aquarium

We took the Smiths to the aquarium and had a wonderful afternoon! Last time we went to the the aquarium it was on the weekend and in the middle of the day... it was way to busy to look at anything for more than 2 seconds, and the tubes to walk through were so crammed it made us feel claustrophobic and dizzy. So, when we took the Smiths we went on a weekday in the morning. It was so much better. It felt like we were the only ones there!

Adoption

Our friend Alicia and her husband Ryan have recently been approved for adoption. If you know a friend or a friend of a friend (or someone even closer to you) who is considering adoption, please direct them to Alicia and Ryan's adoption profile, located on our sidebar. 


When we were trying to conceive we seriously considered adoption, and may adopt in the future. Adoption is such a blessing for all involved. I do not believe that God makes mistakes or that accidents happen. I believe that all children are born to be loved. Some children are born to be loved and taken care of by their birth parents. Some children are born to be loved and taken care of by their adoptive parents. Some parents love their children enough to give them up for adoption. And so many people pray daily to be blessed with a little bundle of joy! 

Thank You Mel!!!

Last week one of my favorite people of all time sent me the best little surprise that brightened my day. The Smiths were leaving, and this little Polaroid and lovely note were just what I needed to pick my chin up!

Mel and Me... we made these shirts!

Then just like magic, on Thanksgiving- when I was feeling down in the dumps again... I received a package from Mel that made everything seem okay! I am so Thankful for having such an amazing best friend!

We hung up our home made banner! We watched Elf! We ate the best m&m's ever! We imagined Parker in his cute outfit! And we felt so loved!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Mel~ you always know how to put a smile on my face and cheer me up when I am feeling low!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last time we were at the grocery store, we looked for Thanksgiving-y foods... but were disappointed with the prospects, so we had decided to go out for dinner to celebrate. But then... on Wednesday I got really upset and depressed about missing this American holiday meal. So Tyler, being the great guy that he is, went back to the store and got as many American/thanksgiving foods as he could find.

this is what I had to work with for dinner

this is what I made.

green bean casserole with croutons

mashed potatoes

turkey (but it was weird... it was not right and it was expensive)

cranberry juice

this is what I had to work with for dessert

this is what I made: apple crumble

not the same as pumpkin... but tasty

It was not the same as being at home... and was definitely not as good tasting as it would be at home. But it was the best we could do for what we have. When I was cooking I turned the Christmas tunes up really loud and pretended that it was snowing out, so the heat was turned up high enough to make the room seem hot. That helped. If I closed my eyes and did not look out the window, it almost felt like home. We really do have so much to be thankful for and had a good time naming as many things as we could think of. Parker is at the top of our list!

23 weeks

I am in my 6th month of pregnancy! We cannot wait to meet little Parker in 4 short months. I hope this last bit goes by quickly along with health and happiness. Parker has moved long ways across my lower abdomen. I can feel him moving on both sides at the same time. He can now hear his Papa's voice clearly, so Tyler has been reading to us every night before bed. I am getting anxious to start our classes at the hospital.. we start in January.

movie night!

When Ben and Kathy were here we went to The Christmas Carol in 3D at our local cinema. It was fun as always. We got the Maxi combo (american sized pop and popcorn)!!! The movie was good, but not as good as we thought it would be. The 3D special effects were really cool! I just wish it would have been more about Christmas and less about being scared by the ghosts. It made me feel like I was at home, when the snow was falling... even if it was only an hour or so, it put a smile on my face.

pack n play

We have been trying to figure out what to get for Parker to sleep in for the 8 weeks we will be in Australia after he is born. We looked into buying very basic bassinets with the plan of leaving it behind when we left. That plan fell apart when the cheapest one we could find was $300. Keep in mind that the Australian dollar has been rising and is almost equal to the American dollar. We then got the idea to buy a pack n play that we could use and bring home. We looked at 6 different stores and were very disappointed with the selection. They were very basic (the traditional playpen) and still very expensive. The only one with a bassinet attachment was $400. Thankfully, we picked one out and Ben and Kathy bought and brought it for us from the US! It was a much better deal and came with all the works... a playpen for when he gets older, a bassinet to sleep in at night, a daytime cozy sleeper and a changing table! We love it! It is amazing how much more prepared I feel knowing that Parker will have a place to rest his head. 

Dear Australia

Thank you for the nice weather whilst the Smiths were in town. It never got too hot... we were able to have lots of adventures that will be posted in the next few weeks! Unfortunately, it seems that it is going to start really hotting up now. Maybe going a year without winter won't be so great after all...

Happy Birthday Lindsay!!!

Lindsay is the best because:

• she has been like a sister to me for the past 8 and 1/2 years...
• she introduced Tyler to Brandon long, long ago
• she took me to Glacier National Park for the first time in my life! 
• she has a funny noise whistle that always lightens up the silent moments in life
• she had part of her wedding cake made out of rainbow chip just for Tyler!
• she is happiest when the family is all together having fun and loving life
• she finds Tyler's stubbornness simply enjoyable!
• she waited at Mackenzie River for hours so that we could have our rehearsal dinner there... 
• she is always good for belly rolling chuckle fest! 

Happy Birthday Lindsay, we love you so much!!!

22 weeks

This is the last week in my 5th month! Parker is the size of a papaya and growing strong. At just about 1 pound, he is looking more and more like a miniature newborn everyday. His eyelids, lips, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and his eyes are continuing to develop.

out and about

We took Ben and Kathy out and about and had a good day! They cannot believe how much walking we have to do just to leave the house. They have sore feet and sleep very hard at night... I love that they now know what we really mean when we say things can be hard here.

Thank You Sage Learning Center!

Sage sent me a package and I finally got it! It truly made my day, put a smile in my heart, and a tear in my eye. I miss everything about Sage, the students are the best, the owner is the best and the other teachers are the best! Thank you so much for taking the time to put together a wonderful care package. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!! I love you and miss you all so much!!!

Dear Australia

Thank you for blessing us with Ernie... he owns our building and hangs around. He is so excited about our little Parker. Our TV (the one that came with the apartment) stopped working, so we wrote him an email asking what we should do... two hours later, he showed up at our door with a brand new TV! He said it was a birthday present for our little boy. He cracks us up... we like him.

old tv

new tv

Kathy and Ben made it!!!

Tyler, Kathy, Ben

Ben making us some screens!!!

Kathy and Tyler blowing up the bed...

It was so nice seeing family... it has been way too long! After a little cry, we got settled in and Ben got to work making screens for all our windows!!! It was so wonderful! Later on in the day we walked to the beach, played in the sand, made a little friend named Jack, and took a bus home. The apartment is so small with everyone and all the extra stuff.... but we love it!

21 weeks

We had an appointment at the hospital this week, and they said that Parker looks perfect and on time! His digestive system is busy creating meconium...a tarry black substance made when he swallows amniotic fluid... he can now taste everything that I am eating! Parker seems to sleep most of day and becomes very active at night. I hope he stays on the schedule, so when we come home he will be right on track!

lots to do today!

I am teeming with excitement! Tyler's parents, Ben and Kathy, are now on their way to Australia! Today, I need to go shopping so they can eat when they get here (I am planning on having banana bread and fruit waiting for them because I remember how hungry I was), I am excited to go to the post (because I got a package slip last-night!!!), I have been requested to cut Tyler's hair, I need to blow up an air mattress, make sure the apartment is spick and span (which will not be hard because Tyler keeps up on it everyday!), and do some laundry!

we got a new shower curtain

Our weekend wasn't too exciting. We are saving up our exciting adventures for when Tyler's parents get here later this week. We did get a new shower curtain though. The old shower curtain was here when we moved it... it kind of really grossed us out.

Dear Australia

Why don't you have screens on any of your windows? You have all kinds of bugs and deadly spiders and mischievous lizards that it would seem like a logical choice. Last Tuesday, it was a very, very hot day (100+F). At around 8:30pm I spotted a bug on the couch, while Tyler got up to kill it I spotted two more bugs on the couch. Soon we found the same type of bug (maybe a baby cockroach about the size of a large ant) all over our apartment. Over the next hour we must have killed over 50 of these creatures. They were everywhere; the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom floor, the bathtub, everywhere!

The night only got worse from there. We weren't about to open our windows before bed for fear of more bugs entering. I woke up in the middle of the night panicking because it had gotten so hot, I felt like I couldn't breathe! We had the swamp cooler on full blast (or should I say glorified fan), I had a cold wash cloth and a bag of ice... nothing could cool me down. After waking Tyler with my hyperventilation, we opened two windows and each stood guard watching for bugs for about an hour. The apartment finally cooled off and we went back to sleep.

All of this could have been prevented with a simple mesh miracle we in America like to call window screens.

P.S. We haven't seen a single bug in our apartment since the invasion that happened that night!

a special treat

After we finished making our video we spotted this ice cream van! I was so excited and ran over to select my item of choice. It was not until after we paid, that we realized it was playing "what child is this"over the loud speaker and was parked in front of the cathedral. It was a special treat on a very hot day! You have got to love an ice cream truck!

20 weeks

I am halfway through my pregnancy at 20 weeks and loving it! A few days ago tyler and I were feeling my belly just waiting for some movement and Parker gave us a good kick. We were so surprised! It was so incredible to feel him moving around... it was even more incredible to see him flipping around during the ultrasound as I felt him! I was surprised how little I could feel because he was moving so much! Now, when I am sitting around or working on homework and I feel him... it puts a big smile on my face knowing that he is just hanging out waiting to grow big enough to enter the world so I can hold him and love him. I feel like we get to share a little secret between the two of us! This week Parker is either the size of a banana, a cantaloupe or a barbie doll.... I read all three in different books/magazines.

Parker Patrick Smith

It was so much fun seeing bub yesterday! He wiggled and wriggled the whole time. The ultrasound tech we had was not the best... she was annoyed with Parker for not staying still for his pictures. These were the best ones she got. At one point, it looked like he was sucking his thumb. He liked to stretch and bend his spine, it was all over the place! She had a hard time getting the right view to determine the gender and she almost gave up on him... But after going to the bathroom and moving around a bit, we gave it a second try and he had flipped into position! Best day ever!

Parker arching his back

his cute little tootsers

the results are in...

Enjoy!

my little surprise!

A few weeks ago, I was a bundle of joy as I spotted a big orange pumpkin at our local fruit and veggie market. My joy was soon squashed as Tyler read the price tag... $50 bucks. I knew this halloween would go without my favorite past time... pumpkin carving. I obviously underestimated my Tyler. On halloween, he found me a Japanese pumpkin to carve! It was not big or orange, but it was a pumpkin and I loved it! It was a challenging pumpkin to carve because it was almost all pumpkin... it only has a small empty space about the size of a baseball. It was suppose to look like a happy jack-o-lantern... but it ended up looking a little scary to me.

psst.... tune in later today (around 5pm mountain time) for some exciting news!