As much as I hate Rich being out of town, it does give me a greater appreciation for all that he does around the house. I am so fortunate that he does so much that I feel I can't complain about the little things he does that occasionally bug me. :) Rich got home on Saturday and it was wonderful to not feel like a single parent again. Yesterday we had the Christmas programs at church and the fireside last night too. It was nice and I was able to sit and listen to a portion of each of the programs before I felt I needed to take Alyssa out because she was being too loud. She is such a tiny little girl, but her voice just carries and is very loud. I think I need to start doing some whisper games more at home to help her learn the difference between whispering and talking loudly.

Speaking of Alyssa... she is finally really wearing underwear and keeping it dryall day long! She's gone three days without any accidents at all and before that was averaging only one accident a day for about a week. I'm so looking forward to one less diaper size to buy on a regular basis. I'm sure we'll still use pullups at night for a while, but it's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel that I'll have more kids in underwear than diapers. :)

Tonight we are going to make gingerbread houses for FHE. In the past I've made the gingerbread and baked it and everything, but this year we are taking the short cut method and just "glueing" graham crackers to milk cartons. We'll then let all of the kids decorate a carton and have a little "village" to put out for the next week... I'm sure by christmas half the candy will be picked off of it, but it's fun to make.