My life... a great gift

Tonight as I can not sleep (I'm not sure why. At 5 pm I was soooo ready for bed and now I'm wide awake? WHATEVER) and would love to be in bed. I've been thinking about the things in my life that truly matter. As this is my only running journal bear with me.

1: FAMILY
I feel so blessed to have been bestowed 3 amazing children of God.I feel so full of joy and hope when I am around them. It's like looking in their eyes I see hope happiness and the brightness of tomorrow. I love them so deeply and dearly. My husband who is my best friend. I love being with him. I love the father he is, at times I must admit I'm a little jealous of his parenting. And a whole slew of family who supports and buoys us up in every way possible. How lucky am I that I get to spend forever with these guys!

2: FAITH
How I love my testimony. I wonder how those without the "gospel" do it. I love knowing I am a child of God and that I have a divine purpose on this earth. I know the church is true and believe with every fiber of my being that we are here only to learn, grow and return to live with our eldest brother in heaven. I know the scriptures are true. My senior year in HS I was able to gain a firm testimony of the scripture and I now know what a divine guide they are. I know we have a prophet called of God on the earth today. I am grateful for his guidance and dedication. I know the atonement is for me and is the way I will return to my Heavenly Father. I am grateful for the PEACE it brings to my life.

3: HEALTH
As I see and ponder those who have so many health battles I am thankful for the health of myself and my family. I love getting up every morning and starting new. A rebirth, a new day. How lucky I am to be able to take care of those I love and adore.


I guess this is the short list...
As there is many to list, today I focus on the top 3.

"Count your blessings name them one by one. And it will surprise you what the Lord
has done"

This week I'm gonna pretend the Savior is near me (as he is) and see if my actions need any adjusting?
“He is always near me, though I do not see Him there,
And because He loves me dearly, I am in His watchful care.
So I’ll be the kind of person that I know I’d like to be
If I could see the Savior standing nigh, watching over me.”

Anyone else looking for Valentines party ideas?

I'm helping out with sky's class party. I choose games (of course.) While searching the net I found this one PERFECT. Think the 1st graders are really gonna love it. Seems good for most elementary kiddos.

Stacking Heart Challenge

Making a tower of hearts isn't as easy as you think.
This racing game creates shouts, cheers and laughter.
You'll need to buy plenty of small conversation hearts,
I recommend a few bags. The object of the game is to
build the tallest tower in the allotted amount of time
(30 seconds should do). When the time is up, the kids
count the hearts to see who is the winner. This game is
usually a big enough hit for each player to request
another turn.

Can you tell I'm hungry?

This is one of my all time fav things in the world! You know how yummy it is when the maple syrup and bacon meet on your plate at breakfast. The perfect combination of sweet and salty the perfect combination. So I will dream of this till my size one jeans fit and when they... do I'm making lots.


Sweet sugar bacon



Ingredients:
1 pound thick bacon
1/2 cup brown sugar (or maple syrup)
1 tsp. salt


Directions:
1. Line a baking sheet with foil and set a cooling rack in it.
2. Spread the bacon out over the cooling rack.
3. Rub the brown sugar onto the bacon.
(I like to shake it all up in a lg ziploc bag, not as efficient at covering but FAST)
4. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until the bacon reaches the desired crispiness, about 15-20 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes and then enjoy.

Krazy Cake Lady

K I'm back on the band wagon so go to www.krazycakelady.blogspot.com and check out my recipes also I'm doing biggest looser so if u want to set some goals check it out!
Summer

My daddys book! (5 years in the making)

5 years ago my dad (Kevin Hall) started a life goal. He wrote his first book, Aspire, discovering your purpose through the secret power of words. Today it is available at book stores nation wide (new release section). I am so proud of him and love the book.

This book moved me to tears. It will truly help you discover your own purpose and path in life. It helped me become a kinder more thoughtful person. If you are looking for a change in your life read this book. Not only will it change your view of the world but it will change your view or yourself . "You must be the change you wish to see in the world" Ghandi

Go check it out or pick one up at Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Borders.

www.powerofwords.com

SOCKS

Once in a while Bryson gets into a crazy organizational flurry. I quite enjoy this as there is so much of his stuff that I know I can't even touch let alone organize. He's been doing custom socks for a while with work. Well here is the aftermath that has been hiding in my basement. Ya I laughed hard, wondered why I haven't had socks for a while, then ran and took a pic!

Anybody anybody anybody want socks? Seriously come on over!

baptism

December 19th Taylor was baptized. She was full of light and joy. And quite mature about the choice she was making. For weeks she kept saying, "It's my choice!" The room was filled with family and others who love Taylor. It was amazing to watch her, I feel like she is now an older more mature Tay with the same old goofy smile (gotta love those 8 yr old teeth). I hope I never forget this wonderful day.

Taylor I'm so proud of the person you are and the person you are becoming. In our ward they ask the newest member of our ward to sit on the stand in sacrament. Tay looked horrified as she stood next to Bishop Correy. But when she sat down my heart was so full I burst into tears. I simply felt the spirit so strongly. Watching her shuffle to find the hymns and sing was a mothers proudest moment.

the big 8

Tay turned 8 December 17th. December for me and my family is sheer craziness. Thus on her birthday she had a piano party and bryson had his work party. Yep we are THE BEST parents. But grandma LeeAnn took her to the Mandarin with her "birthday buddy" (uncle kyle).

There is something about the age 8 that simply seems so stinkin old! It must be the turning point because now I don't look at her as my lil girl, but my big girl!

Don't worry we celebrated on the 19th after her baptism. She got her ears pierced! Not a tear not a single one. In the chair before her was a 14-16 boy (weird) his mom was so excited? And while Tay's were getting pierced a teenage girl walked by and added "I remember my first piercing." Ya thanks a lot for that? We also let Sky get hers pierced she was beaming with delight!

I am so proud of the person you are. You are such a good girl!

9 year anniversary!

Really I know my words are not enough, but it's worth a shot. 9 years ago today I married one amazing man. The morning of our wedding it was snowing so hard a true blizzard. It took 30 minutes to drive 2 miles. We actually had one person get in an accident on their way to the Bountiful temple. Amazingly enough the storm cleared and the sun came out. It was the most beautiful day I can remember. All the trees drenched in snow while the sun glistened on the glitter filled branches. I feel like that is a perfect example of marriage. Once in a while a storm comes it shakes and blows but in the end the sun always comes out. And at that moment you can not even imagine how it was before because now everything is so beautiful and so perfect you can not remember how it was before. I knew I was marring someone who I deeply loved, and in return had showed me more love then I could have ever hoped for. I was excited to be sealed to him FOREVER. No nerves jitters or second thoughts. But what I didn't know was that was just the beginning of one crazy roller coaster. Now looking back our love was nearly a fraction of what we now have. He brings endless happiness to my life. I did not know I could love him this much. I thought he would be the best father in the world and luckily I was right he is. I watch him in amazement when he plays with the kids. He is such a gifted dad. I feel so blessed to be married to my best friend. I love talking and spending time with him. I am grateful for the challenges and trials that we have been through together, because without them our marriage would not be as strong.






I love you Bryson so much and can not wait to see what the next 9 years bring to our life. I feel so blessed to have you as my best friend and husband. Thank you for all the love you have given me.

A little ELF

This year a new tradition was started at our home. A little elf showed up in a box from the North Pole. Santa himself sent our family a letter. He reminded us of the true meaning of Christmas. And to never forget the first gift, the birth of the Savior. This elf (Bernard as we have named him) reports to the North Pole every night and informs Santa not only of how we have behaved through out the day, but if we have helped, loved or served anyone that day. In the morning he is in a new hiding place in the house. The kids wake up so excited to find him every morning. Hopefully Bernard will visit our house every holiday season and help us remember Christmas is not about the gifts you receive but about the "gifts you give".

One year has flown by!

Recital

Tay just started lessons in September. She LOVES piano. To the point that I have to get her off the piano often. She would play all day if she could. She has a great ear and can figure out any song just by sitting and playing. In her first ever recital she played the Ice cream cone and Old MacDonald. I can't wait to see what the next recital brings.

Past times

If you look real hard you might be able to see a lil 7 yr old girl in the tippie top of our tree. She loves to climb walls trees you name it.

Wanna see child abuse?

I'm not sure why but we always make our pure sweet babies stand by some horrific creature around the Holidays. This time it was the GRINCH (ya after this he wouldn't even go near Santa.)


After talking to "Santa" Skyler said, "First of all I could so tell he was a FAKE. Also he knew all the kids in the wards names but he did not know ours (we were at grandparents ward.) That was not the real Santa!"

OOoPS!

Ya I know, I didn't post on Myles first B-day (Dec. 1st)! So behind. I kind of feel like I have fallen off a cliff. Myles turned one on Tuesday. It was a joy filled day. We went to lunch with Daddy. I made 2 kinds of cupcakes lemon angel food with fresh raspberry cream (I figured since he loves having whipped cream sprayed right into his mouth he would love it!) and for me devils food ganache. I'll post recipes in a bit (HOPEFULLY.) He actually opened and played with his presents (my first one year old to ever really get it.) We had lots of family over, this lil boy is so loved! I once had a very wise Olympic gold medalist tell me, "It's amazing how much love a child can bring into your life. Then you think the second child could not possibly bring more love because there just is not any more room. But then they bring even more love into your family." (Peter Vidmar) Well Myles is the cherry on the top. He has filled our home and my heart with pure JOY. I truly feel he is my gift, he has come to teach me.




Myles of Smiles happy first birthday. I'm sure glad Heavenly Father sent you to our family. I LOVE YOU!