Shiloh & Sanity

A Little Stool...

2011-10-27T12:26:00.000-05:00

This is a little stool that I made out of a piece of wood we cut while cutting firewood. As you can see, it was sooooo easy. The top is only 1x12. I suppose you could even use it for a end table if you wanted!

Homemade Toy Box...

2011-10-26T18:59:00.005-05:00

If you would like my homemade plans, be sure to check out my "plans for sale" page! I built this toy box recently without instructions. Sometimes that's the way things turn out the best is when you just start screwing screws and gluing boards and pretty soon you have something. I could probably do it in half the time if I were to do it again, since I know "how" to do it.

Funny Video...

2011-10-23T15:03:00.001-05:00

This is my mom and dad!!

A Found Picure......

2011-10-21T16:29:00.001-05:00

I found this picture of Braiden today...I thought it was so funny! I don't think he was having a good time in the sprinkler.

Got Railroad Spikes?

2011-10-18T17:39:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday we went up to our friends the Jacks' house. Luke(the oldest and youngest son)and I went down to the railroad tracks and walked for hundreds of yards looking for railroad spikes. Then Isaac, Braiden, and Jude came with us the next day doing the same thing. We ended up collecting 371 railroad spikes!! That's 256 lbs!

Lots and lots and lots of railroad spikes!

Deer Of 2011....

2011-10-18T14:47:00.001-05:00

These are "a few" of the trail cam pictures I got this year of our future table scraps. There is normally corn on the ground where their noses are, but somehow I picked all the pics where they had eaten all of it already.

This is a very small buck that I haven't seen since I got this picture...

Same buck

It's interesting, look at the difference in his body structure vs the does body structure. Lots more meat on him!

This doe has a strange stance....

a little fawn

Looks like they invited a friend


Doe: Hey-kids.....did you hear something? Fawns: (crunch, crunch)Why, no mother(smack, smack)

One of my biggest enemies when it comes to deer season!

Hey Mother, did you see that?!

Hurry, before those deer get back

So.........what's your name?

Okay, so those were some of this year's pictures, now for a couple of last year's(As you'll see in the next few pictures, my luck wasn't as good this year.)

If you study these bucks' racks, you will see that these are three different bucks. Three nice bucks. This one is a ten- pointer.

Look at his mass!

This one's tines were a little longer, but not as "big"

I thought this was a funny picture! So there you have it! No joke.

Isaac's New Blog....

2011-10-17T11:27:00.000-05:00

My little brother (Isaac) has gotten to the age now where he is allowed to have a blog. So here is the link: www.isaacsisland.blogspot.com. This is his first blog so give him some time to figure blogger out(I still haven't completely!) and he just might make something of this!:-)

Guess Who?...

2011-10-07T17:12:00.000-05:00

Today is a very special day because...It's my Mom's birthday!

Here are a few trivia facts about her.

She is a great good amazing wonderful incredible very good acceptable commendable super select first-rate deluxe excellent super-duper superb superior worthy valuable positive precious "and anything else that means GREAT Mom.

I'm so thankful to God for her and the part that she plays in my life.

Getting Ready.........!!!

2011-10-06T15:43:00.000-05:00

Oh wow, how fast this past year has gone by! It seems like yesterday that we were at October camp. But really, it was yesterday(plus 368 days).
We have been "preparing the deer" for deer season, which is right now. I'm seeing more and more deer on our property as the temperature is dropping. This morning, when I went to feed the deer their breakfast,(corn) I walked up on two deer. One went crashing through the underbrush and trees before I could get a good look at it, and the other just raised it's head and looked around, as if it was confirming if it was going to make a mad dash away from something sensible or not. Once it's eyes locked on to the "frozen-in-my-tracks"outline of myself, there was no unlocking them. It stared with eyes that seemed to pierce right through me for probably 10 seconds. I was so still. Then, I did the unthinkable. I dropped my "deer breakfast", and sprinted towards the doe. The half of a split second she saw me move, she was off like a shot. I ran, she ran. She turned, I turned. At one time, I got close enough to touch her. Then, the doe, build for sprints, not marathons, started slowing, as I just got faster. Finally, I got so close I leaped for the doe's ears. Slow motion..................Just kidding, that didn't happen. Everything was true all the way up to the words, "then I did the unthinkable". But this is true. Once she saw me blink, she was gone, snorting all the way back deep into the woods.

Now we are......

2011-10-03T21:04:00.000-05:00

Home. And glad to say it. Four days after we got home from an 11 day vacation, we left for camp which was very fun. But now we're home to stay....for a while anyways.

BTW, here is how Jude used to smile when he was little. So hilarious!! But he is very handsome now, and never fails to have a scratch or a bruise or a nick or a scrape or a cut or an injury somewhere on him.

Now we are in....

2011-09-23T14:39:00.000-05:00

Texas...A.K.A the flat state. This is what I mean.

Here are some pictures that I took in New Mexico at the lake.

It's been so dry that the ground was cracking.

In case you haven't looked at my blog enough to notice that Maddie likes to get pictures taken of her!

We are in....

2011-09-21T11:42:00.000-05:00

New Mexico right now. And we are having a great time! We've been out on the lake several times(My Grandpa and Grandma live across the street from it. Yesterday we went tubing on the lake. My Grandpa and Grandma's tube holds 3 people! That was fun. And we went cliff diving. Twice. Very fun! We plan to be back home Sunday afternoon or evening. It's always nice to take a vacation and get away for a while, but I'm always excited to get back home........most of the time.

I Just felt like saying...................

2011-09-13T12:05:00.002-05:00

Hi!

An Update...

2011-09-06T20:14:00.000-05:00

Well, camp went good(and fast). Four days gone by, just like that! Wow. We played a lot of knock out(953 games---not really, but we did play quite a few), basketball(I am still terrible), and foosball. It's fun to go on vacations and things, but it's always good to be home. It was good seeing everybody from the other assemblies and I'm looking forward to the next camp.

Oops!.....

2011-09-01T17:27:00.000-05:00

Well I guess I'm not really doing very good with the "picture of the week" thing, am I? But I do have an excuse of the week. Here it is. I just got started on it, so I'll do better.
Here's the picture...

And the random thought...Ross is NOT a prius person. You'd have to see the "thing" he drives to understand!
Well, we've be getting ready for September camp tomorrow through Monday. We've been making bread, cookies, cupcakes, things like that to have for snacks at camp. The meals are provided so we don't have to bring food. I'm excited.

A Picture...

2011-08-18T11:06:00.000-05:00

I think I'm going to start doing a "photo of the week". And for every "photo of the week", I'm going to post a "random thought" to go with it.
So you have your picture, now you just need your random thought. Here it is. What if you were an ant? Wouldn't this be the best jungle gym?!

Have You Heard?!

2011-08-10T21:12:00.000-05:00

Have you heard that the month of July in Oklahoma had the highest average temperature for any state ever recorded?! Isn't that crazy? It was amazing last month. I think the highest it got was 113 degrees! I think. And with little to no rain. Even when it did it was just sprinkles.
I'm not sure what the hunting is going to be like this year either, since it's been so dry. That's actually my biggest concern. Well, not really. But it is a big concern of mine. Because I've been practicing with my bow a lot. And I'm getting close to ready to being able to hunt with it. Season starts Oct. 1st!
Now I'm watching Maddie cry because she couldn't have a mini kit kat candy bar. I'm sure you're thinking, what bad parents! But the reason behind it: she's already had three of them today. Now what are you thinking?
Well I kind of cleared my mind a little there.

Thanks for reading.

So now a review:

Dictionary.........

2011-08-09T12:08:00.000-05:00

My Great Grandma gave me this dictionary yesterday! I've never seen a dictionary this big. It's a 20th century dictionary so maybe that's why it has so many words in it.

What I've been doing is......

2011-08-06T10:35:00.000-05:00

Monday: All of the Smith kids went over to the Roy's house while my mom and dad went to Wichita for a meeting for my dads work
Tuesday: stayed at the Roy's house all day.
Wednesday: I went to pick up my bow from getting fixed, and shot it.
Thursday: I went over to the Roy's again while my mom and dad went out to eat with Mr. and Mrs. Roy, Anna Stamper, and Katheryn Jean. Logan and Sam were there at the Roy's house with Cody, Shane and I. That was a pretty rowdy house for a few hours! Well, with the exception of Shane and I of course.
Friday: Relax
Saturday: We will see...
So it's been a busy week, but that's better than not doing anything!

The Racer...

2011-07-29T18:23:00.004-05:00

Note: Some of the material in this story that I wrote might be one of those things that would be impossible to happen. In other words, it's obviously fiction.

“Hurry it up! I need to get to the race!" shouted Alex angrily as the crew members quickly worked on his race car, trying hard to get it going again. That morning, Alex’s car had worked fine when he had checked it over. But now, for some reason the engine wouldn’t start. Finally, 20 minutes after Alex’s scheduled leaving time, the crew members got the car fixed and sent him on his way.

As he was driving, he thought that the race that he was to race that day had probably already started, since he had left so late. As he pulled into the racing park he drove for the garage. Another crew checked over his car and sent him to the track. As he approached the race entrance he thought for sure the race had started, for there was no gate man to open the gate. So he entered the track himself and drove onto the track to see his fellow racers speeding 3 laps ahead of him. Alex’s foot hit the gas like a brick and his tires peeled out, sending black smoke everywhere. The crowd roared as Alex pushed his speed to 77mph in less than three seconds, and to 124mph in less than six seconds. It was the fastest that car had ever gone, as he climbed to 130mph.

It was several minutes before he caught up with the group. Now he had to pass the head racer---3times. Maneuvering in and out from behind and in front of cars, he finally passed all the cars. He was so determined to win that once he purposely wrecked someone that he wasn’t able to pass.

Finally, 30 min later, Alex passed the last car for the third time, and 4 laps later, he past the finish line in 1^stplace. He had won!

As he drove a victory drive on the track, he saw a van entering the track with the words “news 9” on the side of it. He immediately drove over to the van, hoping that he could get an interview. As he got out of his car, the news team was getting out the video equipment. Alex proudly climbed out of his car and introduced himself, thinking of himself on the news. Sure enough, the interview started and Alex tried to think of the best words to describe his win. “An amazing racer in an amazing race”, were his words.

As he lay in bed that night, he thought of ways to make his talent known. The next morning, he got the email addresses to all the other racers, and sent an email to them telling them of what a good racer he was and how that they weren’t good enough to beat him in a race.

Alex never had believed in God, but later that day when he was walking down the street a man stopped him and handed him a little paper booklet, and told him it was a tract, and kept on walking. “What is a tract?” Alex wondered. The picture on the front looked kind of interesting so he sat down on a bench and started reading. In a minute he was done reading it. On the last page there was another paragraph entitled, “How to become a christian.” “Oh I’ve heard this junk before”, he mumbled to himself as he stuffed the tract into his wallet, to dispose of later.

Alex raced twice a week for several more weeks, winning every race except for one, where he had a blowout ½ lap from the finish line with his opponents close behind him. But even then he got 4^th place.

Before long, Alex was big news. His name was in all the papers, in all the news stories, and he was making a lot of money.

One day when he was in a bar, he opened his wallet to pay the bar tender and the tract fell out onto the ground. He bent down, picked it up and looked at it. He wondered about the words in the back, if they were true, if he was really a sinner, and if he really needed to repent and ask Jesus into his heart. But he just dropped the subject with himself and drove home, having drunk several pints.

As he drove, he started falling asleep, but the loud horn of a semi-truck awoke him. He looked up to see the grill and lights of a huge semi-truck rushing towards him. He swerved quickly to the right just in time as panic as adrenaline rushed through him. He had come that close to instant death. All because he did what he knew was wrong. That night, as Alex was getting ready for bed, the tract fell out of his wallet again. He wondered if God was trying to tell him that he needed to repent. He looked at the back page of the tract and it told him just how to become a christian. He thought about it one more time before he prayed to God. Was he doing the right thing? But since he wanted to change his life so badly, he went ahead and asked God for his forgiveness. So Alex went to sleep that night having peace of mind about the change in his life. He had no idea that something that was going to happen the next morning would change his life even more.

Alex woke up the next morning having slept well. He was ready to see what it was like to race like a christian. That morning he left on time and there was a gate man waiting for him.

Three laps into the race Alex was doing very well. He was in 2^nd place about to pass the car in front of him. So when he did, he promised God that he wasn’t going to be prideful about his victories any more. Now, there were 5 laps to go, with Alex ten seconds ahead of the 2^nd place man. On the last lap, his heart leaped for joy as he crossed the finish line in first place. He had won his last race. But Alex didn’t know it was his last race. As he was telling his salvation story to the news team, someone up in the stands fired a bullet from a rifle right into Alex’s brain, sending him right to Jesus’ presence. He was quickly rushed to emergency room, but there was nothing they could do. Alex died in his life for the Lord. His killer was found that evening and sentenced to 60 years in prison.

Based on a true story (from my mind).

Something Worthy Of Blog Posting......

2011-07-28T17:27:00.000-05:00

I have a semi-automatic Marlin .22 rifle that my dad gave to me back when I was a youngster(several years ago). It was originally stained a dark reddish brown. The color that it was got nicks and scratches on it very easy, so I decided to refinish it. I took it apart, sanded, and put some boiled linseed oil on it and I really like how it turned out. It shoots smooth and it's refinished so it's practically new.

Can you tell what this is?

This is just the stock.

See all the nicks and scratches?

And this is the finished product!

Can you tell what this is?(After the refinishing!)

Finally...

2011-07-25T11:08:00.001-05:00

After over a month of three digit degree days, and one sprinkle of rain, we finally got some good rain last night. One thing nice about not having any rain is that we only had to mow the grass twice this year so far! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but it's been very slow around here, and we've been really busy! Let me re-phrase that. We've had a lot of things going lately, but nothing worthy of blogger posting. There we go. Well, I guess that's all. When something worthy of a blog post comes into our lives, then I'll post again.
Shiloh

Marilla Shea Smith(Millie)

2011-07-13T20:42:00.000-05:00

I'm sure most of the people reading this blog have heard that my 17 month old sister died Tuesday the 5th of July. My heart grieves for her but I know that she is in heaven right now and she will always be in my heart. I couldn't have asked for a better baby sister!

She loved sucking her thumb! If you let her, she would suck it all day long!

This was her 1st birthday. She loved it!


It will be hard knowing that Maddy won't have anyone to play with and be pals with.	They were best buddies.

One of the best memories that I have with Millie is when she would race out the front door when someone would open it to go out. If she got away with it she would go climb a fence, play with the puppy, play with the mud(she seemed to like the taste of it too!) or do something of the like.

Pat-o-cake was one of her favorite games.

One thing different about Millie was that she wouldn't take a hat off if you put it on her head. She would just leave it alone and say, "pitty"(pretty)in her high tone of voice.
We will always love her and remember her. We love you Millie!!!!!!!!!

P.S. THANK YOU everyone who has helped out with meals, cards, and anything else that was done to help out.

What Millie Does When You Give Her Lemon Juice.......

2011-07-01T16:55:00.000-05:00

I thought I would experiment one day and give Millie some lemon juice-----this is her reaction.;-))

This is pretty amazing!...

2011-06-24T09:56:00.000-05:00