daily Smith fashion

February 2013... wayyyy behind, but too good not to share

Drew (2):
Shirt/Legging set: missing in action...guess. ;)

Drew humors us sometimes and lets us try ridiculous things. This was a wig from one of our wine nights. Funny every time!

birthday surprise

Our favoritest most favorite neighbor of all times celebrated a very large birthday a couple weeks ago and of course, her daughters, sons, and most favorite nephew and niece-in-law threw her a surprise birthday party in the field. Food and bags and gifts included :)

Her most favorite part of the evening mayyyy have been the tilling of the garden. I think she was pretty excited about this ;)

sorry for the shortage of photos... forgot to take my camera

Because she is our most favorite neighbor and we decided to step it up a notch from last year's Rubbermaid gift, we made her some signs for the garden. And here's a little DIY for all those interested out there. Many thanks to my mom for cutting all the parts and putting them together. Really... I didn't do much ;)

inspiration photo via weekendingblog.com

I changed it up a bit so they were more durable. I used thicker boards and dowels. Black paint instead of chalkboard paint. And white paint markers instead of chalk markers. Figured it would just wash off in the rain so these should last... forever. :)

Materials used:

* 3 - 1x4x6 boards (link as close as I could find)

* 3 - 1" square dowels

* screws

* black paint

* white paint marker

I put 2 to 3 coats on just to make them nice and pertee. Worked slick!

Due to the current abundance of rain, we haven't been in the garden in a few days but when things start coming up and looking more... garden-y... I'll be sure to get some more photos of these signs in action!

24/52

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013"

Peyton: exploring.
Lia: still not a fan of the camera.
Austyn: chug-a-lug.
Tayt: learning to whistle with grass.
Nash: pit stop.
Drew: browns.
Meg: teeth.

Ooohhh what a difference my camera and SUN make! love it!

These weeks are seeming to run together. I'm getting terrible with my daily weekly monthly posts. I'd like to say we have a lot going on, but day-to-day activities have been keeping us quite busy. Trips to the park. Birthday celebrations. Bags in the field until dark. Spending the day at the park while the dog has his manhood removed. Father's Day. Weekends with friends. So much happening that I forget to sit down and document it here. Casey does a *great* job over at her blog. So go there for a Father's Day update. ;) 

brand spankin new (almost)

both SOOC (straight out of camera) shots

My camera did a good number on me a few weeks back. I was at a family photo session (luckily with a friend...hopefully still a friend...haven't heard from her since...eeeeekkk!!!) and it wouldn't work. I couldn't get it do do ANYthing. I was/am still SO embarrassed. I couldn't get the lens off. I couldn't take a photo. The screen was dark. It was a mess. Knowing I have a wedding to shoot next weekend, I sent it in as fast as I could crossing my fingers it'd make it home in record time. Thankfully, she made it home in just over 3 weeks and is like brand new. I'm so impressed with Nikon's service and how quick they are! Of course right away I had to go outside and play with it. Now I need to catch up on the 52 of 2013 photos :)

23/52

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013"

Peyton: fists of love from Meg.
Lia: animal lover.
Austyn: always reading or writing.
Tayt: boy.
Nash: learning how to pray.
Drew: learning how to potty.
Meg: crawl. pose. repeat.

(these are all taken with my phone)

I apologize this is so late. It's garden season. My camera was gone. And now back. So I'll have lots more good ones soon of all the kids. *sigh* Right now my bed is calling me. I'm pooped! We're definitely enjoying the warm weather. And I guess I won't complain too much about the occasional rain showers. They won't stop me. Mowed through them today. Until someone damaged the mower. I won't say who or how. Oops. Until tomorrow... :)

summer begins

Summer has officially begun. Hold up... Nash is *beyond* blonde in the photo below. Wowza! 

Anyway...I wanted to look back and see the kids at the beginning of their school year and compare to the end of the school year. So grateful we've been pretty healthy, no injuries, and had quite a smooth year. I love having them all home for the summer, and I'm going to try extra hard to keep them involved in the household chores. And then treat them extra special to keep them involved. Call it bribery if you want ;)

first day of school - September 2012

and just like that, they've aged almost an entire year... and I'm trying really hard to be more than okay with that :)

goofy bunch, I tell ya! (these are the four in school...yes, I am aware I have FOUR in school... eek!)

Peyton holding Homer (Casey's little guy). Nash. Tayt holding Meg (new addition since last year;) Lia holding Drew. and Austyn.

heavy heart

We are very blessed in this house. We have more than we could ever need or want. I have my rough days just like everyone else. Then I remind myself how extremely blessed we are. Our prayers lately have been focused on this family. I can't wrap my brain around it, but I stop more often to savor the simple things and the small moments that make each day a blessing. And then this happens in my kitchen and I thank God for everything we have all over again... 

Keep praying for baby Treyden and his family so they can find the strength to keep fighting. We're all praying for them!

22/52

"a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013"

Peyton: sorta like his dad.
Lia: kid at heart.
Austyn: reading with her big sista.
Tayt: his little friend.
Nash: shorts the result of an outside potty break.
Drew: attitude.
Meg: all about hood strings.