The Adventures in Florida have begun...

Day one of our move to Florida was a success! Maggie was great in the car the whole 18 hours of the trip! she played and ate and slept and only cried in the last half hour of the trip! She is my little happy trooper! 

Today we are settled in and had some family over, it was so good to see family and we still have more to see soon! We had a BBQ and sat outside while the kiddos played in the pool! Maggie loves swimming and I hope to teach her this summer as I am a swim instructor! 

She really liked driving her play car outside and seeing Cappy and Mama Risa! I can't wait to see what many things we will be doing here in our new life in the south!

It's been a while, but here we are...

It would seem that I haven't documented the life of the Smith Family since November, so here goes....

We just celebrated Maggie's FIRST birthday! She chose the Minnie Mouse theme and has loved wearing her Mickey Mouse ears to her parties and pink and white polka dotted dress! I am again reminded of the beautiful family and friends we have as they helped make her birthday so special. For her birthday, we went to Library Story Time then to the park where she is always excited to swing! She was accompanied by her awesome cousin, Will, who sat on the swing next to her.

She has done so much in the last year. Learning how to sit up, then crawl, stand up, now learning to walk, it is SO neat to watch her grow and learn to do so many things. She can currently blow kisses and wave goodbye! She LOVES playing chase with Daddy around the house! It is so fun to watch those two play together! :)

They made Mother's Day so special for me as she and my wonderful husband gave me breakfast in bed. Pat handed me a tray of food while Maggie handed me a Happy Mother's Day card! It was so precious and in that moment I was overwhelmed with the blessing of family and how much they mean to me! 

Family and Living the Dream

Well, it has been more than 6 months but I am finally in a position where I have a moment to write! We welcomed our little Margaret Weithman into this world on June 2nd. She is named after the great Grandmother Margaret Weithman who was an amazing lady. She raised a beautiful? family and was filled with God's grace and love for life. She would have loved her baby great grand child!

In preparing for a baby, no one ever could have fully told me how truly amazing and beautiful motherhood and family life would be. I feel so happy and content with what we have been blessed with. Patrick is a perfect daddy and wonderful husband! It is so awesome to watch and learn new things and sides of him I never would have seen otherwise. He and Maggie have a special connection, as soon as he walks into the room, she smiles so big! No doubt, a daddy's girl. I love to see how they interact. Truly special. I love every moment with Patrick and Maggie. When she is in my arms, when she is laughing and smiling. She rocks our world.

A Caring Husband

Pregnancy and Parenthood. Grace and love.

This whole pregnancy has been an amazing adventure, with the baby as well as with Patrick! It is soooo adorable to see him with the baby (and the baby isn't even outside of me yet)! The way he talks to the baby and little moments we have as a family makes me so excited to meet our baby. He is going to be a GREAT dad. He already is. The way he cares for the baby and for myself, making sure we are comfortable, picking up my share of the chores when I am just too tired to do so....it is a life of love and generosity and kindness and patience, all things he has already displayed. We are a family and we are so excited to be together in the Lord, sharing His love to our baby. 

The baby is growing everyday and getting so big. I can feel the baby move, but I can also see it move, which is crazy.....to think that God created this little life inside of me that is moving and breathing. It is mind boggling, if you really think about it. A true miracle of life. 

'A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men.'
Martin Fraquhar Tupper

Please keep Patrick, the baby, and myself in your prayers as we continue to prepare. 

God's blessings.

Surprise Baby Shower!

I am blessed with awesome co-workers who are supportive and caring and really set an environment of family....filled with Christian attitude throughout, they are uplifting all the time and it makes for a great work atmosphere! At our weekly staff meetings, this past Wednesday, they surprised me with a beautiful baby shower with all kinds of desserts, adorable party favors, and many gifts and kind words for Patrick and I. Here are some of the gifts they gave, one of them made a onesie and booties for the baby which are so precious! All in all, it was such a great time and I can't wait for them to meet Baby Smith, who by the way, doesn't have that much longer (in comparison to 9 months, anyway). :)

Making baby things....

And the arts and crafts come out....

So, I am getting pretty anxious for this baby to come....and I have to do something with my excitement....so....along with the more frequent house cleaning.....I have taken up arts and crafts for the baby. 

Here is the liner and basket that was made for the baby:

 (this will go on the changing table holding diapers and such...)

And this is a mobile that I made for the baby..... (inspired by one I saw from an artist)

Nesting....

So it is April and Spring is finally here! After a long, yet beautiful, winter, we can finally see the water in our pond and the ducks have come out again; it will be nice to take the dresses sandals out and take the walks in the park that we have been looking forward to! There are lots of parks here and a beautiful riverside path that stretches a few miles...good exercising. I am especially trying to keep healthy and get more exercises in for preparation of this baby.

Speaking of, the baby is getting bigger and bigger. I recently had an ultrasound and found out that it weighs 2 and 1/2 lbs (and growing)! The books I have been reading say that it is more than 15 inches long by now....How exciting! We have been setting some things up, (next to our bed) and I just hope the baby likes the color green. :) Everything looks so cute and everything is so little and tiny. I still can't believe we are having a baby. A little baby Smith.

This baby is probably going to come out loving fruit, because other than the essential foods needed for a balanced diet, as the doctor recommends, I have been eating fruit for dessert and in between meal snacks. Blueberries, oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, grapes, applesauce....these has been the majority of my eating habits. There is nothing better than the taste of fruit....straight from the ground (or tree). :)

And even further along.....

Make way, Baby Smith is coming......