Making "the move"

Over the last few weeks I have been busy moving toys out of Chase & Jacob's room and up into the bonus room.  I knew that once we moved Jacob into Chase's room, there wouldn't be room for more than the two beds.  The room upstairs is basically theirs (expect for when Nana & Pop-Pop come to visit) and they love it!!  The majority of their toys are upstairs, there is a bed to rest on, a tv they can turn on (with my permission), and all the books and trains they could ever need.  The last two days they have spent most of their awake time up there and it has been so nice!  They are learning to put things back where they belong, with a little guidance, and I'm hoping to keep it organized.  I tried to sneak up on the boys yesterday and this is what I found... Chase reading The Little Train That Could to Jacob while watching Franklin.

So far they have played nicely together.  I took the video monitor out of their bedroom (mainly because I would rather not know who is waking who up!) and I put it upstairs so when they are up there I can somewhat keep an eye on them.  They are so cute to listen to as they carry on conversations with each other and pretend together.

To make room for Luke, the boys now share a bedroom.  I was anxious going into last night and for good reason.  Jacob is still very young and we have to keep that in mind as we get through this "adjustment period".  They normally are in bed by 7:45 and asleep by 8:15 at the latest.  Last night, however, they went to bed at their normal time and at 10:20 they were FINALLY asleep.  We probably went in 10 times last night to either remind them of what was expected or discipline if one or both were out of bed.  The next picture was just after reading Bible story, saying prayers, and kisses.  If only the had stayed that way once the door shut!

You would think that going to sleep 2 hours later would mean sleeping in just a little the next morning... nope!  6:40 we heard them laughing and they were both up for the day!  I know it's just all new and that eventually the novelty will wear off... we're just praying for patience and wisdom as to how to handle certain situations in the meantime!!  I must admit... the room looks so adorable with their matching fire trucks. 

Chase's side of the room

Jacob's side of the room

We even got new fan pulls (that we have needed since installing the fans a year ago) that are fire trucks.... I love them!

Now the task of sorting through EVERYTHING in Jacob's old room.  Lots to throw out, lots to put into the correct clothes bins, and lots of organizing to do before Luke joins the family.  It will feel SO good to get that room ready for our newest member... then maybe I can relax a little the rest of the summer :)

Busy few weeks

We have had a very busy last few weeks.  I feel like that is the story of our lives, and I know that as the boys get older things are not going to slow down!  Last week I hit a "nesting/cleaning" phase and got a lot done around the house.  By Thursday though, my back was done.  My parents came into town Thursday evening to stay with the boys while Charles and I took off for Tennessee.  It was an amazing weekend, for us, for the boys, and for Nana & Pop-Pop!  We enjoyed a few days of not having to think about naps and what our boys needed but we sure did miss them!!  We called a few times each day and got to talk to them.  Chase carried on entire conversations about his day and Jacob did well answering any questions we asked.  Their days were full as Nana & Pop-Pop kept them busy.  They read tons of books, went to the zoo, went to the park, read books, played, went out to breakfast, went on walks, rode bikes, and read more books. :)  Nana & Pop-Pop were exhausted by the end of the weekend but made some great memories with these two grandsons.  The following picture was taken a few weeks ago when we visited Nana & Pop-Pop in Hilton Head.  The boys love any and all the time they can get with their Nana & Pop-Pop!!

Things haven't quite slowed down since being home.  We have really enjoyed having our friend, Madilyn, over to play every day this week while her Grandma is out of town.  Becky has been dropping her off just after breakfast and picking her up after naps so the boys have had a lot of time playing with their friend.  She has really taken to Chase.  Today Chase was sitting on the floor just before nap time and I noticed that Madilyn kept rubbing his head.  Next thing I knew it she was sitting on his lap.  They just sat there snuggling while Chase watched his show.  It was too cute!!

I love this picture of Madilyn looking up to Jacob.  He seems SO big next to her!  I am amazed at how well this one year old, two year old, and three year old get along!!

The 3 kids on the look out!  They didn't want to miss a thing! :)

Two more weeks and the summer will be here!  Charles is so ready for this school year to be over.  He will have a week home before summer school starts and then he will have a few more weeks home before going to a training in Greenville the end of July.  Once he's done with that it will be time to meet Luke.  It's crazy to think how quickly the time is going to go by this summer and before we know it we will be a family of 5, parents to 3 little boys!!  I can't wait!  There is a lot to do though between now and then.  The biggest being Jacob's move from his own room into Chase's room.  I am a little apprehensive about that, knowing that one will always be waking the other up, but the monitor is going upstairs so that I don't drive myself crazy.  I am sure it will take a few weeks for them both to adjust and I am sure we will have a few cranky days with 2 tired boys, but I am ready to tackle this hurdle and get over it so the boys can get used to a new normal before the baby comes.  They love being together and playing together so I am hoping it will be good for both of them!

Chase reading his Thomas book to Jacob.  They are so close and for the most part love being together.  I hope and pray that the bond they have only grows stronger as they grow up!!

Finally, here is a video of Chase being a baseball player!  This child is so into sports but I don't know that I have ever seen a 3 year old with the hand-eye coordination that he has (and I am not just saying that because he is my child!).  Charles works with him a lot on hitting the baseball and now that he is holding the bat right and standing the right way he can hit the ball almost every time!  The video is short and you can't really get a good idea of how hard he hits it but you can hear him hit the ball and then see how proud of himself he is!  His daddy is just as proud, if not prouder! :)

Lately

Lately, we've been super busy!  I am not sure if I have already hit the "nesting" stage or if having my parents for the weekend have put my behind in gear, but either way I have gotten so much done around the house.  Charles and I are going to Tennessee for the weekend, leaving Thursday after school.  We haven't gone away by ourselves since starting our family so we are very  much looking forward to it.  It will be very foreign to us to drive, eat, sleep, and talk without having to think about our 2 year old and our 3 year old!  We are going for the wedding of Charles' childhood best friend, who was his best man in our wedding.  We are looking forward to hopefully a lot of rest and downtime, just the two of us, as well as lots of time with friends!  I am getting lots of extra loves in though because I know I am going to miss our boys like crazy!!

Now to catch up.... Easter was a great weekend, despite the fact that Chase came down with the first of two bouts of strep throat.  Saturday morning, early, he woke up crying complaining that his throat hurt and he had spiked a high fever out of no where.  Something in me told me to take him to the weekend office and get him checked out.  I am SO glad I did because it ended up being strep throat... Amoxicillin and a good night's sleep and he was already getting back to feeling better.  At first I thought I would be going to church on Easter Sunday all by myself (which I was really bummed about) but with how much better Chase was feeling that morning we got both of the boys ready, Charles dropped me & Jacob off for Sunday School, and then Charles & Chase met me in big church.  Chase sat through the entire service without making a sound.  We were so proud of him.

Boys at Grandma's house a few days after Easter in their Easter clothes.

We finished Chase's round of antibiotics and two days later it all started again, the exact same way... so back to the doctor we went and sure enough, the Amoxicillin didn't knock it out so we went on to Omnicef.  That one did the trick and thankfully we have been healthy since then.   We have enjoyed this nice weather and have taken the boys to the playground a few times each week.  Every day when the boys go down for naps, Chase tells me he is going to take a good nap so he can have his energy for the playground! :)  Here are a few pictures of the boys having fun.

Last week Charles and I went to the doctor for my 24 week ultrasound.  Luke looks amazing and healthy and we couldn't be happier.  He was not very cooperative during the ultrasound, he was breach and had the cord right in front of his face, but we got a few really good ones.

This is a good profile picture of Luke.  He is tiny, seems to take after his big brother Chase, measuring right now in only the 12th percentile but the doctors at this point aren't too concerned.  They said I may have a few more ultrasounds to monitor his growth but it may just be that he is on the smaller side.

Lately we have wondered every night when we go in to tuck Jacob in if he is going to be in his bed or not.  A few times we have gone in late at night to tuck him in and he has been on the floor!  A few other times we have gone in and found lots of toys in his bed, which means only one thing.. that he got out of bed and played before going to sleep.  Oh well... he'll eventually learn that nighttime is not playtime! :)  This is how we found him one night... crazy kid! :)

Finally, one last picture of Chase.  You never know what you're going to get with this kid or what he is going to say, but he never fails to crack us up.  We love his personality and he definitely keeps us laughing!

The newest member

Most of you know already but we had an ultrasound on Monday.  I was so beyond ready to know what this baby was and it was so exciting to be able to take the boys to find out.  We invited Charles' mom to go along with us and we all had a great time.  Baby #3 is definitely a boy and we couldn't be more happy.  I have had a few people ask me if I was o.k. with the baby being a boy .... of course I'm o.k. with it.  I'm more than o.k with it!  So far, he looks healthy and right on track.  I feel honored that the Lord would choose me to be a mom of 3 precious boys.  And as I thought about it, who am I to tell God what I need as a mom?  Who am I to tell God was is "best" for me?  I feel like being a mom to boys just fits.  And I'm so excited that this little man will fit right into the family, with two big brothers who are so excited about him!!  I loved seeing him on ultrasound this past Monday and I can't wait to see him again when we have our big anatomy scan at the doctors office on May 6th!

We've decided on a name for this little guy....

meet LUKE THOMAS SMOAK!!  

He will go by Luke.  It's so nice to have a name for our little man and to be able to call him by name with the boys.  They now know there is a baby brother in my tummy and his name is baby Luke.  I can't wait to see what he looks like and if he will look like Chase or Jacob.  From what I can tell so far he seems to have Chase's shaped face so I wonder if he'll be little like Chase.  Only time will tell! :)  We are just so thankful to have a healthy baby growing inside and can't wait to see him again in a few weeks!

I will leave you with this....

precious feet ... there is nothing sweeter!!

"Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. "
~ Psalm 127:3

True Meaning of Easter

     There have been many, many things that I have realized since becoming a parent.  I took my mom and dad for granted growing up, never really bucking the system or fighting them on rules, but also never really understanding the importance of some of the things they did with us growing up.  We always had family devotions together every morning before school.  Whether we liked it or not, we were to set our own alarm clocks, get up and get ready for school, and be downstairs at 7:00.  We would all get our own breakfast, sit down at the table and eat as a family, and then my dad always did devotions with us.  During the time leading up to Christmas morning we would learn a particular song each year as a family and sing it every night after dinner.  We would memorize verses in the Bible and recite them together... verses that to this day I can still recite from memory.  We would focus on the story of Christmas and do our advent calendar together as our morning devotions.  Our focus was always on the true meaning of Christmas rather than writing Santa a letter or making our own lists of what we wanted that year.  Same went with Easter... the true meaning of what happened so long ago, the death and resurrection of our Savior, were the focus.  We prayed and read scripture as a family.  Every event that we went through, whether it was good or bad, resulted in a conversation that revolved around our faith and our Lord.  Growing up, I never disliked any of these things and I know I am who I am today mostly because of them and what they did with us growing up, but I took it all for granted, thinking those were all things that many families did.
     Now as a parent myself, I am realizing that the deepest desires of my heart when it comes to my children are all stemming from what my parents did with me.  This past Christmas Chase really wanted to know the story behind what we were getting ready to celebrate.  It came naturally to me to start memorizing verses with him.  I was amazed at how quickly a two year old could memorize two verses out of the Bible.  He was a sponge, wanting not just to hear the story of our Savior's birth but truly understand it.  Now that Easter is quickly approaching, we have been focusing on the stories in Chase's Bible that focus on the events leading up to Easter.  Easter seems to be a little more difficult to explain on a 3 year old's level, with more events happening, but he is really starting to understand.  Today I was able to stop by the Christian book store and I found a cute little book that went through the true meaning of Easter.  Chase was so excited when I showed it to him.  A little later we were in the car and we were talking about why Jesus died on the cross.  I explained to him that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that on the third day he rose from the dead and that now He lives in Heaven with His father. I told him that because Jesus died on the cross, His blood covers all of our sins (all of our bad choices) and that when we become of his children we ask Jesus to come live in our hearts and forgive our sins.  Then one day we'll also go to Heaven and live with Jesus.  Chase sat there quietly for a few seconds and I could tell he was processing what I just told him.  He looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I want to live in Heaven."  I told Chase that his Daddy and I pray every day for the moment that he will ask Jesus to come live in his heart and we pray that from that point on he will live his life for Him, walking with him every day, reading his Word, and never taking for granted what God did so long ago in sending His son to this earth, to live a perfect life, be crucified, rise from the dead, and live in Heaven forever.  Before the conversation was over I started to tell him of all the people he knows who will go to Heaven one day... his Nana & Pop-Pop, his Ginga & Jupe, his Mommy & Daddy, all of his aunts and uncles (Matt and Sarah, Becky and Jason, Danny and Ashley, Brian and Brook, and Anna) and I started to tear up realizing just how blessed we are to have so many in our family who not only love the Lord, but pray daily for my children.  I was overwhelmed with God's love for us and how incredibly blessed we are. 
     More and more I am realizing how much my parents did for me by focusing on what is really important and instilling in me the desire to know Him and and keep my focus on Him regardless of what is going on, whether it is the busyness of the holidays or the excitement of Easter egg hunts.  I hope that as our children get older, our focus can remain on what is really important, instead of getting wrapped up in gifts, baskets, and candy. 

Fun Cowboy Party

We had Jacob's birthday party this past Saturday and what fun it was!  I decided a few weeks ago to keep it as low key as possible and that is just what I did.  We had all of our family over for pizza at noon and the cousins had a great time playing, while the adults were able to sit around chatting and watching the kiddos play.  At 1 we had just a few friends come over for cake and ice cream.  Jacob is a pro at blowing out candles... you would think he does it all the time!  After filling up on lots of sugar, Jacob tore into his presents.  Again, he knew exactly what to do and he went through them so fast I could barely keep up with who the present was from and what was in it before he was on to the next one. :)   After all the presents were opened we were able to take all the kids outside and they played their little hearts out!  That was huge for us because neither Chase or Jacob had napped and it was a great distraction.  Around 3:30 we let the boys crash for about an hour before waking them up.  It was such a great day, remembering how precious our time is with our kids and how quickly it goes by.  I have a feeling that I am going to blink and it will be time for his 3rd birthday!!

Enjoying BoBerry biscuits for his birthday breakfast!!

Three cousins ready to go out and play!!

Cake time... blowing out his candles after we all sang "Happy Birthday"

Digging into those presents :)

All the kids enjoying the nice weather!!

Thank you to all our friends and family who were there to help celebrate our little boy's 2nd birthday. It's crazy to me that I can now officially say I have a 3 year old and a 2 year old with one on the way! :)  We are so blessed!!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Jacob Michael!

I can't believe that 2 years ago today our Jacob was born.  We met our 2nd son at 11:30 am on that very exciting day.  We couldn't believe we were already adding another little one to our family, Chase was only 14 months old.  But we were so thankful for this 2nd little gift the Lord had decided to give us.  Charles and my mom were both allowed into the OR that day (thanks to one of the greatest OB doctors ever!) and it was so special to be able to share that with my mom.  She was the official videographer that day while Charles took the pictures to document that special time.  The videos are such an amazing thing to have to look back on and remember that day... although my Mom is about all you can hear on the videos :)  Charles had the same reaction to seeing his 2nd son as he did when Chase was born... love at first sight and we were both overcome with emotion.  Jacob came into this world looking much like his brother did and showing off what great lungs he had!  We were so thankful that the Lord had given us another perfectly healthy little boy. Greenville Memorial was swamped that day so we were stuck in recovery for what seemed like 12 hours but finally around 2:00 that afternoon I was put into a room and finally able to hold my baby boy.  I can't believe all that happened two full years ago!

 Dr. Moore showing you off just seconds after you were born.  There is nothing sweeter than hearing your baby's first cry.  It was love at first sight!!

Grandma put your first little outfit on you when you were just hours old.  Mommy still could not move due to the very powerful spinal she was given right before having you.

 Chase meeting you for the first time.  He loved you from the beginning!  (Notice the onesie Chase is wearing... my mom tried to find a "I'm the Big Brother" shirt for him but they did not make one in his size... I guess the industry doesn't think that big brothers come as young as Chase was. :)

Looking back over this past year in pictures, I am amazed at how much he has changed, grown up, and developed into a strong, loving yet very opinionated little boy.  We have challenges ahead but I know the good times with Jacob will be so much more!  Praying for the year ahead to be a great year, a healthy year, a year with no broken bones :), and a year where he will learn more and more about our Lord and how much He loves us!  

This picture was taken a year ago on Jacob's first birthday!

This is our big 2 year old!  I can't get over how much he has changed in just one year's time!!

Dear Jacob Michael,

  What an amazing two years this has been!  You keep us on our toes, you are constantly making us laugh, and you never stop trying to be just like your big brother!  You remind everyone so much of your Mom... not only are you the spitting image but you have one speed, fast!  There isn't much that will slow you down... except for a broken leg.  :)  You were 3 months shy of your 2nd birthday when you broke your leg while at church... Mommy and Daddy just thought you needed to "walk it off".  The next day you were at the orthopedist office getting a cast.  Once it started to heal you were off again and nothing was going to stop you!  You watch your brother all the time and repeat most of what he says.  Chase is so excited to start sharing a room with you soon... you are now in a big boy bed, although it has been more of a battle than we thought it would be!  We know you'll catch on soon and you'll know just what is expected.  You are so excited about becoming a big brother in August... we can't wait to see you fit into that role.  You eat anything and everything... you eat like you have never eaten before and like there is no tomorrow.  Mommy loves that she can put whatever she wants in front of you and there is no question whether you will eat it or not.  You are still a thumb sucker, which Mommy loves.  There is nothing better then going into your room at night to tuck you in and see you snuggled with your Bear-bear sucking away on that thumb.  You don't suck your thumb unless you are in your bed which is a good thing!   One day we'll tackle breaking that habit but for now it reminds me that you are still my little boy!  We pray for you every day.  We pray for you to truly understand what your Lord has done for you and one day give your life to Him.  We can't wait to see what He has in store for your life!  Above everything, we want you to learn to love Him with all of your heart and to put Him first. We can't wait to see how He is going to use you to impact the Kingdom!  You bring so much joy into our lives... what an amazing two years we have had and we look forward to many more years ahead!

We love you, Jacob!!