our christmas 2013.

as with all things worth celebrating, blakey & i celebrated christmas all week long!  we began last weekend with a puzzle by the beautiful christmas tree, our annual viewing of love actually, our first viewing of white christmas, lots of football, & a couple of days home together.

{my happy boys}

 {the little guy & green man & me & coffee}

 {the beginning of our a christmas story puzzle}

{after three days, success!}

on christmas eve, blakey was working away at the hospital, so i brought a christmas feast to the call team!  we enjoyed some truly delicious smoked turkey from moe's bbq, super cheesy mashed potatoes, & my favorite green bean casserole.  & for dessert - eggnog cheesecake!  a happy christmas eve in the hospital.  

as soon as blakey got home christmas morning, our true christmas celebration began!  we opened presents, watched tanky tear into his presents, facetimed & chatted with family, threw greenman over & over & over, & made our christmas breakfast tradition - migas & chorizo!  it was a beautiful day with my amazing husband celebrating the love of Christ.

 {the pioneer woman's amazing migas}

 {tanky LOVES opening gifts.

that must be why he tried to open our gifts early too.}

 {the awesome new le cresuet tea pot blakey got me!}

{& the GORGEOUS sorel boots blakey got me!

he really really spoils me.}

 {Christ the Lord, the newborn king is here!}

a very merry christmas to you & yours.  may we remember the joy of this day all year long.

love love,

kjp.

thankful thursday - you.

i love christmas cards.  seriously love them.  we send ours out the week after thanksgiving every year in hopes to receive our friends' & families' cards as soon as possible & have them up to enjoy for weeks.  we love the happy faces, the joyful greetings, & the wonderful wishes from all of you.  they truly make our home a more joyful place at christmas time.  

so thank you for sharing your christmas with us.  we are thankful for each & every one of you.

i hope you can think of something today for which you are thankful.

love love,

kjp.

a very merry christmas to you! love, the porters.

a very merry christmas to you & yours!  wishing you much joy & peace & love this holiday.

love love,
kjp.

a jolly resident christmas party!

the annual "couth" christmas party was this weekend!  all of the obgyn 3rd & 4th years, fellows, & attendings gathered with spouses to celebrate this wonderful time of year.  we enjoyed the evening with our friends full of delicious dinner, treats, & libations.  and after all of that proper socializing, we had a rockin dance party!  katy perry, meatloaf, & journey.  it was a fantastic holiday event.

{blake & neil looking quite dapper}

{my favorite UAB party friend, ashley}

{dance party time!}

our last uab christmas party.  crazy how fast it all goes.  a very joyful time indeed.

love love,

kjp.

happy 12 days til christmas!

{housemade girl scout samoa cookies!}

twelve days til christmas, friends!  i finally finished up our christmas shopping & christmas wrapping & christmas mailing today.  christmas cards are arriving daily & are now hung on ribbon for all to see.  & our advent calendar is happily counting down to christmas day.  it truly is a joyful season.

{housemade nutter butters!}

happy 12 days til christmas, friends.  wishing you joy & peace & a deep breath to remember the reason for christmas.

love love,

kjp.

thankful thursday - sparkles & lights

christmas time makes blakey & me so happy.  whoever gets up first turns the christmas lights on for a bright morning.  whoever gets home first turns the christmas lights on for a sparkly evening.  it instantaneously brings so much joy to our home.  so thankful for this season.

 {our 2013 sweet home alabama ornament}

i hope you can think of something today for which you are thankful.

love love,

kjp.

the wonderful mcgowan christmas party 2013.

our favorite birmy christmas party was an incredible day of joy & happiness.  the mcgowans hosted all of us for a delicious southern brunch, amazing football, tasty holiday treats, & so much fun.  the southern meal shined with chicken & waffles, mini pigs in a blanket, pulled pork sliders, & pimento cheese.  we watched an unbelievable sooner win at bedlam & the entertaining big 12 championship & sec championship.  & we thoroughly enjoyed the holiday with these truly wonderful friends.

 {my beautiful friends}

 {our festive holiday attire}

 {our handsome gentlemen}

{blake & ogden in pure joy after sabering a bottle of champagne open.

well done, fellas.  well done.

we are so proud of you.}

a very merry christmas celebration indeed.  so much love for these people.

love love,

kjp.

thankful thursday - christmas time is here!

{chalkboard inspiration from view along the way}

christmas time is here & all of the wonderful things that brings!  our christmas tree lighting up our home every evening, christmas cards arriving in the mail, chilly weather {ok ok the high today is 76 here but it is supposed to get cold tomorrow}, delicious treats, holiday parties, family time & friend time, & best of all - the preparation of Jesus's birth.  in all of the hustle & bustle of this joyous time, always remember to let us adore Him.

for this season, we are thankful.

i hope you can think of something today for which you are thankful.

love love,
kjp.

o christmas tree, clam chowder, & war eagle.

our thanksgiving break was filled with so many wonderful things - resting a little, celebrating a lot, delicious treats, amazing friends, unbelievable football, & four days together.  it was truly incredible.

after the big thanksgiving day, we spent friday decorating for christmas!  our tree is up, lights are on, ornaments are hung, & all is lovely.  our advent calendar is hanging with the annual discussion of whether you count up or down. {down is obviously the answer.}  & we even got to open a christmas gift early from my amazing in-laws - a beautiful new tree skirt with "the porters" embroidered on it!

we had the mcgs over for football saturday!!  i made my dad's new england clam chowder in homemade {& by that, i mean my manager made at work} bread bowls.  all very delicious.  the pups played & played again, although much more tired this time.  we actually took a couple photos to commemorate.  & then we watched THE unbelievable iron bowl.  oh my gosh.  that was an ending for the ages.  & i am very happy to say - war damn eagle.

so many things to be thankful for this holiday season.

love love,

kjp.

giving thanks 2013.

thanksgiving 2013 was a huge, incredibly delicious, & amazingly fun success!  blakey, tanky, & i joined amy, ogden, & lola at their home for a fabulous day of celebrating.  very sadly, the rogers came down with a horrible stomach bug & quarantined themselves.  they were very missed.  but we persevered through, found all of the missing ingredients, & even had delicious alternative dishes.  our traditional day of thanks with the mcgs - a birmingham tradition we will certainly miss & always look back upon with the fondest of memories.

{ogden's brined & fried turkey - incredible.}

{TL: surprisingly tasty store-bought, pre-frozen dressing.

TR: amy's perfect traditional green bean casserole.

BL: my herbed, cheesed, & mashed potatoes.

BR: my jalapeño creamed corn.}

 {amy's gorgeous pumpkin pie!}

 {& my thanksgiving tradition - grandma's pecan pie.}

somehow we did not take a single photo of humans on this thanksgiving.  but just know - we looked adorable & festive & happy & young & like we didn't eat 1,000 times more food than necessary &… :)

tank & his girlfriend lola had almost as much fun as we did.  while lola & i napped in front of the fire & the others watch lots & lots of football, tank destroyed a kong toy & went to town with the squeaky ball.  please oh please enjoy the video above.  

giving thanks always.  especially today.

love love,

kjp.

run, byrds, run!

blakey completed his 2nd half marathon yesterday!!  & he kicked butt.  13.1 miles in 1 hour, 34 minutes, & 55 seconds with a pace of 7:16 her mile.  that's crazy fast!  so incredibly proud of you.

race morning was ridiculously cold!  it was 27 degrees with clouds & a breeze.  oh my goodness, it was cold.  but these crazy runners persevered through.

 {the awesome talladega speed car started the race!}

with a gigantic thermos of coffee in hand, i headed to railroad park to catch up with blake on mile 7 & cheer him on!  go byrds, go!  

& then i headed back to linn park to watch the byrds run across the finish line!  

an awesome medal with a bottle opener on back awaited him.  & a delicious alabama beer to celebrate.

a beautiful & exciting sunday morning.  so proud of you, byrds!

love love,
kjp.