Little tykes

Porter is at the age where he wants to help cook and bake. Although he may not eat it afterwards he sure does enjoy making the food. This bowl of "delicious goodness" started out as applesauce, which he then added banana bread, raisins and canteloupe to. Much to say he played with it, but never ate one bite.

She will eat anything edible or non edible that she can get her hands on. We bought a canteloupe and she ate the entire thing all by herself, leaving none for us to enjoy. Which is fine with me. I will take a baby who eats well and enjoys variety. Porter never was that kind of child ... and still isn't.

Porter seriously has one of the best imaginations that I have seen a kid have. He is so curious and once you introduce him to something new he holds onto it and finds ways to incorporate each and every thing into his playtime. Here he is in his zoo that he made. He is being a caribou, which soon went to a cheetah, and then an armadillo. He loves all animals but those of you who know him best will know that his most favorite is the ELEPHANT. He probably has 10 toy elephants and is always asking for more.

Enjoying our afternoons spent together at home.

My favorite little boy in the entire universe!!!

Lois loves the telephone. She will find anything and put it up to her ear to talk into.

Even in Texas we manage to find the carnivals that we love sooo much. We took the kids to Poteet for the Strawberry Festival. It was a fun HOT day and Porter had a ball riding some of the rides.

It was SOOO blazing hot!!! The kids got ice cream to cool themselves down a bit.

How could we not give into that face and let her indulge in some homemade strawberry ice cream?

She is into EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that she can get her hands on. What a busy little body she has become and along with that comes trying to walk. She took her first step on Sean's 28th birthday. What a special present for her daddy! Soon we will be celebrating her 1st birthday and Porter's 4th. Wow our kids are growing soo fast and time is flying by. Eachday is a reminder just how precious this life is and that we should cherish every moment we have together.

Sean starts block 7 tomorrow in his BMET training, so only 5 more blocks to go until he graduates all 11 blocks. Biomedical Equipment Technician is ranked in the top 5 hardest courses that the military offers. It is very stressful and ALOT of hardwork and studying is put into it. Please keep him in your prayers. He is home long enough to eat dinner, say goodnight to the kids and then go to bed himself. We really only have some Saturday's and most Sunday's spent together, but we will take what we can get. Texas has become our home and we are enjoying this experience that we are so lucky to have. Who knows where we will go from here, but one thing is for sure. We have eachother and we know that The Lord will continue to bless our family if we are faithful and put our trust in him. We LOVE you all and will see most of you soon.

Blessed

My heart is full of gratitude today. As I was reading my scriptures this morning I came across this one in particular. Isn't it funny how the perfect things come to you when you need them most. I know that the Lord has a hand in everything that happens in my life day by day and today I am grateful that he has given me inspiration and understanding. I love my Heavenly Father and his beautiful work and glory. I love my family and I love each one of you.
D&C 46:32 "And ye must give thanks unto God in the Spirit for whatsoever blessing ye are blessed with."

Our family is back together again. Me and the children returned to San Antonio at the end of January. It was bittersweet coming back. I hated to leave Utah since that is truly our home and everyone whom we love is there, but Sean was here and we needed to get back to him. Me and the kids missed Daddy. He is doing well with his BMet training. He just hit the 5 month mark so only 7 more months to go then he will graduate and we will embark on our next journey. Whatever that may be. The kids are doing well and are right back into the swing of things. Porter is now a Sunbeam holy cow, I know!!! Where in the world did time go? He will be turning 4 soon. This year me, Sean, and Lois will be the only ones here to celebrate both her 1st birthday and Porter's 4th but we are starting the planning now so that we can make sure we make their days extra special for each of them. Lo is growing like a weed. She has kind of lost interest in her binky. Yay for me! It will only be that much easier to take it away when I feel like the time is right. We give her a sippy cup once a day just to introduce her to it, I am hoping to have her off of her bottle as close to 12 months as possible. She is getting strong enough to stand up by herself and balance for 5 or so seconds before falling over. She walks well with the help of other's holding her hands so we went and bought her a baby walker. We will see how long until she is up and walking all by herself. I feel like there are times where I am trying to make her grow up too fast, but she seems ready for it all so I am just enjoying watching her progress so well. No matter what she will always be my Baby Lo. I may be calling her that clear into her teenage years cuz I think it is so darling and fits her so well. We love you all and hope that everything is going as great for you as it is for us.

A night to remember

Tonight was a special night. We were sad that Sean was not able to be here with us in person, but over the telephone to celebrate the wonderful and inspirational life his Grandma Jackson has lived. We love her soo much. She and Bill are such examples to us all and I pray that I may possess the kind of strength, light, faith and joy that she fills the world with each day. WE LOVE YOU GRANDMA AUDREY!!!

Porter and Lois

Here are a few pictures that I took of the kids on a bright and cheery Sunday afternoon.
Enjoy!!!

Grandma Jackson

I just want to let you know
You mean the world to me

Only a heart as dear as yours
Would give so unselfishly

The many things you've done
All the times you were there
Help me know deep down inside
How much you really care

Even though I might not say
I appreciate all you do
Richly blessed is how I feel
Having a grandmother just like you

Everything my grandma does
is something special made with love.
She takes time to add the extra touch
that says, "I love you very much."

She fixes hurts with a kiss and smile
and tells good stories grandma-style.
It's warm and cozy on her lap
for secret telling or a nap.

And when I say my prayers at night
I ask God to bless and hold her tight.
Cause when it comes to giving hugs
my grandma's arms are filled with love!

Grandmas are for stories
about things of long ago.

Grandmas are for caring
about all this things you know.

Grandmas are for rocking you
and singing you to sleep.

Grandmas are for giving you
nice memories to keep.

Grandmas are for knowing
all the things you're dreaming of...
But, the most important thing of all,

Grandmas are for love.

There's simply no one else on earth
Who's as fortunate as me
For, I have the most special grandma
That this world shall ever see!

HOME is where MY HEART IS

This Christmas was a lot of fun. Being able to travel back to Utah was such a blessing. The drive took us about 23 hours. There were a few moments where I thought I might open the door and jump out. The thought of being stranded on the side of the road, rather than in the car with a teething ornery baby and an obnoxious 3 year old was kind of a pretty picture that popped into my head a few times. Although when we entered Utah I realized just how worth it that drive was. I miss the mountains soo much, Texas is FLAT. The kids were lots of fun with all of the holiday activities we did. Here they are on Christmas Eve in thier jammies from Daddy and Mommy.

We went caroling with Sean's family. Laura had these funny little hats for Porter and Lo to wear. Porter has learned a few jingles and continues to sing them to this day. His favorite songs are "Rudolph the reindeer nose", "Frosty the snowman was a jolly frosty snow", and the one that he seems to sing all day long is " Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way oh one to slide one to sleigh." Totally wrong words, but it is so cute how he belts them out at the most random times.

She loved caroling she was bouncing and kicking her legs the entire night.

Porter had a blast this Christmas and got way too spoiled. But he appreciates everything he got. Everytime he would open up a gift he would say "Oh baby what is it?!?!" Santa brought him a lot. Some of it being Superhero squad figurines and a Leapster2. He now has no need to constantly drain the batteries on mine and Sean's phones by playing games. His Leapster keeps him plenty occupied. Lo of course loved the wrapping paper and ribbons more than anything she got, but it was so fun watching her look around in such amusement at all of her presents. Sean unfortunetely had to leave on the 30th to drive back to Texas. Me and the kids are staying in Utah for an extra month. Here is Porter and Lo on New Years Eve. A night spent with the family, always a good way to say good bye to the past year and hello to what may come.

I love my baby girl. She has gotten 6 new teeth since we left Texas. A big whopping total of 8. It is no wonder why she has been such a fuss for the past little while. She is pulling herself up to furniture and walking from couch to couch. She loves to wave and clap. What a happy baby girl we have, and she fills our lives with light.