My Silly Chicas

Well. We've either been busy or tired or visiting the moon...I'm not sure which. There hasn't been a post on the Smith Home in quite some time. Thought I'd give you a pictoral representation of what's up.

And They Lived Happily Ever After...

Well, one red-eye flight with minimal sleep, a morning of dumbo and castles, breakfast with Mary and Pooh, and a 3 hour nap later...we find ourselves in the wonderful fairytale of Disney Magic again.

The plan was that the kids would sleep on the plane and we decided we'd survive no matter how few winks we got. What ACTUALLY happened was that Maddie got about 2 hours, and Annora maybe a tad bit more. Though sleepless, both kiddos really weren't that cranky. The parents on the other hand...

...actually everyone did surprisingly well.

We thought last year was fun watching Madeleine interact and enjoy the characters and attractions. This time, at 2 1/2 was even more entertaining for us. And her. Annora at 7 months was a little oblivious to everything. Nothing scared her. Things did capture her attention. But she took naps in the stroller or nursed on the rides most of the time.

Our 3rd year on the Disney dining plan was another gut busting experience. We have a lot of dining experience under our belts now. If anyone needs advice on which restaurants to go to, we have the expertise. We took in quite a few character meals this time round in anticipation that they would be a hit for Madeleine. Which they were. We also enjoyed a princess breakfast, where Madeleine wore a Cinderella dress, and wouldn't take it off. It was quite the struggle to get it off for bed, and when we went looking for an accessory...she started with the phrase "I NEEEEEEED it!" Hehe. Dad Thought it was funny. I just about thought he was going to buy the whole store. Thankfully she came away with just a light up wand. Which she used throughout the day not just as royal princess, but as a car washing tool, and a head bonker.

This was the trip that Ryan has coined, "The trip where Annora grew up". It does feel like a lot happened for her on this trip. She cut her first tooth, she started eating things like cheerios and bread, and out from her coos started coming, gaga, and dada. No wonder she was waking up 4 times a night to eat! But really, both girls seemed to do a bit of growing up. Madeleine had her first haircut and rode her first coaster.

If you don't know this about us yet. We love Disney World. We love travelling to other places, but we will always come back to Disney World time and time again. We think that everyone should give it a try. Why do we keep going back? Isn't it the same ol' same ol' after awhile? Doesn't it get boring? Wouldn't you rather go someplace else? These are questions people ask who have not tried Disney World. It's true, some people would like to only go every ten years or so. But we never get bored, there is so much to do, so much to see, so much to try. Hidden mickey's, foods to eat, different ways to tour. We like Disney World because we know what to expect. It's clean. It's fun. It's safe. The cast members treat you like royalty. You don't need a car. It's sunny. And the Pirate's attraction never disappoints.

We aren't "planning" to go till our 10 year anniversary in 2 years. But we said that last year. More than likely we really won't go until then. So, we're going to need YOU to go in our place and tell us all about it. It's really not as expensive as you might think. Even staying on Disney property can be only 82 bucks a night. So, we'll be looking forward to your vacation commentary soon!

Here are some photos for your viewing enjoyment.

Some Tiny Tea

I made Madeleine an art table last summer. I found a great homemade 2 person desk at Treasures and converted one side into a lidded lentil bin and mounted a paper roll on one end for drawing. I put split peas in the lentil bin while the table was still in the garage and let her go at it. But have yet to actually have it in use while it's been in her room. Actually, other than using it to put clothes on, it's just been a fixture in her room. No use. Oh...and sometimes she'd tear a piece of paper off the roll and chew on it. So, after some thinking I decided that she should just have a regular little kid table in the room. Witnessing our prior posts you'll notice that she will have no lack of craft projects when the table is gone. I find the kitchen a much more friendly environment for paint and crayons.

I was talking to my mom about what I was planning, and she offered up one of her many little tables for our use. (Thank you very much Mom!) I picked the vintage table with yellow painted legs and ready to be painted top. I had a great idea. And now it's finished and in her room, and before bedtime last night I watched Maddie situate bunny and bear and pour them some tea...and then when I told her it was time for jammies and bed, she carefully tucked bunny and bear into bed first. So cute. So fun. I love make believe and toddler days.

So, now we need a little tiny baker's rack so she can store her tea pots and other supplies for tiny tea. Any takers...grandpas? Or should the Daddy take this one on.

Cult of Christ?

So it has been a long time since I have posted, Shalisa has done a great job keeping the blog active and fresh while I have been on a bit of a posting hiatus. I am not even sure if I am ready to return to active blogging, I am dealing with some other aspects of my life right now that need more attention and trying to exert my time and focus there (more time spent in prayer, and more time spent in education) but there was something that struck me tonight that I was considering. I don't even have an answer to this question, I don't know where I stand, it's just something that is rolling around in my brain and while I am thinking of it I thought I would elicit others opinions.

The question is "can you have too much 'Christ' in your life?" Now let me explain where I am going with this BEFORE you jump all over me. Often times we see churches that focus too much on say, the Holy Spirit. They obsess over that aspect of our triune God, but they neglect to really talk about or teach much about God the Father or Christ our risen savior. It isn't a healthy environment.

Likewise, there are some churches that focus too heavily on God the Father. These are your traditional fire and brimstone, repent and be saved because our judgmental God is coming to judge YOU. Again, not the healthiest environment.

But right now we are in the day and age (at least it seems to me) of Jesus. All churches are gearing to point to Jesus, and all action is done to point to Jesus. Now I would argue for a church to be doing this on a whole, isn't nescisarilly bad, as a missional church needs to be promoting Christ the risen savior. But at the same time, are we then fostering in our congregations an unhealthy view of our complete God?

The question then becomes, can we have too much Jesus in our life, where we begin to neglect God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. We forget that God the Father made a sacrifice by sending his son. It wasn't just a sacrifice by Jesus, but also by the Father. Likewise, do we risk neglecting the work that Holy Spirit can do in our lives, the fact that he was given to us to be a part of us and to commune with us at every moment of our lives.

I don't really know how I feel on this topic. On the one hand, Christianity is really all about Christ, he is our hope and our savior. It is through his sacrifice that we are saved. Yet at the same time, there is so much more to "God" than JUST Christ, if all we focus on is Christ we are missing 2/3rd's of the picture of God.

So what do you think, can you have too much Jesus in the church and in your life? (to the point where it fosters an unhealthy relationship/view of our complete God)

Half a Year

6 months old.

Doesn't sound like my baby is very old does it...but then you say "half a year"...and now it sounds old.

Annora Jane - 6 months old. Half a year has flown by. She's 15 pounds and 26 inches. Does a belly crawl...or sometimes I like to think of it as the belly flop scoot. She's cutting her two bottom teeth. Is allergic to bananas and avocado in a pretty severe way. But she LOVES to eat. I mean LOVES to eat. Sometimes she cries when we're through. She really likes zucchini and pears. She giggles when I tickle her under the chin and laughs when we dance. I relish any moment just spent with her. Sometimes I put her down for her nap later so we can just laugh together. I'll miss these baby times. But I won't be sad. Because God made us this way on purpose. We weren't supposed to stay 10 pounds and gurgle and sleep all day for years...just 6 months. And I've enjoyed it. And now I'll say hello to the next stage of this well designed life God has given us.