Christmas Cards

So I was getting my weekly dose of Macy and Steven cuteness over on Jenn's Blog and she had posted a deal Shutterfly is running this year. Apparently, they are asking bloggers to get the word out about their Christmas Cards. So I cruised over to their site to check out the options. I currently have my legal team looking at the fine print ;)

I instantly found dozens of awesome cards in just my style! I will share my top 5 ... but I'm not sharing the one we chose HA! If you want to see that, keep an eye on your mailbox :)

Ok without further ado,

#5

I liked the colors on this one, and the fun font.... But I can't send out a card that doesn't say "Christmas" You know and I know that's why we celebrate... I just want to make sure my cards don't lose sight of that.

Plus, this card would require that we take FOUR good Christmas pictures.... We're doing well to get ONE each year! HA!

#4

I loved the red background and swirly frame around the text... But ultimately, I didn't love this one as much as the one we chose :)

On a side note... the baby picture is fun, but who wants to see your candles on the table when there are much better things you can put there?! 

#3

I liked this one because it has an adorable dog on it... A good option if Baylor doesn't cooperate in our photo session!

#2

I really liked this one because the polar bear looks like one of Daddy's Coca-Cola bears... and I love the happy, smiley tree :) I can picture a whole cartoon based on these characters :) Wouldn't that be fun?

#1

This one looks perfect for a certain someone in our house...

I can't let the orange take over though! Purple MUST prevail!!

Almost the Winner:

I actually had planned to take some family photos on the cruise just so we could use a beachy Christmas Card this year...

Guess what I forgot to do on the trip??

That's right - I didn't end up with any usable pictures!!

Now that you've seen all the wonderful options that we DIDN'T choose... I bet you can't wait to see which one we will send this year! I know I'm excited :)

Until then, enjoy the Christmas Season and take time to thank God for his indescribable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15)

Best Friends

In case you were wondering how we were adjusting to Baylor and how he was taking to his new home... I thought I'd share this little video. This was taken right after we came home and it shows how excited Baylor was to see Wesley!

Green Woods Field Day 2010

This weekend, we headed back to the Smiths' house for a fun-filled weekend! And for the first time, Baylor was along for the trip. He was an EXCELLENT dog and didn't get into much trouble... There was one incident where he glimpsed freedom and ran after it... Luckily, Wesley was there to save the day!

 Saturday morning, we had a Green Woods Field Day.  Many of the Oziers and Smiths were able to attend this informative meeting / tour.

There was also time to take in the scenery and enjoy each other's company...

Terry even took Wesley on a four-wheeler ride which, I'm sure, earned him massive cool points!

The scenery was gorgeous and so peaceful and the weather was perfect!

I'd say everyone had a wonderful time! Doug, Jenn, Sam, David, Brian and Steph C were all greatly missed!

I enjoyed getting to spend some time with this side of my family and to see a glimpse of Brad's grandparents through the woods they cared for and the legacy they left behind...

Some of us had a little too much fun!

Happy Halloween

It's that time again! Halloween time! aka Wesley's favorite holiday :)

In keeping with a Smith tradition, Brad's parents joined us for a fun-filled, jam-packed day!

The first stop was the Fall Festival at church! (You know, home of the free bulbs!!)

I only have a handful of other photos so I thought I'd do a top 5 list from the day.

(Unfortunately, I managed to NOT get any pictures of mom and dad smith!)

#5

I love this picture because it really shows how much Wes has grown lately!! He's gaining on me!!

2010

2009

#4

Wesley was really good at all the games - I think we were most impressed when he played putt putt because he scored a hole in one on the first try!! Naturally, I didn't have a camera ready for that shot... SO, here is a photo of another game he played.

#3

Wesley dressed as a vampire this year. My favorite part of the whole outfit is his shoe selection...

Really completes the look, don't you think??

 

#2

I really do love this picture because it is Wesley completely in his element. He was more excited about setting up the lights and fog machine than he was about trick or treating. I snapped this picture because I think it will be one of his favorite halloween memories :)

 #1

This is MY favorite halloween memory :)

After the lights were unplugged and the candy was all given out... Brad and Wes sorted through the loot together and had a great time giggling at the weird ones ("Who gives out PRETZELS on Halloween??") and splitting up the "good" from the "bad" (Wesley still doesn't like Snickers??)

It's no trick, seeing my two guys getting along and being buddies is quite a treat for this Mom :) 

Just Plane Fun

This weekend was gorgeous with plenty of sunshine and lovely breezes. Just perfect for a flight on Smith Airways!!

Saturday, we were picked up in Philadelphia and we winged our way to Evergreen, AL for a fly-in! ( http://www.serfi.org/ )

As if that wasn't fun enough - It was also my first time to fly with Cheryl! Clearly, she was as excited as I was!

But we weren't there just to admire the scenery and bask in the sunshine....

We were on a mission!

Now that Smith Airways is up and running, it's high time for Brad to learn to fly.

We needed to track down an economical plane that was roomy enough for him AND his legs to fit in :)

There were plenty of options to check out...

Of course, Cheryl spotted a Stearman and we all know that's the plane SHE would choose...

And even *I* found one that I liked....

All in all, it was a beautiful day and I'd say a good time was had by all.

After it was all said and done, Herb informed me that as fly-ins go, this one was small potatoes... So I guess there will be more trips to come. All I know is, with this family, the sky's the limit :)

Baylor the Legal Beagle

Recently a friend posted this picture with the caption:



Is anybody missing a beagle around the Collinsville beach area? I went walking this morning &; he hitched a ride back home with me & Snoopy &; has decided he kinda likes it around here.




Then, he made his way to their neighbors' house... At which point I remarked how cute he is... To which I was told:


Stephanie, I think you need this dog!! He is really friendly and is good with kids!!


Neither of the families was willing to take the dog into their homes since they already had pets...



So if the original owners didn't turn up and no new owners claimed him, he was headed to the pound.


And, well, that's really all I needed to hear :)


Brad and I talked about it over the weekend and agreed that this beagle needed a home - OUR Home!


So Monday morning a homeless beagle was delivered to the Collinsville vet for a thorough check-up. And Monday night, the beagle came home with us.


We took our time showing him around and letting him get to know each of us.


Here, Wesley acts as a sweet tour guide (who can't stop smiling!)

After we were all acquainted, we had to figure out what to call this new dog. Many names were considered and we held a vote - Baylor came out on top and so our beagle was named :)  

At first, we weren't sure what to expect so we let him roam inside while we were home and outside when we were away. That wouldn't work for long with winter coming, so we let him stay indoors one evening while we were at church... and well, he's not quite ready for that yet... While we decided what to do, we let him sleep in the small area outside our bedroom.

Then, we researched crate training and how many dogs love having their own cozy retreat. We had seen Baylor in one area over and over and thought that might be "his spot."  So off to PetCo we went :) 


We came home with a shiny new crate and an assortment of toys... All of which were well-received.

 Brad rubbed a bacon-flavored treat on one bone and it is now the FAVORITE as you can see here:

In fact, this cloth bone is so well-loved that Baylor often takes it to the back door and whimpers just waiting for the chance to bury it where it can be safe and sound!



We are still learning all the nuances of his personality and he's learning about being a Smith, but so far, I think we're all happy with how this new addition is turning out. And we're pretty sure he likes it here!

Baylor is a very good dog :)

Mystery Plant #2

This new plant / vine appeared inteh front flower bed... Two characteristics worth noting:

1 - Heart-shaped leaves


2 - Tiny, white flowers

The floor is now open to guesses :) No prizes are available at this time... Except braggin rights ;)

Magic Painting Elves

After two very long painting days this weekend, our project is 99.9% completed!!

It looks gorgeous and I will post the results as soon as the art is back on the walls :)

We Could NOT have had such an awesome final product if it weren't for the help of our two magical painting elves who came for a vist :) Thank ya'll both, for all your hard work!

Strange things are happening 'Round Here!

We came home from Smith Airways last night and Brad was still feeling highly motivated.

So he cracked open our tinted primer and primed our walls - the whole kitchen and living area!! And as he primed, we both started to notice how NICE it all looked. We thought the primer must be the same as the final paint color and won't that look nice :)


Until he painted over the wall with all our paint swatches We noticed a HUGE difference between the primer and our first choice color, Macadamia! The macadamia looked SO dark next to the primer... and the lighter "putty" color we had vetoed before looked alot like the primer... In fact, it was exactly like the primer...

So we realized we had a problem on our hands...

Do we stick with the color we chose or go with the putty color that we swore we wouldn't like?

So, right after church today, Brad painted a piece of scrap with the putty color and held it up next to the wall... It was too light and NOT appealing... And now he's painting Macadamia over the primer ... and they are the exact same color.

Weird.

Stay tuned to see how this plays out!

In other news, Wesley got into some strange behavior today, as well.

We heard odd noises coming from his room and we *thought* we heard him announce that he was cleaning his room... It was confirmed when he fired up the vacuum cleaner!!!

A clean room, a made bed, AND a vacuumed floor?

He is up to something!

Hangar Time

The hangar is nearing completion... In fact, it was one step away...
Until TODAY!
Herb and Brad got up early this morning and began to epoxy the floor.
It was a sticky, stinky, LONG job, but they managed to finish just in time for lunch!

I managed to stay out of the way most of the day, but I did snap a few pictures :)

Here is Herb mixing up the two parts:



Brad putting his Reach to the test:

Oh... and there had to be a pretty good treat at the end of all that, right?

Passion for Purple Plants

I recently inherited three new plants that are right up my alley!

I've always loved Wandering Jew and now I have some!

And... some of this stuff:


And one of these :)

The back porch looks so happy whenever I go out to visit these guys :)

The new trouble I'm having is that last year's purple mums are struggling. Could it be that they're getting too much sun? heat? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Pumpkin Updates

As you can see, the pumpkin is spreading its vines and taking over the garden!

Not only that...

It's producing Pumpkins!




And what do we have here?

Painting again

When we moved in we knew we would have to invest in painting supplies because our home was quite the rainbow...

Let's see, we had

white
cream
yellow
pink
baby blue
sky blue
lavender

The first thing that had to go was the pepto pink bathroom....



A little spring green made a big difference...



Next up, we're tackling the yellow living and kitchen areas :)

We are considering a few options, but we had to try them out in various lighting conditions...

And we have to see how they look with the furniture...

The swatches are slowly taking over the whole area...

And, thankfully, we have a bit of inspiration to get us through the task... Brad gave me this beautiful painting for my birthday :)

Just try to picture this over the couch... on a wall of patchwork beige :)