Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas! It's that time of year to reflect over everything that has happened the previous year and share with family and friends. You can see some of our exciting news on the blog. But it's still fun to recap.

Jefferson is working for Pine Canyon Electric. He has been pretty busy with work, so we are grateful for that. In the ward he has been teaching the CTR 7 class (6 boys and 1 girl). They are pretty fun kids (I taught with him until Lincoln was born). He also fills the font for the stake primary baptisms. Throughout the year he has been the go-to guy for family and friends fixing cars, wiring basements, and other little fixes. It's nice to have such a handyman around the house. Especially because he enjoys all the little projects (well, most of them anyway).

Lindsay is teaching at Davis High. Last school year I taught Computer Technology, Fashion Merchandising, and Travel and Tourism. At the end of the year when I was 5 months pregnant I found out I could go part-time and still keep insurance (although I pay a ton more for it). So this year I am only teaching on B-days and only teaching Computer Technology. It is a great schedule that helped me return to school 8 months pregnant! I found a student teacher to take over for me while on maternity leave and everything has been working out great. I return to school in January with Lincoln at the school's daycare. In the ward I was teaching primary with Jefferson and doing Activity Days with the 8 year old girls. Since Lincoln was born I am only doing Activity Days which is pretty fun. It is definitely and age group I am not used to!

Lincoln is now 2 months old and growing so fast. His 0-3 month clothes are too tight! He is smiling and loves to talk. I am excited to see him continue to grow! He is a favorite with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. I am glad he is so loved!

We are grateful for such a happy year. With our new addition to the family we also added 2 sisters-in-law on my side and Jefferson's side added a new niece with another on the way in January. Plus the 2 new cousins for Lincoln on my side coming in May.

We wish each of you a Merry Christmas and a Healthy & Happy New Year! Please catch us up with what you are doing via email or the comments. We'd love to hear from you!

Love: Jefferson, Lindsay & Lincoln Porter

Lincoln's Blessing

What a great day we had yesterday! Lincoln had a lot of family and some friends come to see his Daddy bless him. We had Grandma and Grandpa Pay and Porter and almost all the aunt and uncle Porters and Pays. Plus Great-grandma Catlin, Great-uncle Ross and family, and Great-aunt Carole Ann (and Alyssa and Breann) came! It was so fun to see everyone. For some of the family it was their first time to see Lincoln. He is getting so big! Jefferson did a great job with the blessing. Lincoln wore the same blessing outfit that my brother Josh was blessed in! We visited with family briefly after sacrament meeting and I made it to Relief Society with Grandma Porter and Lincoln. That afternoon we went to the Porters for dinner. It was for my birthday, which is today! I am 32. Wow!! I got some nice cards and gifts. It was fun to visit with the family.

Today I am taking it easy with Lincoln. He has been a little stuffy and fussy. It's snowing outside so I am happy to be inside where it is warm with my Christmas lights on and Christmas music in the CD player. What a great day. :)

2 Months

Lincoln is now 8 weeks! On Wednesday we went to the doctor for the 2 month check-up and shots. He is now 12 lbs 4 oz and 23 inches long. He isn't fitting into his 0-3 month clothes very well. Crazy! He did have to get some of his shots. There were 3 shots. 2 nurses gave 2 of the shots at the same time and the 3rd shot came shortly after. I had to hold down his arms. He only cried while he was being stuck. Then he was fine. I took pictures of the band-aids on his legs when we got home. He has been such a good boy. He has even started sleeping through the night (10:30 p.m. - 4:30 or 5:30 a.m.). I am keeping my fingers crossed that it continues!!

For those interested we are blessing him this Sunday at 11 a.m. in the church by our house. We are planning on staying for all of our meetings, so no food after... Sorry! We would still love to see you, though :)

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving I am very thankful for my family. I have a wonderful husband and a beautiful son. This time last year I couldn't have imagined how great life would be in a year. We both have families that love and support us. We are surrounded by good neighbors and friends. I truly am grateful this year for all that I have - including jobs for both me and my husband! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Here are some more pictures of my favorite little boy.

Week 5

Week 6
Week 7

Thanksgiving - Porter Grandkids

Lincoln

So a lot has happened in the last two months. Most exciting was the birth of our son, Lincoln. He was born Tues. Oct 7 at 4:25 a.m. I was induced Oct 6 at 8 a.m. and ended up with a c-section. Lincoln did great the whole time, just didn't want to come out! He was 8 lbs 12 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. A good healthy baby. We left the hospital that Friday. Here are some pictures of the cute baby.

Day 1

1 Week2 Weeks
3 Weeks
4 Weeks

I can't believe he is over 4 weeks old! He is growing so fast. Some other milestones for Lincoln are his attendance at the first ever playoff game for Real Salt Lake and Halloween. He also saw his cousin Ella be blessed last Sunday. The last picture is of all the Porter cousins the day of Ella's blessing.

One more cousin coming on the Porter side in January!!

We are excited that on the Pay side Lincoln will have 2 new cousins in May. Natalie is having her 4th and Josh and Liz are having their 1st!! That is a lot of new cousins for Lincoln to play with!

Creating the Baby Registry

Today Jefferson and I headed to Babys R Us to register for baby stuff. I've been pressured by a few people to do it, even though my first shower isn't until Sept. 18. So we went. Oh my gosh. Not a fun experience. Especially for Jefferson. Not that it isn't fun shopping for stuff. There are just too many options!! I have no idea what bottles or pacifiers or diaper pail or bouncer or swing or diaper bag, etc. to buy! We went ahead and and picked some stuff, but after 2 hours we only had 21 things on the list. So if anyone has any recommendations of what we need to "For Sure" register for, please leave ideas in the comments!!

After Babys R Us we headed (to lunch and then) to Target. We get things started, get our scanner and start looking at the baby stuff. And what happens?? The server goes down. So we can't scan anything at the store. Target.com has a thing called Jumpstart My Registry. So that is basically what is on the Target registry :)

I've learned a few things today. First - baby stuff is expensive. Second - I have no idea what I need. Third - I have a very patient husband.

Please leave ideas of what I should try in the comments!! Send your friends here to leave ideas as well. I appreciate all comments and suggestions!!

Ella Jolie

Jefferson's sister, Michelle, had a baby! We've all been expecting it...the big question was - is it a boy or a girl? The answer came Wednesday, August 20 just before 9 p.m. A girl! And what a cute girl she is. Welcome Ella Jolie!


Jefferson and I made it to the hospital Thursday evening to see her and take pictures. We stopped by the house on Saturday and she was looking a little happier. Ella's big brother Grant seems pretty excited. We are all happy that things went so well and that she is here!

Jordan and Johanna Pay

My brother Jordan was married to Johanna Gulla on Aug. 16, 2008. They were married in Orem at a place called Sun Gardens. It was beautiful! The wedding was nice with lots of family and friends. The reception was a lot of fun. They had EXCELLENT food :) We had a great time and they both looked so happy! Right now they are on their honeymoon in Thailand. I'm pretty jealous.

This is Jordan before the ceremony.

First Part of August

It's been about a month since the last post. In that time we've accomplished a few things. First of note - the nursery is painted, thanks to Jefferson. I helped prime half the room, and he did the rest. It looks great. Here is a picture while in the process of painting. We did 3 walls cream and one chocolate brown.

Now to add furniture!!

We got together with my old roommates and friends for a BBQ last week. Alicia was in town with Rowan from Oregon, so we thought it was a great excuse to get together. I was amazed with all the kids there are now. We were the only ones there without one. But we are getting close! KC wanted a picture of all the kids. It involved some crying.

About 8 o'clock some of the parents were getting antsy because it was bedtime. We used to stay up late laughing into the night, but this time the party was over before the sun set. We might need to do an adult night if everyone can get sitters :) It was fun, though.

My brother, Jordan, is getting married on Saturday. (See Johanna's Wedding Shower blog.) To get ready for the big occasion, and because my feet hurt, I suggested pedicures to my sister, Taryn. She was up for it so I headed to Bountiful. We invited Liz, since she has to go to the wedding, too. It was lots of fun. The foot rub was the BEST! I highly recommend them to everyone. Here is a picture of the cute toes. They talked me in the french look, cause that's what they were doing.

School starts Monday for the teachers, so I've been working on a lot of school stuff. I was at the school today for 5 hours. I think there might have been 5 other teachers in the building. Are we dedicated or what??

Johanna's Bridal Shower

Last night was Johanna's bridal shower. She is going to marry Jordan on August 16. We are so excited for them! There were a lot of people invited to the shower that was held at Johanna's aunt's house in Salt Lake. It was a beautiful location with lots of good food and visiting. Here are some of the pictures I took.


Johanna


Taryn, Natalie, Liz (Josh's wife) and Maren (Natalie's oldest)


Grandma Pay, Mom, Me


The Location


Johanna and her sister (and presents!)

The Summer... So Far

I think I am failing in my attempt to be a blogger. So I guess I better post something! This summer has been nice and not too crazy. I am doing my best to stay out of the heat so I don't swell up. My hands tend to swell the worst and when that happens, well, let's just say it's no fun. Jefferson is used to me always having to use the bathroom. At first I think he didn't believe that someone should have to go so much. But now he is resigned to the fact that a bathroom should always be near, as I will probably need it!

The most fun thing I've done this summer centers around the 3rd and 4th of July. On the 3rd my family gets together to celebrate Taryn's birthday (my youngest sister who is now 22! - man I am old). We BBQ and then head up to Eaglewood Golf Course to watch the fireworks. I think they have the very best fireworks show every year. This year we went up a little early and the kids and the "big boys" (Josh, Kevin, & Jefferson) played on the greens throwing the aerobie around. The fireworks started at 10 and were amazing! It was lots of fun.

The next day we headed over to Jefferson's parents house for the annual 4th of July breakfast. This year was quiche, cinnamon rolls, and other yummy things. After breakfast we cleaned up and headed to Main St. for the Kaysville Parade. We already had our spots staked out, so we walked to our spots and got settled. This year Ramona and Gary were in the parade because Ramona was the Kaysville Unsung Hero! She got to ride on the convertible right near the beginning of the parade. Here is a picture of her!

After the parade we headed back to the Porter's house for a rootbeer float social in honor of Ramona. Lot's of neighbors came to congratulate her and there were floats and cookies for everyone! After the social it was nap time at home until we headed back for a BBQ. After the BBQ we went to the local church to sit on the lawn and watch the Kaysville fireworks. They were quite nice and we could even hear the music! We ended the night with Megan and Mitchell lighting fireworks under the close supervision of their dad (Darrin) and Suzanne. Jefferson was encouraging Mitchell, which was a little scary. I had to keep saying to Mitchell, "Don't listen to Jefferson." Luckily no one was harmed during the lighting of the fireworks. In fact, we had fun.

Tomorrow is a bridal shower for my soon-to-be sister-in-law. That should be fun! I'll have to take my camera and get pictures of all the Pay family! Then I will have to remember to blog about it.

Baby Porter

Today we went for the "big" ultrasound. I was excited to see that the baby was healthy and growing and doing great. We also found out that we are having a boy! I am so excited. Below is baby's first picture.
It was quite amazing to see him. When the technician first started, the baby was upside down doing a headstand. She said that was good to see the gender. She could tell right away it was a boy. Then he was kind of shy hiding his face behind his arms. It was so amazing to see his little legs and arms. You can see his fingers in the picture above. She checked his bones, in his brain, the cord, his heart rate and took lots of measurements. She even pointed out the kidneys and bladder. His little heart was just pounding away. She said everything looked great. I was so happy to hear that!! She also said he was quite an active little boy and wished me luck with him :) He did move a lot and made some of the measurements hard to get, but ended up cooperating in the end. I am really grateful that my little boy is growing and doing well! I am excited to see him in October. Now let the shopping begin!!

The First Entry

Well, we are finally on the web! I enjoy reading everyone else's blogs so much I had to get one going myself. And I figure now is a good time since I actually have something to blog about.

Hopefully most of you know that we are expecting! Our first child is due in October this year. We are very excited. So are my students :) Most of my classes started clapping when I told them the news. It was fun. They keep asking me if it is a boy or a girl. I find out the end of this month - the day after the last day I see students. Some of them want me to email them. I think I will just post it on my webpage! I can't wait to find out. Then we can start discussing names and figure out what to do with the baby's room. I am not sure which is going to be harder!