Colleen's path since graduating in 2007:

          So my desire after graduation was to build a business out of my home...
                          sharing the joy of music of music with young children and their families...
                                           which I did and have been doing since.  Not the most financially
                                                            rewarding job... but so rewarding in many other ways.

My own children have kept me busy whether it's emotional stress through difficult times or just 

driving, time, and support of their endeavors during good times.  So the afterschool teaching a couple days a week only lasted about three years before I had to bow out to be completely available for them after school gets out. 

But mornings are good for EARLY CHILDHOOD music such as Music Together family classes which is so much fun to me. I have also taught classes at bookstores and preschools and hope to have a job at a nearby preschool teaching music soon.  Teaching out of the home in the mornings hasn't proven to be a reliable source of income. My husband calls it an expensive hobby.  I believe in doing what you are called by joy to do... so I really hope I can keep my employment where my heart is :)

Our family is growing up and always rediscovering who we are...

I noticed a surge in visitors today after I posted in my other House Blog.
How about an update? Well it's only been six long years! How about we start with how much our kids have changed in photos and then we'll go to how much we've changed as human beings?

 There's a story behind every picture...

2009 our hardest year ever.

2011 - Uniting with brighter smiles.

2012 discovering our passions is bringing us joy.

                                          Stay tuned to find out what they are and why this
                                              sunflower behind us was so significant to me.

                                       

                                                2014 Supporting each other in our endeavors.

                                           Stay tuned as to why there's dirt on Austin's face...

                                  Our boys are growing up - we only get a glimpse of 20 yr old
                               Dallin when he visits so most our pictures have only two boys now.

Colleen's Graduation DEC 2007

Ok, so it was techincally December 2007...but it was twelve years in coming. I received my degree in Music Education with emphasis in strings from ASU. The link http://kellyrphotography.com/colleenporter.html is a photographic journal that my talented photographer sister Kelly created for me. My only complaint is that there are too many pictures of me!! Once you get through those pictures (quickly), there is pictures of the actual commencement and my family.

My final semester was student teaching - a very rewarding experience. I had two amazing mentor teachers: Anita Archer in Mesa for Strings and Karen Sejkora in Chandler for general music. I grew attached to all the students I was working with and I could see myself as a future teacher working with my own group of students and loving it. However, I was turned off by the hoops that public teachers have to jump through depending on the current politics...like taking more courses or adding on new pressures or possible losing an entire program you built up because of new government decisions or lack of funds. This is not to say that I will never work in the public schools, I just would like to feel like I'm in control of my own future and success...so I have been working on starting up my own music business....more on this on another post.

Thanks to the family and friends that have supported me throughout my many years schooling! Hurray it's done!

PORTER's Year in Review

If you're waiting to get a card from the Porters to inform you know all of our on-goings this last year, you might be waiting a while...but you get this incredible blog instead!



Please don't think we aren't thinking of you because I am an inactive Christmas card sender. Here's our last two Christmas card pictures that we took with full intentions of gathering everyone's addresses and sending out.

Over the next week I am posting something everyday to cover the 10 biggest events from 2008. Here's a sneak preview:



12-07 Colleen's Graduation

1-08 Our "Celebration" family cruise deal of the century

3-08 Colleen's music business start-up

6-08 Our 17th anniversary

7-08 Yellowstone Camping Trip

Summer 08 Activities

11-08 Lloyd and Colleen's trip to Japan

Christmas 08 and New Years

This is my Christmas Present to Me!

Hey, I said I would my first blog right after Christmas, but I didn't say what year! I can tell that blogging will be something that I will have a hard time keeping up with like so many other things in my life, but it's a heck of alot easier than scrapbooking and it doesn't stay on your bookshelf where your far away friends and family will never see it. So, I think it will be fun and worth it...this will be my Christmas present to me and to my friends and family that may want to check in on us from time to time.
Tommorrow I will do an update on our EXCITING YEAR OF 2008 (do you have chills yet?) while my husband and two of my sons are away on their annual sand dunes trip.
stay tuned.....

HI -

The Porters are new to all this blogging stuff....but please check back after Christmas. We promise to figure it out by then.