Spotlight Time!

At church, we have a monthly newsletter for all the women.  In that newsletter, there is usually one person that is spotlighted.  Well, for the month of February, that person is me!  Anyway, I thought it would be fun to share what was asked/said about me.  So, if you're interested, here you go!

Birthplace: Provo, Utah

Other places you've lived: Oregon, Utah, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Texas, Washington, Alaska, Florida

Tell us about your family:   I am the middle of 3 kids, and have 2 brothers. At one point in time, I could wrestle my brothers (playing, of course) and have either one of them pinned and begging for mercy in about 3 seconds flat!  Good thing we're still good friends! :)

My family now consists of my amazing and wonderful hubby, Matt, of almost 9 years; Darren, our very energetic, yet loving 4 year old; Joseph, our very independent but snuggly 2 year old; and baby #3 who will make his grand entrance into this world around August 12th!  Yes, you read that right - I am 13 weeks pregnant with another boy!

A favorite childhood memory: Every summer my family would frequently go to Silver Falls State Park in Oregon (about 45 min. from our home in Salem), where we would hike around at least one of the seven waterfalls, have a picnic, play hide 'n' seek, launch my brother's model rockets, go on bike rides, or just enjoy being together as a family in a very beautiful place. I STILL love to go there when we go visit.

Jobs you have/had: The most difficult but also most rewarding job I've had (aside from motherhood) was being a CASA/Guardian ad litem for abused/neglected kids in the foster care system. I would frequently visit the kids on my case load, send in a report to the judge, then fight for what they needed in court.

A favorite t.v. show: Don't watch much TV - Most of it's not appropriate for my kids, and when they're in bed, I usually have too many other things to do.

Hobbies/Sports you enjoy: Back in the day, I was the 2nd fastest female sprinter on the track team. As some of you have observed, that old skill has come in quite handy in parenting my boys (though I'm not nearly as fast as I used to be)! I love hiking and camping in the mountains and trees - so refreshing! However, my true love is singing! I have had classical training, and have my AA degree in music. I love the adrenalin rush that comes from performing well a difficult piece(s) I've worked really hard on.

A favorite flower/plant: I love lillies and tulips

Favorite color: Blue - it's been my favorite color as long as I can remember.

Favorite Church songs: The Lord Is My Shepherd; In Humility, Our Savior; Love Is Spoken Here

Ideal vacation: ALASKA!!!! Oh, wait! That's where I want to live!  Really, I would LOVE to go on a vacation to England.  I've always been fascinated with that country.

Favorite sayings:

Home is where the Air Force sends us.

Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape. (not sure who said this, but my Mom has this hanging up in her house, and I adopted it.)

Share a scripture: I have 2 favorite scriptures:

Proverbs 3:5-6; Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understaning. In all thy ways acknowlede him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Moroni 7:33; And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.


Well, there you go.  Just a little bit of me in a nutshell.  Maybe you learned a something new....  maybe not!  Hope you enjoyed it either way!

The Sweetest Boys In the World - And They're Mine!!

I think I've mentioned on here before the great love my two little boys have for each other.  Anyway, I have a couple fresh stories that just make me melt. 

At our house, there is a rule that on the occasion that there's a dessert or treat, you have to eat all of your food -especially your vegetables if you want a treat.  So tonight there was a treat.  Darren did a great job of eating his food, including his salad (which he hates), so he got a treat.  Joseph did not finish his dinner, so no treat for him.  When Darren was given his treat (Darren LOVES sugar and usually devours any treat quickly), he broke it in half, gave half to Joseph and said, "Here Joseph, I'll share with you."  Technically, that's still against the rules, but how do you discourage your child from being so thoughtful and selfless?  Daddy let it slide.  Joseph had not asked Darren to share.  It was completely voluntary on Darren's part. 

The name Darren means "Great."  That's a large part of the reason we picked that name.  We knew before he was born that he was going to be a great kid.  He is living up to his name, and we are proud of him! 

In the last week, I have received two totally separate reports about Joseph being the sweetest kid in nursery (at church).  If there is ever a sad kid in there (realized Mom left, bonked head, whatever), apparently Joseph will go over to them, give them a hug, sometimes a kiss, and say "Is that better?"  or "Oh, I'm sorry that happened.  Are you okay?"  And then he'll stay right there until the other kid is happy again.  He is 27 months, and such a loving, affectionate kid.  At home, he frequently crawls up into my lap just because he wants to snuggle.  I call him my little snuggle bug - for good reason!  I love my little guy. 

This last weekend, we started a new tradition.  At least once a Christmas season, the whole family will sleep under the Christmas tree.  This last Friday night was that night.  It was the perfect Christmasy evening.  After dinner we went to a Bethlehem walk put on by the church that does Darren's preschool.  They had Roman soldiers guarding the entrance to "the city,"  a place to sign the census, an open market, basket weaving, wood working, pottery, live animals - the kids got to pet a lamb and a donkey, the inn, and of course the stable with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus.  It was pretty good.  When we were done, none of us felt like going home yet, so we drove around looking for Christmas lights.  We found several streets that were pretty well lit up, and we all had a good time enjoying them.  Joseph fell asleep in the car, and Darren almost did, so it made getting them to bed really easy (hence the perfect night to sleep under the tree).  ;)  Okay, Matt and I slept on the couch, so we weren't exactly next to the tree, but we were all in the same room as the tree and enjoyed the soft, beautiful light from it all night long.  Here are some pics....... 

 Joseph moves around a lot in his sleep... 

Peaceful and content...

These boys love to sleep next to each other, because they just love to be together.  Sometimes I wonder why they each have their own bed.  Hmmm!  When Darren is at school, Joseph frequently asks where he is, and gets excited when I tell him it's time to go get him.  Every time Darren goes somewhere, he always asks if Joseph gets to come too, and gets excited when the answer is "yes," which is most of the time.  When they say their prayers, they almost always pray for each other.  I love that these two boys are such great friends.  They do have their little squabbles and moments of sibling rivalry, just like everybody else, but they both get over it and forget about it quickly.  My boys (Matt too!) are my world, and I LOVE them so much! 

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

After my last post, I need something a bit more light hearted, and not so gross.  This week, Darren has watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas"  a couple times.  He likes it.  A lot.  And apparently, a couple times through is all it takes for parts of it to be memorized.  Today in church, we sang "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," and he was singing along really well.  I was impressed and pleased.  I wasn't aware he knew that song well enough to do that.  Anyway, at the end of the first verse (remember I'm still smiling to myself and proud of him), Darren LOUDLY blurted out, "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!!" 

Just for the record, lecturing your child about reverence and appropriate behavior in church is NOT effective while attempting to contain your own laughter! 

Oh, how I love my little comedian/performer!  There's seldom a dull moment when he's around. 

A Load of Crap!

Today, the cost of me taking a shower was greater than what the shower was worth....  Usually, the boys just play in their room, and come up with all kinds of imaginary things to do- sometimes they empty their dresser in the process, but they use their minds and get along pretty well so I can't complain TOO much.  Many times, it makes me smile with the things they come up with.  Well, this morning was quite the exception.  The boys must have heard me coming, 'cause as I headed down the hall to their room, trying to anticipate what creativity they had come up with, I hear Darren shout out:  "Mom, Joseph pooped!"  He's been potty training the last couple weeks, so my little bottle of spot cleaner has frequently been seen in my hands.  I just about made a detour to go grab it, but decided to see "just how bad" it was first.  I was NOT prepared for what I saw.......

 

The pictures don't do it justice, but Joseph had pooped alright!  In fact, he was naked, smiling - quite proud of himself, and covered from head to toe.  Seriously.  I'm not exaggurating!  It was in his hair, on his face, between his toes, all over his hands, and everywhere in between.  His room didn't fare much better....  I wanted to throw up!  How can so much poop come from 1 little (adorable?) 2 year old?!   It was so gross.  Poor Darren was hanging out in the closet (fully clothed and clean), because he didn't want any to end up on him - smart boy!  He only came out when I offered to help guide him through the maze of poopy prints all over the floor.  I think he wanted to throw up too, and was actually fairly upset that Joseph had made such a stinky, disgusting mess in his room (the boys share a room).  It probably could go without saying, but Joseph was immediately wisked off to a bath.  While bathing Joseph (still wanting to puke)  Matt came home from PT.  Darren immediately told him all about the mess, so naturally, he came upstairs to investigate.  He was a bit speechless too!  While I finished up with Joseph, Matt called his supervisor to say he wasn't going to be back to work on time, and got busy with the clean up (what a great guy!).  I was not expecting that reaction from Matt, but I was really grateful to not have to clean it up by myself!  We borrowed a carpet steam cleaner (thank you, Jessica), and Matt went to town.   

A couple hours later, their room looked and smelled MUCH better!  I'm really grateful for a sanitary cycle on my washer (did I mention there was feces on their bedding, too?), so I can feel confident that everything got truly cleaned.  The boys now have freshly cleaned sheets, blankets, and pillows, sanitzed furniture, walls, blinds, and windows.  When Matt got home from work tonight, he steamed the carpet again, to be double sure we got all the nastiness out.  I think it's safe to say that the boys now have the cleanest room in the house.  I wonder how long it will stay that way?.....  At least 10 hours - while they're sleeping!  

The First of Many......

This week we received Darren's very first school pictures!   He is in preschool this year, and LOVING it!  He's the youngest kid in his class by about 6 months, but he seems to doing pretty well and keeping up.  His teacher always (well, almost always) has positive things to say about him.  Of course, that makes a Mom proud!  My boy is growing up.  So far, he has learned to identify all of his letters and numbers, and can spell/write his name!  He is much better at following instructions, and using his words to tell what he's feeling.  He is a good friend to those around him, and loves to make other people smile and laugh. 

I peeked into his class one day, and watched for a minute - Darren was oblivious to my presence.  The kids were sitting on the floor in a circle singing a song about the colors each of them were wearing.  When it was a specific child's turn, they got to go to the front and jump, dance, or whatever (most just jumped), while their friends sang about them.  On Darren's turn.... he jumped, flapped his arms like a bird, spun in circles, etc. and REALLY hammed it up!  His friends were pointing and laughing so hard, they could barely sing the song.  His teacher was even cracking up!  Darren was quite pleased with his little "performance" based on the HUGE grin he had on his face!  I should also insert here that when his turn was over, he went right back to his place on the floor and remained on task!  I was pleased with that.  He is obviously developing a love of performing.  For show and tell a couple weeks ago (topic: letter O), HE chose to sing "Once There Was A Snowman" in front of his whole class.  There is one other little girl in his class that we know from church, and he had her sing with him.  They were so brave, and the teachers were impressed!  Tomorrow, his class is putting on a little Thanksgiving program, and he has been so excited about it, he has taught Joseph the songs, and sings them all day.  And, he's excited to dress up like a turkey.  I can't wait to see it!   

So, back to my original topic.... school pictures.  While I think his picture is a bit washed out (not sure if it's the lighting, or the fair skin/toe head blonde, light colored shirt against a white background issue), I think the photographer did an excellent job of capturing Darren's fun-loving, energetic, happy personality.  I will say the actual print is not quite as washed out, so looks better - I used our scanner to get this on the computer. 

Here is his class picture....

I love my fun, sweet, daring Darren! 

Things That Make Me Smile....

This is just a simple little post of some recent pics that make me smile.  Most of them are just from our normal everyday life......

I LOVE this picture of my sweet, mischievous, independent Joseph.  He asked me to take this picture.

1 very happy, exhausted, jet lagged Daddy, 2 very excited little boys.  Matt seriously gets attacked and has 2 (okay, 3) little shadows for a few days when he returns from long work trips. 

Snuggle time.  

I never know what this kid is going to do next......  He makes me laugh everyday!  

I went to check on the boys before going to bed a couple nights ago, and this is what I saw......

...... How he managed to stay asleep like that, I don't know. 

These 2 brothers have such a deep love for each other, and want to be together all the time - even when sleeping.... 

The boys dumped out a glass of water, and laughed about making footprints and had a blast jumping in their "puddle!"   

Darren INSISTED he wasn't tired, but didn't even last 10 minutes into his movie!   

Of course, this handsome man won me over with his smile a long time ago, and I smile because I am the lucky girl that gets to spend forever with him! 

I should add that there are many other things that make me smile too, so this is just a small little sample.  :)

Introducing......

The debut performance of Darren Coleman:

Conducting and singing an excerpt from:

Beethoven's 9th Symphony, movement 4 (Ode to Joy)