A truly fresh start! :) What a whirlwind!

So I've done it! I've met the man of my dreams! I met Brad online on April 1, 2011. We talked on the phone for the first time on April 15, 2011 (which is also his birthday). Met in person for the first time on May 13, 2011. Then Janaya & I moved to Tennessee to be with him and his two kids on July 24,2011. What an amazing adventure this has been so far. God has opened so many doors for us. The Porter family has been such a blessing in so many ways. My life is so complete now with them in it. Oh and another big detail, we are planning on getting married on November 12, 2011!! :)

Not only have I moved 500 miles away from my family and friends, I've moved into a state where I have NO ONE except the 5 of us. Truly, they're all I need, but sometimes it would be nice to know I am welcome. As most of you know, some family members of Brad's family haven't been (let's just say) excited about changes that are happening. Brad is happy, his kids are happy, Janaya's happy, I'm happy. So that's all that matters. And the happiness and well being of Brad and his kids SHOULD be all that matters to them too. Sadly, their letting their own selfishness get in the way of building a relationship with new branches of the family.

Lucky for me, I have an amazing and SUPPORTIVE and loving family. They have all been great about everything. I know most of them were shocked that I actually found someone who can put up with me, but also with how fast things have went, they've supported me 100%. Love love love them!

The kids started school on August 5. Leland is in Middle School (6th grade - 11 years old). Janaya is in Intermediate School (5th grade - 10 years old) and Emma is in Elementary School (2nd grade - 7 years old). They all seem to be enjoying school so far.

I've been really busy unpacking, organizing, cleaning, and combining. I haven't had much time to think. But here are a few things of humor that I've ran into so far:

• found a pee bucket in the youngest one's room
• found chicken feathers in Janaya's room
• oh and yeah, chicken feed in Janaya's room (apparently the chicken's wing was hurt and Janaya (my future veterinarian) and Emma needed to nurse it back to health)
• found countless piles of dog hair (the girls decided to bathe the dog without permission) :)
• had a few salamanders scare the bajeepers out of me
• had countless monstrosities of spiders to kill
• found numerous pieces of chewed bubble gum in carpets, cars, and on many other items (no more gum for young one's in the Porter house) :)
• found fermented chocolate milk in the basement
  
• had deer meat leaking in the basement freezer (it smells like something died down there) Ick!!!!

I think that highlights the good ones. Can't wait to see what else I find!

Well, once I find my camera cord, I hope to upload some pictures. Also, I promise to do better about trying to blog. I want my friends and family to know what's going on in our lives.

Love you guys! <3

Summer's almost over???

It's so hard to believe that school will be starting in less than 2 1/2 weeks! My baby is going to be in the 3rd grade!!!! I'm so proud of her and am so amazed as to how much my baby has grown and changed. This summer we've done a few fun things but (like always) had hoped to do much more. Time flies when you're having fun I guess. We went shopping, swimming, watched lots of baseball and softball games, saw some fireworks, visited with family and friends and more. Time has flown by so fast, it's hard to fathom the summer coming to an end.

We went to the zoo last week with a friend and her two kids. We had a great time enjoying all of the sites. It was our first time this summer to go. We've been to the zoo in summer's before but this is the first time we'd been there since the African Safari opened up. I love the zoo!!! It never gets old. :)

We just had the opportunity last Monday to go to a Chicago Cubs game with my lil' bro and his girlfriend. We had a blast! She really enjoyed everything which I wasn't so sure she would. The ride home was not so enjoyable just due to the fact that we didn't get home until 4 a.m.. It was well worth it and hope to do it again sometime. Go Cubs Go!





It's so easy to take our valuable time together with family and friends for granted. But it's coming clearer and clearer everyday that time with them is precious and I would not trade it for anything in the world.

Why am I doing this?

Well, now that it's a new year and I'm hoping to start it off doing bigger and better things... I felt the need to give into "peer pressure" a bit and finally start our blog. Oh the pressure! I'm not promising that I'll have anything interesting to say or that I'll even keep this updated.... but here goes nothing. Hope at least one person enjoys this. :) Have a blessed 2009.... wishing everyone the best! :)