Finding the Perfect Christmas Tree

We live in an amazing area.  If you live in the western United States, there is a good chance that your Christmas tree was grown within 20 miles of us. Getting a live Christmas tree means driving a few minutes to one of many Christmas tree farms, choosing the perfect tree, and cutting it down. However, this is our fifth Christmas in Vancouver, and the previous four years we have used our pre-lit artificial tree instead of cutting down a real tree.  Why?  Well, it's easier, of course.  Reliable, beautiful, requiring no additional expenditure or effort to procure it.  However, Dan has grumbled (more each year) about the way the aging artificial tree has to be wired together to look right, and the last few years we have had to manually light sections where the pre-lit strands have failed.

More reasons we have not cut down our own tree: December can be cold, and who wants to be outside in the cold rain (snow is rare - rain is typical).  And, then there is our one previous experience with a live tree.

The year was 2003.  We were living in Sandy, Utah.  I had my heart set on trying out a real tree, so we looked through the Christmas tree lots around town and picked one from Home Depot. Ironically, the tree was "grown in Oregon," which means that it was likely grown in the Portland/Vancouver area!  The tree was pretty, and it was fun to decorate, but within a few weeks it started to droop, despite our careful watering. By a few days before Christmas all the branches drooped, resulting in a tree looking like this for Christmas morning.

Needless to say, the experience was disappointing, and I decided that an artificial tree was just fine for the Porters.  Until this year.

It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Brandon was still in town for the holiday. The weather was mid 40s and not raining at the moment. We drove a few back roads (5 minutes) to a Christmas tree farm and set off with the saw and wagon the farm provided. We weren't terribly discriminating in choosing the tree, because they all looked good to us. Dan measured to make sure we didn't get a tree too tall for the living room.


This is what we know now . . . smart tree buyers are aware that the circumference of tree trunks can vary greatly, and cutting a thick trunk is literally a pain in the back. We, being novices, chose a beautiful tree with a really big trunk. Dan and Brandon took turns sawing away at it. This is Dan's description of how to cut a Christmas tree: "kneel down in the mud, stick your bum high in the air and lay your cheek on the ground while you reach as far as you can through thick greenery, and then saw back and forth . . . for a long, long time." It was a pretty arduous task, and while we were still cutting the tree the heavens opened and poured more rain on us. By this point Joseph was filled with anxiety about the mud all around him and all over his shoes and clothes.  The girls were whining, "this isn't worth it.  I'm cold."  Don't let the smiles in these pictures fool you. There was plenty of complainin' going on!

Goofing off while the guys labored diligently to cut the tree.

Joseph and Aubrey yelling "Timber" as the tree finally fell to the ground.

Finally, task completed.  The tree was cut, carried to the barn, put in a "tree shaker" to get dead stuff off it, and we paid ($35 for an over 7 foot tree!)  We waited out the worst of the rainstorm in the barn, drinking hot cocoa, and then pulled the tree to our car, where the guys hefted it to the top and secured it. In the meantime, I was pulling muddy shoes off people and throwing the shoes in the trunk before they climbed into the car.  So. Much. Mud. Finally, I put one of my muddy shoes in the back, hopped on the other foot to the front (my thought was that it would minimize the amount of mud in the front of the car, but mostly I just looked funny), and we drove slowly home.  We had to let the tree dry out in the garage for a few hours, and then had to cut off a lot of beautiful branches from the bottom of the tree so we could fit our enormously large trunk into the tree stand.
Whew.  Was it worth it?  I say yes.  I think it has the makings of a new family tradition, whining and discomfort and all.  Because, really, what valued family tradition DOESN'T involve significant whining and challenges?  I liked that we were all together to get the tree.  I like that it was a little challenging and wet and muddy, but we did it anyway. I like that we were taking advantage of our close proximity to cool tree farms. I like that we all wore Santa hats throughout the experience and ate candy canes in the car while blasting Christmas music. I love the way the tree smells and looks. It was a great way to kick off what I hope will be a fantastic Christmas season.

Lessons Learned

I just got back from a Time Out for Women, sponsored by Deseret Book, a fun chance to get together with other women in the Portland area and hear some great speakers. I had a great time and really loved most of the presentations.  It's always good to get perspective on one's own challenges.

I drove a group of women to the Conference Center in Portland Friday night and then again on Saturday.  On Friday night we had a most interesting experience, from which I have learned a few lessons.

Lesson Learned #1 -  When you get an uneasy feeling, which could perhaps be a prompting, follow it. Don't question it.

This is what happened: Our group arrived at the Conference Center in my van and tried to decide where to park. We ruled out a few options because they seemed too dangerous to access at the end of the evening (ha ha ha - ironic twist coming soon).  We chose a parking lot near the center which was mostly deserted at the time. As we were paying at the automated kiosk, some sorta scary looking young men were also lingering around the kiosk. We talked about the price of parking, and they said something about a "rave" which would be held in a nearby building and said that the parking lot would be filling up with people coming for the rave party. Ding, ding, ding, ding . . . does that send off warning bells in your head?  Well, it certainly triggered some uneasy feelings in me. I felt like we should go park somewhere else, but didn't do anything about it.  After all, we had already paid our $8, the parking lot was empty right now and so convenient to the Conference Center.  So, we left the car and headed into the Conference.

Fast forward to 9:30 p.m. when we left Time Out, which had been peaceful and uplifting. The closer we got to our car, the more the environment became the opposite - really loud, raucous music, flashing lights from inside the building, groups of kids everywhere (wearing very little clothing but lots of piercings and tattoos), and the smell of marijuana permeating the air. When we reached my van we found five or six young men leaning on it. We asked them to move and then jumped into the van.  Whew - on our way.  Right?  Wrong. People had parked in such a haphazard manner that we could not back out - there was literally no room to swing the car backward to get out of the parking lot. I tried twice, with one of the women with me directing me from behind.  Couldn't do it. Pretty soon we had the attention of many of the kids hanging around.

Here's Lesson Learned #2 - sometimes people who look pretty scary can actually be very helpful. There were three or four guys and one girl (who literally had a flashing belly button, which her outfit readily revealed) who guided us from all around the car for half an hour as we tried and tried again to maneuver the van out. The conversation went something like this:  "Back up one more inch. Now stop. Now crank all the way to the right and go forward two inches. Now crank all the way to the left and back about four inches."We made progress, but it was an impossible task. Finally, one of the guys grabbed a friend (whose car was behind us) and told him to back his car up. However, this was tricky, because apparently this kid was SO sure his car would be stolen in this very dangerous parking lot, he had removed some of the key mechanical parts of the car and stored them in another friend's car so no one could drive it away. Yes, this is the lot where I left my vehicle. Finally, he put his car into neutral and pushed it back a few inches, just enough for us to barely squeak around.  We thanked the very nice, albeit scary looking young people and were on our way.

I was really calm through all of this - I don't fall apart easily during a crisis - but afterward I was quite shaken. When I got home I had a headache bigger than Texas, and then I couldn't sleep for many hours. Then up again the next day at 6 to drive the group back to Portland.  It's kind of ironic that we parked in the same parking lot (the rave was over, but the parking lot was full of litter and trash.)  It really was in a good location, and during the day much more likely to be a good choice. But, we had learned one more lesson.

Lesson Learned #3 - Always park in such a way that we won't have to BACK UP to leave.  We did this, and pulled right out with ease at the end of the day. 

 It was really a wonderful weekend, and I needed the time to think and journal while I listened to speakers.  I feel inspired and ready to be a better person.

Walking in Sunshine

I have a love/hate relationship with my treadmill.  Mostly hate. I am a walker and I can walk forever outside (and fast, too, with my Springer legs), but after a few minutes on the treadmill I find myself bored, sweating, and counting the seconds until I stop.

So it's especially wonderful that there have been many nice autumn days the last few months so I can walk outside instead. I am enjoying this respite before the rain sets in. I told myself that every day it's not raining I will go for a walk around the neighborhood before picking up Joseph at the school bus stop. So far I have followed this plan (except for the one day when I totally forgot to pick up Joseph . . . but that's a story of negligence for another day).

It feeds my soul to walk through the crisp fall air for a few minutes. I breathe deeply and have conversations with myself, sometimes out loud (sorry neighbors). I think about my struggles and things I am grateful for, and sometimes I cry. Sometimes I pray and sometimes I zone out to music and think about nothing.

Today is an especially fabulous fall day. The sky is bright blue, which contrasts nicely with the orange, red, and yellow leaves. The high temperature is breaking records. It is one day of stolen summer on the precipice of winter. After Joseph and I walked home we played soccer on the front lawn. We crunched through leaves, dribbling the ball while he bossed me around ("I'm the coach. So do what I say.  Run fast.  No, faster. Be more 'gressive.") When we stopped playing, I sat on the front steps and closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of the sunshine on my face. Wow, it feels amazing.

I love sunshine. All that Vitamin D is so therapeutic. And I love this day.

Happy Halloween!

We attended Stake Conference on Halloween. After church we made rolls, cauliflower soup, and apple crisp. It was a rare treat to have NO MEETINGS in the afternoon for me or for Dan, so we enjoyed hanging out together. In the afternoon we carved pumpkins.

 This pumpkin  was carved by  Bailey, who was not in the mood for picture taking.  After dinner we abandoned our home (and our neighborhood which is really crowded on Halloween) and spent the evening playing games with the Fultons.

                                         Feeling some gooey rat eyeballs at the Fultons.

Drinking Orange Julius in Halloween goblets.

Trunk or Treating

The Friday before Halloween we attended a trunk or treat at the church. Our kids knew it was their chance to haul in some candy, as they had decided to not trick or treat this year on Sunday. This pathetic mom never gave a thought to costumes for the kids, as it wasn't a "typical" Halloween. Just before we left, Aubrey put together a baton twirler costume. Recently she found my old baton, and she has been learning to twirl it like a pro! Aubrey's friend Emily joined us.

Luckily, Joseph has an entire wardrobe of Superhero costumes to draw upon, and he chose Ironman for this particular occasion.  He had to show me how superheroes shoe their superpowers.  Oh, what will we do when Joseph outgrows this superhero stage?  Life won't be nearly as fun!

This is Bailey's "mean football player" look.  Menacing, eh?  Bailey is the only one of our kids who was able to wear a costume to school.  Her school did a "Run for the Arts" fundraiser, and the kids were able to wear a costume as they ran around the school track.

 Bailey helped Joseph trick or treat around the parking lot. The kids got a decent amount of candy, but then Dan (who was handing out candy by his car) ran out of candy (and we had brought a LOT of candy), so he talked Aubrey and Bailey into letting him give away their candy!  After the trunk or treat we helped with a Halloween party for 25 or so screaming, sugar-hyped kids.

Porter's Annual Disgusting Dinner Delight

On Tuesday the 26th of October we celebrated all things Halloweeny by serving our annual Disgusting Dinner Delight.  Four of the kid's friends (the Tobiassons) joined us for the meal.  The menu for this year is as follows:

Porter’s Annual
Disgusting Dinner Delight

2010

 Please select three #1s, three #2s, three #3s, three #4s. 

Proceed at your own risk . . . .

_____Alien eyeballs                         _____ Blood

_____Scab picker                            _____ Wolfman’s Special

_____ Bloody cat hearts                  _____ Zombie Intestines

_____Dastardly Torture Spikes        _____ Goblin Droppings

_____Shivering Slimy Ghosts            _____ Empty tomb with Witch’s Brew

_____Arachnid nightmare                 _____ Vampire Vomit

_____Leftover toejam                      _____Slimey bat brains 

_____Crunchy toenails                      

It's always an adventure to choose food from the Disgusting Dinner menu.  For instance, if you chose a Scab picker, Goblin Droppings, and Empty Tomb with Witch's Brew, you would receive a spoon, a roll, and a spooky-looking drink in a Halloween cup. After each person receives his or her items for each course, there is a flurry of activity as the kids try to match up the ghoulish names with the actual food.  They soon discovered that Wolfman's Special was awesome (pepperoni pizza), as was the Arachnid Nightmare (the super cool spider cookies I made with chocolate dipped pretzels for legs and no-bake cookie as the body base).

Also pictured below:  Shivering Slimy Ghosts, Alien Eyeballs, and Vampire Vomit.

 We set the stage for the dinner with decorations, spooky music, and candles flickering. We set up a barrier on the counter so the kids couldn't see what food was being prepared.

I didn't get a lot of great pictures this year because Dan was gone at a work dinner meeting, so I was the cook, hostess, server, and photographer until he arrived home to help with cleanup.

It was a really fun night.  I love these kinds of fun experiences . . . hanging out with the kids and their friends, laughing together, talking, making memories. It's worth every bit of effort and preparation.

Wise Words

I was listening to a BYU Devotional by Dallin H. Oaks today.  He was talking about the difference between sins and mistakes. He made the point that sometimes we overreact to mistakes in others or ourselves, which sometimes causes more serious problems. It was an interesting talk and he made some great points regarding parenting and life in general.  The following quote also really stuck with me today:

"We must make every effort to avoid sin and to repent when we fall short. We should seek to avoid mistakes since some mistakes have very painful consequences. But, we do not seek to avoid mistakes at all costs.  Mistakes are inevitable in the process of growth in mortality. To avoid all possibility of error is to avoid all possibility of growth."

Conference - October 2010

I love Conference weekend.  I mean, I really, really love it.  Let me count the ways . . .

1.  I love canceling everything (well, besides Joseph's soccer game on Saturday) and being together as a family. We haul down big blankets, pillows, and the huge beanbag and set up "nests" in the family room. Each person claims a spot and then sets out Conference activities and Conference Bingo (with M&Ms, of course). It feels so cozy to hang out together - I really love it. We are finally to the point where even our youngest child gets into Conference. When he heard it was Conference weekend he said, "All right, I LOVE Conference!"  Dan was super impressed until I pointed out that he really loves Conference because it means he can eat unlimited M&Ms and other junk food and play games with his sibs for hours each day, not because he particularly loves listening to eight hours of church. But, at this point, we will take what we can get, and we think it is okay that the positive associations come from non-religious things. The other aspects of Conference will come later for him.
Between sessions the kids came up with a "train" game where they took turns pulling each other on a blanket around the house on the wood floors.  It was quite the hit.  They even had to make a tally chart to keep track of train trips.















2. Good food.  We do it up big every year, and it is a feast for the whole family. Breakfast was Aunt Lindsey's recipe for french toast with incredible buttermilk syrup. Yum!

Saturday night, while Dan was at Priesthood session and dinner with friends, I made up several dips for us to snack on. One was a delicious favorite, "Cowboy Caviar."  Oh, so good. Bailey had found new recipes for us to try for several of the meals. We tried a recipe she had found for a Fire-Roasted Tomatillo Salsa. Every since we lived in AZ, we have been obsessed with finding a salsa as good as Tia Rosa's green tomatillo salsa. We have tried would-be contenders in restaurants and from grocery stores, but nothing ever came close.  Well, we finally have have a contender, folks. The salsa was somewhat labor intensive to make (roasting tomatillos and jalapenos, lots of fresh garlic, cilantro, etc.), but worth every second of work.  Wow. 

Cowboy Caviar

Fire-roasted tomatillo salsa

The next morning Bailey and I made homemade cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting before Conference started. 

By this point we had lots of leftovers from the last few days, but for Sunday night dinner we made another new recipe for a Mexican chicken dish with poblano peppers and rice.  Thumbs up.

3.  I don't remember for sure at what point in my life Conference became a true source of spiritual food for me, but this aspect increases every year. I literally hunger and thirst after the words of the prophets and I look forward to the chance to hear the messages. There is always something I need to hear, I always feel enlightened and comforted, and my testimony that this is the true gospel and that God speaks to us through the prophet and his apostles is strengthened.

As each apostle speaks, we find his picture (posted on the fireplace) and then write a few words so we can remember the topic of his talk.  At then end of Conference we try to find themes in the messages.

Spotlight on Bailey

This month's Felida Ward Newsletter includes of spotlight of our very own Bailey Porter.  The following is the information we submitted (including the picture).

Bailey Nicole was born in Arizona on a blistering hot summer day (115 degrees).  She moved to Utah when she was a toddler and then to Washington when she was starting 4th grade.  She is the second child and the oldest daughter in the Porter home. She has always been close to her siblings, younger and older.  She brings enthusiasm, energy, and happiness to her home.

In the last six months Bailey passed her Mom in height - she grew six inches in six months!  The last few months she has been working hard to collect delicious recipes for a cookbook she is compiling for a Personal Progress project. She is also very interested in photography, and is currently learning to take pictures with a film SLR camera and then develop the film.  She plays piano, is a good swimmer, and is a voracious reader.  She and her Mom like to share good books with each other.  Bailey has always had an incredible memory for details - even as a young child she would remember the names of anyone she met (something her parents still struggle to do!)

Bailey is in 8th grade at VSAA, where she is doing great in school.  Next year she plans to attend Skyview, and she hopes to go to BYU or BYU-I for college.  At the moment her career interest is in helping special needs children.  She would do great at this - she has a special gift for patience and kindness and loves to work with children. 

We are so glad that Bailey is part of our family!

Joseph ate bacon!

Okay, I know this doesn't qualify as something to celebrate in most homes, but we are always elated when our youngest tries a new food. Since he was a baby, Joseph has had what we call "food issues." As in, he is opposed to most food.

This is likely because of problems with his sensory integration system. He is hyper-sensitive to the smells, tastes, and textures of food. If we let him, he would live forever on the few "safe" foods he has found. We do all sorts of things to encourage him to be more adventurous with food . . . and we are not above some targeted bribery. We have recognized that, at least a quarter of the time, he likes a food once he tries it.  So, we give him an incentive to try something new, usually a small toy.

The other day Dan brought home some  superhero figurines which made Joseph's eyes shine in anticipation.  First, he tried (for the second time ever) bread.  Yes, Joseph hates bread.  (He does, however, eat the crust on pepperoni pizza, which we have repeatedly explained is actually bread, but who can reason with a five-year-old?) He forced himself to eat a freshly made dinner roll.  He gagged, grimaced, cried, and finally succeeded.  Did he like it?  Not really.  But at least he tried.

The next morning, sitting at the breakfast table, he looked at the plate of bacon and said the beautiful words,"I want to try bacon." We all held our breath as he tried a bite.  And then another bite, and then two whole pieces.  He liked it!  He says, "bacon is delicious." He wanted bacon every meal for the next two days, and I was fine with it.  Because a little artery-clogging bacon is not going to hurt a kid who subsists mainly on grapes, bananas, apples. strawberries, yogurt, sunflower seeds, and an occasional piece of pizza or chicken nugget!