well, well, well. i'm back.....

it has been a while since my last post. all i can say is life is busy and sometimes things get lost in the shuffle. daddy was out of town for almost a week, but have no fear mommy..... grandma and grandpa are here! i had a lot of help while daddy was gone and i could not have done it with out them. so..... thank you for all the folding of laundry, reading of books, playing with cars, wiping of butts, washing of dishes and support that you gave me! are you sure you don't want to turn your car around and come back? daddy brought home souvenirs from new orleans. you guessed it..... beads and they were a huge hit. i am looking into the future of both my boys in their 20's on bourbon street partying........someday boys you will know what those beads really mean..... welcome home daddy. we missed you lots.

the doctor is in

brady said that logan needed a doctor the day before yesterday. i asked "what's wrong with logan." the response was, " he is sick and has lady bugs."

so he listened and listened some more. i finally asked "what do you hear?" brady's response "i hear the heart".

then we moved on to.....

the ear...... i asked "what do you see?" he quickly responded "whoa! i see lady bug mommy". such a good doctor and such a good patient. too cute to not share with you all. hope this brings a smile to your face this thursday.

Happy Chinese New Year!

the year of the tiger......

dragon dance

part of the dragon dance as well

the tree of waiting children needing your help.......

brady meeting chen yang

every year we go to a charity dinner for the nathan yip foundation. linda and jimmy yip lost their son in an auto accident when he was only 19 years old. it was nathan's vision to start an organization to help impoverished children worldwide. in 2002 the yips started the foundation in honor of nathan. it has been amazing to watch over the years the schools they have built for children and all that they have done to enrich these children's lives. last night we adopted a little girl who is a first grader. her name is chen yan. it is amazing to me how far our $100 for the year will go for her. it will help fund her education for the year and supply all the books and materials that she will need to go to school. we can continue to re-adopt her every year and watch her grow. we asked brady this morning if he wanted to come and meet his new "sister". he ran over to the photo and stared at if for some time. if you have some time you should go to the nathan yip foundation website. (click on nathan yip foundation above). it truly is an extraordinary mission they have set out to accomplish. the dinner is quite an evening in itself. it starts out with an amazing dragon dance. the dragons are absolutely beautiful. at the end of the dance the dragon climbs up the pole to eat his lettuce that is offered up to him. He then throws some of the lettuce in the air. it is good luck if you catch a piece and is supposed to bring you prosperity in the new year. at the beginning of the dinner we are served a salad. everyone at the table then takes their chop sticks and tosses the salad together. it is supposed to bring everyone at that table good fortune for the new year. a truly amazing event the yips and all of their volunteers put on year after year.

smith model railroad post #1

daddy has been reading up and working hard, with brady's help of course. they have started building the smith railroad in our basement. plaster and molds are abundant on my counters all the time. little styrofoam pieces litter my floor. it is so amazing to watch these two work together to build the model railroad. brady gets so excited to go downstairs and work on the trains with daddy. he is becoming an excellent rock painter. thanks daddy for doing this with brady. he is so lucky to have a daddy like you. a special thanks to papa for giving us our starting track and trains. this will surely be a masterpiece! more to come.....

the slider

two pairs of jeans in one week. a torn up mess my kid. he likes to run and slide now, on some not so smooth surfaces. this one i say is all boy... here i come fabric store looking for patches. yes i will have to pull out the sewing machine for this kid... i hear tale that his daddy used to do the same thing.... grandma smith any suggestions?

the serenade

a little over five years ago i was serenaded at our wedding by my husband. the song a little unconventional for a serenade song, but we are not a conventional family. Barry Manilow "copacabana". a very fond memory of mine. for those of you who have not seen my husband perform.... you are missing out. fast forward to a few days ago and my memory was jarred by my son brady. singing, yes you guessed it. only he has his own little version he belts out "coke like a banana!" the old meshes with the new and i am left giggling with yet more great memories in my head.