Finding the good in everything

My aunt Tina had this post on her blog and I really liked it, so I am being a post stealer :)

I AM THANKFUL:

For the wife

Who says it's hot dogs tonight,

Because she is home with me,

And not out with someone else.

For the husband

Who is on the sofa

Being a couch potato,

Because he is home with me

And not out at the bars.

For the teenager

Who is complaining about doing dishes

Because it means she is at home,

Not on the streets.

For the taxes I pay

Because it means

I am employed.

For the mess to clean after a party

Because it means I have

Been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug

Because it means

I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work

Because it means

I am out in the sunshine.

For a lawn that needs mowing,

Windows that need cleaning,

And gutters that need fixing

Because it means I have a home.

For all the complaining

I hear about the government

Because it means

We have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot

I find at the far end of the parking lot

Because it means I am capable of walking

And I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating bill

Because it means

I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church

Who sings off key because it means

I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing

Because it means

I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles

At the end of the day

Because it means I have been

Capable of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off

In the early morning hours

Because it means I am alive.

And finally, for too much e-mail

Because it means I have

Friends who are thinking of me.

I Love these cute kids!!

Just having fun taking pictures of the kids in the living room!! Look at these cute faces!!

Baby Beck

This is the Orton's new addition, Beck. Jill let me do some experimenting with my camera on her brand new little guy. He is such a doll. It was so fun for us to come up with these ideas. The cowboy hat was his grandpa Beck's, who he is named after. And the basket is a potato basket, Jill's dad is a potato farmer. I think they turned out pretty cute. What do you think?

Photography classes

I started taking photography classes from Inkley's. It has been fun to have this new hobby, that was kind of an old hobby. Well, I've always loved photography. And even more fun, Nannies is going to take the classes with me.

Piggy tails

Look at Ava's cute little piggy tails up on top!!!

More Grandmas

My dad had to perform a wedding ceremony on Labor day and Calvin asked me what Grandpa Jeffery was up to for the holiday and I said, "oh, he has to marry some people." And Calvin replied,"What, I am getting more Grandmas!" When I finally stopped laughing I explained to him what I meant.

Wahoo!!

Wahoo!! Ava has been having the rice cereal formula for four days now and hasn't spit up once!! I only give it to her 2-3 times a day and nurse her the others and she hasn't spit up breastmilk or formula. She is no longer taking the Zantac, hallelujah, I don't like giving little babies medicine. And She has slept from 9 at night to 6 in the morning for 3 nights. I wish the doctor would have suggested adding rice cereal to the formula sooner. He said this is one of the greatest things for babies with reflux. And it has worked. My mom and grandma also suggested it a while ago, I should have listened. But it was nice to hear it from a doctor and to hear how much to put in it. You can buy the formula that has it in it or just add a teaspoon of rice cereal to a regular bottle. It has worked like a charm. I hope I am not jinxing it by saying this :)

Kid Kicker Dragons

Last summer we let Calvin do a trial karate class at Bobby Lawrence karate. He loved it. So we told him that when he was out of preschool he could do karate. Our reasoning is, once we don't have to pay for preschool we can let them choose something fun that they would like to try. We went to 5 different schools, including a capoeira class, to try and pick the right one for Calvin. We decided on Omega martial arts. It is a mix of several forms of martial arts and I loved the class structure, the teacher, the schedule and the price. There was actually a big range of all those factors and this fit everything we wanted. We have heard there are so many benefits from karate: self discipline, respect, listening skills, confidence. Calvin doesn't struggle with any of that right now, but I love that they teach that stuff. He has been to a few classes now and he loves it. He goes every Monday and Wednesday from 4:30-5:15. I am not quite sure how I feel about tournaments, but we will see when we get to that point. Right now he is a kid kicker Dragon and they just have one optional tournament a year. We are excited for Calvin to be doing something fun and we think karate is a good thing for him to learn.