"I dream of bacon." Parker told us yesterday.

After our laughter died down he added,

"I like it a lot."

After a few more chuckles he added this question,

"I wonder how you say bacon in Chinese?"

That brought on a complete hysteria.  

First of all, we rarely make bacon.  Second of all,Chinese?

I don't know where he comes up with this stuff. 

Christmas Secrets

Connor got the opportunity to help Grandma Valerie wrap a few of the Christmas gifts for other family members.  Connor felt so special to be Grandma's helper and see all the surprises waiting for his aunts, uncles and cousins on Christmas day.  Part of the way through the project they wrapped a present for Grandma's dog, Moose.  Connor asked Grandma if she bought a gift for our dog, Mokie.  She told him that she hadn't.  

Connor quickly asked her, "Did you buy presents for all the rest of my family?"  
"Yes."  Grandma replied.

"Well, Mokie is a member of my family.  That means he needs a present too!"

Needless to say, I think we will be visiting the pet store soon to buy gifts for the furry family members in our life.  I thought it was really sweet of him to want to ensure EVERYONE (or thing) had a Merry Christmas.  What a sweet boy!  Merry Christmas to you and all of your furry pals!

My Favorite Parker Quotes for the Week

Parker has had another great week of hilarious comments.  Here are a few of my favorites:

We were talking to the boys about acting our Luke 2 at Grandma Valerie's Christmas Party.  Connor was assigned the role of a shepherd and Parker is going to be a sheep.  Parker announces:

    "I don't want to be a sheep.  I want to be a leopard."

    "Buddy, there weren't leopards there the night Jesus was born."

    "You know, those guys who lead the sheep.  A leopard.  That's what I want to be."  

Parker's comments about our weeping willow tree:  

    "Why did that tree lose all its hair?"

    "Do you mean it's leaves?"  

    "No, it's hair.  See, it still has some, but lost all the rest."

Just in time. . .

We have been so busy with house projects that we have neglected our yard.  That isn't such a smart move when your back yard is home to 10 mature trees.  As December rolled around I started to panic about getting all of the leaves raked and out of the yard.  I kept having nightmares of all the grass dying over the winter because of the 2 inches of leaves that covered every bit of the grass in the backyard.  Jeremy decided to take every Friday in December off of work.  So, we chose friday  to take care of the leaf problem.  After a few hours of raking we had two HUGE piles of leaves, we loaded them onto a tarp and transported them to Grandpa's truck parked in the driveway.  It took two trips to the dump with loads of leaves piled high to get rid of them but we are now leaf free (for the most part.)  We are so lucky that we took care of it Friday because yesterday it snowed.  Winter, here we come!

Gingerbread House Construction

This was our project for this last weekend.  I helped the boys build the gingerbread house on friday, and Jeremy helped them decorate it on saturday.  They had a wonderful time organizing all of the candy and making the house look just right.  I have already been yelled at by both my children for trying to sneak a few gum drops into my mouth.  Boy, did I learn my lesson. 

Jeremy and the boys did a great job making our gingerbread house look just like the one on the box.  (We bought a kit, of course.)

Parker was in charge of lining the foundation of the house with gum drops.  He was very dedicated to his job and did a great job.

Connor was in charge of the tree, gingerbread man, and snowman that sit in front of the house.  He was very creative with his choice of candies.  Way to go!  It looks great!!!

Top 10 Favorite Things About Our New House

Well, I know it has been a good six weeks or so since we moved and I haven't posted any pictures.  (Sorry Brook, I know that doesn't help keep you in the loop.)  So, I decided I would post my favorite top ten things about my new house with a few pictures to go along.  Here they are in no particular order:

1.  The Backyard.  I must admit, my love of this house started with the backyard.  It has 10 large trees that provide ample shade all throughout the summer.  I plan to add a few perennials in the back flower beds and then it will be perfect.  It backs a neighborhood walking trail and creek.  The boys have absolutely loved it!  There is one drawback.  The leaves.  We are still currently raking mounds and mounds of leaves, but it is worth it for the shade they will provide during the summer.

2.  I might have to rake leaves in the backyard, but the front driveway faces perfectly so that the winter sun will be able to melt the snow. We were always continually shoveling and trying to get rid of the ice on our old driveway.  Say good bye to hours of back breaking work.

3.  The jetted tub in the master bathroom.  I have not previously been a bath taker.  But I must admit there is nothing like a good soak in this tub after hours of moving boxes and furniture.  Jeremy had to coax me into it at first, but now it is one of my favorite sanctuaries in the house. 

4.  The master bedroom.  The master bedroom is larger in this house, but I love the even more spacious feeling that is created by the vaulted ceilings.  Jeremy loves the ceiling fan and we both love the slightly detached placement of our bedroom.
5.  Our new house has a nice large porch.  It isn't huge, or a beautiful southern style wrap around porch.  It is, however, wider than our previous porch.  I am very proud to announce that not a single trick-or-treater fell down our front porch this year trying to fight their way back to their parents.

6.  An upstairs laundry room.  Heavenly!!!!  Our new laundry room is right off of all of the bedrooms.  No more caring laundry up and down the stairs.  Wahoo!!!!

 7.  My children actually sleep in their beds in their own rooms.  This is an amazing feat for our family.  Before the move Connor had gotten into the strange habit of sleeping on the bathroom floor with the light on and Parker always fell asleep on our bed.  We would move Parker onto his bed when we went to bed, but he would always come back to bed with us at 4 or 5 a.m.  It is nice that now we have our own room too.

8.  We actually have a living room.  Our last house had a large foyer/room that never was really too big for a foyer and not big enough for an actual living room.  This room is my other favorite sanctuary.  It is so nice to curl up with a good book in our comfy chair and chill out for a bit.
9.  A 3-car garage.  I know this is Jeremy's favorite for sure!  It is nice to be able to park in the garage with all of the bikes, yard stuff, lawn furniture, boxes and tools.  I wish I could say that it was spacious and clutter free.  I am just excited that at this point it can store a bunch of stuff and we can park in there.  It is going to be wonderful in the summer when we aren't trying to cram the usual summer items in there (i.e. bikes, kiddie pool, scooters,) and still be able to get to the things we need, like the lawn mower and yard tools.
10.  The new carpet.  New carpet is a wonderful luxury after the not so lovely forest green carpet that this house had when we bought it.  It is amazing what a neutral color carpet can do for a house.  I liked the house before, but now I love it!  We chose this durable berber carpet for the stairs and main traffic areas.  The bedrooms have a nice plush carpet in them.  

Jeremy and I have totally enjoyed our new house.  We are continually finding things that we enjoy and we have enjoyed getting to know our new neighbors too.  My only regret it  that we couldn't bring every single one of our old neighbors with us.  Although it is a little to far to go for a cup of sugar or sprinkler key, it is definitely close enough we can bug you often enough.  So beware, the Davis' plan to be bugging you soon!