Coffer Clan

Hi Blog

2011-05-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, I miss blogging. I love looking back on the funny things the kids have done or what life was like last year. Maybe, just maybe I can get back to it regularly. It's not like the kids have stopped doing crazy stuff... I guess I post the best ones on Facebook though. Now I need to figure out a way to get it all in one place... maybe make a book from it all. I think it will be easier once I can post baby girls pictures. She's in all our family pictures and if I want to post them I need to hid her face... it's a bit of extra work and I don't think I have the time.

Last we heard we may be able to finalize her adoption this summer. All is going really well with that. She's a little energy ball and drives me crazy but I love her. She's hit her "terrible twos" in full force and early. She's only 19 months but she acts 2 1/2. It's exhausting dealing with her attitude and her getting into everything at every moment, home-schooling Tori and dealing with her being VERY emotional, and Siah's non-stop boy energy... well you can just imagine. Add to the mix a constantly barking dog, 4 needy chickys, 1 cat, 1 frog... cause the other one went missing, 1 fish, a cage full of crickets, and a garden- WOW! Life is nuts. That's just at home. I didn't even mention all the stuff outside of home.

Time to get off the computer... a few chores/kids/pets are trying to get my attention.

Catch Up... or maybe not

2011-03-21T23:37:00.000-07:00

For some reason... or reasons I am just not able to keep up with my blog this year. I miss it though so I thought I'd do a quick recap of the year so far.

That's the sentence I wrote this morning it's now 11:30pm... I didn't get too far. So here are some pictures from January. I'll try again another day. I've got tons of fun Disneyland pictures to share.

R U scared of Reindeer?

2011-02-10T11:21:00.000-08:00

So, last night Jeff and I were watching the movie Red and in the opening scenes there were Christmas lawn decorations which reminded me of a funny thing that happened back at Christmas time. (I figured I'd better write it down cause it would be a bummer to forget the funny little things my munchkins say and do.)

One evening before Christmas we went on a "sleigh ride" California style- we rolled down the windows in the minivan, drank hot cocoa and munched on candy canes while touring the neighborhoods. Not long after our tour began Siah started crying and shouting "roll window up" actually it sounded more like, "woll indo". So of course we did but we couldn't figure out why he was so scared. Out the window there were some happy mechanical deer... you know the ones- white with tiny lights that move their heads up and down. This scene even included Rudolph.

After a bunch of guesses, we were able to figure out that he didn't like the reindeer but we weren't sure why. We continued the sleigh ride and he continued to freak when he saw the reindeer... and they were everywhere. Eventually he said, "it's pooping!" us- "What? What's pooping? You?" S- "no, the one with the red nose!" So after much guessing as to what was going on in his confused little mind we finally determined that he was afraid that all of the reindeer were pooping on the peoples lawns... especially the one with the red nose! Wow, I think this kid has stepped in dog poop too much. He knows how gross it is to have poop on the lawn. So for all of you that put reindeer on your lawn... watch out for the poo.

Next story I need to blog about will involve poop as well... snake poop to be exact. Stay tuned... it's a dozie. (Is that how you spell that?) I can't believe I actually got this written. I was interrupted a minimum of 30 times and that's just by the older two. The baby is asleep. That's why it's February and I'm blogging about December.

Christmas came and went... time to finally post some pics

2011-02-03T16:16:00.000-08:00

Oops, I forgot... I can't post my Christmas pictures here. Hop over to Coffer5.blogspot where I'll post pictures of baby girl. It was a lovely Christmas and a wonderfully warm January.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2010-12-12T23:07:00.000-08:00

No, Samson doesn't usually cuddle on the couch but, it was just too cute.
Look closely and you'll see kitty looking in on the scene.

Reindeer games

We went to a super fun Christmas event. The kids loved the petting zoo.

This little alpaca was the cutest little guy.
Super soft fur and an adorable face.

Hayride

Bringing home crafts

This day Tori had joined me at a luncheon, then went to a fun 5 year old birthday party, followed by the beach with friends, and a Christmas evening. She was DONE!

DONE!

and DONE!

(Just a reminder... I still can't post recognizable photos of baby girl on this blog so I don't post often. You can check out our other blog though and see family pictures and stories that involve her. Just e-mail me if you need the link.)

Really?

2010-12-12T22:56:00.000-08:00

I don't normally ask Tori to change outfits but this one was a real piece of work. After she posed for a picture I tactfully asked her to chose her favorite piece of clothing and then we worked together to pick out something more appropriate. WOW- that's an amazing combination!

She's a soccer player now

2010-11-01T22:25:00.000-07:00

It took a couple weeks but Tori is finally a soccer PLAYER. The first two weeks were high drama. For the month leading up to the first game she tried to erase the date off the calendar. On her first day she held my hand and cried. She stood on the field for a moment with tears running down her face. We continually debated with ourselves why we were doing this and then we remembered that she was super excited at one point to give it a try and we knew she would love it once she got use to it. So, we returned the following week and she clung to me for the first half of the game and then stood on the field and watched the ball for the second half... with out tears. For some reason half way through the third game she really started to play. She ran towards the ball instead of away from it and she attempted to kick it. Yesterday she immediately took to the field without us by her side and she played the game. She ran after the ball, she smiled the entire time, and she kicked the ball a lot. She even made a GOAL... on her own team, but who cares! It was a goal. It has been fun to watch her progress. I am now officially a SOCCER MOM. I even have a Tori picture button, 3 kids, and a minivan to prove it.

Thanks Auntie Shelley, Auntie Len, and Mimi & Papa for coming out to her games. I know she loves the attention.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

Starsong (My Little Pony), Spiderman, and purple unicorn (My Little Pony) all had a wonderful Halloween. It was baby girls first and I was so surprised that she left the costume on the entire time.

We started a fun Halloween tradition with friends from Mission Springs when Tori was a toddler and we continue to get together every year. We've added more families and tons of kids.. It's always a lot of fun. I love that it's not "scary" just fun! This year they even took the kids on a "hay ride" and we trick-o-treated a night early.

We made cupcakes and jack-o-lanter pancakes too.

Pumpkin Carving

2010-11-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

This is the first time carving pumpkins with the kids. Jeff and Tori spent a lot of time getting this face perfect- Siah tried to get involved too. This was Tori's design... I think it's super cute. She came in and asked for her "ear muffs" shortly after they went outside to carve. When I asked her, "why?" She said that Daddy was using a chainsaw to carve her pumpkin. Turns out it was just the drill.

Tori's face while pulling out the "guts" was priceless. Siah wouldn't get his hands in there.

Such a happy Jack.

Pumpkin Time

2010-10-30T22:37:00.000-07:00

We had a super fun day at the pumpkin patch yesterday with our friends and Auntie Shelley. It was great! The kids loved the cow train, picking out pumpkins, and running through the corn maze.

To see pictures of our entire family you'll have to visit our private blog. We got some great photos of baby girl thanks to Kathleen and Shelley.

Trac!

2010-10-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

We went up to my parents house to see and play on the logging tractors (AKA- tracs) and celebrate Siah and Uncle Jake's birthdays. He loved it!

Fieldtrip

2010-10-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

We went on our first home school field trip with our local Christian Home School group on Tuesday. It was soooo much fun! We had a picnic, rode a tractor to pick pumpkins from the patch, shucked Indian corn, fed animals, played on tractors and enjoy the beautiful farm.
A special thanks to our friend Pear (Kari) who helped make it happen. 3 kids would have been too much on my own but it was a lot of fun with Pear (Siah named her and it has stuck).

Have I mentioned how much I love homeschooling... I do! We're having so much fun and learning a ton. Today Siah started telling me what letters were on the flashcards and what sounds they make... I haven't been working with him but he's been watching. I was really surprise. Tori is now able to read short sentences and she only started her reading curriculum last week. It's so fun to watch them learn.

*baby girl's face has been blocked so I can share these pictures. If you want to see how cute she is, let me know and I'll give you access to our private blog.

Another Airshow

2010-10-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

We braved the crowds in San Francisco to see the Blue Angels this past Saturday. Prior to going we watched a documentary about them so the kids were really excited... actually we were all excited! They were really loud and fast and put on a great show with 6 jets flying in formation and doing all sorts of tricks. Siah said his favorite part of the show was the "Mama plane"... the Blue Angels Cargo plane that started the show off. Love that he called it the Mama plane. :)

We were happy that we went but seriously we were a little crazy thinking it was a good idea to take 3 kids under the age of 5 to the city. Traffic was insane! Parking was $25 and that was in the bargain lot. Navigating our double-wide stroller through mass amounts of people was nearly impossible. Thankfully BOB (our stroller) was able to hold all three kids which made it manageable.

The big city experience was really exciting for them since they'd never been before. They loved the tall buildings, tractors, ships, trains, trollys, house boats, apartments, fire trucks, men & women in military uniform and all the planes.

3!!!!!!

2010-10-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

Siah Turned 3! We started off the celebration with all his favorite foods- popcorn and smoothies for breakfast and followed it up with pizza and strawberries for dinner. We made a tractor cake together that he's been talking about for weeks and watched Handy Manny's Big Dig. It was a true Siah style celebration with tractors and Spiderman. We also did the Great Paci Exchange. Here he is turning them in and taking one last hit. It was tramatic but he knows a 3 year old Siperman does not sleep with a paci so he traded them in for his super special tractor cake. We love you little man!!!! Next weekend we'll have a party with family. Mom and Dad are logging so there will be tons of big rigs and tractors for him to play on. A little boys dream come true.

Hungry Caterpillar

2010-10-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

Home schooling has been many things- challenging I'm still figuring out my teaching style while trying to determine Tori's learning style and how to make it all work together with some sort of schedule so we are not all exhausted. It's been enlightening- I had know idea there were so many different educational philosophies. I'd never really thought about it before and now I'm constantly researching and figuring out what I agree with and what I want to implement in our school. There are some wonderful ideas and I know Tori is going to greatly benefit from this school experience. Most importantly- it's fun-I didn't know I was going to enjoy this so much. Tori loves to learn this way and Siah is picking up on a lot of things too. I usually set aside the morning hours while baby girl takes her am nap. We read together everday on the hammock or trampoline. Bake. Do tons of art projects. Learn letters. Math. social studies. Science and nature study.

Hungry Caterpillar week. Lessons learned from this simple book- numbers 1 to 5, days of the week, healthy food choices, metamophisis and plenty of art projects.

We even made him a caterpillar.

Getting messy!

2010-10-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

They had sooooo much fun painting on paper, themselves, and finally the table.

Blue man

Walk For Life update

2010-10-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

Tori kitty!

We had a great time walking and raising $ for the Pregnancy Resource Center. They had a BBQ and bounce house after to celebrate.

Sleepy girl

I saw this flower during the walk- it represented life to me.

Walk For Life

2010-09-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

Many of you received this e-mail from us but for those of you that didn't... we'd love to include you in our fundraising efforts-
Our family is walking in the 26th annual Walk For Life fundraiser this Saturday and we're hoping to raise more support. Our goal is $1000. So far, we've raised $100. We have a few short days left to raise $900. If you'd like to sponsor us this year, we'd really appreciate it. Any amount helps.
Click this link to find out more info regarding the Pregnancy Resource Center and all the services they are able to offer with the funds you give. Walk For Life
The link provides a way to sponsor us directly or if you'd like to send a check, please send us an an e-mail with the amount and your address and the PRC will bill you.

Thank you-

My Fairy Princesses

2010-09-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

Oh, they're so cute together. Tori is thrilled to have a little dress-up sister. Can't show her face but you get the idea... she's adorable!

Apple Cupcake

2010-09-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

We got this cute idea from FamilyFun magazine. Tori loved it!

Our little girl

2010-08-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

Since we can't post pictures of our little girl here... I've created a private blog to introduce her. If you'd like to view it, please send me your e-mail address.

She's adorable!

School- our way

2010-08-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

I had no idea we'd all love home school as much as we do. Our days are usually so calm and fun. Tori LOVES to learn so this is really working out for us as a family. I read a great book called, Beyond Survival- An Guide to Abundant-Life Homeschooling and it really gave me confidence and an excitement for home educating. Here are a few of the things we've done recently.

Wind experiment with sand and water-
We watched Sid the Science kid and they did this experiment so we copied it and then researched sand dunes and waves on-line to see more examples. I found a great website called ZuiTube and it's Utube videos that have been reviewed and deemed appropriate for children. We then experimented with pinwheels and made some of our own. I'll post a picture of those soon cause they turned out super cute too.

Learning by computer

Not so happy about the tomato "sail" on his veggie boat. Tori's idea for a snack on our wind experiment day.

Field Trip- on the day we brought our little girl home we stopped at a geyser and little farm. Every opportunity is a learning opportunity if you're thinking that way.

They're all involved in learning their letters.

Arms Wide Open

2010-08-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

I was driving the other day and this song by Creed came on the radio- it did make me cry (and I'm not a crier).

Arms Wide Open

Well I just heard the news today
It seems my life is going to change
I closed my eyes, begin to pray
Then tears of joy stream down my face

With arms wide open
Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
With arms wide open

Well I don't know if I'm ready
To be the man (woman) I have to be
I'll take a breath, I'll take her by my side
We stand in awe, we've created life (saved a life)

With arms wide open
Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
Now everything has changed
I'll show you love
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
With arms wide open
I'll show you everything ...oh yeah
With arms wide open..wide open

I remember hearing this song when I was pregnant and thinking it was such a great song to describe how I was feeling but I didn't realize that it would also perfectly describe how I would be feeling after finding out about the little girl we are going to adopt. With a few word changes this song again fits. Instead of creating life... we are saving a life.

We learned more about our little girl the other day and it was amazing to hear how God has protected her from before birth. Although we can't give details about her case you can imagine what that might involve. She was protected from so much and we know God heard our prayers as we were praying protection for our unknown child.

Unfortunatly, we won't be able to post photos or her name until after she is adopted, which might be over a year. If you'd like to see a picture once we pick her up please leave a comment or message me and I'll send you one via e-mail. PS- she's beautiful and will perfectly fit our family. She's a big girl just like Tori and Siah 9 lbs 13 oz at birth and already over 20 pounds at 8 1/2 months. Can't wait to give her cuddles! One week and one day until our arms are wide open to her.

Mom, turn it UP!

2010-08-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

I love that at our new church the kids are welcome to stay for the worship. Now when we get in the car and I'm listening to Air1 or Klove Tori hears a worship song from Collide and she yells, "Mom, turn it up!"

I've overheard her many times singing songs like "Our God" while she's having *quiet time*. It really makes my heart happy to hear her connecting with the worship music.

Summer Tradition

2010-08-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

This is our 4th summer in a row visiting Thomas the Train. While the kids are still too nervous to ride the "big" train they are excited to ride the small train from the parking lot into the station and that's great for us since it's FREE. Yeah for free! It's loud!

The person taking this picture forgot that we were trying to get a picture of Thomas... not our family on a hay bale. Tori with Percy- who ever thought to name a train Percy obviously did not have a child with a cute little lisp...

they played with trains, painted them, stamped them, had them painted on their bodies, jumped in train bounce houses and watched them chug by. It was a happy train day.

Loved her train.

Is this really Thomas?

Nesting

2010-08-06T16:13:00.000-07:00

Guess what? You don't need pregnancy hormones to have a crazy nesting instinct. I'm ridiculous right now! Taking down curtains to wash, dusting the ceiling, wiping down all the baseboards. Impatient to get the rooms set up so her newly washed clothes can be hanging neatly in the closet... it's a bit crazy but I'm so excited! We leave for vacation a little over a week from today and then bring her home the following weekend. There is a lot to do between now and next Saturday.

So when people ask if it's certain she'll be ours this is how I answer- "it's as sure as anything can be with adoption". I've decided to not entertain any fears that this might not happen. Just like when you first find out your prego you have a decision to make- share your news with everyone because you're so excited or wait to share your news until you're out of the first trimester and into the safer zone. I chose to risk losing my heart right now and believe everything will go smooth. That's what I did with my other two blessings as well.

I think about how our lives will change all the time now. I know it's going to rock my world but I'm comforted knowing God has worked everything out and will give us strength. We're just where He wants us to be- on the edge of "I can't do this on my own". That will keep us clinging to Him. To not only survive but thrive in the challenge and blessing He's put in front of us. I'm not naive... I know this is going to be a huge adjustment and that we're signing up for unexpected complication but I'm at peace knowing God's got us in His hands.

It's funny but, Siah is looking less like a baby to me ever since I heard the news. I find myself cuddling him more now just because I know I won't be as free to in a few weeks and that makes me a bit sad. He has kinda of turned into a momma's boy in the last few months and likes to cuddle. Of course he's still all boy and laughs in the face of pain! I've never seen a kid so tough. He's like a bulldozer- but cuddly and cute. Speaking of bulldozers, I can't wait to show you his new bed. It's the cutest tractor bed ever. He's going to be so excited to change rooms.

Tori is still very excited. She offered to share her duckie with her new sister which is HUGE! Duckie has been her #1 snuggle buddy since birth. Yesterday we read an adoption book together written by my friend Sherry Kyle and her daughter (who adopted through our same agency 10 years ago). The book really inspired Tori to write her own book about her baby sister. It was great to talk about this more in-depth with Tori. She colored a picture of what she's thinks her sister will look like and gave her curly hair. I hadn't thought of that... maybe she will have curls. Hopefully we'll see a picture on Monday.

We finally got the call we've been waiting for

2010-07-30T21:58:00.001-07:00

There is an 8 month old blond hair/hazel eyed little girl that is going to be ours in less than a month. Probably around the 20th of August. WOW! She's got a cute name that she'll keep (but I don't think I should post it or give any specific details). Her biological parents are no longer eligible for reunification services so her next hearing is for permanency. Basically it's very unlikely that anything will happen legally to hinder our ability to finalize adoption.

We started pursuing adoption almost exactly 2 years ago and have been actively waiting since January. To get a call in the middle of the day that changes your future forever is a crazy thing.

What's next?
We'll meet with her social worker early next week and then meet our little girl the weekend of the 20th and most likely bring her home with us. The next few weeks are going to be a blur! We have to completely finish our addition, move all the furniture around in the 3 bedrooms, get together clothes and gear, baby proof- again, and get ready welcome her into our lives. Oh, we're going on a week long vacation before we bring her home too. Bring it on, we're ready!

We are all very excited. Well, I'm not sure if Siah has a clue but when Tori was asked if she was a little excited she said, "No, I'm soooo excited". She was really hoping for a baby sister.

Adoption Update

2010-07-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

Not much to update really but for inquiring minds-

We have our home study in for an 18 month old girl as well as a 6 month old baby (not sure is it's a boy or girl). Both are in the system and their social worker is trying to determine if there is eligible family to adopt them. If not, we will be considered along with other families. So, we're waiting. No, we would not get both of them and thankfully they are with the same social service worker so she know the situation of both and our family and can make a good decision with that information.

We both have a feeling that it will happen within the next few months though since we are only days away from being completely done with the addition (Thank you Lord!) and it's always in His perfect timing so we thinking He was probably giving us time to be ready. We'll let you know.

Tori is asking daily when our adopted baby will arrive. She was so cute the other day and offered to clean the house super well with Daddy while I go have a surgery to get the baby... ahhhhh, so sweet but I'm not doing that again! I've tried to explain the other mother concept but it does get a bit confusing especially when most of my friends have newborns.

Home School

2010-07-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

I just ordered the books I'm planning to use for home schooling Tori this coming year. I'm so excited! I want to learn all this stuff myself. The science book looks amazing (Apologia Science). (Grandpa, you're gonna love this too!) She's really into science so I researched this a lot. Preparing has been consuming me for a while now as I was trying to figure out the best curriculum. I think I picked out some great materials. There are so many amazing things out there to chose from. We'll use the reading and math programs that many of the schools around here use (ZooPhonics, Explode the Code and Singapore Math) but I've switched up the social studies/history/science/ curriculum to include a biblical point of view.

Oh, and I just discovered that on the PBS website they have experiments and activities that correlate with each episode of the programs we like to watch like dinosaur train, Sid the Science Kid, and many more. BONUS! Check it out.

We've both got a lot to learn but I'm really excited to start. Aug. 14th will be here very soon. She's already practicing school daily though.

Not sure how well I'll do with keeping up the blog but I'll try.

Fun Summer

2010-07-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

We're having such a fun, busy summer with friends and family that I haven't made time to blog. There are plenty of pictures on my Face Book page though.

We had a wonderful time visiting with my oldest brother and his family. The cousins were so cute together. The younger ones joined Tori at her first VBS and Siah loved playing with his cousin Seth- I think the feeling was mutual since they are both use to being surrounded by girls.

Last week Jeff went backpacking with friends and his Dad while his Mom and I had fun with the kids. I truly am blessed with an AMAZING family on all sides.

We celebrated Tori turning 5 too- can't believe it happened so fast.

I'll try to do better blogging but no promises. This holiday weekend is already filling up with lots of fun things to do and see.

Friends

2010-06-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

Fun times!

We had a fun morning with friends. Look at all those kids! There were only 4 moms here and this isn't all of our kids. Missing from this picture- 2 at school, 1 newborn being held, 1 baby still waiting to be born on Monday, and... we got a call regarding a little girl that might be ours for adopting soon... more info when we have it. She's 18 months old. That's all I know.

Soups on!

This Morning

2010-06-03T16:11:00.000-07:00

After a long night of Siah waking me up several times and an early morning wake up courtesy of Tori... I was a bit grumpy getting out of bed but when I came into the living room, this is what I saw and it put a big smile on my face. Siah was cuddling with Tori on the couch while they watched cartoons and she played with his hair.

Civil War Days

2010-06-03T16:01:00.000-07:00

We went to the Civil War Reenactment at Roaring Camp this past weekend. There were hundreds of participants all living in tents like this. They all assume characters and titles and jobs... it's interesting. A serious hobby for these people and their families. This lady and her husband met while doing these reenactments and got married at one having a civil war wedding.

Tori and Siah helped her crank an antique sewing machine and got to keep the little bag they made.

Clearing their guns.

LOUD!

The battle being reenacted with the train chugging by. There we lots of canons as well.

Wow, I sure would not have wanted to go through that! I was really interesting though... and really LOUD.

Felton Parade

2010-06-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

We marched in (well, I don't know if it was truly a "march") the local Memorial Day parade with Tori's preschool. It was a beautiful day and fun to see the community participate- lots of military people and firefighters were honored.

The kids loved collecting the candy.

Preschool Songs

2010-06-03T15:47:00.000-07:00

Tori already had her last day of preschool- this year went so fast!

She sang the songs this time... sort of- or at least this one.

Next year we will be doing Ocean Grove home school for kindergarten. It should be a fun year.

Siah's Surgery

2010-06-03T15:39:00.001-07:00

Siah had hernia repair surgery and he did GREAT. I thought it would be really hard to keep him from eating all day but it wasn't too bad. Thanks for all the prayers. Around 2pm he started begging for a "nack" and dragging around his diaper bag. He wasn't happy when we put him in a hospital bed so he invited me up to cuddle with him. It was cute, he scooted over and patted the bed so I climbed up and snuggled with him while we waited. We warned the Drs. that he'd probably be a handful when waking up and apparently we were right. His nurse said, "I'm not going to lie, he was difficult!" They actually had to give him additional drugs to calm him down when he was waking up. After recovery in the hospital he's been fine. Running around and refusing any pain medicine. He'll have a tiny little scar (just like Daddy's) as a reminder. Yes, we all have matching scars now. Tori from kidney surgery, me from C-sections and the boys from hernias. That's enough scars for one family. No more please!

Yosemite

2010-06-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

Went to Yosemite with Jeff's family. It was a BEAUTIFUL time of year. The waterfalls were huge and the dogwoods were all in bloom. Too bad Tori wasn't into taking a picture... oh well, we'll be back in October.

Ice cream break

Hike to Mirror Lake

Catchin' a ride

We stayed at my parents airstream trailer outside of Yosemite. The kids (and auntie) found the box to be the most fun.

Snuggles after running in the sprinkler.

Mother's Day

2010-06-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day we went down to the beach and explored the tide pools. We found thousands of crabs and other fun sea things. After, we went out to lunch. It was a nice day but I think next year... I will disappear for a few hours instead. Is that so bad?

Super Hero Siah

2010-06-03T15:26:00.001-07:00

He LOVES fire trucks!

He's a man of few words (just like his Daddy) but he makes great fire truck and police car sounds.

bugs

2010-06-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

Bugs and other critters provide hours of fun. I still get excited when I find a fuzzy wuzzy.

Family Day

2010-06-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

We like to picnic at Roaring Camp Railroad. It's so pretty and it's fun to watch the trains.

Even Samson (Dog) got in on the action.

The test- Great America

2010-06-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

Tori passed the Great America test this year so we might try to go to Disneyland around Christmas time. For the last few years Jeff's work pays for us all to go to Great America which is really fun... except for Tori. She was terrified to ride any rides and after waiting in line she'd start crying when it was her turn so we'd get out of line. This is the first year that she decided it was OK to ride the rides and then she got really brave and wanted to ride a roller coaster... but she was too short. Siah would ride anything and have a huge smile on his face while doing it. LOVE this picture! Siah is OUT and Tori is wired. Jeff is saying quick, take the picture! Ah, my cute little family.

Fun at the park

2010-06-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

These pictures are actually from March but I forgot to post them. We had a fun morning at Dennis The Menace Park in Monterey.

For Kathleen

2010-06-02T07:07:00.000-07:00

Well Kathleen, this post is for you since you keep bugging me telling me to update my blog. Apparently, I skipped the whole month of May. I'll catch up soon.

This is what Tori knows about babies-

We were having a conversation regarding our dear friend Kathleen (AKA Caleb & Kylies mom) and the fact that she's going to have another baby any day now. Tori says, "You know, a baby is a big responsibility! You have to feed it and give it water and change it's diaper and other stuff."

Wow, she know more than a lot of teens!

Congrats friend! We can't wait to meet this little guy or gal.

(I know... you're gonna kill me for posting this picture but really, you love me. :)

Cried at Costco today...

2010-04-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

but not for the reasons you'd assume. The children were actually very well behaved, the sample lines were orderly, and I didn't even exceed my budget. No, I didn't cry for an obvious reason it was because I was having a conversation with my daughter that touched me deeply.

We were purchasing supplies for my brother and sis-in-law to take to an orphanage in Haiti. Through a generous donation I was able to pick up a ton of protein bars and fruit roll-up among other things. As Tori was watching me fill our cart with all the boxes she asked me about what I was doing.

So, we started talking about the orphans and I reminded her about the children in the earthquake that she had seen on TV and how her and her daddy had given money to help them. I explained that her Auntie and Uncle were leaving to help them in a few days and that we were buying food for them.

This led into a conversation about orphans-it's difficult to tell my child that there are children in this world without parents so I tried to keep it as light as possible. I said something about their parents not being around to help them anymore so they all live together. She immediately processed my answer and said, "because they died in the earthquake? Did the roof fall on them- maybe? That's so sad!"

I was amazed that she got it and nervous that she would worry about us or be paranoid about earthquakes but again she surprised me and said, "I should draw them pictures to make them not so sad." I told her that that was very thoughtful and then she asked how many children there were so she'd know how many pictures to draw. I answered, "there are 115 at the orphanage they are going to." She got really quiet and said with a lot of emotion, "that's a lot." And my eyes welled up... I was doing all I could to hold it together in the check out line realizing that it is A LOT and that doesn't even begin to account for the true number effected. I'm glad we can help in some small way. I wish we could do more. Like provide a loving home for some of the orphans... we're still waiting for an adoption placement.

So, that's why I cried at Costco today. I think it was a good reason though and I'm certainly not ashamed. My heart is broken for them but thankful that my daughter cares as well.

Hawaii

2010-04-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

Made with Creative Memories StoryBook Creator Software

Check it out on my website www.mycmsite.com/bethanycoffer

Easter 2010

2010-04-06T21:22:00.001-07:00

Yardwork

2010-03-25T17:33:00.000-07:00

This is what I mean by doing yard work all weekend... which turned into all week as well and will most likely go through the next few weeks and weekends. It's going to be lovely though.

We began by tearing down a shed and clearing the yard. My job was to pull out berry vines and ivy- that gets old very quickly, move cinder blocks, wood, and plant trees. Tori was heard telling her Auntie that we were digging out plants and putting them in different places. True, we transplanted 10 trees and bushes. Building a retaining wall with the assistance of Samson and Siah. Notice the tools in hand and safety goggles on.

Always helpful

We even put Tori to work. She earned money to buy a special toy by picking up rocks and moving scrap wood. Now whenever we ask her to do something she wants to know how much money she'll earn... hum.

The observant foreman ready to assist whenever needed.

Can't wait to post before and after pictures.

Wild Life

2010-03-25T17:24:00.000-07:00

We've found tons of salamanders, worms, rolly pollys, spiders, centipedes and other assorted bugs while digging up our front yard. By far the cutest are these salamanders. Tori loved finding them... I did too. We found lots of this type and a really skinny kind as well.

This is by far the largest worm I've ever seen. Gross!
Tori's been collecting the worms and rolly pollys and making homes for them. She knows the rule- she has to put them back each night. However, I found a dead rolly polly in our room last night. I think she tickled it too much. Yes, she likes to tickle them and thinks that they are laughing... I'm not convinced.

Mount Coffer

2010-03-25T17:19:00.000-07:00

The making of Mt. Coffer began with an enormous dump truckthe kids were amazed

Siah scaled the mountain

and Tori staked her claim

it rained last night...

the amount of mud in the house is epic.

Happy St. Pat's Day

2010-03-25T17:17:00.001-07:00

Bought the Lucky Charms and made rainbow fruit cups = happy kids!
Like I said before, he wears his helmet everywhere!

Friends

2010-03-25T17:04:00.001-07:00

These girls have been the best of friends since the beginning. It's fun to look back on how much they've grown.

Here they are with TJ all 3 squeezed on one swing...

Here they are again, just a bit bigger. Still having fun. So thankful for friends!

My Ballerina

2010-03-10T21:31:00.000-08:00

She's so cute dancing around and pointing her toes.

My 33rd

2010-03-10T21:17:00.001-08:00

I had a fabulous 33rd birthday on 3/3/2010 and all week long thanks to my wonderful friends and family. It truly was a special time. It started out with tons of e-mails, calls, and Facebook shout outs. Then I went out with friends several evenings, had two cakes, got a pedicure, went out to dinner twice- including a fancy one with my man while Uncle Luke and Auntie Len watched the kiddos. I got great gifts too. Thanks everyone! One of the most thoughtful came from my little girl. She disappeared into her room one evening and came out about 30 minutes later telling me to, "come see!". When I got there she showed me how she had cleaned up her entire room (Siah's stuff too) without being asked because she knew I would love that for my birthday. Ah, so thoughtful. Speaking of thoughtful... see the photos below for Jeff's gift to me. I love it but more importantly, I love him. All dressed up and ready to enjoy an evening out.

My cute little ring model. Truthfully, I tried photographing it while it was on my hand but that was really difficult not to mention highlighted that even my hands are getting older. So, back into the little black box and into cute little hands.

Safety First

2010-03-10T21:14:00.000-08:00

He loves to wear his helmet and goggles all day long. We love that they protect him- from himself!

Teapot Tori

2010-03-10T21:11:00.000-08:00

It's exhausting...

2010-03-10T21:07:00.000-08:00

being a mess maker!

Proud Rocket Scientist

2010-02-24T13:54:00.001-08:00

Recently it was space week at Tori's preschool. Her rocket scientist Daddy was very proud to hear that his daughter had made the biggest, most intricate rocket out of her entire class. While most kids rockets were about 5 ft tall Tori's measured over 6 feet tall with numerous buttons and special functions. She spent hours on this creation. The funny thing is... I don't even think she know that this is what her Daddy does for work. She just has the knack. Now what do we do with a 6ft rocket?

Dino Buddies

2010-02-24T13:50:00.000-08:00

Josiah loves wrestling with his dinosaur.

Spring will come...

2010-02-24T13:16:00.001-08:00

I know spring will come eventually. This past week we saw the sun- it was FABULOUS! My crocus took advantage and bloomed in full. It gave me such hope. The long rainy days of winter are hard. (Yes, I know that we've got great winter weather compared to most of the world). But this past month has been hard... on top of all the rain, it's been an emotional roller coaster with adoption stuff and we've all been fighting the sickies which means NO SLEEP for anyone. I'm not usually an emotional person but I feel on the brink of tears for the past month. And then I got sick this past week with something that knocked me out for a few days and has left me voiceless, with a killer sore throat. When you start to feel overwhelmed even the tiniest things seem to be monsters. I'm not kidding the tiniest things like, ANTS- they have invaded my kitchen. I'm at war with a tiny bug and it's winning both physically and emotionally. Seriously, today after I left the house I found one in my hair, on the kids lunch bag, and on Siah's toy... how dare they follow me. They are tormenting me. Jeff can attest... I pulled out the jar of honey yesterday and just about lost it when I found then on it and crawling on my hand. Thankfully he offered to clean up and suggested numerous ways to torture them- it made me laugh. Sick, I know! Another tiny thing that pushes me over the edge- Josiah, dumping all his toys off his shelf. I feel that it's a personal affront- his way of saying, "take this Mommy!" I know it's not, but my tired brain translates thing incorrectly lately. Here's another one- Tori points to the laundry and excitedly shouts, "Mommy, the pile is almost as high as ceiling!" Ugh... I'm defeated by the laundry! I'm also deFEETed by feet and paws... dirty ones all over the floor. What's the point of trying to keep them clean? I don't know, I've given up on that battle.

So there they are... my recent stuggles. You know what? It makes me feel a lot better to blog about it. I know that my friends and family that read this understand and have "been there". I know it's all trivial and that spring is soon here. We'll all be healthy again. Eventually I'll sleep through the night. The ants will go marching on and I'll accept the fact that the laundry will never be done and my floors will never stay clean. I'm also hoping and praying that we'll know more regarding our adoption soon. The 8 month old was placed. The newborn went to a family we know and we couldn't be happier for them. We're still waiting to hear about the 4 month old and the Haitians.

In other news- we were very happy to get our addition permit signed off yesterday. We still have some work to do before we can move in but that was a huge hurdle and it's over! The final inspection guy was literally here for 5 minutes. What an answer to prayer!

Probably Not

2010-02-15T21:46:00.000-08:00

So we haven't heard for sure but we are probably not going to be chosen as the family for the newborn baby girl. Her mom wants someone who is not in the Santa Cruz area and a couple that can't have children of their own. I understand that and know that there are at least 3 other families that she is choosing from that might match those criteria.

I was bummed but I know that when God has the right one for us we will know and it will all workout. It was hard having to give up the idea of a newborn again. When we decided to adopt I knew in all likelihood we wouldn't get a newborn so to be close to having one be an option made me realize that I still haven't given up that dream entirely.

However, this would've been a private adoption and after finding out how much it would cost it was a bit intimidating- especially for Jeff.

Maybe we'll hear something regarding the other available children soon. I really hope so! The waiting is so hard and I don't know how to guard my heart in the meantime.

I Can't Sleep

2010-02-15T00:15:00.000-08:00

Why can't I sleep?... because we just found out this evening that there is a possibility that a baby who was born today- on Valentine's Day, could be ours in a few days! Yes, we were just informed that our family will be presented to a woman looking for an adoptive family. We don't have much info since we only found out by a message - we hope to find out more tomorrow.

My mind is racing with the "What if'" and "maybe" questions of having a newborn in a few days. I'm in constant prayer for this woman considering adoption. I pray the birth went well and that the baby is healthy. I hope and pray that she's not alone right now. I'm so thankful that she loved and respected the life of this little one. I'm praying that even if we are not the family chosen that this child will be adopted into a loving family and that this woman will find peace in her decision to let him/her be adopted. Please pray too.

In other news- we are waiting to hear if we are chosen by the social workers representing an 8 month old boy in addition to the 4 month old boy I mentioned recently. We won't hear anything regarding either of them any earlier than Tuesday though since tomorrow is a holiday.

That's why I can't sleep. But I'm sure going to try and if I can't, I'll just keep praying.

Puddle Jumping

2010-02-15T00:13:00.001-08:00

When Jeff gets home from work we often take the dog and kids for a walk in the forest behind our house. This is a favorite puddle- Victory!

I don't mind a little mud when I see how happy it makes them.

Happy Love Day

2010-02-14T23:59:00.000-08:00

We started a tradition last year and Tori looks forward to it all year. It's a special date night with her Daddy on Valentine's Day AKA- Happy Love Day. It's a great way for her to feel extra special and for them to have time together. This year they went to Burger King, ice cream, & the dollar store... her choices. This year I took Siah out on a date too. We went to dinner- he's not much of a conversationalist, but he was excited about the chips and lemonade. We then went to pick out a new truck. He finally settled on an small dump truck to match the big one he plays with outside. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture with my date because he wouldn't stay still long enough. He was so excited to play trucks. Hopefully this will continue to be a tradition through out the years.

News

2010-02-10T14:59:00.000-08:00

So everytime the phone rings or I get a new e-mail my first thought is... this could be life changing news. Usually it's a sales call or junk e-mail though. The waiting is so hard... it's kind of like taking a pregnancy test and really hoping for it to be positive and then getting inconclusive results.

However, today we finally got a call regarding the twins and after hearing all that their care would involve we've decided that we can't take them on. Please pray that there is a family willing and able to bring these kids into their heart and home. We know that it would be way too overwhelming for our family at this time. The little girl has some mental and physical issues that are still unknown but potentially very serious.

In other news- our homestudy has been submitted for a 4 month old little boy that will be entering the foster system soon... we'll update when we know more.

Nothing new on the Haitians but the fact that they are still in the news often I personally think is a good thing. Hopefully their desperate situation will not get ignored and the world will put pressure on them to find a solution for the kids.

Twins?

2010-02-04T23:24:00.000-08:00

So... we've been asked by our adoption agency if we'd consider adopting twins! A boy and a girl age one (don't know the exact months). They are caucasian. The girl may have some medical issues or at least did in the past. We told our agency to submit our homestudy. We're approaching this as an open door and any door God opens, we'll walk through it until we know it's closed. The next step is to wait and see if their social worker thinks our family is a good match. If so, I don't exactly know the next step but they'd probably be placed with us within a month. We'll update when we know more.

In additon, we are attending a training for the Haitian refugee foster program on Saturday. We're kind of thinking that if we go in that direction that we'd ask for two children as well. A girl and a boy around 1 year. We really want to have our adopted kids look similar since Tori and Siah are carbon copies.

Please pray for us. It's a bit mind=blowing and overwhelming to think about but we're willing to go where God leads and we know He will provide all we need. If these kids aren't for us, please pray that they get placed in a wonderful and loving home.

Family Fun

2010-02-04T23:19:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of fun riding dirt bikes with our friends. The kids loved it. Tori took a while to warm up to the idea but she finally hoped on the quad. Oh no, now Jeff wants one... OK, I kind of do too.

These pictures are for the few people (our parents) that don't check Facebook.

New Church & Haitian Orphans

2010-01-25T23:14:00.000-08:00

Wow! When people ask what's been going on in our lives I can't stop talking. God is doing some BIG stuff. First of all we are helping to start a new church called Collide. We're having our first meeting this Saturday, Jan. 30th at 6:30pm at the Scotts Valley Community Center. Anyone and everyone is welcome to check it out. This new church wants to focus on what it means to operate as "the body of Christ" and to authentically worship the Lord. We won't have a lot of programs and we want to keep it very simple and fluid. We desire to see God move in His Power. I'll write more about this soon. It's been a year long journey and a really neat story.

In addition, we just got back from a meeting on how we can long-term foster (as in forever care for) a Haitian orphan. IF all goes as this agency thinks it will we could even have a child within 30 days. I say IF because there are still a lot of details to be determined by the US Gov, Haiti, and the UN. However, this agency is contracted by the US Government to place refugees and has been told to be prepared. Since we are already fost/adopt licensed the process can be sped up although we will have to go through some additional training and paperwork. I'll update again once I have more info but to say we are excited would be an understatement.

The way God has been leading us in this direction has been amazing. We started this adoption process back in August 2008. Our hearts have always been with the Haitian people after spending 3 months in the Dominican Republic and working with the Haitian villagers. It's the first time we saw extreme poverty and it changed our lives. When the earthquake happened and we saw the hurting and orphaned Haitian children our hearts were broken. I immediately called our adoption agency and it seemed impossible that any orphans would ever be adoptable but after talking with a friend she told me about this agency that works with refugees available for long-term foster care. The child will not be adoptable for their own safety in case a relative is located and because the humanitarian agencies are against letting the children be taken but they are not against fostering. We're really excited to see where God leads and how the details are worked out. When we started this adoption process many months ago God laid it on my heart that something would happen and that there would be many orphans. Of course I hoped this wasn't true and I kind of thought that must mean in the US since we were pursuing local adoption but now I'm thinking that He was getting us ready for this exact purpose. We shall see. Please be praying for our child. Whoever and wherever he or she might be. We are excited to welcome them into our family.

Fancy Helper

2010-01-05T22:09:00.000-08:00

They're so cute when they get along! Lately they've taken to dancing for us...

Christmas Letter

2009-12-23T15:09:00.000-08:00

2009 has been a busy year!
BUSY is not our style… but we like what’s been keeping us busy:

Tori- She turned four in June and in the Fall officially started preschool.
Siah- He turned two in October and never stops unless he is asleep.
Adoption- We are officially licensed through the California foster/adoption system and just waiting for a placement. We’ve requested a boy or girl younger than Josiah. However, if you ask Tori- it depends on how the day is going with her very loud and active little brother. She’s known to say, “I’ve had enough BOY time today,” and follow-up that statement with, “I’d like a baby sister, NOT another baby brother.”
Infrastructure- To prepare for our 3rd child, we bought a minivan (something we never thought we would do!) We are also in the process of adding another bedroom and bathroom to our home (adoption rules). Jeff has done almost all the work himself. It’s been a very tedious process but he has done an amazing job.
Fun - We vacationed with friends and family at Hume Lake, San Diego, Bass Lake, and Yosemite. On September 4, 2009 we celebrated our 10 year anniversary and enjoyed some time away from the kiddos in beautiful Santa Barbara.

Hope you enjoyed the Yosemite photo this year. We (oh, let’s be honest here… it was Bethany’s plan, not Jeff’s ) wanted to take our family Christmas card photo in front of our newly painted yellow home but as time went quickly by I decided to eliminate some of the unnecessary things on my to-do list. I realized that I needed to refocus and truly enjoy this Christmas season. Dropping the picture idea was only one of the many things dropped from my list. I’ve realized that when I get too busy I lose sight of what is really important… the gifts do not make Christmas, the food only adds unnecessary pounds, the traditions are fun, but what is this really all about? It’s about a baby born over 2000 years ago who came to change this world. Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart & with all your soul & with all your strength & with all your mind; and love others as yourself.” Luke 10:27

This question has been on our minds a lot lately… “Do we love others as ourselves?” Sure, our friends and family, but what about those “others” we don’t know. What about those in difficult situations that we don’t understand or relate too. We live in such a wealthy nation that it’s hard to fathom that life is not like this for a majority of those living in this world. When faced with the reality… we get overwhelmed and honestly just want the problem to go away. However, if we turn off the TV, turn the page, or simply stop listening… the problem doesn’t go away. Lately Jeff and I have been asking ourselves, “What more can we do?” We’re trying to refocus our priorities and instead spend minimally and give generously but more importantly share with others what it means to, “love God and love others as yourself.” We hope that our lives are a testament to the love God has shown us. Our prayer is that when you interact with us you see Jesus as He intended to be known. That we inspire you not to “be religious” or to “go to church” but to instead seek or deepen your personal relationship with Jesus. Hopefully our lives prompt you to ask, “Why do you do what you do?” “What inspires you to love others?” In reply we want to truly answer, “Jesus!”

Happy Birthday Jesus! Our blogsite: cofferclan.blogspot.com

Love the Coffer Family

Tori's Excited

2009-12-19T17:32:00.000-08:00

I was so pleased today that when Tori said she was excited about Christmas there was no mention of presents. I asked her why she was excited and she said because, "Grandpa, Grandma, and Auntie Shelley are coming and we're all going to Mimi & Papa's". I was actually expecting an answer like... PRESENTS! Thankfully that wasn't what was on her mind.

I have plenty of updates to write but not enough time. Thankfully, our cards have been mailed so expect yours soon. If you don't get one... I'll post it here on Christmas Eve. However, I think most of the people that read this blog get our Christmas cards.

We're off to get hot cocoa, view Christmas lights and try to spot the Christmas train. Should be a fun evening.

Home Group Gone Wild

2009-11-30T21:42:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Feast with our Home Group and as the night wore on the kids all took off their shirts and started dancing around and shouting. It was soooooo funny and very LOUD. Look at TJ's diaper sag- CLASSIC!

A new tradition

2009-11-30T21:34:00.000-08:00

Tori and I started a new tradition on the Friday after Thanksgiving... no it's not Black Friday shopping! Instead, we went to coffee/hot cocoa and read a book together. Then we got our toes painted. She chose a snowman and I got a snowflake. Then we bought ingredients for a tasty project. As we were leaving the grocery store there was a beautiful rainbow and Tori said, "God is really amazing!" I love spending time with my girl.Here we are making a Fruity Pebbles Christmas Train. It's like a rice krispy treat but with fruity pebbles and shaped into a train.

It was pretty fun to create.

Our Little Helper

2009-11-30T21:28:00.000-08:00

This little guy is really helpful. He wants to help whenever he's allow so we try to find safe ways for him to get involved. Notice the safety glasses. Here he is picking up the wood I cut, loading it into the wheelbarrow and then we'd take it over to the wood pile and he'd unload it while I continued cutting the wood. Tonight Jeff was chopping wood and Siah wanted to be helpful so Jeff loaded the wood into his dump truck and he'd drive it over to the house and unload it.

He was so proud to be helpful.

Dinosaurs

2009-11-30T21:15:00.000-08:00

Tori has been really into dinosaurs lately. It's pretty cute. Here she is naming all the dinosaurs she can remember.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-30T20:38:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family. It was a BEAUTIFUL day so we ate outside.

Traditional shoot the persimmons. Siah taking note.

So much to be thankful for!

Welcome to the family

2009-11-21T08:20:00.000-08:00

Today is the day! We welcome Seth Indie McLelan permanently into our family. It's a very happy day. It's been a long emotional road but God has been in control and giving peace throughout the entire journey. I'm so excited for my brother's family.

Last Christmas

This summer

See more pictures of my adorable nephew and his forever family. Slideshow.

Thanksgiving Poem

2009-11-20T20:42:00.000-08:00

May your stuffing be tasty,
May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes n' gravy have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious.
May you pies take the prize.
May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

No, I didn't write this... but I sure thought it was clever.

What are you Thankful for?

2009-11-20T20:38:00.000-08:00

This is what Tori is thankful for...

what about you?

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T19:03:00.002-08:00

This is the 3rd year we've celebrated with friends from Mission Springs. This is the group of munchkins this year- we miss you guys that weren't there. We use to be a fairly small group but we keep having more kids. :) Imagine this group showing up at your house for candy all at once.

This year the weather was perfect and it was still light out since the time change hadn't happened yet. We first met up for pizza and then went trick-or-treating. So nice! Our little firefighter.

Bunny Princess and Pumpkin Selva. I have pictures of these two together since they were baby trick-or-treaters. They held hands the whole night and went everywhere together. We've spent every Halloween with them since Tori was born. We even helped decorate Selva's mommy's tummy when she was pregnant with Selva. She was a jack-o-lantern!

I joked that I was going as Exhausted Mommy and had Cranky Pants as my tag-along but thankfully he improved his attitude before the evening began. I was thinking about sewing cranks and gears all over his pants but that sounded like a lot of work. Instead he was a fireman as I'd originally planned. This great costume is actually a rain coat that he'll be able to grow into.

Tori came up with her Bunny Princess costume on her own. I thought it was very cute... and really easy.

Beach Day with Mimi & Papa

2009-11-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

We're having chilly nights but beautiful 70+ days- so last weekend I took the kids to the beach and met up with Mimi & Papa. It started off foggy right at the coastline but cleared to just offshore shortly after we set up. It was really cool looking- almost dream like and then the dolphin started playing in the surf and stayed the whole time we were there. It was a great day!

Caramel Apples

2009-11-01T16:55:00.000-08:00

"Big as your face" caramel apples. Easy to make, very messy & extremely tasty. The vote was... they're healthy too!

No, they didn't finish them.

Tired

2009-10-27T19:12:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted anything lately cause I'm TIRED! Jeff has been working his 2nd job (building our addition) almost non-stop. He's made a lot of progress and the inspector was pleased with his work so that is wonderful.

For me that means I've been the "on" parent 24/7. All day, every day, from sun-up to sun-down. Of course he helps but it's not like usual. I'm very grateful that this is not normal.

For some reason (because Daddy is not around) the kids are more cranky than usual and seriously testing my patience. To top it off I hurt my back a couple weeks ago and it's not getting better. Thankfully I got some x-rays done and now have a treatment plan but it all adds up to me being TIRED. Please keep me in your prayers if you think about it.

10 years in review

2009-10-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

I finally finished our 10 year anniversary album.
Here's a link if you'd like to view it.

http://www.cmphotocenter.com/sbpreview/StorybookPreview.aspx?StorybookID=408195&CustomerID=243080

Pumpkin Patch Fun

2009-10-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous time celebrating Siah & Kylie's two year old birthdays at the pumpkin patch. Pony rides, hay jumping, train rides, pumpkin sitting, endless pictures= fun had by all. Such good buddies!

(If you like to see the pictures in a larger format... click on the collage. I made this using StoryBook Creator from Creative Memories. Always finding something new and cool to do with that software.)

Our Lil Pumpkin Turned Two

2009-10-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

Here's Siah 2 years ago weighing in at a very healthy 9.5 lbs. Such a cute and fun little guy!

First birthday at Gizdich Ranch.Second birthday at Arata Pumpkin Farm. LOVE this look! Think Blue Steel- Zoolander. This little guys is so much fun! All Boy- tons of energy, very loud, ADORABLE! It's amazing how quickly 2 years pass. We love you Siah!

Yosemite Camping

2009-10-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we headed up to Yosemite with our homies (home group). We had over 30 peeps join us. Half being kids. We had 4 campsites together and spent the evenings around the campfire and then spread out during the days to do whatever each family felt like doing. Everyone had a wonderful time. There's something special about being outdoors in the dirt, sun, and rain surrounded by beautiful mountains and fabulous friends that makes it worth the effort of packing everything (but the kitchen sink) from our perfectly good home, driving 5 hours, and then setting it all up again in a little nylon tent for a weekend. Look at the smiles on these faces. The kids loved being together. The first night we didn't get much sleep because Tori was too excited and wanted to be with her friends. She actually told me around 3am that the night was, "taking to long." Siah was awake all night because we bundled him up too much and he was melting. Poor guy, we didn't want him to freeze.

At the campsites the kids rode bikes and played endless games. Tori packed the bunny ears and told me, "my friends will laugh and laugh when I put them on." Funny girl!

Campfire time is always a favorite for me. Smores and fun conversation while staring into the fire. Here's the Slagg family enjoying "banana slugs". You're gonna want to know how to do this- Slice the bananas down the middle with the skins still on. Smash chocolate peanut butter cups inside. Wrap them in tinfoil and roast. Enjoy with a spoon. Thanks Schwartz family for introducing this yummy camping treat.

The bedtime routine. Books read by headlamps. They love camping and fall asleep pretty easily in the tent. Yes, that is a pack-n-play inside the tent.

Our crew after most of the kids were in bed.

One of the days we hiked down to the river and enjoyed some quality rock throwing.

Then we visited the horses and rode the bus (Tori's favorite).

Here's most of our group. (2 families were hiking)

This boy knows how to get dirty. I've found overalls are the best for camping. I'm not joking when I say he was actually swimming in dirt. It looked like the breast stroke. I wish I was quick enough with the camera but you'll just have to imagine. I was able to capture this picture though. He was thoroughly enjoying his ice cream cone and cheese. I referred to him as my "candy coated bear treat." (Apparently the bears where sniffing around our campsite early one morning. However, I was blissfully unaware. It would have been so embarrassing to pee myself.)

Happy little camper. Here's a smile that keeps creeping into our pictures lately.

I like this picture of the family. Hopefully it shows what kind of family we are cause this is the one I sent to the adoption agency. The scarf on my head was because it was day 3 of no shower (ewwww). That's nothing if you compare it to the time we spent adventuring in New Zealand. Our clothes could walk by themselves by the time we were done.

We wore him out!

This was our second trip and won't be our last. Beautiful place with beautiful friends. Love it!

Jeff- the amazing Daddy

2009-10-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

I just have to say it... Jeff is an amazing Daddy.

Here's the most recent example. After returning home from Yosemite (pictures to follow soon) he set up our tent in the backyard to dry (it rained on us the last night). Tori loved camping so much that she decided she wanted to sleep in the tent all by herself tonight. I was not OK with the idea. She's only 4! But Jeff thought it was a great idea because she's usually fearful and this was a very big step for her. I suggested letting her fall asleep out there and then bringing her inside so that I could sleep. Because knowing me I would be up all night thinking of all the things that could go wrong. So... for my benefit he snuck outside after she was asleep and set up a sleeping mat on the patio outside her tent. He didn't want to go into the tent because he wanted her to feel independent and brave. Thanks to Jeff- I'm not going to worry all night about her safety and she's having an adventure.

Update- she woke up at 3pm a bit nervous and started walking towards the house when she saw her Daddy He immediately picked her up and carried her to the comfort and safety of her own room. Tonight she'd like to fall asleep out there but be carried in when we go to bed.

Walk For Life

2009-09-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

This is our miracle girl Tori (with her little brother peeking behind her). Look at her cute little face and just think... we were advised to consider aborting her on 3 different occasions. How heartbreaking to think that so many people are being given advice that is 100% wrong and therefore making decisions that rob them of a precious life that God had planned for them. We are so thankful that we put our trust in God during our trials and didn't listen to the counselor's destructive advice. We have our precious little girl because we stood up to them. This is the first year I've done Walk For Life which is a fundraiser for the Pregnancy Resource Center of Santa Cruz but it certainly won't be the last. We've been supporting the PRC for several years now because we feel their mission is a very important. http://www.santacruzprc.org/

Here's the story of why we got involved- When I was 18 weeks pregnant I took a blood test (AFP) that indicated a possibility of us having a Down Syndrome baby. We were encouraged to have a level 2 ultrasound appointment through Stanford's Genetic Counseling Clinic. (All covered by the state of California.) When I was making the ultrasound appointment I was very clear that we would not consider terminating the pregnancy but that we would like to do the ultrasound to find out more about our baby's development. During the ultrasound they discovered that there was an additional problem. Our baby's left kidney was deformed (they probably said fetus come to think of it though.)

After the ultrasound we meet with a doctor (not a kidney specialist) and the same counselor that I was very clear with regarding our view of abortion. They told us that because there were now 2 potential problems that we should again consider the option of abortion. Note- neither of these problems were known to be life threatening but they did not mention that. We were again very clear that abortion was not an option for us.

We continued to have appointments at Stanford (paid for by the state of California) throughout the entire pregnancy to follow her kidney development. During another appointment we were again encouraged to reconsider abortion. Finally we meet with the pediatric urology surgeon who clarified what was happening with her kidney and relieved our worries. He explained that what she had was not life threatening and could be fixed after birth with a couple of surgeries. And as I hope you'll all agree- a Down Syndrome child is NO reason to ever consider ending a life. In fact our dear friends had this same test (AFP) and were given a negative result for Down's when in fact their precious little girl does have Down Syndrome. So the test was wrong in detecting Down's when it actually existed and wrong in predicting it when it did not.

After 2 surgeries Tori has kidneys with almost full functioning capacity and should not have any additional problems. Praise the Lord!

On another note- as she was developing and even recently I did struggle with the following verse:

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:13-14

I have to be honest, I was asking the following question, "God, did you knit her together wrong?" I remember bringing this up at one of my bible study groups and crying. I of course know God does all things well but what happened with her? This question didn't cause me to doubt God but it made me wonder how God would work all things for his glory in this situation. I just recently was made aware while I was getting ready for Walk For Life of part of God's plan. God told me, "I didn't make her wrong! I made her this way for several reasons. One being that your experience you got involved with the PRC. Another reason was it got your hearts ready for adoption. You now understand a real need exists for children and parents in desperate situations to have access to a loving home." I'm sure there will be additional reasons as well. See, God does work all things out for good.

Romans 8: 28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Through being involved with the PRC I've been asked to be a mentor mom for one of the teens. When I got together with her the first time I was overwhelmed by her situation. She is such a strong girl to not have given into the pressure to abort. All the women (on her side of the family and her boyfriends) have had multiple abortions. But she refused- even when they were trying to convince her it would be best. Through the support of PRC she made the decision to not only have her little girl but she also decided to follow Christ. I am so proud of her! It's not easy for her and I feel it's so important to continue supporting and encouraging her. The PRC counselors have been doing a wonderful job of that.

If you'd still like to support Walk For Life you can go to this link and sponsor me or click on link up top to make a donation directly to the PRC.

http://www.walkforlifesantacruz.com/life/sponsor.php

Fun with Grandma

2009-09-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

Grandma stayed with Siah and Tori while we enjoyed our anniversary in Santa Barbara. She bought Siah an early birthday gift. It was perfect for him- POWER TOOLS. Just like Daddy.

While we were gone Tori and Grandma did tons of crafts. She packed a separate suitcase just to bring them all out. They baked, glued, cut, painted, and colored all sorts of projects. They both loved the special time together.

She was super grandma doing more with the kids in one day than I attempt in a week. Parks, out to eat, railroad, .99 cent store... she's probably still trying to recover. They can be exhausting.

Thanks again Grandma- we really appreciate you!

They even made a bird feeder.

Santa Barbara

2009-09-27T20:46:00.001-07:00

We had a fabulous 3 night get-away to Santa Barbara for our 10 year anniversary trip. We had great weather and filled our trip up by hiking, riding bikes, lounging at the beach, eating good food, and exploring a very cute town. View from the top of the court house= amazing! Beautiful old building.

Mission

A big thanks to Jeff's Mom for making this happen. She stayed with the kiddos and they all had a wonderful time together.

I'm almost finished with my 10 year photo album that I made as a gift for Jeff. I'll post it once I'm done. I was so fun to look back over all we've done these past 10 years. We've had a lot of fun together and love being married to each other.

Addition-al Help

2009-09-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

Our buddy Mark came and stayed with us for 5 nights and was a great big help to Jeff as they worked on our addition.

We got together with our Camp Hammer friends for a BBQ. It was fun to see everyone with their families. We all worked together a long, long time ago...

They did all the demo and plumbing.

Tori was their shadow and wanted to help any chance she was given. She really took to Mark quickly which is unusual for her but she must have known that Mark is a great guy. He and Jeff have been buddies since high school. Unfortunately he lives in Washington with his family and we don't get to see them often anymore.

There is now a sub-floor where Jeff is sitting and all the walls are up. It's moving a long but still requires a lot of work.

1st Hair Cut

2009-09-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

Tori finally got her first haircut at age 4! She was nervous that it would hurt. I was a little sad thinking... she was born with this hair. Isn't it beautiful? Thanks to our friend Ginger for cutting Tori's hair... and the rest of the families as well.

Here it is- just a little bit shorter and much more straight.

Art

2009-09-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

Here are two pieces of art... one created by Siah and one created by Tori. They were using the same exact dot pens at this is what happened.

I'm sure you can tell which one was made by Tori- it's the first one with the perfectly placed dots. Siah's was create by pounding the dot pens and watching them splatter.

I thought this artwork perfectly represents their personalities.

End of Summer Fun

2009-09-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

We went to Capitola Beach for the final concert of the summer. It was a lot of fun and we saw tons of friends since it was a local band from Twin Lakes Church. It was followed up by a fabulous fireworks show. Dancing with Mimi

Tori with Auntie Len

Bass Lake

2009-09-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the trip the kids and I took with my parents and Nana to Bass Lake. (Jeff stayed home to work.) After our San Diego trip we were home for one night and then got right back in the van in the morning and drove 5 hours to the lake. It's kind of fun to do last minute trips. I didn't even repack or check supplies... we had some odd clothes combinations and were down to the last diaper but it worked and we had a great time.

Siah's first time on the boat. He was a bit nervous at first and then actually feel asleep on my lap... he never sleeps on me. It was really sweet. Tori went "catching" that's even better than fishing. She caught 3 fish in a very short amount of time... no one else caught one.

Papa helping her pull it in. Some day ask Tori about how the fish got back into the water. She tells a great story about how the fish came off the hook and flopped itself back into the water. She laughed and uses her hands to tell her funny story.

Fishing with Mimi.

It's was wonderful that Nana felt was feeling well enough to join us this year. The kids loved spending time with her... of course they don't understand that they can't climb on her like they do everyone else.

Uncle Dan and Karla joined us for dinner one evening. It was great to catch up with them.

We took the boat to a sandy island and played one afternoon. Josiah enjoyed yelling at the ducks.

Warm, beautiful, clean lake water. I LOVE swimming in the lake.

Auntie Pam came to join us this day. It was so fun to spend time with her. It has been a tradition in our family since before I was born to go to Bass Lake for the summer. I've missed it the last couple years.

ART!

Resonating With God

2009-09-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

I started a new blog. Check it out. Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I'm speaking at GateWay Bible Church this Saturday for a Women's Brunch. I really want to let God speak through me and "me" to not get in the way.

http://resonatingwithgod.blogspot.com/

In one month from today...

2009-09-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

We will have a 2 year old little boy. Before that all happens though we will have one of the busiest months I can remember. Here goes:

Our buddy Mark is staying with us helping to destroy our laundry room and turn it into a bathroom. We get together with old camp friends for a BBQ tomorrow. Have a Life Group potluck the following evening. Tori starts preschool and I have a scrap booking night on Monday.Mark leaves on Tuesday and two days later Jeff's mom comes for a week long visit. I speak at a women's brunch at our church on Saturday morning. We then leave for 3 nights for our anniversary trip to Santa Barbara. Auntie Crystal has a birthday... need to mail a card. Then we go camping in Yosemite with our Life Group for 3 nights. Auntie Shelley comes for a visit, Uncle Luke has a birthday and finally ... we celebrate our little boy's birthday. Somewhere during all of the fun Jeff will continue to work on the addition. On top of all of that- we have completed all we need to do for Foster/Adoption and our family will start being presented starting in October.

I'm tired just thinking about it all but it's people and things we love.

Addition Update

2009-09-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

The permit came through about a month ago and Jeff started breaking ground. Hard work chipping out the perfectly good concrete to add new regulation concrete. Getting ready for concrete. He was told by the professionals that his worked looked professional. Good job Jeffy.

Concrete work

Framing- this is what Labor Day meant around our house. Jeff outside working on framing and me taking care of sick grumpy kids while being sick myself. It really was a labor day... not a vacation.

I was so tired of wash, rinse, repeat... you know the drill- make a meal, clean up from the meal, make another meal...repeat. Wash the laundry, put away the laundry, pick up the dirty laundry, repeat. Tell the kids to stop fighting, tell them to stop whining, tell them to stop fighting, repeat... that I practically begged Jeff to give me a job. I want to know that when I was done with that job it was going to be done and be lasting. So he instructed me on how to use the power drill and I went to work pre-drilling and screwing the hinges in. I was also required for some heavy lifting to help hang the very heavy doors.

The kids got into the action as well by handing out the screws.

Here is one of the doors that Jeff made. It is BEAUTIFUL! I'm so proud of him. It took a lot of time and effort to craft these doors and he was so excited when they went up easily.

Here is the new front of our house. There is still a lot of work to be done but it's fun to see where it's going.

Katy's Wedding

2009-08-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the bride and bridesmaids in college. It was taken on open dorm night during our sophmore year. All of the girls except Nicole (bottom of picture) were in Katy's wedding (Katy is the one on the left... Bonnie is about to fall on her head). This was the room Alicia and I shared. Ah, good times!

I have been blessed with lots of great friends but there is something extra special about the ones I went through college with. We spent so much time together and have so many shared memories... fun ones like cramming into dorm rooms, late night runs to Adals, spur of the moment trips to Disneyland, and crazy dorm wars- which we snuck away from just in time. And not so fun memories- like stressing over assignments or in some cases, not stressing enough over assignments until realizing that they're due. It was a pivotal time in our lives as we were trying to decide what we wanted to be when we grew up or who we were. Many of our situation were uniquely college- for example, we had a designated nap room. We ate nearly every meal together and shared bathrooms. And we'll never forget living in the ghetto together. Oh, I could go on and on with the memories... thankfully we are still making new ones. When we graduated 10 years ago (YIKES!) we (the girls) made a pact to get together every year and we have done it. Maybe not every girl every year but at least some of us. Katy's wedding gave us a chance to get together this year and not only celebrate her but also catch up with friends that we haven't seen as regularly. It was so much fun! Here's how it went-

We arrived in SD on Thursday afternoon and I was off to the bachelorette party. Strangely... this is the only picture I have from that night.

Friday started off with pedicures. I thought it would be fun to include Tori so she sat on my lap and had her toes painted to match mine. After, Bonnie and I conquered the table labels... oh, it was a challenge! Later in the day we had the rehearsal and a yummy dinner at Miguel's (mmmm, white sauce) we followed that up with a bonfire at Shelter Island. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures (anyone have some?)

Wedding Day began with Peet's coffee (the very best kind even though I accidentally tried to pay with my Starbucks card. I'm so sorry I offended you Peets. You really are my favorite) and breakfast burritos. My first bridesmaid task of the day was to wait for the lost hair dresser. Specifically, "look for the Asian guy carrying a mirror." So Bonnie and I lounged outside for an hour enjoying our breakfasts while overlooking the bay and downtown SD. It was a rough start. :) The rest of the morning was set aside for hair and makeup. It was all about getting "girly". It doesn't happen very often (ever) that I have a whole day to primp and be pampered. Thanks Bonnie and Suzanna for doing my hair and makeup.

The rest of the afternoon was spent taking pictures with the stunning bride. This picture doesn't do her justice. I know the photographer has some amazing pictures though.

Tori wanted to see Katy in her wedding dress but according to Auntie Shelley that night she muttered something like this, " I wish Katy wasn't in a pretty white dress and getting married today. I haven't seen my Mommy all day." Sorry baby but the day wasn't about you... besides you had Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie and Daddy giving you loads of attention. This was Mommy's day to play.

What do you think about the dress? Pretty cute right? So, I have to confess- I secretly hoped Wes' sister Suzanna was going to be larger than a size 2. I know, that is TERRIBLE of me but I already knew the average size of the bridal party was size 2 so me coming in at size 10 (in bridesmaid dresses size... they always run small. Or at least that's what I've been telling myself because in real life I usually wear an 8) was quite a contrast. Turns out, no such luck- she was a very fit little thing that had just completed a 1/2 Marathon... to top it all off she had a personality that you just couldn't help but love. You've got a great sis-in-law Katy.

I am so happy for Katy and Wes. You two are going to have a wonderful life together! Continue to keep God at the center of your lives and laugh often and you'll get through all life throws at you.

The girls! Oh yes, we did party. I shook what my mama gave me out on the dance floor. I even got Jeff out there a few times. I left that evening with my face hurting because I had smiled and laughed so much. It's was great feeling! The sore feet... not a great feeling. Those shoes were ridiculously uncomfortable so I went barefoot most of the evening. Thankfully I didn't get my toes stepped on.

Hard to believe how fast time flies by. We'll be celebrating our 10 year anniversary next week. Yeah!!!! It's great to be married to your best friend.

So we said goodbye to San Diego with high hopes that we'll be visiting again very soon. Jeff's sister is seriously considering moving there. She's been wanting to go somewhere other than Arizona for a while now. Once she spent time in SD... it felt like the place to be. She and her roommate will be visiting at the end of next month so if anyone has a lead on a good place to live or jobs, that would be really great! She's a surgical Physicians Assistant currently specializing in Pediatrics and her roommate is in marketing and advertising.

Since most of the gang is married (and we don't want to put pressure on the ones that aren't), I think our next big celebration should be a 3 or 4 day cruise from SD to Mexico. Wouldn't that be a blast! We'll have to get serious about planning something within the next year or two.