Bowling

We went bowling on base today. The kids had a blast.  Goofy did smash his fingers a couple times getting the balls out, but he was ok.  Nana smoked everyone! She scored 123 the first game and 129 the second!  I only played one game. I've been having contractions pretty steadily all afternoon, so one game was probably too many!  We did finally find some 6 pound balls at the end, so even Minnie and Goofy didn't use the ramp for the second game!  What fun! They all got in the car and asked if we could go back when Daddy gets home.  We all can't wait.

Fun with Family

One wonderful things about living here is having family close at the holidays.  It has been so great for the kids to be with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents during their break from school.  One day while we were all at Nana and Papa's house, I suggested we play musical chairs. It was lots of fun and turned into a dance party in the middle.

They have all loved having their uncle come in from college.  I think he has enjoyed it too, since he keeps saying how he will miss them all when he has to go back.  Whenever he walks in the house, he has at least three kids running to him and giving him hugs (usually more than three, I'd just say that's the average).  They all want to help him and be with him all the time.  Here's my little Goofy helping him paint at Nana's.

We tried to all go to a movie on base yesterday, but no one showed up to run it, so we ended up just renting the movie and coming back here to watch it.  We popped popcorn and had candy and just enjoyed being together.  It was "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" and we all enjoyed it.  Cute movie.
Then last night, I took the kids out to a local Mexican restaurant to celebrate mine and PC's anniversary.  Who should walk in? Nana, Papa, and two of my brother-in-laws.  So we scooted some chairs together, and had a nice dinner together.  It really is great having family close.  Often makes me miss my own more, but I am at least grateful for the family we do have close. 

12 Days of Christmas

One of our traditions has been to do the twelve days of Christmas to someone.  We haven't always done it.  When PC is gone during Christmastime I don't always want the responsibility of dropping off something every day with the kids.  This year, though, we decided to go ahead with it.  Funny thing was, soon after we got back from dropping our gift off, we heard our own doorbell ring and found that the "Christmas Elves" had started doing it to us!  What fun! The kids loved trying to catch whoever it was leaving us gifts.  They did get some glimpses, but we never did discover who it was.  When we do it, we don't follow the song, but our Christmas Elves did and it was so fun! 
I didn't want to forget them, so I kept them all and thought I'd put them here.
"It's the 1st day of Christmas, oh yes, it is true,
And we, the Christmas Elves, are thrilled to bring our gifts to you,
A partridge in a pear tree is cute and pretty neat,
But we think some juicy pears are an even better treat."
"Now Turtle Doves are birds and are messy, it's true.
And we're nice elves, and couldn't do that to you.
So we thought a proper way to give you a dove,
Would be the chocolate kind, the kind you would love."
"Day #3 is French Hens (what's with all the birds?)
Who wrote this song, a bunch of big nerds?
Who wants three hens and all of that lot,
When Chicken soup is a breeze and will hit the spot?!"
"Four Calling Birds could get loud, oh boy!
And we didn't think all your neighbours would enjoy...
But we thought an ornament of a bird might be,
Just the perfect thing to hang on your tree."
"Five golden rings would sparkle in the light,
Sure would be pretty, but costly alright!
We love you, but that's a bit much,
So we thought golden coins would be a nice touch!"
"Six geese-a-laying (we're back to those birds?!)
We tried stealing their eggs, but their cries could be heard.
So we gave up and went to the store,
These eggs won't hatch, but don't drop them on the floor. :)"
"Seven swans a swimming, yikes, that would be cold,
But goof for the circulation or so we've been told.
The swans have all flown south and couldn't be got,
But fish are swimmers too, and Swedish ones are hot!"
"Eight maids-a-milking, what a taxing chore,
After all that work, we're sure they'd want to snore.
So we won't give you the maids, but what about the dairy,
Here's some tasty Milk Duds, now go and be merry!"
"Nine ladies dancing, late into the night,
With all the twirling around, it must have been a sight.
We know that they were tired, and put up their feet,
And sipped a hot cup of cocoa, the perfect late night treat!"
"Ten lords a leaping would be an awesome gift,
But they got stuck jumping through a white snowdrift.
We had to be content to give cookies with frosting,
All that jumping and leaping must be so exhausting!"
"Eleven pipers piping, oh, how they hurt our heads.
It gave us such a headache, we had to go to bed.
Music should be soothing, a listening pleasure,
So here's a CD for you to treasure."
"12 drummers are drumming, on this 12th day,
And we, the Christmas Elves, would just like to say,
We hope we've brought you some holiday cheer,
So have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!"
I thought they were so cute following the song and you can tell what we received each day.  For ours, I found a lot of different ideas for gifts and made up little poems to go along with it.  Here is what we did:

It’s the FIRST day of Christmas,
And we are getting hoppin,”
We dropped this off to say,
“May your holidays be poppin’!” (We gave them a tin of popcorn.)

It’s the SECOND day of Christmas.
May your days be happy, your heart be light,
Your Christmas merry and the New Year bright! (candle set)

Now it is day number THREE,
And you’re getting “MUFFIN” for Christmas. (muffin mix)

On the FOURTH day of Christmas:
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed and tripped on this 'platter'!
Merry Christmas! (Christmas platter)

It’s the FIFTH day of Christmas,
We hope you are not freezin’!
We just wanted to wish you
A “SOUPER” holiday season! (soup)

It’s the SIXTH day of Christmas,
Here’s something nice and hot.
To warm you up and let you know,
That you are loved a lot!  (hot chocolate)

The SEVENTH day of Christmas,
Here is some bread for you,
And no matter how you slice it,
We wish you a happy day too! (banana bread)

It’s the EIGHTH day of Christmas,
You deserve the best. . .
. . . a present unlike all the rest.
We considered a new car or exotic cruise,
but decided on something you could really use!
Finally we found a gift to admire,
We hope you like your new washer and dryer!
Happy Holidays! (dish towel and rag)

It’s the NINTH day of Christmas.
We say thanks for all you do.
We want to let you know,
That we are “NUTS” about you! (mixed nuts)

It’s the TENTH day of Christmas.
We hope you can blot out your troubles,
And absorb the Christmas spirit! (paper towels)

On the ELEVENTH day of Christmas,
We hope you have a PASTA-tively wonderful holiday! (pasta and sauce)

On the TWELFTH day of Christmas,
These cookies we bring to you,
Wishing you the merriest of Christmases,
And a Happy New Year too!
On the last day we took cookies and sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."  I like for the kids to see how grateful they are for the fun things we gave them.  It was great! I'm so glad I went ahead and did it this year!

Christmas

 Christmas morning brought excited children and a beautiful white scene outside.  Luckily, no one woke up before 7:00 am!  I let them each open their stockings before breakfast.  Santa brought them some Disney dolls.  Tink got Tinkerbell and Pascal (from Tangled).  Bucko got Phineas and Ferb.  Minnie got Belle and the girl from Brave.  Goofy got Perry the Platypus and Francesco Bernolli.  Then I had them get dressed and we ate breakfast.  I made the carmel bubble rolls, creamed eggs with sausage, and hot chocolate.  Then we went back to opening presents. 

My favorite part was when they opened their gifts from each other.  They were all so sweet and gave each other hugs.  They really did a great job finding something their sibling would like.  Goofy got Bucko a Ninjago Character Encyclopedia.  Minnie got Goofy Lego Transformer Bumblebee.  Bucko made Tink a couple signs from the musical Wicked.  Tink got Minnie a Webkinz bunny. 
Of course, we continued our tradition of three gifts, just like the Wise Men.  Their gifts of love (gold), were:  Tink--a green reading chair for her room; Bucko--Batman and Transformer Legos;  Minnie--a butterfly Dreamlite; Goofy--Transformer and Captain America Legos.  The gifts of Learning (frankinSENSE) were:  Tink--pottery wheel, Bucko--rock collection and book, Minnie--a pink guitar, Goofy--magnet set.  For their gift of fun (myrrh) they got:  Tink--green polka dot sheets, a Keep Calm and Carry a Wand t-shirt, and a BYU t-shirt, Bucko--remote controlled helicopter, Minnie--a strawberry baby doll, Goofy--two remote controlled Cameros (one that is yellow like Bumblebee).  They also got Just Dance 4 and Just Dance Disney Party from Santa.  They got puzzles from Uncle Mike, who also gave PC and I a gift certificate for dinner at Chili's.  Can't wait to go on a date with that guy when he gets back! 
We went over to Nana and Papa's later, so we could see Uncle Mark when he skyped them from his mission.  It was a great day.

 

Christmas Eve

We had family come over for dinner on Christmas Eve.  It was so nice.  I did a ham in the crockpot and did a potato casserole.  My sister-in-law brought a dessert and a broccoli salad.  Nana brought a turkey, rolls, and another dessert.  It was all so yummy.
We acted out the nativity after dinner.  Minnie played Mary, because she could hold her baby cousin the whole time.  Tink was the angel.  Bucko was a Wise Man.  Goofy refused to participate.  He sat on mine or his uncle's lap the whole time. 

Afterwards, the kids went out back to spread out their reindeer food.  It had started snowing by this time. 

After everyone left, I let them open their present they each received from my sister. She was so sweet and knew how hard Christmastime had been for them before when PC wasn't with us, so she wanted to send a little something for them.  They loved their Webkinz! Can you tell? 

New Cousin

So PC's brother's wife had her baby a couple weeks ago. My kids have been so excited to finally meet her, so with all the festivities, they finally have had their chance!  And boy do they take that chance every time they can.  Minnie is especially overwhelming with her new little cousin.  She asks to hold her every second.  The rest of them aren't usually far behind, waiting for their chance to hold her.  She is the sweetest little thing, and I can't say that I haven't also been vying for her attention! I got a couple shots of Minnie and Goofy holding her.  They all love her, but just keep saying they can't wait until their new sister arrives!

"Super Saturday"

On Saturday, since we still had all the Colorado families in town, we decided to get together and the girls could do some crafts.  Mandy and I went and bought some wood and other things we needed, then hurried home.  We did taco salad for lunch.  The big boys cut out and sanded our wood for us and I tried to quickly get all the vinyl lettering we needed cut out with my Cricut.  I asked Tink to get some pictures for me since I didn't have a moment to stop! 

They all made 2 x 4 signs like I had done previously with the words, "Wise Men Still Seek Him" on it.  They all turned out great.  Then we used 2 x 6's and made signs that said "Believe" on them.  Nana already had something that said believe, so we did "Remember" for hers and even found a nativity scene to put on it.  Then we used cut paint sticks and made ornaments with ten different names of Christ on them.  They turned out really cute as well.  We would love to keep this tradition of doing crafts together every year, but next time we will have each of us get a craft ready so we will be more prepared. 

The kids all seemed to be having fun. The dads did take them down to the park in the afternoon for a while, which was nice too. They love playing together and it is great that they all get along so well!

Gingerbread Houses/Cousin Gift Exchange

One of our Christmas traditions is making gingerbread houses.  We did them at Nana and Papa's house on Friday, but last Monday, the kids didn't want to wait.  So we broke out all the graham crackers we had and candy and whipped up some icing real quick and made gingerbread houses for Family Home Evening.  They had a lot of fun, even though we didn't have quite enough graham crackers, so everyone's roofs were only half a roof.  But we eventually got them all to stay together, so it was a success.

On Friday, the kids only had a half day of school.  We headed over to Nana and Papa's as soon as we could.  Here they are building their real gingerbread houses with some cousins.

This year, we also tried something new.  We did a cousin gift exchange.  We have four Coleman families with children in Colorado at the moment, and we also included Uncle Johnny, so there were quite a few participants.  We kept the gifts under $5, and the kids had a blast picking something out for the cousin they had and giving it to them.  Everyone loved their gift too.  Tink had little Luke, and that was my favorite because he walked around with his presents under his arms for the rest of the night.  So precious!  They all spent the rest of the evening playing with their new presents.  It was great!

Bucko got an ant farm, Minnie got a Princess dominos game, Goofy got a couple Hot Wheels and tracks, and Tink got a card game.  They all love them!  And more importantly, they loved seeing the expressions on their cousins faces when they opened the presents from them.  That's one of the things I hope they truly learn--giving is much more rewarding than receiving.  (Even though receiving is pretty fun too!)

Spontaneous Talent Show

Tink likes to do things.  Church doesn't start for us until 1 pm right now, so sometimes Sunday mornings get a little boring for the kids.  Tink decided they should put on a talent show a couple Sundays ago.  We all received invitaions.

Minnie danced.  Bucko did a headstand.  Goofy showed us his Spider-Man skills.  Tink did a rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  It was cute.  I enjoyed every minute of it!

Ornament Exchange

At the end of November, I went to an ornament exchange.  It was after Tink's band concert, so I did arrive a bit late.  I had so much fun making my ornament.  Minnie helped me, which was nice.  I make paper pinecones. I'll have to take a picture of mine.  I loved all the ones I got that night, but thought I would share a few of my favorites.

They were all so cute and inspired me to want to do more fun crafts! 

Baby Girl

I had another ultrasound this morning.  This is my fourth ultrasound with this little girl.  The reason I keep having them is because my thyroid levels were crazy out of wack once and I have asthma, so they want to make sure she is growing as she should.  There were no problems, though. She was weighing in at 3.5 pounds already. Her head is down and there is not much wiggle room, as I can attest.  The ultrasound tech was laughing at her though, because she is all curled up in some crazy position. Check out this picture! You see her foot, then her hand, and her head behind!

Goofy's surgery

Goofy had surgery to have his tonsils and adenoids removed on December 5.  Tink helped him prepare a lot, telling him how everything happened when she had hers removed.  That helped a lot.  He couldn't eat anything that morning, except Jello and clear liquids.  He was hungry, but such a trooper.  He wasn't really nervous at all either.  It seemed like a long drive up to downtown Denver, but we made it there an hour earlier than we needed to be.  The good thing was, they also were able to do his surgery an hour earlier because we were there and they were also ahead of schedule! 
He made us laugh so hard in the operating room, though.  He had picked out an orange scent for his oxygen mask, but then when the anesthesiologist added more scent to it, he wanted nothing to do with it.  So she got him a new scent and he was still a bit wary.  They told him to blow up the balloon and he started breathing into the mask super fast.  It was so funny.  The laughing gas kicked in and he finally got to the point where he would lay down.  He was falling asleep fast, his eyes rolling in the back of his head, but continued to breath really, really fast. I just couldn't help laughing at my sweet, funny boy.  They told me he could be my labor coach when I deliver! 
Oh, that was another funny thing. This one nurse could not believe that I was 28 weeks pregnant. She kept going on and on and how she didn't even know I was pregnant.  I think it was just the shirt I was wearing, I don't know.  It was funny too, though.
The surgery went well. The doc said his tonsils and adenoids were huge.  He also cleaned out his ears while he was at it.  About an hour later, I went back to see Goofy and he was still very much asleep. They had tried to wake him and he moved around a little bit, but took about another half hour before we could get him fully awake.  He had a grape slushee and got to watch How to Train your Dragon on a portable dvd player while sitting up in his bed.  We had to wait another hour or so, but could finally leave.  He was doing great, though didn't want to take the prescription pain medicine they gave him.  I guess it tastes really yucky.  He threw up in the car a little after taking about an hour nap.  We picked up the other kids from Nana and had dinner with them.  Goofy ate two full bowls of oatmeal!! Poor guy had been so hungry. 
Here is a picture of all of them on my bed for storytime that night.  He looks great, doesn't he? (We are starting a new tradition of reading a Christmas book every night in December until Christmas.  We wrapped them up and we rotate who gets to pick one and unwrap it that night. It's been fun!)

I had to wake him up every four hours to give him his medicine.  The next day, he wanted to try some different medicine, so I gave him some Motrin.  He took a five hour nap that afternoon!  I was worried about him sleeping that night, but knew he needed the rest, so just let him sleep.  He woke up during dinner and came down with swollen eyes.  Bucko took one look at him and burst into tears.  It was a bit shocking, so I called the doctor to make sure it was ok.  They said it was just from all the fluids from surgery and as long as he wasn't in pain, it was fine.  So our worries were put to rest.  He was happy after we knew it was ok too.

He has done really well. There have been rough days when he is in a lot of pain and super tired, but as long as we give him the Motrin every six hours, he does fine.  As it wears off, though, he starts to hurt, even now.  His scabs should be falling off which has made the last few days a little harder for him, but he is on the mend.  He is SO much quieter at night too! He has woken up crying a few times, but sometimes I think it is from dreams.  I have only given him allergy medicine once since the surgery too! He hasn't had a runny nose at all!  I'm so glad we did the surgery. I think it has already benefitted him a lot, and I think it will be for the best for the rest of his life as well.  So proud of our little guy.  We just love him so much.

Sixth Grade Band Concert

Tink had her first band concert on November 28.  They did a great job.  I videotaped it for PC and Nana and Johnny were able to attend as well.  Pictures never turn out the greatest at schools, but she is at least looking at me in this one.  She looked so grown up.  We were proud of her, and she is still enjoying playing the saxophone.