Information on my Mom

Here is the obituary for my mom, Janet English.
http://obit.rindt-erdman.com/obitlist.html?task=All&listing=Current

Merry Christmas Everyone!

We've had an unforgetable Chrismas today in the Smith family. It is the first time we've stayed home since having kids for the holiday. As much as we missed seeing our families, it was so relaxing and comfortable to wake up at our home with the girls. Trey's brother, Kyle, drove up and joined us too, which was so nice because our girls (along with us) love Uncle Kyle. We also had some good friends over for a Christmas feast, which meant I got to cook my first turkey, and make gravy, along with all the yummy sides. I think I'm an official grown up now....in my 31 years, I've always had my mom, aunts and a grandmother who cooked it up for the holiday, so I hounded my Aunt Rhonda for family recipes and started our own tradition here. Here are some pics and video clips from today, after attending our Christmas Eve service at church, and at Hailey's Christmas pageant last week at school.

Hailey leaving cookies and a note for Santa before bed.

Santa made it! He left presents in the stockings my mom has handmade for us over the years!

Uncle Kyle and Reese eating cinnamon rolls and drinking hot chocolate.

Hailey loving her Barbie and princess gifts!

What does an 8 month pregnant mother do after a full day of Christmasing? Well, she gets sucked into trying to play Guitar Hero of course!

On another note, I'm sorry that none of our friends and family received Christmas cards from us this year. I actually love doing them and we took a picture of the girls for one, but it never got sent in the hustle and bustle of the season. However, we have loved receiving them from you all. Along with the normal holiday business we all face, I must admit it has been a tough month around here. Many of you know that my mom has been battling metastatic breast cancer for well over a year now. I haven't blogged about it because to be perfectly honest, I am often at a loss of words to type in a blog. Nothing seems meaningful enough or gives her the love, respect and honor that I want to display. Plus, I am just plain heartbroken for her, myself, my dad and brothers, and my girls. She is now under hospice care and is receiving the best care from my dad. They've been married for 38 years. I have appreciated the support, calls, cards, and e-mails throughout this time. I have been reminded on this day that we have received a gift that lasts so much longer than the excitement of opening a present...it lasts an eternity. So on this Christmas, I am filled with joy and sadness, but also with strong hope, faith and the knowledge that our God is the One of love who surpasses all of our earthly understandings and has great plans in store for us. He loved us so much, He sent us his Son.

...and we all fall down.

That's right. We're a household full of the flu right now. Hailey went down first on Thursday night, Reese followed on Saturday night (starting at midnight...you can imagine what a fun night that was), I continued the trend on Sunday and Trey went down EARLY this morning. So, if you haven't heard from us or don't for a few days, trust me, you don't want to!!!

SHE ATE BROCCOLI???

So, the girls have spent a few days with Trey's aunt and uncle, Brett and Becky. They are WONDERFUL and kept our kids on a moment's notice so that we could make a trip to Kansas. The girls both love being with them and with their kids. The running joke is that APPARENTLY Hailey eats like a horse for them and APPARENTLY the girls get along beautifully when they're with them also. Hailey even came home today wearing pants and a sweater that she kicks and screams to put on when I pick it out for her....she only wants to wear skirts and dresses with me. When I left, I joked that I'd come back and my kids would be eating green beans (they aren't big fans of green veggies). While in Kansas, I received the pictures below...they have proven their superpower childcaring abilities. I am in shock. Yes, that's Reese EATING broccoli and there's another cute pic of Reesie hanging out with Brett at his office just passing the time away.

Now, moving on to the second half of the blog. Here's my parenting abilities. Trey brought the girls home, we had dinner and then we all went out for ice cream (once again, it was for the baby, not for me). When I turned to look at my children in the back seat, this is what I found. My Reese decided to pull her arms out of her carseat, take her shirt off (the temp is in the 20's), and smear her cone all over her face. All I can say is that at least the girls were happy AND the ice cream was strawberry, so they had fruit. Would anyone like me to watch their kids anytime soon?

Two of a Kind

So, I've had a few requests for a picture of the baby bump....here she is! I'm almost 31 weeks now, but when I went to the dr. a few days back, she was measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule. This is new for me since Reese and Hailey tended to measure 1-2 weeks behind. It looks like this baby may decide to outgrow both of her sisters!

By the way, we laughed at this picture for a good while because Trey told Hailey to put her hands on her hips and lean back (funny advise from someone who has never had to carry a baby!). Anyways, is anyone surprised that Hailes is wearing her favorite nightgown (she asks almost everyday around 3:30-4:00pm if she can put it on because it looks like it might get dark soon) and tiara?

Reese eating a Reese's. Needless to say, she loves them.

And, LOOK CLOSE....A CURL!! Our girl might just get a full head of hair someday! Right now, she loves to brush her.....scalp.

Daddy and Reese hanging out. One of the few moments that Reesie actually sits still. She had just exhausted herself from her new game of "let's hide under the covers and laugh hysterically"

Who's In for Dinner?

Trey is gone tonight for a business dinner. December is a crazy month for him and entertaining. So, it's me and the girlies for dinner. I decided to let Hailey choose the menu tonight (darn well knowing that I was going to reheat the homemade chicken and noodles from earlier in the week). The dinner of choice.....pancakes with syrup, apple juice, and a cheese roll-up (that is a tortilla with melted colby jack cheese). Doesn't it just appeal to the palate?

Double Doozy

We've lost two children to pink eye and Reese also has a double ear infection. But the point is this, no matter how sick Hailey may be (her quote of the day, "my nose is not working right now")....she always remembers to wear her tiara. A true princess never loses sight of the big picture.

Thanksgiving

And we're back from a great trip to Kansas for Thanksgiving! I tend to forget to take pictures when I'm there, but I got a few this time that helps capture the overall picture of my family. I should've taken a picture of the amount of food made and consumed. My Aunt Rhonda can flat out cook....and I mean everything....turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pies, sweet potato casserole, corn casserole....that is not even the end of the list, but I've made my point. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to my next doctor visit weigh-in.

However, the excitement began before Thanksgiving Day. My dad decided to take all 5 grandkids to Wal-Mart on Weds. to buy a little something special. The kids went crazy. My 8 year old niece Abby has recently become fond of hip-hop music, so PaPa turned it on when they left the house and they were all dancing. If you've ever wanted to know the true personality of my dad, here you go.

The kids also put on a talent show for the adults.
Here's Keely signing and singing Silent Night, Abby and Hailey putting on a puppet show, Trey and Reese hanging out (note the loyalty to the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day), Marcia and Marina watching the entertainment and my Uncle David calling up the birthday boy, Mitch, so we could all sing a loud Happy Birthday for him. I also loved the picture I got of my sister-in-law Tracey and my nephew Connor. Somehow I missed a picture of the other star of the show, Naomi, who was visiting and playing with all the girls and should not be left off the list due to her major role in the production.

Trey also snapped a few pictures of my mom and Reese together, but I haven't gotten to download them yet. Reese loves to crawl into my mom's lap and cuddle (and steal her food) with her. It's just the cutest thing to see. The weekend also included a gopher hunt (I will not elaborate), competitive games of Mexican Train and a KU football victory that shook the walls. Hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!