Happy 15th Birthday, Zachary!!

Fifteen years ago today, my life changed in a way like no other!  I became a mother for the first time in my life...to this little bundle of joy that I waited 8 long years for!!  Zachary was the baby that I prayed for and dreamed about....and it was a dream come true!!  But as you can see, alot happens in fifteen years!  My baby is no longer a baby...he is, in fact, almost a young man that will be no longer need Mom for little things, like driving him to school or helping him decide what to wear to church.  And although, sometimes the little things like that may get on my nerves....I get sad thinking about him not needing me anymore!!  Zachary is growing up to be everything I ever imagined him to be!  He is so smart, good-looking and just an all around great boy!!  He loves God and I pray that his love for God only grows and that he will allow God to guide him in every choice he makes for his future...and I know that if he does that, there is no telling what the future will hold for him!!  I am one proud Momma!!  I love Zachary with my whole heart and I pray that God will keep His hand on Zachary and bless him abundantly!!  Happy birthday Zachary!!!

Happy 8th Birthday Zane!!!

Eight years ago today, my life changed for the better.  The change was on September 3, 2002, when I gave birth to the sweetest little baby ever....Zane Connor Smith. And before this big change, I thought my life was pretty much perfect.  Yet this little baby that entered my life has only made my life even better than I could have ever imagined.  But my baby is not so much a baby any more, and that makes me sad.  I know he has to grow up but why does it have to happen so fast?  I guess that's not for me to know nor understand...but the one thing I do understand is that I have been so blessed to have Zane in my life for 8 years now!  He is such a joy to our family and he is always so full of life and so full of energy!  Always ready for fun and excitement!  There is never a dull moment with him and that's what so amazing about him!  I love Zane with my whole heart and my only wish for this birthday is that God will keep His hand upon Zane's life and bless him abundantly!  Happy birthday sweetheart!!

Happy Late Birthday, Ron!!

Happy Late Birthday!

I realize that these wishes for Ron a happy birthday come very late, especially considering his birthday was July 3rd.  However, after burying his pawpaw the day before, we really weren't in the celebrating mood!  Here's hoping that you have many, many more years to come to celebrate your birthday!  And I promise with all that is in me, if at all possible, your next birthday will be a blast!  Happy, happy late birthday to my dear hubby!

In Memory of Roy Leon Smith

June 28th marked a sad day for us...Pawpaw, Ron's grandfather, passed away.  He had been in the hospital for a few weeks with health issues and we all knew he was not in the best of health.  Yet, it came as a shock to receive the call that he had passed away a little after 5a.m. on Monday, June 28th.  Although he was my grandfather by marriage, never once did he make me feel like I was not a part of the family.  After all, he was the only grandfather alive for both Ron and I; he was also the only great-grandfather that Zachary and Zane ever really knew.  Words cannot explain how much he really meant to all of us and we are so sad to have lost such a great man in our family!  I wrote a poem that came to me after he passed and I am posting it as a tribute to Pawpaw.  The poem sums him up like no other words could describe.  Rest in Peace, Pawpaw.

A Man called Pawpaw

There is a great man

I call Pawpaw and friend..

He had the scowl of a bear,

but a love without end.

His nickname was Kraut

that he rightfully earned

His sweetheart was Addie,

and for her, he yearned..

Many years ago,

they tied the knot.

Then he served in the war

and for freedom he fought.

Together they raised

3 wonderful boys,

he taught them about life

and the meaning of joys.

He taught them to be

honest and true,

but the very best thing

he really did do,

was to live as an example

for his boys to see,

and of Butch, Ronnie and Jerry,

he was proud of all three.

As the years passed

his family grew,

with the addition of 'daughters'

he already knew,

that his boys would leave home

to start families of their own,

to share their seeds of love

that he had sown.

But he became pawpaw

with the birth of little Ron,

then Jennifer, Brian, and Michael

but the list goes on...

Jeremy and Barbara would

finish the crew...

with all these grandbabies

time really flew...

Next thing you know

great-grandkids were born,

creating this big family of

whom he adorned.

Before he knew it

Father Time had marched in,

grey hair and wrinkles appeared

where none had been.

Along came aches and pains

as his body grew old,

while he tried to be

strong and bold.

But like people in the future

as well as the past,

we know that this body

won't forever last.

He finally decided

that his family was strong,

and for his Heavenly Father

he very much longed.

So with one last breath

he departed this life,

leaving his loving family

and beautiful wife.

Forever we will remember

this wonderful man,

a man I call Pawpaw,

a man I call friend!

by Stacy Smith

Better late than never?

It has been some time since I updated my blog, so I will try to catch up eventually!!!  On March 26th, we got a call late that night saying that Memaw, Ron's grandmother, had fallen and hit her head and she was being rushed to the hospital.  She had just checked on her oxygen machine for the night and was turning around to go to bed and she stumbled and fell flat on her face!  She severely damaged her right eye and was transferred to Baylor Hospital to a eye specialist and they did surgery the next evening.  However, she did have bleeding on the brain and was in pretty serious condition.  To make a long story short, she lost the sight in her eye and ended up having a stroke a week later.  The stroke affected her swallowing and her whole left side.  She ended up staying in the hospital until June 28th, which was 3 months and 2 days, and after all that she went through, she will never be able to live on her own again...which is very sad for the whole family considering how independent she and Pawpaw had been for many years. 
On May 13th, I had nose surgery due to a deviated septum and both nasal passages were collapsed.  It was a day surgery with only about a week for down time at home.  After that I was up and ready to go! 

The school year ended with both boys passing with flying colors and Zane was on the 'A' honor roll for the year!! We are so proud of him!
The first weekend in June, the boys and I went to my family reunion...the Norton family reunion in Heber Springs, Arkansas.  Nana and Poppa Roy went with us and we had a really great time!  It was so good to visit with family we haven't seen for over 2 years.  I think the boys wanted to go to play in the pool, and play they did!!  It was hard to get them out of the pool but they had a lot of fun and didn't want to leave. 

The first two weeks of June brought swim lessons for Zane and he really did great!!  By the end of the two weeks, he was jumping in 10 feet of water and swimming really good!  But we were glad when it was over, so we could finally sleep in!!  The third week of June was Junior Camp at Lufkin, Texas for Zachary!  He had a blast hanging out with friends and had awesome church services!  He came back almost hoarse from yelling and shouting so much!  He had so much fun he was ready to head back the next week for Senior camp.  I was also planning on going to Senior camp to serve as a dorm matron...but little did we know that God had other plans for us because of a change that was coming to our family!

March 21st - a BIG surprise!!

Yep, it was a BIG surprise to wake up on Sunday, March 21st and the ground was covered in white beautiful snow!! Not only did it surprise us because it was March but considering we just came back from camping out the week before, we were totally shocked! But it was a good shock....church was called off that morning so we just had a lazy day taking it easy and enjoying the sight outside! Oh yeah, I did make some more snow cream for us - and it was good! Stay tuned to Texas weather for more surprises may be in store!!

Spring Break!!!

We were so ready for spring break....and the boys, especially Zane, had been asking to go camping! So we headed out to Lake Cooper on Sunday, March 14th. The forecasted weather for the week looked good so we took enough food to stay until Wednesday, March 17th. We picked a really great spot, close enough to see the lake yet not too far from the bathrooms! It was perfect!! We went hiking, played games and even played tag - yes, Ron and I can still run!! The boys went fishing but didn't catch anything...well, Zane didn't have the patience to wait long enough to see if anything would bite!! But they had a good time and that's what matters the most! It was cold every night so we had a campfire...in fact, the temperatures started dropping and we had to keep the fires burning even in the day time! Luckily, I thought ahead enough to pack us a set of warm clothes - and they definitely came in handy! Overall, we had a really great time and can't wait to go camping again!

Snow much fun!!!!!

Since we live in Texas, snow is a pretty rare occurance! So you can only imagine our excitement when we woke up to get the kids ready for school on Thursday February 11th and the snow had already accumulated around 2 inches on everything! Then being the cool parents we are, we let Zachary and Zane stay home from school even though most of the schools were still in session. It snowed all day...and not just slow, little flakes....we are talking lots of big flakes! In fact, it snowed for 24+ hours with a final cumulation of approximately 11-12 inches! Of course, this for sure caused the schools to close on Friday, February 12th! We had so much fun with all the snow....both days we spent at least 4 hours at a time outside playing! We built a small snowman in our front yard on Thursday, but by Friday us and our neighbors built a 6 foot tall snowman in the road! We made snow angels, snow cream and a snow fort in the backyard. We had the most awesome snowball fight EVER!!! The boys even got to play in the snow a little while on Saturday but it was windy and much colder so they didn't stay out as long as the previous days. The snow hung around for about 4 days. It is one snow storm we won't forget!!

My little man Zane!

Zane is an amazing little guy! He is growing up so fast and I'm not quite sure I really want that to happen....but unfortunately, I don't think I can stop it either! I can't believe that he has already completed kindergarten...but he was SO CUTE in his little cap and gown! As you can see he is already 'fashion conscious' - he wants to make sure he looks 'so cool' at all times!! In fact, he is the one that decided to pose 'cool' with Goofy - and yep, Goofy followed his lead! Everyone around was crackin' up!

Zane truly fits the birth order personality for a last child. He is the comedian of the family and there is NEVER a dull moment with him around....he says some of the funniest things to make us laugh! A few weeks ago, I asked him what he wanted to eat for dinner and he told me he wanted 'fee-hot-as'. I was puzzled because I didn't have the faintest ideal of what he was talking about...so I asked him what in the world is that. He said 'you know a fee-hot-a from Taco Cabana'...I busted out laughing because I realized he was wanting fajitas!! It was so funny! Another funny thing happened just last night at the dinner table. I was so excited about purchasing a Crop-a-dile (tool for scrapbooking) for a really good price earlier in the day. So I said "I'm so excited about getting that crop-a-dile" and Zane piped up and said "oh no! Now it's going to eat us"! I busted out laughing because he thought I had bought a crocodile! He is also very much a risk-taker...when he was about 2, I was doing some laundry and Zane was no where around and very quite...I knew to go look for him because he was into something! Sure enough, I walked into the kitchen and he had his tricycle in the middle of the table, sitting on it, and about to ride it off!!! I about had a heart attack then and there! He definitely keeps us on our toes!!

But he is also so sweet! One winter day I was getting him bundled up, ready to go outside and he looked up to me and said, 'I love you Momma'. I told him that I loved him too and very much. Then he asked me ' Momma will we be holding hands when we go into heaven?' I told him 'I don't know, why?' Then he said 'but what if I can't find you, I will be scared'. At this point, I had to swallow really hard to hold back my tears. So I just pulled him really close and gave him a big hug. And I told him that if we weren't 'together when we first get there at least nothing bad will happen because there won't be any mean people in heaven.' He just looked up at me and smiled. Moments like that, I cherish so much!

Zane LOVES video games....and one of his all-time favorites is 'Super Smash Bros. Melee'...in fact, I think he would play that night and day if we would let him! But when he plays it, he is hilarious to watch. He jumps up and down the WHOLE TIME HE PLAYS!!! He actually ends up sweating by the time he stops playing...but he pretty much does this with every game he plays! The whole bit about kids not getting enough exercise when they play video games does not apply to Zane in one little bit!!
Zane also LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his big brother, Zach! He wants to dress like Zach, talk like Zach, act like Zach....and it goes on and on! If we are at the store and he's getting a toy or candy, he always wants to get something for Zach, even if Zach isn't with us! I love to watch them play together and have fun! I'm so glad they have each other!

Finally, Zane is very smart, but he doesn't like to show it....and what I mean by that is he knows his school work but likes to 'act' like he doesn't to see if I will help him! But when I let him know that it's 'his homework and not mine', he can get it done in no time!! See, he's even smart enough to figure out a way to get people to help him, and it does work on some people, just not on me!!

Zane is such an awesome little guy that I am so proud of....stay tuned, I'm sure with him around I will have plenty more stories to post in the future!!

Zachary...growing up!

Zachary is really growing up....and very fast! So many things have been going on with him over the past few years. One thing that happened that he was rather nervous about it beginning was braces. We initially thought he would get his braces over summer vacation before starting 7th grade and he was worried about being called 'brace face', 'tin grin', 'metal mouth' and the list goes on! But he had to have some other treatments during the summer therefore putting the braces off a few months. Much to his relief, when the school year finally started he realized that ALOT of his friends got braces over the summer and that it was going to be the 'new fad' to have braces. He was very relieved and was actually looking forward to getting them. He got his top braces in November of 2007 and as you can see he looked so young. His bottom braces didn't get put on until a year later. Finally after 2 years of braces, it was almost time for them to come off but before they came off, he had to have his wisdom teeth pulled in December 2009. As you can see, he definitely had some swelling going on and he was so funny while the anesthesia was wearing off. Then on February 4, 2010, He got his braces off and he hasn't stopped smiling yet! And look how much he has changed in those 2 years......makes me want to cry!

But those two years really seemed to fly by....with so many other events happening in between. One being we started going to a new church with new friends for Zachary to meet! He even got the Holy Ghost in January 2009, just 2 months after we started! He prayed for 1 1/2 hours and God let him speak in that heavenly language!! He was one happy boy and so was I!! And yep, you guessed it....he met a girl named Meagan. After about a year of being friends, she is now his first official girlfriend! And as you can see, she is very pretty and to top it off, she's just as sweet as can be! I couldn't have picked anyone better to be his first girlfriend!

Zachary started high school in August 2009 and he's really loving it! But he's also looking forward to turning 15 and getting his drivers permit!!!! YIKES! I am really going to need prayers from everyone to survive this coming adventure! There is actually a funny story about him starting to drive. Several months ago, Ron was working in the yard and needed the truck moved from the front of the house to the back. He decided to let Zachary drive and he rode right beside him. So I was interested in watching from the front yard, too afraid to ride at that time! No sooner than Zachary pulled away from the house, a policeman was driving toward him. Zachary, wanting to not get too close to the policeman's car, steered more toward the right side of the street...but he steered a little TOO FAR RIGHT and jumped the curb!! I just knew the policeman was going to stop him then and there....but he didn't! I breathed a sigh of relief and I know Zachary really did!! Needless to say, he won't be living this down anytime soon!
Zachary is a very good boy and I am so proud of him. He is in practically every honor/AP class available this year. He loves his Spanish classes and says that he wants to be bi-lingual. He even entered a chili cook-off for the Spanish club and his team won first place for the hottest chili....and after 30 habaneros, you can bet it was HOT!!!! He is looking forward to being in the Spanish Honor Society next year. He makes pretty good grades overall and his teachers have nothing but compliments for him!

Zachary is also taller than me and he LOVES to remind me of it and does so often by picking me up! I just want him to stay my little boy but he is quickly becoming a young man that I am so very proud to call my son!! I love him with all of my heart....and who knows what I will have to say about 'his adventures' next time??

Last year's news....today!

I know this is already 2010....but I didn't have time to blog some of the end-of-the-year events for 2009. Besides, it's better late than never, right? Every year after the boys' birthdays it always seems to get a little crazy for us....with all the holidays and everything that comes with them! For Fall, Zachary and Zane both had their own pumpkin to design. I think they both came out great and I'm sure from the picture you would agree with me....and we even roasted the pumpkin seeds, which are always yummy! We had a fall festival at church and Zane dressed up like G.I. Joe - or his version, at least! So of course, I had to take pictures of him....Zachary informed me that he was 'too old' to dress up for the event! My oldest baby is growing up! *sigh* We also had a great Thanksgiving, so much to be thankful for....thankful that we were able to spend time with family, just visiting and eating. We also had a church Christmas banquet at TLC and I managed to snap a picture of the good looking guys in my life before they ate and got food all over them....lol j/k! But I was so proud of how good my guys really looked....the picture speaks for itself! Next was Christmas, and we had a great time celebrating with family and believe it or not, Christmas day ended up being somewhat white for us Texans....and yes, I do mean we actually had some snow! Not that it lasted but we did wake up to a light dusting of snow on the ground, and that's about as close as we get to having a white Christmas...so I won't complain! We celebrated Chrismas Eve with Ron's family and had such a great time! We ate, talked, ate, played Karaoke, ate, opened gifts...well, you get the picture! Then Christmas day was at our home with my parents and it was very enjoyable too. We opened gifts, played games, and ate all day long!! It was a great time being able to enjoy those that we love the most and all of us being healthy....that's just one reason to celebrate Christmas! The other reason being the celebration of the birth of Jesus! He is the true reason for the season! I'm so blessed beyond measure to have Jesus as the center of my life....and the life that He has given back to me is so amazing! He blessed me with a loving husband and two of the most amazingly wonderful boys in the whole wide world!! Thank you Jesus for my gifts! CHRIST-mas wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't take the time to celebrate the real reason!! After reflecting back on some of our memories for last year, it makes me realize that we need to cherish every moment we get with the ones we love because once that moment is gone we will never get a second chance to make it memorable...I'm so glad I have these wonderful memories with my family!

Family car decoration.....

This may seem corny to you....but I really like it and it's my blog...so there!! lol I really wanted to put it on here because I think it's a cute representation of my family...it even includes our little dog!

Finally....Vacation pictures!!