Smith Story 5

I was doing the dishes the other day when Chase started pointing at the dining room and yelling, "Get in the fire! Get in the fire!" He was obviously talking to me, but I wasn't sure why. I gamely played along, went into the dining room, and yelled, "Ow, it's hot, it's hot in here!"

Gabriella ran up and said, "I'm Jesus! I'll pull you out." That's when I realized they were acting out Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. It warmed my heart, and not because I was in a pretend oven.

Then my heart cooled as "Jesus" pulled me out and they started arguing.

"I'm Jesus! No, I'm Jesus! Get in the fire! I'm God! No, I want to be God! You get in the fire! GET BACK IN THE FIRE!"

We are working on it. I think the definition of 'sacrilege' will make its way into that story soon.

Smith Story 4

Graham shared something very insightful last night.

"Mom, when other kids do something mean to me, they are always doing it on purpose. But when I do something mean, it's always on accident. Isn't that weird?"

Smith Story 3

I will tell you right now that this blog entry should be accompanied by lots of beautiful pictures of the kids playing in fall leaves.

We raked leaves into the garden last week. (I should say, "I raked leaves into the garden" because Will hurt his knee and can't do much outdoor work right now.) So, after I raked leaves into the garden, I noticed that the light was beautiful from the setting sun, and the kids were so cute playing in the big piles of leaves, and it was an all-around perfect picture opportunity. I asked Will to grab the camera, and he met us at the garden to take our Fall 2012 leaf pictures.

Then Gabriella got a leaf in her mouth.

Then the gagging started. The frantic open-your-mouth-so-I-can-grab-it moment. More gagging. Then up came her strawberry pudding, all over the pile of leaves.

We went inside.

Thus, there are no pictures to accompany this blog.

Smith Story 2

We're supposed to be listening to the kids' Christmas CD's so they can learn the songs for their Christmas programs. As we were driving to school yesterday, the narration was talking about Jesus' birth and how it ultimately lead to his death.

Gabriella: Jesus died?
Me: Yes, He died to save us from all of the bad things we do.
Gabriella: So we can go to heaven?
Me: Yes, so we can go to heaven to be with Jesus when we die.
Gabriella: And we can ride a manatee?

Hmmm... Riding a manatee is illegal on Earth, but will it be possible in heaven? I, for one, do not know. And who am I to squash a toddler's dream?

Smith Story 1

Last Friday, Graham got to wear his pajamas to school. When his preschool teacher sent out the weekly report, it included a section on how they go to sleep at night. Most of the responses were things like this:

Ryan—I sleep on my tummy with my cat.
Mireya—I put my head on my pillow and go to sleep.
Asher—I sleep with my blanket and pillow.
Cole—I sleep with my scratchy blanket.

Here was Graham's response:
Graham—I sleep on my belly with my hands under my pillow.  My blanket is next to me and I pull up the covers and my mom and dad give me a kiss and tuck me in.  If I get up, I have to tuck myself back in.

Christmas Pictures

We took a Christmas picture ourselves this year. If the goal is to spread holiday cheer, I think we should have included one of these and given everyone the gift of a belly laugh.

Welcome, little one.

We are excited about the birth of our new niece, Olivia. She was born last Saturday and has got to be one of the cutest babies I've ever seen! Okay, all my nieces and nephews are the cutest babies I've ever seen. Okay, there's just something about newborns. But see for yourself, she is very cute.

Congratulations, Caleb and Christina! Hope you're getting some sleep!