Headin' Home for a Weddin' - Ohio Visit August 2012

                                My seeeester!  Loved hanging out in the "country" at mom and dad's.  (And impromptu shopping trips!)

                                         Mandy and Miss Lexi

                                           Levi

                                                                    

                                      Auntie Sheila with Lexi and Levi

                                   So very adorable

                           Petunias!! I have great memories of planting these with Mom as a kid!

                                                         Waiting for a train in Pettisville!!

                                 The happy couple!! My cousin Dan and his new bride Annie!

                        My sister and I were honored to be able to help decorate!  Aren't these old barn doors  fabulous?!  Very country chic!!!

                                                                   Mom and I

                                           Parents of the groom,  Uncle Tom and Aunt Lori!

                                                                 
                                                                  Brett, Hunter and Kim

                                                           Grandma and Aunt Tina

                                                 Aunt Donna, Nico, Chris and Larry

                                           The three musketeers!!!  Me, Kim and Chris!!

                                                                    Kahle

                                                                  Leah and Anna

                                                                       Eli

                                                                       Dad and me

     My handsome date for the wedding!  David flew in from Baltimore and got a little R&R at grandpa and grandma's before school started.

                                                                    Grandma, Lexi and Ava

                                                                       Tina and her girls

                                        Aunt Retha and Uncle Jim (Grandma's baby brother!)

                                                        Dee and Earl (mom's cousins)

                                                               Chris, Nico and Larry

                                                            Jess, Brent, Eli and Ava

                                             
                                                             Jim, Mandy, Lexi and Levi

                                                              Jared with Levi and Mom

               
                                                                         Sarai and me

Flying is one of my favorite parts of traveling!  Here's the view from "up top" before I landed in Chicago on the way home.    

Back to School! AGAIN?!?!?!

I'm just not sure quite how this happened.....My little babies have been growing up right before my very eyes! I have first, second, third and fourth graders!!!  A little difficulty getting everyone to smile all at the same time, or even at all.... 

Yesterday was their first day of school, and this came as a bitter-sweet moment for me.  As much as I love spontaneity and flying by the seat of my pants most of the time, I do like me a good schedule... A routine. ORGANIZATION, if you will.  Things that summer is usually severely lacking in around here.  Don't get me wrong - if I had a couple days off from work, I would be the first one telling everyone to go back to bed, let's sleep till 11:00.  But there's something about getting up with a purpose and a plan and a goal outside of "how many ways can I get myself in trouble today because it's summer break?"   

This latter thought comes inspired by the girls' attempts to play "hairdresser" and Rea whacking off a chunk of Ni'ke's hair the night before school, all in the name of giving her "bangs" for her first day.  (sigh) My daughters....  Thank goodness for curly hair and bad ideas going relatively unnoticeable.  Ni'ke asked for "a bun on each side" of her head, so yes, she went to school looking like Princess Leia.  Rea only changed her mind four times.  Not bad for her.  And the boys, the fact that they outgrew their sneakers over the summer was nearly undetected because they lived in flip flops for three months.  They almost had no shoes to wear, but we were able to dig the discarded shoes out of the bag headed for Good Will right before it was time to leave for school.  They have a few more wears on them before we go buy out the shoe department at Kohls.

I start classes online in less than 2 weeks.  We have one last big "hurrah" swim meet on Labor Day weekend in Morgan Hill.  We love our little weekend get-a-ways..... Oh, to be able to slow down the clock every now and then!

So grateful for the joy and the blessing that summer has been!  And now we are on to the next chapter of school adventures!!!

Olympic All-Around and Cars Breaking Down

Don't you just love the Olympics??!!  We are big fans around here.  Four years ago the kids were barely old enough to appreciate the games or understand much about them, but this year they're over-the-top fascinated!!  Especially with the swimming.....  Every race, every athlete interview, every medals ceremony, they're right there watching and commenting about when THEY are going to be in the Olympics some day.  Keep dreaming BIG, Smith children!!!!

And how cool is it that Gaby Douglas won the gold??!!  We've been cheering her on all week, and it was fun watching her win last night!!  The mother in me would get all weepy every time the cameras would catch her mom in the audience, watching her daughter with fists clenched and a prayer on her lips.  As the kids have gotten older, (and especially this summer it seems) their questions and curiosities over race and religion how the world goes around and why people think and feel and act the way they do have increased ten-fold.  Lord, let us as parents show them Your heart and speak Your words into their lives!!

Yesterday didn't turn out exactly as I had planned.....  No where in the day had I scheduled my car going completely dead leaving me stranded in the middle of down town (for the third time in 2 months...) or waiting an hour and a half outside in the 87 degree weather for the AAA guy, or road tripping half an hour up to Healdsburg with said stranger/tow truck guy, or then getting to a friend's bridal shower 45 minutes late, due to above events in addition to getting horribly lost in Petaluma. (sigh)  On a thankful note, despite my frustrations, I can see God's caring hand in yesterday's events. I thankfully parallel parked in metered parking before my car quit, which was the most perfect spot to be if you might need a tow truck later.  And when my parking meter expired (you know, because I was STRANDED) the ticket officer had mercy on me and didn't give me a ticket!  (Whew!) AND, boy was I grateful that I decided NOT to go get my gazillion groceries BEFORE I made my stop downtown.  Wouldn't that have been fun, melted ice cream and all.....  "I will give thanks in all things!"