Future Gymnast?

Remember when I wrote this post about our little climber girl? I was hoping that maybe it was just a phase...but it seems to be the norm around here. In fact we have just given into the fact that it is going to happen and so we try and eliminate potential areas of "damage" if you will by keeping the table cleared off. That way when she goes up there she just sits and talks to herself.

Well she is a little escape artist also! Our front screen door doesn't latch and lock well and she is just tall enough to let herself out the door if we happen to leave the storm door open. And that is just what she did this afternoon (again)...

And here is where I found her. In our backyard on the playground. She has found a way (and her brothers didn't teach her) how to climb up or to the slide so she can go down herself!

  In fact she is quite proud of herself!!

I didn't even know she could climb the ladder..

 But up she went!

 Reached the top in no time!

 And so very pleased with herself.

 Next it was time to climb up the slide the wrong way...you know as we all do at one time in our lives...I just don't think I was younger than 2 when I started it!

 But up and up and up she went..

 I couldn't believe how fast she would climb up.

And then she would slide down and start again.  I am thinking that when she is a little older we may have to invest in gymnastics lessons because she seems to have no fear of heights and is coordinated too!

 And even though we are on picture overload here I had to share these pics of her in the swing. She was just in heaven...head back feeling the breeze...what could be better?!

 Ahhh the life...no cares or worries here!

Happy Sunday friends!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Elijah!!

I can't hardly believe it "my Elijah", but today you are three!

 I still amazes me that you were once this size. Born weighing 8lbs 11oz you were a big boy and you had the perfect little bankers hairstyle :)

 And your big brothers loved you from the moment they saw you!

Karlena was also so excited to meet you - you held a very special place in her heart!

Look at those cheeks!!

And you had the funniest faces.

As you grew your personality began to shine....and on rare occasions you had just the tiniest bit of sass in you! ;)

 You make us smile at your cuteness all the time. And as you have learned to talk and express yourself we are so impressed with all you know about the world around you.

You love spending time with your daddy....and always want to be doing what he is doing.

And sometimes you play so hard that you fall asleep in just about any place and any position.

Hearing you say your prayers melts my heart - every time.

Elijah, I don't have enough time or words to express just how much better our lives are with you in it.

Your dad and I hope that you have a wonderful third birthday. We love you so much and can't wait to see what the next year will bring for you!

This and That and Everything Inbetween!

I wonder how many posts I can begin with "I've been a bad blogger" before you all get tired of my excuses and stop visiting here?! :)

But at this season in my life it seems the truth. I want to blog, I miss writing and often I think to myself that I need to blog about this or that and I just don't find or take the time.

So just for the sake of those who care and are interested in what's happening here in the Smith home - here is a recap of some of the past several days.

 Gabriel had a play at school last week and he played Pa Jones in the Little Red Rooster (modified to accommodate a boy playing the "hen" instead of a girl! ;)

 He did a GREAT job and his teacher told him that he had a good stage voice...and she was right! He was one of the few kids that you could really hear and understand. We were so proud of him!!  He was even chosen to be the person who introduced each play and welcomed the guests!

 Later that same day we went out to Awana with him and watched him get his awards for the year! He completed 2 books and so he got 2 ribbons!!

 

 On Saturday we went to Sioux Falls to spend the day with my family and celebrate Miss Isabel's third birthday!! She was pretty excited to celebrate and even got a new bike from her mom and dad!

 Elijah REALLY enjoyed the cupcakes she had...

 So much so that he got frosting up his nose with each bite!

 Karlena's "Jeff Daniel's" look is back and she was rocking it pretty good this day.

 My mom was in heaven holding little Gavin. Can't you tell?? 

 He is just such a sweetheart I can't even tell you!!

 This morning work started on our new roof. And man did these guys work FAST. We have a pretty big roof and I thought it was crazy to think they would finish in a day but for the most part they did. There is a small ridge cap in the back they have to come back and finish - but it looks great!

 Here are a few shots of the new shingles. We had that big storm right after we moved here and thought that our roof was fine but decided late in the summer to have an adjuster come and check it out just to be sure and they totaled the roof - so we made some arrangements in the early fall to have it completed this spring.

It was nice to have someone else just come and do the work....last time we "encouraged" our family to come and help do it ourselves when we lived in Beresford. When Isaac heard that we didn't have to do any work on this job he was thrilled! They even cleaned up every last shingle on the ground. Good stuff!

Elijah's third birthday is Friday and we are having a little party on Saturday for him.  The kids are done with school for the year tomorrow at noon and are both pretty excited about it. Can't believe we made it through almost a year here in Marshall...what was scary last June - now feels like home and where we belong! 

God is good!!

Oh and I picked a winner from my Heart's of Haiti giveaway - Kami, I will be sending you your necklace soon...I promise. At least I will try very hard to get it in the mail within the next week or so! ;) I know you understand how that goes!!

WOW - what a week. Hopefully some day I will find some time to get back into blogging a little more frequently - but I am not making any promises....just know that we are doing well and we are always thanking God for His many blessings. He is good indeed!

Have a wonderful rest of the week friends!

"Heart of Haiti" and a Giveaway!!

This Mother's Day, I'm working with Clever Girls in support of Macy's Heart of Haiti to shine a light on the "trade, not aid" program, which provides sustainable income to Haitian artisans struggling to rebuild their lives and support their families after the 2010 earthquake.

 What is Macy’s Heart of Haiti? Heart of Haiti is a “Trade, Not Aid” initiative launched by artist and social entrepreneur, Willa Shalit, The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and Macy’s. Already, Heart of Haiti has led to employment of 750 artists in Haiti, providing financial benefits for an estimated 8,500 people in the country.

 
Each item is a one-of-a-kind design and handmade by a Haitian master artisan from raw materials such as recycled oil drums, wrought iron, papier-mâché and stone. The collection features more than 40 home decor items including quilts, metalwork, ceramics, jewelry and paintings and is made almost entirely from recycled and sustainable items such as old cement bags, cardboard, oil drums and local gommier wood.  
Heart of Haiti products are available online at Macy’s.com.

I was sent 2 of these necklaces and asked to share a story about a special woman in my life.  I will write about my mom closer to Mother's Day so today I am going to tell you about another woman who was important in the early days of my Christian faith.

When I was at USD I was involved in the campus ministry group there and as a part of that started meeting with a mentor each week. Kim and I would meet at Charlie's for an hour or so. I would always get something to eat....usually eggs and toast and we would do a Bible study together and just talk about life.

Kim was supportive and caring and honest with me and I learned how to be honest about some of the struggles I was going through because of her example.

Strangely enough when Dominic and I moved to Beresford a few years later and bought our first home....Kim and her husband were our backyard neighbors! Crazy huh?!

I love how God knits together people for relationship, and I am grateful today that Kim was such an important part of my life during that time!

How about you? Is there a woman in your life that made an impact on you? Leave a comment and share who that was and why and you will be entered to win a Heart of Haiti necklace for yourself!!

Contest closes on Friday May 11th!!

Thank you to Macy's Heart of Haiti for sponsoring my participation in this “Share Your Heart" promotion. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.