Porters Portals

I just don't know how other mom's do it...how they manage to find time. I had hoped to write more during summer break...I even cancelled all appointments for the month of August...too the month off from Worship Team at church and yet...summer vacation ends this week. I am, again, profoundly sad. I am not ready for my kids to go off everyday to the places called 'school.' I like them home. I like for us to get up when we are ready and not because the alarm insists. I like that my kids have to be called in for dinner when the sun is just beginning to set and not because they didn't finish their homework or because it's dark before dinner. Yeh...snivel whine! I should be saying how happy and thankful I am that my children have a free education. That my daughters as well as my sons can get an education. I should be saying I am grateful my children are healthy. I should be looking forward to only one child at home during the day. I should be excited that I only have

God is Awesome...His love is amazing. His grace is bewildering! I love the Lord and gave Him my heart...and several years after that I gave him my life...and yet there are times when I take it back and do what I want...and then fail miserably. With that said...it always blows me away that MY GOD, MY SAVIOR will still bless me. I don't mean bless me in the midst of my sins...but will bless me in spite of my sins. This brings me to this post.....When I look at the face of this amazing, beautiful, precious little girl...I get blown away....HE chose me to raise this precious one. There are thousands upon thousands that God the Creator could have chosen to raise these kiddos in my home...but He chose me. He chose me to raise this little girl...HE chose ME! I do not take that for granted. I am so thankful and so grateful. This little one came to us when she was 2 months old....she became ours 1 1/2 years ago....yesterday...she turned 4 years old. FOUR!!! This little being makes me laug

This is a quickie to say I am still here...still following the Lord...still loving my family...still doing the best I can on a daily basis. I am hoping to start getting some plans and schedules in place to help me get ahold of life a little better...knowing full well my Lord is still the one in the lead. I hope to blog a little more often...it amazes me how there are so many women (and men) out there who blog reliably and are also soooo busy...I don't know how they do it. Maybe having organized thoughts isn't as hard for them as it is for me...LoL Here are some pics....thanks for visiting  My beautiful Easter Girl  Our first camp trip of the year  My family had the opportunity to meet Jackson Galaxy (Host of 'My Cat From Hell' Animal Planet)  Two of my grandsons wrestling on a beach in HAWAII!!!  My handsome son and his beautiful family My daughter and son in law

We Western Oregonians are sure having bi-polar weather. We had two days of clear, sunny, and pleasantly warm. Then we had a wind storm. We then had 2 or 3 days of solid pouring rain and in the middle of the night...we had snow! Today is mild and sunny with a nip in the air. Last week I would stoke the woodstove up in the morning to get the chill out of the air, the sun would pop out soon after and begin to bake the roof. By 2 p.m. I let the fire burn out and I would open the windows. Crazy. I do, however, love the cool/cold days with all sunshine. I did alot of spring cleaning, with the help of my beautiful mother, during that week. The sunshine sure helped. The daffodils are blooming, the Daphne is budding, and other spring flowers are just popping their head out of the cold sun starved soil. I have seen pictures of the gorgeous "I love spring" forsythia. Love that stuff but don't own myself. Maybe again someday. It is such a celebratory bush. Having survived the cold d

2012 already? Geesh...I didn't really have a grasp of 2011...but I can say with confidence I am glad to see it go. A year I really didn't want to hang onto anyways. In October I went to Hawaii and stayed with my adult daughter and 2 grandson for about a week. Then we all flew back to Portland. Dreaded that 5 1/2 hour airplane ride as much as a root canal, but it went great. I had alot of people praying us over the Pacific. We had an almost 2 year old who was in full 2 year old form and a 4 month old. I was afraid that half way home we may just get chucked from the plane due a screaming toddler...but we weren't and he only let loose a couple of times. Thank you Jesus...and that is sincere! After arriving home we got a call soon after, that the state would be transferring our newest foster baby to a relative...We were told originally that we would have her until January and there was no family "suitable" for her to be transferred to.  So, when the state called it