Journal prompt: If you have children, were your children named after someone? My Journaling: Joey and I have always felt it was important to give our kids names that we liked, but also that meant something to us. Joseph Clark Smith Jr JJ obviously is named after his dad and being members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints – we also wanted to name him after the Prophet Joseph Smith. JJ’s middle name is named after Joey’s childhood best friend. Elizabeth Colleen Smith We both loved the name Elizabeth and from the get-go knew we would shorten it to Beth. Her middle name is after my Grandma, who was very special to me – she died when I was a junior in high school, but I have so much in common with her. Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering ... [Read More]
kids
Life 2012 | First Day of School
JJ and Beth are going to a new school this year. The School District opened up a couple of new special classrooms for Autistic children and they moved JJ over to Orem Elementary. I was also able to get Beth in as well, so now they are both at the same school this year. I was also able to get Beth on the same bus as JJ, which just makes it easier. I hope they will both be able to adjust to a new schedule, make friends, and learn! JJ is technically a 5th grader this year (although they have different age groups in his special classroom) and his new teacher is Mrs. Vitone. JJ has grown so much and I love that we are communicating so much better. He loves playing games on the computer, the Wii, apps on the iphone/ipad, and his Nintendo DS. He thrives on structure. He is starting to enjoy ... [Read More]
Life 2012 | Moving Cows
I'm finally getting to blog about our annual trip to Bull Rush (my family's land on the Arizona Strip). I remember that growing up this was always something I looked forward to. Every year in the first part of June, we would head out to the Arizona Strip for the week to move our cows to the summer range at Sink Valley (my family's ranch near Alton, Utah). It is always a time of work, play, talks by the fire, and great family memories. I'm so happy that my kids have had the chance to experience this special time. Even though, my kids are what my daughter calls "city kids," I grew up a country girl and I'm glad that I'm able to give my kids just a little part of the country life. Sometimes I long to go back and live in my small town and raise my children the way I was raised. But things ... [Read More]
2012 | Weekend with Mallory
The last week in April, I got a call from my brother. He had decided to take his wife on a fun little train trip for their anniversary, but they needed someone to take care of little Mallory. Of course, I was delighted to do it for them. A few days later, Cody and Becki and Mallory spent the night at our house and then in the wee hours the next morning, they left on their adventure. Having a 2-year-old around the house was an adventure as well, but one that I enjoyed so much. It made me miss having a toddler pretty bad. I enjoyed getting to know Mallory more and we had a great time. After getting the kids off to school Friday morning, Mallory and I had the house to ourselves. We watched a bit of tv, ate some breakfast, and ran some errands. And of course we had to hit the park for ... [Read More]
Life 2012 | No more Magic…
So on Monday, we were at our "vacation home" (that's what my kids call our timeshare) - and I was in the kitchen but I could hear the kids whispering back and forth to each other. I wondered what was going on, but I figured I would find out soon enough. A few minutes later, Beth came up to me, looking very serious. As usual, JJ was tagging along behind, and was just fine with Beth doing the talking. Beth said, "Mom, is the Easter Bunny real?" I said, "What do you think?" She said, "Well, I think he's not." I looked into her beautiful blue eyes and saw how serious she was about it and there was sadness there and I just couldn't lie to her. "No, Princess, he's not real." JJ piped in, "I knew that." I gave Beth a hug and she asked one more question, "Santa isn't real either, ... [Read More]
Life 2012 | Brotherly Protection
I want to remember these amazing little moments that make life worthwhile. I love these 2 kids so much. How did I get so blessed to be their Mom? On Sunday, March 4th, JJ and Beth were playing a game that they love to play with their Dad. Joey is the tickle monster and he has to stay in his chair at his desk and the kids have to try and get around him without being tickled. They have to be pretty sneaky to get by him. They could play this for hours. It sometimes moves to other rooms and especially on our bed, but in this instance they were in the living room. After playing for awhile, JJ started helping Beth get away, even though it made him get captured by that tricky Tickle Monster. As he was being tickled he called to Beth, "How about I always be here to save your life!" That ... [Read More]
Life 2012 | Dr. Seuss Day
I have been seeing all sorts of fun ideas to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday (which was on Friday, March 2nd). I would see it, pin it, bookmark them, and then say "oh well, maybe next year." But on Thursday night (March 1st), I realized that if I didn't do anything, I would regret it. My kids love it when I make a big deal about things. I've been pretty lax this year with this kind of thing. I have just been in a funk and I've not really been that much fun to be around. So Thursday night, I said, "Okay, I'm going to just do this and make this fun for the kids." So last minute, I came up with a plan, got a few groceries on Friday afternoon and I made it happen. And I'm so glad I did, because I think these are the moments that my kids are going to remember. It wasn't that hard to plan a ... [Read More]
Life 2011 | Beth’s Fortune Cookie
Sometimes my children really amaze me. The little things that they say and remember can be so sweet and inspiring. It reminds me that I need to pay attention more. I get carried away in "all the things I need to do" and forget about living now - in the present. My kids keep growing up and sometimes I worry that I'm missing it. Balance is something that I truly dream of, but as much as I try to make it happen, I just can't quite grasp it. How do you slow down and appreciate life? How do you simplify when you want to be able to do so much? I guess that's one of life's hardships and hopefully I will learn a little at a time and become more balanced. It seems like when I concentrate on doing better in one area that the rest of the areas in my life are neglected. I just can't seem to find that ... [Read More]
Life 365 | Week 8
Monday, February 15, 2010 We did some deep cleaning of the house today. It was such good weather - it almost felt like Spring. It really felt great and after being sick all last week, it felt good to get the house all clean and sterilized and aired out. Tuesday, February 16, 2010 Grandpa and Grandma Sorensen and Uncle Lane and Uncle Clint arrived today to spend a couple of days. It was great to get to visit with them. We got some KFC take-out, played some Wii and just visited. Wednesday, February 17, 2010 A busy day today. Grandpa and Grandma and Lane went to to Salt Lake City to do some shopping, take care of some business, and a special banquet for Lane. Clint got to hang-out with us all day. We took Beth to school and Clint got to play some more Wii. We then picked up JJ and Beth ... [Read More]
Project 365 | Week 35
Monday, August 24, 2009 I started being in the kitchen again this week! Tonight it was homemade mini pizzas and breadsticks. The kids enjoyed helping create these masterpieces! Tuesday, August 25, 2009 I was in the mood for comfort food, but I really didn't want to cook. But when I thought of Country Fried Steak and Cream Gravy, I decided it would be worth it. So after spending quite a bit of time in the kitchen tonight, I came up with this wonderful dinner. It tasted SO GOOD! And there is enough left over for dinner tomorrow night so I won't have to cook! YAY! Wednesday, August 26, 2009 The kids sat out on the porch tonight waiting for Daddy to come home. It took over an hour for Dad to actually show up, but Mom got some really cute photos of JJ & Beth as they ... [Read More]
