Photo Dump

Merry Christmas

What a wonderful Christmas we had! Not because of any presents that were received, but because we celebrated the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What's more, we did so with family! The Parkers took a surprise trip all the way from Alabama and spent Christmas with us. After opening presents, The Parker Four headed to church for our annual Christmas service, and we spent the afternoon at a luncheon where we served and fellowshipped with our homeless brothers and sisters. What a blessing it was it was to serve others on Christmas, and what a blessing it is to teach our children by example the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Eve 2014

 

Another Christmas has come and gone! Christmas is so much fun when you have young children in the house. Daddy P and I were excited just in anticipation of Ryan and Evan's excitement. This year they really get Christmas, and they were really into the idea of Santa. Even though we don't do the Santa thing, we played along with them. It would have been cruel not to! Our boys know who Jesus is, and they understand the real meaning of Christmas, so why not have a little fun and get swept up in the magic?  We got dressed in our new pjs, and I made cookies for Santa. The boys decorated them all by themselves! There was lots of icing. LOTS of icing!  We even put out reindeer food!

Once The Peas finally went to sleep it was time for us to get to work. Poor Daddy P...he spent hours assembling things for the boys. I had lots of wrapping to do, but I was over it by the time I made it to those Gap boxes.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles were the star of the show as you can tell! Do you know how hard it is to find all the TNMT action figures times two?! Let's just say I'm glad I started shopping early and I will never get rid of my Amazon Prime membership!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from The Parker Four!

SAA Fun

We've been so busy with school and church events over the past few weeks. Ryan and Evan's class gave an awesome  performance at their school's annual Christmas Concert. We were so proud! 

Last week was Kindergarten Craft Hour, and it was hands-down the best hour of my day. I had a great time volunteering and helping out with the craft stations. We were busy crafting that I didn't even take any pictures. We made some pretty neat crafts...we even made reindeer food! My loves were so happy to have me there too😍

Five Days 'till Christmas

The Parker Four are getting into the Christmas spirit! Today we went to a show at The Bijou Theater and it was so much fun. Afterwards all the kids got a chance to see Santa. It was questionable right up until the last minute whether or not Ryan would meet St. Nick, but he decided to give it a shot. He wouldn't sit on his lap, but at least he stood there! It was a great day😃

NHBC 2014 Christmas Program

So proud! Video to follow :)

Piano Update

"Mommy, I don't need this job anymore."

--Ryan on playing the piano

So the boys have been in semi-private piano/keyboarding lessons for the past month or so. It's just the two of them and me, so that helps a lot.  It adds one more thing to our nightly routine (which is already hectic!) but this is such a good thing for them. Studies show how beneficial learning to read and play music is for kids. Not to mention the discipline involved in learning to play an instrument. The boys have to practice each and every day, and they don't always like it, but it's good for them. I learned to play violin in 4th grade and the clarinet in middle school. I hate to toot my own horn (see what I did? Ha!) but I was a pretty good clarinetist. I regret not continuing to play, but I've been learning the piano along with the boys, so I'm rekindling my love of music through them. Ryan is the one who really wanted the lessons, but Evan is a natural at it. He has a really good ear and he catches on quickly. But then, he's over it and he doesn't like the repetition involved. Ryan is pretty good too. He works a little harder but he gets it. He is really good at staying focused and not getting distracted, and once he has it, he has it. We are working on Merrily We Roll Along and Ode to Joy. We have two weeks to learn them both...wish us luck!

Catching Up

I find myself playing catch up once again! I haven't been on my own blog in ages, but that's because things are super busy 'round these parts. Here's what the Peas have been up to:

Hallelujah Night 2104 - I didn't get a chance to take many pictures because I was working with the Mama Crew making sure the kiddos ages 3-6 had a fun night. We did crafts, went through a maze, picked pumpkins, and of course there was trunk-or-treating!

First Evan, then Ryan got sick with a virus and both boys spent two days home from school to rest up and feel better. Here they are drinking their special "tea" mama made for them. It's really just raw honey and lemon slices that I keep in a mason jar in the fridge.

We are the proud parents of TWO boys who were the Caught Being Good winners at school. Ryan won first and Ev was happy for him, but he was sad too. He kept saying, "But Mommy I'm a good boy at school too!" I told him to just keep being a good boy and his teacher would notice soon and he would win too. Sure enough, a few weeks later he was caught being good too! Both boys chose a free dress down pass so they could wear their fun clothes to school. I didn't take a pic of Ryan with his pass, yet but I will soon!