Gabe’s Baptism

November 24, 2013

 

Baptism of
Gabriel Robert Coleman

Fort Mill Ward of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

Charlotte, North Carolina

   Conducting: Brother Boyd Rogers

Pianist:   Sister Kelly Johnson

                Music Leader:   Sister Deann Ballard

 

        Welcome:   Brother Boyd Rogers

 

               Opening Song:   Choose the Right #239

 

            Opening Prayer:   Sister Ashley Wright

                                             Aunt

 

            Talk on Baptism:   Brother Robert Jeppson Jr.
                                             Uncle

 

  Baptismal Ordinance:   Brother Chad Coleman

                                             Father

 

                       Witnesses:   Brother Seth Morris, and

Brother Roy Wright,

Uncles                          

 

Special Musical Numbers:            Colin Coleman, “How Firm a Foundation,”

Sister Kelly Johnson, “Jesus Once Was a Little Child”, Cousins, Aunts and Uncles,” A Child’s Prayer”

                                            

       Talk on Holy Ghost:   Sister Katie Coleman

                                             Mother

 

                 Confirmation:   Brother Robert Jeppson Sr.

                                             Grandfather

 

        Primary Welcome:  Sister Connie Simms

 

     Bishopric Welcome:   Bishop Chuck Johnson

 

                 Closing Song:   If The Savior Stood Beside Me

 

              Closing Prayer:   Sister Lindsey Morris
                                             Aunt

Please join us for a picture and refreshments after the service.

For more information about baptism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, click here.

Christmas Tree

 

End of soccer

It is official.  Soccer is over.  All three boys played this season, and with how it worked out, we had soccer practice every single night of the week.  Yes, even Fridays.  Chad took them to practice, and I did bedtime with Carina and whoever was at home each night.  We almost always managed to have dinner together, but it was always punctuated with pleas to find cleats and balls and hurry to the field.  Saturdays meant three soccer games, sometimes spread out through the day, sometimes standing between two fields so we could watch two games at once.

I love soccer for so many reasons.  I watched Gabe play this year and I could see that it has done so much for him.  Do you remember when he first started?  Our shy and unsure boy was now quick, strong, and so confident.  All of my lectures about working hard and seeing results could never amount to that lesson that he learned for himself, and the self esteem that he obtained for himself – not through praise or trophies, but trying and seeing. We got an email from the soccer commissioner yesterday letting us know that Gabe was chosen by his coach to be on the all-star team – one of two kids from each team.  He has come so far. We quickly and happily turned it down because practices are Sundays and we are done.

For everything that I love about soccer, this is the biggest problem I have with it:  It is good way for our family to spend our time, but is there something better?  Probably.  It has been a time thief, and when it comes down to it, we have not had a lot of family time the last two months.  Our scripture study, our family prayers, our family home evenings, and just our family fun have suffered.  Now, if we were more organized, we might have managed all of those things and soccer, but it just didn’t happen as much as it should have. There really are only so many hours in a day and school and homework already take up a lot of that.

Not only that, but I am getting yelled at every day, eyes are rolling at every suggestion I make, and the loving brothers have not been so loving. Can I blame all of that on the lack of family time?  I don’t know, but I do know it hasn’t helped. 

This is the part of parenting that I never realized would be so hard.  Small decisions that can seem positive and are positive in many ways, but can have major affects.  How we spend our time, how we spend our money, where we place our priorities.  The decisions are complex and what may be the right decision at one point for our family might not be the best decision at another time.  Or a good decision for one child might not be the best decision for the another, no matter how much we try to make everything “fair.”

It makes me very grateful to be in this with a husband who is so involved, and with our Heavenly Father, whose perspective is so much broader than ours. 

Halloween 2013

 

The night before Halloween we carved pumpkins.  Colin did his COMPLETELY by himself.  Pretty impressive, right?  The other three….let’s just say my hand was cramped by the end of the evening.

Halloween evening.  I had to include a couple of different group pictures because Ollie’s poses crack me up.

No, Chad is not saying “Call me” and no, his swimsuit is not partially open in front.  Awkwaaaaard.

OH MY GOODNESS do I have the cutest kids on the planet?!  Seriously, these pictures make me so happy.  A word on Carina’s costume – I bought it at Walmart for a couple of bucks four or five years ago after Halloween, long before I had a baby girl.  I didn’t have any great ideas for her when I happened to pull it out and let her try it on.  After that, there was no going back.  She was just so adorable in this costume – my dad could not get over it.  Every time he saw it he would start laughing.  We got the hat on Amazon – the tiara part lit up and flashed.  Just what every little princess cowgirl needs.  Most of Ollie’s sheriff costume was one I made for Colin 7 (!) years ago.  We just bought the hat.  Gabe’s Quidditch uniform was one Colin wore a couple of years ago.  And Colin’s was just an old uniform that we added zombie blood and makeup to.   He was pretty thrilled by it, but his cousin Leslie was not.

We went trick or treating that night with my sister Lindsey, her husband Seth, and their girls Leslie, Mayan and Lily.  We all had a great time and it wasn’t cold at all.  Carina was pretty darn excited and was almost always the first kid to each door.  We brought a stroller and she was too happy to use it most of the time. The boys were exhausted because earlier that day they had a fun-run at their school were all three of them ran the maximum number of laps –36, which equaled about 2 1/2 miles!! We didn’t stay out long, but they still got a fair amount of candy.  When we came home, Ollie and Gabe wanted to go out longer, so they went out with Chad.  We finished it of with a little clip of Treehouse of Horrors, and Carina took foreeeever to fall asleep that night. 

Halloween 2007 here and here. Halloween 2008 here and here. Halloween 2009.  Halloween 2010. Halloween 2011.  Halloween 2012.

Video of our girl

I need to be better about documenting our Carina is at this age - so here is a little video of her eating lunch (a wrap with lettuce and kidney beans and Taco Bell mild sauce on the side - her request).  We listen to Disney Radio on Pandora almost every day while the two of us have lunch, so that is what is playing on my computer.

Great Wolf Lodge

On Wednesday, just before I was going to put Carina down for a nap, my Dad called.  “Hey, do you know anyone who wants a free night at The Great Wolf Lodge?” he asked.  He and my mom had been there the previous night, planning to stay for two nights, and they had decided to come home early.  He explained that they had two bracelets to get into the water park and said we could have their room.  I had just finished going to play group with Carina and was preparing to feed the two sets of ward missionaries that night and Ollie had soccer, and it was a school night, so I just laughed and told him that I really didn’t think we could manage it.  As soon as I hung up I started wondering…hmmm, how much does it cost to get more bracelets? Answer: $40.  No way.

I called Chad and told him I wanted to run it by him just to let him know (we have wanted to try this place our for a long time) and he immediately went to work seeing what we could do. Of course, he is not as Jeppsonish as me and just called the resort and explained the situation.  They said there would be no problem transferring the room over to us, and giving everyone in our family bracelets.  WOW.  THANK YOU GREAT WOLF LODGE.

We ordered the missionaries pizza (again), Chad called his boss to get the next day off, and as soon as Chad got home from work we broke the surprise to the kids.  We had been planning to surprise the kids by taking them out of school on Columbus Day, which is Gabe’s birthday, and taking them to Discovery Place.  So instead we made this Gabe’s birthday celebration, and they could not have been more excited.

I have to say, this little getaway was just the type of little getaway that is really good for me.  Not enough time beforehand to obsess and stress about everything that needs to be done.  Close enough and simple enough that I managed to pack everything in about 15 minutes.  It was a 40 minute drive in traffic and just the right amount of spontaneity to make us all feel a little giddy.

The lodge was just wonderful for the family.  It is well done to begin with, and then they had done it up for Halloween really nicely.  Everyone there is very friendly – to the point that is has a Disney feel to it.  We got there at almost 7 that night and immediately changed into our swimsuits to play at the waterpark for the hour that was left before it closed for the night.  In the morning we strolled to Dunkin’ Donuts (inside the lodge), then lazed around, went to Carolina Mills and lunch, and then spent the rest of the day in the waterpark.  It was one of those magical family days when almost everyone is happy almost all the time.

 

We really loved this place and one night there was really perfect for our family.  Thanks Mom and Dad!

It’s Monday, and it is the 7th of OCTOBER. How is that??

I like to moan and groan to Chad about much I hate Mondays.  He kids me about how cliché the whole thing is and calls me Garfield, but it is still oh-so-true.  I wake up in a panic about what I am going to feed the kids for breakfast, what I am going to pack them for lunch (today it was smoothies and leftover waffles, and bean burritos, respectively). Why is it that no matter how much food I buy for the week, it is always always gone by Monday?  Like we the amount we eat just depends on what there is in the house – if it is there, it gets eaten. 

Zumba with Sabina happens every Monday, which is a highlight, but my goodness I was so tired today and watching the clock like a hawk. 

There always seems to be something I have neglected all weekend that pops up and steals the hour or two of my get-things-done-time.  Today it was finishing off the photos for care packages I was planning to mail off today to our adopted girls.  I have their little dolls and clothes packed nice and tight in Ziploc bags, but CVS photo was just really sucking, so the pictures are now being sent to Walmart to be picked up tomorrow, extending my last-minute project yet another day.

Chad and I just finished cleaning the downstairs and putting away the groceries and I am so ready for sleep.

Gabe’s birthday party is this weekend, Lindsey is hosting cooking club at my house next (which means I have to actually clean my fridge), and sometime in there I need to start thinking about Halloween costumes.

Do I should whiny enough already?  I guess I just wanted to document a plain ol’ hectic-yet-not-exciting day. 

And in the meantime, I have THREE episodes of Downton Abbey waiting for me. That’s a good thing, right?  Add that to the fact that Monday is almost over and I am feeling pretty good.

Here’s to sleep, care packages, and Downton Abbey.

Colin’s Pokémon Shop

Colin has been wanting to sell his Pokémon cards for awhile now because he just never uses them anymore.   He tried ebay with no success, so the obvious crowd for him to target was the one here in the house – his little brothers.  He wanted to charge way more than I thought was fair (and they probably would have paid it), so he stewed over his dashed dreams of quick bucks for awhile.  Then a couple of Fridays ago, he had to stay home from school because he was sick the night before.  After just a few hours of Full House (I got him hooked over the summer), Colin was pacing around like a hungry lion.  He came up with a plan to keep busy and make everyone in the house happy.  When Gabe and Ollie came home from school, they found this sign outside their bedroom door:

The sale was a huge success and all of Colin’s cards where out of his possession (but still in our house and ready to be scattered on the floor again, hip hip hooray).  Everyone was happy.

Until this past Thursday, when all of Colin’s classmates suddenly started talking Pokémon and bringing their cards to school.  I believe Colin weaseled a few cards back from Gabe and has already managed to aquire several more from classmates. Now Colin can’t believe he just sold them all for a cent each.

Happy Birthday to my Mom

Last Sunday was my mom’s birthday.  Within about ten minutes of getting to church, Ollie drew a picture of him with Granny, holding hands.  He scooted through the aisle until he reached her, snuggled up and showed her.  She got a huge smile on her face and pointed at him and herself, knowing exactly what the picture was.  Ollie could tell that she loved it, so he spent the rest of the meeting drawing pictures and writing sweet messages to his Granny and sharing them with her.  It was so sweet and completely his idea, and both of them were beaming the whole time.

That evening we had a family dinner for her with Papa Murphy’s, which used to be my mom’s favorite whenever she visited us in Provo.  We just got a location near us this year. 

I secretly gave Colin and Santi some silly sting to spray at Granny right after she blew her candle out.  She was very surprised and LOVED it.  She loves pranks and practical jokes.

 

And, just because these two girls (Carina and her cousin Leslie) have been crazy about each other lately, and they are so cute…a couple of pictures of the two littlest party girls.

My mom was pretty tired after a couple of hours, but I think she had a good time and we were happy to show her how much we love her.