9 Years Ago...

9 years ago today we welcomed our 3rd child and our 3rd boy to our family! Porter was a little bit of a surprise for us. Jeron was right in the middle of school we weren't in a house and knew that was still a ways off for us. I was just SURE we had to be in a house before we could have 3 kids! In the months leading up to finding out Porter would be coming to our home I had several experiences to prepare me. So even though it wasn't OUR plan I knew it was our Father in Heaven's plan and I was so happy and excited to be expecting another baby! I was, however, a little surprised to find out it was another boy! After we found out we asked Jaxon what we should name him and he told us Connor! When we told him we couldn't have 2 Connors and we named off the boy names we had talked about we stuck Porter on at the last second. It wasn't a name we had talked about this time but had been thrown around with Connor. Jaxon jumped on it. Jeron and I both knew that was this little guys name!
The day Porter was born was about like his brothers! Getting him here was not really any different then the other 2 boys had been. I think the biggest difference were the weeks after he was born learning how to take care of 3 kids instead of just 2! I'm sure that sounds kind of funny, but as I have looked back on the birth of all of my children my odd numbers have been when I have had more adjustments to make!
Porter was an amazingly good baby! In fact I remember taking him into the doctors office for a well visit and at the time I was nursing and feeding him formula. His weight was a little lower then it had been and she asked how much formula he was getting. I told her and she said he could probably have more so we upped how much he was getting and he sucked them dry! He was so go with the flow that he just took what ever we gave him and was happy with it!

Porter's 1st birthday!
Porter and his brothers! Built in best buds!

Porter has always been ready for the camera and more then willing to pose for a picture!

Porter loves to joke with all of us! He always has a smile at the ready and will do almost anything to make someones day better!

Porter loves to play in the snow! He also loves playing with Ty (our dog) and if you can put the 2 together all the better!

Porter loves being a big brother! I was worried about the big break between he and Emma but, as it turns out there was nothing to worry about! There was a bond there from day one!

To be a big brother once was great but Porter was lucky enough to get to do it twice! He loves Maycie so much! She will never have to worry about a protector because Porter will take down ANYONE who messes with his sister!

Last year was a very special year for Porter! He had been waiting for that baptism for a very long time! It was a wonderful day. It is still hard for me to believe we are a whole year past it.

I am so grateful for Porter and the spirit of love and joy he brings into our home! He is one of the 5 most wonderful surprises Heavenly Father has ever sent me!

Happy Birthday, Porter!

We love you!

Time Out For Women

A few months ago my sister found out that Time Out For Women was coming to Salt Lake City for the first time! For those of you who may have never heard of this don't feel bad. I hadn't until maybe a year or so ago! (I know most of you are thinking that I must live in a hole or something!) It is basically like a Relief Society Conference on steroids! I had a friend who lives in Montana who was able to go with some friends and raved about how wonderful it was. I have another friend who went to it in Idaho and the same thing from her! So when my sister called and asked if I would be interested in going I told her yes! I then went to my sweet, sweet husband and asked if it was something we might be able to squeeze it into the budget he took one look at my face and told me he would do what ever it took for me to be able to go! He could see in one look how much I needed it!
When we bought the tickets we knew Jaxon's football team was not going to be going to the playoffs and so we would be done with football and so no problem! And then his team decided to do Jag Bowl and then we had football again! First I felt guilty that I would be missing Jaxon's LAST football game. When I got over the guilt I then realized that in addition to me missing the game Jeron would be coaching and how is he supposed to watch a 4YO and a 1YO while coaching a football game? He can't and Emma defiantly cannot be trusted to just sit by the side and watch like a good girl! I wasn't sure what to do! I kept putting off the dealing with the problem instead just letting it eat away at me! And then out of the blue my sweet Aunt Connie called me, "We have an extra ticket to Disney Princess on Ice, would Emma like to come with us?" Are you kidding? Talk about Emma heaven! One girl down, one to go! I guess I could have called some girls in the ward that keep telling us they would love to watch the girls for us if we ever need them to. I'm not used to needing that anymore because we have Jaxon. I think I have forgotten how to ask a YW to babysit! I'm still not sure why I didn't call them. I think I kept hoping the weather wouldn't be as bad as they kept saying on the news! Papa K would be going to the game and she could just sit with him. Well, the weather was worse then they kept saying and so Papa K had to stay home to keep Maycie out of the weather!
The point of me telling you all of this was one of the things that I learned for the millionth time this weekend was the Adversary will do almost ANYTHING to keep us from doing something that will help us, uplift us and bring us closer to our Father in Heaven. I needed, oh how I needed the things that I heard this weekend! I took notes. I wrote and wrote and wished I had written more! When I got there on Friday evening I felt my oil vial was empty. I now feel that it is full to over flowing! But I also know that if I don't work continuously to keep it full it will be empty again in no time! If I do the little things everyday that will keep my vial full I will always be prepared, but it takes a very short time to use up what we have saved! It really doesn't have a very long shelf life.
As I thought about writing this post I thought I would write about the many things that I learned and insights I felt through the spirit. As I started writing I realized those were for me and it was not what was really important! I'm not even sure this post is really important to anyone but me! I think what I'm trying to get out is that it is important for us to take the time for us! I was reminded again and again that I can't be a good mom and teach my children the things they need to know if I'm not feeling the spirit on a regular basis. I had gotten so caught up in the every day "have to do's" of mortal life that I was neglecting my spirit!
I am so glad that I didn't let the little things get in the way! I am so grateful for a husband who wouldn't let them! If you are interested in learning more about this event you can go to: http://deseretbook.com/tofw
Registration opens November 23 for next year! If it is something you have thought about doing I encourage you to do it! It is not something you will regret!

Cute Hats and Flower Clips For Sale!

Okay, here we go! I have started making these cute little hats for my girls! I have been wanting to do it for quite some time and I am finding that I really enjoy doing it! I was on KSL the other day (I know one of my silly little things that I really don't have the time for!) and found some for sale ranging from $15 to $25 just for the hat! It started me thinking if I might be able to make a little extra money for the holidays by selling some myself! So, here we go!I only have white hats right now but I am looking for yarn to make them in more colors. I have them in sized ranging in XSmall (to fit a baby) to Large (to fit big girls).

I am also making the crocheted flower clips

They really do look so cute on!


Emma and Maycie wore them on Saturday to Jaxon's game and we got a ton of complements and I didn't worry about there heads staying warm!

In this picture Emma and Maycie are both waring the Medium hat. I am thinking about trying a Small on Maycie just because I think they are cuter when they are stretched kind of tight!

Anyway! Here is the price list!:

Caps: $10

Big flower clip: $4

Little flower clip: $3

Set (like in the first picture): $13 (a $17 value!)

If you are interested or know anyone who may be I can be contacted at:

yourcmlady@msn.com

Thanks!

Brook!

Fall Fun!

The other day my wonderful kids came in the house to tell me they had been raking leaves and the pile was sooo... high! Then of course they wanted pictures! What was really funny was that as an incentive to get me to come out to take the pictures Jaxon says to me, "Mom, if you come out and take pictures then you can blog about it!" Wow! What have I created?

So I went out to take some pictures and found Emma already posing in the middle of the pile of leaves!



They decided that the best picture would be if they were covered in leaves!

Jaxon is always reminding them that HE is top dog!



I think I have a few posers on my hands!

I just wish we had gotten all the leaves raked and bagged up before our green waste went away!

The 100th Post!

Okay, so is it a bad thing to do a post about a post? What is the blogger etiquette on that?! Well, I guess it doesn't matter, because I am doing it!


I realized about a week ago that I was getting close to 100 posts and told Jeron I was going to do this and he just laughed at me! I know I'm silly but that is what you all love about me, right!


I remember when I started hearing about blogs and totally not getting what they were and why you would have one or check someone elses on a daily basis! And then Jeron's sister started one and he would come home telling me all about what was going on with her family because he would check it at work. And then we got an invite from another of Jeron's sisters to her private one and that is how they announced another baby coming!


As we approached the end of the year last year I started thinking about doing a family letter and sending it out with a picture. What a good mom I am. That is all Emma and Maycie got for a birth announcement! Then I started thinking how fun it was to be keeping up on what was going on in the everyday lives of others. I love Journal writing and scrap booking and decided to give the blogging world a try! As it turns out I LOVE this whole blogging world! I totally get it now! I love the scrap booking fix it gives me (for free! What a bonus!) and how it puts my wordy Journal keeping talents to work! I love how starting a family blog help me find an outlet to find and help other people who are going through the whole helmet and torticollis thing! (If you haven't and would like to check out my helmet blog at: http://helmettherapy.blogspot.com/ Our therapist even told me today that she sent a patient there and it helped them to decide to do the helmet! I love that now if I get behind (okay, not if, but when!) I get behind on my kids Journals I can go back and look at blog entries and not forget anything.

So I guess this entry is a thank you to all of you out there who take the time to read my blog entries, even the silly ones! A thank you to all of you who have let me into your lives through your blogs. So here's to my 100th post and to 100 more!

Graduation Day!

Maycie had therapy today, her LAST therapy appointment actually! It was a wonderful appointment. Over the last month Maycie has progressed so much. At our last appointment she was just pulling herself up to things. Even then she was quite choosy about what she would pull herself up to. It was about the same time that we started trying to fatten her up and we wondered if her weight problem had something to do with the fact that she didn't want to stand much. She started putting on the weight and the standing came right along with it!

She has been so close to graduating for the last 3 months or so. But then she would start to tilt or she wasn't doing a motor skill she should be and so we would make another appointment. But today there was no tilt. And everything they had her do today she did almost perfectly! Every time she would pull herself up to something or bend down to get a toy her therapist would say, "look at her! Look at how wonderful she looks!"

We have come so far in the last 8 months. In some ways it is hard to believe it has been that long. In others it feels like an eternity! I remember our very first appointment and our therapist looking at Maycie and the shock in her voice when she said what a tilt we had going on! And then when I told her it was actually an improvement and that it had been worse, wow! I look back at the pictures and it is the same kind of thing.

Today I talked with our therapist about how glad I am that we did this. When I came home from Maycie's 4 month well visit and had to tell people we were going to have to do therapy I couldn't say it without bursting into tears. I remember how the thought of a helmet at that point made me sick to my stomach. And what in the world could they do with a baby for "physical therapy" for an hour?! And at our first therapy appointment I remember our therapist going over the steps and mentioning a helmet and thinking "please, please, please don't let her have to do a helmet!" I remember an overload of information! The x-ray's of her neck and head just to be sure. The first visit with the Plastic Surgeon. Getting the helmet process started. By this point praying the insurance would cover the helmet. Funny how I had come full circle from, please don't let her have to have one to please let her get it. The awful absess on the back of her head and then a scan to make sure we didn't need to do surgery. By the time we got the second helmet I was so grateful that was all we needed to do that it really seamed like no big deal! And helping me through it all was our physical therapist! Our pediatrician is amazing and so is our Plastic Surgeon. But when you start out seeing someone every week and end up with only once a month they are more like a friend.

Our therapist kept saying today that it was all me and my hard work that got Maycie where she is now. I have to say a great big NO to that! We had a wonderful team that made sure we covered every base and kept me doing what I needed to do. We had an amazing support system of friends and family that never quit praying for us. Who, when they would hold her would ask me if she was looking/tilting the right way! Who helped me realize and understand this was not my fault. And most of all there was Maycie! I have to say (again!) she really has been a trooper through all of this! She has worked hard and it shows! The last big piece of the puzzle was my Father in Heaven. His peace was with me continually and I know the reason she did so well with everything was because He was with her, helping her with this.

I know one thing that helped me work through this was talking about it. Not being afraid to say this is what we are going through and then finding a way to try and help other people who might be going through the same thing. Starting my helmet blog was one of the best things I did! I think it taught me a life lesson to not try and hide my problems away and pretend they aren't there but to face them head on and then mow them over! You never know who you are going to meet that can help you (or that you may be able to help) if you just let it out there!

Thank You again for all of your prayers, love, support, I could go on all day! I have felt it lifting me continually! We could not have done this without you all!

Halloween 2009

I didn't realize until after my camera battery died that I didn't get any pictures of my kids all by themselves! Bad mom, I know!
Jaxon was a football player! Soooo... easy! Thanks bud!
Connor was Sonic the Hedgehog! He has been growing his hair out for 2 months to be able to spike it for his costume! I couldn't find royal blue sweats and so I had to die gray ones! It didn't turn out as wonderful as his imagination but I don't think I could ever do as good as his imagination!
Porter was a Skeleton! The pattern I found was for someone smaller I think but we made it work!
Emma was a Bumble Bee! I think she was the cutest bumble bee ever! She had a yellow leotard and so I thought all I needed was a black and yellow tutu! But it just wasn't the same without wings and antenna! All I could find were white wings, but I think we made those work too!
Maycie was a Flower! Other then Jaxon's hers was the easiest! Thanks Wal-mart! I bought it before we started working on fattening her up though and began to get worried she was going to out grow it before Halloween! It fit perfect! Another couple of weeks I'm not so sure!