Recap of the Winter Months!!

Well, I thought I could go back to work full-time this spring semester without a hitch, but things got way more busy than I would have liked. Between our increased activity at church, my special projects authoring for a publisher, and three small kids, I once again fell behind in my blogging (and everything else!). But summer has arrived once more and I have time to get back to the really important things! Anyway, I am going to post some big moments in our lives over the past four months since the last post. Hope you all enjoy the update! I will start with some winter pics of Jakie as he has been growing up so fast. . . . .

Playing cowboy--Noah had cowboy chapel at school and thought it was fun to put his hat on Jakie.

Always, always happy!

Or sleeping . . . it was time to put the old swing away (too big!!!).

And still always happy . . .

Scrip Program for Noah/Ryleigh's School

Noah and Ryleigh will both be attending a Christian preschool and then on to a Christian elementary school in the coming years. The Resurrection Christian School is a part of our church and is one of the best private schools in the area. We feel so blessed to have an awesome place for our kids to attend school, not only for the spiritual aspect, but also because of its excellent reputation for the academics (something important to two educators!!!). Anyway, this is by no means a solicitation for your dollars in helping with tuition, but the school does offer a way for family and friends to buy gift cards for tons of places they would normally shop anyway (groceries, gas, clothing, food, etc) and a percentage goes directly into a specific student's account. For example, I can buy grocery gift cards for money I will spend anyway and up to 8% goes into our family's tuition account. If anyone is interested and it is worth your hassle, I have put the link to the online gift card store below. You can just order the cards online with free shipping to your home and put Noah and Ryleigh Smith (preschool) in the special instruction box on the checkout page for them to get credit.

http://www.servenation.com/cards.php?storeID=4299

Jakie's Almost Five Months!

Have you ever seen a rounder face????

I can't believe how time flies, but Jakie will be five months old on Monday! He's getting so personable with his coos and babbles, and what a smiley guy!

Kitchen Project

Ryan made the mistake of his life and gave me a "coupon" that allowed me to fill in the blank with whatever I wanted. He ended up helping me with a time-consuming project making a kitchen for the kids. And not just assembling a ready-built kitchen, but starting from a few modular shelving units and building it up from there. I wanted something big enough for two-three kids to play on and store up all of the kitchen playthings that were ending up all over the house. I think it turned out really cool and already, it has been a hit with Noah and Ryleigh. I don't think I will ever get another "fill in the blank" coupon!

The Holidays in Colorado/Ohio

Here is a look at our living room with Christmas presents everywhere. When we unloaded the van from Ohio and got the stuff brought over from my mom's, it was total chaos. Our families love us too much! Anyway, Ryleigh had the quote of Christmas when she asked us, "Can you move this stuff so I can get to my stuff?"

Christmas jammies

Christmas jammies

A new backpack for school next year

The foam rocket launcher picked by Uncle Jay was a hit!

A great Christmas break it was, despite a few cases of illness in the family. We spent the first week at home, with my brother and his family here for a visit. My niece Audrey gave us all a version of the stomach flu for Christmas--what a sweetheart! Just kidding, Jay and Mandi! Then, it was off on a road trip to Ohio for the second week. The kids did great on our 20-hour journey both ways. No extra potty stops, no major meltdowns, and for the most part, decent weather made the driving bearable. The kids had so many "Christmases" with different family members that they probably think Christmas lasts for a week. They were blessed with presents galore and fun exciting times with family and friends. Santa came through with the requested sunglasses for the kids, and some "gently used" teethers and rattles for Jakie (what's wrong with some hand-me-downs in his stocking???!!!) I will post some pictures from Ohio when I get some sent to me--we had our usual failure to take pictures when others have their cameras out!

A Blast of a Heartbreaker!

For the last home game of the Broncos season, Ryan, my mom, my brother and I had tickets for the "club" level at Invesco Field. Ryan scored these tickets at an auction at our church to raise money for Christmas baskets for needy families. The club level meant we had access to the restricted level of the stadium, complete with iron carved fireplaces, dozens of plasma TVs, steak and sushi for the hungry, and best of all, a coffee bar for the freezing! It was definitely a chilly one with temperatures in the low teens, but what a fun time it was! The only downside to the day was the final dropped pass in the end zone by Brandon Stokley that meant a Bronco loss in the game, a failure to make the playoffs, and crazy enough, the end of a long coaching career for Mike Shanahan. For those of you that are Bronco fans, that's a costly dropped pass!

Love One Another

The kids have their ups and downs with each other, but overall, Noah and Ryleigh are mostly great pals, and there is no doubt that they love their little brother. Everyday, I am thankful for these amazing blessings that God has entrusted to our care! Part of me wants to see them grow up so I can know what they will be like, but the other part of me dreads the quickness of life. One thing I know, we have three very happy kids. One mom in Noah's preschool told me the other day that "even when Noah doesn't have a smile on his face, he's still smiling." And that is one of the best decriptions of my son I can think of. I pray that he will always be that way and continue to live his life with total enthusiasm!