Ann, LeeAnne, Mrs. Pam, Lesley, Jan

January 4, 2016

Top Blog Commenters

The numbers are in!  Here are the Top Commenters for 2015

Ann Martin -108, LeeAnne-107, Mrs. Pam-88, Lesley-83, Jan Reuther- 80

Top Commenters for 2014 (I don’t have specific numbers)

Mrs. Pam, Lesley, LeeAnne, Jenna Hoff, Mary H.

Top Commenters for 2013

Mary H.-149 comments, Mrs. Pam-132 comments, Jenna Hoff- 67 comments,  Lesley-58 comments, Kristina- 54 comments

Top Commenters from 2012

Mary H-156 comments, Ann Martin-93 comments, Nancy Irving-90 comments, Guerrina-83 comments, Mrs. Pam-70 comments

Any blogger will tell you that it is the interaction with her readers that makes the whole blogging adventure so rewarding.  To my especially active comments, thank you, thank you, thank you for being such an important part of the Smithellaneous community. 

But even if you left no comments at all this year, I still appreciate you stopping by. Thanks for being such wonderful blog readers!

Christmas Continuance

Nathan and Meagan and kids left our house yesterday afternoon about 2:30. After stopping four hours down the road to have a meal with Meagan’s grandparents, they drove through the night and got home to Florida about 6 o’clock this morning. I am way too old to even consider such a schedule, but when you’re in your 20’s, you don’t even think twice about it.  Oh, for the energy of youth!

Now that the two weeks of merriment are over, I am faced with a rather large photo collection which I will pare down as best I can and just show you the highlights.

Here are a few photos for today’s post . . .

We celebrated Meagan’s 28th birthday while she was here and since I couldn’t seem to locate the birthday hat in all of the Christmas trappings, Steve produced a Batman hat he had bought for a surprise.  (If you squeeze a little lever thingie on the side of the hat, the ears go up and down.)  We are one classy family!

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Steve took Noah for a short spin in the convertible.  (Note: We DID make a call to see if it is legal for a toddler to ride in a convertible and it is– as long as the child is in a car seat.)   Noah was quite entranced with the whole experience.

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Noah loved our back deck.  He took his plastic Adirondack chair out there and had a little picnic.

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When he got tired of one spot, he just picked up his chair and took off.

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Nathan got to play drums with us in church on Sunday.  Here he is during Saturday rehearsal.  He has turned into one amazing drummer and I can’t tell you how much joy it brought my mama heart to get to make music with him during our worship service.

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He’s also one amazing daddy.

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Just in case anyone might be tempted to think that our two weeks together was all sunshine and roses and photo ops, these two pictures would show otherwise. 

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We had rain, illness, tears, toddler tantrums, messes, chaotic meals, a spitting up baby, poopy diapers, cabin fever, and occasional crankiness.  In other words–our family get together was probably a lot like yours.

But there were so many beautiful moments that offset the other stuff . . . moments like this.

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And this.  (This was taken before opening gifts on Christmas Eve when we all prayed together.  I love how Noah’s little hands are clasped.)

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Noah was always eager to help, so one day, I taught him how to peel a hard-boiled egg.  I told him we had to take the egg’s coat off and he was very careful and precise as he did it. When it was peeled, we smashed it up with a fork, added a little butter and salt and microwaved it about 15 seconds. (My mom did this for her six kids when we were young.)  It makes a great, protein-rich snack.

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Noah came into my bathroom one morning to visit with me while I was doing my hair and makeup.  He spotted this stool in our closet and figured he’d better get busy helping Grandma and Grandpa with closet organization. This consisted of taking all of Steve’s shoes from the shelf and putting them on the floor.  Don’t know what we would do without all that assistance!

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Sarah and I took both kids for a walk one afternoon to give Meagan a break. 

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It was fun seeing Sarah in Mommy Mode.

 

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Meagan surprised us one night by making a cake for Steve and I for our 34th wedding anniversary, which was January 2nd.  She is such a thoughtful daughter-in-law and it was such a delicious cake!  (She also got Sarah to help her out on their secret mission of getting the cake frosted and decorated without me knowing it.)

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We got spoiled during their visit because whenever Meagan helped with the laundry (which was often) she not only folded the wash cloths and towels but also our underwear!  Since said underwear is most often in an unfolded state, we felt rather luxurious opening our dresser drawers and seeing such rare neatness.

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Another fun thing about having Meagan around was that our cameras got to hang out together.  It’s wonderful that Nathan married someone who is also a photographer; we so enjoy comparing notes and tips.

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Sarah got Meagan a “grown up” coloring book for Christmas.  I just read an article saying that coloring is relaxing and great therapy for adults as well as kids.

Good times!

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32 comments so far.

32 responses to “Ann, LeeAnne, Mrs. Pam, Lesley, Jan”

  1. Kaye Joyce says:

    Looks like a fun time for all. Those grandkids are so adorable and are growing so fast. Mine is almost 15 now and I miss the younger years but enjoying watching him in his ROTC group at school and what a fine young man he has grown up to be. Tell Meagan that the coloring books are much more fun if you use colored pencils on them and not crayons. Easier too, since you can trim the pencils and always have a sharp point for the smaller areas. 😀 Have a blessed New Year!! Good health to you all.

    • Becky says:

      Kaye,

      Great idea on the colored pencils! I may even have to give coloring a try–even though I am extremely non-artistic. 🙂

  2. Wendy says:

    Ya know, Who cares what messes happen in the house when the family is home with little ones. My house was a disaster at times too, and it all cleaned up after they all had to leave to go home 🙁 Love all the pictures and how much fun you all had.

  3. Jodi says:

    Hope all is okay in Smithellaneous Land? It’s unusual for you to go this long w/out some kind of post! Take care, Jodi

    • Becky says:

      Jodi,

      It’s always nice to be missed. 🙂

      Actually, over the past few months I’ve been gradually changing my posting schedule to 1-2 times a week–almost always on Monday and then, most weeks, also on Friday. I was finding it too hard to keep up with posting and replying to comments if I tried to adhere to my old schedule of 3-5 posts a week.

      As I said, I’m glad you noticed; thank you!

  4. Mel says:

    I made a little resolution to myself last year that I wanted to be in the top 10 for commenting on your blog in 2015. I enjoy reading it so much and rarely commented before and I made it!! Yay for me. I just wanted you to know that I truly do enjoy your writing and beautiful pictures.

    • Becky says:

      Mel,

      Hooray for you!!

      How impressive to make a resolution 12 months ago and follow through on it. Thanks for being an important voice in this community. Happy New Year and hope to see you in the top ten this year, too. 🙂

  5. Michele says:

    Beautiful pictures!! Thetime spent with family is so precious especially over the holidays!

  6. Jan Reuther says:

    I’m so excited! I’ve never been mentioned in a blog before. I’m feeling like a star! But enough about me…

    Love, love, LOVE all the photos from your kids’ Christmas visit 2015. I see an advantage to wearing a camera around one’s neck rather than as part of a phone in one’s pocket…by the time I could get my iphone camera up and ready, whatever cute thing my grandsons were doing was history. But you’ve captured so many wonderful action shots of Noah.

    Happy anniversary to you and Steve; happy birthday to Meagan; happy new year to all the Smiths!

  7. Ann Martin says:

    Such fantastic pictures and memories. Family is what makes Christmas special.

  8. Mary H says:

    My mom made those same kind of eggs for me when I was a child and then for my girls – they are still known as “Grandma Julie eggs.” My New Year’s resolution is to be a much better commenter! I can only hope that 2016 is much kinder on so many hearts and souls of people I care for than 2015 ended up to be. I am going to do my best to make it happen.

  9. mrs pam says:

    Lesley… nice to have someone to Rock with!!
    What a challenge to be in 2016 Honor Roll, too…

    “have chair, will travel…” way to go, Noah!

  10. Margie says:

    What cute grandkids. Loved seeing all the pictures.

  11. Phyllis says:

    My good friend had surgery last July. During her recovery time, she got an adult coloring book and loved it so much she bought her four sisters one for Christmas. I bought one along with the colored pencils but never had time to color so I gave it to my mother. Maybe she’ll have more time.
    I’ve seen a video online of a baby in a high chair – I would say around 8-9 months, maybe a little older. The parents are praying before a meal. They’re all holding hands and when the prayer is over, the baby says “amen”. It is so cute.

    • Becky says:

      Phyllis,

      I had never even thought of coloring as an adult until Meagan started doing it but I can see that it would be very therapeutic. Who says little kids should have all the fun? 🙂

  12. Nicole says:

    Oh man, last January, when I saw the top posters, I thought to myself, I want to be on the list…I must have forgotten! I love following your blog! And by the way, coloring books for adults are the big rave now days. I have some and always want to color but am always knitting and don’t want to give up that time. Oh the decisions we must make. This year, I have decided to read more, which means giving up some knitting time but will be worth it. Happy New Year to your family!

  13. Lesley says:

    High five Mrs Pam!! We rock 🙂

    Love the photos, love Mary Poppins (TV). Isn’t the mess wonderful? My Jimmy used to place the refrigerator contents one by one carefully onto the kitchen floor. Ahh, memories.
    If it was me, I’d have about 500 photos, at least, of their visit. Have you ever thought of making a book of such an event, through shutterfly or something similar? I mean, one can only put so many pictures on a wall lol. (my personal problem).

    I’m glad the sickness seems to have worked its way out of the house. Everyone looks wonderful!

    • Becky says:

      Lesley,

      Joining you in the Mrs. Pam High Five!

      Noah got hooked on Mary Poppins at his Aunt Joy’s house and it is now his “go to” program. I think I watched parts of it several dozen times during the two weeks they were here. Good thing it’s such a delightful movie!

      Sounds like Jimmy was very “helpful” to you when he was young. I’m sure you could never have managed without his capable assistance. 🙂

  14. LeeAnne says:

    Yep. Chaos, noisy meals, poopy diapers, tantrums, etc. That was our Christmas too. 🙂 But lots and lots of happiness and joy as well. I bet the house is really quiet now. 🙂 Thank you for sharing your lives with us. Great pictures, as always!

    • Becky says:

      LeeAnne,

      Yes, the house is pretty quiet, which I love, but I love all those wonderful people who made the noise, too. 🙂

  15. Anonymous says:

    Such wonderful pictures. Our youngest granddaughter is 16, but we do remember those wonderful days of the joy, crankiness, poopy diapers, items taken off shelves, radio dials set to “whatever” station, etc. Memories, good, bad, strange, funny, all of them are cherished. Happy Anniversary and a blessed New Year!

Thanks for making Smithellaneous so much better through your comments.

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