Happy New Year!!

Our 2009 Graduate

Congratulations Austin!!

Christmas Morning

This post is mainly for the grandparents and family that we haven't seen for awhile.  I've picked a few of my favorite pictures from Christmas morning to share.  We all have no idea what God has in store for us next year at this time, with Kat turning 20 next year and with us expecting to be back on the mainland, so we all cherished each moment during our celebration of Christmas.  Harry read from Luke chapter 2 first thing in the morning set the tone for the day and helped us to focus more on Jesus, the real reason we were celebrating.  We also added a new possible tradition:  Prime Rib for Christmas dinner!  I am hoping that's a tradition we keep as it was very yummy.  All in all, we all thoroughly enjoyed soaking up our precious family time together.  Mele Kalikimaka!

Gingerbread Houses!

Before:

After:

Nativity

We have a fun tradition in our house. When we display our Nativity Scene before Christmas, we do not put baby Jesus in the manger. Callie and I "hide" him somewhere special until Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, we rise with joyous expectation to find baby Jesus newly in his manger. Last year, we added another fun twist to our tradition. Some friends of ours here in Hawaii turn their Nativity into a living journey! During the weeks before Christmas, the wise men, Mary and Joseph "travel" through the house as they make their way toward "Jerusaleum." One day, Mary and Joseph may be in the bathroom--the next, above the kitchen sink. By the week before Christmas, they are usually located in the living room, ready to make their way to the stable on Christmas Eve. We did this last year and had so much fun that our traveling Nativity is back for it's second round this Christmas. (We even have the wise men showing up a few days later.)

Even though displaying our Nativity is lots of fun, I was giving it some thought earlier today. I was listening to the song "One True God" by Mike Harris on the radio. Here are a few of the lyrics:

I don't have a God I can put on a stand
Or a God I hold in the palm of my hand
I have a God that's holding me
And I don't have a God that I can create
In the place I live with the money I make
I have a God, He made everything
So I don't need a temporary man made deity
When I got the real thing
I got the real thing

As Christians, we've got more than a little ceramic figure hiding in a box. Yes, it is fun and it is a great way to add another piece of the story into our Christmas celebrations, but it's not the REAL THING. The Real Thing is GOD coming down to earth and giving us the best gift possible in Jesus Christ. Forgiveness of sins is bigger than any tradition we can humanly create. I am freshly convicted this season on just how I can show others this passion of God. I can do that by letting Him use me supernaturally to show the love of Jesus to my family and to those I meet over the next few days. I can make my christianity personal to those who need Jesus. Aside from all the gift giving and merry wishing, I can make our Nativity the Real Thing as I allow Jesus to make His own journey through my heart to those He wants to reach through me.

Our BEST FRIENDS....

...came for a visit! It was totally incredible and amazingly a GOD THING. They flew Military Space A and got on the first flight out of Maryland they tried for (a direct flight to Hawaii, by the way!) Going back was smooth as well as they got out on the first flight to Travis in California and then the next flight to Maryland. They are home, safe and sound now and catching up on their lives, I am sure. We sure did enjoy our time with them, almost a whole 2 weeks! I'll share some pictures soon, but will post this one now that we took when most of us (including Sadie) went to the Arizona Memorial. Missing are Kat and Harry who were both working that day.

Kingdom Prep Academy

Catching Up

Okay, brace yourself for a six month update in a 5 minutes post! I'll do this mostly with pictures. I think that's mostly what you all want to see anyway!!

First of all, we moved in June. Please email me at kingdomprep@gmail.com if you do not have our new address! Here is the view from our upstairs balcony, looking toward Pearl Harbor. It's hard to believe God blessed us with such a beautiful home with a fantastic view!! I'll post a pic of our home once we get it decorated for Christmas.

MEXICO! Kat and Austin went on a Mission Trip to Mexico in July. It was an incredible experience for both of them! Here are some pics from that Spirit filled trip:

Austin made some wonderful little friends on this trip. He still talks about the children from the orphanages.

The group's major mission was to take VBS programs to the remote villages near Puerto. This picture was taken during one of those programs (Austin is up at the top, clapping his hands):

The group also presented a skit in the churches and open markets. The skit portrayed a young woman succombing temptations and ultimately coming to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. God used this skit to touch many hearts in Mexico (Kathryn played the young woman, bottom center; and Austin was one of the "temptations", top left.)

KAHOOLAWE: Kat and Austin were very busy over the summer. Three days after they returned from Mexico, there were off to participate in the Kaloolawe Restoration Project. I can't find the disc with the pictures at this time but will try to add a few to the blog when I locate it. Harry went with them and they all came back with great memories. The island is basically uninhabited and the group of 20 basically had it to themselve. The did about 6 hours of restoration work each day and used the remainder of the time to explore the beauty of the island. It was a trip of a lifetime as one can only visit this Hawaiian island if invited!

Camping at Bellows in August:

Kat, Austin and their friend Ross visited the studios of a the NBC station thanks to their producer friend, Tommy. (Arkeo is a local Christian Rock band of whom Kat, Austin and Ross are their biggest fans!)

For Callie's 10th birthday in October, Kathryn and I treated her to a "Girl's Day Out"! Callie had her hair cut first (and decided to donate her locks to Locks of Love), then Kathryn surprised her with a trip to Claire's to get her ears pierced. But that's not all! We also had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and then took Callie on a shopping spree for a new outfit!! I think she was quite blessed that day.

In our school this year, we have gone back to the Ancients in our study of History. We spent some time learning about Jewish Feast and traditions. A few other families who are also studying this time period came to our house one night to have a Seder, which is the Jewish Feast of Passover. It was an incredible time of learning about the Jewish AND Christian Faith. The fellowship was great too!

This is James. He is an Army soldier who we have sort of adopted into our family. Here he is with A.J. at a Blue Angel Air Show we attended in November. After I took this picture, James told me "send this to my mom!" I guess I still need to do that! Anyway, you all can be praying for James, he will be deployed for Iraq soon. We sure will miss him!

For A.J.'s 7th birthday, he wanted a Superhero Party! We had 8 other boys over dressed as their favorite Superhero. They had a blast playing games fit for their characters. At the end of the party, they even surprised us by rounding up a group of burglers (aka Austin's group of air soft friends) with silly string!

Well, that just about makes us current. I should do better now at keeping our blog updated more frequently. Part of the problem was that I just let it go so long I didn't know how to catch up! I'll leave you with a picture of our Cockateil. His name is Kuali, which is Hawaiian for Morning Glory. Aloha!

The Life and Times of Kat

Congrats Kat!!

She did it! Well....WE did it. As of Friday, May 25th, 2007, our first born, Kathryn, is officially graduated from high school! We are so proud of her. When you have a chance, please enjoy the 17 minute video that Austin and his friend Jay produced to show at her party on Friday night and also to share with family and friends on the mainland who didn't get to come. Let me know if you can't view it on your computer and would like me to send you a hard copy in the mail.

Wow! We have been incredibly busy these last few months. Part of what has kept me from blogging is knowing how much I would need to write to just catch up on what we have done! The events that stand out are Callie's Baptism in April (in the waters just off the North Shore of Oahu) and a tea party we hosted at our home with Nan Taylor for Callie's Keepers club (kind of like a Girl Scouts club.) We participated in a Science Fair and also Presentation Night, events sponsored by our home school support group, Kamahale. Of course, we were also busy wrapping up our school year. Harry was dissappointed to find out he did not make the list for Master Chief this year; however we are content continually place his career in God's hands.



Then there was Kathryn's party. When we first started planning the party, we thought it would be a small get together. After all, we haven't lived here long enough to get to know THAT many people! Little did we know how much of a response we would have, not only from people willing to come and celebrate with Kathryn, but also from people who were willing and eager to help plan and prepare for the special night. I wasn't able to count the number of people here on Friday night, but I think it was probably between 100-150. Our church let us use a huge 20 x 30 tarp for our back yard as well as lots of tables and chairs and a projection machine. Harry strung up tons of Christmas lights so we would have enough light as well as a dozen or so tiki torches. Our friends Pati and Bob (check out their website for their really cool local business) served us relentlessly! They really know how to throw a party....and on a budget too! Harry smoked meat all week, and the guests at the party raved over his bbq skills. We even had a game going in the pool area involving about 100 rubber duckies. It was called "Catch a Duck" where players caught a duck out of the pool with a net and then won a prize. It was such a wonderful night. Most importantly, Kathryn enjoyed the evening. She had so much fun greeting people, receiving leis, hanging out with her friends, smiling, eating and then swimming in the pool as the night went on. Actually, it seems everyone-young and old-enjoyed themselves. On Saturday, I was talking with Stacey and she told me that she had been praying for Kathryn and the party all day on Friday. I truly believe that God blessed our efforts to provide a great celebration for Kathryn because of her prayers and the prayers of others on the mainland who couldn't come but could pray instead. So, thank you all!

What's to come for the summer? Well, I can tell you what we are planning, God willing. Kathryn and Austin are planning to go on a mission trip to Mexico. I think Kathryn has emailed all the info for this trip to many of you. If not, you can email her at ckatdesign@gmail.com to find out how you can support and pray for the two of them and this awesome opportunity God is preparing them for. While they are gone (July 9-26), the rest of the family will be moving. Don't get your hopes up-we're staying on island. Our landlords were approved for retirement earlier than they expected and are moving back to Oahu. Of course, they are wanting to live in their home, so we are praying for God to provide us another home. We have loved living here and are soaking up as much of the great yard and cool pool before we move in July! If the Lord lays it on your heart, please pray for another home for us. We are all in faith that He will provide. We do have a few options already on the table, but are praying for direction.

Finally, I want to thank you all for your prayers, cards and gifts for Kathryn. It means so much to all of us when she hears from friends and family "back home". Even though she is well loved and supported here, I know she longs to be with the ones she loves in Texas, West Virginia and Georgia. When she hears from you all, she knows that you are just as proud and excited about what God is doing in her life as we are. So, THANK YOU!!!


Thanks for taking a few moments to catch up on our lives. Again, if you have another 17 minutes, go check out the video of Kat's Life!! We love and miss you all!!

Our Christmas Photo

This year, we opted not to print pictures to put into our Christmas cards. I'm really sorry about this, but hope to do better next year. For now, we are hoping this picture will do. It's a little dark, but hey-when do you ever get to see a Christmas photo where the family is at the beach IN the water at sunset? (Yes the waves are lapping at our ankles, although you can't see it in this picture-just look at the expressions of Callie and A.J.--they say it all!)
If this is your first visit to our blog, thank you so much for taking the time to type in the web address and take a look! I try to update it at least once a month, so be sure to bookmark this website and check back periodically. You can leave a comment to let us know you were here by clicking on the "comments" link under the text. You will see that you have to type in a funny word in order to send your comment; that is to prevent spammers from messing with the blog. You can always email us or even call us on the phone! During the winter, the East coast is 5 hours ahead of us, 4 in central. (In other words, please don't call us when you first wake up or you'll get some pretty drowsy Smiths!)
If you are a regular visitor to our blog, thank for sitting through my little tutorial! And Mahalo for checking in again. It's because you keep coming back that I keep updating it!
We hope you are all enjoying your Christmas celebrations. At our house, we are trying to keep the focus on Jesus. One of the ways we are doing this is setting some time aside most evenings to read through an advent story called Tabitha's Travels. Afterwards we light our advent candles, sing a real Christmas Carol (not jingle bells) and pray together. It's nice to share this time together as a family and reflect on the greatest gift of all-Jesus Christ. If you click on his name there, you can see a 6 minute video that may help you to focus more on the real meaning of Christmas as well. It is REALLY good! (Hint: It's the same video that is just above this post, so you can just view that if you want.) Let us know what you think!

Happy Birthday A.J.!!

A.J. had the best birthday present ever! He got to celebrate with a weekend of camping at the beach. On friday (Nov. 17th) we dropped Kristen off at the airport and then headed for Bellows AFB for a weekend of camping--tent camping that is! Back in September we were invited along with about 5 other families to this trip. There were about 30 children/teens total at the camp and amazingly, only by God's grace, we didn't witness one argument! They all had so much fun and the parents enjoyed the fellowship as well. On Sunday, we wound up staying longer so we could keep the weekend going. Everyone had their share of boogy boarding, eating, playing---but not much sleep, hehe. We were so tired Sunday night, but managed to swing by Sam's and grab a couple of pizza and this cake to celebrate A.J.'s birthday officially. He loved it that he had a "party" the whole weekend! We loved it too. We praise God for you everyday, A.J. You are such a JOY to us!!

Fall Festival in Paradise

It has been many years since our family dressed up for Halloween....uh....I mean a Fall Festival (I'm not sure I really understand the difference there...but I'll leave that blog to someone else for now.) However, it was decided a few weeks ago that we would go to a festival held by a church that we visited in August (still looking for a church home, here!)

We had lots of fun though working on costumes together so I'm excited to share the result of our labors with all of you! I am not an established seamstress by any means, but I did manage to sew A.J.'s "Anakin" costume which consisted of a cape, tunic and belt. He added his "church pants", sandals and a light saber he bought with his allowance. He insisted on having the little brown braid of hair coming down his shoulder (because that was what the good Anakin wore) so I did a thing with brown yarn and florist wire and voila'!

Callie's costume was a bit easier as it didn't involve pesty sewing techniques like facings and gatherings! Her rapunzel hair came from a skein of yellow yard bought at a yard sale for 30 cents and the infamous florest wire with silk flowers weaved into it.

Kathryn and Austin each made their own costumes! What accomplished children they are! Well, I think Kathryn helped a bunch with Austins (and it really came down to the wire on Tuesday on THAT one) but all came out in the end.

Harry threw his Hawaiian Tourist costume together in about 5 minutes, God bless him. And the other guy in the picture is Austin's friend Jay. His attire will be evident to those of his generation and maybe one generation up, but probably nobody older than 35 or so.

I am taking the picture because I am the only one not dressed up. A.J. gave me an idea though; he said I should go to the store, buy a white sheet and use it as a cape and be Super Mom!!! Maybe I'll use that idea next year.

Callie-Gal

On Saturday, Oct. 7th, we celebrated a very special day: Callie's birthday! This was a bittersweet day for Callie, although the Lord truly blessed the day and the party. It was a little sad though because Callie was missing her best friend, Aly. On Friday night, Callie and I were talking about how special of a friend Aly is and that this would be only the 3rd birthday she has missed! Aly has been there ever since Callie could remember: from birthday number 3 until number 8. What a sweet surprise it was when Aly called as we were all having a birthday breakfast!

As for the party, people in Hawaii really know how to celebrate birthdays! We were concerned that not many girls would come because Callie really hasn't had an opportunity to make friends here yet. She handed out invitations to all the girls she saw at church and at homeschooling events for the last two weeks who were between the ages of 5 and 12! Suprisingly almost all of them came to the party. And those that couldn't come made it a point to bring a gift by the house.

The party was such a success. All the children seemed to have a good time. Having a pool is a tremendous plus for a party; I highly recommend it! Having a 17 year old sister who is willing to put up the decorations and run the games is a huge asset as well.

As for us, we are truly blessed to have such a sweet and caring daughter. It is because of Callie's passion for her family and friends that this was such a difficult birthday for her. And it is that same passion in Callie that encourages us all to love and care for each other more each day, just as Christ did for us!

A.J. and Austin (look in the ocean for him) on Waikiki Beach 

McGuire's Birthday Bash

Our oldest two are growing up so quickly! Well, they are all growing quickly for that matter. June is always a fun month for us because we get to celebrate two birthdays back to back. This June, Kathryn turned 17 and Austin turned 15! Since we are in Pensacola, we took advantage of a local hotspot to mark their "passages." McGuires is an Irish Pub located right in the heart of Pensacola, Fl. It's known for the literally millions of dollar bills that have been stapled to the roof, rafters, walls, etc. by the patrons over the years. Of course we donated about 3 bucks to this tradition! Overall, the evening was magical, the food was delectable and the fellowship was unforgetable. A great evening to celebrate two great young adults!

Austin is working on his blanket from Nonnie & PaPaw Jones 

This is Kathryn and our parakeet, Sprite. See, Kathryn? I DO love you!!!

Go Sonics!

The clock read 3 seconds and the Sonics were fouled. The score was 14-13 with Sonics leading. The Heat (the other team’s name) threw the ball back into play, passed it to number 11 who made a perfect shot just as the buzzer went off. It was a very exciting ending--even though Callie plays for the Sonics!

If you’ve never seen basketball in our little Georgia county, then you’ve never seen basketball. These folks LIVE for basketball and start learning to play before they learn to eat. The little 6-8 year olds in Callie’s league are good! Even our Callie is starting to learn a thing or two. She made a few effective blocks tonight on defense keeping the other team from scoring. Unfortunately she wasn’t playing the last few seconds of the evening. *grin* Go Sonics!!

Melanie and Harry