Merry Christmas to all, and to all a great night (and day).

Well, Merry Christmas everyone. If we haven't heard from you yet, we will throughout the holidays, so no stress. We're off to Edmonton in about ten minutes. Our Christmas tradition of traveling midday continues. We'll be there for a few days until the 27th, where we'll be hanging with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandma Patterson, and Grandma and Grandpa Lewis. First time for Michelle in four years that she's been able to be with her mom and dad, so this should be good. Kaelyn's beside me right now as momma last minute packs, and she's continually saying, "Hi. Hi. Hi." So maybe that's to all of you out there.

We had a great Christmas breakfast - french toast and bacon - and then spent the morning unwrapping gifts. As you can tell, these photos couldn't be hotter off the press. They're all from this morning. Kaelyn got a new cell phone today that she can record voices with and play back, and it entertained her for a long time. Oh and the last picture is kind of fun. Michelle got underwear for Christmas; the cool thing is is that they doubled as a hat for Kaelyn. She thought they were fun to try on her head. Whatever works, I guess.

Oh, there's another "Hi." from the little one going out to all of you.

So we're about to hit the road. Should be a nice trip. I don't know how it's like around all of you, but Hinton is quiet today. When I went out to wash and fill up the car, I could drive fast as I wanted to, because there wasn't more than 2 cars on the road. It's also -2 and beautifully clear sky, except over the mountains where there are gorgeous white clouds floating around. Christmas in the mountains.

So with that, we're on the road now thinking of all of you enjoying Christmas. Kaelyn must be thinking of you too, she's playing with the phone while I try and get this typed. Just wait until she learns your number. Or how to use the speed dial. Then you'll have to learn how to have a conversation based on a few words.

So Merry Christmas everyone! Hope your day is wonderful, and that you're surrounded by loved ones! Love you all!

Christmaaaas Tiiiime is Heeeeeeeeere...

Meeeeeerrrrry Christmas! Well, Christmas Eve, actually. The presents are somewhat wrapped, the food is almost ordered, the schedule is kind of organized, the house is sort of clean...

Sounds like Christmas time! Nothing too much to report here, but we want to say hi to our friends and family out there all over the world and wish you a Merry Christmas! These are just a few of the friends out there (the ones that sent us pictures) - Happy Ho Ho everyone! I've put some pictures on here today of one of our good friends, Dave Houthuyzen, who served in Afghanistan and thankfully is home now. Another friend, Brian, is attempting to create a second 10th commandments while he chills on the same mountain that Moses got his 10 commandments. Good lads. Brian and Erin are the third pic down, who are currently in Burundi exploring much of Africa and loving it. The fourth is from our table, and the last picture is an amazing picture of a line of heroes from our Canadian military (Dave being one of them).

So today I was sort of bitten by the Christmas bug, and I'm ready for Christmas now! We've spent wrapping presents (on the day before Christmas, which is a record), listening to music, and eating. Sounds like Christmas to me. I know Kaelyn is excited. We spent part of the afternoon looking at the manger scene, and she laughed at the sound the donkey made (hee haw, if you don't know) and she especially loved the camel sound (just hork a big loogy). A girl after my own heart. We also spent some time trying to blow out a candle, which she liked. Hopefully she doesn't grow up to burn the house down.

On a side note, I just wanted everyone to know that the goat has been hit again and again by the freight train (see the 'dominated' blog). Shaun (that's me) is currently on a six-game winning streak in Roughriders' cribbage. I'm almost to the point that I'm looking for ways to give Michelle a pity win. Not yet, but almost.

So things are winding down around here. I know, that sounds a little weird, because I know they'll be picking right back up again soon. But for now, we're content to sit around and hang out. This is a good thing. Definitely.

As I'm typing right now, Kaelyn is walking all over Grandpa Lewis's present and jumping off, falling on her face and say "up a dae dae." (Translation - "oopsy daisy) It's good times. I guess five centimeters is a long way for a person to jump when they're only two feet tall.

So everyone, hope to hear from you over the Christmas holidays! We'll be away from the 25th (in later morning) to th 27th, at which point we'll be hanging out with more family as they arrive at our house. If you haven't seen the trailers for the Nativity yet either, go online and check it out. It looks very much worth seeing. www.thenativitystory.com

That's one film I'm looking forward to seeing. So on that note, everyone have a Merry Christmas, from those of you down in Esquimalt, London, Whitehorse, Barrie, Hamilton, Meadow Lake, Prince Albert, Edmonton, Ottawa, Burundi, those of you in the States, and every where else you're celebrating Christmas this year! Hopefully we'll have a chance to blog tomorrow on Christmas day!

Close Your Eyes, What Do You See?

If you answered 'nothing', you'd be pretty close. A better answer would be 'Michelle's current score in Saskatchewan Roughrider Cribbage!' That's right, you heard it here first. The current series in SRC is 3 wins for Shaun, 0 for Michelle. It's been a sad state of card-playing efforts on the part of Michelle. Like taking candy from a baby. Or kicking a caterpillar with no legs. Or better yet, watching a goat get hit by a fast-moving freight train. One end winds up a mess, and the other just keeps on moving like it hit nothing.

You get the point, it has been an exercise in domination. And definitely, I'm not trying to brag. If anything, I'm just serving you, the audience, by making the point very clear so that you understand.

Utter domination.

So what exactly is Saskatchewan Roughriders Cribbage, you may ask? Well, it's a game that was invented around the same time as the Bible to let the whole world know which team is the best. Seeing as the Roughriders have only won one championship since the birth of the Bible, they figured it would be good to associate the Roughriders with other things that they actually have a chance at - like cribbage. Just imagine a 400-pound linebacker playing crib against an ninety-five year old. That kind of a picture should suggest instant victory, in some way or another.

So Christmas at our house has started early and has been brief. We haven't put our outside Christmas lights up, but yet we have had our first Christmas celebrations with Grandma and Grandpa Smith. That was a great time, although it always seems too short. We got some good card playing time in while they were here. Kaelyn got seriously spoiled, as usual. I'm astounded at how fast she can turn an empty wood floor into a catastrophy of tin pots and pans in a matter of a few minutes.

Speaking of Kaelyn, I wanted to update you on the words she is currently saying. She's got quite a few, so I'll just throw as many as I can out there: "peas" (please), "daddy", "mommy", "oopa da da" (oopsy daisy), "uh oh", "nana" (banana), "ta" (star), "dodgy" (doggy), "bah" (ball). The current two favorites are definitely "ball" and "peas". She attempts a lot of other words, probably because she's a girl, and she never seems to stop talking or at least babbling.

So we're looking forward to having a little time away, enjoying Christmas, and getting together with family. With that, I'll leave you with some recent pictures from the last few days. In the order the pictures are presented: Kaelyn's amazement at the tree, her and mommy decorating the tree, Grandpa Smitha reading Kaelyn a story, and finally Kaelyn unwrapping a gift from the Smith clan! As if the pictures weren't obvious enough! Hope everyone is having a wonderful pre-Christmas season! Smith family out!

The Settling of the Dust

Whew! We haven't posted in quite some time! Sorry! Our chaotic week was definitely that - chaotic! We're back to somewhat normal, and the posts will be coming waaaay more regular. This blog is like bran - when you use it, that means you're regular. If you stop using it, things get backed up.

So here goes. Our last eleven days have been some of the most busy times as of late, and Christmas isn't even here yet. Let me bring you up to speed for those of you who have been unhappy with the lack of postings.

Where we got our Christmas tree
Two Saturday ago - We went and got our Christmas tree. Fantastic day. Actually, a friend who works in forestry spotted three amazing trees, so he grabbed one for us. So instead of having to tramp through the bush and find a tree, we went into the bush, started a fire and went sledding down an amazing hill!

Going Sledding!

Two Mondays ago - We raced off to Edmonton to do some Christmas shopping. Got that almost accomplished and then, while I was in the car, I used a laptop to work on two assignments at once. My one assignment involved creating a Renaissance period piece by using a contemporary piece of writing as my inspiration.

Last Tuesday - Worked on Lexicon assignment, and sermon all night. Kaelyn started to get sick with teeth and cold. She was up most of the night, so we're pretty tired.

Last Wednesday - Worked all day on Youth night and Sermon - found a great clip from Monty Python for sermon on Sunday. I was out all day so I have no idea what happened at home.

Thursday - Woah. Thursday, continued to work on sermon until 2pm, then studied for final exam from 3 until 6, from 6-9 I wrote final exam. All done! Celebrated by yawning.

Friday - Worked on Sermon in the morning, and the video died a few times on the computer. Set up for 100 kids who came to Friendship Friday. Then took down all chairs. Then switched gears and set up the coffee house with Michelle and Kaelyn. Got that set up, went to coffee house at night. Very tired. Oh yeah, won at Cranium. Michelle and I still not getting sleep, but that's okay. When you're this tired, you can have conversations with yourself.

Kaelyn the Red-Nosed Little Girl...

Saturday - Finished up sermon, video, powerpoint, notes and practised and tested. Then went to Friendship Friday Christmas party at night. Had a great pre-Christmas supper. Feeling like my stomach is getting in shape for the season, just putting it through some warm-up paces. Came home, slept.

Sunday - Preached using The Life of Brian (Monty Python) as my intro, then Michelle was on. Her kids did a great job of the Christmas musical. In fact, one lady commented that she had never heard the kids sing so well, and attributed that to Michelle. Then we left for Edmonton for round #2 of Christmas shopping.

Monday - Christmas shopping galore - and it's all accomplished! We shopped and met Grandma and Grandpa Smith at West Edmonton Mall, where they had their truck smashed into and camera stolen. It was nice of them to keep our Christmas traditions... In the last two Christmases, traumatic events have happened each time when they've come to visit us for Christmas. Can't wait to see what happens next year... Some people burn chestnuts over an open fire and read stories of Christmas - we like to do things differently around here. That's one Christmas tradition I wouldn't mind dropping.

So that brings us to today. Today I went to work and did very little. In fact, I was very proud of how very little I got accomplished. I drank lots of coffee. And then I turned my office lights on and off. Then my dad stopped by, and we went for coffee. Then, I believe I went home for the day.

The night was way better than the day. We had Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Smith, and Kaelyn got spoiled. She got lots of dished to throw and crash and eat. A pony to brush. And a great phone call from GG. It's nice to have family this close. And we caught up on some of our Advent reading. And then we played something that every person should play - Saskatchewan Roughriders' cribbage. What a great game, and of course the guys (dad and I) won. But males always were better at those "thinking games". Just ask Uncle John...oh wait, maybe I could use a better example...

So that's our life at this point in a long-winded nutshell. We're back to normal, and looking forward to a little Christmas break. I got a few marks back - 86% in my Renaissance period writing, 84% in my lexicon, 88% in my final exam. So I'm very happy with how everything turned out. Tomorrow will be a more sane posting, and we'll get you back to our daily lives.

Until then, we've got a couple more days with Grandma and Grandpa Smith!

Kaelyn chillin' with Zoe

Betcha can't stop the smile...

Was I right? The little bundle o' wonder.

What a day...week... I'm sitting here after three glasses of Coke, and I'm still a little tired. It's been a week where you didn't have an overwhelming amount to accomplish, but yet it just takes everything out of you.

This coming week is so full, I'm not even out of this one yet and already I'm bracing for the impact of the next. My class is finished next week, with two assignments and one final exam all coming at me. I am preaching this week too, on outcasts and God, and the rest of the week is pretty normal. Of course, my schedule is usually really busy, so add Christmas on and that adds up to a pretty busy week. But for right now, I'm drinking my coke on the rocks. Good stuff.

As you can tell from the pictures, we've had a fun week. Kaelyn continues to be fascinated by bubbles (pronounced "bub bo") and she's got her best friend Zoe (pronounced "th oa eee") whom she likes to kick in the head at supper and randomly hug around the house. Since she's gotten better, she's making up for lost time with her smiles and happiness. If you ever need a serious boost, just hang around Kaelyn. She laughs at pretty much everything. Michelle was just remarking today that she's glad she doesn't have a prissy girl. Kaelyn is definitely not that. I think the remark came after Kaelyn decided to dive into some of momma's home-made macaroni and it was all over her face and hands. Great times.

I also have some sad news to report tonight. I lost the last series of cribbage by a score of 7 games to 5. But there is hope in the current series, which I'm also losing 2 games to 1. Never say die.

I think as this week unfolds, there'll be more to report. I'll just fire out some pictures tonight to appease the grandparents and GG (that's great grandma). Tomorrow we're heading out for our Christmas tree, and then it's back in front of the computer for me - one assignment that has to be finished (and started) tomorrow! Oh yes, and for you grandparents out there, when you come to visit, the key time of the day is 3:30 now. That's when the Backyardigans are on.

It's finally started melting around here, and it looks like we may lose most of our snow (if not all). It's been around +5 all week, even during the night. That's sort of okay, because I was getting tired of the cold, but I don't want to lose all of our snow. That just seems...weird. Still trying to adjust to living with Chinooks.

Okay, that's it for now. I'll leave you with a picture of a girl who looks like she came straight out of a Dr. Seuss book (or a Jamaican wannabe - your choice).

A Major Dominant Seventh and the Blueberry Gang

Michelle is currently playing the guitar and has been for the past hour (feels like longer). Her current song is "A Major Dominant Seven" because that's the chord she's working on. So that's the only words to the song. Go on. Try it. Sing that same line over and over, like this..."Aaaaa Maaaajor Dominant Seveeeennnth." Do it with attitude. The great thing about the song is, it's not annoying at all. Not one bit. I could listen to it all day and still love it. You know why? Because it's not annoying at all. Love it.

On the bright side though, she is learning. And eventually the song will change. Perhaps to "Eeeeee miiiiiinorrrrrr." Which, coincidentally, is not annoying either.

So today is Monday, the best day of the week (right after Sunday afternoon). I'm really not looking forward to this week of work but, like everyone else in the world, you've got to do it. Kaelyn has continued her progress out of the fever zone. Her sleep schedule is still messed, so she's not entirely herself. That's okay though. As you can see from the pictures, she's getting a little better. She still looks a little white, but we love her all the same.

So today was marked by a lack of groceries and a great episode of Backyardigans (more on that later). No milk, no dish stuff, no clothes stuff, no cereal. And no eggs. So I took it upon myself today to go out and get groceries. I know what you're thinking..."what an amazing husband!"

And you'd be right. I am an amazing husband. With a capital A.

As you may be able to tell, the sarcasm runs thick around here. But back to more important matters, if you haven't seen Backyardigans, that's a good quality show for the little ones. Today was on becoming a secret spy agent. So while Kaelyn was playing (normally she has been watching, but today's episode didn't catch her attention), Michelle and I were glued to the TV. That was one great quality cartoon. I learned a lot from the Moose guy - I think his name is Tyrone.

I wouldn't normally mention supper in a blog, but this time was different. I sat down to dessert, which was an excellent year of blueberry pie (2006) picked out by me (refer to the amazing husband section), and found that I didn't eat one bite. That's because I was raided by the blueberry gang, who happened to be sitting on my knee eating all my blueberry pie. It's a good thing she's cute because I'm not too good at sharing.

Oh yes, and for you gamers out there, I did skunk Michelle today in cribbage. Pretty dreadful, it was. I got a 24 hand, which I was more than happy for. Current series - Shaun (5 games won), Michelle (3 games won). That's our current game, although if we had some more Settlers fans out there, I think we'd get back to playing.

So that's about it for us today. Michelle and Kaelyn went back to the hospital, but nothing was really available from them. Then in Michelle's words, "We did a whole lot of nothing." I'm supposed to be working on one of my last assignments for class, but as you can tell, that hasn't started yet. Oh well. That's for another day, I guess. And that's it for us. I'll leave you with a few more pictures from today.

The Saturday Morning Scene

I like Saturday mornings. This is the one day a week where I can choose to sit and relax. So this morning I spent some time reading our friends' blog (Brian & Erin), and just tried to capture their amazing adventure in my mind. That's an incredible way to spend a Saturday morning. This picture is actually on their blog (but doctored a bit by me). If you want a story of adventure, you'll have to check out their blog. They're just really special people to us (special in a good way).

So quite a bit has been happening over the last few days, but nothing earth-shattering. Kaelyn and Michelle are currently at the hospital again just getting checked out. Kaelyn's fever is still around but she's seeming to be getting a little more energetic. I'm supposed to be at the church right now, but I can't find the truck keys, and so here I sit. That's okay with me. I got home from youth stuff pretty late, so I think it's okay to spend the morning just sitting. The church stuff has been going great as of late. I've been able to continue to be really creative with the stuff that we're doing. In a couple weeks, I'm preaching on the "outcasts" of the Christmas message, so I'm kind of excited about that. I'm really excited about the fact that I also plan to play a Monty Python video clip just before I preach. Nothing says church without some kind of funny movie clip.

So the semester is finally coming to a close. I got my third mark back on my largest essay in my Professional Writing course. I was supposed to write a five page essay on language degeneration in our current culture, so I decided to compare grammar to a McDonald's cheeseburger. That was fun for me and I got my mark back - 89%! The good thing is, there are only 2 smaller assignments and one final exam left, and then I can finally relax a bit more. This class has been a ton of fun. I really want to start writing because I've just loved it so much. Someone asked me today what I would do with a million dollars, and then said that he would have a hard time knowing what to do with it. I just answered in a few words. "That's easy. Dominican Republic beach and write. Done." If only that were a reality...

Our cold snap is finally over here. I neglected to mention that the day I went snowboarding was the first nice day in a week. It was about -5 degrees, but got pretty cold at the higher elevations. But the rest of the week is in the +2 degree range, so that'll help with my daydreaming about Dominican. I can't stop thinking about moving to Dominican or someplace like that though. In fact, every time we've driven into Edmonton lately, I've been pretending in my mind that I was driving to a nice white sand beach. Makes for a disappointing time though when you get out of the car and the white sand is actually snow...

So today is going to be a webpage day. I have to do some updates on our youth ministry webpage - www.ywatermark.com. And then there's more graphics work to be done on the church announcement stuff, so I have to head over there whenever Michelle gets back. After that, it's "put up your feet" time, and I'm planning on doing nothing constructive.

That's about it for here! Great Grandma, hope you're feeling better, and just in case you aren't, here's some pictures to help you get better! These last two pictures are reflections of our week - Kaelyn cuddling and staying warm! Love you all out there!

Blackhawk Down...

Hi everyone. It's been a longish few days around here and no time to post. The wee one has been down since Monday with a harsh fever. She's been hovering around the 37-39 degree range, so she goes from being cuddly and sleepy in your arms to crying a bit and sucking her thumb. So it's been tough, especially on her. Right now she's sitting on my lap with her blankee and sucking her thumb. I think it's been pretty rough on her mommy too. And so this is where the Smith adventure is presently at.

I think this all started because we wanted to go get a family picture. A day before we went to get the picture, Kaelyn bumped her head on a table and got a black eye. Then, an hour before the picture, she had a small surface burn on her forehead from a curling iron (and no curled hair). So by the time we got her in for pictures, we were hoping Wal-mart employees wouldn't call child services on us. So now, here we are with a somewhat blackened eye, dark scabbed forehead, feverish little girl. And all that for a family photo.

Yesterday I got out with some of the guys for a day of fresh powder at Marmot. It was beautiful up there with lazy-man powder everywhere (the kind where you just glide through and get lazy and then a rock or small tree pops in and gets you). It was a pretty amazing day; we spent a lot of time cruising through the tree runs where the powder was 2 and 3 feet deep. It was like surfing or floating, you just droped your back foot and coasted. Pretty nice, although when I got home Michelle and Kaelyn had visited the hospital. So I was pretty happy to be home.

So that's it. I'll add some pictures later tonight when I have time. There's only one to speak of, and it's Kaelyn sleeping on me in her first day of sickies. Hope everyone is doing well!