In the first blog of every new year, I feature the people who have left the most comments in the year before. Let’s hear it for the following Commenting Superstars:
Sue Ellen-63, Lee Anne-62, Phyllis-61, Krista-59, Sharyn-53
I appreciate each of you who left comments but especially the ladies listed above; they have had a big part in making the Smithellaneous community a great place to hang out.
If you have been reading Smithellaeous for any length of time, you probably recognize the name Ann Martin; she has been the number one commenter several times in past years.
Sadly, Ann passed away last week from cancer. She and her husband, Jim, were personal friends of our family and we will miss her caring heart, cheery smile, and yes, those hundreds of comments that she so generously shared with us all.
I mentioned last Monday that we were headed out to meet Gage’s family. I was a little nervous on the way there but within five minutes of meeting Stacey (dad) and Casey (mom) I felt like we had known them for years. Since they are also pastors, we had plenty of common ground to talk about.
We had lunch with them and Sarah and Gage, and then went to their house for three hours.
They have a large blackboard in their kitchen and Gage had written a welcome message for us. That guy’s talents never end!
Underneath the blackboard was this lovely item.
Yes, you read that right. Cotton candy roasted crickets snack.
Someone had bought it as a gag gift for Christmas. If you’re wondering whether I gave the cricket snack a try–I did not. But it was still fun to just say I’ve actually held a container of crickets. My life is now complete.
It was a beautiful Carolina winter day so we enjoyed some time in their backyard with their gorgeous dogs.
Sarah had brought along a loaf of homemade bread with fresh cranberries, blueberries, and a lemon glaze. She was immediately swarmed by appreciative Long fellas who polished it off in less than ten minutes. Stacey told her, “From now on, this bread is going to price of admission whenever you come to our house.”
Here’s Sarah, hanging out with the guys.
Gage’s five brothers gave her a Christmas gift of a hat featuring the logo of one of her favorite games. She wore it beautifully.
A couple of the brothers and Stacey are musicians and Steve had brought his guitar so they all enjoyed playing songs together.
I so loved their home, filled with beauty, art, creative expressions, books, and music. Casey has homeschooled all six sons, so we were happily surrounded by all manner of educational items. Since I also homeschooled for eight years, that was yet another thing we had in common.
From there, it was on to Charlotte for a brief visit with Vernie. (We all had COVID tests immediately prior to going.)
Sarah and Gage bundled up for a special Christmas lights show. (Sarah’s beautiful sweater was a gift from Gage’s mom.)
Steve’s brother, Jeff, gave them a ride in his “all original 78 Datsun 280z with a 5-speed manual.” (That verbiage was from Steve, in case you hadn’t guessed.)
Before we left Charlotte, we took Gage by Steve’s parent’s church, Paw Creek Presbyterian. It was the church Steve and I got married on January 2, 1982.
And then we went out to the cemetery to introduce Gage to a special fella.
We left Charlotte on Thursday and headed to Florida, where we are currently. (We’ll head home tomorrow.)
As you can imagine, there are a lot of stories and pictures from that visit to share. I’ll give you a preview and write more later.
There is a great story behind this picture having to do with a matching pajamas war.
Gage fit in perfectly with all of our craziness. The kids absolutely fell in love with him as he played with them, danced with them, sang with them, and taught them cool games and activities.
The family consensus on him was a big “Yep!”
So that’s all for today; I’ll catch up some more next week. Right now I have a houseful of Floridian Smiths waiting for me.
What about you? What have the first few days of 2021 looked like for you?
I don’t post often at all but I sure do enjoy reading your blogs.
I love all the pics of your beautiful family. I especially like seeing the ones of Sarah and Gage. They look as they were made for each other. I have followed you since Sarah was diagnosed. It makes my heart happy to see her so happy.
Look forward to reading your blogs this year.
May you all be blessed with love, good health and happiness!
Joy
Joy,
How nice to see an infrequent commenter pop up. Thanks for taking the time to leave a note.
I always love hearing from people who have been following from the beginning. I am SO amazed that Smithellaneous friends hang around that long; thank you for being one of those extra special readers.
Looking forward to a few more of your comments this year! 🙂
Glad that your family times were so happy.
The Lord bless and protect you all. Ruth
Thanks, Ruth!
Nice to go; nice to come home.
Ahem! Thank you so much for this prestigious award. I’d like to thank all the Smith’s for living such an interesting life for us to read (and comment) about! I assume my trophy is in the mail?!
I’m so sad to read about Ann. I know she was a special friend and I’m sorry to hear of her passing.
Looks like a great time was had by all for the visit to Gage’s home.
Looking forward to seeing and hearing all about the visit to the Florida Smith’s!
Lord’s Blessing to you all!
Krista,
A prestigious award, indeed. The trophy may be running a little late. 🙂
Thanks again for all that you contribute to Smthellaneous.
Great post! So glad you and Gage’s family hit it off. Meant to be, it seems like 🙂 Also seems like girls are hard to come by in your clan lol. So many boys and men! It’s similar in our family. The grands are getting big, so glad you all got down to Florida for a visit. So sorry to hear of Ann’s passing, she commented a lot.
Things are quiet here, hunkered down, waiting anxiously for the vaccine to get to all of us. Maryland is not doing well with distribution at all.
The picture of Sarah and Gage in front of your church….so many feelings, so much hope and so much to be thankful for. I think back to some of your earliest posts and what you thought you’d never see. And here she is. It’s wonderful.
Lesley,
Here’s hoping the vaccine arrives for you soon. In our state, they have vaccinated the health care workers and have started on the 75 and over. I think both Sarah and I are in the next category: essential workers and those with lung/heart/health issues.
Yes, that picture of the two of them in front of the church was definitely one that grabbed my heart. Very thankful to see her walking into this part of her journey.
I’m so very sorry about the loss of your friend Ann. It looks like you’ve enjoyed a great week – I absolutely LOVE the huge blackboard in Gage’s family’s kitchen. It took me back to my elementary school classrooms. How special that Gage got to meet Vernie and Ken. I can’t wait to see more pictures of your Florida visit – the preview was great! Have a safe trip home.S
Sue Ellen,
Yes, that was a very cool blackboard. Sounds like they use it all the time for various seasons, a variety of artwork, and welcoming visitors. Loved it!
How wonderful that there are so many similarities in the families. Yes, when pastors get together (my dad was one), there are so many things to talk about. Love that large blackboard in the kitchen. Your grandkids would like that – hmmm, Steve????
It sounds like you are having a great start of the New Year. Meeting Gage’s family, being with the “other” Smiths. So glad you could also see Steve’s mom. We continue to pray for you, that the Lord will open up your lung capacity and give you His strength from day to day. It was sooo good to hear you sing again. Looking forward to new pictures!
Sharyn,
Thanks for all of your encouraging words; your comments always brighten my day. 🙂
Yes, it was wonderful to be with all the Smiths in various parts of the country and even more wonderful to be back home!
I am sad to hear of Ann’s passing. I recognized her name often in the comments. So many cute pictures. What great fun meeting everyone! My dad has a Datsun 280z…red…standard…oh yes I did feel pretty speedy and cool driving it!
My Dad “had” not has lol
Guerrina,
Red would be mighty zippy! I can imagine how cool you felt in it. A good memory.
What a beautiful holiday you have had! Isn’t meeting new people a little nerve wracking, and one you’re there, you realize it was nothing like you imagined? This year we added to our family – Morgan and Nate got married in November – what a BLESSING for each of us to grow and be so comfortable. I believe a gift from God… I love how God is never out of surprises for us!
Thank you for sharing….
Beth
Beth,
Congratulations on the new member added to your family. I love how families multiply–start with two people and just keep growing and growing.
What a joy for you all.
Well yay! You finally got to meet Gage’s family. It sounds really great and worth the wait.
I’m really sorry to read that Ann passed away. I, too, had noticed her lack of comments.
So far, we are just laying low this year. Not much going on. In a couple of weeks, we will start going and doing. Our calendar is filling up quickly.
Happy new year to the entire Smith family!!
Lee Anne,
It’s fun to look ahead to going and doing and a full calendar.
Enjoy the new year!
So sorry to hear about Ann’s passing. I remember seeing her post several times.
Glad you finally got to meet Gage’s parents. Kids are usually good judges of character so looks like Gage is a keeper.
I envy you being in Florida. I’m here at my parents where the high New Year’s Day was around freezing. Snow and ice. The ice started melting from the trees yesterday and sounded like hail on my car roof. My mom was discharged from the hospital yesterday so I’m in full caregiver mode now.
She
I know, I was wondering about Ann too because I hadn’t seen her post in quite awhile! And prayers for your mother and also for you in the full caregiver mode! Happy New Year!
Phyllis,
Bless you as you care for your mom; a lot of responsibility to take on. She is blessed to have you!
Yes, the Florida weather was lovely; sunny and high 70’s. Loved it.
Becky, how fun to see pictures of your visit to Gage’s family and to the Florida Smiths. The joy is evident! 2021 has had a great start! I’m dog/house sitting for friends, and decided to turn the first 48 hours into a personal retreat of reading, reflecting, and dog snuggling. It was a great way to start the year.
Greta,
Glad to hear your year started out in such a quiet and rejuvenating way. 🙂
So you was marred in 2982??!! I am sure that is a typo because you are just so excited to get back to all of your Smith family! Enjoy your time with them and I can’t wait to see all the pictures, especially the Pajama War one!! Safe travels back to Manteo!
Happy New Year!
I noticed the 2982 too. And just now, I typed 3982. 😂
I know! Becky is always so great with her proofreading, but I am sure the lure of those grandbabies were distracting her from the correct year she was married! Too funny!
Donna,
I was typing that post very quickly because the grandbabies were downstairs waiting. My fingers obviously did their own thing on that date!
Phyllis,
All sorts of dates flying around here! 🙂
Donna,
Thanks for the typo catch! I got it changed so that we are not getting married in the future. 🙂
Donna,
Pajama story is coming!
Got back to Manteo about 2 hours ago. So nice to be home.
These pictures made my heart so happy! I loved seeing Sarah, Gage, Megan, Nathan, you and Steve together. I feel like grown up kids will be such fun (even though I have a LONG way to go…). And the grands! So lovely to continue to see them grow and all of that blonde hair!
We had an exhibit at Discovery Place from Ripley’s Believe It or Not and one of the pieces was about eating bugs. We hosted a “Bug Bistro” at our opening event and I sampled crickets and ants. We had more traditional flavors like salt and pepper and BBQ. No cotton candy fancy crickets for us. Oddly, I didn’t mind the bugs so much. Especially the salt and pepper ones.
Hugs to you and the entire Smith clan!
Courtney,
A Bug Bistro? So happy to NOT be there.:-)
Yes, having adult children is great fun; we so enjoyed our hanging out time with the four of them. Your day is coming with your sweet girls!