Update of Life with the Smith's

Life has been crazy for us this year and thus, this is my first post since October. So here's an update of life at the Smith household....

For the most part, school and sports have taken up our lives since August. I had cross country and Will had football. We have been extremely blessed with the jobs that we have even though life has been difficult at times. We did not know that Will was going to be varsity football coach because he was originally supposed to coach at a jr. high in town. However, he was pulled up in mid-August and it as such a blessing. He absolutely LOVES his job! It was somewhat of an adjustment for me however. For those of you who do not know, football coaches put in some work. However, as long as Will loves his job that is all that matters :)

I have also been coaching. From August to October, I coached cross country and I absolutely enjoyed it. The head coach his hilarious and is great to work with. Then after that was finished, I began coaching basketball. So far basketball has been time consuming to say the least but I have a great group of girls and that has made it all worth it.

Now for the most important part of our family. Kya has been growing like a weed! In December we had our first emergency room visit after Kya slammed her finger in my classroom door. I know slamming a finger doesn't seem like much but it was really an ordeal. She ended up having surgery on her finger and she went through it like a champ. Other than that, Kya is just being Kya. She laughs all the time and is sooo silly. She also keeps asking when God will bring her a baby sister but we just keep avoiding the question. Im pretty sure she just thinks a baby sister will be just a be live doll that she can play with at will. Other than that, she is just growing and learning more every day.

Well there's an update....I have added pictures below. I will hopefully be able to post more as we get closer to the end of the school year. Until then, God Bless!

Will and Kya at the park

Kya after her surgery...she was really tired.

Painting ceramics

Summer 2009

So this is my first post in I think over a month and I can only expect that the next few months are going to be even busier so here is my somewhat modest attempt at keeping up with this blog :)

As you know, this summer has been extremely eventful in that we have both gotten new jobs and bought a new house as well. And most of our so called summer was tied up in

fixing up our house and while I have posted a couple of pictures of Kya's room....I failed to follow up with other parts of the house so here ya go....Below are more pictures of our house.

Living Room

Yes, it is still relatively bare but it is a work in progress.....

The Dining Room

Its somewhat small but its perfect for our family....

And the best part.....the view of the park two houses down......

Now for the important stuff....

Kya had her 4th Birthday this year and we had her party at Kennys Korral again. The biggest present was her new bike that we now have ride any day that Will and I are home before sunset :) Here are some pictures of the event:

First Day of School

Kya also had her first year of pre-K this year. Her first day of school was on August 24th and while she was soooo excited, Mommy wasnt so great. I told myself I wasnt going to cry and I didnt great until I had to leave her at school. That was when the tears came (Not alot but some). However, I got over it quickly. So far it has gone pretty good and she seems to like it a lot.

Kya on her 1st day.

So that was our summer for the most part.......Stay tuned throughout the year :)

Life in General

Hi All! Well it has been a while since I posted and there is a lot that has been going on with us. We did get most of the house painted and yes, I will have pictures up soon :) Its just I am trying to get our house "together" as best I can before I take the pictures to demonstrate the before and after. The house has been what is taking up the majority of our time but there are a couple other things that are going on that I would like to share with you also.

First, Will and I have just recently started attending a new church and it is amazing. Some of you may have heard of it....Its called ExperienceLife. And no it is not your typical church. We were lead to go to this church gradually. We had been hearing about it through various outlets but we finally decided to attend when our home inspector told us about it. Most people wear whatever they want,,,be it dressy or casual. And the best part about it is their motto is NO PERFECT PEOPLE ALLOWED. This really

rings true for us because Will and I will be the 1st to admit that we are NOT perfect whatsoever. Everyone welcomes you with very open arms. and our preacher is amazing!! Well I could continue to tell you all about the wonder that is ExperienceLife but it would probably be better if you just checked it out yourself. Just go to ExperienceLifeNow.com. You can download his sermons onto your computer or ipod if you do not live around here or just wanna see it before you go.

Second, this past week has been difficult. On Thursday we found out that my 87 yr old Memaw has cancer. They took a lump out of her breast on Wed. and the test results came back positive on Thurs. We do not know much about it yet because she has not been to an oncologist....so for right now, we just know she has it. The reason I am sharing this with everyone is to ask you for prayer. I know that God is a God of healing and there is nothing impossible for him....so just please pray for her strength and healing throughout this ordeal. And pray that our family gives her the support she needs. Having already been through cancer with my mom (survivor for 16 yrs now!!) , I know that it is a very trying time for everyone involved. Thank you so much.

Kya's Room

So since we just bought a new house I am certain this is only the first of several posts showing the progress we are making. We are soooooooo excited about our very first home and all the painting we are going to do to it. We started by painting Kya's room and I must say it turned out so much better than expected! I still would like to tweek several things about it like put crown molding and painting the doors white but for now it works just great for her! And the best part about it.....she is sleeping in her own room FINALLY! She has slept in it every night since we have finished her room and we are SOOOO excited about that! Of course she is not going to sleep until 12 now because there is a TV for her to watch cartoons on in her room but hey its a work in progress also :)

Here are some pictures:

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She loves her new pink room!

Its Official!

Its Official!! We are homeowners!

Will and I signed on our very first home yesterday! Although it was stressful...it has been such a wonderful experience!! Our loan officer, Dorinda Sherwood, and our realtor, Tarvis Grant, were absolutely amazing!!! They did most everything and just told us what they needed from us! We also got a great deal on the house we bought, it appraised for well over what we paid so that made it even better. Kya is excited as well (see pictures below).

Here a few pictures from yesterday:

Our first home...

All of us...

She is becoming a little Ham for the camera

Finally a Vacation...

So the first week of summer has come and gone already....And although it was slightly unproductive on my end, we did get to go on our first family vacation!

Yes, I know I know...some of you are surely saying the first one?? Well, between getting married, going to grad school, finishing a master's thesis, getting our first "real" jobs...life has been hectic these past few years. So we were definitely exciting to go on our first vacation even if it was just to Fort Worth.

We went to go see Will's little cousin Olden graduate (Everyone is soooo proud of him!). Well we were not supposed to leave until Friday afternoon but we ended up leaving Thursday night because Olden's dad, Uncle David, had a heart attack (Keep reading to see how good God is). So we road down there with Will's mom and dad and got there about 2 A.M. Needless to say...we were tired!

Friday, we really did not do much...Jackquline cooked as she is always asked to do because her food is AMAZING! And I just helped her however I could. We really just go to start getting everything ready for Saturday.

Saturday came...Olden's graduation was at 10 AM and it was soooo wonderful to see him walk across the stage! We did not get to see David, his brother graduate 2 yrs ago so we really felt like we needed to make it this one. Olden will be going to school on a basketball scholarship starting in the fall and I am fairly certain he is ready for college (as all hs graduates are)! After the graduation...we ate, chilled with family and just relaxed as much as possible.

Then, on Sunday morning...Uncle David came home!!! It was soooo awesome because he was home just two days after having a heart attack!! And it was such a wonderful surprise to Aunt Rena because he did not tell her he was coming home yet....so when Will's dad brought him through the door, walking on his own, Rena was sooooooo excited!! God is good!

That afternoon we took Kya and Tyrie swimming. Although she is really not sure about the whole swimming thing...we did our best to begin teaching her and Ty how to swim. They did really good and I think they are becoming more comfortable with the water now. We had Olden's party Sunday night and again just got to chill with friends and family! I got to meet more of Will's family and really just got to relax a little bit more.

We came home yesterday and although it was a wonderful weekend...we were so glad to be home.

Here are some pictures from the weekend...

Kya eating food in the backseat of the car...sorry I just thought this was cute.

Kya swimming

Family Photo

Goodbyes

Well it is officially the first day of summer vacation and all though I am extremely excited about that....these past two days have been extremely sad.

Yesterday I was my last day at FHS and it was so much harder than what I thought it was going to be. I have enjoyed being there so much this year dispite the daily drives and everyone has been so great and it is for this reason that I cried almost the entire day. And the kids...well lets just say they are the best around. One of classes threw me a going away party and almost all of them gave me hugs and told me they would miss me. Then, my freshmen basketball girls threw me a party also. And while I loved all my kids, I grew closest to these girls. They had such wonderful attitudes, worked so hard and I am so proud of them! So naturally I cried during the party and was so sad to have to tell them goodbye. But that was not the end of my tears.

I had my exit interview with my principal, Mr. Morren, and the waterworks came then too. I cannot say enough about Mr. Morren. He is probably one of the best people I have ever met. He has taught me so much about how to teach and care for students, I know I will be a better teacher just for having been at FHS. I also had to say goodbye to some other very special people which made it even harder. Almost everyone I met at FHS and FISD were extremely supportive and did everything they could to make me feel welcome. Therefore, this district and school will always remain special in my heart!

Nonetheless, I am still relieved that summer is here and I am exstatic that I will be able to stay home with Kya the whole time!!! For the most part, I think we will just be getting moved and the house set up but I am still excited all the same. It has been a horribly long year due to all the driving and I am ready for some time with my family. Not to mention that I am ready to begin getting ready to start at Coronado...GO MUSTANGS!!!

HAPPY SUMMER everyone!!!

Here are some pictures from yesterday:

Me and my freshmen girls

One of the signs they made me

Me, Lana, and B (two of my driving buddies) before graduation last night

New House/ End of School/ Beginning of Summer

Hi All! I know it has been a while but it is getting close to the end of the year so things are crazy!!

Needless to say there has been a lot going on with our family these past few weeks. Just recently Will and I decided it was time for us to buy our first home and due to the fact that we have been driving around every Sunday for the past year trying to find one.....we found one we liked within about 1 week. Quick huh?!?! So right now we are in the process of buying. We have the inspection today and hopefully everything works out so that we can close NEXT WEEK!!!

As for Kya, she is growing steadily and I pretty sure she is going to be hitting her annual summer growth spurt early this year because I have already bought her summer outfits that are already too small. This Friday will be her last day at Kids Are Cool. I am having mixed feelings about this as of right now because on the one hand Kya gets to stay home with Mommy all summer (this is the good part) and on the other hand, she is leaving a wonderful daycare :( I cannot say enough about Kids Are Cool. We were so lucky to have found this daycare. They have such an amazing staff that actually loves the kids and the Mr. Bill (the owner) is probably one of the best around. He and the other administrators do soooooo much for the kids and their families!! Seriously....they are the best daycare in Lubbock by far!! Therefore, although we know we will be taking our second child there also....it is going to be somewhat of a sad day Friday :(

Other than that...our family is basically in the very busy process of finishing up the school year, changing jobs, and hopefully changing houses soon! Sooooo....we are Busy!

APRIL

So April has been an extremely busy month for us so we have lots to share.....

Well Easter came and went very quickly. We did not even get to do much but we did get to see family, which is always nice. We went to church and then we went immediately to Mimi and Pa's house for lunch. Then after that, we went to Memaw's house to see her and Nana. Getting to see our families is always great because it has been so rare now a days...hopefully that will change after this year.

Kya in her Easter dress

Then Kya's second ballet recital was on April 17th. She DANCED this time!!! If you did not know, she did not dance at all at the first one and instead simply stood next to the teacher the WHOLE TIME. So... we were a little hesitant about leaving her in it but Renee (the head of Stretch N Grow) assured us that many lil dancers do this their first time out so we tried it again. AND IT WORKED!! Kya did so good! She was still very shy but she eventually got into it and did a great job! See pictures below of our little ballerina.

With her certificate

One of the tallest ones in her class...

with the flowers that Pa bought

Finally...And the most important thing that has happened this month.... Will and I both just got new jobs with Lubbock ISD. Both of these jobs are such a blessing for our family. Those of you who did not know, we have been commuting to work for the last year. Will goes to Levelland (30 mi. away) and I go to Floydada (50 mi away)....needless to say we are tried of driving. And besides our new jobs cutting down on the driving, they are also jobs that we have both been dreaming of for a while. I will be teaching AP and Dual Credit U.S. History at Coronado High School (Yes...I will be a PONY) and Will shall be teaching P.E. and coaching at O.L. Slaton!! Talk about being BLESSED!!! Praise GOD!!

Spring Break...A Lil Late

Yes, Yes, I know Spring Break was 2 weeks ago but I have not updated in a while so....

Spring Break brought nothing exciting for us except a little rest, relaxation and time with family. And I must say that time off was much needed!! Between driving 100 miles everyday back and forth to work, school, softball, being junior class sponsor....life is hectic to say the least. So I was definitely ready for Spring Break.

I got to keep Kya home 3 days out of the week and she and I had a great time together. That Monday we went to help Memaw do some things around the house and got to see Nana and Pa too. Kya had a great time with Memaw (and vice versa) and we took our puppy Princess with us so she could play with Patches (Mom's dog) and Andre (Memaw's dog). Needless to say...the house was lil busy that day. All the dogs and Kya wanted to be in Memaw's lap but they could hardly fit :)

After we went to Memaw's....Kya also got to go see Pa and some cows. Kya LOVES cows. She will stand there and just watch them as long as you let her. And Pa loves that because he loves being at the farm! Kya also got to play on the swings with Pa! It was really nice for both Kya and I to get to see Pa...Below are our pictures from our visit to the Pa and the cows.

Other than Monday...we just rested and spent some much needed time as a family. The only thing bad about Spring Break was that it was only a tease before we get out for summer. Thank God we only have 8 more weeks!!

Apple

Today is one of those days that I am so thankful that all of our students have Apple Laptops. These days have been few and far between lately but today I was extremely glad. These laptops enable the students to access the World Wide Web quickly and it really helps when they need to do research for something really quickly.

I also love having an Apple Laptop myself and will forever be a fan. One of my favorite things about the laptop is Photobooth. For those of you who are not familiar with this, it is a little camera that can capture pictures of pretty much anything from your computer. My students love it and are constantly taking pictures of themselves and their friends and making them look extremely cute. Kya and I experimented with Photobooth not too long ago and I posted some of the photos from our session. She loved it and we had sooo much fun with it as you can see.

And one of the other great things I love about my Apple is iMovie. I can record pretty much anything and I have made one podcast on it so far. I have also posted one of the videos that my student made me....its really funny and I think its great that this is what they do in their spare time. Who knows maybe they will be our next great music video producers :)

So last word......I'm definitely a HUGE fan of Apple since I have been at Floydada ISD.

First Post

Hello....

Ok so a lady at work showed me this website to help students keep up with missing work but she also said that she uses it for her family and friends. So I thought I might try it to give updates on our busy lives to family and friends! So this is my first blog.....

I could not figure out what to really blog about today but then Will called and told me that Kya got into the SOUR program with Lubbock ISD. It is pre-K program in LISD in which kids start a year early and they get a little bit of a head start on school.

We are sooooooo for her excited but at the same time we are still a little apprehensive about our baby starting school. We knew it would come eventually but we didn't think it would be this fast. She will be going to Waters, which is where Ty and all the other kids go so we know she will love it all the same.

Well this is the end of my first blog.....I will be writing more very soon I am sure!!