Fall

I love FALL!  I love the brisk air, I love that the Holidays are approaching, I love Gardner Village and the witches, and I love Halloween!  And all of that is magnified times ten since I've had kiddos of my own.  Everything is so exciting to them, I sometimes wish I could face life with the same outlook they do.  How much better the world would look and even things as silly as dancing around at Gardner Village would seem magical.  Here's a little glimpse of how we have been celebrating Fall!

Doing the Monster Mash (don't worry, they are the only ones dancing in the entire place)
Porter has been dancing for a week straight singing, "Dance Like It's Halloween!"

Porter, Bo and Moses

The Smile that makes it hard for you to stay mad even when he is naughty!

Porter, like his dad, loves to cook.  He's helping Nanny make treats.
Who can resist when he asks, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Oh the Pumpkin Patch, one of our favorite traditions.  It's funny how you pick one and
it just becomes the one you always go to no matter what.  We've run into my friend Jenna who lives
in Lehi for 3 years straight I believe at this pumpkin patch on this random day.

Jack's favorite person in the entire world (quite possibly even more favorite than daddy) is Papa!
Seriously, all this boy needs is his Papa to hold him and everything becomes right with the world.

Who wouldn't want to ride in the wheelbarrow?  

This pumpkin is perfect to carve a Super Hero On!

 Somehow I missed getting an actual picture of Porter in his costume so far.  Here he is doing donuts on a string.  He only made it through 3 bites and stopped, luckily because he looked like he was going to puke.  Now, on to 2 more parties, my mom's trick or treat at her office and Halloween itself.  A detox will be in order on November 1st!

Birthday Breakfast

So we actually have been celebrating Halloween around here but my camera cord is MIA so I cannot get the photos off the camera!  For now, I will leave you with this terrible quality picture from so needing to be retired iphone (first generation jailbroken iphone on t-mobile network here folks, you only wish you were so vintage!)  This is the amazing Birthday Breakfast in Bed Tom made me this morning.  Note the presentation.  Seriously have I ever dressed a plate with cilantro?  No, the answer is no.  Those little circle things were amazing egg, vegetable, laughing cow cheese pop-overs of delicious goodness.  It was a great birthday!  After breakfast in bed I took Porter to preschool and then hung out with my kids for the day.  My mom took us for frozen yogurt in the afternoon and sat in car with the kids while I ran in and did a little coupon magic at Smiths for super cheap diapers (i know I must be sick when I actually enjoy doing something like that on my birthday) and spent the evening with Jack while Tommy was at school (Porter went to play with Justin and Trent, yes play is the correct term even though they are 23 and 31).  And one day I will find my cord to post real pictures. 

Sorry. . . Late Update

So, in case I forgot to update since the last post. . . The MRI came back NORMAL.  HUGE sigh of relief.  His head is just, well, BIG.  I'm so grateful that we don't have to put this little guy through surgery.  The sleep battle rages on, but what doesn't kill ya makes you stronger, right?  And who doesn't like waking up at 5:30 every morning?  On the up side, at least my days are super long so I am able to accomplish a lot. (or at least I seem to think so)  Heck, I'm done exercising and dressed for the day by the time most of my friends are even awake.  That's a good thing right?  I may look like death and my baggy eyes have seen better days, but there are much harder things in life than this.  (in case you didn't realize I'm saying this more for my benefit than yours)  So thanks for your prayers, Jack's big head is just fine!

And the Giant Head Saga Continues!

So Jack had his 18 month check up today (slightly late), and we are now scheduled for a CT Scan on Monday.  His head is still measuring totally off the charts and veering slightly off the curve and the doctor wants to make sure nothing is wrong.  He may have extra fluid in his head that could possibly be causing headaches which might explain his crabbiness and trouble sleeping for more than 3 hours at a time.  Unfortunately if this is indeed true, then this may call for a shunt.  Oh the joys!  Well, keep Jack in your prayers!  So thankful for Tom's job and good insurance!

Jack at 12:00 am

Jennifer Conference

The anticipation for "Jennifer Conference" was huge for Porter this past week.  Is that weird for a 3 year old? We talked about it all week and I prepared a bunch of activities for him to do during conference and he could hardly wait!  Saturday morning he asked me if he needed to wear a tie to watch.  Here was one of his favorite activities:

His Prophet and Apostle Chain.  

We colored each apostle when they spoke and he was so happy when they were all colored and put together he  carried it everywhere!  Oh my child!  I went into conference thinking that if I put together a bunch of activities for him to do then I could listen more intently.  Maybe I got a little to into it?  Instead I was heavily engaged in helping him build a tent and construct King Benjamin's tower, coloring the apostles and playing the "did you hear that word" game.  We had jars of candy labeled with words like spirit, scripture, etc. and every time he heard that word he got a treat!  Wow, it got a bit out of control, I guess I should have been more careful with my word selection. But we even had Jack pretending to listen for candy so that is success in my book!

We had a wonderful conference weekend full of delicious food and all the uplifting messages Conference brings.

Grateful

Sometimes I don't think I express my gratitude as much as I should and this week I am definitely grateful.  I'm grateful for a husband who works hard to support his family and loves them more than life itself.  I'm grateful for two sweet little boys that make my life feel so fulfilled and teach me so much.  And I'm grateful for the opportunity to stay home with them and witness every part of their growing up.  I'm grateful for supportive parents who have always been there for me.  I'm grateful for a church calling that helps keep my life in perspective and gives me the opportunity to serve others.  Once you are in the Relief Society Presidency I think it becomes very hard for you to ever feel sorry for yourself as there is always someone who has a greater need or a more difficult trial.  I'm grateful for answered prayers, even when you wish the Lord's timeline was the same as your own.  It is quite a remarkable thing when your finances are slightly more healthy than they were before a job loss.  I'm grateful for great friends who accept me for who I am and are always sure to step in when they can see I need help or just someone to listen.  I'm grateful to be a member of such an incredible church that gives me so much hope and direction in my life. I'm grateful for a dog to help me feel safe when my husband is out of town.  And right now, I'm especially grateful for Tom's new job that he started this week.  What an incredible blessing this was for our family.  And while I know there are many who are unemployed for much longer than we have been, almost 6 months has felt like an eternity and I'm grateful we survived.

Porter

Porter is quite an exceptional child, I must say, although I am his mother which warrants bragging rights, right?  On Sunday he gave his 3rd talk in Primary since January.  The week before in church was magical as he got to fill in for someone to give the scripture and prayer and then his name was chosen for the talk  And to top it off, he got to somehow help lead the primary in singing "Praise to the Man", which in case you didn't know, is his all time FAVORITE song.  Whose kid is this?   Seriously?  He gave a talk about about Ammon who "cut off their arms" and did quite well at memorizing it I must say, especially for a 3 year old.

Cousins Roasting Marshmallows

LeBaron Family Night at the Sundance Cabin

 Porter has fooled me into thinking that I must be this incredibly spiritual mother as he often chooses his bed time stories to be about scripture stories and is constantly asking doctrinal questions that I sometimes feel totally inadequate to answer.  Last night we joined some of the LeBarons up at the Sundance Cabin.  To me, spending time with family and having a nice family prayer counted as Family Night right?  (especially since Tommy is training in California for his new job)  Well, to Porter it did not.  We spent half the car ride home yesterday crying because we didn't get to do our usual FHE with a lesson from our book and song.  Yes, I said CRYING!  I finally got him to settle down with the story of King Benjamin which he had been begging to hear for a few days now.  Again I ask, whose child is this?  Here is one of Porter's more poignant observations to date:

As a precursor, We had a lesson on ways to serve others and one of the ways we came up with was to be a good listener.

Porter:  Mom, why isn't Jillian (his school mate and one of his best friends) listening to me?  That's not being good at service.
Me:  Well, people don't always have to listen to everything you say.  Sometimes people choose not to listen.
Porter:  Like Satan, he wasn't a good listener?
Me:  Well yes, since Satan doesn't choose the right I guess that would make him bad at listening.
Porter:  Who else isn't a good listener and doesn't choose the right?
Me:  I guess people that don't want to follow God's Plan are not good listeners.
Porter:  Oh, so like Traitors and Tyrants, right?  ("Praise to the Man")

I feel grateful for such a sweet boy that keeps me spiritually in check by being the prayer and FHE police.  At least it keeps me doing what I am suppose to.