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Here are six things making me smile today…

1.  Caleb is our little contrarian lately.  He will argue just for the sake of arguing.  Clothes, food, the color of the sky…you name it, he wants to argue about it.  BUT we do agree on one thing…Martha Stewart!  If we’re home I like to turn on Martha Stewart during lunch.  And he loves it.  His favorite is the cooking segments, and the animals. 

2.  We planted two bluebonnet plants in the backyard.  I just love bluebonnets!  And all Texas wildflowers for that matter.  We’re leaving tomorrow for a Robinson Family Reunion in Fredericksburg, and I’m determined to get the kids in them for pictures.  But I love looking out the window at these little ones.

(having to fight thru the hosta that comes back every year)

3.  Knitting.  My grandmother taught me how to knit once when I was visiting her in Colorado as a little girl.  I’ve always wanted to take it up again.  I got a book and watched several videos on-line, and have finally got the hang of it.  Definitely took some diligence, but I enjoy sitting and knitting while watching American Idol.  Derek keeps asking me what I’m going to make and my answer is "nothing".  I don’t know how to follow a pattern!  I think I’ll just make square dish rags for the time being.

4.  Craigs LIst.  I am hooked on this on-line garage sale.  I jokingly call it "Aladdin’s Genie".  I feel like I can ask for something, and find it cheap on Craig’s LIst.  We’ve recently found a trampoline net (the exact one that fits our trampoline), a hiking backpack for Samuel to go in (brand new – never used), a bike rack for the Suburban (holds 4 bikes)…so Derek can ride when we travel, and two antique chairs (I’ve already talked about these, but here’s a picture – pillow from Dillards).

5.  These flowers that my mom and Steve sent me recently.  Two dozen pink roses.

6. This picture.  He moved, so I missed, but something about it makes me smile.  I love that sweet little mouth of his.

I love this quote from Marjorie Hinckley (wife of Gordon B. Hinckley).  It’s easy sometimes to get stuck thinking about ourselves, but the pleasures and blessings that come when thinking and doing for others are so much sweeter. 

"I don’t want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car,  wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.

I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.

I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk’s lawn.

I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor’s children.

I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone’s garden.

I want to be there with children’s sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.

I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

My crazy husband decided to participate in Cisco’s "Ride Your Bike to Work Day" today.  I’m sure the effort was somehow "green"…trying to cut down on carbon emissions and gas consumption.  And somehow associated with Earth Day yesterday.  Of course, for us, it wasn’t really about those things at all since I had to drive the Suburban to his office to get his computer this afternoon.  But, oh well…

I really was proud of him for the effort.  He continues to diligently train for the MS 150 next week (which I’ll be talking more about later…).  And he thought this would be a good excuse to get some more miles in the saddle, while also getting a free jersey from Cisco for participating.  The trick was that his office is at Jupiter and George Bush Freeway for those of you who are from here.  Quite a ways away from our house!!  20+ miles to be exact, but there is no easy way to get there by bike.  He mapped it out though trying to take side roads.  I was worried about getting a call that he’d been hit, but alas, he called me this morning safe and sound.  And it only took him about an hour and a half to get there.  And about the same to get back hom.  Way to go, D!

is as sweet as they come.

But he’s teething,

and grumpy,

and screams at me all day long,

because he’s teething.

And he’s in to everything.

I find shoes in cabinets.

I find toys in bathtubs.

And socks in trash cans.

And I know exactly how they got there.

Nap time is CRUCIAL these days.  Because I’m exhausted after only an hour or two of chasing him around. 

But his hugs and kisses and dancing and clapping and giggles and funny frowns make his awake time bearable.

We had such a treat on Saturday when we were able to host Derek’s mission president and his wife (Ray and Mary White), and a former mission companion and his family (Chris and Stephanie Barnhurst/Joseph, Megan, Emily and Jonathan).  The White’s live about an hour from here.  They have served 3 missions (Florida, England and Nauvoo, Illinois) and before those served over the Fort Worth Texas mission in the early 90s, where Derek and Chris served.  They are remarkable!  We’ve been lucky enough to see them every couple of years for dinner and other occasions and always enjoy their company.  They were such an important influence on Derek during those years of his mission and he credits them with a great deal of learning and growing, spiritually and otherwise.  Chris drove them here and we enjoyed dinner and reminiscing.  Then Derek drove them the hour back home.  Some of our favorite stories that they share are of the Hinckley’s (our former prophet, Gordon B Hinckley, who recently passed away and his wife, Marjorie).  They were close personal friends of the Hinckleys and talk regularly about their association.  It’s so neat for us to hear these old stories.  We loved having them in our home.

My boys had special treats this weekend when their Nana, their Uncle Mike and their Aunt Olivia came to their events.  Mike and Olivia are moving to Dallas from Austin soon, and are looking for a house.  We are so thrilled that they’ll be close and get to share in everyday kinds of things with them.

Jacob played the piano in his school’s variety show on Friday night.  He played Royal March of the Lions from Carnival of the Animals.  I was so proud of him for getting up in front of so many people, in a suit and tie, and playing his little heart out.  He did great!  So many of those acts are far from being “talents”, so it warms this momma’s heart that he displayed a true talent…something he’s really excelling in.

Jacob with his Nana, Principal Lawson, and with his principal, Principal Kazanski.  How many kids can say they have TWO principals in their life?!  That’ll keep him on his toes!

Then the next morning we cheered for Caleb and his Lugnuts.  T-ball is much more his speed than soccer was.  It’s been fun to watch him…he enjoys it.

For our weekly Family Night (on Monday evening) we thought it would be fun to fly kites.  We made that decision on Sunday when it was VERY windy.  Monday evening came and it was perfectly calm.  So it would be fitting for us to pick the most non-windy of days for kite flying.  But we were undaunted.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous.  As it turns out the boys got a LOT of energy out by running with the kites behind them.  And I had a good time taking pictures of them. 

And my two favorites…A “Smith family shadow portrait” and the “kite in the big blue sky”

Caleb lost his first tooth a week ago.  It is a good example of the disparity (by this I mean lack of similarity and not at all in equality, which they would have you believe…everything is a competition these days) between our two oldest boys.  Case in point…

Caleb showed me last Saturday morning that one of his bottom teeth was loose….BARELY loose.  I thought it would take at least a week if not several to lose that thing.  For Jacob, it took several weeks of a tooth hanging like a loose-chad before he finally got up the nerve to let it fall out of his mouth.  He was/is scared to death of pain of any kind.  Caleb, on the other hand, worked on that tooth all day and by Sunday morning, he had had yanked it out with a paper towel to the dismay and pride of his brother.  Caleb is a no pain-no gain, matter-of-fact, "don’t tempt me" kind-of-guy.  I think Jacob is convinced that he signed some kind of "no pain involved" clause before leaving to come to earth.  Equally loveable, and charming, and cute, of course.  But so different in so many ways.

Sadly, the tooth fairy forgot to come that first night.  What is her problem?!?!  Weekends can be pretty busy for her.  And her partner, Mr. Tooth Fairy, is of no help at times.  He’s a lovely man, but can be completely useless when money-doling, tooth-snatching time comes around.  Thankfully she rewarded Caleb’s patience with a generous $1.50.

A couple of weeks ago I was trying to clean up and put away all of the Easter stuff for another year.  I found lots of little pieces of Easter candy that I did not want hanging around any longer than needful.  So I did the unthinkable…

ME: "Boys, guess what?"

BOYS: "What?"

ME: "See this bucket of Easter candy?"

BOYS: "Yes."  Actually it was "yeah" but I’m going to edit that very disrespectful response.

ME: "We’re going to have a candy PARTY!  For the next hour you can eat as much of this candy that you want!"

BOYS:  Speechless looks of stunned silence.  They were quietly thinking "Who are you and what have you done with our candy-hating mother?"

ME: "But here’s the catch.  In one hour, I’m going to call TIME!  And when I do, we have to throw everything that you didn’t eat AWAY."

BOYS:  "OK?!" 

Suckers!  No pun intended.

ME: "Ready…GO!"

For the next hour they proceeded to eat as much as they could…slowing down about 5 minutes in to the game.  Caleb had a lovely stash of half-eaten candy on my end table.  He realized that not all candy is equally tasty.  And Jacob laughed at the end saying, "Mom, were you trying to make us sick of candy?!"  🙂

**Insert evil Disney witch laugh**

The Hicken’s and Dalebout’s came over on Sunday to watch the last session of General Conference (a broadcast from Salt Lake held every 6 months by the general leadership of our Church) and to have dinner with us.  We have such a good time with these two amazing families.  It’s always fun.  Always lively.  Always special.  And I’m so thankful that we get to associate with them.  Shelley caught this picture of all of our kids…ages 15 months to 16 years (I stole it from her blog to show you here…thanks Shel!).  Where will life take all of these unique and incredible kids?  I can’t wait to find out!