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!