God Be With You 'til We Meet Again

Better than home made ice-cream. Better than hot fudge. Better than Macaroni and cheese. Better than four wheeler rides, kayaks, hamburgers, throwing peanuts on the floor, laughing with the Smiths, Oreo cookies, driving my van, s'mores, days at the lake, chocolate cake and late night talks. Better than all of those things; is this book. I love this book. It is a part of me. It is one of the greatest gifts I can give you. This book changes my life. It gives me hope, knowledge and comfort. The Book of Mormon teaches us that we have a Savior who loves and understands us. He understands our pains, our sorrows, our temptations, our fears and our challenges. Jesus Christ is our older brother. He gave His life for us so that we may return to live with our Father in heaven. Our Father in heaven loves you, Elisabeth. You are his beloved daughter. You are a beautiful person, inside and out.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is one of hope, forgiveness, love and kindness. Jesus Christ is our chance to try again and again, no matter how many times we mess up.

I know that God lives and that He loves us. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I know that He lives and that He loves us. I know that you, too, can find the peace that the Savior brings into our lives.

In reading this book, you can know of it's veracity. God has given this promise to whoever reads it with a desire to know. (See Moroni 10:3-5 pg. 650). I know that if you read this book, pray about it and ask God, He will let you know through the Holy Ghost that it is true.

If you want to know more, you can contact the missionaries in Caen by calling: 01 34 80 04 83

or visit: 36/38, av. de la Délivrance

F-14000 CAEN, FRANCE

I love you with all my heart, Elisabeth. Thank you for coming.

You have blessed our family beyond measure.

Love always,

Kim Smith

Dieu Reste Avec Toi Jusque au Revior

Mieux que la maison fait de crème glacée. Mieux que le fudge chaud. Mieux que macaronis et le fromage. Mieux que des promenades voiture à quatre roues, des kayaks, des hamburgers, les arachides jetant sur le sol, rire avec les Smiths, les biscuits Oreo, au volant de mon fourgon, s'mores, au jour le gâteau au chocolat lac, et les pourparlers de fin de nuit. Mieux que toutes ces choses, est-ce livre. J'aime ce livre. C'est une partie de moi. Il est l'un des plus beaux cadeaux que je puisse vous donner. Ce livre change ma vie. Il me donne l'espoir, la connaissance et de confort. Le Livre de Mormon nous enseigne que nous avons un Sauveur qui nous aime et comprend. Il comprend nos douleurs, nos peines, nos tentations, nos peurs et nos défis. Jésus Christ est notre frère aîné. Il a donné Sa vie pour nous afin que nous puissions retourner vivre avec notre Père des cieux. Notre Père céleste vous aime, Elisabeth. Vous êtes sa fille bien-aimée. Vous êtes une belle personne, à l'intérieur et l'extérieur.

L'Évangile de Jésus-Christ est un message d'espoir, le pardon, l'amour et la bonté. Jésus Christ est notre chance d'essayer encore et encore, peu importe combien de fois nous gâcher.

Je sais que Dieu vit et qu'il nous aime. Je sais que Jésus Christ est notre Sauveur. Je sais qu'il vit et qu'il nous aime. Je sais que vous aussi, vous pouvez trouver la paix que le Sauveur apporte dans nos vies.

En lisant ce livre, vous pouvez savoir de lui est la véracité. Dieu a donné cette promesse à celui qui le lit avec un désir de savoir. (Voir Moroni 10:3-5 pg. 650). Je sais que si vous lisez ce livre, priez et demandez à Dieu, Il vous permettra de savoir à travers le Saint-Esprit qu'il est vrai.

Si vous voulez en savoir plus, vous pouvez contacter les missionnaires à Caen en appelant le: 01 34 80 04 83

ou visitez le site: 36 / 38, av. de la Délivrance

F-14000 CAEN, FRANCE

Je t'aime de tout mon cœur, Elisabeth. Merci d'être venus.

Tu as béni notre famille sans mesure.

Amour toujours,

Kim Smith

Meet Elisabeth

Our big sister for the next few weeks.

She is from France.

But has to come to America for a visit.

And we are the lucky people who get to host her.

It didn't take us long to love her.

Nor did it take long for her to love us.

She wrestles, plays games, goes swimming, tickles, runs races, cooks good food, lets us in her room and shares her Oreos that Mommy bought just for her. (They don't have those in France). She loves hamburgers, hot fudge, homemade ice cream, Oreo's, tacos, learning English, Ranch dressing, America's wide roads, peanut butter, friendly Americans and teaching us French. We pretty much think this was a match made in heaven. We love her and she has blessed our lives. We're pretty sure she feels the same way about us.

KKS

A Picture Medley

The House house:

From the side:

And from the back:

And. She's still cute (it's her job):

Nobody wanted to cooperate for this photo....I had to bribe them. This is the best one:

Birthday Boy:

Go-cart fun:

Princess at the Park:

Monkey Boy:

Bird Watching:

KKS

Progress

Lauren's toe is healing!! All of the restrictions are making a difference. She has hardly left the couch for the past few days and it's paying off.

I know it still looks gross, but the good news is: the infection is going away, there is a scab forming behind her toenail, she went the whole day without Tylenol 3 and the swelling has gone way down. The human body is so amazing!!!

KKS

Lauren's Troublesome Toe

I think we have discovered one of the worst ways to hurt yourself right before summer.

It looks like this:

This dadgum toe has caused her so much grief and pain. It originated when she dropped Mike's laptop on it. That was on Thursday, May 19th. We took her to the ER that night to have the nail drilled to release the pressure that was building up behind the nail. That didn't do any good. They also sent her for an x-ray and ruled out a fracture. So aaallllll of the pain was because of the huge hematoma behind the nail. They gave her crutches and told her to not walk on it for a few days. Well, at first those crutches caused her more harm than good because she is so floppy. But then she got the hang of it and has been doing pretty good. They also gave her Tylenol with codeine for the pain....she was crying incessantly. It HURT!!!! So all week we've been restricting her play, letting her watch a whole bunch of NetFlix, keeping it elevated, and keeping ice on it. On Saturday we took her back to the ER because she was still in a lot of pain. The pediatrician recommended we go get it drilled again (they don't do that in the office). But by then it was coagulated (supposedly) and drilling wouldn't produce any release of blood. Then I called the doctor again on Tuesday because she just wasn't getting any relief. She was still in alot of pain....waking up in the night crying, not walking on it, not even letting us put a blanket on her. The pediatrician referred us to the orthopedic surgeon. He reviewed the x-ray, reiterated the same thing the ped. told us, agreed there was no fracture and sent us home. Yesterday morning I noticed it was flaming red and hot around the nail bed. Mike agreed that it looked infected. I took her in.....again. The doctor then became concerned with a blood or bone infection. That meant she had to have yet another x-ray. I know....painless, right? And it was. But she also had to have blood drawn from both arms!!! That was traumatic! I had to hold her down and it made me feel terrible. I hate restraining my kids while other people hurt them!! The preliminary labs indicated no infection....good news. We had to wait until late yesterday evening to see if she would be admitted for i.v. antibiotics. She didn't have to be admitted. Phew!! RELIEF!!! They prescribed this really strong, nasty smelling puke inducing oral antibiotic. She took a dose last night, but then when I gave it to her today she threw up. It smells like cat poop. IT IS NASTY!!! We had a follow up today so the doctor could check it again to make sure the infection hadn't spread. It wasn't any better, but it wasn't any worse. Which meant she would not be admitted. Relief again!! She was so worried about being admitted and having to be there for her birthday and missing her baptism. They sent us home with a tablet form of that same antibiotic. She was very glad about that. She is pretty good about swallowing pills. The doctor told her she could stop using the crutches as long as it didn't hurt too much. She hasn't been able to walk on at all until yesterday when the doctor said she could stop using the crutches.

Tonight I was putting flowers in my window boxes and all of the kids were playing in the driveway. And wouldn't you know it?? That TOE!! Liam stepped on it. She wailed, and screamed, and cried and thrashed about. And so much for all of that blood being coagulated....it bled profusely!! Made me feel like I was going to pass out. It was gushing. If Mike would not have been here, I would have called 911. It was that bad. I freaked.....I hate blood. Once it stopped gushing, we could see what happened. You know the bottom of the toenail where it's tucked into your toe at the bottom of the nail bed? Well, there is a slit all the way across her nail bed and the nail is completely ripped out at the bottom, but still connected a little bit on the sides (WARNING: graphic pictures below!!). It is so gross!! We knew the nail would fall off.....eventually. But Liam wanted to expedite the process I guess. What is supposed to happen is this: The body knows that the nail is falling off. So it will make a callus in the nail bed to protect the nail bed until the new nail grows. Well, since the nail is falling off prematurely it means that the nail bed has no protection. It is extremely painful...it's just a raw nail bed. She can't get it wet, she can't walk on it and she can't do anything to make it bleed again. So she's going to have a pretty crappy summer. The worst part of all of this is that she can't be baptized tomorrow. She was absolutely heart broken when I told her. She has been looking forward to this for months. I assured her that she still gets to get baptized, just not on her birthday. After a good cry (another one) and some big hugs she was okay.

Now we just have to wait....and wait....and wait for that dadgum toe to heal. In the meantime we have to give her some strong pain meds, keep her on the antibiotic so it doesn't get infected, (the risk is much greater now that the skin is compromised) restrict her play (tie her to the couch) and change the dressing four times a day.

Here is the toe during dressing change tonight:

I just keep wondering how that toe can get any worse. I've got to stop saying that!!!!!!

KKS

A Whole Decade!!

HE

is

10!

KKS

Yes

WE ADORE HER:

She is still growing all that cuteness (with a little crabbiness thrown in). I might need to trim her bangs soon, as she is constantly sweeping them out of her eyes.

KKS

Gloves For Your Feet

Lauren was assigned the task of QA last week when we were boiling sap.

Here she is doing her 145th taste test.

I saw an ad on Facebook for these. I showed them to Lauren, and she asked "What are they?" I said they were like gloves for your feet. She is still giggling, twenty minutes later. I love to get her giggle box!!!

KKS

Calling All Dogs

(and kids who think they're dogs). The Dog Hotel is officially open!!!

That's right!! Our living room has undergone an amazing transformation. These kids are now the proud owners of The Dog Hotel!! Come one, come all.

KKS