Maddie pictures

I found these pictures a couple nights ago, and thought they were cute enough to share. I just got off the phone with my sister in Ecuador. She told me to post some more pictures, so here you go. By the way, Maddie's middle name is "Kate" after my sis. Maddie now can say her whole name, "Maddie Kate Orme". Actually, I don't even think she knows that her real name is Madeline. But if I tried to explain that one, I know she would get mad at me. Maddie loves all her aunts and uncles. She is such a sweet heart; it is hard not to love her back!

This shirt was first Dave's older brothers shirt growing up. It was then passed down to Dave and then Joey. My kids love to wear it to bed now. Maddie is such a tom boy and girly girl at the same time.

And...you gotta love this hair. Her hair is like a big fuzz ball every morning.

Maddie told me tonight that she wants a baby girl in our family. I will start working on that in a few years Maddie, so don't start pressuring me yet!

Last night I had one of the most memorable experiences going to an Indigo Girls concert. My friend Hilary invited me along with three other close friends to see Indigo Girls in Ann Arbor. Hilary is good friends with Indigo Girl: Emily, through her older sister. This picture was taken right after the concert before we went back stage to meet everyone. (Those stickers are the back stage passes) The music was so amazing! We were on the third row and my favorite part was watching them play the guitar so closely. I love their voices, the way they blend, and the way they sound just as good as when I saw them live in high school. They are on tour right now for their new C.D., "Poseiden and the Bitter Bug." It is a two-disc album, one with the big studio band, and one stripped down to just the girls & their guitars. I have been listening to it all day and absolutely love every song on the album. As I listened to them play some of their old songs I couldn't stop thinking about the good old days with Jenny and Grace (and others) dancing to their music at the Galivan Center, Wolf Mountain, and during our summer in Montana and driving to Jackson Hole.

I am going to miss Hilary SOOO much when I move! I would love to share her whole story about her singing and growing up in a family touring band, but she probably wouldn't like it since she is so quiet and humble about it all. All I will say is that I will never forget the night that we first started talking. I came home from this particular girls night out last fall and I was just so happy when I walked in the door. Dave said, "What's up Kristine? What are you smiling about?" I said, "Dave I just met the coolest girl! We had the greatest conversation. I know we are going to be good friends." So true. Hilary, you are the coolest and I feel grateful to have you as my friend. (And not just because you are friends with famous people!!)

Here we are back stage with Emily. By the way, for anyone out there who likes their music, Emily is the higher voice of the two. Her voice is so calming and soothing to listen to. We talked for an hour with her after the concert. I could not believe what a down to earth person she is. There was nothing weird about it and I was taken back by her incredible kindness and genuineness. It was super inspiring talking with her about some of her upcoming charity projects and hearing her express such a love for music and the people she works with. What an awesome night.

10 reasons I am excited to be in a house!

Maddie and Marcus playing the ukuleles I brought back from Hawaii.

Dave taking the kids around on our Primary Easter Egg hunt at the park.


This sweet little dog "Lilly" made last week much more exciting and fun for the kids. We dog sat for our friends while they were on spring break. It gave Dave and I got just enough of a "dog dose" to decide that we are not ready for a dog quite yet! (However, we loved watching how much the kids loved her. Even Tyler was entertained.)

This past weekend was the best Michigan weather we have had yet. We spent as much time as possible outside. Tyler was thinking he was the coolest kid on the block driving his new wheels!

I love this kid to death!

Now he is being Mr. Tough Guy.

Yesterday we had company over for dinner and as I was making preparations, I started thinking about how great it will be once we are in a house and not a two bedroom apartment. Here are a few things I came up with.

10 things to look forward to in our new house:

1. No longer will we have to clear the kitchen table and roll it into the playroom so that we can fit more than two people around the table! Whenever we have friends or the missionaries over, or even when we just want to have a more formal Sunday dinner, we roll our table in the other room. We scoot enough toys away to make room for us, and since we don't have enough chairs, we use the piano bench for the kids. Normally each night when we eat, Josh and Maddie sit while Dave and I stand to eat our food.
2. Our dishwasher! Right now, our dishwasher has to be rolled from one side of the kitchen to the other to use it. Once it is hooked into the sink, you can not use any water in the house.
3. Dresser drawer space! Dave and Josh share a dresser that has 4 drawers. Dave gets 2 and Josh gets 2. I share my dresser with Tyler. He gets 3 and I get 3. This is hardly enough room to fit our clothes, so we have tried to create a little space under the bed. It is a good motivator for me NOT to buy clothes because I literally have no place to put any pants.
4. In our new house I am excited to not have to squeeze out of bed against the wall. I want to have room to actually walk out of bed and not be smashed.
5. In our new house we will have room to put the latter down on Josh's bunk bed. Right now, when the latter is down there is no room to walk by and we have tripped on it one too many times.
6. I can't wait to have a driveway that doesn't have a piece of crap car that has never and will never work. Our neighbors bought a junk car and never bothered to fix it. In stead, it takes up a whole lot of space and just has a way of getting on my nerves every time I walk past it.
7. More than one bathroom! Our bathroom gets a little crazy when we are all in there at the same time doing different things. Dave likes to take a shower with out any interruptions. This is quite impossible. Especially now that Tyler hears the water and he has to see what is going on. He loves to watch people take showers and I always hear Dave complaining about the cold air getting in! Ty is so cute, I just have to let him do it.
8. More space! This is for sure the biggest reason we are excited to move into a house. As of right now, all three kids are just 5 steps away from our bed at night. This makes it so we hear EVERYTHING. Tossing and turning, snoring, coughing, loud breathing, and sleep talking.
9. New paint and floors! We live in a very old house. I won't have to deal with ants this summer! Yeahhhh!
10. The second biggest reason I can't wait to get in our house is for PRIVACY! We have a family living above us with two kids and we hear WAY TOO MUCH up there. I am talking about; conversations that we shouldn't be hearing, fighting and yelling that we shouldn't be hearing, a whole lot of drama that I won't go into right now. This has been super difficult at times. I also know they don't love it when I am singing at the top of my lungs! (I don't know why not....ha, ha, ha!)

With all that said, we have truly LOVED our home here in Michigan. But, I am sorry to say a two bedroom apartment just doesn't cut it with three kids. We feel so blessed to be moving into a house where we will not be living on top of each other. May 15th is the closing date!!!

Ladies 70's disco night!

Work it...work it! Hannah just sent me these sweet pictures from our girls night out last month. I think that, (no question, hands down) Tiffany is rockin' it the most in those yellow pants!

Here we have Hannah, Lora, me, Roxy, Beth, Terria, and Tiff.

We drove out to "The Melting Pot" for a ladies night out. (While listening to Saturday Night Fever the whole way.) They were giving out raffles for all the people who dressed up in 70's clothes. Plus we got a sweet deal on the food thanks to Terria's negotiating. That was some of the best food I have had in a VERY long time. Thanks girls for the memory. And once again, can I say that I LOVE Tiffany's pants! You should strut your stuff while walking around Casper, Wyoming!

The Lakeshore Chamber Singers

Two months ago I was asked to be a member of the Lakeshore Chamber Singers. Almost two years ago (A month after I moved to Detroit) I did an audition for the choir master at Christ's Church in Grosse Pointe. I never heard anything from him until now. (So sad because now I am moving) Anyway, he has put together a group of 16 singers to do concerts every month. We are performing our first concert this week and anyone who would like to come is invited. It is free, and it will be a quality performance worth attending!

Friday April 10th at 7:00 at Christ's Church on Grosse Pointe Blvd. just north of South High School.
We will be performing: A Passion of Heinrich Schuetz, Four motets by Poulenc, Cantique de Jean Racine by Faure, and the Faure Requiem.

Just about all of the singers know each other from their music backgrounds at Michigan State in Ann Arbor. It has been 4 years since I have sang with professional singers in a paid gig like this. It has wet my appetite once again for how much I love classical music and love to perform. I want to try to explain this feeling in a way that my husband can relate to. ( Dave and I like to make analogies between sports and music.)

Those of you who know my husband know that he LOVES, (I mean LOVES) soccer! When I met him he was a die hard soccer player. I fell in love with him with his long socks, black cleats, and dripping wet hair. Our first few years of marriage Dave played A LOT of soccer. Now, he has to go much longer periods without playing, and finding competitive people to play with can be even harder. But, when he gets out on the field, I know he feels like he is at home. He gets so excited. His hands clinch into fists, he jumps up and down again and again before he goes on the field, and the smile on his face is as if he is 10 years old again. He gets a rush and doesn't even realize how much he missed it until he is sprinting full speed making a fast break. That is Dave. I LOVE this about him. It is such a turn on to see my sweet and shy husband transform into an aggressive and ferocious animal out there on the field. The only sport I have this much passion for is skiing, but I am not even sure if my love for skiing can top Dave's thrill to run full speed.
That was a long and descriptive way to express what it felt like to be among singers again. I spent 8 years dedicating hour after hour and day after day to the life of a musician. I was surrounded by music majors with each waking moment. Those of you who know me would not think of me as a quiet, shy, passive person would you? Well, in a room full of singers, I was one of the most "to myself" and "quiet" people. The reason is because singers are seriously a breed of their own. They fight for the spotlight, they are drama, drama drama, they can't ever get enough attention, they are diva's, they are competitive, they can be ruthless behind your back, they are off the wall hyper and extremely LOUD people. With all that said, I love them to death.
So last week when I had my first rehearsal, all those memories came flooding back. There are few things more fulfilling in the world than to sing at the top of my lungs in a room full of amazing voices. I can not describe the emotion and power of singing with a full voice with absolutely no restraints as high as my vocal cords will take me. I feel beyond grateful for the talent that I have been blessed to develop. Just as Dave feels at home on the soccer field, I will always feel at home when I am singing.
(This may be the cheesiest blog ever, but I don't really care. La, la, la, la, laaaaaaaaaa!)

Our new home (crossing our fingers!)

My friend Julie and I drove to "Indy" last Sunday night, and the very next morning found a beautiful home that fits my family perfectly!

The offer has not gone through yet, so I know this is premature to be blogging about our first home. However, I fell in love with it, and can't stop thinking about it.

Dave cares more about the backyard than the actual house, so here are a few outside shots. He can't complain about this. Most homes do not have fences, so we got lucky finding a big nice yard that my kids can't escape from.
The play set is included! Yeahhh!

Julie and I had such a great day. It was warm, sunny and beautiful. She was an amazing help and support. We never ran out of all the good "girl talk", and also never ran out of all the snacks, chocolate, and candy we loaded the car with. The first 5 houses didn't excite us too much. Then we walked into a home and I said under my breath, "This is it. I love you!" I thought I was set, but 3 houses later I knew this was the one. It had such a comfortable and warm feeling. Everything is in wonderful condition. All new paint, carpet and appliances. We finished looking at all the 4 bedroom houses in the area and went home to regroup. Two hours later we went out to just make sure we had seen them all. I had such a good feeling about this house. There were really no doubts in my mind. So, it was time to celebrate. We drove around the city, got some food and hit a movie. ("Duplicity" with Julia Roberts- very good! I recommend it.)

The next morning we wrapped things up and then took off for the 5 hour drive home. It took us a bit longer because we couldn't pass up some outlet shopping. All in all, it was a wonderful and memorable time. Thanks a million Julie!

In case you are wondering where my husband is during this big decision....he is on a boys trip(Tyler and Josh included) in Utah with his family.

The kitchen and family room are awesome!
Below is a picture of me and our Realtor doing business.

(hee, hee, hee)

(I am so giddy right now looking at the home!)

That's all for now. We will hear back in the next few days whether or not we will be closing on this house next month. We have a guest bedroom and bathroom, so please feel free to visit anytime. (Southwest flies to Indiana!) We feel truly blessed to have some wonderful options to live that are affordable for our family over the next 5 years.