Whew! And it Begins. ...

Today we had an unsuccessful open house.  Bummer!  But while that was going on we were at the warehouse clearing out the shipping container we'll be storing our things in while we are gone.

I can't believe how dirty we were when we got home! The kids had fun at times and whined too but overall we had success and got it totally cleared out.  That is so nice to have it done!

Oh and we leave July 19 from Boise. :) 

Before...

After...

During. ...

The Moments that Make All the Work Worth it.

All the work we put into teaching the kids about prayer and kindness sunk in a little bit...

So,  Monday night we were having FHE.  I was teaching a lesson and Brayden was sitting on the floor.  I noticed him turn around and lean on the couch and it looked like he was praying.   But,  I didn't think much because he is always moving and who knows what goes on in the energetic mind of his.

Well,  the lesson ended and Brayden was so excited to tell me that he felt like saying a prayer and he prayed that Hailey's rash on her arms would get better.  He said,  "I had a really warm feeling in my prayer."  How sweet was that!? Maybe this happens  a lot at your house,  but it doesn't a lot here. 

To myself I was secretly shoutinng "YES"!  I always hope that they'll  grow and understand how important prayer is while they are young so they'll turn to the Lord when they really need guidance. One drop of oil in his vial so he'll prepared and ready when he really needs it.  :)

Best Friends

These two have their moments.  Best friends to not "enemies" but they do fight:).  Lots of teasing and just plain out being mean.  So,  I had to get a picture of this moment.

I went to Jackson's school to celebrate his birthday yesterday.  Brayden begged me to come so I let him go with me. We stayed for about an hour and while we were walking out they were holding hands in front of me.  Too sweet!

Jackson caught me right in the middle so I didn't get the true thing.  But they are holding hands and now I've got a picture of it.  With all these boys at our house that just doesn't happen a lot.  

Hawaii

I'm guessing if any of you read my blog you already know about our adventure to Hawaii.  But, I want to put this on here for our record.



About a year and a half ago, the end of January 2014 Bo got a phone call from an old BYUI professor Jason Earl.  He told him he was now in BHUH and had something for him to do.  He is a service missionary at BYUH and part of his job is to find entrepeneurs who are willing to serve a 12 month mission at the business school and Willis Center where missionaries teach and mentor budding entrepeneurs.  Brother Earl asked Bo if he'd be one of those missionaries.  Bo decided it was important to go and help and it would  be a great example for the kids when they are deciding to go on their mission.  Bo will be a service missionary with the title Entrepeneur in Residence at BYUH.

It was kinda a big pill to swallow.  I remember going back and forth from scared to excited.  At first all we could think was, "But we just got settled here, our home is finally where we want it to be, the business is making huge changes, the kids are making friends, and we love where we are. This would just put a kink in everything we have worked to build." ( I know, should of had more faith. ... Just being honest :).)  But Jason told Bo to think about it and invited him to come visit and see what it is all about.  You may remember last year we made a trip to Hawaii and spent a few days at the school.  Here's the post if you are interested. http://porterfamily-blog.blogspot.com/2014/04/hawaii.html.  This is an amazing program and we knew we needed to do but in time each of us has gained a strong testimony that the Lord wants us there.

We will be leaving around July 20th.  We don't have the exact date yet because we are still debating on when the best time to go would be, haha.  Bo will begin classes the 3rd of August and our kids will begin school on the July 29th.  We are getting excited of course but also have many anxieties because there is a lot to do to prepare here and once we get to Hawaii.  Such as, we need to find a place to live.  Not having much luck, but I'm sure we'll find a place.  I keep telling myself that everything will work out the way it needs to and it will be a great experience for our family.

It's hard to know what to expect and how busy Bo will be.  He will teach 2 classes and mentor a lot of the time.  He will still have to work as much as he can with the business here too.  But, thanks to his business partner Kris and his wife Kendra Stowell, we know things will be taken care of here.  I'm sure this will make their life busier so we have to say thanks to them in advance.  We love you guys and will miss you!

If you're interested in learning more about how this all works, here's a link to the Willes Center where Bo will be: https://willescenter.byuh.edu/.

Easter 2015

The Saturday before Easter my parents did their yearly Easter egg hunt.  It was fun to have almost everyone in town and spend some time together.  The candy from the hunt was good too. :)  I got a few pictures:

Most of the kids there.  

Bo and Caleb

Brayden, Celeste, and Hailey

The Easter Bunny visits our house on Friday night so we dyed eggs on Friday morning.  Here are some pics from that:

This year the Easter Bunny hid the baskets and it took about 15 minutes to find them in the microwave and oven.  HaHa.  The 4 older kids got Pokemon cards and Caleb got some puzzles.  Then we were off to Rigby's Easter egg hunt.  They said it was the best Easter ever!

It was nice to have General Conference on Easter weekend this year and be reminded by our Prophet and Apostles of Christ's teachings, sacrifice and resurrection for us.  There is a God.  He is our Father and He loves us.   He has a plan for us.  We are not here by chance.  He wants us to be happy and have peace in this life and in the next.  Christ is the way for that peace, happiness, and eteranl salvation with our families.  

In the Sunday morning session Elder Holland gave a beautiful talk on how this is all possible.  We will all live again no matter who we are and what we've done.  Wouldn't it be great to live together again with  our loved ones for eternity?
Here's a very short version of his talk Highlight: “Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet” - YouTube

The full version is much better with an awesome story of two bothers watching out for each other https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/where-justice-love-and-mercy-meet?lang=eng