The Orchard Team Huddle

Hello Friends and Family, It was a whirlwind of a year for the Orchard family. Please allow me to recap. January: Russell and Douglas brave the frigid temperatures of Idaho for their annual fishing derby. I don't quite understand it but they have a ton of fun. It has become a winter tradition for them. We buy a used but new-for-us SUV in anticipation of many baseball road trips in our future. Both of the boys are playing Jr. Jazz and Douglas is practicing baseball. February: More Jr. Jazz, more baseball. We drive to St. George for Douglas' first tournament of the year. Mason learns to crawl and gets his first tooth! March: Russell and I take a much needed vacation to Puerto Vallarta. No kids, no carpools, no stress. I have a small amount of anxiety over leaving my baby behind but manage to enjoy myself. I turn a year older and we end the month with another tournament in St. George. April: Arguably our busiest month of the year. Both of the boys are in FULL baseball swing and...

Christmas is... making gingerbread houses. assembling Christmas jigsaw puzzles. Christmas Eve bowling complete with mini corn dogs and fries. It's a bit of a bummer when you come within 2 pins of a 100 score game. Stockton clearly was not happy! watching Luke II and reading from the bible followed by the singing of Silent Night. It is also a toddler that wants to sing "Child of God" and "Song of Bird" since you are already in the spirit of singing. X presents under the tree. New pajamas and MLB build-your-own board Monopoly to pass the long hours leading up to bedtime. a new elf to help Santa. Stockton thought directional signs would be helpful this year. He likes the fact that he is in the know. hoping and wishing and asking what your odds are of getting what you asked for. waiting on the stairs for your turn to go into the family room. the look on your face when you see your stack of presents for the first time. candy for breakfast, getting just what you...

As I was in the store with my boys a few weeks ago Stockton was fascinated by a shirt he saw. "Mom, look at this shirt. It says, 'Here comes trouble!' We should get that for Mason." We all started laughing when Mason piped up and said, "Tums Chubble !" We encouraged him to say it all through the store and laughed every time he did. I didn't like the shirt enough to buy it there but have since found one I liked. It puts a smile on my face to think about. I know I need to remember that smile for the months to come! Mason is now 18 months old. He is more toddler than baby. He is doing so many cute things and so many naughty little things. Here's a little more about our sunshine. Y Mason is into EVERYTHING! I feel like all I do is go from room to room cleaning new messes. He gets things out of the cupboards while I cook dinner, he gets things out of the drawers while I do the treadmill, he has started dumping containers of toys instead of nicely playing...

Today we celebrate Douglas turning 14. This is my favorite picture from the past year. After a year of hard work and dreaming, Douglas watched his team play in the World Series from the dugout with a broken collar bone. It was a life changing experience for him. He is a much stronger person now than he was a year ago and one of the lessons he learned was that Heavenly Father has a plan for us. It may not be what we plan but he knows us and loves us and things happen for a reason. Here are a few fun facts about the birthday boy! Y He would have a shake EVERY day if I let him. This boy likes ice cream. Y Douglas is very likable . When I sit down with his teachers at SEP conferences and tell them his name, they always say, "Oh, yes, Douglas." Most of them appreciate his sense of humor and participation. There is always one that finds him to be most obnoxious. Y Grandpa Murry is his best friend. Y His shoe size is 9 1/2, currently the same as his dad's. ...