Katie had a birthday!

Katie Marie is 18 years old! I remember when Katie was born early that morning in December. Her due date was Christmas day, but she decided to come early. I had a hard labor and delivery, and after Katie was born she cried for about 2 hours straight. I think she finally fell asleep from exhaustion. When she woke up several hours later, Katie was as sweet as could be.

18 years later, Katie is still sweet. She is such a blessing to our family with her servant's heart, gentle spirit, and joyful countenance. Katie is a peacemaker in our home, friendly outside the home, and a lovely young lady who desires to serve God with her life.

Happy birthday, Katie. We love you!

Katie at 2 and 1/2 years old

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving
from the Smiths!



Emily Nov. 2007 ~ 2 years old

Jacob Nov. 2007 ~ 7 years old

Ellen Nov. 2002 (5 years ago when Ellen was 6!)

Heather had a Birthday!

Heather Joy had a birthday and turned 21 years old! My, how time has so quickly passed since my little curly-headed baby was born! Heather is now a senior in college and is blessed with so many talents. She is an amazing woman, and I am so proud of her.

2 years old

21 years

Today is Jacob's Birthday!

7 Years ago Jacob was born into our family, and what a blessing that was! Jacob is such a sweet and good-natured boy, and we are so thankful for the treasure we have in him. This week Jacob learned to ride his bike without training wheels! He is growing up so quickly and learning many new skills each day.

Jessica, Justin, and Elliot came over today for the birthday celebration. It was wonderful to have the whole family back home at the same time. The children are all growing up, and it seems that our family dynamics are always changing. I treasure the times we have together and the memories we share. God is so good!

Jacob's Birthday Cake!

No More Training Wheels!

Victory Hill Critters

Okay, so maybe they're not exclusive to Victory Hill, Oklahoma, but we definitely have enjoyed the abundance of friendly critters on our property this spring and summer.

The big eyed froggie up there used to come up on our back porch every evening to catch all the insects that were attracted to the porch light. Our lovely little tarantula was found on the road just a bit from our house; we actually have two of them, and we think they're awesome. Mr. Green Caterpillar was just parading around our garden one day, so he had the privilege of his own personal photo shoot. And lastly, the grumpy turtle is just one of many that we see daily around here.

I should note that the welcoming attitude toward the critters expressed in this post is not embraced by all of those here at Victory Hill. The lady of the house (I love you, Mom!) has been known to go into near hysterics on more than one occasion from exposure to these critters, either live or in picture. A note of warning: Do not put a close up picture of a hairy tarantula on the family computer desktop background unless you want to be fined $10 and severely reprimanded.

Oddly enough though, it was Mom herself that commissioned me to write this post. Maybe she secretly likes them... :-)

-Katie Marie

Cherries!

Cherries!
We picked almost 4 gallons from our one and only little cherry tree!
Anybody hungry for some cherry pie?

Today is Emmy's Birthday!

Emily, the sunshine in our lives, is two years old today!
Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!
We love you!