Future So Bright...

Thought that we would share these pics with y'all. How cute are these kids!!!

Eight Months Plus Some

Emily is eight months old already. sigh. She's so stinkin' cute that it's hard to fault her too much for growing up, though as usual time flies soooo quickly.

We took pictures Saturday and got some great ones.

The outfit is significant ~ all of the girls wore this outfit and I have frames of each of them in it on the wall of my bedroom. Will be nice to fill in the space that has been reserved for Emily!

Emily is such a delight and growing like a weed. We measured her Friday and found that she's now 31-inches long! Not quite 20 pounds yet, but her length made it necessary to switch her out of her baby bucket and into a "big girl" rear-facing car seat.

Here she is in the bucket for the last time ~

And here she is in her new seat:

We've also ~suddenly~ outgrown a few other things, namely her swing, her bouncer (not the jumper, but the seat we'd been using to feed her in and for her to play in), and her baby tub. Here she is for the last time in her tub:


It got too easy for her to get into things while she was in her tub....


Finally, here she is in the sink for the first time.

She had a ball and made a great mess splashing and singing!

Hard to believe that we'll be celebrating her birthday in a mere four months. And that, as of Saturday, Christmas is just eight months away!

Happy Birthday Gramma Jello!

We got to see Gramma (and Grampa) Jello tonight....

Saturday was Gramma's birthday...

We took her jello in a little cup with cool whip and a candle. All sugar free (even the candle ~ j/k) so she could eat it all and not feel one bit guilty.... or dizzy!

We sang to her.

We had a nice visit.

We took this picture:

And I was reminded of this one, taken in the same living room, what seems like just a few hours ago:

Happy Birthday, Gramma Jello!

Easter Monday

My dad's wife, Karolyn, is a teacher at Zion Lutheran School in Nampa and she gets today, "Easter Monday", off. Liz was just a teensy bit jealous when she heard about that!

We have enjoyed the very best of Easter. We've hunted eggs and colored eggs. We've dressed in newish Spring outfits for church. Emily even wore the same dress Liz did a mere twelve years ago. Kurt made some outstanding cinnamon rolls and then a pork roast dinner. We have all eaten too much candy.

We enjoyed a wonderful Sunday, the very high point for at least Elizabeth and me was the lesson given by our YW President. She did a FABULOUS job, outlining not only who Jesus Christ is exactly, but also why we need Him and how his Atonement is there to make such a difference in our lives. It was wonderful!

You may have aleady seen this YouTube clip, but I'm inclined to share it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFhS0dAduc

Easter isn't Easter anymore without remembering my mom, and that it was on Easter Sunday 1998 (also April 12th) that she died. Thank goodness we celebrate Easter for the very reason we can be comforted in knowing that she is not lost, but that we will have her again one day. I can testify with assurity that who she is still exists and that she is well. In a small effort to put some purpose to her untimely death, we've said she was needed to run the Lord's Animal Shelter. No doubt He has a purpose for each of us and we each have a mission to fulfill.

One of the hymns we sang in Church is entitled 'Christ the Lord Is Risen Today'. The words to the third verse are these:

Lives again our glorious King,

Where, O death, is now thy sting?

Once he died our souls to save,

Where thy victory, O grave?

YAY!!!

We wish you all the best this Easter season!

Our Little Jumping Bean

Thanks to a generous and thoughtful "hand me over" gift from our dear Miss Angie, Emily has been outfitted with a new Jumpee Bouncer, which ~ quick intake of breath ~ she L-O-V-E-S!!

We're so excited to give Em the opportunity to get a good leg workout in, as well as work her arms and core by playing with the toys in front of her. Who says exercise has to be all work?

She was jumping so energetically at first that she looked like she was doing a little jig, which was adorable!

Here's our superstar. THANK YOU for thinking of us, Angie!!

Sharp Pencils

I love new notebooks and sharp pencils. They are so fun to use and write with. A sharp pencil is so important when you want to write your best. Which is sort of an interesting thought ~ be sharp, be your best.

My good friend Jessica had the most beautiful writing. I was always a little bit jealous! I wanted to have writing just like hers.One of the things Jessica always used was a newly sharpened pencil. She was at the sharpener a lot! But the results were impressive. Her schoolwork, even the notes we passed, were like art.

Now I think I should admit a few things. First, I was not a part of Jessica's "sharpened pencil" club. I was more comfortable with a tip that was a little worn down. And all my life I had compliments on my handwriting. I knew it looked pretty good. I could have been pretty happy with myself.But something just bugged me about Jessica's writing. Not so much that she was better than me, but that just maybe I could be better.That maybe Jessica knew something that gave her the edge.

So one day I tried it. I sharpened my pencil. I mean really sharpened it. Guess what happened? My pretty good writing became lovely too. Suddenly that sharp point in my hand gave me confidence and pride like I'd mever felt before. My writing was elegant ~ yay! What a feeling!!

But some time went by and I found that I was back to just pretty good. Argh! Why? How did this happen? I had sharpened and things were great. For a while. I thought that having known what it's like to write with a pencil that was really sharp, I'd just adjust and still be great when the point wore down. But what had I done wrong?

Then I understood.

My trip to the sharpener was a one-time event, but it needed to be a regular one!

I realized that Jessica's writing was always lovely because she made her trips to the sharpener often.

I have to say that my decline to "pretty good" again wasn't instant. It happened slowly and so I really didn't notice right away the effects that the dullness of my pencil was having. After all, my writing had always been pretty good. I could have been satisfied with what I had. But Jessica's writing was still beautiful and now I had tasted that, too. And I wanted it all back.So I made the trip back to the sharpener, and I sharpened my pencil.

It's been a long time since I started sharpening my pencil regularly. Admittedly, I'm not always vigilent/diligent enough and my pencil gets a little dull. But I'm getting better at paying attention to the point of my pencil, and I do make more regular and frequent trips to the sharpener. My writing? It's better, but not in the way I thought I wanted it to be better back when I was in classes with Jessica. It seems that my sharpening has given me writing I would/could not have anticipated.

The other thing I remember about Jessica's writing was how neat and clean her papers looked, even when I know she'd made mistakes and had to make corrections and revisions.Jessica was a good eraser! I know that might sound silly ~ to compliment someone on their erasing skills ~ but you would have too if you'd seen the crisp, neatness of Jessica's work.

Notice I didn't say perfection.

Perfect would have meant never making any mistakes.

Jessica's papers I think were even more attractive because of the effort she made in erasing her mistakes. To the point that usually you'd never know she'd made them. Jessica put the same amount of effort into erasing that she did in getting to the sharpener regularly.

I continue to learn lessons as I try to keep my pencil sharpened.

Unfortunately I Can't Prove It...

I opened the door to Nathan's room a bit ago, hoping to collect some laundry without waking him up, only to find his bed EMPTY. The door hadn't opened, and he likes to sleep in Melissa's bed, so I thought he may have jumped over there (if no one was watching, he may have literally jumped over). But, her bed was empty as well.

I looked in the closet ~ No Nathan.

I looked on the floor ~ No Nathan.

There was half a second of panic as I assured myself that the door hadn't opened, that all the doors are latched and locked (meaning he couldn't have escaped...again), and that sleeping on the second floor would make it hard for anyone to snatch him away.

So I listened and heard breathing..... breathing coming from UNDER Melissa's bed!

I can't prove it because I didn't take a picture, but know that on this day, early in the afternoon, I saw Nathan asleep under Melissa's bed.

To add to it all (whatever IT is...), Emily was sitting, playing on my bed until at some point she tipped over.... I found her asleep ~ on her tummy (which she HATES when she's awake!) ~ on my bed.

And again I don't have a picture to prove it, but it sort of looked like this, except she's a little bigger now:

Naptime is a wonderful time!

Thanks to Krista, I can now link!

Thanks Krista!!

Blog Facelift

There's a bit of a new look to the blog this morning, which we love. Hope you enjoy it as well!

I am looking for some help though in being able to create links within posts ~ you know, when a word is underlined and highlighted and clicking on that word will link to another post or article or web page.

Are you the one who knows how to do that?

Would you be so kind as to leave a comment with some instruction?

Thank you!!!

March in Review

It's April already ~ Happy Birthday Daniel ~ and so here we are to review our busy month of March.

Working in reverse, we had a terrific Spring Break! Not having to get up quite so early was probably the highlight. Now we're anxiously waiting for summer to get here!

Just before our break, Kathryn and Melissa got to go snowboarding on a school trip. They had a great time! And, I have no pictures. :( Sorry. Melissa wasn't so enthusiastic about not being able to stop, but since Kathryn got to go last year, she was the seasoned veteran. Thanks to Chris and Jennie for letting them borrow the snow pants and gloves again!!

Our family celebrates two birthdays in March. Melissa's is on the 15th. She was probably one of very few three year olds who knew what the "Ides of March" meant, and why the warning was given to "beware" them. She turned NINE this year ~ our Melinnium baby!!

Melissa had an AMAZING day. She was the only one to raise her hand two weeks before when our outgoing Choir director at church asked if someone would take the music and the calling list while a new director was called. She ran with the assignment, leading the choir through one rehearsal, calling everyone to remind them of the choir's performance on the 15th in Sacrament meeting (and that we'd be meeting early for a run through), and finally leading that presentation. She practiced leading 4/4 and 2/4 time at home and did a GREAT job! Even after we were home that day, she came to me with two new hymn ideas for upcoming Choir presentations! They are beautiful songs ~ she has great taste.

Melissa somehow managed to make it through Sunday school and to Sharing Time, where she got to give a talk. She spoke about the responsibilities each member of a family has, quoting from the Proclamation on the Family, as well as giving examples of her personal responsibilities at home and at school.

Since the choir sang in church, there was no practice after (a concern Melissa had about missing ~ since she is in charge) so we were free to come home and get ready for our family to come to dinner. Melissa's grandma and grandpa Freeman as well as her cousins and uncle Chris and aunt Jennie were there. Grandpa Evans was kind enough to drop off Melissa's present on his way to pick up Grandma Karolyn from the airport.

An American Girl doll ~ Felicity ~ who Melissa LOVES.

Dinner was Missa's favorite ~ ham, funeral potatoes and corn, with salad. And cake. Melissa wanted to have a lemon cake, with lemon frosting, and lemon pudding to fill the middle.

It was very yellow!

Nathan wasn't able to wait for everyone else and decided to take an early swipe. Argh!!

We somehow forgot to get candles, so we improvised and came up with a funky alternative:

those would be matches!

We ran with the American Girl theme and added Kit Kittridge to Melissa's collection. She would further add to her stash by ordering the Felicity movie as well as all six of the books with the Amazon certificate Aunt Barbara sent her. Yay!

March also included an "80's Day" at Elizabeth's school. She found a big flannel shirt in her dad's closet, put it with leggings and socks and keds, added some big hair and it was 1987 all over again.

We were surprised by a phone call from Liz who had been sent to the office and told to call home for pants. Seems that her outfit didn't meet the dress code because her shirt did not fall below her fingertips (instead it was just above). Hmmmm.....we all made it through school wearing outfits like this.....how times change!

So, we took her jeans that she pegged and was good to go. What a cutie!!

I had a wonderful day on my 34th on th 5th. Getting to order new socks and a hair dryer was awesome. As was having family over for cake and ice cream. Kurt made an amazing quadruple layer chocolate cake. Add cookie dough ice cream and what more could a girl want?? Oh, except a hugely huge gift card from my dear dad that I had a ton of fun spending!! And the $20 (pictured) that bought a new haircut and color. Wahoo!!

I laughed right out loud when I opened a card that came in the mail from my friend Stacy. She sent a great pack of journaling boxes and wrote that she was sending them because of anyone she knew, she was sure I would use them! Ha! Oh how I have a wordy way with journaling!!

March was another busy month that went by so quickly, as all months seem to these days. Emily turned seven months and is champing her therapy and hitting her milestones. Sitting is a breeze and she's propping and reaching through all nine of the planes. *big elbow pump here!*

During the month we celebrate the Orton's Anniversary (19 this year!), Grandpa Murdoch's birthday, David Orton's birthday, Krista's 30th!, L'il Shawn's 17th (he's not so little anymore), the 17th anniversary of my baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Since I was 17 when I joined the church, I've now been a member longer than I wasn't. Super cool. All of the Shakespeare girls have a birthday in March, as does Aunt Barbara and Ginni and Darin. Michelle and Kaleb are 14 in March and Shelby turned one! Wendy and Brad celebrate NINE fabulous years together in March as well.

What a FANTASTIC month March is!!