A letter to our Angel

My silence has a purpose.  I took the time to heal: my body, my heart, my soul.  But now I feel like sharing.  And for that I thank God.  And my husband.  And my daughter.  I pray for strength, endurance, acceptance, understanding.  And I know that God gives to those who ask.  Amen.

{"I love you forever, my baby you'll be."}

   

   

What Kinsey Wore: to firsts

It was perfect timing. A practice- run of sorts. Whatever you want to call, it was a great morning getting ready for work with Kinsey; foreshadowing next week when she will be getting ready for her first day of Preschool(!!!)

I can't put into words all the emotions surrounding this event. It has arrived too fast. Pride in showing her off to my co-workers. Anxiety. What if she does or says something that reflects badly on me? (That sounds worse than intended but you know what I mean.) Will she make friends?  This is an unnecessary concern, the girl is very social. But the concern is there, nonetheless.

Kinsey, you are the joy in my life. The song in my heart. Your smile is radiating. And I am now sharing you with the world. It's a big place and sometimes scary. And sad. And lonely. But those days come and go. Don't let them overshadow all the good. Because there is plenty of good. God made sure of that.

I know this well. I am your mommy. I'm living it with you. I've lived it before you. I have lots of stories. About the sad. And the good. Especially the good; I have you, Daddy, Little Baby. God made sure of that.

Here's to your first day of Preschool. I know you will love it. You will make friends, get sand in your pants, probably be told to "stop yelling" and use an inside voice. And I will be extremely proud of you. I always will. I always am. There are many more firsts to come. I will be with you for them all, I am your mommy. God made sure of that.

Top- thrifted, Old Navy

Khakis- Jumping Beans, Kohls 2012

Shoes- Crocs

Linking up with One little Momma

   

   

What Kinsey Wore: Our announcement

To share the news of our pregnancy with Family and Friends we got Kinsey in on the act with this sweet tee from Target.  I instantly knew that a picture would be the way to convey our message and I definitely knew I wanted Kinsey to do the "talking"; so when I laid eyes on this beauty, it was pure gold.

Shirt: Carter's

Skinny Jeans: Old Navy

What creative way did you announce your pregnancy?  I saw so many fantastic ideas on Pinterest, but in the end you just can't do 'em all (unfortunately).

Linking up with One Little Momma

   

   

Monkey masks

My little monkeys in class wanted to learn about monkeys this last week so we made these cute monkey masks!

Materials:
paper plates                                                  glue                                             masking tape
tempera paint                                                Popsicle sticks
paint brushes                                                 ruler
construction paper                                        scissors


Each child painted their own plate with brown tempera paint and let dry over night.

I prepped my brown construction paper circles before the project but depending on age or skill level, your child can cut them out independently. Glue to dried paper plate. I added nostrils and a smile :)

I slit the bottom of the masks with my scissors and inserted the Popsicle sticks and taped the back with masking tape.  I then measured out eye holes and cut them out.

My students loved them and they got a lot of use.  We used ours with the song "5 Little Monkeys swinging in the tree" and just subbed the amount of monkeys for students.  They enjoyed acting it out and got some of their sillies out too.

{How's that for 'monkeying around'?}

   

   

InstaFriday

I look forward to Friday all week and then almost forget what day it is! Does this happen to anyone else? 

{Instagram: TheFamilySmith3}

We are so blessed to live in an area that values recreation for children.  We took full advantage of that this weekend and took our daughter on a "tour" of a few parks in neighboring towns.  This park was down the street from where my husband grew up.  She was attached to that spiral pole.  "This twisty thing is awesome!"

I always love the sight of a good, fluffy dandelion.  Brings back many fond childhood memories. And it tickled me that she instinctively knew that you just had to blow the white puffs. So precious.

Like we didn't get enough BBQ on 4th of July, we went all spontaneous and picked up The Works from Trader Joe's: Veggie Cheese burgers, sweet white corn, Garlic fries, and pineapple, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes and button mushroom teriyaki kabobs.  I cleaned my plate.  It was glorious.

Another park stop; this park was down the street from the Elementary school my husband and I (and my mom, my brother, my brother in law and in a few years, our daughter) attended. It was a beautiful day and a celebration of sorts- we just discovered we are expecting Miracle #2!

Happy weekend, Friends!

Linking up with Life Rearranged