..top 12 of 2012..

my dear sweet boys,

2012 was a fabulous year for our little family, and in some ways i'm a bit sad to bid it farewell. here is a little recap of the past year.......

in chronological order, i present our top 12 of 2012: the good, the bad, and the ugly. without further ado.....

1) we found out finn would be a BIG BROTHER! yet again, on the first month of trying, i got pregnant and we were thrilled to be adding another member to our family.

first ultrasound @ 10 weeks

2) dad finally got the hot tub he had been waiting his whole life for. sadly, i wasn't able to join him in there until just recently (due to the fact that i was growing a little human in my belly), so most nights he would sit in it alone. every now and then he'd have friends and neighbors in there keeping him company, but rest assured, whether he was all alone in there or soaking it up with others, he hasn't regretted that purchase one little bit!

3) finn turned ONE year old! wow, it is still weird for me to think that he is no longer that tiny infant we brought home from the hospital that beautiful spring day in april. his birthday was a bitter-sweet day for me, to say the least. i'm pretty sure i was fighting off bouts of hysteria for most of the day, ha! we celebrated his birthday with friends, family and neighbors here at our house, all of whom came to show their love and support for the sweet little dude who has definitely changed our lives.

4) we found out the bun in my oven was another little BOY! all of us were so extremely excited for finn to have a little brother, who will hopefully become his best friend one day. :)

5) we spent a fantastic week in maui....it literally was paradise. the flight was long and somewhat challenging with a busy-body toddler to entertain, but it was worth it for the week that followed. finn loved the beach and playing in the pool, and we loved experiencing hawaii through his eyes. definitely a trip to remember!

6) we spent a weekend up in heber for friendunion 2012. this was our second annual friendunion - yay for keeping traditions alive! we did fun things like eat, shop, eat, alpine slide, sleep, hot tub, watch the olympics and eat. the cabin was a little gross - i did see a mouse, for heavens sake - but it was still fun spending a weekend with our friends and i hope this is a tradition we will keep going for years to come.

7) we enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing and hot (oh, so hot!) summer. most of mine and finn's summer days were spent lounging outside (on the days when the heat wasn't unbearable), where finn would roam the yard and play on the swingset and trampoline. we literally spent at least 2 hours of every day out there - it was wonderful, and i am already looking forward to next summer.

8) we had our first "real" accident with finn. obviously this was not a highlight, but rather a lowlight.  on september 5, finn rode his four-wheeler over the curb out on the patio, hit his cheek (?) on the red lantern that was sitting by the door and knocked his back top right molar out. this all happened in the blink of an eye, and we aren't entirely sure how it happened. the tooth came out completely clean, root and all, which was baffling to the doctor's and dentists alike. other than a swollen cheek and the fact that he now has no molar back there, he was completely fine after a few days. but boy, was it scary! i am glad we survived it. this also happened to be the day that i "fell off the wagon." haha i had been pepsi-free for nearly 8 months, but decided i was in need of a stiff drink. for a pregnant, mormon girl, that meant a pepsi. ;)

9) we welcomed mr. samuel james powell into the world and our family! obviously this was the highlight of our year. he has brought so much love and joy to our home, and even though he isn't even three months old yet, i really can't imagine our family without him! in fact, i barely even remember what life was like before him. funny how that happens!

10) i had an appendicitis. obviously another lowlight. i spent a night in the hospital, mostly due to the fact that i had just had a baby three weeks prior and they were worried about me properly healing. i think the doctor thought she was giving me a bit of a break by making me stay over night! ha and let's be honest, she kind of was. ;) even though my stomach still hurts on occasion where my appendix used to be, this experience really strengthened my testimony of the power of prayer. it is real and it works, and i'm grateful to have at least taken something positive out of this otherwise awful experience.

11) the holidays. this time of year always seems to be a highlight of every year! it is always so wonderful spending time with family and friends, feeling of the true spirit of the season. we were especially grateful this christmas for the opportunity to have our friends and family support us for the blessing of sweet baby sam, to have spent a week with tiffany, kevin and baby jett, and for the all-around great christmas we had. it truly is the best time of the year, and as crazy as life can sometimes get, i am grateful for the opportunity to slow down a bit on christmas day and reflect on all that our savior and heavenly father have blessed us with.

12) i'm grateful for our every day life. for the beautiful place in which we live. to be close enough to our families that most (or at least some) of them are able to watch finn and sam as they grow. i'm so thankful that i get to stay at home with these cuties of mine. they really make my life so much more meaningful and i only hope that i can help them grow to be responsible, capable, kind, independent people some day. i'm thankful to a husband who works so hard to provide us with the basic necessities of life, and so much more. we truly are very blessed.

finn&uncle z. dads ruths chris steak. picking pumpkins.
first moments with sam. finn giving himself a bath. snuggling sam.
snuggling sam. sweet baby sam. finn checking his email.

sam @ 2 weeks. finn feeding sam. finn drinking dogs water, like a dog.
election day. cute sam. finn ready to play outside.
pattycake with grandma. finn playing with lotion. dreaming of heaven.

finn giving sam loves. meeting santa 2012. sitting on sam.
smiling sam. mccoy's blessing day. where's sam's nose?
kisses. brothers. more loves. 

2011 and 2012 were such magnificent years for our little family, i don't think either of them could be topped, but ya never know, eh?! here's to 2013.....through the good and the bad that will undoubtedly come, may we survive it all, and come out stronger than before.

love,
mom