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!

Reflecting on 2009

Happy Holidays to our family and friends! It feels like I just finished last years letter, and yet a year has already come and gone! As we think back over the last year, blessed is the word that keeps coming to mind.
Payton turned ONE at the beginning of March. She is such a FUN little girl. She is so snuggly, happy, easy-going (for the most part), and a great sleeper. She is pretty sensitive (I don’t know where she got THAT from) and listens really well. When she’s not “talking,” eating, or laughing, she is generally seen with her two fingers in her mouth and holding onto her favorite blanket. She LOVES her big brother, loves to dance, and loves to take care of her babies! She brings such a sweet presence to our family.
Our summer was filled with adventure, family time, and fun. We headed to Texas at the end of May and enjoyed some much needed time with Maggie and Peepaw at the Lakehouse. Preston wanted nothing more than to fish all day and night and go for the occasional jet ski or boat ride. We were also able to take Preston to Uncle Gene’s “farm” for the night where he held baby goats, chased chickens, looked at cows, and did more fishing. Preston was in his element and has talked about Uncle Gene’s farm many times!
At the end of our trip to Texas, we made a six day stop off in California and went to Disneyland! Maggie and Peepaw met us there for a few days and Jen’s sister-in-law and kids were able to join us for a day. Disneyland was SO MUCH FUN! It was definitely a highlight of our year. Preston and Payton were fearless and enjoyed every part of our trip from the rides, the characters, the food, the shows, the cousin time, the “extras” bought for them, and the special time with Maggie and Peepaw! It was a trip for the memory books for sure!
This summer also brought about lots of camping and fishing with family and friends, along with a lot of hard work! Darron worked incredibly hard to redo our backyard. He built fences, cut down trees, moved sheds, made decks, and turned dirt into beautiful grass! We now have a beautiful, relaxing backyard with a hot tub, hammock, fire pit, and play fort. We spent many nights out back as a family and loved every minute of it (minus the mosquitoes)!
As Fall came, the start of another school year began for Jen who is still teaching part-time in a 5th grade classroom. Preston and Payton are still enjoying time with cousins and even Grandma one day a week! Darron took the plunge to complete his Master’s degree in October. We are very proud of him!
Preston is turning FOUR years old at the end of this month. I can’t believe he is already so big! He is still my sweet little boy (although I was wondering who snatched his sweetness for about a four month period!) and we have so much fun with him. He is very smart and verbal, and headstrong and “right”! He LOVES Payton and time with his cousin (might as well be brother) Max. Preston played soccer for the first time this summer and really enjoyed it. He wants to play again. He loves Sunday School class and is looking forward to starting Preschool next year. He’s still a momma’s boy, but he only snuggles when he wants too. He adds great joy, laughter, and happiness to our family!
To add to our joy and blessings this year, we just found out not long ago that Baby Number Three is on the way and due at the end of June!J
As another year ends, we are so thankful for so many things: a beautiful house, two great jobs, supportive and loving families, an incredible network of close friends near and far, an awesome church home and family that we love being involved in, health, and most importantly, our God. We hope this letter finds each of you happy and healthy and finding peace in the one that matters most! Take time to remember “the reason for the season” and let us know how you are doing! Check out our family blog when you have time at www.rizerfamily.blogspot.com and Happy Holidays!

We love you all,
Darron, Jenny, Preston, and Payton

9 Great Years Together

Nine years ago I snatched the best man possible to be my husband! And I'm so glad he chose me to spend this earthly life with! I knew I was a lucky woman then, but I had no idea how lucky I truely was. In honor of our nine years together (well, actually 11 together, but 9 married), here are nine things I LOVE about my husband:

(in no particular order)

1) I married a man that was always cute, but now he is sexy! He just gets better and better looking with age! That's the kind of man you want to marry! :)

2) He is an incredibly loving, caring, fun, capable father to our children. He leads by example, disciplines with love, is able to take care of them without much instruction :), and does fun things with them.

3) He is a man of God. He leads our family to know the Lord and tries to constantly better himself.

4) He is very outgoing. He is willing to meet new people and make them feel welcome.

5) He is a leader. He has stepped into some leadership positions at church and is amazing. People can't help but follow him.

6) He has a magnetic personality that attracts people. I haven't ever met anyone that doesn't just love my husband. He is open, friendly, hilarious, and makes people feel at ease.

7) He loves me. He daily makes me feel beautiful, hugs me, listens to me, and goes out of his way to take care of things that may be stressing me out (I know, hard to believe that things would stress me out)!

8) He is a family man. He loves to be with our family. He also loves his parents and sisters and it shows. Family is a top priority for him and I love that!

9) He can build and/or fix just about anything. He amazes me with his skills and know how, even when he's never done it before. It reminds me of my dad and that's pretty cool! I'm so proud of all the things he's built and fixed (like a room on our house, a family cabin, new floors, a bookcase for my school, and the list could go on and on).

I could easily name more than nine things that I love about my husband. Yes, we've had our rough years and rough days, but I have never had to question his love for me. I feel like the most loved woman because of his actions and words on a daily basis. I feel so blessed to call myself his wife and the mother of his children. We have been blessed with a beautiful family and I am so thankful he's my partner in life. Here's to all the happy years we will have together in the future! I love you D!