Cutest Baby in the Whole Wide World!!!

I went to the doctor today for my week 32 check-up. Everything was great, except Dr. Forrester was a little concerned that when he measured me, I only measured 29 1/2 weeks and I should have measured a little larger. He ordered an ultrasound since I wasn't with their clinic for my first one just to check and make sure the baby was growing properly. To my surprise, it was a 4-D ultrasound!!! So...I just HAD to share one of the ten pictures of the cutest baby in the world!!! :) In this one, you can see him/her trying to get a hand in the mouth!


Everything turned out to be fine-no growth problems whatsoever. The ultrasound showed the baby weighing about 4 pounds, 6 ounces and me actually measuring at a little over 33 weeks instead of 32. (Go figure...somebody try to explain how I can measure smaller on the outside and larger on the inside!) Also, from the ultrasound Dr. Forrester seems to think we are going to have a long baby. I guess he/she will have Pop Roger's (for those of you who don't know, that's my dad) legs! :)


Evan didn't go to this visit with me because we thought it was just going to be a routine check-up, so he missed out on the ultrasound. I called him, though, before I went in for the ultrasound to tell him what was going on and before I hung up the phone, he said, "Don't cheat." At first, I couldn't figure out what he was talking about, but then I realized he meant finding out the baby's sex. As tempting as it was, I promise, I still have no idea if it is a boy or a girl!!! However, as wiggly as this baby is, I still feel like it is going to be a boy. Even this nurse doing the ultrasound made a comment about how much our baby moves! She asked me if the baby was this wiggly all the time, and I answered her with a very affirmative "YES!"



On another note, (I told Evan to post this and he hasn't yet, so I will brag on him a little bit.) On Monday, Evan got back his first paper for his toughest class and made a B. He was relieved; this professor is pretty tough and the school has a it's own writing format in which Evan isn't all that familiar. I was excited for him because he really worked hard on the paper! I think he feels a lot better about turning in work now that he has a better idea of what the professors are looking for and is more familiar with the writing format.


Hope everyone is well! We love you all!

Home Sweet Home!

We survived another week in Louisville!

Evan and I had a good weekend, although he was a little bummed out because he didn't have anything outside to do! Since Evan is working from home and spends most of his time in the apartment during the week, it makes relaxing at home on the weekend a little difficult for him. So far, we have found two parks close to our apartment (within driving distance) and went out to walk at one of them Saturday evening. This particular one also has a public golf course, so hopefully Evan will get to go play some. It was a surprisingly nice evening-not too terribly humid, which made for a great walk.

We also had some visitors on Saturday-Mike, Tricia, Hannah, and Joshua Wakefield came by to see us for a couple of hours. For those of you who don't know this family, Mike was my youth minister growing up and I babysat their kids all the time. Anyway, the Wakefield's are just a really special family to me and are becoming that to Evan, too. They actually live in Nashville, but Mike was doing a conference somewhere about an hour from here, so they drove in Saturday morning to see the Louisville Slugger Museum and then came over to hang out with us that afternoon. We had a great visit and it's always nice to see familiar faces!

We went back to Ninth and O Baptist Church Sunday morning and again that evening. They were presenting their summer children's musical last night. It was pretty cute. After church, Evan and I did a Target run and then were invited back over to Gibson and Julie's house to hang out and eat leftovers with them. (We did take some ice cream to share!) This family has really been a blessing to us-helping us get plugged in and telling us about different places in the city. Julie is teaching a bible study at church on Thursday mornings that begins soon, and I am planning on getting signed up to attend. I think it will be a great way to meet some ladies and hopefully build some friendships.

The interview on Friday at the Huntington Learning Center went really well and I will start training there tomorrow. I am really glad to have something that will get me out and about a little bit.

I guess that is about all for now...I am posting apartment pictures with this entry. Obviously, you will be able to tell that the nursery is not finished. I still need some pillows for the twin bed and I am working on a couple of things for the wall. Sheila did a great job with all the bedding and curtains-I think they look fabulous and it was exactly what I wanted. If the baby is a boy, I want to add some red accents and if it is a girl, pink accents will be added, so really, the room won't be completely finished until after the baby is here. As far as the rest of the apartment goes, we are working on getting new drapes (solid green) for the living room and the dining room (if you want to call it that) needs some work, too. There is a big blank wall that needs something on it, I just can't decide what. The apartment is small and there are some tight places, (Evan's "office" in our bedroom) but it works for now and we couldn't be happier with our new home.

Oh, one more thing before I go...if you think about it, will you please pray about the situation with our car? Most of you know, but we ended up leaving my car behind in Fayetteville and really need to get rid of it. We would love for it to sell, but realize that may not happen, so we just need wisdom in what to do with it!

Thanks a bunch!

They say it's your birthday...

So, today is my 27th birthday. At first, I thought it was going to be a little hard to celebrate away from home, but the day has turned out to be a pretty good one.

Last night, Evan and I were just hanging out and I said, "Tomorrow is my birthday." He then replied with "Oh, no! I need to go to the store to get you a card." Any of you who know Evan well and have heard stories of his past gift-giving, know that special occasions are not his forte. He ALWAYS has really good intentions, but tends to have a hard time following through because he procrastinates. So, he comes back a little later and tells me how terrible he feels about not doing something for me sooner, and that he felt like leaving to go get a card and gifts was kind-of the cheap way out. At this point, my feelings were hurt, but I didn't want to let him know that too much, so I just told him that it was fine and not to worry about it, since we really had been busy the last two weeks. I then went to the bathroom and cried because I thought maybe I was being selfish by thinking that my birthday should be an important day for him, among all the busyness we have experienced lately.

So, I woke up this morning to a sweet note, another apology, and an offer to fix breakfast! He then asks if I want to open presents and I said, "You don't have any presents." Evan then says, "No, I don't, but Mom sent me with some and if I would have been smart I would have just put my name on a couple of those!" Of course, this made me laugh! We spent some time just visiting with each other this morning, which I enjoy because my main love language is quality time. I ended up spending the day getting the rest of my thank-you notes written and doing my favorite hobby...scrapbooking!

Evan redeemed himself by taking me to eat at The Cheesecake Factory for dinner (I know you are jealous, Kendra!) and then was at my mercy to finish hanging curtain rods and pictures the rest of the evening in our apartment, although he said he would have to finish the last few tomorrow because we didn't need to hammer at 10:00 at night out of courtesy to our neighbors!! Evan did a great job making the day that I thought was going to turn out horrible into a wonderful day!

Thank you to all who have called, sent cards, and given birthday wishes today. You have made my day very special!

As far as the rest of the week for me goes, it has been fine, I am just continuing to adjust to life in Louisville. I am very thankful that Scottie and Allyce have friends and family here-Gibson and Julie Largent and Carrie and Scott Yagar-because these two families have been a blessing to us as we are getting adjusted. Carrie called me out of the blue on Tuesday and took me around to the closest Target, Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market and Kroger. I had a great time getting to know Carrie better and am praying there is a friendship there to be developed. She is expecting her third child in September, which will be the perfect playmate for our little one to come! I have an interview with the Huntington Learning Center tomorrow. It is a place sort of like Sylvan; it offers tutoring services to struggling students. I am hoping something will work out. It probably won't pay that great, but the hours will be flexible and it will give me a reason to be out of the apartment some!

I promise I will post apartment pictures this weekend! Several of you have commented about wanting to see what our new space looks like! Sorry it is taking me so long to get those up and going!

This is a picture Evan took of me tonight and my growing belly. I swear our baby is in motion constantly, especially at night before bed! Evan is getting to feel and see the movement more than before. It has been fun to watch and feel!

We do love all of you! I know you are still praying for us, please keep it up! It's making a difference!

School and stuff

Well, I survived my first day of classes yesterday.
I'm taking 9 hours this semester and all three of my classes meet on Monday only. I start my day with a general math class at 8:30. That class gets out at 11:15 and then I have Hermeneutics from 11:30 to 2:15. My last class is Intro to Christian Missions which starts at 2:30 and lets out at 5:15. Sitting through three 3-hour classes, back-to-back, makes for a long day, but its going to allow me to work 8-hour days on Tuesday - Friday.
Yesterday, the main focus in each class was going over the syllabus, but we did get into some of the class material too. I think I'm really going to enjoy these classes. In addition to being really Godly people, all of my professors seem like they will be really good teachers and interesting lecturers too.
My Intro to Missions professor, Dr. Bruce Carlton, served 20+ years as a missionary in Asia. In 1989 he and his family were the first Baptist missionaries appointed to Cambodia. God used his family in a might way. During their stay in Cambodia, the number of Baptist churches grew from six in 1992, to 194 in 1998. The SBC estimates that there approximately 600 Protestant believers in Cambodia in the early 1990's and more than 60,000 by 1999, 10,000 of which were Baptists. And on top of all of that, when I told him I was from Fayetteville, he asked me if I knew where Elkins was, because his wife is from there. I told him I had just sold a house in Elkins in order to move to Louisville. Needless to say, I think his class is going to be fantastic.
I think Hermeneutics is going to be a really neat class too. I didn't really even know what Hermenutics meant when I signed up for the class, but it is apparently the science/art of interpreting the Scriptures. The professor, Dr. Joslin, said we will be learning how to interpret the scriptures from the standpoint of the author's original intent, rather than just looking at what does this mean to me. I think it will be pretty interesting and will be a big help in learning how to study God's Word.
My math class is basically just math, which isn't exactly anything I'm going to get very excited about. :-)
We visited a church called Ninth & O Baptist Church on Sunday. It's the church Gibson and his wife attend. Leah and I both really liked it. They run about 600 people on Sunday mornings, but they two services, so it didn't feel that big. It really felt about the same size as our church back home. A couple of members of the church came by last night to visit with us. The church just finished registration for its second season of Upwards Soccer and saw more than twice as many kids sign up as they had anticipated - the vast majority of whom are un-churched kids. What an awesome opportunity to share the gospel!
I asked the guys about their visitation program, because I was curious about how focused the church's members are on reaching out to others, as opposed to just having their own needs met. They said they have more than 100 members who actively participate in their G.R.O.W visitation program. I thought that was pretty great.
I'm sure we'll probably visit a few more churches, but I bet we end up joining there.
Anyway, that's probably enough for one post.
Hope everything is going good for all of you!

Live from Louisville! (and baby shower pics!)

Evan and I made it here safe and sound around 6:30 (Eastern Time) Monday evening. Our trip was long, but uneventful. We are so thankful for my Uncle Ford's help in driving the big moving truck and unloading. I don't know what we would have done without him! The apartment is great and surprisingly, there is tons of storage space. We are very pleased with everything so far and will try to post some pictures of the apartment sometime soon! Thanks to those of you who have called and for those who are praying...it is an encouragement to us both and we know it is making a difference!

I had my first doctor's appointment today. It went very well. I am pleased with my new doctor-he was very personable and thorough. For those of you wanting to know the baby's sex you might find this funny...he tried to predict the sex by the heartbeat and said that it was borderline. Normally, he predicts above 140 as a boy and below 140 a girl. I was right on 140! (I had always heard that old wives' tale as opposite!) My visits will are scheduled for every two weeks now and I am in the third trimester! It is so hard to believe that Baby Smith will be here so soon!

I am posting a few baby shower pictures from the weekend. I had a wonderful time at both showers and just couldn't believe all the baby stuff we received! Once again, I am overwhelmed by the generosity of others. I am convinced that this baby will be the most stylish baby in Louisville thanks to you guys!

Evan has orientation Friday and Saturday and begins classes on Monday. Please be in prayer for him!

Here is our new contact info, too!

Leah and Evan Smith

2708 Riedling Drive #4

Louisville, KY 40206

502-614-6151

emails and cell numbers are the same!

Love you all!