Let It Rain

When I came downstairs this morning the sliding door was open and Maggie was outside with this hideous umbrella and her lovely pink cowboy boots. She was having a great time in the rain.

Sunshine...not so much

All my children have been sick this week. Parker came down with strep throat a week ago. He is better from that but has been infected with whatever it is that Kate, Maggie and Will have. Coughing, loss of happiness and an inability to control their emotions are the symptoms. I took the picture above with my phone last night, just so I could remember the happy moments before I put Maggie to bed at 6:15.

Parker

Parker is a whiz at Legos. He loves them.

My Mom mentioned to me that I needed to put a picture of Parker on the blog and make sure I posted about how much I love him. And I do, so I thought I would take her advice. You see, Parker and I are quite often at odds. I'm hoping it is a stage that will pass, but I have a feeling this is going to be our relationship for quite a bit longer. He is stubborn, I am stubborn. He doesn't like to be told what to do and neither do I. I mostly understand his frustration. But I am pretty sure that he doesn't understand mine. I love him just the same.

Five Things I Love About Parker

1. His heartfelt prayers.

2. His willingness to try and get Will to stop fussing. He really doesn't like William to be unhappy.

3. He loves to share his testimony in Sacrament meeting.

4. When he puts his mind to it, he can be the most helpful child.

5. His giggle, it is infectious.

5 Months

I love this kid!

SUNbeam

Maggie went to Sunbeams for the first time last Sunday. She loved it. She sat on her cute teacher's lap for most of sharing and singing time and thought it was great.

She truly is our SUNBEAM.

A Visit From Santa

And what a day it was. The kids didn't get everything they asked for, but Santa tried his best.

Kate - Nano, rollerblades and lite brite replacement sheets

Parker - legos, battleship, ds games and more legos

Maggie - Boo Doll (this was a tough one for Santa to find), animal playdoh and a doll house

Will - he was so easy and didn't ask for anything, so he got a few chew toys and a leapster dog that learned his name

Naughty or Nice?

We weren't sure if Parker was going to be on the naughty or nice list this year. It was a close call. A couple of days before the big day I was talking to the kids in the car and telling them that Santa was going to deliver all their gifts to the Teeples and we were going to be spending the night there. Parker was in the back of the car and in my rearview mirror I could see his face turn from happy to sad. He started to cry and told me he wanted to have Christmas at home. We talked about it for a minute and I couldn't figure out what his problem was. He was really upset. Finally he said,"I don't want to open presents at Grandma and Grandpa's because it will be embarrassing if I only get coal for Christmas." Turns out that Matt got a text from Santa that same day that said that Parker was on the borderline and needed to make sure to behave for the next couple of days.

Gingerbread Houses

This tradition started years ago with Diana (Lovey Lovey) West. My mom used to make all the gingerbread houses and Diana would come over and make the frosting while we would decorate our houses. The tradition has continued and expanded to include in-laws, etc. This year we decorated our houses at the Teeples (everyone was in charge of making their own gingerbread). It is always a great time. And a big mess. The kids finished theirs pretty quickly and Grandpa and Eddie took them to the park, while the rest of the adults worked on their masterpieces. After we were done Grandfather (that is what Bruce likes to be called) got out his guitar and we sang Christmas songs.

Matt's Treehouse

Amber's House

At the end of the evening after everything was cleaned up Maggie realized that she hadn't made a house. Unbeknownst to me she ate her gingerbread pieces the morning of the event and therefore couldn't put her house together. So she held mine for the picture.