Thankful for my blessings...

Sunday re-cap...we all for went going to church and instead went to Khloe's blessing that happened at Misty's parents house. Here are some cute pictures of the "blessed" event.

Khloe's dad Josh

Khloe's brother Colton and sister Kallie

(who knows where the other brother Cade was)

Khloe's mom Misty

Just some cute girls I know...

Oh wait...here's Cade - totally bugged that he has to take another picture

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Yes, Christmas has come and gone once again. I always look forward to this special time of year and the traditions that get played out year after year knowing that my family will be together. This year was extra special as the whole entire Smart family was together for Christmas. There are a few posts to come of the joyous activities we spent doing together, but I have to start with this one. This is our first year attempt at the next generation of Smarts taking over the roles in the Nativity Story.

Meet Kallie. She is 5 yrs. old and was excited to make her debut performance as Mary, mother of Jesus. She is outfitted nicely, and wears a smile upon her face in the anticipation of making her theatrical debut.

Meet Cade. Clearly he is NOT happy about being a shepherd and continued to throw this tantrum until the blanket he is wearing as a costume was shed from his body.

These are wise men. This was the obvious choice since Mario & Gabe are of the exotic nature.

This is the Nativity post Tylenol PM and Khloe is also not thrilled to participate as baby Jesus.

I'm disappointed that this picture did not come out better. This is the one picture where all participants invloved were actually even tempered. The only way this was accomplished was by kicking Khloe out of the make shift manger and allowing Cade to fill in.

Oh happy times...it's great to have a new generation of Nativity participants as this yearly tradition occupies a substancial amount of my childhood memories.

The Return

So, I would like to point out that in my absence and right at the beginning of the holiday craze, I was:

...MOVING!!! Definitely on the top 10 of most annoying, physically taxing, and all the way around tiring tasks in the world. However, my new digs are great & I promise to give you a pictorial tour in the very near future.

...making flower arrangements and putting the finishing touches on many other projects in order to get the house in tip top shape as quickly as possible. Thanks to my OCD tendencies, I can't rest in disorganized messes. I must have order and everything neat and tidy. This is my first real attempt at floral arranging. All said and done, I am quite proud of my results and am more than thrilled to have saved hundreds of dollars.

...decorating for Christmas. Here is my puny little Charlie Brown tree which at Home Depot seemed much more substantial until I brought it home and put it in my barren, waiting to be decorated living room. But, it was a lovely touch that added Holiday Spirit to our new home.

It was also decided that we would host our annual Christmas friend get-together since we had the new house (funny how that qualifies you to be nominated for a lot of things you were otherwise able to by pass in the past). I admit that one of my favorite things about the Holidays is the justifiable excuse to eat processed meat. So, my contribution to the party feast was none other than my favorite appetizer...

...Lil' Smokies

Here's a table view of the delectable samplings we feasted upon. That's Dabrielle at the head of the table and Kristen is to the left.