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.

Remember

I need to remember that Jesus came to serve and that is what I am called to do also. Plain and simple. The thing is that Jesus did it kindly and in a pleasant way, while I have become frustrated and annoyed far too easily. I want to serve my family and friends with a kind and loving heart. God, help me to serve my family and friends the way that you would like me to. Give me the strength to do so. Amen.

The Christmas cards are all sent and the tree finally has lights on it! Life is grand. Today we had a family day at the Museum of Science and Industry. It was the kids' first time going and they all had fun. We were able to visit many of the exhibits even though we were there for 3 hours. Here is what we saw: Christmas trees from around the world (my favorite), a gigantic train set up (Caleb's favorite) , the US 501 (?)submarine (Madison's favorite), baby chicks, aviation everything (Archie's favorite), farm equipment, space equipment and information on the Apollo, and the children's museum(Christian's favorite). It was an eventful day.

To top it off, Madison and I attended our church's Christmas musical which really got me into the "right" Christmas spirit. The music was beautiful and the talent in the church is just amazing. I have not created any time to just sit and enjoy this Christmas season yet, but watching the musical tonight, made me really think that I need to- and I want to. I want to make sure that I don't allow the business of the season to beat me down, rather I want to spend some time marveling at what God has done- isn't it amazing that God sent Jesus to the earth and had him born in a stable and laid in a manger for the beginning days of his life? How humbling is that? That the King of Kings-gave up heaven- for earth---for us! Amazing! I hope that all of us will take some time to really think about God's love for us and what it still means for us today during this Christmas season.

Here are some pictures of what we have been up to:

Getting ready for Christmas! This is my favorite time of the year and the kids seem to also really like it. They loved unpacking the Christmas boxes to see what was inside. So far, the most favorite Christmas items they like to play with are the musical stuffed animals (hence the reason why they are in the picture), the garland, the lights, and the chocolate advent calendars- thanks Grandma Coleman!

Our annual tradition is to go out and cut down our Christmas tree with the Colemans. Christian found his own little tree that he did not want to let go of. It reminds me of Charlie Brown's little Christmas tree. Uncle Dave got a big laugh out of it.

After Archie chopped down our tree, Madison helped Daddy drag it to the car. See how hard they are both working?

The tree sat outside for a few days to dry off, and then sat for another week inside the house- naked and lonely. We always put the lights on the tree first before anything else, but somehow all of our lights that we had used in the previous years broke and we thought that we should fix them. After Archie and I both worked on the lights--it took about a week to actually sit down and do it- we decided to throw them away and buy new ones. In the meantime, Madison thought that the tree needed to be rescued so she took matters into her own hands- with parent permission of course. Here she is standing on the couch to put the garland on. While Madison was busy, Christian and Caleb stayed busy playing with the lights. Look how intent Caleb is playing with the lights in this picture. We finally bought lights for the tree yesterday and now I can officially say that the tree has everything besides the ornaments on it. Madison and I will start that first thing in the morning-she has been waiting a LONG time for this.

Madison had her Kindergarten Christmas performance last week. Since it was in the middle of the day, I took the day off and got to spend some extra time with the kids. Madison was so excited that she got to wear a twirly dress to school and that I curled her hair. Archie left work early and surprised all of us by coming to her performance. He had to leave right afterwards to return to work but we were all so happy that he made it. What a dedicated and loving father my children have! I picked a keeper!

This is something new. Christian has started to help me with the laundry. When I put the laundry away in the boys' room, I stand and hang up shirts on Caleb's crib and then walk over to the closet and put them away. Since Christian can't reach the top of the crib, he figured out that he can hang them lower. My little problem solver!

A few weeks ago Madison became a Daisy Girl Scout. They had a ceremony for all the girls where they received their Daisy pin and a certificate. Madison already has memorized the Girl Scout pledge and likes to recite it. Speaking of memorizing, Archie and I were so proud that Madison went to Awanna last week and had 3 verses memorized. She will have reached her first jewel this week and she is so excited. I hope that her excitement continues to grow!

The boys thoroughly enjoyed playing at the water exhibit in the children's section of the museum. The little yellow rain coats didn't keep them dry since they continued to dig their hands all the way into the water. They had so much fun.Both boys figured out that if you let go of the ball in the big tube, some wind will come and take it away--they thought that this was very exciting.

From the second floor, the museum is so beautiful so Archie took a picture of the main Christmas tree with some of the other trees next to it. You can even see the airplane hanging down from the museum's ceiling.

I am thankful for. . . life

I am thankful for life. Just as it is. The Coleman 5 are definitely busy people and at times I think that we need more simplicity and I become frustrated that we are so busy- but that's our life. From Archie flying and working many long hours, to me teaching part time and making some "good" time with family and friends, to Madison going to Awana and Daisys, and then to the boys just being boys- running around, screaming, jumping, tearing books apart--that is our life right now--and it is good. We make it a point to spend family time together and Archie and I believe that it is very important for our children to learn the basics and the foundations of what we believe so we spend time doing these things. If we are running around in the evenings, hopping to family to family to celebrate holidays together--so be it. We love our family and friends and they are such an integral part of our life.

I have longed to come down to the basement and spend hours on email, facebook, and my blog--but I don't have hours in my day (unless I stay up late- which I am trying not to do) so that is alright . . . that's my life at this moment in time. One day I won't have these busy moments and kids running around fighting for my attention. I am choosing to cherish those busy moments now and am learning to enjoy those moments that are "not so much fun." When the kids are attacking me (I think I am claustrophobic--scuba diving story to come at a later date), hitting one another, not obeying me, refusing to eat, complaining, making messes- the list can go on and on--I am starting to learn how to enjoy them since I am just beginning to see the grace of God poured into them--and God gives me the grace and love to love my kids and Archie like they need to be loved.

I think I have rambled on- so be it-. My point--As busy as we are--our life is filled with good things and beneficial things--that's the Coleman 5 and life is good!

What to come:
- pictures of life around the house, Thanksgiving, cutting down our tree, and the first snow! Yippee! I hope to go sledding this weekend with the kids!
To those of you I scared with the boys standing in their high chairs- no more need to worry! The boys have graduated from their highchairs and have joined us at the table--with straps! They LOVE sitting at the table with us and are now learning basic table manners such as not to roll your sippy cup accross the table and to keep your hands to yourself- it's a working progress.

Look at what we can do!

It's amazing to see what kids will do when you step away for a minute or two. The boys LOVE to stand in their highchairs. Don't ask me why I didn't belt them in- I just didn't- but this is what the boys were doing when I came back from loading the washing machine downstairs. Are they too cute to discipline?

Christian smiling so sweetly-
Caleb doesn't know what to think-

Madison being her cute and sweet self. She was dying for me to come up and see what she did. She was so proud of herself for accomplishing the whole alphabet AND the numbers too! My little girl is growing up! Madison is LOVING kindergarten and is learning SO much. Tonight when I was putting her to bed, she asked me how my day of teaching was. I told her about how my students and I started a new story and how we discussed it during class. She then asked me if we made any connections today while we read- I told her that we actually did and that I can't believe how smart she was becoming. What a fun little gift to get tonight -not from a daughter to a mother- but from a student to a reading teacher. For those of you that don't know- making connections is a reading strategy that we teach to help students understand and relate to what they are reading- very encouraging!

Archie got the flu last night and has been in bed all day. He had a fever of 101.5 degrees and it finally broke tonight. Hopefully he will be feeling better tomorrow. It's almost the weekend! Yes! We will be helping my mom get some things organized in her house on Saturday, but after that- we have no plans all weekend! Yes! I love these kinds of weekends!

Last night, before Archie got sick, we went to Awana for a Parent's Night with Madison. Here is a picture thatAwana took of Archie and Madison. For those of you that are thinking "what is awana?"- Awana is a VERY fun place where Madison learns about God, plays games, and sings songs on a weekly basis- kind of like Vacation Bible School. When I say it's VERY fun- it's only because the first 2 times that she went to Awana- she told me that she wanted to go over a HUNDRED more times! That means that she had a VERY fun time. She was SO excited that we were BOTH able to come and be a part of her evening. It was good to spend some time away from the boys just focusing our attention on her. It was so rewarding as a parent to hear Madison recite 2 verses to her group leader. If anybody looked at us they would seen a nutty group of 3 with beaming smiles - it was fun to be together! Thanks Aunt Julie for making this possible- she watched the boys!

Hello- we are still here!

These pictures are not in order from when the events occurred.

We went to a pumpkin patch and had a ton of fun seeing the animals, riding tractors and hayrides, and jumping in the bouncy things. There were even pony rides. The boys loved their first pony ride. We waited in line 3 times to ride the ponies since it was part of the whole price for the pumpkin patch. I got stung by a bee during our first wait, but I decided that it was important to ride the ponies so I sucked it up. Christian and Caleb loved it so much that they cried when they had to get off. Madison was a good sport the whole time.The boys loved trying to feed the goats hay- they were adorable to watch!

We tried to take pictures of the kids by some pumpkins but it's so hard to get them to stay still!

The kids were exhausted after going to Madison's soccer game at 8:00 a.m. and then the pumpkin patch from 9- 12. What a busy day we had! We had so much fun!

Dad and Marsha came over to spend some time with us. Dad put the swing up in the tree that we desperately wanted hung and Madison attempted to climb the tree. There are no pictures of Dad and Marsha from their visit, but we all had a lot of fun playing outside and eating Brown's Chicken! Yummy!

During dinner, Aunt Lori and Aunt Julie encouraged Christian to play with his food. Creative?

My mom volunteers her time to give tours of a historical building, so my sisters and I went to visit her and hear her tour. She did a remarkable job! Way to go Mom!

Before Halloween, the kids liked playing in their costumes and we attended some Halloween events in them too. Here is a pic of Christian as a pumpkin- his costume last year. My, has he grown!

Madison was a cowgirl- again! Her school had a Halloween parade where they walked around the school and took part in many camera moments. She said that the parade was a lot of fun, but that the class party was the best! I was very surprised to hear that Madison's school district participated in Halloween activities- we were fine with it- just surprised. Before we had children, Archie and I discussed whether or not we would allow our children to participate in Halloween events since I did as a kid and Archie did not. That may sound funny to some of you, but we wanted to make sure that we were on the same page with one another and we also wanted to discuss why some Christians choose not to celebrate Halloween-and others do. Discussion for another time . . .

Caleb was a frog and Christian was a monkey. We had a blast trick or treating and eating candy!

On the Saturday after Halloween, Madison wanted to take a walk so she got her brothers ready and helped them into the wagon. She even helped them put their jackets on and gave them a blanket. She is so independent and so helpful!

Here is a picture of Madison and my mom on my Mom's b-day at Papa's Pizza- my Mom's favorite type of pizza. We had a lot of fun spending time with Grammy on her birthday!

Grandma and Grandpa Coleman came to watch Madison in one of her soccer games so they also got to see the boys and play with them. They chased them all over the place!

ORCHARD-

We had a wonderful time going to the same apple orchard that we went to last year- and Daddy was able to come with us this time! From picking pumpkins, to picking apples, to riding on a hayride- we all had a wonderful time being together.

Here is a picture of the kids last year- I can't believe how much all 3 of them have grown! Crazy!