I can't wait for my trip to the beach..................

Here are some amazing pictures from TopSail beach, which is where we will be for a week in July this summer. I can't wait. I am a beach girl and Noah loves to ride the waves. Tanning oil, sunglasses, beach chair, and a good book=HEAVEN!
I can't wait to take some great shots at the beach too. Beach pictures are always the best.

Airline Tickets have been booked......

Noah and I are so ready for another great visit to Virginia (home) this summer. We are going home for 2 1/2 months and can't wait. While we are there we get to go to the beach for a week and many day trips, camping, to the pool, the Washington Zoo, and many other very fun activities. I also get to see my niece Lexi in her 1st dance recital. I can't wait to see all my family on both sides and just relax all summer. Chris is taking Spring classes and then has LDAC training with the ARMY in July so he is not coming with us. We will miss him but will keep busy Im sure.

Today I booked our tickets and now it is starting to feel like everything is coming together. I bought the cutest luggage set a few months ago for our trip. It is giraffe print with hot pink trim. IT IS ADORABLE!!! I love it. I obviously had to get Noah his own because he didn't want to carry on a Giraffe print bag. I guess that wouldn't be cool to make him carry that since he will be 10 years old in a month. Now he has a cool looking carry on that is all boy.

I am also going to be doing a lot of photography when I come home. I am completely booked all summer with tons of photography sessions and can't wait to use my new products and increase my talent.

Spending time with family is the most important part of this life and I am so excited that I get to meet two new additions this summer. My nephew Bentley was born last August and so I will get to meet him in person for the 1st time this summer. We skype often but holding him and kissing his sweet little face is something I am sooooooo looking forward to. I also have a new niece who will be joining our family in April. My sister in law Steph will be home with the baby in June so I will get to hold, kiss, and love on sweet little Addison while I am home too.

This summer is going to be so much fun. I am really looking forward to our trip and can't wait to catch up with great family and friends.

Basketball Season

Noah, my little all star. He is so good at basketball and really enjoys it too. He is just like his Uncle Adam, an athlete.

This was one of his games and he is headed down the court to make a shot.

Awesome layup Noah!!!!!

Catherine and Brayden come to visit Utah!

Here is a picture of me with two of my sister in laws, Jadey and Catherine. On Saturday night of Brayden and Catherine's visit, we meet in Salt Lake City for dinner with Josh and Jadey at Cafe Rio. It was so much fun and Catherine was finally able to meet Jadey.
Josh, Jadey, Catherine, and Brayden at dinner in Salt Lake City. Brayden was so full of life and I think he was having a good time.
On Saturday after Noah's basketball game we went to the Living Planet Aquarium and then hit Salt Lake City to visit Temple Square. (a must see if you come to Utah) It was fun to show them around and tell them a little about the history of this amazing Temple.
I love this picture. It just reminds me that Families can be Together Forever. What a blessing it is to know that.
Brayden and Catherine at the Conference Center, which is across the street from the Salt Lake Temple. President Hinckley was such a brilliant man to have such a building built. We were able to take a short tour of that as well.
Nemo and Dori LOL I love this picture. This was at the Living Planet Aquarium. I had so much fun there seeing all the different sea animals.
Noah and Brayden got to pet the sting rays. That is Noah's favorite part of going to that Aquarium.

I am so grateful that my sister in law and nephew could come and visit us in Utah so we could show them around our neighborhood. It was nice to see family and just hang out for a few days. I can't wait until we go home this summer for a little over 2 months to visit so that we can spend a ton of time with both sides of our family. I have a new nephew to meet and a new niece who will be arriving in about 10 weeks, so this summer will be filled with tons of family time for sure.

I haven't blogged since New Years????? Oh my, it has really been awhile. Anyways, I don't have any pictures to add right now (a surprise huh) but our family has had so many things going on over the past month.

Noah is in the second half of 4th grade and doing great. He is on the basketball team and loves playing. He has been having a lot of his friends over to play so my house has been very very loud and I have found myself just going to my room with the laptop to escape. We are in the process of planning his 10th birthday party which is coming up WAY TO FAST. He will turn 10 in April. Noah and I have enjoyed a lot of activities just him and I, like going to the Library. The Provo Library is awesome. We love going there to pick out great books and a few movies too. We have also gone to the movies quite a bit lately and really have enjoyed that.

I am working on my Criminology class and am LOVING IT! I love that kind of stuff so writing the papers for that class have been my absolute favorite. My algebra class SUCKS! I am doing well in it but I am not liking it too much. I only have about 9 1/2 months left until I have my associates degree. I can't wait. I am so happy that I chose to go back to school and prove to myself that I can do this. Our family is still praying for a baby to join our family soon, whether we get pregnant or adopt, we are just ready to expand.

Chris is loving the ROTC program right now. We have been so much happier since we made the decision to forgo Dental School and go straight into the ARMY. It is a great decision for our family. We will find out in October what Branch he gets and probably Dec or Jan will find out where we will be stationed. I am hoping overseas but we will see. I am so ready to start another new adventure with my family. Chris is still working at the BYU Library (which is another amazing library). This semester we have a lot more time together and Chris only has to miss one dinner with us a week. I am very grateful for that.

We have also had the pleasure of having my brother Josh come for dinner every Thursday night while his wife Jadey is at school. Jadey and I also get to hang out all day every Thursday until she leaves for class. I really have grown to love and appreciate her. She is an amazing sister in law. I am so blessed. I have 4 amazing sister in laws who are all my best friends. It is great. I never had any sisters growing up, but I feel like I have a swarm of them now.

It's a New Year....Welcome 2011

There were so many things that I wanted to accomplish last year, but didn't. I am not sure if I was just lazy, had to much on my plate or what, but this year it will be different. Last year Chris and I got some news that seemed bad at the time and really affected our moods. Although I am glad that instead of tearing us apart we found comfort in each other and only grew stronger. With a new year comes new goals and things I would like to accomplish. I am going to list my goals for 2011 and hopefully in December 2011 I will be able to come back to this post and see that I have accomplished at least 80% of it. That is my goal. So here goes the list: and it is not in any kind of order....

1. Read my scriptures daily.
2. Keep a house of order (clean and straight)
3. Date nights monthly with my husband (with school weekly just wont work)
4. Make 10 blankets for mothers who are expecting (either in our ward or family or friends)
5. Keep a personal journal
6. EXERCISE (we all know I need to)
7. Eat Healthier
8. Start the adoption process and wait patiently
9. Get completely out of debt (we are almost there)
10. Learn 6 new songs on the piano
11. I want to serve others who are in need of service in our community
12. Pray daily and with real intent
13. Have date night with my son, Noah.
14. Finish school in November with an associates degree.
15. Learn to understand that I can't please everyone
16. Keep up with my blogs. ( I have my photography blog, Family blog, Recipe blog, and I have made a blog that one day will be printed and given to our next child, it is our journey through the adoption process.)
17. Find kind things to say about others rather than finding their faults
18. Continue to educate myself on my photography business
19. Do a kind deed for my husband each week.
20. Become better friends with my sister in laws ( I have 4 and our schedules are crazy so staying in touch is sometimes hard.)

These are just a few things that I would like to work on this year and hope that I will be able to accomplish all of them.

Pictures for my previous post!

This was a sweet jump! Noah kept doing it over and over again.

And of course he loves to snowboard and is really good at it. Scared of nothing!

My handsome little man!

This is my dear sweet husband after getting his wisdom teeth out. He had checks like a chipmunk. It was so cute.

That is a cool shot.

Well those two bags had to be thrown out. He kept freezing them and thawing them on his face and then freezing them and thawing them on his face for about 3 days. Can anyone say "FREEZER BURN"?!

There is my little all star making a shot. He is so athletic.

Over Christmas break it snowed and it has been very very cold. Chris had his wisdom teeth taken out two days after Christmas. He did really well. It was funny to listen to him babble on and on while waiting for the anesthesia to wear off. He even told me I could go out and buy a car. Anyone that knows Chris knows that he is tight with money and he would never approve such a purchase. He did really well and slept a lot for the next few days. It now has been two weeks and he is almost completely healed.

He is now starting his 5th semester here at BYU and is doing great. He has changed his major to Exercise Science and we have decided not to go onto dental school. He will graduate from BYU in April 2012 and then we are at the mercy of the ARMY. I can't wait to see where they send us. I am so ready for a new adventure. He is really happy with this decision and has put a lot of thought into his decision. I can't wait to be an ARMY wife. I know it isn't always fun but traveling sounds like something I can do. Noah loves Utah but has said he can't wait to go somewhere new. He is just hopeful it is somewhere with snow.

Noah is entering the second half of 4th grade and is doing GREAT!!! He is so smart and loves school. He has made many friends and is just enjoying being a kid. He is currently still involved with Chess Club and is learning the game and having fun in the process. He is also in cub scouts. He has already earned his Bobcat, Wolf, and Bear Badges and his belt is almost full of belt loops that he has accomplished. In April he will go into Weblos. I am a leader for the Weblos so it will be fun to work with him on his awards and other accomplishments. He has finished wrestling and now has moved into Basketball. He just had his first game this past Saturday and he did really well. I was so proud of him. He has great coordination and has really become a team player instead of a ball hog. LOL

In December I completed my 1st year of college. One down....three to go. I will have my associates degree the week before Thanksgiving 11/13/2011.(not sure when graduation is for that yet.) I am super excited about that. My photography is doing well. I am going home this summer for two months and am almost completely booked up. That is such a blessing. I love to capture memories for families and couples. It is a great job. I am still doing daycare and loving it. The kids that I have are great and I love them so much. It is fun to watch them grow and learn new things and has really been a blessing to me. I have been able to take and pick up Noah from school with the snow being all over the ground and am so grateful for a Husband who has made it possible for me to be a stay at home mom. He really is the BEST!

As most of you know, Chris and I are starting the adoption process. We are very excited to be able to take part in such a wonderful program. I look forward to meeting our new little bundle of joy and Noah is very excited for the process to begin too. He can't wait to become a big brother and he is going to be great! He does so well with all the little children in our neighborhood and also with my daycare children. Our family has really been blessed through this whole process even though at times it doesn't seem like it. Knowing that we have a loving Heavenly Father who is mindful of us and hears our prayers makes the process a true blessing.

I guess that is all for the update! Oh one more thing.........Did I mention what a great husband I have. I was just able to pay off my piano and he bought me a laptop. I LOVE HIM SOOOOOO MUCH!

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.