Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and I am thankful for many things, but I am sad today and am wanting more. More things, more money, more time for me, more time with my kids, more time with Archie . . . . just more. I know that I'll feel happier and more thankful later, but right now I just want to feel the way that I feel. It's sad that I want more, but it's the truth. Learning how to be content with what we have is a hard lesson to learn and it's something that I struggle with.

Movies and fun

Friday night was family fun movie night! The kids and I went to the library to pick up Toy Story 1 and Aunt Lori- actually, Uncle John, let us borrow Toy Story 2! Toy Story 3 will be coming out soon, and I would love to go as a family to see it. They love eating popcorn out of their popcorn containers.

Ahhhh! It was cute when Christian laid against Caleb.

Even Daddy got some popcorn! I love this picture.

Today Madison and the boys played "house." Madison wanted me to see how she changed Caleb into jammies and took care of him. Caleb LOVED playing house with his big sister! She even buckled him into his seat. It's hard to believe that we took him home from the hospital in this same seat. Oh, how time does fly! I LOVE the days when Madison and BOTH boys play well together- this was one of these days.

A few things

Since Halloween fell on a Saturday this year, we went to a pumpkin farm in the morning. We usually end up going to this farm to ride horses, pet animals, and jump around in those "jumpy things," in early or mid October, but we couldn't get there until the last day it was open. Oh well, at least we got there.

It was a very cold morning and nobody was there. We practically had the place to ourselves. The kids held baby chicks in which the boys kept repeating, "Ahhhhh, so cute!" in little high pitched voices. We went on the the choo choo ride and the hay ride a few times, and the kids just had a blast running around. The hot chocolate and apple cider donuts were much needed to end our afternoon.

Halloween was fun, but unfortunately I do not have any pictures, since it was easier to walk with the kids and let everyone else take pictures. I'll have to get them soon. Mom, Julie, Katie, Laura, John, and Robbie came with us and we all had a lot of fun. Robbie was a monkey, Madison was a flower girl/ White girl, Christian was a giraffe, and Caleb was a froggie. There were a few falls and a few tears, but the large amount of adults and having the wagon with us was great! We ended the night with pizza at our house.

Today, November 12, 2009, was an intense homework night. Since I had conferences earlier in the week and Madison had Awanna last night, her homework piled up until the day before it was due--oops! Have no fear- Madison did an amazing job! In the beginning of this feat together, I did not think that it was going to be amazing. To start off, Madison began stomping her feet and saying that she hated stupid homework over and over again. It took her a little time to calm down and become alright with doing it. The popcorn that I popped and the reassurance that I would be with her the whole time, was what she needed. We first had to decide on how to decorate a turkey, but not decorate it yet, since we had to write about how we decorated it. After Madison decided to use flowers, tissue paper, and marshmallows, we then wrote a rough draft about that. After revising and editing, Madison wrote her final draft. Madison had a nice break with going to church choir for an hour and then back home for more homework and dinner. What a trooper she was. While eating, Madison decorated her turkey and practiced reading her "baggy books." After all of that was finished, pajamas were put on, teeth brushed and spelling words studied. These spelling words were the "challenge" words and it was our first time even looking at them this week. Another oops! I was so proud of Madison getting all her words correct on her pre-test, but I will say that challenge words are definitely a challenge (for the child and the parent teaching them). I am happy to say that Madison was in bed by 8:10 with ALL of her homework completed and ALL of her spelling words learned . . . and 10 minutes of television. Yes! I am so glad that I did not bring any of my homework home tonight- I am all homeworked out. My little Maddie Mae was such a trooper tonight, but I do not plan on waiting until homework is piled up again.

A pleasant weekend

It's been hard this year going back to full-time teaching and trying to spend good quality time with my kids- and Archie- and the overall family. This weekend was wonderful and I am sad that it's ending. Even though I had a baby shower and a middle school dance to chaperone this weekend, it was an overall relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Dad and Marsha came over this past Friday night and babysat when Archie went to a worship team gathering and I chaperoned the dance at my school. It was good to catch up and see them. They brought Christopher too, so Madison got to spend some time with her cousin.

On Saturday, Laura, John, Robbie, Julie, and the Coleman 5 went to our annual apple orchard and pumpkin patch. We had such a nice time being together. Archie's parents came out and spent some time with us too! We all had a great time together going on the hayride, picking out pumpkins, and seeing the animals. After our excursion out, Archie and the boys went home to rest so Madison and I went over to spend some time with Grammy and Aunt Julie. It was nice to just sit there and be together.

Today, Sunday, we went to church together and had our family picture- we'll have to see how that turns out. I love going to church with Archie and the kids since it's such a special and important part of our lives. Later in the afternoon, I went to a baby shower and got to spend some time chattting with girlfriends. I ended my afternoon-evening shopping at Jewel and saving our family a lot of $$ by using coupons and watching for the "catalina" specials. This is all new to me, but I have done it two times now, and I feel really good knowing that I am shopping smart using coupons and etc. I don't know how much this will become my every day life, but I think that if I make some time out of the week to look at the BIG sales and coupons, a little will help. To end my wonderful weekend, I spent a little time with the boys tonight before bedtime, I read A Prince and His Horse (?- not sure of the title) by C.S. Lewis to Madison, spent some time with Archie talking about the carpet that we are putting in the basement, and then spent some time on Facebook. It was a great weekend and I will be looking forward for the next one to come!

Yes, our basement is coming along! I really do hope that it will be done before Christmas! I am so excited for extra room for the kids to play and for all their stuff--and for my new reading corner! Yes!

Recently . . . 1st day of 1st grade

It's been a long time since I have written on my blog and a lot has happened: Laura got married (a beautiful day and a BEAUTIFUL bride), our family vacation to Maranatha (much more relaxing and enjoyable since our children are a little older), me being asked to be the co-leader of our women's prayer ministry (YES!) But for now, I am going to focus on today- Madison's 1st day of 1st grade!




Madison is helping me write this.

Madison loved today because she started 1st grade and met her new teacher named Mr. Bornancin. She was a little nervous at first, but then stopped being nervous when she got into her classroom. She liked her classroom and thought that she was acting like a "baby" if she was nervous so she just decided not to be nervous any more. Her favorite part of school was when she had recess and lunch and when she got to see her friends. 2 boys had time outs today - uh oh! Madison behaved so well that she brought home her "Wow Trophy" - a piece of paper to show how good she was. Mr. Bornancin is a cute man that likes to read books and when he grows up he wants to be a principal. He also loves kids and he likes polar bears. Madison wrote her name on paper today and she has a Smartboard in her classroom! (a Smartboard is some of the newest technology that schools have). I guess that's all for today folks!

my thoughts: We started off a little bumpy this morning with Madison falling and hurting her foot and of course LOTS of tears. Through her tears she repeatedly cried " I don't want to go to 1st grade!" I think that she was a little nervous this morning but didn't show it until she fell and then it ALL came out. With a popsicle and some hugs from me, Madison made it to school. We prayed together on our way to school and asked God to help Madison enjoy her day and not to feel scared because God is with her at all times. I love praying with her and helping her to realize how much God loves her and how things are ALWAYS going to be OK because God is with her. When we arrived at her lineup line, I met her teacher and realized that it was the same teacher that I met last year which I had a really good conversation with. I was very glad that my principal allowed me to come into school an hour later!

I think that it's going to be a successful year for Madison. I am so excited for Madison to grow in her learning and reading this school year. I look forward to the stories that she is going to share with us about kids in her class, trips to the library, hot lunch days, and science projects that she is going to participate in. My little girl is growing up right before my eyes and I am so excited for her. Most importantly, I am eager to see how God is going to shape and grow her into a little young lady. I didn't cry this morning when I dropped her off and watched as she walked into her school for her first full day. When I thought of her while I was at work I wasn't secretly wishing she was at home hoping that she would stay young forever. At times I have felt this way, but not today. Today I want to give Madison wings to soar. Wings to fly so high that she can experience new things, new places, and new ideas. I am blessed to have this little girl in my life and can't wait to see what God has in store for her.

Going back to my last blog- with Archie flying me home from Virginia- NO, the weather did not cooperate with us, so Archie did not come and get me in his father's plane. But, we celebrated our 8 year anniversary last week by flying to Pilot Pete's- a restaurant on the airport in Shaumburg, Illinois. That was our first time together in the plane and we really enjoyed ourselves--pics to follow soon!

Stories and pics to come about Madison's last day of kindergarten, my trip to Vegas with my sisters, and the Coleman 5 Family Day. Soon!

TRUST

Tomorrow I am flying to Washington D.C.. I am so excited to meet one of my oldest and dearest friend's daughter- Hadley. I will only be there for a night, but then will be picked up by another dear friend, Jenny, and we will venture off to see Karin in Roanoke, Virgina where Sara will be coming in to visit with us. I am SO looking forward to spending some time away with my good girlfriends from childhood. We have learned and grown so much together- spiritual, emotional, etc. and I LOVE catching up and just spending time together--it's been way too long.

Now, some of you are going to flip out and think that we are crazy for doing this, but since Archie has his piloting liscense now, he is planning to fly down to get me and bring me home in his dad's small plane. I am a little nervous about this because he has never flown 6 hours before, nor have I flown with him for a few years, but I trust my husband. Since we don't have a will---ooops!---we wrote up a legal document stating what our intentions are for our children if something should happen to us. I know, I need to talk to our lawyer and get him to draw us up a real will. This is now on my list to do!

Writing up this document and really thinking about what could happen with our children was difficult and I cried doing it. I even started to second guess if we should go or not, but then I remembered God's promise to me---Proverbs 3: 5,6 This is a verse that has always been our favorite. It says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean onto your own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." I do not want to live in fear and think about what could happen if . . ., I don't want to be bound in fear. I want to trust that God is in control and He has a plan for our lives. Archie and I have prayed about this together and alone for awhile now and we feel good about our decision of Archie taking his dad's plane and flying over some mountains to pick me up in Virgina. This is an exciting endeavor for us to take together! I am not for sure, 100% all knowing that everything is going to go the way that we want it to--but that is why I am trusting God to bring us home safely- so we can see our 3 little precious children again. If things don't go the way that we have planned- we would be in Paradise which is far better than ANYTHING that is here on earth. I just need to remember that God has a plan for me and it is a GOOD one--I just need to trust Him.

Happy Mother's Day

I received this poem from a friend a few weeks ago and wanted to post it-

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys

or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not

my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind

and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held down a screaming child

so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night

watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held a sleeping baby just because

I didn't want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces

when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small

could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,

I didn't know the feeling of

having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel

to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond

between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small

could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night

every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth,

the joy,

the love,

the heartache,

the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom . . .

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

before I was a Mom .

Madison and Me

Madison and I watched Marley and Me tonight and I was touched. I did not know what the movie was exactly about, but I knew that Jennifer Anniston and Owen Wilson was in it and that there was a dog named Marley. Since Archie was working late, and the boys were going to be in bed soon, I popped some popcorn and we sat down to watch the movie.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie with my daughter. Since we do not have a dog, or any pets for that matter, it was fun to watch a family deal with the new changes that a dog would bring. Madison and I watched a journey of life for a family and laughed together. It was fun to see how a family would cope with a puppy, then a baby, then another baby, and overall life happenings. I didn't mind pausing the DVD when Madison had questions about if this was a true story or not and I loved hearing her little remarks during the movie. Things she said that really got me were, " Whoa, that boy really grew up- didn't he? and "that dog was a better listener when he was a puppy, now he is a really bad dog." But, what I really enjoyed was the crying that we did together. That probably sounds really weird, but this is the first movie that we have seen together where we BOTH have cried. Usually it's just me wiping my tears away and her asking why I was crying. But tonight was different. We both embarked on this journey in Marley and Me together and ended at the same place together. It was sweet. We actually held each other for a brief moment with tears gently falling down our faces. I look forward to being my daughter's friend in the future- that will be something sweet.

Do you like the new look/ Disney Trip

Welcome to my new blog page! Instead of posting the pics from Disney and some others that I thought were cute, I found a way to post them in slide format. I hope that you enjoy them- if it's not working, click on "View All Images."

As for our trip to Disney- it was eventful, fun, exciting, magical, memorable, and eventful. Did I say eventful more than once? Eventful is the best way to describe it. My mom, 2 sisters (Laura and Julie), Archie, Madison, Christian, Caleb, and myself all caravanned together to Florida for a week of fun at Walt Disney World. It was Archie's first time there, so I wanted him to really be able to experience it. Laura's boyfriend John flew down in the middle of the week and then drove back with us.

The reason why it was eventful is because of the time of year that we went (HUGE crowds= LONG lines) and because it was difficult with 2 kids under the age of 2. Also, there were a lot of us and we decided to stick together for the most part and there ended up being some miscommunication- as would be expected. We learned to work through everything and people were very generous helping us watch the boys so Archie and I could also have some fun together. All I can say is AMEN for Fast passes and Baby swap passes--and family!

We left for Florida on Friday, the day after Christmas around 2:00 p.m. which turned out to be a good time to leave. We decided to drive through the night since we had so many drivers which also turned out to be a good thing. The only bad thing that happened on the way down, was that Christian threw up from some bad milk that I bought at the gas station (it expired that day and I thought that it would be fine--oops!) Overall the kids did great on our long car trip.

We arrived at our destination near Walt Disney World on Saturday late afternoon and took some time to unpack and relax. On Sunday we went to Sea World. Sea World was full of wonderful shows and animals for the kids (they especially liked the Elmo and Shamu show), and also some rides for the adults. Archie and I decided to leave in the middle of the day so the kids could take naps and then we met up with the gang later in the evening. The Night Light show featuring Shamu was amazing. It was overall a great day.

On Monday we went to Epcot. I said that I didn't have any "expectations" for the day and that proved to be incorrect early on. This was my first emotional "time" for me that week. Not too sure exactly why, but I think that it was because I wanted to do SO many things- but with 2 children under the age of 2- I wasn't able to--and lack of sleep from the night before trying to figure out everything that Epcot had to offer. Julie and Mom ended up taking the boys for a few hours which was WONDERFUL, so Laura, Archie, Madison and I had some time on our own to enjoy. I think that SOAR was the most favorite ride.

We decided to spend 2 days in the Magic Kingdom (Tuesday and Wednesday). Tuesday was our breakfast with the princesses IN Cinderella's castle! We had so much fun there. Archie and Caleb were not allowed to come since there were not enough seats since we had this scheduled for 5 months and that was when we thought my cousin Katie was coming and watching the boys. Anyways, Madison dressed up as Ariel and we met Cinderella and took some professional pics with her. After meeting Cinderealla, we were invited to dine upstairs with othr princesses. What a fun time we had! We saw and took pics with Mary Poppins, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and I think a few more but I would have to look at all my pics again. The food was delicious and Madison and Christian had loads of fun. My mom, Laura, Julie, and I were treated as royalty so we also really enjoyed it. ALL of the princesses LOVED Christain and gave him HUGE kisses. He ate it up and flirted right back! Madison was given a beautiful wand to make wishes upon while Christain was given a sword to fight with--and he did! The only other things I really remember from Tuesday was that Laura and I left the park early so the boys could have naps and that John flew in that night. Oh and yes, that Thunder Mountain became my mom's and Madison's FAVORITE ride. On New Years Eve I was told that the park reached its capacity at 154,000 people in the Magic Kingdom alone by 11:00 a.m., so we knew that it would be a bad idea to try to take the kids home for naps. So we ended up being at the Magic kingdom on New Years Eve from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. This was a real magical day and night overall. The park looked beautiful and it was Archie's birthday. On New Years Eve, I hit my 2nd and last emotional "time" of the week. Not too bad for everything that was going on. After being hysterically cried and peed on, starving since we were waiting to eat for Archie's birthday dinner, tired from a long week, and the gigantic amounts of people swarming around me- I needed a few minutes to myself. After about 20 minutes of time alone, I rejoined everyone and danced with Archie and the kids in the streets of Disney--which they LOVED. We had awesome seats in front of the castle for the midnight fireworks and ALL 3 kids fell asleep peacefully and missed them. Oh well, the rest of us enjoyed them. We were all together relaxing and enjoying the quietness-all besides Julie. The employees of Disney would not allow her to pass a certain place in the park to sit with us since it was packed, so she enjoyed them from afar.

Thursday we slept in since we were out so late the night before. We all met Jenny Breining and her mom for lunch at the Olive Garden since they were also in Orlando at that time. It was fun seeing Jen and catching up with her. Madison and Jen had fun posing for pics together. After Olive Garden, we went to the Animal Kingdom for the remainder of the day. We would have loved to have spent more time there, but I was told that it wasn't all that great, so we chose to only have a few hours there. Next time we know. The Safari Trip was awesome. We got to ride on a safari bus and search for animals in the wild. We ALL really enjoyed this and got some great pics of wildlife. Christian saw monkeys and decided to act like them- it made everyone on the bus laugh! Everyone besides Laura and the boys went on a roaring rapid water ride in which we ALL got wet. This was the coolest day that we had, so after our jeans got drenched- I was ready to go back home and relax.

Friday was our last day and we went to Disney Studios. What a wonderful day we all had! Madison LOVED the Tower of Terror and convinced her Grammy to go on 2 times. Archie and I really liked the Rock -n- Roll Roller Coaster so we went on a few times with Mom, Julie, Laura, and John. The shows were awesome and everyone had a BLAST on our last day. I think that this was actually our best day since we all REALLY enjoyed ourselves and the boys did great. We got to see exhibits and shows on Star Wars, the Muppets, High School Musical 3, Beauty and the Beast, Fantasia (the night show is awesome!), dinosaurs, Prince Caspian, The Little Mermaid, etc. We were at this park from open to close.

On Saturday we packed up and left and arrived home on Sunday afternoon. After arriving home we wanted to go back and kept thinking about the magic that we felt when we were there- at least Madison and I did. Now it's been almost 2 months and we are content looking at pictures of our time in Disney. We would all like to go back again, but we will definitely wait until the last child is at least 5 years old. My Mom, sisters, and John were SO helpful and it was wonderful experiencing Disney with them.

Martin Luther King Day and Inauguration Day

Madison learned a little bit about Martin Luther King Jr. today at school. She knows that he said "I have a dream" and that he helped people to see that black and white people--all people should be treated the same. So, she colored a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. - notice the color- and wrote one of her own dreams. She wrote "no one dis." which of course means that she does not want people to die. I wonder if she thought of this herself or if she got the idea from her teacher. It doesn't matter- Madison wrote it- and I am proud of her! My baby is growing up! Today was Inauguration Day- the day after Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday- priceless. Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States of America. Today is a day history is made- a day that will be written down in history books and children will read about in school. Today is the day that the first African American became President of the United States. That in itself is awesome. Today is a turning point in America, it's the day that all people truly know that "yes, we can- with help from America's people" can come true. It doesn't matter to me now that I did not vote for Obama and that I don't agree with all his politics. God has made this happen and it is part of His plan. I am choosing to stand behind our President and support him- as an American.

I was inspired by his speech today. First of all, the location was perfect- in Washington D.C. in the mall This creates a beautiful parallel to Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech "I have a Dream"- and his dream has come true. What a beautiful picture. In his speech, he talked about how the people of America need to come forward and carry one another's burdens and take responsibility- I agree. He also mentioned how the hard work, the toiling of our forefathers, the deaths of so many people, made it possible for us to be in America and have the freedoms that we have today. That is so easy to forget and I am glad that I was reminded of it. He mentioned that 60 years ago, his father was limited to what he could do and be, because of his race--that is not the case today. I am proud that America has grown in its awareness and is changing its beliefs about what people can do. After all, we are all God's children and we should treat each other the way that we would like to be treated--the Golden Rule. God looks at us with the same eyes and he does not prefer one color over the other. One other thing that stood out to me that President Obama and Vice President Biden said was that they want to measure their success in office by seeing how many more American children will be saying "I can do anything I want to if I work at it" and not being told that they can't do something. This will be giving hope and encouragement to America's people--which is needed; I have seen this need in the children I teach, the future of our country. Of course, I would like to add that I would love it if American children were saying that I CAN'T do it- but with GOD I can do anything--but I don't think that that is their agenda.

I am not sure exactly what CHANGE will look like under Obama and Biden, but I anticipate what the next 4 years will bring and stand in the truth that God is sovereign.

Our Very Own Hill!

Yes, we are back from Florida and all is good. Stories and pictures to come later.

It has been snowing the past few days and the kids have gone out to play, but tonight, we had a special treat. Tonight, the Coleman 5 had their very own sled hill for an hour! Since it was dark already when I returned home from a delicious cup of coffee with a dear friend, Archie and I really didn't want to take the kids sledding. Thinking about getting on the snowsuits, boots, coats, hats, etc. was already making us tired, but since I had already told Madison that we would be going, I didn't want to disappoint her. I am so glad that we followed through.

The last time that we went to "our" sled hill, the hill that I sledded down as a kid, it was like a traffic jam. Kids were jumping in front of us while we were sledding down the hill and we had to wait our turn to go down. Tonight we had free reign and it was awesome. At times we just laid down on the hill looking at the moon and the one star that we could see in the sky, but mostly we sledded. Well, Archie, Madison and I did. Christian wanted nothing to do with the sled- he preferred going down the hill on his bottom or rolling down. This was quite humorous to watch, but since nobody else was there, we let him have his fun. Caleb liked the snow, however he liked to do his own thing, which is not what we were doing. He preferred to walk around at the bottom of the hill away from us. I told myself not to bring the camera tonight because I wanted to just enjoy the moment- and I'm glad that I did.