Rich, Heather and Alana’s Blog

I realized a few days ago that we have failed to link from our personal blog to Rich’s professional blog (and vice versa)! So, we have corrected this problem by adding a new tab to our main menu at the top of our blogs. This way, all of you (who admire Rich’s photography as much as I do) can easily make your way back and forth to see what we have been up to personally and professionally! Also, you can subscribe to Rich’s Pro Blog if you’d like to receive an email when he posts something new!

Rich has done a few stunning sessions lately (posted on his Pro Blog), one for his older brother’s family and one for some good friends of ours, Kyle and Heidi Posey and their sweet baby. Take advantage of the new tabs (up above, next to “blog” and “archives”) and check the sessions out!

Stay posted for photos from our 3rd anniversary weekend in Highlands! And have a GREAT day, everyone! We love you!

On Monday night, we had the privilege of having our friends Remi and Sara over for dinner and fellowship (and lots of baby talk!). Remi and Sara are missionaries in Israel, and a large part of what they do is to work for Muslim-Jewish reconciliation. Talk about an incredible, beautiful calling! We are blessed to be their home church body and to see them every once in a while as they visit the states.

The evening was spent chatting and laughing at baby Liel, who is VERY adorable and animated…and has definitely discovered her voice! She made a wider range of noises than I’ve ever heard a nine month old make! So fun!

Check out this precious face!

And here we are with Remi and Sara after Liel had gone to bed…

Remi and Sara, thanks so much for spending time with us, we had a great time and hope to see you again soon! You guys are in our thoughts and prayers as you serve God in Israel! What a work He is doing through you, and what a blessing you are to us!

Then, yesterday (Tuesday the 14th) was our 3 year wedding anniversary, and it was a bit anticlimactic because I woke up feeling horrible! I’d started to experience some weird (and severe) arm pain the night before, and it persisted throughout the night. It was so bad that I had to use my left arm to lift my right arm because it hurt too much to engage the muscles! Come morning, I stayed in bed while Rich got ready for work, and got me situated with a heating pad and some Tylenol (the only pain killer I can take while pregnant!).

I decided to call in sick (knowing that I wouldn’t be too productive at work without functionality of my right arm!) and call the chiropractor, thinking it was probably a pinched nerve in my shoulder that was causing the pain. I went in, and was told that it was my rotator cuff. Random. He gave me an adjustment, a brief traction massage, and some electrical stem, and told me to call in if I wasn’t feeling much better in a couple of days.

Then, because it was our anniversary, I drove (one-armed) to meet up with my honey for lunch. He was joining a group of friends and fellow photographers at Sushi Nabe. I struggled to eat my chicken teriyaki (I’m thinking about becoming ambidextrous) while having great conversation and meeting some new faces.

Thanks to Nathan for these great photos from our time together!

My ever-expanding baby bump…though a little more difficult to see with the patterned top that I’m wearing…

Rich and I had decided in the first year of our marriage that we didn’t want to start a tradition of buying gifts for each other on our anniversary, but that we both prefered just to get away together for a weekend. So, for our first anniversary (in pre-blogging days!) we went to the gorgeous Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C. for the weekend. Last year, we went to Highlands, N.C. and we’ve decided to return again this year. We loved it, and are eager for another weekend to relax and enjoy the quaint and beautiful town. We will head out Friday after work and spend the weekend there, and return on Sunday evening (Rich’s birthday!!!). Stay posted for photos from Highlands!

Here are some photos I came across from our honeymoon three years ago! We took an eight day Royal Carribbean cruise and had the time of our lives.

Amazing that it’s already been three years!

Meet…. Alana Mackenzie Smith!!!

(It’s hard to see her well in these pictures, and I wish we had some better ones, but with my placenta where it is, we haven’t ever gotten really good, clear pictures of Alana. So sad! Well, we will have plenty of pictures of her once she is born, and we will be sure to share them with you!)

Alana means “Attractive, Peaceful”

Mackenzie means “Child of the Wise Leader”

Both Alana and Mackenzie are Irish names, which is so fitting since I have always had a love for the country…inspired by my “Granny Bear” who passed away a couple of years ago. Rich and I love the sound of Irish names, and we loved the meanings of both of these names. The fact that they are both Irish is coincidental, as we did not begin by looking through lists of Irish names or anything…we just settled on our favorites, loved the meanings, and then loved the way they sounded when paired together.

Alana Mackenzie.

I also loved the meaning of Mackenzie because one of the most attractive qualities of my wonderful husband is his wisdom. It was one of the first characteristics that attracted me to him, and so it has special meaning for me. In addition, and most importantly, we are praying that she will become the daughter of God…the ULTIMATE WISE LEADER!

Should she live up to her name, this child will be an attractive peaceful child of the wise leader