How cute is this?

Brady performing for the festival of trees.

Tis' The Reason For The Season

This ones for you Susan.......





I had this Christmas party with my favorite people and I thought that it would help to capture the holiday spirit.....Didn't happen. But the party was pretty darn fun.
So today as I was running around doing the shopping that I have thus far put off, it came to my attention that this is so silly......I've asked all my kids what it is they really want for Christmas and it has pretty much been like pulling teeth to get an answer out of them. So I run around looking for just the right gift or the gift that is on the list and I'm thinking.....How fun is this really going to be this year? We are going to wake up and open a pile of things that no one really needs or desperately wants. If it weren't for tradition I would say lets take the money we are going to spend and just go some where and do something....
My friend is doing just that. She is taking her family up to a cabin and spending some much needed family time with all her kids. She is like me and this will probably be the last Christmas where it is just her kids and no in-laws or Grandchildren. Where all her kids will be home and the family is still intact. I've wondered if it has hit her like it has me, that this is an end to one era and the beginning of something new and unknown?
It's not necessarily a bad thing, just different. I love Christmas....usually. I just can't seem to get my head in the game this year. Maybe its my age, maybe its their age. We need a few little people around to truly make this a magical Christmas again. It's so fun to watch those little ones with their big wide eyes. So excited and full of wonder.
My house is decorated, most of the shopping is done and the baking will commence in a day or two....I have about 8 days to get in the mood.....Come on Christmas spirit.....Come on....I know you are out there somewhere.
I think next year I will do what my friend Susan did and really find the reason for the season. We will do a count down to Christmas and find Christ in Christmas.....Our family hasn't really had any spiritual traditions. I wasn't raised in a religious home and therefore Christ was never the center of the Christmas holidays.
I will be searching this coming year for some traditions that will help us to remember what it's all about. So I think 2010 will be a good year and look forward to growing closer to my Father in Heaven.

My Girls

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Take a good look at these pictures. These woman are the very reason I am here today. They are the most hard working, dedicated, stalwart, loving, kind, forgiving (some may not agree) and humorous woman I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I met the majority of them about 7 years ago. These woman have dedicated so much of their lives to the things in life that mean so very much. They are passionate about all that they do. The things they believe in, they do with so much of their heart and soul that others may take it as an obsession.
There have been a lot of bumps in the road over the last few years, but the only constant is that I know that they are there for me, and each other, all the time. We have each made mistakes, we are human. We have learned from them and hope that we do better next time.
Some were at one time part of a board of directors and could not enjoy the pleasure of our company. They since have stepped down. I am so glad, because life just wasn't the same without being able to have them be a part of so many wonderful experiences.....
I think everyone needs friends like these. Those of you who don't, I am sorry. I don't think life would be complete without them. I love my family but these woman complete me. They are like sisters. I feel a strong bond with them. I love their kids like my nieces and nephews, and we plan which kids will marry each other. Tee-hee :-)
A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world- Leo Buscaglia
Lucky for me I have 7 amazing people in my world. What a beautiful garden they make.

The Birthday Party

I can't begin to tell you how much I was dreading the"big birthday party". Back in the day, I loved doing parties but the older I have become, and the more children I accumulate, the less I have enjoyed it. So, I just wasn't at all looking forward to the stress of a birthday party.
To my surprise, it was a lot of fun. Brady invited all 30 kids in his class, and out of 30, 16 showed up. They were happy and excited and very well behaved. Lucky for me, a few parents stuck around to keep an eye on all those little ones, since we were having it at our neighborhood pool house. Brady had a fantastic time and felt very special since so many of his friends came. Also, he must be quite the ladies man......there were more girls than boys that night.
I would also like to give a shout out to my good friend Viki for making a special football cake just for Brady.

Great, Great Brady's Eight

Brady Matthew Porter turned eight on November 2nd. Here are eight reasons to Love him.

1. He will try anything and go anywhere. He is very adventurous. That would explain why he could ride a scooter at eighteen months and run circles around a ten year old with it. He could jump on a tramp at 14 months and he also decided to go on an adventure when he was about 20 months down Ammon Road, with the dog.
2. His smile will light up a room. You can’t help but smile when he smiles.
3. He has the most beautiful blue eyes just like my Mom. When I look at them, I see her.
4. He love people. When he meets someone they are him instant best friend He and Tyler's room-mates family wrapped around his finger in a matter of minutes.
5. He LOVES sports. Not watching....playing
6. He’s really cute and he know it whenever I tell him he’s cute, he says, “I know”. In a very matter of fact way.
7. He loves to snuggle with me. Even on our ride coming home from Florida, he would reach up from the back seat and just want to hold my hand. He’s a very loving and caring boy.
8. He was soooo excited to be baptized. We had the Missionaries over to teach him the discussions before we went on vacation. He was so attentive. He remembered the lessons he was taught and when we went to interview with the Bishop he attempted to tell him all the different things he learned. I think he thought it was a pass or fail test.
   

We are so proud of the decision Brady made to be baptized, and we love him very much. Our family would not be complete without him.

My Daughter is an Adult

Well I guess it was inevitable.....No matter what I do they just seem to keep getting older and older. Sydney Ashlee Porter came into the world on October 25th. She was born at 7:40 am. She was one of the easiest births but I came the closest to dying while giving birth to her. She was such a skinny little thing. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 11oz., but she was 22 inches long. Syd was a busy baby. She loved to just go around like a cyclone. Her mission was to seek and destroy. In some ways she was an easy going child but boy in some ways I was convinced she just wanted to prove what an awful mother I truly was. No matter how hard I tried she just never seemed very happy. Funny thing is, as an infant she smiled non stop. Everyone commented on what a beautiful baby with a beautiful smile. "She smiled at air". Syd spent much of her childhood in La-La land. She preferred it there. She once commented that she liked La-La land, because she could dance and sing and there were flowers everywhere. I'm really glad she had somewhere to go in those moments when being where she was, was just to much for her to handle. LOL
Here are the Eighteen reasons I Love Syd!

1. Syd has some seriously wicked sarcasm.
2. She has always been so grown up. Logic was never wasted on her.
3. She is sooooo patient with McKenzie. Most big sisters would have choked her in her sleep by now.
4. She is a beautiful girl with a beautiful spirit.
5. She is a really good friend, but doesn't need to be surrounded by her friends constantly.
6. Syd has a mind of her own. She is kind of like her mom in that way. If you piss her off you will definitely know about it.
7. She is a great leader. The kids at school really look to her a role model.
8. She's really the only one that follows this blog, so at least she will see this post.
9. She's a good shopping buddy. She doesn't linger too long and we don't have to try on everything in the store. She doesn't beg me for things either.
10. Syd's a great organizer. When I need something organized, I leave it to her.
11. She is a good dancer.
12. She has a really nice voice. I like to hear her sing.
13. She has made a really good chauffeur.
14. I never have to remind her to do her homework.
15. She barrows all my clothes (that's not the good thing) the good thing is when she gets a job and buys her own clothes I'm going to get pay back.
16. She is NOT boy crazy. I have non of the typical teenage worries with Syd.
17. She lived through her childhood, despite the fact I almost killed her. (Ask her about the gum story)
18. She's been an awesome kid and I think she is going to be an even more amazing adult.