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.

Child labor.

It's great to have a kid who loves to help!


Parker has been a peach to have around these days. He loves to help out. He was especially excited to get up on the chairs and wipe off the kitchen table. Earlier that evening Parker wanted to help wipe down the kitchen, although he was upset when I wouldn't let him clean the whole kitchen.














Parker has been known to help with the laundry. One day he was so excited to help that he fell into the washer while the water was filling up the tub area. That was a fun morning, especially since we were heading somewhere really quick after the load went in.



















We sometimes make Parker do all the cooking too. He doesn't ever complain and he cooks all the good stuff like pancakes and cookies.

Election day.

7:57 a.m. Sandy Springs: Krista Harrison plays with her 15-month-old son Parker as they wait in line the the North Springs Methodist Church precinct to cast their ballots in the 2008 elections. Exiting voters reported an hour and 50-minute wait there. Phil Skinner/pskinner@ajc.com

Parker and I made it onto the Atlanta Journal Constitution web page. We were pretty excited. I decided to add the text from the page just in case you can't connect to the link which is http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/metro/
elect-atlanta-votes-morn/

Our own photos follow. Congratulations to Obama.

Our newest additon.

I absolutely love the newest addition to our family. We got it for a steal! Craigs list was good to us after about a month + of searching. We bought this beauty for $200. It comes with six chairs and has a butterfly leaf! When we got it home I was so excited. We can now fit four people comfortably at our table, with the food on it too. Our little old table now serves us elsewhere (a study table). I know some people may wait for many years to have a decent table. Willie and I waited for over 3 1/2 years. This matches the hand-me-down furniture we have in our apartment. So we don't have to upgrade that stuff for awhile. Yeah for our new table!!!

Halloween Fun

Halloween has come and gone. We didn't do much but we made sure we took pictures of Parker in his cool costume. First off the costume was craftily done by one of our friends last year for her little boy. The homemade dinosaur fit Parker perfectly and he didn't complain about having the hood on (most of the time). We picked a pumpkin out one night and tried to carve it. Unfortunately it was so thick that all we could do was cut open the top, clean it out and scratch the surface of the pumpkin so it looked carved. We never did get to light it up, the carving tools wouldn't even make a dent. Next year we will do better about picking out a pumpkin. We took Parker trick-or-treating to the ward trunk-or-treat. He had a good time roaming around in the parking lot. On Halloween we visited with a few friends and played some games. Not too bad for Parkers second Halloween.