December 2009 - July 2010

It has been so long since I have updated our blog. I can’t believe it is already the end of July. Soooo much has happened in the last eight months. We had an amazing time in the US over Christmas. One of my most favorite memories was running through the doors into baggage claim and seeing the faces of friends and family. It was MAGICAL. I remember all of us were so anxious to get to the people we love and just fall into their arms. Our hearts were beating so fast and then the worse thing happened – we forgot to discard of an apple from Singapore airlines and got caught by the sniffer dogs!!! BUMMER! So then we had to go to a “special room” to have our bags searched delaying our reunion with our family just a little longer. But it was worth the wait as we have never felt so loved. After all the hugs and gathering of 22+ pieces of luggage we headed to our first stop on the whirlwind tour – LUPE TORTILLAS!!!! Yum yum! The very next day we celebrated Luke’s 5th birthday. The kids were so excited to go to Chuck-E-Cheese. In “WA” (Western Australia) the popular birthday venue equivalent would be “The Beach House”. Fitting I guess, but nothing like the options we have in the US I assure you! We were thrilled to be able to celebrate Christmas at “home” with family. The kids enjoyed playing with their cousins. They even got to meet two new cousins (TWINS!!! Jacob and Joshua) thanks to Uncle Allen and Aunt Paula. We moved from city to city, house to house, hotel to hotel and bed to bed every three days or so. Thankfully, the Pharrs allowed us to use their house as “home base” and we didn’t have to lug around 22 pieces of luggage everywhere we went. We were also very blessed that Clint’s Uncle Steve offered his Suburban to us the entire time we were home. Throughout our travels we enjoyed eating at our favorite places. I lost count how many times we ate at Lupe Tortillas. I know it was our first and last meal and several times in between. We enjoyed gift cards at chick-fil-a…thank you Santa! Another very favorite was Freebirds burritos. I have to say, though, out of desperation and determination, we’ve mastered burrito making in Australia. It is the meal of choice when feeling down, feeling happy, feeling lonely…yes, we are emotional eaters!!! And it is usually the choice dish when we try to come up with something to fix “cultural” for our Australian friends or a “real treat” for our American friends. We were enjoying paying reasonable prices again too! When we were in Dallas we had a get-together at Fuddruckers so we could see all of our Dallas friends. I called to touch base with the manager about the number of people to expect and since there would be so many kids I asked him if he could offer a discount. He said, “well, ma’am, the kids meals are only $3.50…and I can’t really do anything less than that”. I had forgotten how cheap kids meals are in the US. In Perth we don’t purchase kids meals!!! We rarely even go out to eat!!! Then there was the SHOPPING! The wide open spaces in the malls and stores was refreshing and what was almost even better than that was the PARKING!!!!!!!!...and carts that go STRAIGHT FORWARD!! I loved being able to drive up to Target and park right outside and walk on in. I didn’t have to pay…I didn’t have to get a ticket…I didn’t have to squeeze through the car door trying to get out. AHHHH…soooo fun! I really hope we never take for granted again the simple things that we have in the U.S. that just make life easier! I actually enjoyed the “amenities” of shopping more than actually shopping. The actual shopping part was a bit overwhelming since we were trying to buy for 6-12 months out. We also got a bit carried away since we had gone almost a year without buying very much at all. The choices…the prices…the convenience…it was too much to handle!!! We enjoyed seeing our family and friends so much and always wished there was more time. We were so grateful for everything…so many people put so much effort in trying to see us, to host us, to help us in whatever way we needed. Thankfully, we had so much to look forward to when we returned to Australia; otherwise we might not have gotten on the plane.









While we were home Clint was offered a new job with Apache. The first year we were here Clint worked for Smith Technologies as a consultant for Apache and now he works for Apache. Clint was a bit reluctant to give up his email address and his phone message (“this is Clint SMITH with SMITH Technologies” and cdsmith@smith.com) but really felt the Lord moving us in this direction. We had planned to move houses and schools as well but that process was sped up a bit when the current landlord would not give us an extension in our lease. This meant we had to be out ONE week after we returned from the US!!! Thankfully we found a house online and Apache secured the deal for us before we even returned to Australia. So a lot of change was in store for the Smith family upon leaving the US but we still managed to stop in Singapore for 3 days of R&R. We arrived early in the morning and went straight to the hotel restaurant to eat. We stayed at the St. Regis…what a hotel!!!! It was THE nicest hotel we have EVER stayed in. I felt so funny staying there but oh was it NICE! I don’t know what they do to their eggs but they should have invested in chickens before we arrived. We ate sooooooo many eggs it was comical. I think our breakfast that first morning was more than the cost of our room (since we used points!). After breakfast we went to the room and slept until 4am the next morning…18 hours of sleep! We tried to go back to sleep but gave up at 6am and walked to STARBUCKS!!! We really enjoyed recovering from jet lag in Singapore. Had we gone straight home we would have felt compelled to start laundry, go to the grocery store, etc.etc. I think one of our favorite things we did was the “fish spa”. We stuck our feet in an aquarium of little fish and they ate the dead skin off our feet. Sounds disgusting but it was hilarious! Little Luke’s baby feet were no match for his mommy and daddy’s. The fish were ALL over our feet but he had maybe one or two on his sweet feet. He finally decided to move to another tank. The kids really got a kick out of it and so did we! The other highlight for me was getting to buy 2 beautiful Persian (??) rugs for the new house. When we got back to Perth we hit the ground running. There was so much to do and honestly, I could not wait to move out of “CELL BLOCK A”!!! I was very excited to go see the new house and when I did I could not believe that we were getting to live there!!! We now live right across from the beach. I wake up to an ocean view every single day. I wish I could tell you that I never grumbled or complained about the other house and this was just God’s reward! BUT I would be lying. I don’t know why God is letting us live here but I don’t take it for granted and I am soo thankful. I am so glad he forgives and shows us grace and mercy.





We got settled in the new house and the kids started their new school. It is such a great feeling to know that we have our kids right where God wants them. We felt such a peace about sending our kids to Kingsway Christian College when we visited the school last October. I’m so glad He gave us that assurance. There was really no question in our minds that we had found the right place. I found it so interesting how the devil tried to make me doubt our decision a few times. But I refused to listen and even asked a friend not to tell me anymore things she had heard about the school. If I wasn’t absolutely sure that God had led us there then perhaps I would have wanted to hear what she had to say. But isn’t it so cool that when you are confident you heard from the Lord you don’t need anyone else’s opinion on the matter??!!! LOVE THAT! So in less than two weeks upon our return from the U.S., Clint started a new job, we moved to a new house, the kids started a new school and everything was “new” all over again. We moved 20-25 minutes North from where we use to live. Oh…and I can’t believe I forgot to tell you about another “new” beginning…a “new” way to cook!!!! Clint surprised me with a THERMOMIX!!! If you have forgotten what this amazing machine does you’ll have to look it up online OR go back and read my old posts. If I start talking now I’ll never get done with this blog update! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I use it all day, every day. It’s AMAZING! Unfortunately, you can’t run out and buy one as they do not sell them in the U.S. But now that I have one, I won’t be able to do without one. I can’t bring this one home with me because it won’t work in the U.S. BUT they sell them in Canada and I’ve already arranged to get one from there when we move back. Did I tell you how much I love this thing??!! You would not recognize the domestic woman I’ve become! I make our own butter (with the Thermomix) and most things from “scratch”; we have a herb garden in the back yard; And, I use a clothesline!!! Moving on…

Good-bye’s are never fun and it seems we say “good-bye” a lot these days. First, our friends Karis and Tyson left last July. Then very soon after we got back from the U.S. Steve, Stephanie and Kyle left. They stayed with us their last few days here so thankfully we got to spend a lot of time together. And since they moved to Houston, we know we will see them again. My mom came to visit for almost two weeks so that was a very good distraction from being sad about the Waggoner’s leaving. We really enjoyed having “Grammy” stay with us and we did a lot of really fun stuff while she was here (sand boarding, picnic at king’s park, breakfast with the koalas, saw lots of kangaroos, fish and chips on Cottesloe beach…and on and on). We had some very hot days while she was here so she enjoyed that.





A couple of days after Grammy left we had the Bengtson family move in with us. We heard about this family before we even moved to Perth. They are Australian but use to live in Dallas and went to Stonebriar Church. Timon taught one of my college friend’s Sunday School class. So when she heard we were moving to Perth she sent me his email since they too were living in Perth. Tegan was pregnant when we arrived and unfortunately we did not hook up until later in the year. By October we had become great friends and then one night we had them over for dinner and they told us they were moving. My heart sank. How do we do this Lord? How do we keep on saying “good-bye”? And he reminded me that there is a season for everything, including people in our lives. We thought we were safe becoming friends with Australians!!! How fun it was having this family stay with us UNTIL the events of March 22nd& 23rd!!! On March 22nd, Perth had one of the worse storms in history. You would not believe the size of the hail and the amount of rain that came down in such a short time. Water started pouring into the bottom floor of the house but thankfully, we were able to escape the wrath of the storm with little damage UNTIL 24 hours later. About 2pm the next day I started smelling something. It smelled like the end of a match. I would walk to certain spots in the house and it was really strong but I could move two feet either direction and then couldn’t smell it at all. Tegan’s husband offered to pick up the kids from school and so I started to cook dinner so I could be “on the ball”. Just as the kids got home from school I turned the light on over the stove and this loud pop went throughout the house. I ran upstairs to the “electrical room” and it was on fire!!! It was quite the scene getting 9 kids out of the house calmly and trying to remember how to dial for an emergency here in Australia. (It is 000 instead of 911.) We got all the kids out of the house and then I remembered I had been browning meat on the stovetop and it was still on. So I ran back inside (giving my poor kids a heart attack) and turned off the stove. Then it hit me…I’ve got to get our pictures. So I grabbed our family portrait and all the kids’ one year portraits off the wall as well as my computer and ran outside to wait for the fire department. I was tempted to go back in and get my Thermomix, that is how much I love that thing!...just kidding…I knew it could be replaced! I can’t even tell you the emotions I was feeling as we stood outside…all 12 of us (everyone but Clint…he missed out on the fun!)…watching the house burn and waiting for the fire department. It felt like it took FOREVER for them to get there and as I stood there I had this very sickening feeling, wondering what would be gone forever. The four precious kids standing beside me were okay so I knew that whatever was lost would be insignificant in comparison to what “could have been”. You can absolutely drive yourself crazy with the “WHAT IF??” Well, most of you know the story from there. We were very fortunate that the fire department was able to contain the fire to the electrical room. They said we were about 5 minutes away from the house going up in flames. Thank you Jesus. We had literally just unpacked the last box and hung the pictures just a few days before. Unfortunately Clint did not receive the text warning him of the fire and he walked up on the scene. After the fire department left and we gathered a few of our things we drove away wondering “What are we going to do now?” A couple from the church took in the Bengtson family and Apache made arrangements for us. Clint prepared me that we would not be back in the house for months…with the extent of damage to the electrical system and with as long as it takes to get things done in “WA” I understood where he was coming from. (It took 3 weeks for us to get internet and TV when we moved). However, I refused to believe that and just started praying…praying hard!!! Sparing you many more details, with your prayers and our prayers we were back in the house in less than a week. We didn’t have full functioning electricity but we were desperate to be “home” so we made do. The Lord provided the most amazing electrician who worked from early morning until early evening for almost 4 weeks straight. Repairs went on for the next 3 months or so but thankfully we did not have to live in a hotel or apartment. The Bengtson family moved back in with us despite the imperfections and we were so glad. We got to spend Easter together and then said our “good-byes” a couple of days later. I was soo sooo sad. Tegan and I became really close, really quick and them leaving was another huge loss for the Smith family. God truly cares about every detail of our lives.





He allowed another distraction for us --- just shortly after the Bengtson family left we left for Phuket, Thailand for another Smith family adventure. We loved Thailand. It was incredibly beautiful and if you ask any of us what our favorite thing we did was, we would ALL tell you the exact same thing. We happen to be in Phuket for the Thai New Year. We went into town to eat one night and noticed a lot of people were walking around with water guns. We asked the cab driver on the way back to the hotel about it and he said we needed to come back tomorrow for the “water festival” – a 24 hour water gun fight. So we thought, “Why not?” After breakfast we headed to town and I have never seen anything like it. People were EVERWHERE and EVERYONE had water guns. If you didn’t have a water gun you were in trouble. There was not a dry person in site. We bought 6 massive water guns and got right in the middle of it. I never imagined walking the streets of Thailand shooting people that I don’t know with a water gun as being part of our vacation. What an adventure. We could not walk 2 feet without people touching the boys heads. I’ve been told that the Thai people believe touching heads gives good luck…not sure if that is true but if it is they should have all had some pretty good luck after that day. They were absolutely fascinated with the boys and with us being a “large” family. One woman told me “You have lots of children…you have power!”…and then asked me to have a baby for her. The boys were such troopers but at one point sweet Luke had enough!! He was so tired of people grabbing at him and who could blame him. And they loved Reid’s blonde hair! Thailand was a wonderful trip but boy was it HOT! We are so blessed to have such wonderful weather in Perth…no humidity…and it was very hot and humid in Phuket. I guess we’ve been spoiled. We did a lot of fun things…we rode elephants, sailed to the Pipi islands and snorkeled and relaxed at the resort. Luke even got an “elephant” massage. Take a look at the photos! I, on the other hand, got totally lip locked by an elephant. That was captured by the camera as well. YUCK!



In May Clint surprised me with a trip to Melbourne to celebrate our 15 year wedding anniversary. We had such a great time! Melbourne was a place we wanted to see but not necessarily a place we wanted to take the kids. A young couple from our church (ouch…that makes me sound old!) kept the kids for us. It was quite a different experience in that they moved into our house and carried on with all of the things the kids normally do. Meg took them to school and other various activities and Paul took Reid to “footy” (Australian Rules Football) Saturday morning. The kids didn’t miss a beat…or us for that matter! They love Meg and Paul. And Clint and I had a GREAT time. Melbourne is quite “artsy” and much like the city of New York. There were lots of great restaurants and shopping in the city and we were able to walk to everything. Clint is such a “point” master! He used points for us to fly to Melbourne…we even had to fly there first class in order to be able to use the points. DARN!!! That was the “quickest” flight EVER!!! And he used “cash and points” for the hotel. I love that he is always trying to work a deal. He is the “keeper of the punch cards” too! He loves me so much that he gives me his punch cards for McCafe!!! I have found that the best chai soy latte in Perth is at McCafe! Thank you Tegan for introducing me to this delicious treat. Anyway, we went to see the musical “FAME” while we were there, worked out a lot –Clint even did a PILATES class with me and then we ate and ate and ate! On our last full day we rented a car and drove ?? hours to see “The Twelve Apostles”, one of Melbourne’s biggest tourist attractions (see pictures). There were many stops along the way and the entire ride was breathtaking but the climax was the “The Twelve Apostles”. As soon as we saw that we turned around and started the journey back to Melbourne. The thing about Melbourne that I didn’t really like was that I felt it was a bit “dark”. I found the alleyways a bit creepy with the graffiti (check out the photos) and strange that people huddled up in the corner of the alleyways. However, had I not gone into the back alleyways I would not have found “Little Cupcakes”!!!! It was nice to find good cake! You knew eventually in this post there would be something about CAKE!


Let me give you a bit of an update on what the kids are up to.

Mackenzie started playing Netball, which is evidently the most popular girl sport in Australia. It is much like basketball except that you don’t dribble the ball, you have to pass it or shoot. I’m sure there is more to it than that but I’m still learning. Mackenzie celebrated her 10th birthday on July 3rd. She has been thriving at the new school. She was so blessed with a teacher that made her feel loved and special. Of all of our kids I would have to say that Mackenzie probably likes exercise the least. This sweet teacher of hers had breast cancer and in honor of her, Mackenzie and I ran in a 5K on Mother’s Day weekend. That is the effect this teacher had on her!!! Unfortunately her teacher did not return this term so my little girl is constantly learning some tough life lessons.

Kennedy has improved tremendously in gymnastics. She is now on the “team” and will have her first gymnastics meet in August. She goes to the gym twice a week now and during school “holiday” she was there 3 times a week for 6 hours each day!!! She is loving it and so am I!!! She is doing well in school especially considering how “young” she is to be in third grade. We moved her up a grade when we switched schools and since she has an August birthday she was already “young” for her grade. We just got report cards for term 1 and 2 and Kennedy got all B’s except in one class. I bet you can figure out what class her A was in!!! You got it…Physical Education! The girl is just amazing in sports and I love her “spunk”. I was working out the other day and she came in and started giving me instructions – “Get your bottom down…Keep going…no stopping!” She turns 8 in just a few weeks and finally stopped sucking her thumb. Her reward arrives at the end of this week…a new American girl doll. Who knew that was the motivation she needed.

We spend every Saturday morning watching Reid playing “footy”. It is such a strange game to me but we have found that Reid is actually very good. The coach puts comments online after each game and every one of them says something about Reid. One week he put that he is the best defender he has ever seen! He’s come such a long way since the first game. That first game he would put his arm back like he was going to throw the ball (which is NOT how you play at all) and the coaches would be screaming “NOoooooo, don’t throw it!” With Australian rules football you actually “punch” the ball with your fist???!!! Recently we had an “incident” with sweet Reid. He threw a rock and hit the front door of the house and cracked the glass. Typically not THAT big of a deal. However, this door has somewhat of a sentimental value. Above the door there is a huge window and in this window the word “FAIRLIGHT” is etched into the glass. There are three panes of glass that make up the front door and in these three panes is an etching of a lighthouse scene. The owners explained to us that her father was raised in an orphanage called “FAIRLIGHT” and this was somewhat of a memorial in his honor. So of all windows/doors to break Reid threw the rock and hit that one!!!! A very costly mistake at that! So the funny part of this story is that I got really upset with him at first and the next day I told him that I was sorry and that I wished I had told him at the time it happened that HE was more important than that glass. His response, “Next time, I’ll be sure to remind you of that!” Reid has fallen in LOVE here in Australia. Her name in Emma and she is one of the Bengtson’s daughters that I mentioned above. Typically I hear a lot about Emma when we are in the car. For example, “I am NEVER divorcing Emma!”; “Yes, I have three girlfriends but my favorite starts with EMMA and ends with B.”; “My license plate is going to be short – RE – R for Reid and E for Emma!” ; and just the other day he determined that their kids would have blonde hair since “its half of me and half of her”.

And Luke…sweet Luke…He’s just a funny, funny kid! He wants so much to be like the “bigger” kids. I no longer walk him to his class in the morning because he wants to be like his older siblings. So I pull up and off he goes!  He is such a sweet, sweet boy! During the teacher/parent conference I was told that when the teacher asked the kids to draw pictures of their friends at school, almost every single kid included Luke in their drawing. He has made lots of friends at school but his special friend is from South Africa and his name is Lihun. Luke keeps us laughing. He’s got such a big personality and says the funniest things. Today was a special day at school and the kids got to wear jeans. I looked at Luke’s jeans and saw they had a hole in them. Upon seeing my expressing he says, “What mommy?...this is how Americans wear their jeans!”

Clint’s job is quite challenging but he works off steam at the gym almost every day of the week with a personal trainer. He has really kept at it and is really starting to see a difference! He has also enjoyed being able to scuba dive right across the street from where we leave. It is like we live on a resort since we are walking distance to Hillarys Harbor, a marina with shops and restaurants. Clint enjoys planning our trips and getting us prepared for travel. I love the games he plays with the kids before bedtime – “Tortilla”, “Airplane”, “Monster Truck Bed”, “Tickle Monster”, “Jedi in the Dark”, and my favorite – “Tickle Time Tables”. He calls out a times table question and gives Kennedy a certain time to answer. If she doesn’t answer within the time allocated then he tickles her until she has the answer. It works perfectly for her!

As for me, I feel settled for the first time in a year and ½. It’s a nice feeling but I better not get too comfortable because who knows what God has in store. I have gotten involved with our church by taking part and sometimes facilitating a women’s bible study. I help out at the school and I am on the board of the American Women’s Club. In addition to that, I continue to work out and find myself at the grocery store ALL of the time. It is just a way of life here. Planning for every single meal we eat is a full time job. Today the kids had McDonalds because I failed to have a plan. And you know that about sent me over!! Actually, they have had McDonalds more in the last 2 months then they have had their entire life. I have also attended some Thermomix cooking classes. I spend a lot of time with God and HE is my best friend. I love that I don’t have to wait to call HIM due to the time difference. I love that I don’t have to have a charged, working phone to be able to talk to HIM. There is never a game of phone tag with God. He’s just there…ALL of the time. I am so thankful I have HIM to share this journey with.