Pumpkin Patch 2011.......

 One of my favorite parts of fall is going to the pumpkin patch.  I LOVE HALLOWEEN!  I have had my house decorated for weeks now and was super excited about taking Noah to the pumpkin patch and then carving pumpkins.

 Last year was our first year that we went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi.  BEST PLACE EVER!!!!  I have never seen a pumpkin patch so amazing with tons and tons of great activities for the family.

 They even had a place to paintball.  They got to shoot 100 rounds each and were hitting a tractor and some other farm objects.  It was really neat and both Chris and Noah LOVED it.

 This is the hay maze.  We also did the corn maze which is truly amazing.

 Noah also go to learn how to milk a cow.  LOL  Like I said, they have tons of activities.

 We got to go on two hay rides and go through a spooky dinosaurs (some inflatable dinosaur).  Noah was a little scared at first but then once we got through it he said it wasn't so bad.  I jumped every time I heard a noise.  It was fun though.

 My favorite part of our trip........The BIG chair.  LOL  It is so fun and I got this same picture last year so of course I wanted this years too.

Then the main purpose of the trip............THE PUMPKIN PICKING.  We got two BIG pumpkins and we already had one small one at home so one for each family member.  I carved mine tonight and will post pictures later.  Did I mention that I LOVE THE PUMPKIN PATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Breathe.......

Yesterday we had our home visit.  I was sooooooooooooooooo nervous.  I knew a few things that they were going to be looking for like fire extinguishers, fire alarms, and carbon monoxide alarms, but I didn't know what else they were going to want to know.  We have an amazing case worker who is very informative which has been really nice.  So she came over and took a tour of our apartment, check for the items she needed to, and then we talked about making our photo collages and about writing our letter to parents who are looking to place their baby for adoption.  That was it.  It was over in 20 minutes.  Once our case worker left I took a deep breath and hugged Chris.  It wasn't bad at all.  So last night Chris and I started on our birth parent letter.  WOW, that is a hard letter to write.  I am sure that the expectant parents have a hard time reading them too.  Chris being a perfectionist got a really cool layout for the page and was setting that all up.  We then started writing it.  It is so amazing how much closer this process has brought Chris and I.  In the letters you get to explain your spouse.  It is always interesting to see what is written since that is not something you simply discuss at dinner.  I worked on our photo collages this morning and sent those to our case worker for approval.  We are almost there.  It should a only be about 2 or 3 weeks until we are officially approved.  That will mean our whole approval process took about 2 1/2 to 3 months from start to finish.  That's not bad.  We are so excited about this process and are very thankful for the love and support of our families and friends!

New adventures coming our way.......

I am super excited to be an Army wife if you hadn't noticed.  I am fully aware that it is not all peaches n cream but it is still exciting for our family.  Chris will be in the Adjutant General branch which deals with human resource kind of things.  We get to put in for three locations of where we would like to be stationed.  This does not mean that we will get any of these locations it just means that if they can they will try to accommodate but they may have a need for you somewhere else.  Bottom line is....you go where they want you to go.  So I am listing the places we would like to go and why we thing that it would be fun to live there.  So here goes........

 1st choice is Fort Jackson, South Carolina.  Ok I just found out that it is still a couple hours from the beach but when you consider I have been living in Utah for the past 2 1/2 years a few hours doesn't sound too bad to me.  Especially since I stay at home I can go to the beach whenever I want.  Chris and I sat down and went over the list of places we would like to go and then from the list we picked we then sat down with Noah to get his input on it as well.  Several things were very appealing when choosing this location.  First, the beach.  That may sound dumb but I am a girl who needs sand between her toes several times a year. (The volleyball court sand here in Utah isn't the same).  Second, we would be closer to family for a least a few years.  We would be able to go home for Thanksgiving or have people come to our place.  We can make it for our nieces and nephews birthday parties and other events like dance recitals or soccer games.  Third, well we have never lived in South Carolina so why not try a new adventure back east.  This is the one station we ALL really want.  Go I guess we will see.

 

 2nd choice is Fort Carson, Colorado.  Now, I know that I have been talking about beaches and sand but Chris should get a say in where we go too, right?  Anyway, as most of you know Chris severed his mission in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  He loves it there and would really love to live there.  Two summers ago we took a family vacation to Colorado.  IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.  It was nice and warm and sunny.  We all had a good time and got to meet a few families that Chris worked with while he was there.  So the reasons behind this location....1st I got the 1st choice so he got the second.  LOL  Seriously that is how it worked.  2nd..it is a beautiful place and even though it gets cold and snows a lot, it is the sunniest state in the US so that can be exciting.  3rd...why not.  Colorado is awesome.  The church is strong there and once again it will be a new adventure for us as a family.  I wouldn't be upset if we got Colorado.

 

3rd choice is Fort Stewart, Georgia.  This would be AWESOME!!!!!!  Ok back to the beach reasons.  LOL  So we would be like 30 to 45 minutes away from the beach.  Tybee Island to be exact.  If we don't live on post we could live in Savannah Georgia.  That would be so cool.  Savannah is beautiful and I could totally make that my home for the next few years.  Ok so for the reasons....1st is Georgia is a beautiful state and close to the beaches.  2nd...it is still close enough to make it home to VA for some holidays and birthdays.  3rd....Did I mention it was close to a beach?!  LOL  

After doing a ton of research on a dozen Army bases around the Country these are the 3 that we have chosen and hope to get one of them.  If not, oh well, wherever we end up we will have each other, we will have a new church family, and we will always have skype and phone calls and even visits with family.  I am just excited for a new adventure and see where our lives are headed.  The good news of location will be coming around Jan or Feb so stay tuned to fine out where Smith Adventures is going.

Our Interviews

Yesterday Chris and I had our individual interviews with the adoption agency.  My interview went better than I thought.  I was nervous, didn't know what was going to be asked, but was also excited because this gets us one step closer to bringing home our new baby.  My interview was very emotional. (I know I could cry over spilt milk).  Our case worker is great and very understanding.  I was asked very personal questions and some very hard questions.  Our caseworker never once made the interview uncomfortable.  It felt so easy to open up to her about things that I haven't shared with anyone or maybe just Chris.  My interview took a little over an hour.  Chris went back for his turn and came out 30 mins later.  How did he get a short one.  LOL  I guess guys get asked a question and they answer it.  Women get asked a question and they give you a story.  LOL  Anyway, we were both excited to have those over with and excited for the adoption training this weekend and our home visit which is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.  I went and got our fire extinguisher and carbon monoxide detectors today at Lowes.  I have never been so excited to go into a hardware store in my life.  Those are the only things that we were missing from the list of things she will be looking for in our home.  IM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Almost there

Today Chris and I are going for our individual interviews with our case worker for the adoption process.  I am excited and scared at the same time.  I am so excited because that means that we are one step closer to being approved.  I am scared because I am not sure what they are going to ask.  I feel like with all the paperwork and online forms that we have opened our souls to them and given them everything we have so I am a little curious as to what they are going to ask us today.  This week Chris and I are going to attend the mandatory adoption training which is going to be very insightful.  I love that Chris and I get to take this journey together and to learn as much as we possible can about being a family through adoption.  I am looking forward to growing closer together as a couple and as a family with this process.  I use to be upset (and still am at times) that we can't have children biologically, but I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED to be adding to our family this way and look forward to the amazing birth mother who chooses our family.  This journey has been a hard one but has definitely been good at times and the closer we get to being approved just makes me so happy inside and ready for what the Lord has in store for our family.  I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice.  I am grateful for prayer and the peace and comfort I feel from my personal relationship with my Heavenly Father.  I know that everything happens for a reason and I may not understand now why Chris and I can't have children of our own, but I do know that Heavenly Father has a plan for me and for my family and he sees the entire picture and knows what we can handle and endure.  I am grateful for that knowledge and I am grateful for this opportunity to open our home and our hearts to children who need us.  

BYU vs. San Jose

 That's right, another game!  I keep getting emails for really good prices on tickets so I figured, Hey why not.  So this game was much colder than the last two.  We went to Walmart to get our BYU gear cause it is cheaper and we got some great stuff.  Then we went home and I wanted a nap since the game was starting at 8:15pm.  While I was asleep my WONDERFUL husband went to the BYU bookstore and found him a beanie (cause we couldn't find one for him at Walmart) and he saw the cougar beanie and knew I just had to have it.  He bought it and surprised me with it.  How awesome is that.  I love the hat and totally rocked it out at the game.

 Josh and Jadey came with us to the game.  Jadey froze the whole time and was tired cause he had to work all day and Josh had a blast.  It was so much fun having them there.

 That's me in my adorable cougar hat.  Best hat ever!  You should be very jealous of this one.  LOL

 What kind of game would it be if we didn't capture the cutest BYU couple.  So here you have it.

This final picture is of me and my baby brother Josh.  I took this one for my mom and dad.  I am sure they will love seeing two of their kids hanging out at a BYU game.  We had such a great time.

Getting ready for hibernation.

 I am soooo not ready for the winter season.  I feel like  summer just began.  I am definitely a girl who loves the beach with sand in between my toes.  AHHHHHHHHHHH......just thinking about it makes me sad.  Now the cool weather begins.  Fall here in Utah is GORGEOUS but it only lasts a few weeks.  Our winters are so long and cold with tons of snow.  The snow is fun and we love to go tubing and sledding and Noah loves to snowboard but it still isn't warm and sunny.  Today my project was to get all the space bags unpacked with our winter clothes, put those away, and then pack up all the winter stuff.  I am keeping my favorite pair of flip flops out just in case I feel like an open toe shoe day, but all the rest have been put away and are ready to be taken to our storage unit.  I have mine and Chris' stuff all done and tonight will work on Noah's space bags of winter clothes to see what fits and what does not.


Ok, so winter is not so bad.  I am looking forward to soup and sandwiches for dinner, Chili, hot chocolate, and of course all the fun Holidays.  I am already done with almost all of my Christmas shopping and my house is completely decorated for Halloween.  I do have to admit that I love to go tubing so that I am actually kind of looking forward to.  Since we won't know when we are leaving Utah until February so this may be our last winter with really good snow.   Who knows we may get somewhere that snows a lot.  It is up to the Army where we get to go.  So that is another exciting part about this winter.  After all the holiday fun is over, we will be looking forward to finding out where we will be going for our first duty station and when Chris' training will be.  We also have a graduation coming up for Chris in April which is going to be a BIG DEAL.  We have tons of family coming in and look forward to seeing them and sharing such a great occasion with them.


So, now to decide if Im going to start my winter hibernation or if I am gonna make the most of it and enjoy Utah for one more year.

Not another rainy day...........

 

Another rainy day here in Provo Utah.  Yesterday it was rainy too and I felt like I got nothing accomplished other than watching almost an entire season of Army Wives.  I know pathetic right?!  Well, one of my daycare kids went home sick and the other one leaves after lunch to go to Kindergarten, so I had the whole afternoon to myself.  I took a nap after Marshall left.  (That is my favorite part of a rainy day).  Then I picked Chris up from school and came home and sat on my couch and started into Season 5 of Army Wives.  By the way, what an emotional season.  I think I cried half the day.  It was great though.  It's always nice to get out a good cry once in a while.  Then I made dinner and got that cleaned up and head back for the couch for some more Army Wives.  It was a long but relaxing day.  I so needed it.  When I woke up this morning................another rainy day!  My house is clean, I have just a little bit of school work to do, no errands that need to be run, 1 daycare child for 1/2 the day.  Then what?  Another nap?  Some more Army Wives?  Im not sure but I guess instead of being bummed that the sun isn't out today I can always take advantage of this nice home I have and do some reading.  And yes I will be finishing up Season 5 of Army Wives today too.  Tonight my baby brother is coming for dinner so I hope he loves our mom's Chili cause that is what is for dinner here with some yummy corn bread.  That is one thing I love about Fall/Winter..........Soups and Chili!  They are easy, yummy, and PERFECT for this kind of weather.

General Relief Society Meeting

Last Saturday night I was able to attend the General Relief Society Meeting.  Our stake had a light dinner, which was soup and bread.  Yummy, I had cream of broccoli soup, it was amazing.  Anyway, you know how sometimes you feel like everything is ok and you are doing fine and things are on the right track?  Well that is how I have been feeling.  As always I love to hear from Sister Julie Beck and her counselors Sister Allred and Sister Thompson but then the concluding speaker was President Uchtdorf.  He is one of my all time favorite speakers.  I just love him.  So he talked to us about a flower called Forget me not.  With the forget me not flower it has 5 pedals.  He had a forget me not phrase for each pedal.  Each one was so uplifting I just wanted to take a second to tell you what they are:  1st:  Forget not to be patient with yourself.  Is that not hard sometimes?  I have a hard time being patient a lot but especially with myself.  This was a great reminder to take a step back and learn to be patient with myself.  I also love that he put in his remarks "Let me add:  God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not."  2nd:  Forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice.  He said that not all sacrifices are bad, it's just that some are better.  My favorite part in this portion was when he said, "Dedicating some of our time to studying the scriptures or preparing to teach a lesson is a good sacrifice.  Spending many hours stitching the title of the lesson into homemade pot holders for each member of your class perhaps may not be."  LOL how funny is that.  I think this is a good thing for all mothers to stop and think about.  3rd:  Forget not to be happy now.  WOW!!!  This one hit home.  I think so many times we all think we would be happy if......  His remarks for this pedal really made me think about my life and realize that there is so much to be happy with.  I so needed to hear this right now with going through the adoption process.  It is important for me to realize that I do have a lot to be happy about and although I can put time and effort and thought into this process and be happy about that, but I also need to be happy with my husband and my son and the joys that we share every single day.  Like I said this really hit home and I sooooooooo needed it.  4th:  Forget not the "why" of the gospel.  It is important for us to know "why our Heavenly Father has given us this pattern for living, when we remember why we committed to making it a foundational part of our lives, the gospel ceases to become a burden and instead becomes a joy and a delight.  It become precious and sweet."  I think a lot of times we can get to be so busy with our church responsibilities and we may think of it as just another thing that takes up some of our time.  When we think about the "why" of the gospel we will be able to better serve our family, friends, and neighbors.  Knowing the "why" can help us to spread the love of Christ everywhere we go.  5th:  Forget not that the Lord love you.  This is another one that I really needed at this moment.  There are times in everyones life where we feel so overwhelmed and busy and tired and have different trials going on in our lives that it is easy to think, does anyone know how I feel.  Does anyone care.  Feeling the love of the Lord is essential to keeping us going.  I have never doubted that the Lord loves me.  It may seem hard to understand sometimes why he does, but we need to remember that we are his child and just like with our own children, we love them no matter what they do, he is the same.  He loves us unconditionally.  Always remember that the Lord loves you and you will be able to accomplish anything your heart desires.
I am so grateful for President Uchtdorf and his very special message that I felt was meant just for me.  He is such a sweet man who was inspired to give this message to the women of the world.  We are so blessed to have such great leaders of the church who love and appreciate us as women.  I feel so blessed!  I look forward to conference every six months so that I can be spiritually uplifted and reminded of the little things that help me through the day.

BYU vs. Utah State

 That's right.  We went to another BYU football game.  Look, you can't fault me for it.  We had no plans of going but then Wednesday morning when I woke up I had an email from BYU stating I could get $45 tickets for $20.  I couldn't pass that up.  Boy am I glad we went.  That was a heck of a game and had me on the edge of my seat almost the whole game.

 While we were waiting for the game to start guess who I found....That's right, I found WALDO! 

 I also went and got myself another pink BYU shirt.  Why?  Because I love pink, I love BYU, and I love to shop.  Hey I was gonna get matching earrings but thought that Chris might have a cow.  I also got my mom a pink BYU shirt and sent it to her back in Virginia so she can sport the pink BYU shirt too.  What can I say....WE ARE COUGAR FANS!!!!!!!!!!!

Noah loves going and watching the game.  He asks lots of questions and thank goodness knows everything about football cause all I can tell you is where the ball is and when we get a touch down.  It is so much fun going to the stadium though and the cougar polish dogs are amazing!  So proud of our Cougars.  Last two game we got the opportunity to go and then didn't let me down.  I would be really upset if I bought tickets and they lost.  Love family time doing fun things together.