Happy 15th Birthday Brooke!

So today is our Brookie's 15th birthday!! holy cow...She is such a beautiful girl inside and out. We are so blessed to have her in our family. Today she had to go to school, and cheer practice, and then after that we made her orange chicken for dinner. She then got to open her presents and eat her cupcakes. Here she is with her gift pile...
One thing she LOVES is hersheys chocolate! This was from Jalan-well, one of his 3 or 4 gifts he gave her...

Also a favorite of hers...what a goofy girl!

Then I made her chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting..to go along with her pink and black birthday theme she wanted....

I was playing with my camera and got this cool shot

Here are 15 things we love about Brooke:

1. She has soooo much energy!

2. She is silly and always has fun

3. She is gorgeous!

4. She is a great example to her friends

5. She is not afraid to stand up for her standards

6. Is such a cute cheerleader

7. Loves to read

8. Gives great talks at church

9. has enormous feet and toes!

10. But her body is sooooo skinny!

11. loves to play with her younger siblings

12. is still a kid inside

13. is excited to start to drive!!

14. LOVES her dad

15. she has such a special spirit that she touches so many people and doesnt even know!

Happy Birthday Kalee Brooke....we love you so much!!

San Antonio!! The wedding!

So we got to San Antonio Texas Thursday evening, and this is what we saw!! No, but really, they had bought these outfits so they could meet everyone at the airport!! Due to crazy busy schedules, it didnt happen, but they did get to show up at the hotel with them! They are such a fun, crazy couple! We loved getting to meet Heidi! She is so amazing, and perfect for Brandon!! We were so excited for the upcoming weekend of events! So Friday, we got to go do some sightseeing around San Antonio. Of course, first stop, The Alamo!! Here we are in front of it. We also got to see Brett for the first time here since he got home from his mission in Nov!

Here was our crew on Friday...Tim and Steph, Nicole, Jed and baby Jett, Troy and I, and Brett..Jack and Val had already went ahead of us...and Hal and Lisa Hall were there taking the picture.

Hal and Lisa at Hard Rock Cafe. After the Alamo, we got to go see the Riverwalk and went out to lunch. We had a fun time! Val, Jack and Brett

Troy and I

Tim and Steph Sorry Nicole and Jed, I guess I didnt get one of you guys:(

Here is Troy again in front of the Alamo

Friday afternoon Brandon and Heidi went through the temple for their endowments. Wow what a great day for the Porter family!! The rest of the family got there Friday....and after the temple, we headed to El Taco Tote for a big dinner and meeting of the families. It was alot of fun and good food!

We stayed up late each night hanging out and talking...Here is Nic and Casey enjoying theirselves.

We had so much fun hanging out and visiting way too late each night! At the temple on Saturday morning was the wedding. We were so excited to be there! It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining so nice!

Look at that handsome RM!! Brett was so cute and so fun! I even talked (forced) him into dancing with me during one of the line dances at the reception!! More than any of his brothers did!! It was so great to get to finally see Brett again!

Is this just a gorgeous couple or what?? And they make the cutest kids ever! They brought little Jett with them, what a cutie!! We didnt even get any pics of him! Well, this couple isnt too shabby either!

Brandon and Heidi just coming out of the temple! Wow what a beautiful amazing day!!

Love!!

They were so beautiful!

Everyone hanging out waiting for pics.

Too bad Casey!! You are too beautiful not to get on camera!! The temple was so beautiful. The angel Moroni was HUGE! We couldnt figure out why it seemed so big to us.

Of course, this is a classic pic....Darryll had to go and help fix her up! At one point, Brandon called Darryll up to help get people set for the pics...I dont think the photographer was very happy about that:)

Mom and Dad Porter and the bride and groom All the siblings

All the boys..wow what a group of great looking guys!! Especially that one the third from the right!! wow!

Here are all the boys and Heidi!! So cute!! I love her flip flops she had on! All of us sisters! We are so lucky to have Heidi join us in our family!

Well, here we are again, with the bride and groom and sisters...look how she has us as blondes and brunettes! haha..I joined the other side since I colored my hair brown!

The parents and the Bride and Groom. Later that night was their reception. It was at this really neat old steak house. It was sooo beautiful!! Here is the room as it was getting started, and we started just hanging out, eating appetizers!

So here is the bride and groom entering the reception, dancing their way in!! Well, except Brandon! it was great! How cute it Heidi???

The wedding party, well mostly Heidi's family, came in dancing and danced in front of us all! They are so fun!!

Ok, so this is in the wrong order..but this is from later in the night, after dinner, but yes, this is Troy and I DANCING!!!!! Thanks Heidi and Brandon for having such a great reception and helped me get to dance with my hot hubby! Yipee!!

Everyone hanging out at the tables. Actually, we had just started dinner, and eating a yummy salad!!

After dinner, there was dancing and the cake cutting, etc.. I guess I didnt get the camera out much after that...I was too busy having fun and dancing the night away!! The rest of the pics I am not able to put on here, due to some graphic scenes of their truck that was "decorated" for them!! They had such a great wedding and reception and we were thrilled to have been able to have attended!! Thanks Brandon and Heidi and good luck!! We love you guys!

They are ordered!!!

Ok, so the day has FINALLY come when I got to order my cabinets for the kitchen!! yeah! It has been a long ..year and then some. We finally were able to figure out a plan to get these cabinets purchased and on their way! I am so thrilled and looking forward to having a kitchen again. They said it takes about 4-6 weeks, probably around 4...and once they are installed, then we have to wait another 2 weeks to get the countertops in, and then, yipeee, all done! So now we are on the countdown! Here are some pics of my kitchen. I have been without a regular kitchen for over a year now..and first it started out as just some cabinets out, then some more, and then the wall was taken down. We got a new floor put in, and drywall and mud..then paint. Troy finished the pantry, and he and my dad built shelves over Christmas. So right now we just have everything makeshift to get by. The island has the sink and dishwasher..lovely with a nice sheet to cover the ugly back. The oven is just standing on the floor..and the other piece of cabinet has the cooktop on it. All of our cabinets and drawers are in the dining room, or the living room. So when you need a kitchen gadget or measuring cup...yep, do a 5 mile hike to go get it! I will be so grateful to have everything in one room again!

Foot update

So we went to the pediatrician today and had Jalan's foot checked. He said it is healing nicely, and it isnt hurting Jalan at all anymore. It must have been a slight fracture. Dr wants him in the boot for one more week, then he can take it off and walk on it. Bad news, another week off wrestling. So we hope Jalan will be able to get back into it and do ok in the regionals coming up. But at least its healing up well!

Murphy Open Jan 9, 2010

So this weekend we headed back to Murphysboro for an open tournament this week. All of the previous wrestling tournys so far have been beginners tournaments. That means first year kids only, or rookies. The other kids, or veterans, started having their open tournaments now. So this was our first one, and we were not sure what to expect. Of course, Jalan being injured had to miss the wrestling. Britton's first match was a little guy about his size. We were happy about that finally! It wasnt much of a match at all....

Britton pinned him in the cradle in the first period..one down, two to go!! The second round, Britton wrestled a kid from Indiana. Coach said he was bigger than the kid Britton had to wrestle from his own team in the 3rd round, who was 16 lbs heavier than Britton! But....this kid didnt know how to wrestle for squat....

Britton had him on his back the whole match, but because of the size difference, he couldnt pin him...but still won the match, I think 7-0.

Last round Britton had to wrestle a kid from his own team. This kid was 16 pounds heavier than Britton! Can you tell he looks like a giant next to him? Britton has wrestled him many times in practice..and so he knew what to expect. Britton walked all over this kid!! This is a crappy picture of Britton getting the kid in the double chicken wing!! We were so excited! Troy had been teaching the boys that move, and kept hoping they would try it. The kid started crying out, he didnt know what hit him! Then the ref stopped the match calling it potentially dangerous. We were cheering him on, great move Britton!!

Britton couldnt pin him, since he was so big..but kicked his hiney. Here is our champion...his record is now 11-1. Great job Britton!! (Boy was Jalan bummed when Britton got his trophy!! Wished he had his cast off!)

Fractured Metatarsal!

Well, so on Monday night, Jalan and Britton were at wrestling practice, when Jalan was wrestling a boy and during a take down, the boy landed his knee on Jalan's foot. Jalan was in extreme pain and the coach told him he probably sprained his foot or something. He came home and we didnt see any swelling, redness or bruising or anything. We figured it was just fine, and just sore. So in the morning, Jalan still couldnt put any pressure on the foot. He was hopping around the house, and I kept telling him to just limp on the heel or something, he looked like a dork! I figured he was milking it!! So I sent him to school hopping, and made a dr appointment for him. The dr said it might be fractured, and sent us for x-rays. The dr told us, "We have a fracture on the 3rd metatarsal bone!" We were pretty suprised! So they sent us over to the medical supply to get a walking boot and crutches. The bad news, no wrestling for 2 weeks! We have to go back and have it checked out in 2 weeks to see from there. Jalan has enjoyed the attention and "fun-ness" of the injury so far, but it wont last! Today we had a bad snow storm, and no school...guess who had to stay inside while the kids were using their new snow sleds?? Poor Jalan!

Happy New Year

I actually love New Year's...not because I ever stay up late and party....I'm way too old and lazy for that. But I love the opportunity to start a new year, with new goals and ideas to leave the year behind and look forward to the future. However, I am not too excited about our daughter turning 16 this year!! I hope Troy can handle it!!! This last year has been a wonderful year, with so many great experiences and things our family were able to do and accomplish. I am thankful to be able to end this year happy and healthy with my family. We have been so blessed. As I have thought about my goals for the new year, I'm looking forward to working on areas that I need to improve. Wish us luck with a 16 year old daughter and a 15 year old daughter learning to drive...heaven help us!! Hope all of you have a healthy and happy new year!!