My SuperHeroes

Today we got a box in the mail from a fellow blogger turned friend, Lisa. She sent some goodies from her son's birthday party for the kids {and a couple of goodies for us too! Thanks Lisa!}. The clear and immediate favorite?

The SuperHero Masks.

I couldn't love these two Super Heroes more. ♥

ABin5

A couple of weeks ago, Ben ordered Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day for me. 

Totally and completely worth it.

And I finally remembered to snap a photo of a loaf before it was devoured.

rest.

Between traveling, {still} trying to get things on the walls and settled, and attempting to overcome the extreme fatigue that I've been feeling with this pregnancy, resting has become almost a daily necessity. And the kiddos favorite way to do it?

Stretching out under the tree on the beach mats.

Moving into Zone Defense | #3

It's official. Ben and I are moving out of man-to-man coverage phase of parenting... and into zone defense.

That's right, Friends. We're having another baby. I'm pregnant!

We found out on April 21.  It was a surprise to be sure.  A welcome one, but a surprise, particularly after fertility treatments to have Noah and the anticipated issues with Ellie.  We had been discussing for the past several months how and when we were going to round out our family.  Our desire has always been for four children, but with my diabetes and the strain that pregnancy puts on my body {and the baby's}, we weren't sure if we were going to round out our family with another biological child or attempt to start the adoption process again.  And when either of those might happen.  But, after some symptoms that I had been justifying with other things {extreme tiredness = Lyme's disease [which I don't have! lol]; nausea = from my thyroid meds;} and a friend telling me about a friend of hers who was 20 weeks along before she found out she was pregnant, I decided to take a test.  It was positive before I even stood up.  God made the choice for us - one more biological child it is!  That was the first shocker.

The second shock came along once I was finally able to get an OB appointment on Wednesday.  The midwife's exact words were: "If there is only one, I think you are 15-16 weeks along."  Holy cow!  According to my rough calculations, I thought I was somewhere between 9-12 weeks.  Friday's ultrasound showed that there was only one baby and that the baby was 14 weeks 6 days!  Our due date has been set for November 10.  We'll find out more about the health of the baby in the upcoming weeks and ultrasounds.

Needless to say, this little bundle of joy is ever so welcome.  We're truly happy and very excited.  So are Noah and Ellie {I've got a cute little video that I'll post soon from when we told them!}.  But we're also a little concerned.  Concerned for the health of the baby, considering my diabetes control wasn't exactly in the "healthy baby range".  Concerned for my health, because even though little damage was done to my kidneys and eyes with Noah and Ellie, the concern is still there that it could happen this time.  And of course, concern because heaven knows that NICU time is not something I handle very well.

Would you join us in praying for Baby Smith #3? 

I've got a specific list if you'd like to join us in covering this little one in prayer: pray for the health of the baby - I'm more than a little concerned about the damage that could have been caused by high blood sugars in the beginning and formative weeks; for my own health - that little to no damage to my kidneys and eyes occur with this pregnancy; for an easy delivery - which will, of course, be a c-section again; and for no NICU time this time around.  I know it might seem a little ridiculous {and I'm well aware that our first priority is the baby's health and safety}, but I dream of being able to keep this little one in our hospital room with us. 

Thank you for joining us in our excitement and helping us cover this baby in prayer!  ♥

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommas out there!

But especially to my Momma, my Grami, and Ben's Momma - thank you for all that you've done for us!

{And Mom.  Seriously.  Thanks for the legs. ;)  }

Yesterday, we went to IKEA and got my Mother's Day{partial birthday?} present - bookshelves for the guest room/craft room.  One of these days, when we I finally get finished getting the house settled and everything on the walls, I'll take some photos and give a little tour.  But for now... well, as you can see in the background, it's still a complete work in progress.

So today, with a little help from his handy helper, Ben put them together for me.  Love that man.  Love that kid too.

He happily posed for a photo with me... and then turned the silly on when Ellie {reluctantly} joined in.  This was the best....

and this is how most of the rest of them looked.

Happy Mother's Day!!

{And, Happy day-early Birthday Daddy-Man!}

"It's a twain!"

We're getting back to our usual routines around here... and pointing out what we think the clouds look like with our friends.

Wordless Wednesday | From my Phone

♥

Headed Home

After a fabulous time in Colorado visiting friends and family, we're headed home.  ♥

Last Full Day | Ft. Collins

There seriously are no words.  We had an AMAZING time in Ft. Collins.  The kids, while excited to get back home, are sad to be leaving Baby Levi, Baby Paige, and Sylas.  And of course Grandma and Poppa.  Thank you, for everything Carol and Chris!  We love you dearly and can't wait until we get to see you again!

Avengers & Family Time | Ft. Collins

It was a pretty busy day in Ft. Collins. And, admittedly, one of my favorite parts was being able to go on an afternoon date with Ben... to see The Avengers.

I mean, seriously.  What other guy do you know who INSISTS on you taking his photo with your phone while he's trying to make the same face as Loki?

The remainder of the day was spent getting in some family time.  Kim and Tracy, Ben's cousins, brought over their little one, Paige.  I couldn't resist getting her dressed in Grandpa Crew's shirt dress.

There was lots of play time outside also.  The kids LOVED this little rocket launcher - both of them got pretty good at it over the course of the trip!

The highlight of the day for Noah {and Poppa too, I think}, was getting to take Poppa's "tractor" for a spin. 

I'm pretty sure Chris was trying to freak me out, but look who is driving - Noah!  He was SO proud of himself!

Ellie got a quick little spin also, but we couldn't tell if she liked it or was just trying to be brave because Bubby got to do it.

And, to top off the fun day, Sylas got to stay for a sleep-over! The boys "camped" out in the living room after watching some Avenger's cartoons and eating leftover popcorn.

The Snuggle-Bug | Ft. Collins

I could seriously not love this little guy any more! We had a pretty mellow day around here in Colorado today - lots of cuddling and adoring the new Snuggle-Bug and lots of play time for the kiddos.

And perhaps a nap or two for some of us!

Quality Family Time | Fort Collins

We made it to Ft. Collins last night after saying goodbye to the Frey's in Denver. And while we were sad to say bye to them, we were excited and happy to get to spend some time with Ben's side of the family, many of whom we hadn't seen in quite some time.

Before we left the house to meet Marian and Sylas at their home and then go to lunch, Noah helped Grandma water her garden. He was quite the big helper and really just wanted to do it all himself.

After lunch we got to meet, hold, love on, kiss, and cuddle our newest nephew, Levi Christopher, born just this last Saturday. I'm not sure who was more pleased with him, me or Amanda and Eric, his parents! But I do already love this little guy to pieces!

In the mean time, the two older boy cousins were having epic Nerf gun battles outside with Daddy and Uncle Eric, dressing up, and just being boys.



While Ellie convinced Aunt Marian {and eventually Aunt Amanda also} to play "girls" {Strawberry Shortcake dolls} with her.

All in all, it was a day full of quality family time. ♥

Last Day with the Frey's | Colorado

It was a little bittersweet leaving the Frey's today. We love them dearly, are going to miss them bunches, and are extremely sad to see Greg having to deploy later this year. We had a fantastic time with them and the only redeeming thing about leaving them was that we were going to go finish up the rest of our trip by visiting family.

But before we left, we had to get a few shots in of the kids in their matching clothes! I had bought the girls the matching dresses before we left for our trip, but the boys' matching shirts were not nearly as well planned! When Noah came upstairs in his robot shirt, Angie exclaimed that Ethan had one too, so she dressed him in his also. I *loved* that they were all matching!

We ran a few errands in the morning and in the afternoon, we headed to Denver to meet Ben's Mom and Dad at Texas de Brazil for dinner. We got there with a little time to kill, so we walked around the shopping area. The kids were entranced by the water fountains... and I was a little nervous that one of mine would get soaked! ha!

Dinner was fabulous. But, then again, when has Texas de Brazil ever let us down?

Friends, we love you dearly! We'll keep you in our constant prayers as Greg's deployment approaches and we look forward to getting to see you all again REAL soon!! Thanks for all the fun!! ♥