Easter photos

Once again, more photos of my family. Sorry, these kids are just too cute!

For some reason, Carter always appears to be suppressing a giggle ... Probably because he spends a lot of time laughing!

Audrey's "loot" from our neighborhood easter egg hunt. Like we didn't already have enough candy in this house ...

Dyeing easter eggs

Easter morning. Aren't my two blue-eyed guys looking handsome?

Brown-eyed girls

For once! A family photo where everyone is looking!

We hope you all enjoyed your Easter as we celebrate our new life in Christ!

Random Pics

Just a bunch of random pictures of recent fun in the Smith house ...

Our favorite local ice cream place, Petrucci's, has now opened, and even though we're wearing winter coats, we had to go kick off spring with some ice cream!

WAAAH! I want ice cream too!!!


Finally!!! MMMM!!

Now I'm a happy boy!

Best buddies

Enjoying some of mommy's birthday cake ... notice Carter is always smiling when food is around?

Crazy bathtime animal! Audrey doesn't like baths with Carter anymore
because "he splashes too much and gets water in my eyes!"

Princess Audrey going to see the Cinderella play with her little girl friends

Carter and Diesel getting better acquainted

Audrey's first trip to the bowling alley. She had a blast!
Man, does she look grown up.


No comment.
Okay, one comment ... Audrey actually took this picture - pretty good
for a 4 year old, don't you think?

"Mommy, I want to blog too!!!"

These two certainly keep life interesting around here. Enjoy!

The Lord's delight

As a mama of 2 sweet ones, every day I find something that one of them says or does absolutely delightful.

Carter, for instance, has developed a hilarious and terribly infectious laugh. It sounds something like the end of Woody Woodpecker's laugh (i.e. "huh-huh-huh-huh"). He doesn't always laugh this way, but when he gets really excited to see his little girl friends in the neighborhood, or is about to eat a little yummy snack (he gets pretty thrilled about food!), the laugh comes out. I delight in hearing that laugh. I also delight in watching his daily progress towards walking. Every day he is a bit steadier as he holds onto my hand and takes off for Audrey's room. And he seems so thrilled with his progress!

However, I delighted in Carter long before he could really "do" anything. As a newborn, his baby smell, his soft skin, his contented little coos and his peaceful sleeping face made my heart sing. What pure joy and delight I had in him regardless of the late nights, incessant feedings and crying jags (his and mine!) He is our child, and I love him completely, toddler tantrums and all.

Then the other day I read in the Psalms:

"For the LORD takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with salvation.

Let the saints rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds."

(Psalms 149:4,5)

Do we really grasp the meaning of this? The Lord TAKES DELIGHT in us! Because we have joined His family, He sees us as we see our own children - as a gift ... as someone to protect and care for ... as something special, unique, and precious. As we cherish our children, so God cherishes us. As we clap for joy when our kids take their first steps, he cheers on our growth as well. Just as our children disappoint us with their behavior or with poor decisions that they make, we disappoint Him. But just as we will readily forgive our children's mistakes, so He wants to forgive us and restore a right relationship with us. Even greater still - even as we love and embrace our children into our homes and lives with great joy, so God welcomes us into His family with open arms. The absolute beauty in this is that He welcomes us when we have nothing to give in return, except our trust that He knows us and loves us and has our best interests at heart.

WOW. Let us "rejoice in that honor!" We have a Father who not only loves and accepts us as we are - He DELIGHTS in us!

Heck, you may even want to "sing for joy on [your] beds!" :)

Learning from my little one ...

This week I learned an important lesson from Audrey.

Last week, she came running out of Sunday School all excited. The teacher had told them that they could invite a friend to church!! My first thought was - haven't I ever mentioned that she could bring a friend? Evidently not. . . so we had a discussion at lunch about who she could maybe invite along. She settled on her friend Thomas from across the street.

All week she hounded me - "Mommy, when are we going to go over and invite Thomas to my class? He would love it." For a few days there were a number of reasons we didn't go - bad icy weather, our gas/heat going out on a cold night, their daughter spending the night at the hospital ... but I said "Lord, if you have laid this on Audrey's heart, I'm not going to quench the Spirit here!" So on Friday we went over and Audrey asked all by herself. He wanted to come, and his parents agreed, so today we took him with us! It was so sweet to see Audrey's enthusiasm about showing her friend "her" church, and the kids ran down to their class holding hands :)

The lesson for me in this was that I need to be more like Audrey. Why don't I show the same enthusiasm about inviting someone to church? Why do I get apprehensive? What do I fear? Audrey went about this with excitement and not one shred of inhibition. In her mind - why would he NOT want to come with her to church? So why do I hesitate? Honestly, "evangelism" and sharing my faith have never seemed to come easily to me. So while I learn and grow in this area, I pray that meanwhile, God will continue to use our Audrey to help us all as a family share God's love and message of grace with others around us.

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes... Romans 1:16

Sweet Audrey

Today Audrey and I went out for the afternoon for some girl time - to the library, then to get soft pretzels and hang out at the coffee shop for a little while. While we were having our snack and looking at her library books, Audrey says, out of the blue "Mommy, I think I miss Carter a little bit .. I miss that chubby boy."

I'm so glad that the kids just seem to love each other so much. Carter thinks Audrey is funnier than most anyone, and Audrey loves to "help" Carter and make him giggle. May it always be so pleasant between them!!

Ups and downs

Last week was a huge week of ups and downs for the Smith family.

I last posted about Carter's 1st birthday. That, of course, was a big "up". We all made it through the first year relatively unscathed, hooray! He is a healthy and happy little boy. The "down" was that I spent his birthday in the doctor's office giving him a nebulizer treatment for a very wheezy cough/labored breathing. Thankfully, he rebounded quickly and was ready to party by the weekend.

But, there was another big up and down for us as well. Last Monday, I took a pregnancy test and it came back positive. Honestly, I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, how can you not be happy about the potential of a new life?? It's such a miracle, and so exciting. On the other hand, I SO did not feel ready for another little one. I felt like - I'm finally getting to sleep through the night, I'm finally done with breastfeeding, my "skinny" jeans finally fit (shallow, I know), and now it's all coming back AGAIN?? But deep down, I know that God doesn't give us anything we can't handle, and that even though it would be cramped quarters around here, we would be fine.

Then on Friday morning, I began miscarrying. Now it was my turn to go to the doctor. I was so early in the pregnancy that there was no heartbeat to monitor so I was sent for blood work that day and on Monday to follow up. On Tuesday we learned for sure what I knew deep down was true - the baby was gone. My hormone levels were low to start and then dropped even more by Monday.

It was sad news, of course. The shock for Chad and me had just begun to wear off, and excitement was starting to build, and then this happened.

However, having had a previous miscarriage, this time I feel so much more peace. I learned the first time around that God has His plans, and we need to trust that He knows what He is doing. If He knows that it is best that we have another child, He will give us one. If it isn't best, then He won't. However, don't think that I got to this place of peace easily. My last miscarriage "experience" was filled with many dark days and hard lessons for me. I argued with God, got angry about how unfair my situation seemed, and had to learn to totally relinquish the "control" that I thought I had over my life and circumstances. It was a battle for me to make peace with my lot in life. But letting go was SO FREEING!

Sometimes I start to get sad because I start thinking about what might have been - how next Christmas there would have been another child in the family picture, how this baby and Carter would have been so close in age, how it would feel to hold another soft and snuggly little one. . . and then I remember - trust in God's perfect plan. It wasn't His plan that this baby would be born here on earth.

So rest in Jesus' arms little one ... you are loved.

It's fun to be one!

Carter is one year old now! He was at the doctor yesterday, and here are the stats: weight - 23 lbs, 12 ozs., height - 31 3/4 inches. He is a big boy and wow, the tired muscles of my back and arms confirm it! The bad news is - he has an ear infection. Is it bad that I didn't know that? But how would I know? Carter is such a happy little guy. I often look at him and say "If you are always this content, you will have one happy life." However, I know that someday he will throw himself on the floor in a fit of frustration, yell "NO!" at me, and assert his little independent spirit, so for now, I'm soaking up all the love and good feelings. (In all honesty, I am starting to see some of that frustration here and there ... just try taking away his food! Red-faced, full-bodied shaking and ear-piercing screams ensue!)


Just had to add this one - Carter hamming it up for the camera with Uncle Andy :) Don't you just want to squeeze those little cheeks?? He's missing his clothes because at this point they were coated in white frosting! We had a party with family a few days after his birthday (Carter was actually sick on his first birthday - boo hoo!)