Friday, August 22, 2008

My Heroes


Porter definitely ready for boating.


Luke was kind of cold so we wrapped him up in his towel.


Jesse and Sam on the boat.




These are my girls and me on the boat. The top is Livy (she's making a silly face). Next is India and last Addie. They are 3 of my brother Joe's kids.




I took these three pictures by my self; impressive huh? They're of me trying to look like I play the guitar. I love the top one. That is Reid. He loves to hit the fret board while I'm trying to play. So precious.


Abatha tabatha puddin in pie, kissed the boys and made them cry. Mom used to say that to me all the time and I guess she was right! This is my nephew Brigg, not happy about me kissing him.


Jeston and his marshmallow.


Reid in his wetsuit and floaties.


Mira getting into the sunscreen.

Last weekend I went to Bear Lake with my siblings. Some of them have already blogged about our eventful weekend so in order to avoid being a copy cat I will not blog about it. Instead you can just look at these pictures.

I have 17 heroes. CJ, Kaitlyn, Livy, Jeston, Brynn, Addie, Mia, Jared, Sam, India, Porter, Xander, Luke, Ellie, Reid, Mirabella and Brigg. Those are all my nieces and nephews. I love chasing them around to give them a hug and a kiss and I love it when they sit on my lap and talk to me about life (even if I have to strap them down to talk about it). Sometimes out of the blue one of them will say “I love you Abby.” It makes me melt like the cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich. (Get the picture?) This summer I got to see every single one of them. I don’t know 17 other people quite like these kids. I love observing my brothers and sisters as parents. Somehow they are all so good at it. What a tender blessing to be able to watch my siblings teach their kids about life, love, Jesus Christ, family, boats, bugs, not biting, death, prayer, gardens, reading, and hurt feelings. What an incredible charge they have been given! Even though I know it is hard they manage it all so well. I hope I can be as good a parent as I see in my siblings and their spouses, and of course as I see in my parents. I’m lucky that I’ve been able to see so much to help prepare me for when I’m a parent. And I’m lucky that I am able to be a much better person because I have the 17 most wonderful nieces and nephews in the world. I have one coming sometime in March-ish, which will make 18. I can’t wait to meet that one as I’m sure I’ll be able to learn from her or him as well.

Basically, my nieces and nephews are super lucky to have such great parents, grandparents, uncles…and such a great aunt of course :)

5 comments:

Valerie said...

Abby, Did you ever know that your my hero? You're everything I wish I could be. I could fly higher than an eagle, because. ..you are the wind beneath my wings. I'm not lying either!

Sarah said...

Abby is EVERYONE's favorite Aunt!

Andy Porter said...

As the largest contributer to your 17 heros I have to take my much deserved time to put in my two cents. You are correct that my kids have great parents, especially their mother. I am only the incredible man that I am because of pizza, I mean because of Andrea. My kids are only half as good as they could be since I gave them half of their genes, not that my genes are bad or anything.

Andy Porter said...

You are going to be such a good mom Abby. Your post made me cry. I am such a baby. My kids are so lucky to have you for an aunt and I am so lucky to have you as as sis-in-law.

Abby Marie said...

anyone who doesn't know us would totally think that 'theorderoftheporters' has a multiple personality disorder.

I AM PECULIAR (this is a permanent post. If you have already read it, scroll down to see my latest)

Those of you who read my blog could probably make a list of all the reasons that you think I am a bit peculiar. No worries, I would be the first to shout an amen to everything you could think of. I know I’m peculiar; but let me tell you the number one thing on my list that I think makes me a peculiar person.

I know where I come from, why I am here and where I am going. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some of you will know me as a “Mormon” although that is just a nickname. The word ‘Saint’ just means ‘member’ in this context. I believe in God the Eternal Father, that I am a daughter of God, and that He loves me and wants me to be happy. I believe in my Savior Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life, atoned for my sins, died and was resurrected all that I might enjoy the blessing of being forgiven of my sins, and having my body and spirit reunited after death. I know that just as God called prophets in the Old and New Testament times that He has in fact called a prophet to lead and guide us today. I believe that families can live together for eternity; death does not have to be the end of our relationships with the ones we love. Some of you may wonder how on earth I can know these things. As I learn more and more from the Bible and other scriptures and actually live what I learn I see the promises the Lord has made being fulfilled in my life, and I feel the Holy Spirit bear witness that these things are true.

I know, I’m peculiar, but thankfully there are over 13 million other peculiar members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and with each year that number grows. I feel so much joy and happiness in my life because of this knowledge. If you want to know more depth about anything I have said that makes me peculiar, visit www.mormon.org. This website explains in detail much of what I have just professed to believe and more.