Me and my love, January 2012. Photo credit: Faith Riley Photography
Hi, my name is Melissa Smith, mommy to Makaylah (9), Sophia (7), Isaiah (4), Nehemiah (2), and wife to David, with baby number 5 due in May! In addition to blogging here, I blog at Smiths on a Mission about my family’s preparations to serve with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Papua New Guinea.
My husband David and I met while we were both in Bible college at Southeastern Bible College. We became great friends, and then had a whirlwind courtship. A few days before our first anniversary, Makaylah was born! I fell in love with this sweet, snuggly, little person, and in my search to find others who parented the way I did, I found a huge, wonderful supportive on-line community. Women who walked beside me and told me that I wasn’t going to ruin my child by cuddling her close when she wanted it. Women who helped me keep going on the days where I felt like all I did was breastfeed. Women who told me, “That’s ok. You are doing something priceless. Cherish it!”
As Makaylah grew, so did our family. We started learning together… The alphabet, colors, reading great picture books and chapter books as a family. And again I found a supportive community who helped me as we began “real” homeschooling. Helped me trust that it was ok to not be drilling my 5 year old. That she would read when she was ready.
It was through these great communities that I learned about cloth diapers. I started cloth diapering full time in 2008, just before the birth of my third child. I was hesitant at first, but love it so much now that I can’t stop talking about – ask Jeniffer 
I was so excited when she decided to cloth diaper my niece, too!
This blog isn’t here because I am an expert, or because I have any special wisdom of my own. It’s here to walk beside all of you, as so many have walked beside me. I hope we can walk together in our journey of parenting… Childbirth, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, babywearing, homeschooling, and whatever else it may mean.
I hope you will pour some coffee, snuggle your babies, pull up a chair and get to know us! Send us your comments and questions, and let us get to know you too.
My four sweet munchkins in October of 2011. Photo credit: Faith Riley Photography
