Silly Kid

Vance's latest thing is to do silly things or make silly faces and have me take a picture of him doing it so he can see what he looks like. Thank heavens for digital cameras because it makes me willing to do that. So here he is being silly.

We're not Homeless!

I know this post is shamefully overdue. There has been good reason for my lack of posting in January. Stephen was able to get a new job at a Ford dealership and we moved to a new state. That is so easy to say, much easier than it is to actually do it.
Life has been trying to us since October. We've had our big trials and small trials adding up, up up. We've had our share of blessings too, though and I will not forget those. Stephen getting a job was the biggest blessing we've received. He started looking for a new job in October and by January hadn't had any luck. The first Sunday in January we fasted along with some of our family members and that Friday Stephen was offered a job. I want to share that information to you because it is a testimony to me that fasting and prayer work. Thank you to all of you who fasted and/or prayed for us. I know that Heavenly Father is aware of us and is watching over us and even in the thick of our trials I see him guiding us and blessing us. I almost can not believe how blessed we are. The details of everything that has happened the past few weeks are just too overwhelming to write about (and we lived it!). Stephen and I have been blessed by wonderful family members. My dad came down and helped us pack, load things into vehicles, move our stuff, and unload all of our stuff. My parents let us stay with them for a week while we were homeless. I was sick while we were there and they took care of my boys while Stephen was at work. Stephen's parents came up and helped us pack and move. His dad drove a moving truck and his mom drove their van so that I wouldn't have to drive with two little boys alone in our van. They drove up one day and the very next day drove back home. (11-12 hour drive one way). We had various family members help us pack and move our stuff. We've had family members help us financially. I just want to thank you all for everything no matter how big or small it was I want you to know we appreciated it.
Hopefully I can get back to posting more regularly and maybe tell a story or two from the past little while.

Happy Birthday Jillian!

It is my niece's first birthday. We were able to celebrate Jillian's birthday while we were all together in Washington. Here she is with her Mom and the cute cake. We hope you have a fun birthday! We are so glad that our boys have a girl cousin to keep them in line.

Some Christmas pictures

I am way behind posting pictures from our vacation and we are turning around and going to my in-laws for News Years so this will just have to do for now. I will try to post more pictures from the past couple of weeks after we get back.

The boys are Christmas morning. Vance was ready to open presents!

Here is a picture of Vance and I that isn't too bad! Kind of hard to believe although some cropping needs to happen...Here I am with my brothers and sisters. Eric, Holly, Glen and Rosemary.Here's a picture of our family.We were all together for Christmas and that hasn't happened since before I got married so of course we needed to take a family picture together. You have to love self timers on cameras.

Vance's birthday pictures

Vance's birthday was yesterday. I can't believe he's three! I won't be able to blame his bad behavior on him being a "terrible two" anymore...darn... Here are some pictures from his big day.
Vance got a train set from Grandma and Grandpa Porter. Vance loves opening gifts!

My mom helped me make this Kung Fu Panda cake. I was pleased with how it turned out.
Vance blew candles out of this little cupcake so we wouldn't have to figure out where to put candles on the panda bear.

Black frosting equals black lips and a black mouth!

Headed to Washington

We are headed to Washington early tomorrow. I thought I would post this picture to tide you all over for the time being. We've been working away this week cleaning out all of our place and reorganizing. Here is a picture of the boys playing in the closet.
Wish us luck driving for 11 or so hours with two little boys. Fun times. This is our first LONG trip with Vance potty trained!

Mario Galaxy

Vance loves to play Mario Galaxy on the Wii with Stephen. This lovely woman, Rosalina is one of the characters from that game. Whenever she comes on the screen Vance calls her Mom. Even as I posted the picture I walked away to do something and Vance came over and said, "Mom." I guess this makes up for the fact that he thought I had a hurt eye the other day. She's a pretty cute lady. I don't mind being mistaken for her at all.

We are busy getting ready to leave on vacation in a couple of days so I may or may not have time to post more in the next couple of days. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday! (although I'm sure I will post sometime before Christmas)