6 Months Old

Dakota is 6 months old today. Time goes by so fast. The following is a slide show pictures from birth to just a few days ago. If you'll notice I think we finally have a child that looks more Hoover than Smith. Chance is pure Smith and Logan is a blonde Smith I guess. Maybe he's a good mix the blonde just throws everyone off. But Dakota is Hoover I think. One out of three not too bad. He is getting so big. He is starting to get up on his hands and knees, not sitting up too good yet. He will sit for a little bit but not long at all. I hold him a lot or keep him in his jumper don't want him to crawl. I just want him to stay a baby I am going to hold onto this baby stage as long as I can. He is a really really good baby makes me want one more.?. His brothers love him to pieces! They are both good helpers with Dakota. Let me know what ya think is he Smith or a Hoover??

Happy Mothers Day in Heaven

At first I wanted Mothers Day to just be another day. Then I realized there is so much to celebrate even though mom is gone. Life as a mother is wonderful!! I never thought I could live without my MOM but that is just what I have spent the last 2 ½ years doing. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about her. I am very grateful to have had such a wonderful person to call my MOM. Over those last few years of her life we were able to establish a wonderful friendship. For that I am very grateful. She was such a loving and caring person.

I guess we get used to life without a loved one; it is a long road and a road I hope not to have to travel again anytime soon. I can’t say that life gets easier but it gets better, that dark spot in your heart that hurt it does go away in a way. You learn to fill the space and hurt with happy memories and the knowledge that those loved ones are with a loving Heavenly Father. Life is not normal anymore you just learn to live with a new normal.

I think about my Mom often and wonder what she is doing. I know she is busy and looks down on us when she has the time. There is no doubt in my mind that she misses us just as much as we miss her. She does have an advantage because I know that she understands the plan and can see the full picture while we are still down here on earth trying to figure it all out. I know as a family we strive to live each day to be better so we can see our Mom again. I miss her terribly!! But when I look at this world today I am so glad she is in a safe place.

I am so grateful for the things that she taught me over the years. She taught me to be honest, to be trustworthy, forgiving, respectful, obedient, faithful, work hard in school, to do service, to be patient, work an honest day’s work, fill a church calling to its fullest, to love one another, to always be the bigger person, to be a good wife and mother, sometimes we have to turn the other cheek, respect not only for my elders but for myself, To be thrifty, to be modest, to be prayerful, just to name a few things. Some of these things were not always easy but I learned them and sometimes I learned the hard way. Mom always made sure we learned a lesson when we did something wrong. Not all of us chose the right path and I think mom took that personally but at the same time knew we had our free agency.

My goal on this Mothers Day is to be the kind of Mother my Mom was. She gave up so much so her kids could have. Just when she was in the possion to spend her hard earned money on none other than her, she was called back home. We still don’t understand why it had to happen of why it had to happen that way. We do know it was her time to go, so Heavenly Father called her home. I pray for comfort for those that were involved daily. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father that she was able to be on this earth long enough to get all but one of her kids married off. I feel like she made sure we were all going to be ok before she left, that is what mom always did. It is hard sometimes to believe she is gone. I miss our daily phone conversation. I called her daily for advice or to just chit chat I miss those phone calls a lot.

I hope with this post I have paid my Mom some justice. She was such a wonderful person whom I miss so much. I think about her often. Shortly after my mom passed away I discover I would write poems, I honestly feel like that is when I began to cope. I could write my feelings and thoughts down on paper. The following poem is one I wrote. I can still close my eyes and see my Mom’s Hands. I wrote a few but I will just post this one for now it is the most fitting.

Mom’s Hands

They are what I remember most
They showed her love the best

They could sew anything ya know
When asked “can you fix?” She never said no

They could quilt all day with no guilt
Each 6 of us have some to show. Moms Hands never quit

They could cook with no book
No lessons she took, but plenty she taught

They could clean. O could they clean
When she said clean, it had better gleam

They showed how smart she was
Only wrote as fast as she could think
Which was faster than a blink

They were smart with money
And money was tight

They worked both day and night
To make thinks just right

They practiced patience and patience she had
Cause 6 kids is what she had

They showed how much she cared
Only mean if kids dared

Her hands so small & distinct
I wonder what they think

Her mortal hands lay to rest
While her spiritual hands finish the test

Written by; Lori Smith

OK it's not award winning but it's my mom in a nut shell.

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests, or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I would have never known the warmth,
the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
Before I was a Mom!

Congrats Grad

Tiff we are so proud of you!! You did it! All your hard work has paid off. You are now the educated one of the bunch! Tiffanie graduated today with a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Nursing. I also want to mention that Tiffanie graduated with honors. Tiff’s diploma will read Summa Cum Laude which means she had a GPA of 3.9 – 4.0. Holy Moley she’s a SMARTY!! Way to go! We are so happy and proud of you. (is it ok to be proud??) Robert we are proud of you too, for all the love & support you gave Tiff. I am sure it was tough at times she worked and studied so hard. You were the rock she needed to keep her going.

Bed Time Prayer

I can't help but to post this story. Chance has such a big heart. He wants everyone to be OK. Yesterday at school they talked about the SWINE FLU. Last night in his prayers he asked Heavenly Father to "please bless all the people that have the SWINE FLU." It caught me off guard and he took offense to me chuckling during his prayer. Also in that prayer he asked Heavenly Father to "please bless school that is will get out like that" (as he snapped his fingers) It was too funny. Poor little guy is getting pretty burnt out. He has done really well this long, he just has to hang in there a few more weeks.

Road Trip

On the 29th Trisha, Candace & I all went to Pueblo, just like the good ol days with mom. We had a blast. Had some good talks about our times with mom. I miss her so much. I know she was there with us in spirit. We had some good laughs. We left as soon as Trisha and I got our boys off to school, I got home about 11:00. It is so nice to just laugh sometimes. In the mist of conversation we decided to have a retirement party for dad. (shhhh its a surprise) Not to sure what he is going to think about it but we are going to do it. He has been down lately and thought this would be a good pick me up. Nothing too big just some close friends and family. Anyway Trisha came up with this bright idea of "it's five o'clock somewhere" and doing a Hawaiian Theme. We are all going to wear Hawaiian Lai's and we hope all the little granddaughters will wear grass skirts, we are going to have the little boys in swimming trunks and no shirts. It sounds like fun we are going to have a good time we hope. Anyway we had a awesome time I am so thankful to have sister so close not only as close friends but close as in we all live within 30 min of each other.

Happy Birthday Chance

I can't believe Chance is already 7 years old. Chance gets to share his birthday with Aunt Kate (happy b day Aunt Kate) Funny story about Aunt Kate. I had a yard sale last summer and Aunt Kate put some luggage in it. In conversation Aunt Kate told Chance he could use it for his mission. Long story short. We sold the luggage. A few months ago I said something to Chance about his mission. He told me he could not go on a mission when asked why he looked at me and said "we sold my luggage." I thought it was pretty cute. This kid can remember anything and everything someone tells him. His Uncles have learned not to tell him they will do something because he will hold them to it. What a special little boy he is. He is a very kind hearted little boy. He is a loving big brother and is always jumping up to defend Logan when he gets in trouble. (quite often) Evey morning when he gives kisses, he kisses his brothers last and tells me he saves the best for last. He loves both of them very much.
He has learned a lot this year in school (more than I would like.) He has learned to smart off quite a lot too. He loves school and loves to play with his friends.
We are going to attempt a birthday party tonight after school. We will be sure and post some pictures of that. Instead of cake we are doing pizza and instead of having cup cakes at school he wanted me to bring Oreo's and Milk. I am glad he is does not have to be like everyone else he is not afraid to be different.
Here are a few of Chance's Likes
Color Blue
Penny (dog)
Super Hero's
Uncles Color
Playing @ the Park
Riding Bikes

fishing
Camping
Being on the Boat
Sleeping Outside
Being Outside
Spending the night w/ grandparents
Cars (thanks to Cole)
Horses

Oreo's

Some Dislikes

Dentist

Hamburger Helper

Riding in a Car

Salad

Bed Time

Sitting still

cleaning his room

Just to name a few. I am sure if I think long enough I could come up with a lot more. He is a pretty good kid most of the time. Most of the time I can tell you who he is playing with at school by the way he is acting. That is just normal but sometimes very hard wish I could pick his friends. We love you Chance! We are very thankful to have you in our family. You are a special little boy.

Happy 60th Dad

I will first off admit that my dad and I have not always been close. I was a mommy's girl. It don't however take a daddy's girl to realize what a wonderful person my dad is.
The last few years he has gone through the ultimate trial of loosing his spouse. A trial that would be quite hard to indure if you ask me. He has done it and done it well. Mom and Dad made it a point to attend the Temple at least once a month. Even though Mom is gone Dad still makes his monthly trips to the Temple. Some of those times he goes alone when one of us kids can't get away. I know he is living his life here to be worthy to have her in the here after. He is a strong person and I admire that most about him.
I want to post a few facts about my dad. He is very forgiving, he's a hard worker, willing to help people, he is a talented wood worker, good example, strong, and strong willed, faithful, posative (most of the time,) knowledgeable, oppenionated, he can be grouchy, and no matter what he is always there for his kids.
He loves all 13 (+ 1 on the way) grandchildren. He may not always be patient with them but he loves them. I am sure he loves to see us go Sunday nights. He adds meaning to the saying spoil them and send em home.
Here in a week he is going to be an old retired man. We are all excited and scared in many ways. Between the 6 of us we are going to have to keep him busy and his mind occupied. I am sure that he can find stuff to keep himself busy too. I just wanted my dad to know how thankful I am for him and that he is still here with us today.
I love you Dad and hope you have a wonderful birthday.

I Know The "F" Word

Yes it happened! Chance came home from school the other day and informed me he knew the 'F' word now. Not thinking I simply looked at him and said "O you do?" he then said yes it is freak and "_ _ _ _" Guess what.. he knew it. My almost 7 year old. I wanted to cry. I tried not to over react. I sat him down and we had a conversation. I hope he relaizes what a BAD word that is. Couple of days later Kay brought over this clipping out of the paper. I thought it was pretty cute. Chance and I had a similar conversation!! I guess I am lucky that we made it more than half way through the school year without him learning it. I don't think he will be saying it anymore, I should say I hope he won't be saying it anymore. Sad but true that Kindergarten kids hear it at home and say it at school. This is why I hate school and why I won't let Chance ride the bus. I hear they learn a lot on the bus. What do you do??? I hope you can read this.