Abundant Life

Today our son Elijah received his first hair cut.

As I was looking at these pictures I realized how hard it was for me to get Elijah's haircut. I did not want let his curls go. (He's almost three for crying out loud.) The poor lady at Sports Clips must have thought I was insane, taking about a million pictures.

He's adorable in the before picture. But, the reality is that his features are so stunning now. Just look at his eyelashes. They were there before, but now they are remarkably defined.

David's dad, John Smith, has gone to be with Jesus and we are grieving. And yet, He is in the presence of Jesus. He has an imperishable body. I believe we would recognize him. But, I imagine his features are stunning as they reflect the glory of Christ.

I look at these pictures and see the change that occurred in our young man in just a few minutes. They remind me of the changes that must have taken place in my father-in-law in a twinkling of an eye.

Today we celebrate abundant life, the full life that Christ offers. Today we celebrate eternal life!!

We are so thankful for our friends and family that are sharing our life today, praying for us, e-mailing, calling and meeting so many practical needs. Thank you!!! We love you all very much.

A Day in Elijah's Life!!

Elijah had a very busy day yesterday. We snapped a couple of shots so you could enjoy his ventures. As I was busy doing something else, Elijah decided he wanted some powdered sugar. He may have even said powdered sugar once or twice, but being the great mom that I am I ignored him. So, being the industrious child that he is...he got a chair, pulled it up to the counter and helped himself to some powdered sugar.....the whole bag!!

Then, he decided to brush his teeth. The dentist would be so proud. We do NOT have coerce this little one to brush his teeth!! Then we went to Bible Study Fellowship where he learned about baby Jesus being born AND he got to play on the playground.

Finally, we got a DVR box....big time technology for a family who hasn't had cable TV for twelve years. As we were playing with our new box, we found a free on demand Exercise channel. We clicked on a cardio workout and away the kids went. In the end, we had to say it's time for bed...they might have exercised all night.

It was a full day for our little man!!!

Sharing our Lives!!

This past Saturday night our Life Group was able to participate in the Wes's proposal of marriage to Libby. It was an amazing time of joy, excitement and love. We gathered at our church and spent time praying and celebrating. That's what it means to share our lives!!!

Congratulations Libby and Wes!!

Here are some pics from Wes and Libby's post-proposal party. A great time was had by all. Congrats Wes and Libby!!!

Soccer, Soccer and more soccer!!

Noah and Hannah played their first soccer games on Saturday. They both played very well and we are excited to spend our weeks immersed in soccer the next few months. We average five practices per week and three games per week. So, it does keep the Smith family quite busy. Elijah is already quite anxious to play soccer. If we say it's time to go to soccer practice or a soccer game, his face brightens and he says "Soccer practice?", gets his shoes on and goes to stand by the door.

Haiku - Clara

Clara didn't want to be left out of the Haiku writing. Here's Clara's:

Ocean waves crashing ashore.

Palm trees swaying in the wind.

Dolphins jump in air.