Dear Santa

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What We Do

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Snow, Teeth, and Turkey

At this very second there is no visibility outside and Chad is leaving for work in a half of an hour. He is taking one person sledding and another swimming. I hope he will be safe on these roads. I worked on our driveway for 45 minutes yesterday and 30 minutes today. I am no where near having it cleaned off. I guess I don't have to feel too bad about not getting up and exercising. As I see people with there four wheelers and snow blowers clearing their driveways with a smile I try to think that I am burning more calories.
McKayla has her first loose tooth. I thought we had another year to go, but I guess not. She is doing a good job of leaving it alone for now. I hope it stays in for awhile yet. She is so excited. She has been telling everyone that she has a loose tooth.
Last, the turkey. If the roads don't clear I won't get to eat a fabulous meal cooked by my brothers. They are good cooks and I don't often get to Boise to partake of their talents. Last year we had fried turkey and it was fabulous. Of course we always have the option of crashing in on my in-laws. They live right down the street and there is always wonderful cooking there. We are blessed to have the option of spending the holidays with family. What a wonderful thing.
I have already decorated for Christmas but I won't show you the pictures until after Thanksgiving okay? Well, If you hear from me tomorrow we didn't go to Boise, if not I will chat with you all on Saturday. Happy Thanksgiving.

Winter Wonderland

As I looked out the window all I see is a world of white. I think if McKayla would have had school it would have been canceled. I love the winter snow, but at the rate the snow is coming we won't be able to drive to Boise. That makes me sad. I am excited to see my brothers. My kids are way excited to go too. So, lets hope the snow clears up long enough to clear the roads.

Life Is Messy

You know that saying "when life hands you lemons make lemonade"? Well as anyone who cooks in a kitchen knows, the putting together of two items has the insane talent to turn a perfectly clean kitchen upside down and inside out. That is more of what life really is. It is messy, complicated, and sometimes downright stinky in so many ways. For example, I decided that we are tightening our belts around here, so Ariana could start to go potty in the toilet and get out of diapers. Diapers are expensive and I had plans for those $30. We started yesterday. It didn't go well. I did buy the pull ups that are so stinking expensive, but she still only went in the potty four times. I figured it was a good baseline and each day we could hope to increase it. However, by the end of yesterday I was exhausted. Taking a two year old to the bathroom every 15 minutes and displaying extreme optimism and hope takes it out of you. However, all potty training has been put on hold due to the apple juice having a bad effect on her digestive system. Another example would be Mckayla. Looking back it all makes since, but I never noticed until today. Today she couldn't find her Strawberry Shortcake shoes. So, I told her to put on sock and go look downstairs. I went to her drawer to get her socks for her to help out and I made a startling discovery. All of her socks were unfolded and in the drawer. I asked her why and she said that when she is cleaning up her room she puts her socks back because they are not that dirty. I couldn't believe my ears. Then I remembered that I really didn't have too many pairs of socks for McKayla when I did laundry. She has been putting them away. We had a quick discussion about sock and stinky feet. Sigh. My last example is money. It is the bane of my existence. I swear there is never enough no matter how hard I try to budget everything out. I am always stressing about paying everything and how to make every penny stretch. I have heard the comment that I should get a job. I can work and I have worked. I have a bachelors degree in education and I have many certifications, however I feel like I need to be home with my kids. I feel like it is my duty to be with them and teach them. When they start school I will get my masters degree and enter the work force, but for now I am a mom. Trust me, it is a tough job. This is where my faith comes in. I stop looking at my messes and my troubles and start to count my blessings. I am so blessed and I have been given so much. It is tough but I wouldn't trade my life for anything. I am where I am suppose to be doing what I am suppose to be doing. I have faith that it will all work out. the most important thing is to keep my family intact and a smile on my lips.

Crazy Ideas Of Mine

I like to scrapbook, but I'm not creative or crafty. I'm just plain and simple me. I'm okay with that and I think my family is too. My kids aren't old enough to be embarrassed by me yet. I love creating things. thins year I decided to do 10 more cards than we normally do because as I was sitting back, I realized I have been blessed with more friends this last year. I have discovered new friends and found old friends on face book. I hope they send me their addresses so that I can mail them a card. So, here is the Porter Family 2010 Christmas card. I hope that if you want a card you will get me your address. Thanks all!

Family Tradition

We have started a new family tradition and I must say I love it! I am plagued by picky eaters. No matter what I cook I hear complaints. Sometimes it kind of gets frustrating. I certainly don't need to eat all that food but my kids won't eat it. So, after I read about a dear friend who had "make your pizza night" at her house I wondered if my kids would eat it if they made it. We started with pizza and then we did pasta. With the pasta we cooked hamburger separate so the kids could add hamburger, sauce, cheese, or olives. So, we have officially decided that every Friday night shall be make your own night. On Fridays I will try to think of something to cook that has layers to it that the kids can add. Next Friday we will be doing nachos. I really have enjoyed doing this with the kids. I haven't completely sold McKayla on the idea of eating yet. She has informed me that she loved build your own dinner night, but the best part is the making of the dinner, not eating it. What a nut. But, she is my nut.

Snow-Leaf Man

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Family Pictures

We had my sister-in-law and her family help us take family pictures. They did a great job and they were so understanding with my little kids. Thanks for all your help Price Family. We love you guys tons!

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Mothers

Today I am writing this post while half of my family is at church. Ariana woke up to day and decided to throw up everywhere. What I mean is that she won't stay in one place where I can put a towel and a bowl nearby. She has to be racing up and down the stairs and then pause to throw up. She has to be dancing in our bedroom and then pause to throw up. See what I mean by everywhere. So I am at home trying to convince her to sit still for awhile and not throw up. Mothers can't choose when to be a mom. They have to stay with sick kids and love them. I grateful for my husband because he did most of the cleaning...okay all of the cleaning of the throw up this morning. He offered to stay home while I went to church because he knows how much I love going, but he teaches the 6 year olds at church, so he needed to go. I get the task of convincing her to stay still for a few minutes. All mothers do this and all mothers sometimes wish it were not so, but it is a great blessing to be a mother. I am grateful for my children and the opportunities that they bring to me.

Blue Berry Pancakes and a Smile

Today i woke up and made pancakes for the kids. I love that on Saturday we normally don't have anywhere pressing to be so we can take it slow. I make 8 regular pancakes and then the last three I added blueberries to. They were yummy. It was fun to see the family listening to music and dancing. Everyone set the table while I cooked. I also loved how everyone helped clean up. It put a huge smile on my face. This morning a felt like smiling from ear to ear with graditude. I have a lovely family and home. I am so blessed and I am humbled by how wonderful my life is. I have wonderful friends and family that love me and I we are doing great.

Leaves and Insanity

I love my home. Really I do. In the fall I am a mad women trying to keep up with the leaves. We have 5 mature trees with a billion million zillion (really...it's true) leaves...EACH. Also, we lots of little bushes and smaller trees. So for this week I have spent 7 hours on the yard and raked up 17 bags of leaves. And I'm not done yet. Oh, I didn't tell you that the front leaves haven't dropped yet. Yep, it's true. So, at this point I think I will go roll in the leaves while laughing in an insane manner. That way the neighbors will be scared of the crazy lady. I will be known as the crazy leaf lady. HA HA HA

Debt

We all know debt is bad. Chad and I have more debt than we should. Some is due to life circumstances and some of it is just that we wanted something. We have our house debt and student loans which are okay, but then we have credit card debt. Yesterday we decided to close our accounts. We still have to pay the debt but we are not going to be addig anything eles to it. Our plan is to be free of all credit card debt in five years or less. It's a challenge. I admit we are scard. We have always have our credit cards to make up the difference if we were lacking, but now we really have live within our means. This takes faith. We are trusting the if we do our part and are wise with our money the Lord will provide. Not only do we need faith but graditude. We need to learn that happiness dosen't come from having things but rather from being greatful for what we have. Wish us good luck!

Fall

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Halloween Part Two

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So, we tried to do the Trunk Or Treat this year. I didn't like it at all. We bought a ton of candy and it was gone in 30 minutes. Plus We didn't get to talk to anyone. It was a rush to give out all of the candy without getting to talk to our neighbors. I think we will do it differently.