2012 Year in Review

Hello everyone! 

Welcome to the 2012 Year in Review Link Up! 

My co-hosts and I are excited to have you all here at the Covered in Grace- YIR Link Up! We pour our hearts into our blogs. Our time, our energies, our creativity...they are all the tools that build our unique places on the web. Why not highlight our blogging gems from the past twelve months? Let our communities know what we're really proud of putting out there this year.

The Prompt: This year in blog posts…choose a favorite post from each month of 2012 and share. 

The Linkup: What are you proud of writing this year? Link up your posts below! Linky will be open for two weeks!

January -  found me 36ish weeks pregnant with our 4th blessing!  A little lady that would be named Julia.  She was born at 39 weeks at 12:16 pm and weighed 5 lbs 7 oz.  She had a LOT of dark brown hair and slept and ate well from the get go.  BLESSED beyond measure by our sweet lady.  My blog however, was not yet born.

February - 9th was the beginning of this blog, The Houtz House Party.  Which truly described our life then and continues to fit well now.  4 little people age 4 and under.  At the time I started this blog Ian was 2 1/2, the twins had just turned 1 and Julia was about 3 weeks old.   You can read my FIRST EVER BLOG POST here.  You can also read a little bit about my SAHM journey here, here & here.

March - came a very important to me blog post.  Something I pray my daughter can read one day and truly understand.  I felt welcomed here in this blogland and felt so truly blessed to be able to share our life with other moms, family far away and establish a space our children will be able to reflect on one day.  I prayed that this space would help them to understand their mama and how much they are loved.  

April - I shared J and I's engagement story.

May - I confessed I would like to be part of a commune in this post.

June - left me rambling in a vlog.  And for the record, NO i did NOT run over anything or anyone with my car.

July - I shared a little summer outfit "attempt at fashion" post.

August - I wrote a post sharing the adoption journey of my cousins Justin & Katy.  They are absolutely 2 of my favorite people in the whole wide world and their heart's feel for God's children as He feels for them.

September - I shared how I was limping along.  My prayer is that it encouraged at least one person.

October - I shared with you about having grace when life just seems ridiculous.

November - left me pondering the direction of my blog and some next steps as to how I feel called by God.  How exactly it all goes together I was unsure and I encouraged you to pray those BIG prayers.

December - FINALLY accepted and outlined a plan to follow what it is I feel called to do in my life right now.  I am going to continue my blog and focus on encouraging women and mothers.  I have a heart for women and encouraging and uplifting them in their walk through wifedom, motherhood and just being a girl.  It's a tough world out there.  

Starting in January I am staring a series called "A Day In The Life Project".  I've called upon bloggers and women I truly LOVE to share how they are called to schedule their days with children.  There will be mothers from different walks of life, ages of children, interests, even homeschooling mamas.  I pray this will be a place for all of us to glean positive encouragement and ideas for our daily lives.

I am in the early stages of a new business with Mary Kay.  This business fits in so perfectly with how I feel God has called me to serve women.  When I stumbled upon a video of National Sales Director Julia Burnett's speech at the COMPANY SEMINAR sharing her testimony glorifying God through her work (to hear that specific part fast forward to about 6 minutes into the video) I felt so strongly that this was something I needed to be a part of.  I want to be able to reach out to women like that too.  Don't you just LOVE how God works in so many different avenues of life?  

PS:  Because I LOVE you so very much I'm having a Buy One Get One 50% off sale!!!  HURRY HURRY!  It ends 12/31/2012 at MIDNIGHT! Head on over here to get your shop on!!!  (I'll adjust your order to reflect the 50% off item(s) prior to processing your card.  Easy peasy no worries.  :))

The Rules: 

Please be a follower of Covered in Grace via either GFC or Feedburner.

Follow our Co-hosts' blogs:

Tif | Kelly | Julie | Melissa | Megan | Ashley | Pamela | Lauren | ARod | Cody

Include the button (below) on your post.

Link up only specific blog posts, not your blog's main page.

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