All About the Smiths

What do these things all have in common you may ask. Why, these were all part of yet another busy weekend in the lives of Joshua and Shannon Smith.

Friday night we attended my company Christmas Party at the Jefferson Street Inn in Downtown Wausau, Wisconsin. We had a blast at the party. My boss had arranged the most fun gift exchange ever! We were all told to bring a book or CD to exchange. We then exchanged the gifts based on looks of the wrapping and then after opening our gift we had another opportunity to exchange our gift through bartering with others. Josh started out with a Regis CD and ended up with a really cool 3-D Art Book. We left shortly after the game as there was quite a bit of drinking going on and we didn't care to participate in that!

Here's a picture of us at the party.



















Saturday we had a kids activity for church. We had a Christmas Party at one of the families houses and invited all the neighborhood kids over. We had made a craft, played a game, sang some songs, learned John 3:16, had some stories, one of whichwas the Christmas story, and then a snack. We were thrilled with the turnout even though there were only a few kids. The ones who were there really listened and enjoyed themselves and had the opportunity to hear the Gospel.





Josh helping the kids with their craft.

















Snack Time!
















Saturday evening we spent some time enjoying Christmas Festivities with Melchor and Liz who were down from Northland for Extension for the weekend. We went on a Limo tour of the Christmas lights in Marshfield, WI. (My co-worker, Angela, and her husband and two daughters were also able to join us for the Limo ride.) We also went through a Living Nativity. The Nativity was neat and had a lot of work put into it, but we were disappointed that the church who put in all the work failed to share the most important aspect of Christmas which is the Gospel presentation. Nevertheless, we did have a great time.

















From L to R: Dad, Mom, Melchor, Liz, Shannon & Joshua

Sometimes it seems life never slows down. But being busy sure can be fun!! (Warning, this post is kinda long!!)

Friday night Joshua and I drove over to Northland to hear the SMS Men's Choir at the Artist Series. On the way over, we received a call from a friend (who will remain nameless to protect him!) who was having a problem and needed HELP!!! This friend had been driving through Crandon, WI the day before and had stopped to get gas and his credit card had been rejected and he was being accused of stealing gas. He called Josh since he knew Josh used to live in Crandon and had some connections there. So, we arrive in Crandon and head straight for the Police Station. Josh talks to the cops and then we head over to the gas station to pay for the "stolen" gas for our nice friend. You know, you'd think that if someone came in saying that they were going to give you money, you'd just accept it. Oh no - not this lady!! She tried giving Josh a hard time, but he won!! They finally accepted the money and gave Josh a "receipt" to prove that the gas had been paid for. His receipt was written on the back of a cigarette carton!! Well, that taken care of we proceed to go back to the Police so they can put down on the record that the gas had been paid for. Whew! What an adventure!!

With that escapade behind us we went to Subway and had supper with my parents who were also heading up for the concert. We had a nice time chatting with them and laughing over miscellaneous stories from the day.

The concert was very nice and the singing was great. There was even an appearance by a Barbershop Quartet that I particularly enjoyed! We also enjoyed sitting with Josh's friend Dan Childers and also Jenny, Josh's sister.

After the concert we were able to talk to lots of friends who we hadn't seen in a while. We also got to meet a couple of the SMS guys and enjoyed talking with them. I think we ended up talking to people until around 10:30.

Now, you might think oh 10:30 end of the night right? Nope, not for us crazy people. There was a Hockey Game Friday night and Josh and I really enjoy going to those, so us, Jenny and Holly (Jenny's friend) went to the game together. We had fun but didn't get back until around 1:15 AM or so!!

Josh and I spent the night with our good friends the Reese's. We always have a blast at their house. Phil and Shirley have 6 kids of which 5 are boys. So yes, it is never dull at their house! We were woken up by Thomas (one of the members of our fan club!) at 9 AM by him coming into our room and turning on the light to say good morning!! We enjoyed our visit with them and had fun playing with the kiddos and hearing what they are up to. (I'll post pictures later!)

Saturday evening we had a night of excitement which was supper and several crazy rounds of Uno Attack with the Eckdal's, Silvia, Liz, Jen, Dan and Mark on Saturday night. If you've never played this game you should try it sometime!!

Sunday was a bit calmer in which I was able to take a nap (yay!!) and we just did some relaxing.
Sunday evening at church the kids from church had the opportunity to show their parents and the other adults what they've been learning in Children's Church. Josh and I love teaching them on Sundays and have so much fun with the kids. Right now Josh is teaching through the book of Acts and the kids are really enjoying it. They sang 2 songs and then answered some questions about their lessons. We were so proud of the kids - they all did an excellent job!!

Wow, I'm tired just thinking back on all that we did this weekend. I'll post pictures later on.

Our church is having Revival Services this week with Evangelist Hal Hightower. The Sunday services were EXCELLENT and one person was saved Sunday morning. We are looking forward to the rest of the week.

Please pray for us this week if you think about it.