Christmas Week

Here is an update on what the Smith's have been doing since our holiday began.

Fiesta Texas - Sunday 12/21
The Bells of Joy and the HBC Adult Choir went and played and sang at "Holiday in the Park" at Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. As you can tell by our attire, we did this on the COLDEST night in Texas!

Christmas Eve & Day

We went to the Christmas Eve service after we had our annual Christmas Eve chicken fajita meal. We came home and everyone got to open 1 gift - new pajamas! Christmas morning began at 6:00 am. The kids love opening their gifts and seeing what Santa left them. One of the favorite gifts was their new bikes.

Smith Family Christmas

We went to Denton for a few days. We got to visit with Frank and Lynn (my in-laws). Kirk (Paul's brother) and Alexis (our niece) came over for gifts and dinner. FORGOT to pull out the camera for pictures. The kids had a great time playing with Alexis.

Anthony Family Christmas

On our way to Henrietta, we stopped and visited with Uncle Woodrow. We had lunch at the DQ and a great visit. In Henrietta, we took a family picture at the Courthouse and then headed over to Pa Bill's for Christmas.

For dinner, we met Jerry and Carolyn (my dad's cousin), Jaycee and Cal (their grandkids) at CiCi's. Next we headed to Midwestern State University's "Fantasy of Lights". This has become a traditon of the kids and they love getting together with the Cantwells.

After a morning of shopping for the girls and shooting lessons for Will (YES - he got a BB gun and needed to practice SO "he wouldn't shoot his eye out!), we headed out to Jerry & Carolyn's for the kids to play and to see their new house.

Happy Birthday Pa Bill

On the 29th Pa Bill celebrated his 83rd birthday. After the afternoon in the country, we headed back to town to celebrate. Pa had cooked his famous delicious ham and we had all kinds of goodies. Sue, Jerry, and Regina were able to make it to the party. We were even able to bring Granny down for dinner.

Like Great-grandfather, Like Son

William is compared many times to his dad (no BIG surprise there), his grandpa, and his poppy. BUT he is also compared to Pa Bill whose name he bears. On our last morning, I couldn't find William and looked out the window to see Will and Pa Bill outside kicking the football. What a wonderful site. We are so grateful that Will has 4 men that he can learn so many things from.

The Braces are off!

Friday was a BIG day in the Smith family. It was the last day of school before the holiday break began. Most importantly, Sarah got her braces off. She has been counting down the days since her November appointment and now is sporting a beautiful non-braces smile.

Our "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree"

On Friday afternoon, we headed out to the lake to see my aunt and uncle's lakehouse. Everyone decided that it would be fun to have the kids decorate a tree outside. So with some decorations and lots of creativity, we decorated our "Charlie Brown" tree. We had a great time!!!

Emily got a lift from Rob (Hannah's husband) to put the garland at the top of the tree.

Pa Bill (the oldest) and McKenna (the youngest) at the tree trimming. They both had a great time.

What beautiful girls we have. Aubrey, Emily, McKenna, and Sarah are growing up on us. My, how time flies!

Happy Thanksgiving

For the last 50 or so years, my grandfather's side of the family has a family reunion on Thanksgiving. In 40 years, I have only missed 1 year (due to having a newborn the week before). Having a Thanksgiving meal with all my relatives is a highlight of my year. The above picture is just OUR family. We were the hosts this year and we had about 110 people come to dinner.