LDS Advent Calendar Gift Idea

So, just got the cutest gift from my awesome neighbor and I thought I would share.. I have heard of this before, but never been on top of Christmas enough to start it from the beginning. I thought the description of this cute calendar would be best just straight up taken from LDS.org:

President Gordon B. Hinckley has said, “Christmas means ‘giving.’ The Father gave His Son and the Son gave His life. Without giving there is no true Christmas, and without sacrifice there is no true worship” (BYU Speeches, 14 Dec. 1960, 3).

This advent calendar has no doors to open every day, no angels to glue on. But you can bring it to life and grow closer to the Savior by giving of yourself and learning to sacrifice this Christmas. The words of the prophets and the scriptures you will read each day highlight various parts of the birth, ministry, and mission of the Lord Jesus Christ. The suggested activities will help you draw closer to the Savior as you try to have a “true Christmas” as President Hinckley has suggested. Feel free to alter the activities to suit your individual circumstances.

With it, she gave me a little tree that includes an ornament per day. I know this will encourage my kids to love doing it, too. If you don't have a copy, the link is here.

http://lds.org/new-era/1998/12/oh-come-all-ye-faithful-an-advent-calendar?lang=eng

Meet Baby Abbie

Little baby Abbie and I go way back. Really. Abbie's mom, Carrie and I grew up together. And before that, our dads knew each other from their missions. That's the story, anyway. So you can only imagine how happy I am to see her beautiful little face!
And thanks to my friend, Emily for making the cutest little chair there ever was... I'm surrounded by the most creative gals!

Little Angel..

Gotta love a sweet little baby!

Bentley Ray

My little girl is getting so old! I loved these pics I got of her the other day..




I hope you're all ready for some serious craft posts coming up. Hold on to your hats.

Meet Baby Kenslie

How fun is it for me to hold a teensy tiny baby? Especially since mine are born full grown?

I love this one.

What parent can't appreciate that look your little one gets right before they fall asleep?


And you gotta love that newborn little pose..

And what girl doesn't love shoes? Even if she is only a few weeks old..

My oh-so talented friend made the cute blanket (who happens to have had her third baby TODAY.. CoNgRats to the Trosts!!).. And I love the name, Kenslie by the way.. super cute name for a super cute little one.

Bride To Be Cazlyn

So here's my cute sister-in-laws sis, Cazlyn. I loved how her pics turned out with her long dark hair.. she reminded me of a little princess in the woods.

This one totally reminds me of Snow White..
This one looks super peaceful, when in reality we were surrounded by angry geese who wouldn't mind their own business.
My favorite field.. especially for bridals.

Tryin' a little different edit..

Love ya, Caz! I wish you guys the best! Can't wait to see your pics from the wedding!!

What I've been up to

So I have had my hands full, lately.. but I wanted to quick post some of the pictures I've been up to. If you have emailed me, or tried to get a hold of me, I am sorry if it takes me a while to get back to you. I will!

This is our cute little Brody.. who took a little spill during the shoot but was still a trooper.. there will definitely be more to come of him because he was such a little ham.
Senior pics went great this year, and I had a blast with all my cute gals!
Family pics.. new location.. I think it's beautiful!


Possibly my favorite spot to spend summer days? Liberty park.. so cute and vintage.. lots cleaner than I remember it!
Some of my favs.. a friend in my ward had me do her parents' pictures for their 50th anniversary.. do we love them?
Giddy up buckaroo. I did these of my little boy, Bauer to put on his birthday party invite. The party was postponed due to rain. We ended up having our families come by and in the middle of dinner my dog (a boxer named Rocco) walked in and had a heart attack and died... Happy b day Bow wow. Good thing all his little friends weren't there to witness!!
Awww....
One of my cute seniors, Kara, with her guitar...
My fav of Kara...
Baptisms!!
What a stud!
And our sweet little Brodster...
My sister Brooke..
The end. Thanks for your support!

sneak peak a roo of cazyln's bridals

Cazlyn is (and caz, I am so sorry if I misspelled your name even after I asked you how you spell it!) the cutest little bride to be there ever was.. and she happens to be one of my cute sister-in-law's sister (read it twice if it didn't make sense the first time) With her long dark hair she looked like she was out of a fairy tale in half of our pics (but you'll have to wait and see!) I had so much fun just goin out with the girls and talkin' their ears off.. Thanks for hangin' out with me!

So of course I had to pick my favorite...


Check back soon, so many more to come!!

More of Baby Claire

So, for this next pic I have to completely give creative insight to my sister-in-law Jackie (who I 100% copied this idea from.. she just sent out the cutest announcements of her own). Love the sweet baby in white with the contrast of black!


Now this one, I felt a little bit like I should be locked up for child abuse. It was the last shot from our day, and Claire was over it! I felt like in the hustle of just trying to snap her not crying, I didn't do the best job with composition. But it's still fun to look at a baby in a pot, right? Right...??

I was trying out a new little prop.. the colorful scarf.. what do you think?

ThaNks foR loOkin!

Meet Baby Claire

I have to say that I have missed taking pictures during these winter months. I loved jumping back into it with my neighbor's oh-so-cute kids..

Love the big brown eyes!!
Sweet big sis and bro...
I think this may be my fav from the group...
Isaac has to take a break from smiling to poke his big sister in the eye..
Mommy.. baby.. spring blossoms.. love it!
After the eye poking incident... gotta love this one!!

Thanks for lookin'!

so eAsY maGneTs

So here's a simple craft for pretty much any age... my 5 year old loves these. I love magnets (my fridge is covered in Anne Taintor and home made) so I can hang up all my favorite pictures. This was a cute idea I saw on a blog a while ago and I thought I'd share it because it is so easy.

All you're going to need is river rocks, rub on stickers, magnets, and hot glue.

My advice on..

the river rocks: lighter and flatter is best.. and I think it would be even better if you could find some that don't have the shiny glazed polished kind of finish (I think a hardware store would be your best bet for that.. in the landscaping). I didn't find those and it still worked. I like a more earthy look, though. If they're too big, the poor little magnet won't be able to hold up the rock, let alone anything else you want it to hold to your fridge or magnet board.

Rub-Ons: You can find these at any scrapbook or craft store.. there are so many cute options. Just find some that are small enough to fit and you're good to go! These are from the local Pebbles in My Pocket and are called Lucy's Bird Bath.

See! It's true.. here's the proof that my little trouble maker will stay out of trouble for 30 minutes if I put her to work on this one...


So basically, the hardest part is making sure your sticker completely rubs off onto the rock. This is why I say I think one without a polish is better.. it would probably get a better stick. But as long as you're careful, you'll be able to get it on there perfect. Maybe practice one sticker that's not your favorite first..

Next step, hot glue yourself a magnet. Don't let your five year old do that, though. Can you imagine?
And here are her cute little magnets.. ready for a fridge or a cute little magnet board.

Thanks for all your great support.. I love it!