Thoughts on 2012

2012: Wow, what a year! As I go back through and look at the posts from the past year and see the many adventures of our little family, I am filled with gratitude for the many blessings we have received this year. We've had ups and downs, but overall it was a year full of new and exciting adventures.

 

There were down times: the death of my Grandpa Hoyt, and a discouraging Election Day, which was a sad day for me; I feel our country is being led down a destructive path, further away from its founding principles. But, good times definitely outweighed the bad!

 

Our biggest blessing this year arrived November 2: our sweet little Sabrie Anne! We love her so much and can't imagine our family without her sweet personality. Hoyt turned 2 and keeps us on our toes constantly, but we love him so much! Lexie turned 4 and started preschool with Ms. Kim; she is learning so much, and having a great time at school! We are grateful that Bryan has a good job to provide for our family, and I'm so glad I get to stay home and take care of our 3 adorable little munchkins and help them learn and grow each day. We look forward to 2013 with the many adventures it is sure to bring! Life is good!

Grandpa Hoyt

This holiday season was a little bit marred by the passing of my Grandpa Marvin P. Hoyt. Grandpa wasn't always an easy person to get close to, especially when I was little. But in his older age, he became a softie and loved when we came to visit. I felt bad the past few years because I didn't go up to see him and Grandma as much as I would have liked. During Thanksgiving, I decided I would not go back to Cedar until I had taken my kids to see Great Grandpa & Grandma. I especially wanted them to see Sabrie. I have been so bad taking pictures, but I knew it was important to get a picture of my kids with their great grandparents. So here is the picture. This is something I will cherish forever, because it is the last time we all saw Grandpa alive. I'm glad he got to meet little Sabrie and see my kids again.

We'll miss you Grandpa!

 We went to Orderville for a few days before Christmas. Saturday, Bryan went with my Dad and some of my siblings to a movie, but Sunday morning Dad got called up to Grandpa's and the rest of the day members of the family spent time by Grandpa's side. I went up and saw him for a few minutes between church meetings. I never said anything to him, and seeing him suffering to breathe was really hard. He was so tough and had lived for so long, I figured it would pass and he would be fine again. But when we were practicing the Melody Miss Alumni songs they came in and told us he had passed away. My mom was at the piano, and I have never seen her have a reaction like that. She put her head down on the keyboard and cried. We'll miss Grandpa, but I know he's in a better place.

We went back home that night to have Christmas with our little family. Grandpa's funeral was scheduled the next Friday. It was storming pretty bad still, so we drove the long way around to get there Thursday night for the viewing. It was great to be with family and celebrate the life of a good guy with a great posterity. I enjoyed singing with my girl cousins, and hearing all the boy cousins, and great grandkids (plus Jen) also sing. We really do have an awesome Hoyt family. Here is a picture of most of the family that made it to the funeral. Funny story about this picture. We lost Hoyt for a minute and were all searching for him. The little stinker had gone outside to the highway and luckily Nate and Stasha found him before anything bad happened. I was so mad and scared and they wanted us all for the picture so while searching for Hoyt I had laid Sabrie in her car seat, so when I went to get in the picture I completely forgot I didn't have her so she missed out on the picture. Oops. I am grateful for family and so grateful for our knowledge of the plan of salvation.
We love you Grandpa!

 

I have so many fond memories of cookouts, both at Grandpa's house and at the ranch. Almost every Sunday evening of my growing up years was spent at Grandpa and Grandma's house building relationships and memories. We also spent Christmas Eve at their house almost every year. When I was young, we acted out the nativity while someone read the story of The First Christmas from the bible. As we all got older, we just read from the bible and had a few musical numbers before Grandma handed out presents to everyone. Grandpa wasn't perfect, but the last several years of his life I have seen him change a lot and really appreciate family. Every time I went to see him he would give me a kiss and say he loved me and to come back and see him soon. I also remember a few cards he wrote to me telling me how proud he was of me. I will cherish all these memories forever.

Christmas 2012

I have mixed emotions about Christmas 2012, but for the most part it was good and the kids had a blast! The weekend before Christmas we headed to my parent's house. Saturday night, Bryan went with my dad and some of my siblings to watch The Hobbit at the IMAX in Zion. Sunday turned out to be a crazy, and ultimately sad day. I won't go into everything that happened on this post because I have a separate post about my Grandpa Hoyt passing. We had Jen open her presents that day so we could watch her. She loved her baptism dress!

 One of the main reasons we went over for the weekend was for the Lorene Lamb Christmas Memorial Concert. Most of my family was participating, including me (sing in the Melody Miss Alumni Choir). The hardest part was learning that Grandpa had passed away just a few minutes before the program was going to start. But the show went on and I think we made Mrs. Lamb proud. Jen had a hard time wanting to give her tribute, but they told her now Grandpa could hear her sing so she went up there and did a great job!

Here is a video of the Melody Miss Alumni Choir. I loved the years I spent learning music from Mrs. Lamb. She was a huge part of my life, and I'm forever grateful for the memories especially of Melody Misses. Those programs made Christmas in the Valley special.

 We decided to head back to Cedar City right after the program because it was starting to storm pretty bad and we didn't want to get stuck for Christmas. Christmas Eve with our kids was a nice day. The kids opened their new PJs so they could wear them that night.

The kids insisted on making some cookies for Santa so we opted for some Reese's Pieces cookies and they were yummy! Lexie forgot to ask Santa for a candy cane filled with candy, so she decided to write him a little note to leave with his milk and cookies. She abbreviated a bit, but I thought her note was cute and it worked!

Merry Christmas to all...

...and to all a good night!

Yummy Butterscotch Bubble Loaf for breakfast!

And here is all the loot. Man we were spoiled this year...I tried so hard to reign it in and only get a few presents, but I got such great deals and I just kept finding things I knew everyone would love. Maybe next year I'll have better self control...I love Christmas!

Kids with their Santa gifts. New baby doll with crib, stroller, and diaper bag with accessories for Lexie, and a toy vacuum for Hoyt (he is obsessed with all vacuums right now).

Let the gift opening begin! They decided to open gifts from each other first.

Lexie got Cinderella and her Prince; Hoyt got a matching game.

Not many pictures of Mom, but I did get some nice things.

Bryan got some books and a car starter, which should come in handy in the winter, especially for the Saturn.

Hoyt with some of his other presents.

Lexie with some of her other presents.

Opening their new toy storage bins...

...and new tables and chairs.

Sabrie slept for a while, but finally joined the fun. Santa gave her a baby doll. She wasn't sure what to think of all the excitement.

But she was smiling and is just such a sweetie pie!

The kids wanted to play with Sabrie so they lined up the stuffed animals and doll right next to her. I had to get a picture.

After a long morning full of fun, Hoyt needed a milk break with his new friend Stuffy the Dragon.

Overall it was a pretty fantastic Christmas. It was a little hard to completely enjoy it, with the loss of Grandpa so fresh...but we know he is in a better place and no longer suffering. We are grateful for this season we've had to remember the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Life really is great and we Wish You a Merry Christmas & a Very Happy New Year!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

December is always a fun time with the anticipation of Christmas and the special feeling in the air this time of year. With a new baby, we didn't get out as much as we probably would have, but we had some fun all the same. This picture proves that Hoyt keeps going until he completely crashes and this day he just couldn't keep going and fell asleep on a kitchen chair.

 On the 1st of December we decided to go visit Santa so the kids could sit on his lap and ask him for what they wanted for Christmas. All Hoyt really wanted to do was get a candy cane so he was happy.

Lexie asked for a crib and stroller for her baby dolls. 

 Monday the 3rd of December for FHE we decided to decorate our Christmas tree to get in the Christmas spirit. After just having a baby I really had a hard time getting into the holiday spirit because I was just so tired, but the kids' excitement did rub off a little and started making me excited for the season.

Um, I think the kids need a little lesson on spacing the ornaments. :)

 And...the finished product

My silly kids. Hoyt was hiding because he didn't want to pose.

But he finally decided getting a picture was ok.

 It didn't snow a lot this year...but when it did, Lexie had to get bundled up so she could go outside and make snow angels. Here she is all warm and snug and ready to play in the snow.

I wish I would have taken more pictures, but this is all I got. We enjoyed holding our best Christmas gift, sweet Sabrie Anne!

1 Month Old!

Sweet baby Sabrie looked so cute all dressed up for church. She is now 1 month old and the sweetest baby ever. So cuddly and easy going...we are so in love. :)

Love that sweet face.

A little smile...what a cutie pie!

Lexie always has to get in on the picture action.

I love these 3 kiddos so much!