Blake's Birthday

Well...it's official...BLAKE IS 4!!!













We had a wonderful party for Blake at PUMP IT UP!! He was on cloud 9...loved every second of it! Lots of friends, lots of laughs, lots of cake and lots of fun presents! I can't believe my baby boy is 4!

This is Blake with his "girlfriend" Addison! Look close...they are holding hands! :)










































































It was a fun time!! THEN, on his actual birthday, he woke up to a present beside his bed (our family tradition), so we got to celebrate all over again! We actually took it in to Luke's room to open it...I LOVE Luke's face in the background!















It was a very happy birthday!!

BUSY DAY!

We had a very productive day today!!

We have now lived in our house a little over a year, and we decided it was time to do a little landscaping! Neither Mark nor I have a green thumb, so we went to a nursery and got LOTS of help finding things that require little to no maintenance and will look good despite our ignorance!! Here is a before and after picture! We are pretty proud of how it turned out! We are now just ready for it to grow, grow, grow!!

It's been FOREVER!!!

Ok, I just realized that it has been MONTHS since I have done this, and I only had a second...so I just wanted to post pictures so if anyone is still looking at this and hasn't seen my kids in a while, you will recognize them if we ever come visit! :)

More to come!

October in Pictures!!

I have to start with this one because I just think it is so cute!! This was Luke yesterday in his Sunday best! :)
















We went to a pumpkin patch with my mom and sister and had a great time! There were tons of pictures, but I will just post a few!





















































Over the weekend, went to Boo at the Zoo! The kids had a great time!! Lots of games, activities and of course CANDY so mine loved it!

Mallory making a "scary" face in front of a decoration.














So Blake had to do the same thing...ha!









































We enjoyed carving pumpkins! I love the looks on their faces!!






























Mallory's actually won the "Cutest pumpkin" category at our church Trunk or Treat! She decorated it completely on her own...no help by anyone!! Hers was the only one wearing a tutu!













Here are more trunk or treat pictures! The kids had a great time and were sad when it was over!








































October has been busy...but very fun! Luke is now 2 1/2 months old and changing everyday! He smiles and coos all the time and is overall a very laid back baby! He is a great eater, great sleeper and goes with the flow very well!! Our family is busy, but I wouldn't trade a second of it for anything!!

Hope you all had a wonderful October!

LUKE EDWIN PORTER

I want to introduce to the blog world...our newest addition to the Porter family...Baby Luke!!












Luke was born August 19, 2010 at 2:01 p.m. He weighed 8 lbs 15.6 oz and was 22 inches long!











We named him Luke because we just love that name and Edwin is my dad's middle name and my grandfather's name that I loved so much! I wish so badly he were still here to meet Luke and know he has a namesake, but find comfort in believing he knows!


My labor with Luke was fast, just like my other 2, and fairly easy...I mean, it is childbirth! ha! I think he came out looking just like my other two, but am so curious who he will favor when he is a little older. Right now I think he is still a good combo of both of them! Mallory and Blake LOVE him so much and just want to hold him all the time! They are great helpers!




I LOVE this picture!! This is the kids seeing him for the first time! They are watching him get all cleaned up!! They just SOAKED it all in!!













This was on the walk over from where they cleaned him all up to hand him to me! I love that Mark stopped and showed him to the kids!














I LOVE this picture!! Can you tell I'm super ready to get my hands on him!!































He is a laid back baby...so far...and a fairly good sleeper! He is a GREAT sleeper in the day...we just got to get him knowing that when you eat in the middle of the night, you are supposed to go BACK to sleep!

HOUSE MAKEOVER

For those of you that know Shelley and Teresa...here is proof of their master work!!

Ok, for those that don't know them...here is the story!

ACA, the school within our church, has been blessed for the past 10-12 years (unsure of exact time) with 2 outstanding teachers, Shelley and Teresa. Well, they hung up their teaching hats this past year and decided to do something else...DECORATE!!! They have started their own business, www.thecozyperch.com, and they come into your home and will completely give it a make-over (or really just do whatever you want!)

Well, they were SO INCREDIBLY AWESOME to give me a house warming gift of their services!! So, they came to my house and I gave them liberty to do whatever they wanted and I couldn't be more pleased with what they did!! It is AMAZING!

I wanted to post these for those friends/family that live out of town that have never seen my house, and I wish I had before/after pictures, but I don't! But, here is is decorated and re-arranged, for those that have seen it! :)

Thanks Shelley and Teresa! YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL...I LOVE IT MORE AND MORE EVERYDAY!!!

In the kitchen they hung the stuff on the walls, and decorated behind my sink...which is another picture!














My living room looks a million times better. They rearranged the living room and brought it all in closer to the TV to make it more homey!















They also rearranged Blake's room and we all love it! It gives so much more space to play on the floor with his cars...which we do all the time!!! I am going to buy a rustic star to put above his bed, and also need to hang the valance over his window!! That will complete the room!













Here is the playroom...which I absolutely LOVE!!! It is totally different and arranged WAY better than it was!! It actually looks like a playroom...the kids love it!












My mantle...I LOVE! I love that the framed art says, "Begin Each Day With Prayer" and it sits right next to my grandfather's clock!! That is a motto he lived by!!













Here is my view from my kitchen sink!! I had one little thing back there...they made it super cute!

MALLORY

My new favorite picture...