Stew and Traci Family

For Mike

2009-01-21T17:09:00.000-08:00

This Recipe is especially for my Brother-In-Law Mike. Stewart and I LOOOOVE this recipe. We love the sweet & sour of balsamic and it has an amazing flavor once it is reduced down to a thick sauce. To be honest I dont know how P90X worthy this is, because there is butter in it. The sauce is way too yummy to have a drizzle and it is soooo good with the mashed potatoes, so you need to double it. Ok, so lets get down to it this is not P90X worthy at all, but, you gotta have an amazing Tilapia recipe, right Mike? I'll post a healthy recipe later. Here is my Fav!

Tilapia with Balsamic Butter Sauce, Thyme Mashed Potatoes, and Sugar Snap Peas

Thyme mashed potatoes
3 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, quartered
4 1/2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
6 tablespoons (or more) warm whipping cream
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme

Balsamic butter sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced

2 cups sugar snap peas, strings removed

2 tablespoons olive oil
6 4- to 5-ounce tilapia fillets

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Preparation

For thyme mashed potatoes:
Boil potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain; return to pot. Add butter, 6 tablespoons cream, and thyme; mash. Season with salt and pepper. Do ahead Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring often and adding more cream by tablespoonfuls if dry.

For balsamic butter sauce:
Simmer vinegar and garlic in small saucepan over medium heat until reduced to thick syrup, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Cook snap peas in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Drain. Return to same pan; set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in each of 2 large skillets over high heat. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Sauté fish until golden, about 2 minutes per side.

Rewarm balsamic syrup over medium-low heat. Whisk in 1/2 cup butter 1 piece at a time. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter to peas; stir over medium heat until warmed. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide potatoes, tilapia, and peas among plates; drizzle with sauce.

2009-01-21T07:50:00.000-08:00

So there are those days where you are able to have a little personal quite contemplation, where you mentally decide you aren't going to allow the unimportant temporal things get in the way of your spirit speaking to you. Then there are those days that compel you to make a day like the above happen. 2008 was a rough year for so many, the days drug on with too many trials and difficult moments. You swear you will not have another 2008 in 2009. Then you wake up, realize you are an adult and life goes on whether you choose or not. Recently some events that have occurred in peoples lives that I love and respect have compelled me to have a day of personal time out. To come closer to my Savior and the unknown plan of my life. What makes or breaks my future out come and what pivotal moments in my life separate my spirituality from that of my temporality. Have I been grateful enough and expressed that gratitude to the people in my life. Have I given my everything to my relationship with Stewart and does he truly know how much I love an appreciate his strength and his patience. Do my children know that I would give my life for theirs and that I want to create a loving relationship a loving friendship with them. Something of not only quantity but quality. If my time here was over would I have given my all and would people know me as such. I hope to find strength in the unknown days ahead and constantly convert myself to the knowledge that my Savior suffered for me and knows me personally, for my faults and my strengths and that I sincerely need him. I hope anyone who reads this will also find strength in the road ahead and find that one piece of self worth to continue strongly through another day. For those of you who are struggling at this time, I have probably at one point or another knelt in prayer for you and you can know that you have an ally in all this confusion we call life. I am so thankful for your part in my life, I am changed because of you. I am excited for the days ahead and pray that I may make the most of each. Life is short, there is a reason this saying is expressed so much, we realize it when we least expect it. All my love, Traci

Like Father Like Son

2009-01-13T11:23:00.000-08:00

As if Stewart and Christian could look anymore alike! Stewart and I are in having a planning session to kick off our week and from Christians Bedroom we hear a loud scream. I rush in there to see what happened and a huge goose egg split in the middle was bulging out of Christians head. Finally I was able to calm him down, we still cant figure out what happened because we didn't even hear a crash and the room look perfectly put together??? I guess he just wanted his Daddy's forehead bumps (result of many years of hard hitting and crashing on just about everything). LOL I remember Stewart's sister Becca saying that he was a disaster magnet. Welcome to the family little man!

Ok so Recipe for the day: Drum roll please:

My Fave: Butternut Squash Soup. I love having something warm to eat when it is cold or when I feel tired and exhausted and I am feeling a little exhausted from the last couple of days. So here you go!

Butternut Squash Soup

PS do not eat bread and butter with this, please disregard the cute picture side dish !

1 tbsp minced Shallot

1 clove minced or pressed Garlic

3 c Butternut Squash, peeled and seeded

1/2 c fat-free, low sodium Chicken Broth

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Combine shallot and garlic in a nonstick saucepan and cook over low heat until translucent, adding a little water if necessary to prevent scorching. Add the squash and chicken broth and simmer until the squash is soft, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a blender or food processor and puree. Return the soup to the pan and place over medium heat until heated through. Serve. If desired, add protein powder just before serving.

1cup soup -1 tbsp protein powder

Nutritional Facts per serving 1-3 cups depending on caloric intake

70 calories

Total fat (1% calories from fat)

3 g protein

18 g carbohydrates

0 mg cholesterol

89 mg sodium

recipe is part of the P90X workout nutrition plan. check it out on the web at: http://www.beachbody.com/

Yoga and Caramelized Chicken

2009-01-08T14:02:00.000-08:00

Ok so today was Yoga day, generally it is super easy for me to do as I happen to be the worlds tallest woman with super gumby powers, but with all the hard core work outs we have been doing on top of the yoga I was stiff as a board! There are a ton of guys out there who might ask you to turn in your man card if they found out a guy did yoga, but Stewy claims it is one of his toughest workouts! I cant wait to go at it again next week, hopefully the soreness will be gone and we can hit it hard again! Here is the recipe I chose for tonight it looked simple and easy. I am also going to serve it with a carrots and grapes side dish...stay-tuned for that recipe! Enjoy. Ps. you could double the sauce, but remember the calories and dont over do it *wink*!

Caramelized-Garlic Chicken

Garlic, brown sugar and olive oil caramelize during baking, creating extraordinarily tasty chicken breasts.

From http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/
Prep Time:15 min
Start to Finish:30 min
makes:4 servings

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons olive, canola or soybean oil
4 teaspoons packed brown sugar
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lb)

1. Heat oven to 500°F. Line shallow baking pan with foil; spray foil with cooking spray.

2. In 8-inch nonstick skillet, cook garlic in oil over medium-low heat 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until garlic begins to soften. Remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar until well mixed.

3. Place chicken in pan. Spread garlic mixture evenly over chicken.

4. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F).

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake 13 to 18 minutes.
Nutritional Information
1 Serving: Calories 210 (Calories from Fat 60); Total Fat 7g (Saturated Fat 1 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 85mg; Sodium 80mg; Total Carbohydrate 5g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 4g); Protein 31g % Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 2%; Iron 6% Exchanges: 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 4 1/2 Very Lean Meat; 1 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1/2 MyPyramid Servings: 1 tsp Fats & Oils, 4 oz-equivalents Meat & Beans *% Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

New Year Resolutions

2009-01-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

Ok its been a while since I posted something about our family and all the stuff we were up to, so I wanted to share a little bit about our current happenings. The past year has been a difficult, amazing, trying, strengthening, beautiful, humbling year. We are so grateful for so many of you and the roles you played in our lives this past year. Can we ever say thank you enough. While it was a year of change for so many we cant help but be grateful. You always question what will make or break your family or your life and mold you to the person you want to be. I am so thankful for Stewart and his staying by my side throughout the year. WE grew together, the road was hard, the road was long and still not over, but he has been an amazing source of strength and wisdom. I am so grateful for such an amazing guy to be mine. Thanks babe...and now for some dang exciting stuff!

Stewart graduated with his degree in Exercise & Wellness from ASU...WWWWAHHHHHHHHHHHOOOO! It does not matter how long it took him, he did it with full time jobs, building a crazy big house, successes, defeats, 3 kids, scouts, church service, bishopric meetings, and a wife who needs her man. I am so proud of his accomplishments. He has a couple premed prerequisites and then we are off to Physical Therapy School. Congrats Baby you are amazing!

We acquired a new family member and she is the sweetest ever. The big guy in red dropped her off at our house on Christmas Eve and made two little girls the happiest around. Ashlyn truly believes in miracles! There was nothing sweeter than to see my little ones face light up bigger than I thought they ever could. They are so responsible with her and take such good care of her. We named her Kaiya and she is connected to Ashlyn's hip, just like we knew she would! LOL.

Last but not least, I wanted to share a few of our New Years Resolutions with you all. We started up on P90X again. As always it kicks our you know whats. I have a lot of people asking me lately (now that Stewy's official) how we workout and how we keep up our nutrition. Well, I figured I would try and give recipes occasionally. I would love to add one a day, because it has taken a lot of work to figure out how to keep a healthy, good tasting, cost effective, easy eating regiment together; so I thought you might enjoy it. Stewart and I looked into P90X a while back and started doing it. He made mention that this program was an awesome program. Its all about muscle confusion, so you don't have the plateau affect. Just recently he came home and said that in one of The Physical Therapy Journals, they stated that P90X was the best at home program, they even stated to quite your Gym membership and do this workout. That was super exciting! We can workout at home together knowing we are getting just as fit as if we were at our gym. Ok so on to the recipe.

I am going to be using a brown rice on top of a bed of fresh romaine lettuce. Use its juices as a little sauce/dressing. (PS. I add a little nutmeg do enhance the peaches)

Peachy Chicken with Broth & Peaches (it said red wine, but use broth as your substitute)

Lend this festive dish a naturally sweet and fruity twist. From Prevention Healthy Cooking.
Prep Time:20 min
Start to Finish:40 min
makes:4 servings

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lb)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons whole grain pastry flour

1 tablespoon olive oil (I am omit this and use water to saute it you don't notice its missing when the dish is complete, there is plenty of flavor)

3 shallots, thinly sliced

1/2 chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)

2 firm ripe peaches, sliced ok I am using canned peaches and rinsing off the syrup, try and find light syrup

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil, sliced

1. Use hands to flatten the chicken breasts to an even thickness. Season chicken with pepper and salt. Coat with flour, patting off excess. (again for quicker meals don't press the chicken down just cook it I know it lends for a more even cooking, but I have three kids and no time for a little patty-cake with the bird)

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; add 2 teaspoons of the oil. (go for the water) Add chicken breasts; cook 12 minutes, turning once, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest portion reads 160°F and juices run clear. Remove chicken to a plate.

3. Add remaining oil and shallots to the skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes or until shallots soften. Add broth; stir to scrape up any brown bits. Increase heat to medium-high; add peaches. Cook and stir 2 minutes until wine reduced slightly. Return chicken and any juices on plate to the skillet. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently, or until chicken is hot. Stir in basil.

Nutritional Information
1 Serving: Calories 300 (Calories from Fat 70); Total Fat 8g (Saturated Fat 2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 85mg; Sodium 230mg; Total Carbohydrate 21g (Dietary Fiber 3g, Sugars 8g); Protein 34g % Daily Value*: Vitamin A 25%; Vitamin C 8%; Calcium 6%; Iron 10% Exchanges: 1/2 Starch; 1/2 Fruit; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 1 Vegetable; 4 1/2 Very Lean Meat; 1 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1 1/2 Pyramid Servings: 1 tsp Fats & Oils, 1/4 c Fruits, 4 oz-equivalents Meat & Beans, 1/2 c Vegetables *% Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
©Copyright 2008, Rodale, Inc.

This recipe can be found on http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/

Let me know what you think and I will keep adding great fast easy recipes to my posts!.

Christmas and the Hustle and Bustle

2008-12-23T00:03:00.000-08:00

Here's just a little Holiday reminder...more of a note to myself...that christmas is in 2 days. As you can see the past couple of months have been jam packed with way to much work and busyness for me to keep up. I am amazed that my tree didnt end up like this one. or maybe it is and I am still spinning on my head. LOL! Merry Christmas to all of our loved ones; Family and Friends. May you all have a very Merry Christmas.

Things that make you go HMMM?

2008-10-22T22:09:00.000-07:00

Well from everything that has gone on this year I just keep wanting to get back to basics, to remember when life wasn't so complicated. I go back to my funny high school years when life was trivial and enjoy the sweet memories of my first years with Stewart. All of the learning and growing that we made a part of our everyday routine. Stew and I were laughing at those days and we always go back to the funny songs that some how connect us even though we didnt experience them together. It is always a new chapter that we open up everytime we hear one of our "oldies". Its the way we relive and show each other our past and learn about what made us, us! I am so thankful for my mishap dancing partner with two left feet and his facial expressions as he watches me get down with the get down all by myself! Love ya babe here's to sweatin' to the oldies!

WE ARE STILL ALIVE!

2008-10-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

Ok I have been really awful at updating my blog, this shouldnt be a surprise as I have never been good at keeping a journal. Anyhow, I just wanted everyone to know we are still alive and kicking. We celebrated Christian's First Birthday and Stewy's 31st Birthday. I will post pictures soon. Life has just been crazzzzyyy! Stewart is loving his job at the PT Clinic and is super busy with his last and final class for his exercise and wellness degree at ASU. I have started my card business thank you to the miracle of friends (shanon & summer I love you both). I also just started working with Glitz Design a new scrapbook company that is based out of good ole' AZ. I was hired as their Sales Exec and Graphic Designer! Yay! But all of that on top of three kids, one in kindergarten, one in preschool, one now walking. WE have no time to breath! Whew. Just an update for ya! We hope you are all well and have a very happy halloween. Ps just a little card plug. www.tracismithdesignstudioblog.blogspot.com ok I know its long just click on the link;) and send people my way! I'll will have a website soon!

I Love My Children!

2008-09-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

***Disclaimer*** we do not watch this show, but we stopped on it because this was so hilarious. I just feel like this is a typical day and today is no exception! Here's to all my mommy friends!

9 Years & Counting

2008-08-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 9th year Stewy & I have been married. I am so grateful for how clear my memory is of the day we met and what a blur the weeks leading up to our marriage were. Here we are today laughing at those memories and laughing at the horror our parents were probably in when we married only 10 weeks after meeting. I am still so in love with you Stewart and I am more thankful and humble today for you being in my life. We have had more than our fair share of roller coasters and I look forward to many more. Thank you for our moldy ceilings, green refrigerators, soapy stir fry, "N" Movie Night, blue spandex, flag football mom moments, inside out socks, hot huts, yellow bathtubs, wet pajamas & blowing fans, BYU football games, pinewood derbys, first houses, freedom from loud neighbors, halloweens, schmoozing parties, Saturday lunch dates, burning forests, blizzards, hikes, warm bubble baths & lime popsicles, first kisses, patience, understanding, laughter, tears, our children, noni, sisso wisso, tiny tiny, christian boy, your strength when I had none, your belief in me, teaching me, guiding me, letting me know what it means to be loved, mistakes, & successes. Thank you for giving me all of you! Happy Anniversary Babe, I love you!

WARNING: POST UPDATE PHENOMENON

2008-08-08T10:17:00.000-07:00

Well it was a very busy month of July and it seemed to never slow down long enough to catch up and write on our blog. So, I hope you all enjoy the posts that we just added and hope you all had a great month!

Ashlyn's First Day of School

2008-08-08T10:13:00.001-07:00

Its that time already. Time for me to cry that is, for sadness of my firstborn leaving and going off to school and to cry for joy for the peace and quiet that has adorned our house. Haha Who Knew! She is doing so well at school and of course as we all know the little social butterfly that she is, is doing fine at making new friends. We are so excited for her to experience school and cant wait to hear about all the crazy stuff that goes on this year!

2008-08-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

We went to Willcox, AZ to pick peaches will Felisa & Mike's family. Grandma & Grandpa came along too and we had a great time. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed all the festivities. Our kids love to play with their kids and they all get along so well with each other. Even through all the chaos like the millions of flies (see slide show), the rat that somehow found its way into the house while we were canning, (see slide show), early morning grumpy ryleigh (see slide show), the canning fun (see slide show). LOL! We had a blast and cant wait to do it again next year!

2008-08-08T09:48:00.002-07:00

Ashlyn turned 5 on the 21st of July. Wow how the years have flown. It just seems so crazy to think that we have had her longer than we waited for her to be a part of our family. She is such a smart, happy, beautiful girl and we are so proud of how she has grown and what a wonderful spirit she brings to our family. We love you Ashy girl!

Ashlyn's Birthday

2008-08-08T09:48:00.001-07:00

The Succession of Bubbles

2008-08-08T09:39:00.000-07:00

Christian loves the bath and loves to investigate the bubbles in the bath. I just think his faces are too cute not to post, so here he is with his bubble beards!

July 24th Celebration

2008-08-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

We had a great little mini-vacation to...you guessed it Snowflake. Haha! As always the Pioneer Day celebration was fun & Relaxing. We had a great time with our family and the girls had a blast with all of their cousins. Pictures below;)!

Snowflake Pioneer Days

2008-08-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

Firsts!

2008-06-20T12:05:00.001-07:00

Christian Boy has been having lots of firsts lately! We went over to the fantastic Power Ranch pool with Jenny, Hailey and Paxton this week so the kids could cool off and enjoy a little swim time and of course I was able to have some much needed Sun and good conversation! This was Christian's first time in a pool and it was so much fun to see him splash around. We all had a great time. Another First! Christian's first hair cut. I have been trying to find my way around the inevitable and not cut my "baby's" hair. I finally gave in and took the scissors to his head. Who knew he was a blond? here are the before and after!

before

after

Fathers Day

2008-06-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

This year for fathers day was so much fun, we went to a friends house and made tie cookies for our daddy's the girls had so much fun making and eating the cookies. We are still working on the humongous cookies, not that the girls mind! Happy belated Fathers Day to the best Daddy 3 kids could have!

Swimming Lessons 2008

2008-06-20T11:45:00.000-07:00

This is the time of year the girls love, even though it is hot outside they always know they will be getting to go swimming everyday! They love Swimming lesson and love the teacher. Shannon is awesome and is so good for my girls! Whenever they get frightened even a bit she reassures them and somehow manages to get them to do whatever it was she wanted to teach them. of course by the end they are both like fish. Ashlyn is now able to swim front and back and float and as for miss Ryleigh she floats and does whatever trick she thinks is cool at the time! Love these girls and I am so happy they were able to finish their swimming lessons with flying colors!

If you are wondering what I did with Christian while the girls were swimming, well he was their too of course, so good rocking himself in his car seat! I love his little built in baby sitter! (video will follow soon!)

Last Day of Swim Lessons

2008-06-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

This little video is of the girls going down the fun slide at "Aunt Shannon's" house. Shannon their swimming teacher has a great pool and Grotto and every thursday they got to slide down, by the end Ashlyn was able to swim all the way across the deep end by herself!

Bath Time Funnies

2008-06-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Here is yet again another bath time funny that our girls pull. They are such a crack up in the bath, they love bubbles and pretending they are anything from Mermaids to Santa. What will they come up with next,only next year will tell!

06/11/08 pulling himself up

2008-06-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

This 1st year of Christian's life is going so much quicker than I would like he has already done so many things faster than his sisters...unfortunately. I still feel like he is a little guy and don't want him to be walking yet, his plans are different! He has pulled himself up now and who knows when the walking will come in. We'll keep you posted!

Playing Catch-Up!

2008-06-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have slowly been putting my blogging further and further behind. Hopefully I will be able to pick it back up again. So here is just synopsis of what has been going on.

Ashlyn Graduated from her last year in preschool and is now preparing for...you guessed it Kindergarten. We are just waiting to find out what school she will be in and down here, it is year round all day Kindergarten, so this mama is so scared. Its my first and I am very nervous to be letting her go especially for such a long time period....whew...deep breaths.

Ryleigh is well, Ryleigh she is also excited to be starting her first year of Preschool and I am really looking forward to the teacher she will have. I think she will be a great impact on little miss independent and I know Ryleigh already loves her.

Christian is moving faster than I could imagine. He speed crawls like a little bulldog all over the house and has now figured out how to open up and get into everything. Yay Me!

Stewart finished spring semester and soon will be submerged into summer semester and he is looking very forward to December when he will be able to graduate. He has learned so much this past year and has been a tremendous help to me and our family over the past months because of the things he has learned in his classes.

I am just keeping track of kids and swimming lessons and upcoming events that have our family constantly busy. But, for the first time in our marriage I decided to have some time to myself to sit down and read. I know you are all probably shocked out of your mind, but I have a girlfriend who told me about these books and I LOVE them! I really didn't want to start reading them, but I'm glad I did. I'm hooked! Thanks alot Shanon. Poor Stewart!

That's whats been going on as of lately...stay tuned for more!

A letter to my Children

2008-05-20T08:20:00.000-07:00

This is one of the posts I knew I would write and I knew would be hard to begin, but throughout the month of May my mind always turns to my childhood, my teenage years, my early married life and I often think about the pivotal moments that have molded me to where I am today. I have always wanted to write a letter to my children about the importance of making the most out of each day, something that even still I struggle with, knowing that every moment we choose to pass the day without being grateful for the little things that we will have wasted a precious moment that we can never regain. In saying all of that I need to write today about the day I realized this truth.
To My Sweet Children,
I woke up May 20, 2002 feeling full of happiness feeling like I could conquer the trials I felt I had and ready to face a new day with what seemed to be more energy and vigor. My heart was full for a good portion of the morning and I found myself excited to meet and help the new people in my ever changing client base at the job I was working. Then as intensely as my exciting strength came on a cold anxious feeling came over me. Something did not feel right. I was nervous, my mind was racing and it would not stop to ponder the reason for the feelings I was getting. I felt I needed to call my family. I called the house and an unfamiliar voice answered, strangely I hung up. But again, I felt I needed to call. The same voice answered this time and I realized it was a cousin. Asking why she was there she calmly told me that a terrible accident had occurred and that my Dad was hurt badly. At first I thought he will be ok he will pull through and again the spirit told me what I was to do. As soon as I was off the phone I made immediate arrangements to fly home to Arizona. As we arrived in Phoenix a wonderful family member picked us up and rushed us to the hospital, just in time to sit down with the doctor to learn that my dad would not make it. As he was saying this I was feeling that rush of memories that you always hear about and wonder if you will ever experience. I did not have any children at the time and I asked in prayer how my children would ever know a man I admired and hoped I would be like some day. Again the knowledge came to me, to teach through stories of him, be an example of his love. At that moment I recognized the Savior's love for me. How he suffered for me so that I could be strong in a time like this. I miss my father still and still weep to think that he can not share all the sweet moments our family will have here in this life. I feel his presence in our home and in our lives. I know he loves us and I know he watches over you. He was a kind and gentle man. He was simple and was thankful for everything in his life. He loved everyone and willingly gave service to those around him. He never spoke badly of anyone even those who had wronged him in the past. He was loved by a community of people and his legacy still thrives there as one of honor and commitment to life. He talked often of his love for you even though he had not met you yet. He loved Me and he loved your Dad. He was a good father and took the time to talk with me about my dreams and my goals. He treated me as an equal and raised me with love and respect for anyone I met. Most important he knew his Savior, he followed his example and he was committed to that knowledge. Happy Heaven Day sweet babies. May you look forward to the day you meet your grandpa face to face. I pray you enjoy each day and that you may be able to look back on the memories of your life as if they were yesterday and know with a surety that you did all you could do through out your life.

Mother's Day

2008-05-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

I know Mother's Day is over, but I wanted all the women in my life to know I thought about them and am grateful for their examples. I had this great idea yesterday to take around poppy seed muffins to all the ladies that I love here in my area and well out of the whole batch I had a few mini muffins turn out. I was busy working on these cute origami boxes and spaced the muffins I had put in the oven. Leave it to me to put tons of time into the details and forget about the most important part...the MUFFIN! Well, by the time I was able to get around to everyone, of course they were all with their mothers or doing something as a family, so here is a digital muffin for all of you whom I didn't get to see! Thank you again and ladies...here's to another great year!
Cheers!

Bachelor #1 Come on Down

2008-05-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

When Grandma & Grandpa came home we took pictures of everyone and I was just taking random photos, well when i saw this one, I had to laugh. Doesn't this look like some cheesy online dating service type photo. So I thought, Hey! why dont I post it on my blog and see if we can get this guy a wife! For those of you who dont know who this stud muffin is, its my brother Tommy. He just came home from his mission in December and is single and available. Haha, sorry I just had to do it Tom.

Great Grandma Sue & Great Grandpa Dale

2008-05-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

Grandma Sue & Grandpa Dale finally made it home after their second mission serving in Nauvoo. I am so glad they made it home safe. It was a short mission but we all missed them. They were able to come visit all of us here in the valley so we had a little pizza get together so they could see the new babies. Of course we had to take pictures to commemorate the event. If you know our family it was very hard to get a serious picture so these are the best of the bunch...and a few ridiculous ones too! We love you and are so happy to have you home.

DEVASTATION!

2008-04-29T20:59:00.001-07:00

That's it! My boy is officially getting too big. I am in complete denial that he is growing everyday. To top my misery off, he has broken through his first tooth. How is this possible? He has been the first to crawl, first to sit, first to...everything and he is adding this to the list. DEVASTATION. How do you get over the harsh reality of growth. I am just about ready to make my millions in developing the stop time potion! I will let you all know when I have it up on the market. Stay little baby boy! (pictures to follow...when you can see it in his smile)

Sweet Treat

2008-04-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

Ryleigh has been learning new tricks everyday, partly because big sister has mastered them and is introducing them to her little sister. I had to however, get the next stunt in some pictures. It was just too "sweet" to miss.

Sleeping Baby Boy

2008-04-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

One of my most treasured moments with my children have been watching them sleep. I want to keep that memory with me forever. I have felt that with the birth of this little one that the nights and days seem to go so much quicker. I am finding myself longing for more time with my kids and recognizing that another day passes more quickly then the day before. If I can only keep a few memories in my heart and mind of their peaceful slumber, then maybe I can keep them little a little longer. These are the many positions of our sweet Christian Boy.

Nemo On Ice

2008-04-18T20:42:00.001-07:00

Date with Grandma & Grandpa

2008-04-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

My Mom & Fred scheduled to take the girlies to Nemo on Ice this past weekend. The girls had so much fun, they have talked about it for the whole week. It was a really special time for them, getting to go on a fun date with Grandma & Grandpa! We just wanted to say thank you for our date too! They had a great time & so did we...hehe!

Sweet Spontaneous Stewy

2008-04-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

The other day I heard the girls squealing for joy when their Daddy came home, I figured it was the typical day full of excitement when Stewart comes home. Then I hear, "Daddy they're beautiful". Then I questioned what she was talking about so I came out to find a sweet bouquet of flowers. When I asked him why he had brought them home, he answered "Just because I thought I would be spontaneous!" Seriously Stew, you are too sweet! The girls of course thought they were all of ours so we took a picture for the blog. Thanks again honey it was so nice to have fresh flowers in the house that week. I love you!

Apprentice Photographer

2008-04-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn is constantly taking pictures around the house and I promised I would put some of them on the blog. She loves taking pictures with Jenny and comes home and pretends she is a photographer. I hope one day her love of it turns into a hobby or career. She is actually getting quite good. She will say don't move I don't want to cut you off. She has quite the eye!

Mom

Self Portrait

Ryleigh

Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love!

2008-04-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

Uncle Tommy came over the other day and was playing with Christian, you know a guy just knows a good hat when he sees one. This baby reached up for Tommy's hat so, naturally he let him wear it. Christian is just prepping himself for the ladies. Watch out for the newest Stud Muffin!

The Zoo

2008-04-09T09:16:00.001-07:00

Life at the Zoo!

2008-04-09T08:56:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Jeremy and Meg decided to come down for some much needed Rest & Relaxation. Seriously we played all weekend, by the time Sunday rolled around my body was in recovery mode. Hahaha. While they were here we were able to take the kids to the Phoenix Zoo, can you say slammed! I have never seen the Zoo so crazy. Once we got through the "mini zoo" of school field trippers we were able to get down to business and have ourselves a great day. It was fun to see all the kids get excited about the different animals and get restless with the ones they couldn't find. I love it when they all come up with their own versions of animal sounds! We had a great time guys and look forward to more exciting adventures!

FHE & The Earth

2008-04-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

A couple of Family Home Evenings ago I gave a lesson on the creation of the earth and Stew decided it would be fun to get onto google earth and have a look around. The girls loved it! Ashlyn was so excited to go to the North Pole & try and see Santa...too funny..but we did find his workshops way down deep at the South Pole. Hahaha. Anyhow, super cute sotry short, I found Ashlyn and Ryleigh on our computer the other day having another look, this time they were trying to find "Hot Lava" in some of the worlds Volcanoes. These girls are getting to be crazy smart. That little thing clicked right on the icon and started scrolling the world. Her Daddy and I hadnt been able to find any volcanoes and she did, who knew. These babies are truly smarter than we all think!

Nap Time

2008-04-09T08:47:00.001-07:00

Who doesn't love a baby right after they have woken up from a much needed sleep. I can not say enough good about this baby, he is heaven sent! He wakes up talking and cooing, not yelping or screaming and his adorable hairdo....oooh I cant get enough! He was just too sweet not to get a few pictures off. Just another reason I love this boy!

Sick again!

2008-04-01T10:16:00.001-07:00

Where have you been? Ok it all started when Stewart went to the doctor after a few days of being very sick and found out that he had pneumonia. I worked really hard at not getting any of the rest of us sick and just as Stew was getting better we all got sick. Yesterday was the worst for me, however, I don't think I have had a temperature this high since I have been married. It got up to 104.5, I called Stewart to whine a little and he said honey you shouldn't be functional with a fever that high. Hahahaha....hahaha. Ok I wasn't! But what mom can just lay back and pretend the 3 crying children aren't there. My hubby consoled me and I felt a little better. Well, this post is mostly to thank Reed & Kamarie for bringing dinner over that night. Stewart works so late and there was no way I could do dinner. So it looked like cereal again for the 3rd time in a row that day, but luckily they brought over some yummy spaghetti. SO thanks again guys. I am feeling a ton better and I really needed that! Love Ya! By the way, I am going on a complete immune system boost diet I think. I am done with this family being sick so many times this year. I'll let you know how it goes. GSE here we come!

Easter Pictures

2008-04-01T10:07:00.001-07:00

Easter

2008-03-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

Easter was so much fun this year. It was the first easter that the girls were able to share and get excited about together. They dyed easter eggs and decorated them, how lucky can two girls get, we found Disney Princess easter egg dyes. Of course the Easter bunny came and it was an exciting morning to hunt for and find all the eggs!

Spring Break

2008-03-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Stewart and Ashlyn both had spring break at the same time so we decided to go up to Snowflake to breath in some cool Northern Arizona Air and just get away from the same old same old thing here in the valley.

The girls were excited to visit the Grandparents and of course play with cousins. While we were on our vacation we were able to see two things that we typically don't.

We visited with Great Grandpa and Grandma Crosser and we saw snow!! I had been feeling bad that my girls have never really gotten to see or feel snow, so it was exciting to be able to have both happen this year.

Just as we pulled up to my Grandparents house, large snowflakes started to fall. I remember around Christmas time Ashlyn telling me that she wanted to catch a snowflake in her mouth and eat it. At the time I thought, poor thing you will never get that chance, but these snowflake were huge, you could actually see the shape of the snowflake. I had to catch my breath when I saw my little girl get out of the car and squeal as she ate her very first snowflake. We enjoyed see everyone and being able to relax. Thank goodness for school breaks!

Shara's Baby Shower

2008-03-11T14:51:00.001-07:00

Shara's Baby Shower

2008-03-11T12:49:00.001-07:00

I hope Shara doesn't mind my posting her baby shower but I know so many that were unable to come would like to see how she is doing. I asked Shara if she would let me throw her shower and I was so excited when she said yes. We held it at the house we just built...I gotta use it for something right! Anyhow, it was a huge success and she had a great turnout. She received so many good and practical things. I remember how nervous I was with our first and I hope she feels a little more prepared to bring her little girl into the world. Love you Shara & Todd! I cant wait to meet her!

Great Grandma & Grandpa Wheeler

2008-03-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

Great Grandma & Grandpa Wheeler came to the valley this past week and our children were able to meet them for the first time. We have always missed the various events that would have brought us all together, so needless to say it was a great time getting to be with them. Of course Grandpa checked in to see how his Grandson was treating our little family and seeing if he was still up to no good...haha! Of course he also checked in to make sure our little guy would be playing some football in his lifetime...if he has anything to do with it he will be a pro at age 4. It was so nice being able to see them again and visit with them about our lives.

Miss Mischievous

2008-03-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

This little girl is always up to something. She is in to everything! A couple of days ago she "Decorated the BBQ with any bright colored toy she could find. The thing that was so hilarious is how it was displayed. Everything had a place! It was stacked and organized beautifully. Can you say OCD. Hmmm...wonder where she gets it from. At least it was an aesthetically pleasing mess.

Then last night Ashlyn runs in to get us and says come see what "she's" done. Oh who knows what that means. So Stewart went to check to see what was going on and called to me saying: honey get the camera, so I rush in to find this. She was curled up in a blanket on the shelf. What a little turkey!

Mommy's Little Helper

2008-02-28T21:00:00.001-08:00

I know the picture above looks like I am running a little sweat shop, but I promise this is a sweet story. So, my little lovey Ashlyn saw that I was getting ready to embellish the Baby Shower Cards for her Aunt Shara's Shower. She wanted to help so I allowed her to thread the ribbon through the holes I had previously punched. I figured she would bring it back to me in frustration, but she asked for another. By the time she had threaded 5 cards she brought one back with the knot I had been tying on them. But, her's was better then mine. I thought for sure it had to be a fluke. Nope! She tied and knotted 3/4 of the cards. They are beautiful. Thank you so much to my sweet Ashy. You are getting so big and I enjoyed the time that we were able to spend working on such a fun project together.

5 months

2008-02-28T20:44:00.000-08:00

Why is it that being on bed rest for 5 months seems like an eternity, but little christian boy's 5 months of life have flown by. I honestly can hardly remember what his first month was like. He has brought so much joy and love into our home. He is such a constant reminder of how beautiful our worth is. He is tender and patient and good. How can such a tiny person evoke so many qualities that I wished I possessed. He has grown so much and reminds me every day that I need to work hard to stay on course, so that I might be able to raise my children correctly. His innocence and spirit push me to do better. I know these months and years ahead will come much too quickly and I hope he always knows of my deep love and respect for his perfect little soul. My son, my miracle, you have given me so much more than I ever thought I needed. Who was I kidding. We knew you were to be in our family and you have now changed us forever!

2008-02-25T09:05:00.001-08:00

Hiking Superstition Mountain

2008-02-25T08:46:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we decided to take the kids hiking. It was a gorgeous day, the perfect temperature to take advantage of the outdoors. So, we decided to drive to the superstition mountains and go hit a trail. The girls loved it. They were so sweet helping each other and getting excited together about all the amazing things we saw. They talked to everyone on the trail. Once we got to the top they were just so excited at how far we had gotten. We hope that this will be one of many "adventures" we get to go on with our little family.

What is the meaning of Love

2008-02-13T08:56:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have written anything and I was beginning to think that nothing wonderful would happen for me to post, but my mind kept filling with thoughts on how special this month really is, so I thought I would just write them down.

Of course, Valentines Day is coming up and I am always reminded of my first Valentines with Stewart. We didn’t have any money and he was playing ball for the Y and coming home later in the evening so, I planned a wonderful spaghetti dinner for two with candle light and all...haha. I moved the table that sat in our hallway of a kitchen into the front room and there we sat across the table from one another (it was a 2' deep table and was 4' long...talk about intimate).

He had brought me home some roses...so sweet...wait these smell disgusting...he was so horrified, literally the roses smelled like stinky feet. They must have been moldy or something, poor guy he went to a really nice florist in Provo and they gave him sour roses. I didn’t care though, I was so happy to be sitting with him and felt so much love for him. I will never forget it.

February was also the month that we lost our first baby. She was long awaited and such a miracle to begin with. The pregnancy had been strange from the beginning and we were looking so forward to her arrival. Unfortunately she had been diagnosed with a life threatening disease and she died before I had the chance to give birth to her. We love her and think of her often and are so grateful for her and for the spirit she keeps in our home.

February is the month we brought Ryleigh into the world. She was such a tiny, sweet baby. We knew she would be a fireball as soon as she came. Little miss independent and she has lived up to the name.

Last but not least February was the month we were told we would loose another baby. Christian! I was in the ER at 5 weeks pregnant sure that I was miscarrying our current pregnancy. I was not ready to loose another one and it just so happened that it was the same day I lost our first baby, so many emotions were flooding my mind. We went in for the ultrasound in the ER and saw a very faint heartbeat and sheer joy, love and panic hit me. I knew this was another one of my children and I was not ready to give up the fight. The ER doctor told me to go home and that over the next few days I would miscarry. I was not okay with this answer...I saw a heartbeat! So I called my wonderful doctor (and friend, I love you Lori!) and she put me on immediate bed rest and with the help of so many (thank you to all of you, you will never know how thankful I am for your being in our life.) we now have our son. He is a miracle and I can’t not be grateful for February. So, I have so many wonderful reasons to post and so many blessings that have forever changed our life because of this month. To all my loves, my heart has been strengthened because of your life in mine and my capacity to love has grown because of you. All my love, Traci!

Three Years Old

2008-02-04T10:23:00.001-08:00

Wow, has time gone by so quickly that Ryleigh is already three? I remember being shocked at my being pregnant with her. We found out on fathers day. The pregnancy was so fast and all of a sudden I was going in to have a baby. It was quite the day with the hospital sending me home twice. They finally believed me after I came trying to walk in between contracts with a baby dialated to an 8. Fifteen minutes later a tiny little 5lb 14 oz Ryleigh came into our life. She was named after Stewarts mission and best friend (Raleigh, NC = Ryleigh) (Mack's middle name is Andelin = Andelyn) Sorry Mack you know I had to change the I to a Y! She was such a funny baby. She came out with a personality everyone knows and loves. She is growing into such a fun person and I cant wait to see what the many years ahead of her bring! Momom and Daddy love you so much sweet baby and we hope you have the best year yet!

Ryleigh's 3rd Birthday

2008-02-04T10:19:00.001-08:00

Our Little Kicker

2008-02-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

I could have sworn we had a little football kicker on our hands when Christian was still inside of my pregnant body. Who knew he was so serious about his football career already!

Where have you been?

2008-02-03T20:53:00.000-08:00

Well, so many people have been wondering where I have gone to. I am finally back and trying to catch up. So much has happened this past week and I just dont have enough time to sit down and write everything I would like to right now. So, for a brief commentary, Mike & Felisa (Stew's sister ) went to Hawaii this past week and we got to watch the kids. They helped out so much when I was on bedrest with Christian that I wanted to help out some way. So, this was my chance. The kids were great and it truly was a getaway for me. Away from my reality away from my typical day. It was great! Thanks so much for some great memories and for your trust in us to watch over your kids! We hope that you too made some amazing memories!

The Brady Bunch?

2008-02-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fun to put all the kids faces together in the classic brady bunch pose. We had so many people ask if these were all our children. I wish!...do you know the help I had this past week with the little ones. The girls were so helpful and the boys, well they entertained the two little girls as if we were at a circus 24/7. Stewart would tell everyone who asked us if they were all ours, that we would proudly claim them if they were. It is so funny to see how both our Smith & Hancock genes have been dispursed throughout these little ones. The question that we are all still facing is: are we all Aunts, Uncles, Nieces, Nephews or Cousins. Does it really matter? We're just family. What amazing examples my babies have to follow.

When the Cats away the Mice will play!

2008-02-03T20:32:00.001-08:00

Well these little mice had a great time. This was one of many situations I found the four of them in. Thank goodness Cord & Collin were loving cousins and allowed Ashlyn and Ryleigh to follow them around all week.

Of course I couldnt resist getting in on some action myself. If you know me and there is a room to paint or re-do I will be the first to get my hands dirty. We decided to paint Kasey & Kylie's room befor Mike & Felisa got back. It was great bonding time. I'm sure the girls know way too much about their Aunt now! Love ya girlies! Are you wondering where Kylie and Christian are? Well, Christian was totally mooching off the free rides Kylie was so willing to give! He wasnt a puppy (wink, wink...Miss Kylie)but I think she took to him alright!

Why oh why!!!

2008-01-16T08:15:00.000-08:00

I found this picture by Jill Greenberg searching the web for the perfect crying child picture that might somehow depict my week so far...yes I know its only Wednesday! I know every mother in the world has gone through a week like mine but I want to write about it so I remember how great "normal" days are. It started Sunday with Ashlyn telling us about her "chooters", that's her way of explaining the crackling noises in her ears. Well its typical for her to tell us about it, fast forward to Monday, she was fine all day and then the evening fell and as you all know how the saying goes; all "heck" broke loose. Sure lets have a raging ear infection that no numbing drops or Tylenol will solve at 11:30 at night. Ok so we worked with her until about 2:30. Back to Monday morning. Ryleigh's eye was goopy and a little swollen, so I called the doctor, the answer? Oh she probably just has allergies. Watch it and give us a call if she needs anything. Ok here we are again fast forwarding to Monday night. In between putting Ashlyn down we were helping a crying Ryeligh. Her eye now swollen shut and goop in both eyes at 1:00am. Fine we can handle 2 kids no problem. Wait whats this a screaming 3 month old, inconsolable, this isn't like Christian, something must be wrong! Fine! Lets try this, Tylenol, warm rice bag on tummy, gas drops and finally teething gel. YES!!! We finally lay down to sleep and have all three kids in bed with us one after the other. 3:30am sleep! Hallelujah...6:00am already we just closed our eyes. Well at least we can get to the doctor! Diagnosis, Ashlyn: Throat infection & Ear Infection, Ryleigh: a scratched eye turned into bacteria infection (we were told if it got anymore swollen we would have to go to the ER to have her on an iv or else she might loose sight in her eye...ahhhh WHAT!) Christian: Teething & Cutting in...his eye teeth...WHAT!!!! With prescriptions in hand, at least we can sleep tonight. Nope we pulled an all nighter again! Mad screaming in pain crying children. So I am tallying my hours of sleep 5 Total in 2 nights. I love my babies! With Stewart gone from 6:00am - 10:00pm he needs his rest, but i need my hair. I think i have just about pulled it all out!

When Life Hands You Skittles

2008-01-14T08:08:00.000-08:00

So today Stewy starts school again to finish up before applying to Physical Therapy School this year end. As I'm sure many of you can sympathize, he was a little anxious to go back. Ashlyn had come in as we were talking about it and I asked her if she was scared on her first day of school. She said yes I was scared, so I asked her if she could tell Daddy what made her feel better and what he could do to help himself not be nervous. She said:

1. Raise your Hand!

2. Cross your legs like this!

(her preschool sits Indian-style for the morning song and hellos for the day)

3. Do your Homework and you will get a skittle!

Its okay!

Her excitement for Daddy to go to school and her innocence I think gave him a little boost of confidence. I thought it was so sweet how she bravely told him her fears and how she overcame them.

Heels

2008-01-13T22:39:00.000-08:00

Pearls and boas, dressed to the nines,

Lipstick on pursed lips, trying hard to stay in the lines,

Big wobbly high heels on tiny, precious feet,

Little girls playing dress up - aren't they sweet!

-laura taylor mark

I love when my girls run around the house in my heels. One of the sweetest sounds are the giggles that accompany the click, click, click on the tile floor. Ryleigh is a seasoned pro in them and Ashlyn thinks she's big! I feel so honored to have my girls want to be in "my shoes"!

Jschomaker Photography Giveaway

2008-01-05T22:15:00.000-08:00

Ok as almost everyone knows, I have a super close friend who is an amazing photographer. She has a prize up for grabs on her blog that I want! So, Please help me out and check out her blog: http://jschomaker.blogspot.com/ and please comment on the january 5th post. I know its selfish but trust me if you keep up to date on her site it will be worth the trip over to her blog. I am so grateful for her friendship, spunk, talent and the list goes on...She took this picture of our little Ashy, which of course I love. Jenny has made quite a few covers of magazines with her Photographs of the Kiaya Eve petti skirt. SO, of course I am selfishly asking for some traffic on her blog. So, basically if you are taking apeek at this blog because you are a friend, family member, or someone who is just blog hopping, check it out and tell her I sent you! I also have a link on my blog that will take you directly to her site where you can view all her work and a link to her blog. Enjoy! http://jschomaker.com/

New Years

2008-01-02T13:01:00.000-08:00

We had a great time New Years Eve! We went to dinner at the new Laredo Cantina at the San Tan Village shops with our good friends Chris & Jenny Schomaker. The kids all have such a good time together and I'm not just talking about the little ones...hehe! It was freezing, but after dinner we decided to help the kids with their wiggles so we went over to the play area. It was great! It was just our families and we had a blast, we danced and sang and took countless pictures. Jenny sorry for the unfortunate picture taking by yours truly, I am afraid I have done no justice. But, besides that we had a great time laughing! Thanks for a great night guys! We hope this New Year will be the best yet!

The Next day we woke up for Breakfast at IHOP...the breakfast of champions! Then we took the little ladies to the Movie Theater for the show enchanted. It was so cute and the girls loved it. My brother Reed & his wife Kamarie invited us over to their place for the final resting stop of the new year, where we had a great dinner with mood lighting, thanks to their new homes quirks! All in all it was a great time. I look forward to all the fun we will have over the next months until our time has come to celebrate another year!

This & That

2008-01-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

With all the chaos this holiday season has brought I am just now taking a second to post. I had this great idea of a slide show with all the events but, thanks to my tag item number 2 in the post below, I forgot my camera charger at my mother-in-laws house and I was only able to capture a few pictures without them being fuzzy. Having said that, Christmas was really great this year. Uncle Tommy came home from his 2 year Mission in Milwaukee, WI ( I guess the natives call it M'waky...who knew! ) Anyhow, that started it off great, with seeing extended family. Then we went to the Crosser Family Christmas Eve party which is always an adventure! We participated in a "white elephant gift exchange" where we inherited Princess our "Kermit Crab" as the girls call "him". POOR Guy!

After that we had a great Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa Peterson and the Aunts and Uncles. It was very exciting to see how the little girls eyes lit up when they would open a gift.

Of course then it was off to Winslow for Tommy's Homecoming talk and again another great dinner with the family.

Then a quick surprise to Grandma & Grandpa Smiths house where we were all very educated. We took care of our body's inner chi and a little extra that I will only show you a picture of...the rest is up to your imagination!

Finally home again and ready to celebrate the new year! What a wild ride the past few weeks have been!

Double Time Tag

2007-12-18T12:10:00.000-08:00

Ok, so Daneen a great friend of mine and my sister-in-law Shanda both tagged me one day after the other. So, does that mean I have to tell you 12 random things about me?...hehe...that would just get either way too boring or far too personal. Both of which are way too much information. Hahaha. Well, here it goes.

1.I have a real problem with asymmetry. For example, the new house needed to be landscaped so we hired a company to come do it, by the time it was all over with the Supervisor over the job could have read my mind like a book. I am sooo predictable. If I have three trees in a row I need to have another set of three's close by. If I have a hibiscus on one side I have to have a hibiscus on the other side. It just about drove me crazy when I saw that my landscape lights were not side by side but put at every other length of the walk path. Oh well I need to give a little right?
2.I have lost brain cells. I used to think I was a good multi-tasker, but with the past years endeavor, being pregnant, giving birth, a 4 year old daughter, an almost 3 year old daughter, a very busy husband, a very busy me. I have lost it. I remember when I was 21 thinking about how smart i felt when I was able to remember a clients profile for a year, memorize all the product info and specifications for both residential and commercial applications, help with Parade of Homes houses and deal with School. I thought I was a pretty capable individual. Not the case anymore, I can hardly remember what someone told me 5 minutes ago. Sorry Mom! I cant remember how many times she has asked me to email her information on something and I have completely forgotten about it. I am just going to give a shout out to all my mommy friends who know what I'm going through. This is just a phase...this is just a phase...this is just a...wait what was I saying.

3.I am addicted to white garlic pizza sauce, ham & pineapple Pizza. I have had to stop eating anything tomato, because it seems to be affecting Christian's tummy. So I either had to stop my love of Pizza cold turkey or improvise...and there was no way I was going to stop eating Pizza. Enter in, white pizza sauce. I really cant get enough of it.

4.Ok possibly my most embarrassing piece of information. I think I am going to buy maternity jeans from here on out. I purchased some jeans for this last pregnancy and decided to splurge a little on them so they would fit my size 36" inseam. They were so comfortable that I thought they would be nice transition jeans after the baby arrived. Notice I said transition. I might have just made the transition to stay in maternity jeans. Lets talk about this...No Annoying button to dig into your less then firm tummy and no zipper to have to yank down when you have 3 crying children starved for attention, when you have held it as long as you possibly could before you finally exploded and wet yourself. Up and down ladies...its so easy. I wonder what Stacey and Clinton from what not to wear would say.

5.I love to dance. Stew dies when I am in the car jammin' out to the music while we are stopped at a red light with cars on all four sides of us. I have thankfully passed the jean down to the girls. It is so fun to see them rock out to any song with a beat. Ashlyn's favorite place is the front of the abercrombie store. They really crank the music in that place. Get down get down...do do doot, do do doot!

6.I have a pretty high pain tolerance. Most people would probably assume that I would be a little whiney when it comes to pain, but in a proud and glorified posting moment, I would like to share a little boast about myself. Hahaha. I have proudly endured 2 natural childbirths. But maybe I should add I didn't want to. It was not self inflicted or maybe it was, whatever the case may be my body will not except epidurals. apparently, it doesn't like them. This last pregnancy as I went into triage the nurse said "I believe you when you say you are in labor, but you outwardly you aren't showing any signs." I asked her what she meant and she said well you aren't verbalizing how painful your contractions are. I finally asked if I needed to moan to be admitted into a room. As you all can probably imagine it didn't take long to get into one after that. Then boy o boy I really wanted and epi. but after I had the 12" needle stuck in my back it was time to push. WHAT? No pain relief again...fine! I think the anesthesiologist felt so bad he was just standing there in amazement that it didn't work. I looked over at him and said no offense but I am not paying for that...its not working. He kept apologizing, really I don't know what was happening all I could think about was getting the baby out and not having anymore pain. Well, it must have been a traumatizing experience for him because he never billed me for that epidural.

That in a nutshell is a few things about me. I pass this little tag on to (Stephanie, Kamarie, Leah, and Meg) P.s. Jenny if you even read this tag your it too!

O Christmas Tree

2007-12-16T20:23:00.000-08:00

We finally finished our christmas tree. This year I am calling it the Dr. Suess Tree.

I am sure you can see why. Miss Ryleigh was the creative art director this year and it was about gathering all the same color and trying to see how many ornaments we could fit on to one branch.

As for Ashlyn...well she was just the director. I am sure visions of sugar plums were dancing in her head as she was carefully choosing each space to put an ornament. As she flitted around the room, in her ballerina outfit of course, she just kept proclaiming-- THIS IS THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!

I could not move any of the ornaments, like I had planned, after they had gone to bed. I felt so lucky and thankful that my little ones felt somewhat empowered to take ownership in this years Christmas Tree. I agree with Ashy, this is the best Christmas ever!

**Nice Honey**
Never a dull moment at the Smith household

2007-12-16T19:48:00.001-08:00

OK, I know I have gotten a little Christian baby photo crazy but I have good reason to be sooo in love with this baby. There is always the part about how much "pain & suffering" he put me through and finally he his here...hehe. My grandparents serving a mission in Nauvoo (that's reason enough right there huh grandma. Grandparents not living near us to watch him grow. Well and of course the fact that he is way too cute. How can I not post these pictures. Ooooh I love those toes.

A letter to Santa...Love, Mom

2007-12-11T21:28:00.000-08:00

A girlfriend of mine sent this to me via e-mail and I thought it depicted probably every mommy friend I know. So here is to all my lady friends who work so hard to keep their families running! Thanks Jennifer you know I need this kind of stuff! Love ya!

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my
children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor
and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a
shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my
list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter
with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry
room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time
in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple,
which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze,
but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy
aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh
month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint
resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a
television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking
animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the
crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, 'Yes,
Mommy' to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't
fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without
the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting 'Don't eat in
the living room' and 'Take your hands off your brother,' because my
voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can
only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough
time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the
luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being
served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to
brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare
ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would
be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house
without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized
crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my
feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back.
Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and
come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave
crumbs on the carpet. (you promised me last year you would lose some weight with me so next year you and I could be a cute size two blonde...ok, some requests go too far, but none the less.....

Yours Always,

MOM...

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep
my children, healthy, safe and of course, young enough to always believe in Santa.

Temple Lights

2007-12-09T21:09:00.000-08:00

Daddy promised our girls that we were going to have a special surprise after work on Friday. So, our Family went to the temple lights and if anyone remembers what it was like on Friday, it was still raining into the night. We packed up our hoodie coats and headed to the temple.

The girls were so excited to see Mary on the donkey and baby Jesus, but the best part was...the PINK CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!!!

Well, Christian didn't really care, but he was a good sport about it.

Oh, and I cant forget about the reindeer rides *wink, wink*! They just weren't working that night, maybe next year. We had to explain that they were the three wise men. Hahaha too cute! We had a great time, hardly anyone was there and the little girls thought that it was all for them.

Thanks for a great surprise Stewy!

2007-12-05T13:26:00.001-08:00

Well, I totally missed the post on thanksgiving so I am just going to run right into getting ready for christmas. I wanted to start a tradition this year of doing one thing about christmas everyday up to Christmas. As crazy as life has been these past weeks I am thankful we have a tree up! The girls were just so excited to see the "most beautiful christmas tree" go up. I'm hoping that next week I will be able to start whats left of my new Christmas tradition. By the way, is it me or is Christmas coming much faster then it ever has. It will be here and gone before we know it!

By the way here is the proof I have been wanting to post...He does smile!!!

Who's Ya Daddy?

2007-11-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

Well if this little man doesn't look like his Daddy I don't know who would. Christian has been smiling and meaning to smile this past weekend. While he was having a little smiling contest with me I grabbed my camera to try and get some shots...of course by the time I got back to get a picture he was done. In the meantime I got this picture and holy cow does he look like his daddy. Stew's brother has one that is the spitting image of him and well I guess it was Stewart's turn. Ooh gotta love it! At least we know he will be cute when he grows up! (Not that he isn't darling already...but hey I'm the biased mama)!

Crackers for Breakfast???

2007-11-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

This morning Miss Ryleigh kept coming in, way too early, to get us up for breakfast. After the third attempt to get us out of bed she gave up. Stew and I both thought she went back to bed, but after a few minutes went by we heard the rustling of something plastic, so of course any parent would jump up to see what was going on. To our surprise Ryleigh had gotten in the pantry and decided to help herself to a little breakfast...poor starving baby! She sure was happy though!

Halloween Finally!

2007-11-07T07:03:00.000-08:00

After many many comments that life must be hectic with the now three children, because I hadn't been posting as often as I used to, hehehe, I am finally sitting down and writing about some of the past events. Well, as every parent knows if you get the outfit just right Halloween will be a huge success, and thank goodness it was! After many hours of preparation of costumes and hair and makeup we had the perfect "Elina Rainbow & Island Princess". It was a lot of fun to see how much they got into Halloween this year with them having aged a year. Even little Christian got into the festivities, but got a little worn out with all the high pitched fairy excitement.

Favorite Spot

2007-10-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

Christian's favorite place at the end of the day is perched up on Aunt Kamarie's shoulder. He is just so content with her...she is a seasoned pro. I have bets on when we will see little Reeds & Kamaries running around.

Princess?

2007-10-28T18:16:00.000-07:00

Well as grateful as I am that my two girls are artistic this is not one of the happier moments, but one of the cutest. I can not believe that they colored all over their craft table but when Ashlyn so proudly showed me her "beautiful princess" I could not help but share this darling picture!

Mr. Mellow

2007-10-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

Some days I dont know what to do about this baby! He is so chill! My two little girls were Lil' Miss Drama the day they came out. This little guy is so content. This is a picture of him just kickin' it in the sun on the sofa. I love his "I just ate the biggest thanksgiving dinner" look.

Havasupai

2007-10-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I promised Stewart that I would post the Havasupai pictures, but since the baby has come as every parent knows, you work on getting a routine for a while, so we are using a picture from one of Stewy's buddies. Thanks Jeremy for sending these over for me to see! It looked like tons of fun! These are the guys and hopefully you can see the hilarious "facial growth" that was mandatory for this trip. You gotta love Tyler's! (its my favorite, I was hoping Margot would let him do it! ;) ) Oh by the way, this was taken after a quick dip swimming in one of the gorgeous "natural pools."

2007-10-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

After the rough weeks we have had with Christian's jaundice it finally seems as though he is doing better. He is finally keeping his eyes open longer than and hour a day. He still struggles with the light at times but is more than happy to open them up and look at the new world he is in.

True Love

2007-10-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

Everyone has been asking how the girls have been with Christian, here is a taste of how it really is. The girls have been so loving and nurturing. Ashlyn feels very close to him, as you can tell and Ryleigh is very protective of him. Honestly we have been so blessed this year and it feels so good to have a little piece of heaven with us.

So much alike!

2007-09-29T22:39:00.000-07:00

Everyone has been asking if Christian looks like either of our girls. Stewart and I think more like ashlyn but when we were going through our old photos it is clear to see they all look so similar. We love you all and are so grateful you are in our lives, sweet babies!

Christian Stewart Smith

2007-09-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally have our little boy home with us. He arrived on September 25th at 10:49pm. Labor was actually cake and as usual went fast. Leave it to me to pay for an epidural and it not work. After I realized how painful getting a baby out was...again...I didn't waste any time, 3 pushes and he was ours. He weighed 7lbs 15oz and was 20 inches long. He is such a good mix and was such a beautiful newborn. Well at least to Mom and Dad! He has the most gorgeous full head of black hair and he fits it perfectly. After all of the heartache over what to name him Stewart and I finally realized who he really was and decided to go with Christian and of course Stewart as a middle name is to carry on his fathers heritage. Welcome home baby boy, we love you!

He's Here He's Here!

2007-09-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

Contest Winner

2007-09-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Uncle Reed who hit the nail on the head! His prediction was the 25th late in the evening and boy was he right on; Christian came at 10:49pm that evening. You can redeem your prize whenever you are ready. Thanks to all those of you who supported us through this pregnancy and for the fun this contest was to help me get through the last mundane days of a girls pregnancy.

Baby Arrival Contest

2007-09-20T07:48:00.000-07:00

Well I am absolutely going out of my mind, ready to have this baby and well as he keeps wanting to make a grand entrance he is just putting me through agonizing pain and grief. But, man I am excited to see him! So I am putting together contest/poll of every one's Due Date guesses. Whoever wins will get to come along with me to enjoy my favorite craving during this pregnancy. I am sure you are getting excited to WIN and find out what this craving is. I wont leave you in suspense...it is a nice tall Styrofoam cup of "Grade A" Sonic Ice. So, don't hold back let me know what you think I will post it and we will have the redeeming of ice soon!

Some things are better left Un-done

2007-09-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

Well Stewart and his buddy's decided to go on a guys trip and hike Havasupai (pictures to come) but they had some criteria that had to be taken care of before they could go. One that needed to be attended to was the growth of facial hair and as we all know Stewy has none. So here is his bold attempt to reinvent himself. This is an honest hard try at 1 month of facial grow out. Nice honey! Thank goodness they are home safe and clean shaven.

Baby Shower

2007-09-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all of you have given your Time & Support in helping us with this pregnancy. It was so great to see friends and family that came to the shower to show yet again...more support. I love you all and am so grateful for the relationships I share with you. A big thanks to Jenny & Jennifer and anyone else behind the scenes who put together such a great shower! It was so great to see faces there that were unexpected arrivals and I truly am so thankful for everything that we received. I always say I don't deserve the people in my life and here is my meager way of giving you all thanks!

At the mall...dare we even go?

2007-09-06T17:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, here is my disclaimer! I have been a little nervous to post this picture because I didn't want anyone getting the wrong impression but the result of this was too cute not to post. Reed & I were at the mall today basically wasting time since I am Stewart less this weekend and well, my little girls love listening and dancing to the loud music at Abercrombie & Fitch and before I knew it Ryleigh was running over to this giant picture of this poor kids belly and yelled out "BELLY BUTTON", of course everyone and there dog were walking by.

Reed turned bright red and coincidentally we grabbed the girls and pretty much ran the opposite direction. Poor Ryleigh is infatuated with belly buttons since mine has become an outy with this pregnancy. Honestly, you never know what these innocent children will do.

Getting Bigger & Bigger

2007-08-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

How appropriate is the picture above? We just went to another appt for baby today and as usual he is still gaining more and more weight. I'm sure I will pop like a balloon before he makes it out. They let us know that he is in th 78% for his "age". Talk about a big boy. At 33 weeks we already have a 5lb 6oz little one. He will surely be the Football player his daddy has been praying for. On parents.com it showed this picture as the size a baby his weight is to be. Other fun news is that he has a full head of hair. It is crazy what you can see on ultrasounds these day. More updates will come but the biggest news right now is his crazy growth.

Uncle Reed Feels the Need for Speed!

2007-08-12T15:14:00.000-07:00

Ok so as soon as I posted the last blog Ashlyn decided to try it again. Of course having such a great uncle, Reed decided to step in and show them how much fun they could really have. Uncle Reed working up a sweat, pushing the girls around!

Grease Lightning

2007-08-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up to screaming, giggling girls and wondered what was going on. Ashlyn had already dressed herself in the princess dress of choice for the day and they were using the block box to drag race across the floor. As each one of them took turns toting around the other they began to get a little braver and tried going faster then the time before. Our greasy haired little girls were having there first taste of speed. It was so fun to capture their little faces raging with hysteria!

2007-07-31T07:26:00.000-07:00

I couldnt resist when I saw how hilarious the girls looked last night during their bath, I just had to post these pictures. The classic "whoville" head & bath time. They love getting their hair scrubbed especially if it involves a crazy hair-do.

Baby Boy Smith

2007-07-23T16:50:00.000-07:00

Well, today was the beginning of the end of this pregnancy. I am 29 weeks 2 days and will start going to appt. every 2 weeks from here on out until "baby boy" is born. The poor thing still doesn't have a name. We were able to see his little growing body in a 3-D ultrasound today and those are the pictures you see posted. The update is that he is now 3 lbs 3 oz and growing big and strong. He is low in the pelvis in birthing position, so hopefully we wont have to worry about a breech baby. As you can see, again, this is not my baby. They said his face is a little squished down there so his features look a little more enhanced, but he is a chubby little boy. Look at how kissable those lips are. I cant wait to see how true to the scan he really is.

Ashlyn's Princess Birthday Party

2007-07-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated Ashlyn's Birthday with all of her friends at the Lollilocks boutique. They all got to dress up like little princess' and had their nails,toes and hair all done. They had a real Tea Party with pink 7-up and had cake. What a fun little time they all had. Oh to be a princess if only for a few hours.

Ryleigh's Great Rescue Mission

2007-07-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

I just had to write a blog that went along with the pictures I took the other night. Ryleigh is so patient with Ashlyn's "non-sharing" of her personal favorite toys. Stewart and I turned the corner the other night to find Ryleigh in the hall after having gone into the sleeping Ashlyn's den and retrieving the ponies of her choice that she so desperately had wanted to play with earlier in the day. Bless her little heart she just wanted to play with them so bad she waited until her sister had gone to bed to play with them.

Ryleigh Too!

2007-07-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

Well of course you can't do a picture of Ashlyn with out taking one of Ryleigh, so I took this snapshot this morning to and I swear I have seen a picture of Stewart as a child with this face too. Come to think of it I am sure he still has it! Our sweet little Princess...boy she is such a funny little one!

Ashlyn's First Primary Talk

2007-07-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

Finally an event worthy to talk about here on the Blogspot :). Ashlyn gave her very first primary talk today. I'm telling you I love all these first milestones but it is just evidence that this little baby girl we prayed so hard for is growing up way to fast.

She was so proud to be able to stand up at the microphone (and of course, it wasnt working) but she did such a great job! It was so fun to here her tony little voice say:

"Each day we are given a chance to show we know how to be like Jesus and follow him in faith.

We can show faith by

Honoring our family members
Saying our prayers together
Reading the scriptures together
Helping each other

I love my family and want to be like Jesus!"

Fathers Day

2007-06-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

The girls have been so cute today constantly telling daddy Happy Father's Day. I love hearing their tiny little voices exclaim this little phrase as if it is the best day in the world. It was fun taking them to figure out what little something we could get for him to let him know he is loved. My favorite of all, however, was watching Ashlyn march up to the podium area at the front of the chapel with a huge smile on her face as she stumbled through the words of the Father's Day song the primary were singing. Some words she knew others she made up or smiled through. Oh how much we love our Daddy for his loving example and for his deep love for our children. Stewart our children have been given such a wonderful Father figure and we do thank you for being our "Daddy"!

Tender Mercies

2007-06-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

Fathers Day always chokes me up! In our family it was always a great time to show appreciation for our parents and I always had a deep respect for them both. Of course since Dad isn't here to share my feelings with I often think about what I would say if he were and on more then one occasion he has let me know that he is near me when I need him. I guess he must know that I need a visual or an emotional string pulled to believe he is around. Last night as I was cleaning up some of the church books that the girls had taken out of the book case, mind you for the millionth time. I noticed a folded up stapled stack of papers. When I opened it to see where its home was, it happened to be the last stake conference meeting schedule in which my Dad had attended with full blown "Mike Hancock" chicken scratch and all, it was dated May 18-19 2002. I am so grateful for the tender mercies I have been given and so grateful for a father who still is concerned and is near me, even if we are a world away. To some that may not have been much, but to me, another reminder that we are not far from each other. Happy Fathers Day Dad!