After much deliberation, we I decided now that we have a new member of our family, it was time to jump into the blogging world. I have spent many years stalking other blogs, but never really felt as though I had anything to share - at least not anything anyone would care about reading. However, now with the arrival of Parker and the abundance of out of town family, I thought now might actually be the perfect time. For the time being, much of what will be written will probably be about Parker and the adventures of our new little family. However, from time to time, there might be a post that doesn't exactly fit into that category. Either way, I figured this would be an easy way for family and friends across the country to keep track of our lives, if they really want to, as well as an opportunity to document this learning process we will go through as we jump from a family of 2 to a family of 3.
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| Ryan and I on our College Program where we started dating |
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| Our first dance as a married couple |
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| Our New Family |
To begin with, the first step was obviously naming the blog, which proved to be more difficult than I expected. Apparently "Smith" is a popular last name (who knew, right?) and any name/blog address that included Smith seemed to be taken, which is how the current title developed. With the title "A Little R & R" you have the obvious fact that it will be mainly about our lives and we are Ryan and Rebecca. Plus, now we have Parker, who is a little R & R. I think that is one thing I have found amazing since Parker joined us. Even at this young age, it's amazing how God takes pieces of both Ryan and myself and uses them to form this new human being, who will eventually take on characteristics of his own. And finally, the fact that in our lives, especially now, I think it's important to find time to have a little rest & relaxation. Especially with having a new little one, it's so easy to get caught up in schedules, responsibilities, chaos, and other aspects of every day life. It's important that we take time out to spend time with those we love and continue to nurture those friendships and family relationships along the way. We have been blessed this year with Ryan having weekends off, which is a rare thing with Disney, and I think it's important for us to take this year and use those weekends to really focus on our new family.
Now, to begin the real post. As many of you know, we welcomed Parker into our lives on July 2. Parker was named after my mother (her maiden name was Parker). While he may never know her, he will at least always have a piece of her through his name. We thought little Parker would actually arrive earlier due to the fact that he kept showing many signs, but he was content to wait it out and stay on schedule. Perhaps he will end up loving schedules and organization like his mother. His desire to wait until that specific arrival time was a preview of his content personality. So far, he has proven to be a very peaceful and (yes, I'll say it again) content baby. Regardless of when he arrived, we are simply happy to finally have him here. It truly is amazing how God can completely change your heart in a matter of moments and I am a perfect example of that as someone who was terrified at the thought of having and raising children who has been morphed into someone who can't get enough of the little man. I can't wait to see all that he will become and discover and what plans God has already put in place for his life. There is still quite a bit of fear, but a different type. A fear that comes from responsibility - a responsibility that God has given us to raise Parker in the way that He sees fit. A fear that I won't do all that I am supposed to or do right by him, but I guess that's where God's amazing grace and guidance come in - we don't have to do it all on our own.
We ended up staying in the hospital one day longer than expected due to issues during delivery. I don't think I have ever been more happy to see my house than I was the day we finally got to take Parker home. Since the moment we came home, we have been blessed by wonderful family and friends. Shortly after he was born, Ryan's family arrived from NY and Jacksonville to meet the little guy.
And of course, Aunt Rachel is always here.
Once Parker arrived, we have not been shy about taking him places. We figure the more and earlier he is used to things, the better, even though some people in public have disagreed and made sure we were aware of their disapproval. We have tried a couple times to introduce him to Disney, but with the intense heat of the summer, we just haven't felt quite comfortable. So instead, we settled for some pictures outside.
So instead, we simply decided to visit Animal Kingdom Lodge and look at the animals. For those of you who know me well, you will know this was a stretch for me and probably first of many "give-ins" as a parent because I'm not a big zoo lover. Don't get me wrong, I love animals, but simply looking at them behind cages/fences/etc for hours on end bores me. Plus, you get the usually horrible odor that goes with them. However, it was neat to get to look at them with Parker, even if he won't ever remember doing it.
So now you have a bit of insight into what has been going on in our world lately and how it has changed drastically. My hope is to keep up with this blog, as it is much easier to show family pictures and share stories seeing as how we are so far away from most of them. I'm sure as each day passes, we will have many new experiences, challenges, and adventures. I know we will make mistakes along the way and I know we have a lot to learn, but I also know that we feel extremely blessed by all that God has given us. We know that God has planned for this family long before we did and He has a purpose and goal for it. We can't wait to see what it is.
