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.