Coffee CubBuster

Most three year olds love to ask "Why?" about almost anything. However, Levi's speech resembles more of a two-year olds despite his strong improvement this past year. Whenever he gets frustrated about something, he will either start screaming and crying or become destructive (Levi is only about as destructive as a small puppy compared to his wild dog brothers). When I get down and try to calm him, I'll ask Levi "why?" Why are you crying? Why did you throw that toy? Why are you screaming at the top of your lungs? Often times I already know the answer, or I could ask his older brother for a quick explanation, but I want Levi to practice those three-word sentences that he practices in speech therapy. Like in all of his therapies though, when something seems too difficult to explain with his minimal  motor-planning, too heavy to carry, or just too new and hard to imagine accomplishing in his little frame, Levi reverts to the exhausted tears or slap-happy giggle...

After a big life-changing event, it's nice to have a little honeymoon to rest and recuperate. We had some delayed honeymoons with all of our children except non-NICU number four. Little Luca, despite normal middle-night feeds, got to come right home and honeymoon. Now I know all babies are different, but for my kids it seems that the first couple months are a "honeymoon phase" where they may cry but its just because of standard baby woes. Once they hit around three months though, they'll have more difficulty adjusting to life outside the womb. Even if I may be a little sleepier, God seems to give me a glossy, slap-happy outlook on life after a new baby joins our family. However, don't be too impressed if you see me out with all my boys alone because as it says in Proverbs, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring" (27:1). Tomorrow may bring a new basket of hard, so I must simply trust God's grace will be sufficient for ...

Besides trying to remain a devoted blogger/personal journalist, I neglect to stay connected with many people via picture profiling. I confess, I often wonder if I am in some way neglecting my responsibility to keep my distant family and friends informed with constant photo uploads of my life and my children. But then I recall one of the most important memories of my life lacked any footage or photography, because we didn't have iPhones when I got engaged, and it didn't take away from the memory or the recalling of that moment to others. Instead, it allowed my fiancé and I to be fully in that special event. I just read an article by Greg Morse that speaks perfectly to this new phenomenon of "live-streaming" our days. Morse explains that our camera usage reveals three truths about our current condition: people fear death, seek immortality, and forget eternal hope because they are "memory hoarders." Let me give you a taste of Morse's own wisdom... " ...

The last picture I will probably ever take with a watermelon for a belly. We welcomed Luca Blair Smith on June 27, 2018. 6 lbs 13 oz, thankful he was strong even with making his own double knotted cord! Our first baby to avoid the NICU, Luca our Italian/Spanish  love got a 9.9 out of 10 on the Apgar score. To give you a reference, little Levi got a 2 at birth.  Couldn't be happier! We were so thankful to add another boy despite what people may guess. It's all we know now, and all we love! Proud papa, a great dad to raise godly men! I mean...  Sweet time together in the same room at birth. I've never experienced anything like it. I'm so accustomed to leaving the hospital without my baby that it felt like an utter gift to have everything happen so easily. Thank you Lord! My boys were excited to come visit! Time to leave the peaceful hospital and enter the loud Smith home.  Instead of jealousy l...

The week before our new baby was suppose to arrive in our home, there was a sort of bittersweet nostalgia that seems to accompany me before each new child arrives. It's that bitterness of losing the current comfortable experience mixed with the sweetness of getting to experience a new comfort. I know some people shudder at the thought of adding sleepless nights, additional noise, and another mouth to feed, but for some reason God has given me the gift of seeing new life with new eyes. The idea that I get to see new life form on Earth still astounds me. The knowledge that they are little for such a little time still moves me. And the understanding of how little control I have over each child's life still humbles me. There may have been a twinge of sadness thinking about losing our family of five, but remembering how sweet each addition has become gave me excited anticipation as we approached a family of six. We enjoyed the last week despite the boys getting sick prior to baby...