Santa Clause is coming to town....

My friend Ashley made this cute dress & hair bow. 

Sadie at 10 months old.

Christmas Morning. YESSS! Just what they wanted. 

First kiss under the mistle toe from one handsome guy. 

Checking out the Christmas tree. At first, Sadie was scared of

the Christmas tree and whenever you had her near it, she would cry. 

She never warmed up to the idea, never got too close, and didn't mess with any packages.

We got sent a cute little elf from the North Pole. The boys {including Bryan} 

decided to name him Fizzpop Scout MacJingles (Scottish accent) He played 

lots of funny tricks on the boys, he toilet papered the tree, left the movie elf for them to watch, 

& left them funny notes, treats, and surprises . We didn't want him to fly home!

Sadie's Christmas Jammies

I held Christmas Eve dinner here at our home. We had the

Robinsons and my parents here. It was a fun evening. 

I sewed these grinch pants for Sadie. She wore them a few times. 

I really have loved sewing little dresses & making hair bows. It is fun to have a girl!

Grandma Janie

Bryan & Luke Bowling

So mom, you want to take a nice picture of the guys in their 

Christmas Jammies? Maybe next year! Did you notice all the stockings 

have been ripped from their places on the mantle? It did look picture perfect

for about 2 weeks.... 

It was so fun to have Grandmda & Grandpa Robinson stay. 

We went bowling, played games, read books, & had

a wonderful time getting to know them better. We are sure grateful 

that they could come and spend time with us in Texas. 

Christmas dinner

Grandpa Val, Isaac, Sadie 

We started a couple new traditions this season. One is the Elf on the Shelf, which the boys LOVED. Secondly, we wrapped up Christmas themed books to open each night and read together.  We had a lot of fun this season because everyone believes in Santa Clause. Isaac wrote him a letter that said, if he leaves him a not then he will know that he is real. Santa left him a letter and Isaac was thrilled. Isaac carefully picked out gifts at his school's santas workshop. He gave something to each person in the family out of his allowance. He got me a very beautiful necklace, Sadie a bracelet, his brothers some toy cars, and his dad a special compass. This stage of life is the best yet. Our boys played peacefully most of the time. I can honestly say that they are maturing to the point of actually liking each others company. It was so fun to hear them play pretend together and solve problems. One solution was that each person get punched in the stomach and then they all say sorry at the same time. That one did not go over well but I am sure glad that they are beginning to use their reasoning skills. Sadie is just so good natured and sweet. How we ever got so lucky to have her, i'll never know. But I sure am excited to have these darling little children to celebrate Christmas with. We had a great time. Oh, and I gave Bryan a special pencil drawing of someone very special to him..... Owen. He loves it. He got me a nice swiss army knife with mini tweezers for those special grey hairs that are popping up. I'm not joking. What can I say, we go big at the Smith home. But really, we had the gift of time 2 full weeks with NO WORK. We had the best time watching movies, riding our bikes, playing games, and baking Christmas cookies. What a lovely Christmas we Smiths had.  

Thanksgiving

This year we have so very much to be thankful for. First and foremost the GOSPEL, our family, good health, good jobs, smart children who are excelling in school, and lots of fun outings.  

We spent the day at Rick & Jackies home here in Spring. We had her parents David & Maryan, her brother and his children, a couple of neighbors, and us. We had a lovely dinner and their home is beautiful. We had 4 tables set up and of course a toddler table. It was wonderful. 

Sadie Jane Smith

9 months

1. 17.2 pounds

2. Crawls all over the house and back yard.

3. Smiles and laughs at her big brothers, Penn especially.

4. Loves to be outside and go on stroller rides.

5. Loves to squeal and talk to Owen.

6. Seems to get hurt feelings and angry if she feels left out. 

7. Has a soft baby blankie that she holds & sucks her thumb.

8. Wants to eat real food- dislikes baby food texture. Just give her the strait banana, mom. 

9. Loves listening to music. Says words mum mum, da da, and clicks her tongue. 

Sadie- you are perfection. You are darling, sweet, good natured and we are lucky to have your little spirit in our home. 

Boy am I grateful.

The health and wit of my 3 boys

My darling sweet Sadie Jane

 good parents & in laws who are not merely good- but good for something.

Good communication in my marriage

Laughter in my home

Friends who have outfitted Sadie & Penn this year probably saved us hundreds of dollars and the clothes look brand new!

The prophet Thomas S. Monson

General Conference, Women's Conference, & Love that our Heavenly Father shows us through the kindness of others.

Good primary teachers and leaders for my children

Good- kind hearted friends

an excellent piano teacher for my boy

A good bishop

Kind neighbors

My husbands consistent employment

Health insurance

A warm and cozy home

Good food to eat & clean water

Strength to get up and work every day

Genuine happiness

Mental health

Great Brothers & Sister in laws

My wonderful siblings who care and love me and care & love my children too. 

An easy marriage with no real contention {irritation & laughter yes}

Competent doctors

The gospel 

A place to go on Sunday to be uplifted

The Book of Mormon

The bible

Children's books from aunt Julie to read to my darlings- they have all accumulated over the years into a nice library.

A great heritage of strong willed people{amazing grandparents on both sides}

The blessing of being content with what we have.

Cheryls Funeral

A couple of weeks ago Bryan attended his eldest sisters funeral. Cheryl was an amazing person and so very kind. I am grateful for her life and her example of a righteous mother. She was a wonderful example of living by the spirit and we loved her very much. Her children Cody, Kayla, Melissa, Macy, & Tucker are very lucky to have her as a mother. They all are very talented and beautiful children and Bryan said it was so neat to hear Cody play the piano and have Melissa sing. After the funeral and graveside service they released balloons with notes & memories of Cheryl. 

Bryan sang along with Melissa at her funeral- he said it was a very emotional day- but a good day to all be together as a family and re connect. We both cried- and felt the finalization of her leaving us. There is no greater pain that when your heart hurts. It is hard not to think about her at least once or twice a day- and cry. The only happiness in this is knowing that this was Gods plan for Cheryl's life and that she kept all of her covenants and fulfilled her mission here on earth. Some moments even the knowledge of this doesn't make it easier- but I suppose that is what faith is. A knowledge of things which cannot be seen - but are true. We love you Cheryl Lou and believe me, you will be missed. What a wonderful person you were- how good you were to us, and how kind. 

The Day Luke Stopped Snoring....

what a handsome little patient

He did extraordinarily well. He went in & Dr. Giannoni took his tonsils and adenoids out- he was in a lot of pain and when he woke up from anesthesia the first thing he said was "I just want to go home and watch Harry Potter." He slept on and off all evening and was really not feeling well at all. He loves his new pajamas that he got from the Texas Childrens Medical Center. What a neat place. Luke's nurse said that she has worked there for about 13 years and she said that most of the children who were in the recovery room with Luke were having some kind of brain surgeries. Most were related to  brain tumors- and that people came from all over the country and from all over the world. I was able to see a few patients who had a translator with them. It was an eye opening experience. I was humbled and felt an added measure of gratitude for my healthy child. All four of them in fact.

Halloween 2013

{Isaac was Harry Potter}

{Penn was a vampire}

{Luke was a spider skeleton}

{Sadie was her daddy, Bryan}

Won funniest costume at the ward trunk or treat

{Happy Halloween}