Porter's Baptism!

Jason Porter Giles is 8!!

We are so proud of Porter and his decision to be baptized. He was baptized a member of the church on February 6, 2010 in the Herriman 1st ward. We were very happy to have so many family members there including 1 grandparent from each set. Grandpa Giles came from Salt Lake and stood in as one of the witnesses and in the circle and Grandma T and Grandmama Balthrop came from Arizona for the occasion and gave the talks on Baptism and the Holy Ghost. Everything was beautifully done and I felt like Porter felt the spirit there. during the few days before and a few days that followed his baptism, we enjoyed lots of time with family and enjoyed having Grandma T and Grandmama Balthrop stay and spend some time.

Time with Grandma T.

New set of Scriptures!

Time Goes By

I can never believe how fast time goes by. Why is it, that I can never believe it because I often find myself in this exact situation, not believing it all over again. Don't you think I would get it by now that it is not going to slow down anytime soon? I know that doesn't make since but it is a question I send out into the void.

Again I find myself with catching up to do. For starters, I think the kids are starting to come to the realization that their dad is leaving. I can tell when they are getting tons of attention from us but a few are starting to act out in different ways that they normally don't. I know the Lord will bless us in this decision because we made it through him but I think this year may be a little more trying then I am wanting it to be. Meanwhile, Jason is done with one of his 2 jobs and is only working part time for this month and off for the first few weeks in April. we are excited for the family time and are planning a fun, warm vacation for part of the time as a little surprise for the kids. I so love dong surprises!!:) I will update as time permits and as my computer gets fixed so that I can download some pictures.

Okay, Here Goes...

So my all time, favorite Christmas movie is "White Christmas". Probably because it incorporates great singing, dancing, acting and I have been watching it every year for 20 or so years. Anyway, this year I was anxious to watch it again because it holds a bit of a different meaning to me. What I mean by that is, for those of you who are not familiar, it is about a couple of pals from the army. Okay, okay, okay, so the reason that relates to our big news is that, no, I am not PREGNANT (which has nothing to do with that show anyway) but, ...Jason is joining the ARMY! He will be signing on Monday for a 3 year term. (If you have dropped your jaw and are wondering why in the heck we would do such a thing), don't worry, we are really excited for this next adventure. Though I am sure there will be some rough times ahead, we feel this is a good direction for us at this time. For whatever reason, we also feel that Heavenly Father needs us to do this, and of course, that clinches it for me.:)

Our next step is Jason going to an intensive training in a few months to become a Human Intelligence Collector for the Army, so don't be surprised if the FBI comes knocking on your door this next year and asks questions about my husband. (They will need to do that in order to grant him the clearance that he needs for this job).

At this point, we don't know how long we will be enlisted but we will take it as it comes. I will continue to update my blog in order to keep in touch. Please keep us in your prayers!!

Changes Coming!!

Okay so we moved the first week in November and are currently renting a place wihin walking distance from the kid's school. We are really enjoying the area and loving the new ward. The kids are all doing well with the change as all of us are getting ready for some much bigger changes coming up this year. Some of you already know but I am going to have to hold the surprise from the rest of you until it's official!:) All I can say is that we have some big changes coming that we have prayed about and are excited for.

Blessings!

I would have to say that one of my favorite things is seeing all the blessings in my life. It is amazing to me how many small and simple blessings we are given everyday. One of our recent blessings was having the opportunity to take out family to stake conference at the conference center to listen to the prophet speak. it was a great conference focused on the importance of regular temple attendance and serving those who need us.

Another recent blessing was finding a place to live since we sold our house quicker that we had planned. That has been a huge stress for me the past few weeks but we have found a place for the mean time that we feel really good about.

The last blessing I will mention is the sale of our home. We felt that it was something we needed to do for many reasons but it is kind of exciting to know that we will soon be open to do whatever and go wherever the Lord needs us to go. These times are so fun and exciting!

We're Moving!!

Well, I guess we are supposed to move. We put our house up for sale last Wednesday and had 7+ offers on it by Monday. I am not kidding, it has been a bit of a crazy week. We are currently looking for someplace to rent right now until we figure out the job situation instead of rushing into buying another home. At this point, our options are wide open though we are looking for something in the Western states. Yes, Arizona pals, we are considering moving back there. We are not sure at this point but we are planning to stay here and rent for a while until things become a bit more clear. This is all a little crazy and a bit sudden but we are up for it and know we have been so blessed and directed to this point.

New Job

Jason and I have decided that it is time to find him a new job. It has been a rough couple of years with respect to that but we have learned so much in the meantime. I feel that everything happens for a reason and that it is up to us to either, let the tough times bring you down or to learn from them: I choose to learn.

Anyway, it is always exciting to move forward and change paths and we have been getting a little gitty thinking about the prospects. We are not making any announcements right now, but we are willing to go wherever the Lord wants us to be. At this point it has just been fun to spend a couple hours together each afternoon searching for jobs while kids are napping.