"Nuts"

Joseph was one of the acorn (choir) in his school's play "NUTS." He wanted a bigger part, unfortunately when the roles were being assigned he was out of town. At first he was offered a smaller roll of a speaking nut but he turned it down saying that he wasn't going to be around when the play was performed (discussions in our home of Daddy's separation from the Air Force had left questions of a pending move). He was refusing to even just practice as one of the choir members sticking to his story of not being around. Somehow his teacher persuaded him to get involved (she is a great teacher, for Joe, I tell you!). He then couldn't wait for today to come.

The story line is of the circle of life. Acorns fall from the tree, some get picked up by animals for food, some actually make it (with the help of rain and sun) to grow. The play was performed three times and the principal said it was great every time. It was actually the First Graders performance, Joe's 2nd grade class was the only other class involved. They threw in some cute humor with some big "bad" squirrels who would fill their mouths with acorns, they were rapper squirrels with bling. One of Joseph's class-mate (church friend too) was one of these, well received by the audience, squirrels.
The catchy theme song had Katilynn and Brianna dancing along with the kids on the stage, doing the hand motions as well. The costumes were great and the stage decorations were very well done. Good job to all involved, it was a pleasure to watch! And to show our support, we will purchase the CD (at Joe's insistence).

Good job, Joe, for changing your attitude and getting involved after all.

Honor Roll!

Little Joe could be a straight "A" student someday!

When he puts his mind to something he can succeed. I am excited for him, he's been on the Honor Roll since first grade. They will be recognizing him at the "All-Star Honor Assembly." I know many mom's who have smart kids probably think I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill, but I've also worked HARD the past couple of years to try and get/keep him on track.

It will be fun to watch him get his certificate of achievement on Tuesday. His dad will get to be there this time, which is always a treat for Joe.

I'm proud of my little scholar in the making.

3 out of 4, Dentist agrees he likes Porter children

Ok, so I'm not sure if this is really such a great thing to post about since it will reflect poorly on my parenting skilz.

We went to the dentist last week to find out that three out of our four children needed some work ranging from very mild to semi-extreme.
Today we did the work on all three*...
and are now anxiously awaiting our Income tax returns!
Although we still have coverage through the military there are some overpriced expenses (sedatives) which are not covered that had to be paid for TODAY.

We learned a few years ago that it is easier on everyone involved if our child(ren) is/are medicated for dental work. This is also my opinion, Greg would differ on the "everyone" part. He had a very tough time watching sedation effects on his then three year old son. This time he was dreading having Elizabeth (his precious baby, almost 18 months) go under. He didn't sleep well, not that he does anyway. He has now announced that it was better to go in prepared for the worst because then it wasn't so bad.

We were told that the children would probably sleep the rest of the day away.
I got gypped, I want my money back!! OK, how about half?

*Kaitlynn is our "NO cavities" winner this round. Yea!! Kaitlynn!!! I think she was glad too.

Imagination

So, what could be better for the imagination than a book about some kids who go to visit their grandparents over Summer Vacation and experience the mystical land of Fablehaven their grandfather is overseeing? We have been thoroughly enjoying this book on disc which I thought might be difficult for the girls to sit still during, but which has proven me wrong. I have been extremely impressed with how Joe has shown such interest in something other than a game or a movie. One night while we were waiting in an extremely long line of cars to watch a movie at the Drive In he asked if we could listen to the story while we waited. How could I refuse?

I have to admit I am also impressed with myself. I opt to watch a movie instead of read a book because it is quicker and I don't get as side tracked. I could easily blame it on my lack of down time, what with four little children to chase around all the time and all. But, I think it is because it is all laid out for me and I don't have to use my imagination. I want more for my children.

I am now a big proponent of books on tape/cd because it opens new realms for me. Where it is hard to do anything else when you read a book, I can put on the book and do the laundry, fix a meal, or drive the car etc. I recently finished Stephanie Meyer's Twilight trilogy, now I'm looking forward to the movie to see if it follows the book. Very different than what I would normally do, wait for the movie! Who cares if it follows the book, and how would I have even known the difference??

I have fond memories of my mother reading us books like The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis before bed while I was a teenager. I hope I can instill in my children a love for literature, but I know I must do my part to make that happen. This is just a start.

Sir Joseph

Joseph is my little warrior, he loves the idea of fighting, I know it is a guy thing. He wants to fight for RIGHT and defend people from the foe. He was very upset when we had the "Bad Lady" incident at the Library because he felt he should have been there to PROTECT his sisters from bad people.
His instructions after finding out was "Next time, Mom, you need to come and get me from school so I can make sure nothing bad happens, OK?"


As always with Joe, he is obsessive! He wants to take his swords with him everywhere. He wants to take them to the park, to the grocery store, to school, on our trip to Oregon to see family over Spring Break. I have even found them in his bed under the covers before he goes to sleep.

His drawings depict men with swords too. His latest assignment at school was to draw a picture of something he sees himself doing in the future and then writing a few sentences to describe the picture. Can you guess what it was? Right, a Warrior. He rescued a princess, and I had to talk him into marrying her. After talking him into marrying her and having a bunch of kids his thoughts just flowed. He would teach all his boys how to fight and then drew about ten boys varying in age all with swords. He would become a leader and protect the people from the enemy. He didn't want to stop writing (which was astonishing to me!) normally he would write three sentences and be done with it.

I am looking forward to meeting Sir Joseph in the future, I hope he still feels the desire to defend and protect people (especially his family) from the enemy. Maybe just not with swords...