Hello, My Name Is...

So, last night Scotty and I spent the evening laying in the bed writing out names for our new Little Smittle. We like to pick the name early, so that we can start calling he or she by name and let the girls get used to the name and the idea of another baby. For some reason, simply putting a name out there helps to make it seem more real for us.

Anyway, last night, as we were going through names I started to think about all of this and about how the baby will hear his or her name several times before they are even born. When that child comes out kicking and screaming and they lay him or her on my chest I will look into their eyes and say, "Hi. 'so and so'." I'll already love that child and I'll feel like I already know them. They will know me too. You see, they'll be trained to hearing my voice. When I say their name and I talk to them they'll know who I am.

I started thinking about a worship song that says, "He knows my name. He knows my every thought. He sees each tear that falls, and hears me when I call."
Aren't we just like a newborn baby. We come kicking and screaming to God and he lays us on his chest and says, "Hi 'so and so'" He already knew us before we came to Him. He saw our first tear and he'll see our last. HE loves us before we even KNOW him. If we train ourselves, we too, can hear and recognize His voice from others "in a crowd." He also knew the names we were going to pick out before we picked them, because, HE'S GOD!

Anyway, all of that to say, we picked out our baby names. It was a neat process for us, because if you haven't already noticed we use vowel names. It's our "gimmick." Maybe someday it'll get us our own TLC show, but for now it's our quiet way of having names with something in common without it blaring at everyone who hears them. SO, it makes picking out a name not hard, but a little more complicated. Before we decided to do this for sure we picked out several names that we liked so that we'd know if there were enough to actually go through with this. It's been neat though, because with each child most of the names change. Our boy name has stayed the same for the last two though, and last night we settled down on it again. Our girl name, obviously, has changed each time, but this is a totally new name for me. I've never even thought about it until recently, but now it's my favorite! SO without further ado!!!!

Isaiah Scott

Amelia Joy

You don't have to tell me if you don't like them, because I don't really care!=) We are so excited about this new life in our family. The girls are giddy. Especially Olivia. She's really wanting a baby brother, but she told me today if we had another baby sister it would give Addison a sister partner too like her and Emma Claire.=) SO so sweet.

The way I test a name out is to "sign" a Christmas Card. You know you did this when you were younger. You sign something with your boyfriend's last name? HA! Anyway, last night I wrote out all of our names then inserted these names in. We loved them! SO,

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Scotty, Leslie, Olivia, Emma Claire, Addison,

and Isaiah(AND/OR)Amelia Smittle

And The Winner Is...

Jenny

I numbered all the comments, then had my husband pick a random number and it was Jenny!



So, Jenny, I'll be bringing your mop to church tomorrow!=)

Be Still

In the light of all that is and has been going on, I needed this last night.

We took Olivia to her first ever VBS this week at a local church. She had a great time. She LOVES getting to sing and do"emotions"(what she calls motions). It's so neat to see your kids heart. I feel like I can see Liv's heart in this video. What a special child!

Here are some pictures from her special family night.

With some of her friends.=)

Sitting in worship time.

Addison and Daddy.

The Fellowship Crew.

My sweet Little Livi.

Libman Nitty Gritty Roller Mop

So this is my new best friend. I've never loved a cleaning utensil so much. It has a nice little scrubbing brush on one side and the sponge mop on the other side. It also has a squeezer so you don't have to get your hands dirty. Where have you been all my life!? Comment if you'd like to have one and I'll give one away at the end of the week! FUN!!

244 days. Wowza!

We sold the van yesterday! We are so excited for our friends who bought it. I loved the Kia and will miss is, but we are glad to bless our friends with it. It is, of course a blessing for us too, as we are one step closer to financial freedom. Yesterday, as I was praying for everything to go smoothly, I kept thinking about the phrase, "He gives and takes away. My heart will CHOOSE to say, Lord blessed be Your name!" It's been so tough for us this past week. Not knowing the plans of the Lord are, at times, TERRIFYING, but looking back now I don't know why I CHOOSE to doubt the plans of my loving God. Yesterday was that day we've been looking for. That day that changes the rest of our life. I hope that in the future I can CHOOSE to say, "Blessed be Your Name!" even if things aren't panning out. God's plans are ALWAYS to prosper NOT TO HARM. To give us a HOPE and a FUTURE.

Yesterday was the first day of the rest of our life. Thank you, Jesus.

Is It Too Early For a Valentine?

So, today I found out that we are expecting another "Little Smittle." We are soo excited!

Lots of people are blown away. Many think it's probably an "accident" whatever that means. It's not an accident and we weren't "trying" for a boy. We are just living our life and we like our kids. Our children have been such a sweet blessing in our life and if you've been reading our blog for a while you know that we don't use birth control, so naturally, as our children get older another one comes along.=) The girls are really excited. Well, I should say Olivia is really excited. She's the only one that REALLY gets it right now. We'll be talking this all through with Emma Claire and Addison on their own levels as the time passes, but for now they are pretty much oblivious!=)





Olivia went for her first day of Vacation Bible School today. As in, her first day of VBS EVER! I was a little emotional, but of course, she did great! She loved getting out and being with some friends and meeting some new people. She learned that God is unmatchable. I was thinking about that after she told me and was a little overcome with emotion as I thought through that fact. PRAISE GOD that He is unmatchable. So many others think they've found "the way." Praise God that NOTHING and NO ONE compares to Him! I'm so thankful to serve an unmatchable God.

Pictures, Because I think You'll like them

This time last year...

I can't believe Addi is almost a year old!

My little Blessing

Olivia(in a sad little voice)-"Mom. Dad told me that the lady didn't buy the van."

Me(with tears in my eyes)-"No, Liv. She just didn't have all the money that we needed."

Olivia(with a sweet smile)-"Mom don't be sad about the van. God always answers our prayers. Sometimes He says no, but He always answers our prayers. We will sell our van, mom."

Please be in prayer for a sweet family that we've had the pleasure of knowing. They are dealing with some really tough stuff and I have no idea how to even reach out to them. God knows though, so I'm just trusting if there is something my family can do we'll be prompted to do it.

Joy Comes in the Morning

So, yesterday was a bad day for ME, but the girls got a mini pool and I loved so much seeing all three of them play together. Addison would just squeal and splash. It's so much fun having three girls. God has blessed me abundantly with them. Last night, as we stood in a circle holding hands for family prayer time I was overwhelmed with love for my beauts. They are each special in their own way. They each have special talents, personalities, weaknesses, strengths. They each show love differently. BUT, what a blessing for me to be the mother of THREE GIRLS!
Today, I have a totally different outlook. Today, I'm OK with what happened yesterday. I'm still praying that the van sells quickly and I'm still praying that we will be financially free, but now I know that God will grant those things in His timing and NOTHING I do will make things happen any faster.
So, last weekend I ordered two sets of bunks that should be in today. I'm so excited to get the room sat up. We are looking forward to being ready for more children. I was telling Scotty the other day it's a huge step of faith for us to have FIVE beds ready for babies (including the baby bed.). Anyway, it's another reason to love today.
I always also love Thursdays because it's practice night for Praise Team. Seriously in love with being able to lead others in worship these days. I feel so good being able to be in that role again after a few years of being out of it. Singing in the choir at Bentonville was great, but there's something about being up close and hearing the voices of other worshipers. Anyway, another reason to be excited about today.=)
You all need some pictures, but I'm just not the greatest at uploading pictures onto blogger yet. If you're not facebook friends with me look me up. I've been posting all the latest and greatest there.
I think I hear the pitter patter of Smittle Feet. That means the girls are up and my personal time is at an end until NAP TIME!!!!

Plans to PROSPER?

So, today was supposed to be a day that would change our life forever. One of the biggest days of our life as a family. Today we were supposed to sell our van and get rid of a nice chunk of debt and buy a van WITH CASH and be on our way to financial freedom. Today was supposed to be one of the best days of our life.
This morning we got up early, got ready, ate Sonic(because it was a special day, of course), and were on our way to pick up our "new" van. A 2001 Chevy Venture, it's not the "hottest" mini van, but it's actually a lot nicer than the one we are making monthly payments on. ANYWAY, after going by the bank and getting the cash we needed we went to pick up the van. This was the first time I'd actually seen it and I was, to say the least, impressed. It has lots of extras that my van doesn't have and it also has a LOT more room. It was a fantastic purchase that my husband managed to snag a sweet deal on. We were so so excited! We hurried home to be there in time for the arrival of the van buyers.
As soon as we got home I hurried to get the girls out of the van and get their seats out. After that not so easy task was completed, I started working on getting the window chalk off the windows. I wanted my little Kia to look so nice for the little lady that was coming to pick it up. Right after I'd finished the first window she showed. A little early, but what do I care? This is the best day of my life! I know. You just want the facts. SO, the first thing she does is say, "Well, I have some bad news." (This is the exact time of the day that our good day began to spiral out of control.)
She goes on to give me the GOOD NEWS that she has HALF of the money and that she can give us THAT money, THEN in THREE WEEKS come back and give us the other half. Of course we did not agree to this as we are a little smarter than THAT. ANYWAY, we ended up deciding that she would go try to get the rest of the money and that we would talk again at the end of the day. I was OUT OF CONTROL! Seriously. I was OUT OF CONTROL. I'm being honest and real here, but HONESTLY I just about lost it.
I was angry at God. Angry at myself. Angry at the lady. Angry that we now had TWO mini vans in our driveway. Angry that we weren't going to spend the next half of the day at the DMV getting the tags on my new sweet ride. I was A-N-G-R-Y. So, now what? I have no clue!? We talked with her at about 6PM and she had collected $500 more, but that's not enough and we are only asking payoff, so we SHOULDN'T have an issue trying to sell it, but we've already placed two ads AND it's been for sale for a few months.
SO, I'm having a hard time. I'm questioning God. I'm asking for forgiveness for being such a terrible wife and mother in my furry today. I'm just down right in the dumps. SO, if you read this and want to, PRAY. Pray that we'll be able to bless someone with our van. Pray that it will sell QUICKLY. Pray that I'll be OK. Pray that we WILL see financial freedom. I sit here now trying to type through tear filled eyes. I just don't know what else to do. BUT, I know that God has said, "I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Monday Randomness

Today you'll enjoy a bulleted post on my random thoughts. I'm working on making this a good blog to read. I really am! HA!

• I am a Shout snob. I only use Shout for my stains. Until recently I was also a Tide Snob, but in my thriftiness I've started making my own detergent. I love it now. Just about as much as Tide. I do miss the freshness of my tide clothes sometimes. Especially when I want to smell like I've been in a "fresh mountain." Where do they get the names for these scents anyway?!
• I am growing my hair out. I wonder if rogain works for making hair grow faster. Ha! I'd try it if it weren't so expensive.=)
• I like salsa. Only my own homemade kind or the kind at authentic Mexican restaurants though.
• We sold the girl's loft bed and were able to get two sets of white bunks for the same price. NICE!
• I have become a garage sale junkie! Seriously! What can be better than finding a NICE Crate and Barrel rug for $10!? Finding a dresser for the girls' room for $10, that's what!
• I love Grey's Anatomy and Lost. These are my two guilty pleasures.
• I like to eat icing out of the can with a spoon. I used to do that a lot more. Now that I've lost all the weight I usually have a taste and feel bad!=)
• I like doing laundry.
• I HATE doing dishes.
• School kids make me feel queasy. I'm not sure my kids will live through their school years...
• I am a CLEAN FREAK, but I will not iron. I know this doesn't really have anything to do with being CLEAN, but it always throws people off. I don't iron. Ever. Like seriously.
• I love to sing, but sometimes I love to sing BAD. Off-key, monotone, wrong key, wrong words, loud. You name it.
• I don't like to be hugged by anyone other than my husband or the girls.
• I don't like wearing make-up.
• I can't play sports.
• I like the smell of skunks.
• I can't handle animals in the house.
• My husband is color blind.
• I can play the harmonica with my nose.
• When I was younger my friends and I would pretend to be blind, deaf, or from another country and see if people would believe us.
• I have a mouth on me that just won't stop sometimes.
• I love the color red.
• I love to wear dresses.
• I once had to measure my inseam for a costume and I have the same inseam as Julia Roberts. I only know that because I had a book on her when I was in high school because of a haircut I wanted that she had.

OK. That's enough already. If you are reading this and are close enough to come to our book club tomorrow night send me an email and I'll send you directions! It's going to be fun. You'll like it!