Christmas 2010!

Noah got so much for Christmas this year. It was ridiculous. He was really happy about all the spy gear he got, thanks to his Aunt Steph, Uncle Nick, Aunt Catherine, Uncle Jared, and his cousins Brayden, Lexi, and Emma.
It's a pillow, It's a pet, It's a pillowpet. Chris asked me when I bought this if it was for me or Noah. It is in fact for Noah but I wouldn't mind getting one for myself. Noah got the panda. He is so soft and now resides on Noah's bed.
Here are the Christmas lights that we went to see on Christmas Eve. This is Marie Osmonds house. It was HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas was great once again at the Smith house. Everyone got exactly what they wanted and then some. My brother Josh and his wife Jadey came over for Christmas dinner where we had WAY to much food. Jadey's brother joined us for dinner as well. We just enjoyed hanging out with each other and watching one of Noah's new movies, "How to Train your Dragon". Such a cute movie. I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Christmas.

Noah taking the jump!

We wake up this morning to over 8 inches of snow on the ground. It sure is beautiful and it isn't even that cold. It's great. Chris, Noah, and I went tubing and snowboarding this morning. Then we came home for lunch and Chris went off to work. Noah decided that he hadn't had enough snow so he went back out and played with one of his friends for the rest of the afternoon. Here are a few pictures of our adventures at Rock Canyon Park.

Lasagna Roll Ups

1/2 (8 oz) package uncooked lasagna noodles
1 (16 oz) container ricotta cheese
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen spinach
2 cups grated Monterey Jack Cheese
1 (32 oz) jar Chunky style Spaghetti sauce

Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package. In small bowl combine the next six ingredients. Stir in spinach and 1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese. Spread ricotta mixture on lasagna noodles, then roll them up. In bottom of 12 X 8 pan spread a thin layer of spaghetti sauce. Lay roll ups seam side down in the pan on top of the spaghetti sauce. Pour remaining sauce on top and add the remaining cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serves 4-6

Eggnog Quick Bread

Here is a recipe for the holidays. Hope you enjoy it as much as I will! Merry Christmas!

So many things have been going on with our Family recently. Noah finished up wrestling. He did an amazing job this year. Wrestling is obviously not his sport, but he has so much fun just messing around with the other boys. It is great on Tuesdays and Thursday nights because he wrestles from 7-8pm and then comes home for a shower and is ready for bed. It really gets him nice and tired which is great for me. We are getting ready to start basketball season now. This is going to be a ton of fun. He is still taking piano lessons and is doing great with that. He has an amazing teacher and it is so convenient she lives in the apartment below us. He really likes her and she is such a remarkable teacher.

Chris is coming to the end of his 3rd semester here at BYU. This has been by far the most stressful semester yet. Organic Chemistry is sending Chris into frantic mode. He always doubts himself, but has really been struggling with this class. He has been very lucky to have one of his ROTC buddies tutoring him to hopefully get him a passing grade. This is going to make or break us as far as applying for Dental Schools goes. I know he will do good, but he has really had to work for this. I am looking forward to him being about to relax for about 2 weeks before next semester begins. He is also getting his wisdom teeth taken out two days after Christmas, so I will have him home and have to take care of him while he recovers. I will just be happy to have him home and all to myself. LOL

Me..........well where do I begin. I am coming to the end of my 1st year of school. It hasn't been as bad as I thought. To think that I had waited so long to go back to school and was really thinking about never going just boggles my mind. It has been fun and very rewarding. Next year at this time I will have my associates degree and be half way done with my bachelors degree. I can't believe I am doing this. My daycare is going great and my photography has been a ton of fun. I have completely finished all my Christmas shopping and wrapped everything. I did GREAT this year. Let's face it a budget for Christmas is just mean. I can never stick to one because I am a shopaholic. Most people would say I need help but fact is, I am like any addict.....I KNOW I don't have a problem. HA HA HA

Not feeling sorry for myself anymore.................As most of you know, Chris and I have been trying to add to our family for the past 2 years now with no luck. For many months I cried and got angry and just didn't know what to do. There were days I didn't want to get out of bed, or cook for my family, or clean my house, but I kept going as best I could. Chris and I are now working with doctors to explore our options with having a baby. I know it will happen for us, but I also need to remember that the Lord has a plan for us and we need to be patient and wait for his guidance. I could not have made it to this point without the love of my Savior. It is true with God ALL things are possible. I know that our family will be blessed with more children and I look forward to the time when that comes and Noah can be a big brother. I am so grateful for the love and support our friends and family have shown to us during our struggle. We are truly blessed.

I am so excited. Today I was able to get my website up and running for my photography business. It turned out really good and I am really happy with it. If you have a moment visit my website at http://smithfamilyphotography.org/ It has all my information on there and some sample pictures.