OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE IN AN AIIIIRRRRPLANE!

What a fun time we've had this Christmas!  It started the weekend before Christmas when we went to the Live Bethlehem in Burnet, Texas.  It was crowded but an AMAZING opportunity to see what it was like on the first Christmas, the night of Jesus's birth.  Then, we spent Christmas Eve in Austin with my parents, ate good food and opened lots of fun little gifts.  Then, off we flew to Virginia on Christmas Day to spend time with the hubby's family.  Tomorrow we will leave to go back to Texas and on to East Texas to visit with more of hubby's family.  Kameen is a trooper, and has been so good the whole time (well, within reason for a 2 year old!). 

Kameen got to pet a real camel at the Live Bethlehem

Gifts at Meemaw and Papaw's house

A wonderful feast when we arrived in Virginia

Taking a break after a LONG day of travel

Yay presents!

Fun in the SNOW!!!

Celebrating

The holiday season is in full swing, and I am very excited about Christmas this year.  Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year - music, decorating, food, cold weather, and the birthday celebration of our King! What's not to love?  I definitely had a lull in my Christmas enthusiasm between the time I left my parents' house (and got married) and when I became a parent.  That's a 5 year lull!  But, now that I'm a mommy and get to start my own family traditions for Christmas, I'm more excited than ever.  Last year, I was unable to decorate my house because we were in the middle of trying to sell it, and our realtor asked that we keep it simple. The year before, Kameen was just a month old and....well, enough said.  So, this is the first year after becoming a parent that I feel like we can really get into the spirit of Christmas and make the most of it.  We've decked our halls, we will be reading our Christmas story books, we've bought a few gifts, our travel arrangements are made to spend time with family, and our ears are full of the music of the season.  We are CELEBRATING!

This is Kameen last year at Christmas

Here he is this year!

Decorating fun!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sweet Pea!

Boy, oh boy, you are TWO!  I can't believe how you've grown and changed over the past 2 years.  You are talking more and more each day, and it is so cool to hear all that you have to say.  This year we gave you a workbench and tools, a bike, a puzzle, a movie, and some new shoes.  Meemaw and Papaw gave you a train set and a new book. You love it all! You are such a busy bee, as always. You are still very opinionated and demanding, but I think we've finally gotten used to it. You know all your colors and shapes, and you're starting to count as well. We are expecting a baby sister soon, and you talk often about the baby in Mama's belly. We think you'll like her when she arrives. We love you so much, and can't wait to see what the coming year holds. Here are some pictures of how much you've grown!

Just a few minutes old

One year old!

On your second birthday

Because we're expanding....expecting.

So, I know I'm the only one who reads and writes to this blog, but I wanted to give it a fresh look because as you may have guessed or know, we are expecting again.  March 24 we expect to welcome a daughter into our world.  I like blogging, and want to continue to do it.  So....here....we....go!

New Look Coming Soon

For anyone who MIGHT still check this, I'm going to be revamping soon! Stay tuned!!!

June to Today

It's been awhile since posting here. I always tell myself I'll do better, but then get caught up and fail to do so. June was a busy month for us as we were renovating our kitchen. We painted, we assembled, we installed, we nailed, we drilled, we installed some more, and finally we looked at what we had done and said "It is good!" Kameen was a big helper as usual. He helped so much, we bought him his own set of tools so he could "fix" things whenever he wanted to! He is still the handiest man in the house to date.

We also went to visit Cousin Aiden for his birthday. Here we discovered that Cousins Andy and Aiden had way cooler tools than what we had, so we stole them! The party was a blast, lots of water and sun and ice cream! YUM! Kameen was pooped and slept a lot when we came back home. Always a good thing for Mama.


Kameen has also branched out in his artistic ventures. He now enjoys Play-Doh, as well as his crayons and stamps. He has an interesting self expression that we are thinking will someday land him a spot in the Guggenheim.




Lastly, we recently visited our family in East Texas for a reunion. It was HOT, HOT, HOT. On top of that, Kameen and I were both sick with sinus infections and an ear infection. The sleeping situation went from bad to worse, when Kameen came into bed with us one morning. It was functional until he rolled over. Then, Mama took her spot on the floor. All-in-all it was a great weekend. We got lots of visits from Aunties and Great Grandma, who just love to come see Kameen when he's in town. He was a little crabby with them, preferring Mama, but he eventually warmed up.

A New Order

Revelation 21: 2-4
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

My week had gone from bad to worse. First, my kitchen was under construction, and was no longer a kitchen but a room with tile adhesive covering the floor, nails strewn about, electrical wires hanging from the walls, and a fine dust that had settled on everything. My dishes were piled in the pantry, the boxes and old dishwasher tray barely balancing on one another. And, my stove sat in the middle of the floor covered in dirt; my microwave on the washing machine. Add to this my 18-month-old who had become obsessed with Daddy’s tools, and it became a very dangerous situation. As the week went on, the City came and turned the water off in our neighborhood for an entire half day without notice, leaving me not only without a kitchen, but without water in my whole house. Then, there were all the little things in between, the three appointments that had somehow been scheduled on this particularly busy week that required coordination for childcare, the milk that went sour long before its expiration, and the fact that I drank the milk. Finally, to top it all off, in the midst of renovation and record temperatures, the a/c decided to quit. It has yet to start up again.

The old me would have given up, cried, yelled, and gotten extremely frustrated by the whole situation. I would have moped and asked God “Why is all this happening now?” But, in reading this passage, and remembering WHOSE I am and that my peace does not stem from my current circumstances, I have been able to take it in stride. Mostly.

Aren’t there days though, when the old person is screaming, “Please, pay attention to me! This situation is awful, let’s have a meltdown! Let’s make everyone around us, including our children and family, miserable!” It is in that time that we must remember these words, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Jesus Christ has already changed the old order of things. We can choose, on a daily basis, to allow Him to make us into the person He wants us to be and remove the old person that’s screaming from inside us. Sure, there are still tears, but He will personally wipe our tears away while we still live on this Earth. If you feel overwhelmed by your circumstances today, remember that we are strangers in this land. One day, we will be with him, and a new order will be set. That is worth smiling about.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, in the midst of my circumstances, help me remember that a new order is coming. Help me point to you each day so that my children will know that it is not our circumstances that dictate our behavior but your Holy Spirit living within us. Help me to see past my circumstances and allow you to make me into the mother you would have me to be, EVERYDAY. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Latest in Music

Have you heard the new, hot music that's out? No? Well, here's a sampling of the lyrics.

Rain, rain, rain!
It's good to see you again.
Drip-drop, pitter-pat, splash, and swishin.
Rain!
We love the rain!

Or, my favorite.

Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog.
Now we got ears, it's time for cheers.
Hot dog, hot dog, our problem's solved!
Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog!

If you haven't heard these one-hit wonders, maybe it's because you listen to adult music. But these, my friends are the kid hits of today. And, the best part? Because I'm a mom, I go to bed singing them, and wake up humming them. Sigh.... :)

Remodels and Remixes

We have been busy, busy, busy remodeling our master bathroom with a walk-in shower, gearing up for a remodel on our kitchen, growing a garden. Yes, we are crazy. Kameen is such a trooper, and he is always willing and ready to "help." He measures, hammers, drills, and uses the screwdriver on anything and everything he can find! He is a real handy little man. And while our lives at home are still in flux, we found the time this month to go visit our family for a weekend, which, despite the COLD RAIN (in May!) was quite a treat. So, without further ado, here are pics of the last few weeks around the Smith household. Enjoy!

Before, we had a huge sitting area in our master bedroom. It was really too much.

Now, we still have a sitting area, but we also have a giant walk-in shower!

Before, we had a tiny shower room, with an extremely gross prefab shower/tub combo.

Now, we have a very stylish, walk-in shower, with two showerheads! That's plenty of space for me and the hubby!




We had lots of fun with our cousins in D-town.

Cousin Andy turned 6! We celebrated with a campout.

Kameen had a great visit with Ms. Willa. They are 9 days apart, and they liked practicing kissing during our playdate. Too cute!

Measuring Success

Proverbs 31:28
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.

How do we measure the success of our mothering? How will we know we are doing for our children what is right, true, and according to God’s plan? When I was in 11th grade, my English teacher taught all the boys in the class to stand when a lady entered the room or when a lady stood. This classic etiquette rule that was widely observed in the 19th century along with opening doors and offering a seat to a lady, is unfortunately long gone due to movements such as Women’s Lib. But, the idea behind it is not so different from what the Bible says about how children should treat the lady of the house. One translation reads, “Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her.”

So, are we to expect our children to stand every time we enter a room? Certainly it doesn’t hurt to teach our sons such respect of a woman. But, this verse seems to be speaking more into the future. The Proverbs 31 woman does so much for her family day in and day out, and she does it graciously, as we can see in the verses that precede this one. In that time, we don’t see or hear from her children, but we know they’re there and that she serves them well. Now, fast forward 20 or 30 years, and we see the product of her diligence and loving attitude. Her children have grown up (“rise up”) and their lives have become a reflection of her success as a mother, and in their success she is blessed. I imagine an 80th birthday party where all her friends and family have gathered and her children each make a statement about what their mom means to them. Her husband too. And, this mother beams with pride that her children love the Lord and are successful members of society.

It’s easy to get bogged down in the day to day troubles that being a mother brings. It’s easy to feel like a failure when our children throw tantrums in public, get in trouble at school, or wake us with fever and chills on Mother’s Day instead of French toast and coffee. But, if we are following the instruction of God’s Word and pointing our children to Him daily in our actions and in our servant hood, we can be assured that one day our children will also rise up and bless us through their lives.

Prayer: Lord, help me remember today that even though I may not always feel like a successful mother, your Word promises blessings through my children’s lives if I will keep striving to be the mother You have called me to be. Help me remember that it is through You that I have the strength to lead my children on a path that is holy and pleasing to You. Thank you for your grace and mercy, and thank you for being the best parenting example of all.

I'm You: You Are Me and We Are You

We have just finished breakfast and are heading out the door to take Daddy to work. The Honda is being maintenanced, and I'm suddenly very grateful we now have two cars. Busying myself with breakfast dishes, I vaguely hear Chris in the background playing the say game. "Say Isaac." "Say Daddy." And then I hear him. "Isaac," Kameen says. Of course it's not clear or pronounced, but it's definitely "Isaac." Just yesterday he learned to say "Daddy." Up to now it has always been "Dada." And today, his own name, "Isaac."

In Hebrew, Isaac means "laughter" or "he laughs." It is a play on the reaction that Sarah had when she, at the age of 90, conceived a son (Genesis 21:1-7). If there is one thing our Isaac does, it's laugh. When I hear him say his own name, I realize, I'm him, he's me, and we are one, all three. It's fun to think that from two comes one, and soforth. Perhaps I think too deeply, and so I finish the dishes. Perhaps tomorrow he'll say "Mama."

EGG-stravaganza!

I glance around the room, wondering why it's full and yet I have spoken to no one. It's Thursday, and we are at the Northland Rec Center where they have set out mats, balls, and other play things for the children to entertain themselves while we wait for the big moment...the egg hunt. I'm amazed that so many adults can be in one room together and yet stay completely distracted with their child(ren) so as not to have to socialize. Then I realize, I haven't spoken to anyone either, and I determine I'm no better than them. Kameen is busying himself with the balls and running on the mats. He is as tall as a lot of other kids, and I am amazed at how big he is and how he is growing up so fast.

Finally, the moment arrives. The egg hunt begins with the Easter Bunny greeting the kids and rallying them to the great outdoors. There is a sense of competition in the air, and I try to ignore it. There are plenty of eggs for all. Kameen loves picking up the eggs and putting them in our H-E-B (Happy Easter Bunny) grocery bag, once I show him how. He is distracted by the playscape, as are most of the little ones. We sit under a tree and open the eggs, and I stuff cheap candy in my purse while he plays with the plastic spheres. It's a great day.




Repeat similar story on Saturday morning. Include Daddy, Grandmama, Grandpapa, facepainting, and bunny ears!