Thanksgiving

This years Thanksgiving is one that we will talk about for years. Dinner was wonderful and it was a pretty normal Thanksgiving. We baked pies all the day before, Kids came in from out of town, we had the missionaries over and we ate later than planned. What wasn't normal is what we will remember. 

Kassey and the girls came out almost 2 weeks before, Karly flew in the Friday before and the Monday before Will flew in to town. In was also the Monday that Seattle was hit with a wonderful snow storm. It didn't seem like any big deal and we went about our day as planned and enjoyed the weather. Kloe went off to school and those of us at home ran around getting ready for the big day. By lunch time the snow was increasing, but still nothing compared to Utah or Idaho, the problem was the cold. It's wetter here and the snow had been melting during the day and around noon the temperature started to drop and so things were starting to freeze. By the time Kloe came home from school we had about one inch of snow, but it was on top of ice. Will's flight got in at 6 but just to be safe Kassey left at 4:30 to do the 30 minute drive so that she would have plenty of time knowing Seattle has poor drivers and with any weather they get over cautious. She took both the girls to greet Will and so she could use the HOV lane. Just as she was leaving Kaira and Tyler dropped off their boys and left to go on an anniversary date. The evening went great and just as we were expecting Kassey and Will to show up after having some planned family time, around 8:30, we got a call from Kassey. She was stuck on the 5 freeway heading south near Boeing and still hadn't picked up Will. The snow had gotten worse and as she reach downtown Seattle things had come to a stop and only crawling once in a while. She had been in touch with Will and he was waiting at the airport along with a lot of other people. She told us the freeway was like a parking lot and didn't know why. We looked into things and found out that there were lots of jack knifed diesel trucks. Kassey had been in the car now for 4 hours and had 2 very hungry girls and she needed to go to the bathroom. To top things off Kassey, 7 months pregnant, was having a some false labor. Kim couldn't handle sitting a waiting for things to change so being a true John Wayne kind of dad, got together a blanket, some juice boxes, cookies and donuts and went to help. As he was on the way we learned that there was no real efforts to try to get things moving on the freeway. The snow had increased and with the black ice there were cars all over the freeway that had spun causing blocks and accidents.  Drivers were having to maneuver their way around everything. The mess had started just as everyone was leaving work downtown and as Kassey reached the Seattle Boeing field there was a shift change which only made things worse. Kim drove streets to get as close as he could to her and found the best place he could hop the cement wall. He walked down the freeway talking to her until he found her. By now it was close to 10pm and Kassey had only driven about a mile since she first called home. People had started to run out of gas and were leaving their cars abandoned to go a get gas. There wouldn't have run out, but the temperature was now in the teens so you could only sit with your car heater off in the cold for a short time. Around 10:30 Kaira called and told us that they could come and pick up their boys but once they got to out house they probable wouldn't be able to drive back up the hilly streets to go home and would be stuck, so the boys stayed with us. By now everything was covered in snow, schools were closed for the next day and Kassey was still stuck. Kim had gotten her gas and helped her in every way he could, but things were just not moving and the longer things lasted the more people just abandoned their cars. There was only one lane open and Kassey was only a few miles away, but only going a foot or so every hour. Thankfully Kassey and Will had just bought a mini van with a DVD player and the girls were not completly out of controll. Kim had tried to get to Will by streets but the freeway jam had caused grid lock in the whole city and Kim couldn't get near the airport. By 1am Kim was ready to give up and just come home. We checked one last time to see if the other freeway that gets you to the airport and found that things were finally clearing on it, Kim found a route to get to Will and then came north on the 5 freeway until they saw Kassey on the southbound side. Will hopped the center wall of the freeway to Kassey and by 2:30am Will was with his girls. The whole thing felt like a movie that someone had forgotten to tell us we were part of. Kim said the freeway looked crazy; cars were all over and big trucks had jack knifed. As far as we know there were no fatal accidents. Kim made it home around 3 and Kassey and Will around 4:30am, 12 hours after she had left. Strangely there was almost no news about it that night or the next day. The boys woke up in the morning surprised to find themselves still at granny's house and as soon as the girls woke up there was a great cousin reunion. Things stayed cold and the snow continued for the next few days and Kloe got her dreamt of school snow days.

Our dog Georgia loved all the cold because it meant she got to sleep inside. Having to sleep in her kennel was no problem as long as she was in side she was a happy girl. She would walk in the house straight to her kennel and with in minutes the snoring would start.

Thanksgiving dinner was great and we enjoyed a calm day.

Kaira cooked our turkey for the first time and it was very yummy.

Kassey made the traditional sweet potatos as she always does and Karly tried her hand at pie crust and found a hidden talent.

Not everyone was here this year, but we are getting use to having to share.

Kerin and Cory were with his family, Kyle was with Megan's and Elder Kody Porterfield is in San Antonio, Texas.

By the weekend we had very little snow around and so by Sunday morning when Will and Kassey left things seemed safe to be on the road, except by the time they got to the pass it started to snow again. The rest of the drive home was done very slowly with chains on the car and took a day and a half longer than planned with a closed freeway in Idaho. Kassey told me they will never drive out to see us in the late fall through winter again.

Halloween

 Because Halloween was on a Sunday this year we had our own little party. Growing up my mom and two of her friends families, Barbara Lewis and Betty Skoglund seem to have the best Halloween parties. I looked forward to those nights almost as much as Christmas. We had spook allies, scary stories, great games, homemade root beer and yummy treats. I didn't get as our of control like my mom would have but I think we all had a fun time and a good laugh. We started the night with our traditional dinner in a pumpkin. I always think of Grandma Jane when we have this. I think she and I like it more than any one else.

 The boys came in their custumes, but only the important parts. They had been to two Trunk-or-Treat parties the night before and bits and pieces of their costumes were in the cars and somewhere at home, but that didn't stop our fun. This year all three of the boys wore hand-me-downs so Kaira Fern didn't have to make new ones, it was great and everyone was happy. Mack was Batman. He wore the same Batman suit Uncle Kyle and Uncle Kody wore when they were his age. As you can tell Mack is a bit Taller than they were, but when he wore the boots you couldn't tell. Henry was a dinosaur, his favorite thing these days. Kaira had made the costume for Mack a couple of years before. Wallace was a sweet lion. Another costumes Kaira had made for the older boys. I think at the trunk-or-treat parties Wally wore a pumpkin suit that the older boys had also worn, but I could be wrong.

 After dinner we played the spider web game. Kloe turned the "man cave" into a giant spider web. Everyone followed their yarn, untangling as they went to find the treat at the end.

Then we bobbed for apples. I say "we", but I was busy taking pictures so I excused myself. I think this was the game Mack was looking forward to the most. He had played it at his Grandma Karen's party and had success and could wait to try again.

 We ended the night with donuts on a string. Again someone needed to take the pictures so I made the sacrifice. I'm not sure if the pictures are blurry because everyone was moving or because I was laughing so hard. They all took this game serious which only made it funner to watch. We all enjoyed watching the boys, and I include Tyler, going for their donuts. This will be a night that needs repeating every year.

Out on the Farm

I should be wrapping presents and mailing out Christmas cards, but I am months behind on posting and everyone is still sleeping so I thought I should do a little catching up. On a beautiful day in Oct, Tyler and Mack went and climbed a mountain so the rest of us went off to near by pumpkin farms. I love having the grandsons close enough to have outings like this. I wish the rest of the babies were close by too.

 Henry used his climbing stills to concur giant pumpkins. I tried all day to get him to look at the camera but had no luck.

Wally was another story, he knew every time the camera came out. He was his normal perfect self all day and sat happy just enjoying the ride.

There were corn mazes, tractor rides, cow trains, pony rides and yummy treats. We couldn't get Henry to go on any of the rides this year. He mostly liked watching the chickens and just exploreing the pumpkins.

Pumpkin inspecting can be very serious business

For Wally I think the day was just another photo opportunity.

Bend in the Road

It has been about 3 months since I last posted and there is a really good reason for it, October. You read that right, I blame October, the very beginning. We hit an unexpected blend in life's road and most things after are a blurr.

On the first Sunday of the month we got a call from our stake president asking if he could come by and visit with us, what could we say? We didn't really want to visit with him, knowing very little good news came from an unexpected visit from your Stake President. He asked Kim if he had any appointments or other plans for that afternoon and if so, he should call and let them know he would be late because this could take some time. At that news my heart sank. The first thing that I thought was there was something wrong with my missionary. We couldn't think of another reason the stake president would want to talk to us for so long. Maybe there was going to be a change in the stake Young Men's, but we didn't think so and we had recently gotten a new High Councilor for our ward, so that couldn't be it. It all came back to our missionary. I was so worried by this time, I asked Kim if we could please have prayer together before the Stake President got to our home so I could handle whatever the news may be. When the President arrived, he asked to talk to Kim alone, and I was relived; I assumed it was a stake calling and left the two alone. A short time later I was invited to join them. The first thing I asked was did this concern our missionary. The President looked at me surprised and with a big smile said no. He had never thought we might suspect something was wrong with our son, with a big sigh of relief I sat down. Kim still didn't know why the President wanted to see us and there sat the President with a big smile. Kim was asked to serve as our ward bishop. We both sat there silent with our mouths open. This was the one thing we had joked about but thought we were safe from. We had only live in Mukilteo for just over a year; I felt like I knew no one and Kim knew even less. Bishops now seem to be younger and Kim is 50. The Stake President stayed and helped us deal with this shock to our systems for about an hour. I was still relieved that our missionary was safe and healthy, but numb with my husbands new calling and I knew our ward would be too. I was sure some would ask, "Who's Kim Porterfield?"

Kim's 50th surprise birthday party

So I will answer that question, the greatest husband and dad ever. He is known for his plaid shirts, great laugh and big smile. He's the best skier on the slopes, a fan of F1 and any team his kids play on.

He likes Oreo's dipped in running water, ice cream and late night movies with his kids. He speaks German like a German, exploring Europe and all things Scottish. He is more romantic than he admits, tolerates his wifes love of BBC and he's the guy you want on your side when someone tries to bully you or your when you're in trouble. He has the biggest heart and the emptiest wallet; he is so loved by his children they made him a fan page on facebook; his daughters girlfriends often love him long before they meet him. Joseph Smith is one of his hero's, but only after our Savior Jesus Christ . So there is an introduction to Kim A Porterfield.



with Karly at BYU-I



Kyle and Kim at the Ballard Locks Salomon ladder

It would be two weeks before Kim would be sustained at church because of General Conference so there where very few we could talk to about this big change in our live. We told all our kids but Kloe ahead of time, so they could make plans in case they wanted to come out for Kim's sustaining. Kloe found out as we were leaving for church the day of because we were afraid she would slip and tell someone or post it on facebook. She could barely contain herself and as we came in the door from church she walked right to the computer and posted it on facebook.

Holding Kloe's prize pig

  The Saturday of the same week Kim was sustain in church , we were in the Seattle Temple attending Stake Temple night. Still in shock,  we went through the night like deers in headlights. As we left the Temple I checked my phone for missed calls and I had 3. The first was from a good friend in Encinitas congratulating us on Kyle's engagement! What!?! He wasn't engaged before we went in to the temple. We knew it was coming and could happen really anytime, but Kyle is the child that tells me everything  . . . really everything! The next message was from Kyle simple saying he needed to talk to me, Kim had the same message. I don't even remember hearing the next message.

Kyle and Megan at the Ballard Locks

Kyle had proposed that night to Megan Schiess from Henderson, Nevada. We love Megan and are so excited for them. Megan came with us on our family vacation this summer to Lake Shasta and we knew she was the one when she joined in with the sisters as they teased Kyle and helped Kyle fly off the tube during tub wars.

Kyle and Megan at Lake Shasta

Kyle and Megan met up at school in one of their classes and were friends as he dated lots of other girls including a date with her best friend. She was the one who was suppose to help him stay single and focus on school. Megan has been out to visit us here in Washington twice and we love seeing her and look forward to her being a member of our family

The morning of the Saturday Kyle and Megan got engaged, we received some very sad news, our daughters church building had been set on fire. They attend church here in Mukilteo, but are in a neighboring stake to ours. Kim, who had not even conducted a Sunday yet, found out quickly that he was the agent bishop of our building and was responsible for helping one of the misplaced wards settle into our building until theirs is rebuilt. It's hard to believe someone dislikes the Mormons enough that they would destroy their place of worship. Over the next few days I read news articles about the event and peoples comments. There were some very hurtful things said about Mormons. It's sad to think in today's world, where people are expected to be open minded, there are still those so full of hate for a religion and way of life.

Harbor Point Ward Building

just breath

As I got out of the shower this morning I burst into tears.  .  .   

why?

 I usually do my crying in the shower not as I am getting out, it's easier on the eyes and my face doesn't get as red. 

There was really no reason for the tears and there was no warning, other than the thought I had just had that unless plans change, it will only be Kim and I with Karly, Kloe and Kyle on Christmas morning. To some this still seems like a large group, but to our family this is almost an empty house. The thought that came right after that was that this could be Kyle's last Christmas morning as my little boy. No, you have not missed any thing, Kyle is not engaged, but he is a returned missionary and I count each holiday with him as possible the last before he is married and off to his in-laws home instead of ours where he belongs.

This last month reality hit Kim and I in the face. I spent the summer mending my broken ankle and not thinking about the impending changes fall would bring. Knowing I would have to be out of town early Sept, I spent late July and early Aug. shopping for fall. I enjoyed getting Kloe ready for 8th grade without admitting she would actually attend school as an 8th grader. I cherished the shopping with Karly getting her ready for college without ever considering that she would actually leave home and go away to school. As far as Kyle, I just refuse to shop for him, so he snuck things into the piles. Kloe turned 13 just days after our family vacation and I left town the next day to handle house business in southern California. Kim was left in charge of making sure Kloe was on time for her first day of school and someone took pictures of her, also that Karly and Kyle were packed and ready to leave for college. I was so busy while in California I never had time to think about my babies growing up and leaving home. I was home for less than 24 hours and we were on the road taking Karly and Kyle off to college. On the drive back home Kim and I talked about how quiet things would be with just ourselves and Kloe, still not until this morning and the quiet had settled in did reality hit me that my babies are growing up and I am almost out of a job.

I have thought about going back to school or spending lots of time volunteering or getting a part time job, but none of those things will give me my babies back, they are wonderful, healthy people, growing up and going on their own just like they should and I am having to reminding myself

to just breath.

Grandbabies

. . . . are heaven on earth!

Last month for a few short days, we had all 6 of our grandbaies together.

  Kerin and little Junie were here for a visit and we took advantage of the moment.

  Kassey and Will took some pictures for us out on our lawn.

I am not a bragger, but we really do have the best grandbabies in the world. Don't believe me just ask our kids