All I want for Christmas...

Christmas!

We had a Lewis Christmas this year...it was a BLAST! Those of you who have had the opportunity to get acquainted with my sweet father in law know that there is never a dull moment when charlie is around (or lack of food for that matter;) We were blessed with the chance to have trever's mom and dad, his brother(beau) with his wife(joni), their two children (liam and mia) and beau's friend from england (roger), as well as trever's little brother (ty) stay christmas night with us! sounds like a crew but it was a lot of fun! promise! we were also blessed to have the missionaries stop by for dinner, and santy clause himself popped in for a visit!
After the party was ever and the chickadees to bed, i got a moment to sit and take note of the feelings of gratitude that were swarming around in my heart. these sweet little children, a kind eternal companion, in laws who are dear to my heart, and a warm little home to tuck everyone into. i find myself overwhelmed at all the blessings our Father in Heaven has blessed me with. i know that i am not worthy of so much, and pray everyday to live up to all that is expected of me. i give thanks, especially this time of year, for the plenty that i have been given, and make promises in my heart to be a little better, try a little harder, be a little kinder. And take comfort in knowing Our Father in Heaven is mindful of this little family, in this little house, up here in this little town.

Thanksday

This year we were able to spent our Thanksday with the Porter Clan. i'm sure you all know how exited and happy this trip over the river and through the woods made this chick! i had a pretty good case of homesickness for the last couple of months, and the thought of going home made me want to start out on foot if that would get me there any sooner. please, don't get me wrong, this little town up here in the mountains is my home as well, and i will forever be grateful to that sweet hottie who stole not just my heart, but my way of living and showed me that there was more to life then a shopping mall, or better yet LAST CHANCE. i have been blessed with two homes. yet, your family is were you gain so much of your identity from. they are the ones from once you came and no matter how far you roam, or run, you can't lose the feelings of completeness, of whole, of entirety that you feel when you go home. i hope and pray that my boys feel that when they find themselves "home" from their adventures in life. i found myself basking in the similarities of my siblings and me. good and not so good... how lauren and i tilt our head to the side when we have just got done rearranging pictures on a wall. how matt and i ALWAYS have room for ice cream. eda and i twirl our hair in our fingers when we're thinking (or trying not to). dave and i are eternal optimists. thos and i are far to hard on ourselves.

these people carry with them my same baggage, my same struggles, my same strengths just in different doses. i am eternally thankful for my family. i was blessed with kind and thoughtful parents. who love me unconditionally. i am thankful.

i am so blessed with this home. i have a kind husband who is a wonderful father and a best friend. i have loving and interested in-laws who took me in and love me as their own. (sometimes better;) they are amazing people who raised their children in a home full of love. i sometimes sit and ponder all of trev's similarities. he's mother's kindness, his father's charm. he is blessed. i am thankful.

Happy Birthday Taters!

Our Tate turned five yesterday! I can't believe how fast five years can go. I know people are Always saying that, but its amazing how the days turn to weeks then months and years. The days get SO busy, sometimes I kinda forget to stop and smell the roses.

So I thought I would write a little bit about him as a four year old...

Tate is my AWESOME helper, he's quick to help with most anything (with the exception of maybe Lego's...I hate picking those up too! so can't blame the kid)

He loves to wrestle, he'll tackle anyone, anywhere!

He's an outdoors man! (wonder where he gets that from;) He loves to be outside on a bike or his quad.

Tate has a tender heart, he wakes up every morning and asks if it's a school day. We hates that Porter goes to school and leave him behind.

When he is tired, he sleeps were he falls. We'll find Tate asleep ALL over the house!

Tate thinks that whatever Porter can do, so can he. He's fearless. (scares me to death!)

He loves to build things, Lego's are his favorite toy. (mine too) regardless of how awful they are to clean up!

Tate gives the BEST kisses! Sorry ladies, we'll have to wait, these kisses are reserved for the Lewis/Porter clans for now!

He's a wildman! And he's ours! We love you Taters, and am thankful everyday and every moment you are in our little family!

Emery Jane Pew

Morgan and Lauren officially started their lives as parents Friday when they welcomed our sweet little Emery Jane! She was born a bit after 4 o'clock in the afternoon, 8lbs 14 oz!! can you believe that!??? Needless to say, we are all terribly impressed with our little YaYa. they are both doing wonderfully, however, Emery was invited to stay at the hospital for another day due to some jaundice. They are expected to go home today and I'm sure that Lauren can't wait to journal about it, so keep an eye on her blog.
Here are some pictures of our sweet little Emery. We are so thankful she is here and well, and are looking forward to all the joy, sweetness, love, and spice she will add to our family! Well done baby sister, I love you!



Emery Jane Pew 8lbs 14oz

Matt and Courtney (they get their very own in March!)






The boys meeting their cousin


Happy Family

Well done little sister

Quite the Celebrity..

Our Porter Boy was in the news paper last week! He's been playing football this Fall and has LOVED it.Although, I must confess, having to watch as my little guy gets tackled, shoved, bulldozed, and sacked again and again has been quite the white knuckle experience for his ol' mom. But despite the occasional charging of the field and continual outbursts I've done my best to be a supportive mother and not an overbearing one. Well Done Porter Boy!!!! Know your mommy loves you and thinks you're the best little... oh! I mean... big, very BIG football player in the whole world! GO NUMBER TWO!!!

Emery's Shower

Fall

I'm not quiet sure when I actually fell in love with September. But somewhere along the way it has become my most favorite of all the months. Ya, I said it! There's something about it, it's the calm before the storm. It's like when you're about to swim the length of the swimming pool and you get in a few really deep breaths. September is my deep breath. Before the cold sets in and the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Before the flowers and the grass all die and lay dormant. The trees are just barely starting to turn an ever so slight shade of red. It's the perfect time for picnics and camp outs. Unlike the Sping and all its wind, September is calm and inviting. Take a moment and enjoy the month. I'm enjoying every last drop of it!

Proverbs 21:19 Look it up...Its a good one

Trever got his elk!
He's been hunting for the last week, and on Wednesday morning he got him. He's a 6 by 7...I think it's a monster but Trev's under the impression that it's a decent Bull. Needless to say, the boys think its the coolest think since sliced bread! I have to give credit to the guy, killing anything with a bow and arrow is difficult let alone a "monster" elk.
Well done Babe! We think your pretty dang awesome.

The Garden

I Have a Cousin...

She doesn't always look like this... she' s just exited to see you! Well, my sweet cousin has a husband.









This is my favorite picture of him. Yes folks, that's a 50, this was the day I decided this kid wasn't that bad of a guy. Y am I tell you all this, you ask? I like these two people. Sure they leave posts about how awful of a cousin I am and are constantly correcting my spelling errors, but I don't care. I love them with every morsel of my heart.







Laura is without a doubt the kindest, most thoughtful, compassionate, loving, empathetic, genuine, heartfelt, and sincere woman I have ever had the privalge of calling my friend.
She is my cousin, bestest friend, bosom buddie, soul sister. I need to tell her that more often. She is everything that is good in our gene pool rolled up into one small, teeny tiny, itty bitty, package. I want to be just like her when I grow up!

Sean's a cool guy. He's a total Hottie (don't tell him I said that his head's pretty inflated already) He's such a hard worker, he helped in creating one of the cutest little girls that ever roamed the earth, he's so smart (he knew a good thing when he saw one and married her) I kinda like the guy...

So, not the best or the coolest "Birthday Post" on the block...but the most heartfelt one.

HAPPY DANG BIRTHDAY LAURA AND SEAN!!!
(i promise i will forget again next year ;)

More Adventures at the Lewis Lodge

This weekend we had the pleasure of having three of the coolest cats come and stay at our house, (their parents aren't too shabby either) Dave and Jess's crew came up for a visit. We had such a good time. The kids ran wild, nothing new for my boys, and us bigger kids got a good jump on figuring out all the "mysteries of the universe". Here are some pics! Love you dave and sweet jess!kisses to daisy, brodi, and wee little lily!

Got to love 'em

Brooks loves the hoes. hee hee, sorry about that...Brooks loves the WATER hose. i finally caught him in the act yesterday. he just makes me smile. (love you laura!)

Things I want to Remember...

The smell of monsoons.

Grandma's grilled cheese sandwiches.

The day Lauren was born, I prayed for a little sister for a LONG time!

Playing four kids lost in the forest in our backyard until Dave got too old to play with us, then it was called three kids lost in the forest!

My dad making spaghetti for dinner when my mom was @ work. (i think he only cooked it once)

The morning we woke up to hear my grandpa Porter passed away.

My mom telling me about the birds and the bees in our suburban pulling out of circle K while eating taco bell, and totally getting sick to my stomach.

All the LONG drives to Prescott to visit family, even if it was only a couple of hours.

My dad eating all my hospital food when I was there for a kidney infection in 1st grade.

Walking to Poston Pool every day in the summertime, the feeling of too much chlorine in your eyes and the hot sidewalks.

Whispering, "woo hoo" in the middle of Trev and my wedding ceremony not realizing EVERYONE could hear, but just being that exited to get to keep him forever!

Driving to Gisela in Eda's car to go cliff jumping, the AC worked better the faster you drove, it was a really hot ride.

Moving from 2nd street to Evergreen, having to find all new friends.

Rushing home from school to find Lauren waiting for me on the front lawn because she was too afraid to be in the house by herself.

Making Lauren sleep with me even when I finally got my own room because I was too afraid to be alone.

Dave driving me to school in the morning in the nova...

Matt driving me to school in the morning in the nova, that car hated me.

Getting home from dates and eating mint chocolate chip ice cream with Matt on the counter.

Running with Brittany and never getting skinny!

Rosanne's frozen yogurt.

Walking the canal with my mom, figuring out the mysteries of the universe.

Planting the garden.

Escorting Linda through the temple.

All the amazing road trips my parents took us on...the big trip back east, yellow stone, Utah and Monterrey.

The Turkey trot.

The smell of my dad early in the morning when he carryed me into my mom's bed before he left for work when I was little.

Just to name a few...

Rockin' Out in Rocky Point

A little family time

Our family was able to take a bit of a break and run away to Mexico. Thanks mom and dad! We had such a fun time just being together. The kiddos ran and played and us "bigger" kiddos just soaked up each other's company and a whole lot of sun. Thos was the only one who couldn't make it and we missed him. Everyone else was just so happy to be together and in such a beautiful place. It's those kinds of days that you find yourself giving thanks all day long for everyone of those people surrounding you. I love my brothers and sisters so much, and I give credit to my parents for that. How many times in our lives growing up did my mom yell at us, in an ever so loving way, " You WILL love each other!" We did then and we still do. Thanks Reda and HP for the fun and thanks Trev for getting us there.

I'm at a loss...

I've started writing this post right about ten times now, I just can't find the words to make the sentences. I want to talk about how lovely Daxton's services were, how the spirit was so strong. I want to express to Brittany and to Doug how sorry I am for their loss and how I wish I knew how to make this enormous void they feel hurt less. I want to reassure my friend that someday she will be made whole.
I am not a spiritual giant. I am flawed and weak. I truly do have the faith of a mustard seed, and most days that's stretching it. But I can testify with every morsel of that mustard seed that Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I know that this little family has had a multitude of loved ones praying for them, and we continue to pray for them.
Our little Kunz family, you are not alone in your grief and sorrow, you are loved and thought of continually.

Daxton Douglas Kunz

My sweet friend Brittany lost her little baby boy this week. He was our Brooks age. My heart is so full for her. As we talk last night, I wanted to reassure her of our Heavenly Father's plan. But the horror of such a loss overwhelmed me. I wish that I was a stronger person, I wish that I could carry her through this time of such catastrophic loss and sadness. But I can't. No one can, no one expect our Father in Heaven. So I prayed, and I continue to pray, as well as a multitude of loved ones, for her and her little family. Brittany, I love you. Our Father in Heaven loves you. I know that he sent His son to die for us so that we can live again. I know that we will live forever as complete families forever. I know that He knows your loss. He knows your sorrows. He will bless you with comfort and peace. You have so many people who love and care for you. Daxton is yours forever and for always. WE are promised that we will have the blessing of raising our children who have passed before us. Joseph Smith taught that the infant child who has been laid away in death will come up in the resurrection as a child; he said that you will have the joy , the pleasure and satisfaction of nurturing your child, after his resurrection, until he reaches the full stature of his spirit. He waits for you my sweet friend. You will not miss a moment of his spiritual progression. He is safe, and whole.

We will miss you sweet Daxton. You are loved and thought of. May our Father in Heaven keep you and your sweet little family in the hollow of His hand.

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Corinne and Maddy spent the weekend with us! (my parents got to come too) We were so exited to see them, the boys could hardly stand themselves. It was quite the joyous reunion when they arrived on Friday. Cousins are Home Grown friends. We had to pack a lot of memories into a VERY short amount of time...
We went and watched Porter's baseball game Friday night and hit Dairy Queen on the way home.(big surprise there) Then mom and I gave the girls pedicures...for our Mexico trip next week.YAY!!! We can hardly wait to get there! Then it was off to bed. Funny story though, Corinne was SO exited to get her own room to sleep in, Maddy and Porter slept upstairs on the couches with grandma and grandpa in the front room. But Corinne would have nothing to do with that, she wanted to sleep down stairs in "Uncle Matt's room" (that's what the boys call the front room downstairs) all by herself. That chick's not afraid of anything! I MADE Lauren sleep with me until I moved away to marry Trev, I hate the dark.
We woke up early Saturday and Trever, Corinne, Brooks and I went to pick up a load of concrete for our backyard.So we ate breakfast while watching Trev and HP work concrete.Thanks dad! The rest of the day was filled with quad rides, jumping on the tramp and playing with the neighbors. But before they could head back down the mountain mom and I had to make a run to Lowe's to pick Eda up a Weeping Willow. Eda's been wanting a willow for a long time but can't find one in Mesa,probably because it's hotter than blazes down there, but never the less, we were off to get her her tree! Not all that interesting of a story until you realize that mom and dad drove their highlander up...So we through that tree inside their car with its branches in HP's face and they drove that little guy ALL the way down to his new home!
Thanks Corinne and Maddy for such a fun time! Thanks mom and dad for bringing them up, and thanks Nat and Eda for letting them come. We love you girls and are so thankful for you! Nat and Eda, you are doing such a wonderful job raising such lovely little ladies! I had such a fun time showing them off! Thanks so much




Corinne, Tate and Brooks. Corinne took quite the beating!



HP and me



Maddy and her newest addition to her rock collection!


we put helmets on...promise

Thanks Brandon for the barrels!

"Feed me Seymour!"

Don't you ever wish that you could eat like this??!!

Seriously, one of these days when everyone is gone, i'm hittin'

Dairy Queen, for a blizzard the size of my head, Sonic, for a bucket of mozzarella stickes, El Cupido's for a beef burro enchilada style with green sauce, and Circle K for a jug of DIET coke. i'm going to bring it all home, lay a tarp down on the floor up stairs and watch MTV (or anyother filth i can find on) and have an evening of guttony.

hee hee

Anyone else hungry today?

i guess i am! i think that i've been starving for a good two weeks now.Not from lack of food though, i've eaten enough to sustain a village for a solid year, i think that my internal hunger gauge is stuck on empty. You know, like when you're driving on old car and you think you have plenty of gas, but then you tap on the plastic that covers the gauges and you suddenly realize that you're on empty and you've been running REALY hot for a long time now? Not that thats ever happened to me...in High School...in a nova...sorry dad.
Anyway,

i wish i could tap on my noggin and have my hunger gauge read that i'm as full as i should be. but until then i'll just have to have some self control and enjoy watching brooks eat!

What a weekend...

Things were jump'n in the Lewis house this weekend! We had visitors, my mom and dad, Matt and Courtney, and grandma all piled in HP's vehicle and made the trek up to visit us. I guess it must have been someones birthday or something... (Laura kinda already spilled the beans on that one ;) I thought that was pretty cool of them all to do! Matt, Courtney, Trever and I went to dinner Friday night. While the "old" folks watched the chickadees for us. For all you new mommies out there, I'm telling you... give me a jingle and I'll watch your babies while you go have a moment with some grown ups! You will come back a better mommy. It was so nice to eat S..L..O..W..L..Y.. no one asking for more chocolate milk or interrupting the conversation. There was a really nice lady there that actually got PAID to get us drinks! We had a blast! Thanks mom, dad, and grandma for holding the fort down for us!
When we got home from dinner the Lewis' were there with ice cream cake (my favorite) Charlie decorated it...could you tell? I'm not sure if its kosher to have that picture next to the one of the temple??!! I love that guy.
Saturday morning we all got up and went to the 7 o'clock session. Carol came and watched the boys for us. Thanks SO much mom Carol! How fun was that! Trever and I hadn't gone since Brooks was born, kinda hard to do when I'm "the milk wagon". But now that he's one and eating anything you shovel into his little mouth, we ditched him! ;) By the time the session was over we were missing the little guy pretty bad and didn't even let mom stop for a coke on the way home! Now we know he can make it through and we've GOT to do better at our temple attendance! (oh! our church attendance too...Who knew it was EVERY Sunday?!)
Saturday afternoon we did our "traditional" planting of the flowers. My mom and I started planting flowers on my birthday over five years ago. I look forward to it EVERY year. It means summer is on it's way and the wind will soon be gone! Even though most years it's freezing outside and the wind is blowing the plants away! This year was no exception! We still had a blast!
The weekend rapped up with an evening of Rumicub, too much ice cream and Sunday morning waffles! And yes, Trever got me my very own hoe! Exactly what I wanted. (really!!)

Brooks' Birthday Weekend

One Year Ago Today...

Our little Brookers is one today...Isn't that crazy? This year has just flown by. To celebrate we went to Mesa for the weekend. We had so much fun with all the cousins! Trever helped HP pour some concrete for their new Arizona room and mom and I got to play with Tatum and Peyton while Dave and Jess went for a hike. Everyone came over that evening for dinner,except Thos. (hugged on him that morning though!) It was such a nice weekend, I just love being with those people! Sunday night we were home in time for dinner and cake with grandma Carol and papa Charlie.It's always good to get away and always nice to get home.
So for the sake of tradition...
One year ago today, we brought home our third son. Really, we brought him home, I delivered him @ 2:30am and by 5pm I told my nurses I was out of there! Brooks was our only baby that I went into natural labor with. The other boys we picked a date and got induced. With my mom and dad in the valley this was the best way to make sure they would be able to be there for it. With Brooks my dad had just underwent shoulder replacement surgery so he couldn't travel. So he missed it and we missed him! Eda got to come though, she wasn't there for the other boys, Lauren and Morgan, and my mom were all out in the waiting room. Brooks was 6lbs 15oz, the smallest of the brothers, our little runt.
Brooks was a struggle to get here. I had an exceptionally difficult miscarriage before him.Then, when we were 7 weeks along I was put on bed rest. I had such good care during those weeks...Joni came to stay with us, my grandma came up, our ward ladies brought dinner, my mom and trev's mom, Marci and April all came and scrubbed my house, and all the "mental heath" visits from sweet friends! We were all praying for this itty bitty person inside me to make it here. How grateful I am to all of you, for all your thoughts and prayers. We all fought for this little boy and I am forever thankful to our Heavenly Father for blessing us with him!

Opening Day

Yesterday was Opening Day for all you baseball lovers in the White Mountains. And our Porter Boy was one exited little guy.He gets to do pitcher machine this year. Does that frighten ANYONE else??!! The thought of a baseball being chucked at his little noggin makes me cringe...But he's so exited! He came home from his first day of practice giddy because all his "good buddies" were on his team and Jerry his "uncle" (he's actually trev's cousin's husband, but try explaining that to a 7 year old) was his coach.

So yesterday we braved the bitter wind and freezing cold (not joking here folks, it was COLD! Isn't spring suppose to be here?) for Porter's first game. The kid did really well! He was 3 for 3 up to bat and got to score a run! The best part about it was as he's rounding 3rd he decides..."I think I'll just run Home" so he does and as he gets to home plate he thinks, "I think I'll slide." So he does! The thing is, he had already past home plate and his slide was a good 2 feet after it! Funny Kid!

He's fielding however, is something we get to practice ... the whole game he was "chasing butterflies" in right field...he plays 2 base...hee hee hee. All those boys have the attention spans of, well I guess, seven year olds! Jerry has his work cut out for him but HOW FUN! We're exited for the rest of the season and appreciate all the hard work that goes into making these little boys ball players. Go Rattlers!

Porter Party Picnic Pictures

Thank you all for coming to the Picnic! I hope everyone had a good time and enjoyed being together for an afternoon. We tried to count everyone that was there...we had 53 Porters there!!! That's pretty amazing. I'm truly thankful for a family who loves each other. I know that all of you had "Saturday Stuff" that you put on hold to come, so thank you for finding yourselves with us!
We sat around mom&dad's after everyone left and talked about memories that we had of some of our family gatherings as kids... There were all the FHE with the Porter boys, Micah hitting Donnie in the eye with the baseball, and waking up to the crop duster in the morning (on the rare occasion that I actually made it through the night without getting homesick ;) Then there was the bumpy road on the way to the Lane's where my dad actually caught air in our suburban and when Thos rolled their Quad! The pool parties and the Oberly's and playing in the creek at Grandma and Grandpa's. All the Porter Parties at the church in Prescott and the THOUSANDS of kringles that have been consumed. Thank you my sweet family for making my childhood a good one. I always knew that I was loved, and all of you had a part in that. I'm sure that Grandpa's pretty impressed with his little posterity, and even though my boys won't be able to have him pick them up by their ears, they will know him, because they know you. I love you all! Thanks.

Seven Years Ago Today...

I know, I can't believe it ! Our Porter Boy is SEVEN years old today. They aren't kidding when they say time flies when you're having fun. I figured I would tell you all Porter's Story, the one we tell him on his birthday every year, the boy just loves to hear about himself! So here it goes...

Seven years ago today Porter Eb Lewis came screaming into this world. We were so exited to meet him. Grandpa and grandma Porter and Lauren came up the night before I was to be induced, I was so swollen. I had been retaining a lot of fluid and my blood pressure was rising so my midwife, Wendy Hall, told me it was time to have this baby! That was music to my ears, so March 3rd was to be the day.Trever and I woke up at 6 so we could be at the hospital by 7. I remember thinking,"How do you set an alarm clock to go have a baby?" Needless to say we didn't sleep much. We got there and I had NO idea how long it sometimes takes to HAVE a child! By 10 O'clock my parents and Trever's parents were there looking at me like,"Well, is he here yet?" My brothers Thos and Dave were up on the mountain too, but they had the good sense to pass the day at Sunrise instead of the hospital. By noon Wendy had broken my water and my first "labor contractions" started. Lauren, Trever and I got in about three games of Rummy and I had enough of that. I was in pain, I didn't need Trev beating me in my favorite game of cards to add to my misery. By 2 O'clock I was ready to be done with this baby bearing stuff but after being informed that I was only a 3 and the pushing didn't start until I was a 10, and no epidural until after I was a 5, a bullet to the head was looking very tempting. Staydal was all they were offering though, after they gave me a bit of that the bullet looked even more inviting! That stuff was wicked. But by the time it wore off I was finally able to have an Epidural. And stopped pleading to Trever to shoot me ;) By 5:30 I was ready to start pushing, about that time my brothers got back from their day of boarding. After a quick assessment the decision was made that Thos would be seeing himself to the Emergency Room for a seperated shoulder. So the story goes that Annie was in the Delivery Room while Thos was in The Emergency Room. (he's always trying to still my fire;) Porter was born at 6:28pm. He weighed 7lbs 6oz. He had jet black hair and his daddy's toes. I remember looking at him trying to remember life without him, I couldn't. I loved him from the instant a laid eyes on him.The world became a BRIGHTER place! We love you Porter, thank you for choosing me to be your mom.

The Boy's Igloo