Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Alyssa sings at the Utah Flash game







Alyssa had the opportunity to sing the National Anthem at the start of the Utah Flash game. It was a fun experience for her. Her choir teacher taught them to sign the song as well. They did really good. I am so proud of her.

Snow









I was a little worried that we now live where it snows. Before our move I had never driven in the snow and had not had to spend much time in it.



So far it has not been bad. We have only had 2 real snow storms where the snow has stuck. I have only driven in it once and it was not bad. I think I prefer it over rain because you do not get wet.





We were able to take the kids sledding in December after one of the storms. It was fun! Parker did not care for it but the rest of the kids had a blast. Who knows maybe we will even going skiing some day!

Birthdays



Mariah turned 13 in December! We now have an official teenager. I am so proud of Mariah. She is an excellent student, wonderful cook, great crafter and has good business sense. She is in the drama club at school and is excited to play a 'who' in the school Suessical production in March.


We celebrated her birthday by taking the family and some of her friends ice skating. This was the first time for most of them. They did great. All of them were able to move from the wall by the end of the session.



Andrew turned 6 (don't worry about the 5 on the cupcake - there is a #1 behind it!) the beginning of this month. He is in Kindergarten and is starting to read by himself. He loves building with Lego's and was thrilled to get 6 lbs of assorted legos for his birthday. He is looking forward to using the gift card and money he received from relatives to pick out another set on Saturday.

Christmas

I hope it is not too late but I wanted to post our family picture and Christmas letter.

The Porters 2009
Embracing change and new opportunity

This year we experienced many changes:
1. January - Aaron got laid of from his job with Delta Dental as part of a massive company lay off.
2. February – Helen closed her Scrapbook store after a long hard fight with the failing economy, closing businesses and rising gas prices.
3. March – came to Utah to visit family. Helen found a job working as the customer service manager for an online scrapbook retailer.
4. April – moved the family to Utah.
5. April – Caitlyn turned 8 and was baptized. It was a wonderful time as family surrounded us. Caitlyn is our girly child who loves anything pink and fuzzy.
6. April – July Aaron became the best stay at home Dad ever as he prepared meals, did laundry, cleaned the house and kept the kids safe and happy.
7. May – Alyssa overcame her devastation from moving away from her friends as she found many new friends right in our neighborhood. She joined choir and drama at the school and loves being a 6th grader.
8. July – Aaron found a job in his field as a Project Manager.
9. July – Parker turned 2. He talks a lot and loves Yu, Uh, Ninin and Andrew (yep that is his names for his siblings!). Parker makes all of us happy.
10. August – Mariah began Jr. High. She enjoys having many teachers and excels in all her classes. She joined the drama club and will trying out for Suessical next week. Mariah loves to craft and is a great cook. She is a great help for this working Mom!
11. September - Andrew started Kindergarten. He can already sound out words and count over 100. He enjoys quizzing everyone on the sounds each letter makes. He amazes us with his talent to create with his legos.
12. October – Helen spent the month sick with H1N1, pneumonia and a cold. I am incredibly grateful for a wonderful husband who took over everything while I could not even leave my room for weeks.
13. November – Enjoyed spending the Thanksgiving holiday with family (36 from Helen’s side!) We ate 2 Turkey dinners, hiked in the snow and saw the frozen Bridal Veil Falls. We love being surrounded by so much family.

We realized through all of this change that we are happy. We have family; both immediate and extended, near and far. We have friends! We have the church. We have peace.

We wish for you a year of new experiences and a chance for change and growth!