Merry Christmas from the Smith's

Smith Family 2012

Some adventures of our family can be read here.

Yes 2012 has been quite the year.

Hope it makes you laugh and smile too.

Enjoy our story we wrote it for you.

 

 Abby turned 5 and started school.

She is doing great in kindergarten and loves swimming at the pool.

She loves reading books with Mom and doing art.

Her most favorite thing is giving people cards to warm their heart.

Natalie is three and started joy school.

She took swimming lessons and loved the pool.

She can’t wait for sunbeams and primary too.

Her favorite things are playing with toys and her sister too.

Jared turned one and started walking.

He likes cars, airplanes, and talking.

He loves to tease Abby and Nat too.

His favorite things are blocks, balloons, and choo- choo’s.

Jess enjoyed being at home full time.

She returned to ICU in September to work part-time.

Serving in primary is always a treat.

Keeping track of all three kids is no little feat.

Ryan’s been working hard to provide.

Riding his bikes and shooting the camera on the side.

Still serving in Young Men’s with no complaint.

Doing home renovations to keep our house quaint.

 

Our family had many adventures this year.

A trip to Alberta, the lake, and the snake pits with no fear.

Going for hikes, sleeping in tents, cooking over the fire is never a bore.

We can’t wait to see what next year has in store.

 

Merry Christmas

Love, The Smith's

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I can't believe it is so close to Christmas already. Most of the packages are wrapped. All the parcels are mailed. Christmas cards are sent and some baking is done. Some of my favorite family traditions center around Christmas!

At our church Christmas party the kids got their first visit with the big guy! Abby really wants skates this year, Natalie wants toy story characters, and Jared is happy with whatever!!
We went and cut down our Christmas tree sorry pics are at Poppa's house. We did our baking day with Grandma and we are busy making our homemade Christmas presents for Ryan's side.
I got to sing in the prelude to Christmas choir and it was awesome. I love singing in choirs at Christmas it totally gets me into the spirit of things. Right now we are doing our special secret 12 days of Christmas deliveries. We just started doing this last year and we love it. The kids get so excited to ring the doorbell and run. Another fun thing we started this year is to do a book advent calendar. I heard about this last year and thought it sounded cool. I wrapped up a book for everyday and so each morning the kids open a Christmas book to read. It has been really fun to read them by the tree every day.
Mostly we talk about our Savior and how special this season really is. Even though sometimes life is crazy with three kids I can't help but be grateful. Sometimes the world has horrible things happen in it and I can't explain why, what, or how but I can have faith and teach my kids to believe in our Savior so that they can face the future with faith and optimism.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!!!

We went trick or treating!

If you have been following my blog my last post was awhile ago and guess what I did find the garage door opener in my house in a place it shouldn't be but you know it's found so all is well in that department. This is kind of a catch up post before I post Christmas stuff!!

Halloween was so much fun this year. The girls were so excited. Abby now in kindergarten got to dress up twice and for school was a lizard and then for the big night was a robot. It was so fun to make our simple homemade costumes and she got a lot of comments about how cute it was. Natalie was a giraffe and she was super excited. Jared was a lion and he did pretty good for about a half hour.



Poppa raised a giant pumpkin for us which we had fun carving. It was a fun time!!

Have you seen the garage door opener?

Man I feel like life is so busy with good things these days! This girl started riding a two-wheeler on her own this month, she is doing awesome in kindergarten, and is growing up way too fast. We had our first parent teacher meeting today and the teacher asked if I would be willing to let her be in a group where she would teach English reading on top of her French Immersion. I guess this means she is doing okay. I feel so blessed to have her in our family. This month she got asked to her first birthday party on a Sunday. I felt sad for her that at 5 she already has to start making these kinds of decisions but she totally said,"Mom I can't go I have to go to primary on Sunday!!" Man do I ever feel like she is so strong and often teaches me!

Natalie started joyschool and I can't believe the difference it seems to have made in her. She has so much energy and has started using it to play house and make crafts instead of her old sneaking in the kitchen tactics. It took her a few long weeks to adjust to waking up early so we can walk Abby to school every morning but now she is waking up with a smile and I couldn't be more grateful.

This cutie pie turned 1 on September 25th. We just had Auntie and Grandparents over and he got some fun cute toys. He is such a mover now and is into everything and so curious. This stage is so fun and so tiring. Long gone are the days of being able to leave the kids alone for a few minutes. He has also decided to show his sisters who's boss. When the girls are watching their cartoons he will crawl up to the tv and turn it off then turn around to see if they notice. After Abby runs and turns it back on and he gets his reaction he goes and does it again. Should I be worried about this little troublemaker??

We had family photos done and they turned out cute but we haven't got them all printed and loaded on our computer but here is a favorite one of me that got taken. I realized that I rarely put pics of myself on here. Anyway I liked this one so here you go.

Now you are probably wondering why I entitled this post the way I did. Well I went back to work on September 19 and since that time I am constantly in a battle looking for things, misplacing things etc. One of which is my garage door opener. Such a pain. Anyway I know this is a crazy phase and I will blink and my kids will be in high school. I am trying to enjoy every moment.

So if you see my garage door opener just send it on down. Can't hurt to post it out there maybe some good samaritan found it on the road. JK!!!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and you are all ready for Halloween. We finally gave Abby an ultimatum since she has been changing her mind daily on what she wants to be. I won't tell you yet but they are going to be pretty darn cute!!!

 I guess I always knew this day was coming but it seems to have arrived quickly. Abby started kindergarten. She is pretty excited eating her oatmeal on the first day. We have been biking to school everyday and loving it. She is making friends and quickly learning all her French words. I found this idea on pinterest where every first day of school you write on a paper what they want to be when they grow up. Apparently she wants to be like her Momma when she grows up although she is strangely not letting me give her hugs and kisses at the school door. I thought I would at least get a few more years!! Oh well!

Natalie also started joyschool! It is my second year in joyschool as a teacher and it is such an awesome program. She did so great on her first day and is also growing up so fast these days. She loves tomatoes and sneaks them off the counter constantly. It is so funny!!






Here is my baby sniff sniff. He is going to be one next week already. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. I am back to work on Wednesday and am going to miss snuggling this little dude!! Thankfully he will be in the loving arms of Grandma's when I have to work and will be just fine!!

We went to the cottage!

We went to the cottage with Ryan's family in July. It is close to Hillside Beach. We spent a few days with the whole family and it was so fun. My kids were in heaven to have their Aunts, Uncles, and of course their Grandparents at their beck and call.
We played in sand dunes, swam at the beach, rode in a canoe, watched sunsets, rode a bike, took a first step, had a 3rd birthday party, picked wild blueberries, and had a fabulous time.

It was a really great relaxing holiday. Hope you are having a great summer!!

Summer Holiday in Alberta

We had such an awesome trip to Alberta last week. It was so fun to see family, be at the farm, go camping, and just to be together. We started off with some craziness. We decided to drive through the night so that we wouldn't waste a day. This turned out great because Grandma and Grandpa were able to spell us for some cat naps on Saturday. We headed to the temple on Sunday before church for our walk around and some photos!

We hit the Raymond parade on Monday. This is one of my kids favorite things to do in the summer. In Winnipeg we have the Santa Claus Parade in the bitter cold (usually) so my kids are all over a warm summer parade where they actually throw candy at you. It was so fun to see so many of my extended family!

These pics capture two of my kids favorite activities at the farm this year. The quad and the trampoline. I think Natalie would have spent every possible minute on that trampoline if she could. This year she is a little less spontaneous and was mostly sticking to jumping in the middle thankfully!!

 We went camping in Waterton for one night. We were going to do it for two but everyone got a nasty cold so we only ended up there for 24 hours. We did some hiking, eating, playing, and sleeping. It was an awesome experience and we will definitely be camping longer next time. The girls were so happy to be together running around with their arms wrapped around each other. Jared is moving not really crawling but getting places so he ended up in the camping supplies bin.He doesn't look too upset about it!

This was our campsite it had beautiful mountain views from every angle.










The week ended with both of my sisters coming down for a hike to the point, lot's of laughing, talking, and a campfire.

We had a great holiday and made lot's of new family memories on the farm. I will definitely miss the beauty of the country but it is good to be home again!!

Whirlwind

It seems like spring is a whirlwind around here. We have had so many fun family adventures this month I need to catch up before I never catch up!! Warning: pic overload.

We had a really fun weekend at the beginning of the month going to see the snake pits. The kids were so excited to see that many snakes in one place. We ended off that fun family day by going to Gimli ,walking the boardwalk, and eating toasted coconut soft ice cream! YUM YUM!

Abby has kept busy in her soccer games and has kept us busy running to the games. She really loves it and is enjoying her first soccer team.

Natalie wishes she was playing soccer and often tries to get on the field before I can stop her!

Mother's Day came and went. I had such a fabulous day this year. My family spoiled me. My husband gave a wonderful talk in church and my kids were awesome. Abby made me multiple cards and was so excited to give them to me.

I have been blessed to have two wonderful examples of Mother's in my life and I am so grateful for both of them and all that they teach and do for me. Don't know what I would do without them!!!

Love you Mom's!!!

Last week I got my garden all planted. It was so fun to start from scratch by digging a spot, hauling some dirt in and planting the seeds with the kids. They were so excited today to see the lettuce and herbs already popping out!!

I can't believe the May long weekend has come and gone. We had a fantastic campout in the backyard. We roasted hot dogs and slept in a tent. Well some of us did (Abby and Ryan). I stayed out until Jared's first feeding then came back in. Natalie joined me about 2am but it was fun and made for some great family memories!!

Isn't he handsome? He loved his first tent experience. Mostly I think he loved watching his sister's be goofy!

Hope you enjoyed the whirlwind tour. Until next time!!!

Abby is 5

Abby has had a pretty eventful couple of weeks. Last Monday she turned 5. I can't even believe that I have been a Mom for five years already. She had two birthday days really. We had the family over on Sunday and her kid party on Monday. She was so excited to get a scooter and has been riding it non-stop.
Here are five things about this girl:

1. She is determined at everything she tries. Even in Primary on Sunday when she got asked to help with the sign language for our Mother's Day Song she was concentrating so hard. She is always trying her best!!
2. She loves crafts. Anything she can do to create things she will do it. It is so neat to watch her always making little notes, cards, and other fun things. I have quite the collection already.
3. She is independant and outgoing. She has never been one to need Mom or Dad to hang around. I still remember her going to nursery and she just waved and went on in.
4. She is a sporty girl and is always wanting to learn new games. She just started playing soccer and is doing amazing on her team. She was so excited that she has a real uniform!!
5. She is a super sensitive and caring girl. She notices when Mom is having a bad day and always tries to help.
We are so grateful to have this beautiful girl in our family. She is such an awesome daughter. I can't even believe she will be going to kindergarten in September and in true Abby fashion she can't wait to start. Mom on the other hand is more nervous than she is I think.

We had a garden themed birthday party and painted flower pots, did a scavenger hunt, and planted a flower. It was super fun except all the people in attendance were boys. We gotta find her some girl friends. The boys weren't that excited to paint flower pots I tell ya!!
Happy Birthday Abby!!!!!

Hello Again!

It has been some time since I last updated. It was on my brain but just never got to the top of the list. I was looking at some of our pics to see what I missed showing everyone and there were lot's of snow shots and it feels like a long time ago that we had enough snow to build snowmen already. I am not complaining it just feels like time is racing by.

When spring comes at our house out come the bikes. This year Abby's got a makeover by Daddy. I think it looks pretty spiffy and Abby is pretty proud to ride it all over the neighborhood.

Natalie got her first tricycle this spring and rides it amazingly far at least in my opinion. She loves that she has her own "bike" and will ride as far as Abby will ride.

For Easter weekend we were able to head out to Regina to the temple. It is so fun to go out as a family. Our kids were so excited to go. Abby couldn't wait to stay in a hotel and go swimming. The next day we woke up to a blizzard and our nice walk and talk around the temple turned into run and touch it then get back in the van. Abby conveniently had to use the washroom and was so excited that she got to enter the temple. It was a sweet family experience to share and be able to share our testimony about the temple and why it is so important to us! Now I realize that it looks like Natalie is very upset she just had cold, wet feet by this point but hey it's our temple pic!! We also have an extra girl with us in this pic. We were watching her so her parents could attend a session.

Easter came and went. We were lucky to be able to color Easter Eggs for Family Home Evening on the Monday then travel to the temple on Good Friday. Easter Sunday brought the Easter Bunny, reflection, Easter Egg Hunt, and Yummy Easter Dinner. I can't seem to get any of the Easter dresses pics up so this is the girls from Easter morning. The Easter Bunny always leaves chocoalate carrots at our house which is what Natalie is holding. They also got some ears for the egg hunt later on. I love Easter and thinking about the many blessings we have to know that our Savior lived and died for us and that through him we can all be ressurected and live with our families forever!!!

Of course the pics of Jared are all on the other camera but I will post some better ones soon. Here he is on the road trip trying to see everything that was going on. He kept trying to crank his neck so he could watch the movie on the DVD player. It was pretty cute. He is almost 7 months eating lot's of veggies, fruit, and cereal. He loves to sit up, jump in his exersaucer, and jolly jumper. He loves his sisters and always has big smiles for them. He is still his father's son in personality for sure. Nothing phases this guy too much.
We are all getting excited for more spring and summer. I can't wait to start getting into my new garden space and seeing what I can do. We also can't wait for all the fun summer stuff... the beach, holidays, and yummy fresh fruit and veggies.