The weekend update

The Smiths had a weekend to remember. First, on Saturday, Stephen officiated his first wedding for our friends Philip and Holly.  He did an AMAZING job--I was SOOOO proud of him.  Several people told him that it was sincerely the best wedding ceremony/message they had ever been to!  Madison was the flower girl, Jackson was the ring bearer, and I had the great honor of singing "I am Strong in the Lord" as the processional.  

Here are some precious pics from Saturday:

THEN, on Sunday, we made a huge announcement to our church family that we'll be moving back to Houston in February.  We are so sad to say good-bye to our precious friends here!  We are also overwhelmed at the opportunity that God has given us. It absolutely has been HIS work to bring this all about.  More updates on our transition to come in future posts! :)

Simple pleasures

. . . .chai in the afternoon

. . . .seat warmers in the car

. . . .a warm, cozy house on a cold, gray day

. . . .a new hair cut and hair color

. . . .baby kisses (her whole face lit up when she saw me through the window at the end of her "school" day)

. . . .a deal from Anthropologie (new skirt!:)

. . . . a Jackson-ism (I told you, didn't I, that he's the "root beer" in the wedding this weekend?)

. . . .children who get along (watching cartoons together, currently)

. . . .Sara Groves' latest CD (LOVE it!)

. . . .my iphone (how DID I love without it?)

. . . .my adorable husband (He so lovingly was concerned for my safety this morning--"Be careful of ice on the bridges in the little car".  That is so sweet!)

. . . a new magazine in the mail (Cottage Living, anyone?)

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  James 1:17

Saturday morning fun. . .

Saturdays with no big agenda are--in a word--AWESOME!! Stephen let me sleep late (til 9:00!!!) and got up with the 3 kiddos! We watched cartoons, played on webkinz.com (that would be M), and played Play Station.

THEN, we had a visit from Stuart (Stephen's brother), Collin, Rob, and Brian. They are in town playing at FBC Hursts' D-Now! Collin is an incredible worship leader, and we think that they are just awesome guys.  If you've never heard Stuart play (he plays with us, too)--he is AMAZING!

These are more pics from the week.

This is the Lincoln Log Ranch that J-man and I built one morning.

M & J trying on their new wedding clothes for next weekend's big wedding.  M is the flower girl and J is the "root beer" (otherwise known as the "ring bearer" at our friends' wedding!

And this is sweet Baby H playing at the mall. She is getting so big! She is such a delight in every way.

Happy Weekend! Have a blessed Sabbath!

Baby Caden is Home!

I am so excited to report this wonderful news about my nephew, Caden! He has been home since last Thursday, and they are doing great! Check out my sister's blog at

thelilleyfamily.blogspot.com

24 hours of. . .

24!!

Yes, we completed season 4 of 24 last night!!! That Jack Bauer--he went and saved the world AGAIN! Amazing! How does he do it? We'll take a break and then move on to season 5! Yippee!! Stephen and I have enjoyed our fall with Jack, Tony, and the gang. A lot of nights we've made this yummy little drink that you might like. My friend Donna introduced me.

1/3 cup Pomegranate juice (it's best by POM--in the produce section by the bottled salad dressings and juices).
2/3 cup Canada Dry

Serve over ice. Yummy!

a funny "Jackson-ism"

So this morning at the mall, Jackson, Hope, and I past an elderly man sitting still and quietly. He was evidently waiting for someone or something. Anyway, I noticed that he had a bright white bracelet-type thing around his wrist and assumed it was holding his keys. Jackson took note of this man, too. As we walked by him, he hollered out, "Hi, Grandpa!". Then, as we walked on past, he asked me, "Mommy, why is that grandpa for sale?". He thought that bracelet was a PRICE TAG!

Funny stuff. I've been chuckling to myself all morning long! :)

Ramblings. . .

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my blog-reading friends. I've totally been wanting to write a sweet, thoughtful Christmas-post but too much has happened and too much is happening! When I did sit down to write, I found out that all our Christmas pictures are on Stephen's computer and deleted from the card. . so NO PICTURES here to post! Yuck!

So. . . we'll just move along to current ramblings in Smith world in no particular priority order. :)

First, is High School Musical taking over anyone else's world besides mine? Those songs are everywhere I go! The other night when Madison's friend spent the night, they sat on the couch watching the movie and singing along with the songs on her new karaoke machine (Thank you, MawMaw!). It was pretty cute. They also wrote 2 more original songs--"Who's that Man?" and "It's the Word". They both sound a little bit like "Who's that Boy?". . . .Hmmmmm. . .

Second, these are the new foods that Hope-y has recently sampled: dog food (twice), Carmel corn, and Ritz crackers. The first 2 she obviously scavengered for on the floor--that girl can crawl like crazy! She can make it from the living room, through the breakfast room, through the kitchen and to the laundry room were we keep Gretel's food in no time!

Third, my Jacks-man is a nut! He plays non-stop! This morning, though, he got into some of Madison's nail polish!!! He "painted a stream" on the top rim of the tub! Fortunately it (mostly) came up. He also painted his nails! Exciting.



Fourth, my amazing husband surprised me last night with. . . an IPHONE!!!! No kidding!!! My 2nd hand Nokia has served me faithfully (again, thank you, MawMaw), but it was time to retire that baby! Funny, I just FEEL cooler when I hold it! :)

Fifth, I made a very easy, yummy supper last night, and I thought I'd share it with you busy girls out there. This recipe is from my mom's friend, but you call it Saucy Chicken and Pasta!

Ingredients:
1 8oz. cream cheese (full fat or fat-free)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (regular or 98% fat-free)
1 stick of butter (or 1/2 a stick)
Chicken tenders or breasts (about 3 breasts)
1 small pack angel hair pasta or thin spaghetti

Directions:
Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Add the soup and cream cheese, whisking to combine.
Put the chicken in a CROCK POT.
Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken.
Cook on HIGH for 4ish hours or LOW for 6ish hours.
Cook the angel hair pasta.
Serve the saucy chicken over the pasta.

**My mom made the original version for us over Thanksgiving, and it was so creamy and yummy! I made the the low-fat version (with whole-wheat pasta) last night for us, and it was super creamy and good. Next time I make it I'll experiment with adding a little garlic salt and/or onion powder.

Enjoy!!

Sixth, can I just complain for a sec? I really don't like taking down Christmas decorations!!!! What a mess. . I'm only half way through!!!

Seventh, my nephew Caden is hopefully going to be coming home before long. They're at least starting to seriously talk about it! Please keep praying that he'll continue gaining weight and get to come home soon!! Also, for Mel and Nathan to hold up.

Lastly, my precious husband is just not feeling well today. . he's been laying low all day. .. sore throat. . .looks like we'll be singing lots of girl-songs at church tomorrow!!

OK--I'm out. Time to feed Hope, wash more clothes, clean up this messy, messy house, be Stephen's nurse, cook supper, give 3 children baths, and get us ready for church tomorrow! See ya!