'tis the season

Don't know about y'all, but I am totally loving the Christmas season this year!  Maybe it's because we moved to a place that actually expects snow this time of year, or maybe it's because I actually have Christmas cards to send out on time, or maybe it's that my child might finally be able to grasp some of what Christmas is actually about.  Either way, I'm loving every minute! Here are some fun photos of us drinking it in thus far!

I was also inspired by Raechel's blog post about some family advent activities to plan this December.  I didn't use all of hers, but a few of the highlights of ours will be:

1. Baking Christmas cookies together

2. Bringing dinner to a family in need

3. Checking out the Plaza lights and Union Station

4. Driving around looking at lights in pajamas with warm drinks in hand (my personal fave!)

5. Ringing the Salvation Army Bell

6. Talking through the Nativity together as a family-Henry even has his own!

7. Go to our church's Christmas program

Some are fun/silly, and others are more meaningful.  I am looking forward to each moment!

In less Christmas-y happenings, here are my thoughts on the nursery for baby girl!

Color scheme:

I pinned this photo not for it's decor, but more for my ideas on color. There will be lots!

Here are some furniture pieces that will be in the nursery:

Crib!

Dresser/Changing table! (Not this one, but similar)

Artwork ideas!

from this Etsy shop

So far it probably seems very random and maybe even weird, but trust me, it will come together!  

Thanks for checking in on the Smitty's! Love to you all this season!

October happenings.

Per usual, I am posting about a few things because I can't seem to blog more than once a month.  I guess the bright side is no one can blame me for over-posting or boring anyone!

Let's dive right in!
The first big moment in October came when we had our ultrasound for Smitty baby #2.  Let's be clear that I am incapable of wanting to be surprised, so we absolutely found out what we were having! All is well with baby, which we are abundantly grateful for.  I no longer take for granted pregnancy or a healthy baby, as I feel like I hear more and more of babies lost or babies with health problems.  These have a purpose in God's plan, no doubt, but I know heartache often goes with them.  For whatever reason, God has spared us heartache in this area up to this point, and I truly am grateful for a healthy little boy, a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby on the way.
So, here SHE is!!!:)

Isn't she the most beautiful thing you've ever seen in black and white? I love her dearly and can't wait to meet her in March.  Before I let myself get carried away with the pink and flowers and bows, I want to share the verse I am praying for her these days:

1 Peter 3:18
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 

I pray she will know Him, begin to love Him, and that any grace she carries comes from Him--not this world. I have to admit raising a girl intimidates me more than a boy for some reason.  Maybe it's all that personality God gives some girls, maybe it's the societal expectations on women, or maybe I'm just not sure if she'll like me.  Either way, I pray she will see Jesus through Jerry and I as we navigate the waters of parenting a sweet or sassy little girl, whichever she might be.  Frankly, I hope she's a little of both:).

Next in October for Henry and I was a fun vacation to see our Dallas friends who relocated to Tampa shortly after we moved to Kansas City.  We had such a great time with them!  It doesn't get more tropical and vacation-y than Tampa!  Alina and I met through Square One, our church's first-time mom's ministry.  It was a blessing to us both, and we bonded over nursing, spit up, sleeplessness and all the insecurities that come with being a new mom.  It's clearly kept us close even as the babies turn to toddlers! She's already on round 2 of babies, by the way! Isn't Luke adorable?

Gracie and Henry had their fair share of fun too!  It's safe to say they either remember each other, or they just met and loved each other again!:)  Either way, we all picked up where we left off and had a great time playing, chatting, and enjoying each other's company!

Our time was spent at the beach, the zoo, the bay shore, and of course on the couch with kiddos sleeping peacefully!:) We even snuck in a 'Mommy's Night Out' for dessert! Thanks for hosting us, Mike and Alina!! We loved our time with you all and wish Florida and Missouri were closer together!

Next, what October is complete without a little dressing up?? We kinda had fun with it this year!  Last year Henry was a classic Peter Pan, so this year I decided to go as un-classic as possible.  Like, I already expect Henry to say in a few years, 'Mom, why did you dress me up as that?'.  I can't wait--because Henry was none other than The Biebs!!!! And may I say, Bieber aint got nothin on this guy!!

We also squeezed in a little pumpkin painting with our friend Ava! They really loved it! I have so enjoyed seeing Henry be able to enjoy little tasks and crafty things!

 While I am talking about him, I have to say this age has been so great! He is exploding with words, and truly loves interacting with us.  He is our little man now, and we are enjoying every minute with him! For my purposes, and maybe yours too, his favorite things to say right now are:
-mok (milk)
-duuuuus (juice, even though he rarely gets any)
-seat (any time he sees a chair, couch, high chair, etc)
-walk? (he loves to go for walks-so we are trying to get them in now before it's too cold!)
-hod uuu (hold you, which means please hold me!)
-bus!!! (the kid loves all forms of transportation, but this is his favorite)
-kuck (truck)
-pee pee, poo poo (any time anyone goes to the bathroom or we change his diaper-awesome in public!)
-elmo? (he's obsessed! loves watching him on the ipad or TV)
-all done! (when finished eating, ready to be done with any activity)
-supp ah! (no idea what this means. have ruled out supper, super, and basically everything else that sounds like supp ah:)
 
Now comes November and the fun that is the holidays!! I am looking forward to some family Christmas pics, gatherings with friends, a re-introduction to snow, food, and important things like the Starbucks red cup:).  What are you looking forward to? I hope to be back soon with my plans for baby girl's nursery, holiday happenings, and a Christmas pic preview--I am kinda excited about them!

Pinterest foodie.

I have gone on a tear of finally making many of my pins on my 'good eats' Pinterest board.  So, for now, I can justify the hours spent browsing the thousands of recipes (and, ahem, a few other things) in search of the perfect meal.
I thought I would run through them briefly and let you know how they scored at the Smith House.  And--who better to give you an honest, consistent ranking for each item than my hubby!  He comes hungry and rarely turns my food down....but he's also pretty transparent when it's not my best go-round.  Here goes!

Stuffed Peppers.
Jerry Score=6/10.
I would have to agree with Jer. These were pretty good, but weren't overly flavorful.  This was also during our hard-core vegan phase, so I was new at cooking meat free and didn't realize that often more spice is better when using primarily legumes, rice, and veggies.  I would make them again, but probably add more seasonings, i.e. paprika, garlic, or cumin (my new fave).

Caprese Paninis.
Jerry Score=9/10.
These were really great! I loved everything about them.  Flavor, texture, and of course the ease with which they were made:).  Bonus is that they are just pretty! So much color in a simple sandwich! A couple of things I changed on this recipe: I didn't use basil pesto, and found it wasn't necessary.  I'm sure it tastes great if you add it, but I found there was plenty of flavor just from the tomatoes, basil and mozzarella (make sure it's fresh!).  I also drizzled the inside of my sandwich with balsamic vinegar instead of the outside at the very end like she says.  I'm sure that's just personal preference, but thought I'd mention it!

Blueberry Banana Bread.
Jerry Score=7/10.
I'm going to have to disagree with him here. I think I'd give this bread a 4 or 5/10.  Some of this could be cook error (I like to sub things...sometimes too often:)).  I found that it was very tart, and it also didn't seem to cook like most breads I have made, leaving the outside done and the inside still too moist.  I know that just happens with breads sometimes, but this was more than usual.  A couple of side notes on this one: I used refrigerated blueberries instead of frozen ones.  This could account for the tartness and possibly also the excess liquid, but I don't know for sure.  I also ditched the walnuts...not a fan!  Either way, I will probably look for a different way to spice up my banana bread in the future, such as choc. chips or oats!

Pad Thai.
Jerry Score=7/10.
I would give this dish an 8 or 9 myself--but either way I think it was a score! It is definitely different than restaurant pad thai, but if you tell yourself that before eating it I really think you'll like it! It's light, delicious and fairly easy to make!  I only had to buy a couple things I didn't already have in my cabinets, which is great for Asian food I think!  I would recommend getting the Sriracha sauce if you don't have it--I think it adds a lot of zest to the dish as a whole.  Also, the blogger seems really cool. She is 'pinner friendly' and has even updated the recipe with people's thoughts after making it. I looked at those updates and cooked mine accordingly.  Bonus: we even had enough leftovers for me to have it for lunch the next day!!I will definitely make this again!

(photo credit: bigsislilsis.com)

Seashell Pasta with basil and tomatoes.
Jerry Score=8/10.
Loved this!  I made it on a whim, and loved what I got as a result! I think it's honestly supposed to be a side dish, but I love the light, meat free-ness of it!  Only shocker is how much Extra Virgin Olive Oil I used.  It was actually painful to pour a 1/2 cup in there...but it's a key component to the juiciness of the tomato flavor throughout the pasta, so I'm good with it now!  Honestly, I love all pastas that use a combination of basil, garlic and cherry tomatoes.  They are my food obsession trifecta!  Whether you try this as a side or entree, I know you'll love it!

(photo credit: Feastie.com)

Pumpkin Spice Mini Muffins.
Jerry Score=8/10.
These were yummy.  That's about all there is to say.  We actually had them for a fun breakfast when my parents came to visit.  They were bite-sized fall deliciousness.  They were fairly simple and slightly healthier than your average muffin I think!  For me the only downer was they weren't as pretty as advertised...mine were beautiful and pumpkin-y on the bottom and instead of beautifully cinnamon-sugary on top they looked brown and poopy...but the flavor was delish!:)

Spaghetti Squash with Raw tomato sauce.
Jerry score: 4/10.
This is about right...this was a bummer.  One simple fix was that my spaghetti squash wasn't cooked quite enough.  I followed a Whole Foods quick guide for cooking spaghetti squash because the recipe doesn't provide that portion and it said 375 degrees for 35 min.  This clearly wasn't enough and as I researched, I saw most call for 45-1 hr.  Unfortunately the sauce wasn't delicious either....it wasn't terrible, just not my fave.  A little too 'plant' tasting for some reason.  I followed the recipe to a T, so maybe I'll just use a different sauce recipe and will feel much better about it next time!  I love spaghetti squash and it's healthful benefits as a spaghetti substitute, so I'm not giving up yet!


Has anyone been whipping up any Pinterest-inspired meals lately? Do tell! I'd love to hear about them!  My next endeavour will be this soup-can't wait!!Hope you are all enjoying the changing of seasons!  We are loving all that is Fall around here!

apple pickin'

We didn't wait long to embrace Fall around here! Today we met my sister in law Millie and her two boys Abram and Elgin at an apple orchard called Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City. It was such a fun day. We were up and out early and got there around 10 to do some trail walkin', snack eatin', apple pickin', and fun havin'.

For those of you who are moms, you will be impressed to know we even snuck in a real conversation or 2 while the boys ran around!

Did you catch the baby bump action above? Henry will be meeting another cousin in February!! We can't wait!

After grabbing lunch, we said our goodbyes and headed home with evidence of a day well-spent.

Thanks for such a fun day, Millie and boys! Can't wait to do it again soon!

18 months (a little late!)

I haven't done a Henry update in awhile. so I thought I'd start the new blog off right--with a post on the sweet little man growing up before our very eyes!

*He has a million faces these days...he's a little personality unfolding before our very eyes!

*He is such a helper! Groceries, carrying anything, bringing things to mom and dad. The man loves to pitch in wherever he can!

*Little mister can get his groove on when the right music is playing!

*He is so sweet to his mommy. He is sensitive to the littlest things and hates when mommy is hurt or sad:)

*He is really beginning to communicate! He took his time, but now is saying Mama, Dada, Oh doo!, Oh ma!, lots of animal noises, wow, hi, ush, and many others that are a bit nonsensical, but get the point across:)

We have spent time with family this summer, and it's so fun to see him getting along with cousins and really recognizing grandparents! When you live far away, as a parent you always hope they will remember family and warm to them quickly--he seems to be doing this with flying colors! It's been great being a little closer to all of our family this summer!
He is my little sponge right now. Anything I say or do, he sees it and sometimes mimicks it. This is that part of parenting where you see the good and the bad of all that you do! For the most part it's been good things, but when he picks up the phrase 'Oh, doo!' (which I interpret to be Oh, shoot!), you know he got it from somewhere. As long as shoot is the worst word I hear him say, I might be alright!
Time is going quickly, but I have been surprised at my lack of nostalgia. Though I always look back at tiny baby pictures and smile, I love where he is headed and what is next to come. Each stage has been so fun and different that I find myself content with the pace of it all. After all, we didn't bring him into this world to keep him forever. And as I was reminded in a blog today, we have to hold our children with open hands. How quickly I let myself think he's ours to have, ours to mold and shape, ours to parent. What a relief and joy it is to think he's got a way better example to follow than me. P.T.L.

.......I absolutely promise that this new blog will pick up soon! I am a bit of a perfectionist and don't want to begin blogging until I can commit to it on a regular basis and we've been bouncing all over this summer! I will tentatively say that September is the month I will have regular blog posts with a more focused purpose! Can't wait!

a new beginning.

It's a fresh start, but the same me! Our Big Texas Life (aka amateur, half-hearted blog title) has now become 'hemmed in'. I spent awhile considering a new name for the blog. It had to be:

A) Not specific to a location-for obvious reasons! We seem to be fairly mobile, so I didn't want to be limited by geography!

B) Meaningful.

C) Applicable to the blog.

I love this phrase. It has the obvious cheesi-ness of alluding to my affection for sewing and DIY-ing, but it also alludes to a much greater love in my life--Jesus. The scripture goes like this:

Psalm 139: 4-6

Before a word is on my tongue, Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Good ole' Webster says it like this:

"to extend on all sides simultaneously", "encircle"

It's a beautiful thought to me. Lest we think He has left us or forgotten us, this Psalm reminds us He hasn't even come close to leaving. The fact is, He's surrounded us. He is literally on every side of us. We can't even wrap our minds around that reality, but yet it's there....

I will be praying for this blog in the days to come, as I plan to update it more regularly and with more purpose. I hope you find it to be enjoyable, encouraging, challenging, and maybe a little entertaining too!

A special thanks goes out to my friend Jennisa, who designed the blog with amazing detail and care! You are the best, Jennisa!

testing.

first blog post, up!