Christmas 2009

We had a great Christmas this year! I have always loved the Holidays, but I think I love them even more now that I have my kids to share them with! We have been building a Rizer Family Cabin since about 2002. Little by little it is coming together, being expanded and added on to, and coming together some more. While we spend some weekends at the cabin, we have never spent a Holiday there....until this year! The cabin is certainly not finished on the inside, but it does have electricity, heat, and hot water. On December 23rd, Darron's parents, my family, and two of Darron's sisters and their families met at the cabin. That was 8 adults and 5 children. We stayed until Dec. 27th! On Christmas Eve, another sister and her 5 teenagers also spent the day with us. We had so much fun playing in the snow, sledding, going for walks, riding the snowmachines, baking cookies, opening presents, eating, seeing Santa, and just being together. It was such a relaxing time (as much as possible with that many adults and kids) and a memorable Christmas together! Although I was missing being in Texas with my family, I feel blessed to be surrounded with an "Alaskan Family."

Preston with his brand new bike from Santa. Too bad it's hard to ride during the winter months in Alaska!
Santa Clause found us at the cabin! There is no picture with Payton and Santa because she completely flipped out when she saw him and was gripping my shirt so tight I couldn't pry her off if I had wanted to!

Preston and daddy snowmachining at the cabin. They had so much fun. I even went on a slow, easy ride down a few trails (now, when I'm not pregnant I'm all over the trails!).

Preston, Brookelynn, and Max....they may as well be brothers and sisters! We are so blessed to have cousins so close. Preston loves these two so much. They love each other and fight with each other just like siblings!

Making Christmas cookies!

Yummy!

This isn't the best picture, but they were both being too silly!

As I was cleaning upstairs, I realized these two had gotten awfully quite. I peeked into Payton's room to discover this......it made my heart melt!

We hope ya'll had a Merry Christmas and were able to enjoy some of the hustle and bustle and family time during the holiday season!

Now, let's hope we can make it through January! I wish I were on a plane to Hawaii! :)

Preston's 4th Birthday

I can hardly believe that my "little" boy turned 4 last month! We had a great time celebrating. This year, Preston decided he wanted to have his birthday party in his room. So, we stayed home and invited a few of our closest friends/family over to join in on the celebrating. Luckily I was able to convice Preston to have his party downstairs in the kitchen/living area instead of his bedroom! :) Just like last year, Preston is still HOOKED on Curious George. It's his absolute favorite. So once again, we had a Curious George birthday party!

(Grrr...ignore the dates on the pictures....I need to fix my camera!)

We played "pin the butterfly on the log" (it was a Curious George version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey!) Everyone had fun, including some of the adults!
Way to be a good sport Marquel!

My big four year old stud!

Our friend Kim, from church, is a professional baker. She made Preston's cake this year! It was amazingly good! She had sculpted the Curious George on top of the cake ANd the gift box he's sitting in! Although this picture doesn't do justice, the cake was incredible and Preston was SO happy with it! He loved the Curious George!

Preston is such a great kid. We love him so much! He started talking at a very early age so he is very verbal and easy to understand. He asks some great questions (too many at times) and also has a thought or comment to share. He's a rule follower and like to make sure the other kids are in line as well (we have many talks about being bossy). He LOVES to play with other kids and is very social. He enjoys singing, and LOVES running and bouncing around the house. He likes to try new things but gets frustrated if he can't do them as well as he wants too. He enjoys being read to and is working on learning more and more letters. He loves his little sister so much and treats her great (most of the time). He is very respectful and thankful. It doesn't take much to please him or make him excited. He gets frustrated when things don't go his way (I have NO idea where he got that from!), but is easily consoled. He loves Sunday School Class and talks about God and Jesus alot. He is such a sweet snuggler and just a joy to be with (on most days)!

Preston, we are so thankful God chose us to be your mommy and daddy! We are so proud of you and love you so much!

Happy Birthday!

Where Has the TIme Gone?

It's been over a month since my last post! During that time we have celebrated Preston's 4 birthday, enjoyed Christmas, and visited my family in California! Posts and pictures soon to follow!

I also published and received my very first blog book! I love it! It is on our fireplace mantle and so many people have already enjoyed glancing through our past year in the form of a book! Thank you Staci for the great idea!