Christmas 2010

Christmas this year was great.  We stayed home and had a quiet Christmas just the 5 of us.  We went to the Christmas Eve service at church and woke up way to early the next morning to open presents.  As with every year the kids made out with a ton of loot!  Everything from money to video games, to air soft guns!

Every year we let the kids open up one gift on Christmas Eve.  I think I was the one who started that whole thing.  I can remeber when I was little my sister and I would beg and beg to open one gift the night before Christmas, it was so much fun and made the wait for Christmas morning that my faster.  So here are the three of them opening one gift on Christmas Eve.  Matthew got his Xbox, Mason a DSi and Makayla got a fairy Princess wand that played music and spoke to her!

Christmas morning...O'dark thiry!

Thanksgiving 2010

Growing up we would spend every Thanksgiving with my Dad and his side of the family...Uncle Gary (my Dad's brother), Aunt Jane and my cousins Amy, Adam and Audrey.  That was just what we did.  It was nice to have a tradition, something to look forward to every year, it was the same but different and it was nice to not have to plan what to do or where to go or who is going to cook the bird.  Well now that I am an adult with my own family Thanksgiving has been quite different.  I miss the sameness (is that a word) of Thanksgiving, the part about Thanksgiving that you could count on.  Call me crazy but I miss the days when the tradition was set and we knew what we were doing and were we were going and who was going to be there.  Add getting married and kids to the mix, with two sides of family or three if there is a divorce and you got yourself a different Thanksgiving.  Not bad, but not the same either.  I have to admit I love being the one sitting on the couch playing the family games while someone else is in the kitchen doing all the hard work.  I LOVE enjoying the yumminess of someone else's labor.  Is that bad?  Or is it me just not wanting to grow up and take on the role of Mom.  It just seems like for the amount of time, preparation and effort a Thanksgiving meal takes it sure is over rather fast.  But this year like last year I did take on the role and I cooked a yummy Thanksgiving meal for my family and my Dad.  Even though it was only the five of us, it was cozy and quiet and the turkey was delicious.  I don't think I will ever get use to the idea of taking on the role of Mom and all that that in tales.  But I am learning.

I promised myself to get some pictures from that day...but that I failed at.  I didn't get a ONE!  But I will next year...you can count on it!

~fara 

Halloween 2010

I don't know why but I don't like Halloween.  I like fairytales and happy endings.  Halloween is just way too dark and spooky for me, but every year I try really hard to at least put up with it for the kids.  This year, not unlike most every other year we waited way to long to get costumes.  When we finally went looking everything was pretty much picked through.  After several stops and a melting down 1 year old we finally found the boys costumes at Target.  Mason found a Vampire costume that he liked and Matthew found this really cool Cowboy costume.  They were cute...if you like Halloween.  No, they were cute.  Makayla got to wear Kallie's costume from last year...a monkey!  It was super cute with a big bow on it's ear.  I am so thankful for any hand-me down I can get my hands on.  I had big plans to get some really awesome pictures of the kids all dressed up...that didn't happen.  I managed to get one!  I guess one is better than none!  So here they are, all dressed up...

Oh Blog, please forgive my absence!

It is now January 2011 and the last post I made was of Makayla's Birthday in October...we have had Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years since then.  ***sigh***

So today starts my "catching up"!  I will start with Halloween and work my way to present.  But please blog be a little gracious and patient with me.  While I would love to give you all my attention I have a little something on the side I am also working on.  Well, maybe not so little.  You see, I have decided to dive into Fara Smith Photography full time.  I have finally accepted that you can't fail at something if you don't first try to succeed.  So as of 2011 I am giving up Notary (which by the way has been really good to us, allowing me to stay home with my children while bringing in a little extra money) and putting all my energy and efforts into making Fara Smith Photography a HUGE SUCCESS!  It is at times a scary reality, knowing that this is sink or swim, do or die, make it or break it, you know all those sayings.  But deep down inside I am convinced that anything I set my mind to I can do!  Besides what is the worst thing that could happen?  I could fail, but isn't not trying at all failing too?  So here we go, I can't wait for the ride!  I am hangin' on tight! I just know that God has big plans for me and my family!

So, I promise to be back to do some catching up but remember, if it is getting late and there is no sign of me, know that I am not goofy off, I am on a journey to SUCCEED!

~fara

Makayla Grace turns 1!

On October 24th we celebrated Makayla's 1st birthday!  It was pouring rain that day which made it impossible to get the cute pictures I so delicately rehearsed over and over in my head.  I had a tutu made for her and even found a matching shirt that said "Birthday Girl".  I am hoping that next year she will be able to wear it.

We didn't have a huge party or make it a big deal.  It was just us, with a small cake and a few presents.  It was quiet but it was beautiful!  I can't believe that is has really been a whole year since I gave birth to my little girl.  It really is true that time fly's.  She has been nothing short of a true blessing to all of us!  She makes our days brighter and our family seem complete.

My Three Blessings!

On October 9th we got our family pictures done.  It is always a challenge every year to get the clothes together, get everyone dresses and prepared, I am so glad we did it but I am also so glad it is over and done for one more year.  I wanted to post this one of my kids last year, it was taken right after Makayla was born and is still one of my all time favorites. 

This year I was lucky enough to get an equally nice picture of the three of them.  Thank you Rachelle for capturing my family.  You have continued to be such an amazing and faithful friend. 

Here are my blessings, my gifts from God, the reason I work so hard, my joy, my delight my greatest accomplishments....Matthew 10, Mason 6, and Makayla 1.

Matthew ~ you make me laugh!  You make me want to be a "cool" mom.  You have grown up into this young man while I wasn't looking.  I feel like I missed something, like one day I turned and there you were almost as tall as me.  Thank you for your sense of humor, for loving me, for helping me with Mason and Makayla, thank you for being you, for being smart and witty.  You challenge me to be a better mom and I love you in the deepest parts of my heart.  You are my first born and with that title comes a special bond that only you and I share.  I am so grateful that God intusted me with you!  I am honored to be your mom and to call you my son!!

Mason ~ how in the world did you get so cute?  Sometimes your cute face and silly gestures just amaze me.  You are truly one of a kind.  Your sensitive spirit always makes my eyes tear up.  Your compassion for people and creatures cause me to look at you in wonder!  Your love for the outdoors and desire to explore life is contagious!  You and I have become park buddies, what an amazing memory I will cherish forever.  Thank you for your hugs, for wanting to snuggle me, for always desiring to be close to me.  I just love that about you.  A night doesn't go by that you are not begging Daddy or I to snuggle you.  I know that those nights will slowly fade one day, but for now I am going to cherish them.  You have been a blessing since the day you were born.  I love you sweet boy!

Makayla ~ what a gift, a daughter all my own.  Walking through the store the other day I was carrying you, as we were walking I was kissing your head and I caught myself say out loud "You are so cute and you are all MINE!"  Sometimes I still don't believe it.  My mom always use to say "A son is a son till he takes a wife but a daughter is a daughter for the rest of her life"  I am so thrilled that you are mine and you will be mine for the rest of my life.  I can only hope and pray that our relationship grows into something beautiful and wonderful.  You have been nothing short of a true blessing to all of us.  You make us laugh, you make us sit and stare at your cuteness and you have brought pink into our house.  The days are sometimes long, but the years are oh so short.  I promise to cherish every moment with you and to give you everything in life that I wanted as a little girl. 



Mason got a Lizard...

Cousin Zack got a Bearded Dragon Lizard, it was so cool now Mason wanted one.  He saved his birthday money (turning down lots of other things he wanted) to buy his very own Bearded Dragon.  I was secretly hoping that he would get over the idea, that he would move on to something else in no time.  But he didn't...here it is October, 3 months after his birthday and we are welcoming Lizzy to the family.  He eats live crickets and meal worms, he is growing super fast, he is not my idea of the greatest pets but hey he makes Mason light up and grin ear to ear.  So it is all worth it. 

Here is a picture of Lizzy!!