I bet you thought I was gone forever!

Monday night I sat around the dinner table with 10 women. Some who do Premier, and some who do not. We have these family style dinners once a month and we call them Fun 2 Share. I really look forward to these sweet times of fellowship and I am so thankful for Premier because it gives me the opportunity to be in fellowship with some amazing women! I say all this because I had everyone at the dinner table write down two truths and a lie to help everyone get to know one another a little better. One of my truths was that I used to be a blogger. It made me sad to think that I “used” to be a blogger. But, that is just the truth! I think what makes me sad are all those lost memories. I mean they are in my head (well, some of them), but being able to go back and read the blogs I wrote when Cori was just a baby are precious to me! So, I wanted to take today to write down a few things…

6 months has come and gone, and I have a little boy who is FULL of life! Tucker David is sitting up all on his own, eating baby food once a day at dinner time, interacting with his sisters, loves snuggles from his mommy, and has the BEST laugh ever!!! Oh, my .. when that boy starts laughing, it makes my heart go pitter patter. There is something truly special about having a boy and I am loving every minute of it! Just a fun milestone – after putting him down for a nap the other day, he woke up after about 45 minutes into his nap. He started crying and it took us a few minutes to get the girls settled and get back to his room to check on him. Well, when we got back there, he was sitting up in the middle of the crib! What 6 month old baby can get from laying down to sitting up?! He is a cool kid!

Finley is a ham and just turned two. When people would talk about the terrible two’s, I thought it was a total myth. Well, my friends, it’s not! We have had our share of temper tantrums and rebellious behavior. I actually told David the other night that Finley and I just aren’t getting along at the moment. But I know that God is using her to refine me and using me to refine her. I truly believe that all those things that we see as difficult with our children, are actually God’s gifting to them. If only we could see the gift the way God does (and in the moment of kicking and screaming fit on the floor!!!). I’ve also been praying a lot about this whole “middle child” thing. There have been a lot of “middle children” at my jewelry shows lately. I know that the Lord is using those women to help me as I raise my middle child. They have given me such wisdom! I am just praying and believing that she will not get lost somewhere in the middle, but that she would know with full assurance WHO Christ created her to be and find her complete self worth in the Lord! In the midst of all those hard times though, Finley has a big heart! When no one is watching, she is always thinking of others. She will be the first to share and she will always give you the first of what she has, not the last. I think she will be the type to give you the shirt off her back if you needed it. We always say that we think she’ll be our missionary child.

Cori is a true first born! Wow, sounds like I need to read a book on birth order! She is 3 years old going on 13, and she is sure to let you know it! I do love when she tells me that she promises to stay 3 forever! Wouldn’t that be nice?! She is a big help with her brother and sister and is definitely our most obedient child. She loves structure and routine (a little like her mama) and is very particular about things being in certain places (a lot like her mama)! She can get frustrated by the amount of dog hair on the floor because of our ever shedding dog, Maverick. She must get that from me! Ha! David just rolls his eyes and tells me that if I quit making a fuss about all the dog hair, she wouldn’t even see it. She no longer takes a nap, but does have quiet time in our room for an hour everyday. She desperately wants to do school at home on a consistent basis so I am working on getting a pre-school plan in place with some other home schooling friends. Cori loves to smile, have her picture taken, and then look at all those beautiful pictures of herself. She loves to play in jewelry and says the wants to be a jewelry lady when she grows up. I love it! She starts ballet next month and it’s all the talk at our house right now! She does have her moments of selfishness and we’ve been having some discussions on telling the truth as well. I know she just wants to please you by telling you that she did what she knows you want to hear, but the Lord delights in those who are truthful, Proverbs 12:22. That has been “the” verse at our house over the last few weeks. Well, that and “do nothing out of selfish ambition, but in humility consider others better than yourself” Philippians 2:3. There is so much training to do as a parent! Whew!

Here are the three little rascals at the moment. This was taken on our annual Smith family beach vacation in June. They are a blessing to me.

In other news, Dave just finished his first year in fellowship and we have 2 more to go. Birmingham has been good to us! I really am thankful that I had Premier when we moved here though! It’s really what pushed me out of my comfort zone to meet new people and make friends! God is just so faithful! I’ll try to be back soon!