Exciting and a Little Scary!

Today I got to see my Cousin Jak and his wife Calaya and their baby Trigg while they were in town. My other cousin Logan was there too so it was a lot of fun. We hung out talking and then we went out back while the kids went swimming. Chase was so good to stay away from the pool and sat on my lap laughing at all the craziness in the pool. Jak was throwing his nephews around in the pool and Chase thought it was hilarious.

Towards the end of the swimming Chase started cleaning up. There were water bottles around so he was picking them up and putting them on the table. He started walking towards the hot tub. Andrew noticed and tried to stop him. Funny thing about Chase, if he thinks you are trying to catch him he will run. I came at him from the other direction but he was too fast and ran straight into the hot tub. It was so fast but the three seconds it took Andrew to grab him seemed like minutes. He came out crying for just a second but he stopped pretty soon after and wanted to "swim" again. YIKES! I was so suprised how calm I was and how good he handled it. I am just really glad we were out there!

Kids and Christmas

I have always felt a little weird about the "what did you get for Christmas?" interrogation. I was especially worried about it this year for my kids. We were blessed this year with some Secret Santas out there who blessed our lives in more ways than just gifts. When my kids got the interrogation of "what did you get?" Cole said, "because of some very kind and special people we were blessed with gifts. It doesn't matter what they are. The important thing is that we were LOVED!" How blessed am I first to have heard this conversation and second to have such incredible kids. It is true, some VERY kind and wonderful people blessed our family with gifts and clothing. But the lessons my kids and lets face it, I learned this year will always be treasured. We may not remember next year this toy or this pair of pants, but we will ALWAYS remember the kindness of others. We will ALWAYS remember the generosity. I am incredibly humbled this year. I am incredibly transformed this year and I could NOT be more grateful for that piece of growth.

Lessons of Christmas

I'm not gonna lie, I was a little discouraged that I wasn't going to be able to provide Christmas gifts for my kids. I did, however, know that it would still be incredibly special. I knew that my kids could handle it. They are incredible. That doesn't mean that they don't ever ask for anything. They are still kids afterall :) I love that they are willing to get creative about what to do and how to share our love with others. We talked about Christmas Caroling. We are still going to do that :) They have done special chores and they help without me asking. I find little cutout hearts all around. They think it is hilarious when I am confused about the heart in the middle of the floor until I realize that they cleaned up. I love that they have learned how to give without actual things.

However, there are some angels out there who are so kind and thoughtful. I wish I knew who to thank. I wish I knew who could be so kind. Then it hit me. I need to be thankful to my Savior. They are on HIS errand. What an amazing lesson for my children. I came home crying after a secret santa dropped off something and the kids were concerned. When I told them someone kind is helping us it was a great lesson on when we are in a place to help others we should. I know that in the future when times are better, I will NEVER pass an Angel tree and not take a name. I will NEVER pass a bell ringer and not give something.

These lessons are important! I am thankful for the opportunity my kids have to learn the importance of giving, the importance of sharing, the importance of LOVE for your fellow men. I feel very blessed. I am so thankful for the outpouring of love for our family. If it is YOU than you have my thanks and love. You are WONDERFUL!

Happy Birthday Chase!

Happy Birthday to the most adorable, sweet and funny 2 year old! He is truly fun to have around. He has a way of making everyone happy and everyone he meets just wants to squeeze him. Unfortunately he isn't so squeezable. He is incredibly independent and wants to be big so bad. He runs around and sings all day long. He has the sweetest little voice. Today he has run around singing "tday is my birfday dah nah nah nah nah nah" This makes me happy. He has this incredible sense of humor. He loves to trick people. His abolutely favorite game is telling Papa Porter to sit and then as Papa goes to his chair Chase runs and yells "got your spot!" Then he laughs and laughs. It is so funny! He likes to hide inside my cupboards and then when I walk past he opens it and scares me to death. He is really good at it. I am one lucky mommy!

Bummed

I am excited about spending Christmas with my family, I really am but I find myself bummed this year. I go through really happy times and then all of a sudden I will be hit with such force that will make me so sad. I wish I could shake it. I mean seriously? I am supposed to be the happiest person alive! I used to be the life of the party. I used to be able to have fun anywhere I went. Why do I find myself stuck. I am scared to go places alone and I just feel lonely. These are the times I turn to my Heavenly Father but there is just something about having a friend you can call at anytime and just vent, or laugh, or cry with. I just wish it would go away so that I could enjoy the season with my family. Tomorrow I will. Tomorrow I will put on my happy face and face the day. Tomorrow...

The Spirit of Christmas

On the way to taking the kids to school today the kids and I were talking about Christmas. We were talking about how much more fun it is to GIVE presents than it is to GET presents. Cole leaned over to me and asked if I would help him with his present for Kiley and Wyatt. He said he wants to make cookies on Christmas morning for them. He asked what their favorites were. Then Kiley said "I have the BEST idea!" she wants to pack up all our Halloween candy in cute Christmas baggies and take them around and go Christmas Caroling. She said "that is like GIVING a gift and Getting one too!" When I asked how she said "I will get to do something I LOVE!" I love these kids. They remind me everyday how to love and how to show it. I am thankful for their influence on me. Their special, kind hearts make mine melt. This Christmas is proving that it will change all future Christmases and I am so THANKFUL for that!

On This Day...12 Years Ago

On December 4, 1999 Andrew and I went on our first "real" date. Sounds weird but our whole dating time was spent doing homework in the library and watching videos at home. He told me he had heard about this great restraunt at the Hyatt Regency, Gainey Ranch. We got all dressed up fancy and went to the Sandalo restraunt. Before we left I had been pretty upset so we sidetracked to his mom's house to see his sister's group eating for Winter Formal. Then at the Sandalo we were seated and the waiters SING the menu to you. It is so funny. I can't remember much of the songs but I do remember him singing "primavera pasta will make you fat." sung to the tune of Prima Donna. It was pretty awesome. At dinner Andrew cleared the table and took both my hands and said he needed to ask me a serious question. I said "fine! You can borrow my car ;) It was so funny then he said "no! What kind of peanut butter do you like? Crunchy or Creamy?" We then talked about peanut butter for a while.

After dinner we went and rode the Gondola's. It was so fun and so romantic. We laughed when the gondolier asked if we were there for a special occasion because most people go to get engaged. I laughed and said nope. Just here on a date. (little did I know how annoyed Andrew was at the Gondolier for ruining his suprise) After the ride we went for a walk. At the time I had a thing with sitting on every bench we walked by so that we could say that that was a bench we had sat on. (It was just a phase.) When we finally got to where Andrew wanted to be, next to the water so we could here the Gondolier singing, it was too late and they were packing up the boats. LOL. My bad. Andrew sat next to me on "our bench" and asked me to be his Eternal Companion. When he handed me the ring the box was closed. I said "yes! A BOX!" (I really thought he was kidding! and I also thought the ring was fake.) I almost threw it in the lake. Yikes! Sometimes my craziness gets me into trouble. heehee. I said yes and the rest is history.

Here we are 12 years later with four amazing kids, a comfortable home, and all the Love in the world. How lucky am I???

Christmas time!

I love this time of year! I love that it is the Christmas Season and also Chase's birthday month. He makes the holidays even more fun! I am so excited to have a true, meaning of Christmas year. There will not be shopping. There will not be stressing. There will be a lot of story telling, a lot of Scripture reading, a lot of baking, and most importantly a whole lot of LOVE! I am hoping the kids will love it as much as I do. I am so thankful for the amazing people they are becoming. They inspire me. They are so humble. They don't ask for outrageous things. They are truly amazing. I am in awe of the love they have for our family. MERRY CHRISTMAS!