Your Fortune says...

Tonight we decided to head up to Salt Lake Valley for some knock off PF Chang's; food's just as good, but price is about half! Karen and I had been once before, but it was a first for the girls. Click on the title of this post to go to their website and find one near you! (No, I'm not working for them, and I get no commission. I'm just trying to be extremely helpful to you, possibly hungry reader.)

So, we had a great dinner (sorry, no pix, forgot the camera) and a good time. Afterwards, of course, since we're in a chinese restaurant we HAVE to get the fortune cookies! And what, you may ask, did those oh-so-accurate fortunes say? I'm so glad to know you're curious. Here goes...

First Anya's

Okay, so could we get any more "fortune-cookieish"? How exactly do you stay away from your inner self? Or is that opposed to staying close to your outer self? Personally, I'm always real close to all of myself, and I'm pretty confident that Anya is as well. So evidently, she can bank on benefitting in all her ways, no worries.

Next, Emily:

So first of all, when she opened up her fortune cookie...it was empty. Whoa. Really bad omen. No fortune? What horrific event might that portent? So, she quickly got a second cookie, which included the above fortune. And, as she was quick to point out, this fortune is completely true, because school will be out in about a month and we'll be taking a vacation in late May and June, so she is SO gonna be thankful for the pleasures of the coming months. All you doubters, out there...don't hate the fortune.

And then Jenna: Jenna was none too sure about this one, but it is the fortune she pulled, so we must assume there is a grain of truth to be found (because, if you haven't figured out by now, the fortunes are REAL!). We think maybe it means there is some great possibility coming at school, 'cause that's as close to a career as we're getting for a third grader. We'll all keep our eyes peeled for this one to come to fruition.

Karen's:
Duh! That's not a fortune, that's a news report! For Pete's sake, she's a mom, is there a position of higher honor or responsibility? I think not. Next!

The Dad's fortune: YES!! Finally, confirmation of what I've known to be true all along! Dog gone it...people like me! All those Stuart Smalley daily affirmations are really paying off! Feel free to invite me to your next get together, so you'll be sure to have someone to really make the party a hit.

Keep checking those cookies, friends!

A New Day for the Smiths

Well, we never did send out that annual newsletter. Had it on the to-do list. Came close to sitting down several times. Told people it was definitely coming. Something about the best laid plans of mice and men...

So, here's to the beginning of hopefully a more efficient way to keep everyone updated, assuming that any of you want to be updated. I mean, we obviouly think every detail of our lives is hopelessly interesting, or else this wouldn't be here. However, if you are not so inclined, you will no longer feel obligated to read the letter that shows up in your inbox. You want to hear about us, then add us to your favorites and click on us regularly. If not, you probably haven't even made it to this page, so my ramblings are rather pointless, aren't they?
Okay, so it's been well over a year since we wrote, so here's the quick skinny:

- We're still in Utah, loving this place we live and the community and church we're involved in.

- Girls are liking (mostly) school.

Here's a snap from our Oct 07 trip to DisneyLand (the grey guy in the middle is Eyeore, not one of our girls).

-Anya is 13 (for a few more weeks) and in 8th grade. Loves to read more than anything. As Jenna says, "When Anya is reading you have to snap loud fingers in her ear or cover the words in the book if you want to talk to her." Also likes to sing, although when on stage with her school choir, she often looks like she may pass out at any moment.

-Emily is 10 (for 2 more months) and in 5th grade, and much to her sister Jenna's delight, the shortest of the three. Loves reading, too, and has over the past year developed an adventurous palate, willing to try new tastes and usually liking what she discovers. She is also a math whiz!

-Jenna is 9 and in the 3rd grade. Jenna is very artistic, and loves to create stuff with markers, crayons, construction paper, patterned paper, scissors, glue, fabric. We are never short of art to display, but sometimes short on materials with which to create it. In the past few months she's finally found some books she likes to read on her own, and has now joined her sisters in hearing "turn out the light and quit reading" from her parents.

Here's a pic from a great trip we took back last May. This is at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, a truly jaw-dropping gash in the earth that is hidden and mostly tourist-free. A beautiful place in southwest Colorado. Karen and I were speechless for the first few minutes and at each place we stopped to look, we were aghast again at the spectacle, the size, the wonder of this out of the way destination. Our favorite quote, from Anya, after we had made three stops in the park and the girls had looked down into the canyon from three different vantage points. I asked her to come walk with us to the fourth lookout, and she replied, "Dad...it's a bunch of rocks and water. I've seen it. Can I just stay in the car and read?" I'm quite sure I, my sister, or my step-siblings said something similar to my Dad and Step-mom on some trip out west. No one, then or now, was harmed in the making of this comment. The look on their faces soon after the question was asked...

Karen and I are splendiferous. I am still worship and administrative pastor at Christ Evangelical Church. (Here's our website if you want to check it out: http://www.christev.org/) It's been a year of portability for our church. Since last year when I wrote, we've met in three different locations, and seem to have found a place where we can meet until our new building is completed, which probably won't be for 18 months to 2 years. We meet now at a local high school, and have just this week moved our offices to a new location. Our former building is being leased by a private school, with the possibility of them purchasing within the next year. Sunday mornings involve a lot of hauling, set up, clear logistics and willing volunteers to make it happen, but we continue to see more people from the community coming to our church and finding out what it means to have a relationship with Christ, not a set of rules and traditions to follow.

Karen (here inside Minnie Mouse's house...we're thinking of stealing the upholstery pattern for our living room sofa) spends much time doing the things that mothers do: baking, hauling kids to school, helping in their classrooms, hugging, not strangling them when they roll their eyes at her, loving them. She's very involved in the women's ministry of our church, and spends a lot of her time meeting with women to pray, counsel, laugh, hug, and encourage them. Karen has never been, and never really wants to be in the spotlight, but another woman from our church recently described Karen like this to me: "Karen is, to me, the most tangible representation of God and His Spirit to me of any person I know. I always come away from my conversations with her encouraged. I just love her!" She won't be glad that I bragged on her this way in my post, but she has a big impact on people behind the scenes. I get a lot of pats on the back because my job is so visible; Karen, from my perspective, has a more powerful influence. And...SCORE! She's all mine!

There's more I could tell you about our lives, but you're probably ready for a break. Check back every so often, and I'll try my best to show you the highlights of our adventures. No promises that you'll agree they're all worth reading or watching.