My life

Back from Disney

2006-04-04T12:28:00.000-04:00

Well, we spent a week at Disney World and survived. Amazingly. It was neat to finally see what all the fuss was about. We went to 5 parks in 6 days. We became those crazy tourists we said that we would never become. We were exhausted and yet trucked on. I think all in all it was a fun trip but boy did some nasty behavior occur. The kids were so tired, and just had a hard time being good. Noah expecially, he kept twirling and kicking and punching in Oliver's general direction hoping to hit him of course. And they were too excited to get any extra rest and sleep when they needed it. I guess you could say that for us too. And those parks are big, a lot of walking. I wish I could of had a day or two to spend with just Tim checking out the things the kids weren't interested in. There were a lot of things we did not get to see. Still the Magic Kingdom was the best in my opinion. It had all the rides that disneyland has exept for the Matterhorn (sp?). Which was dissapointing since i love that ride. But we went on Everest at the Animal Kingdom and that was similar but crazy. It stops in the middle and then takes you backwards through the dark on a different track than the one you just came on. It was crazy fun. Then Tower of Terror at MGM was of course really fun, and Space mountain at the Magic Kingdom. The Magic Kingdom was nastalgic since it reminded me of Disneyland, the main entrance up to the castle is all similar but most everything else is different.

Hey they still had carousel of progress, we went on it. It was great since i could hardly remember the California one wich is now innoventions.

So now back to reality. I missed church.

Most Unique Mom Award

2006-03-25T15:16:00.000-05:00

You know you have won the Most Unique Mom Award when. . .

. . .Your kids are the only ones on the soccer field wearing jeans.
. . . your child has survived almost 6 years on chicken nuggets and taco meat.
. . .laundry is a breeze since your 2 year old wears the same clothes for 3 days in a row, day and night.
. . .your kids think brushing their teeth is a once a week chore.
. . .instead of washing the food out of your kids hair, you have the hairdresser cut it out at their next appointment
. . .your kids sunday morning hairdo's are called the "nappy gumby electric shock"

So do i win it or what?

Busy vs. Lazy

2006-03-16T17:55:00.000-05:00

You know, I have realized something about myself this week. I am much happier keeping busy than i am being lazy. Which is so weird for me since i FEEL like being lazy more often than not. But on those days when i have spent most my time reading, crocheting or watching television, or on the computer i tend to feel more grouchy and unhappy. I think it has more to do with my dissappointment in myself that i was not productive. Also there is that healthy sort of tiredness that comes with exerting yourself. It is gratifying to lay on the couch at the end of the day and your body is tired because you cleaned the house or did errands all day! I don't know, is it just me?

BBQ

2006-03-11T18:36:00.000-05:00

BBQ in the Carolinas. I never knew how much i liked BBQ before moving here! Sure, BBQ sauce i've always loved, but i never thought i would like the taste of BBQ pork. Especially without the sauce. But boy is it good. My favorite is a BBQ pulled pork sandwich with sweet BBQ sauce. Yummy. And you can get BBQ almost anywhere here! My favoite sandwich was at the flea market from a cart!! How wierd is that!?

I've been meaning to say . . .

2006-03-10T08:04:00.000-05:00

You know . . . I have been doing a lot of introspection lately and have been amazed at how far God has brought me in the past 8 months. I may not show it on the outside, but inside i feel like a new person, a healthier person. I look back on my struggles to overcome anxiety and can see God leading me every step of the way. It's amazing to think about it. For the first time, in a long time i feel this overwhelming joy/love boiling up inside of me. And i am reminded that this must be what it is like to fall in love with God. I yearned for this very thing for many years and thought I had it at times, and now i know for sure what it means to be in love with our creator. I was reading this morning in a devotional book that our spititual lives will mimic our daily physical lives. There will be ups and downs, you can count on it. But it does not mean that you aren't still heading towards the goal of serving God everyday in all things. I hope this feeling of completeness i have stays a long while, but if it doesn't . . . I know i have something amazing to look forward to at the next 'up'!

Thank you to all who have kept me in your prayers! God has answered and it is ALL good!

coming to California

2006-02-27T11:13:00.000-05:00

Hey Friends, I am sooooo excited to be coming to California this summer! I will be there July 4th through August 15. Tim and the boys will come out sometime at the end of July. I am really excited to see everyone, and help Anna with Joelle. I wish i could be there to see her get big in the belly. Hopefully i will make it in time before the baby comes. I can't wait! Time is going very quickly, i can't believe it is almost March already. That leaves only 4 months left! Yeah!

Also, I am happy to announce that I have a healthy Liver! My biopsy came out normal! I have grown so much during this waiting period! I have learned to trust God's plan no matter what the outcome and i have had a real peace sweep over me. God is truly good! Thank you for all of you have been praying for me!

Too many presents

2006-01-13T16:27:00.000-05:00

Like I said, too many presents. These were just our Christmas morning presents. But since we had all of Grandma's presents too, the tree was really loaded. It was the most fun Christmas morning ever, since all 3 of the boys were really excited about Santa and opening presents. And all 3 of them were in the Christmas pagent at church. Myles was the littleest wisemen. Noah and Oliver were sheep. I was up to watch them come down the stairs, and we had plenty of time to open presents and have a wonderful french toast breakfast before church. And i really enjoyed going to church for service. It is nice when you don't have to plan anything, and you can just go. It was just a really nice day.

miserably sick

2006-01-05T18:05:00.000-05:00

Well i know i should write about the wonderful time i have had with my family over christmas and the beautiful christmas morning spent with the boys but all i can think about right now is how miserable i feel. I have spent all day to and from doctor's offices today. First my family doctor, who is sooo hard to understand, he slurs and murmers and talks really fast. And barely spent 5 minutes with me. I told him i think i had a sinus infection and he basically wrote me two prescriptions and that was it. Then off to the Liver doctor so they could hmm and hmm at me trying to figure out what to do with me. Finally they sent me over to the Hospital for blood work. And i go back in 3 weeks to discuss the findings. If anything comes out positive then they will treat me for it. If not then i will get a liver biopsy, and possibly i will get one anyway to assess whether or not i have liver damage or not. But again they said most likely it is fatty liver and i should watch my weight, cholesterol, surgar, and fat. Yippee I am old before i even turn 30. I thought i had at least 15 more years before i had to start regulating everything. Yippee.

Who needs icicle lights . . .?

2005-12-15T21:00:00.000-05:00

Well we got our first ice storm, or i should say ice rain. We had icicles forming on the rooftops, mailboxes, street signs and so on! They were way cool. Some of them i saw were 6 or 7 inches long. I took some pictures so i might post one later if they came out right. And on the waY to pick up Oliver there is a winding road to his school lined with trees and they were all drooping into the road because they were getting too heavy with all the ice on their branches. So yeah it was cold today, i think the warmest was 35 degrees but it is supposed to warm up next week, like the 50's. But for those of you worried about the icy roads, they were perfectly fine today, they had guys out there salting the roads i guess. But i did here about possible black ice tomorrow morning so i guess we are not out of the woods yet. Oliver has a Christmas Cantada at his school tomorrow. Does anyone know what that means? They use it a lot here in the carolina's. I think it means music. Personally i think it is a silly word and it makes me laugh when i hear people say it.

Christmas in The Carolinas

2005-12-12T18:19:00.000-05:00

It has been a busy one here at the Smith house. We found a beautiful tree for a great price and the kids helped me decorate it. I wish you could all be here to see it! I have been decorating the house for 2.5 weeks now. This is a big house to decorate for the holidays, but it is looking really nice. I plan to take pictures of everything and leave them on the blog for all to see. We are having our Sunday School Christmas party here on Saturday so we will be very busy making sure everything is ready for company. I will be happy for that to be over so i can focus on the next big event of my family visiting. I think next year i am going to have the whole house decorated before Thanksgiving so that i could relax during december instead of the crazyness i have been doing. We are also going to look for a fake tree on sale after Christmas for next year. I love real trees but the mess is getting to be too much and i always forget to water it. Not to mention putting lights on a 9 foot tree!

pooping pennies

2005-11-07T19:19:00.000-05:00

So we went to our new amusement park, Carrowinds, to get season passes. While in line, Myles finds a penny. And being in the absent minded state that I have been in lately, I let him play with it while we waited. As we get to the front and start getting our finger prints scanned, Noah says something to Myles about the penny. I became aware once again that Myles had the penny. I did not see it anywhere and began to get a bit anxious. I asked him where it was and he pointed to his mouth and coughed. I quickly tried to see if i could fish it out of his mouth but it seemed as though he must of swallowed it since it wasn't there. Tim said it probably rolled away somewhere and not to worry. But i could smell the scent of the penny on Myles's breath. So anyway i did my best not to panic or think about it and hoped he would be fine. Today, two days and 6 poops later the penny emerged, good as new with Myles completely unfazed about the whole thing. What it must be like to be two.

Learning to cope

2005-11-07T11:36:00.000-05:00

Well . . . it seems difficult in my life right now to keep a blog as up to date as Tim's. I am easily overwhelmed these days and just try to get through to the next day. But I have learned that even though i may not have time for things now doesn't me that i will never have time for them. As a mom with 3 demanding kids and very little time to myself i have to look at my life in phases. Soon the boys will be more independent and i won't have to keep such a close eye on them, or be so involved in everything they do. And i have also learned that I can not be their everything. There should be other people in their lives to give them things that i just can't. Like wrestling, Wrestling is Daddy's thing, I don't need to be on the floor getting punched and jumped on because Daddy is around to do it and he likes it. This is a good thing for me, it is still hard to not feel inadequate when i cant give the kids something they really need but i am accepting it and learning to appreciate it.

Kaitlyn

2005-10-23T14:23:00.000-04:00

So here is my new niece, Kaitlyn. She came to my house just a few days after being born and we got to babysit for a short bit. Babies are so cute, sweet, quiet, and stay where you put them. If only they could stay that way until you're ready for them to grow up. . . I hope we get to be a big part of her life. Of course she will live just down the street so she could walk to her Aunti Jamie's house whenever she wants. I will have to make sure i have plenty of goodies waiting.

scar face

2005-10-23T14:14:00.000-04:00

Steep Drive-way meets Oliver's face

Being a Mom with Mom friends

2005-10-22T15:51:00.000-04:00

How strange it is entering the world of Mothers. I never had Mother friends before. Now they are everywhere . . . Mothers like me with the same mother problems. Like the potty problem . . . We can't go anywhere with out a potty close by. So a couple of the parks i have been to have not had potty's and so i asked a few Mom's about it. And guess what they said! ? . . .They take their potty's with them! They set them up in the back of their mini vans and SUV's and send their kids in one at a time to do their business. (I was afraid to ask if they use it to!)

And play dates! We have been to a few play dates already with kids from Oliver's class. The Mom's just call me up and say come over to play! How weird is that!? I never really went over to friends houses as a kid so it is strange to me. But the boys love it.

I am looking forward to making some good friends here in South Carolina, It has been easier than i thought it would be. But still something that takes effort. I know God will send me just the perfect ones.

Deer in the yard

2005-10-22T15:37:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know it has been awhile. My mind is so full with life stuff that i forget almost everything these days. But most of it is on purpose.

So Tim and I were coming home from date night last night. ( We actually window shopped at T.J. Max and Michael's and Tim liked it!) And on one of our neighbor's lawn was a Mommy Deer and a baby Deer. REAL ONES! I couldn't believe it, we turned the car around to make sure that it actually was deer. AND IT WAS. . . .REAL ONES! Who would of thought that I would ever live in a neighborhood that had Deer! And we even live in a housing tract. Nature is amazing. . . .

Fall Frolic with Oliver

2005-10-03T18:00:00.000-04:00

My first Kindergarten Mom outing with Oliver was a fieldtrip to Anne Springs Close Greenway with his class (a wilderness area protected from expansion). I was very nervous getting out and doing something unfamiliar where i wouldn't know anyone but it turned out to be a fun day. We did crafts and found leaves and went on a hay ride to a hay maze where the kids ran around like crazy. I met a couple of the Moms who actually live in my neighborhood, and exchanged numbers with one of them to scrapbook sometime. The kids in my group were really fun and Oliver was so happy to have me be a part of his school experience. At the end of the day he said to me "Mom I love you, thank you for coming with me today".