The stockings were hung by the chimney with care with hopes that the new baby would soon be there...

We are ready for Christmas! The halls are decked, the gifts are wrapped and happily awaiting Christmas morning. Christmas dinner is planned along with a long list of baking. And of course, the kidd-os are eagerly counting down the days until Christmas day! But this year things are a little different in my mind. I am thoroughly enjoying the season but have deliberately eliminated a few yearly traditions that can easily weigh me down. ie: Christmas cards and...sorry folks, "The Smith'sonian 12 days of Christmas" to name a few. I have traded them in for the looming "ticking time bomb" feeling that resides in the back of my mind...as I am approaching the 38 week mark. The most exciting surprise of the Smith holiday will not be the when, but the long-awaited reveal of a BOY or a GIRL baby!! So, what is your guess? Will it be NOEL or ISAIAH?? (disclaimer: names may be changed without prior notice)

Here we go AGAIN!

Sunday morning... Ben and I were filling in, team-teaching children's church. Ben was opening the main service while I sang songs with and opened children's church. I arrived 15 minutes or so early to be there as the kids piled in, but on my way I was stopped to see Ethan in the bathroom crying. The little stinker did it again! He was playing on the stairs and did a Superman jump to the bottom ending in a movie-like roll...awesome...except someone was coming through the door (imagine that!) and his hand caught the steel fire door. Gross is all I have to say. In the next few minutes we had to re-arrange our whole morning. Church people are so wonderful, jumping in to fill the void! Off to the ER we went. I thought that he had only gashed the top of his hand, but when we were in the waiting room, Ethan discovered that between his fingers was the real, real ouchy. Riped open and tummy turning. The doctor decided to give him a little codeine when he saw that one. After X-rays, a double orangepopsicle, ibuprofen, and codeine the dr. went to work...ewww! Ethan was soo brave! 3 stitches on top and 4 between!

10 days with stitches, a round of anti-biotics, and a whole lot of gauze!

Thoughts of a 5 year old

We were driving home the other night after dinner with some friends. Ethan was staring out the window, apparently in deep thought. Let me clarify that the vehicle was NOT at all peaceful as Luke and Kate were both quite enthused with songs and strange noises. You know, one of those rides where you can almost feel the van swaying from all the noise and flailing. Anyway, Ethan pipes up with these questions that made Ben and I look at each other with WIDE eyes! Our family often talks about when the kids are all grown up and have their own kids. Ethan has obviously thought about his "grown up" life quite a bit as he asked these questions with deep concern.

"Daddy, when I am big, HOW WILL I FIND MY HOUSE!?"

"Daddy, when I am big, HOW WILL I BUY THINGS!?"

and the one that brought a tear to my eye:

"Daddy, when I am big, HOW WILL I FIND A WIFE THAT KNOWS ABOUT GOD!?"

I wanted to freeze him in time and never let him grow up! It just melted my heart!

That's it...NO MORE GROWING!!

My Ballerina

She wore this all day!

Sunglasses and pink gloves - all very important!

L-O-V-E my girl!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LOVE!!!

A FAMILY MAN

A FATHER TO AN ADORING PRINCESS...

AND 2 ADMIRING SONS

A PLAYMATE

A COUCH

MR. MOM

(I left for 4 days and he happily took on the crew - even planned a fun excursion!)

A COACH

A PROBLEM SOLVER

A TEACHER...EVEN WHEN HE DOES NOT KNOW IT!

ALWAYS FINDS SOME TIME FOR FUN!

AN ARTIST - WHO KNEW?

EVEN A MULTI-TASKER (ON RARE OCCASION)

A SHEPHERD

STUBBORN

A STUBBORN HANDY MAN

AN AMAZING MADDEN TEAM OWNER AND COACH

AND...

A LOT OF FUN TO BE AROUND!

BENJAMIN -

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

YOUR FAMILY LOVES YOU AND IS THANKFUL FOR ALL YOU ARE TO US! THANK YOU FOR LOVING US LIKE YOU DO!

Just can't help myself...

Artsy Fartsy

I've been on a project kick lately! I think it must be the ol' "nesting" setting in. Here is where it all started:

Stripes on the boy's walls

Then I got a hankerin' to make a scarecrow or two.

Here's a pic of the completed happy pair.

Ethan had the greatest time with this project.

I went cheap and stuffed 'em with newspaper and then used raffia to make it look like it was stuffed with hay!

Kate got to actually touch scissors (since she cut her hair back in May) and was given the duty to cut the raffia.

We used floral foam stuff to anchor in the heads.

This is where they sit now welcoming all who stop by with a friendly smile!

(although they scare the geebers out of me every time I open the door to go outside!!)

Yes, it continued!

I was oohing and ahhhing over all the artsy sites on the Internet one day. After following link after link, I found these beauties! Sooo exciting! I have always loved the hurricanes at Pottery Barn and other such wonderful stores, but never (even for a moment) thought about actually forking over the $60 or so for one! YIKES! These little babies were $2!!

FLARED VASE - $$$$$$$ STORE!

TAPER CANDLE HOLDER - $$$$$$ STORE!

A LITTLE BIT OF THIS:

A FEW HOURS

AND VOILA!!

SOO PRETTY!

Done for now...

We'll have to see what strikes me next!