They told him that is couldn't be done
But with a smile he went right to it.
He tackled the job that couldn't be done,
And couldn't do it. :)
People that wont forgive, tear down the bridge that they, themselves, must cross.
DATES February (mostly birthdays)
10 Kari Smith Gray
11 Kelli Smith Campbell
12 David and Carol Smith anniversary
13 Tyler Smith
13 Kelly Farley Sharples
17 would have been Nina Hadley Smith's birthday
18 Teresa Soelberg Bartholomew
18 Tyler and Kelly Smith anniversary
19 Steffani Ouimette
20 Shawna Smith
Missionary updates
Easton in Canada transferred to a new area after 6 months in the same area. He wrote, I have learned a lot over the past six months. I have grown a lot here and my time here has left an impression on me that won't soon be forgotten. I think I could sum up everything that I learned in four words: Conversion is a decision. We have to decide to act, we have to decide to believe. I think of Alma 32 where he talks about the "seed of faith." We have to plant it, we have to nourish it, we have to do our part in order for it to grow. We will not wake up one morning and suddenly have a conviction of the truth, we will not become disciples overnight. There is trial and testing and work on the path of discipleship and if you won't walk, you can't make it there.
Kieren in Brasil writes, The weather here is actually quite frightful. One day is super hot and then the next day there is basically a hurricane. Like yesterday. It was not really a hurricane, but there was really strong wind and a downpour of rain, and we were at Gabriela´s house (less active) when suddenly the power went out. We got a bunch of candles and finished talking and it became time for us to leave, so we set out and quickly realized that it would be a little more difficult to get home than we realized. All the streetlights were out and there were dark clouds covering the whole sky and the rain was so thick we could barely see anything. Nevertheless we went forth. It was cool when lightning would strike because we would see the path in front of us for a few seconds and then had to continue walking in the dark. It reminded me of the hymn, Lead Kindly Light. In life, we truly have to walk by faith and not by sight. Sometimes, Heavenly Father allows us to glimpse a larger, clearer vision, but most of the time, we can just see one step ahead. We finally did arrive home, soaking wet and grateful. But not cold because here even in the rain it is warm. The Lord truly watches out for His missionaries and ensures our safety when we obey.
Cameron in California, One of my favorite things that happened is a tour of the church building we
had. We went through the church, and talked about the pictures that we saw, and what the rooms were for, and then we went in to the chapel and explained sacrament meeting. After we finished, we took a few minutes to sit in the chapel and feel the spirit. When we finished and stood up she asked us what time the meeting was and we told her when to be ready. She was ready and
came to church that Sunday!
Katie in Portugal On Saturday we were walking to the church for the baptism of Delmina - we were going early to fill up the baptismal font. Here in Portugal, no one has dryers - they have clotheslines that are directly out the window - they´ve got iron poles on each side to support the clothes line inthe middle. Anyway, on the way to church, there is a window with one of these clothesline things - only it´s about at eye level, making it a little dangerous. I´ve almost knocked my head on it many times, saving myself at the last second with my lightning fast reflexes. So we´re walking to church, and Sister Echeverria is behind me when I hear her cry out in pain. I turn around and pretty much all I can focus on in the blood pouring down her face - it was dripping all onto her jacket and the floor. Luckily I had some tissues that she used to put pressure on it as we walked to the chapel. Then when we got to the chapel, I ran to the first aid box, only to find that all of the first aid things are in German! I didn´t know what to grab, so I just grabbed some paper towel looking things. In the end, she was ok. There was just a lot of blood. The baptism happened without a hitch and it was all wonderful!
FAMILY UPDATES
Lissa-- For Thanksgiving, we drove to Midland, Michigan where my brother Trent lives. My sister Cara and family came up from Omaha, and my brother Davis and his family came on their way between moving from Brazil to Utah. There were 8 adults and 14 kids in the house so it was a little crazy, but so much fun, and Trent and Lyndi were awesome hosts. We are looking forward to our turn to host next Thanksgiving!
It was very important that we had at least one dessert per adult (and there were more that weren't out yet). [Severin adds, Trenton was serious about this.]
Hamilton had a great time playing games with his cousins. They would often disappear into the basement and play for hours. Powell just loved having so much space to crawl around and explore. That and comfy couches to nap on! [Severin adds, Lissa and I actually commented once that we missed Hamilton, since we saw him so little. Weird.]
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Cara writes regularly, but I cant include everything, so check out her blog!! Cara says, Liam earned his Arrow of Light for Cub Scouts this week. He was so proud! The Arrow of Light is the highest achievement of the Cub Scout program...basically the Eagle for Cubs. So at pack meeting, he was presented with his Arrow of Light and had the crossing over ceremony...leaving Cub Scouts and entering Boy Scouts. They did a nice job with the ceremony. Liam definitely felt very special. :)
Here is my favorite blog post of hers.
Apparently, if you put three spoons in the freezer...
Wear your pajamas inside-out and backwards...
And flush 3 ice cubes down the toilet...
Then the next day school will be cancelled because of snow.
Now the amazing thing is that Cara had never heard of this before! My kids did it all the time, so I was well aware of the magic of it all. :)
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Catie Smith Hobbs sent in a news item! Okay, so I'll contribute and brag a little. Kiera cheers and competes. They have a stunt group who competed last week. They took first at the competition. These two pics are from a halftime at a game, but it is the stunts they performed at the competition.
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Katie Baker McKeown also writes regularly. This time, one of the stories was so tender, I thought I would include it.
Today I was reading Emmeline a new book--one of Mo Willems's Knuffle Bunny books. At the end of this one, there is an epilouge where the dad talks about his wish for the little girl Trixie to grow up, fall in love, get married, and start her own family.
Here are some pictures for context:
Trixie as a little girl, with her dad
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the futuristic picture of grown-up Trixie with her husband and baby.
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Anyway, when we got to this second picture of grown-up Trixie with her husband, here is the conversation that followed:
Emmeline: Who's that (pointing to the husband)?
Me: That's Trixie's husband, the guy she married when she grew up.
Emmeline: But he's different.
Me: You mean he's different than her dad?
Emmeline: Yeah.
Me: That's because it's her husband. She doesn't marry her dad; she meets a new guy to get married to.
Emmeline: But I'm going to marry my dad.
Me: But Daddy is my husband. You're going to marry a different guy.
Emmeline: (getting super, super choked up and about to cry) But I want to marry my daddy!
So, I calmed her down and told her not to worry about it, and we changed the subject. About 10 minutes later, I was working on dinner, and she came up to me and said, "If I marry someone else, I'll be way scared. If I marry Daddy, I'll be more brave." Poor girl.
______________________________________________________________________________________We have had a busy week. Katie and Emmeline were here visiting. Katie, Natalie, Jenna and I spend a bunch of time decluttering. We had a ton of stuff, so I had another of my free yardsales. I put everything out on tables for folks to take, advertised on Freecycle and Craigs List and waited for everyone to come take everything away. Works great and I dont have to sit outside and watch anything. We go about our normal business.
While Katie was here, the girls ran out for some fro-yo. We took a pic for fun.
I guess that is all the news. FOLKS, MORE OF YOU NEED TO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS. ALL MY COUSINS READING THIS, PLEASE SEND ME A COUPLE OF SENTENCES ONCE IN A WHILE. PLEASE. MY EMAIL IS bakerzoo@verizon.net. Make this a lot more interesting please!
Carol
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