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I wanted to document what the Coleman 5 have been doing all this time since I have been so bad about updating my blog, and I found this collage on my friend's blog and thought it was a perfect way to do it.
Top pictures 1-3:
Picture 1- The boys finally got "big boy beds" in July. I really wanted to get them bunk beds for their 3rd birthday, but it just didn't happen. The boys had to patiently wait to use their new airplane comforter, train sheets, and "C" pillows that they received from Grammy for their birthday. After a few months went by, Archie and I were unsure about getting them bunk beds because of safety reasons, so we sort of put off thinking about and buying them new beds. Who really has an almost 3 and a half year old still in a crib? But when my friend Cathi and my mom saw these great bunk beds at Costco for a great price, we knew that we had to get them! It is a full bed on the bottom and a twin on the top. The person on the top can NOT fall off because of its railing and the bed is made with high quality. After Archie put them together for 3-4 hours and the boys said goodbye to their cribs, they were ready for their new beds. Christian was super excited that it was getting dark out because it meant that he was going to sleep on his new new bunk bed for the first time! Caleb is on the top, since he rarely gets up in the middle of the night to use the washroom, but they will switch every month. So far, so good!
Picture 2- Madison finished her 2nd year of Awanna! Archie and I both feel that the Awanna program is wonderful, but our church does not offer it, so we decided to have Madison go to another church for it. Even though she is shy and doesn't know anybody at this church, Madison has been a trooper these past 2 years. We are so proud of her and love hearing her recite scripture memory verses and the books of the Bible. It's been a good reminder to us too!
Picture 3- Archie and the kids love to play around and I was able to get a pretty good shot of them all together with the new camera that I got at Kohls. What a deal: I got my camera for $50 instead of $130! It's just a point and shoot camera and we hope to get our DSL camera at Christmas, but it's been great to have since my last camera broke and I don't have to always go and use Archie's "work camera."
Middle Pictures:
Picture 1-This is a picture of the kids in the morning going to Vacation Bible School at our church. It was Crazy Hair Day! Madison has never wanted to dress up or participate in "Crazy Days" for Awanna, so when she wanted to do this at our church . . . I was SO excited! I put a small cup on Madison' hair and pulled her hair up and around. The pony tail and bows, along with a lot of hair spray helped keep it up all morning. The boys were also able to attend and they wanted crazy hair too. Christian had bows clipped in his hair that he did not like and ended up pulling out and Caleb decided to wear a an elastic headband with bows clipped on. They all looked so cute!
Left small middle pictures 1-4:
1- Madison is no longer a Daisy . . . she is now a Brownie! She was pinned as a Brownie in May at a beautiful "changing over" ceremony for all the girls in her troop. The ceremony was well done and very personal. Each of the girls wore their flip fops that they made at the previous Daisy Meeting and each girl was read a small poem where they each had to look into a mirror and then "change" into a Brownie. Some Brownies from other troops came to help them put on their now Brownie vest. It was very sweet and brought back so many memories for me when I was a Brownie and Girl Scout. Madison went to her 2nd Daddy Daughter Dance with Archie this school year with many of the Daisy and Brownie families. I am glad that she had chosen to be in this, and I do hope that she continues.
2- This was Madison's 2nd summer at a horse camp. She LOVES horses. The horse camp is a 4 hour camp in which she learns how to care for horses and gets to ride a horse for a half hour. This summer Madison invited 2 friends from school and they all had a really good time. While the boys and I waited for Madison, I went to the Lifetime up that way to work out and the boys each got to ride a pony. They all enjoyed themselves immensely. Madison would love to have horseback riding lessons, so we'll see what happens in the next few years.
3- Madison played baseball (Coach Pitch) for her 2nd summer. Coach pitch is where the coach pitches the ball to each kid. She has really gotten better at the game since last summer and has started to enjoy the sport more; she even watches it on TV sometimes without us. It was fun to see her be the catcher for an inning where she was crouched down wearing all this equipment and never got up! Grandma and Grandpa Coleman went to all her games this summer which even made it more special.
4- The boys LOVE to "help" fix things around the house. One day when I was on the computer in the basement, they got all dressed up in their Home Depot Tool belts and Caleb in his goggles. They brought their hammers downstairs where I was working so they could "work" on the basement. Needless to say, that our basement is not finished yet, but my cute little helpers in their mismatched jammies are so fun to watch!
Bottom Pictures 1-4:
1- The kids and Archie love fooling around together and I love seeing Archie shower our kids with love!
2- The boys were playing in the front of our house on an early Spring day and I asked them to pose for a picture. They love giving each other hugs . . . and tackling one another. These boys are such "boys. Yesterday I found them upstairs playing swords with some of Daddy's tools . . .. Oops! I really do have to watch what these little guys are getting into. They are both FULL of energy and they keep us on our toes!
3- Me and my three little monsters! Madison read for the Ozzie's Reading Club and received a free ticket to the Kane County Cougar game, so we all went as a family. We really had no idea how long we would stay at the game because it was a chilly evening and since the boys have small attention spans, but we were pleasantly surprised to stay until the 7th inning.
A few other things that we have done so far this spring/summer: We got a much needed new (used) car (Toyota Sequoia), I celebrated my sister's 30th birthday with her in Las Vegas, the boys got their first library cards and all 3 kids participated in the reading program, A LOT of playing in the small pool and with Thomas trains and cars, I participated in 2 garage sales and got rid of MANY things- decluttering feels SO good, waterpark with Grandma Coleman, Archie and I celebrated our 9 year golden anniversary at a waterpark without the kids, the Ribfest and LeAnn Rimes, having Back Yard Bible Club at my house and sharing the gospel with kids--soo cool, seeing Peter and Paul pay a tribute to Mary at the Ravinia, helping my mom organize her house so Laura and John can move in, camping in the front yard in tent with the kids when it was 90 degress out, and our annual 4th of July party! Oh my, and my sweet nephew Aiden Alexander Georgias was born in May the day after my birthday! I was able to be with Laura while she labored until she had a c- section. The kids and I have had a lot of fun seeing Aiden and Robbie and spending time with them.
So many memories have been made and we have all had so much together. We leave for Maranatha, our annual family vacation, tomorrow morning. I will be driving up with the kids with the waverunners and Archie will be flying. We'll see how I get around with a trailer attached!
