The Porter People: A glimpse into our December

Greeting cards have all been sent . . . the Christmas rush is through

I guess technically the Christmas rush is not through. There is still a little less than a week to Christmas, but I feel like all the rushing part is almost done. I did almost 100 percent online shopping this year, and that was great. Our gift giving was a lot simpler, emphasizing those who really need help. We have enjoyed having our Christmas decorations up since mid-November. We have attended many Christmas concerts, parties, and other assorted activities. (Just a few are remaining - Dan's work party on Friday and Aubrey's vocal recital for her private vocal lessons on Saturday.) Tomorrow Bailey flies home for the holidays! We are so excited to see her! Around the same time, Brandon and Angela will be able to fly to sunny Florida to see her family.

Here's some photographic evidence of a few of our activities:

Annual Blanket making service for the Linus Project at the Bennett's home.

After one of Aubrey's three VSAA Acapella Choir performances

Making homemade advent calendars for FHE:

A very rainy Walk 'n Knock, a yearly tradition in our area. Everyone in the community is invited to donate food to the food bank and groups of youth or Cub Scouts walk through neighborhoods to gather the bags. I drove a car and both Aubrey and Joseph walked and knocked through miserable conditions!

Aubrey and Alayna

Cub Scout Posse - this kids have grown up together and are great friends.

Waiting at a door. The boys carefully rehearsed their speech and did great!

Baby, It's Wet Outside

The weather has been historically rainy. We haven't experienced days of nonstop "firehose" rain since the first year we moved here, and this year we have broken multiple records for the amount of rainfall. We have had 12 inches of rain so far in December, and rain is in the forecast for every one of the next ten days! Our usual rainy average for December is 5.49 inches! There has been lots of flooding, landslides, and damage to homes in the area. The combination of the dreary skies, nonstop rain, and very short days (some days it almost seems the sun hardly rises) make for a slightly depressing weather scenario. Sunshine is the best. We miss it. And we are all wishing that the rain would solidify into some white stuff for Christmas. Once Bailey is home, I want to get snowed in. Then we can do Christmasy things and hang out together. Statistically, our chances are small, but we can dream!

Sick Again

Joseph was sick AGAIN this week. He missed his last basketball practice and a day of school. It has been possibly our sickest season ever. Luckily, he slept all one day and then felt well enough to rejoin his class for his holiday party and the HIGHLIGHT field trip of the year for 5th graders (more about that in a minute). Joseph's immune system surely wasn't helped by doing safety patrol all last week. It was pouring buckets of rain every day and really cold, and the kids aren't allowed to use umbrellas. So he stood outside twice a day getting soaked through! Here he is getting ready to head outside on one of the "warmer" days when it wasn't quite as cold or wet.

That's the pitiful amount of sunshine we have received on our best days. And that's at 3 p.m.!

Money, Money, Money

Yesterday was Joseph's chance to go to Biztown, which is the highlight of the 5th grade. It is run by Junior Achievement and is mini-town set up in a building in Portland. For months the kids learn about the business world and how to participate in or run a business. They decide what jobs they want to apply for at Biztown and dress up for "job" interviews. I was one of the interviewers, and it was amazing to see how well the kids were prepared. They made eye contact, shook my hand before and after the interview, and answered questions confidently.

Joseph was selected to be the CFO of the Discovery Center in Biztown. Yesterday was the big day. I was one of the helpers, in NW Sports. While I kept an eye on the CEO, CFO, and store clerks in my store, I was able to sneak over to check on Joseph now and then. The parent helpers in his store couldn't say enough positive things about Joseph. They said that he showed true leadership and was professional, organized, and a very hard worker. The CFOs have the hardest jobs at Biztown. They start working while everyone else is having a rah-rah town meeting, because they need submit their business loan application to the bank and print the first paycheck for all the employees. Then, throughout the day they are busy paying invoices on the computer system, recording payments and orders, making deposits to the bank, and updating the CEO on the financial stability of the business. It is such a great experience for the kids! They truly run this little mini-world, and learn a lot in the process.

The kids as they were walking in with bright eyes