the gates are down, the underwear ON and the eggs are found

Gate Status=DOWN. What does this mean? It means that Kyle is going up and down the stairs and is fabulous at it....so much so that we have taken the gates and all barricades DOWN! It's rather nice...I still take double-takes sometimes, as my psyche isn't used to it quite yet. Kyle LOVES IT! He loves going to the down-down play room with "the big kids" and just roaming. He really is pretty good on his own, and YES, I do check on him still rather often. But it nice to let him have some freedom and not have to have him under foot and in sight at all times. Hooray for Ky!

Underwear Status=ON. What does this mean? It means that Mom took Rory's diapers and said "no more." Okay, he still wears them at night...but not during they day. We aren't going back either. No pull-ups, no diapers for nap...underwear! He was just getting lazy with his training and it wasn't going anywhere. I seriously prayed for help with this, and I got the impression to just go for it. Jim was home a few days last week being sick, so he was here to help with the few accidents we had, but it really hasn't been too bad. He's excited and proud, and I, Rory's Mother, am very excited and proud of Rory!

Easter Eggs Status=DYED, HIDDEN & FOUND. We had a fun fun time this Easter. We all enjoyed the Founders Village Easter Egg Hunt--though it was rather brisk out, the sun made its appearance at just the right time. There were a ton of kids...and not quite a ton of eggs, but each of my kids got a few eggs, so they were happy enough. We saw friends there and it was a great way to kick off the Easter weekend.

We also shared some nice spiritual moments this week. Beginning with our Family Home Evening on Monday we talked to our kids about Easter and its meaning. We spoke of Jesus's Atonement, His Crucifixion and the Resurrection. It a bit complicated for our yougin's but we simplified it and they got the idea. Mostly we talked about how much Heavenly Father and Jesus loves each of us and how all of this is a gift to us. We got a beautiful book from Deseret Book called In The Garden, at the recommendation of my sister-in-law, and while the wording in the book was a bit rudimentary, it was basic and understandable for children....and the art was FABULOUS.

All in all, our Easter was rather nice. We shared a lovely Easter dinner with some close friends and enjoyed our day at church too. Now to get the kids to not eat ALL their candy in one sitting!