PARTY'N (family style)

We told Porter on his birthday, that he could pick anything he wanted for breakfast and he chose, to Sadie and dad's dismay..."cold cereal". Anyway he had four little card's by his seat that read..."Porter's birthday choices 1-4. He chose the Chuck E Cheese option which meant a ton of, of course, CHEAP tokens, pizza and, a refillable drink (which is the reason I think Porter picked that option). Anyway, we had a blast spending time with our family and seeing how flippen good our kids are at getting the "100 point hole" on skeeball.:) The kids and I also loved the fact that daddy had the whole day to spend with us and it was a weekday. YEA!!!:)

The kids turning on the charm for Chucky..."CHEESE"!

Okay, so Kailey was not one of our children who scored a 100 pointer...at least not the honest way.

What sweet, little buddies!

One of my favorite mom moments this far has been

watching my children become one another's best friends! :)

Happy 7th Birthday!!

PORTER Porter is the "Energizer Battery" of the family and is most always charged!:) He loves moving, playing, hiking, cracking jokes, loving, questioning, being outside and anything else that involves motion. He is a natural, little athlete at everything he tries and is generally a first to figure things out. Though he is sweet and loving to his family, (as long as no "outside" eyes are watching), he loves to wrestle with anyone who crosses his path. You might think that 3 sisters would make him a little reserved, instead, he has brought the rough and tough boy things into our girl's world, considering that they are usually his wrestling buddies. Luckily they are learning to hold their own. Porter also likes to figure things out and is very interested in and curious about the world around him. He is also a good helper and enjoys doing little things to earn money. We are proud of him and the young man he is becoming. We are grateful for his outgoing and energetic spirit in our home. We know that the Lord must have a great work for him to do here and our prayer, as parents, is that we will be able to help provide and direct his strengths were the Lord needs him to go. We love our boy!:)loving big bro!Good Buddy!

Athletic and adventurous!

CAUTION: Not for the weak of ear!!!

Okay, so we are going through a HUGE "Potty Talk" faze at our house: not Jason and I of course, but our three older kids. Well, some of our kids know exactly what they are saying and what it means while other's don't.

The following conversation is uncut and unedited:

Aubrey: "giggles"..."Cheese makes me fawt"

Mom: "no, toot"

Aubrey: "toot makes me fawt"

Mom & Dad: trying to hold in belly laughs.


What would life be like without kids? They can be such a test of patience at times while at other times, they are the cutest and funniest little things you've ever seen! I am so grateful to have been blessed with the family I have! For the most part, my kids are best buddies and they never miss a moment to involve mom and dad in their fun and games too! We have so much fun together and, even though it's not all fun and games and their are some days when I may be on the verge of pulling my hair out, I would not trade the family I have for anything in the world! They are my pride and joy and the loves of my life!:)

Pac Man

So I would do a post and tell about our fun New Year's Eve party or some of the fun we have been having while my kids have been off track but every time I come to my blog to do anything, I end up playing Pac Man. It is one of my fave arcade games anyway and I have discovered that it is terrible to have it on my computer to play for FREE!! AHHHHH. So don't be surprised if it comes up missing one of these days. Well I'm off to play Pac Man...I mean do something constructive with my evening like fold laundry!:)

Funny Kids!

My son received Captain Underpants books from my mom for Christmas and if you don't know about the series...basically, the author is making fun of all other superheros because they look like they are wearing underwear so, his hero really does. Anyway, he wears underwear and a cape and, will often times, shoot underwear at the bad guys to save the day. So last night my son, who does not like to play dress-up for anything, came downstairs in his underwear, church socks and a shirt tied around his neck as a cape. He said he was Captain Underpants and wanted to send a picture to show his grandma. I thought better of posting the picture but, it was funny and very out of character for him. At least he has found a super hero that inspires him.:) (note: the previous statement is drenched with sarcasm)

Christmas!!

What a wonderful time of year!

We spent much of Christmas week hanging out with the family and carrying on traditions from years past as well as, creating new ones! We love spending time together, playing games, watching movies, wrestling and whatever else we can come up with. Christmas Eve, we enjoyed our Chinese take-out (in honor of Ryan & Kris):), looked at Christmas lights, new books (my favorite present to give each year), and opened new PJ's which is a new tradition that we decided to start. On Christmas morning, we woke up to a winter wonderland and could hardly wait to get the day going so we could play in the snow!! I'm not sure why we didn't get any still shots of the playing but her are a few Christmas pics. The house was nothing compared

to the huge piles of snow we had

after the snowplow piled it up for us!:)

Kailey looks like a red marshmellow with her snow clothes that are way too big!! For some reason, the movie "A Christmas Story" comes to mind when I look at his pic.:)

The kids keep saying that this was the best Christmas ever! I love that because it wasn't really about the presents, as much as it was the time we had together as a family!:)

There were three Kings...

I am so grateful for this time of year and for the thoughts that come to my mind. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who sent his only Son to the earth to show us the way so that we might return to him again. I am grateful that he is mindful of each of us individually and is always there. He loves us and his Son was born on that first Christmas night in Bethlehem. I hope that if I had been there that I would have made the journey to welcome he Savior of the world. I love him, I reverence him and I am eternally grateful for my knowledge of him. He lived then and he lives today!!