8 Great Things In 2008

2008 has been a wonderful year! I feel that my family has been very blessed and many fond memories have been made. There is no better way say goodbye to this year than to remember my favorite things that have happened. I encourage you to do the same :)

Starting in January 2008 and moving through the year with my favorite times!


1. All of the snow days that occurred last winter were such a blessing. I was having a difficult time balancing work and family so these precious snow storms were some of my favorite times. I got to play with Ivy and be snowed in from the rest of the world.

2. Our mini-trip to Cincinnati last March was so much fun! It was just Greg, Ivy, and I off to visit Unc and Esie. (Mom and Dad were in Mexico~) Chelsea and I went shopping to Gap Outlet, Ivy and Unc spent some quality time playing, Chelsea made us an amazing dinner, we played games, and got to go to their church that Sunday. This was one of my favorite family moments!

3. Ivy's first time at the park is something that I will never forget. She was in awe with the big playground and she loved swinging outside. Now the park is one of our favorite pretty weather things to do!

4. Our family beach vacation- ear infection and all... was a blast. We ate good meals, enjoyed the sunshine, and spent time with family. Ivy experienced her first time at the ocean and feeling her toes in the sand. All in all- it was a great trip! Thanks, Nana and Pops!


5. Ivy's 1st Birthday! This day was so fun. Greg and I don't know about celebrating birthdays with outdoor play time and grilling out with friends and family. (We are both January babies.) We had a great time celebrating this milestone!

6. The 1st week of school has always been one of my favorite things (since kindergarten)! This is definitely my favorite time of teaching... getting to meet my new students, organizing school supplies, and just being in a routine again. A major perk this year was knowing I was only going to work part time!

7. Trick Or Treating with Ivy was better than I could have ever imagined. Both sets of grandparents came and we toted Ivy in her wagon around the neighborhood. She was precious in her skunk outfit and this is when she found out that she LOVED sweets.

8. Seeing the magic of Christmas through Ivy's eyes was something that I didn't realize would be so special. It was great to see her excited expression every time she got a present or even saw a Christmas tree. Being a parent allows you to experience child like joy in these holiday moments!

I am excited to see what next year holds!

New Bedroom for the New Year

As I have said before, I AM TOTALLY HAVING HOUSE FEVER! But as of right now, that is not in the cards for us (we have to see where Greg ends up!) so I am re-doing my current homestead. I started this fall with new furniture for our family room. Then for Christmas we asked for some items to update our bedroom. It is complete and I absolutely love it!

BEFORE

AFTER

Seven Things on Sarah Smorstad

My friend, Cameron, tagged me to tell 7 things that no one knows about me.... considering I am not a very private person, it is going to be difficult to tell you 7 secrets about myself. But I will give it a try :)

1. I am more afraid of becoming fat than becoming dirt poor.

2. In another life (a not so Wilmore school teacher-ish life), I would love to be covered in tattoos. I am talking about big, gorgeous tattoos that are outwardly seen and can be admired by other tattoo lovers.

3. I have very little tolerance.... my loved ones might even say ABSOLUTELY NO TOLERANCE.... for ignorance. I have to wake up every morning and pray that I can handle all the ignoramuses (can you believe this is a real word) that I may come in contact with.

4. I never, ever thought that I would want to stay at home and simply be a mommy and a wife. After having Ivy that idea changed. I want nothing more than to be a mommy and wife and I have the utmost respect for those that can balance both worlds and make it look so easy. The little bit of competitive nature that I have questions- what is wrong with me that I could not (physically or emotionally) work full time after having a baby.

5. As much as the above statement is true... so is this one. I will never, ever be the type of wife that is overly submissive, non-confrontational, and walks on eggshells around my husband. Our marriage is based on communication even when it is difficult.

6. I am excited to drive a mini-van! haha :) Greg is disgusted by this thought.

7. I think EVERYONE who smokes cigarettes is ugly.

Here are 7 more people that I would love to know 7 little things about:

1. Allie

2. Ashley

3. Kendra

4. Whitney

5. Terri

6. Lori

7. Kelli

Smorstad Christmas 2008

Another wonderful Christmas has passed us by. In fact, I think this was the best Christmas I have had in my adult life. It was the perfect balance of time with family and the joy of seeing Christmas through a child's eyes. Ivy was so excited with every change and even has a new expression to capture her emotions. (I will have to get a picture of her "excited" face!)

Ivy got tons of fun presents that she has been very busy putting to good use. Some of her favorites are her new kitchen with play food and dishes, Elmo Live, Mr. Potato head, magna-doodle, toy vacuum, and two new babies and their stroller. She also has been busy watching Miss Patty Cake and the Cedarmont kids... if you don't know these folks you are missing out! Well, you may not be missing out but your child is! (Find them at the Christian bookstore!)

When Christmas is over it is always kind of bitter sweet. It seems like you look forward to the day for months on end and then... BOOM... it is gone. However, I am a little bit of a Scrooge toward the end. Don't kill me- but, the decor came down last night before I laid my head to the pillow. I know I am a little crazy but the clutter really starts to get to me! Christmas wrapping up also means the start of a new year. I am excited (and a little nervous) to see what the year 2009 brings, with Greg graduating this may be a lot of change for our family.

Enjoy the Christmas photos below!

Thank you, to my sweet hubs, for fancy-ing up my pictures :)

Clickety on the pictures to get a closer looky at Miss Ivy!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to All!!

Love, The Smorstad's

Pig Tails

Yesterday after taking pictures of Ivy and noticing her crazy mop head... I decided I would give pig tails a whirl! Here she is after a full day and they are still in tact. What do you know?

And yes, she is enjoying another Christmas cookie! Thus, the big grin :)

Baking Christmas Cookies

Yesterday we really got into the Christmas spirit at the Smorstad house. Now that Greg and I are both officially on Christmas break~ it was time to do some baking. Those of you that know me well-- are saying- "baking-really???" I really am not much of a cook. But I must say I have gotten a lot better since starting to work part time. I have found some easy, cheap, low stress recipes and we enjoy those meals often! But this Christmas I really wanted to start the Christmas cookie tradition with Ivy and Greg. Baking is one of the fondest memories of my childhood- I wish I would have picked up even a bit of my mom's talent in the kitchen! So therefore- this was our first annual batch of Smorstad Christmas cookies!

Ivy putting green sprinkles on her first cookie.

Daddy helping Ivy with some more sprinkles :)


Getting a taste.... YUMMY!


Ivy decides she needs to taste every cookie she dazzled.
Therefore, she got her decorating talents limited to two cookies.


Posing (and crying) with most of our cookies.
The girl LOVES her sweets- just like everyone else in our family!