Becca and the girls arrive!

I am a bit behind on posting... Becca and the girls arrived on Dec 10th for Christmas! We are so glad to have them here! When they arrived we took the evening to have dinner at the Joseph Smith building and then see all the lights on Temple Square! It was a really fun night!

Rupert Arrives at the Millers!

Rupert was found hiding in Millers car on their way home from Grandma's! (He knows when there is a party). He made himself right at home and got down to business! Here is Mason reading him a story.

Mason found himself a buddy!

"Train an elf up in the way he should go!" GO COUGARS! NO UTES~!

A TRUE BLUE COUGAR!

Oakley took Rupert sleding!

The CRASH!

We couldn't stay away!

We just back from the hospital again! She was all bathed and looking beautiful with a big red bow in her hair! The nurse brought her back in to Heather and Ryan in a great big red Christmas Stocking! Ryan is in love again...can you tell?

Daddy with his tiny baby girl


So sweet...

Millie Anne Marchbanks Arrives!

Miss Millie Anne Marchbanks arrived this afternoon at 3:49pm. She weighed in at 6lbs 10 oz. Baby is Healthy and Mom looks beautiful! Baby sister is not quite sure about all of this and Dad survived! Congrats Ryan and Heather! We are thrilled to pieces! You did a great job Heather!

Who looks this good in hard labor?

Miss Millie Anne with her family

What a beauty!

Mom and baby are doing great!

Happy Birthday Sadie!

There is nothing I like better than birthday's at Build A Bear! Anytime I can talk a grandchild into going there! I am in heaven! I want to buy everything I see! Miss Sadie had her 7th birthday and she decided it was Build A Bear or bust!! Angie came with us and that made it even more special! I can't believe Sadie is getting so big! I remember when she was 6 mos old and we were in St Charles, Mo shopping at this wonderful spice store. Lizzy had her in a little tiny wicker shopping basket. She was so bitsy! We sure love you Sadie and we are so proud of the darling young lady you are becoming! Thanks for taking me to Build a Bear! It was so fun to have your mom come too! Bella Bunny Ballerina will love belonging to you! Take good care of her! I love you!

Rupert is at Matt, Angie and Sadies!

Rupert surprised Sadie and Angie and Matt last night! The found him hiding in their Christmas tree! He sure is a sneaky elf!

Sadie was so excited to see him!

His first stop was a potty break! Good job Rupert!

Matt was excited to see him and to snuggle!

I am sure Rupert will tell Santa that Sadie is being really good!

We sure love Rupert and can't wait to see where he goes! Watch for him! He might show up at your house next!

RUPERT IS IN LOGAN!

We were so relieved to hear that Rupert FINALLY showed up in Logan! He was on Amy and Brett's front porch when Mckay went to school! He was almost frozen! Benny was afraid that he might run off again... He was worried that he needed to be in the North Pole helping Santa. Amy explained to him ...that his job is to check on all the Marchbanks grandkids and be sure they are being good to each other and that they are helping out during this Christmas season! So they put in a nice cozy bed to warm him up...and then the fun began! Treats galore and lots of hugs! Thanks Horsley kids for taking care of Rupert! I guess he will be on his way again shortly!

Rupert arriving in Logan!

In his nice warm bed! It was so cold out there!

Jaxson is sharing his ice cream with Rupert!

Is that Mistletoe? Hmmmm???

The Nutcracker!

Sadie had her dance recital on Saturday night! She danced in the Nutcracker! She was awesome! She had a couple of "costume malfunctions" and she handled them like a pro! It was so fun to watch you Sadie! You are growing up so fast! Grandpa and I loved to see you! Our favorite part was when you came out of the box as a doll! You were so cute!

Angie ~ Sadie and Matt

Ballerina Sadie

Grandpa and Grandma with the star of the show!

Thanksgiving Weekend of fun!

Here we are at Cracker Barrel! Love to go there...because of the cute store attached!

The girls!


Lizzy and Taylor and I went out again in the afternoon! Any store was fair game! I think we hit all of them!

Here are the MEN playing football! Lots of pulled and strained muscles! But they are tough!

When I bought this chair...I had no idea how much everyone would love it! They can all hang out together in it!

Games up stairs in the game room!

Coming back on Saturday to start all over again!



Hold on Mason! Mason loves Dallas!

Here is that chair again!

Grandma has dress ups and without fail...they always come out at some point of the "holiday".

I won't tell you who these kids belong to... but if Jenny ever gets a girl...there is a good chance she will look like the blond one in the polka dot scarf! Goofy kids! I am not sure where the real girls are!

THANKSGIVING 2008

Happy Thanksgiving! It was almost perfect! If Becca and Levi and the girls were here...it would have been! Next time when it is our turn... they should be here!
We looked at all the wonderful food and couldn't believe that life was so good! Our tradition is to go around the tables and have everyone chose one thing that they are especially thankful for and share it with everyone! It is always a bit tender and sweet. We have so much to be grateful for and the joy that comes in being with my family tops my list!
I also did some research and found out that we are direct descendants of Elder William Brewster that came to America on the Mayflower! It is so amazing to think that one of my ancestors desired freedom of religion so much that he was willing to risk everything he had to come here! What a blessing that is to me! Then to realize that we are also descendants of others including Joseph and Hyrum Smith. They did everything they could to restore the true gospel back to the earth! They lived such a righteous life and were willing to do whatever it took to move our Heavenly Father's plan forward. I hope we can all remember these great examples in our lives and try to emulate them.

We had a fun day! Lots of yummy food and the best company ever! We painted a cute craft project in the afternoon while the guys watched football and played video games. After we played games all night...and then it started all over the next morning! The girls went to breakfast and then shopping! We found some great bargains and spent way to much ...especially at Costco! That night we all got together again for a yummy ham and leftovers dinner (the turkey was LONG GONE). Then played games all night again! The next morning.. we started over with a big breakfast and then Jenny and Nate came to hang out. Such a fun holiday! We love our family! Every single one of you! You are so precious and we feel so blessed to be your parents and grandma and grandpa~ ! Thanks for sharing the holiday with us!

Jenny ~ Nate

Ryan ~Macie ~ Heather

Brett and Amy

Our adorable grandkids!

Angie ~ Matt ~ Lizzy and Dallas

The aftermath of the kids table... Preston loves to eat! And so he does! He would rather eat than almost anything else! You've gotta love a kid like that!

Hunter and Mason

Boys and their toys!


Our project was a little countdown calendar... unfortunately I told Hal to make it the wrong way... so the blocks are a bit goofy...but adorable none the less! Thanks for being good sports ladies... your mom is aging fast!

Hyrum Mack Smith

I was sitting tonight working on the computer and the song "Christmas Canon" came on. It holds a very special memory for me. Four years ago today I was at a hospital in Seattle and that song was playing as my father Hyrum Mack Smith passed from this life to the next. I always get a little sad around Thanksgiving because I know that the anniversary of his death is close. It is hard to believe that 4 years have passed since that day. My father was truly my Hero! He was gentle and kind in every way.

One of my earliest memories of my Dad was laying on the couch in the house on A Street as he was smoothing my hair. It had been a difficult time for me. I was only eight years old and I had to leave my Grandma who had raised me and move into a house filled with boys. All of a sudden I had a Mom and a Dad and 6 brothers. It was a bit of an adjustment (for everyone) I remember going to the Christmas parade downtown and he gave me a piggy back ride. After all this time! I had a dad! How amazing was that for me!

From the first moment I came into the Smith Family my Dad became my protector and my friend. One thing I really loved about him was the way he loved his family. He loved all of us no matter what we did. He just simply loved us. At the same time I would watch him and learn that he loved the Lord. Much of my early testimony came from watching my Dad and he served in various positions in the ward. I saw him go every Saturday to work on building the chapel in McLean, Virginia. Every moment he could he was working on that building. ( Those were the days when the Church required most of the labor to come from the members) Dad was so proud the day the chapel was dedicated. I loved going to Stake Conference with him. We would go to downtown Washington DC together and sit upstairs in the balcony. I didn’t really enjoy the talks but I sure loved sitting with him. It became a special time for us. Dad was always working for the Lord one way or another. If he wasn’t working or serving the Lord then he was “playing’ with us. We would play ball in the back yard or he would take us to the pool. Dad was at every game my brothers played in. Basketball, baseball, or football. He was always there cheering them on!! We just loved being with him.

When I became a teenager I don’t think I really enjoyed it as much. He was always watching me like a hawk. I was the only daughter and he was so protective! He was known to follow me on dates… he even followed me from Denver to a basketball game in Colorado Springs ... so "I wouldn’t get into trouble". (He didn't like the guy I was dating) I had to watch out the windows of my car… to be sure he wasn't following me. I openly hated it at the time.. But deep inside I loved it. I knew he loved me and just cared about me. Now that I have children I understand even better how he felt. What a guy! I remember he wanted me to move to Wash D.C. with him one year because he didn’t like who I was dating and wanted to get me out of Denver. I remember the day we did finally move… I am sure I heard him sigh a huge sigh of relief as we headed East and left those Denver days behind.

The greatest legacy my Dad left to our family was his ability to love unconditionally. He was always gentle and kind and was always concerned about hurting others feelings. I remember when I started to have children, he was the one that could always calm them down and soothe them when they were upset. He loved our kids and had special feelings for each of them as he did for each of his children and grandchildren. Even in his last days on the earth he would ask me about each one of them when I would call to check on him.
I always knew my dad loved me that I was his daughter. He accepted me as his own from the first moment I came into the family. I talked to him on Thanksgiving evening and he asked me why I didn’t come to Seattle for the dinner. I felt terrible and promised him I would come before Christmas…little did I know that that very evening things would change so drastically. About midnight he seemed to be chocking in his bed and Todd called the ambulance to take him to the hospital. When we got the call that he was in a coma and not expected to come out of it… I hurriedly caught a plane...praying all the way that he would be there when I arrived. When I arrived in Seattle the boys told me that he was not responding and in a pretty deep coma. Alan and I walked into the room and he was lying there with a ventilator tube in his mouth and throat and looked really miserable. Alan said “Hey dad look Terry’s here!” Immediately his eyes popped open and as he looked up at me he looked like he was grinning! His eyes sparkled. I was thrilled! His eyes followed me all around the room. I said “Dad, open your eyes really wide if you know how much I love you” He opened his eyes so wide, I couldn’t believe it. I was blessed to be able to stay with him for several hours during the night and what a privilege that was. He would wake up and I would ask him yes or no questions and he would answer me with his eyes and then sleep again. I was so glad he knew I was there and how much I loved him.

The next day we had to decide to let him go. The doctor told us that he was in a locked in state And the chances for recovery were very slim. We knew there were people waiting to take him home and when we went back into the room after we had made the decision, he looked so peaceful that we knew it was the right decision and he was ready to go. We decided that he had people there waiting to take him home and they let him know what was happening and with great sadness as Todd gave him a blessing we let him go home. What a wonderful reunion he must have had with his family and especially his parents he had never met!
Well 4 years have passed and tonight as I sit here the ache is still so fresh! What a great man my Dad was! I loved him with all of my heart!

I love you Dad and I always will! Not a day goes by that I don't think about you and wish you were here with us. You are my hero!