Cousin Play Day

Amy and the kids came for a visit on Tuesday. We had so much fun! I can't believe how much Finian has changed. He really enjoyed playing with Rebecca's toys.



And later he fell asleep in the high chair clutching Mommy's finger. Isn't this just precious!



I tried a recipe with the kids dipping bananas into butterscotch pudding (and adding Mickey sprinkles, of course!) and then freezing it.



They seemed to enjoy linking off all the toppings and pudding more than eating the frozen banana.



Zach really dug it though and ate just about the whole thing!

It's so wonderful living so close to some of their cousins! I've mentioned it before, but this is special to me because my cousins were all so far away growing up. These are memories they will have forever. What a treasure!

Did you know?

Did you see the white leg warmers with pink and blue trim that Hannah is wearing in the snowy picture at the top? Did you know that those were mine when I was a little girl? Those are some oooooolllld leg warmers!

Growing in Faith

Every so often, God presents Christians with an opportunity to grow in faith. I will be honest and admit that I have shied away from some of those opportunities and as a result my relationship with God suffered. I have had periods in my life where people I worked with did not even know I was a Christian because my behavior and my language did not reflect it. It is those memories that rekindle the fire within me that Christ started more than 26 years ago. But sometimes I still stumble when presented with a hurdle to jump.

I have come upon one of those hurdles in my life. The small hurdles are easy. You can usually see the other side, size up the size of the task, and think, "With a little boost from God, I know I can make this." The medium hurdles require a little more faith, a little more stamina, and a bigger boost from God. The large hurdles are the toughies. You can't see over the hurdle. You aren't even sure how big or how long of a jump is going to be needed. And you need to fully rely on God to get your through it. I am reminded of Indiana Jones in his third movie where he had to step out into a great abyss and believe that the footbridge was going to be there. You have to believe that God is there with a larger goal that you can't even imagine.

These hurdles are unique to each person. For me at this time in my life, this enormous hurdle is walking in obedience while my husband obeys God. If there is anything I have learned from reading the Bible, it is that God's call for obedience often affected an entire family. When Abram was called from his homeland in Ur to "go to the land [God would show him]," he took his entire entourage with him, including his wife. Did she want to go? Did she fully understand or believe that Abram had received a word from God? Was she concerned that no final destination was provided when God simply said "go"? The Bible doesn't tell us, but it does list her as one of the ones who left with Abram.

Now, I don't believe God is calling Chad to be another patriarch, but I do think that I must learn that sometimes my obedience means supporting my husband and setting aside some personal agendas while he steps out into the abyss, fully believing that God is there to carry him across - one step at a time. That means having time with God every day, reading His Word daily, and remembering how God is always faithful to keep His promises.

As I look upon this hurdle, I realize that the bigger the hurdle, the greater my faith has to be. How will my faith size up? I am praying that the biggest hurdles are yet to come.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengenths me." Philippians 4:13

A Quiet Moment

This is what breakfast often looks like with little miss Rebecca. She'll eat some, then stick her passy back in to chill out for a bit. It is as if she needs a passy "hit" every once in a while. I foresee a future coffee drinker.

My Exploding Head

Last night I thought it was allergies. Sneezing over and over. Nose running profusely. Tonsils swelling and hurting as the minutes ticked by. I took Benedryl Allergy and it hit me so fast that Chad had to help me back to the bedroom.

I had an annual doctor's appointment this morning. Me and my dry thirsty mouth drove down to McKinney so I could have a blood draw by one of the worst nurses I have encountered in awhile and to stand on an unforgiving scale. Meanwhile, I started feeling like a ton of bricks was slapping me in the face over and over and that a vise was permanently fixed on my temples.

Turns out that the last few days have been low pollen counts though mold has been moderate. Perhaps it is a cold that has been creeping in threatening to explode my head. It's either that or some sci-fi critter feeding off my brain and getting ready to break free. Oh, dear. I think I need some more sleep . . .

What Julie's Been Up To

I am in awe that February 1st has arrived. Is it really possible that a whole month has passed in this year? I noticed last week that I had neglected my blog recently. When my father-in-law made a comment to my hubby, I knew it was time to get back to it!

After my interview on Jan 11, I immediately had to prepare for the two conferences I was about to attend. On the 14th and 15th, I went to Ft Worth for a Lifeway VBS preview. It was completely amazing! I got such wonderful ideas and it helped me learn how to communicate better with children. Thank you Susie for staying with the kiddos so I could "get out of Dodge" and get to Ft Worth in time. And thank you Mandy for letting me spend the night so I didn't have to dish out moolah for a hotel. What a fun time to get to catch up a little!

On Friday, I drove straight from Ft Worth to Richardson where I attended a Children's Choir conference for two days. There are no words to describe the joy I had in attending this. I had just started leading the preschool choir on the 10th and realized quickly that my limited experience just wasn't going to cut it. Thankfully, our Worship & Arts minister recognized the benefits of this event in December and offered it to me and the children's choir leader. The only expenses I had at that event were breakfast and a $6 CD I bought to add to my personal kiddo collection. I learned so much at this event and had implemented as many as possible in the three lessons I have had since then. And what an awesome time I had getting to know our pastor's wife better as we shared a hotel room!

On Monday the 18th, I joined a Girlfriends Unlimited walking group here in Gunter. They meet twice per week at the high school, but my schedule only permits me to go on Mondays. But I don't mind at all because it still provides me with more excercise than I usually get in a week!

Our Mommy & Me play days started back up on the 21st. I was surprised this morning to get an email through our M&M website from a mom who found our group through my KXII interview! She has already said she and her daughter are coming to the next play day this Thursday and already called me to ask what snack to bring. I LOVE being a part of this ministry!

Last week was appointments for the kids, as I mention in an earlier post. Last Saturday, I finally got to take my knitting class. I can actually say that I knit now! It was much easier than I anticipated. I have had a couple of friends show me, but I always had trouble catching on. Being immersed in it for 2-1/2 hours did the trick! Plus it was so relaxing - and very addictive! But don't expect any gifts from me yet. Trust me - you don't want them just yet!

On top of all that, I have had the privilege of leading Council Time during Sparks on Wednesday nights while our Director is on a leave of absence. Sparks are kindergarten through 2nd grade and they are soooo enthusiastic! I always pick volunteers, stick a few props or costumes on them and get them to act it out while I tell the story. Another thing I just totally dig!

We started rehearsing for the Easter production a few weeks ago. It is full of monologues and has 8 songs. It is going to be so emotionally charged being a part of this. I am humbled to say that I will be saying a monologue as Mary, the mother of Jesus and singing a solo. I got to sing it with the choir last night and I can see that this will be a challenge to do and not fall to pieces sobbing.

I am still homeschooling Hannah and Zach. Today we had a special math lesson. They were each given three $1 bills and got to shop at "the store" which included DVDs for $2 and a few books or trinkets for $1. They had to choose what they would buy and it had to add up to $3. It was a good lesson on the value of money, adding 1+2 and that the Smith store has no returns or exchanges. All sales are final, thank you very much. LOL

So we are oh-so-busy, especially since Chad started Biology on January 19. It's difficult to not have him at all for two days a week when I have been so spoiled by his presence. But we are adapting. I have oodles of pictures which will one day be uploaded to Snapfish. But now it's time to post this and get upstairs to some kids who are very much done with naptime!

Rebecca's Appointments

Shame on me - I haven't updated in three weeks! What can I say - too busy and too pooped! Above is a picture Chad took of me last week. All three of the kids just had to have Mommy. What do you do? Just let them pile in on top of you, of course!


I took little miss Rebecca to her 15 month appointment on Monday. My goodness, she is getting so big! She had two shots, got her eczema checked out, and proved that she could point at everything (including the doctor). Here are her stats:


Weight: 23 lbs 6 oz (57%)
Height: 31.5 in (72%)
Head cir: 18.25 in (62 %)

She also got to have her first dentist appointment on Tuesday. Tooth #12 just cut through. Spacing is a little tight on the bottom, so he recommend I floss those teeth. Um, sure, that'll be easy . . . WHATEVER! Overall, she did just fine and has nice clean pretty teeth now.

She has been movin' on up in her clothing sizes. She is now firmly in 18 months and even a few hand-me-down 24 months. She still climbs anything and everything. Her hair is growing so long now that I might be able to do some double pony tails soon. She babbles about tons of stuff and her favorite phrase right now is "What's that?" while she points and points and points and points and I try desperately to keep up with the names of the objects she selects. And we are firmly in the toddler phase now - she likes to move a pile of stuff from here to there and stick toys in boxes. I did the laundry yesterday and found three favorite stuffed animals in the bottom of the laundry basket.

So now I am going to go take a five minute nap and getting ready for the afternoon and evening shift! :)

M&M Interview

I was very blessed to be interviewed on Channel 12 this morning about the Mommy & Me play group. I was supposed to be at the station at 6:30 AM, but I was about five minutes late leaving the house. I still made it to the station by 6:33, but then I was stumped. Both the doors were locked, the doorbell wasn't working, and knocking got me nowhere as the early shift was in the soundproof area. I called Chad and he tried to make some calls, but that didn't work either.

I wasn't sure at first that I would make it on, but God had a plan. I felt like I needed to go to the back door again. Just at that moment, a man came out through a sound proof door to get something and he let me in. "You just made it," he said. And then very non-chalantly, "You have about a minute and a half." I heard my ludicrously calm voice say, "Oh, okay." I set my stuff down, greeted my interviewer, sat on the couch, put my lapel mic on and had about 30 seconds until we were live. Wow.

In hindsight, I'm really glad I didn't have much time because God knows exactly how nervous I get when I have time to ponder too much before speaking before an audience.

So if you want to check out my little 3-1/2 minutes of fame on Channel 12, visit http://www.kxii.com/morningshow/headlines and select Mommy & Me Playgroup. Enjoy!

Proud of my big boy

We are home from church again with yucky coughs, enlarged tonsils, and runny noses, so I decided to at least provide a life lesson this morning. I instructed Zach to go up, get out of his PJ's and get dressed - all by himself. And do you know what? He went upstairs, got out of his PJ's and got dressed - with a few verbal commands hollered up the stairs and a little assistance with a backwards shirt.

Now, think back to one year ago. Do you remember that Zach could not even communicate with us? Do you remember that he would have a full tantrum on the floor if we demanded he at least sign "cup" when he wanted a drink? Do you remember that we had to go to an ENT specialist to have his hearing tested, then go through 12 weeks of speech therapy and follow a home plan all the way through the spring, summer, and fall before we got full sentences and finally an actual conversation with him?

We've come a long way, baby.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 6th birthday to Patricia Kemigisa, our sponsored child in Uganda. We pray that God blesses you abundantly and that you come to a personal relationship with Jesus.

Want to join us and sponsor your own precious child? Visit http://www.compassion.com/.