Coffee CubBuster

It always amazes me that I pride myself on having such a great memory, yet I have to learn some of life's greatest lessons over and over again. (It just goes to show how much we need guidance and wisdom in this world.) Too often my mind travels to a place of pride whether it be of my gifts or my circumstances, and I begin to pat myself on the back as if I accomplished such things with my own strength. Recently Matthew and I were simply discussing the joy of watching the beauty and pure love pour out of our son. We couldn't believe what an amazing little boy he was and how often he was obedient, joy-filled, and sympathetic towards others. I mean what almost two year-old could be as wonderful as our Silas (which we never said out loud, but I'm sure we both thought it)? While this moment of parental pride may seem harmless and even "normal" in our society, I know that my mind went to a place of pride because I was immediately humbled the days following this conver...

Who needs to adjust to a three hour time change when you are only going to be there three days? You basically have to change an hour a day and then start all over when you get home. But when you wake up every morning around 4 am, it makes for a long and tiring day. Yet, it was all worth it to visit my family in San Diego. The joy Silas brought my grandmother who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's will always be etched in my memory. There's nothing like the playfulness of a child to make you forget your memory is lapsing. Kids don't know the difference, so it helps break down those self-conscious barriers we all naturally form when we are told we have an illness we can't control. Kids don't judge us as harshly as we judge ourselves. It's an unappreciated gift. Silas has already been to California, but each trip is a first for him. That's a joy I wish we all possessed! This was the first plane ride where Silas was actually distracted by the iPad (...

The holidays always come and go kind of like a tornado. There's that calm before the storm in which I watch my favorite song on YouTube in order to get in the right mindset:  "Here With Us" by Joy Williams. It's amazing, and I've already decided it will be played when I pass away from this life. I sit with my best friend listen, stare at the beautiful lights on our simple Christmas tree and try to focus my heart and mind on what it means to celebrate the birth of my Savior. It's my favorite part of the holidays by far. Then the wind comes. Family is in; family is out; friends are sprinkled around if your lucky; meals are consumed; presents are given and received; then there's the lightening of stress, especially when you have four Christmases to tackle with various degrees of personalities in play. But when it's all said and done, the normalcy of routine is resumed and the realization that life is not about special occasions, but the day-to-day love t...

There are some people who are crazy. Let's just call a spade a spade: they leave their lights up all year round and shop for Christmas gifts over the 4th of July. There are others that sync up Thanksgiving and Christmas as if they are one holiday together. Then there are those like myself who must wait until the day after Thanksgiving to fully embrace to season of Christ's birth. I always wait until at least the day after to turn on the carols and drink the gingerbread latte. But for some reason this year, I couldn't wait for Christmas. I of course sat on my hands and waited until the 28th of November, but man was I ready to get into the season sooner than normal. I think it had something to do with how rough our fall was this year. I was just ready to start a new season fresh. Yet, even though my mind and heart were ready to be merry and bright all day long, we couldn't really get our act together at the Smith house. With weddings, birthday parties, and stomach bugs, ...

We traveled down to St. Simons again this year for a wonderful long week of Thanks. Although our little man was under the weather, which made traveling a bit hard on mommy and daddy, we were still constantly giving thanks for our family that gave so much of themselves. After the busy week was over, I realized I'm definitely not the typical mom because I barely snapped a single shot of film (well of iphone film) the entire time we were gone. I blame it on the other little one growing in me and making me forgetful. Uncle Kevin was the only family member lucky enough to catch a pic with the traveling clan. This bird feeder made Silas' day because it made chasing birds a lot easier. He didn't quite understand that the bread was for the birds, not Silas. The pooped Smiths are ready to start the Christmas festivities... after a little nap of course. ~TiredBuster

Lately it has been all too easy to complain. I won't vent you the details because that would just be my way of getting some sympathy, which by the way, I believe you'd give freely after hearing about the kind of month we've had here. Instead, I have found that the best cure for self-pity follows a step by step recipe. First, change your perspective. Seriously reconsider how well-off you are instead of what you're missing. Next, pour a good cup of strong coffee. After that, think about others who have it so much worse than you. Finally, look for way to serve and gift others. It will change your whole attitude. I found this yummy (yeah... I licked the spoon already) and easy recipe on Pinterest , that I plan to give to some of those people who have made my life easier. I'm truly thankful..... even when I don't think that way. I mean what is Thanksgiving without Thankfulness? ~ThanksBuster

I have never been good with numbers; I've never claimed to be good with numbers. In fact I will pretty obviously count on my fingers and toes when addition is required of me. However, I think numbers have been a reoccurring theme in my life lately. For instance, how many numbers will it take in dollars to fix our serious plumbing issue or how many numbers will be needed to help my poor car. We quickly realized those numbers were higher than desired. One of the biggest numbers that will change is the number of people in our family. God-willing, this May our family will increase from three to four!  Yep. Another Smith in the world to brighten every fall season. Yet, that's not even the biggest number that we've been focused on lately. After losing a baby in August, we were shocked to find out that we were pregnant so quickly. Actually if you count the weeks in the months, the numbers didn't add up. It was physically impossible for me to be as pregnant as the docto...