Happy 2008!!!!

We sat down to write our first Christmas letter and thought about all that we did this year. It made us realize and remember how blessed we have been. We have had a lot of fun, as well as some challenges along the way.

This is our second year in Michigan and we are truly enjoying it. We are about 3 hours away from Kirtland, OH and have had the opportunity to see many of the church historical sites. This year we took a trip to Kirtland with Chandra’s parents who came to visit over the fourth of July weekend. We had a great time and we finished off the weekend with some fireworks. Michigan is the first state we lived in since we’ve been married where it is legal to light off fireworks; and the first place Jordan’s ever lived where it has been legal. (It was probably more exciting for me to watch him light his first legal firework than it was for him.)

We are also only 8 hours from Nauvoo, IL. We were planning on visiting the church historical sites in April; our trip was planned and booked. However, our sweet little black cat Trixy escaped from the apartment the week before. We spent that entire week searching for her all around the complex and in the woods behind our apartment, putting up signs, visiting shelters, etc. We were so excited to find that our hard work paid off when a man walking his dog found our little Trixy and called us because of one of the signs we had put up. We felt so blessed to have her back, but it wasn’t soon enough for us to go on our trip.

Jordan didn’t have very many vacation days this year, but we did the most with what we had. In May we saw a deal for $8 tickets to Orlando and jumped on the opportunity to go to Disneyworld. It was such an enjoyable week. We went to Blizzard Beach while we were there and Jordan, who just wanted to make his wife happy, went on the highest slide (120 ft. drop) even though he is afraid of heights. Let me tell you, he is conquering his fear because after that he went on slides he never would have gone on - that was my highlight of the trip. It was a nice break to kick start the summer.

A few months later we used the last of Jordan’s vacation days to visit Yellowstone with Chandra’s family. This was exciting for Chandra because this is an area where she used to visit all the time growing up and it was Jordan’s first time there. Also, on the way back Chandra was able to drive through Rexburg and show Jordan where she went to school. Again, it was probably more exciting for Chandra than Jordan. It was fun to share the memories.

Remember Jordan’s fear of heights? Again, let me remind you that he loves his wife! We visited Cedar Point with some friends. It is an amusement park that has the tallest and fasted roller coaster in the word and we went on it! This was definitely one of those things to check off our list of things to do.

As enjoyable as this year has been, the most exciting event occurred in September when we were able to adopt our two handsome and adorable twin baby boys. The Lord had to have known what he was doing because we could not imagine our lives being any different. Through all of the trials we have experienced during the adoption process, we would do it all over again knowing Ayden and Gavin would be brought into our family. They bring such a wonderful spirit into our home. We are enjoying every moment watching them grow. We feel truly blessed to have them in our lives.

Jordan - This is Jordan’s 2^nd year with Ford. He recently transitioned into a new position with more responsibilities and is enjoying the learning opportunities he is taking on with each rotation he makes with Ford. He was recently accepted into the evening MBA program at the University of Michigan, which means starting January he will never be home - at least for 3 years.

Chandra - This fall, Chandra started school to finish her last 2 classes she needed to take before she could apply for a nursing program here in Michigan. She found out during the first month of classes that Ayden and Gavin would be joining our family. Because of this, we made the decision to once again put her education on hold so she could stay home and raise our adorbale twin boys.

Ayden and Gavin - They are 3 months old and growing so quickly. They came into this world at 5 lbs and they have more than doubled it. They are smiling more than ever, which makes up for all the midnight and 3am bottle runs; it makes it all worthwhile.

We are so grateful to know that the Lord’s hand is in all things, that he loves us and has a plan for us. This Holiday season, we are especially grateful to the Lord and are reminded of his love every time we look at our babies. We want to wish every one a Merry Christmas and hope that everyone is enjoying this wonderful holiday season as much as we are.

We love you all,

Jordan, Chandra, Ayden, Gavin, Rocky & Trixy

This year our attempt to get our two cats, Rocky and Trixy, in the picture was a little more difficult, so they didn't quite make the cut. However, they are still the cutest cats ever and we were sad they were so uncooperative, we gave them treats and everything!

Some of our favorite attempts at getting a good picture

This year there were a lot of "firsts" for the boys. This year was our year to go to NJ to spend Christmas with Jordan's Family. the boys flew on a plane for the first time and did pretty good. We got little umbrella strollers and loved being pushed in a way that they could look around instead of just looking up at the ceiling. We took them into the city and they looked so cute! We got their first picture by the famous Christmas tree and I got my Serendipity frozen hot chocolate, we had a great time in the city, it was a quick trip with A LOT of traffic, we were stuck in traffic for 3 hours, but it was fun.


We also made a trip into the city earlier in the week. Jordan's mom treated the girls to the play Le Miz while the boys stayed home and watched the kids. Let me just say, I didn't know much about the play, so I wasn't dying to go, but it was AMAZING!! I loved the whole thing! I would love to see it again. I would definitley say that was the highlight of our trip. We ate lunch at Har Rock Cafe before the play and afterward, I introduced them all to steamed milk at starbucks, which we got with our yummy rice krispy treats. I have to say, that was really the best one I have ever had, it had whole pieces of marshmellows in it, mmm it was yummy!


They have this really great outlet mall in NJ and let me just say I bought a lot of things, but there are two items I was so proud of. I got these two sweaters for my boys at 70% off, they were so cute I couldn't even handle it. I only have pictures of the one sweater, but I'll post the one of the other one when I get a picture of them in it.


That is their Uncle Brandon making them laugh. All in all we had a great time with Jordan's Family. We had plenty of the famous Simmons family Egg Nog receipe, and a lot of good fattening food on top of it! Ellie, the oldest niece (3) on Jordan's side, was a lot of fun. The first night we got there, we did A LOT of dancing and got comfortable with our hair up high, and her new clip on earings. What can I say we were beautiful. We even got Aunt Kristin to join in the fun. Santa brought a WII to the house on Christmas Eve and everyone had a lot of fun with that while we were there as well. We went to my favorite ice cream spot "Friendly's". I found out about it first when I lived on Long Island, that was an exciting trip. Seriously if you are ever on the East coast, look them up you won't be disappointed! We were excited for the rest of Jordan's family to meet the boys. Benny who was nervous about holding babies became a "baby holding pro" by the end of the week. It was great to see Jordan's family, being far away it's hard to see family on either side. It is so nice to have Jordan's twin brother Travis and his family next door. Kassie has been a huge help to us and the boys and we are grateful for them.

Our life savers!

Ellie is the oldest niece/cousin, so we all had a lot of fun with her!

She was a good little helper when it was time for the boys to have a bath

Gavin getting some giggles out with Grandpa Smith

Havin drinking some of our yummy egg nog and Aunt Kassie helping with one of the boys, she has been a big help with them

Pictures with Dad

Gavin copying what Daddy is doing

He got the tongue down smart boy!

This was so cute, I had to get it from all angles

Little princess Ellie with her new dress ups and make-up

Smith FAmily Tradition - Ableskievers

Uncle Brandon getting a good laugh from Gavin

Gavin sure did have the giggles this trip!

The many faces of Ayden

Uncle Ben playing with Haven

Aunt Kristen bonding with her nephew and Max joining in on some shut eye

Don't really know who won this match...

Uncle Jordan really getting into this book with Ellie

Our trip to Friendly's - No Kids!

Our pictures with our Christmas PJs

Uncle Ben and what must be his first time giving a baby a bottle?!? He was pretty nervous

My favorite picture of the trip- The Brothers

We had Christmas with Jordan's family this year obviously, but Michelle's family had our name for Christmas this year, so this was her gift to the boys

Next step now is trying to get the boys to Boise!! I am trying to figure out a good time to go, and talk myself into it, I will most likely be traveling alone because Jordan will be starting school next week and will definitely have a lot on his plate. I am hoping to make it down in the next few months for sure!