Happy Thanksgiving!! For the Porter/Hall family this will be a Thanksgiving to remember! We are so excited and blessed to announce that we are expecting again! A few weeks ago we were a little blown away with some unexpected, but good news! This time around God is designing two masterpieces, yes that's right, we are expecting TWINS!!!! Oh my goodness!!
For those of you that know me very well I have probably mentioned to you my faithful little praying girls, Kinley and Karsyn! They have been praying faithfully and fervently for the past year or more for twin brothers. Now, we will not be finding out until the end of December if that part is true. I just have to say WOW to that. I believe that God answers prayer, and I truly believe that Kinley and Karsyn had a hand in this. Let me tell you that they are excited, and are very thankful to God. To God be all the glory. I am proud of my girls, and this has definitely built our faith.
Obviously I am a planner, and this was not in my plans!! We all know that God's ways are better than ours, and I know that he has some great years in store for my family. It may a little chaotic and a bit harder to find a babysitter, but I can't wait to make the memories with our growing family!
We love you all, and can't wait for the world to meet our newest additions!!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Little moments and big blessings!
It was just a typical mommy day hauling the kids off to Wal-Mart! Who would've thought that God would use that event to teach me something? Me and the girls were actually leaving Wal-Mart with our cart loaded down with groceries. I get the kids in the car and I start unloading all of my items. I notice that a guy next to me is finished up and I am about to have to use my front passenger side to house the rest of my purchase. I offered to close my doors and let him go ahead because I did not want to keep him. He kindly insisted that I finish what I was doing, and he patiently waited. While he waited he actually helped me with the rest of my bags and the unnecessary items that my children had to drag into the store. Then, he politely turned my buggy in at the nearest return and told me to have a nice day.
Probably a day later the Lord begin to speak to me about how that man blessed me. He blessed me with kindness and patience. He took a little moment out of his day and blessed me (and he probably doesn't even know the impact)! You know the ole cliche, "What Would Jesus Do?" Well, I know for sure that Jesus would have done the same thing. He would have hugged the children and probably given this momma a hug and told me to keep the faith and keep up the good work. The question is, "What Would You Do?" With shame I will admit that I would have taken the ladies offer and went on my way. I mean it was 5 o'clock I have to get dinner started and get to church, right?! How many times are we rushed and only thinking about our own agenda? How many little opportunities are we missing out on to bless someone else? I am usually caught up in my own rat race, but Jesus was not like that. He may have been on a mission but he would stop along the way to heal and love others. How much of an impact can you and I make if we stop for just a small moment and show someone else the love and grace of Jesus?
It might be your child wanting to play a game or want you to watch a gymnastics trick they learned. It may be your husband or wife that calls you from work and needs a favor. It may be a neighbor whose husband is deployed. It may be a complete stranger at Wal-Mart that you could help in that very moment. Are you going to brush them off or will you take time out of your agenda to bless them? When you look at the big picture of life what is more important? I chose the little moments of blessing, and I pray that God would open my eyes and give me those opportunities so that I can offer HIS love to them. I can promise that He will give you a moment like this, and He is waiting to see how you will handle it. A lot of times I pass them up, what do you do? I want to be a blessing!
Probably a day later the Lord begin to speak to me about how that man blessed me. He blessed me with kindness and patience. He took a little moment out of his day and blessed me (and he probably doesn't even know the impact)! You know the ole cliche, "What Would Jesus Do?" Well, I know for sure that Jesus would have done the same thing. He would have hugged the children and probably given this momma a hug and told me to keep the faith and keep up the good work. The question is, "What Would You Do?" With shame I will admit that I would have taken the ladies offer and went on my way. I mean it was 5 o'clock I have to get dinner started and get to church, right?! How many times are we rushed and only thinking about our own agenda? How many little opportunities are we missing out on to bless someone else? I am usually caught up in my own rat race, but Jesus was not like that. He may have been on a mission but he would stop along the way to heal and love others. How much of an impact can you and I make if we stop for just a small moment and show someone else the love and grace of Jesus?
It might be your child wanting to play a game or want you to watch a gymnastics trick they learned. It may be your husband or wife that calls you from work and needs a favor. It may be a neighbor whose husband is deployed. It may be a complete stranger at Wal-Mart that you could help in that very moment. Are you going to brush them off or will you take time out of your agenda to bless them? When you look at the big picture of life what is more important? I chose the little moments of blessing, and I pray that God would open my eyes and give me those opportunities so that I can offer HIS love to them. I can promise that He will give you a moment like this, and He is waiting to see how you will handle it. A lot of times I pass them up, what do you do? I want to be a blessing!
Friday, September 16, 2011
A few empty jars...
I know that this is only the beginning, but there has been a few rough spots over the past few weeks. Kinley and Karsyn are precious, and I know that they are always respectable to teachers and other adults in general. However, when Mommy is the teacher they are not always on their best behavior! We do a skittle jar every day, and they each start out with four skittles in their jar. If I feel like they are not listening, giving their best, and/or not being kind they have to pull out a skittle. Needless to say there have been a few empty jars the last few weeks! As the skittle jars are being emptied usually my patience are too. I know the environment of homeschool is going to be something we will overcome over time. The pouting has to stop, or this momma is going to go crazy!! This week we made some listening ears, and I hoped that would help illustrate the importance of listening (not only to me, but to God). On their headband I wrote, "Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise." Proverbs 19:20. They each got to pick an animal and those were the type of ears I attached to the headband. They loved the headbands, we just need to work on the verse! ;-)
This just reminded me of times in our lives when we want to give up. It is so easy to throw in the towel, or at least want to! We all make commitments in our lives, and hopefully the ones that God has called us to we will stick to. Just because God called you to do something does not mean that it will always be peachy. There is an enemy out there that wants to steal, kill, and destory the plans that God has for us. My pastor, Pastor Bryan King, says something often and I think it applies to us in these situations. "Do not respond out of your pain or emotions, but respond out of your purpose." For me it is usually my emotions that distract me and take my eyes off of the Lord. We must continuously remind ourselves that God is in control, and he is with us every step of the way. It may not always be easy, but as long as He is directing our steps then we know it will all work out. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am doing what God wants me to do, and I will fix my eyes upon Him. Those days that I feel weary or frustrated I will look to Him. Know your enemy...he does want to rob us of those plans, and sometimes you just need to tell him a thing or two about your God!!! My God is mighty, and He is bigger than any problem or obstacle. He is my strength, and He is the only reason why I make it through some days.
But, out of my purpose I will respond and stay strong!!
We have learned so much over the past few weeks, and I am so proud of both of my girls!!
This just reminded me of times in our lives when we want to give up. It is so easy to throw in the towel, or at least want to! We all make commitments in our lives, and hopefully the ones that God has called us to we will stick to. Just because God called you to do something does not mean that it will always be peachy. There is an enemy out there that wants to steal, kill, and destory the plans that God has for us. My pastor, Pastor Bryan King, says something often and I think it applies to us in these situations. "Do not respond out of your pain or emotions, but respond out of your purpose." For me it is usually my emotions that distract me and take my eyes off of the Lord. We must continuously remind ourselves that God is in control, and he is with us every step of the way. It may not always be easy, but as long as He is directing our steps then we know it will all work out. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am doing what God wants me to do, and I will fix my eyes upon Him. Those days that I feel weary or frustrated I will look to Him. Know your enemy...he does want to rob us of those plans, and sometimes you just need to tell him a thing or two about your God!!! My God is mighty, and He is bigger than any problem or obstacle. He is my strength, and He is the only reason why I make it through some days.
But, out of my purpose I will respond and stay strong!!
We have learned so much over the past few weeks, and I am so proud of both of my girls!!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Realizations and Highlights
There are a few things that I am starting to realize! Can I just be honest and say that my whole morning has never completely revolved around my girls. No, I am not that perfect little momma that sits and plays games and has tea parties all morning ;-) If I could figure out a way to do that and still balance all my other chores then maybe, but I have not figured that out yet! BUT now that I am homeschooling my whole morning revolves around my girls because obviously we have to have school, right?! Well, with that comes some "out of balance!" The house is awful!! I used to have like one major cleaning day every week where I pretty much cleaned top to bottom while the girls entertained themselves (a great perk of having them so close together)! I just had to intervene if there was a fuss. This might just be a season of my life where you need to call first before stopping by ;-) We are just busy. Afternoons are always full of cooking and extra curricular activities. Kinley is doing JBQ, soccer, & gymnastics and Karsyn is doing gymnastics too. It doesn't matter if you work or stay home, there is still not enough hours in the day.
Here is a short list of some other realizations:
1) We have a lot of balls in the air right now! With my hubby recently becoming a residential contractor plus his job at the post office...WOW! Of course, I will have to run the company, right?! Just kidding, but I do plan on trying to help him with all the paperwork and organization. By the way, our company name is Soul Properties, LLC. I love our name!
2) The local library is phenomenal! I have been there a lot in the last 3 weeks, and will continue to spend a lot of time there. Kinley and Karsyn were so excited to get their very own library card.
3) Kinley does not like it when her sister answers a question first or gets her work done quicker. We are so competitive around here, even in our school work! They are both so smart, and Karsyn is doing wonderful with most all of the Kindergarten school work. Kinley is going to be my little perfectionist, and does not like it at all when she messes up!
Our week in review....
This week we read the book Lentil, and the book is full of all kinds of lessons. Lentil lives in OH so we have put together US puzzles and talked about flag etiquette. He plays the harmonica so we have talked about our gifts and talents that the Lord has given us. We plan on having a small talent show tomorrow night so the girls can show off their talents. We also discovered our 5 senses by reading books and doing some taste testing. We even dabbled in fractions and money this week too (nothing major people, we are in Kindergarten you know)! It was a fun week.
Kinley declared next week as BUG WEEK! So I have been planning next week all around bugs. It will be fun. There are just so many things that I want to teach, but I have to remember they will be in school for 12 years. I think I have plenty of time. Kinley even asked me today if I could teach college too. Don't think so!
As always God is my strength and I alone do not have the strength, patience, or what it takes. I am just thankful that He helps me through each day. He is faithful. He does not call you to do something, and then not give you the tools and ability to do it! I love the new Steven Curtis Chapman song. It does not matter what you are doing whether you are CEO of the hugest company or a stay at home mom that picks up toys 20 times a day....do it for God's glory and you will be greatly rewarded!
Love you guys!
Here is a short list of some other realizations:
1) We have a lot of balls in the air right now! With my hubby recently becoming a residential contractor plus his job at the post office...WOW! Of course, I will have to run the company, right?! Just kidding, but I do plan on trying to help him with all the paperwork and organization. By the way, our company name is Soul Properties, LLC. I love our name!
2) The local library is phenomenal! I have been there a lot in the last 3 weeks, and will continue to spend a lot of time there. Kinley and Karsyn were so excited to get their very own library card.
3) Kinley does not like it when her sister answers a question first or gets her work done quicker. We are so competitive around here, even in our school work! They are both so smart, and Karsyn is doing wonderful with most all of the Kindergarten school work. Kinley is going to be my little perfectionist, and does not like it at all when she messes up!
Our week in review....
This week we read the book Lentil, and the book is full of all kinds of lessons. Lentil lives in OH so we have put together US puzzles and talked about flag etiquette. He plays the harmonica so we have talked about our gifts and talents that the Lord has given us. We plan on having a small talent show tomorrow night so the girls can show off their talents. We also discovered our 5 senses by reading books and doing some taste testing. We even dabbled in fractions and money this week too (nothing major people, we are in Kindergarten you know)! It was a fun week.
Kinley declared next week as BUG WEEK! So I have been planning next week all around bugs. It will be fun. There are just so many things that I want to teach, but I have to remember they will be in school for 12 years. I think I have plenty of time. Kinley even asked me today if I could teach college too. Don't think so!
As always God is my strength and I alone do not have the strength, patience, or what it takes. I am just thankful that He helps me through each day. He is faithful. He does not call you to do something, and then not give you the tools and ability to do it! I love the new Steven Curtis Chapman song. It does not matter what you are doing whether you are CEO of the hugest company or a stay at home mom that picks up toys 20 times a day....do it for God's glory and you will be greatly rewarded!
Love you guys!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Focus Focus Focus!!!
Well, I can now say that I have two weeks of homeschooling under my belt!! The girls are really doing good, but I had my doubts that first week. We lacked just a bit of focus, but that is to be expected. We have never really had a "set" learning time so we are still in the adjustment phase. I don't know what day it was, but one day Karsyn said to me, "when are you going to quit talking because I am ready for you to be done!" Kinley has already thrown the phrase out, "I should have went to real school!" Those may discourage some, but I can promise they have had more fun times than bad! It is just hard for them to understand we have to stay put and LISTEN for a little while!
It is really nice to not have the morning rush! We can get up and enjoy our time together before Shane heads off to work, and the girls can take their time getting ready in the morning. They have even been able to sneak in a short cartoon before we start our school time.
So, what did we do the last few weeks!?? Everyday we do our math, handwriting, and phonics. We are also doing a curriculum called Five in a Row, and we literally read the same book five days in a row and pull out different subjects each day. This is where the real fun comes in!! Last week we read Madeline. We had a friend that was in the hospital so we visited him, and that went right along with the book plus we were able to minister to someone. We painted the Eiffel Tower, talked about rivers, and learned about compassion. It was a great week! This week our book was The Story of Ping, and we had a lot of fun with this one! I highly recommend this book if you have small children. Ping is a duck so one day we went and watched the duck march at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock. The girls thought that was really neat! We have talked about China and the Yangtze River, cooked a Chinese meal, made Chinese lanterns, experimented with mixing different colored pencils for art, and topped it off with a picnic to the park where we fed the ducks and some cute little baby beavers! Oh, and I can't forget our little float and sink science experiment we did today when we talked about Buoyancy! The kids loved it.
It is so amazing to me how much learning and exploring we can do! Sometimes their questions open up a whole new topic, and I LOVE IT!! We are cherishing every moment we have together! There of course is always time for play! We have more fun things planned so stay tuned ;-)
It is really nice to not have the morning rush! We can get up and enjoy our time together before Shane heads off to work, and the girls can take their time getting ready in the morning. They have even been able to sneak in a short cartoon before we start our school time.
So, what did we do the last few weeks!?? Everyday we do our math, handwriting, and phonics. We are also doing a curriculum called Five in a Row, and we literally read the same book five days in a row and pull out different subjects each day. This is where the real fun comes in!! Last week we read Madeline. We had a friend that was in the hospital so we visited him, and that went right along with the book plus we were able to minister to someone. We painted the Eiffel Tower, talked about rivers, and learned about compassion. It was a great week! This week our book was The Story of Ping, and we had a lot of fun with this one! I highly recommend this book if you have small children. Ping is a duck so one day we went and watched the duck march at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock. The girls thought that was really neat! We have talked about China and the Yangtze River, cooked a Chinese meal, made Chinese lanterns, experimented with mixing different colored pencils for art, and topped it off with a picnic to the park where we fed the ducks and some cute little baby beavers! Oh, and I can't forget our little float and sink science experiment we did today when we talked about Buoyancy! The kids loved it.
It is so amazing to me how much learning and exploring we can do! Sometimes their questions open up a whole new topic, and I LOVE IT!! We are cherishing every moment we have together! There of course is always time for play! We have more fun things planned so stay tuned ;-)
Friday, August 12, 2011
School Time!
For the last several years I have really dreaded my oldest daughter, Kinley, turning five. I knew the day she turned five I would be sending her off to school. I knew I would definitely be needing that box of tissues for the first day of school.
A few months ago God put homeschooling on our family's heart and we have been headed that direction every day since. Planning, rearranging, and gearing up for our first school year. God laid it on our hearts so we are being obedient. Not everyone agrees, but there is a peace in my heart that surpasses understanding. Needless to say I am not dealing with the same feelings that many other parents are feeling this weekend. For most, they will send their baby off to their first day of school. I still remember my first day of school thanks to my parents and pictures. I had my hair in pigtails, a gingham red and white shirt, and I was sporting the most famous Popples backpack! Of course, I can't forget that big smile on my face! I started thinking about all of this and I felt a bit of sadness in my heart. There is a lot of excitement that goes into the preparation for that first day of school, and a part of me feels like Kinley might be missing out a bit! Laying out the school clothes, packing our first day's lunch, and meeting the teacher are all things for a little Kindergartner to get excited about. Instead we might still be in or pajamas at 10:00am. That is not so bad is it!?
I am excited about our school year. I am just feeling a rush of different emotions and I am sure that is normal. There is a peace when you know you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. The school room is all set up with their little desks, the curriculum I have picked out, and all the other materials and decorations. Tonight we will go to a kick off party for a local homeschool group to meet some new people and start this journey.
God is faithful and I know he has a great year in store. I see us learning about him everyday and putting ministry into practice by helping our neighbors, family and friends. My hope is that my girls, Kinley and Karsyn, will see God in a whole new way and learn how to serve others. I am sure they will get their daily dose of Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic too!
A few months ago God put homeschooling on our family's heart and we have been headed that direction every day since. Planning, rearranging, and gearing up for our first school year. God laid it on our hearts so we are being obedient. Not everyone agrees, but there is a peace in my heart that surpasses understanding. Needless to say I am not dealing with the same feelings that many other parents are feeling this weekend. For most, they will send their baby off to their first day of school. I still remember my first day of school thanks to my parents and pictures. I had my hair in pigtails, a gingham red and white shirt, and I was sporting the most famous Popples backpack! Of course, I can't forget that big smile on my face! I started thinking about all of this and I felt a bit of sadness in my heart. There is a lot of excitement that goes into the preparation for that first day of school, and a part of me feels like Kinley might be missing out a bit! Laying out the school clothes, packing our first day's lunch, and meeting the teacher are all things for a little Kindergartner to get excited about. Instead we might still be in or pajamas at 10:00am. That is not so bad is it!?
I am excited about our school year. I am just feeling a rush of different emotions and I am sure that is normal. There is a peace when you know you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. The school room is all set up with their little desks, the curriculum I have picked out, and all the other materials and decorations. Tonight we will go to a kick off party for a local homeschool group to meet some new people and start this journey.
God is faithful and I know he has a great year in store. I see us learning about him everyday and putting ministry into practice by helping our neighbors, family and friends. My hope is that my girls, Kinley and Karsyn, will see God in a whole new way and learn how to serve others. I am sure they will get their daily dose of Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic too!
The Journey
This is my first experience with blogging so you will have to forgive me if I don't have everything exactly right!
Why blog? It seems like a great way for me to keep those important people in life updated. You know, the grandparents, close friends, and anyone else who takes interest! If you know us well then you know that we are embarking on several new journeys all at the same time. Life is a journey that is for sure, and I want to make mine count. Hopefully along the way we can inspire and encourage others.
I hope you enjoy the posts!
Why blog? It seems like a great way for me to keep those important people in life updated. You know, the grandparents, close friends, and anyone else who takes interest! If you know us well then you know that we are embarking on several new journeys all at the same time. Life is a journey that is for sure, and I want to make mine count. Hopefully along the way we can inspire and encourage others.
I hope you enjoy the posts!
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