Christmas Pajamas

Every year we get new pajamas for Christmas that we open Christmas Eve. I have always wanted matching pj's but since we range from toddler to giant buying them is out. So I finally made them! For a non-sewer this was quite the task. Fortunately I had lots of help from my sister and mother-in-law. Everything fit and looks great! I can't wait to see everyone in them tomorrow morning.

Christmas Eve nativity

After dinner we went to my sisters house where the kids acted out the nativity. It was cute to see all the angels, the baby girl Jesus who did not want to cooperate, the three cousins as the wise men and even a camel. I love that all the kids get to participate. Three wisemen

The shepherds visiting the newborn king.

Angels rejoicing

Joseph, Mary and Jesus

Christmas Eve talent show

We started the tradition last year of having a talent show on Christmas Eve before dinner. I love seeing what the kids (and sometimes adults can do).

This year the girls sang Silent Night in Spanish with their Spanish speaking Aunts and Uncles. Mariah wrote 4 Christmas Haiku's.

Alyssa played Jingle Bells on the trumpet.

Caitlyn read a holiday poem.

We also heard a poem by one of the families about nobody. It was funny. 2 nieces and one nephew played the piano, a few of the kids sang and one Uncle led the group in playing chimes.

After dinner we had a formal dinner at our house for 26 with ham, scalloped potatoes, croissant rolls, dinner rolls, green beans with almonds and 3 layer Christmas jell-o. The dinner was good and the company was great.

SNOW

It has been snowing for the last 20 hours and is expected to go through the night. The kids are loving it. Mariah has built a fort in front of the house and the neighbors across the street are building another one so they can have snow ball fights. I love that they can do that. Bundled up warm and with the promise of hot chocolate when they are done the kids will play and build for hours.

Parker in the fort.

The neighbor accross the street and Alyssa building her fort.

Parker, a neighbor friend, and Andrew getting ready for the fight!
Mariah making more snowballs.

Mariah's Birthday

Mariah had a birthday yesterday. She turned 14!

I remember the day she was born vividly. I was 11 days overdue and went in for a stress test so she could be induced the following week. The doctor on call looked at my chart and asked if I wanted her that day. Of course! 12 hours of pitocin, an epidural, a 3 hour nap and 5 minutes of pushing later she arrived before the doctor. She suprised us then and continues to do so now.

I love her ability to tackle new projects. She loves to read, sew, and craft. She is always looking for a new project to start.

Christmas Sunday

The Sunday before Christmas is dress up time for the kids. They look so beautiful and handsome.

Aaron is the church choir. In addition to singing with them he had a solo. I love to hear him sing.

Band performance

Alyssa played in her firstband concert at the junior high last week. She is the first chair and the only girl trumpet player! She is doing really well and likes to play. We are very happy for her.

I am also grateful that she has her fathers musical abilities and not mine!

Christmas Candies

Some people bake cookies, others make fudge. I make truffles and candy.

I tried my hand at a few different recipes this year.

I made:

Dark chocolate truffles

Mint truffles

Raspberry truffles

Lemon truffles

almond roca

toffee

buttermints

turtles with homemade caramel

toasted almond clusters

peppermint bark

oreo balls

mint oreo balls

peanut butter balls

I was very happy with the results!

Christmas Letter

The Porters 2010

Another Wonderful Year

We have settled into our new house in Utah and love our opportunities. Our neighborhood is great, the schools are good and we have found wonderful friends. We especially love being near our Utah family and have the opportunity to see them often.

This year Mariah and Alyssa both participated in plays. Mariah was a Who in the school play Suessical. Alyssa played several supporting roles, including a Winkie, in the Wizard of Oz put on by our community youth theatre group. Alyssa also had the opportunity to sing with the school choir at a Utah Flash game. Both girls have found friendship and support in our neighborhood. They have also discovered make-up!

Caitlyn was a finalist as she represented her 3rd grade class in the school spelling bee. She did great! Caity is our girly girl. She loves dresses, wearing flat and painting her nails. She is learning to make jewelry this year after school and has made some lovely pieces.

Andrew started Kindergarten and has started to read chapter books. He still loves Spiderman, playing the Wii and bulding with his Lego's. His favorite foods are spaheti and broccoli.

Parker is 3 and is our big boy now that he is potty trained. He loves jumping, tumbling and just being a boy. He makes us laugh everyday with the things he comes up with.

Helen was laid off in September and is loving this surprised blessing of being able to stay home. The days are spent running kids to school, cleaning house and getting things organized. She also went back to school in August. She expects to graduate in July 2012 with a Bachelor's in Business Administration.

While Aaron loves the rewarding work he does at UHIN he does not enjoy the hour long commute (or longer when weather or traffic are bad). But we are thankful that he has a job! Aaron co-authored a book on project managment titled Project Pain Reliever. The book is currently available for pre-order on Amazon and is expected to be released in January. He has also written and published an article. He stays busy with his writing and his position as Vice President of Education and Certification for the Northern Utah chapter of PMI. When he has time Aaron loves to cook. This year he is perfecting sushi!

We are so blessed to have family; both immediate and extended, near and far. We have friends! We have the church. We have peac. We love you all!

We wish for you a year of happiness and peace.

May the important things in life be in abundance.

Christmas Cruise

For family home evening we took the kids to Provo to go on a River boat cruise. The cruise was only 25 minutes but it was a fun experience. While on the river Santa came by on his canoe (he fell out of his sleigh!). Parker thought that was the best and got to give Santa a high 5!

Winter

The girls couldn't wait for the first snow. Mariah spent several days building forts, castles and even snowmen.

She built these snowmen in the front of the house. Can you tell which one Aaron is?

Family Pictures

The last time we had family pictures taken was when Parker was a baby. We were overdue a photo session! We used Cheapshots and had these taken at the Salem Pond. I LOVE them! I am very pleased. The photographer took over 400. I am amazed that with 7 of us she could get any good ones!

These are a few of my favorites.

Welcome to the Circus

If you know us then you know we LOVE do Halloween as a family. Last year I missed out since I was sick with pneumonia. This year I planned ahead. We went as the Porter Circus.
The kids were perfect. Even Parker got into character and growled and people.
The lion and the lion tamer.

Mom as the fortune teller.

Dad as the lion tamer.

Parker the lion. He loved trick or treating and saying thank you. His favorites were
the houses with dogs. He was ready to go inside and play with all the puppies.

Andrew the strong man could lift 1000 lbs with ease!

Caitlyn was our silly clown! It is hard to tell but her hair is in 4 pony tails with each one sprayed a different color.

Alyssa was our mismatched clown. He rocked the colored hair and super big bow.

Mariah was the perfect clown. When she decides to get into character she does a great job.