We got back into town Thursday evening. On Friday I had my first ultrasound. It definitely made it more real for me that we were actually going to be parents of not just one child but now two. The baby was moving like crazy, already complete opposite of Ella. Every time we had an ultrasound with Ella she would curl up in a little ball and sleep the whole time….stubborn from the start :).  My stomach is already growing and I’m already starting to put away some of my pants that no longer fit. I am amazed how much faster my stomach is growing this time.

Vacation was wonderful, it was nice to visit with my family and catch up with some old friends. A few highlights from the trip:

* going to an Indiana basketball game

*taking a ride in a four person airplane (thanks to my brothers girlfriends dad), which was a lot of fun

*eating at a few of my favorite restaurants in Bloomington

*going on a date with my husband for the first time in months - we ate at a Tibetan restaurant where they seated us at a private table and then saw the Benjamin Button movie, which I really enjoyed

*playing Rock Band with the family

The next month is going to be crazy. Community Groups are starting, and between Adam and I we have 3, Adam’s sister is coming to visit this week, Adam having lots of extra practices for the concert at church coming up, we’re beginning the financial peace class, my in-laws coming to live with us beginning the last week of January and we are trying to deal with some stuff with our house in GA that is a huge headache. Whew! That is a lot. I’m excited about it all and I’m trying to take it one day at a time.

It’s amazing that Christmas is already over. I can remember as a kid feeling like Christmas would take forever to get here, now it seems like it flies by year after year. So far we’ve had a great vacation in Indiana. It’s nice to be away and it’s nice for Ella and I to spend some much needed extra time with “daddy”. We’ve already done so much in the six days we’ve been here and we’re staying quite a bit longer.

Sunday(the coldest day ever) my brother graduated from college at Purdue. I am very proud of him and excited to see what his future brings him.  That evening we had a party for him so we got to see several family members and friends which was nice. It’s strange to think that my little brother is already done with college, like I said, life is flying by.

Monday we had our traditional “Smith/McGuire Stew” something our family has done for as long as I can remember. My families really good friends come over and my mom makes her famous stew, we sing Christmas carols, exchange gifts and have our annual catch phrase boy vs. girl competition. It’s always a lot of fun.

Tuesday was a relaxing day concluding with a delicious meal at Noodles and Company. Wednesday the festivities began again, dinner with my grandma, followed by Christmas eve service and then exchange of gifts with my grandma. Our good friends Kristen and Viktor came over after the service and hung out a little while too. It was nice catching up with good friends.

Wednesday we had a lazy morning, breakfast, opening gifts and just hanging out. It was fun that Ella could actually open gifts this year. The funny part about it was she loved to open the gifts but as soon as she would open it she wanted to put the gift back in the box, I guess it’s more fun to open than to get the gift. She was cute. Shortly after we headed down to southern Indiana to spend time with my mom’s side of the family, which is always fun because she has a huge family.  

Thursday and Friday have been lazy and busy both, spent time at the mall (see picture below of Ella sleeping on the clothes in Old Navy), a trip to the YMCA, out to dinner at an Afghan restaurant which was very delicious but very different and lunch at one of my favorite places, Chick fil et.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

10 reasons why I love being a mommy

In no particular order…

1.  I love the greeting when picking her up from church nursery or from a friends house….”mommy” (with a huge grin on her face)

2.  I love watching her sleep so peacefully

3. I love how everything I do is the most amazing thing in the world

4. I love giving up my food for her when she wants more

5. I love to hear her sing with her high pitched little voice

6. I love that she wants and likes to pray and remembers even we daddy and mommy forget

7. I love her wet kisses and her 1 second hugs

8. I love when she helps me with small chores around the house and thinks she is so big

9. I love to watch how much she adores her daddy and starts showing off the second he comes home from work

10. I love when she crawls on my lap when I’m trying to do something important and gets right in my face and says mommy over and over until I give her the attention she is looking for and I stop what I’m doing

I am so thankful for my mom.  For as long as I can remember she has always been a godly role model and always been there no matter the circumstance. Over the years she has become more than just a mom but also one of my best friends. Although I wish at times we lived closer sometimes I think because of the distance between us we are actually closer. It makes the times we are together more special.

Happy Birthday mom! I love you!

On Thursday I took Ella to get her first hair cut. She did awesome. She sat so still and had this cute little smirk on her face while the lady was cutting it. I’m not sure how we got such an easy going little girl after hearing the stories from both mine and Adam’s parents about how high maintenance we were. Her hair looks real cute, the baby mullet is now gone! The front isn’t too much shorter but the back is definitely shorter. I think it makes her look older. The best part of it all was that when I went to pay the lady said it was free because it was her first hair cut!!

Yes, you read that title correctly, I am pregnant with baby #2. It’s been quite an interesting few weeks knowing that soon our life will change even more than before. We are excited, scared and nervous all at the same time.

I’m already 6 1/2 weeks which means the baby will be here sometime around July 26th….right in the middle of the hot summer! Ella is going to be a great big sister. She loves babies so much. Every time we are around any babies everything else comes to a stop and she devotes all of her attention to that baby. I know she will be a little bossy…since that is her personality but they will be close enough in age that eventually they will good playmates.

I’ve been pretty sick feeling and very tired, just like I felt with Ella, which already makes me think it’s another girl….we’ll just see.

Over the past few months it’s become more and more difficult to control Ella and our dog Bailey when they are together. Here is one example, Ella wants Bailey to play with her so bad but her chasing him around with her stroller isn’t really his type of play so then he ends up snapping at her. He would rather just sit and have someone pet him or play rough with an adult…not Ella. So, lately we’ve been talking about getting rid of Bailey but taking no steps to do this. Honestly, I really don’t want to give him away. Deep down inside I love him. This past weekend I posted him on craiglist and Mariononline to see if I could get any takers. I specifically said in my ad that the family couldn’t have any children. I got several responses and tonight a lady from Waldo came to meet Bailey. After our visit she said she would like to have him as her dog. I can’t believe this is really happening. It’s the first dog I’ve ever had. My dad is allergic to dogs so growing up we were never able to have one. The lady is lives alone, has 2 boys (both of which are 11 or older and don’t live with her on a regular basis), lives out in the country, was looking for this specific breed of dog and is very sweet. I think she will provide Bailey a good home. She will be coming to get Bailey on Friday evening (as long as she doesn’t change her mind) and we will be left with no dog, just Adam, Gretchen, Ella and our new fish Ella got from a friend this weekend named Octavious.

Today I went to the grocery store. I bought a lot of different meals that we either hadn’t had for a while or stuff we have never had. Tonight I decided we would have catfish, something I’ve never made before, with sweet potatoes and this seasoned rice for our sides. I put the sweet potatoes in the oven at 4:30 pm and was looking forward to a delicious meal. I love when Adam walks in the door from work and gets really excited because we are having something new.

So, about 5:00 pm I called Adam to find out what time he would be coming home for dinner. This was the first time I had talked to him since yesterday so we chatted a little, and then I remembered today was staff lunch so I asked him what he had for lunch, he said “catfish, from Cracker Barrel.” I can’t even believe it! What are the chances?!?!

He went on to tell me that he didn’t care to have it twice in one day and that what he had for lunch wasn’t even that great. I’m not sure if he was telling me the truth or not but it made me feel better either way.

I’m a little out of touch with blogging these days. I haven’t felt like writing nor do I have much to write about. Winter is coming and sometimes it puts me in a blah mood. I decided today I really need to work on my seasonal mood or else it could turn out to be quite a long winter. I’m thinking of learning how to play the guitar…again.  I actually started playing years back before we were even married but quit. It’s really too bad I didn’t continue because I could have been good by now. I actually started playing when our friend Nick started and a few months ago at revival he played in the band. I should have kept playing!!!

Ella is learning French from her daddy. Adam has dedicated Monday nights (while I’m at work) to speaking to her in complete french. I’m pretty excited about the possibility of her being able to speak two languages before she is in the 2nd grade. Adam said tonight she was answering some of his questions. It’s awesome how little minds work. Ella also started swim lessons at the YMCA last week, from what Adam told me she really enjoyed it. Now every time I take her to the YMCA she tells me she wants to go “mimming’ (swimming).

Sunday morning, my baby became a little girl as she trotted around in her pig tails. I know she has been a little girl for a while but all of a sudden she just seems older to me. I suddenly starting missing my baby Ella. Actually when we got home I said to her “let’s play baby”, which is when she pretends she is a baby and I hold her like I did the first year of her life. Only this time I didn’t say it because I thought she would think it was fun but because I wanted to hold my little girl like a baby. It’s amazing to me how fast she is growing and how fun it is watching her learning all of this new things.

The message at church Sunday was awesome. Pastor Riley talked about the economy and how if we put our security in money than we will be let down but if we put our security in God than we don’t ever have to worry about it. It was a sermon that I definitely needed to hear.

This past week has been eventful. Sunday we went to the trunk or treat event at my church and then Tuesday my in-laws arrived. We had an awesome week hanging out with them and Ella had a great time showing off for them. Grandma brought Ella a Minnie Mouse dress from Disneyland. Here are some photos from the week.