More Rejoicing!

Just a few more pics of the girlies playing in the puddles after the rain!

 

SPLASH,SPLASH,SPLASH!!

 

 

I had to take this picture of the cat! He ran outside just as the rain was starting to fall, and of course, immediately came back inside. THIS is the look he gave me, like it was MY FAULT that it was raining! I cracked up!!

Rejoicing In The Rain!

It's finally arrived - Mosoon 2007. The time when that wet stuff that the rest of the nation knows as RAIN makes a stop in Phoenix, Arizona.

All I can say is - YAAA-HOOO!!!!

And despite being so sick that walking from one room to another can cause dry heaves(sorry...not a pleasant thought, huh?) the girlies and I had just had to stand on our front porch and welcome in the first few rainstorms of the summer monsoon season.

K-Bug had the idea to grab hers and Lorelin's jackets (it was their rain-coats, of course! :) and to put on some hats (You have to have a rain-hat, Mommy...no pics, but I wore a hat too). Last, but not least, K-Bug got out her bearly-used (hee,hee) Care Bears umbrella.

 

So, we stood on the front porch and watched as the storm rolled in.

 

At the first hint of thunder, K-Bug said, "Let's go back inside now", but little sister Lorelin would have braved the elements head-on from the driveway if I would have let her.

As it was, the wind blew so much that we managed to get plenty damp right on our front porch. Look at all that rain!! (this is the part where I prayed that I wouldn't drop the digital camera while trying to capture said rain on film..:)

 

After the storm was over, we, of course, had to go out and splash in the puddles!

 

I am thankful to report that the weatherman is calling for a high chance of rain all week, and even now as I write, I hear the sound of raindrops falling.

Thank you Lord for the rain!!

Roughing It...

I wish I was talking about camping...

Truth is, my morning sickness hit hard over the weekend, and has not let up for a second of relief. I was quite sick with both of my girl's pregnancies, and I guess this one has decided to not be an exception.

I don't remember my other sickness being around-the-clock though...I am literally up at all hours, visiting the bathroom.

Bless my sweet K-Bugs's heart, she has been so sensitive today. As she has found me bent over the toilet, she has given me back rubs, covered me with her blankets, and offered many words of encouragement.

"It's Ok, Mommy"
"You alright, Mommy!"

She even left once and came back with one of my cooking magazines with a "Here's something for you to read, Mommy"

I think Lore-lin is a bit mystified as to why Mommy is in the bathroom so much, but she has proceeded to follow her sister's lead and bring toys and what-not in to me. :)

I have my first OB appointment tomorrow, and I plan to ask for ANY further relief they can give me, as I cannot forsee being completely house (or bathroom)bound for the next two months. I must take care of my girls, and still try to some-what run a household.

In the meantime, I am literally flat on my back, and praying for the weeks to quickly roll by. I know God's grace will carry me, because I can't carry myself. :)

Gather My Insecurities...

I don't ever desire to use my blog as my whining place, and there is a big part of me that believes that is part of my issue. However, I do desire to be transparent, and it's that part of me I hope comes out.

I am feeling insecure right now.

There..I said it..

And I really dislike the feeling.

I feel insecure about my body, which is already undergoing changes. I don't feel pregnant..I just feel overly pudgy at this point.

And, so many days, I wonder, if I'm too much or not enough for those people around me, especially my friends and family. You know the dance - trying to be "just right" and balanced in all of your relationships, all the while wondering if you really are.

So, I went searching last night, and the God who bends down and listens to me whine..ahem...pray...gave my heart the reassurance that it needed.

Romans 8: 38-39 - "And I am convinced that nothing can ever seperate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to seperate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (NLT)

Nothing...not hormones or my own insecurities. I aslo found this great verse.

Psalm 52:8 - "But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I trust in God's unfailing love forever and ever." (NLT)

Again, what a relief. My trust is not in myself, but in God's amazing love, which, if you didn't catch it up there, we can NEVER, no, not EVER be seperated from.

After reading in my Bible a bit, I opened up the book Captivating (by John and Stasi Eldridge) and, turning to the back, my eyes fell upon some encouragement that, again, God knew my heart needed.

"As a woman who has been ransomed and redeemed, you can be strong and tender. You speak to the world of God's mercy, mystery, beauty, and his desire for intimate relationship. You are inviting; you can risk being vulnerable, offering the weight of your life as well as your need for more because you are safe in God's love."

There it was again. I am safe in God's love. I thrive in God's love. I can't be seperated from His love.

Those are all really great reasons to JUST BE ME - pregnant pooch and all.

I'm ending this post with the lyrics of a Reliant K song called "For The Moment I Feel Faint" (go download it. It's not a typical sounding Reliant K song. It's very acoutic...really nice)

Lord, I gather all of my insufficiencies and place them in your hands...

Am I at the point of no improvement?
What of the death I still dwell in?
I try to excel, but I feel no movement.
Can I be free of this unreleasable sin?

Never underestimate my Jesus.
You're telling me that there's no hope.
I'm telling you your wrong.

Never underestimate my Jesus
When the world around you crumbles
He will be strong, He will be strong

I throw up my hands
Oh, the impossibilities
Frustrated and tired
Where do I go from here?
Now I'm searching for the confidence I've lost so willingly
Overcoming these obstacles is overcoming my fear

I think I can't, I think I can't
But I think you can, I think you can
I think I can't, I think I can't
But I think you can, I think you can
Gather my insufficiencies and
Place them in your hands, place them in your hands, place them in your hands

Busy Summer...

It's been a few days since I've blogged, but we've been a busy little crew, especially these past few weeks. I've actually had to watch the calendar to make sure that we still have a few mornings still at home. Here's just a peek of what we've been up to.

 

This is a picture of the girls in their Gymsters class. Each Monday, Teacher Lonnie (or Lom-nee, as my girls pronouce it) comes to the Valley Cathedral Church (a church in the West Valley) and leads the kids in lots of fun and phsyical activies. The program includes learning all of the scientific names for our body parts (both girls go around chanting...patealla bones, patella bones, our knees are our PA-TELL-A BONES!!) and also includes sign language. It's fun to have the girlies in an activity that they can both enjoy together.

 

Here's Lore-lin playing with a ball in her Gymsters class.

 

Here's both girlies...it's hard to tell from the picture, but they are trying to hit the balls with the big, giant plastic hands.

We've also been beating the heat (or at least trying to) by spending as much time in the water as possible. Here's a pic of the girlies and I at a breakfast/swim party at a friend's house.

 

This morning, we went to Bounce U with my church's MOMS group, and each week finds us at swim lessons for K-bugs. I'll try to post more pictures of the Smith summer fun sometime soon..

Sleepy And Weepy..

Now, I just know that you cruised on over to the blog to hear even more about my little ol' hormones, and are just absolutely riveted to hear a play-by-play of all of my cranky, weepy, pregnant moments.

So, not to dissapoint...

I watched Charlotte's Web last night with K-bug and let's just say that I was swallowing many lumps and wiping away tears for quite a few...okay....all...of the heartwarming scenes in the movie. It's just that that pig IS SO DOGGONE CUTE and the friendship between Wilbur and Charlotte is just SO BEAUTIFUL...and...well...

I am just really pregnant. The Hormone Express has definitely arrived.

Warm and fuzzy cereal commercials have me grabbing for a Kleenex.

Now, I am normally what you might call a passionate and emotional person, but add a bucket of hormones, and I am like a Water Wiggle looking for a place to land. My dear hubby is very supportive. He hands me a few pieces of chocolate and pats my back, and works-out often to support his own sanity! :)

HA! Seriously, although I am what you might call a "tad" bit more emotional than normal,overall I have been feeling just fine. My tired body has blessedly been able to induldge in daily naps...

Do you hear that?

That was my bed...telling me that it's time...

Better go nap now.

One last note, my dear hubby told me last night. "Girls are strange sometimes, and pregnant women are even stranger..." Guys, if you agree with this, don't tell me or any other pregnant woman. It might start us to crying(for the record, I didn't cry when he said this...I laughed) and well, a pregnant woman's emotions are indeed a "strange" thing..

Wide Open Spaces

 

Wide open spaces. Expanses of land or water. My heart drinks in the glory of the Creator whose hand crafted such beauty, and a part of my soul wakes up to breathe.

I am almost clausterphobic somtimes in this endless concrete jungle, with buildings in the West Valley of Phoenix springing up overnight. And then, I see a picture like this, and, even for a moment, I stop.....

Plain and simple. Wide open spaces make my heart come alive.

What makes your heart come alive?

Feeling Sluggish...But Hungry

 

Blargh.....I feel like I'm moving through molasses syrup as the news of my pregnancy has made me stop and take notice of what I thought was just some uncommon fatigue these past few weeeks. That fatigue is probably here to stay for just a few more weeks more, eh? :)

I have been napping when the girls nap, and climbing into bed before my dear hubby each night (and believe me, that does not EVER happen!)

Thankfully, though, all the nausea that I had been feeling these past few weeks is gone. The doctors don't think is connected to my pregnancy. I do, bu we won't be able to tell until I have an ultrasound done sometime in the near future.

Anyway, the nasuea has gone away and my tummy is surprisingly "even" feeling. However, as my nausea has abated, my love for food has increased dramatically. Last night, as we stood around the snack table at Bible study, my friend Brandie (who is also brand-new pregnant) and I had a TEN-MINUTE CONVERSATION ABOUT FOOD.

No kidding...

And it was a passionate conversation that went something like this:

Me: Oh, I just LOVE Guacamole, don't you?
Brandie: I totally LOVE it! I could eat it on everything. What about sour cream?
Me: I ADORE sour cream! I wish I had some right now!
Brandie: Me too! How about some more tahini dip?
Me: Oh, I just LOVE this Tahini dip.
Brandie: Me too! Here, have another pita chip...

Our hands were basically blurs as we had a continous motion of food from the table to our mouths during the conversation.

All-you-can eat salad bars would tremble at the sight of these two hungry mommas...

And I just have to say, that although my dear hubby is already calling me "The Pregnant Princess" I am just absolutely craving a Banana Creme Italian Soda with extra cream......

Maybe my Prince Charming will pick one up for me on the way home from work?

Happy Birthday Honey!

 

All of the family (both sides) and many friends all went in together to get my dear hubby a Nintendo Wii for his birthday. We gave it to him at his birthday party (at Chuck E Cheese, thank you very much) today. He was VERY surprised and almost little-boy giddy about it by the time we got it home. Thanks everyone!

Oh, by the way, that's not the announcement. Look below for that...hee.hee..

Guess What?..or Should I Say Guess Who?

 

Ok, so this is a really lousy shot, but if you kind-of squint and turn your head sideways, you can see TWO little lines that indicate the doctor's results of a pregnancy test taken this past Friday morning.

If you can't see (again, bad picture), I'm sure you can guess that the results were POSITIVE!! We are expecting one more little Smith-let, with a due date set for March 19.

Some of you might be shocked (I am), others may have thought this was coming (I did...it's weird how I feel both. We have been leaving the results of having baby number three in the Lord's hands, and we are so thankful that He has seen fit to bless us crazy Smiths with one more little life.

I wonder so many things right now. Can I do this? Really? Some days I feel as though I am barely able to keep it all together, and other days I feel as though I can conquer the world.

I hear my girls laughing just now...oh wait..now Lore-lin's crying (be right back) and I wonder if I can do all of the sibling stuff x3.

But then....

Then I pat my tummy, and smile, and already love this tiny little life with all of my being (great...now I'm starting to cry...DADGUM HORMONES...) and think everything will be wonderful.

With God leading the way...it's going to be an amazing ride. Thank you all for being the family and friends crazy enough to come along for the ride. :)

So Blessed (And So Were They!)

 

Hello All...although I did ask many of you to be in prayer for my sis-in-law Carmen (pictured above) and her trip to Guetamala, I didn't get to post all of her information here before she started out on her mission trip. She returned safely to my brother's arms (thank you Lord!)late on July 3rd. I haven't yet had the chance to talk to her personally yet (I'll have to rememdy that soon), but I have heard (through my Mom) that her trip was full of ups and downs. I know that Carmen was busy the entire time she was there. She was busy before the trip even began, as she was asked to translate many of the English Bible Study materials into Spanish for their use on the trip. She particpated in adult Bible studies, and played an important role in the Vacation Bible Schools that were held for the children and teens there. These blessed children got to have my sister-in-law love and hug on them as she helped them create amazing crafts (can't wait to see pictures!). Carmen has one of the biggest hearts out of ANYONE I've ever met, and her love for Chris and sharing Him with others is her life's passion. She is extremely bright (she speaks multiple languages fluently) She is one of the most intelligent, warm, compassionate, caring people I've ever met, and I am so blessed and proud to have her as my sister-in-law. I know that she will tell me that she was the blessed one to have been with the people of Guetamala, but I believe that they were as equally blessed to have her there with them too.I haven't yet heard if she'll be posting about her adventures on her blog, but check out her wonderful writings at http://sinedeosinespes.blogspot.com/

Happy Fourth

Hello Everyone...hope that everyone had a safe and happy Fourth of July! This was the first year that both of our girls have been old enough to stay up late enough to enjoy the fireworks (or maybe they could have done it in years past, but their parents were big sissies and didn't want to deal with tired, cranky kiddos)

Anyhoo, the whole day was very family-oriented for me - just the way I like it! My hubby went to a movie/lunch with his Dad and the girls and I hung out with my parents - first at the grocery store, then in the kiddie pool in their backyard, and finally for a big BBQ lunch. The girls went down for a late, looong nap (had to get them all ready to stay up and see the fireworks), and my hubby and I mangaged to sneak a tiny nap in as well. My sis drove all the way from Oklahoma for a visit, and she arrived around 5:30 p.m. (a fourteen hour drive all by herself!!) After she had rested for a few hours, we were all ready to pack up the van and head out to see some fireworks!!

I love fireworks...I could watch them year round - and I often do, thanks to Sunset Point, a fabricated western town owned by a local resort and located just west of our housing development. People rent out the location for parties, which often end with fireworks...it's awesome!! Where was I? Oh yoh....the Fourth


So, we armed ourselves against the record 116 degree weather with frozen bottles of water in a huge icechest, and drove the five mintues to down-town Litchfield Park. (my orginal post included a very long rant inserted here about the heat in Phoenix, but I took it out. It just made me sound whiny...and why be whiny when you can be cute?)
It was all pleasantness from that point on. We found a great free parking spot with no problem. We settled down in a great spot under a tree in front of the pond, with a great view of the pond's new fountain. A small group of people had brought their remote-control boats and the girls watched with delight as the little elctronic boats scooted back and forth on the water. I had bought some glow bracelets and necklaces for the girls, and they oooed and ahhed over them as we all put them on....

ok, so I bought some for myself too..don't you think that glow jewelry stuff is SO MAJORLY COOL?!)

Around 9:00 p.m. the fireworks started - on both sides of us. Behind us, the city of Goodyear shot of their fireworks from the Goodyear Community Park. In front of us, Litchfield Park shot their fireworks up and over the pond, reflecting the bright poofs of light on the water. It was loud...it was bright...it was...AWESOME! Both of the girls delighted in the colors and sizes of the all the fireworks. After twenty minutes (and two awesome finales!) the last firework fell, and we fought the traffic for our short drive home.

On the way home, I told K-bug about why we celebrated with fireworks. She latched on to the phrase "I love freedom" and went all around the van asking family members, "Do you love freedom, Daddy?", "Do you love freedom, Nonna?" Everyone affiremd that they did, indeed love freedom.

We are so blessed, and for all of you who continue to serve our country and keep us free, we choose to remember and pray for you all. Our gratitude is deeper than words can say.

Thanks for loving freedom!

What Goes Around Comes Around..

I remember when I was little, getting up in the middle of the night, and creeping, creeping, creeping, ever so quietly into my parent's bedroom. Tiptoeing over to my Mom's side of the bed, I would touch her arm.."Mom?" Let's just say that she was um...surprised...to find me only inches from her face. The following response usually went something like this:

Mom: GASP! GAAAH!!
Dad: What? What is it? Who is it!!??
Mom: Stacy....you scared me!
Me: Mom, I need a drink of water....(or to go potty, etc..)
Mom: (still panting): Ok..ok...

Now, I will admit that, although I hadn't meant to surprise my Mom, I always found my parent's response just a wee bit funny.
Last-night my dear hubby and I went out on a date. My Mom had put the girls down to bed, and while we usually let them both have sippy cups of water, she had forgotten to give them one when they laid down. I awoke at 3:30 a.m. in the morning to a little touch on my arm, accompianed by a little voice asking, "Mommy?" The following scene went something like this:

Me: GASP! GAAH!
Hubby: What? What is it? Who is it!!??
Me: K-Bug...you scared Mommy!
K-Bug: I need a drink of water Mommy
Me(still panting): Ok....ok....

Eventually my heart resumed a normal pace, and we got K-bug settled back in bed with a sippy cup. I had to laugh as I thought of the old adage that "What goes around comes around." I suddenly had sympathy for my poor Mother being awakened in such a manner. As I got older, my Dad made a point of telling me that I could get a drink of water or go potty "all by myself like a big girl" without first getting their persmission. They eventually got their uninterupted sleep, and I gained the confidence of doing things on my own.
Although K-bug is still young enough to need my help, I have asked her to first call out from her bedroom before stealing down the hallway to bore her tiny eyeballs inches from my face. I don't know if my heart can take too many midnight visitors! :)