Honoring Ardy

On Friday, David and I had the opportunity to go on a date (thanks to the babysitting services provided by my parents). At the last minute, we decided to make a trip to Taylor. Of course we had to go by Ivanhoe's for ice cream. I had the most amazing strawberry shortcake imaginable while David settled for an old standard...for him, that is (the Trojan II which is a mint chocolate chip shake with cookie dough and a scoop of chocolate ice cream on top). After gorging on ice cream, David and I headed to campus for a walk.

We love taking walks on campus..maybe it's the nostalgia, maybe it's because we always feel grateful when we are there, maybe it's because of the beauty, or maybe it is a combination. Nonetheless, walks on Taylor campus are always a treat. David and I have been having very meaningful discussion regarding how Jesus would want us to give and what that might look like. Walks, especially ones without the kids, always allow us to have good conversations. In fact, most of our dates usually include a walk because of the value of the conversations we have at those times.

This past year, a new prayer chapel was built in the middle of campus. David and I went there for the first time in April. You cannot help but want to pray when you walk in this building. The new prayer chapel was erected to honor the lives of 4 Taylor students and a staff member who died in a terrible accident that occured in April of 2007. Just across the walkway from the pictures of those five individuals are several plaques. The plaques are engraved with names of individuals who Taylor refer to as "The Great Cloud of Witnesses". Recently an extremely important name was added to that list. That name is Ardy Smith.

It is hard to believe that Ardy has been gone for almost 9 years. She too suffered a similar death to those 5 individuals. Ardy was such an amazing woman. Though I am aware that she was not perfect, she sure was pretty close in the opinion of several people. Ardy had a way of making people feel uniquely special a characteristic that was passed down to both David and Danny. She had a beautiful smile and gave the best hugs. It is sad that we will not get to see Ardy interact with most of her grandchildren. Though I do believe that she is getting more time than I ever had with my precious little Zoe.

It was really special to see Ardy's name engraved with so many others who have had such great Christian influence on those with whom they interacted. Ardy will always be remembered. I am forever grateful for the man that she helped raised and influenced to such a great degree. I thank God and Ardy for David's passion for Jesus and for his ability to make people feel special (something that I am often the recipient of)!

The Big Guitar

This is my old guitar...that I never really learned to play. Jonah was

recently given his "Big Guitar" after our youth pastor "repaired" it for us.

Jonah is such a playful little guy but he has always had this very intense

aspect which is quite evident as he looks at his big guitar and attempts to figure it out.

Jonah has been such fun lately. I absolutely love how he is moving into a stage of asking us questions. Recently, Jonah has begun asking us about our day, about our nights, sleep, about work, etc. It is really the best. He is also moving into a stage of playing "make believe". It is amazing how many pirates and Orcas we have in our house. We are constantly running away from them!

What a Whirlwind

We arrived home from vacation one week and two days ago. It seems as if it has been nonstop action since returning home. Judah finished his last dose of antibiotics for his double ear infection the day before returning home from NC and by Wednesday he was back on medicine for another double ear infection. He is scheduled to see the Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist this coming Monday to talk about the possibility of needing tubes in his ears. Fortunately, he has had only one night of terrible sleep. Jonah had his first dental appointment yesterday to examine the tooth that he crushed on the concrete the week after we decided to only add dental insurance for David and I and not the boys. Jonah likes to say that his "tooth is dying" but the doctor seems to think it will be okay. However, he is quite concerned about his overbite and jaw structure and says Jonah will need braces at an early age, which is not a shock.

It seems like we hit the ground running once we returned from vacation. Work doesn't allow you to "ease" back into it and young kids don't really understand the concept of relaxing. Father's Day this past Sunday sort of snuck up on me. Father's Day came with a mixture of emotions just as Mother's day did this year. Father's Day fell the day after my mother-in-law (Karen) buried her father and the day after I helped throw a baby shower for Martha and Zoe Beth...a day of celebrating a life that was full but is no more and celebrating a life that is full of promise and just beginning. Father's Day also happened to be the first anniversary of my grandpa Saylor's death. So, remembering him and knowing that this adds a layers of emotions for my own father makes Father's Day bittersweet. We did have some nice moments with David on Sunday, I got to speak with my own dad on the phone, and we had ice cream and took a walk with David's dad and Danny's family.

All of the Smith boys and the one little princess.

Eric, Martha and Zoe at 7 weeks. She has actually more than doubled

her birth weight and is now 7 lbs 3 oz.

She still looks teeny tiny compared to Judah!

In my continued quest for simplicity, I am reminded that stress can make you lose sight of enjoying simplicity. Stress, in this instance, means the energy that I put towards chasing my tail and forgetting to just stop. The housework WILL get done, the work WILL be completed, the deadlines WILL be met...even when I decide to stop and rest and enjoy the moment...typically they will even get done with more joy and peace.

Back Home Again in Indiana

I feel as if we have spent a lot of time in the car over the past two days...maybe that is because we have. I continue to be amazed at how well the boys did with so much driving. I also continue to be amazed with how much of a help the car DVD player was. Jonah was seriously making David and I laugh so hard on the way home. Jonah quickly learned how to pause the DVD player...but that is not all. Often, when David and I would be talking, Jonah would pause the DVD and say "daddy, were you talking?" and then "I will wait until you are finished." We could not determine if he was being polite or slightly annoyed that we were talking during his program. However, the one thing we could determine is that he was using his DVD player the same way David uses his DVR. Oh, the many things we model for our children.

Jonah seems very happy to be back home today. However, pulling into our driveway was quite interesting yesterday. Jonah was very convinced that our house was "that way" (pointing his finger to the west). That was not even the direction of the beach so it was quite confusing. He is still asking me if he is going to be able to go find ghost crabs with buckaw later tonight but other than that I believe he is adjusting to being back home.

I do believe that my boys have grown up even over the past week. Judah looks so much bigger and he is rolling ALL over the place. I am not sure he will be in a huge hurry to crawl because he gets around quite rapidly rolling everywhere. Jonah, on the other hand, keeps pulling out funny phrases like "I am too shy", "I don't like when you___(fill in the blank with anything you can think of)". This past week Jonah was forced to sleep in a big boy bed because that is all that was available to us at the beach house. We also only took one stuffed animal with us even though he sleeps with 5. Last night, Jonah asked me to take the animals out of his bed for the night and he wanted them to sleep in the toy box. He did ask for them immediately when he woke up this morning, however, he wanted them back in the toy box when he took his afternoon nap. It sure is cute but it does seem to mean that he is outgrowing them all of a sudden. I wonder if he is also going to outgrow sucking his finger that quickly. I could only hope that it will be that easy!

Our Last Night at the Beach

I used to be a Saylor before I could say "I love being a Smith". My dear father turns 62 on Sunday so we decided to celebrate with pizza and DQ ice cream cake....yum, yum, yum, yum, delicioso (all of you parents of toddlers will get that reference to Dora because you likely say that as well when you use the word "YUM". )Anyhow....Jonah loves spending time with his Buckaw Saylor. He began calling both of his grandpas "buckaw" sometime last year after learning about their OSU pride. It is actually pretty cute and I think they both get a kick out of it. One of the many things Jonah enjoys about his Buckaw Saylor is that he tends to sneak him sweet things. Tonight when dad was presented with his birthday cake, Jonah was right there with him. Dad told Jonah to go ahead and take a bite and of course Jonah wasn't shy about taking him up on the offer.

After the celebration, a huge storm moved through our portion of the Outer Banks. The Weather Channel was actually referring to the rain as a torrential downpour...usually I only use that term to exaggerate. After just a short time of raining, the streets in front of our house were flooded and every one's trash was making its way down the road. There were power outages around us but we were more fortunate. Jonah enjoyed taking in the thunder and lightning and watching the "sirens" drive around area.

Fortunately, we had beautiful weather before the rain came. I actually cannot complain about the weather for the entire week. Before leaving for vacation, we checked out the 10 day forecast and it looked fairly bleak, however, the weather has truly been close to perfect...exceptionally hot a couple of days, but you kind of ask for that when you go to the beach. We had a great last day relaxing by the pool, checking out the ocean, taking our morning walk and of course, celebrating my dad's birthday. Happy Birthday Dad...please don't be angry that I told the world your age:)

Aunt Penny and the Blankies

This is my Aunt Penny. She is one of the nicest people you could meet. The reason why this picture is so significant is that Penny is the creator of one of Jonah and Judah's absolute favorite things...their blankies. Penny has likely knitted at least 50 blankies for new babies, many in her own family but also for babies that she may never meet. Penny knitted a beautiful pink blanket for Zoe. I remember that she questioned whether or not she should give me the blanket after Zoe died and I am so glad that she decided to. It is extremely special to me. Penny also knitted a blue blanket, similar to Judah's, for Micah. Since Micah was born in January, he was almost constantly wrapped in his blankie during his 5 weeks with us. I struggled with what to do but decided to send Micah's blankie with him when he was returned to his mother because I thought that he was already attached to it and I had hoped it would provide some sort of comfort for him. I wonder if Micah still has his blanket. Boy do I hope so.(as i am writing this i am reminded that i have pictures of Zoe and Micah's blankets that I will post once i return home) Jonah and Judah both love their blankets and they love their Great Aunt Penny. Interestingly enough, Penny did not decide that she was joining us on this vacation until the week before we left. For at least the month prior to that, Jonah kept asking if Penny was coming to the beach with us...he really wanted her to come with us. He was really excited when she was able to rearrange her schedule to join in on the fun.

Just a couple of pictures today at the beach and that silly Aunt Penny. She has made a habit out of getting herself in the background of others pictures.

How time flies

I am not referring to time flying on vacation. Actually at this point, it seems like we are fitting a lot in and enjoying a lot of activities as well as leisure time. Two years ago, my family vacationed together at the Outer Banks...a house very near to where we are now staying. At that time, Jonah was not even seven months. Today he is 2 years and 7 months. Besides sleeping, crying, and eating, Jonah did very little during that vacation. I believe that I dipped his feet in the ocean and the pool a couple of times and that was about it. Today, Jonah is enjoying several new things every single day. It is so wonderful to watch his discovery. He keeps all of us entertained and laughing. Judah is 6 months old tomorrow. He too sleeps, eats and cries (though much much less than Jonah) most of the time. He has taken a few dips in the pool but other than that he is simply an observer. Time sure flies. I love these days with Judah and with Jonah but watching Jonah grow up, I am well aware that the warnings that I received from others ("don't blink or they will no longer be little") is actually pretty true. Judah will soon be another little toddler running around. I am thankful for reminders of this that allow me to remember to soak in every moment.

Jonah enjoyed building sand castles with his

Memaw and Buckaw Saylor today. Since Judah would have

tried to eat the sand, I decided to keep him with me!

Tuesday at the Beach

Each day we start the day with a walk. Today, David, the boys and

I went on a 4 mile walk. It was crazy hot even early this morning.

Judah slept for a good portion of the walk....fortunately.Jonah loved watching the turtles peek their heads out

from the water with daddy. It broke up the long walk a bit for him.

When we returned from our walk, Judah took a dip in the pool with mommy.
Judah watched while we tried to get his big brother Jonah further
into the water. He did manage to get off the second step and
at least took a quick ride on mommy and daddy's backs. Later he
was quite proudto show me that he had stepped down onto the third step.

My 14 yr old niece, Kelsea, is vacationing with us. She is great with Judah

and likes that he smiles at her every time she looks at him.

Here she is giving him some eye wear fashion advice.

Tonight we splurged on a wonderful seafood dinner. Here Jonah is eating

his chicken fingers and fries....a great seafood meal!

After dinner, we went putt-putting. Jonah played about 6 holes before
he decided he was done. Then he demonstrated how much energy
a glass of chocolate milk at dinner can give him by running
laps around the golf course. I am pretty sure he made us all tired.
What a fun day!

A Sunny Morning

Jonah still hasn't made it off of the second step of the pool

but he continues to have fun nonetheless. Here he thought

it would be cool pulling memaw around the pool on

a boogie board.

Judah is such a peaceful little dude. I am falling in love

with his blue eyes. I think that it is great that one of our children

inherited David's beautiful blue eyes!

Jonah loves his new beach hat. This seems somewhat miraculous

since he threw it on the floor when I brought it home from the store

a few weeks ago. He says that it keeps the sun from burning him.

Jonah got a kick blowing bubbles while he watched

for kites and birds. I think he learned

an important lesson when he tried to drink the soap!

Judah's first dip

Despite the fairly cold water, Judah was once again a

real "trouper". He is so easy going. Jonah had a fun day

watching the kites (which he for some reason kept

calling "peets") . He especially loved climbing up and

down the first two steps of the pool entrance

but didn't quite take the plunge...maybe tomorrow.

We going at the beach, Mommy?

For the past month, Jonah has been asking at least three or four times each day if "we going at the beach, mommy?" We had to stop talking about the beach for a while because he just kept asking and asking. Eventually, I began having him cross off the days on the calendar until we reached our leaving day. Today when Jonah asked "we at the beach yet, mommy", I was finally able to tell him "yes".

Jonah and Judah were absolutely amazing during the entire trip. I have to say that I think the car DVD player that we borrowed from our friends was truly a life-saver! At one point, David jokingly asked if we should be concerned about it burning Jonah's retinas! Judah was such a trouper! Poor thing has a double ear infection and all he got to do the entire trip was stare at the back seat. Some of my favorite memories will be Jonah attempting to get Judah to look at the airplanes our the car window, Jonah's new love for bridges, hearing Jonah sing song after song every he went, and reflecting with David about how this is really the life. I just love those boys so much!

So, after two days of driving (about 15 hours total), we arrived at the Outer Banks at about 4:00pm today. My parents, aunt Penny, and my niece Kelsea had arrived a couple of hours before us. After unloading the car and feeding Judah, we decided to head down for a peek at the ocean. Jonah was too cute. Despite being a bit put off by the amount of sand in his shoes, he loved running away from the incoming tide and he was quite enamored by the "peacocks" flying above us.

Jonah unfortunately spiked a fever later this evening, but after a nap on his "Buckaw" Saylor, he seemed to have regained some energy. I just love watching his excitement over everything he sees. He is seeing so many things for the first time and actually acts as if he is seeing everything for the first time. I feel like this may be another lesson in simplicity...appreciating things in life as if it was the first time to experience it. My toddler may just be becoming one of my best teachers!

More Simple Things

It's a stormy night in Indiana. David and I have always loved watching storms. I remember watching them with my dad from our front porch when we lived in the old farm house in the country. David and his family also grew up watching the storms in the field across from his house. I remember especially early in our marriage, David and I would turn off the lights and turn our couch towards the window and watch the lightning. There were a few years when life got busy that we didn't stop to watch the storms...many things including the storms seemed to pass us by. What a shame...

I am so thankful that life has somewhat slowed down for us. (That is, as slowed down as it can be with two little boys.) Nonetheless, I remember that last summer while I was pregnant with Judah and when Jonah was 1 1/2, we set up our lawn chairs at the edge of the garage and watched for the thunder. David attempted to teach Jonah how to determine how far away the storm is by counting the seconds between the lightning and the thunder. I think that ignited something in Jonah. He gets so excited when he thinks that a storm is coming. Typically, Jonah will want to sit on our bed and watch for the lightning out our bedroom window. Tonight, he asked daddy to put him up on the counter to watch out the kitchen window. David gladly watched for the storm with Jonah and with Judah.

As I continue to search for the meaning of simplicity, I am beginning to understand that God may be revealing more and more of the meaning through observing the joy that overwhelms my boys through simple things. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to slow down and not let these moments pass me by.