It begins!

Softball begins today. Tasha was up and ready! It's a yucky rainy day, but the game must go on! It is an away game, so we will not be traveling to it. I took these pictures last week at practice...this one is of Tasha getting ready to bat:




Headed to her position in the outfield:



And Tasha's usual position in the outfield:



Good Luck Tasha!! Make it GREAT:)

Excuse me.....

I sometimes want to say to my kids, "excuse me, let me save you from yourself!!". Tonight I stood with a teenager and was totally exasperated. Someday, in that far off future my kids will be adults and they will "see" the error of their thinking, of their behavior, of their paths of destruction. In that future (a gazillion miles from now) I really think they'll say, "Thank you for saving me from my stupid self!". Truly, I really believe that.

But today? Well, today I am the ridiculous crazy overbearing mother who is pretty opinionated about "right" from "wrong". On this day I yield all the power of a parent and it can be sweet or tough to hear...always depending on (I know you have to get tired of this word!!!) CHOICE!

How do I tell my daughter there is a WHOLE WIDE WORLD out there that she cannot yet even imagine? How do I tell my son that the joys of the life are NEVER wrapped up in one person? How do I explain to my teenager that PEACE is a gift beyond measure? How do I tell my daughter that her self-worth is more important than all the gold in Fort Knox? How do I tell my son that winning is NOT everything but the way you PLAY is the deciding factor of success?

I have to stop and remind myself, "Excuse me, they are CHILDREN! They have NO CLUE!! But God gave them YOU to guide them!!"

When put that way I know God has great empathy for the life of a parent:) God certainly knows how much I love my children. God certainly knows all the hopes and dreams I have for them. God certainly understands the success I desire for each and every one of them!! And God knows my heart pushes them to be the very best people they can be.... as I know it simply makes them better at EVERYTHING!!!

So, excuse me as I do the very best job I can.......

Waiting for Caleb....

Caleb is less than a week (I think...by all reports) away from leaving Afghanistan and returning to Germany. I love this picture of him. He was playing his Ukulele with some other guys during an 8 hour jam session to raise money for wounded soldiers.

Caleb has already bought a new Uke which is waiting here for him. This one is an electric ukulele:) Seth took this picture to send to Caleb to show him what it looked like:





And his new crazy hard case arrived:



We are very very ready to hear Caleb make us some music! I shall simply be happy to sit and see my neat son!! Hurry up Army and send my guy home!!

Jacob's "Farah"

When Jacob was little he called Sarah "Farah". She and he share a silliness. Sarah is always silly. So in honor of Jacob's birthday I will post some silly Farah pictures:) As you can see from the picture above....he gets the silly from Sarah:

Happy 19th Birthday Jacob!

Today Jacob turned 19. It is a harder to accept than most birthday's. Jacob was our last birth child, the last baby I carried and delivered. I nearly died when I had Jacob (who was taken by emergency c-section). It was after Jacob's birth and the understanding that he was the last I could "have" that we decided to adopt. Jacob has always been so easy in so many ways! He never ever minded giving up that "baby" position. He's now 14 times removed from that position. I'm glad. He is such a great big brother! Jacob has shown a great work ethic to the other children while maintaining a sweet life of service. He is always sweet to his momma (and I LOVE that ...haha...ofcourse).

Happy Happy Birthday Jacob Scott Smotherman!!!

Gigi's

On our way to the Zoo Sarah spotted a Gigi's. Gigi's Cupcakes are truly incredible! We stopped on the way home from the Zoo so everyone could load up on way too much sugar:)

ZOO:)

We love going to the Zoo. The kids have Spring Break (well, two days of Spring Break) this Thursday and Friday. I was so glad Doug and Sarah went along too...they are both neat kids and a huge help!


I think one of the neatest parts about having big brothers and sisters along is the fast that they have FUN and everyone see it!




I see lots of copying ...like this picture:





The weather was beautiful (a tad bit cool...but perfect!). I love spring with all the flowers and trees...



Everyone had a fun day and I got some cute pictures of my kiddos and a few animals too!















And Seth would say, "enough pictures mom!"