A Perfect Park Day

For some, a perfect February day might include snowmen, snow angels, and hot chocolate. In Phoenix, Arizona, it includes green grass, warm weather, playground equipment....and, of course, a good friend. Last week I met my friend Lindsay at the park for a picnic lunch and playtime. She has a little girl about K-Bugs age and the most adorable son, just starting to pull-up from crawling. My girls and her daughter are just reaching that age where they actually want to explore play and interaction with someone else "their size". We let the kids play on the playground, munched on sandwiches, took the older girls to go potty, and then decided to have some playtime on the grass with varous size balls that Lindsay had stashed in her SUV. All of this might some boring for me to write about, but it was the impression the day had on my heart that matters to me. It was simply enjoying my children - like the way that K-Bug and Lindsay's daughter went around holding hands, and the cute way that Lore-lin's hips swivel when she ran after the balls in the grass. It was the way the grass tickled my bare feet, and the sun shone on my face, and the conversation was comfortable, casual, and deep all at the same time. It was quite simply, a perfect morning for me - enjoying being in God's creation, and surrounded by those I hold dear. I don't want to forget it - truly, I wish to slow down often enough to repeat it as much as possible.

Valentine's Day - Part 2

I have to so much to say about this holiday, I couldn't even fit it all in one post. I have to tell you about the WONDERFUL experience of the Valentine's exchange that my women's bible study did - I love my batch of Sisterchicks SO much! It really was one of the higlights of my Valentine's experience this year. Due to my large affection for Valentine's Day, I lightly suggested - or strongly forced- I don't remember....:) that we do a Valentine's exchange among all the women in our group. Most of the women were open to the idea, but were a little unsure of what to bring, what to do, etc....
The night came, and everyone's creativity came out in the form of cards, candy (thanks, Nickle Pickle, for the edible bracelets which everyone crunched on the rest of the night), and Bible verses. The love that these gifts displayed was overwhelming, and while our little Valentine's goodie bags were full to the brim, I know that my heart was overflowing with the gift of friendship that each of the Valentine's represented. I haven't been able to let go of the cards - I made Brandie's butterfuly into a magnet for my fridge!
The greatest gift of all is the irresistable love of Jesus, who romances us, pursues us, and loves us with a love that we can NEVER be seperated from!

Valentine's Day - Part 1

Those who are know me (and especially those who happen to go to Bible Study with me), know that I am slightly obssessed with Valentine's Day. As a matter of fact, my friend Lindsay just told me last night that all of the Valentine's books at Barnes and Noble are 50% off, and I have literally been thinking ALL day that I need to go and get some for next year. I bought window clings (K-bug went around counting all the hearts on the window), spent an afternoon painting and decorating Valentine's with the girls, and basically found an excuse to stop at the Valentine card section whenever I went grocery shopping. My dear hubby only ended up with two Valentine's cards, even though I wanted to buy him at least a dozen, and I made up some Valentine's packages to send to my brother, sister, and their respective spouses across the country. I bought the girls Valentine's dresses (matching, of course) and make the trek (with dear hubby in tow) into Kiddie Kandids to get Valentine's pictures (we were happy to get even ONE good shot though, since Lauren decided to not cooperate during picture time.....that's another story...).
So, you get the picture, that I am Ga-Ga over this holiday. The truth is, I always have been. I have vivi childhood memories of Valentine's. I rememer getting Highlights magazine, and each year, turning to the craft section to see what the Valentine's crafts were. Then, I did ALL of them -every single one. Even though I was homeschooled, I made my Mom a special "teacher's" valentine. In college, I worked for a few years at a Hallmark store, and Valentine's was OUR day (I know that many of you men out there complain that it always has been Hallmark's day). Anyway, I LOVED it! I loved helping the men find cards, gifts, etc for their wives, girlfriends, and family members. Each year, from opening to closing, a wall of men would strech in a line that went all the way to the door. :)
As I grew in my love for the Lord, I would always take extra time on Valentine's day to remember His awesome love for me. So, what an amazing gift the Lord gave me, when I met my hubby on Valentine's Day. My best friend, Christy, and I had just gone out for pizza and a movie (we agreed to be each others dates, sinces we were "dateless" on this particular V-Day). Brian had just come from his Grandmother's funeral, and was hanging-out at Christy's house with Christy's older brother, Rob. My dear hubby jokes that it was the handshake that went on forever, but our lives both changed that day. The Lord started our love story on that day - and every Valentine's since, we celebrate Bri-met-Stacy Day (or vice versa). This year is our Tenth anniversary of the day we met - WOW! My dear, sweet husband - you rock my world!

Sharing A Room

First of all, let me say a big "Thank you!" to my friend Monna for being kind enough to e-mail me and ask when in the world I was going to get my be-hind in gear and start blogging again....her prodding worked and here I am, back in the blog-o-sphere.
I will go back in time to share some of the Christmas adventures of '06 with you (and I of course have to tell you about Valentine's Day!) but I thought I would start out by sharing the most recent news of the Smith household. Just last night, we moved Lore-lin into K-bug's room. It's a little tight with a crib and a toddler bed in the same room, but that just means that they are cozy, right? We have talked about the girls sharing a room from the time that Lore-lin was born - we've only just now had the guts to actually do it. They are both sleeping through the night (with the occasional nightmare or sickness keeping them awake), and putting them in together means we free up a whole room in our tiny house - maybe my hubby and I will temporarily get our bedroom back (instead of having it be the office, the music room, etc....) Yesterday's first go of the shared bedroom was at nap-time - hubby was off for President's Day, and we though this might be the perfect time to try. Of course, as we expected, the girl's chattered and squealed and laughed their way through "nap-time", despite our own repeated attempts to calm and or mildly discipline them. Last night, though, they both laid down, exhausted from the lack of nap, and slept like angels through the night. Naptime today was a little better, with Lore-lin sleeping well, and K-Bug, while not sleeping, amiably reading books for the duration of an hour in bed.
I have many, many memories of sharing a room with my sister as we grew up. As a matter of fact, I was in college before my sister and I had seperate rooms (or seperate beds, for that matter). Despite the blanket wars, the closet wars, and all of the other things associated with sharing a room with my sis, I wouldn't have changed a moment of it. I love you Autumny! :) I hope my girls will feel the same...

Blogging 2007 - I'm Baaack!

It's been a long road back to the world of blogging, but as I looked at all of my old posts today, I realized just HOW much I miss this blogging - the chance for me to share my heart with so many of the friends and family I don't get to see on a daily basis. So, here I am, back to blogging, with LOTS to share!!