A Savior Is Born! 12 Days of Christmas Advent

While we are still more than 12 days away from Christmas I want to re-share this post so that you can plan ahead if you'd like to try this advent!  It's all focused on Christ and includes activities and printables to make it easy for you to put into action!

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Christmas time can get SO busy!  Some years it's hard to keep Christ as the center of the celebration, with parties and shopping and planning to fill your family's time!  Here is a fun 12-day advent that you can do with your family to help them to keep the Savior as their focus. These ideas were put together with busy families in mind, so this will be a good way to remember Jesus and focus on the reason for this season without having to spend too much time planning how to do it!

Each day includes:
- a scripture to read
- a topic to discuss
- a 15 minute activity to do together

You can download a pennant flag bunting (which you can print here) that has all of the scriptures on it, if you'd like a cute decoration/reminder. :)  Hang it all at once or add a flag each day!

You can start now or wait until the last 12 days before Christmas or pick and choose which activities you want to do.  Here's what you'll need & the links to download the free printables:

A Secret 12 Days of Christmas Surprise

December has hit and with it, a lot of snow for us here in Utah! It has really put us in a Christmas-y mood and it seemed like a good time to share this "12 Days of Christmas Surprise" post with you again. I originally shared it in early December of last year.

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Near the end of last year, I was struggling with feelings of frustration with the uncertainty that came with Ken's PhD. He had been in school far longer than we planned or expected and there was no end date in sight. Those last few years of Ken's degree were difficult for both of us. As I was dealing with some of those feelings and trying to focus on the positive and on all of our blessings and all of the good in our lives, something pretty awesome happened to us!

I wanted to share this experience with you because I've been thinking a lot about how we can serve others this month and I thought sharing this might inspire some of you with some ideas of how to show love and support to the people in your life. Whether you feel you can set aside the time, effort, and money to do something as involved as this, or there's a cute idea in the mix that sparks an idea for you, I hope it inspires you to do something kind for someone else.

On the first day of Christmas...

December 2018 Sharing Time Link Party

Welcome to the December Link Party!

When Life Doesn't Go the Way You Planned

I wrote this blog post in July. Then I chickened out and left it as an unpublished draft.
It's exactly 19 weeks later (many Thursdays since) and I thought of this post, re-read it, and decided to go ahead and post it. Maybe some of you will be able to relate to it. Maybe you'll have something to share from your own experience. Either way, I guess I just felt ready to share it, so here it is:

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If you've been following my blog for a long time, you might remember when I used to post "Thursday Thoughts". It's been a long time since I wrote a post, just sharing my thoughts, and it seemed about time.

It's weird.
It's like our Disney trip separates our life now from our life before it.
Everything before Disney seems so far away.
Everything after Disney has been very difficult. (Well, not everything, but many things)

Building a Sick Day Kit

This post is sponsored by Bayer. To make sure these products are right for you, always read and follow the label.

Ahhh snow.... and cold... and colds... how did we get here again?

Now that the chillier days of the year have arrived, it’s time to be extra vigilant in the fight against those pesky viruses ready to wreak havoc on your health. But if you find yourself in a losing battle against sickness, make sure you’re armed and ready to face it head on.

Here are some ideas for building your own sick day kit, so you can be ready for lots of different types of sick days!

2018 Forgotten Carols Tour

One of the things I'm really looking forward to this Christmas season is the chance to attend The Forgotten Carols. When I was attending University at BYUI, we had the opportunity to see The Forgotten Carols. One of our friends was in the play, as one of the "homeless" men. Now, over 15 years later, I can look back on that night and remember specific, detailed moments from it. I loved that show!

I'm so excited to be living in Utah this year, so we're close enough to attend a performance. Ken & the girls have only ever seen a recording of it (and listened to the CD many times every Christmas season). I can't wait to go, see the show in person again and to share it with my family!

Here are some details about the show & how you can get tickets: