Top 12 Pictures of 2012!!

One of my MOST favorite bloggers, Rachel over at I Heart Crafty Things, did a great post showcasing her 12 favorite pictures from 2012.  I loved this idea SO much, I thought I would do the exact same thing :)  So sit back and enjoy...my 12 FAVORITE pictures from our blog in 2012!!

 

 

 

 

After MONTHS of ridiculously hard training (when I started I could barely do a mile without stopping!) my family cheered me on as I finished my first 1/2 marathon.  I beat my time goal (barely!;) and I am looking forward to try and do another one after our baby makes his grand appearance this spring.

 

Last January we had a blast making white playdoh and turning it into snowmen.  Since we didn't have any of the real stuff my kid loved this fun substitute!

 

This picture always cracks me up.  Instead of patiently waiting to use a plastic spoon to get his egg out...my little guy just reaches in his whole hand :)  He is ALL boy and I love every single bit of him.

 

And he is NOT always thrilled with out crafts!

 

One of our favorite weeks last year was learning all about Dr. Suess and specifically Horton Hears a Who. 

 

The kids on Easter Sunday

 

My favorite shot from Avrie's one year pictures...totally priceless!!

 

ALL looking at the camera and smiling...a miracle indeed!!

 

Kendall and I got to have some fun girl time and do Wicked Witch of the West facials...love this girl!!

 

What can I say?  My favorite shot from our family pictures in 2012!

 

Paul and I FINALLY went on a vacation without kids...it was my dream trip to Hawaii and we LOVED every minute of it!!

 

The kids "burying their weapons" after learning about the people of Ammon.  I love family home evening and I love to see my children love it as well :)

 

 

As these girlies are getting older and bigger one of our favorite things to do is bake yummy treats together in the kitchen.  The mess is always huge...but the memories are worth it!! ;)

 

What a wonderful year we had!!  There were trials, heartache, stumbling blocks and disappointments along the way too...but just like our blog says, these pictures remind me there are ALWAYS Blue Skies Ahead!! 

 

I hope you and your families have an absolutely fantastic New Years!!

 

Top 12 of 2012!!

Can you believe 2013 is right around the corner?! 

 

The last month of 2012 has thrown us for a few loops...between Paul ending up in the hospital for a stroke and 2 funerals within a week for beloved family members I have to say I am looking forward to the new year :)

 

With that said, I LOVE looking back on our year and seeing some of the fun things we did.  Just in case you missed ANY of the fun, here are Blue Skies Ahead TOP 12 of 2012!!

 

 

 

Our April Fool's Day Breakfast...Cheerio Donuts

 

Candy Corn Bath Salts

 

Cat in the Hat pancakes to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Suess

 

Fun and educational Dental Week crafts

 

Homemade glow-in-the-dark puffy paint with moon craft

 

Homemade bath paints...a HUGE hit at our house!

 

Olympic Torch Craft

 

Paper Airplane Flight School!

 

 

Rainbow Otter Pop Punch...so fun for St. Patrick's Day.

 

Colored Snowflake Ice Cube Craft

 

Simple way to teach your children the law of tithing...

The Parable of the Skittles FHE

 

LOTS of homemade valentine ideas!

 

Seriously...what a GREAT year!!  Although I have basically fallen off the face of the earth since I became pregnant with our 5th baby, I just can't get myself to completely quit blogging.  It has been such a fun way to record little bits of our lives and get to give and take great ideas and inspiration from all the wonderful bloggers out there. 

 

I am looking forward to some fun things in 2013, so if you are still out there...keep checking back!!  There are lots of fun crafts to be done, treats to be made, activities to do with the kids, and decorating a little boy's nursery!! 

 

I hope you all had a most fantastic Christmas with your family and a blessed New Year!!

 

Mingle With Us Blog Hop!

It's Time to Mingle!  

Hosted by Blue Skies Ahead,  Happy Go Lucky, I Heart Crafty Things, and Keeping Up With Kristi.

Each week we will choose one blog at random to spotlight at the next week's blog hop.

This week's guest host is: oh so nifty

  There are no rules to this blog hop.  Just link up your blog's main page.  Then have fun reading new blogs and making new blog friends.  We would love for you to follow the hostesses in the first four spots and our guest host in the fifth spot.

Please leave a comment so we know to follow you back.   Grab our button if you want to share our blog hop with others. There will be a new list every Thursday, so be sure to come back every week.

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We hope you have fun and thanks for joining us!  We are so excited to find new blogs, share great ideas, and inspire each other!

 

Mingle With Us Blog Hop!!

It's Time to Mingle!

 

Hosted by Blue Skies Ahead,  Happy Go Lucky, I Heart Crafty Things, and Keeping Up With Kristi.

Each week we will choose one blog at random to spotlight at the next week's blog hop.

This week's guest host is:  Oh Scrap That

There are no rules to this blog hop.  Just link up your blog's main page.  Then have fun reading new blogs and making new blog friends.  We would love for you to follow the hostesses in the first four spots and our guest host in the fifth spot.

Please leave a comment so we know to follow you back.   This week we have a fun giveaway for you!   Joey and Chase Designs is giving away a $25 Store Credit to their shop.  They specialize in handmade jewelry and fun subway art.  

Enter using Rafflecopter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway   Grab our button if you want to share our blog hop with others. There will be a new list every Thursday, so be sure to come back every week.

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We hope you have fun and thanks for joining us!  We are so excited to find new blogs, share great ideas, and inspire each other!

 

Our Elf is at it again!!

 One of our favorite traditions the last few years has been having our very own little Christopher Elf come and stay with us for the month of December!

The kids wake up every morning excited to see what kind of shenanigans he has been getting into and where they will find him that day.  It is just one simple thing we do to make Christmas even a tiny bit more magical.   It's actually a lot of fun for me and Paul too :)  We stay up late trying to think of funny things to do with him that the kids would love, and laugh ourselves silly over some of the ideas we come up with.

Here is where we find Christopher so far this year :)

Since we don't have any snow in Utah right now, Christopher had to get creative and use marshmallows to make his snowman.

This has been my favorite one so far.  Christopher got a hold of Santa's List and was checking it twice :)  I got this adorable printable from Lil Luna and just added my kids names to the Nice side.

Christopher is apparently pretty crafty...look at those paper snowflakes!!

Christopher and his pals having their weekly game night.

Finally we found our little daredevil elf repelling over our banister with our unused Christmas lights!

There are SO many great ideas out there, and these are just the few that we have done this year already.  I can't wait to see what else Christopher gets into this year!! ;)

A week for the books...

 

So, things around here have been a little crazy.  

I mean, they are always a little crazy, but more so than usual.  I think being pregnant just adds an extra layer of crazy to our life, then throw anything additional on top of that and anything that's not a necessity goes out the window.  

Last week we had a scare with my husband that has given me a WHOLE new perspective on what's important.  To make a long story short, after a few days of different symptoms my husband went into the InstaCare to get checked out.  Over 7 hours later they found 3 small blood clots in his brain and diagnosed a minor stroke earlier that week.  

After sending him by ambulance to another hospital he was checked out by a neurologist and given a bunch more tests.  I've got to tell you...I was terrified!!  I was home with the kids when I found out what they had found and it was absolutely gut-wrenching to hear the words "blood clots" and "stroke" and not be there with my husband.  Luckily we have wonderful family that raced over to be with our scared little kids so I could hurry down to be with Paul.

To make a long story short...my hubs is incredibly lucky.  He has NO lingering effects from his minor stroke, and although the blood clots are still there, with a few weeks of blood thinners and one Aspirin a day he should be completely fine.  

I am so grateful to have him here with us.  I am so grateful for families and especially that we have the chance to be with those we love FOREVER.  When you face incredibly scary and unsure times...sometimes that is the only peace that can be found.  I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that answer's prayers...prayers for healing and prayers for peace.

And now, I feel it is my duty to give you my own Public Servant Announcement :)

If you or a loved one has a sudden, sharp headache, dizziness or numbness on one side of the body, blurry vision or trouble seeing GET TO THE HOSPITAL!!  I never in a million years thought my healthy, strong 32-year old husband would have a minor stroke...but he did.  He was so lucky to have no lasting side effects and the positive to this entire situation is now we are educated and we know exactly what to look for in the future.

So!  This is where I would usually say that we have lots of fun things coming up...but honestly...it may be a day or two! ;)  Right now we are all just enjoying our family and the beauty of this season.  I hope you are doing the same with those that you love!!

Mingle With Us Blog Hop!

It's Time to Mingle!  

Hosted by Blue Skies Ahead,  Happy Go Lucky, I Heart Crafty Things, and Keeping Up With Kristi.

Each week we will choose one blog at random to spotlight at the next week's blog hop.

This week's guest host is: Turtles and Tails

There are no rules to this blog hop.  Just link up your blog's main page.  Then have fun reading new blogs and making new blog friends.  We would love for you to follow the hostesses in the first four spots and our guest host in the fifth spot.

Please leave a comment so we know to follow you back.

Grab our button if you want to share our blog hop with others. There will be a new list every Thursday, so be sure to come back every week.

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We hope you have fun and thanks for joining us!  We are so excited to find new blogs, share great ideas, and inspire each other!