Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas
From the Smith Family
Carey, Kelly, Austin(10yrs), Lauren(8yrs),
Ethan (2yrs), and Timothy (10mos).

This year has been full of many crazy and exciting things for the Smith family. Since our year has been so full we were behind on getting our Christmas cards out so we thought we would email out our cards this year.
Carey is still working for Aramark. He is learning many new things at work. He is very involved with the men’s group at our church and keeping up with our 4 kids. We were blessed this year as many of you know. Carey survived an accident that should have been fatal. Clearly, God wasn’t done with Carey yet. In May, Carey was involved in a 5 car collision and rolled his jeep several times. He broke his neck, 3 ribs and his shoulder. Those on the scene can’t believe he is alive. Praise be to God that He spared Carey’s life and Carey didn’t have any permanent damage. He has full range of motion in every part of his body.

Kelly delivered our fourth child in February. She is very excited that God answered her prayers to be a stay at home mom this year and after Timothy was born she didn’t return to work. She is now a full time stay at home mom. She loves being with the kids and they sure love having her home. Kelly continues to remain involved in the women’s ministry at our church. Although the year has been full with many surprises, God had a final surprise for the family this year. Baby number 5 will be born into the Smith family sometime in June.

Austin is now in the 5th grade. He is very involved in church and is an active volunteer in the drama group. He has been a recruit, a customer, and finishing out the year as a shepherd. He finds so much joy sharing God’s word through drama.

Lauren is in the 3rd grade. We can’t believe how fast time flies. She is my “princess tom-boy.” She loves to be a princess but give her a pair of sneakers so she can be competitive with the boys. She is also very involved in our church. She has been singing in the band as well as she will finish out the year as an “angel in training” for our Christmas Eve service. She loves Jesus with all of her heart and spends lots of time praying for her family and friends.

Ethan is already 2 and full of himself. He thinks life is a party. God help us when he gets older. He is full of energy, a climber and ALL boy. He can climb any rock wall, ride a two wheel scooter and climb any dresser that comes his way. He has quite an active imagination. He talks about his day at school but the funny thing is…he doesn’t go to school. The boy has some funny stories. What other two year old do you know offers you a hundred bucks for a dinner roll and says to everyone “I am hilarious.” Only our two year old.

Tim is already 10 mos old. Tim had a rocky start this year in the NICU for fluid on his lungs but recovered quickly and came home to join his family. He is such a strong kid now. He just started walking. We know, too early. We tried to put bricks on his knees but that didn’t slow him down. He is our happy go lucky kid. Very inquisitive. He loves to interact with people and he is an overall joy to have as a part of this family. A perfect fit.

God has blessed our family in so many ways this year. We see Him at work in all areas of our lives. From ourselves, to our kids, to our church and at work. We are thankful that God gives us a front row seat. Our prayer for the year 2010 is that you can see God working in all of your lives as well. May God bless your families this year and into the next.

With Love,
The Smith’s