Thanksgiving Weekend

We spent Thanksgiving at my sister-in-law's home (Jenny). She and my mother-in-law made an amazing meal! While the food was cooking I got to relax and watch Home Alone. Good times! Porter enjoyed playing with Gran's phone. He was looking at pictures of Annie dog and making a few phone calls.

(Feeding Brinnley olives.)

After our feast the kids played in the snow in Jen's backyard. Ainsley was tempting fate with this one.
Porter LOVES the snow. The first time we put his snowpants on he screamed and wanted them off. I kept getting him dressed because I knew once he figured out what they were for he would want them on. I was right. His favorite thing to do is throw the snow.

In the late afternoon we came home to put up our Christmas tree and decorations. We had the Christmas music on and everyone was laughing and helping. It was a perfect Kodak moment, but everyone was so busy enjoying it we forgot to photograph it. Oh well. Next year...
The day after Thanksgiving Chant and I did Black Friday shopping. We weren't too crazy, Chant did go to the midnight sales at Wal-Mart and victoriously made it out of the store with two items. The next store didn't open till 6:00, so I got to sleep in :)

That afternoon we rode the Trax into Temple Square for the Lighting Ceremony. Oh man it was so cold! I had on my tiny little Rocket Dog sneakers and my toes were ice cubes. (I have since purchased a pair of boots that are already being broken in.) Porter was wrapped up in a blanket, hat, and mittens in his stroller. When I would ask how he was he would say, "I cold." While we waited we snuck into every building for warmth. These pictures were taken on one of our pit-stops inside.

Brinnley was so excited about riding in the train. Her first time on a train and she thought it was the coolest thing!
We had another snowstorm Sunday. This time it buried Brinnley. Well, Daddy may have helped a little bit.
We survived the freezing cold weather and kept warm with homemade chicken noodle soup. So good!

We even had a little pre-dinner entertainment. Our next door neighbor was shoveling his sidewalk and he would through the snow over the fence into our yard. Porter would gasp and then laugh every time the snow came flying over. It was the cutest thing to see him gut-laugh each time.

We had a wonderful holiday and we have so much to be thankful for. The top of the list is a healthy family, a wonderful home, safety during travels, and wonderful friends and family who love us and support us. And of course we are grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers and provides for our needs and a Savior who loves us enough to die for us. Yes, we are blessed!

Week one in our new home

When we pulled up to our house, we had an hour before we were met with a moving crew from the Elders Quorum. They had our stuff in the house within 50 minutes. And then our house looked just like it did before... boxes everywhere.
A few days later we had a beautiful snowstorm and woke up to 9 inches of snow. The kids have had so much fun! We had to buy all new gear for everyone because we didn't have a thing, hence the cowboy boots.


Chant's mom came two days after we got to our new home and she left this morning. She was such a huge help! And Chant's sister Jen lives about 40 minutes away from us. She came every day after work to watch the kids or help with whatever. We couldn't have done it without these two! Seriously, livesavers!

The Move

November 8

November 10

November 13 (Second to last night in our home, in their sleeping bag beds)

We sold our home Nov 5 and moved out Nov 15. Packing is a blur. Packing, cleaning, and painting consumed our last two weeks in Missouri. But somehow we survived! And got everything done. And got all our stuff on the truck. For the most part anyway :)

Home Snowy Home

We arrived at our new home last Tuesday about 5:00 p.m. At 6:00 members of the Elders Quorum were here to help us unpack, and 50 minutes later everything was out of the truck. Since then things have been a blur of unpacking and getting settled in. We still have the living room to unpack and then starts the decorating. But we are loving our new home. It has three bedrooms and a loft upstairs and the living room, kitchen, and dining area downstairs. My favorite room is the loft. We have designated it the toy room. In the 4 days that the toys have unpacked, the kids have played more than they have in a long time. We decided to put a toybox of boy toys in Porter's room. I have already heard mooing and roaring come from his room. When I peak around the corner he is laying on his belly playing with all his farm animals and dinosaurs. So cute! And Ainsley girl has discovered my old dolls and doll clothes. She has spent hours changing their clothes and taking them on tours of the house. I love it! Brinnley started school Thursday. She was nervous, but still so brave. She went right in the classroom, saw a hook and took her coat off and hung it up. The teacher was surprised by how comfortable she seemed. She is nervous about making new friends, but I know she will be great at it. There is another Brynlee in her class and so her teacher was trying to decide how to distinguish them. When school was over Brinnley went up to her and told the teacher she could call her Brinn because that's her nickname. Perfect.

Then last night we had a surprise. We woke up this morning to 9 inches of snow in our yard. The kids are so excited! And I have to say that it is beautiful, but then I haven't driven in it yet. Our home has the most beautiful view. We can see a mountain range out both the front and back of our home and the back is a completely unblocked view. Love it! The first morning we were here the girls were up bright and early as usual. I could hear them talking so I went to their room to say good morning. They were kneeling on their bed looking out the window. Brinnley said the mountain was glowing and it looked like Christmas lights. It did with the little dots of lights on the side of the mountains.

It still doesn't seem real that we are here, but I know once my things are on the walls then it will feel more like home. The camera cord is in a box somewhere, so pictures will come later. I am just grateful we made it safely and have a warm, comfortable place to live.

My Bags Are Packed...

Life has been insane here! Tuesday, November 2nd Chant was home all day, no clinic no nothing. First thing in the morning he said to me he had a feeling that we needed to start packing our house up. We had our house on the market and a few people were showing interest, but no one had said they would take it. I looked at him like he was crazy but said okay. We spent the entire day packing. We had most of the kids' rooms and our room packed. Thursday evening a man and his wife came to look at it. They weren't here very long but I feel peaceful while we were talking to them. The next morning (Friday 5th) he called and asked if he could come over and talk about the sale of our home. We had a cashiers check in our hands by 10:30. Wow! They wanted it quick and so we said okay. We are moving on Monday the 15. We have had a week to pack, clean, and load our truck. (Thank you to all of you who have helped us accomplish everything! We couldn't have done it without you!) That's just our house here. We have had to find a place to move to, which finally happened Monday, and get everything set up there. It has been quite the ride!

I am now sitting on the floor in my empty office. The truck is loaded and we are camping out in our house till Monday. As I think about leaving and try to process all that has happened in such a short time, all I can think is how blessed we are. We have had the best four years here. I am so sad to say good-bye and I know that a piece of my heart will always belong to Missouri. But I am so grateful for the blessings we have been given. I feel like this is the right time and the right thing for us. I am nervous about starting over but I feel peace in my heart and I know this is the right thing. Heavenly Father really does know us and he loves us. He hears our prayers and I have felt his love these past few weeks as I have dealt with every emotion possible. There is still so much uncertainty in our future, but I know in my heart things will work out as they should. I'm holding on tight and waiting to see where this ride takes us!

Trick-or-Treat

Friday night was our Halloween party at the church. The kids were so excited! Porter has been putting his costume on for two weeks and then it came time to get ready and I held up his monkey costume. He grabbed it from me and threw it on the floor saying "NO monkey!" So he went as himself :) Then we have a dragon and a giraffe.
Ainsley eating a cookie she won as a prize for a game.
Brinnley is going fishing.
This game was pretty funny! Brinnley was too fast for me to get a picture. They tied gummy worms to a string and hung them from a pole. Basically like bobbing for gummy worms. Porter's tongue was wiggling like crazy trying to get the worm. He worked hard for that treat!
When it came time to do the trunk-or-treat, Brinnley asked if she could go with her friend Ellie Tilton. The girls were off and I didn't see her again until they were done. I cannot believe my baby is old enough to be doing things with friends instead of me. So big! Ainsley was Chant's partner and Porter and I were buddies. The only thing about my buddy is he didn't want a buddy. He was an independent little boy! He held my hand for about the first three trunks, then he pulled away and he was off. He was pushing his way through the big kids to get to where the candy was. But he was so good, saying trick-or-treat and thank-you at each trunk. I could barely keep up with him he was moving so fast. And he was a repeat offender, stopping at the same trunks several times. Sorry guys! I tried to stop him! It was a huge success. We came home with smiles and bellies full of sugar!

Pumpkins!

Tuesday afternoon we carved pumpkins. For some reason we never made it to a pumpkin patch this year. These beauties came from good old Wal-Mart. Last year Porter wasn't old enough to get into the action, but this year he had so much fun. However, when it came to sticking his hand into the pumpkin and touching it's guts, he got a little grossed out. He's like his mom, he doesn't like his hands to be dirty.
Brinnley and Ainsley were smart, they used spoons to scoop everything out.


Before carving them the kids drew faces on them.


Ainsley wanted her pumpkin's face to be able to come off. And it does! Thanks Dad!
Happy Halloween!

What They are up to Now

I recently reconnected with someone I had lost track if, someone that is very important to me. He asked me what my kids are like. Well, this is what they are into now. Brinnley loves school! She is doing so well. She has made so many friends and she loves going. She comes home from school and write letters and colors pictures. Her favorite thing to play is school. I am thinking a ream of paper and an easel for Christmas. :) Brinnley is very outgoing and always happy and helpful. She is obsessed with horses and dogs and she wants a puppy so bad that last night she cried herself to sleep wishing she had a dog. I don't have as many pictures of her since she isn't home as much. I will work on fixing that!

Ainsley girl (picture above) is loving to play outside. Every day she takes a shovel and digs in the dirt next to our house. Since the leaves have started falling, she likes to rake them up and then jump into them. She loves to read books and is learning how to read. She can count to 50. She knows her ABCs and she can count objects at least to 25, we haven't tried to go higher. She is like me, a little afraid of new things, but once she is comfortable she comes out of her shell.
Porter Boy. He is a bundle of personality. He too is obsessed with horses. He has adopted all of Brinnley's plastic horses. He does the best neighing sound you have ever heard. It is so loud! He wants to watch the movie "Spirit" everyday (it's about horses). He also loves to play with his cars. And he is kind of partial to Brinnley's doll that Grandpa gave her for her first birthday. Here he is sharing his yogurt with her. For all you who haven't seen Porter for a while, he is talking well. And he talks a lot. He's learned the art of taddling and arguing with the girls. He is a firecracker! Funny story. Last night we were having dinner at my sister's house and Porter kept saying "potty." He wouldn't stop so Chant took him into the bathroom and of course nothing happened. A while later he did it again and wouldn't stop again. This time I took him. I took off his diaper and put him on the toilet. I thought I would leave him up there for a minute and then take him off and put his diaper back on. I wasn't really paying attention. All the sudden Porter squealed and I looked down and he was peeing all over his pants and legs. His eyes were as big as saucers! Maybe potty training will be easier and sooner than I thought.

I love these kiddos!