Word on the Streets

easter 2011 at the casey home. . .

the easter bunny is consistent with us each year. for as long as the boys have lived every easter morning there are bunny footprints from the street to our front door with a small basket of goodies for each boy. it is a wonder to us all how he just knows what to bring and how to keep surprising us. his tracks go from not only our home but to two other homes across from us. it is one of the best neighborhood wonders. this year we were treated with homemade cupcakes! yummy! love that easter bunny! the boys think it is better than christmas morning and mom and dad might even agree for the simple hope each easter morning that he has visited! 

we attended church and had a lovely easter service and lessons. then we had a yummy easter lunch at nan and grandpa's house. this would be our last big casey house easter egg hunt and the boys were beyond excited for it. grandpa (the other easter bunny) hid 40 eggs in his backyard. each boy got to find 20 eggs and some of them were really difficult. they enlisted grandpa and dad's help after a time. and we think we still came up short one egg! guess the new owners of the house will have to find that one. my mom made a delicious crab salad and we had rolls and deviled eggs. it was a nice light easy lunch that sort of became dinner. then we grabbed a family photo. 

i remember having big egg hunts in the casey house backyard with my grandmother hiding our baskets. she did our easter baskets every year. now my boys have been able to have some of that same joy. it was a fun way to spend sunday. after dinner we read scriptures together with nan and grandpa and we talked about Christ's resurrection. it marked the last easter at the casey home and i was so glad we were able to have it as a family there. i hope my boys are old enough to remember the casey home my dad built. there are so many memories there for me from my childhood and days of coming home from university. every dear friend of mine has been to the casey home. rod and i had our wedding reception there. so this easter was a good time to have one last small family celebration there even if it was amid boxes that were packed.

and my favorite photo of the day is the one of morgan with my mom. that is a keeper!

my jack deschamps. . .

jack came out first. jack was supposed to come out second but jack came out first. he was on the top up under my ribs and with a c-section, he came out one whole minute earlier than morgan. i think even if he had come into this world second he would still act as if he were the eldest child. he is out-going. he is a leader. he loves to be part of the action and get his hands first in anything. he makes great chocolate chip cookies with his dad. jack controls the tv remote. jack loves to play the piano. he is a great bike rider but oddly enough prefers to go slowly down the hills. he dances on the basketball court not really caring to take possession of the ball. he builds incredible lego creations. he can figure almost any new game out on the computer and wants to learn how to text on our cell phones. he loves to make phone calls but does not like to talk for a long time. he is happy to do errands for mom. he is a great communicator and tells a great story. he reads like a wiz. he treasures his scriptures and reminds us to read when i have forgotten. he prays nightly by himself. he goes to sleep later and wakes up earlier. he usually makes his bed daily. he is great at emptying the dishwasher. he makes funny faces. he is unafraid to talk to adults. he picks up vocabulary easily and says "actually" often. he does not like shoes that have laces. he has no time to learn how to tie the laces. so he prefers velcro tennis shoes. even then he never undoes the velcro but rather jams his foot into the shoe. he loves to comb his own hair. he is great at brushing his teeth. he likes to go to the library and use his card to check out books. he is a self-check-out guy. he is a snuggler. he often climbs up on the couch right by me and burrows himself into my side. jack's school teacher told me that he is a model student. he often thinks of getting her a flower or a nice treat without my prompting. jack's best friend in school is the little girl in his class that lives across the street from us. right now he has a big, toothy grin that makes me smile from ear to ear.

my morgan. . .

with my grandfather and father and my brother all named morgan, i usually refer to my son as "my morgan". my little morgan is a tender soul. he is a peace-keeper when there is an angry brother. he is a perfectionist and likes order and quiet places. he loves to draw and create lego structures. he has a love to create. he likes colors. he loves it when i read to him. he likes his hair out of his face. he would eat macaroni and cheese everyday if i would let him. he likes life cereal and pistachios. his favorite stuffed animals are his honey colored teddy bear and his elephant. he sleeps soundly and heavily. he sweats when he sleeps! he gets out of the shower and stands there freezing rather than quickly drying himself off with the towel. he loves to swim. he loves after school treats. he loves to go down hill fast on his bicycle. he likes to shoot baskets. he loves to beg grandpa for oreos. he loves to paint with his nana. he is friends with the girls in his class. he is hesitant to do something alone. he is funny. he can tell a good joke. he has a wonderful laugh. his feelings run close to the surface. he loves praise. he really loves his cousins. he prays for others who are suffering. he thanks God for Jesus Christ and for this beautiful earth. he reads the scriptures very well. he wants six children and tells me that he will live next to me with his family so i can play with his children. he wants to be a writer and an illustrator and have his brother, jack, work for him and live in an attached part of his house. all this and at the same time he tells me that when he is eight he will stop growing up. (i've asked him to stop growing up each year since he was five but he tells me not until he is eight will he be able to accommodate my wishes!)

i love my morgan--more than he will ever know.

morgan's "finish line" lego creation:

spring green. . .

usually each day after i drop my boys off at school i go directly to the park where i let the dog off leash to chase the rabbits. the past few weeks the park has become a green sprawling sight of beauty. the grass is thick and rich with color and the trees are coming back to life. the walks down the park in the morning are one of my most favorite things in my day. this is why the dog is good for me. she is the main reason i get to the park and once i am there my soul is filled with a gratitude for the beauty of God's creations.