A Child's Prayer

I think one of my favorite things about being a Mom is listening to my little ones pray. Today, Kennedi was saying the lunch prayer, and she was sitting at a little table with pictures on it. She began by thanking Heavenly Father for the house, and then I couldn't understand the next thing she thanked Him for, so I took a peek at her, and she was looking at a picture of an owl on the table, so I realized she said, "owl", she continued looking at her surroundings, and thanking Heavenly Father for everything she laid her eyes on, "thank you for spoons, the moon, food, spoons, yogurt . . ." I was very touched by this show of gratitude, and asked myself, "How often do I just look at the simple, everyday things around me and thank my Heavenly Father for them?"

The other day Peyton was saying his prayers, and he said, "Bless Mom and Dad, because I love them so much.." Prayers are my favorite!

The Big D

Dallin is officially 10!! I have to admit it is crazy that he is getting that old! I think it really hits me when I look at old pictures of him and can't believe how much he has changed. Dallin is definitely our morning kid! He can't sleep in, no matter how late he goes to bed. I finally had to make a rule that he was not allowed to set his alarm clock for any time earlier than 6:45 - just to get ready for school. When he was learning how to ride a bike in NC, he and I would wake up at about 6 am. and he would ride beside me as I ran. I would push him up the hills and he would leave me in the dust as he sped down the hills, but we had a lot of fun. And now, he'll wake me up on Tuesdays and Thursdays to take turns running on the treadmill.
Dallin is very affectionate and loving. Currently, Kennedi chooses to sleep with him instead of in her own bed. The other night, I went to check on them. They they were both asleep and Dallin had his arm around her.
A little known fact about Dallin: He has a green thumb. He grew these herbs (basil & thyme) from seeds. He carefully watered them every day, and even called his Dad to water them when he was at Grandma & Grandpa's house.
Dallin loves having a brother, but has been planning a second brother since we found out that Kennedi was a girl. He is very smart and loves math. He works hard at school and at home - trying our patience ; ) We are glad he's part of our family!




Although they don't always get along, and he loves to tease them, he really does like his sisters.

A New Years Revolution!

It's hard to believe that yet another year has come to an end! And, especially hard to believe that it is the year 2010!!! 2010 was ALWAYS the year of the future in the movies growing up, with flying cars and robots for maids (Now that's what I could really use!), but it's here, and things don't seem all that futuristic.
For New Years Eve, we went to our friends, the Browns, and had a great time. One of their fun traditions, is to make hats out of wrapping paper and ribbons and put them on to welcome in the New Year.
Last year, the kiddos made their New Year's Revolutions, as Ashlynn called them. Ashlynn set a goal to keep her nose cleaner, and she is looking much less crusty this year - yay Ashlynn! Dallin set a goal to be nicer to his sisters and be more respectful to his parents, and Talie planned to read her scriptures every day. Uuhhh, . . . Well . . . maybe those can be like most people's goals to exercise - and become their ongoing New Year's Revolutions. For 2010, all three of them set the goal to be better at remembering to say their morning prayers. Keep up the great work kiddos!!

Skiing

Benson has taken Talie, Dallin and Ashlynn skiing a few times this winter. It was Ashlynn's first time skiingand she loved it! - until the time that it was blowing cold snow in her face - she decided to spend the afternoon in the lodge with Talie while the boys toughed it out.

My Baby is TWO!!

Kennedi is two and all trace of baby is gone! And I think she wouldn't have it any other way. I think this would make me really sad, except that I'm having too much fun enjoying her little personality to be sad - and I'm still her best friend- which usually doesn't last this long =). Kennedi weighs in at a mere 21 lbs, bringing her to a 2% in weight (and 67% in height - every girl's dream, right?). We are through with diapers at the Smith house as she is potty trained -YAY!! Her best buddy to hang with during the day is Peyton - who has helped her become well rounded as she loves to play with dinosaurs, scale closet shelves and is skilled in shooting webs through her spider man fingers. She is fluent in English, loves to sing, wear princess dresses (but the costume is not complete unless accompanied by a cowboy hat), and is known to put her toys in time out for three minutes - hmmm, she must see that a lot around here=).
The other night, we were watching American Idol, and they showed clip after clip of hopefuls crying when they didn't make it to Hollywood. After seeing this, she observed, "Mommy, they're so sad." To which I replied, "Yes, they are sad, aren't they. Do do you know why they're sad?" she immediately answered, "They need their Mommy." Aaahh, life is so simple to a two-year old=). There is so much that I can learn from her. 1.It's always the perfect time to put on your swim suit and go sit in the hot tub. 2.If you don't know the correct answer to something, just say, "Good." and 3. Jesus loves me - the perfect faith of a child. We love "Kah Kah" Kennedi and are so grateful she came to our home!

Whenever we asked her what kind of birthday cake she wanted, she would just say, "chocolate", so we went for taste instead of look, and we obviously must have succeeded as this is what was left of the cake before we even sang Happy Birthday. Oh, and if you're wondering what is around her eyes, yes, it is green marker - but she's convinced it's eye shadow.

Yes, this is Kennedi. Some how she always has a finger up her nose, and usually it's more than one.