Painting Frenzy

The Smith's have been searching for the "right" paint color for our living room for several months. Recently when we went to stay with friends in Ohio I walked into their house thought to myself..."this is the paint color I've been looking for". So, upon our return from Ohio a bee flew in my bonnet and we began to paint, and paint, and paint. Thanks to our friends Michelle Watson (pictured with Clara) and Wade Hagen for helping us paint)

A Walk in the Woods!!

Recently we visited our old stomping grounds, Dayton, Ohio. It was a nostalgic trip for our family. We spent wonderful moments with friends, ate fabulous food and visited some of our favorite spots. This picture was taken at Grant Nature Preserve. I love this picture!!! My family is walking down this beautiful path together. I've never done this before...but I'm asking for my readers to share your comments on this picture. When you look at this picture, what do you see? (Besides a group of people walking).

Smith Crew

Here's our crew on vacation. It's amazing that we actually got a picture of them all together, all smiling and all looking the the general direction of the camera.

Sale!!!

There is two-day sale on John Piper books...here's the e-mail I got this week...

All Books $5
Every book in our store will be $5 on June 27-28, Wednesday and Thursday this week.
No limits, so spread the word.
(This sale is online only.)

Later...

Big D.

P.S. I plan to purchase two that have been on my wish list...Don't Waste Your Life and The Commands of Jesus...

David's Dad

David left this morning to go to Georgia. His father is in ICU in Athens, Georgia. Please pray for David's dad that the doctors would determine what the problem is and work to fix it. At this point they believe he may have a tear in his esophagus. Please pray for safety as David travels. And, pray for David's mother as she is dealing with this. This is a difficult blog entry to post, but I wanted to get the word out.

Noah Graduates from Preschool!!

Noah is so proud of himself as he walks down the aisle in his cap and gown!!

Noah receives his diploma from his preschool teacher, Ms. Leigh Ann!!
Smiles abound at the reception!! He is ready for Kindergarten!!!

The Smith clan + Grandparents celebrating Noah's graduation

Wonder of Wonders!!

I know...I know..you are all going to get tired of hearing about my Eureka optima!! Last night Hannah decided that she would like to vacuum her room. Keep in mind that she has NEVER decided to vacuum her room. Usually it is like pulling teeth to get her to vacuum.

She carried our new, lightweight cleaner upstairs. Vacuumed her room. Brought it back down and asked where she should put it away. ALL WITHOUT BEING ASKED!!! Of course she might have been stalling a bit so she could stay up late. But hey, I'm not complaining.

The cleaning revolution continues!!! Hannah is my newest recruit and I think she might just be very instrumental in the changes that will occur in our home.

Please Pray for Mary Kay!!

My friend Mary Kay had surgery yesterday to remove a tumor from her salivary gland. The prognosis is good. They believe they were able to get out all the cancer. They are still waiting for word from the pathologist whether she will need to have radiation. Please pray for Mary Kay's recovery and for her family as they serve her during this time.

Details on Vaccum Cleaner

My friend Amber asked about the cost of the vaccum cleaner. Here's the scoop. It was around $50 at Costco. I will recap my usage over the last few hours (yes, it's like a new toy)

• The floor after breakfast
• My back porch rug which I thought I would have to replace with the addition of the sandbox. It is chocolate brown and our sand looks real obvious.
• The potato chips Little E found and dumped on the couch (used the handy attachment)
• The Living Room floor (it seems to work just as well as my heavy vaccum)
• The sugar spilled while someone made tea
• The Hearth Room floor after the children came in from the sandbox
• The floor after lunch
• Little E's booster chair

Then, I tucked it neatly in my pantry (which is by the way quite small) where it is handy to grab. Tossed the nasty dust pan in the garage. Put the boys down for a nap. Enjoyed a relaxing bath knowing my floor is CLEAN!!! And a special bonus, my friend Virginia called and we had a great talk!!!

BTW--I timed it and it took me six minues to do the floors in my kitchen, breakfast room and hearth room. I'm not really willing to time how long it would take me to sweep, but I imagine it would be longer than that.

Elijah Joins the Revolution!!

Elijah exclaims "Try It Mommy!!!". In this picture he is checking out our new revolutionary product (details in posting below).

Elijah cries "Scare me Mommy!! This picture is taken after I actually turned on the power. (The captions for these pictures were written by Elijah as he viewed the pictures while they were loading on Picasa). I'm not sure my new recruit for the Cleaning Revolution will be very effective, but hey he's pretty cute.

Revolution!!

Last night marked a revolution in my life. Sounds impressive huh? I bet you are excited to hear what this revolution is all about. Here goes. Housecleaning is not one of my favorite tasks. Especially considering I can clean my guts out and one little person can walk across the room leaving toys in his wake, food all over the floor. Not to mention the fact that I have four little people (Hannah's not so little anymore...she lost her last baby tooth this week). Anyway, my housecleaning woes are a reality in my life.

Through an innocent conversation I have discovered a product that will (hopefully) change my life in the housecleaning department. I'm sure by this point you are anxious to hear what it is. Well, let me tell you what my friend Michelle shared with me AND then showed up on my doorstep last night to take me to purchase. It's a Eureka Optima slim line vaccum cleaner. As I write I realize that doesn't sound all that revolutionary, but in my life it is!! Michelle looked at me like I had three heads (and no she had not consumed any alcohol) when I told her that I swept my floor. Her response was, "you mean like with a broom with bristles."

This handy little product works like a charm to get up all the stuff on my hardwood floor and my linoleum. I really hated to sweep. It took me so long before and it really didn't always look so good. Last night as soon as I got home, David and Clara put together my revolutionary machine. Clara was excited to try it out. The cool thing is the handle can adjust for little people to use it. It really looks like a little toy vacuum cleaner, but it actually works. My little vaccum cleaner weighs twelve pounds and it sucks that dirt up!! Wow, it is amazing!!!

Anyway, I learned a valuable lesson in all this. We can learn so much from one another. When I am weak in something, I desperately need to seek advice from those who are smarter, wiser and successful in that. The problem in the past is that I get defeated because I am not like the smarter, wiser person. For example, my friend Michelle has impeccable floors. I realize I will probably never have impeccable floors. However, I can see improvement in my floors because of a simple change.

Revolutions do not always require big events, sometimes they come as result of a series of small changes.

Happy Birthday!!!

We got this e-mail this past Friday from our friend Andrea in Florida and thought some of you might find it interesting...


"Shavuot (sha-voo-ote) in the U.S, is the silent, unknown Jewish festival - the Jewish calendar's forgotten stepchild."-Herb Keinon

The Feast of Weeks, The Latter Firstfruits, The Feast of Harvest, Pentecost or Shavuot, comes 50 days after Passover or 7 weeks (hence the name feast of weeks). It was the time to present an offering of new grain of the summer wheat harvest to the LORD.

In the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), it is believed that it was then that Moses received of the 10 commandments.

In the New Testament, Jesus would instruct His disciples to wait together until Pentecost/Shavuot, the 50th day, following Passover. According to Acts 2 this was the occasion which the Holy Spirit would indwell believers inaugurating the existence of the Body of Christ (Messiah) The Church, harvesting for Himself a people that would be mobilized to make more disciples. So, Happy Birthday CHURCH! We're over 1,900 years old!!!

Blessings to everyone over the holiday weekend!

Andrea's R.P.M's: Reflective-Personal-Moments:

"So much to do, so little time to do it, such a BIG God to rely on!"

"Faith is Action, Based upon Belief, Sustained by Confidence in God's Word and His promise to perform it"-Rev. Gene Scott

The Boys are Back!!

The boys arrived safe and sound from their grandparents house. They were EXCITED to discover the completed sand box David built for them (pretty impressive). Elijah still has a bit to learn about sandbox etiquette, but he'll learn. The cool thing is, it feels like we are living at the beach...sand on the floor, sand on the couch, sand in the bathtubs. I draw the line at sand in my bed!!! Oh, the days of summer!!

The Boys Return from Camp Grandparents!!

The boys are on their way home from Camp Granparents. I'm relishing the last few moments of quiet, drinking a cup of coffee. It's VERY quiet. The girls are excited about the return of the boys. They really have missed their brothers.

We are trying hard to instill in our children that family is a gift from God to be cherished. God has given my children three siblings to play with, laugh with, fight with, learn from and of course vent about the ineptness of their parents with one another!! Sometimes they take one another for granted. I hope this time apart has given them a new appreciation for one another. I'm off to tackle a project before the kids return!!

Meet the Watsons!!!

Here are our crazy friends, Kurt and Michelle Watson. They are recreating their wedding in this pic!! We've had a fun weekend with them. They live in our neighborhood and are in our life group at church.

An Evening Out!!

Friday evening we went out to dinner at Texas de Brazil. It was a fun evening. We went with our friends the Kurt and Michelle and Libby. We ate until we could eat no more. Then we went over to the Watsons for a while. Party animals that we were we fell asleep watching Seinfeld. We drove home at 1:00 am and discovered that the police patrol our neighborhood (no they didn't pull us over). The girls had a great time spending the night with their friend, Emilie. Camp Quiet is almost concluded. The boys come home tomorrow. We are all VERY excited to be together as a family!!!!

Clara goes Glam!!

Clara attended her friend Bailey's birthday party yesterday. It was at a place called Sweet and Sassy...total girlville. All the girls had an absolute blast. Clara enjoyed being all dolled up like a princess. As I watched her get her hair fixed...my mind flashed to the future...prom, college formals and eventually wedding. It was a little frightening to realize it will all happen so fast. But for now, I'm going to enjoy nine year old Clara!!

End of School Party!!

We live in an amazing neighborhood. These are pics of our end of school Sonic party.

Camp Grandparents!!

On Sunday we sent the boys to Camp Grandparents. Around our house it has been Camp Quiet!!! We miss them, but are so appreciative to my parents for letting them come to their house to play.

Of course I had grandiose plans to get major projects done. Little did I know how busy this week would be. We've had so many end of year activities.

Amazing Teachers!!

Hannah with her homeroom teacher, Ms. Small. Ms. Small was also her math teacher. She was such a great teacher for Hannah.

This picture is a great example of how sometimes mistakes work out for the best!! Hannah was to receive an honor roll pin in her graduation celebration. Her name was omitted. But the cool thing is we got a picture with all her teachers and her principal. Much better than the far away shot during the ceremony would have been!!

Clara and her teacher Ms. Fortner. We were pleased to discover that Ms. Fortner attends our church and it turns out one of Clara's good friends from church just so happens to be Ms. Fortner's daughter.