Skip to main content

Thanksgiving 2014

I didn't take any pictures on Thanksgiving.  I didn't quite manage the famous Amy sweet potatoes, but I tried. And I swear next year I will use a wider, shallower pan so the topping isn't still gooey after an hour (and I might include less topping altogether). If I don't write these things down, I'll forget. Connie made a lovely meal for us all; as she always does. My parents came into town that day for Lexi kisses. She only speaks now, is all. Two months can change a toddler. She is saying phrases; she is relentless with "hey mama" "here go mama"(or daddy). She is adorable so she makes it an exciting adventure. Speaking of, she swallowed G-Grandma's blood pressure pill. So that was a terrible incident of trying to make her throw up which ended in a gag reflex and the poison control promising she will be ok since it was just one pill; watch for mild stomach discomfort that expanded into the nastiest smelling, green diaper of all times. I'm not sure how toddlers make it to adulthood. Obviously against all odds.



So because people say you should be happy even when you're sad and that you should make gratitude lists and pray more when you're emotionally spiraling which is when you want to least, here I go:

1. My daughter, Lexi. I want to squeeze her and kiss her until life itself ends. She is my best accomplishment & sense of purpose. Her existence is the sunshine on a cloudy day.

2. My long list of good friends and my short list of best friends who help me shoulder the pains of this world. They inspire me & push me along.

3. Yoga pants & Old Navy who makes them affordably in size long.

4. The mountains, they make me happy to be where I am.

5. Taylor Swift, Blank Space - just enough distraction when I need it

6. The scriptures. The temple. Latter-day prophets & apostles. Because I find comfort in knowing I can find truth, a sense of purpose, love & courage. I can depend on them when I feel at a loss with everything and everyone else.

7. Eric's family, for saving us during a hard time, for opening their doors & giving up their space. We went from never seeing each other to seeing each other every day.

8. My family, for always listening and being there just because they want to be.

9. Nursery leaders. Enough said.

10. Winco, allows me to mourn a little less over the loss of Aldi

11. That date night with Mr Smith

12. My ability to go running when I want. Even if it has only happened once this year.

13. Laughter. It is such a precious gift. Especially those souls who bring it out of people.



Things I've been grateful for since September 22, 2014:

so many things.




I hope your Thanksgiving was fabulous. I did a little bit of shopping to get a few things:

Socks of all kinds (you need them in UT)
same with tights, ugh
Slippers…easy to slip on shoes
Sweaters, Long sleeve shirts (longs)
First Aid kit
the Kitchen Plus 2000 (I hope it works)
finger-tip-less gloves

For most things, I just feel like waiting.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

To Live is to Change

I love change. I love variety. I love mixing things up just because I can. It's helpful, but it's kind of a double edged sword.  I'm terrible at consistency, even though Clifton Strengthfinder told me that was my #5 strength (I think they meant something closer to wanting things fair & equitable which isn't wrong). I not only move furniture in & out of my life, or make sure we don't eat the same thing too often... but I love that I can give my kids a flexible education. God knew this is something I would love & has allowed for it even when it comes with significant sacrifices (as many good things do). This has been a beautiful way to grow me over the last 4 years, and I definitely missed it, but I also started to doubt ever doing it again, which felt odd. I found myself questioning why I wanted to take the harder course. I had a little break with just E & M at home, but now B is back too, so I'm giving up some me time (I was never good at it any ...

Our Baby Story - Alexis

Alexis Jane Smith 04.27.13 - 5:16PM 8lbs 15oz - 22.5 inches brown hair, undetermined (blue) eyes NB clothes are too tight You hate diaper changes You love being swaddled You are a piranha for food Your skin is perfect You sleep better with noises You came out sucking on your fingers But luckily you're not a scratcher Basically, we think you're perfect. First day at home photo Dear Lexi,  We couldn't handle holding you inside my stomach for another minute. We made an appointment when the contractions never came. Things were changing, but you were still 7 days late. Maybe we were eager parents, but now that we have you in our arms, we understand why, really understand. You're amazing . By the time we showed up at your 6 AM hospital appointment to be induced, I was already 3.5 cm dilated & 90% effaced & having mild contractions. So mild I thought I might have had high pain tolerance because I didn't feel th...

And so it begins, again

At what point do you ... 1. Keep holding on waiting for inspiration to come 2. Try something different 3. Let go & walk away I'd say most of us are usually somewhere in between #1 & #2, but there are occasional moments where I find myself locked into another Jane Austin film with some oreos & milk ignoring reality all together.  Today, I'm trying to rise above some level of complacency & clear my mind at your expense. Mr Smith & I had a good run of it, but since blogs became obsolete in 2017 while Instragram chained us all to algorithms, I had no audience nor desire to write in this world. But times change, after it murders our souls, and alas we are famished for an authentic keyboard with less distractions again. So, let's catch up. They say it comes in threes... Since our job change in 2017, we experienced three more moves, three additional job changes (that don't necessarily align with the moves), and three additional children.  2018-2022 were ver...