It’s your gentleness and caring
And the happiness you give
A heart full of warmth and kindness
And the thoughtful way you live
Who makes a husband special
Is created at the start
The most important thing of all
The love that’s in your heart
Who’s the perfect husband?
Love Lee ♥
Wow…Who would guess my Momma will be 70 years old tomorrow! She is the most elegant and beautiful woman I know. I love that she always not only takes care of us but she takes awesome care of herself too!!!
Hair, make-up, nails, and clothes…My Mother does such an awesome job of pulling it all together.
By Kari Keshmiry
When God set the world in place,
when He hung the stars up in space,
when He made the land and the sea,
then He made you and me.
He sat back and saw all that was good,
He saw things to be as they should.
Just one more blessing He had in store;
He created a mother, but whatever for?
He knew a mother would have a special place
to shine His reflection on her child’s face.
A mother will walk the extra mile
just to see her children smile.
She’ll work her fingers to the bone
to make a house into a home.
A mother is there to teach and guide,
a mother will stay right by your side.
She’ll be there through your pain and strife,
she’ll stay constant in your life.
A mother will lend a helping hand
until you have the strength to stand.
She’ll pick you up when you are down,
when you need a friend she’ll stick around.
A mother is one who listens well,
will keep her word; will never tell.
A mother never pokes or pries
but stands quietly by your side,
giving you the strength you need,
encouraging you to succeed.
A mother is one who can be strong
when you need someone to lean on.
You’re more than a mother to me;
a reflection of Him in your face I see,
a love that knows no boundaries.
I’m glad that you chose to be
all this and more to me.
You share a love that knows no end,
you’re more than my mother,
you are my friend.
From the moment your mom announced she was going to have a baby we have loved you! You have made us laugh and you have made us cry from laughing so hard. You bring so much joy to our family and we adore you!!!
You have always been such a “Shutter Bug” so what better gift to give you than a slide show… And Sister YOU are the STAR!!!
In a recent post The Gift That Keeps Giving, I mentioned I have been downloading pictures from my girls’ childhood. This has been a daunting task transferring old photos to electronic format. While it has been a lot of work it has also been very pleasurable too.
Some of my fondest memories of my girls were centered around their involvement in dance. They both were enrolled in tap, ballet, and jazz and were passionate about each. In addition to their group routines they both performed solos. So for the dance recital each year they both performed group tap, group ballet, group jazz and a solo. This meant eight costumes per recital. Needless to say, things were always a little hectic trying to get their solo costumes adorned with sequence and beads. You know, I just realized this may have been where my love of bling began. LOL!!!
It was amazing how they never tired of dancing. Their feet were going 24/7. And to this day Brandi reminds me of the time I wacked her in the head with a hair brush so she would stop tapping long enough for me to get her hair into a pony tail. They would tap on the coffee tables, perform jazz in the driveway, and ballet in front of the TV (during the climax of the movie of course).
Make-up, hair, costume, lights, camera, and action…The curtain rises and they would begin to dance their little hearts out as if no one was watching…
After hours of lessons, practice, and competition they have a huge sense of accomplishment, friends, memories and I have pictures!!!
Love Lee ♥
Wow, it is hard to believe it came and went so quickly…All the anticipation, planning, and work then it is over just like that!
Typically for a day or two after a big family event there is a little sense of sadness the event is over. This Christmas was not the exception…However, it was less than in years past because Christmas is not officially over for me.
One of the gifts I gave continues to require quite a bit of work!
Our youngest daughter Brandi has been asking about childhood pictures. I had to admit to her I had been a very poor manager of the family photos. Well, no more! I decided to get busy and work on getting our old photos scanned and stored electronically. Then once scanned, I will move the photos over to the portable drive I gave her for Christmas. Once all the old photos are loaded, she will only need to bring her portable drive over every so often to receive our most recent photos.
What a trip down memory lane this has been…It is amazing all that has happened in our lives over 33 years of marriage. With each photo comes the flood of emotions evoked by the memories surrounding the image of the person, place or event.
I am so blessed to have such awesome family and friends. Each time we come together we make such incredible memories…Photos help me keep the memories vibrant and alive. While I am not a photographer and half the time can not figure out how to use my camera, I do enjoy taking lots of pictures with the goal of passing forward our memories of family to the next generation.
So, the next time you see camera flashes, don’t say “Oh No, Not More Pictures” Instead say…
One final thought…Photos are not enjoyed by all unless they are shared…
Celebrating Christmas with our youngest daughter and her family is the highlight of the holiday season for us. This year due to congested schedules we decided to celebrate early. So, I had to kick into turbo…no waiting till the last-minute to wrap the gifts and prepare a meal.
The menu was easy to decide on because everyone loves Papa’s smoked ribs. Sides were a salad, baked potatoes and homemade hot and buttery beer bread. Ummm Ummm delicious! Dessert was Christmas candies, cookies, cupcakes and brownies.
Immediately following dinner Cheyenne, our granddaughter asked if she could help clear the table. I knew her goal was to get to those gifts tucked away under the tree. So, you can imagine her delight when I told her the dishes could wait.
We migrated to the living room where everyone was a buzz about the “Big Gift” in the corner. Because other gifts were associated with the “Big Gift” it had to be opened first…As you can imagine everyone was excited to hear that because they all had been trying to guess what it was for over a week…Needless to say it only took a few seconds to rip the wrapper off…They were elated but not to the degree of my delight!
I DID IT!!! For the first time ever I stumped Brandi…Every year right before she would open her “Big Gift” from me she would guess what it was but not this year!!! She had no clue and was sooo surprised!
Once the “Big Gift” was opened everyone migrated to “their spot”. All the gifts were handed out and in keeping with tradition the kids wanted to go one at a time opening their gifts so everyone could see what the other was getting. I love this as I remember growing up it was a free for all and Christmas gifts were unwrapped in 10 minutes or less…
Not with these kids… it took about an hour to open gifts making Christmas last a long time! The comments, laughter and hugs in between gifts was priceless!!!
The gifts I received were precious!!! The first I opened was a beautiful coffee mug from Cheyenne. The quote on the cup reads “Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come. Song of Songs 2:12a. Chey knows I love coffee and I love drinking it from special cups. I have a new “Special Cup” now! Next, a gift from Michael. It was a beautiful necklace. The front is the shape of a key hole and it is surrounded by bling. The back reads “Share the Love”. It is absolutely beautiful. Then I was handed an envelope which read “To Mom and Dad”….A gift card to Outback! Yeah!!! One of our most favorite places to eat!!! Next, foot care products with an inflatable foot bath…Love it!!! Then I was handed a large bag. In it was the purse I wanted. Brandi pulled it off she managed to buy the purse I wanted when shopping a couple of weeks ago. And she bought it while I was with her!!!
I loved the gifts and all the thought that went into finding the perfect one for me and speaking of perfect gifts, it was a little scroll of paper tied in a pretty ribbon and addressed to both Richard and me. When I unrolled it, it read “Merry Christmas! Mission Offering Donation made in the name of Richard and Lee Ann Smith” and the amount. Now this gift brought tears to my eyes. Anyone who knows me, knows sharing the love of Jesus is my passion and Missions is the most perfect venue to do just that.
I love every moment I get to spend with my kids and grandkids! I love their hugs, smiles, thoughts, and comments! I love watching them interact with each other as it is obvious they love each other very much! I love seeing the glow on my daughter’s face as she adores her husband and children! And I love seeing my son-in-law so happy!
Savor your moments with your family as they are your most treasured gift!!!
Each Year we start the Annual Newsletter with “Wow, we can’t believe another year has gone by” and 2010 is not without exception. It has gone by so quickly which enforces the old saying “Time flies when you’re having fun.”
It has been a tradition of ours to mail out a newsletter annually with our Christmas cards. I am so excited to be able to share electronically this year.
While we have had lots of fun we have also worked very hard over this past year. At the beginning of the year Richard worked as a technical writer and educator providing training at a refinery in Saudi Arabia. In October, he made the decision to go back into production so he is now working for BASF and is happier than I have seen him in years! I continue to work for Angleton Danbury Medical Center as the Director of the Revenue Management Department and find my job very fulfilling and am continually challenged by the ever-changing Medicare rules and regulations as well as the changes in commercial contracts.
Our jobs afford us the ability to play. We love to take frequent trips on our Harley motorcycle. This year we have taken several rides which were well over 500 miles each. It is amazing the unobstructed view I have from the back of the bike. When I hear “ride” I pack my fanny pack with the essentials like iPod, Cell Phone, Camera, Lipstick, and chewing gum and we are off…in pursuit of making a memory.
We also like to retreat in our motor home to local parks for uninterrupted R&R. We spent Valentines Day at Brackenridge RV Park in Edna, TX. Then, the entire month of August at Quintana Beach County Park in Freeport, TX my favorite…
Our family has celebrated several events together this year. The most important being the
baptism of our granddaughter, Cheyenne. Her baptism was even more special because Richard had the privilege of baptizing her.
Then on Memorial Day Weekend, “The Annual Smith Family Reunion”…as always it was a huge success and we made lots of wonderful memories!
On 10/10/10 I celebrated my 50th birthday and my family did a phenomenal job of surprising me with the fanciest Tea Party ever!
Every gathering with our family is a special occasion and we have occasion to gather often.
May Our Father Pour Out His Richest Blessings on You & Yours This Holiday
Season!
Love,
Richard and Lee
I remember standing at the back of the church thinking…”THIS IS IT…THE MOMENT I HAVE WAITED FOR ALL MY LIFE”.
December 18, 1977 I said “I Do” to the man of my dreams. It has been amazing how those two words have impacted every aspect of my life since! I adore you and am so proud to be Mrs. Richard Dallas Smith; honored, cherished, esteemed, and adored by you for 33 past years.
Rather than re-cap our lives together in written word, I thought you might enjoy a few pictures.
I cherish the memories of our yesterdays and look forward to many tomorrows with you!!!
People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Luke 18:15-17
I was reminded on this scripture last night when I watched the Kids Rock Choir at First Baptist Church of Brazoria perform their annual Christmas program, “The Present is the Future”. They shared the true meaning of Christmas sharing the message without Jesus we have no future. Their enthusiasm was contagious, the music upbeat, and choreography flamboyant.
In addition to sharing Jesus the performance held additional sentiment for me. To have the honor of seeing both my daughter and granddaughter use their God-given talent to bring glory and honor to Jesus was the icing on the cake!
Brandi my daughter has such a passion for Jesus and for music. I am so proud of her for dedicating her life to Jesus and sharing her passion for music with the next generation. The children just love her and it is obvious she loves them too.
Seeing Cheyenne, my granddaughter celebrating Jesus through drama and music, made me so excited. Cheyenne and I have sang songs to the radio or CDs in the car but I have never heard her sing a solo. She grabbed the microphone and sang like a pro! The first thing that went through my mind was…
God is so good to give Cheyenne a beautiful voice and to allow our family’s passion for music to be carried on to the next generation.
Thank you for allowing me a moment to be Mom and Meme…
I so love getting together with family and friends and this Thanksgiving was no exception! I am so blessed to have such a warm and loving family. We live, love, and laugh a lot!
The day started off very peaceful. I enjoyed my quiet time with the Lord; reading my Bible and praying. Then, it was time to get the turkey in the oven. Martha and I teamed up and got the dressing started. The meal was planned to start at 1pm and things were going as planned.
The first to arrive was my precious granddaughter Cheyenne. She was carrying a plate of homemade treats she had made all by herself. She chose a recipe from her cookbook, and purchased all the ingredients with her own money. She did such a wonderful job…I am so proud of her!
Second to walk through the door was Cheryl, Ken, and Shawn with awesome treats in hand and was wearing some of the most beautiful smiles. Shawn has gotten so big I have to look up at him now.
As I continued to putter around in the kitchen, family and friends continued to stream through the door and I quickly lost track of who came when. I could tell when another person would arrive when I heard the volume rise and squeals of excitement could be heard throughout the house. 
Soon after my dear friends the Cannans arrived, Alisha made her way to the kitchen, washed her hands, and began helping me de-bone the turkey. A concern Alisha had voiced to her mother about Thanksgiving was the turkey. She was worried it might be dry. Thank goodness I soaked the turkey in a brine for over 24 hours…Her concerns were quickly put to rest when she took her first bite.
As everyone began to arrive, the buffet table began to fill up. My family has always been good to pitch in and bring sides and desserts. One thing for sure is God had blessed each member of our family with the ability to cook. The food was phenomenal and as always there was more than enough for everyone to eat.
As is our custom once everyone arrived we circled around the table and each person voiced what they were thankful for.
There is seldom a dry eye in the room when we are through and this Thanksgiving was not different. One of the most tender moments was watching my sister and her husband embrace after the blessing. I was blessed to be a witness to it. God is so good and has richly blessed my sister and her husband.
Soon after the meal was over Susan ran to the store and picked up a couple of newspapers end the hunt was on. Everyone was in pursuit of an item they were going to purchase on “Black Friday”. Who would have believed the newspaper would provide the whole family with hours of entertainment.
Oh, and speaking of entertainment…We had piano playing, ballet, and hand slapping games, and of course FOOTBALL…Activities of different sorts in every room. Priceless times!!!
There were some who were not with us this Thanksgiving and they were missed terribly. Both Richard and Smokey had to work, Lindsey spent the holiday with her dad, Rayfard and Evelyn were celebrating a family member’s birthday, Debbie and Greg were in Arkansas with their grandkids…Our oldest daughter Tori lives out-of-town and was not able to come home but called to wish everyone “A Happy Thanksgiving”. To each of you…”You Were Missed”
What fun memories we made, what great food we ate, and what incredible thanks we gave to our Father in heaven for blessing us!
A Love Lee Place 
