Tagged

Well, my friend Amanda tagged me (I'd make her name a different color and include a link, but I have no clue how. So find it on the side of ours--it's called "From our Front Porch looking In") and so it's my turn to spill all about my husband. Here goes:

Husbands name: Joel Oliver Smith. Yep--that's where we got the name Oliver. I really liked that name. Oh, and when we first starting getting to know each other in college, I guessed his middle name in ONE guess! (after he told me it started with an 'O'!)

How long married: 6 years last July 20th.

How long dated: officially? a year and a half.

How old is he: 29....and he'll be 30 next September! Wow. That sounds old.

Taller: He is. By about 5 or 6 inches.

Who can sing the best: him. He actually has a VERY nice singing voice. And, in 7th grade, he had the male solo for "I can show you the world" from Aladdin. Ask him about it--he loves to share that with anyone! :-)

Smart: Definitely him. But we are smart in different ways. But if it includes anything having to do with math or numbers or grass, it's him.

Laundry: Hmmmm...we both actually do it. I have a hard time FINISHING laundry--he is much better about starting it and then getting it all done. But many nights, he ends up folding what I started, and I appreciate that SO much! Funny story--when I first met him, we'd often do our laundry together at his Aunt Marge's house. I thought it was so funny how particular he was about folding his jeans and towels--he'd literally lay them on the floor to smooth them out and make sure that jeans were folded in a trifold. I still have to do that for him.

Paying bills: Well, our bills are paid online now--but he is definitely the finance genius of the house. I try hard to keep in touch with what's going on--and our spending plan has really helped this. But frankly, I could just care less about that stuff...even though I KNOW it's important. And if you want to see amazing financial spreadsheets--he's the man!

Who sleeps on the right side of bed: Me and my giant body pillow do. And he'd argue that I take part of the left side as well. (but it's really NOT true!)

Mows the lawn: Joel does this most of the time. I don't know that I can even say 'most'. I don't mind mowing, but #1) he loves to do it (seriously!) #2) he does it like 2-3 times a week, and #3) he likes it mowed a certain way. Plus, that mower gets heavier each year!!!

Cooks dinner: Oh, I do this most of the time. But it's not because he isn't quite capable of this. It's just the pattern we've settled into. But he cooked a lot when we were first married--and still has several specialty things he makes--like DOMINATE cheesecake!

First to admit they are wrong: hmmm...actually, this is a tough one. He might disagree with me--but I think the answer is me.

Who kissed first: He kissed me. On Valentine's Day, 2000. And it was BOTH of our first kiss!

Who wears the pants: Define "pants".... Okay, seriously, that's another tough one. I mean, I married him because I respect him and love him and definitely think he is one of the wisest people I know. So I don't mind it that he makes many decisions, especially since making decisions is not a favorite past time of mine. But I think we both make many decisions. We talk and discuss lots, and if we disagree--than it usually goes to him.

And here he is!
And now I tag the following people: Alisha, Chelsie, and Erin

Buddies

Ollie's friend, Eli, came over the night while Shannon, his mom, and I were at a baby shower. Joel and the boys played. They wrestled, raced, and then finally crashed in front of a video for a few minutes. Isn't this picture hilarious???
This morning, I gave Ollie a sponge, and he spent the morning cleaning. He loved it! So I decided to try taking pictures of him doing this--but instead, as soon as he saw the camera, he said, "picture?" and then, "Cheeeeeese!!!" over and over again. So this is ONE of those cheesy pictures.
Finally, here is a video of him this morning. He was being so goofy!

I love surprises

And Joel knows this. He is always WAY better at picking out (and way ahead of time!) thoughtful gifts for me for my birthday than I am. This year, he outdid himself.

He and Courtney went together and bought me a (drumroll please) "Professional Wireless Weather Station" that comes complete with a wireless sensor for outside and an anemometer for our house to track wind speed/direction! It looks awesome. Now I don't have to watch the weather--I can predict it myself! (Are you jealous, Marc Friesen?)

After opening my gift, we drove to Wichita, left Ollie with my parents for the night, and did some shopping. We went to Target, Kohl's, and Hobby Lobby. (I had some gift cards to spend!) Joel offered to go more places, but I was exhausted. I really am not that much of a shopper.

We then made our way to Texas Roadhouse (he chose the place--and I LOVE this place!) where we found two very dear friends, the Balzers and McClenahans. Now, I'll admit that I thought they just happened to be there. It wasn't until a minute or so into our conversation that I realized that they were SUPPOSED to be there helping us celebrate my birthday! Joel had arranged this with them, too! We had the best time eating and talking. And luckily, I didn't have to ride the bull. I think my being very pregnant had something to do with that...

Finally, we all headed to Starbucks, (again, Joel's suggestion!) and enjoyed our hot drinks while visiting some more. So wonderful.

On our way home, I was all smiles. I just absolutely loved that night. I love our friends, I love Joel, and I love that he knows exactly what a special night is for me. I guess turning 28 isn't so bad, is it?? :-)

Guess Who's 25 Today???

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Party Animals!

This weekend was a fun one...we had two parties and oh so much fun!

Friday night, some of our small group friends came over and we wrapped up gift boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We also snacked, and watched the kids. At one point, all four kids were in Ollie's crib jumping up and down--it was hilarious!!!
Here's the funniest part---little Mason, 8 months old, LOVED IT!!!

Saturday, my parents and sister came over because Courtney is going to Denver for a month to help with the OCC packaging plant. Ollie just LOVES Aunt Neenee, so it's always fun when she's around. He just clings to her when she's here--this picture is from right after he woke up for a nap--he was so cuddly.
Here is Ollie jumping in to help my parents do dishes (Thanks again, Mom and Dad!!!). His name for them is simply "J"--(from Johnson)--so they are both called that.

Finally, Courtney, being the talented cook/baker that she is, created some amazing cookies:
Can you tell who it is? OBAMA!! We are all pretty big Obama fans, so these were fun. She had taken them to work the day Obama won the election...they're delicious!

Videos

Ollie loves to say "Obama". Sadly, we can't get him to say that in answer to the question, "Who is our president?" But here he is giving it his best shot.

Here is Ollie praying. In case you can't tell, he is saying, "Dear Jesus, thanks five (since we say four, he starts counting) this food. Amen."

New Hobbies

Hello. I've decided that I'll take a stab at writing this week's post. Usually mom does it, and she does alright, but I'm getting pretty good at expressing my views and opinions, so she's turning it over to me. The first picture here is of me with my "BIG!" duck. One of my new hobbies is coloring ("dugah") and I spend much of my time doing this. This big duck also sleeps with me in my BIG bed.
Another new hobby is helping mom and dad cook. Since I'm pretty strong now, I like to move my little chairs around the house to climb up on things. This makes everything much more accessible, you see. Here I am helping mom make broiled grapefruit this morning. (Notice I'm in my brand-new firetruck pj's!) Mommy and Daddy love this for breakfast--so I'll share with you how we make it:

Broiled Grapefruit
1. First, take grapefruit and cut them in half. We found it's easier to cut the sections at this point, too.(This part stinks--mom never lets me used the "mife".)

2. Sprinkle a little cinnamon, sugar and brown sugar on them. This is the part I get to do!
3. Put a pat of butter (which is VERY good plain, I might add) on each half.

4. Broil on low for 3-4 minutes, until the butter has melted.
5. Then, eat and enjoy!

Another hobby of mine is going to parties. I love them. (Except when they have big dogs) Friday night mom and dad took me to a party in a giant shed. We ate hotdogs, ran around, petted a kitty, and then sat outside and sang songs around a very big fire. Every time people would stop singing, I'd shout, "Yay!" and clap my hands. It was so festive. One thing I loved there was riding around on bikes with some of my friends:
And here's my friend Taylor petting a cat. She was brave. I liked the kitty--but wasn't too sure about getting close!

Finally, one thing I do to entertain mom and dad (which is QUITE easy, by the way) is to walk like an old man. I learned early about canes--and now I like to use one of my golf clubs as one. Watch as I master the art of walking with one!


I hope you've enjoyed this brief glimpse into my daily life. I really should go, as mom and dad think I'm sleeping. That's a whole other post I'll have to write about!

Fireproof

Last night, a couple of us couples from our Community Life group went out to eat and see the movie "Fireproof". We REALLY enjoyed it! If you haven't seen it yet, you should. Like the other movie produced by this church ("Facing the Giants") there were some 'cheesier' parts, and you could tell most of the acting wasn't Emmy-award-winning (except Kirk Cameron!). But the message was so good, and desperately needed today. We'd highly recommend seeing this one!!! (Just bring some kleenexes)

Sleep.

Last night, after Ollie CRASHED from his sugar-filled, stay-up-late week, we went in to find him sleeping like this...really.
And just now, when Joel put him down for his nap, he ASKED to sleep in his "little" bed (the crib). So funny!