Texas, here we come!

Only 2 more days until we fly to Texas! I talk about this a lot, but it's because I miss my little brother and sisters so much. How many 22 year old women have a 5 month old son, and also 3 younger siblings, ages 14, 7, and 3 months? I miss those little kids very much!

We FINALLY found a new car. Isaac and I have been trying to get rid of both our cars and trade them in for a new one. We started looking around at dealerships, and after 6 days of exhaustion, we bought our car on Saturday afternoon. It's a 2006 Jeep Commander, really nice and it is just what we need. We wanted to get a Toyota SUV, but St. George is a small town and it was impossible to find here! Now we have just one car and our payments stayed the same- whew!

My sister-in-law Chelsey is having a baby this Wednesday, and I am so excited because it's the first baby girl in the Smith family! Also, my other sister-in-law Laura is a couple months pregnant and is sick as a dog- keep her in your prayers! She wasn't this sick with her boys, so she's thinking it's a girl. The Smith men seem to only make boys, so for any of us wives to have a girl, it's very exciting.

I hope you are all doing well. Stay grateful for what you have and live life for what's important. 1 Timothy 6:6 in the Bible says "Godliness with contentment is great gain." It's not the material things in life that fill our hearts and bring us the most joy, and when we die, we can't take any of it with us anyway! Talk to you all when we get back from the Lone Star State.

High Chair Frustration, Saucer Sensation

Isaac and his brother Josh went to Idaho yesterday morning for a football league meeting. They're on the road back home right now and he should be here any minute. Thank goodness, I miss my husband! I had to sleep alone last night and that's never fun for me.

Today Phoenix and I went out for a drive and I decided to stop and look for a high chair, since he's eating food often enough to need one now. We picked out a high chair together (well, Phoenix didn't really say much but he was there with me!) and we also got what I call a saucer- it's the thing babies sit in and can spin around with lots of toys to play with. It's like a walker without wheels, and this one is bouncy so he can jump. While Phoenix took his afternoon nap, I attempted to assemble his high chair and saucer. Boy, was I wishing Isaac was home to do it for me! He usually puts together this kind of stuff, and I didn't think there would be so many little screws and plastic pieces to put together. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, and I had to pray for patience throughout the process (literally). In the end, I was proud of myself for figuring it out on my own and I was happy to have something to do, since Isaac wasn't home to goof around with me (we love to play hide-and-seek. I am the best hider!).

Right now Phoenix is sleeping and I'll be hitting the hay after I finish writing this. I hope everyone reading this is doing well, and since I think most of you reading this also have a new baby, I hope motherhood is as great of a blessing to you as it is to me.

Phoenix is growing up

What a week this has been! Phoenix is getting older, and that means a lot of great things are happening!

First, he has been sleeping through the night! For about a week now, he wakes up only once a night or not at all, and sleeps for at least 6 hours straight, sometimes more. Last night he went to sleep at 11:00 PM, and he's just now waking up at 7:30 AM. Yes!!! I am finally getting my sleep! Also, he is eating solids much better now. Two meals a day, one vegetable meal and one fruit meal. He's loving it all, so am I!

We do put him down to sleep kind-of late for a baby, but it seems to work for him. He falls right asleep and sleeps much better than if we put him down a couple hours too early. We definitely haven't been doing what the books tell us to do. Do we nurse him to sleep? Yes. Do we pick him up if he cries? Usually. I know I should feel like a slave to my child, but compared to how bad it was when he was a newborn, I feel a lot of freedom as a mother. Yes, I have to be prepared to take care of my son 24/7, but it's worth it. I spend nights waking up at all odd hours and days changing endless diapers and wiping off spit-up from everywhere in the house, but I get a healthy, strong, happy, growing baby boy. It's a pretty fair trade-off!

In this time of economic hardship and struggle for so many people, I will count my blessings and stay positive about life. Philippians 2: 14 says, "Do everything without complaining or arguing." That's great advice for me.

Potluck Dinner Tonight

Today has been a great day so far. We went to church and checked Phoenix in to the nursery, holding our breath that he would be a good boy for his teachers. And he was! It was amazing, for the first Sunday since he was born, we got to enjoy the entire church service and didn't have to leave early. Yeah!

We are going back to church tonight for a potluck dinner. Mmmm...sounds yummy. Isaac and I have totally changed the way we eat- we've switched to buying mostly organic food, and our menu consists of lean protein, fresh fruits and vegetables, protein shakes, and occasional dairy and wheat carbs. We've been eating like this for 2 months now, and it has made a huge difference. We have more energy, we feel so much better, and we have each lost a lot of weight. It was so difficult at first- I wanted crackers, bread, ice cream, butter!- but now it has become our new way of life.

Isaac is very strict with what he eats-absolutely NO dessert and VERY little carbs, if any. I am a little more relaxed-I eat super healthy at home, but we go out to eat once a week, and I call this my "Free Meal", where I can splurge a little on my meal and order a dessert. I am so proud of Isaac- he always orders grilled chicken or fish with vegetables, or a salad with no dressing.

We are going to visit my family in Texas on February 10th, and we made a pact not to eat out at all until then, since recently I've been having more than one "Free Meal" a week. This is a big stretch for me, because I love to go to restaurants! Only 23 more days of not eating out...I can do this!

Well, Phoenix is getting so big. He's becoming a little boy, not a baby. When I look at him, I can hardly believe he lived inside of my belly less than 5 months ago. It is so amazing to look at him and think "WOW, with the Lord's and Isaac's help, I made this. I grew this little person inside of me. WOW!" God is so awesome.

Happy Sunday, Rest Day

Ahhh...Sunday is my favorite day of the week. I wake up early to pray and spend time in my Bible, and the spiritual refreshment I get carries on into our 9:00 AM Church service. We attend Calvary Chapel of Saint George, which is a non-denomenational church based on the teachings of the Bible. I really enjoyed the songs we got to sing today, but little Phoenix has been sick lately and he was so fussy that we left church a little early and didn't quite catch the end of our Pastor's message on Acts Chapter 2 (we wanted to check him in to the nursery but he was so cranky!). In fact, he's crying right now so I better hurry!

I hope all of my family and friends are counting their blessings in life and thanking the Lord for His abundant provision in our lives. Life can be difficult sometimes. Jesus said in John 16:33, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." The Savior didn't say we might have trouble, but he said we will. That's just part of living in such a broken world. Just know that you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength, and that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. I hope you're all enjoying your Sunday, which is my day to rest and re-charge for the busy week ahead. I gain wisdom from reading God's word, I gain peace from my quiet times of prayer, I gain love from the Lord to share with those I love.