Halloween!

 It was actually really nice to be off track during Halloween.  We didn't have to worry about the kids being crabby at the school the next day and we were able to do a lot of activities.  Monday the 28th we met Oma and Opa at the  Traverse Mountain Outlets for dinner, then we went to a craft/story time event.  The lady was a professional storyteller and she was awesome!  We were laughing so hard.  We listened to stories for 45 minutes before doing the craft.  The kids decorated foam masks.  Then we went back to Oma and Opa's for movies and hot chocolate.  It was a lot of fun and nice to spend the evening with them.

Halloween day things started early here.  We headed back out to Traverse Mountain to trick or treat at the mall.  The stores gave out candy and we had a card that needed stamped by 8 different stores and then we can trade in the card for a $10 gift card.  Opa and Oma met us there.  They looked amazing in their full costumes!

This year Brinnley chose to be a soccer player.  The girl still fits in her soccer uniform from when she was 5, so that's what she wore.  She let me try out a new hairstyle that I found on You Tube.  It looked so cute!

 Ainsley was a Karate Kid and she was ready to go!

 And Porter was Superman who wore a mask.  (This is the mask we made a craft night.)  SO funny, but he wouldn't take it off.

 See, they went all out and looked awesome!  The mall was a great idea.  It was so quick to run from store to store.  By the time we finished at the mall the bottom of their bags was full.

CARS

After almost 2 months of issues with the Volvo, we finally got the dealership to give our money back.  We were able to find something that is perfect for us.  It's a Honda Odyssey and I love it.  It drives so smoothly!  And it is so nice to have some space so the kids aren't all crammed in the backseat together.  Now hopefully we are settled with our two silver cars and the neighbors won't thing we are running a used car lot.

Pumpkins!

 Grandma came for the day Oct 11th.  She brought some branches from her twisty trees at home and we decorated them with all sorts of spooky, creepy things like worms and skeletons.  The kids had a lot of fun getting them to stay in the web.

October 21 Chant had the day off.  We spent the morning carving pumpkins.  (Since we were off track we had lots of time for hanging out in our PJs.)

 The girls were all about it.  They had no problem putting their hands in the nasty, slimy guts.

 Porter preferred to stand back and watch.  Of course he provided lots of inspiration for the carved faces with his own scary faces.

 The finished product.

 Gotta pull up the pants in preparation for the dirty work, which means he held a single pumpkin seed in his hand.

All the scary pumpkins!

September Fun

 September 19th was Porter's first Fun Run.  This kid cracked me up.  The other kids were all into it, running as fast as they could.  Porter however thought it was a leisurely stroll.  He was second to last to come in.  But he has the same big smile on his face when he finished as he did when he started.  After the run a guy showed them some basic karate moves.  He loved that and got really into it.  I still have a hard time with my baby being in school.  It is fun to come and watch these things and see what he is like with friends.

September 23 was picture day.  I wanted to take my own picture.  Hopefully Porter's smile was a little less cheesy for the school photographer.

A few weeks ago we ran out of liquid hand soap but we had a few bars in the closet, so I got a soap dish and pulled out a bar for the kids' bathroom.  A while later Brinnley called me and asked me where the soap was.  I pointed to the bar soap and told her that was it.  She asked me what she was supposed to do with it.  I was shocked.  My kids had no idea what bar soap was!  I called Ainsley and Porter into the bathroom and showed them how to use it.  You would have thought it was Christmas, they were so excited about it.

Fictional Friends

I am not much of a television watcher.  I rarely, if ever, turn on the TV to just flip channels because I am bored.  If I watch a show it is because I am invested in it and watch it regularly.  But I have very few of those.  I am however a reader.  Books have provided a lot of comfort for me during these past few months of uncertainty and trial.  Sarah M. Eden's books have been a huge comfort to me.  The Kiss of a Stranger I read for the first time earlier this year.  I loved the story.  The characters were very real and the situations tugged at me heart.  In need of  a comfort read, I turned again to that book.  One of the supporting characters has his own story told in Friends and Foes.  I devoured that one and moved on to the next in the series, Drops of Gold.  I have been reading a lot of regency romance books, but these are among my favorites.  Silly, but they felt like friends to me and helped me through hard days.  And maybe even more than just the books themselves, I recently read a blog post that Sarah wrote talking about her own trials and hard days.  My heart hurt for her and the struggles she is going through but I am so grateful that she uses her talents to bless others and that she has the strength and courage to push through her trials.  She is such an inspiration to me.                                                           

 And Edenbrooke.  Sigh.  I love that book.  It is among my very favorite books and I have read it several times.  I had to return to Philip and Marianne's story again.They always bring a smile to my face.  I am always reminded to find my own reasons to twirl.  Blackmoore I finished reading for the first time last week.  This was a very emotional read for me.  While the other books all had their obstacles and difficulties to overcome, this book spoke to me in a different way.  My heart broke as I read Kate's story.  I sat on my bed and cried my heart out during the last few chapters of the book.  Poor Chant didn't know what to do with me when the river of tears just kept coming.  Maybe I needed that release for my own sorrows and frustrations.  But through all her heartache, Kate moved forward and found her own way.  She wasn't held back.

 

One day while we were in the midst of everything going on at the office, I got on Netflix.  Like I said, I don't watch TV.  But I just needed something different that day.  In the "suggestions for you" box was a Canadian show I had never heard of.  I clicked on it and watched the first episode of season 1.  And I was hooked.  Maybe I am weird, and far too attached to fictional characters, but something about Heartland, Amy, Lou, and their Grandpa Jack spoke right to me.  It instantly took me back to the days of sitting on my couch in Rexburg, Idaho, my heart filled with loneliness and the desire for friends that I couldn't seem to make.  But I found those friends in Rory and Lorelai, Luke and Dean and all the other quirky characters.  I made it through some hard times with their help.  I couldn't have done it without them.  In need of comfort and support again, I found another group of people who let me into their world.  Jack reminds me so much of my dad.  He's gruff on the outside and soft as a marshmallow on the inside.  Both men would do anything for the ones they love.  Amy is brave and strong.  Mallory is the quirky one that always speaks her mind.  Perhaps in the midst of trying to figure out what is going on in my own life, I am seeing traits in these fictional characters that I wish I possessed or had it large quantities.  Whatever the case may be, I am grateful for these  fictional friends, both written in the pages of books and on the screen, that have brought comfort to my heart, a smile to my face, and an excuse to cry when I needed it.  

      

Change

Ever since we came back from our visit to Idaho the end of July, our life feels like it's been in a constant state of change.  The middle of August, we got a car.  We've been a one car family for a year and a half and it worked great, but things were getting more crazy and I needed to be able to pick the kids up from school.  To make a long and nightmarish story short, it's been nothing but a headache and we will be returning it soon and getting something else.  In the meantime, we got rid of the car that we've have since March 2012 and got another car as well.  Confused yet?  Me too :)  So now we have two cars but both are new to us.  And we'll be doing another switch out soon.  This whole car process has cased a lot of stress but hopefully it will all be over soon.  

The kids started school August 22 (the girls) and August 30 (Porter).  Porter being gone in the afternoons has been an adjustment.  I miss him.  It's been just the two of us for a couple years and I miss my quiet time with him.  But I enjoy our mornings together.  I started babysitting two more kids, so now I have 3.  I babysit 4 days a week now.  They are here in the mornings.  It's nice because it gives Porter someone to play with but I still get a little time alone with him before he goes to school.  The few hours all three of my kids are at school the house is so quiet!  It was an adjustment for me, but now we have a routine going. 

Chant's sister, Kristy, her husband Mike, and their son Will moved to Colorado on September 14.  Saying goodbye to them was so hard.  We have loved having them here and getting to know Mike better.  We miss Will a lot.  He is such a fun, sweet little boy and now they are so far away again.  We had one last family dinner Sept 13 to say good-bye and while we were all together we took a long overdue family picture.

 (Kristy)

 (Mike, Will, Kristy, Brinn, Margi, Porter, Jen, Ainsley, me, and Chant)

 We miss this little man so much!

 Margi and Kris

September 13th was Chant's and my 10th anniversary.  I cannot believe it has been 10 years!  It's gone by so fast!  I am so grateful for him!  I thank Heavenly Father every day for blessing me with this amazing man.  I cannot imagine going through life without him.  Love you!

The biggest change for us happened in August.  August 21 Chant signed over his portion of ownership in our business to our business partner.  It was a very hard and emotional decision for us, not one made lightly.  There was a lot of prayer and fasting involved with this decision.  As hard as it was, for many reasons, we both felt very strongly this was the right thing for us to do.  We are in the process of working on other opportunities right now that are very exciting for us.  We are hopeful for the future and what it holds for us.  There are many more changes in store for us, but we feel so blessed with the love and support of family and friends who have been there for us through every step of all of this.  For someone who is not fond of change, we've sure had a lot of it.  But I am learning to appreciate it and see the opportunities for growth that change provides.  And I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that constantly reassures me I am not alone and I am not forgotten.  There is a plan for us, I just need to be patient and enjoy the ride.

Summer Update

 Wow, I am incredibly behind!  We have a new computer now but for a while we only had our old 2006 computer and it was very slow and loading pictures almost always put the thing into shock.  But now we have a new one and blogging will be much easier!

A lot has happened since I last blogged.  June was a nice quiet month around here.  The kids played outside and we just enjoyed the lazy summer days.  Porter turned 5 in June and he had his first friend party.  We did a Jake and the Neverland Pirates party.  It was so much fun!  We had 8 little boys!  I was a little worried but it turned out fantastic!  He had such a great time with his friends.  This Superman cape was one of his favorite gifts.

 

 We spent the 4th of July in Twin Falls with my family.  My niece Lily was baptized.  It was wonderful to have all the family together and to enjoy the weekend.  Kasey kept us busy with lots of water activities and we loved every minute of it.

 The kids and I spent a few weeks in Ashton during July.  The kids always love going there in the summer.  They played restaurant and house in the playhouse. And we were in the water all the time, between Sand Creek and our friend's cabin.  Brinnley has become quite the little fish!  Ainsley and Porter are getting more and more comfortable in the water all the time.

 We had a wonderful visit with cousins from Minnesota, Maddie, Nora, and Hayden.  They were there for almost a week and we loved it!  The girls were sad to say good-bye to their new friends.

 Porter was able to go on his first day out with Jen since he turned 5 this year.  They went on an urban safari and Porter still talks about it.  Jen sure knows how to make memories and make the kids feel special.  They always enjoy that time with just Aunt Jen.

 The girls started school August 22 and Porter started August 30.  They were so excited to be back in school.  August was quiet around here because all the other neighbor kids started school the end of July (track system).  They were ready to go back and see their friends.  Ainsley was a little nervous because she is in a portable this year, but I think that now she's used to it she likes it.

Porter had the hardest time staying home that extra week while the girls went to school and he stayed home.  He is in afternoon Kindergarten, so he doesn't start till 12:30.  Poor little man had his shoes and backpack on at 9:30 and was ready to go.  The longest three hours of his life I am sure!  He loves school and is doing well.  I didn't cry but did have a little panic attack when I watched him walk through the doors.  I just kept thinking "What am I going to do without my little Buddy to keep my company?"  But we are in a routine now and I am doing much better!

That was a very glossed over version of the summer, but something is better than nothing.  We did have a great summer and I loved having my kids home and spending time with them.  I miss them when they are gone all day long!