Ohhh!!! Spring is Here

Loads of activities this Spring-

Houston for Travis' surprise birthday

Baseball, Soccer, and Baseball

Justin's Birthday

Family Life

Love, Love, Love my family!
Count your blessings, Bella

Easter 2017

We went to the ranch for Easter 2017.  Abbey and I took the kids to an Easter egg hunt in May, Texas. The hunt was sponsored by the two churches in the town.  The pastor did the Resurrection Eggs and my grand children knew all the answers and even won prizes.  Such a proud Bella moment!  We had our big dinner on Saturday night and went to the Catholic Church in Brownwood for Easter Service.  The priest was from Africa and was very enthusiastic and full of Hallelujahs!  It was a joyful, glorious Easter.  Here are some beautiful pictures:

The Easter Bunny was very busy!

Outdoor Life

Dying Easter Eggs

Finley decorated the table!

Pickup baseball game!

Walmart Easter Bunny in Brownwood

Easter Egg Hunt in May

My Precious Riley

Mom and Daughter fun in the kitchen

Beautiful Sunset

Daddy Love

 He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!
Count Your Blessings, Bella

Shower Time

Connor and Paige are getting married on June 3, 2017!  She had a couple of showers we went to.  The first one was in Austin, then my girls gave her shower in Dallas.  We all had a lovely time! I cannot wait for the wedding.  Paige is kind, honest, sincere, and a whole lot of fun.   Most importantly she is a strong Godly woman.  I cannot imagine Connor with some one else.  She is perfect for him and loves him with all her heart.  We all love her as well.  She is part of our family and another daughter for me! I am so very blessed.

We love you Paige!  Count your blessings! Bella

Spring Break 2017

Riley wanted a tent just like her brother and sister- she slept in it at the ranch.  What a cutie!

What a lovely Spring Break! We went to the ranch for part of it and to Houston for the rest.

There is nothing like getting out of town and relaxing with my grandkids.  No school to worry about, no students, not staff members.  Just me and my sweet husband.  At the ranch I cook for the family and love it! I also watch the kids play.  Kirk mows and works on his puzzles.  We have a pretty relaxing life.  Here are some pictures from Spring Break in May Texas at the JLSmith Family Ranch.

Loads of fun on the four wheeler

Getting their energy out

Silly Cousins

Oh those cows- it can be overwhelming when they all start running after the four wheeler.

Just love that man of mine.

The second part of our trip was to Houston- Brooke always has us scheduled up.  We love to do activities with the Houston grandkids.  Here are a few of the activities:

Beautiful Annie at Chuck e Cheese- always a favorite!

Fish Fry with the kids at church

Bluebonnet Pictures at the park in Bridgeland

We managed to see all nine of our grandkids and loved every minute of it!  We are so incredibly blessed.

The greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith. Billy Graham 

Count your blessings- Bella

Valentines and Weddings

We had a low key valentines day this year.  One exciting event that happened right after valentines day was a wedding!  Our God Son, Andrew Hartgraves and his lovely lady- Alyssa were married. We are so proud of Andrew and his service to our country in the Navy.  Alyssa is such a beautiful person and supports Andrew proudly.  Here are some pictures from the wedding.  It was a family affair for us.  Jeremy was a groomsman and Connor came in for the wedding.

Here is my valentine:

 Wedding Memories

 Connor is home!!!

The Kirk Smith Family wishes you a lifetime of happiness and love Alyssa and Drew Hartgraves.

Count Your Blessings, Bella

Raise Your Hand Texas

I have to take a minute a blog about this great organization that I am apart of called Raise Your Hand Texas.  They are committed to the children of Texas and Public Education.  I first heard of them 9 years ago when my mentor, Sonya Hayes went to Harvard through raise Your Hand Texas.  She went to the principals summer program.  When she returned she was a different principal!  I wanted to go so bad to Harvard and I committed myself to going once I became a principal.  Well for those of you that know me and read my blog, I have gone not once but twice to Harvard through Raise Your Hand Texas.  I am also supporting this great organization by being the Regional Director for DFW.  It is a volunteer position that supports principals in my area who have gone to Harvard.  Each year Raise Your Hand Texas puts on a symposium inviting back all the Harvard Alumni.  This February we met in Austin and went to the capital to tell our state representatives our experiences as principals, especially in the area of funding.  I have learned so much through Raise Your Hand Texas.  I will be going for my 3rd time this summer to the Principal's Center at Harvard and couldn't be prouder to represent my district ( DISD) there.  I am forever grateful to this organization for their leadership for all school children in the State of Texas.

These are examples of my learnings at Harvard:

DISD Principals at Symposium

Table Talk about Design Thinking Learning

PBIS ( Positive Behavior Intervention System) at my school

Social Contract of staff at my school

Work of my teachers on rigorous curriculum planning

It's a great time to be a principal!  Love my schools, my staff, and my student!  We do our best to make a difference in all our students lives all the time!

I have to close with my favorite line from Harvard- stay strong, stay strong, there is something inside all of you so strong!

Count your Blessings, Bella

Sometimes You Just Gotta Dance.....

In mid- January, we went to Brooke's in Cypress- outside of Houston to see the Houston grandkids.We found this awesome family barbecue place that had a band ( albeit an older generation band), but they played some great oldies.  We had the Dallas cousins with us and all the kids got into dancing. They were the highlight of the restaurant.  There is nothing as sweet as my grandkids dancing with each other and their daddy, aunt, and uncles! This is just one of those sweet moments in life and I couldn't resist posting!  Can't wait to go back.