Life, Death & Staples...

This is a very random title for a very random post... it seems I have proven to be a very slack blogger so I thought I'd just post to recap our week...

This week has been a sad week for a few of our friends and subsequently for us. A good friend down the street buried his father at the young age of 64 on Monday. He'd been sick for some time and lived far beyond what the doctors ever expected so it that was a blessing the family was able to cherish even in their grief. On Tuesday, another sweet set of friends buried their 24 year old son who died very unexpectedly. I cannot fathom the pain and grief they feel. The funeral home and church were packed with people both young and old to celebrate this young man's life. As I hugged them and cried with my sweet friend Vicky, they spoke of looking forward to cherishing every moment ahead with their younger children (the same age as Will & Campbell) and encouraged me to go home and hug mine with all my might because they now understand all too well how quickly they can be pulled from your earthly grasp. They said they know their son is rejoicing in Heaven and find some peace in that, but can't help but wish for another day with him here on earth... so this week I am thanking God for the blessings that my husband & children are to me! It has made me so aware of how incredibly blessed I am and how much of my life I often take for granted... It made me realize that I need to slow down and truly cherish moments of every day... here's a few I'm cherishing this week!

*Will's absolute love for Guitar Hero on Wii... I love watching him play and just adore how he sticks his tongue out just so when he's really concentrating on a song! (note to self... grab my camera next time!)

*The conversation I had with Campbell in the car this week that went something like this...
C- Mommy, were you happy when you found out that you had a baby in your tummy?
me- oh yes! I dreamed my whole life of the day I would become a mommy.
C- Oh good because this morning I thanked God that he choose your tummy to put me in and noone elses. I'm glad you are happy to be my mommy too.
me- yes I can't imagine my life without you and Will. You both make mommy very happy.
C- Because we're good?
me- Well yes I love when you're good, but I also love you even when you're not so good... I will always love you!
C- Well I just prayed that when God puts a baby in my tummy that he picks a good one just like me and Will.

*The 1 1/2 hours I spent at the vet Monday morning with Miller. He developed sever diahhrea over the week-end and they wanted to see him first thing Monday morning. (WARNING... for those of you non dog-lovers or those with weak stomachs STOP reading now this may get graphic) The vet attempted to get a fecal sample only to realize there was something blocking my poor sweet puppies rectum. That something ended up being a large industrial construction staple. The vet then explained that she just couldn't see how he wouldn't have any internal damage after digesting said staple and felt we needed to do some x-rays & further exam to check for any additional metal staples/damage to his belly... only to find he was perfectly fine. So it seems my sweet puppy has more "Marley" in him than I've been giving him credit for... My vet just kept saying over and over again... this is one lucky pup! Yes, indeed he is. Conicidentally his vet visit coincided with my prayer group meeting and there were prayers being lifted up for my pup at that very time that he was being told how lucky he was... which leads me to my next point...

*I cherish prayers that were answered this week... even those not answered in the way I exactly expected/hoped for!

*I'm looking forward to my overnight date with my husband tonight. I cherish the fact that we have a sweet babysitter to stay with and nurture our children overnight so we can enjoy time together!

There are many more moments that I could list from this week, but I'm off to spend a few more cherished moments with my kiddos this lazy Saturday morning!

Hope you all have a most blessed week-end!

Cool Mom Alert...

well at least in the eyes of my 8 year old son! Will's favorite song on Guitar Hero is "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar. When he's not playing Guitar Hero, he's constantly singing the song while strumming his air guitar. His PE teacher, my sweet friend Sara, said he was even singing it last week while doing football drills at PE! Well, I asked Will if he'd like me to put the song on his i-pod for him. He responded very excitedly with a yes! So I dug out my Pat Benetar CD, dusted it off and uploaded the songs to my itunes library. To say Will was impressed with the fact that I actually owned a Pat Benetar CD would be an understatement. He was very impressed that I used to rock out to Pat Benetar back in the day... I mean what good 80s child didn't?!? Now every morning, we have to play the CD on repeat mode for song #8... all the while trying to figure out why Pat Benetar is blonde on Guitar Hero when the picture of her on the CD cover has black hair. Will is very intrigued by this... Could it be that the creators of Guitar Hero are so young that they don't even know who Pat Benetar is?!? Well... regardless of if she's dark headed or blonde, after listening to the 2 minute 50 second song on repeat during our 15 minute drive to and from school each day I'm about to have to lose my "cool mom" status and hit the off button on the CD player with my best shot! So for all my fellow 80s children... I leave you with a little taste of our musical entertainment! Rock on my friends!

Sold Out...

to infomercials! My kids have recently gotten into a few shows on Nickelodeon... they've typically been Disney Channel fans in the past. Along with this new interest with shows on Nick comes a new love for this bizarre world of infomercials... They memorize them and then tell me all the reasons I need these items... a few of their favorites include:

the snugglie...


big city slider station...


ShamWow...


Buxton Bag organizer...


and then of course there's my favorite Spinlash Mascara...
(which Will reminds me each morning would reduce my bumps & clumps and make my eyelashes fabulous)...
https://www.getspinlash.com/?refcode=ax&gclid=CJTApLeqhJgCFQkzawod1VvT1Q

I'm not sure why on earth a television channel broadcasting shows for kids feels the need to air these infomercials, but they've managed to get my kids hook, line & sinker. I think it may be time for a infomercial intervention around here!

So the irony in all this is Kip and I did order (after watching an infomercial) and commit to doing P90X this year! It's an infomercial that Kip's been watching and contemplating for a while now so I ordered it for him for Christmas. It's an intense 90 day body transforming work out regimen... we've taken our before pictures and I've been challenged by a few friends to put them on the blog... so I've decided there's no better source of accountability than you my blog friends... pictures to come soon!
Oh yea, in case you aren't familiar with P90X here's a link. Sorry I couldn't find the actual infomercial...
http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/best_sellers/p90x.do?code=BBHOME_PARSEA_P90X

Hope you all have a fabulous week-end free of any annoying infomercials! Perhaps you'd like to share your favorite?!?

The Sugar Wasn't So Sweet...

Last night we took Will to see the Alabama Crimson Tide take on the Utah Utes in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Wow, not quite the game we had hoped for. Not sure what team that was wearing those crimson jerseys, but it sure wasn't the same team we watched win 12 consecutive games in the regular season! We were outcoached, outplayed and as a result outscored... however it was a fun night! The bands were great, an awesome choir sand the National Anthem as they rolled out a huge flag, and of course Big Al was there to entertain!





Will had a blast and I guess that's really all that matters. Campbell slept over with a friend so it was fun for Will to have a night out with just us! He's always wanted to go in the Superdome and he finally got his chance! He still proudly wore his jersey and sported his foam finger!




So until next fall... we'll leave you with one final Roll Tide Roll!

Welcome to our blog and new year's resolution(s)...

I love the start of a new year. It's such a great time of new beginnings and great ideas for the new year. With that in mind I decided to start a family blog. I've had a private blog with a few friends this year and decided I wanted to start a blog so that family & friends out of town can keep up with our ins & outs of life!

So many of you may be reading the banner and thinking... "I didn't know the Smiths had a dog... Well here you have new year's resolution #1: train our new black lab puppy that will be joining our family in a week or so. We've picked him out, named him Miller and now we are patiently (or impatiently depending on which family member you are referring to) waiting for him to be old enough to leave his litter and join his new family. We even have his new engraved tag waiting to be attached to his collar! He's so cute and I just think he will add a whole new element of fun to our family.

Many of you know that my resolution last year was to train for and complete a mini triathlon. I completed the Rocketchix Triathlon in May 2008 and this year decided to set my goal just a tad bit higher. This year I will train for a triathlon of longer distances in August. This one will also include an open water swim as opposed to the pool swim I did last year. I'm excited to embark on my training for this race. So, there you have resolution #2.

With life keeping us busy and on our toes around here, I've really put my scrapbooking on a back burner the last 6 months. I'm really starting to miss that creative outlet so for resolution #3 I look forward to dusting off my supplies and jumping back on the scrapbook wagon!

OK, honestly I could sit here all night and list all the resolutions I'd like to make for this year but we'll stop at 3 for now!

So I hope everyone starts the new year off healthy & happy and I look forward to sharing more of our life with you throughout this year and beyond! Thanks for joining me on this journey... oh and if you feel compelled, I'd love to hear some thoughts from you on resolutions you'll be making for the new year!