This past Sunday was the children's choir musical at church. To say that Ivey loves to sing would be an understatement. She's always singing!! It's really a joy to hear her sing, although she's a little bit tone deaf like her daddy... but maybe that will come around in time. :-) She had a little solo in the musical that she had been practicing for for weeks. She did a great job with her solo and we were so proud of her. All of the kids did a fantastic job and they were absolutely adorable as always.

Of course I forgot to get out the camera until we were almost finished decorating the tree! Oh well! After Chris and I put on LOTS AND LOTS of lights (of which most aren't working because the fuse keeps blowing), the kids put on their ornaments. All of our ornaments are ones that have been given to the kids as gifts or that the kids have made themselves. Chris's mom started a tradition when Chris was just a baby to get each boy an ornament each Christmas. She wrote their initials (depending on who it was given to) and the year in which is was given. When each boy got married, he took his ornaments with him. I thought it was a great tradition, so we began doing that with our children, starting with Morgan, when we got married.

Day one of Thanksgiving break went very well, I must say. I bought a Groupon several weeks ago to a local pottery painting place that I thought the kids would really enjoy. Since Chris was working today, I thought it would be a good day to get the kids out of the house and doing something fun. They really enjoyed painting the pieces of pottery they each picked out and being able to create something that was special to them.

A few weeks ago, Morgan and I took a field trip to the Funk Heritage Museum for a presentation they were doing called Georgia History Timeline. It was really neat, although standing and walking for two hours wasn't really all that great for my pregnant self. Anyway, it was very interesting watching and listening to the characters who were dressed up, in full costume, and acted as though they were that person in history. They were very knowledgable and interesting since I'm sure most of them do this sort of thing professionally. Here's a few photos (thanks to my friend, Rhonda) of only a few of the historic people we were able to meet...

Hernando DeSoto

Turtle Woman

James Oglethorpe

A Colonial home

Gavin's class took a field trip to one of the local pumpkin patches, so I thought I would take Ivey along to kill two birds with one stone. Of course, her class and our MOPS group is going to the exact same place all within the next week. I wish we could have gone as a family, but I'm beginning to accept the fact that the more people you have in your family, especially when the children are as spread out as mine are and when one of them is gone every other weekend, it's difficult to find time to take do things as a whole family. This is something that Chris and I will have to be very intentional about, making sure that we plan outings as a family when everyone can be involved. This is something we try to do now, but I'd like for us to do a better job of it in the future. But, anyway... I digress... Ivey and I joined Gavin for his pumpkin patch field trip. He wasn't nearly as excited for us to be there as I thought he would be, he had a terrible attitude and he refused to let the teacher take a picture of him. Great, I love it when my children blatently disobey and misbehave in front of other adults right in front of me. But, anyway, I think the kids had a really good time and next year, we'll definitely be going as a whole family.

Morgan is turning 14 in just a few days. I can't believe my baby is turning fourteen!!!!! Every year his birthday takes me back to when I found out that I was pregnant with him at the tender age of seventeen, a very trying time in the lives of two families, and the reminder of what a blessing he is today and always will be. We've been through a lot the last fourteen years, but God remains faithful. I'm excited to see Morgan continue to grow and will always continue to pray that he will be a man of God, loving the Lord with his whole heart and wanting to lead his future family in a godly manner. He is such a joy to our family and we're excited about another wonderful year! Happy Birthday, Morgan!

Last year we began buying pumpkins at a local store and then letting the kids clean them out to make jack-o-lanterns. The kids love the messiness of cleaning them out and getting to create their own faces for the pumpkins. And, Chris and I love to roast the pumpkin seeds to have them to snack on - yummy!

This past Saturday, Mom and I took Ivey and Gavin to the Auburn game. Going to the AU football game is absolutely one of my favorite things to do... although this time it was bit more difficult with two small children in tow. Being able to participate in the Auburn games is fun for me because I didn't have that sort of college experience at a small college, living at home and raising a child - so now I get to experience it as an adult and it's FUN! And, since my Dad, Mom and sister all graduated from Auburn, I feel like I'm part of the Auburn family too. Our family attended games when I was a kid, we shopped and tailgated with my grandparents and watched my sister play in the marching band. I love the experience and traditions of an Auburn football game: Tiger Walk, Toomer's Corner, walking around campus, shopping at the bookstores, tailgating (when we have the chance), watching the band and the cheerleaders and cheering on the Auburn Tigers! WAR EAGLE!

We took a trip to the beach this year with a few friends from church. It's so nice to get away for a few days, play in the waves, eat some yummy seafood and just be together as family. The four days that we were gone flew by, but everyone had a great time and it was nice to be together. And, yep, that's right - all the mommies of this group are expecting!

It's been forever... I know! We've been just a bit busy around here plus I couldn't figure out how to load the pictures from my new camera. So, here's a bit about what's going on...

Ivey started Kindergarten at The King's Academy. She LOVES it! End of story. Homeschooling has definitely been a big adjustment for us all, but it's going well for everyone! We took a field trip to the fire station with Ivey's class and it was actually a lot of fun! Because TKA is technically considered homeschooling, we have to take field trips on non-school days. It was neat to see all the other moms (and a few dads) bring their little ones to the fire house. Ivey also turned 6 in September. I can't believe my baby girl is getting so big! She's such a joy and such a huge help to Mommy!

I love homeschooling! It's been a great week so far and, even though I know that difficult days are sure to come, I'm so excited about spending this time with my thirteen year old and five year old. I know that this year will yield lots of fruit in season and I'm excited to see how God will work in our lives as we walk on this journey. I just had to sneak in this picture really quickly because I wanted everyone to know that they really are LEARNING!

Gavin's first day of Pre-K went very well. He was so cute getting ready for school, although he was sure to mention at least three or four times that he didn't want to go. I'm not so sure that it wasn't just because he had to leave his swords at home! He had a really good day, but was even still a bit hesitant on the second day. He was asleep in less than 5 minutes when it was time for bed and slept like a rock! Pre-K really does wear him out!

I also had to show this really cute bag that I made with the embroidery machine. Gavin isn't allowed to take a backpack because there isn't enough room to store it in the cubbies. So, all the children were supposed to bring totes. I know it's a little baby-ish but who cares?!?!? I thought it was really cute!

My camera died. Well, it didn't exactly die... it just got sick. Anytime I tried to zoom in or out the camera would turn off which was really frustrating. Since that doesn't work very well with active kids and such, Chris was so kind enough to buy me a new camera. This one is really nice and takes really good pictures - it even came with a case! I'm so happy with it and excited to take better pictures!

Today we went swimming and these are the pictures I took. I can tell a huge difference and am so happy with my new memory saver!

Gavin and Ivey truly are best friends. Even though having them so close together (16 months apart) was really hard for the first year or two, they are playmates for each other now and it works out perfectly. Right now they are really hooked on playing Super Mario. I thought it was so cute that they were both tucked under the covers in our bed playing together. Of course, they continue to fight over who gets to be Mario - and I'm wondering, does it really matter?? Luigi is cool, too!

Has it really been over a month since I last blogged? Well, life has been... different. Since finding out that I'm pregnant with baby #4, I've spent a lot of time the last few weeks on the couch or in bed except for the one week that we spent at vacation bible school. Also, I often feel that my life isn't that interesting and sure that no one really takes the time to read this blog anyway. But, for the two or three out there that really do want to know what's going on here at the Smathers household, I guess I'll keep writing even if it means I only get to it once a month.

We are happy and excited about baby number 4. After several months of intense discussion and prayer about God's will for our family, Chris and I decided to try for one more baby. It took a little longer than we anticipated, but God's timing is for the best and we knew that all along. It was difficult to watch two of my best friends become pregnant during the time that Chris and I were trying, but God taught me many things during those few months. How to be genuinely happy for my friends when their successes were my failures, how to be thankful for the beautiful children with which God had already so richly blessed me, how to rely on God when what was happening in my life didn't seem to match up with what I thought I had clearly heard him say and especially that all that I have was given to me by God alone... and much more. So, when Chris and I found out that we were indeed pregnant we were very excited. But, of course, even when you're following God's plan, reality can be a bit scary. I had a sonogram several weeks ago and, yes, our blueberry-sized baby looked great. Absolutely amazing isn't it? But, on the way home I silently sobbed (is that possible?). I didn't want Chris to hear me because I didn't want him to think that I wasn't excited about the baby or was in any way sad about what was happening. I just had a moment of "Oh my gosh. I feel extremely overwhelmed right now." Thank you, hormones. And, thank you, God, for reminding me that I absolutely can do nothing without you. Chris and I did have a good discussion about it later and again God reminded me of another wonderful blessing in my life - my husband. Chris is the level-headed, everything's-going-to-be-okay, let's-pray-about-this kind of guy. So, everything was okay after our discussion and I felt much better.

Anyway, the last few weeks have been filled with the typical pregnancy issues... nausea, tiredness, generally not wanting to do anything. I believe I'm starting to round the corner now and things are starting to level out. We are excited about this new adventure and the blessing that another child is. Now, if I could just stop eating so much all the time...

Last week, we went to Pigeon Forge for family vacation with some members from my side of the family. Others couldn't come because of work. There was a lot that we could have done, but we stuck with go karts, swimming and shopping for the few days we were there. We had a good time. Chris even went "zorbing" one day - rolling down the side of a mountain in a ball. He said it was a lot of fun and it really did look like it. Maybe next time I'll try it too!

Chris ending his zorb ride.

The kids LOVED the go karts!

About a week ago Ivey and Gavin both learned to ride their bikes without training wheels. Thanks to a healthy dose of peer pressure from their buddies down the street, they were excited to have their training wheels taken off. I wasn't so sure how they would do, but they both caught on right away. Gavin LOVES to ride his bike now, we have a daily riding session every afternoon!

My little guy is so accident prone... part of it is just because he's fearless. In four years he has had countless scrapes, scratches and bruises, been run over by a toy jeep, had a broken leg, a pencil stuck through the inside corner of the eye and now a finger slammed in the car door at Grammy's house. His finger began to get bloody right away and he screamed for a really long time which isn't normal for him at all. After Chris and I decided to just head home and put the kids to bed, Gavin couldn't sleep at all because of the pain. Our PA friend, John, told Chris how to poke a hole in the fingernail to allow the blood and pressure out. Well, he forgot to mention that you don't actually POKE a hole, you are supposed to heat up a paper clip (or something of the sort) and burn through the fingernail. So, I tried to hold Gavin while Chris tried to poke a hole in the fingernail. The agonizing screaming was too much for me and I told Chris to let John do it. So, the following night after the finger was extremely swollen and very bloody underneath, Chris took Gavin to John's house for the procedure. John's wife, Cacee, said that she could hear Gavin screaming from outside! Poor little guy! I'm glad I wasn't there. But, as soon as the blood came out if felt all better and he was ready to play! That's my Gavin! Now his finger looks just fine except for a little blood at the bottom and a hole in the middle of his fingernail!

This is a picture of his finger after we got home that night. By the next day, blood completely covered the underside of his fingernail and it was oozing out the top. Gross!!

Chris and I decided to try Savannah this year for our birthday/anniversary get-away. It actually turned out not to be the best choice for us... I honestly thought it was a little boring, I guess since I'm not really in to history. But thanks to my husband who always looks on the bright side of things, we had a nice time. It was really nice to spend time together and have a chance to talk and just be together. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we did get to spend a couple of hours at the beach at Tybee Island. We also took in a movie, Iron Man 2, which I thought was awesome! We walked around all of historical Savannah, looked at old homes, a cemetary and lots of little parks. We really look forward to taking a weekend trip or two every year to really spend time together, talking, laughing and just hanging out. We have our best conversations on the road, when it's just the two of us. Our kids were shuffled around between family members while we were gone, but they were excited to see just about everyone in their family in one weekend! It was a nice weekend to be together and we always enjoy our weekend getaways.

This is the bed and breakfast that we stayed in...

Walking on River Street...

A beautiful entryway to one of the larger parks...