Peaceful

It's 11:56 pm Wednesday night.

I'm the only one up.

Even the dogs are asleep! (all 3 of them)

The house is completely silent...

...except for the thunderstorm.

It's amazing where we can find peace.

Two of my new favorite pictures.

Embracing the camera today.

I'm so grateful to be married to my best friend!

My Porter

In my post yesterday, I mentioned my son, Porter is on a mission for our church.

 He left August 18, 2010 and he won't return until August of 2012.

(For those of you who don't want to do the math, that's still 10 months away...)

His mission is a two year commitment.

I'm so proud of him.What he's doing isn't easy.

But...
I miss him like crazy.

Porter is kind, generous, compassionate.

He has a fun sense of humor, a huge heart, the ability to love unconditionally,

...and a great laugh.

We get letters and emails from Porter every week and we get to talk (Skype if we're lucky) to him twice a year - on Mother's Day and Christmas Day.

That's all the communication we get. And I understand why.
The church wants missionaries to focus on what they are there to do.
I get it.

But...
There is a hole in my heart because he's not here.

A mission requires sacrifice - for all involved.
Porter is sacrificing 2 years of his life to serve the Lord.
We are sacrificing 2 years with him so he can serve the Lord.
And it's worth it.

Every day he's out there he is learning and growing.
I can't begin to explain the exponential growth that he has gone through in the past 14 months.

He's learned to trust the Lord.
To follow the promptings of the Spirit - to follow where it guides.
He's learned to put his needs aside and be concerned about the needs of his fellow man.

He's gained confidence in himself. He is learning to be a leader.
But most importantly, he's learned the true JOY you feel when sharing the gospel.

Sacrifice is giving up something of great value...

...for something of far greater value.

Thank you Porter for giving these two years of your life to your Savior.
I know He will accept your sacrifice.

I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise they name, O Lord: for it is good.
Psalms 54:6

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Settling In

Have you ever moved somewhere and just knew you were home? 

I was born in Provo, UT and when I was 3 months old my family moved to Denver, CO. That's where I lived for the next 30 years of my life. 

My husband was transferred to West Virgina so off we went. 

I loved West Virginia. I made life long friends there. Friends that I consider family and I love. 

But for the four years we lived there, something was missing. We knew we weren't there to stay, so we never felt settled all the way.

We now live in North Carolina. We just moved here three months ago, but as soon as we drove to our new little town, I knew we were home.

I just felt right.

Everyday I find something else I love about living here.

I have found a peace and contentment here that I haven't felt in a long time.

This place just fits.



Sunday Reflections: Beautiful

It's all I think when I look at my children. It constantly amazes me how different all three of my kids are. They each bring something different to our family. I'm grateful for all of them. Our family wouldn't be complete if any one of the three were missing.

Porter came into my life when he was seven. He moved in with his Dad and I when he was 11. What a blessing he's been to our family. Right now he's on a 2 year mission for our church. He's been out since August of 2010. We haven't seen him since the day he got on the plane. And we only get to talk to him twice a year on Mother's Day and Christmas Day. I am so proud of him and I miss him so much. He has overcome so many trials to become the man he is today.



Jordin came into my life when she was six. She was independent and spunky and wanted everyone to know she could handle anything that came her way. She just moved in with us this summer and I'm so grateful she's here! We've had so much fun together. She's still independent and spunky, and she definitely can handle anything that comes her way. I've watched her go through some really hard stuff and come out the other side of it stronger than ever.




The day Jay was born I knew I was in trouble. She was a little early and had some fluid in her lungs so the nurse put a tube down her throat to suction the fluid out. She pulled it out but Jay still had fluid in there. She tried to put the tube back down there but Jay clamped down on it and wouldn't let her. She was all of 10 minutes old at this point. Fifteen years later, she's still just like that strong willed baby. She knows what she wants and she wants to figure out how to get it all on her own. She's stronger than she knows, and that iron will of hers is going to take her where ever she wants to go.

They are so much of my joy and I will be eternally grateful I can call them mine.

                                      2 Nephi 2:25

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.