The New Addition!

Saige Quigley Coleman joined our little family last week! She is such a beautiful baby! My three older girls have all been such pretty babies and Saige is no execption. A week later I am feeling so happy to have her out in the world rather than cramping my ribs. Inside she was really making life difficult for me. Difficulties still come with her outside but it is so different though better to get most of my body back to myself. Now that dad has gone back to work and Cora has started school we have began to settle into a routine here at home. My babies have all done well with routine as well as myself. They wake up, eat, stay awake for a bit then sleep again every three hours during the day and I let them wake up on their own at night. It has worked well with my three oldest and looks to be working well with Saige now. I love my girls and wouldn't trade them for anything!!!

Icie Finger Saver!

If your kids are anything like mine they spent most of last summer crying that their hands were too cold when eating their otter pops or go-gurts.  Or you have tough kids who are just happy for a treat.  My sisters solution was to give them rags to wrap around the ice cold treat.  Towards the end of the summer I stumbled across an even better solution. 
     For each of my girls I made hooded towels for birthday presents last year.  Also on each one I cut a small section off the hand towel for the hood.  I hate throwing things away so they sat in my craft room for a few months.  As the summer wore on and my girls continued to ask for something to save their hands from their icies I found in my craft room a solution.  The left over pieces of towel were the perfect size to fold up and sew into otter pop pockets.  So that is what I did and here is the result!  They work for otter pops and go gurts and any cold treat this size.  My girls each have their own and I don't have to worry about cold fingers.  Now if I can just find some way for the treat to pop out of the plastic on its own so I don't have to help them squeeze it out!

Not so lonely Sunday

    Sundays have become very hard for me over the past two months. Jeremy starts church meetings at 8 in the morning.  The girls and I slowly get ready each sabbath morning and then get to see dad a little while at church.  At times he can get home quickly after church but lately he seems to be buisier than normal and instead of seeing him in a half an hour it has turned into an hour and a half.  I suppose that isn't all so bad however we have 11 o'clock church and Jeremy has been working for three hours starting at five on sundays.  That means that on those late days home from church we get an hour to an hour and a half before he has to leave.  Today was especially hard for me waiting for him to get home from church and I was so greatful that my sister Nora was home this evening and willing for the girls and myself to come and crash her peaceful sunday evening.
     They live up on top of a hill on the East bench of Pocatello.  We walked all over their mountain hunting deer and turkeys.  The kids played hide and seek in the spruce and after a long walk really tired themselves out.  Back at the house the girls watched a little tv with their cousins and were fed a wonderful pancake dinner.  I hung out with my little niece and enjoyed some adult conversation, something as a stay at home mom you don't get a lot of.  This sunday was taken from a stressful lonely day to one that I really enjoyed. 

First year being a stay at home mom is not easy

     For the past six years I have been a working mom with summers off.  I love being home with my girls in the summer and am able to stay busy and productive.  It has been a much needed break from the crazy life of being a working mom.  This year I did not go back to work at the end of the summer as our family was finally in a position where I could stay home and care for my girls.  I substitute a little and have been blessed to pick up some students to tutor in the evenings.  I seem to have more energy on those days but more often than not I have found myself feeling that horrible feeling of unmotivation.

     I am hoping that this lack of energy has been mostly due to seasonal depression.  As the weather gets warmer I am seeing my energy levels rise.  But I can't get over how little I have been able to get done over the past two monhs.  When I was working I had a reason to stay awake everyday.  I missed my kids when I got home so I almost always took advantage of the time I had with them.  Not to mention the fact that I had to get food on the table and little time to accomplish any other tasks I needed to get done.  Now with the entire day looming ahead down time has become all too familiar.  It has become all to easy to let the kids watch a movie or pbs while I take a nap.  I find myself being greatfull for the obligations I have throughout the week that help to keep me going and to get my house clean.  And yet I also haven't had the will to increase those obligations giving me more reason to get up and get going.

     Ultimatly I really do feel with the changing of the weather I will be fine.  I have already gotten outside and really enjoyed the time I have spent working on my yard and watching my girls run around barefoot in the 50 degree weather.  I am confident that for various reasons next year will be better and that I won't feel as down as I have this year.  I have plenty of ideas in my head to keep me busy and with just a sliver more motivation I am sure that  next year I will be able to do better.  Being home is not easy, and I have often thought of going back to work but I know my children are being blessed and there is'nt anyone better than me to care for their needs. 

The Family

President Gordon B. Hinckley warned that a small minority may “make their voices heard until those in our legislatures may come to believe that what they say represents the will of the majority.” He reminded us that “we are not likely to get that which we do not speak up for."  I read this quote in the February Ensign put out by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  There are many issues in our country today to which I can see this happening.  I see minority groups fighting so hard for what they believe that the majority seems to be loosing their own rights.  We in the majority seem to be so complacent in our actions that maybe we think since we are the majority we will be ok.  Or that the issue doesn't affect us directly so why bother.  It is sad to see that some of these issues I myself have sat back on are begining to affect the way I live and have to raise my family.  The values I live by and want to teach my children, values I believe and know to be instituted by God are being challenged by a small minority of the American population.  Their views are becoming more and more acceptable by the public and while I don't wish to discriminate I do not want my children to believe it is o.k with God for them to live in a way contrary to his commandments.  My goal is to become better informed and more vocal in standing up for my beliefs which are based on Gods teachings.

2013

 

    It has sure been a busy year for us here in the Coleman house.  Many changes have taken place that have required big adjustments and patience. We have been immensely blessed and are so grateful for the love and support of our extended family and friends.
 
    Jeremy has been applying for jobs consistently for the past three years.  PSR we found was not a full time job that could support a family.  He had a promising interview in February with the woman’s prison and was among the top five candidates for the job.  We were excited but it wasn’t to be.  In the meantime I was being faced with cuts at the school district.  They were planning to cut one of our full-time teachers in my program.  While I had the perfect part time job I really felt I needed to step aside so one of my co-teachers could stay working with the program she so enjoyed.  I had been feeling out of place and wanted to have my own classroom if I were to continue teaching.

     In May Jeremy interviewed with the department of Felony probation and Parole.  He added one of his teachers and supervisors to his list of references and while he was a top candidate he was told that it was because of her recommendation that he got the job!!  I turned down a new teaching position with the hopes he would get it before we knew and am so grateful I have been able to stay home with my girls this year and sub every once in a while.

     We had a very busy summer with Jeremy working two jobs a trip to Alaska, birthdays, and fun.  Cora turned the big number 5 and started school in August.  She loves school and her teacher and is at the top of her class.  She works with the first graders in reading though I can’t claim sole credit for this.  She has always loved letters and with the help of Starfall.com probably taught herself.

     Brooke is such a fun bubbly 3 year old!  With being a three year old comes a lot of poutiness but she makes up for it with her silly attitude.  She is more than willing to be the wicked witch or the prince when playing dress up and she prefers to give the wrong answer just to be funny.  It is amazing to watch her grow and see her vocabulary grow.

     Ally is Ally.  She makes her presence known and is not going to let her sisters get all the attention.  She is more feisty and loud than the other two.  She doesn’t just pout when she wants something but screams at the top of her lungs.  This makes Sacrament fun and Nursery a blessing.  With the bad is the evermore present good.  She smiles, dances, and goofs around with the best of them.  With Cora at school she has to learn to play with Brooke and though they have struggled they are getting there as Ally converses more and more each day.

     It has been a wonderful year!  With Jeremy getting his job we feel more blessed than ever and are grateful for the experiences we have had leading up to it.  We are excited for the year to come and hope that all of you enjoy the holidays and that you look forward to the New Year as much as we do!