Murphy's Law

I entitled this Murphy's law because my last post was all about gratitude and being grateful for everything I have been given which I have been doing pretty good at least I thought. Anyway last week when we got the torrential rain here our little basement didn't do so hot. I was working a couple of night shifts and my poor husband tried to break it to me gently that our basement had flooded. WHAT??? Anyway not so much fun as we have had to gut the entire basement move everything from the basement to various places in my house and garage and have a continuous fan going and dehumudifier to try and dry the place out. This is not so good for my organized and neat personality. Clutter and I tend to not get along but here I am learning a lesson in patience and gratitude yet again. Patience in that it is going to be a long summer of living in the upstairs only so please please let the sun shine and gratitude because my husband is so handy and did a lot of work on his own. We have had so much help from our inlaws and the Barfuss's what we would do without them? On Sunday night we discovered more leakage in our spare room and our amazing hometeachers came over for a couple of hours and helped clear the room out. Total testimony to me of what the gospel is really about. My nephew Ben saved me on Friday night by coming over and watching Abby while Ryan did some demo work and then again on Sunday those Barfuss kids saved us again. So grateful to have such awesome neices and nephews so close. Abby has not been herself the last couple of days maybe she doesn't like caous (not sure how to spell that) either??
On a fun note a couple of weeks ago we took Abby out on her first canoe trip. It was so much fun and she loved it for the first half hour or so. We canoed out to where Ryan proposed to me AHH!! Okay we are kind of sappy but it was fun nonetheless. Theses are all pics of her in Grandma and Grandpa's canoe because we obviously couldn't take pics of ourselves.

Joelle and Nicole took such good care of Abby on Sunday and gave her her first pedicure. It was so cute and Abby was definitely having a riot.

Gratitude!

As I was looking over my blog I realized that my last entry doesn't seem too grateful and so I realized that I should stop worrying about being tired and busy and just enjoy life. Today as I was weeding the garden and flower beds and Abby was pulling up the flowers and eating the dirt I decided just to laugh and enjoy it.
Hopefully she doesn't have permanent damage as this morning she fell off the couch head first. I don't know why she thinks she is invincible.
Here is my top ten reasons to be thankful today:
1. The plants in my garden have all sprouted up. Love it!
2. My flower beds look great now. I always get behind later in the summer it seems so this year I am determined to beat those weeds.
3. My husband listened to my whole dramatic story of the day last night even though he was tired and had to get up early.
4.I made Abby laugh multiple times today and hearing that makes me so happy inside!
5. A healthy body and mind.
6. A warm and comfortable home.
7. The sun poked through those clouds a few times.
8. When I went to the grocery store the clerk ran and got me a coupon. So thankful.
9. Abby- So many reasons I love this girl and more and more each day. Isn't the development of a child so amazing?
10. Ryan- He is so amazing and so close to finishing his goal.

Anyway just a cheesy list but I wanted to make everyone smile instead of feeling down about their tired friend Jess!!! Have a great day!

Tired

Well it has been a long week and I am pretty much exhausted but oh well life seems to keep rolling along. This week at work I got put back in charge. I wasn't too excited about that since I feel like I am still trying to retrieve some lost brain cells from pregnancy. I felt totally scared that the decisions made over 12 very sick patients rests in my hands. On the other hand I guess it is a compliment that they think I am such a good nurse and can handle it. Maybe I should just start being a slacker you get less responsibility that way. As for being tired I did two shifts in a row this week which just about killed me. It is so funny because before I had Abby I did three sometimes four and seemed to manage. Am I getting old or motherhood plus work is way too much. Oh well it will only be for a while so I just need to buckle down and do it.
Last weekend was Stake Conference. Leadership went amazingly well. It was awesome. The broadcast was really great and since we didn't get the picture in our Stake Center due to some technical difficulties it really made me appreciate technology. The poor leaders of the Stake were trying so hard to get it to work. I think it turned out great because you really had to focus with nothing to look at.
On an exciting note my garden is already coming up and it is so fun to watch green things popping out of the ground. Yesterday Abby and Ryan went to the greenhouse while I was sleeping and picked up some plants for the yard so now I got those planted. I love this season. It is so beautiful everything is so green and the bugs are at a minimum now this rain can stop anytime so I can go outside and play. Here is a cool pic Ryan got of the ferns coming up.

Spring is Here

Well it has been a while since I wrote a post and it seems like a lot has happened. It finally feels like spring and I have finally got all my flower beds weeded and my garden planted. Yeah!!! I like to pretend I have a green thumb. There is something so exciting in planting seeds and watching them grow. Some sort of therapy for me I guess. My amazing husband even built a fence to protect it from the killer bunnies in my neighborhood. I planted lettuce this year and last time I attempted this vegetable they ate it all in fact no leaf of lettuce landed on my plate. So hopefully I will have a salad from my own garden later this summer. Here's a pic of the fence so far it even keeps Abby out we will see how long that lasts.
Abby has taken off this week. She has been taking steps for awhile but has just caught on to the actual movement of walking. It is really fun to watch her go.
We made it to the playground last week and it was so fun. It is so much fun to have family time. It makes me very excited for when Ryan is done school. Everyone keeps telling me that he won't be any less busy but I am excited nonetheless.





Today as I was weeding the flower beds Abby discovered dirt. She was playing in it and attempted a few mouthfuls which I luckily caught. I love that she loves the outdoors it is awesome. She loves walking around pushing the stroller or her little walker today she found a new love and that is the lawn mower she wanted to mow the lawn with her Daddy so we gave her a minute of fun.

Other than my beautiful daughter and her little antics not too much else going on. Ryan just wrote his midterm for his course which will end in June yeah!!! I have done a few more shifts at work. I learned a good lesson the other day that I am not a superhuman. I attempted to work a night shift and then come home and be a Mom all day. It didn't go so well. For those who know me well you know I am not that great when tired so lesson learned and childcare will now be found. It feels like nothing has changed at work but every shift I come home and am so grateful to be healthy and have a healthy husband and daughter. It is a great lesson. On a very excited note I have been biking to work it is a little less than 10km each way. It feels so good and I never thought I would be able to do it so here's a thanks to my hubby for encouraging me. You are the best!
As for my stress this Saturday is Stake Conference and I am doing an hour long leadership on primary music. This always stresses me out because I never feel like I know enough to be teaching at least this time I have actually had the calling. Last time I did this exact thing I had never taught kids and I didn't have any kids of my own. So if you are thinking about me on Saturday say a little prayer for me.
I forgot this is what Abby loves most at the park. So cute.

The Mothers in My Life

As Mother's Day approaches it brings me to reflection. I have been a Mom for a year now and I think since I have become a Mom my appreciation for my Mom has increased 100 fold.
My Mom was a pretty special gal since I was number 7 of 7 I feel kind of spoiled because I got her all to myself when I was old enough to know that she was all mine. I cannot even thank her for everything but here are a few reasons I think she is pretty cool.
I took piano for ten years and my Mom drove me to every piano lesson, exam, and recital. I played volleyball and basketball and once again my Mom drove me to every practice. She always encouraged me to believe in myself and always encouraged me to follow my dreams. Spiritually she was my rock. My one observation growing up of my Mom was her dedication in her visiting teaching. I remember going with her often to appointments and she always went early in the month and always did something special for her ladies. She is a true example of charity to me. She is an amazing Mom and now I see her as an amazing Grandma. This is a pic of her with Abby when Abby was one month old.Happy Mother's Day Mom we love you!!!!

Now since I got married I have another Mom who is pretty awesome. Ever since I met Ryan his Mom has treated me like one of her own and I am so grateful to have her as part of my family. She is a great support to our family here and if I could list the number of things she has done for us since Abby came along you would fall asleep reading our blog so I won't but she is a great lady and a great example to me. She is also a great Grandma and I know that Abby loves visiting her and spending time with her. Happy Mother's Day Mom we love you!!




Now just my own reflection on motherhood the last year has had so many ups and downs and so many different experiences. I can't believe how much I have learned and how much I have yet to learn. I am so grateful to be a Mom and have a beautiful healthy daughter and I hope that I will always remember to cherish her. Happy Mother's Day everyone!!!!!

Goodbye old Friend

Yesterday Ryan sold his car to a really nice couple who actually have the time and money to fix it up to its original state. So exciting. Although we are sad to see it go it was exciting to get the cash and use it for things that we need. This is the only pic that I can find at the moment.I definitely thought it was a pretty sweet car when I met Ryan. We went for a few romantic cruises with the amazing stereo Ryan put in it. So if Ryan looks sad the next week we all know why.
On a super exciting note we booked our summer vacation to go to Nova Scotia. I am so excited since I have never been more East than the Toronto airport and it will be great to see Ryan's extended family for the first time.

A Week of Firsts

Well it has been a pretty exciting week here at the Smith house. First of all Abby turned one. Can you believe it? Like where did the last 365 days go? It took me back and I was thinking about a year ago how I just had her and was like totally how am I going to be a Mom and oh yeah it is a year later and I still wonder that from time to time but I am so grateful to have my little pumpkin.Her birthday party was a lot of fun. We had some family over and made yummy homemade pizza.

Thanks to our wonderful family we can now play at the beach in a swimming suit with some cute toys and go canoeing safely. She also got an adorable outfit from her Aunt Leslye. No picture of that because it is too big still.
I let Abby have angel food cake and she literally put the whole piece into her mouth. I have been a pretty typical first time Mom not letting her have much sweets so she dug right in to the angel food cake. She wasn't too interested in blowing out the candle just kind of stared it down.

Lastly I went back to work part time. I had my first shift on Thursday and wouldn't you believe it I walked in to get my patient assignment and they had given me a student. Oh boy. I felt sorry for the poor girl but she was really great and helpful to me. It felt like I haven't left and the same sad stories and sicknesses are still out there happening. We had a 18 year old die of cystic fibrosis.It sure hits home now that I have a baby at home. It makes you truly grateful for a healthy baby. Plus it gives me incentive to be as healthy as possible.
I just noticed as I looked at the pics that her Daddy isn't in any of them. Don't worry he was at the birthday party just being the camera man. I am sure Grandpa got a few of Dad.
By the way my flowers in the backyard are blooming can I really say that it is spring? Finally!!!!!