It started with these two

It all started with these two, it may have started "with a whisper" but not sure about those kind of details. :) Grandma and Grandpa Smith are mom's parents. 

Otis Glendon Smith Sr. married Pauline Giles  12/7/1956

 Grandma and Grandpa had four children. My mother was baby #2
Diana Jones born 6/12/1959
So, just tow short years from my grandparents getting married two babies were on the scene. Wow!

For these two; my parents meet at a party and from Jan 21st to June 24th their 155 days of knowing one another became a family.
John Wesley Jones (baby of 8) married Diana Lynn Smith 6/24/1977

I am baby #1
Melanie Lynn Murphy born 12/18/1977
For me and mine we began at a back to school bash in college. We met in Aug of 1997. After a roller coaster of events Matthew Corbin Murphy married Melanie Lynn Jones 7/21/2001

 So what started as two has bountifully multiplied. This is our Smith Christmas gathering. Where boys will be boys...

 Aunts and cousins come in from North Carolina...

other cousins bring boyfriends to family functions...

Nana's must have their pictures with grand babies. "Aiden is missing? oh my"

cousins get photos made: Adam, Sara, Rebekah, Abbey, Olivia, Lydia, Elizabeth, and me

Uncle's and their families join in...

 of course we play snoop...

 And its hard to get some ladies out of the kitchen..

 I love our family and enjoy our gatherings. We even had a skype boomer around dinner. Emily couldn't make the trip so we were able to see her and talk with her over the ipad. Very odd and fun to get to see her anyway. Odd as in I had never skyped anyone before.


Later that night we headed back to Corydon so Matthew could fulfill history as a Roman soldier. He had volunteered at our live nativity on the town square. We tagged along to see if they needed us and check out the nativity. It was super cold that day.

 Bucky came to the rescue with letting Corbin borrow his scarf. They did not need the extra help so Bucky was my partner and helped me walk the kids around the different booths.

It was awsome! They had all kinds of live animals (camels-this one is a baby, donkeys and sheep)

We walked around the square gathering parts to make a nativity of little people for the kids to take home.

here is my little bundle..

 After an hour they put on the reading of the nativity story
We are all here in the front ready to listen

Mary and Joseph were there

and angels sang

 more animals to pet

 We ran into Corbin's second family, ha ha
I mean our good friends Jason and Rachelle.

 Corbin jumped in when I asked them for a family photo. What a crack up

Janson is Corbin's best friend. Too bad they are not in the same Kindergarten class. or maybe that was God intended.

All the while in our business. Matt was working really hard at being a soldier. ha ha

Finally we are altogether and ready to head home. I loved the nativity and am looking forward to starting this tradition every year together.