Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving started early this year... about 2:30am to be exact. You see, I bought a 22lb turkey that needed to be ready by noon! Oh my!

But, let me tell you this is the BEST way to do Thanksgiving! I got up at 2:30am, stuffed the bird, put it in the oven (having left myself a note to make sure the oven was on)... crawled back in bed by 3am... and woke up at about 7:30am to the smell of turkey cooking. What a lovely greeting on an Thanksgiving morning!

We had coffee cake and cheese sticks for breakfast (so as not to ruin our appetites), then made Thanksgiving Turkey Hands (see below), watched the parade, put the finishing touches on Thanksgiving dinner and had our wonderful friends Matt and Charity over for a noon meal.

We had a great time together. God has certainly blessed us with great friends. What a blessing to be able to share a delicious meal together and praise the Lord for He is good, no matter our circumstances.

We were finished with dinner by 2pm... put away the food... and took good 'turkey induced' naps. Got up, watched some football, re-loaded the dishwasher, watched more football, thought about hand washing some dished- put that off for a bit longer, fed kids left-overs, played with kids, packed for our trip, then handwashed the dishes from the morning. What a RELAXING day. I think we found a new tradition of Thanksgiving at NOON! What a great day.

The Adult Table. (We sat Carson at the end... out of reach of the table cloth... but still close enough in throwing distance of Charity... oops...)

The turkey is under all those towels... came out perfect at 10:30am

All the food was prep-ed on Tuesday or Wednesday... so Thursday was super easy! I am very thankful for all I learned while working at Making Memories Catering in Newnan, GA.


Thanksgiving Turkey Hands. We asked the kids what they were thankful for and wrote it on their hands. This is Mommy and Natalie. Natalie is thankful for broccoli and hairbands. Carson (the little red one) is thankful for 'dah-dy'

Daddy and J.D. hands. J.D. is thankful for God making us and for coloring.

Now onto the Thanksgiving Day Adventure. We decided to go to Estes Park for the Catch the Glow Celebration. Little did we know that 1/2 the state was also headed there! But, it was fun. We left Colorado Springs around 11am... got to Estes Park by 2:30pm...

By 2:30pm, people had begun claiming their place along the road for the Light Parade at 5:30pm. Hmm... we forgot chairs.... Hmm... we are not going to worry about this... let's go to Rocky Mountain National Park....

So, we did. And, we are so GLAD. It was beautiful. When we first drove in there were cars parked by the side of the road... b/c there was a herd of Elk in the field (pictures yet to be downloaded from the other camera- check back next month, hee, hee).

We parked, got the kids out of the car, put on jackets, hats, gloves, boots (for the umpteenth time that day)... and let the kids watch the elk. We heard them call to each other. We watched one nurse. We watched the 'king' of them bully around some lesser males. It was fascinating.

Then, we were off to drive up to Bear Lake. I was envisioning seeing the lake at the mountain top. Oops. It is November in Colorado. What was I thinking. The lake was buried under snow and ice. But, the kids did get out (again, the coat, mitten, hat, boot routine) and we walked up to the lake and they went out on the ice with Daddy. Of course I stayed on solid ground (someone has to be able to call for help in case the ice cracks...).

We made it back into town in time to get into all our snow gear again... and find a spot for the parade. All the town's emergency vehicles were decked out, then followed by different businesses, etc that had made floats, some horses, and such. It was grand. The kids loved it.

Then, we got back to the car, out of all the winter gear, and started the 40 minute drive to Boulder (that is if there is no snow and the road are clear...). So, 1.5 hours later, we arrived at our hotel, tired, cold and grumpy. We tucked kiddos in bed and went to sleep!

The next day (Saturday), we explored Pearl Street in Boulder. How fun! Great shops, great walking mall area for the kids to run. And, Santa was there!. Natalie saw him and rushed and gave him the biggest and longest hug! She is the perfect age for Santa! What innocence on display.

Boulder was great. And, we will look forward to going back and seeing more of it. There are some fun tours in the town that we will be able to do when kids are older (like the Celestial Seasonings...tea... tour... yes, Mom, we can go!) We will go back and hike and climb. And, to shop! It looks like a fun place to do more exploring.

Mom and kiddos at Bear Lake.

Carson is actually in the backpack all snuggled up like a papoose.

Big kids with Santa in Boulder.

"Please put candy in my bag."

"Please put candy in my bag," Natalie said when our dear friend Charity opened her door on Halloween... no 'trick or treat'... just straight to the point... why bother with tradition or pleasantries... get right to the point... she is my daughter after all!

Halloween was dear. J.D. was superman (pjs that Uncle Drew gave us last Christmas...) Natalie was a dinosaur (not a princess... a fairy... or something sweet) she was a 'mean dinosaur' according to her. Carson was the pumpkin. Now everyone has been this pumpkin. Guess it is time to retire the costume. Hard to think of getting rid of it... they have all been it... it is like getting rid of a piece of my heart... and yet, keep it... for how long... till when... to do what with... oh, the delimnas of motherhood.

"Carson-ni-ni " as his siblings have nicknamed him.

Pumpkins carved at the Senior High Pumpkin Carving Night! We put candles in them- turned them around to face our front door and lit them each night for a week before Halloween. The kids would rush to the door to make sure the candles were still glowing each night.


Look at all that candy... that is only 20 minutes of trick or treating!

My precious dinosaur! A boy can she growl!

The trio!

Carson's First Birthday

One year ago... 7:09pm... Carson Andrew Smith was born!

What a difference a year makes!

On the eve of a birthday in the Smith household, after the kiddos have fallen asleep.. the birthday fairies (aka Mom and Dad)... transform the dining room into a Birthday Party! This year, J.D. picked a SpiderMan theme for Carson's party! (When Natalie came upstairs this morning... her first words were "Let's get the party out!".... for she had passed by the presents and balloons on her way to wake us up!)

The presents are laid out on the train table... it is like Christmas morning!

The table is set with SpiderMan plates, napkins and cups! (And my attempt at a cupcake cake!)

Doesn't it look like the box... ha, ha, hee, hee... maybe something out of Dr. Seuss! (Can't you just picture me making colorful icing at 7:00am... at least it was cream cheese icing!)

And, Carson loved it! Yummed it right up!

Mommy and Carson on his First Birthday (he is in outfit number 2... if you hadn't noticed... this outfit below is what J.D. wore on his first birthday)

Daddy and Carson sharing a Happy Birthday moment...

Spaghetti for dinner, yum-oh! And more cake for dessert!

Doesn't he have the best smile!

Here are our kiddos... Ages 1, 2 and 3!

Again, 1, 2, 3!

We talked in our house tonight about all the things that Carson has learned in the last year...

crawling, walking (some), eating, waving, kissing, rolling over, sitting up, babbling, holding a bottle... it really is amazing how fast they grow!

My darling baby has the nicest temperment. He is our little blessing. I am so thankful for our little surprise... what a dear. Thank you Lord for Carson and all that he adds to our family!

(P.S. This is the first, first birthday that Mommy is NOT pregnant... crazy thought... )

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She has the cutest little boys outfit for Christmas Eve or Day... it is a blue jumper with the nativity scene on it! Adorable!
There is a music box with a ballerina that twirlls...
Apron set for the chef in your house.
Christmas Party dresses for your little princess and tons more!

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Here is how we are talking about life...

I think it would be easier to have triplets! At least they would all be at the same developmental stage...

Here is how we can describe the stages each child is in:

J.D.= Markers
Natalie= Crayons
Carson= Eats Them!

J.D.= running, hopping, skipping, jumping (even jumping jacks!)
Natalie= I can do anything J.D. can do!
Carson= please don't run over me, jump on me, skip on me, fall on me!

J.D.= likes to play with toys with small pieces
Natalie= likes to throw small pieces, hide small pieces of toys
Carson= likes to eat small pieces of toys

J.D.= likes music on at bed time; no covers
Natalie= likes the Rain button on the sound machine and 2 books and 10 animals doll babies in her bed; lots of blankets
Carson= paci and blanket, dark, quiet room

J.D.= loves his books and to have stories read to him; sits still for the whole story
Natalie= likes to talk to her books; likes to have her own book when we are reading aloud to J.D.
Carson= likes to eat the books

Thought of another one
J.D.- big boy underwear
Natalie- pull-ups
Carson- diapers


will post pictures soon!

Smith Family Olympics

We have gotten really into the Olympics around here. On the day of opening ceremonies... I decorated the dining room with red, white and blue streamers, a red table cloth, red/white/blue plates napkins and cups. (The kids wanted to know what kind of cake we were having since they associate streamers and cake with one another... oops no cake... didn't know this association... will know next time). Anyway... I printed off some pictures of Olympics type things... The Olympic Rings, The Olympic Torch, The American Flag, The 2008 Olympics Logo, and The Olympic Medals and I set each picture at a place setting. Then, we headed outdoors for some family olympics... we ran relay races in the drive-way (which sent our neighbors streaming out of their houses to see what in the world we were doing... racing up and down the driveway... handing off wooden spoons to one another...), we kicked soccer goals, we ran sprints (and broke the tape at the end of the driveway that was tied between the fence post and the mailbox...) this was a hit! We rode bikes in circles (like the bike racers), we did some gymnastics (which they call 'nastics'). Anyway... lots and lots of fun games. Then we ordered Chinese Food (yes, of course we did!). We ate chinese food and talked about the pictures. So, now when they see the rings on t.v.- they say- "The rings... The rings..." And, they say the same thing about the medals, the torch, the little red logo/sport people drawings, etc. We really learned a lot! We have watched the Olympics everyday... they know who Michael Phelps is. I decided not to show them discus throwing- thought that might not work out well in our living room.... We do a lot of 'nastics' and have loved every minute of the olympics. When they see volleyball- they ask for Kelsey. We wear our medals from The Little Gym- which are brilliantly red/white/blue this semester with a gold medallion. They want to go there... meaning Beijing. Ha! Who knows maybe one day one of them will work at the Olympics like their dad did in Atlanta. Needless to say it has been very fun cheering for Team USA.
Then, today, I read the Sunday comics (yes, it is Tuesday... but we get to things when we can around here...). Thought this was particulary funny! Seems to sum up our house!

Anyway... go Team USA! and Team Smith!

Hilton Head

In July, my whole family gathered in Hilton Head Island to celebrate by grandmother's 80th birthday. It was so much fun! Our family has celebrated many special occasions in Hilton Head (25th and 55th Wedding Anniversaries for Mamaw and Papaw; not to mention summer vacations for my High School and College Years).

This week had so much fun packed into it... I think we all need a vacation from vacation...

1. Saturday night- arrived- dinner in Mamaw's condo- Uncle Steve/Aunt Barbie/ Kyle and Kelsey arrive with T-Shirts for everyone. Yes, we are officially one of those families. It was awesome! "One family... One beach... ENDLESS Drama" Oh so true!

2. Sunday- family photo on the beach. Khaki and White. Everyone together- beautiful pictures! Plus, we baptized Carson on the beach (video to come soon).

3. Monday- went to see pictures- took forever- just too many cute ones to pick from!

4. Tuesday- grandchild night out with Mamaw. At a lovely restaurant- gave her a photo book with lovely letters in it to her for her birthday. (left all the 'great grandkids- with grandparents- oh chaos...)

5. Wednesday
Guys golfed.

6. Thursday
Waverunners. Lori and I got the fastest one... all the guys were jealous. I got off the thing and felt like I had ridden a horse and then it had kicked me. :)
Pontoon Boat- kids went with grandparents- saw dolphins- almost rammed a very large, beautiful yacht in Harbor Town... oops.

7. Friday
last day on beach... beautiful

Everyday, we hit the beach for a couple of hours in the morning... followed by cooling off in the pool- where J.D. and Natalie used their swimmies to swim in the pool. J.D. was jumping off the side/ going under/ putting his face in the water/ etc. His swim teach from swim ministry would have fallen over in disbelief! Natalie eventually jumped off the side and got her face wet. She really loved the swimmies- they kept her afloat- and she could just drift from one person to the next. They were amazing! At the beach- they loved the wide open spaces- playing with their cousins- riding in the boat- it was a great time! Carson mostly ate sand!

It was a GREAT week.

Hilton Head

Hilton Head

Haffy Birthday, J.D.! 3 1/2 Today!

Today is the day we celebrate J.D.'s birthday! Like all birthdays, today started with cupcakes and eggs! Yum-oh!

I can't believe that he is 3 1/2 years old. The time has really passed too quickly. I tell him he is my 'biggest boy'. He thinks he is BIG and can do anything that mommy, daddy or the kids in the youth group can do.

Things about J.D. at 3 1/2:
He is a great problem solver... the other day we said we couldn't go the park because it was going to rain- he said we could take an umbrella...

He is a sales man... we had a long conversation the other day about pets. He wanted to know why we couldn't have a lion, tiger, whale or dolphin as pets. After much discussion, and a big NO from mommy- he said, 'then can we just have a dog and a cat?' (Like- isn't it easy to say yes to those... instead of the animals that live in the zoo!)

He is an encourager- he is constantly telling people that they look nice, or thank you for dinner, or 'i like that' kind of statements.

He is super athletic! He can really hit a baseball hard and far, can dribble a basketball, can kick a soccer ball into the goal, can hit a golf ball, throw a frisbee with some bit of accuracy, loves to play catch.

He is all boy... he is starting into gross out stuff... burps, gas of other sorts, dirt, puddles, mud, are all fascinating and funny.

He loves planes, trucks, big rigs, police cars, dump trucks, trash trucks, boats, scooters, etc.

His favorite foods: diet coke, peanut butter and cotton (apricot) jelly sandwiches, chicken nuggets, cake, bananas, gummies (fruit snacks)

I just love this kid to pieces!


Haffy Birthday face! He wanted strawberry cupcakes this year... so we had pink cupcakes on his birthday this year.

Cool Mom! Presents!

Chick from CARS. Now he has 4 of the characters! Can you tell he was excited. Right now, he is downstairs watching CARS with all 4 of his cars lined up on the chair next to him.

Mommy and J.D. on his Haffy Birthday!

More CARS!

This is my heart...

The best babysitter

I can officially say we have been blessed with the best babysitters ever!

Miriam was the first... and always will be close to our heart... though far across the ocean...

Then came Cosette and Tavi.
Cosette and Tavi are sisters... Cosette is J.D.'s true love (when we were journaling around Valentine's Day, I asked him whom he loved- I thought Mommy or Daddy or Natalie, etc. Nope. He said Cosette- very enthusiastically!) Cosette introduced Hide and Seek and Red Light/Green Light into our house!
Tavi is Cosette's younger sister. She loves children and it shows! Let me explain how...

Today, Tavi was here to watch the kiddos for 8 hours while I worked. This is an amazing amount of time for a babysitter. (And after a chaotic time last week... she brainstormed with her mother and showed up with the following schedule for today).

Titled: J.D. and Natalie's Schedule

8:30am Breakfast
8:50am Soap Surprise (that means was the dishes together, use lots of bubbles!)
9:00am Outside Play
10:00am Snack
10:15am Hide & Seek
10:30am Sugar letters in a bowl (J.D. and N)
10:45am Letters in sand box (practice to draw them on the driveway for daddy!!!)
11:15am Jump rope (over the snake)
11:45am Lunch preparation (kids set table on mat, then without mat) [this means they drew a placemat together, and she showed the kids how to match up fork, plate, and spoon- WOW]
12:00pm Lunch and Soap Surprise (if you want to)
12:30pm Snuggle and Read Time (pick one book apiece)
12:45pm Nap time
2:30pm Play Dough (make J.D. and N)
2:45pm Outside (ready for chalk JD and N so daddy can see what they learned!)
3:00pm Super Hero Race to make rooms the cleanest!!!
3:15pm Candyland
4:00pm Frisbee and fun thing in a bag [ a flute]
4:30pm Show Mommy what you've learned today!!! !. How to wash dishes, how to set the table, how to write your own name!

Wow you say... yes, WOW! The kids had the best day! Tavi would tell them what they were going to do... then once they did it... they put a sticker on the paper next to the thing they had just accomplished. She built up the 'fun thing in a bag' all day... they were beside themselves with anticipation. And, they loved it... I could hear them playing flutes... what fun! There is no greater feeling than the feeling of your kids discovering something new, of them being happy, of them enjoying themselves.

When I asked J.D. what his favorite part of the day was... he said 'the jumping rope!'
When I asked Natalie what her favorite part of the day was... she said 'the stickers!'

It was an amazing day... one where I am thankful that I can work from home... see how my kids do with babysitters and see how God has blessed us with people who love our kids enough to really think and plan for them.

Bless you Tavi! You made today a blast for all of us!

Carson Crawling!

Today is Memorial Day... and Carson crawled for the first time. Watch out world! And, we caught it on video- I am so excited! He keeps reaching milestones on dates that will be easy to remember- he is so accommodating.

Right now he is sitting in my lap while I am writing this... and he is slobbering like a puppy all over me... ahh, teething....

anyway, enjoy the video

Let Them Eat Cake! (our first entry with video!)

Over the last couple of weeks, people from our church have been bringing us dinner (a helpful thing as Jason has been recuperating!). On this particular night, a family brought cake for dessert. Yummy!

We don't get cake around here very often... thus, the children think that it is someone's birthday when there is cake around... This particular week, we had an angel food cake and about 12 cupcakes brought to us. We sang Happy Birthday everyday for a week! Why not?!

What fun we had! We went through about 5 candles and it provided much happiness!

(Oh, and as you noticed, we have a new toy around here... a very nice video camera! A great Christmas gift from our parents. Now that we have one, I really wish we had splurged when J.D. was little... we have missed capturing so much since J.D. and Natalie were born. Well, I guess J.D. and Natalie will have photos and Carson will have video... at least Carson will have something.)