By His Grace

Getting back on Track!

2011-08-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while, quite a while in fact, since I've updated out blog. Call it lazy, call it busy, call it what you will but here is my attempt at getting back on track. Rather than back track and tell you all about the fabulous adventures we've had, I'm just going to start back where we are, which is in and of itself a wonderful new adventure.

In the coming week we are beginning Matthew's first official year of homeschooling. We will be building on where we left off last year putting him somewhere in Kindergarten. He is loving our new curriculum here at home and asks each day if we can "do school" and is looking forward to a new experience with a co-op at our church. He is extremely fortunate to be enrolled in both science and art with the co-op! I also view this as a great blessing, given the two messy activities get to happen outside of my home!!!!!!!!!!!! Additionally he will be attending Awana at church and taking a tumbling class which he is also excited about!

Hannah, who is now three, gets to start pre-school this year at our church! Unlike her older brother, she is a social bug and can't wait to go to school with lots of new friends! She is also finally old enough (her words) to participate in Awana and take both ballet classes and tumbling classes!

Needless to say we are going to have a busy year. In addition to the activities the kids and I are planning, Josh will be taking a new command which will keep him very busy, as usual, but we are so proud of him and excited about what God has in store for his career!

So that's where we are, hopefully I will do a better job at updating here but surely you will understand if it doesn't happen, though we do hope to share as many experiences with you as we can. On that note, here are a couple of pictures from this summer!

Finishing out his first season of tee-ball with a Hi-Five at home plate!

Feeding Grandpa and Grandma Kim's chickens!

Loving her first day at ballet!

Looking beautiful for Daddy!

Staying focused! (Look at that form! She's a natural!)

Giving Mommy a bit of a break and actually using the arm floaties, though by the end of the week he was flying solo!

Wearing her "mermaid crown"

Best buds, Matthew and now One year old Grace!

Having Fun!

2010-12-24T21:25:00.000-08:00

Grace with kids!

2010-09-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

Here's Grace playing with the kiddos during our first meeting! The fan Matthew is referring to, of course, is a windmill!

German Shepherd Pup!

2010-09-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

The newest member of our family! She, Grace, gets to come home next week!

2010-08-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

So my last post was in April, clearly I'm not doing so well maintaining the blog but we've had a busy summer. Here is just one video from this week that I couldn't miss posting! My little ballerina, I can't wait to put her into dance classes!

Pool Time!

2010-04-24T06:02:00.000-07:00

Yes it's only April and yes they are in the pool! Love it, now at least, check back in July!

Time with Family!

2010-04-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

2010-04-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Hannah!

2010-04-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

Fun Outside!

2010-03-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

Singing Time!

2010-03-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to show everyone how cute Hannah is when she sings her Veggie Tales songs, but Matthew had to make sure he was the "STAR" but how can you not love these messy little opera stars!

Random Pics from our most recent trip home

2010-03-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Matthew's New Scooter

2010-03-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

With the warm weather coming I needed something to entertain this busy boy so he lucked into a new scooter today! First time on it and I think he's doing a great job!

All Dressed Up and Nowhere To Go

2010-03-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T20:22:00.000-08:00

Hannah and Daddy!

2010-02-14T19:57:00.000-08:00

Again it's Hannah and Daddy being the wild ones, playing in the backyard turned ice skating rink! It may look rough, but Hannah loved it!

It Does Snow Down South!

2010-02-14T19:54:00.000-08:00

Just Playing Around!

2010-02-14T19:41:00.000-08:00

Matt can write his own name!

2010-02-14T19:39:00.000-08:00

A Visit from Grandpa Porter

2010-02-12T18:36:00.000-08:00

Grandpa won major bonus points with Matthew on this trip, our house now has Mommy's room (not Daddy's though I'm not sure why), Matthew's room, Hannah's room and Grandpa's room. I get corrected everytime I call it the extra bed room, it's Grandpa's room now!

Matthew's Blue Room

2010-02-12T18:02:00.000-08:00

Next comes the sun room, I'm thinking yellow!

Hannah's Pretty Pink Room

2010-02-10T18:03:00.000-08:00

It's our house so we can paint it! Yeah! Matthew is asking for a blue room too!

A Cold Day at the Farm

2010-02-04T21:15:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2010-02-04T21:09:00.001-08:00

So after a good strong show last year from Matthew of being forced to go to bed around 1am, he only made it to about 10:30 this year! Oh how the mighty fall, asleep that is! Hannah didn't even try, she likes her sleep!

Trip to the beach!

2010-02-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

Less than a month back in the east and my sweetie took me to the beach! It may have been January and cold, but it was a fun day! Matthew even dared get wet all the way up to his neck and argued about having to get out of the ocean to dry off! Just like his Mama! Dad, however, thought we were a little crazy!

Christmas Morning

2010-01-28T16:19:00.000-08:00

2010-01-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

Matthew was blessed this year to get to celebrate his Birthday with Grandparents and a couple of cousins! I also managed to find just enough Wall-E decorations to make him happy!

Hannah and Daddy!

2010-01-17T12:16:00.000-08:00

Baking Christmas Treats!

2010-01-17T11:58:00.000-08:00

Mom and Grandma come for a visit

2010-01-17T11:54:00.000-08:00

Driving Across Country, Literally!

2010-01-13T11:49:00.001-08:00

So Washington to North Carolina, coast to coast with a few stops in between. Finally, we got to our new home and it only took us 10 days! We were very fortunate that our route passed through not only Montana where Nick, Laura and Owen were able to come down and spend the day with us, Kentucky, where we were able to stop and see Brad, Nadia, Katelyn and Lillie, but also through West Virginia so we were able to celebrate Matthew's Birthday with all of his Grandparents and cousins Josh and Adam! Pictures, unfortunately, loaded in opposite order so check them out with that in mind because I'm not loading them again!

Farewell's

2010-01-13T11:32:00.000-08:00

So with the military comes moves, lots of them, and alongside that comes saying good-bye to lots of friends and memories. We were blessed to spend almost four years in Washington and while there we made many life-long friendships and had to say farewell to those before leaving, but left with the hope of seeing all of our wonderful friends again in the future!

Our New Antiques!

2010-01-10T15:04:00.000-08:00

Whatever it takes to stay out of trouble!

2010-01-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

2009-12-19T17:49:00.000-08:00

Yes, I was the mean Mom at the Christmas party that had to have a picture of my kiddos with Santa no matter what! In my defense, my picture with Santa from when I was Hannah's age looks exactly the same. Matthew had fun though!

2009-12-15T18:29:00.000-08:00

We have finally arrived and are settling in North Carolina, but I missed a few posts in between so it's time to catch up! This is a video I just couldn't resist posting. Matthew decided one day to dump all of his blocks, cars and whatever else Mom had neatly stored away in his toy buckets and construct a drum set for himself in the living room. How can a mom complain when he's this cute with his construction!

Trunk or Treat

2009-11-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

Handy Matthew and the future Marshall Cheerleader! Doesn't she look thrilled! Matthew loved his costume, especially the tool box made out of duct tape by his fabulous Mommy! Hannah didn't seem to have the same appreciation for the bow I made her!

Time to Carve!

2009-11-01T20:54:00.000-08:00

Trip #3

2009-11-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

So we had to go grab a "BIG" pumpkin for Dad to carve and the kids were loving that they got to go on the tractor ride again, but there soon became an issue over who got to push the wagon and the day at the pumpkin patch came to an abrupt end!

Trip #2 to the Pumpkin Patch with Preschool

2009-11-01T20:41:00.000-08:00

2009-11-01T20:23:00.000-08:00

So I can't figure out how to rearrange these pics so this is what you get. This is from our trip to Fort Bragg to go house shopping! The kids, Cubbie Bear and Puppy all did great! As you all know Matthew is participating in Cubbies (Awana) at our church this year and we were blessed to have Cubbie Bear spend this particular week with us so he got the chance to fly on an airplane with Matthew and build Lego cars with Daddy! Hannah was happy with Matthew's iPod as long as the battery lasted and I was blessed to have two amazingly well behaved children for all that they were being subjected to. First 1 hour to the airport, 5 hours on the plane, then 1.5 more hours in the tiny rental car. Scary hotel (for two nights only then we switched), three days and over 30 houses traveling in the tiny rental car, and finally finding our new home on the last day of looking! Then hours in the realator's office doing paperwork, 1.5 hours in the car, 6 hours on the plane, 1 hour in the car, then back to their own beds! Now we get to anticipate 44 hours (according to Mapquest) to Huntington, then 7 more to Fort Bragg! Can't wait! Also, the picture where the house has grass is one Josh found on-line, the incomplete house is the last we saw of it!

Pumpkin Painting and Hannah Takes Charge

2009-11-01T20:14:00.000-08:00

Mommy's Little Helper!

2009-10-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

2009-10-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

The Walleye Fin!

Josh's first plane ride.

Good Times! Dad and Russ took the day off and left some fish for us.

My 33in Pike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An afternoon at the Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

Hannah at the Dentist

2009-10-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

While Hannah really enjoyed brushing the dinosaur's dentures, she wasn't so willing to allow the dentist into her mouth! After a little negotiating and some banana split flavored flouride she opened wide enough to let him have a peek! Not too bad for her first trip to the dentist!

Our last visit to Seattle

2009-10-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

So we had to go up to Seattle for one more day of all the must do activities! First we took Hannah on her first visit to the needle, then headed over to the market and finished off the day with a stop at Top Pot for some coffee and doughnuts. It couldn't have been more of a Seattle kind of day. It started raining the moment we got out of the car. Rained while we walked to the needle, then to the market, then back to the car. Then, the sun came up! Have to love this Northwest weather!

Matthew's first night at Cubbies

2009-09-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

They Do Love Each Other! TV Junkies!

2009-09-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

Matthew's First Day of Preschool!

2009-09-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

Front Porch View

2009-09-14T09:14:00.000-07:00

The answer is Yes, I am going to miss living here! This is the view I get out my kitchen window on clear days here! Hannah's room is even better, you are able to see all of Mount Rainier from her window! Kendra tells me in the fall it's gorgeous with all the leaves changing colors! Hope I get to see that!

Japanese Steakhouse Night!

2009-09-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

So it is aparently multicultural month in the Porter house. We decided a couple of weeks ago to brave taking the kids to a Japanese steakhouse and they loved it! Matthew kept begging the chef for "more Fire" while Hannah exclaimed "Wow" everytime he gave in to Matthew's request! It was fun and the kids really enjoyed their fried rice and "yum-yum" sauce!

Game Day!

2009-09-14T09:07:00.000-07:00

Eating Ethiopian with Friends

2009-09-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

So to Josh's joy, our fabulous friends Joe and Candace invited us to join them at an Ethiopian restaurant in Seattle to help celebrate their baby girl Ruby's upcoming 1st Birthday! We were thrilled to join them and quite plesantly surprised at how much I (Christy) enjoyed the food! And Ruby really seemed to enjoy her Birthday treat!

A Few Fishing Moments!

2009-09-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

Making Doughnuts!

2009-09-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

Fun Moments I had to Share

2009-09-13T19:36:00.001-07:00

Family!

2009-09-13T19:11:00.001-07:00

Josh with Hannah, Christy with Matthew, Brad with Katelyn and Nadia with Lillie!

Nana and Grandad with Hannah and Matthew!

Great-Grandma and Great-Grandad Kachelreis with Christy and the kids!

Great-Grandma Ramsey with the kiddos!

Laura, Josh, Sarah and JoAnna!

Aunt Sarah and Uncle Josh, Aunt Laura, Uncle Nick and Owen, Daddy Josh, Christy, Matthew and Hannah, Cousin Josh, Aunt JoAnna, Adam and Uncle Glenn! (Did I get enough Joshs in there?)

Everyone! Grandma Kim, Grandpa Porter with Adam, Uncle Josh and Aunt Sarah, Cousin Josh on Uncle Glenn, Aunt JoAnna, Uncle Jerry and Aunt Carla, Aunt Laura with Owen, Uncle Nick, Grandma Porter (or mama Dawn as I call her), me with Hannah, and Josh with Matthew hiding behind my humidity hair!

Grandma Kim, Grandpa Porter, Josh and the kids, Grandma Porter, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Josh!

Last but not least, Josh with the kids and Grandma Porter!

Boys Being Boys

2009-09-13T19:07:00.001-07:00

All the Cousins!

2009-09-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

Random Pics

2009-09-05T21:25:00.000-07:00

Just some recent, random pics to show what we've been up to!

Our Future Summer Hummer Campers at Camp

2009-07-20T21:55:00.000-07:00

2009-07-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

We aren't quite sure what Hannah is trying to do with these rocks, but who needs toys when your having this much fun with rocks!?

Checking out the waterfalls in Oregon

2009-07-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

Marriage Retreat and Hanging out at the Lodge

2009-07-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

Uncle Nick, Aunt Laura and Owen heading back home

2009-07-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

A Day at the Childrens Museum

2009-07-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

Family and Fireworks!

2009-07-13T18:23:00.000-07:00

Random pics

2009-07-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

Just a few random pics of the kids I wanted to share. The first two with the tire are of Matthew and Hannah's entertainment during Josh's Sports Day at work, where the GSSC took ownership of the Commander's Cup!

This pic of Hannah was just too cute not to share! I thought it would be forever before I saw a little princess in my home running around in a nightgown but here she is!

And this one just makes me smile. After several meltdowns I was forced to put Matthew to bed before Hannah, leaving her all alone to find entertainment in her room. This is what I came in to find she had decided to do!

2009-06-30T13:15:00.000-07:00

Just in case there was any doubt about Hannah's love for climbing, this is what I came out of the kitchen to discover!

Recent pics of Hannah

2009-06-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Since Hannah didn't get to go camping I thought I should share some of her recent pics!

Campin' out in the backyard!

2009-06-28T13:53:00.000-07:00

Dad's Celebration Surprises

2009-06-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

So when graduation and Father's Day fall on the same weekend a guy gets spoiled. First Josh came home from work on Thursday to discover that Matthew had helped me decorate the house with his handmade Chinese lanterns and signs saying congratulations in Chinese writing (Matthew's resembled the actual writing more than mine!) and all his favorite Asian foods to include his favorite sushi! Then on Friday, after spending the day with the kids at the Museum of flight in Seattle we took him over to the port to have a feast at the Crab Pot where he got to enjoy more seafood than I ever imagined he could consume! It was so much fun, and Matthew really enjoyed watching Daddy eat all those "funny" looking foods! Congratulations Josh! We love you!

Pickin' Strawberries

2009-06-21T17:03:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure if we brought home more strawberries in the basket or in the kids tummies!

Hannah Dancing!

2009-06-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

So I finally got Hannah to really dance for me while I had the camera on her. She usually stops the second she sees it! She is definitely the dancer in the family, as you see, Matthew is perfectly content playing with his cars!

I can do it all by myself!

2009-05-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

Matthew was so excited to discover his ability to swim all by himself (as were Mom and Dad)!

What am I supposed to do in this thing?

2009-05-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

Family Fun!

2009-05-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from Josh and me at the ball and the next day with the kids hanging out at the water park! We all had so much fun and the kids slept wonderfully after all the fun they had!

Sunlight does exist!

2009-04-21T22:49:00.000-07:00

After a very long rainy and snowy winter the sun has finally arrived (hopefully to stay for a while) so the kids and I have been taking advantage and headed outdoors! Hannah has shown her love of nature and activity wrestling with Midnight and jumping on the trampoline while Matthew spent his time getting closer to nature!

Chef Hannah

2009-04-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

Hannah's Birthday

2009-04-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

For Hannah's Birthday we took it easy and just hung out eating pizza, scarfing cake and hanging out in the hot tub. Hannah enjoyed it all, while Matthew continues to try and make every Birthday his own!

2009-03-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

Three years with an airborne unit and Matthew is being trained up in the airborne ways!

2009-03-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

Here is just a little sampling of the chaos Hannah finds herself in the middle of in her early days of walking!

2009-02-18T16:24:00.000-08:00

So we are officially calling it 10 months that Hannah started walking!

2009-02-11T20:38:00.000-08:00

After helping Mom make a Birthday cake for Daddy, Matthew couldn't wait to dive in! I guess he thought it had to be Matthew's Birthday to have a piece!

Mattew and Katie

2009-02-04T16:25:00.000-08:00

While Matthew loves all of his friends, he seemed to be really enjoying some one on one time with Katie this day! So, just to make sure Kendra, do you really want to break his heart and move?

Princess Hannah!

2009-02-04T16:20:00.000-08:00

I just had to share a picture of Hannah wearing her first hairbow (or flower in this case)! After seeing Hannah in her flower Matthew looked at her and said "ah, Hannah is a princess!" Just thought that needed to be shared! Isn't she pretty!

Playing in the Snow

2009-02-04T16:12:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of our recent day trip to take Matthew tubing! He absolutely loved going down the hill by himself, once Josh pushed him, but loved the wheel fans carrying him back up the hill the most! The fire wasn't too bad either! I'm thinking we have a future snowboarder with him while Hannah can go shopping with Mom to buy the cute ski clothes!

2009-01-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

Hannah has gotten so skilled at walking with her walker she now takes Matthew along for the ride!

2009-01-21T10:09:00.000-08:00

Matthew and his newest fan! (No worries, there isn't a cord!)

Movie night with Daddy!

Tucking his wheel fans in for the night (notice there are two additional behind him).

Matthew with my vacuum plugged in securely to his new Ford truck!

2009-01-21T09:56:00.000-08:00

Yummy bacon! (Don't worry Nana, it's play food!)

Talk about having a monkey on your back.

Our future soccer star!

Hannah hanging out in her new chair!

Hannah checking out the cool sound our very patient pup's collar makes!

2009-01-21T09:51:00.000-08:00

Happy New year! After staying up more than four hours past his bedtime to watch the New York Ball drop and the Seattle Fireworks, Matthew finally decided to head up to bed! Hannah, however, missed the festivities!

2008-12-28T22:13:00.000-08:00

Despite the beautiful, but interruptive snow we received, and the rain to follow, we finally got bundled up and made it out to Zoolights this year! Matthew loved looking at all the lights and Hannah did surprisingly well despite her snowsuit impersonation of Randy from Christmas Story!

2008-12-28T21:35:00.000-08:00

You Can't Phase Hannah!

2008-12-28T20:58:00.000-08:00

Here is the view of our White Christmas morning from our front porch!

So after several mornings of Matthew saying that I keep the house too cold, we thought he could use a robe, and he is greatly enjoying having his "portable blanket!" Here he is all cozy on Christmas morning.

For her first Christmas we had to set Hannah up right. The major argument between brother and sister has been over Matthew's puppy. Hannah is always trying to snuggle up and kidnap Puppy so we thought this giant pink puppy would be just her style!

Just another moment from Christmas morning, diving into stockings!

And here is Santa's sweetest little helper!

And our yearly pic of the family in their brand new Christmas Eve Pajamas that Santa brought early while we were attending Christmas Eve Services!

2008-12-21T22:15:00.001-08:00

Here is Hannah showing off her walking skills with her new Radio Flyer!

2008-12-21T16:06:00.000-08:00

Here is a little clip of my snow angels! It makes it a little more difficult when freezing rain comes down on top of all the beautiful snow!

2008-12-21T15:59:00.000-08:00

While we get a lot of rain up here in Seattle, snow isn't as constant, until this week! With Seattle receiving an average of only 3 inches of snow a year, our 9 inches (as of last night) is a rare sight, but beautiful! Here are some shots of the family playing in the snow!

2008-12-16T16:11:00.000-08:00

Josh and Matthew had a great time decorating (and eating) their first gingerbread house together!

2008-12-16T15:59:00.000-08:00

Here is Matthew enjoying his cake a little early at his Birthday party!