So sorry about the delay in updating this website.  What a crazy time it has been for us since Vivian’s birth. Vivian is growing quickly, and is a wonderful, beautiful and loving little baby!!  She is a great sleeper and this month (April especially) she has really begun to interact with people and respond to her surroundings.  On April 28^th, she received the sacraments of Baptism, Crismation (Confirmation) and Holy Communion.  The ceremony was held in Dt and Opa Smith’s home chapel.  Fr. Naim, Mom and Dad Abdalla’s family pastor in Cleveland, came down to perform the ceremony.  Aunt Veronica McGraw and Fr. Iheanyi Enwerem are Vivian’s godparents.  What a glorious day.  After the ceremony, Vivian began chattering and giggling and has been lively every since!  Her entire face smiles when she is happy.  She is now reaching for things and loves to be included in the craziness of our daily lives.  She has a very calm disposition and is very patient with the hustle and bustle that surrounds her.

Emma and Ruthie are in love with their new little sister.  Emma is very maternal.  She is gentle and very responsible around the baby.  Ruthie is a very happy 1 1⁄2 year old and thus is (unintentionally) a bit rough around the baby. 

The day after she was born, I got a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in my lung).  It was a very traumatic experience both physically and emotionally.  I was in the hospital for about one week and I was able to have the baby in with me.  Steve went back and forth from the hospital quite often to take care of our girls.  What a caring and gentle husband I have.  I am on Coumadin (blood thinning medication) for 6 months and look very forward to the day I can stop taking it!  It is a pain to have my blood drawn 2 times a week to have my levels checked, but I am just glad there is a medication available to save my life!! 

My entire family was in Mexico on Christmas holiday when I gave birth to Vivian (11 days early), so Steve’s Mom was with us a week before the birth and three weeks following.  She was most amazing in every way!  Our children were well loved and completely taken care of while I was unable to care for them myself.  I have no idea how she was able to muster the energy to, not only keep up with two small children, but to take care of EVERYTHING else in the meantime.  We are so grateful for the gift of her. There is nothing like having your mom around when you are sick…….this is true, but I must say that my mother-in-law was a terrific substitute for my mom until she could return from Mexico. 

My emotional healing is ongoing, but has improved tremendously.  I suffered from significant anxiety post-birth and post-embolism.  God’s grace has been abundant and we are so thankful for the new perspective we have gained from this entire experience.  We have grown closer to each other and definitely closer to our Lord.  Life is a precious and delicate gift and that is very easy to forget sometimes.  We hold closely to each other and hold closely to God.

Emma has blossomed so much.  She is becoming such a little lady.  She insists on dressing herself every day and has quite the eclectic taste, I must say.  She loves to accessorize!  Never does she leave the house without at least one hat (or tiara), a necklace of some sort, at least one purse and, of course, some outrageous shoe selection!  Feminine from head to toe is our Emma.  She is extremely neat and tidy.  Each of her things has a specific place and she cares well for them.  Emma has a very sensitive heart and feels very strongly about things and for people.  She has a fantastic memory—the type that can remember the lyrics to a song when she has heard it only once or twice.  Emma is crazy about music, especially the soundtrack from Mary Poppins.  Her imagination is extraordinary.  She still asks me to be some of her favorite characters (such as Cinderella, Pooh, Ernie, Mary Poppins, etc.).  She will say to me, “Mary Poppins.  Mary Poppins, are you there?”  I’ll then try to reply in my best British accent.  Well now Ruthie is picking up on all of the characters Mommy can be.  Ruthie will say to me, “Elmo, watch this!” as she does a forward roll or something.  It is hilarious how differently these girls act when I am pretending to be one of their favorite characters.  Ruthie will do anything Elmo asks, but not everything Mommy asks.  The same goes for Emma.  It is pretty funny.  Emma is reading 3 letter words and is learning simple addition.  She can ride her bicycle very well and constantly wants to learn more things.  What a fun summer this is going to be!

Ruthie is our little firecracker.  She has exploded in personality in the past 2 months.  She is funny, laid back, determined, agile, musical, very loving and witty.  She ADORES Emma.  It is amazing how the second child imitates the first.  She is constantly copying Emma and copying quite well….she really keeps up with her big sister!  Emma and Ruthie are complete opposites in character.  Ruthie is a little tornado that is constantly moving from one activity to another.  She can wreck a room in 2 minutes because she is so busy!  She talks in complete sentences and has a wonderful vocabulary.  One day Ruthie sneezed in the car and said, “God bless you, me!” She is irresistibly cute.  She has a head full of adorable curls and she bounces when she walks.  Her little run is absolutely hilarious.  Ruthie is very entertaining at morning Mass every day…she likes to shout her “Amens” and “Alleluias,”she very prematurely offers the sign of peace to the people sitting all around us, she leaves the pew to run toward the altar and wave to the priest, she genuflects by squatting with both legs bent.  People can’t help but smile when Ruthie is around.  She will wave her hand toward you and say, “Mon” (c’mon).  Even if you just sat down after a long day, you can’t resist getting up and following that little child.  She loves to give kisses.  Ruthie is very coordinated.  She can even gallop!  It is the cutest gallop you will ever see.

From the end of March to the end of April, we were down in Naples, Florida with my parents.  We needed to leave the cold gray days of Indiana winter and get some sun and relaxation after a very strenuous previous 2 months.  It was so good for all of us and the girls just loved waking up to Dt and Opa every morning.  On our way down to Naples, we stopped in Orlando for a visit to Disney World.  Princess Emma was elated to be near Cinderella’s castle!  Emma walked around Disney in her sparkly pink shoes and this huge, fluffy tutu.  She wore a crown and big pink beads too!  She was quite a sight!

While in Naples, we rested, went to daily Mass together and played.  We also visited with a couple of friends who live in Naples.  We were even able to find time to play a little golf.  Emma and Opa fed the birds on the beach almost every evening.  Both girls honed their swimming skills.  Ruthie is a little underwater fish!  She jumps in the pool and swims under the water for several feet!  Emma swims well (above water), and can nearly swim the entire length of the pool!  She is still uncomfortable putting her face in the water, but we have all summer to work on that.   We spent Easter with Dt and Opa, which was very special for us all.  The girls made precious and unforgettable memories with their grandparents.

Well, that will wrap it up.  Hopefully we can get the website back on track each month now that things are settling back in. Thanks for checking in!