Parker's Christmas Gift

I wanted to blog about Parker's gift to the Kentucky Hansens, #1 because it was so stinkin awesome and #2 I don't think everyone got a good look at it through skype.

1. One of my favorites "Parker's and JD's 2012 calendar". Finally I will be able to satisfy my veinness everyday.

2. I still don't know how Parker did this, but this is a wooden block (about the size of a notebook, and 2-3 inches thick. Also has a bronze ribbon tied around it. I love the olden look to this, will be perfect for one of our many bare walls in our house.

3. Lydia's shirt, a little big for her right now but she'll grow into it. It says, "Perfect just like mommy." McCall really likes this one for some reason.
4. Again, Parker's amazing woodworking skills showing off here. This is a tractor made out of wood, with three little people in the trucks bed, awesomely painted too. Lydia has already loved playing with this.

5. A beautiful necklace and earrings for McCall

6. I think this is tied for my favorite. This is a bird house/key holder. I'll I can say about this one is 'Wow'! Everything you see here is made out of wood once again, if you look at this thing its detail is absolutely amazing... the stairs, the surfboards, the fence, the roof, and the dirt. And of course my personalize surfboard with my name on it.

7. This one is for McCall, since she loves her organic foods. She can grow these from her windowsill and cure upset stomachs and get a ridiculously good looking body (helps with weight loss too) better than the amazing one she already has of course.

8. A xylophone for Lydia and eventually Emree that I believe was made by Parker himself.

9. Bells for Emree!
10. Another one that was tied for my favorite. Mom let me know that Parker suffered many injuries trying to handcarve these. As you can see it's our family Mom and Emree, with Dad and Lydia. Very impressive!
11. Another one for my veinness, Lydia's sweat pants that say, "I get my good looks from daddy"
McCall and I were simply amazed at the amount of time and hard work that Parker put into this present. This is definitely one of my favorite traditions at Christmas time, giving away our handmade gifts to siblings. We love you Parks! Thank you!

Funny Sunday

So we've decided to stay home this year for Christmas and sometimes we regret that decision a lot, because #1 we'll miss our family but the #2 I wasn't expecting is this. Person: "When you going home for Christmas?" Me: "Oh we're staying here this year..." Person: "Really, you want to take me to the airport?" Other responses have been.... "Oh really, you want to take care of our chickens for us" You want to watch our fish while we're gone? So far I've been able to take 4 people/families to the airport, watch 4 chickens/get their eggs and feed them, and take care of one goldfish. I don't really mind it actually, it's just funny.

But one reason that we're happy we're staying is because of this...
We get to buy and decorate our own tree. I refused to buy a stand cuz it cost almost as much as the tree did, so I got 2 boxes from the postoffice, stuck them together and filled them with rocks.







We had our ward Christmas party last night and we had a special visit from Santa. Lydia actually sat on his lap for the first time, it probably helped to see the 40 kids in front do it first. But as you can see she is still a little nervous.





Lydia got her first doll, and it was from her best friend Lauren, your LaLa as Lydia calls her. We determined we are terrible parents, cuz she got her first baby doll from someone besides her parents. She already loves this baby and takes her everywhere with her.


And here is a cute picture of the 2 girl cousins. These 2 had so much fun sliding down on a mattress over and over again, until Mckay ruined the fun by giving Jaedyn a big rug burn on her eye.


And here is a funny story to end: So I went on a couple interviews a couple weeks back and I decided to take my traveling companion Lydia, more for the grandparents sake. Well she decided to get diarrhea for our travels. Now I don't know if you've ever tried to change a toddler in one of those airplane bathrooms, but it's pretty hard. I went to the back bathroom and much to my horror there was no changing table, so I did what any Dad would do and changed her right there on the toilet, (poor girl, half her body was dangling off). Later I found out that the changing tables were at the front... of course.

The funny part comes at the end. Done with my final interview in Houston, we headed to our final terminal. While going through security I stopped and smelled... french fries?! I knew that Lydia had eaten some for lunch so I wasn't too concerned. It wasn't until I stopped by the bathroom that I noticed that Lydia's diarrhea had spilled out wetting her entire backside. Horrible smell btw! I was thinking fast, do I wash her pants in the bathroom? No then she'll be wet forever. I had it, I asked the terminal guy if there was a way he could sneak in my suitcase and grab an extra pair of pants. He obliged and returned 5 minutes later. Saved! But not for long. An hour into our flight I again felt something moist, I lifted her up and yes it had happened again. As I motioned to my neighbors where I was headed, the guy next to me lifted up his tray table and in the process squeezed the life out of Lydia's fingers. Bloody murder scream for the next 10 minutes. Well no more pants so she spent the rest of our layover and next flight sporting just a diaper. More bad news when we arrived in Chicago, an hour delayed flight. We got home around 1 AM, needless to say Lydia was not a happy camper.