Up to nothing

Ivey and Gavin playing hide-and-seek. The feet and hands gave them away!

Well, I've been busy learning how to use my new machine. Yesterday I read the manual and figured out how to change the bobbin, change the needle from embroidery to sewing, how to sew a straight line and a few other odds and ends about sewing. I actually made my first sewing project, but I can't tell what it is because Papa thinks I ought to patent it. I wouldn't want any of you stealing my idea! But, I promised to share the millions I make! (I'm just kidding... about making millions) I bought several things at Wal-Mart to practice embroidering. I still have to get the program on my computer squared away so it'll be another week or two before I can start getting creative with the embroidery aspect. I'm looking forward to it!





Things are moving along here. Ivey and Gavin have 2 more weeks of preschool and Morgan has 4 more weeks of school. He took the GCRCT last week and I'm praying that he passed it - or else we're looking at summer school. In Georgia, the kids in 5th grade have to pass the Reading and Math portions of the test in order to advance to 6th grade. If they don't pass the Reading and/or Math portion, then they have to attend summer school in order to have one more shot at the test. Morgan has really struggled in Reading this year but has improved by leaps and bounds since the beginning of the year. The bad thing is that if he didn't pay attention to the test or didn't really try or had a bad day, then his future is at stake. The test is unforgiving. No matter how much improvement the student has made or how much they actually know or can do, if they do poorly on the test they have to go to summer school. It stinks! I hate these tests - even as a teacher I hated them because it makes no sense to base a student's future on one test. Anyway, let's just hope that all will turn out okay.

My new hobby

As if I need something else to do... But, nonetheless, I have a new hobby! My grandmother owned a really nice embroidery machine and before she passed away she promised it to my sister. Well, my sister doesn't have the time to use it, so I asked her if I could borrow it. She graciously said "yes", so I have it now and have been excited about learning how to use it. I decided to get it out yesterday and see what was involved. There are many parts and things that I don't know how to use yet, but in time I'll figure it out. I found the user's manual online and downloaded it for free, so now I have to find time to read it. I have a neighbor friend who owns two embroidery machines so I asked her to come over today to help me set mine up. She showed me the basics of how to use it, so I did a little project tonight. I embroidered 4 napkins for my mom. They were Christmas napkins that I purchased on sale at Target after Christmas, so I figured those would be a good place to start. Now, I have to go find some cheap fabric to practice others pictures on. I'm so excited!! Everyone should know what they're getting for gifts from the Smathers family for a very long while... personalized gifts!! And, yes, I would be happy to embroider anything for you, unless you are a friend of my neighbor Paula and I promised her I wouldn't take away her business! Thanks, Paula, for your help!!

Fun in the sun

Our friend Kalyn

Our friends Michael, Michele and Mikayla (yes, they're triplets!)

Ivey playing on the slide

Gavin gets in some b-ball time


Ivey and our friend Xander

The other day we took advantage of the beautiful sunny day and met some friends at the park. The kids had a great time and I even got a little tan.

Would anyone like an 11 1/2 - year old?

Mommy and Morgan

Showing off his awards at the end of 1st grade

So it begins... my little boy isn't a little boy anymore, I officially have a tweenager! Yes, tweenager. He's not a teenager yet, but he's beginning to act like one. I can't believe it... When people ask me how old my kids are and I tell them that my oldest is 11, they normally say "You don't look like you're old enough to have an eleven-year-old!" I usually say, "I'm not" and smile. Because, I'm not! But, that's what happens when you have your first child at the age of eighteen (that's another post for another day.) Anyway, about the tweenager, a.k.a. Morgan; the eye-rolling, the attitude, the arguing, the making-faces-when-you-think-your-mom's-not-looking and the mumbling under your breath has all begun. PLEASE HELP ME, GOD! What happened to my sweet little boy?? When we have one of our little "moments", I think to myself, "One of us isn't going to make it... either you or me, but one of us has to go!" For example: The other day he wanted to go play at a friend's house after school, but I told him that he had to read a chapter of his AR book first. He wanted to read it at any other time than then, but I stuck to my guns and said that he had to read before he went outside to play. Well, that really made him mad. I walked out of the playroom and he threw his hands up in the air and made an ugly face at me. The only problem, for him, was that there was a mirror directly in front of me so I saw what he did! BIG MISTAKE! I spun around and immediately he said "I'm sorry." I thought, "Yeah, you're about to be!" If he were smaller than me, I would have beat him, but instead he spent the next hour and a half in his room. Needless to say, he got his chapter read and then some. Morgan is a pretty easy-going kid, not agressive or mean and usually a really good kid - but the tweenager years are here and the teenager years are coming quickly. Please pray that we both make it through!

Fun with one

Yesterday, Gavin and I spent the morning together after we dropped off Ivey at preschool. We ran to the grocery store real quick to get some lotion and then we headed for Petsmart. Since Charlie uses the bathroom in our front yard, her urine is burning our grass and our yard is starting to look pretty bad. Since getting a fence is out of the question right now financially, I decided to take another approach. I went to check out what Petsmart had. I did end up buying some really cool stuff that you spray on your yard and it is green so it covers up the yellow spots until the grass can grow back in. I also bought some pills to give her when we feed her that keeps her urine from burning the grass. I read some reviews on it and people say that it actually works, so we'll see. But, before I could even get to the doggie aisle, Gavin was fascinated with all the fish. I had left my camera in my car, but I wish I could've taken a picture of him running back and forth among the fishtanks. He also loved looking at the hamsters, birds and cats. It truly was free entertainment for both of us. After that, we went home for a little while and played outside before heading to meet Chris for lunch. I really enjoyed spending time with just one kid as I always do. I love to be with just one of them sometimes. I think I have a different appreciation for each child since I've had more than one. I'm not saying anything against people who have only one, but because I have 3 I see how unique each one really is. And, I appreciate the break of only have to concentrate on one child instead of three.

What's so complicated?

Right now I'm watching the anchor people on MSNBC talk about the Pope celebrating Mass at Yankee Stadium today. They said that there are about 500 deacons there to give communion to about 57,000 people. They keep saying "Christians" this and "Christians" that. First of all, Christianity is not about the Pope. Christianity is about Christ. All Catholics aren't Christians and all Christians are not Catholic. But, that's a whole other post for another day. Anyway, one of the anchor men for MSNBC said "Christianity, among other things, is about a complicated set of ideas." I say, "Really?" What's so complicated about the fact that you owe God your very life, but Jesus paid the ransom for you and me? What's so complicated about the fact that even our best intentions, our best acts, the best of our best is as filthy rags to a perfect and holy God? What's so complicated about the fact that the ONLY way you can get to heaven is through Jesus? What's so complicated about God loving you so much that he sent his son, Jesus, to live on earth as a man, suffer and die for all mankind and raise back to life three days later, so that, if we put our faith in Him and only Him, we can live with him forever?

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Isaiah 64:6 "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes unto the Father except by me."

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

What's so complicated about this? Well, Mr. Anchorman, it's complicated to YOU because "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18

Please pray for this family

My sister, Stephanie, emailed me this evening and told me about a friend of hers whose 14-month old daughter passed away this past Monday. Her daughter, Meredith, was diagnosed in January with brain cancer. One day before Meredith's first birthday, her mommy (my sister's friend) gave birth to their second child, a month before her due date, which was also the day that Meredith was having brain surgery to remove the tumor. And among all of this, there were family relationship difficulties as well. Can you possibly imagine what this would be like? I can't, and, quite honestly, I don't want to. Please pray for this family. They held the funeral for their baby girl, Meredith, this afternoon and I can't imagine what they must be going through. Pray for healing and peace for Meredith's parents and family. Pray for strength for my sister's friend that she will be able to cling to our God in order to be a mommy for her other baby during this extremely difficult time.

Be the light...

I met a friend and her son at the park today and while we were there another mom came up with her 7-month old baby girl. You should know that this park is very remote and quiet and not many people come there - which is why we like it. Anyway, this mom was extremely friendly and we started a conversation with her almost immediately. She moved from San Diego to Alpharetta about a year ago and they have now bought a house in Woodstock. Of course, after asking her about her family (she's the 5th of 6 kids - 4 sisters and 1 brother), her husband, where she lives and about her adorable little girl, I said, "Well, do you guys go to church anywhere?" This is the question that could make or break the conversation... she said, "Well, I don't really know what I think about that. My husband is extremely against indoctrinating our little girl with religion, but I grew up Baptist all my life..." Immediately, I said "Oh, really." That kind of took me off guard since her husband is so "against" indoctrination - whatever that means. She said, "But, I really like church because there's such a sense of community and encouragement there." I said, "Yes, there is..." Ok, where was I supposed to go from here? I wanted to be a light in this mom's world today. I have been praying about being a light for Jesus and that people would look at me and see Him. But, honestly, in this moment I wanted to say "So, it's OKAY with you that you know about heaven and hell, that your husband is probably going there when he dies and that you're going to let your sweet daughter figure out for herself that, without Jesus, she's going there, too?" But, since I couldn't exactly come out and say that, I just invited her to my church and told her about MOPS. I told her that if she ever decides that she wants to start visiting churches, that we would be glad to have her. She sat down on the ground to talk to me about MOPS which I was thankful for. In the very least, I hope that I was able to get her thinking about going back to church. I guess I planted a seed, I hope I did. And, Lord, please make it grow.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men..." Matthew 5:14-16

Fun kid stuff

Don't you remember when you used to do this to your hair as a kid when you took a bath? I do and it hasn't lost its humor. Still today, putting shampoo in a child's hair and making it stand up as if it had wood glue in it is still as funny as it was 25, 50 and 100 years ago. Did they even have shampoo 100 years ago? Anyway, during bath time last night, Chris did this to Ivey's hair and she thought it was hilarious. We tried to do it to Gavin, too, but his hair is just too short. We all got a good laugh out of it and those moments are fun. Maybe tomorrow, when we all take showers, we should put shampoo in our hair and make it stand up and then look in the mirror for a good laugh. :-)

Keep on keepin' on

Nothing much exciting is happening here. We've had a busy, but fun, Spring Break and I'm glad to be getting back to our routine this week. Isn't it funny how we long for something different, but then when it comes we are just as ready to get back to the same ol' thing? However, I have to admit, that I am definitely ready for summer break! Gavin keeps telling me that he wants to go swimming which is really funny because he isn't old enough to ever remember swimming. He hears Ivey talk about it, so I guess he thinks it must be good. I'm ready to head to the pool and hang out with friends and family. I'm definitely ready for a week at the beach in June. The beach is my absolute favorite place to be and who better to spend a vacation with than family?! Also, this summer, I will be heading back to India in July for 16 days. Honestly, I would have to say that I have mixed feelings about that! Part of me is excited about going, but part of me just wants to stay home and take it easy. This will be my third trip to India - first to Bangalore, second to Coimbatore and Ooty and this year I'm going to Hyderabad. India is a very difficult place to be in pretty much any way that you can imagine and it's extremely emotionally difficult to be away from my family for 16 days. I'm sure that I will be posting more details about the trip as it gets closer. But please pray that God will give me a sense of peace and confidence that I'm going where He wants me to go. In addition to vacation and India, the summer consists of more of my favorite things...Vacation Bible School, no schedules, no schoolwork, barbecues, fireworks, Braves games and flip-flops! I'm ready for you, Summer!

"Big Boy"

Gavin has always been known as "Big Boy" in our house. When he was born I would talk to him in that silly mommy voice and say "Hey, there, big boooooy!" Ivey was only 16 months old and she picked up on me saying this. She would copy what I said, so ever since then we've called Gavin "Big Boy." Now I can hardly believe that he really IS a big boy! He's been playing around at going potty. He's gotten really good at going after bath time, and he may go in the potty once or twice during the day. I don't push it on him, he'll be ready when he's ready. Lately, he found a hat that Chris and I bought him a while back. He's been wearing it because Daddy wears hats and he wants to be like Daddy. Plus, I think it's really cute when little boys wear baseball caps. He's also been getting quite the little attitude to go along with his "big-boyness." One of the things we're working on is apologizing. He doesn't see the value in apologizing, so when he refuses to say "I'm sorry" he has to sit in the corner. He usually turns around to see what we're doing (I know what all you great moms out there are going to say - "Put the chair in another room." And I should. But, I'm not going to yet.) Anyway, when he's sitting in the chair and turns around to see us, I say "Turn around, Gavin." So, instead of turning toward the corner, he turns his chair around so that it isn't facing the corner anymore and sits down. I have to try hard not to laugh because he really doesn't understand what I mean. He's very sweet, but sometimes he's a few fries short of a happy meal - if you know what I mean! Someone asked me not long ago what struggles I have with Gavin. And, it's this - Gavin doesn't have a serious bone in his body. Everything is a funny to him! It normally keeps us laughing, except in times of discipline. Gavin is going to be one of those class clowns that teachers love but hate and that everyone loves to hang out with. We love you "Big Boy!"

It's finally Spring

Today is a beautiful day here. It's in the mid 70's outside and sunny. As the kids and I were in the yard today, I noticed that I now have my first flower of Spring. Spring has sprung! It's a purple iris - very beautiful. Sandy, my mother-in-law, actually gave me several of these out of her yard last year and I transplanted them to mine - thanks, Sandy! Irises are one of my favorite flowers and it's actually Gavin's birth month flower. It is one of the three that I have tattooed on my back (if you've never seen my tattoo go back to the blogs from October of last year and I posted a picture of it there.) I decided that I would try to have the birth flowers of all three of my kids in my yard. So far, I have two - the iris for February (Gavin's birth month) and the aster for September (Ivey's birth month). The calendula which is in the marigold family is Morgan's birth flower and I don't have any of those yet. Now that the weather has gotten warmer, I've gotten the itch to plant some more flowers so hopefully in the next week I can get some planting done while the kids play outside.

Exhausted...

Whew! What a busy day! This morning Grammy Sandy and I took the kids to Monkey Joe's for some play time (i.e. "wear them out" time) with a couple of friends. If you've never been to Monkey Joe's or something of the like, you must take your kids! It's a great place to let the kids run off some energy indoors without having to worry about keeping an eye on them every second. After that, we went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and then home for naps. Apparently, Ivey and I were the only ones that wanted naps because after an hour of listening to Gavin play, sing, yell and cry in his crib, I finally went up to get him thinking that he just couldn't fall asleep. I told him that he would have to sit with me for a while because Ivey was still asleep. So, Gavin and I sat down in the recliner and he was asleep in about 2 minutes. So, both of us enjoyed some "lovey" time while snoozing. I can't remember the last time I held Gavin while he slept...probably when he was an infant. It was nice, but not something that I want to make a habit out of. After he and Ivey woke up, we went to pick up Morgan since he has been with his dad since Saturday and I took the kids to the lake house. (Since Chris was going out with a friend tonight, I had to find something else to do!) Morgan went fishing with Grandaddy and Papa while Ivey, Gavin, Grandma and I hung out at the house. We got home about 9:00 and I practically dumped the kids in the bed because I'm about to fall asleep myself....zzzzzzzzzz...good night!

A good day

Today was a good day. I managed to get the laundry done today - which is quite an accompishment I might add! I also took a break to take the kids to the park. I was supposed to meet a friend there this morning, but it was a little chilly and windy. But, I had already told the kids that we were going, so after mailing our payment for taxes to the IRS (Ouch!) we went fto play for a little while. I warned them that we may not stay very long, but the weather ended up not being too bad. After that, we came home and ate lunch. I bought these TV trays at a consignment sale this Spring and the kids love them. After Chris got home we went to the gym and then ate dinner. Not an exciting day in the Smathers' home... by the way, Happy Spring Break to those of you who are on vacation this week from school and I hope all is well with everyone!

P.S. I added a picture that Ivey took of me, she's becoming quite the little photographer!

Can't wait til tomorrow... more transparency

I'm finding that writing the blog is extremely therapeutic for me. I'm glad that I can record these thoughts and activities and will, hopefully, one day make them into a scrapbook. Anyway, this afternoon I have been extremely grumpy and have let the small things really get to me. After all, I just told Chris yesterday, in a very loving way I might add, that I can't stand it when he grabs things off the hanger and then leaves the hanger dangling above the other clothes...it looks messy. I also felt overwhelmed today because no matter how many times I clean the kitchen, put toys away, or pick up clothes the house continues to look like a tornado went through it. I know this is part of reality with having a family of five, put can't they help me every once in a while?? Chris and I have been married almost 7 years and I still have to remind myself that he doesn't see messes. I'm not sure if it's a guy thing or not, but clothes on the floor, things out of place, a dirty floor... it doesn't even phase him. If I ask him to clean up something or do something, he'll be glad to, but I have to constantly remind myself that he doesn't see things the way I do. Anyway, I got a little bent out of shape about the house being messy, but before that I reamed Ivey about making messes in the car. I allow the kids to eat and drink in the car, so any mess they make is technically my fault. But nevertheless, she spilled some ranch dressing and some water while I was driving today and you'd think by the way that I reacted that I was driving a Rolls-Royce. After I had to pull over to clean up the mess, I tried to breathe deeply and say to myself "Is this really a big deal?" No, it isn't, but I still couldn't shake the anger. I thought to myself, am I always going to be driving a toy-filled, grass-everywhere, red-juice-stained-carpet, dents-in-the-leather-seats-from-car-seats kind of car? No, I'm not, and, from what I hear, one day I'll look back and relish these days. I sat down this afternoon while the kids were asleep and wondered why I'm getting so bent out of shape. I know what it is, I just don't want to admit it. The reason - I haven't had my quiet time in two days. And even before that, I wasn't having a consistent one. I hadn't spent quality time with the only One who will never disappoint me. And as a good friend of mine put it, I was walking around to my husband and to my children wanting them to fill my cup. I wasn't letting the author and perfecter of my faith fill my cup until it overflows. I hadn't opened the love letter from the One who loves me no matter how unloveable I am. It instantly brings me to tears and I have to grab my bible and hide. I have to start praying and reading. Telling God that I'm sorry I've failed him once again. I ask him why there's such thing as a spiritual roller coaster, why does it seem so un-natural to spend time with my creator, why does my heart have to be so evil, why do I get so engulfed with life that I can't see past the end of my own nose much less where someone might spend eternity if I don't tell them about my Savior? He reminds me that I have a sin nature and brings to mind when Paul talks about doing things he doesn't want to do and not doing things that he does want to do. I confess my sin and I know that God loves me no matter what. I know that he died and forgave my sin once and for all and that He has never moved away from me, I only moved away from Him. All I have to do is turn around and walk back to Him. I am so joyful about that... and who cares if the car smells like ranch dressing?

Spending time with Morgan

Last night we took Morgan to the Lion King show at the Atlanta Civic Center. It was a wonderful show! Unfortunately, our seats were third row from the back, but we were still able to see almost everything and it was great! The show was supposed to begin at 8 PM, but because of really bad storms and traffic they didn't start the show until almost 8:30. We finally left the theater at around 10:45 when the show was over. It was a long night but the show was fantastic. I think Morgan enjoyed it, too, although he was ready to go about 30 minutes before the end. Chris and I decided at the beginning of the year that we would try to do something special with Morgan at least once a month. Either one or both of us takes him somewhere just to spend one-on-one time with him. Since he is so much older than Ivey and Gavin, Morgan usually gets stuck doing things that they enjoy since they can't usually do the things he would enjoy. Plus, with him getting closer and closer to the teenage years, I wanted to start a tradition early of going out with him just to spend time together and talk. In January, I took Morgan out to dinner to a nice fondue restaurant and in February he wanted to go to Chik-Fil-A (typical! - Morgan has never been a real "flashy" kid. If you tell him that he can pick any where to eat, he'll usually say McDonalds!) Last month, Chris and I took him to a local arcade for a little while and out to eat. We just want Morgan to know that he is special to Chris and I. We understand that the little kids take up most of our time and attention, but we love him and we know that he wants to do big-kid things sometimes.

Exciting news!

No, I'm not pregnant! The exciting news is that Chris and I both are running the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta on July 4th! The Peachtree is a huge deal in Atlanta and we are so excited that we got in! We had to fill out and send in our applications as soon as they came out in the AJC newspaper. They only take the first 45,000 entries and then the final 10,000 entries are chosen by a random drawing. This may sound like a lot, but usually a couple hundred thousand people apply. It'll be absolutely crazy running with 55,000 other people in the middle of summer, but we're excited. It'll be both mine and Chris' first 10K (6.2 miles). Of course, we'll be near the end of the line since the better, faster and more serious runners go to the front - like the guys from Africa that can run like 6 miles in 5 minutes!! But that's okay, we don't mind being at the end, we're just there to have a good time and to burn some extra calories before participating in gluttonous eating frenzies the rest of the day. If you're in town, it would be fun to see some of you on the sidelines cheering us on! After all, I'd have to keep running if I new my friends and family were going to see me.... I wouldn't want to embarass myself. :-)

Thursday night treats

We had a good time last night just hanging out together. We went to the gym first because Chris and I wanted to try a new class called "Boot Camp". Holy cow! About 5 minutes into it, Chris said "I sure am glad that our date night is on Thursday." See, we normally go out for a date night every Thursday, but we're taking Morgan to see the Lion King tonight so we decided not to go out last night. We all went to the gym and then we went to one of our favorite restaurants called Frosty Frog. Gavin calls it "Froffy Fwog." It's a small local restaurant that serves sandwiches, salads and icecream. He's been asking to go there every day, so we decided to go last night for dinner. After we eat there, we normally get dessert and I usually get a chocolate chip cookie. I was extremely disappointed that they didn't have any, so we got some icecream to go for Ivey and Gavin and went over to Publix to buy some chocoalate chip cookies for Morgan and I (of which I ate 3 at about 11 PM last night - so much for the work out!) So, the night went by fast and now it's already Friday! The week just flew by. And, yes, you guessed it! Since I bought the new bathing suit, I did win the bet with Chris about who could run the most miles by April 1st. He finally forfeited because he "hurt his knee" and I was too far ahead for him to catch up. I'm not sure if he hurt his knee or not, but I won!!

I did the UNTHINKABLE...

Yes, I did it!! I bought a 2-piece bathing suit! I figured...what the heck. I've been working out harder than ever, I have the best body that I've had in a LONG time and since realizing that I am only getting older by the minute...I figured it's now or never! Of course, being the approval-seeking person that I am, I made sure it was okay with my mom first. I know, it's weird...but for some reason I've always needed to know that if I'm going to do something big, it needs to be okay with my mom. And, yes, buying a two-piece bathing suit is BIG! You know what I mean. You've seen "those" moms walking on the beach in a two-piece, saying to yourself "Why didn't someone tell her that she shouldn't be wearing that?" I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying... So, I asked her, "Mom, do you think I'm too old to wear a two-piece bathing suit?" She kind of smiled, maybe she was trying not to laugh, and said, "No, I don't think you're too old to wear a two-piece bathing suit." So, I did it!! I bought one and love it. And I'll wear it proudly while I can!

A beautiful day

Today is such a beautiful day... sunny and high around 75. This morning Ivey, Gavin, and I went outside to play and to do a little yard work. I worked on pruning the rose bushes and cleaning up the yard a little bit. The kids played, rode on their bikes and "helped" me. The only thing bad about today is that Chris is at work and Morgan is at school, so we can't enjoy the day together. It would be an awesome day to take a picnic and go to the park. Maybe Saturday will be as beautiful. Now we're off to get Ivey's hair trimmed and to eat lunch with Chris. Then tonight, we'll be at church for the evening. Have a wonderful day!