Ignore This

Groovy Grandparents Cruise to Florida and NC

On January 22nd Grandpa and Grandma headed to Florida to visit Uncle Jim and Aunt Janene Cooper. The flight from Calgary to Minneapolis then on to Jacksonville was excellent, no delays and lost luggage. Jim and Janene's place is at Fernandina on Amelia Island a 20 min. drive from Jacksonville. Their home is in a very nice development a short 5 min. walk to the beach. Uncle Jim was a great chauffeur making sure we enjoyed the sights and places of interest with daily trips to the Plantation, St. Augustine, Fort Clinch, Okeefenokee Swamp and places on Amelia Island.

On Sunday Jan. 27th we attended a satellite broadcast from Salt Lake at Kingsland, Georgia. Elder Glen Pace was one of the speakers. He strongly encouraged families to use and know the Joseph Smith History (13 pages), The Family Proclamation (1 page) and The Living Christ (1page) in regular scripture study. President Monson also spoke and seemed very reflective in his remarks. Later that same day we received the news that President Hinckley had passed away.

On Thursday March 31st we headed for Cherokee. On the way back we stayed in Greenville S.C. where we were able to visit with Susan and family. We watched all the news, funeral etc. concerning President Hinckley's passing, at home in Cherokee. We enjoyed great fellowship attending church Feb. 3rd. and 10th. Tim is the new bishop so we felt an extra connection with the ward. During our stay in N.C. we attended several basketball games, both Sean and Carrie were playing on the senior teams.

We also enjoyed a trip to the new enhanced museum of the Cherokee nation and seeing the additions and improvements to downtown Cherokee. Grandpa's 80th birthday celebration on the 10th was memorable with presents and good food provided by the Coopers. (We did have another birthday celebration in Calgary on Feb. 17th.) To see new places (Florida) and visit the Coopers was great.

Wisdom from Grandpa

Things I've Learned In Life

Grandpa Smith shared these thoughts at the Family Fireside in Saint George 2005 family reunion. There were requests for him to share these again at the 2007 Family Fireside here in Calgary at the "Acreage."

Marriage:

Marriage is built on faithfulness, trust and the "soft answer." Avoid saying, "you always", "you never", "I always", "we never." A date night once a week (without the children) is needful. If you can't afford it just go window shopping.

Personally:

Be who you are.
Be yourself, we don't have to be someone else.
We don't have to make a fashion or financial statement (car, house, clothes, etc.)
My mom and dad knew more than I gave them credit.
If you don't make your own decisions, your friends will make them for you
"Never make a decision that leaves you without a choice." (Cousin Lloyd Newton)

Finance:

Budgeting is not a burden, but a freedom.
Debt is a slave, interest never sleeps (J. Reuben Clark)
It is easier to spend than to save.
How much you "save" on impulse buying is a myth.
Discipline and commitment are priorities in building an investment and a savings account.
Don't spend more than you earn. If you can't afford it, don't buy it.

Work:

A therapy, uplifting and a necessity.
Too much is drudgery.
Too little can be a disaster.

Children:

Need more kindness, more gentleness and more loving care.
May need more proper balance of work and play.

Collin's Headstone

Thought everyone might want to see a picture of it, looks great! Everyone should also get the pictures via email.

Dallen Gretsky & The Grim Reaper

This is David as The Grim Reaper for Halloween!

This was Dallen's costume, sorry we posted them late. I think he would make a great addition to the Calgary Flames. Step aside Iginla! :)

Oh Baby!

Hello all ~

I finally have enough energy to sit at the computer and get out of bed, yeah! It has been a very long week, I think percocet had a lot to do with that. :) I am sure that most of you have heard the story by now but because I didn't get to tell anyone myself I am going to now. Monday last week was when it all began, about 9 am the long awaited contractions began about 8 minutes apart. After waiting all day for David to get off work I finally broke down and called him at 2 pm and told him to get home. We timed the contractions at 3-5 minutes apart til about 4 and decided it was time to go to the hospital. Arriving at about 4:30 I got hooked up to the monitors and began the long process. They don't officially admit you until you have been monitored for a time. Well that "time" ended up being over 2 hours, because even though I was having consistant contractions I was only dialated to a 2 and not moving anywhere fast. Finally at 6 we were admitted and I could finally get some pain meds. First they had to give me an I.V. that in my opinion was the worst part, it took them 20 minutes and two sticks to finally find a vein. Then came the epidural.......oh my heaven. Within a minute I was feeling almost no pain, my midwife decided to let me go 2 hours longer to see if I would dialate quicker having less pain. Well at 9:30 I had progressed to a whopping 3 centemeters. They decided to break my water at that point and that's when it all fell apart. Dallen did not like having his warm bath taken away from him, his heart rate normally beating between 130 and 160 was shooting all over the scale and dropping as low as 77. They had the doctors ready to do a C-section right then but wanted to see if he would stablize which after a long while he did. I however was getting warn out with each contraction my body was shaking uncontrolably like really big shivers. At 4 am I snuck a drink of water from my dad........stupid! I then threw up all over myself it was probably the most gracefull moment of my life, not. At 5 they decided to give me pitocin because after 20 hrs of labor I was only dialated to a 5 1/2. Well Dallen started to drop his heart rate again. So at 6 am it was time to take me in for a C-section. They started the actual surgery at 6:40 and he was born at 6:47. The most amazing part was hearing him cry for the first time. David went and took pics and brought them right back so I could see him. About 2 hours after delivery I had my little precious one in my arms. So that is the Dallen story and I am sorry for the book but hey. The recovery is going well and I hope to be up and active soon. For now here are some pictures from the hospital. Maybe you guys can figure out who he looks like. :)

The NEWEST SMITH!

Hey all,

I just stopped at home to take a shower then I'm off to the hospital again. However, I thought I might post a link with a picture and some information about the newest edition to the Smith clan....DALLEN JAMES SMITH!

http://www.utahportraits.com/hospital/index.php?action=view&BabyID=103007djs

More to come soon,
Love you all...David and Naomi