H a p p y  E a s t e r !!!

Here is our favorite Easter message this year. 

We watched it with our kids eating candy this morning.

It's simple. It's beautiful.

We hope you find all your colored eggs 

before next Easter.
We are still missing one.

                                               Love, The Ortons

too close to home.

I called Devin to watch the news broadcast with me.
He held my hand.
I'm glad to be safe here in west,
 but it reminds us of how much of our hearts we left in St. Louis.
Seeing the airport. Our St. Louis airport that we know so well all torn up is so strange.
We've walked through these places pictured so many times.
I'm so glad no one was killed and bro and sister Munson are okay!

Life at our house

sPriNg hAs SpRuNg!

Cache joined a soccer team.

He LOVES it.  

He even scored a goal his first game this week.

Naomi is doing dance once a week. 

Her recital is in May. 

She is suppose to get a pink leotard and tights.

Her little self is going to be soo stinkin cute in a leotard.

I can hardly wait.

Cache registers for Kindergarten TODAY!

 One of my new years resolutions was to sit and play with my children.

This is hard for me.

Somewhere along the way of growing up I forgot how to play.

Devin will play for hours with them.

I just get obsessed with my list for the day and it's so hard for me to stop.

So I started writing it on my list for the day.

Near the top, which means higher priority.

I still have to focus to be totally present.

But I've been doing lincoln logs with Cache

and tea parties with Nay and I looove it.

Naomi's imagination is SO fun.

 And here is a test for you.

Can you tell who is who?

5 years apart but...
Brother's

fo sho.

Back to the present spring time happenings:

 We got our bikes out.

Went for a family ride to the park.

Lots of fun.

 They actually rode just like this the whole way.

 We just shut the flap.

 And it rained. 

A warm rain.

 I love a warm spring rain.

I love any rain actually.

I love running in it to music (so satisfying)

I love being out in it.

I love coming in from it (to a warm house)

And most of all I love to listen to it while I sleep.

It soo refreshing.

And so our these happy little faces.

 I talk too much.

H a P p Y s P r i N g !

And my heart rejoiced.

 Sunday in church
 Sang the hymn: "I believe in Christ."
Cache was laying on my lap. I thought asleep.
After, he sat up, looked at me and said. "MOM, I don't believe in Christ."
I half wanted to laugh because everything about it surprised me.
The fact that he even thinks about that at 5 and that he said it, and that he was listening to the words of the hymn, and that he DOESN'T believe.
It all just threw me through a loop.

I told him that's okay if he doesn't. Sometimes you just have to choose to believe.  And then after church I told him WHY I believe in Christ. I told him that people I believe to be true and honest people(prophets) have seen him and I believe them. I told him the way I feel when I pray, read the scriptures, and do things that Jesus told us to do, in my heart it feels right and good.  And that's most of the reasons I believe.

He listened. Then he said.
"Mom, I still don't believe in Christ. Barney is make believe and so is Jesus Christ."
I told him I don't believe in Barney either.  :)
 But Christ is real and alive.  But he can find out for himself as he grows up.
Don't write him off just YET Cache.

Then this morning we were sitting on the couch.  He looked at me and said. "MOM if there is another kid who is all alone and nobody will play with him, I will play with him."  (Trying to restrain my happiness because really I never know what his intention are.) I casually responded. "Oh. Why?"
He told me. "Because DAT is what Jesus would do. And I don't want that kid to be sad anyway."

And then my heart rejoiced a bit. 

I asked him where he learned that.
He told me his primary teacher told him.

***

Right now I am listening to Cache and his friend Sawyer playing in the back.
Overheard: "And THEN he diiiiiiied.  Those guys were wicked and made bad choices."
Sawyer: Was it on a cross or in a garden?
Cache: I don't know, dust(just) lots of blood, but there was NO star.
 Yah then they put him in a rock cave thing and it was sad.
Cache: Yah and in America there was all dis dark stuff...
Sawyer: Yah and lots of Earth shakes."
Cache: "Yah and it was so dark for FREE(three) days.
Sawyer: Yah and they couldn't even light a candle cuz it was so sooo dark and stinked.  ??? :) It stinked?
Cache: Then Jesus came down out of duh sky. That was pretty cool. And he healed the guy with blood in his ears.  So he could see. (maybe a few facts mixed up here :)
Sawyer: Yah that's Easter ... (then the baby cried and I couldn't hear dangit!)
Cache: I wonder if Jesus went to CHINA.
Cache: I like Ninjas.
Sawyer: Yah, let's go outside and do awesome stuff.

Besides a few hilarious mixed up facts, these kids are smart..
I'm thankful for these moments and good primary teachers and Jesus Christ.
If they choose follow his example, they will live good and happy lives full of love and truth.
I'm excited for them.
Their future is bright.

All things provident.

I am borrowing this book from a friend to help me bring more peace of mind to our home,

By being prepared for a rainy day.

It is a bit tricky preparing for a rainy day while you are in a rainy day.(just out of school you know)

But this book is soo good, I've only read it for an hour and benifited from the advice.

aaaand I want to win one!

If I do, I will wrap it and give it to myself for Mother's day.

When it comes to Nay,
Never assume anything.
Like the other day when I assumed she was safely in the kitchen eating her breakfast.
She was not.

And now for a ketchup, Catsup? Story.

I love me some Salsa.
Fresh cilantro, garlic and tomatoes, does more for our bodies than I think we even know.
My Children like salsa.
But they love Ketchup.
When they started perfering it over the healthy, fresh salsa, I stopped buying ketchup.
It was flu season and I needed to get some fresh garlic down them SOMEHOW!

Yesterday I took them Grocery shopping. I mistakenly turned into an isle with 10 foot section, of TOTALLY ketchup. Jumping up and down in the cart,with all the passion of her little soul:

"Chup chup !
Tashy,Tashy(Cache),  YOOK chup chup!
Oooh MOM, chup chup!
I yuv chup chup!"

So I bought her some ketchpup. (She hugged it.)

And while I was at it I got her some hotdogs too.
And that's a ketchup story.

Cache reeealy loves Gage.

You can see the love in his eyes when he looks at his brother.

It is so evident in his eyes, it  actually surprises me each time.

I decided to set up Gage's crib in my room. (Finally took down the bassinet)

Cache was sad.

I told him there just wasn't enough room in his room.

He told me we could get rid of all his toys to make room.

That, of course, melted me.

So I started considering it.

I told him we would have to put his big basketball hoop outside for the crib to fit against the wall.

He looked at me totally hurt.

I thought it was at the thought of getting rid of his hoop.

But no. 

He thought the crib could be pushed right up next to his bed,

so they could be "side by side," and he could "keep an eye on him all night."

But he is still MY baby, so in my room he is.

I get more protective with each child.

Cache watched him while I was cleaning my room this morning.

 I checked on him to find this.

Cache had to use the bathroom and he 

"Didn't want Gage to get bored when he was gone."

Perky

If his tuft sees it's own shadow... it's gonna be a good day.

 Today was an especially good day.

We love to go on dates.

And we day dream that we can go on more.
Dating while married and several small children is a challenge.
BUT oh so worth the effort.
SOOO needed for our friendship/courtship/ bond.
WE hardly ever get to go.
Sicky babies,
Nursing babies,
Worry wort ME who ruins dates because I'm too worried about the baby at home.
Lack of affordable ideas while the weather is cold.
Lack of planning.
Lack of people we know well enough to leave 3 small children with, that don't already have their plate full on a Friday night with their own kiddies. You know, you know. BUT Grandma Orton aka best babysitter ever came to town!  Grandma's *sigh*, how can we ever re-pay them? The only way I can think of is being a good grandma too.

Here's a glimpse into our worry free evening.  Knowing our babies are not just being watched but loved, allowed us to take a small breather and once again get to know each other just a little bit better.

We felt so light, we practically skipped to the restaurant.

We. were. giddy.

Rules of engagement for last night: 1. NO talking of health or work.

2. No talking of money or business matters.

3. Minimal talk about the children. 

We needed a just US night.

The Place: Asiago's (Devin won a free dinner.)

The kind of place you have to make reservations.

The kind of place where you say: " I don't know what caper's are." so they bring you some, tell you how they are made and where these particular ones were grown.

The kind of place that they really want to know if you love your food, because if not, they really want to bring you something else.

The kind of place where Devin felt he needed to pull my chair out for me, 

then awkwardly try to scoot me in too.

And the kind of place known for their wine.

Here is Devin making his Shawn Connery face. 

Because.... well... I think.. I don't know actually.

The gift card I think was an amount to cover the cost of dinner AND wine.

We had to order a lot of food to make up for the fact that we don't drink!

We ordered Creme Brulee for dessert.

WOW.

How have we missed out on this our whole lives?

Here is Devin giving the "It's so good it hurts expression."

While in line to get into the restaurant Devin kept sniffing and saying  LOUDLY:

 "It smells like cheese in here!" 

Geez, SURE does smell like Cheese." 

When ignoring him didn't stop his cheese talk, I finally looked at him to give him the 

knock it off look. 

This only amused him.

  He said again louder:

 " Yup Definitely cheese, hmm is that..aaasiAGO cheese?  *sniff* YUP definitely Asaigo." 

Then gave me a goofy grin.

The people around us had goofy grins on too.

I realized something about Devin last night.
Being silly, making a scene, etc. does not embarrass him.
In fact if he were to fall down in public (on accident, because he trips, runs into doors, on purpose MANY a time) IF he were to accidentally fall or something, he would laugh harder than anyone else.
The only thing that truly embarrasses Devin is if something were to happen that would
cause someone to questions his morals, character etc.
And my love grew.

I really have a fun life ahead with Devin to share it with.

Then we went for an after dinner freezing-cold walk.
 Good thing I have procrastinated cleaning out our winter sledding gear from the car.

We talked about people we admire and want to be like,
 future trips and dates we want to go on, just us two.

We laughed a lot that night.

Much needed.

Then something reminded me of our children,

started talking about the funny things they do and say, 

missed them too bad and hurried home.

Late Addition to new Years resolutions: 

Date night. Do it.

What Heaven Sees In You.

I can't wait to make my own video of Naomi like this someday.
Maybe I could make one now...maybe.