Choo Choo

This is a greeting from our family. Keep in mind we just woke up.
Happy Holidays Everyone!

This year we were very blessed to experience Christmas on our own. Being only four weeks away from delivering the baby my doctors wouldn't allow for us to travel back home to Utah. With this new adventure we decided we would find out what kind of traditions we wanted to begin with our own family. For Christmas Eve we were invited to an awesome couple's home in our ward, the Luce's. We had such a great time being adopted into their family. At their home we ate delicious soups, homemade rolls, assorted jellos and yummy brownies with ice cream. Parker had fun watching some other children play and even got involved in some of the rough housing. As part of the Luce's tradition we went caroling to a few of their neighbors homes. Willie and I had never participated in caroling such as they did. We had fun taking their neighbors treats and singing to them. The weather was warm enough that we didn't really need to even wear jackets. I do miss having the snow around. After caroling we went back to the Luce's home and had the yummy dessert and were visited by some carolers from the ward. Their style of caroling was different, they used violins, recorders and a guitar. I'll tell you what, that was some great caroling. By the end of the night the Luces had given Parker a Christmas present, a little Tonka train and a book. Sister Luce knew that Parker was starting to get into a phase of liking trains. Willie and I are very grateful for the example shown to us by the Luce family. We are grateful for their hospitatlity and their love. We do miss our family very much, but on Christmas eve this year we enjoyed our ward family. Thank you to the Luces!

Christmas morning.
Every morning since we put up Christmas lights Parker has been so excited to turn them on when he wakes up. I miss the times when I would go into his room and I could hold him and cuddle, that's all over now. Christmas lights are a big thing in our home. One distraction on Christmas morning was the little train we set up for Parker to enjoy. He was cute coming out of his room excited to see the lights, but when he saw the train he became even more excited. We kept a good eye on him the whole time. After about half an hour of playing with the train we decided it was time to put it away (Parker stepped on the tracks and kept pulling the engine off). It's a nice little set so we had to make sure it can be used for future Christmas'.


Parker was so good to help Willie get the train back on the tracks. We had a fun morning.


After getting Parker away from the train we moved on to opening the presents. I think Santa did good because Parker played with everything he received from him. We did good ourselves, Parker liked the things we got for him. After looking back we received many books, which is awesome. We really want our kids to enjoy reading. Parker loves bedtime because his daddy reads to him.
Parker loved the train. Maybe we can find a more kid friendly one for next year.The boys look good in this picture. I promise though I was having a good time.Christmas Eve I was working hard to get some stockings made. My friends convinced me I should make my own stockings. I borrowed one of their sewing machines and got the stockings to the point where they would hold something in them. Thanks Camille. I was pretty proud of myself for getting through as much as I did all on my own. Although I wouldn't have been able to begin if Camille hadn't set her machine up for me :)


Willie and I are very grateful for this holiday season. We love the wonderful music that is played and the great hymns we get to sing. I am grateful for my Savior and His birth. As we go through the years one tradition we want is for Santa to bring three gifts for each person; each gift representing the gifts given to the Savior. We hope to always teach our children about Jesus during Christmas and we want them to know why we celebrate the season. There are a few other traditions we would like to do, but some things must remain a secret.

Our new crib.

A pack n' play is great and I think we could have kept Parker in it even longer if the new baby weren't coming so soon. So after 17 months of living here on this earth Parker has finally received a real bed. We bought a convertible crib in case we ever need to convert it. Parker has done really well in transitioning into his bed. The first few nights he cried a little more, but we think he may have been teething too. He does pretty well at sleeping in a new place, considering we travel so much. Parker and Willie did a great job at putting the crib together. Parker learned a new word in the process as well, 'twist'. He loved helping Willie twist the screwdriver to get the screw in. We think Parker has enjoyed his new bed.
Here is Parker helping Willie 'twist' the screw into place.


Parker didn't understand that the mattress should be used before laying in the crib. Maybe we were just working him too hard.

A new tradition

Willie and I don't have the means to store a fake Christmas tree. We don't mind one bit. We like to have a nice fresh tree in our home. We love the smell that it brings. This year we thought about finding a tree farm where we could cut our own. I looked into a few places online and found a great one just a small drive from us. Willie had taken his final exam and we decided to take the moment of Monday night and have a Family Home Evening activity of getting a tree. Hunters Christmas Tree Farm was great. We wouldn't mind going back next year. Parker absolutely loved the place. They had a big old dog that Parker had fun saying 'woof' to. After a short visit with the dog we took a small trek and went in search of the perfect Christmas tree. Parker ran around the trees laughing and playing peek-a-boo. He found sticks and rocks that he could hold onto too. He was having so much fun running around, he fell plenty of times getting his entire outfit for the day dirty. Willie was eating up Parkers excitement. After some time we found the tree we wanted. For $30 we didn't think it was too bad. Willie had the honor of cutting down the tree. He helped a young man to haul it up to get bundled before being put into our trunk.

After getting our tree in the car we let Parker play on a tractor they had at the farm. We also enjoyed some hot chocolate. A fun thing we learned is that the family that ran the farm was LDS. On the way home we saw the most beautiful sunset. In Georgia we don't see too many sunsets and I really miss seeing them. Luckily I had the camera with me to capture the moment. Overall our family home evening was a great adventure. Our family had fun beginning a hopeful tradition of cutting our tree.

Starting the Christmas Season

A tradition in our area of Atlanta is the 'Festival of the Nativity.' We had heard about it last year, but we never knew specifics and even if we did we didn't make time for it. This year we made sure to visit. We had a friend playing her violin for the music concert that was also being held at the same time. The gym was set up with the many many nativity sets while the chapel was being used for the concert area. We want to keep Jesus Christ in our thoughts as much as possible during the Christmas season. We hope that Parker and our other children will learn that Christmas is about Christ and giving of ones self. Willie, Parker and I had a great time at this activity because we saw so many nativities and listened to good church/Christmas music. This is a tradition we would like to do every year that we are in this area, hopefully we will be around next year. ;) Willie and I won't be traveling home for the holidays so we are able to begin our own traditions. This will be a fun year to experiment with some ideas we have had. I am very grateful for this holiday season and all the joy it brings to my life. I love seeing Christmas lights and snow (if there is any). I hope that the season is good to everyone and that the light of Christ shines in your life. Merry Christmas everyone!

Out of commission / Thanksgiving

After our fun filled week of being in Utah I brought home a little treat with me. A few family members chipped in and gave me a cold. It never fails, you travel and come home with a sickness of some sort. This one is brutal; I really can't take any medications because I'm pregnant. So because of this sickness I have not blogged as soon as I would have liked to. So without further adieu here is our Thanksgiving trip.

During the week of Thanksgiving I recognized many blessings in my life. I love this holiday season because it helps me to remember what is most important in life. In my life I have been blessed more than I feel I deserve. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to travel back home to Utah for Thanksgiving. I was able to spend time with many family and friends. I as well as Parker learned a lot of new things. I geared myself up and asked my grandma for a short sewing lesson, the reason for this will come later. I helped my sister to decorate an apple pie. This was great fun. My mom loved it because this is the sister that I hated sharing a room with. Parker learned how to bowl, 'pound it', and he learned a couple of new words. Willie joined us midweek and we loved having him back in our sights. He didn't get the opportunity to golf this time even though the weather was great on Thanksgiving.


We had so many photos from the week that we combined them into events and then posted them as slide shows. We hope that you enjoy our week in Utah.




Parker was taught by his uncle Jer how to 'pound it.' This is Parker 'pounding it'.

I taught Parker 'Popcorn Popping' just before the trip. I have to say, this video doesn't do his involvment justice anymore. He loves this song. I need to teach him one for the holidays now.