The list goes on...

Here is a list of things I want/need to get done before Wednesday. Thankfully not Wednesday morning, more like Wednesday early evening (right before Josh's family start to trickle in for Christmas!) 1.Organize living room tables and rolling island (papers have just started to accumulate) 2.Take some things to Good Will 3.Clean all bathrooms 4.Make our room look less like a laundry mat and more like a bedroom 5.Change sheets on all beds 6.Wrap presents 7.Finish Christmas shopping 8.Get Christmas jammies for girls 9.Take Josh's watch to get fixed 10.Sweep, mop and dust(yuck) 11.Wash all blankets to be fresh for guests 12.Vacuum 13.Finish back splash in kitchen (I know you are all dying to see the kitchen since we have remodeled it..... and as soon as its done, I will post pictures! Perhaps even pictures of the whole house if you're lucky!) 14.Finish Christmas wreaths 15.Find a way to hang Christmas cards 16.Take movies back to friends 17.Make a couple of things for some cousins coming in 18.Organize downstairs craft closet-take pictures of stuff then throw away 19.Take books back to library 20.Print pictures of Kinlee to put in the house. (we only have 3 up. so so sad) 21.Clean out the office (We have a piano in there now, but Josh's family is bringing an organ from his Grandparents house)HAVE TO MAKE ROOM!!! And I think that's it. Guess I better get off the computer and get to work. The problem is, its cold and rainy out. So I somehow think it's time to curl up next to the girls, a fire and a good movie. Too bad. Slave driver leash is coming out in full force!

Tonight

Josh had to work late tonight so it was just me and the girls. Last night was a bit of a rough night for Kinee ie, SHE DIDN'T SLEEP so no one slept. So around 5:15 we headed to the bath. That's right. 5:15. Don't judge. They had bubbles and toys. They played for quite a while until their dinner was done. The all time favorite around here. Oatmeal. I fed them in the bathtub and they thought they were in heaven! (All mothers out there... I think this is one of my better mom ideas I've had. I feed them so there isn't any mess. AHHH! Try it some time. You'll thank me!) Anyway, they think that they are princesses anyway, so when I'm feeding them they think its a real treat. Like I'm their servant or something. Oh wait. ANYWAY.... a little over an hour later they get out of the bubble bath smelling oh so yummy and get ready for bed. Jammies on. Teeth brushed. Hair brushed. Scriptures read. Songs sung. And then we have prayer. I decided to say it tonight so I began. After the prayer Ava sits up and says "Mom, what is it about us that makes you so happy and why did you thank Heavenly Father for us?" I couldn't help but have tears in my eyes. One, she was actually listening to my prayers. Two, I was able to tell them just a few things that I love most about them. And how happy I am that I get to be their mom. How lucky I am that they came to me. I love being a mom. It is the hardest job out there. But I love it! I love that Ava is my oldest. Ava is the best oldest sister. She has so much love to give. Emery is the best middle child. She loves Ava so much and looks up to her so, but is so sweet and patient with Kinlee. Emery is the best big sister to Kinlee. How lucky Kinlee is! Kinlee loves Emery so much. She walks around the house saying "Mimi" all of the time. She doesn't say "Byebye" without it followed by saying Mimi! (I don't know if she is saying we need to get Mimi or don't forget Mimi!) I love my girls. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father that He sent them to me. How blessed I am!

Long story short, it was a great night. And the girls were in bed at 6:58 pm!

A girl after my own heart

She too can not resist the deliciousness of an Eggnog Shake from Braums! HEAVENLY!

City of Hurst

The town we live in had a fantastic Christmas night and official tree lighting. They had pony rides, real reindeer, kettle corn and hot chocolate, face painting and snow sledding. Santa and his elfs were there too. Great family night that was all free! Way to go Hurst!

November in a nutshell

The girls wanted to paint our white pumpkin Official picture that we did carve a pumpkin this year! Noni with Emery at the Thanksgiving Feast at her school A stuffed turkey for the table center pieces.

Ava is learning violin

How sweet is this violin? Ava has been doing Suzuki lessons since the beginning of school. It is a fantastic program that is offered through the school here and is completely free! I love that! Ava is doing so great and loving every minute!

Happy 8 years to us!

Thank you dear, for the best 8 years of my life. You are my best friend and I am so grateful I get to have you for eternity! I love you! ps... thanks for the beautiful roses!!! you rock!

Kinlee is 18 months old!

HOLY COW ! How did that happen? I can't believe it. When anyone asks me how old she is I say 18 months. Ava quickly reminds me that she is actually only 1 year. I can't tell you how many times I have tried to explain it to her. OH well! Kinlee is for the most part a happy baby.... as long as she is well fed! I have NEVER known a child to put food away like she can. A typical breakfast for her is 2 scrammbled eggs, 1 whole wheat slice of toast, part of a protien bar and some of my protien shake. By 9:30 she is ready to eat again. I kind of think she is eating us out of house and home! Her stats at the 18month check up were great. She is in the 49% for weight and 72% for height! We have never had a child over the 50% for height. Maybe she will be the tall one of the family.

Kinlee, you are a true joy to us. How you have changed our family. We love you so very much! You talk ALL OF THE TIME. And that is an understatement. I have never known a child to love animals like you do. You love puppies the most. Everytime you see any kind of dog you yell out "Bow wow wow wow wow wow" It is quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen. Your smile can light up a room. You have so much spunk and personality. It is such a joy to watch you grow. Thank you for coming to our family! LOVE LOVE LOVE you!

Better late than never

Our Thanksgiving tree!

Every night after dinner we would write down what we were thankful for. The rule was that you couldn't repeat anything for the whole month. As part of our regular bedtime rituals we always say what we are thankful for before bed or what our favorite part of the day was, but it seems like we get in a rut; my family, the scriptures, our home. etc. Now, yes those are great things to be thankful for and they were up there too but it was so awesome to hear the girls and Josh say things that we really had to think about. We truly named our blessings one by one. What a great experience. I hope it becomes the Tree of Thanksgiving Tradition.

How sweet is this

All three of my girls coloring together. So happy they love lovs each other!

Sad girl...

Little (as Mimi calls her) didnt take a nap all day. She was so sad all day. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Whew....

I just ran for the first time in a long time. A very long time. AND it felt so good. It was slow. And hard. And the cold wind was blowing. And I was pushing a stroller. And my baby cried for all but 27 seconds. BUT I DID IT! And I want to do it again tomorrow. And the next day and the next. I feel better about myself already. Go me!!!

Thankful

This morning I had the opportunity to meet a lady from our ward. She doesn't live very far from us and needed a ride to the church. She had signed up to help clean the church, but doesn't have a drivers license or a car so she relies on the people around her. I am so very thankful that she called me to give her that ride. My heart is truly full this morning. What a rough life she has had in the 32 years she has been on this earth; yet she has learned to look past that! She was addicted to drugs for years and has been drug free for over 9 years. When she was 15, she placed her baby up for adoption so that he could have a better life. She did not graduate from high school so now she is working on getting her GED. I don't know how to describe or explain how I feel this morning other than how grateful I am for all that I have. I am truly blessed. I have a wonderful husband that loves me and our girls. He does what he does for our family, so we can have the things that we need. I have 3 beautiful and healthy daughters. I have a house that is a safe haven from the evils of the world. AND I have the gospel. I have a knowledge of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know I am a daughter of a loving God. I hope I remember the feelings I felt this morning. The feelings of adoration I now have of this sweet lady; who is also a daughter of God.

Primary Program

We were lucky enough to have both sets of parents here for the girls Primary Program. The girls have the scriptures memorized and said their parts beautifully. Great job girls!!! We are all so proud of you!

Emery's scripture: Second Nephi 32:3: Angles speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. Ava's scripture: Joseph Smith History 1:17: ...I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other-This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

Halloween 2011

Ava the butterfly

Kinlee the Tutu Princess

Miss Pinkalicious herself I know its been a while. Which a while is really quite the understatment. I KNOW! But I'm going to try and hop back on the blog bandwagon.

Josh took a couple of pictures of the girls at the church while I was helping set up and then the battery died on the camera. We got a couple more from some other ladies at church, but I'll have to get them later. Pretty sure the book Pinkalicious was written for my little pink girl. Doesn't she look JUST like the book? Happy Happy Halloween!!!

We are finally in!!!

We bought a house and are now moved in. I wouldn't quite say settled, but we are in the house. The girls are loving having all of their stuff, since it was packed away for over a month. I'm loving having our stuff as well. Josh is loving work! Our house is less than 1 mile from the TRE and there is a stop at the Childrens Hospital where he works in Dallas. Its so nice. He texts me when he is hopping on the train and is home 25 minutes later. Ava is about to start Kindergarten and is getting pretty excited about that. Mimi is going to do some kind of preschool/gymnastics (I just haven't found one yet). Kinlee is a little toot! She is still not walking (almost 15 months). If you even offer her the push toys she throws herself down on the floor and throws quite the fit. She is in to EVERYTHING and tries to sneak up the stairs all the time. All in all, she is who is keeping me the busiest! The house we bought needs some work and there are a lot of things I want to do to make it ours. I'll post pictures soon-ish! I'm planning on painting the cabinets black. I'm sure some of you are thinking BLACK? But I've gotten my inspiration from a few places like here and here. Or do a google image search from black kitchen cabinets. There are some really awesome pictures out there. Our kitchen is pretty big but doesn't have very much counter/cabinet space and there are two windows in the kitchen. Our appliances are stainless steal so I think that will make them pop! I'm really excited to get going on this project. I just feel like I need to be able to walk through the garage with out tripping on boxes before I start working on this. I'll be sure to post before and after pictures. But I'll have to find my camera first! Here's to unpacking!!!!

We are still alive

Just a quick update. I HATE moving. And worse than moving is trying to sell a house in a market thats not so hot. With three small kids. One that is just learning that she needs to get into EVERYTHING. Basically, it's stress city over here at the Smith household. I'll update if we sell the house. Or when we get moved and settled.

Flashback

Look how little they were. Being a stay at home mom, I don't see the little changes. It takes me looking back at pictures to see how much bigger they are now. I love how these pictures show their fun personalities, and how Mimi is always looking up to her big sister!

The Hatters

Last year around this time we were able to go to California and see some of Josh's family. Not too long after we came home, Grandpa Hatter (Josh's moms dad) passed away. On April 1, 2011 Grandma Hatter was reunited with Grandpa. They both will be missed much. I am so happy we were able to go and spend some time with them and that my girls where able to meet them. We love you Grandma and Grandpa Hatter!!!

Silly Faces!

Somebody Loves Their Dad!

So stinkin' sweet! Kinlee fell asleep snuggling with her papa!!!

Mimi's Birthday

Yep, it was in October. But apparently I never blogged about it! It was a PINKALICIOUS Party! There was pink Pink PINK everywhere! Everyone wore pink! She got a pinkalicious bike. We had pinkalicious cupcakes. Mimi was in pinkalicious heaven!

Mimi, we love you so much! You are such a joy to have in our family. You are the PERFECT middle sister. You play so well with Ava and love on Kinlee so much. You are so loved! Happiest birthday (almost 6 months ago) sweet girl!!!!!