Sunday we blessed Matthew. 
Grandma and Grandpa Smyth were able to come, as well as Jeremy's brother Brad and his wife Belinda.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
finally some photos
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Change
The one thing that is constant in life is change.
Today our really good friends, the Carpenters, moved. They moved here to Florida the week or two before we did and now they are moving on. Last summer another of our really good friends, the Prescotts, moved away and it just isn't quite the same without them. That's how it will be with the Carpenters gone. For weeks I will probably find myself looking at their house as I drive by and wonder if they are home only to remind myself that they aren't there anymore.
It was nice to be able to go over to their house today and help them with their final packing and cleaning. Seeing the house empty helps give that sense of closure and it was nice to be able to spend just a little more time with them.
I guess it will soon be our turn to be moving on, about three more months for us. It will be exciting to move onward, but we will be leaving a lot of "family" behind, for truly our friends here have become like family.
Today our really good friends, the Carpenters, moved. They moved here to Florida the week or two before we did and now they are moving on. Last summer another of our really good friends, the Prescotts, moved away and it just isn't quite the same without them. That's how it will be with the Carpenters gone. For weeks I will probably find myself looking at their house as I drive by and wonder if they are home only to remind myself that they aren't there anymore.
It was nice to be able to go over to their house today and help them with their final packing and cleaning. Seeing the house empty helps give that sense of closure and it was nice to be able to spend just a little more time with them.
I guess it will soon be our turn to be moving on, about three more months for us. It will be exciting to move onward, but we will be leaving a lot of "family" behind, for truly our friends here have become like family.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Sunday
I'm the organist in my ward which means that I am not sitting with my family for most of Sacrament meeting. Most Sundays this really isn't much of a problem, except when my husband isn't there, which has been quite a bit lately. Between work, being out of town and being sick it's been a few weeks since he has been there.
Pre new baby it wasn't a big deal, my kids were fine to sit by themself and more or less behave. In fact I was always impressed by how well they really did all by themselves. However add in a newborn and it's not an ideal situation to expect them to sit by themselves.
Last Sunday Matthew was asleep and in his car seat for most of the time that I was at the organ. This week when we got to church he was wide awake and I just didn't feel comfortable leaving him with the kids. I could foresee him fusing and crying, or the kids all fighting over who got to hold him. I asked an older single lady, who was sitting by herself if she would like to sit with my kids an hold Matthew. Thankfully she was more than happy to help.
Service is really a two sided deal--someone who needs service and someone willing to give. Last week I tried to brave it alone and didn't ask anyone to help, and it was fine, but this week I reached out and asked someone to help, and I know that she truly enjoyed being of help (of course who doesn't love holding a sweet little baby). For me it gave me better peace of mind knowing that someone with with my children and I didn't need to worry about the while I was not sitting with them. Whereas last week I was constantly looking down at them trying to see if they were doing okay, and it was very distracting to my playing.
Charlie gave a talk in primary. It was about the apostles an prophets. We have 8x10 pictures of each of the current apostles which Charlie used as a visual aid as he sang their names to the tune of "Books of the Book of Mormon".
We learned the names of the apostles to this tune a few years ago and each March and September we sing it in preparation of conference approaching. I show them the pictures as we sing it so that they are familiar with who is who. Then as we watch conference they can say "that's Elder Bednar, or whoever it may be, rather than "another boring old man" which is what my thought was when I was a kid, because I didn't know who any of those "old guys" were.
Jeremy made us a wonderful stir fry for linner (like brunch, but for the afternoon, lunch and dinner combined). It was doubly wonderful for me because it was very tasty and I didn't have to fix it. I always loved meal that I didn't have to cook.
Pre new baby it wasn't a big deal, my kids were fine to sit by themself and more or less behave. In fact I was always impressed by how well they really did all by themselves. However add in a newborn and it's not an ideal situation to expect them to sit by themselves.
Last Sunday Matthew was asleep and in his car seat for most of the time that I was at the organ. This week when we got to church he was wide awake and I just didn't feel comfortable leaving him with the kids. I could foresee him fusing and crying, or the kids all fighting over who got to hold him. I asked an older single lady, who was sitting by herself if she would like to sit with my kids an hold Matthew. Thankfully she was more than happy to help.
Service is really a two sided deal--someone who needs service and someone willing to give. Last week I tried to brave it alone and didn't ask anyone to help, and it was fine, but this week I reached out and asked someone to help, and I know that she truly enjoyed being of help (of course who doesn't love holding a sweet little baby). For me it gave me better peace of mind knowing that someone with with my children and I didn't need to worry about the while I was not sitting with them. Whereas last week I was constantly looking down at them trying to see if they were doing okay, and it was very distracting to my playing.
Charlie gave a talk in primary. It was about the apostles an prophets. We have 8x10 pictures of each of the current apostles which Charlie used as a visual aid as he sang their names to the tune of "Books of the Book of Mormon".
We learned the names of the apostles to this tune a few years ago and each March and September we sing it in preparation of conference approaching. I show them the pictures as we sing it so that they are familiar with who is who. Then as we watch conference they can say "that's Elder Bednar, or whoever it may be, rather than "another boring old man" which is what my thought was when I was a kid, because I didn't know who any of those "old guys" were.
Jeremy made us a wonderful stir fry for linner (like brunch, but for the afternoon, lunch and dinner combined). It was doubly wonderful for me because it was very tasty and I didn't have to fix it. I always loved meal that I didn't have to cook.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Just One Thing
My head is always full of blog posts, until I sit down to write them and then I can't remember any of the thoughts I had. So I think I will have to do what I did in Jr. high English class. We had to write a journal entry for 15 minutes every day, so I would just start writing anything and this would start the thoughts flowing and usually I would come up with an idea to write about.
My baby, Matthew, is seven weeks old. Crazy that he has been part of our family for so short, yet so long of a time already. Matthew is a joy and is happy, as long as he is being held by me. The children are constantly fighting over whose turn it is to hold him. Lydia tries the most for it to always be her turn and Matthew tolerates her the least.
It is raining right now and Tom keeps coming and asking questions about flooding - asking how long it would have to rain to flood Florida and what are we going to do if it floods. I ask him why he is so concerned about it flooding and he just shrugs and says "I don't know". Definitely here in Florida the adage holds true "when it rains it pours". I've forgotten how heavy the rain comes down, because it has been a few months since it has rained regularly.
A few months ago Jeremy bought Rebecca (5) a pair of rollerblades. She uses them and loves them, but Lydia (3) kept taking them and using them, so there was constantly a fight over them. Lydia is actually really good at rollerblading, so this week we got her a pair of her own. Now all of the kids (except Matthew of course) have their own pair so when we go to the park I push Matthew in the stroller (or wear him in the baby carrier, which he prefers) and the kids glide on their skates.
A couple days this week Lydia held on to the stroller for part of the time and rollerbladed for part of the time. However, yesterday she rollerbladed the entire time (about a mile) and I don't think she even fell at all. Funny thing is, as brave as she is about rollerblading, she isn't so confident about trying to ride her bike without training wheels. She saw her friend who just learned to ride his bike without training wheels and her comment was "I think I will have to wait until I'm older until we take the wheels off mine" or some such remark indicating that she is not ready to go two wheeled.
Jeremy's car got totaled last month in an accident. Thankfully he was not injured but our 1995 Honda Civic that we loved and hoped to have for many more years was beyond repair. Our replacement car we have chosen to buy, from some friends who are moving, won't be available for a couple more weeks, so Jeremy has been using the minivan. That leaves me carless. I don't go much of anywhere anyway, but we do like to go to the park often. Not having a car available has taken away my ability to be lazy and just drive the mile or so. Granted it is hot most days (even though it is barely March and only in the 80's, it still feels so much hotter than that) but it has been a good thing for me to be "forced" to walk and get back to exercising. I've even started adding in an extra lap around our neighborhood to get more distance in and get more of a workout.
This morning I took the girls and we did one loop around the neighborhood. It was at 10 am and we went at a fairly slow pace (lydia was pushing the stroller for most of the walk, so she set the pace), yet I was drenched with sweat by the time we got back. Florida is beautiful, but it is so humid and hot. Like I said, it's only been in the 80's, but the direct sunlight (not in the shade) feels so intense and hot and makes it feel at least 10-15 degrees hotter than it really is. 80 here doesn't feel like 80 in Idaho, where I grew up.
One reason I don't write on my blog very much is because I spend to much time reading other blogs and run out of "computer time" and/or energy to want to try to compose my own thought. However, I do read some great posts that motivate me and inspire me.
Maybe since it is spring time many people seem to be talking about spring cleaning and a popular idea going around is "40 in 40" - to purge 40 bags in 40 days. Although my home really does need some good purging I didn't set this as my goal, but it did motivate me to tackle to girls room and be ruthless and get rid of as much as I could.
It felt good to accomplish that much, but I knew that more of my house really needs the same ruthlessness. However, I get overwhelmed when I think too globally, in terms of the whole house. A blog post I read last night talked out doing just one thing, and how that usually is enough to help us keep going. Like if you don't feel like cleaning the house, just think of one thing that you can do in regards to cleaning, like wiping down the sink. Once you get started you usually will end up doing more than just that one thing.
So I think that is a good mantra/goal for me to have - ONE THING - I can do one thing at a time and one thing here and there will add up to many things, that usually overwhelm me, to get done.
Today my one thing was to pick out five shirts from my closet to get rid of. Once I got started I picked out five and then ten and then soon the bag was full of things I was able to get rid of. It felt good to accomplish that. So, my goal, instead of "40 in 40", which seems good, but would eventually overwhelm me (mostly because it is someone else's goal, not my own, even though I adopted as my own) is to do "one thing".
And this one thing pertains to more than just purging my home of excess, but to everything, one scripture, one moment with one of my children, one blog post, one walk, one moment of gratitude. I don't have to plan weeks and months and years of how many minutes and pages and miles I need to do such and such. I can just focus on the one thing.
My baby, Matthew, is seven weeks old. Crazy that he has been part of our family for so short, yet so long of a time already. Matthew is a joy and is happy, as long as he is being held by me. The children are constantly fighting over whose turn it is to hold him. Lydia tries the most for it to always be her turn and Matthew tolerates her the least.
It is raining right now and Tom keeps coming and asking questions about flooding - asking how long it would have to rain to flood Florida and what are we going to do if it floods. I ask him why he is so concerned about it flooding and he just shrugs and says "I don't know". Definitely here in Florida the adage holds true "when it rains it pours". I've forgotten how heavy the rain comes down, because it has been a few months since it has rained regularly.
A few months ago Jeremy bought Rebecca (5) a pair of rollerblades. She uses them and loves them, but Lydia (3) kept taking them and using them, so there was constantly a fight over them. Lydia is actually really good at rollerblading, so this week we got her a pair of her own. Now all of the kids (except Matthew of course) have their own pair so when we go to the park I push Matthew in the stroller (or wear him in the baby carrier, which he prefers) and the kids glide on their skates.
A couple days this week Lydia held on to the stroller for part of the time and rollerbladed for part of the time. However, yesterday she rollerbladed the entire time (about a mile) and I don't think she even fell at all. Funny thing is, as brave as she is about rollerblading, she isn't so confident about trying to ride her bike without training wheels. She saw her friend who just learned to ride his bike without training wheels and her comment was "I think I will have to wait until I'm older until we take the wheels off mine" or some such remark indicating that she is not ready to go two wheeled.
Jeremy's car got totaled last month in an accident. Thankfully he was not injured but our 1995 Honda Civic that we loved and hoped to have for many more years was beyond repair. Our replacement car we have chosen to buy, from some friends who are moving, won't be available for a couple more weeks, so Jeremy has been using the minivan. That leaves me carless. I don't go much of anywhere anyway, but we do like to go to the park often. Not having a car available has taken away my ability to be lazy and just drive the mile or so. Granted it is hot most days (even though it is barely March and only in the 80's, it still feels so much hotter than that) but it has been a good thing for me to be "forced" to walk and get back to exercising. I've even started adding in an extra lap around our neighborhood to get more distance in and get more of a workout.
This morning I took the girls and we did one loop around the neighborhood. It was at 10 am and we went at a fairly slow pace (lydia was pushing the stroller for most of the walk, so she set the pace), yet I was drenched with sweat by the time we got back. Florida is beautiful, but it is so humid and hot. Like I said, it's only been in the 80's, but the direct sunlight (not in the shade) feels so intense and hot and makes it feel at least 10-15 degrees hotter than it really is. 80 here doesn't feel like 80 in Idaho, where I grew up.
One reason I don't write on my blog very much is because I spend to much time reading other blogs and run out of "computer time" and/or energy to want to try to compose my own thought. However, I do read some great posts that motivate me and inspire me.
Maybe since it is spring time many people seem to be talking about spring cleaning and a popular idea going around is "40 in 40" - to purge 40 bags in 40 days. Although my home really does need some good purging I didn't set this as my goal, but it did motivate me to tackle to girls room and be ruthless and get rid of as much as I could.
It felt good to accomplish that much, but I knew that more of my house really needs the same ruthlessness. However, I get overwhelmed when I think too globally, in terms of the whole house. A blog post I read last night talked out doing just one thing, and how that usually is enough to help us keep going. Like if you don't feel like cleaning the house, just think of one thing that you can do in regards to cleaning, like wiping down the sink. Once you get started you usually will end up doing more than just that one thing.
So I think that is a good mantra/goal for me to have - ONE THING - I can do one thing at a time and one thing here and there will add up to many things, that usually overwhelm me, to get done.
Today my one thing was to pick out five shirts from my closet to get rid of. Once I got started I picked out five and then ten and then soon the bag was full of things I was able to get rid of. It felt good to accomplish that. So, my goal, instead of "40 in 40", which seems good, but would eventually overwhelm me (mostly because it is someone else's goal, not my own, even though I adopted as my own) is to do "one thing".
And this one thing pertains to more than just purging my home of excess, but to everything, one scripture, one moment with one of my children, one blog post, one walk, one moment of gratitude. I don't have to plan weeks and months and years of how many minutes and pages and miles I need to do such and such. I can just focus on the one thing.
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