, cold chills, body aches, sore throat, and a pounding headache. I could not get warm, no matter how many blankets I piled on top of me! It was horrible. I finally fell asleep, moaning and groaning all night long because my body was aching so much. I never thought my whole body could become so sensitive like that! I mean it hurt to roll over, put socks on, and even try to walk! So strange. Needless to say, when Sunday morning rolled around, I was NOT going anywhere. I was completely sick! And this is not fun for a momma. Boo. So, Sunday ended up being my day of RECEIVING, not giving. :) My mom helped out with Graham, and then she brought Ryan and me lunch. Then sweet Ryan took care of me all day, bringing me water, medicine, taking my temp., and attending to our kiddos. That is no small task! He did a great job and he served me well. I felt very loved.
Oh, and I almost forgot! A sweet friend at church sent a gift back with my mom to give to us...it was definitely a random act of kindness! She gave us a bag of little hair rubber bands for Abigail and special shampoo, because she had told me that her little girl had hair like Abi does, and these were the things that she used. So sweet and thoughtful! So of course, I had to try out the hair bands...OH. MY. GOODNESS. PIG TAILS ON MY ALMOST 6-MONTH OLD BABY GIRL!
Fits her, don't you think?? :)

Day 3 - Giving Treats!

Wow, I am quickly falling behind on my blogging, but I will try to keep you up to speed with our Giving Challenge. There are two challenges when it comes to this giving thing...1. To actually get up and go DO IT. and 2. To do it with a JOYFUL heart, overflowing with a "giving spirit." We don't want to give just to check it off of our TO DO list. We want to learn to give because we can't imagine NOT giving. That's part of why I want to do this. I want GIVING to become just a natural part of who we are...that we don't even have to think twice about it, we just do it. And I want it to be a natural part of who my kids are. I want them to love to give and to find enjoyment in it.

On Friday, we went to dinner as a family at one of our favorite little Mexican restaurants in town. Chicas. It's not your typical tex-mex...their food seems much more fresh and even heart-healthier, if you will. :) I love it. I love their tacos, their black beans, their fresh fruit. YUM. Anyway, so we went their for an early dinner, and afterwards, we decided to pick up a yummy treat to give away. We went and bought a big, fluffily vanilla cupcake, with colorful sprinkles on top. We got back in the car, and as a family, we literally sat there and asked, "Who could we bless with this cupcake tonight??" We kept asking and asking, and then we thought of someone! Not knowing if she would be home at 8 o'clock on a Friday night, we drove to her house. Graham got out and walked up to her front door with cupcake in hand. She came to the door all bundled up in blankets because she was sick! She was thrilled to see us! And actually, she had been wanting something sweet to eat and just didn't have anything there at the house. So she was blessed to receive the gift! And we were blessed to be able to give it to her. She said she felt like Angels were watching over her. How cool is that?! Funny what just a small act of kindness can do for another person. Giving away this cupcake really topped off our whole evening! It was fun. :)
Here is Graham delivering the goods to our friend Anne, and some pretty Christmas lights we saw along the way...

Day 2 - Giving & Serving

It's day 2 of our challenge and we didn't get to leave the house on this day! So...we GAVE through HOSPITALITY! I invited a few other young moms over, and their boys who are Graham's friends, for coffee. I told Graham that we were having friends over and that he would get to share his toys with them. I think he did a pretty good job at sharing. :)

I love having people in my home! Especially during the holiday season. We had the Christmas decor up and the Christmas music going...fresh tea and coffee...and the holiday candles burning. It is so important for me to be able to connect with other moms who are in the exact same phase of life. We can talk, relate, encourage and share with each other. It is life-giving and very much needed. But I've realized that for so many of us, it is hard to actually initiate something. Probably because we get bogged down with our daily routines and feel overwhelmed with kiddos, etc. But part of it may also be fear, insecurity, or just wanting to wait until someone actually pursues us. I know I think and feel that way a lot. But sometimes we just need to pursue first. Take the first step, because we all want that relationship and community. Anyway, this time, I decided to just go for it and initiate something. Because I WANT to make time for people in my life...for relationships to deepen and grow. And I need it! So I'm trying to get better at initiating and pursuing people...and GIVING of myself and my time in that way.

We had a good time together, but as you can imagine, with 4 young boys running around it got a bit out of control at times! But that is just the phase of life we're in now. And at least we can all understand that together. I love my friends, and their kiddos too. And I'm so happy that I can open my home up to them...and I hope to do it a lot more in the future! :-)

The Giving Challenge

Today I woke up with a thought in my head. And instead of just dwelling on it for a bit and then throwing it out the window with so many others that I've had, I decided to just GO WITH IT.

Last night I had the privilege of attending a banquet here in Oklahoma City for the Whiz Kids organization. This is a faith-based, tutoring/mentorship program for kids in elementary school. It is making a huge impact here in OKC. The key-note speaker at the banquet was Collins Tuhoy, the sister from the movie The Blind Side. She told her story of how her family became so connected to Michael Orr and the impact he had and is still having on their lives and hearts. It's a pretty amazing story. Her charge at the end of her speech was, as we walk away from this banquet, away from hearing stories of lives that are being impacted and changed, that we would STOP. Turn Around. And ACT. That we would be people who ACT. Not just hear and be encouraged, but ACT.

So back to my thought for today. The Giving Challenge. I want to teach my children that it is better to GIVE than to receive. That it is more fulfilling to GO and GIVE away, because we have been given so much. And THEY have so much to give. And God calls us to GO and GIVE it away to others, to the world, in whatever way we can. So my thought for us, for me, for my kids, my family, is to do the Giving Challenge.
Today is December 1, 2010. For the next 25 days, I am challenging myself to do an "ACT of Giving" every day with my kids. This will challenge me to first THINK of and LOOK for opportunities, to be proactive, to be CREATIVE, and to ACT. As an act of accountability, I will post what we do each day...give me grace on posting though! I might get behind on the blogging, but hopefully not on the giving! I'm praying that this will have an impact on me and my heart, making me more sensitive and aware of ways that I can give and encourage and impact, as well as teaching my 3 year old son that he can make a difference in people's lives...that even at a young age, he can give and influence and share what's been given to him.

So today's ACT was taking clothes and toys to GOODWILL. I asked Graham if he wanted to give some of his toys away to kids who didn't have any, and he responded with a resounding, "YES!" He was so excited to go through his room and pick out toys to give away. It's already in him! This generous, joyful-giving spirit!!! I love it. A child's heart is so precious. His only disappointment was that we didn't actually get to "see" the kids. He kept asking me where they were! Sometimes I forget that kids are so literal. :) Here are some pics from today's Giving Act...




If you have "GIVING" stories to share during this season, I would love to hear them! Or, if you would like to join in on our 25 day Giving Challenge, that would be awesome too! Either way, I hope that all of our hearts are sparked to give a little more this holiday season.

P.S. My daughter had an INCREDIBLY, HUGE blowout diaper during the writing of this post. So I was interrupted with this stinky explosion, which required bathtime and all. Just wanted you to know it's always just a normal mommy-day life over here in these neck of the woods. Fun times. :)

I Blinked...

...and my babies GREW like crazy!! What in the world?!? So, today is November 18, 2010. It is exactly one week until Thanksgiving, and 37 days until Christmas. I am in shock. Not only because the holidays are here, but because my babies are growing like small TREES right before my very eyes! Seriously. Where is the time going? Today I realized that I am still feeding my little girl like she was a newborn baby, when I suddenly realized, she's not a newborn any more. She's FIVE months old! I should have dropped like 1 or 2 feedings by now, but oh well. It's gone so fast, that just seemed to slip my mind. She has been the WONDER baby! Sleeping through the night by 4 weeks old, hardly ever crying, just happy and content most of the time...oh, and a fabulous eater. :) Sometimes I wonder if it's going by too fast...am I missing things...am I taking it all in?? But then I remember how in love I am with this little person, and this stage right now (5 months) is one of my absolute favorites! She is so interactive and aware. She coos like crazy. She grabs her toes. She smiles. She laughs. She rolls around. She grabs my face, my hands, my hair. She's precious. And her HAIR just keeps on growing! Oh, and have I told you how CRAZY she is about her big brother?? He is the only one that can make her belly laugh! She loves him so much, that she can't take her eyes off of him! I love watching them interact and "play" together. They definitely make life much sweeter right now.






I just can't get over how quickly they change. And that very fact is the thing that just makes me want to have more. :)

Are you Rich?

Finding richness of soul... A couple of weeks ago I had what you could call a "moment" with God. I love these moments. They seem to happen at the perfect time in my life, in my day. And I think that this moment happened simply because I was asking for it. It's amazing what God will do if we just ASK. A lot has come out of this particular moment, and I believe that even more will come forth. Because I believe God awoke/is waking some things inside of me, in my soul. It's good. And it's good because I'm feeling the nearness of God again. Sometimes we can feel as if the Lord is light years away from us...wondering if He even has a clue what's going on in our lives, in our hearts, our minds, etc. Other times, He seems so close and real, that we can actually feel His presence in our midst...as if your best friend was sitting right next to you. The reassuring thing is - even when He may seem distant to us, He's not. He's always right there. Right beside me; right beside you. So the conclusion, then, that must be drawn is, if we feel that "distance," it is not Him who is far away, but us.

I was desperate and longing to feel that closeness again, so with the mercy and grace that He always shows me, He gently nudged me back to His side. As I was processing and reflecting on things I felt He was saying to me, a good friend reminded me of the the little book, Practicing His Presence, by Brother Lawrence & Frank Laubach. I have underlined a good portion of the book, which I'm sure I will continue referring to. But the first thing that seemed to catch my attention in this book, was this: "It is not fashion to tell your inmost thoughts, but there are many wrong fashions, and concealment of the best in us is wrong. I disapprove of the usual practice of talking 'small talk' whenever we meet, and holding a veil over our souls. If we are so impoverished that we have nothing to reveal but small talk, then we need to struggle for more richness of soul... My part is to live this hour in continuous inner conversation with God and in perfect responsiveness to his will, to make this hour gloriously rich."
Chew on that for a bit. :)
So I am on a quest now, that will help produce greater richness in me and in my soul. And I fully believe I can find this richness where I am right now, being a wife and a mom of two kiddos, trying to sort through the dirty diapers, the disciplining, the good, the bad, the highs, the lows, etc, etc. I can find a deeper and greater richness, because I have His presence in my life. And that is all I need.

Something New

Thought it was time for me to get a fresh new look for my simple little blog. So here it is...a new look for a new season of my life. Maybe these colors will inspire more creativity. I'm feeling inspired tonight already...inspired and motivated. Looking forward to what this inspiration and motivation might produce. Hopefully it will be something I can blog about - HA!

A Million and Two

Yes, that's right. There are a million and two things in my life that I'd love to write about right now. It's been so long. I feel like my pen has run dry, and I've been searching for more ink for a couple of months...no, scratch that...for a couple of YEARS. Writing is an outlet for me, and when I feel like I can't do it, or when I can't find the time, a part of me aches. I need the release. I don't know how many blogs and journal entries I've written in my head. What has happened to my quiet time? My down time? My times of reflection? My creativity? At the stage of life I'm in, it's challenging to find this time. Then, if I do get the time, it's almost like I don't even know what to do with it any more. I am a MOM. This is one of the most amazing, fulfilling, and joyful gifts anyone could ever ask for. How blessed I feel that God would entrust two of his incredible little miracles to my care and upbringing. Wow. I am so grateful. But with such blessing also comes many challenging and stretching times as well. The biggest challenge is usually a constant dying to myself. In a world that tells me that life is and should be all about me and what I need, it's sometimes difficult to veer past that false reality and realize that it's not all about ME. It's not all about what I need to make me comfortable, happy and safe. But my flesh fights this...probably on a daily basis. Now my days are filled with pouring out everything that's been poured into me to train and love my children; to love my husband; to be more of the woman that God has created me to be. And I guess, right now, that's what I'm trying to figure out how to do well. How do I balance these things in my life? How do I continue to think of myself less, and focus on the amazing gifts that are right in front of me? BALANCE. Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to conduct a juggling act...feeding, burping, changing diapers, cleaning house, disciplining, playing, going to the grocery store, making dinner, loving my husband, loving my kids, my friends, etc, etc, etc. I want to do it all well, with a joyful heart, and still find time to be still and quiet, grow myself, enjoy creativity and hobbies, take care of my body, etc. How do I do it all?? Whew. I'm making myself dizzy! I guess the good news is that there is GRACE. A much-needed grace. Nobody figures it all out right away. It's a journey. And I'm right in the middle of this journey.
I once had a wiser, older woman in my life tell me that there is always a battle over the priorities in our lives. But the number one priority has to be my relationship with the Lord. Me and God. So first I focus on HIM and what He's asking me to do/change/reflect on/etc. In the midst of a GIANT transition, like having a 2nd baby, that #1 priority can get thrown off kilter a little bit. And, I think I need a bit of a readjustment today. I need more of HIM. Need HIM to fill me up, and remind that I can do this. I can do the things He's called me to, and I can do them well. I can push through on the hard days, when I feel like I don't know what I'm doing or that I'm not loving well or that I just want to focus on myself. I can do it, because He's in me. And I can fight through the selfishness, because HE is greater in me.
Story: The other day, I was in the car with my two kiddos. After running errands all day, I made it home in time to unload the groceries, put my 3 year old down for a nap, and feed my baby girl, all before cleaning the house for our company that was coming over that night. I pulled in the driveway, with Ryan Adams "La Cienega Just Smiled" (my favorite tune at the moment) blaring in the speakers. I sat there before unloading and going inside, listening to the song. I started crying, as I sat there thinking of all the things that I'd like to do, feeling like I'm still trying to figure out who I am, just thinking of me, me, me. When all of a sudden, out of nowhere, my three year old pipes up, "Mommy, you know what?" I responded, "What?" He exclaimed, "I love Jesus." And my mothers heart smiled. Thank you God for children who remind us what life is really all about.

I look forward to posting the other million and one thoughts on another day...

DETOUR

Um, well, so I got a little sidetracked there for a while...had somewhat of a detour in my life. Not only do I have another baby now, but she is actually 2 months old! Yeah, I decided I needed to take off the "new baby banner" at the top of my blog. Left it on there a tad bit too long. Seeing as how the last blog I posted was when I was 32 weeks pregnant, you can understand that I've been caught up in a major whirl wind. But life is good. Let me introduce you to my daughter, Miss Abigail Jay Smith...



I love her so much. My cup runneth over...

LIGHT and JOY

When I was pregnant with my sweet little boy, Graham, I felt like God told me to pray for JOY. So I did, I prayed over and over again that he would have a joyful spirit and be full of the joy of the Lord. And from a very early age, I could tell that God answered that prayer. He continues to bring so much joy into our lives, our friends and families, and even into strangers lives.
Now, being pregnant with my precious baby girl, the words that I am praying over her are LIGHT and JOY. In my first trimester, I drove to a park and sat in the car and just began praying for this tiny baby growing inside of me. And the word that I got for her was LIGHT. So I've been praying that she would be full of the light of Jesus. These scriptures come to mind when I'm praying for my daughter...
"For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true." Eph. 5:8-9
"You are the light of the world - like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden... Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." Matt. 5:14, 16
"If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light." Luke 11:36

Continuing to pray that our little girl would be full of Light and Joy...

This is me, pregnant at 32 weeks. We're growing strong! Not much longer to go though...

Best Dance Moves Ever

It's no secret that my son loves his music. And loving music leads him to lots of dancing. Here are some of his most recent, stellar dance moves. I'm telling you, he could win some competitions with these moves!

Happy.

My baby girl's arrival is fast approaching. I am so excited to meet this tiny girl who keeps knocking around my belling, pushing things here and there! And I get more excited every day...a GIRL! We'll have another girl in the Smith household. I can't believe it!

So, a few weeks ago I had to take the routine Glucose Screening test that you have to do when you're pregnant. I HATE this test. You have to drink this nasty, super sweet orange liquid stuff within 5 minutes, then they draw your blood. People will tell you, "Oh it tastes like Gatorade. It's not so bad." NO - IT IS HORRIBLE. This is to check if you have gestational diabetes. Well, I failed the first test. I was so frustrated and depressed about this, because I also failed it when I was pregnant with Graham. Since I failed it, I had to go back for the THREE HOUR test. This test I HATE even MORE than the first! I had to drink more of the nasty orange junk, only TWICE as strong as the first time; then they had to draw my blood FOUR different times over the span of 3 hours. BLAH. And I had to just sit there. and wait. and wait. and wait. So, I had a lot of worry and anxiety going on in my mind there for a little while. But good news! I found out yesterday that the test came back totally normal! Praise the Lord. One less thing I have to think about. I'm feeling great in this pregnancy. I am slightly anemic, which makes me a little tired right about now. But I'm taking Iron pills to help fight that. So overall, this has been a great pregnancy. And I can't believe I only have two more months of it. Yippee!!

It's time to get my daughter's nursery ready for her arrival. The kind UPS man delivered her bedding today!!! It's so soft and girly - I love it. Birds and trees. That's the theme I'm going with. Here's a picture of the bedding, but of course, it will look different in our house... (and hopefully even better!)



Isn't that the cutest baby mobile you've ever seen?! I think our little girl will love it. By the way, we're still praying about her name. The middle name is set, but we still have about 4 or 5 first names that we keep going back to. There's one name we came up with when I was pregnant with Graham, but I just don't know if it's the one or not! It's SO difficult to name a child. But I believe the Lord will show us what her name is...and it will be just perfect for her. But you'll have to wait until she is born to hear the verdict!

Loving the Sun

Finally, the sun has arrived in Oklahoma! The last few days have been in the 70s and 80s...just perfect for me. Graham and I have been taking advantage of this incredible weather. We've been playing in the backyard and going to parks every day. Life is so much easier (and exciting) when we can actually both go outside and run around for a bit. I was made for warm weather. I love the fall and I love an occasional heavy snowfall, but deep down I was made for sunshine and warmth. Here's my little cutie releasing some of his wild boyhood energy!





Looking forward to more carefree days like this! Tomorrow is the beginning of April...wow, I can't believe it.

Spring is in Bloom

Spring time is quickly approaching, and all I can think about is that I'm ready to be skinny again. Ha! Ok, that's not all I can think about, but I am ready to fit into normal clothes again! I am just a few days away from entering my third trimester of this pregnancy. It's FLOWN by. Every day we are getting more and more excited about meeting our baby girl. Who, by the way, is still nameless. We're praying that we know her name soon. With her due date getting nearer, we have been in the "purging and organizing" mode, which has been wonderful. Trying to get rid of junk we don't need; getting Graham ready for his big boy room; organizing and cleaning like crazy. We even bought a beautiful new dresser for our master bedroom! Now Ryan can actually keep his clothes in our room. We are determined to make a comfortable home as a family of 4 in this 1350 square foot house! We're just trying to simplify and it feels good.
And I feel good too, just getting bigger every day. I'm trying to stay active, chasing after and entertaining my little toddler boy. But some days this hard. I just get tired more quickly. We are so excited warm weather is around the corner. I was MADE for warm weather and sunshine. I look forward to lots of park days, zoo dates and plenty of time by the pool over these next 3 months. Plus, did I mention I'm ready to CUT my hair?? I have this thing with keeping it long while I'm pregnant. I feel like my face gets fatter, so therefore I need to keep it longer. Anyway, it's killing me. I just want to chop it off. But I'll try to hold off for a bit longer!
Here's a sweet picture of our baby girl...full of LIGHT already!! Can't wait for the world to meet her!

Latest Creative Adventure

Something that I've wanted to do for a long time now is go on a photo shoot somewhere in Oklahoma. So, a couple of weeks ago, when my sweet mother-in-law contacted me and told me she wanted to spend the day with her grandson, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity! It was a great productive and fun-filled day...my very own "free" mother's day out! I contacted my dear friend Crystal who is also a lover of photography (and has a crazy, massive, big camera), and asked her if she wanted to spend the afternoon with me. It was perfect timing for her, because she just started a new photography class. Our destination was Downtown OKC, with the landscaping of historic buildings that lined the streets. We found a parking spot, grabbed our cameras, and headed out on foot, searching for the perfect shot. Needless to say, we had a blast! And hopefully this will only be the first outing of our creative adventures together! These were some of my favorites that I captured. Hope you like them. And for those of you that don't live in Oklahoma, hopefully this will give you a taste of this great city right in the heartland. Enjoy these treasures that I captured...




















And of course, I had to get a few snap shots of my photographer friend! Love these photos of you, Crystal!


Did you have any favorites? I'd love to know which photos you liked!