The Wrath of a Child

There's a reason we have more boys than girls. But how I love my two little girls.

Anya is...well...Anya. She can amaze you with her natural mothering skills...with her knowledge of God and the scriptures...with her sensitivity to meet others' needs before her own. It's wonderful and an honor to be her father.

But when you cross her...or when she thinks you have crossed her...watch out. It's such a drastic change from her usual behavior that I catch myself wanting to laugh (which has gotten me into trouble as well). Today I had to reprimand her for a minor incident. And she went to her room and shut the door. --Nothing unusual.

I proceeded with my day and went outside to cut the grass for the last time this year (yea!) and rake the leaves...all bazillion of them! :) Within the first hour, all of the kids were outside playing in the yard...including Anya. When I finished the yardwork we played a little tag and threw the frisbee around. Anya was playing like normal.

I went inside with Luke and Peter while the older kids stayed outside a little longer. And Karen shared this note with me that Anya had taped to her door. I can't wait to see what the teenage years bring! Seriously...I can't wait!

I'm Thankful For...

Being able to watch our kids grow. Although we can't always discern everything he's jabbering, Luke is starting to communicate in sentences. It's so cute to hear two-year olds. Luke's big on names right now so we regularly go through everyone in the family. And we got him saying Eliza for the first time ever today...and the tape was rolling. Now if we can only capture one of Eliza's smiles on camera. Hopefully we'll be able to share that soon.

Yes, we have 5 other children. Luke just happens to be extra blog-worthy lately.

Luke Preston

Here is Luke's two-year picture. He's a keeper. :)

Our Rock Band

This is mostly for Grandpa C. He wanted to see what this Rock Band thing is all about. So here it is. Keep in mind that they are amateurs! Mark's band is "Halfbloods." He got it from some book he's been reading. James' band is "Alphabet Explosion." We'll do this again in a few months after they've had some experience. We'll see how they progress. These are short snippets...when they're professionals I'll be sure to roll the tape longer.

Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater

Peter has been associated with pumpkins since his birth. Partly because his birthday is the closest to Halloween. And partly because his name just goes so well with pumpkins. :)

He turned four a little over a week ago.

And what would a blog posting be without an updated picture of Eliza. Granted, this picture is now a couple weeks old...but isn't it a cute outfit? :) Baby girls are so fun to dress!

And now to the pumpkin part. Each of the kids got to choose their design. James chose my favorite. And Mark chose his favorite. :) Good for him, I say.

Peter and Anya. Karen carved Anya's...it's like a troll going trick-or-treating. I was very impressed!

On Halloween, the Christensen's play many traditional games. And because it fell on a Saturday, I got to participate. Yea! The first game was bobbing for apples. Apparently, James is the reigning champion.

Another game is eating a donut suspended in the air with a string. No hands allowed!

Luke doesn't get the whole eating without hands concept. So he enjoyed a donut his own way.

There were a few other games as well. It was a fun morning.

This year's costume theme was inspired by Mario Kart Wii. Here below are Mario, Princess Daisy, and Luigi.

Here, Mario is demonstrating how to properly pounce on Koopa Troopa. What we couldn't get in a still photo was Koopa Troopa being forced into his shell and sliding along the floor. :)

I must say, Peter got the best end of the deal with this costume. Do you see how incredibly cool his tennis shoes are?!? They're green! And they're so cool. I'm jealous.

Toad might very well be my favorite of the bunch. It took a lot of work to convince Luke to keep the hat on. And I'm glad he finally conceded. He's a very cute Toad.

And here's the female counterpart to Toad--Toadette. How cute is she?!? Pigtails and all.

If you've seen the cover to Mario Kart Wii, you'll recognize this last shot. It was so fun! The kids got a lot of positive comments from people at church, work, and on the street Halloween night. They were a hit. Karen continues to impress.