Good-bye to 2009

As I reflect on 2009, I know one thing is certain. I will not miss this round of illnesses. Currently, Hannah, Zach, Rebecca and I have pink eye with Becca and I having it in both eyes. Hannah has about 100 degree fever, has been laying down all day and hardly eaten anything and just threw up all over her bed, narrowly missing the new Leapster she received only hours ago. She also complained of a sore throat and nausea this morning though that seems to have subsided. Every joint in my body aches and I am currently having double vision - this morning I felt like I was about 80. Rebecca is teething which includes two molars. And, of course, all four of us have stuffy and/or runny noses. Only Chad has been spared from any illnesses. Thank you Lord!

So even though I am looking forward to a fresh start with 2010, I cannot forget the fun and joyous moments of 2009. We had a mostly enjoyable trip to Destin in July. Chad and I got two whole nights without children in November. We have also been serving with Awana this fall and it has completely changed our lives.

Rebecca learned to crawl, stand, eat baby and table food, drink from an open cup and sippy cup, suck through a straw, walk, speed walk, and climb; plus she got 11 teeth, learned to say a variety of words and got a plethora of illnesses including several skin conditions (that part is not so fun).

Zachary learned to talk and communicate, was finally potty trained, and the inner boy is making its prominent appearance (and sometimes smell).

Hannah continues to amaze us with her ability to quickly learn how to use any electronic device she encounters and is blossoming into a beautiful little girl.

Chad had an amazing year as chair of the Pastor Search Committee and Personnel Committee. He also testified against evolution before the Texas State Board of Education and registered for Biology which begins in January as he follows where God is leading him with his passion for microbiology. He continues to work on the side for Quasar writing code for cool things for the military and such. He had an awesome time on the church mission trip in July. And he is always pondering new and exciting topics for discipleship classes.

I just continue to work where God sends me (though my obedience is sometimes slow). I love the Mommy & Me play group, I relish my involvement with all the preschool workers at church, I have a passion for Vacation Bible School and all the other awesome children's ministry events, I totally dig writing newsletters, and now I get to experience the joy of leading preschool choir.

Where will 2010 take our family? Only God knows. And I am so excited about that!!

Christmas is officially over

I need to catch up on the totally awesome Christmas week that we had, but I had to take a moment to lament today because Christmas is officially over in the Smith household. We woke up today to two - count them, two! - children with pink eye. So off to the doctor we went, picking up eye drops on the way back home. At least we got back before the yucky weather set in.

And I am so very thankful that my husband came along to help. Of course, that was after I gave him the very sad puppy-dog look and asked if he could take off for a few hours. What a sweet hubby I have. :)

Good-bye Infant, Hello Toddler

My infant is officially outta here. Rebecca is walking (and climbing) all over the place. She still crawls when she gets tired and when it appears convenient, but walking is definitely the preference now. It is so adorable to see her walking with Hannah & Zach as they cheer her on. They are really digging the new scenario.

Only Mommy is left dabbing the corner of her eye as she realizes that the baby phase is truly gone. We moved the toddler bed into the corner of Rebecca's room yesterday. I stared dumbfounded at it last night as I realized that she would graduate to that bed next year. Does time speed up as you age, because I could swear that it does! I'm just trying to savor the last months I have all three of my babies with me at home. These are some sweet sweet memories we are making and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Walking and Teething

I glanced back at my posts and realized I have not said much about Rebecca lately. Can you believe she is pushing 14 months? She is growing so quickly and 12 months-sized clothing is rapidly being passed on. She has also started walking a lot more this week. She'll let go and walk several feet. If she has a stable object close at hand, she'll cruise for a long time. She's really digging the freedom it is affording her. I am excited about this stage, but also sad that my baby girl really is becoming a toddler now.

She was a little cranky this week (highly unusual for my mild-mannered Rebecca) and I discovered that she had two top molars coming in. The next day, I discovered there was also a bottom tooth pushing through. Three teeth all at once. No wonder she's been grumpy! Other than that, she is our happy easy going child who loves her brother and sister and really doesn't like "big hugs" from Hannah! She definitely my daughter - knows how to speak her mind. :)

It's the most wonderful time of the year . . .

If you know me, then you know that Christmas is my most favorite time of year. I have about 10 boxes of decorations plus two trees and lots of garland. We decorated the house right after getting back from Mississippi.

The kids enjoyed my first touch of Christmas immensely. I put my new lighted garland up and they brought all their friends down to the steps so they could share the enjoyable view.



Later, we put the tree up and started decorating. This was the first year that the kids got to do a lot of the decorating (though I did have to move several ornaments up to higher branches).



They had so much fun getting to pick spots on the tree. They especially enjoyed putting up ornaments that had their names on them.



And what would a Christmas tree be like without a cat immediately taking a nap under it?



My newest purchase for the tree is a new star for the top. It has 19 bulbs and really lights the room up!

Here it is up close. It's our very own North Star!

Only 17 days until Christmas!!

Fun at Awana

The kids had an amazingly awesome time at Cubbies tonight. It was store night and they came home with oodles of treasures. Hannah has a new pom pom, trinkets, stickers, sunglasses, princess ball, and tub toys. Zach has a new dinosaur, trinkets, stickers, sunglasses, Mickey ball, and tub toys. But the greatest treasure was Zach's new matchbox sized Hummer. He kept giving it big hugs and showing it to me and Daddy. His sister found it for him and now it's his new favorite item.

Chad and I are also having a blast with the Sparks (kindergarten through 2nd grade). I stepped out in faith and led the story during Council Time tonight. I told the story of Esther. I was a nervous wreck before, but I just said, okay, God, take it away. And He did. :) The kids seemed to enjoy it and I actually kept the attention of 17 kids for most of the time! I am absolutely loving Awana. I sure wish I had known about this program growing up. It is so rewarding as an adult and I know it would have been exciting for me as a child. Now my kids get to enjoy the program too!

Patricia

Earlier in the year, I felt a tremendous weight to sponsor a child through Compassion International. In June, I responded with obedience and decided to select a girl who was about the same age as Hannah. When I saw Patricia's face, I knew she would be my sponsor child. I kept returning to her profile and her sad eyes. She is three months older than Hannah. My hope is that we will be her sponsor family for years to come and that Hannah can eventually communicate with her through letters.

Now all this sounds very grand, but I regret to say that I had not written any letters to her. I have received 3 letters from her, but that was not even enough to spur me on. I even missed the deadline to send her a Christmas package. I have been so busy that I forgot my little girl in Uganda. Tonight I sat down to create a login (hadn't even done that) and I wrote her a brief letter online. Not much, but just enough to tell her a little about our family and that we love and pray for her. The dominant language in Uganda is English, but Patricia lives in a village that speaks a local dialect so it will need to be translated and then read to her. I hope she receives it by Christmas.

After I sent her the letter, I considered how distracted I have been with Christmas preparations. Creating a budget, buying gifts, wrapping them in lovely papers. Meanwhile, my little African girl is an orphan who lives with a "grandmother" and four "siblings" who appear to be cousins or perhaps just other orphans. Her caregiver earns about $5 per month as a laborer. Wow. So as I wiped away my tears, I thanked God for Patricia and her reminder to me that wealth has nothing at all to do with material goods and paychecks. It does, however, have everything to do with your heart.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy,
and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do
not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will
be also." Matthew 6:19-21

MS Trip (145 photos), by Julie Smith

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Love Hurts

I love my son dearly. He is a wonderful snuggler and so sensitive. But my boy has the hardest head I have ever encountered. Trust me - I delivered it. And every so often, I collide with it. For example, Zach came over to give me a hug this morning. I bent down and he lifted up - fast - at the same time. WHAM! My right eyebrow came in contact with the top of his head.

There are levels of pain. Some creep in slowly. Some slam into you quickly. This was pretty much the latter. I immediately started crying so hard that all three kids came over to console me. Who knew that the bone behind your eyebrow could hurt so bad?

I don't care what anyone says. Sometimes love seriously hurts.

Count Zachary

I let the kids both sleep in Hannah's room last night. It can be risky because it means they keep each other up way longer then normal and are sometimes quite grumpy the next morning. But they were so happy after Awana and had been very obedient, so I gave in to the request.

As usual, I had to go up well after 9:00 and remind them it was time to get in bed and get to sleep. Hannah came jumping out of the closet, but I didn't see Zachary. "Where's Zachary?" I queried.

I looked in the closet filled with a mountain of stuffed animals, then the lid of the toy box slowly creaked open and Zachary sat up with a big grin. It was like a kid version of Dracula. I just laughed and shooed them into bed.

They never cease to surprise me. LOL