There is a new Smith dog in the world.
Meet Carli Rose Smith, a poodle/cocker spaniel.
Not to worry. Summer is still alive and kickin’. Carli belongs to the Floridian Smiths.
After many years of thinking about getting a dog, they finally went ahead and did it. I’ll let you guess whether or not Noah and Madi are excited about it.
While we’re on the subject of Floridian Smiths, here’s Meagan’s Facebook post on August 10.
Bags are packed. Lunches made. Four clean babies. One mess of a mom.
Tomorrow starts a new season for our family. Noah and Madi will be returning to OCA for 1st and 2nd grade. Grayson and Andrew will be starting daycare. I’ll be returning to the classroom. AND to make it even more exciting, Nathan was just promoted to Manager of his department with Publix! All these changes in one week.
Life is definitely exciting. We are blessed and thankful. Here’s to praying for a good first day!
I never cease to be amazed at the way Nathan and Meagan juggle and manage all the pieces of their lives–especially on not much sleep. They make an incredible team.
One of my long time readers, Ellen W., left a comment that said,
Have you ever shared how/why you chose Sarah Elizabeth’s name? And Nathan’s? Maybe you could put it in your next Thing Post and then we can share how we chose our kid’s (or pet’s!) names in the comments! I love names and their origins!
Ellen, you and Sarah would have a great time sitting down and talking. She was the only teenager I knew who collected books of names and their meanings; she’s always been fascinated by that subject.
And when we have the guys from Dare Challenge come for Thanksgiving, we always put out a place card for each one with their name and its meaning. That always means so much to them, to the point that some of them ask if they can take the place card with them.
I don’t really have a big dramatic story about how we chose our kids’ names. We wanted them to have Biblical names and we wanted the names to have significant meanings. (Sarah: princess, Nathan: gift of God.) Other than that, I guess we just liked the way they sounded.
I have had turmeric recommended to me a few times over the years but never tried it until recently. I’m happy to say that it has decreased my hand pain by at least 50% and, if I’m not imagining it, has actually decreased the swelling in my inflamed finger. Just want to encourage you to give it a try if you’ve been meaning to but haven’t.
On another health note, Steve and I sat down this week and made sure our ICE (In Case of Emergency) numbers, medical info, and meds were all up to date on our phones. If we were suddenly taken ill (think bee sting and trip in an ambulance), the EMTs are trained to quickly find that that info. They would know who to call (for instance if I was driving alone and had an accident) ) and know our blood type and what allergies/medical conditions Steve or I have.
So this is your friendly public service announcement of the day: be sure to update your medical info on your phone.
Here is a surprise breakfast Steve made me recently when I wasn’t feeling well. He makes such good omelets; mine always end up as a pitiful amalgam of gooey and crispy. If you’re wondering what’s on the muffin, it’s lingonberry jam from IKEA. (You can also order it on Amazon.)
IKEA serves it with meatballs and mashed potatoes and it is wildly popular there. Since Gage, especially, is a huge fan of it, he and Sarah served it at their wedding reception with the mashed potatoes.
I got into a Missing Nathan Mood yesterday and gathered up a few photos of him to make me feel a little closer. These two photos popped up together and I had to smile. Photo One: Nathan holding Noah and Madi. Photo Two: Ken holding Nathan and his older cousin, David.
Full circle.
I’ll never forget the day this photo was taken. Nathan had been home for a bit and was getting ready to go back to Florida to college. We were on the top of Jockey’s Ridge near sunset and all I could think was, “Everything is changing. My kids are growing up and they’ll both soon be gone.” And I just started boo-hooing.
But for every tearful photo, there are a trillion happy ones.
My kids did go away but they found some precious people to make their own homes with. I am so proud of all of them.
I recently discovered this site called Rick’s Daily Tips. Not only does he give clear-cut, practical advice about cell phone and computer problems/questions, he also welcomes questions from his readers about technical things they’re struggling with. He also talks about real-life stuff, like how to quickly find if a flight has been delayed, how to find the best point between two cities if you want to meet someone halfway, how to make your house look lived in when you’re on vacation, etc.
I get a daily email and I quickly scan through the three or four topics he covers that day. If something seems like it would be helpful, I click on that article and then save it to my bookmarks in a Rick Folder. Even if you don’t want to subscribe, you can go to the site and search past posts for a question you might be having. I love that he writes in real people language, not computer language.
A couple of Sundays ago, Steve was going to take two of our new worship teams members to lunch–two fellas who have both graduated from Dare Challenge. When I heard what he was planning, I did a quick mental inventory of my refrigerator to see if I might have anything I could throw together so they could come to the house instead.
We had just had a “sandwich gathering” with someone else so I happened to have a couple of kinds of deli meat in the house, as well as some cheese. There wasn’t a whole lot of bread available but then I remembered some Mission brand street tacos I had bought–they’re round, flat shells, a little thicker than a tortilla, and delicious.
I had chips and I had watermelon on hand so we were good to go. (I also invited Sarah and Gage.)
Once we got home from church, I just opened my fridge and started chucking things onto the counter: shells, lettuce, tomatoes, cheeses, meats, mustard, mayo, onion. Messiness abounded.
I then pulled out a large electric griddle and put it in the middle of the bar where it would be accessible to everyone. The guests’ task was to create their own sandwich–pile on whatever cheese or meat they wanted and then toast it on the griddle.
It provided a lot of chaotic fun and perfectly illustrated the difference between entertaining and showing hospitality. There’s nothing wrong with entertaining–lovely plates, napkins, and soft music are all wonderful and I often utilize those when I have people over. But I never want to not have someone over just because I can’t always provide gracious dining.
During the course of the meal, we got to talking about dramas and musicals. Gage referred to one he had been in and then, to our collective amazement, sang a very difficult song he had done in that musical. I missed the first part but filmed most of it. (Lighting is not real good but at least you can hear him.)
Considering he hadn’t even thought of that song in I don’t know how long, he did an amazing job! (Lyrics are printed after the video.)
So there you have it! All sorts of all varieties of all sorts of things today.
What about you? If you have children, was there a particular reason you chose a child’s (or pet’s) name? Let us know!Do you use any herbal remedies that have been helpful to you?Are you an IKEA fan? Or a lingonberry jam fan?Does your style lean more toward entertaining or hospitality? Both are great!How long would it take you to memorize Gage’s song? I’m thinking about a year for myself. 🙂
Yay! A thing post!
* Oh. my. goodness! Carli Rose is adorable! I can’t see how they’re going to get anything done- I’d want to just sit there with her all day!
* Wow, the Floridian Smith’s are busy! But I know that Nathan and Meagan have it all together. They are such a great team! Hoping they both do great in their new jobs!
* My son is Matthew James. His middle name is my Father’s first name. I had a whole list of names (Beckett, Bryce, etc.) but, my then husband loved the book of Matthew from the Bible, so that Is how he got his name.
* I have heard of different spices helping certain things. I’m glad that you tried Turmeric and it worked for you!
* I had no idea phones had that option. I will look to see if mine does. I do have my sister listed as “sister” and my Dad listed as “Dad” just in case someone needs to call them for an emergency.
* Yummy looking omelet. I only eat my eggs scrambled or in omelet form and they have to be totally done- no runny part left. Steve did a great job!
* Aww. Aren’t pictures so special?! I often look at pics of my Mom. She’s been gone for 3 years now and I miss her terribly!
* I love finding new sites online. Rick’s sounds interesting. I’ll have to check him out.
* I love a good sandwich. I’ve never had them in such a fancy way before tho =) I’ll have to try it!
Hope you all have a blessed week!
Krista,
You are the Comment Queen, replying about each part of the Thing Post!
What a great name for your son and what a wonderful reason to name him that–because of a love for a book of the bible.
I don’t know what I would do without pictures, especially of those who I love who are gone. I’m glad your pictures of your sweet mom are such a frequent part of your life; they bring back so many memories. Hugs.
If you are into finding ways to incorporate more turmeric in your day to day diet, look up golden milk or golden latte! It’s a delicious warm beverage that incorporates the milk of your choice (dairy or not) + turmeric and ginger. It’s the perfect drink of choice for fall and winter + all the great benefits!
Joly,
I think someone else mentioned golden milk. I just love the name of it! 🙂
I’ll definitely look up a recipe; always nice to have a new drink for fall, especially since I don’t drink coffee.
My dog’s name is Maccabee — because he was born on the first day of Chanukah. My daughter, Hannah Rose, was named for my two grandmothers. The Hebrew word for rose 🌹 is Shoshana, but we chose to go with Chana Vered for her Hebrew name instead of Chana Shoshana, because I think Chana Shoshana sounds like a cartoon character. Vered is the Hebrew word for the color rose.
Laurie,
A Dog Named Maccabee. Sounds like a children’s book title; love it!
I agree that Chana Shoshana might be just a tad sing-songy. 🙂 The change you made is perfect.
Our daughter’s name is Mari Christen (yes, that is her first name, with no hyphen, which someone once told her you cannot do and that you must have a hyphen. Really, what about Mary Ann). Any way, we liked Mari because it was our flower girl’s name. And then we liked the spelling of Christen because it had Christ in the name. And our dog came with his name, Bear. If we had chosen his name, it would have be Chai Tea Latte, Chai for short. So sometimes, we call him Bear Chai Tea Latte.
Nicole,
The way I look at it, there ARE no rules for naming our children. Mari Christen is such a lovely name, especially with Christ included in it.
And your dog’s names are delightful. I’m quite sure there is no other dog on the planet who shares his name. 🙂
I love “thing” posts!
I love the new puppy and Noah and Maddie seem to “share” her well! How sweet!
Names…our first born, Jacob, was named the masculine form of mine and my mother’s first name plus my dad’s middle name. The second son was named Matthew because he was definitely our “gift of God” as he wasn’t supposed to live. He’s now a Senior at UGA in Mechanical Engineering. Yay God!
I’ve never eaten lingonberry or been to an IKEA. I should try both sometime!
Gage is pretty amazing being able to remember and sing on cue a song like that!
Gatherings…I like gatherings a lot but I’m pretty bad about just doing them! I need to do better. We do “host” many times a year but I do like the simplicity of just throwing something together or ordering pizza or having folks just bring something to complement what I have. I would love to just do a weekly “game night” with desserts but sometimes our schedules make a mess of consistency so it’s hard to plan well.
Suzanne,
Jacob and Matthew: wonderful names, especially with the family background. And how great to hear that your “gift of God” who wasn’t supposed to live is alive and VERY well! So glad.
Funny you should mention game nights; we actually did one last night and it was so much fun. I think people are kind of tired of screens and to go back to the old way of entertainment is great! So glad to hear that you host meals/games often. Keep it up!
Thing Posts are fun !
Love the photos of Noah & Madi holding Carli Rose and the photo of Noah, Madi, Andrew & Grayson. Meagan and Nathan are my parenting heroes. Congratulations to Nathan on his promotion with Publix. On behalf of all label reading shoppers we very much appreciate his efforts.
I always notice bountiful mounds of turmeric root at Whole Foods. So glad that it’s helping you Becky. Ginger root is my remedy for occasional indigestion. A very small slice works magic !
Such sweet expressions of love in the Jockey’s Ridge photo and Steve’s breakfast photo.
The ability to entertain casually is to be admired. I believe that Gage has real talent ! Broadway and Hollywood are searching for him !
We appreciate you so much Becky.
‘Rock on’ Smithellaneous !
Gloria
Hmmm. I’ve noticed turmeric root at a grocery store before; I’ll have to pay attention next time! I’ve heard that ginger is good for nausea; glad to know it works so well for you. Isn’t it nice to be able to discover (and use) natural remedies?
Thanks for your encouraging words; very much appreciated.
Our daughter is LaRae Arzu. LaRae is my middle name and Arzu is her Turkish name meaning “longing, wish or desire.”. She was adopted as an infant when we lived in Turkey and full-filled our dream of becoming parents. Her son is Spencer, named after my husband’s grandpa. Love Ikea and visited often when we lived in Iceland in the early 90s. Our Swedish exchange daughter introduced us to lingon berry jam. Yummy! What brand of turmeric do you use? Thanks for your beautiful, heartfelt posts.
Connie,
LOVE Arzu, the name itself, the meaning, and the reason you chose it. Adoption stories just warm my heart a hundred different ways.
Wow–you’ve been around to a few places! Turkey and Iceland . . . I’m sure there are more if you’ve been to those two.
I just use the CVS brand of Turmeric.
How wonderful, at least in the picture, that Noah and Madi want to “share” their new family member. What a cutie. I love that song and Gage did a great job. I like it because I try not to hold my breath as the one who sings the song has a lot of words to say during a short span of time. My daughter’s name is Dawn Michelle. The middle name is after a song that was popular in the 60’s and my husband (well boyfriend at the time) and I liked it – Mechelle, my bell, these are words that go together well, my Mechelle. Believe Michelle was the name of the song, but they pronounced it Me-chell. Our son – we just liked the name – Todd Michael. Have heard that cinnamon is also good for arthritis. Don’t take it every day, but have heard good results. Now that’s the way to have a great get together – sandwiches everyone can put together themselves. Know they had a great time.
Sharyn,
Oh yes, I remember that song. I have always liked it. Funny that you and your then-boyfriend liked the song and then remembered liking it when it came time to name your daughter.
I’ve started adding cinnamon to a few things; glad to have a natural remedy that actually tastes good. I’ve especially been sprinkling it on my oatmeal which is a wonderful touch.
I wouldn’t even begin to try to memorize that song!! My gosh!!
We chose Jennifer (Lind) because Jenni Lind, the Swedish Nightingale, is actually an ancestor of my husband’s family. We chose Jack Gregory because both of our dads are Jack…he, along with his dad and 2 grandpas, all have the JGL initials ❤
The new puppy is adorable!!! She will be well loved!!
LeeAnne,
That is so cool to be related to Jenni Lind. I loved reading about her in elementary school. And so funny that you married someone whose dad’s name was the same as your dad’s name. The Jacks have it!
Great post! I don’t know if I could EVER memorize Modern Major General – I think I would have trouble with the lyrics even with them in front of me. The newest Smith dog is absolutely adorable and what fun the the little Smith-lettes! Congrats to Nathan on his promotion and Best Wishes to Meagan as she returns to the classroom (what a challenging time to be returning)! I’ve never been to Ikea nor tried lingonberry jam; but your omelet looks delicious. I am definitely going to check out Rick’s daily tips – that sounds like something I would really enjoy – thanks for the tip. Have a wonderful week!!
Sue Ellen,
I promise you’ll love Rick’s Tips . . . AND lingonberry jam, if you ever find some. 🙂
That dog looks like their kids… same perky face! Funny.
Glad the turmeric is helping you.
Ruth
Ruth,
That’s a funny thing to notice–same perky face. But true! 🙂
I love your ‘thing’ posts! 🙂
1. I added Rick’s site to my Feedly feed. It looks great. Thank you!
I don’t know that we have any of those teary pictures like you showed us….but there could be many. Having our children grow up and fly the coop has been much more emotional than I expected it to be!
What a joy to hear about the great results from the turmeric! My husband and I take it also. You probably read this or were told, but the better turmeric supplements also contain black pepper. The pepper has it’s own anti-inflammatory properties and when combined with turmeric the turmeric works even better.
Another supplement that we take that I think has been very helpful is cinnamon. You can easily read up on the studies of its benefits–great effects on blood glucose, triglycerides, etc.
Blessings on you!
DeLynn,
So good to know about the addition of black pepper to turmeric; I will look for that the next time I purchase it. Learn something every day!
I had another reader mention cinnamon so it’s interesting to have it doubly recommended. Thanks for the good advice.
Becky, I would love to know more about you usage of turmeric. Is this topical or ingested? If ingested, what are you doing?
Jan,
All I’m doing is taking a capsule every morning. I know there is turmeric root but I wouldn’t even begin to know what to do with that or how to add it to food.
I’ve had great results!
Interesting, thanks! Best of luck to you for continued results in decreasing your inflammation.
The hospitality you describe IS gracious dining, in my opinion! My mom was never one to have others over, even my grown siblings and I, unless every detail was planned, and in place. I think our relationships suffered because of it. Now that she’s gone, I think of all the gatherings my siblings and I missed. We now rarely see each other as older adults, and the cousins barely know one another. I love reading about your get-togethers. Totally my style of hosting, and thankfully, my husband’s side too! There’s nothing wrong with the fancier entertaining method, but the gathering should be of utmost importance!
About a decade ago, my doctor hosted a lecture featuring a cardiologist who spoke of her issues with inflammation. https://www.drmonicaaggarwal.com/ Dr. Aggarwal is a huge proponent of turmeric. She overcame serious medical issues herself, with dietary changes. So surprising, as she was already a cardiologist when she came down with her problems! I use many of her recommendations now when I am suffering with pain and inflammation. I avoid all dairy, and my favorite healthy additions to my diet are turmeric, ginger and ground flaxseed, along with lots of greens. I’m so glad you found some relief with turmeric!
Yay for Nathan and his promotion! What a busy life the Florida Smiths are living! While I miss my kid rearing days, I do love the calmer life my empty nest offers!
Thanks, also, for suggesting Rick’s Daily Tips! He’ll be getting a lot of new subscribers now that you’ve shared!
Ann,
“The gathering should be of the utmost importance.” Such truth in those words. I’m sorry you don’t have many “eating together” experiences over the years. It sounds like you and your husband have made a chance to tradition and are opening your home often. Such joy in doing that and sort of a lost art these days.
Thanks for the link; I look forward to reading through the info. I’ve never used flaxseed; will have to figure out how to incorporate that.
The puppy is adorable!!! My daughter’s name is Kristen Kilpatrick Tousley, Kristen because I liked the name and her middle name of Kilpatrick is my mom’s maiden name, my middle name is Huntress which was my grandmother’s maiden name, we usually choose family names for middle names, my son is David Bennett Tousley, David after my husband and Bennett after my father in law and brother in law.
Dale,
Huntress. What a cool name! Sounds like it belongs in a novel. And especially cool because it was passed down. I love how your family has used generational and family names; a lovely tradition.
Meagan makes it look SO much easier than it must be. What a team she and Nathan have become! And what a marvelous example of real life navigating for their four babies and other couples watching. So glad the turmeric is helping!
Sheri,
Well said. They are some truly amazing people raising truly amazing little people!
I have only had a pup to name, and his name is Pepperjack, often called PJ. My sister is the manager of the cheese department at a little market, and we had decided a cheese name would be fun. Surprisingly, we have met two other Pepperjacks!
As for IKEA, definitely a fan 🙂
Robin,
How perfect is Pepperjack? It’s a sassy, fun name and perfect for a dog. I’m also surprised you’ve met two other canine Pepperjacks. Just when you think you have the only one, right? 🙂
I’ve actually never been in an IKEA. I need to go sometime!
David Adam..”beloved man of red earth”. It seemed appropriate for a Georgia boy. Berberine…look it up! I’ve never tried the jam OR the store. And my phone is password protected, so I have Chuck’s number showing on the password screen to make sure people can see it. Gage is incredible.
David,
Absolute perfect name for a Georgia boy. What a beautiful meaning!
Just did some reading on Berberine. Will definitely give it a try.
Love your look down memory lane with the pictures. Its a hard season when the kids are grown and on their own, even when we are happy for them. My oldest (and young grandaughter) have moved to Miami. Lots of tears for me this summer.
Like you, I chose Sarah because I love the sound of the name. Also, it helped that one of my favorite books as a child was ‘A Little Princess” and her name was Sara, altho I prefer the ‘h’ on the end. I also tend toward more plain names- James, John.
I haven’t tried any herbal remedies and I enjoy Ikea.
My goodness, the Floridians are very busy-even adding an adorable doggie to the mix, love it!
Gage is pretty amazing with that brain of his, very impressive.
Off to check out Rick’s Daily Tips, sounds interesting! Thanks 🙂
Lesley,
I love that you used to enjoy A Little Princess so much and that influenced your naming of Sarah. So cool when childhood experiences meld with grown-up realities.
I know how you feel having kids and grandkids in Florida; it’s a hard, hard thing and especially for you because you were used to having them a little closer for a while. Plus I know they were a support for you in caring for sweet Sarah.
I hope your day brings you reasons to smile.
poodles and cockers are my favorite dogs… should be a great combo
I think I will try tumeric, too.
Mrs. Pam,
They wanted to get half Poodle because they are hypo-allergenic. Steve got to meet Carli in person and said she is a real sweetheart.
Since I never had children I never got to name them, but like Sarah I to love to look at names and find the meaning. I used to look at license plates while driving and think of names with the letters shown. I love the sound of names and how they flow together. I was Pat all thru junior high and high school. I went back to Patti because I didn’t like the sound of how the name flowed. I had a one syllable last name and it felt like I was spitting my name out.
I use a glucosamine chondroitin mix and it has helped with my joints. I tried tumeric but it was bothering my stomach so I stopped. Maybe I need to try it again.
Love IKEA and Lingonberry jam-it has a great tartness. I buy more foods at IKEA than furniture. I like their meatballs, lingonberry soda, Lingonberry jam, and chocolate bars. Don’t get to go often as there are none near us. I stock up when we travel and find one.
I don’t have the opportunity to entertain often, but love having people over and just visiting. Often we also lay out the food and let people fix what they like. It is fun to see others creations and makes for great chatter.
If I put my mind to it, I might be able to memorize that song in a week. Music is a great help to memory for me. I, however do not actually sing for anyone as my singing is not good. I love to belt out tunes in my car when I am alone, but no one else wants to hear.
Patti,
You obviously have a creative brain if you looked at license plates and made names out of the letters; that’s something I’ve never even thought of doing!
And you’re right. The “flow” of a name is very important; I can see how, in your case, you would prefer Patti over Pat.
Sounds like you’re an IKEA expert. I do need to pay them a visit some day.