Bragging rights

Last night was Matt's last volleyball game of the season. His team had 7 wins and 3 loses which, in my opinion, is awesome considering it's his first year coaching! It was a gift for me to watch Matt do one of his many jobs at school. Since I can't see him in the classroom as a teacher, it was so neat for me to see how he interacted with his players as a coach. I especially loved watching him during the time-outs of the game. I could see how he commanded the girls attention, then have them laughing and smiling before going back out to play. This told me that he got the girls to take the game seriously, but to have fun at the same time. It gave me a glimpse of what a gifted teacher he must be in the classroom...having fun with science AND getting the kids to learn at the same time. I can't even imagine how hard this must be at the high school level!

I know he would be too modest to tell anyone that he is phenomenal at what he does. God has definitely put him in the school for a reason. Here's how I know he's great at teaching: 1) Many of his old students keep in touch with him and give him updates on their lives (surely it's not common for teenagers to want to keep up with their teachers!). 2) Several of the school counselors place their own children in his class which shows me that the administration thinks highly of him as a Chemistry teacher. and 3) This year he was given the privilege of writing the curriculum for and implementing his own AP Environmental Science class...how cool is that!

I'm incredibly proud of Matt and all that he's accomplished in his three years of teaching. Most of all, I love that he loves his job. I know it's such a gift to have a husband come home happy at the end of the day and ready to get up the next morning to go back.

Not many people know how God had such a heavy hand in placing Matt as a teacher. After he was finished with his graduate school work, he applied for 72 jobs within the science and research field. He only heard back from 3 and one of those was the U.S. Navy. We knew we were expecting Tobin at the time and turned the Navy down when the thought of overseas war became a definite possibility. Obviously, the door for toxicology and environmental research was closed and locked. After taking a difficult and grueling landscaping job for several months to keep us afloat after Tobin's birth, a close friend and old teacher of Matt's called out of the blue to offer him a teaching job at his old high school. Now...here we are. In love with where we live, in love with the people here, and I have a husband in love with his job. Does it get much better than this, knowing that this is exactly where we are supposed to be according to God's design and plan for our family? I don't think so...but then again, God always has something else up his sleeve for later!

Pumpkin Patch - Take 2

This week our playgroup met at the same pumpkin patch I took Tobin to last week. It was so fun to watch all of the kids run around and enjoy the activities together. Our playgroup is slightly unique in that there are 14 children, all of them boys but one! We're hopeful that that will change with the new addition of 6 more babies in the spring! We all (moms and kids) have such a good time together and I feel truly blessed to be a part of this terrific group of friends! Here are some pictures of the day:

This was the best shot I could grab of most of the kids in one spot.

This is Tobin's best friend, Noah. They are inseparable when they're together. They are in the same class at church and always do their own thing at playgroup. I love that at this age they can pick up friendships that "stick"...it's adorable!

They were making up their own song on the hayride about the hayride. A couple of months ago, Tobin would not have attempted such a daring feat of climbing this huge bounce house slide and coming down. Lately, he's turned a corner and has become so brave and determined! I couldn't get him to step away from this thing!

I heart pumpkins

Today I decided on a whim to take Tobin to a pumpkin patch in Flower Mound. The weather was just too good to pass up and nothing puts me in a better mood than enjoying some sunshine together...especially fall sunshine. Something about fall just makes me happy. I love the cool mornings, changing leaves, fall festivals, and most of all, pumpkins. Something about them just makes me smile. Maybe because we can turn them into silly faces or, as Tobin and I plan to do this afternoon, make the Smith family out of baby pumpkins. I think this could be the start of a new family tradition! Here's some pictures of our morning at the pumpkin patch:

For anyone that's interested, this pumpkin patch was awesome. It was completely free! Free admission, free hayrides, free bounce houses, and free animal petting. They had snowcones and drinks for sale and, of course, the pumpkins were for sale. They ask that you bring canned goods to donate and that's it! It's the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch off of 1171. It's especially perfect for toddlers. Happy Fall!!

Baby #2 on the way!

Yes...We are pregnant again!! God has blessed us with another baby on the way! I am eight and a half weeks along with a May 8th due date. I had my first prenatal check-up last week and was able to see and hear the sweet sounds of a strong heartbeat!

Most of you know that we miscarried last February. The baby stopped growing around 6 weeks and I miscarried at 9 weeks. My guess is that a heartbeat was never established since that happens around week 6. So seeing a healthy heartbeat last week was music to my ears!

I'm feeling kind of rotten this time around (I didn't feel bad at all with Tobin) but I keep telling myself that that means the baby is growing and healthy. Other than feeling carsick all day long and like I could fall asleep at any given moment...I feel great! I know this won't last and Tobin will have his playmate/mommy back to normal soon.

It's also fun because 6 out of the 7 moms in our playgroup are pregnant. It will be a busy spring for all of us!

We are thrilled beyond belief and thank God for this precious gift!!

Sleeplessly Strong-Willed

We have had a rough time in the Smith house recently. Last week, Tobin had a hard time falling asleep at nap time. He would lay in his bed for an hour and a half singing, talking, pretending, etc. He only napped two days last week. No matter what I did, he would stay awake. No amount of book reading, singing, or soothing would work.

Then he realized that he could get out of bed. He would either tell me he had to go to the bathroom or just come to me so that I'd put him back to bed and sing to him again. It didn't take long for him to figure out that this worked at night, too. A couple of nights ago, he got up well over twenty times throughout the night! Nothing worked to keep him in bed...rewards, praise, taking things away, spanking...nothing.

After a few nights of this, I pulled out my "Healthy Sleep Habits" book by Dr. Weissbluth. This was very valuable book to me when Tobin wasn't taking good naps when he was one. Anyway, I decided to try the "silent return to bed" method. When Tobin came out of his room, I would pick him up, put him back in bed, give him his stuffed dog, and cover him back up all without eye contact or words.

I started yesterday at nap time and it took 58 return trips to bed before he stayed put and fell asleep!!! He tried tricks such as trying to run away from me, crawling away, crying, and even hiding his dog thinking that I would find it for him and give him more attention. Last night before bed, it only took three return trips for it to stick! Better yet...he slept through the night and woke up at 6something instead of the five o'clock wake ups we have had this week!

Whew! Once again I'm realizing the challenges that come with my very bright, strong-willed little guy.

Knock, Knock

Tobin loves knock, knock jokes these days. He'll make up his own if he can't think of any of his usual material. Here's two I heard the other day, one after the other:

Tobin: Knock, Knock
Me: Who's there?
Tobin: Ketchup
Me: Ketchup who?
Tobin: Ketchup with you later!

Tobin: Knock, Knock
Me: Who's there?
Tobin: Ranch
Me: Ranch who?
Tobin: Ranch with you later!

It gave me a good giggle...

Feeling Crafty

Here's some sewing projects I've been working on this summer. Most have been gifts which made them even more fun to make:

This was my very first attempt at a quilt. It was such a challenge for a perfectionist like me because I had a really hard time with the fact that the squares didn't match up just right! I know I learn as I go but I also need to learn to let go, too!


This was a "gratitude wrap" that I made for my sister's birthday. I thought it was such a creative way to keep note cards together and easy to carry so you can writing notes to friends while at the playground or something like that. I found the idea here.


I made this for Tobin. We take it to restaurants or use it in the car for a quiet and fun way to keep him entertained. He loves to color and likes to practice "writing" his name for long periods of time so it's a perfect way to keep him happy and sitting still.


I made some "beach balls" for my nephew, Beck, who just turned one. My sister has three boys and, like all boys, they love to throw and kick any kind of ball they can get their hands on. I was hopeful that these would be easy on the head bonks in her home! Here's the pattern for theses.

I recently made this baby blanket for my friend, Melissa, who is due to have a baby boy in October. It's rediculously soft and cozy...perfect for a winter newborn!

Alright...back to hunting for more ideas for stuff to make!