Pre-Op Eve...

This day has seemed so far off for so long, but now it is upon us.  Tomorrow is the day that we go for Caden's pre-op appointment.  But more importantly, it's the day we tell Caden about his upcoming surgery.  We have waited until the last possible moment to share this with Caden on purpose.  He is such a tender little one that we wanted to guard him from it as long as we could.  We will share the news with him in the morning before we go in for his appointment.  Please pray that his nerves would not get the best of him.  Bless his precious self, he is a bit of a worrier, so we pray that will be minimal!
As of right now the plan is to go ahead with open heart surgery to replace his aortic valve on Monday, April 8.  We will know more after our appointment tomorrow, so I will be sure to update. 
As always, your prayers are GREATLY appreciated as we walk this road with our sweet Caden.  We serve a Mighty God, and we rest in the knowledge that Caden is in His care and protection!
Joshua 1:9

We really are still here...

I have to laugh when I look at those babies in the header pic on this page.  That pic is nearly 5 years old, but I just can't bring myself to change those baby faces! (Maybe I'll work up the courage one day soon!)
I wanted to go ahead and get back into blogging because the Porter House has some big things on the horizon, and I thought this would be a great way to keep everyone posted.
First things first, here's a pic that's not 5 years old...ha!

 

 See...we're still around!  That pic was taken after Caden's first grade play right before Christmas.  

Things have certainly been changing around for us.  Frank is no longer a youth minister.  He left youth ministry (we just felt the time was right) in December of 2010.  In January 2011, he left for 3 months to attend Chaplain School (CHBOLC) at Ft. Jackson in South Carolina. 

When he came home, he went to work for the National Guard full time for almost a year and a half in a couple of different capacities.  Then in June of 2012, he was asked to fill in for a church in Carthage.  We went to Pleasant Grove Church on Father's Day of 2012, and we haven't left!  Frank started as their full time pastor in October.  We simply couldn't be happier with where God has placed us.  We absolutely LOVE our church family!

In other news, we are gearing up for Caden's next heart procedure.  He had a valvuloplasty done in the Cath lab when he was 5 months old.  He's been doing fine ever since, but we knew we were just "buying time" until his first valve replacement.  Well, the time is upon us.  We are currently just waiting for the surgeon to schedule the surgery.  I will do my best to keep everything updated here.  :)  We haven't told C about the surgery.  He has such a sweet spirit, I don't want him to worry about what is before him.  Because of this, we are guarding him from this as long as we can.  Thankfully we now have a FABULOUS pediatric heart surgeon who specializes in congenital heart defects at our hospital in Jackson.  Another way God puts even the smallest pieces together:  our pediatric cardiologist (whom we LOVE!)  now practices in Jackson instead of Brookhaven.  It really is the little things that bring peace!

The Fair…

After Community Helper day, we picked up C from school and headed to the Fair.  The boys look forward to it every year.  My parents met us there for an afternoon of fun.  Paul and Anna stopped in for lunch as well.

It is so nice that the boys are both tall enough to ride most of the kiddie rides without an adult…it certainly allows us to stay at the fair longer!!  Ha!

I did end up having to ride one “roller coaster” because Grayson wanted to go while Caden was on something else with Honey and Papa…UGH!!!  Rides just aren’t as fun as they used to be…especially those which are constructed in a day or two.

It was rather sunny out, so Caden took Papa’s hat from him. 

Here come Caden down the giant slide…

Thank GOODNESS my wonderful husband agreed to go down the slide with Grayson!!

We went to the petting zoo right after this, but I forgot to take pics.  Oops!

I think that this ride was the “nail in the coffin” for Grayson.  He ended up being sick that night, and I think that this ride had a LOT to do with it.  I think he takes after his daddy and Papa in that he doesn’t do too well on rides that spin in circles.  Oh well!

A final ride on the elephants, and we were done with riding.

Grayson did sweet talk his way into an airbrushed T-shirt with Thomas the train…oh yes we did!  Of course, we let Caden get one too, and he chose an Angry Birds one.  It was a day filled with lots of fun!!

Community Helper Day…

G’s preschool had a community helper day complete with a parade and visit from the Fire Department.  All of the kiddos came dressed as their favorite community helper, and they were precious!!

Then here come’s G’s little class…

We cracked up because when G saw us, he immediately started posing for the camera…

After the parade, they took a little break while we waited for the fire truck to arrive…

When the fire truck arrived, the kids got to take turns spraying the hose…

They also got to explore the fire truck…it was a fun fun morning!!!  We LOVE our preschool!!!

Soccer…

After a very short career in T-Ball, we decided it was time to give Rec Sports another try.  Yesterday was Caden’s first Soccer game, and it was hilarious!!!  Our team had only had a total of 20 minutes of practice before our first game, so I think there are still some fundamentals to cover.  For example…you are actually trying to kick the ball towards the goal.  I think a good time was had by all, and that is all that matters!!

Grayson was all prepared with his chair and blanket.  It got even better when Honey showed up with doughnut holes!

Caden spent the first quarter getting “limbered up” on the side line…

Then second quarter was time for action…

An accidental slide tackle put Caden back on the sidelines for quarter 3…

Having some water with his best buddy…

Huddle time…

Back in for a moment of the 4th quarter…

And then it was over…

A great morning at the soccer fields!!

The Beach!!

We took our annual beach trip over Labor Day weekend…of course, we made it more of a six day event rather than a mere weekend.    There was only one small issue during our trip:  Tropical Storm Lee.  Thank goodness for indoor pools!!

The boys were able to get quite a bit of swimming in the outdoor pools as well…we would just run out when there was a break in the rain. 

The boys also discovered the Lazy River this year.  Grayson liked it a little, but Caden LOVED it!!!

See, it was a little on the WINDY side…

As I said before, we spent LOTS of time at the indoor pools.

We also wanted to get some beach shots, but it was never safe out of the beach (double red flags the whole time), so we settled for the balcony instead.

Here’s Paul and his fiancé, Anna…

And our little family…

And a very typical family pic…

Of course there was a lot of hanging out in the condo as well.  Grayson decided that his pool toys could double as a resting area.

I’m sorry, but when did he turn 12???

“Hey Grayson, get in the picture with your brother.”

Not quite what I meant…oh well!!!