Signing Off.........

As soon as I finish this post, I will be disconnecting my computer and packing it up. As you know from one of our recent posts we have sold our house and are moving. Where?, some of you have asked. Well, that is a really good question. We had an offer on a house, put ours up for sale, sold our house, and didn't get the house we had an offer on. Major Bummer. But, God has a plan and only He knows what's in store for The Smith Family. As of right now, we will be staying at our friends' house for a week, before the kids and I move on to my aunts cabin in Eastern Washington. Shane will be staying with his dad so tht he can still go to work. I will be coming home on some weekends to look at houses and to see my great husband.
Please pray that we find a house soon. And not just any house, because those are a dime a dozen. We believe that God has the perfect house out there, we just have to find it, or the people who own it need to release it! We have a few kids and would like a little bit of elbow room. We also want a little bit of property for our kids to stomp around on.
We will have our same cell phones and will use those primarily. So if you know them don't hesitate to call! I know that I would appreciate hearing from my friends once in a while since I will be so far away. We will be using my old email address- shanesnavygirl@yahoo.com. So please feel free to email, I will be taking my computer over there.
Well, this is the Smith Family signing off.......

Sun, Sun, Sun

This past weekend Shane and I and our family, took our friends, The Necelas, to my aunts cabin over by the Columbia River. Boy, was it HOT, and, so much fun!
On Saturday, we thought we would get out on the water as early as possible. So, at 11:30 we got out there. You know, to beat all the other boaters and have the water to ourselves. We had a great time tubing and wakeboarding. Shane and Tom both demonstrated great wakeboarding skills and attempted many tricks that I failed to capture on film. I'm sure they're glad. The kids barely got out of the tube long enough to have lunch. They seem to be getting more brave as we kept getting the thumbs up sign, meaning ,"Go faster!"
Nap Time......... Back at the cabin, the kids had a great time on the water slide. Up and Down they would go, over and over again. Any way they could, on their bellies, backs, upside down, head first, and I'm sure they invented a few new ways as well. They would slide down and then run as fast as they could to the other end to climb back up to do it all over again. Here's Tom reading the kids a bedtime story on Saturday night. Most of the kids slept like rocks from a hard day of play!Sunday consisted of a nice relaxing day. We watched the kids play some MORE on the water slide, as we relaxed on the patio. Several campers had Sunday afternoon naps, and Melissa and I took a few of the kids down to the beach to swim and play in the water.

I think that we all had a great time. Right, Charlee?

And, last but certainly not least, I want to thank Sherry and Steve for sharing their cabin with us. You guys are there almost every weekend and I thank you for letting us in on your summer time fun. You guys are the best!

Good-bye, 510 Deeded Lane

Ok, Ok, I know, it's been forever since there has been any action on the Smith family blog. Pick your jaws up off the floor, and take deep breaths. But, before you faint from shock of the unexpected, I would llike to share just a few things that we have been up to.

If you haven't guessed from the title of this entry we sold our house. It was on the market for two days before we got a full price offer! It's not final, but if everything goes like it's supposed to, we will be out by the end of August. When we moved here in 1999, we had one child. Now that child is almost 11, and has 4 other siblings! Life is good, and God has been so good to us.

We have been quite busy lately, looking at houses, camping, Tyler went to wrestling camp, Jordan and Zack have been taking swimming lessons, Ryan had a birthday, and now he is a big three year old! And my precious baby just charms my heart!

Here are a few other pictures of our family. We have been having a blast together this summer!

His Father is a plumber! Daddy and his little girl. Ryan, taking care of "his baby girl". My Boys in the river. Charlee Ann

My Love Returns!!

Nothing but pure joy could describe this moment! It was wonderful to finally lay eyes on Shane. He is just as wonderful and handsome as I remember him, and I am so thankful God brought him home safe and whole.
We had a great time in Mississippi. For those of you don't know, that is where Shane had to demob at, and that is where all the brides met their grooms. We stayed in a condo right off the Gulfcoast, and just had a splendid time getting reaquainted.
Shane was the first one off the bus. (They land at a nearby base airport, get on a bus, and then get a police escort to where we were waiting at a nother nearby base. When I seen that it was really Shane and not my imagination playing tricks on me, I screamed and ran! He picked me up and swirled me around, it was just like the movies. But then we noticed Charlee was gagging on the flag she was holding! Poor girl. But she was happy and full of giggles to see her Daddy.
We had four days before Shane had to go back in to start his demobilization process. That took only two days, and on the last day was when he got his itinerary of when he was flying home. I bought a military ticket, one that let's you change your dates to whenever you need to. So I was just going to change mine to match Shanes. I put my original date out a few days and just thought that I would bring it in when we got Shane's dates. Well, in theory that sounds really good. But we didn't know that airlines only reserve a certain amount of military seats on a flight and so many civilian seats on a flight. Well, to make the story short, I couldn't get on Shane's flight, or a flight the same day even. I couldn't get on a flight the next day or the next. All the flights were full so the guys who came home, could actually go home. So three days later Shane and the kids came and got me at the airport!! Shane came home picked the kids up at my mom's and had them for three days by himself before I got to come home! Crazy huh? But, that's over and we are all together again as a family. It is WONDERFUL!!! I
Shane has adjusted really well from war zone to family zone and is doing extremely well.
I did want to take this time to thank all the people who were so generous to us with their time and prayers, and help throughout this deployment. I truly know and believe that prayer kept my husband safe from harm. And kept him who he is. And I also could not have made it if my friends weren't out there praying for me. You guys are all truly jewels to my heart! I love you.
And, to My Husband, Welcome Home.

Roses

Roses
Originally uploaded by Smith 6.

I have got the most romantic husband in the world! On Febuary 1st, we celebrated 10 years of married bliss! And Shane had a dozen, beautiful, long stemmed roses delivered, aong with a bottle of my favorite perfume. He is so thoughtful and loving. He knows just how to make me feel treasured! Here's to 100 more!
PS-The kids and I have started the countdown! I fly out to meet my Love on March 15! Just 38 days away!! WOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Sweet Baby Girl

Sweet Baby Girl
Originally uploaded by Smith 6.

I just love this picture! Charlee is so much fun and such a joy to our family!

My Love

My Love
Originally uploaded by Smith 6.

I miss my husband so much. He is the rock of our family and life is so weird and hard without him. He sent a box home the other day that just had some miscellaneous stuff in it, and I just cried and held the things that I knew my husband had touched. I haven't seen Shane since August 29th. It just feels unreal. I don't even know if there are words to explain what I feel. This home is so full of Shane. Everywhere I look I see my husband. I sleep on his side of the bed, sit in his spot at the kitchen table, drink from his coffe cup, and wear his shirts. None of this is really what I want. I want to hear Shane come home from work and kiss me like he always did, and then move on to what usually turned into some kind of wrestling match with our kids. I want him to ask me whats for dinner, or if I know where he left his keys. I want him to open my door for me, and hold my hand as we walk somewhere. I want Shane to see our baby girl roll over, and smile that toothless smile, show off her dimples and her eyes that are turning brown. I want my husband to fix the leaky toilet, replace the broken light fixture, and make sure our children are ok . That's what I want. But right now, I get to be strong. Because that is what I need to be. My Lord has given me this strength for now. I will carry on, do my best and uphold our family. Our children will be ok, we will be ok. Why? Because our help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and earth. He who watches over us will not let our foot slip, He who watches over us will not slumber, The Lord watches over our coming and going. Psalm 121.
I love this picture. I love to see Shane smile. He has great dimples! There are some of the kids' drawings behind him. It's kindof weird to see some of here over there.
Shane isn't exactly having the time of his life. He is out on a project, where he sleeps in a tent and maybe has a luke warm shower. He gets half of Sunday off, where he says all the guys sleep during that time. He will most likely stay there until he comes home. Hopefully sometime in March. (Please Lord!)
March really seems just around the corner. We will hang on until he returns to us.
We love you Shane, and we wait for you, and pray for you every day. We talk about you all the time, and talk about what we are going to do when you get home. Tyler wants to get a dog, but Zack says he can't bacause he's getting a pony and a dog might chase his pony. Jordan talks about how her daddy calls her Baby Girl, and Ryan kisses your pictures and says, "Hi, Da da." Charlee knows who you are. Because her spirit knows her daddy, and because I tell her all about her daddy. I tell her how great you are. How strong, yet how gentle. How you sacrifice so much for others, and how much you love her and can't wait to meet her.
I am so in love with you, Shane. I would wait forever for you.

Oh the life with brothers!

Charlee and a Beetle
Originally uploaded by Smith 6.