Ry got a new seat :o) 
LOVE this little pic! 
4 months old! He's such a big boy!
One of his cute smiles :D
The "Crew"
We were supposed to be leaving for a 10 day trip to California so I first of all, didn't want Strep to linger and affect everyone slowly and have kids sick for the trip, so I was pretty insistent that the doctor give us all a prescription... that was like pulling teeth! He handed them out like candy the day of the visit, yet after trying all weekend to even get a hold of the guy, Monday, they were pretty insistent that I bring them all in again to have someone tested again before he would prescribe any more antibiotics. Let me remind you, I have 8 kids, 7 of which were home sick that day, it's a 25 minute drive in, the day of Macie's appt. I was in the office for almost and hour and a half, then another 25 minute drive home! No thanks! Long story short- It got pretty hairy and rude over the phone with the nurses till they finally prescribed the rest of the kids one. Still debating whether I'm going to change doctors- it was that bad! I understand if I was asking for anything stronger than an antibiotic, but really! We are on them maybe once a year if that... I don't think we will become immune to them!
This year Cohen has figured out what birthday's are... ever since Macie's in September, we have heard the birthday song 24/7 for everyone's birthday and have been asked when his birthday was daily! He knew that his was after Brinley's and invited everyone he came in contact with to his "big chruck birday party". And everyday he asked when his "birday party" was and soon learned to say... "not my birday huh mom! it'scoming huh?" This year, we were supposed to go to Idaho for my niece's wedding on Micailey's birthday, so we had to celebrate her birthday the week before... that kind of confused him :o) but he DID finally get his birthday!
But first... for Micailey's party she chose to take a few friends ice skating at the Peaks Arena. We decided since it was a cold party, we would have donuts and hot chocolate instead of cake and ice cream. So here is her "birthday cake" from her friend party :o)
The BIG 10!!! 
This pic is a little deceiving in that... both him and Brinley couldn't even stand on their skates on the ice and I wasn't much better. Every time their foot would even shift a tiny bit, they would scream and grab hold of my legs and about take my feet out from under me! We finally got some little walkers (LIFE SAVER!!!) and then the evening turned fun!
Micailey is a "pro" at everything that has to do with the word "sport"!
Micailey, her friend, and Dallas
This is a better pic to describe the initial introduction to the ice!!!
Micailey, her friends, and Mackenzie after ice skating. 
We woke up Sunday morning, the day of our supposed birthday celebration for Cohen and Micailey. Made cakes for each of them, big kids went to church with dad, and I stayed home with little kids. That afternoon started a 3 week sick spell at our house!
Tadah!
And here is Cohen's LONG AWAITED "Chruck cake"
For family night Monday, we let them pick where they wanted to go and Micailey loves the Pesto Sauce at Pizza Factory so we went there. This is their complimentary birthday treat which was similar to a cinnamon roll to dip in frosting, YUM! :o)
Opening gifts after. 
So, at my house, with the events of the last couple years and all of the things that my little family has been through, certain things have been put on the back burner. We knew going into the adoption that my personal interests would have to wait and also a few of the kids activities like art, piano, and gymnastics. It was a sacrifice everyone agreed to as a family to be able to adopt these two boys that we felt were supposed to join our family. At one point, I had 4!!!! yes I said 4 kids in diapers at one time, 3 kids who couldn't communicate, 2 kids who couldn't walk, sit, etc. on top of moving, remodeling, & the feelings of isolation because I couldn't easily go anywhere or meet anyone with 4 little kids under 3. For the last 2 years, we have had one project after another to be able to fit the 10 of us into a smaller house in order to be able to have funds to enjoy life as a "Big Happy Family". We were able to buy a camping trailer, go to Disney a few times, and enjoy life a little easier. Each passing year, a few things get a little better. About the time all kids could walk & talk, we felt like we needed to add, what we feel, is our final piece to the Smith Family Puzzle. Now that he is here, I am excited to get back in to the swing of things and start "living" again. I have been feeling like a neglectant mother these last few years, in the sense that I wish they had the opportunity to develop their talents and grow in their abilities and I have just simply not had the time or hands to be able to help.
So, with the turn of this new year, we have a lot to look forward to! I have a new dedication to being a "good", involved, happy mother. The house is within a week or two of being almost completely finished. This will take a huge load off of our shoulders and open up a lot of time for being with the kids and enjoying life. By the end of this year, I should only have 1!!! yes, this time I said 1 kid in diapers, who should also be able to communicate & walk by about the time the next school year hits. 2 of the 5 kids who are home during most of the days now, will be going to Kindergarten, 1 more will be going to Pre-school, and I will be left with only 2 :o) kids at home. I hopefully won't feel so strapped to the house and can breath a little easier.
While we still have the goals of things like reading the scriptures, having a meaningful & regular family home evening, having family prayer... I want to concentrate this year on teaching the kids the basics of life. I want them to start learning and be involved with the cooking. Maybe an assigned day that they get to help with the meal~ and I'm not talking just setting the table and the grunt work of getting the dinner ready, but really teaching them how to cook. It is an art that is learned and one that I wasn't necessarily taught. My hubby is WAY better at this than I am and I hope that my kids, boys and girls, pick up on that skill and learn to love cooking.
I also want to teach them the art of sewing. A few years ago, when trying to plan Enrichment Activities, I was told that the church wanted us to concentrate on teaching the basics to the women, that too many girls were getting married who didn't know how to cook or to even sew on a button or hem a skirt, the things that as a mom, you really should know.
I want them to learn the art of cleaning. This too is an art that is learned. Some tend to enjoy it more than others, but it still needs taught. We have chores that the kids do daily around the house from about the time they turn 4. They are learning this already, but I want to rededicate myself to making sure they complete them and do them right.
With Dallas in Scouts and working on his merit badges, there is one that requires him to earn and track his income and spendings for 3 months. This is an interesting one for us because we don't pay the kids an allowance. In our opinion, they do their chores to be an active part of the family and to help us function better. If they want to earn money, then we come up with "extra" chores that they can do around the house. But... after working on his merit badge and seeing the pros of learning money management & also going to tithing settlement and realizing that they are missing out on the benefits and testimony of learning to pay a full tithe, I really want to change this in our family. I still don't think we should pay them for their chores, I just want to figure out a way that they do something extra to earn an allowance that is theirs to manage. So if anyone who happens to read this has any ideas of how to accomplish this, feel free to comment or give me a call :o)
The last one for now is music. I LOVE that Rich knows how to play the piano so well! I wish I had stuck with piano lessons a little longer so I too could play. One of my friends has a rule in their house that we have adopted. To be able to participate in any extra curricular activity, they must take some kind of music lesson whether it is choir or an instrument.
So, these are my "goals" (along with a few others) for the new year. To be a better mom! To actively teach my kids instead of passively living or idling away the days. I have been overwhelmed for several years and have been looking forward to this next stage of life. I am more excited for the upcoming year than I have been for any other year that I can remember. I hope I can touch on all of these areas through out the year, hopefully weekly, but if not, then at least monthly. If any of you have ideas about things you are doing, or want to do, to teach your kids the basics of life that you wouldn't mind sharing with me, I would love it!
After seeing what Santa brought to our home, we loaded up and headed to breakfast at Grandma's house. We always have "Christmas French Toast" and Hot Chocolate for breakfast. We got there late enough that we missed most of the other "Smith" families, but did enjoy a yummy brunch.
Dallas with his roasting sticks
Rylan's 1st Christmas!
My kiddo's in their Grampy PJ's
(above) Jordan and Cohen in some Santa PJ's the next night
Nobody else would let me take their picture...
