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!!