Happy Turkey Day!!!

Happy Thanksgiving! I have so very much to be thankful for this year, as always! I know I have not been the most faithful blogger, but I will try to make up for it :) We hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house for the first time this year. I was a little nervous, because let's face it--I've never cooked a turkey before. It was an amazing time with family and friends!

The guys started the gaming right away...Mario Kart!

While the grown-ups do all the work :)

Marko working on the ham

This was our "appetizer" table...which later became our dessert table!

Proof (as awful as the pic is) that I actually was "cooking" haha.

And Angie cheesing while she helped me :)

Our finished products...Mmmmm.

Jalen with his puppies!

Uncle Noah and Alana...and Scooter

The girls' table
(Angie, Me and Hillary)

The guys' table
(Mike, Reggie and Chris)

Brotherly love

Judy and Marko

We are all in some deep conversation here lol.

And then back to the Wii...but where is Justin?

Found him!

The sugar highs running rampant!

I...can't...stop!!!

Angie and Sadie

Angie and Jeremy...once the Navy let him join us!

This was Bradford pretty much all day...I swear if we had washable markers, I would've had some fun. We wanted to make sure he could get back on the ship tonight, though lol.

Hillary and Mike

Yeah, I am cool.

I am thankful for him :)

Along with all of the cheesy elementary school decorations we put up (on purpose), I made these posters. Everyone had to write at least one thing they were thankful for on it by their name. I'm a dork, yes...but it made everyone HAVE to think about it.

I am so completely thankful for my God and everything that He has blessed me with. I am thankful for my family and my friends...the ones that were here today, as well as those I haven't seen in forever! I am thankful that I had so much food to eat that I shouldn't have to eat again til next year. I am thankful for my little girl that I had to carry up to bed after her turkey coma kicked in and she passed out on the couch. I am thankful for my amazing husband and his friends that serve our country so that we can be free. I am thankful that he also loves the Lord with all his heart and makes me want to be a better person. I am thankful for the newest additions to our home, Scooter and Sadie--who have brought all of us a little more joy. There are so many things I have to be thankful for. If you are reading this...YOU are one of them!

I...AM...THANKFUL!!!

Peace, Love and Gobble gobble.

Zoo Day!

This past Sunday was a free military admission day at the zoo. They also had face-painting and bouncy things for the kids to play on, clowns, music...all sorts of fun stuff! Alana and I haven't been to the zoo here since last year, so there was lots of new things to see. Angie and Jalen haven't been since OH last week :) We all went together this time, and enjoyed a beautiful day!

First stop, the face painting!

Butterfly...Gosh, I hope this washes off :)

Jalen and Alana holding hands and waiting in line to bounce!

They love each other!

Crazy picture of Alana in the bouncy house!

Time for a lunch break!

Riding the train

Alana was petting the goat :)

And feeding a different one...

They are dancing to "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga lol.

Alana tried to pick up Jalen, like all of her friends at school do to her.

Jalen's turn to pick up Alana

Maybe I can pick her up better from behind...
or at least stop her from choking :)

Jalen found something he could pick up :)

Alana got some too!

I was teasing Jalen, telling him he missed one :)

Just a few more...

I think our kids have a future in lawn maintenance!

Angie and I might have the only two kids in the world that go to the zoo and collect leaves! Hey, at least they were having fun doing it :) We also got to see lots of animals...the elephants, giraffes, the monkeys...all the creepy crawlies...the farm animals! The best part of the day was just getting some fresh air with two of our favorite people!

Be Still...

I know I've promised a few of you a new post with pictures from our trip to the zoo on Sunday--and I will post those soon!!! I just wanted to share something with everyone tonight...It's an amazing testament of God's not-so-subtle way of reminding us that He is in control. And trust me folks, I can't even make up stuff that's this good!

First let me share a little bit of background for those of you who I don't talk to on a regular basis. Life has been wonderful in the Portas household lately. It has also been extremely busy for each of us. Alana is in school five days a week, I am taking six college classes PLUS volunteering at Alana's school, and Justin is in the Navy--enough said. On top of everything that is already on our plates, it is time for Justin to either re-enlist or get out of the Navy. We have been unsure about this next step. Justin wants out, but we know that this is not the best time for our family for that to happen. It's been weighing on us both...and most likely, consequently, Alana as well. The past week has been especially tough on Justin. He has been working strenuous, long hours despite his new position in cargo. We're talking major manual labor for 12-14 hours a day. He hasn't had a chance to call the detailer for order options, etc...and all the while he's been questioning what the future holds for him. We know what I'm doing, as far as a career. Alana is in Kindergarten, so we know what she's gonna be up to for the next 11 years or so. Justin doesn't quite know what he wants to be when he grows up, though :) He just knows it does not include retiring from the military. Justin and I have been very open with our communication about all of this. Last night, after a few rough days, we had another deep discussion. It was a sort of break-thru in that we both really accepted that we had to relinquish the control and realize it was gonna be alright no matter what. Justin said something that prompted me to say "We have to 'Be still'..." Then he repeated "Be still and know that I am God" a few times. He said that was his old mantra, and needed to become his new one--especially while at work.

Fast forward to today...Justin picks up his "Our Daily Bread" devotional book (you probably know what I'm referring to, but just in case you don't I've included graphics) :)

He opens it up and turns the page to today, Wednesday, October 14th. And this is what he saw...

The best part yet is what the bottom of the page reads...


Can I get an AMEN? Seriously. I told you this was good stuff! "God knows the future, so we are safe in His hands." Justin brought this home to me and I began humming the Twilight Zone theme...I mean, WOW. Justin went on to share that he finally knows that it doesn't matter if we don't know exactly what our future holds...because Someone does--and that Someone will keep us safe!

Peace, Love and Being Still

A Month in the Life

I know, I know...It has been WAY too long since I last posted. In fact, it's been a month today! I am going to just make this into a mass post, probably all clumped together and confusing...kind of like my life the past month haha. No, life has been great! Life has also been busy, and we are getting used to our new routines. Alana has been more than amazing at school! She loves going every day. While most of us can't wait til Friday, Alana can't wait til Monday! She counts down the days til she gets to go back to school when it's the weekend. That makes life so much easier for me!

On her second day of school, we got this amazing cookie bouquet delivered to our doorstep! It was from none other than Grammy! She knows how to make us smile! I can't get over how cute these cookies were, and they tasted just as incredible...



Moving on...
Justin had an inspection last month, so he had to break down and actually BUY the new uniform. He doesn't have to wear this to work on a daily basis, so he has been putting it off for quite sometime. I just think he looks so cute so I thought I'd share...he will probably kill me later for this :)

Seriously is the BLUE camo supposed to make them blend in with the water?!

Next on my list of things I should've blogged about and didn't--Justin's birthday! My wonderful hubby turned 32 on the 17th. He actually had the day off, and Alana had an early-release day. Justin and I started off the day with a delicious breakfast at IHOP and then when we picked up Alana from school we continued our celebration. Alana and I sent Justin to "his room" upstairs and we made cupcakes.

Justin pretended like he didn't know what was going on ;)
Alana kept fibbing and telling him we were playing Mario World and he couldn't come downstairs because we didn't want him to see our secret tricks...

My favorites.

Kissy kissy

This is a typical Alana face...
She had just gotten a bath, so she had wet hair!

Alana took a picture of Daddy and Mommy

Self-portrait, we ALMOST got Alana's whole face in.
Justin's tongue took up too much :)

Alana got her haircut

Ok, so let me explain why I took so many pictures of Alana dressed for school. I love my child to death. I could not live without her. I could, however, do without her crazy restrictions on what she will and will not wear. She is quite stubborn and opinionated, but as I've learned in my Developmental Psychology class--she is also quite normal. She would only wear 2 skirts for the first few weeks of school...In a way, it was frustrating. In another way, I didn't care. It just made for lots of loads of laundry to make sure they were clean. Then, it got cold. I finally told Alana that she HAD to wear pants to school. It was amazing. She wore them without much of a fuss, and I took a picture for proof...

First day wearing jeans to school :)

Second day wearing pants...
And this days was even extra special because she wore those pink converse I bought her in Nashville...the ones she has not worn ONCE. She put up a fight and I told her she didn't have to wear them, that I didn't care...Then she said "Ok, I'll wear them!" Grrrr...

Silliness at it's best.

My own semester in school has been amazing as well. I am super excited about what the future holds for me. I feel like I am finally getting somewhere with my education. I am trying to make straight A's to get into a HIGHLY competitive program at my school...I'm talking only 15 people get in each year. So it's pretty demanding. That, and I have to learn things like this:

Justin was gone for a week this month, and hopefully he will be home for the rest of October before he has to go out for about a month...We miss him when he's gone. We also miss the rest of our family.

Alana ichatting with Grammy and Liam

Can you tell she was eating a brownie?
I took this and she said, "Mommy, I look like I don't have some of my teeth!"
Then I told her if she eats brownies and doesn't brush them, she won't!

Another success in the clothing department...These jeans we bought in Nashville about 4 months ago and she wouldn't even put them on. I told her they make her look tall...
Especially tall, when she's on her tippy toes!

My sweetness.

Alana is at school...Justin is at work...I am actually caught up on my own schoolwork. That's why I am blogging. I will soon return to my desk, where I spend the bulk of my time these days...I bought this one, and put it in the "dining" room so my butt didn't permanently indent the place I was sitting on the couch :)

Justin bought me this most comfortable chair, too!!!

I'm sorry that I have slacked on keeping everyone updated! I will do my best to post more regularly again. I am almost halfway through the semester, and Justin just got a new job in cargo. He works Monday through Friday, 7:30-he gets done...which is usually quite early. He is going to look at orders today, so I am kind of nervous. Please pray that God shows us what's next...

Peace, Love and Blogging Goulash.

Alana's First Day of Kindergarten!!!

My life has changed forever! My baby is now a Kindergartener! Alana went to her first day of school today, and she did amazing! She loves it so much...

This morning she woke up and finished coloring a picture she was working on for Ms. Kimball.
(Thanks, Grandma Nancy for the idea!)

A true work of art!

This is the face she made when I asked her if she was excited about school today :)

All dressed and ready to go!
I let her pick out whatever she wanted to wear and she picked the "Girls totally rule" shirt. I learned in my Psychology class last week that it is important to let your children make decisions like what to wear because it gives them confidence...so yeah, today, Girls totally ruled!

Showing off her new iCarly backpack

Such a poser!
(And check out her new Abby Cadabby New Balances)

And her lunch bag...

Alana and Me!

Kissy kissy...

Alana and Daddy!

I think I did really well...The weather was horrible today!!! I'm talking torrential downpour here. We managed to get there without drowning, and I managed to take her to her class and get home without shedding a single tear! I felt completely at peace with everything, so thank you to everyone who was praying for me!!! Justin and I were seriously lost. I have spent the past 5 years with Alana, so it was definitely shocking. It wasn't BAD though. We went and ate sushi for lunch and watched some episodes of Lie to Me...Then we went and got some balloons for Alana and made her a sign!

She was so happy!

She did not stop talking for about an hour after we got home...She LOVES school. I couldn't be happier or more proud of my big girl!!!

Especially love her when she's goofy :)

Whale-come to Willoughby!

This post will be short and sweet, I just wanted to share the pictures from Alana's open house with everyone! We had her meet and greet on Thursday, where she got to meet her teacher and see her classroom. I was pretty anxious about it, but it all went super! We love her teacher and her school is awesome. We can literally see our front door from the front of her school!!!

Me and Justin at Logan's before the Open house

Walking up to the school!

Willoughby Elementarty School!

And closer...

Alana and I were trying to find her name so we could see which seat is hers...
And that is Ms. Kimball, her teacher!

Found it!

Justin is showing Alana all the faces of SpongeBob.
Alana was all about this wall!

I still can't believe my baby starts Kindergarten in 2 days! She is ready, though and I know she will do amazing!

Peace, Love and All grown up!

Beach with the Crew

Today was Adam and Ashley's last full day here, so we took advantage of the amazing weather and went to the beach. I don't know what I'm going to do when winter comes...I sure do love living 1/2 a mile from the beach...

Thanks, Angie for this one!
This is what we'll be doing when we are retired, too :)

Justin teaching Alana to skip rocks (or shells)

Ashley, Adam, me and Justin
(I feel like a munchkin next to all of them!)

Ashley playing in the sand with Alana and Jalen

Alana eating her Handi-snacks...She was anti-picture today :)

My favorite little Seminole!

Angie and me :)

We had such a chill time...Justin's friend, Groth was also with us, though he somehow managed to miss all the kodak moments :) And Jeremy had to work...Next time he will have to go with us!

Peace, Love and lots of sand!