My Favorite Ornaments - Costa Rica

 These two ornaments are from our year in Costa Rica. The first is a painted ox-cart filled with coffee beans. The ox-carts are well known throughout the country and we even had a family photo taken in front of a giant one in the city of Sarchi.   I wanted to have my own miniature one to put on my tree as a reminder of our time in CR. The coffee beans remind us of drinking our favorite brand…Café Britt Tarrazu!! I always thought Colombia made the best coffee in the world, but I think Costa Rica could give them a run for their money. :D

We have our miniature mug to remind us of all the cups and cups and more cups of coffee we drank while we were there. There is also a map on the mug of the country with several places we were privileged to visit while living there; places like Arenal and its steaming volcano which heated the pool at our hotel; and Manuel Antonio with its beautiful beaches and sloths in the trees; and even Playa Doña Anna with its black, super fine sand.

As difficult as it was that year having 7 people in school and learning to speak a new language (which we are still learning and will be for years to come), we enjoyed our time there and we have many memories and made lifelong friends in the process.

I love that my tree is now becoming multi-cultural just like our family. We are blending our US culture with the Venezuelan culture and we have a little Costa Rican culture thrown in the mix for added flavor. ;D

My Favorite Ornaments - Sunday School

I always loved when we would pick up our babies on Sundays from Nursery or Sunday School and they had made some craft that day that was awkwardly shaped and still had wet glue and
glitter dripping off of it…okay, so not really.

I usually had a baby in one arm and a diaper bag over the other and then suddenly, I was picking up a toddler or preschooler who was handing me a craft that I had no place to put and I couldn't let them hold it as they would glue it to their Sunday dress clothes! And while I was trying to finagle all this, they would be off, running down the hallway while I tried to catch them. And this was when we only had 3!!

Those were the days! Those precious, crazy days that I now miss…but only my once little babies, not the crafts!

But these three are some of my favorites as they are reminders of my now big kids when they were sweet and innocent.

These crafts took some forethought and there was no wet glue dripping when they were completed.

Moriah was two years and Micah was one in these pictures and I even remember the outfits they were wearing and how cute they always were when they wore them.

At this age, they were both into everything, but always together. They were a team and whatever Moriah would think of to get into, Micah followed right behind, usually with both arms in the air like Clyde the orangutan, from the movie, "Every Which Way but Lose" with Clint Eastwood. I guess it helped him balance, I really don't know. All I know is that it was always very funny and sweet. I even have photos of the time those two decided to pull every, single toy out of the toy box and then play inside of it. I'm pretty sure it was Moriah's idea. :D

This one of Malachi was made when he was seven. I remember how he always had to tell me every detail from class and what they did and what the teacher said and how the kids acted and on and on and on! ;D

He still does that today, to some degree, in that whatever he is talking about, he wants to give every detail. I really have no clue where that came from or why he thinks it is so important for everyone to hear the story! (In all honesty, he gets that completely and totally from me. Wow, that felt really good to get that out in the open!) ;D

If I know Malachi, he probably was giving a thumbs-up in this picture just like his dad does for practically every photo ever taken of him! :D

These ornaments might not be the most beautiful ones on my tree, but they each hold a special place in my heart and bring back precious memories of those Sunday School years, even with all the wet, dripping glue and glitter crafts that sometimes didn't make it home. ;D

My Favorite Ornaments - Adopted Son & Cross-stitched names

Christmas 2011 -

We had spent a marvelous evening listening to the Annie Moses Band perform Christmas music at our home church, RFA, and afterward decided to have our annual family Christmas photo taken in front of the ginormous Christmas tree in the fellowship hall. We asked one of the Master's Commission students to take several photos of our family and we would pick the best one later for display. Little did we know that another student, our good friend Marquis Nobles had joined our family in one of the photos. And you guessed it…that photo was the best one. So…that Christmas we had an adopted photo bomb son…Marquis Smith! :D

Cross-Stitched Names - 

One year, Granny (aka, Scott's mom) had a friend make these ornaments for us with our names cross-stitched in each one.

I love that they look like a handmade quilt, and we each have our own to display.

They remind me of  snowflakes and how they are all similar, but when you look at each one individually, they are remarkably different.

Like our Christian brothers and sisters, we all serve the same Father and believe in His Son, Jesus and live our lives guided by His Holy Spirit, but we are each uniquely different with different gifts and abilities that He has given us to use for His glory. Together, we are a beautiful quilt stitched together by God!

This Christmas, may we be united with our brothers and sisters of the faith, stitched together in the common purpose of sharing the love of Jesus and the hope of salvation to a lost and dying world!

My Favorite Ornaments - Merci

Merci - my baby girl, a faint hope come to life, our youngest treasure.

In October of 2005, I started having that familiar desire once again to have a baby. When I brought it to Scott's attention, he emphatically stated his opposition…not because he didn't want another baby, but because he was worried about losing me in the process. 

For 3 out of the 4 pregnancies, I had developed placenta previa and with each pregnancy it had progressively gotten worse and lasted for a longer period of time before resolving itself. Scott's biggest fear was, if we had another child, we were risking my life in that the previa might not resolve itself and I could go into labor and bleed to death. 

I completely understood and released my desire to God, but I still continued to feel the urge. In January of 2006, Scott decided to do an extended fast and since I was still feeling that desire, I asked him to pray that God would either change his heart or cause my desire to dissipate. He begrudgingly agreed. 

Several days into his fast, he came to me and said, "God spoke to me today and we are supposed to have another baby. He said that we would have a girl and you already had the name." As I stood there in shock with my mouth gaping open, he shared with me how on his way home from work that day, for the first time in his life, he heard the audible voice of God speaking to him. He almost ran off the road as he looked around searching for the source of the voice. 

Shortly afterward, we discovered we were pregnant and on October 9, 2006, Merci Hope Smith joined our family. Oh, by the way, I never developed previa during my pregnancy, although if you have developed it before, it usually occurs again with each consecutive pregnancy. In fact, I had a most remarkably, healthy pregnancy all due to the One that planned Merci long before He placed the desire in my heart!

So, when I look at Merci's first ornaments, I can't help but think about God's perfect plan for our family and I am so very grateful that we were obedient to His promptings. She is a constant reminder of the Mercy of our Lord and the Hope of Salvation.

When I look at her first two year's ornaments, I can't help but think of how Merci loves babies. She plays with her dolls, of course, but anytime there is a real baby present, she begs to hold him or her and loves to play with toddlers as well.

Her tender heart and compassion towards others is evident as she will cry at the slightest thought of someone being mad at her, or if she feels someone is being treated unfairly. She makes friends with everyone she meets, just like her Daddy. Anytime she sees someone that might be close to her age, she always asks if she can "make a new friend." And she is constantly writing notes to Mom and Dad about how much she loves us and how we are the best in the world. :D

Although she has her own bed, she would rather sleep with her big sister. And when said big sister gets a little irritated with her younger sister, all we have to do is remind her about how she prayed so hard for that little sister! ;D

I always joke that Merci is the only mercy I have!

Although I don't naturally have a great deal of mercy, God is allowing me to learn more about His mercy through the actions of my Merci!

Our family would not be complete without Merci Hope. Her addition to this family has brought us great joy and we cherish her, Matthew, Micah, Moriah and Malachi.

Thank you Jesus for the treasures of our children, the joy they bring to our lives and the memories we have made together!

My Favorite Ornaments - Matthew

Matthew - my baby boy, the tenderhearted one, the lego lover, and super-hero fan.

As my Aunt Linda would say, "He's a God-blessed little angel!" :D His heart and compassion towards others is always evident. He loves the littlest children and wants to hold the babies and play with the toddlers. And they love him back. He always points out the babies to me when we are out.

As a baby, Moriah determined (at the age of 3) that Matthew was her baby and we have many, many photos to prove it. She rocked him in his swing and read to him from her books and hugged him as hard as she could on a regular basis. Thank the Lord that she was tiny herself or she might have damaged him. ;D
He, like Micah was a very sweet, easy-going baby and went with the flow of our family. As baby number 4, he probably didn't have much choice.
For the first year, he had very little hair, and he looked so much like Scott, that we thought about drawing a mustache and goatee on his face and calling him "Mini Me."

But when his hair finally came in, it was beautifully curly and I loved it. I had always wanted a baby with curls and he was the first and only to fulfill that wish. I allowed it to grow for as long as I could, but after he turned 2, I was forced to cut it. After the 2nd stranger said, "Oh, how sweet, 2 boys and 2 girls," I admitted that he was such a pretty baby that I needed to cut his hair to clarify his boyhood. ;D

From the very earliest, when we would look at pictures of Scott as a child, he thought it was himself. His gentleness and tender heart are obviously from his father, as I am not as gentle or compassionate.

Even though each of our children is unique and different in their own way, as he gets older, I see, not only his dad, but many of Malachi's traits in him. We laugh about it, at times, saying that we duplicated Malachi with Matthew and Micah with Merci, but we were afraid to duplicate Moriah as two of her would be too much for one family! ;D

When I found the puppy in the swing ornament, the first in another series of 5, I couldn't resist, partly because Matthew had loved to be in his baby swing. Some of those pictures I mentioned earlier are of him in the swing with Moriah reading to him, or climbing in to hug him!

Each consecutive year's ornament was such a great representation of Matthew and his changing personality.

He still loves to build any and everything with his legos. He even has a special place where he keeps all his lego figures and weaponry, from swords, to whips to guns.

He still loves to play super-hero, from Iron Man to Batman to Captain America, he covers all the bases. I still see Malachi playing light sabers with him occasionally. (But Shhhh! You didn't hear that from me!)

Matthew loves to draw and write stories and he has several notebooks with his work in them. I sometimes find that he has used one of mine when he couldn't find his in the moment. :/

And, of course, he still loves riding scooters and bicycles, although it is a little harder to do here in VZ.

As Matthew is fast becoming a young man, I see God's work in his life, fine-tuning personality traits that make Matthew who God intended him to be. I look forward to watching him grow, but I am content in the time that will take as I watch him mature and grow in his relationship with his Savior too. I don't want to rush these years, because they go by all too fast, but also because I know that God can use each of us no matter our age.

God has a specific reason for us to be in VZ while our children are young. I believe that He not only wants Scott and I to serve Him here, but each of our children as well. I love to see my children serve the King of Kings.

I want my children to be like Timothy in the Bible. The words that Paul shared with Timothy in his letter are for my children and your children too.

Let no one despise you for your youth, 

but set the believers an example 

in speech,

 in conduct,

 in love,

 in faith,

 in purity.

I Timothy 4:12 (ESV)

Our children are witnesses of our Savior too and I believe God calls them just like He calls us.

Thank you Jesus for children who can serve You and show Your love with their childlike faith!

My Favorite Ornaments - Micah

Micah - my surprise gift from God, the one that we didn't plan, but God did…

When Moriah was four months old, I discovered that once again I was pregnant. It was not the ideal 2 year age span that we had planned, but God knew better than us (Imagine that!) what we needed to make our family complete.
So, exactly 1 year and 9 days after Moriah was born, Micah Elias Smith (my MES) made his appearance.

He was the sweetest, cuddliest, chubby little baby and within 6 months was bigger than Moriah. People in stores would stop us and ask if they were twins and when we said no, they would then ask us if he was the oldest. They looked so confused when we said she was older. ;D
I love Micah's unique purple and yellow giraffe with the cool hair (just like he wears his now). It reminds me of how different each one of our kids is in their gifts and personality.

Micah has always been the tough, get angry at the pain rather than cry about it, kind of kid. As a baby receiving his shots, he would scowl and grunt rather than cry. :D

We have always called Micah, "Micah Mess," not just because his initials spell MES, but because he used to be the child who made the biggest messes. Whether he was eating or playing, he was making a mess! ;D

When I saw this ornament, I had to purchase it, as it reminded me of my own little mess. When you push the button on the bottom, the blocks fall down. It fit Micah to a tee.

And of course, this one clearly displayed his curiosity which led to many opportunities for messes in my house. This would lead to him getting in trouble, which would lead to the lower lip quiver and the huge, I mean, giant crocodile tears that would fill up his eyes and overflow down his cheeks. It makes my lower lip stick out just thinking about it. :D

As he has grown into the (just recently) tall, thin athletic young man, I see before me today, his personality is become even more refined. Although he still makes a mess every now and then, the MES is becoming more like his own personal Messi as he hones the soccer skills that only God could have given him (as they didn't come from me). The determined, tough little boy is fast becoming the bold, strong in his faith, unafraid to learn something new, always willing and available for a new adventure young man.

He is so like his dad, in that he never meets a stranger and he talks to everyone in Spanish, even if he makes mistakes. He doesn't mind, just files it away in his brain for next time. He is our personal translator and he loves to go and do and serve. And he doesn't mind sharing the abilities of his siblings as well, even when they ask him to keep it on the down-low. ;D

 

After living in three different countries in two different continents, the variety of people I have seen is amazing. We serve an awesome creative, imaginative God who not only formed us, but breathed His breath of life into us. And although we are all completely unique, when we join together to serve our Creator, we fit together like pieces of a puzzle.

His rocking horse shows birth stats that seem pretty average, but Micah is not your average kid. In fact, none of our children are average. Yours aren't either. Children are special blessings from God, each uniquely created as another masterpiece in His collection.

And there is not one that is an accident to God. He planned them all, whether we did or not! Most people I know who have 'surprise' children will agree with me, they couldn't imagine their lives without them.

Thank you Jesus for your surprises!

My Favorite Ornaments - Moriah

Moriah; the daughter I prayed and hoped for, the preemie who scared us all, the fighter, our angel.

She was born at 33 weeks, not the normal 40 (or 42 in Malachi's case). 

She weighed all of 4lb 6oz and was 17in long.

You could put her head in your hand and her feet wouldn't touch the bend in your arm and you could see all your fingers around her little tiny head.

She was in the NICU for two weeks, which now seems so short, but in the moment felt like eternity. Her feisty determination is still evident today. ;D

When I walked into Hallmark and saw this ornament, I knew instantly that it was for Moriah. On our couch we had some big throw pillows that we would lay her entire body across when she took naps while we could stay close by and watch like the paranoid parents of a preemie that we were. We called them the "princess pillows" and this ornament perfectly displayed what our tiny little angel looked like on her "princess pillow."

She always looked so tiny and fragile, but don't let that fool you because inside she held a resilient strength that to this day astounds me.

Her beauty is not skin deep, but runs deep like the love and passion I see in her for her Savior. Her love of books has led her to read and search out the scriptures, oftentimes coming to us, her parents, with theology questions and revelations that we would like to take credit for. ;D

When I look at this picture and see the little smiling, one-dimpled princess and now the still smiling, one-dimpled young lady, I am so very thankful that God chose me to be her mother. As she loves to call herself my mini-me, that definitely puts the pressure on me to watch the example I set before her in the way I live my life.

This baby girl is now a freshman in high school! The time has flown by and I don't want to miss a single minute with her. 

This little girl who was once all Daddy's girl is now becoming my fun-loving shopping companion and conversational joy. I enjoy her laughter, her sarcasm and her wit and she constantly keeps me on my toes. But she also brings encouragement and hugs when she sees me sad.

That little 4lb 6oz fighter in the NICU has become a beautiful, loving, creative, Jesus-loving missionary kid, (oops, young lady) and I look forward to seeing the dreams and visions that God has given her fulfilled in her life!