And I quote, "Mom, is my make-up wearing off? Should I apply more?"


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Brown Eyes, Blue Eyelids

Santa brought Hailey some make-up yesterday. I have three girls who look like this!

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Three Girls, Three Very Different Beings

This year, I purchased "The Elf On The Shelf." It's all the rage and if you don't know about it, it's really cute. Anyways, the girls named our elf, Jingle. When we got Jingle, we read a book about her and how she works. Basically, every morning she appears somewhere new in the house so she can observe the girls' conversations and behaviors. She's the eyes and ears of Santa. The girls talk to her, etc. because she leaves each night and goes to report to Santa and then finds a new hiding spot in the morning. There is a mad, competitive dash each morning to locate her.

There is one big rule about Jingle. YOU CANNOT TOUCH HER. If you do, she might lose her magic power. This....is....a....big....deal.

So, a few days ago, after the girls found Jingle we had a conversation that went like this...

Hailey: I FOUND JINGLE!!! LANDRY, BACK AWAY FROM JINGLE....DO NOT TOUCH HER!!!

Landry: O-tay Hay-wee. Ummmm....I touched Jingle yesterday.

Hailey: NO YOU DIDN'T!!! YOU BETTER NOT HAVE BECAUSE IT'S A RULE AND SHE CAN LOSE HER MAGIC!

Me: Landry, did you really touch Jingle?

Landry: yup.

(Reese slowly raises her hand while listening)

Me: Yes, Reese?

Reese: Ummm....I've touched Jingle too.

Hailey: OH MY GOSH!!!! REESE!!!!!!

Me: (trying not to crack a smile) Reese, you did not. When did you touch her?

Reese: Yes I did. Remember when she hid in that purse one day? I went and touched her.

Me: Why?

Reese: I don't know. I felt like it.

Landry: Uh-huh....I felt like it.

Hailey: (mortified)

This totally sums up our house. God bless Hailey and her rule abiding ways. It never even occurred to her to touch that elf. And Landry is too honest to hide anything. And Reese....well, she just can't help herself. She's our "wet paint" girl. You can tell her there's wet paint and not to sit in it, but good or bad consequences, she's gotta try it for herself.

This means I'm covered until Hailey graduates. She will report to me. After she leaves....heaven help me. Actually, heaven help me when Reese starts kinder in a year and a half.

Hailey's ending comment after a few minutes to our convo: I sure wish I could touch Jingle. I bet if I did, she'd feel so soft and cushy....like a big pillow (said with dreamy eyes).

And as I type, the girls are in bed, waiting for Santa to come. Hailey has come downstairs twice now, completely stressed out because Reese isn't settling down and going to sleep and Hailey really wants to sleep so Santa can come. When I went to talk to Reese, there is not an ounce of stress in her nor does she feel the need to go to bed. However, she did want to make a stuffed animal trade with Hailey and promised to go to sleep if Hailey would let her have the animal she wanted. It never ends....

Three girls, three totally different personalities. All....fantastic.

Making Cookies

For the big man tonight...


Of course, 80% of them are princess themed ones. I'm sure he will know he's at the right house!


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Sanity

God bless warm weather in Texas in December!


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Today...

This chica named Reese....

sang "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" in a lovely voice...

while sitting in time-out because she seems to have a problem obeying the rule, "we do not spit on, or at, our sisters."

It's impossible not to love the spunky wild woman though!

I've Often Wondered....

1. What the girls are like when I'm not around monitoring their interactions with each other?

2. What thoughts go through their expanding brains?

3. Why my phone is often missing?

4 What in the heck are these random videos on my phone?

Questions answered.

PaPa Came To Town

He had a business meeting, but stopped in for the night and went up to Hailey's school to have lunch with her! And....lucky him....all the girls wanted their picture taken with him!

NEW YORK!!!

I think...I just might be....finally....somewhat....kind of.....caught up on life!! WHAT???? Therefore it's time for my long, overdue post on my trip to New York City with my dad!

My dad asked me to go with him on a trip to the Big Apple with Wichita Music Theatre. We were there from a Wednesday until Sunday and saw 5 shows in 3 days! Growing up, I was not the biggest fan of watching musicals, so I was wondering what I would think of seeing so many....the shows were AMAZING!!! As in....holy-moly-those-people-are-unbelievably-talented good. They were each so different from each other, some entertaining, some powerful, some upbeat and funny, and one was pretty heavy. I'd spent a day in NYC before, but have never had the chance to experience the city in this way with a tour guide. And we had reservations at some wonderful restaurants too. Here are some pics I took!

Dad found Fox! I meant to send this to my brother, Chip, who looooves politics!

The drive by pic of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Plaza. Shhh....don't tell Hailey that Justin Bieber (or Beaver as she still says) was there and I did not attend the concert.

First Broadway play...Anything Goes. Loved it!

I couldn't help myself. Picture of parking rates in NYC. Are you JOKING ME?

World Trade Center memorial. Beautiful.

The Rockettes! Our seats were in the first balcony, 1st row and center. Spectacular! Those ladies can dance.

Chandelier in Radio Music Hall.

Picture of me and Dad outside of Lincoln Center. Thanks for inviting me Dad!

And....I cannot give enough thanks to Trey's mom, Granni. Rhonda came to the rescue when I went to Guatemala and Granni was so kind to take off of work and come keep the house running while I was in NYC. Truthfully, I felt spoiled. I got to go and travel and I came home to happy children, a clean house, no laundry, Granni even decorated my Christmas tree for me with the girls (we had started it but didn't have a chance to finish) and she put up decorations around the house!!! So thank you, thank you, thank you for your help!!! I am blessed to have a mother-in-law who loves to be around her granddaughters and who has granddaughters that are CRAZY about her! We love you!

Sister Hailey

Hailey and Trey both like to throw their voices. Here's a bit of Hailey practicing her nun skills after her bath...

Landry

Is working on her sassy pose rather than form


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No Joke...

Reese has herself a natural basketball shot!


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GNO

Smith Girls' Night Out was a success! We went to dinner and Arthur Christmas together!


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Whoa...

I walked into the living room to find these two cuddling...


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Dry Those Hands

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Christmas Pageant

Look who had her first Christmas pageant!!



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Christmas Break!!!

And Hailey is in the spirit!! Her babysitter bought her and her sisters new tutus so we've had three dancing girls around here!


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Gingerbread Houses

Hailey got to create her own house and talk to Ms. Claus yesterday with her Girl Scout troop!


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Knock-Knock

Landry thinks her joke is so funny. Just ask her.

Landry: Knock-knock.

Any willing participant: Who's there?

Landry: BANANA IN THE TOILET!!

Where she got this? No idea. One thing is for sure. She is cray-zee.

Busted

Licking the lid to the hummus. The chick loves her some hummus.
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Quote Of The Day

It came from Trey at dinner:

"Hey Reese, why don't you try to eat your own dinner before you shove your spoon into your sister's mouth, you know, the sister that you attempted to zip into a suitcase today."

It's true. She tried to zip Landry into a suitcase today.

Making Memories

Each year we let the girls choose one special ornament to hang on the tree. We have done it for a few years so they have their own collection they are creating. This year, Hailey chose Tinkerbell, Reese chose a Barbie and Landry found a Minnie ornament she thought was sooooo cute!


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Disney On Ice

So fun!
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Don't You Want...

Your kids to play with my kids' toys?


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Landry and Lucca

Happy Thanksgiving!! We are counting our blessings and hanging with some family! Here's my favorite picture of the day...


Lucca introduced Landry to playing with cars and trains today!
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Good Morning!

Who thinks Mommy got LuLu dressed today?


Who knows that no one other than Hailey can make an outfit shine with the right balance of accessories and glitter?
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Mission Trip to Guatemala

I've been waiting to get some photos before I blogged about my trip to Guatemala. It's impossible to describe the experience without some photos (plus, I'm a visual person). However, I want to share part of my story before too much time passes, so I'll update with pictures when I get them!

There was a website made for our trip and it was updated when we came back. It gave a basic description of what we did when we were there:

"The Wayside Chapel Guatemala Dental & Construction Team of 18 people went to work with our Ministry Partner, The Potter’s House, in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

While there, our team worked with the treasures who make their living by scavenging through the Guatemala City garbage dump. The team was divided in to three groups and each set out to accomplish a specific task.

1. Team 1 – Concrete Floor team mixed and poured concrete floors for two families.
2. Team 2 – House Construction Team worked on the construction of a home for a family that is involved in the Potter’s House.
3. Team 3 – The Dental Team held a dental hygiene clinic, a dental clinic for adults at the garbage dump; and a dental clinic at the Potter’s House for children.

One of the great highlights for some of the team members was the opportunity for them to meet children that are sponsored by them and their families. Prayer walks were taken through the community and it was evident that the Lord’s hand was upon the Team, as the entire trip went smoothly and was filled with God’s presence.

Please continue to pray for Guatemala and the Ministry there. Our Wayside Guatemala Team plans to go back in November 2012."

Basically, Guatemala City has a huge garbage dump. It is a country that is made up of "haves and have nots." Each day, 11,000 adults have a pass that they use (yes, you have to have a pass to get in) to enter the ravine which makes up the garbage dump and scavenge for a way to survive. They look for bottles, for glass, for plastic, for metal, and.....for food to feed their families. On average, they collect enough goods to sell to make $2. On a really good day, they'll make $5.

Organizations have come in and helped build them what we, as Americans, would consider to be a shack. Their homes are approximately a 10 X 10 room with cinder block walls, tin sheeting roofs and some have a cement floor. The "homes" are all connected in to each other and lined up in narrow rows. Some have electricity....the ones I worked in had a faint lightbulb hanging from a beam off of raggedy wires, of which I'm sure are fire hazards. And, the homes are occupied by families which consist of kids, parents, grandparents and others. They are crowded...overcrowded. Of course, these homes are built on top of an old part of the dump. The part where the trash built up so much in wasn't a ravine anymore so the city began disposing of trash in a new ravine.

It's impossible to describe the smell. As you can imagine, it was awful. Each day when we arrived to work, my throat would burn. It felt like I was breathing in a toxic environment. Each night when I would blow my nose, black would come out (sorry if that was too graphic, but I was shocked!). There were just as many dogs wandering the streets as people. I often smelled pot. It was obvious that many people abuse alcohol....and each other there. Women are often left to raise children by themselves because the husbands leave. Education is non-existant for the majority of these people. They are trying to survive.

Now, in steps the Potter's House. It is a Christian organization that started 25 years ago. They believe that everyone deserves a life better than living in a dump. They refer to the people they serve as treasures rather than scavengers. They do a multitude of things for the community including health and dental services for children and adults, building projects in the community, education for children, parenting programs for adults, they have a micro loan program where they teach people who scavenge how to learn a trade so they can break the cycle of scavenging, and they also have a program where you can sponsor a child (or children) and allow them to receive an education, spiritual care, nutritious meals, health care and basic necessities to give them an opportunity to thrive in life. I have a link to the right on my blog where you can go to the Potter's House website and see for yourself.

I, personally, got to help lay concrete floors for two different "homes" and I also worked on reconstructing a house. These families were desperate because when it would rain, they would be ankle deep in water/mud. And the house we worked on was in high danger because it was about to fall off of a hill.

One afternoon we went to different "homes" in the community and sat and visited with families. We prayed with them and for them and shared some food. One family had just lost a child and were in mourning, another asked us to pray for "good trash", another family asked us to pray for the grandmother who has diabetes and is in failing health, but still cares for her grandkids everyday while her children dig in the dump, another was pregnant and asked for prayers for the unborn babies health and for her son, who was the cutest two year old little boy who was bashful at first and then played with us. It....was....powerful, heartbreaking, exciting and eye opening.

Another afternoon we played games with children that are a part of Potter's House, but are in need of sponsors. They were full of joy. I became fast friends with Wendy, a 9 year old girl who aspires to be a doctor and who shares the same favorite colors with my own girls....pink and purple. I am so happy to be sponsoring her.

And on another afternoon, we visited a cemetary. The cemetary overlooks the dump. The smell was horrendous. There were hundreds of buzzards flying overhead and the landfill was full of people jumping on moving trucks to try to find the best trash. The dump is a dangerous place. Besides the health risks, there are huge holes that can easily kill someone. To be honest, it looked like a form of hell on Earth.

Like I said above, the trip was life changing. I was amazed at how the people we helped prayed just as much for blessings in my life as I did for them. I always felt safe there. People knew we were there to help and oftentimes, children wanted to pitch in and help in completing the projects. They were such hardworkers. People are people. We all want to be loved. We all love our children...it's built-in. We all want to make a difference. We all want to have a purpose. We all need God.

I plan on returning next November. I CANNOT wait to see Wendy and to serve. I didn't want this mission trip to be a one time thing. I want it to be a part of my life. I want it to become a part of my children's lives. And in the mean time, I don't believe that people have to go to a foreign country to serve people in need. There are people all around me locally that need help. I plan on finding a fit in an organization here too.

Why did I take this trip? I've always wanted to do a mission trip. However, when my kids were little I was just not ready. Last spring, my heart began to change on the idea though. I've had some personal struggles the last couple of years and through those struggles I have spent a lot of time trying to discover who God created me to be. What was I meant to do with my life? A few months ago, I began to have some clarity on the issue. The only way to describe it is that I truly felt God calling me to go. And not for just a one time thing. Being a mother to Hailey, Reese and Landry and a wife to Trey is my most favorite job ever....EVER. However, there's a part of me that is meant to do other things too. This has felt good in my soul....I have felt God's presence. God is oh-so-good.

And, I will put this out there. If any of you have ever wanted to get involved in an organization but didn't know who to trust or weren't sure of what certain groups actually do, I can tell you that there are children at the Potter's House who would love for you to sponsor them. It costs about $35/month...for education, Christian training, medical help, nutritious meals, a loving environment.... But the thing that surprised me the most about the sponsors for these kids is that the kids are so happy to have sponsors....not necessarily for the money, but because they desire to know people, to have someone write them a letter that says they love them and are praying for them, to have someone make them feel as if they matter. You can e-mail me and I will get in touch with the Potter's House staff for you.

Also, I know of two other organizations that are worth looking into if you are searching for something like this. The first is Compassion International. Amazing. Our Hailey chose a 7 year old in Indonesia for us to sponsor. We pray for her every day. They are legitimate. They change lives. The leader of our Guatemala mission trip went to Africa last year and met a girl that he and his family have sponsored for years. She graduated high school and was accepted into college. His story about her is so inspirational and is another reminder of God working in this world.

The other is Orphan Outreach. We have a good, personal friend who helped start that here in Dallas and I have had the opportunity to go to their office and meet the staff and learn of what they do. Here is their mission statement: "The Mission of Orphan Outreach is to improve the lives of orphans and at-risk children primarily in Guatemala, Honduras, India, and Russia through early intervention, education and evangelism, thus meeting the physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs of the children." Hopefully I'll have a blog post about a trip with them someday soon too!!

I know that this Thanksgiving I am thankful for so very, very much in my life. But most importantly I am thankful for having a relationship with Jesus Christ.

1 Chronicles 16:8-12

8 Give thanks unto the LORD,

call upon his name,

make known his deeds among the people.

9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him,

talk ye of all his wondrous works.

10 Glory ye in his holy name:

let the heart of them rejoice

that seek the LORD.

11 Seek the LORD and his strength,

seek his face continually.

12 Remember his marvelous works that he hath done,

his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Attention: Tooth Fairy

Have you ever had a day where you FINALLY get to do some sprucing up around the house? You decide to head to the hardware store to purchase new flood lights, cleaners, etc and you think, "what a nice day with the family....FINALLY!" You warn your children before going into the store that you expect appropriate behavior and they look at you and agree. And then, once you've been in the store for 10 minutes, you hear the smack of one of your kids tripping (on their own feet) and falling face first into the concrete floor, while you were looking at lightbulbs. Anyone? Anyone?

Yep. Reese. She tried to dance standing still. I don't really blame her for the accident. She has my dancing genes...they aren't very graceful ones. Trey immediately went and scooped her up and I saw the huge chunk of skin hanging from her lip. When I went over to Trey, who was cradling Reese, he calmly looked at me and said, "would you mind going and picking up her tooth which is on the floor behind us." WHAAAAA? Now, we know this isn't uncommon. We know that mouth injuries bleed....a lot. However, after 15 minutes when she was still gushing blood and I finally looked in her mouth and saw a looong, deep split all the way up her inner lip, as in almost through the lip, we called her dentist, who sent us to the hospital. Turns out she's got a lot of pain, butsince the split is completely straight and she successfully knocked all of the tooth out in one fall (we think), we just have to wait and see the dentist next week (which...by the way, we just saw last Monday). So our Poor Reese has a very sore and very fat lip for now. And, every 5 minutes, she walks up to someone in the house and says, "hey, I lost my toof." And, the first thing she said to Trey after her fall was, "Daddy, since it's gone....you think the Toof Fairy will come to see me?"

And to top it off, Hailey walked up to us when we got home and said, "hey look! I just pulled another tooth out!" Apparently, Hailey's tooth had sympathy for Reese's.

Is it bad that I'm thankful I had family pictures taken a month ago?

Bring On The Rain And Snow

I've failed at having any gear for rain and snow. And last year there were 5 snow days. The girls were VERY happy to come home to new boots! Bring on the wet weather!!




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Guatemala And Aunt Rhonda Update

I'm back!! I'm waiting to update on my trip until I receive some pictures. We had two people on the trip with awesome cameras and photography abilities. It was life changing.

And, I cannot thank my Aunt Rhonda enough for coming and staying here while I was gone. Hailey ended up getting strep and was home the entire week. Rhonda ended up finding all of the disgusting areas of my house that I always tend to overlook and she was a cleaning machine. Literally....I've already noticed that she cleaned my washing machine. And then I went to throw away all the girls extra toothbrushes this morning....they were gone. She did it. And then, I found a new scrubber for my sink (old one....gross gross gross). And, my cabinets are shinier on the outside....I'm pretty sure she cleaned those too. I have a new recipe box. She cooked, left recipes my kids enjoy, food to eat in the fridge, bought stuffing for Thanksgiving for me when she was at the store. The kids got new games and activities to play so they wouldn't be sad when I left.

What's scary is that I'm even more certain that I'm not half way through the list of things that she did.....little treasures left just for me!

The best part is that it's just fun to have her here. Trey and I both enjoy being around her (even without all the help she provides!) and my kids think she's great too.

So Aunt Rhonda....thank you so so much. I just love you.

Hey Uncle David....feel free to kick her out of the house anytime....we will always have space for her here!!!! Or.....you could move to Texas????? :)

Update: I have just discovered new meatloaf pans and new bottles of antibacterial soap at all of the sinks in the house. I'm sure this list will continue to grow....

Fall Family Shoot

We had our family pictures taken a few weeks ago. Our photographer is also a personal friend of ours, who is so sweet and talented. I'm very excited about our pics! Here are just a few!

Guatemala

This season has been crazy busy for us. It feels like we've been on the go-go-go constantly.....almost too much. Trey's had travels, there have been World Series games, a trip to Kansas, visitors in town, church meetings, school activities, etc. And, Trey just accepted a new position at work. This is a great thing. CONGRATS to him!!!

This past weekend though, we finally had a weekend at home with just us and the girls. It....was....fabulous. The girls played together all weekend with just their sisters, Trey and I got to hang out together and talk.....ahhhhh.....so well needed.

However, the busy schedule continues for a while more. Today, my Aunt Rhonda rolls into town. She's coming because I'm going on my first mission trip this week. I'm off to Guatemala. I could go into detail about how it all came about, but I'm on a time crunch to go and meet Hailey for a field trip, so I'll save that for later! Basically, I have felt very called to go and serve. This opportunity arose and I had asked Trey's Aunt Becky if she could help me out with the girls for a few days while I was gone. She said, "yes!" with no hesitation. Then, I told my Aunt Rhonda about the trip and she volunteered to come down and help out. I feel so blessed to have family that is so helpful and loving to us.

I am taking this from one of my dear friend's blogs, who is also going on the trip. She wrote it so well that I decided to steal it from her (thanks Annie!).

"We are going to go serve with an amazing organization called Potters House. Here is an excerpt from their website: "In the heart of Guatemala City is the largest dump in Latin America. More than 11,000 people live and work in and near the dump, and nearly 6,500 of them are children. Even by other Guatemalans, they are treated as little better than the garbage that shapes their existence, which in turn leads them to believe that they are the refuse of the world. Potter's House Association is a Christian non-profit organization that exists to change the living situation for these thousands, because they are human beings, beloved children of the one true God, worthy of respect and dignity. They are Treasures of immeasurable worth, both to our Lord Jesus Christ and to us."

Some of us will be working on building houses, some will be doing medical work and we will be out connecting with people. I have spent much time praying about this and for this trip. On a personal note, it's always tough to leave my nest and babies and Trey behind. However, we aren't put on this Earth to be comfortable. We are called to serve. I have been praying that God may be glorified on this trip and that His love will be felt. There will be a website that will be updated daily about our trip. I will put up the link to it if any of you would like to follow along. If you would join in praying for this trip and the people of Guatemala this week, I would be so appreciative. I leave Wednesday.

Hey Landry

You're correct. It was cold outside so if you wanted to jump on the trampoline, yes, the jacket was a good idea. However....you're missing something.....

Holy Ears!

Miss Hailey has been talking about getting her ears pierced for a while now. When she'd bring it up she would almost always say this, "Mom, I REALLY want to get my ears pierced. And, I know, I know, I know....you don't even have to say it....it's going to hurt like a bee sting. I already know it, but I still want them pierced."

I didn't get mine pierced until I was 15. And I don't think my mom made me wait that long for any particular reason, she just waited until I wanted to do it. I hadn't brought it up to Hailey at all because it doesn't matter to me if she does it or not. But I could tell that she was serious a few weeks back and about that time I went to her parent/teacher conference. Let me tell you how much I love going to those for her.....I'm glad that she's doing well in school, but most importantly the teacher talked about how great she is with peers and her behavior is never an issue. So, I decided that I was fine with her piercing her ears!

Before:

The gave her a frog to hold, isn't that cute!? She was watching them prepare everything.

And, right afterwards. She was so tough. No tears, no complaining, just excitement!!!

She may be little, but she's one tough cookie and we are so proud of her!!

Halloween!

I love Halloween in our neighborhood! We live around so many nice families and it's always apparent on this night!

Introducing Bumble Bee, Cinderella and Super Reese!!!

Before heading out for candy, we ate pizza outside with one of our favorite families! Here's a sassy pic of the girls.

Each of the girls went after the candy in a different way this year. Hailey and her friend, Maggie, strolled along together chatting it up and enjoying the night. Reese is not pictured because she discovered that if you run really fast with 9 year old boys, you can hit up tons of houses and score lots of goodies. Have I mentioned she's her father's daughter?

And LuLu hung with Mama. Wanted to hold my hand, but she went up to the houses by herself and said, "trick-or-treat" in the cutest voice possible!

Hailey loved my wig and hippie shirt. Reese thought I looked ridiculous. I did.

Such a fun stage of our lives to do this with the girls!