I'm Pregnant! (otherwise known as the Smith family April Fool's Day letter)

April 2008

It has been an eventful year in the Smith household. Todd discovered the perfect balance among work/home/personal/church life. Emilia realized that she doesn't have to volunteer on every committee she's invited to join. Benjamin realized that he LOVES doing homework. Nathaniel and Caleb sadly discovered that they just hate preschool. They can't stand it and refuse to go!

April Fools Day!!!!!

That's right, boys and girls, it's April 1st and you may have noticed that there is no Smith Family April Fool's Day letter in your mailbox this year. Thanks to ever increasing postage, we have gone mostly digital. (Yes, we are cheap!)

Okay, so nothing in that first bit is true. Well, except maybe Todd getting the balance almost right. He's discovered a passion for arranging shape note music and early American hymns for our church choir (which he conducts), small ensembles and solos. Emilia stares in wonder and pride and amazement at his long-hidden abilities. Todd is also serving as secretary in the Stake Young Men Presidency, so he's back at Stake youth dances once again. Apparently, there are some things that you can't get away from.

Emilia is in her second and final year of teaching early morning seminary. She is less tired than last year and has thoroughly enjoyed the chance to really dig in to the study of the Old Testament. And while next year she will miss seeing her students daily, she will NOT miss waking up before the sun. When not too groggy to function, Emilia spends her time reading or training for a half marathon coming up in two weeks. She is also very excited to attend her 10 year college reunion in May. She has enjoyed the relative freedom of having older boys, and managed to sneak in a trip by herself to NJ to play with college friends, a trip to San Francisco to play with some high school friends (where Todd also joined her), as well as numerous road trips with the boys in tow. The boys enjoyed their first experience at Yellowstone this past summer and have requested that this year we go to Mt. Rushmore and Devil's Tower.

Our three boys decided to grow their hair long this year. They had a haircut last June right before their Aunt Jenny's wedding. Nathaniel made it until March and then couldn't take it anymore. Caleb's hair was long enough at that time to donate it to Locks for Love and he wouldn't let his parents brush it anymore, so his was chopped off then, too. His hair was thick and blond, so he got lots of "What a cute little girl!" comments. The most heard phrase out of his mouth for awhile was "I NOT a grurl!!" Benjamin's hair is still going strong. He hates to brush it, but loves having it long.

Benjamin turned 8 a few weeks ago and was baptized. Both sets of Grandparents joined us for the event. Benjamin still takes tap dancing lessons and has discovered a love of both art and writing. At a recent conference with his teacher, Emilia learned that Benjamin soaks up every writing lesson they have and can't wait to try out a new technique in his next story. Speaking of stories, Benjamin is an avid reader and many nights his parents must hide whatever book he's currently reading or they will find him at 11pm still with his nose in a book. He also has enjoyed participating in Cub Scouts this year. Benjamin's current favorite hobbies are reading Calvin and Hobbes comics, his Webkinz snake, and playing with Legos.

Nathaniel will begin kindergarten in August and is very excited. He will sorely miss SYC (a.k.a., "the hippie-commie preschool"). Nathaniel and his fellow preschoolers spend a lot of time running around in superhero costumes saving the world. Who wouldn't miss that? Nathaniel is our resident philosopher/comedian. He has the ability to communicate huge ideas with very simple words. Whatever comes out of his mouth is sure to have us either pondering or laughing. Sometimes both.

Caleb LOVES preschool, and in fact on the first day while all the other children were clinging to their parents, Caleb stood in the middle of circle time to play monster, which scared all the other children and let his teachers know what they were up against. After the monster incident, he let Emilia know that she could leave. And he hasn't needed her since. The most exciting news: Caleb is potty trained!!!! He let Todd and Emilia know that they could do all they wanted but no amount of bribery was going to convince him to go potty until he was good and ready. (After 9 solid years of changing diapers, Todd and Emilia were offering him plenty of bribes.) But as of a few weeks ago, it became official! No more diapers!! Caleb continues to act in the role of "Mother's curse" upon Emilia. He is like her in nearly every way.

We had some additional members of our household this year. Elysa (Emilia's sister) came to live with us for a few months and when she left, Andrew (Todd's brother) came to live with us. We really enjoyed having them in our home and were sad when they returned back to their own respective lives. The boys especially loved having an Aunt and Uncle around to spoil and tease them. The room is now open for anyone who is looking for a place to live... or just a place to stay when you visit. For those of you in NJ who never leave, Ohio is just on the other side of Pennsylvania. For everyone else, we're right off I-70 and would love to have you visit when passing by.

We hope this email finds you all happy and healthy and doing well. We always love to hear from you and are really grateful for all of the wonderful ways to stay in touch. Todd and Emilia even broke down last year and got cell phones. The general population was horrified that Emilia would consider driving with 3 kids across the country and not have a cell phone. So, she chatted her way across middle America and now would not trade her cell phone for all the Jell-o in Utah county.

We love and miss you!

The Smith Family
Todd, Emilia, Benjamin, Nathaniel, Caleb