FHE

We usually do our Family Home evening on Sundays since I usually attend school Monday evenings. For Family Home evening today, We made a new assignment chart. It is simple and it will work for now. We discussed our summer plans and the things we need to accomplish and maintain since kids get the impression that vacation means just sitting around doing nothing productive. I made assignment charts for the kids to work on and I incorporated tithing in them. At the end of every week, Bryan and I will give the kids a $1.00.allowance if they meet their assignments. This will remind them to pay their tithing every week, even if it is just a dime. One of our goals is to learn all 13 articles of faith by August, prior to Asha's baptism. In primary, we will have an Ice-cream social for the kids who learn them all. Bryan gave us the lesson today and he shared the message he received at church today during the combined meeting. I have attached a small video of the message he shared. It really touched our hearts and made us realize the importance of keeping our minds and hearts open to the spirit and of the importance of writing in our journals.

3 month Update :)

Well, We have sure been absent from the Internet for a while. Many wonderful things have happened to us in the past few months and we cannot but express gratitude to our Creator for all of our many blessings. Bryan is employed after a few days with out a job and many worries. Thank you Bryan for your hard work and for providing our family with everything we need. Heavenly Father is so mindful of our needs. We are grateful for that. As for me, I have been called to serve as 1st counselor in the Primary presidency for 1st ward. I Am truly enjoying the spirit of those beautiful children. They teach us so much :) I have been serving since April and this month, I have been in charge of Sharing time. I have had to rely on the spirit a lot to know and understand the needs of the children I serve, so I can deliver the message the lord wants me to teach. This month's theme is "Baptism and confirmation are ordinances that bless my family" I am specially thankful to teach on this subject as Asha is preparing to make this sacred covenant in August. Asha and Bryce are also very happy to have me in Primary. On Another note, I have also been working hard in school. After 2 long years of prerequisite classes, I finally got my acceptance letter into the RN program at BC. Two days ago, (May 28th 2009), I also took and passed the TEAS test, a 4 hour exam and one of the requirements to enter the RN program. I spent a whole month studying for it along with prayer and it finally happened. I'm officially In!!! I cannot express how happy I am to take on Nursing school! I had been waiting for this for a long time. Among our many joys, we are also happy to announce Bryce's graduation from Kindergarten! He worked so hard this year and learned so many things. Now he can read and write simple sentences, add and subtract, and count by 2's, 5's, and 10's to 100. He was awarded a writing recognition by his teacher at the end of the year.We are so proud of you Bryce!!! keep working hard. Asha on the other hand, finished 2nd grade and got a recognition award in reading. You will always see that child with a book. This year, she is concentrating on reading the scriptures in preparation for her upcoming baptism. She is so excited!!! Every year as her birthday approaches, all she talks about is her party but this year, all she talks about is her baptism. We are so proud of you Asha for your great desire. I am just happy I get to be In Primary and take a greater part in helping her prepare for this special day. The other day, I put together a baptism book for her to help her prepare to make that covenant and to record her memories of the special event. It has been 3 very special past months. Our plans for this summer, include taking a camping trip sometime before the summer's over. My Parents will also be coming from Texas in August for Asha's birthday and baptism. it will be so fun! This summer, I am also Applying for US citizenship and making tons of preparations for Nursing school. I'm excited :)
Now, Some pictures of our adventures in the past few months:

Hurray Bryce!

Bryce's Graduation Day

May 27, 2009

Kids at play 03/08/2009
Our Neighbor Jackie 03/08/2009
Girl's day out at "The Country Rose Tea Room"
04/09/2009

Asha's keepsake gift from Mommy

Building memories together :)

The best of friends!

Best friends, Bryce and Hoyce
May 26,2009

Asha receiving her award

May 26, 2009

Bryce receiving his award
May 27, 2009

A visit from Tio Luis
02/20/2009

Asha and Mrs. Camps. 2nd grade.

Virginia Ave, Open house

May/2009

school Hawaiian day. May/2009

Beach trip to Moro Bay. April/2009

Bryce, Kindergarten 2008-2009

Pay It Forward

So my friend, Andrea, is doing this pay it forward thing. This is how it works..... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. There's a small catch...You knew there would be didn't you? Post this on your blog then come back and leave a comment, telling me you're in. Fun, huh? Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift

Growing kids

I thought I might snap a few shots of the kids since I haven't done it in a while.
They are growing and learning and continue to be the source of laughter in the home.
They are our greatest blessing. We love you guys! Mom and Dad :0)

Bryce 5

2/17/2009Asha 7
2/17/2009

February 2009 Update

OK. So here is a quick update of what has been going on in the Orton Household in the past month.n Despite Bryan almost loosing his Job, we have been very blessed. Bryan is doing OK in this job for now. It has been rough not knowing what our economic stand will be in the near future but We have faith that the lord will provide if we are faithful. So many people are going through rough times.

I celebrated my 29th birthday and I am thankful for another year of life and many other blessings.
I'm still working on finishing school and doing photography on the side. The kids are growing by the minute it seems like. They are doing well in school and both have been awarded for their hard work.

So many things have happened both good, and bad, happy, and sad.
My good friend Stacey lost her brother in a car accident this month. Being close to her, we all have been affected by the situation. He is now in a better place though. I had the opportunity to help out the family as much as I could and I also spoke at the funeral which was held at the "A" street building. I Share this because I think it was a great missionary opportunity to share some of the basic gospel principles with over 300 non-members that attended the services. He had lots of great friends. Rest in Peace Brian Bailey.

We also had the opportunity this month to speak in church on the topic of Charity. Both Bryan and I enjoyed this assignment very much as we learned from the topic ourselves.

We celebrated Valentines Day here at the house with a nice dinner.

Just yesterday, Bryan informed me that after a visit to the doctor and some tests done, He is at a high risk for diabetes and perhaps also be suffering from heart decease. It is very scary! Now he is in a 1500 cal. diet. We all pray that the Lord will be with us and with Bryan on the quest for better health.
I have been also trying to eat healthier and teach my kids the same.
Anyway, It has been a month of growth in all aspects for us all here at the Orton household.

First ward's GNO @ Peking Palace

So today I got invited to GNO with the girls from my ward.

We went to Peking Palace a Chinese restaurant. It was so much fun to go and get to know the girls better. I Really needed this since I tend to be a little reserved and not as talkative and one of my goals this year is to get out of my shell and get to know more people. I loved spending time with my ward sisters and I loved the food! I had never been there so I didn't know what to order of the menu. I finally decided to be good to myself and I ended up ordering a veggie and rice plate and split it in half. I'm really trying to eat healthier and less this year :)

The whole experience was awesome until I decided to bend over to the side to reach for my keys and my left foot got tangled to my chair and I felt sideways along with the chair all the way to the floor. It was so embarrassing but funny at the same time. I really had lots of fun and I love my ward sisters. :)

Goals for 2009

This past Sunday was a Sunday to set goals for this year. We had Ward Conference and It was just awesome. Our Bishop and President Russell spoke in our sacrament meeting and gave us some goals to accomplish as a ward as well as individuals. I will write those down once I get the list. This Sunday we also sat down as family for FHE and wrote down our family goals.
Each Member of our family wrote their goals and posted them somewhere visible so we could read them and work on them daily. We are
super inspired and have a sense that this year will be a very special one as we work diligently to accomplish the goals we have set.
A couple of Sundays ago, In relief society, we had a lesson about goal setting and Sister Beesley gave us a handout that had an outline of how to reach our goals

The 4 steps of Goal -Setting

1. Evaluate

2. Plan

3. Act

4. Report

With this in mind it will be easier to work on our goals and get them accomplished

"Reach and strain...
Growth comes from setting your goals high
and reaching for the stars."
-Spencer W Kimball

"Spend your energies doing things
that make a difference. Then you
can become what you think about."
-M. Russell Ballard

"The past is behind: Learn from it
The future is ahead: Prepare for it
The present is here: Live in it!"
-Thomas S. Monson

May we all reach the goals we have set this year!