Tis the Season...

Tis the season to give thanks and get ready for the hussle and bussle that the holidays bring. I truly love Thanksgiving. It is probably one of my favorite holidays. I think it is important to reflect on how blessed we all are and show gratitude for what we've been given. Every year my Mom makes us share what we are thankful for as we sit around the table eating a delicious turkey dinner. This year we had a small crowd, but I kind of liked it that way. It wasn't too chaotic and there wasn't any family drama. I was sad that my brother and his family weren't there, but they were spending time with his wife's family this year. All week long I've been thinking about the many blessings in my life. Here are just a few:

1. FAMILY- I am so grateful for our little family and our extended families. I feel so blessed and honored to be the mother of two beautiful boys! There are many days that I feel very inadequate to be their mother, but I am grateful for their smiles, giggles, kisses, and unconditional love they give me every day. They also teach me new things every single day, and I am grateful for that. I feel very blessed to have two families that love and support us no matter what. Both of our parents have been great examples to us, and I love them all dearly! Rob and I were talking just last night about life and one thing that was brought up, was that the only thing in this world that is certain and constant are families. How lucky are we to have two great ones?

2. THE GOSPEL - I don't know where I would be without the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I am grateful that I have a testimony of my Savior and the sacrifice he made for each one of us. I am grateful for the happiness that comes from living the gospel and keeping the commandments. I know that all of my blessings come from my Father in Heaven, and I am grateful to Him.

3. TEMPLE BLESSINGS - This one goes a long with number 2, but it is something our family is very grateful for this year. I feel very blessed for the opportunity to live twenty minutes from two temples and soon to be four temples. Rob and I are very grateful for the blessings we receive for attending the temple and also for the covenants that we have made there. We have recently made a goal to go to the temple twice a month. As long as we keep our priorities straight, I know we can do it.

4. ROBERT - I am very grateful to be married to a wonderful husband. I am blessed to have such a wonderful man to help me raise our boys. Rob is such a wonderful husband and father. I love to watch him with the boys. I am so grateful for all the hard work Rob does on a daily basis so that I can stay home and be with our boys. I am also very grateful for Rob's job. In this horrible economy, I feel very blessed that Rob works for such a great company and that we have money to put food on the table.

These are just a few of the many things I am grateful for this year. We had a great Thanksgiving holiday this year. I am looking forward to celebrating the holidays this year. I truly hope that I don't get too wrapped up in the things that aren't important, and focus on the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Happy Holidays!

This is us on Thanksgiving

Wes playing in the backyardBeckett = too cute for words!

"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth..."

Or, maybe just one of them. My poor accident prone little Wesley had yet another accident. Luckily I wasn't there when it happened. I think I would have really lost it. Yesterday my Mom, my sister, and I left the men at my parents watching Utah bury BYU into the ground, while we went out to dinner. Periodically during the night I would text Rob and ask what the score was. I would get answers like Utah 27, BYU 17, Wesley -1. I would then tell my Mom and Jenny and we would laugh wondering what -1 meant. I was thinking that maybe he was just being naughty. A hour or so later I asked again. I can't remember what the score was then, but Wes was still -1. I thought, well at least Wesley isn't getting any worst. Well, we walked into the house and Wesley jumped down from the couch to come say hi. I was carrying Beckett and a thing of shakes, so I walked right past Wes to put them on the table. My Mom was the first to notice. She yelled "He's missing his tooth!" What?!?! I asked. And everyone yelled, "He's missing his front tooth!" I couldn't believe it! I walked over to examine Wesley's teeth as Rob came down from the kitchen with my little two year old's tooth. Huge root and all! I'm actually surprised at how well I handled it. I could have freaked out, but I didn't. I think my Mom took it harder than all of us. She was quite distraught.

All I wanted to hear is how it happened. They said Wesley was pretending to play football. He would crouch down and say "HIKE!" and start running as fast as he could and one time he tripped on his own feet and his face slammed right into the corner of the wall. It didn't surprise me at all. He trips, falls, and hits his head CONSTANTLY! The text messages with -1 finally made sense. I asked why they didn't call and tell me, and Rob said he didn't want to ruin our dinner. They said Wesley handled it very well. When we put him to bed, his mouth was still bleeding a little bit. We did call a dentist and are waiting to hear back when he needs to be looked at. I know there is nothing they can do, but I just want to make sure everything looks ok and that he didn't damage any of his other teeth. For me, this sort of thing is sort of common. My niece Kendra fell and knocked her front tooth out around 18 months. And a little boy in our neighborhood had the same thing happen when he was three. It's sad. I will miss his cute little smile. He is now stuck with a little Hill Billy smile until his adult tooth grows in in 4 or 5 years. I'm sure we'll get used to it. I still think he's pretty cute! Don't you?

Jewelry Party!!!

I am hosting a jewelry party for my talented friend Maren. Maren is the owner of The Fresh Pearl. They have AMAZING jewelry for AMAZING prices! I have sent/brought many of you invitations, but for some of you I don't have addresses. So consider this your invitation :)

Here are the details:

Tuesday November 25th - 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm

They have Christmas gifts as low as $5, necklaces and bracelets starting at $12, interchangeable watches only $25, wrap around bracelets $7, and earrings for $5-$10. You also receive a free silk gift bag with every purchase!

If you don't know where I live, email me at jillyansmith@hotmail.com and I will gladly send you my address. Hope to see you there!!!

Picture Tag

Tag...I'm it! Thanks Dede :) This tag has been done on a lot of blogs recently, but I think it's a fun one. In your pictures folder, you go to the fourth folder and post the fourth picture.



Let me explain the picture a little bit. This was taken on Rob's birthday in 2004. We were recently married and living in Cedar City. I decided to have a party for him at the bowling alley. And anyone who knew us back then, knows that we HAD to get tatoos when we went bowling. Cedar's bowling alley is one of the most run down, ghetto fabulous bowling alley's around! And yes...we were major dorks! But we always had a good time.

Now I tag : Maren, Meg, Brooke, Lexy, and Cowgirl! I don't think any of you have done this tag. If so, sorry!

Palmyra Part I - Palmyra Temple and Hill Cumorah

Well, we're back to blogging about our trip. I hope you aren't too bored with hearing about it. I have already talked about our visit to the Palmyra Temple, but I don't think I've posted any pictures. We visited the Hill Cumorah on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. They have a really nice visitor's center there. After going on a little tour, we took the hike up to the top. It was quite a hike...especially in my heels! The view from the hill was spectaculor!

And the winners are...

All four of you that commented! That's kind of pathetic that we only have four people that read our blog. But oh well...what can ya do? So...Andee, Nikki, Charley, and Meg will be receiving a fantastic prize! It may take me a couple of days to finish getting it ready, but I will give you all a call when I do. Now for the fun part! You get to do the same thing on your blogs! Let's hope that more people will participate with yours!

pay it forward...

Cute Dede in my ward had a pay it forward tag on her blog and I was a WINNER! I was so excited because I NEVER win ANYTHING! (Seriously) Dede is so crafty! She made this cute gratitude sign and gave it away as her prizes. So friends...it's my turn next to pay it forward! Here's how you join in on the fun...Dede changed the rules a little bit and I think I am going to follow her.

Here are the rules:
I agree to send along some goodies to three random people who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three people post this information and "Pay It Forward" to three people who comment on their post. You must promise to mention this on your blog and send off your goods to those three people so that this continues. As soon as I pick my three lucky bloggers, I will email you a request for your shipping address.

What will your goodie be? I don't quite know yet, but you will LOVE it no matter what I decide on! I will take all of the people that leave a comment and put their names in a bowl and draw three lucky winners! You must post a comment by Monday November, 10th. Good luck!

*And by the way, flattery will work!

I heart Chick-fil-a

There are some of you that know of my great LOVE for Chickfila, but there are others out there that have no idea. So today this post is completely dedicated to my all time favorite fast food restaurant. In honor of the grand opening of a brand new restaurant 5 mins from my house. I absolutely love everything about Chickfila. I am a regular there. My friend Maren and I go at least once a week, but usually I eat there 2-3 times a week. There are many reasons that I heart Chickfila. Here are a few:

1. They are the yummiest and healthiest fast food place around! (Honestly!) Even their chicken nuggets are healthier than any other chicken nuggets out there. My fave: The Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich with a salad instead of fries.

2. They have by far, the best customer service! When you say thank you, it is company policy for them to say "my pleasure." It's a little cheesy, but I feel like I'm at a nice sit down restaurant, not a fast food place.

3. They bring you yummy butter mints around to your table! And that's not all...if you sit there long enough, they will "refresh" your drink for you. For those of you that don't speak fancy talk, that means they refill your drinks. And on good days, they bring around free samples of their ice cream, and today they had samples of their chicken minis from their breakfast menu.

4. They have the cleanest restaurant, bathrooms, and playland! I don't have any hesitation letting my kids play in their playland like I do at other places like McDonalds. I have personally witnessed them cleaning their playland multiple times. Their bathrooms are really nice and I rarely ever sit at a table that hasn't been wiped down clean.

And the list doesn't end there. I wasn't planning on going to the grand opening today, but my lunch plans got changed a little bit, due to my poor sister that got pneumonia. My other sister Jenny suggested that we go to Chickfila. We got there at the perfect time, there weren't many people there. To give you an example of their great customer service, I will explain how our trip went. We walked in and I went straight over to find a table by the playland. As I was taking Beckett out of his seat, a cute older worker came over and started talking to me. Of course he first started with telling me how adorable my baby was, and then he offered to go get me a high chair while I went and ordered. As I was ordering, the cute man came up behind me and told me he would help me with my tray. After ordering I carried Beckett and my drinks over to the condiment counter. I had 2 employees offer to help me carry my drinks to my table. I assured them I could handle it. As I was walking to my table, I had yet another employee offer to help me. I again assured him that I had it. As we ate lunch, many employees (including the managers and the owner), came by and asked how everything was and offered to get us anything we needed. They came around giving all the kids balloons and hats. We were given refills, mints, and free samples. We even had our trays picked up and thrown away for us. And as we were leaving, we were handed some coupons and the boys were given cute little stuffed cows. Is that great service or what? And it isn't only like that on opening day, every time I go there I get treated just the same.

So, if any of you are craving their delicious chicken and are looking for someone to go with...feel free to give me a call! Most likely I will already be there, or will be up for going!

Modbe 30% off Coupon

I really should be posting about all of my frustrations...but I am going to spare all of you and post about Modbe's great coupon. Modbe is giving a customer appreciation discount of 30% for a limited time only. How long is a limited time? I have no idea! I didn't even know they were giving this discount until they emailed all their customers with it. I emailed most of you that have ordered from me in the past a coupon, but some of you never have so here ya go! Modbe never does this, so I would definitely take advantage of it! To start shopping, just click here. Let me know if you have any questions!

Happy Halloween

We had so much fun on Halloween this year. Rob had the day off so we decided to dress the boys up in their costumes and take them down to the Children's museum at the Gateway. The museum had fun little activities for the kids such as decorating trick or treat bags, making masks, and building haunted houses out of graham crackers and candy. Wes had a lot of fun. We also grabbed lunch at one of my favorite places-Jason's Deli. That night we went trick or treating with my sister Jenny and my niece Kendra. Wesley had such a great time. He was cute. He would say trick or treat at every door and would always say thank you after someone gave him some candy. He didn't quite understand why he was getting all of this free candy, but there were no complaints from him. After trick or treating, we headed over to my parents for some delicious chili and yummy desserts! We then headed over to my Grandma and Grandpa Rigby's. My Grandma loves to see all of her grand and great-grandkids in their costumes. This has been a tradition as long as I can remember! Last but not least, we ended the night at Rob's parents house. They had just gotten back from a trip from LA and were so excited to see the kids. They thought they were the cutest pirates around! I would also have to agree. It was a busy but fun filled day!Our little buccaneerOur scary pirate

Beckett chillin in his strollerAt the museum

Farah Faucett (aka Aunt Heather) and the two piratesOur family of 3 Pirates and 1 Party PooperMy sister Heather decided to put her wig on Beckett and we couldn't stop laughing. It was hilarious! I wish we would have had a wig on him all day. Isn't he adorable?