Happy Birthday Patrick Daniel Coleman

Happy Birthday to "Archie" as I almost always call him and the name that he was called when I met him, also known as Patrick Daniel. Archie is a very loyal and dedicated husband, father, son, friend, and businessman. I am so proud of the man that he is and whom God had molded him into. He loves people with his whole heart and has helped so many people out.. Since he runs his own business and now has 3 children, life has become a lot busier and harder, but Archie is still ALWAYS loving and giving. From helping a stranger move a couch on Thanksgiving morning to spending part of his birthday helping somebody with household items (not me)- Archie truly is an amazing and godly man that thinks of others!

Look at how talented he is- Archie laid this floor in our home and taught himself how to play the guitar. He plays his guitar at home and on our church worship team.

Happy Birthday Patrick Daniel- we love you!

Since I last blogged . . .

Madison had "pajama day" at her preschool and LOVED wearing her new High School Musical PJs! Wouldn't it be great if we all could wear our favorite pajamas to work? The boys shirts say," If you think I'm cute you should see my twin!" and Madison's shirt says, "Just Be Glad That I'm Not a Twin." I had to buy these shirts and take their pictures!

Madison thought that we needed to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus on Christmas Eve, but I didn't have a cake made, so she thought that a candle would do the trick. After lining up some of her new horses that she got for Christmas and a little Cinderella figurine, we all sang happy birthday to Jesus. It was very sweet . Since we were able to celebrate Christmas with pretty much all of our WHOLE families- we celebrated it 5 different times with 5 different parties- I will spare you all the pictures, but here's a picture of the boys before they tore into one of their gifts. The boys liked the paper and tissue more than their gifts at the time, but now they are LOVING to play with everything that they got that has wheels! Of course, Madison's highlight was all of the horse items that she got! Oh- to those of you that do want to see our family pictures-mostly the LARGE Beslic party people- I will use snapshot or winkflash or something like that some time and email all of you that info. . . I just need to learn how to do that! I told you that I will, so I will . . . sometime!

Well, the 5 full days of celebrating was fun, but it also sent Archie and I to the Emergency Room with Madison in the early morning after Chrismas. We got home after 11:oo or so on Christmas night from my mom's house and put all the kids to bed. Madison woke up around 3:00 in the morning wheezing and crying hysterically because she couldn't breathe. My mom came over right away and we went to the ER. After a breathing treatment and chest x-rays, the doctor told us that she had a mild form of croupe, which really isn't that bad to have, but was very scary for us in the beginning. After some streroids and a cool mist that she had to breathe in for 1/2 hour, we were free to go. Madison is holding the little "dragon nose" that she had to wear while we were at the hospital. This picture is after the breathing treatment and x-rays and while she was watching some cartoons. Archie and I are so glad that our little girl is healthy and that nothing serious came from this and Madison is so glad that God healed her!
And LASTLY- today was Archie's family birthday party. His actual birthday is on New Years Eve, but we like to celebrate with the family before. I will write a blog to honor Archie on his actual birthday tomorrow-I hope!

Note to Self

Things that I need to remember:

- remember to turn off the Christmas lights in the boys room BEFORE they go to bed. This will make them NOT wake up in the middle of the night screaming bloody murder. I learned this 3 nights into it. Oh well, at least it didn't happen for a month!

-remember that since Madison does have my genetic makeup and acts like me, she will DO things and ACT the way that I did when I was 4 years old---don't be too alarmed....and TRY not to laugh if the "act" needs to be disciplined. We had a sneaky incident this morning on the way to preschool. I found the singing Happy Meal toy that I told her she was not allowed to bring to school . . . in her backpack! Thankfully she admitted to hiding it from Mommy right away. Am I ready for the time that she does not admit to lying and continues to do so? Here is a visual.

-remember that the boys are in the "in between" stages of food and this too will pass. All of the cheeese, toast, and pears found on the floor, in the highchair, in their clothing, and in their diapers can be easily cleaned off.

- remember to NOT cut all 3 children's fingernails on the same evening and at night before they go to bed! The boys wiggle and scream which is annoying and stressful. Thankfully I didn't cut any of their fingers off!

-remember that prayer is an easy thing to do when you are stressed . . . and it helps!

-remember that making sugar cookies to dunk in a cold glass of milk can be a fun way to end a stressful evening.

Do I have to?

Do I have to do the laundry tonight? Do I have to grade those papers for my students tonight? Do I have to clean the dishes tonight- oh wait- I already did....good! NOPE! All of those things will be there tomorrow, and I am tired and want to relax. So, I will go upstairs and have a yummy drink and indulge in a little TV and be in bed by 10:00. Are any of you surprised? I am. Good night!

Who needs GIFTS for Christmas?

As you can see, the kids are perfectly content playing with things around the house- do I really need to puchase gifts for them? Actually, I have finally finished Christmas shopping- now only if all the gifts were wrapped!

Archie and I decided shortly after Madison was born that we would only buy one or 2 gifts for Madison to open on Christmas morning. Since we celebrate 4 Christmases- yes that is 4- we thought that between all the presents from grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins and of course her stocking on Christmas morning- that that would be more than enough for her....and it has been. We will continue to do this with the boys too. I am looking forward to watching the boys "open" their 1st Christmas gifts. Maybe I'll be able to post a video of it!

NOW

Last year I read God is Closer Than You Think by John Ortberg and I was reminded today of something that he said. We all have "great "moments in our lives- the first breath we took, our first steps, our first kiss, the moment that something just "clicks" and your life is forever changed- you get the idea. Well, Ortberg talks about how so often we live in our past thinking about the greatness of it or we live in our future and dream about the greatness of it- but often we forget to live in the NOW and enjoy the greatness of it. He says that the "now moment" is God's irreplaceable gift to you. I like that.

I was able to stop and enjoy a "now moment" this afternoon. After Madison and I went over to our neighbor's house for a few moments, I returned home to this. . . .

If you are unsure of what the picture is, it's Christian and Caleb waiting at the front door patiently for their Mommy. (My "now moment" may be different than yours) It was fun to stop and enjoy the "greatness" of that moment. When will they ever sit and wait for me like that again-patiently and eagerly?! It reminded me of a dog waiting eagerly for his master to come home- and I don't really like dogs! It was very sweet to come home to.

Just a little later, I snapped a few pics of Madison running around the fire pit and playing "horsey" outside in the snow. That was another "now moment" for me because it made me stop and think about the girl that Madison is becoming and how God has truly been good to my family and I. What have been your "now moments" lately? I would love to hear about them!

Yeah! It's Christmas Time!

I love this time of year. The scent of the fresly cut Christmas tree in our home, the vanilla and hazelnut candles, the newly fallen snow adorning the trees, and the very addicting Christmas music. I can't help singing and dancing with Madison as she tries out all of our different Christmas cds. She loves this time of year too!

We woke up a few days ago to a beauiful fallen snow so I took a picture of it at our home and in dowtown Naperville that morning. We also got our Christmas tree this past weekend with Archie's parents.

25 years FREE of cancer!

The day after Thanksgiving, Archie, the kids and I went to Lake Geneva for 2 days with my mom and sisters to celebrate. We were celebrating my moms 25 years free of cancer! Since it was the WHOLE family, our celebration consisted of having fun and relaxing together. We stayed at Timber Lodge, an indoor waterpark, and had tons of fun! We also went shopping a lot and played games. The boys liked the fast waterslides, but their big sister didn't. My mom loved it so much she kept going back for more! We all LOVED the hotubs and it was so cool to be in a hottub outside! Madison's highlight was riding a pony named Twinkie and I think Caleb's was that he learned how to wave! Christian had a ball crawling around and pulling himself up on everything and Archie and I enjoyed just being away.

Notice Madison's shirt- Mommy's Little Sidekick. We found this on one of our shopping sprees and I had to get it!

The Perspective of a 4 year old

After every picture I take, the first words out of Madison's mouth are "Can I see it?" and she asks all the time to take her own pictures. So, Archie and I allowed her to walk around the house a few times and take her own pictures. It's nice that we can delete items and not print everything! Here are a few of Madison's latest pictures that she has taken on her own.

Notice what is important in her own little world. She even lined up her horses for their photo shoot!

Finally. . .

Since it's so late, or early, depending on if you have gone to bed yet, here are some pictures from our life from the past few weeks.

Picture #1- my friend Kristen brought her 4 week old son, Benjamin, over to my house for a visit the Monday before Thanksgiving. Madison enjoyed holding him and Benjamin is SO sweet!

#2- Madison made her own petting zoo. Do you see the dolphin swimming around? What an imagination she has.

#3- Madison helped me set the table for our Thanksgiving Feast that we had at our home. We had 17 people there and 2 babies. Everyone pitched in and brought food and we had PLENTY!

#4- Aunt Laura had fun holding and playing with Christian on Thanksgiving. Archie and I totally appreciated her and the rest of the family that helped out with the boys.

#5- We woke up Thanksgiving morning to Christian screaming AND 1st time standing in the crib. Poor little guy didn't know how to get down. I guess that Christian beat his brother in this!

#6- Dave and Archie (Patrick) carved the turkey that Pat, Archie's mom, made. Pat started stuffing the bird at 2:30 a.m. She was dedicated to cooking a delicious durkey and she did. Her turkey was enjoyed by all of us!

#7- Yeah! Everyone fit and we all sat together at one LONG table.

#8- I needed to get a picture of Caleb in here. Caleb the cutie!

Where does the time go?

It's been a week since I've been on my blog. . . where does the time go? To changing diapers, cleaning, working, laundry. The list could go on and on, but actually for me this past week it's been to "enjoying life." Something that I tend to forget too often.

Since I have last blogged, I have spent a great amount of time with family and friends and less time doing the mundane things around the house. Halloween was a TON of fun and my sister Julie and friend Jenny were able to join the Coleman Clan for trick or treating. I spent this past weekend at a scrapbooking retreat where I didn't get caught up, but rejoiced by making it to the year 2006! I even went kickboxing with my friend Cathi during this reteat. I know- crazy! These past few days I have played "horsey" and "baby" with Madison which has made her extremely happy and I have also crawled around on my stomach making the boys giggle. They have the cutest giggles! And lastly, I was able to spend some time alone with Archie tonight. Who would have thought that after a full day of work and evening taking care of the kids for Archie-even giving baths, that I would come home after conferences and have some quality time with my husband. Not TV time or "this is what the kids did tonight" time, but actually good quality time. It was simple and nice.

The dishes are still in the sink, toys all over the floor, and I have to throw all the clean laundry off of my bed so I can go to sleep. . . but I am enjoying life, and life is good. Thanks be to God.

This weekend, I will be "enjoying life" with my dear friends Elizabeth and Jenny in Chicago. I can't wait!

Just a little bit more . . .

So- I am still awake since I'm figuring out how to blog and post pictures. This is fun! Look at how much Christian and Caleb have changed. It's incredible! Time does fly! Archie and I are still in awe that we have a 4 year old girl that has started preschool! It's amazing! The pictures below were taken at birth, 6 weeks,and then the last 2 were taken for Madison's 4 year old picture and the boys were 5 months then. I can't believe that they are almost 8 months already!

I'll update everyone soon about what everyone is doing and what life is like here, but now I must go to bed since I have a halloween parade at Madison's preschool at 8:30 in the morning, I have to teach, and a night of trick or treating is right around the corner! I think that I am going to like my new blog!

I finally did it!

I have wanted to start a blog for some time now, and I have finally done it. After reading a friend's blog on blogspot (thanks Layton) I decided to bite the bullet and go for it . . . at 1:00 a.m. I am definitely a night owl! I truly don't know how often I will be updating this, but at least our family and friends will be aware of some "Coleman Happenings."

Since Wednesday is Halloween, I will take some pictures of the kids in their costumes so you can see how cute everyone is! The boys are going to be pumpkins and Madison is going to be a cowgirl.