Rich, Heather and Alana’s Blog

Rich and I are so blessed.

We are so thankful for the many friendships that God has placed in our lives, and last night we were reminded of how much we appreciate Nathan and Amber. Our friendship exists on so much more than photography alone, but last night we enjoyed the business side of our friendship.

Since Rich is starting his photography business and trying to get things rolling this year, what better resource could there be than friends whom we respect for their photography, business sense, and general knowlege of the industry? We enjoyed a delicious business dinner at J-Alexanders and then went on to Barnes and Noble to enjoy Starbucks and continue our conversation. Thank you, Nathan and Amber, for your friendship, and for your willingness to be “lovecats.” And thanks to Amber for these fun photos!

These photos below are actually from last week, when we met up with Nathan and Amber with Austen and Addison, and Matt at the Noodle House. Unfortunately, Erin couldn’t come because she was sick, and we hope you are feeling TONS better, Erin! We missed you!

Among the highlights from our lunch together were Amber squirting lemon in her eye the second she got her water…and proceeding to simultaneouly laugh and cry for the next ten minutes

Matt got this sweet photo of my fortune…though I can’t say I feel like I need more adventure. I’m quite content with the current status of adventure in my life, actually. There goes my faith in the accuracy of fortunes…

This group self-portait was taken by the incredible Matt, with his camera propped on his car and his PDA underneath to stabilize it. Photographers are so ingenious and resourceful when they want to capture a shot

And I’m not sure how I ended up being the only one with a goofball face in this one…apparently I thought we were doing a collective dumb face photo.

Friday evening was a little out of the ordinary…in a very good way

Jeff and Jackie decided to throw a Superhero Birthday Bash for Jeff’s birthday this year, and we gladly complied. We had a great evening together as a family, laughing and enjoying each other’s goofy costumes. I’ve never felt more like an adult

To really get us in the mood, Jeff and Jackie came up with these clever labels for the various dishes. I thought it inspirational and creative, and they’ve set a new precedent for all future birthday’s in the family!

Jackie’s delicious homemade onion rings…

My personal favorite from the evening…

Here is the New York Style Cheesecake that Rich and I made as Jeff’s official birthday cake, dubbed by Jackie as the “cheesecake of destiny”.

Rich was Clark Kent, and he gave the camera a little glimpse into his true identity…

Here’s the birthday man, who was Mr. Fantastic, complete with a wig!

Mr. and Mrs. Fantastic, having a sweet moment

Randy and Susan, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible! Three of the four kids are below, but Ben lost the superhero costume so soon after arriving that Rich didn’t even have a chance to capture him as “the flash!”

Luke, “batman”

Jake, “spiderman”…

Alex, “wonder woman”…

Rich’s dad, “the lone ranger”…

And here’s the whole superhero crew…

I was supergirl…in pajamas. Or retired. Or pregnant. Whatever you want to call it. I wanted to be comfy, and I couldn’t bring myself to shell out $50 for an adult sized supergirl costume at the party store!

Happy, happy birthday, Jeff! We hope you have an incredible year, filled with superhero adventures!

As I sit at home tonight feeling thoroughly nauseated, I thought it a good time to blog about our little one who is doing all of this to me

Rich and I went in for our first prenatal visit last Tuesday, and I am just now getting around to blogging about it! I am 7 weeks along today (Sunday), so at the time of our visit I was only 6 weeks and a couple of days. The ultrasound was incredible. It confirmed the exact (tiny) size of the baby, and gave me a due date: November 18th! Lord willing, our baby will be here, healthy and happy, just in time for Thanksgiving! I find that so appropriate, in light of the amazing, inexplicable miracle of birth. We will have much to give thanks for!

Here is a photo of baby smith at 6 weeks and two days…with a strong heartbeat that we were able to see and hear! The baby is the small grey/white blur that the arrow is pointing to! Yay!

A few days after we said “hello” to our baby, we said “goodbye” to Ally, Rich’s motorcycle! Now that I am pregnant, Rich decided to sell his bike (he hasn’t ridden much since we’ve been married anyway). We loved to ride together when we were dating and engaged, and have some great memories. Ally was a great bike, and she’s very pretty, too! Here is Rich last week, taking one last ride before we sold it…

It was sad to sell the bike, but we know that it’s a wise choice, given that it can be a risky activity!!!