Colorado Coppingers

Welcome to Holland

2012-01-15T18:38:00.004-07:00

I posted this about 3 1/2 years ago and was thinking about it the other day. One of the young women from church approached me last week about doing a fund raiser for our family. I was very touched that she thought of us. Some days I wonder what life would be like if Emily was just like her sister or if Mike could walk. I know my life would be very different and I would not be the same person I am today. I have learned much about faith, patience and the love our Heavenly Father has for us. This poem sums up that feeling. I do have my tough days, but I can't dwell on what might have been because I will miss the wonderful things that are happening now. Enjoy!!

Welcome To Holland

by
Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It’s just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Gratitude

2012-01-12T20:19:00.003-07:00

Feeling very lucky for all the wonderful people that have been in my life and are in my life now. I look back over my life and see that Heavenly Father has placed people just where I needed them when I needed them. Honestly I don't know where I would be without such supportive and loving friends and family. I really feel that Heavenly Father works through us, we are his instruments here on the earth. "He has no hands but ours."

I look around just in our ward family and our community and see so many trials and suffering. Some days I wonder what I can do, I'm only one person. Then I think about the many people that have helped me even by just smiling or saying hi. So many have been there when I lost hope, or when I just thought it would be easier to give up. We may be only one person, but if we live close to the spirit and listen we can make that difference in someones life. We can be the angels that bear others up and help them on their way back to our Heavenly home.

Thank you to the many wonderful friends and family that make me laugh, take time to listen and just brighten my day. I am grateful for you and I am grateful for our greatest friend, the one who loves us most, our Savior.

Merry Christmas from the Coppingers

2011-12-11T21:35:00.003-07:00

Some of you may have all ready gotten this letter, but I thought I'd post it for anyone I missed or had the wrong email address for. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas full of family, good friends, good food and the spirit our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ. Love to all!!!

Another year has passed in the Coppinger household and after 5 ½ years we are happy to still be in beautiful Colorado. We love it here, even if the nearest freeway is 3 hours away. This was another adventured filled year including: Mike’s first year at Scout Camp with the older boys, Cousins Camp in Cedar City, Family trip to Moab to watch Mom run in her first big race, our annual trip to Denver for Dr. appointments and family fun and a week away for Mom and Dad while Mike was at MDA camp and the girls spent a week with Grandma and Granddad Coppinger! Here’s a little something about each of us.

Kirk: Still working for 4CORE with the Colorado Governors’ Energy Office. He’s been with them for 20 months now and just got a promotion which means we should have a job for a few more years. They are a non-profit organization that helps “weatherize” low-income homes to make them more energy efficient. He started as an inspector and now he is the Program Manager (boss) for weatherization. He works hard and is always learning something new and getting new certifications. I tease him that he speaks geek too much sometimes. It’s funny.

He has also gotten into running and is helping me to get faster. Sometimes I just want to quit and walk for a while, but he won’t let me (Darn it!). What a good coach. J When he’s not working or running he enjoys listening to books, watching movies, teasing the children and being one of the children. He has also been learning about apple trees and planted 5 this year as well as a garden which we hope to do better next year. He is always busy learning something new, I tease him that he’s a human encyclopedia.

Susan (AKA: Mom, The Boss) Still has the running bug. In May I ran in the Red Rocks Relay with 5 other friends. We ran a total of 70 miles and had so much fun along the way. Kirk and I are currently training for the Canyon lands Half Marathon which is on St. Patrick’s Day 2012. Here’s hoping we make it through the drawing, otherwise we’ll be headed to Gateway Colorado for the Half Marathon that same month.

Other than running, I’m busy doing the usual Mom duties. When I have some spare time I like to try and read a book, bake, sew and play my guitar for Emily. I was recently released as the Young Women’s President at church which has been bitter sweet. I miss seeing “my girls,” but I still grab them in the halls.

Olivia: Says she’s growing like a weed, but she doesn’t want to grow. She turned 10 in August and is up to Mom’s chin. She likes to ride her scooter, bike, play soccer, draw, do crafts, and sleep. (Silly Kid). We’re working on running with her and she is up to 1 ¼ miles at an 7:00 – 8:00 minute mile pace and is doing really well. She’s always out ahead of Mom and Dad and runs home by herself while we keep going! Keep your eyes open… she’s going to be fast!

Mike: Says he likes to play Nerf N-Strike on the Wii, build with Lego’s, tell jokes, play board games and loves Christmas. He started middle school this year and says “It ‘rocks!’ because I like science and math.” He is also in band and loves art as well. This year he turned 12 and is now part of the youth program at church. He now passes the sacrament on Sunday which reminds Mom how much he has grown. We are very proud of the young man he is becoming!

His health is still good and he seems to be having a good year at school. He is in his chair full-time and has faced a lot of new challenges this year. The teachers at the middle school have been amazing and have helped Mike succeed academically. It’s been a good change to spite the tragedy of losing his ability to walk.

Emily: Continues to earn her nick name of Em-Silly. Her laughter and smile are infectious and fills our house on a regular basis. She has started using a crutch to walk with at school, she still won’t use it for us but I hear she’s pretty fast! I actually went to see her at school and once I got there she would not walk with it. Turkey! She understands so much and has really matured which has been great to witness. To know her is to love her!

We are grateful for our family and many friends all over this beautiful country and hope you can feel the love of our Savior and remember He is the reason for this season.

Love The Coppinger Family

Happy Halloween

2011-11-15T20:57:00.010-07:00

Just wanted to do a quick post with the kids costumes. We always have so much fun thinking of costumes and making them. This year Mike wanted to be a tank so I started saving boxes. I had fun putting it all together and spray painting it. I had actually finished Olivia's witch costume and didn't think I had the energy to finish Mike's for his school party. He said that was okay.

Well, I felt bad so I just got it done and lost a little sleep. It was all worth it to see the big smile on his face when he got home and told me he won 1st for most creative. Olivia's witch dress turned out so cute, and I didn't even use a pattern!! She tried to have a green face, but it lasted about 30 minutes before she couldn't stand the itching. Emily was our little monkey, suits her don't ya think?!

I decided to be Cruella De Vil. My friends daughters thought it was funny because it's the total opposite of my personality. It was fun even if I couldn't pull off the evil attitude. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!! Oh the first one is of my friends son. He had magnets and pictures on chicks on his shirt, he was a "Chick Magnet" very creative kid!!

My baby's a Deacon!!

2011-11-15T20:32:00.004-07:00

In September we celebrated Mike's twelfth birthday. It was a very busy week with a lot of excitement. His birthday was pretty quiet, we opened a few presents, sang to him and he went with me to mutual for the first time. (it was weird to be there and see my son among the youth.)

The next day was his big birthday dinner with family and friends. Kirk ordained him a deacon and we all enjoyed Mike's favorite birthday treat, pumpkin pie. It was a very special evening and we are grateful for everyone that came to support him. Usually the ordination is done on Sunday, but we got permission to do it early so Mike could attend a youth temple trip on Saturday. Both Kirk and I were able to be there for this special experience. It was also temple day for our stake so when Mike was doing baptisms there were several friends looking through the glass with tears in their eyes. Many of them have watched Mike grow up since we moved here. Then on Sunday he passed the sacrament for the first time. It was a very exciting and emotional week for this proud mama. I can't believe how fast my baby is growing up. He'll always be my little man, but each day I can see changes in him that amaze me. He faces a lot in his young life and struggles, but I know he'll be okay.

This was also a big year for Mike because he started middle school! He loves it and it's been a good change for him. It's been fun to see him discover his interests and try to assert more independence. It's been rough because this is a time when kids start to become more independent and Mike is starting to lose some of that independence. He has great teachers and adults that care a great deal about him which has helped so much.

We are discovering some cognitive challenges and are trying to get him help so he can pull up his grades. Boys with Duchenne's can have problems with executive functioning and memory processing and even some ADHD. I found a resource by Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy that really opened my eyes. It described Mike and his experiences in school to the t.

It's been a busy fall full of changes and tests and new things for Mike, but he seems to be doing well. He has the reputation among his teachers as the class clown. Funny boy!!

So there you have it! I don't know where the time went and how my kids got so big so fast. I swear I just blinked and they got huge! Crazy, crazy!!! Here are some pics of my little man, who still loves to give his mama hugs thank goodness!!!

Double Digits

2011-09-25T16:14:00.008-06:00

In August we celebrated the girls 10th birthday, still can't believe it! It seems like only yesterday they were my teeny little twin girls. Many of you remember the struggles we had as we awaited their birth and those we faced after as well. I will always be grateful for everyone that prayed for us and served us during that very difficult time and feel like I have a huge debt of service to repay.

When I was six months pregnant we were told that one of our little girls wouldn't make it. From the day we knew about the challenges she would face I knew she was our little Emily. We were pretty much sent home to spend what little time she had left with her. Little did they know that she was a tough cookie and had a mission to fulfill here on this earth.

Here we are 10 years later and she is starting to walk and can understand what you tell her. She is truly a miracle and has taught me so much. I feel very lucky to be the mother of such a special spirit. I know that someday she will be able to tell me wonderful things and she will be whole, what an amazing day that will be.

She has had a profound impact on not just her family, but everyone that gets to know her. She is a true joy to be around and such a little stinker. She has a crutch that she uses at school, but at home she refuses to use it. I think she doesn't want Mom and Dad to know all of her tricks! She has rightfully earned the name Em-Silly and LOVES her Daddy.

Olivia is still the Olive of her Daddy's eye and is growing like a weed! She is all ready up to my chin and in 10 more inches she will be as tall as me! She all ready wears a woman's size 7 shoe! She is a busy fourth grader and has taken an interest in choir this year. She is playing soccer and has started to take up running. (Mom and Dad are encouraging this one!) She is fast and pretty soon she'll be leaving me in the dust.

She is a very helpful and compassionate little girl and I truly appreciate all the help she gives me. Don't get me wrong, she's still a 10 year old going on 13 and sometimes I wonder if we'll both survive the teenage years ahead! A lot is asked of her and she takes it all in stride. We just love our Olive!

Happy Birthday to my big big girls.

Red Rock Relay

2011-05-17T10:27:00.006-06:00

As many of you know I've been training for the Red Rock Relay in Moab for the past few months. It's a 70 mile relay that is split into 12 running legs. Each team member runs 2 legs that range from 2.75 - 8 miles. The course starts in Moab and takes you on 128 next to the river. Then you go through Castle Valley and climb up into the La Sals and loop back around to Moab.

When I looked over the course map it didn't look all that bad, but when we were driving it I was starting to wonder what we had gotten ourselves into! My 1st leg was 3 miles long and I climbed about 800 feet. It was HARD, but so worth it when I got to the end, and I had one of the easy hills. On one you could walk faster than you could run. Kirk met us at about leg 8 and told me that we were all "awesome," he couldn't believe the course either.

My team was great! They powered up those hills and Jessica was running under 8 minute miles on her last leg. We finished in just under 11 hours!! My last leg was my favorite. It was 7.62 miles of flat and up and down, what I've been training on. The last 2 miles were through the parks in Moab so it was shady and quiet.

It was a tough race, but I got to spend the day laughing with friends and just having fun. We cheered for all the teams and tried to catch the BYU women's soccer team, ha, ha!! We were close the first 2 legs and then the disappeared. There were some pretty creative names and lots of fun costumes and decorated cars. We were the Bayfield Booties and we wore our sparkle skirts. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to do it again next year. Yes I think I am a little crazy!! Here are a few pictures!! My friend took a ton so we have some great memories!!

Tough and sad week

2011-03-26T16:55:00.002-06:00

One of my dear sweet friends was in a car accident this weekend and her daughter, one of my young women, was killed. Shaniah, I will miss your smile and your fun and vibrant spirit.

How grateful I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge it gives to me that there is life after death. There is a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants that tells us His angels will be with us and bear us up. I believe that sometimes those angels are our friends and family and even those we don't know. He sends them to us to lift us up when life is more than we can bear. I know that the Farmers are surrounded by many angels at this time and will have their love and support to help them through this very difficult time.

Love you all.

The Durango Herald 03/24/2011 | Bayfield 7th-grader killed in Texas crash

Run, run, run!

2011-03-02T20:58:00.002-07:00

About a year ago I decided to try to get into running. I had tried over the years to develop a love for it, but never really liked it. Part of that was living in the city and not really having a place to run and the other part was I just jumped into it and was miserable. (Patience is something I've never really had!)

So this time I started with walking and slowly worked my way up to running and just like my hubby said it worked. Silly me, I always thought I could just go out and run without the work. Anyway, let's just say I've caught the running bug and love it! I ran a few 5k's and made the goal to run a half marathon before I turn 40. (In two years)

A few weeks ago one of my friends told us there was a race we all had to run together. A 70 MILE relay race in Moab, Utah. I laughed and thought not this girlie, my goal may be to do a half marathon, but I still have 2 years. :) So here we are 4 weeks into training trying not to think about the distance. I'm still laughing, but now it's because I think I'm a little crazy some days! :)

There are 6 of us and we will each run 2 legs that are 3-8 miles each. It looks like an incredible run and I'm hoping to be able to run the whole time and not melt in the southern Utah sun. It should be a blast! My sweet hubby has been my coach and giving me workouts and pointers. He's even gotten back into running again and we hope to do a half marathon in June here in Durango. Of course he's a bit more crazy than I am. His dream is to do the Goofy challenge at Disney World. A half marathon on Saturday and a full marathon the next day. YIKES!! We'll see how this relay goes before I decide on any more races!

If you want to check out the course or get more info. you can go to:http://redrockrelay.com/moab/

By the way, I'm doing the Moab relay not the Zions one. That one is a lot longer and you run overnight!

Stand up!

2011-01-30T14:45:00.002-07:00

Emily is our little wonder girl. She has been working on walking and has come so far in the past year. She is starting to stand up all over the place. Two weeks ago I stopped by to see how she is doing at Bayfield on Fridays and she was zooming up and down the halls in her gait trainer. She is so fast! At home she'll walk all over the place if you get her to stand up and hold her hands. We're thinking about putting rails up and down the hallway to encourage her to stand up and walk. She loves being back at school and although we wish she was at her home school full-time, one day a week is progress. We hope that some day in the near future she will be able to attend her home school full time rather than going to another district for services. At least she is happy and doing well and that is a step in the right direction.

Olivia's haircut

2011-01-16T20:23:00.003-07:00

Olivia has been growing her hair out for the past 2 years to donate it. We were happy to find out that Panteene only needs 8 inches. No more crying and whining while Mom brushes Olivia's hair! In fact, now Olivia can do her own hair. I'll admit I did enjoy braiding her hair and doing fun stuff, but she never really let me do much so I'm good. She looks very cute with her new cut and is happy that she could donate her hair. Way to go Olivia. :)

Picture Time

2010-11-08T17:29:00.008-07:00

Last Friday I realized the warm afternoons would soon be gone and decided to go take some pictures of Mike and Olivia. I still need to do family pictures, but hey at least I've got some new pictures of the kids. Well, not of Emily, but it would be better if I just went out with her alone. She is not easy to get good pictures of.

They both love to pose for the camera and wanted me to just keeping snapping pictures. It still makes a Mom a little sad to see how big her kids have gotten. I just don't know where the time has gone. They both are changing so much and making me feel old!!

It seems the only pictures I've gotten of Emily lately are when she's sleeping in the sun. Oh and climbing in the oven. I guess she's a little anxious for Thanksgiving?! I apologize for the organization of this post, but I'm in a hurry to just get these pictures up for everyone.

My Baby Girl

2010-11-07T17:50:00.007-07:00

Olivia and Emily are twins, but I always think of Emily as my baby. She is younger by 2 minutes, so technically she is the baby. She is the sweetest little spirit and I just love to watch her. Sometimes I wonder what she's thinking about or what she sees.

There's a quote from one of the apostles and I can't remember what it says exactly. I just remember it talks about how these special children are special little spirits and are some of the mose valiant. I know she is a special little girl, she has touched so many people over the years. It's hard not to love our sweet little Em-silly.

These are just a few pictures of her. I love the one of her on my lap up at Lake Vallecito while we were camping. She was so happy to be outside, although she thought the lake water was a little too cold. Her new thing is laying in the sun ALL day. She hardly moves from her spot and will eventually fall asleep. It's so cute!!

Anyway I just had to share some of these pictures of our sweet girl. Enjoy!! ( I was going to add some more, but I can't get the add image icon working)

The Past 3 months

2010-11-07T16:59:00.007-07:00

It's really hard to believe that it's been nearly 3 months since I've posted anything. Once the girls birthday is here things just seem to fly by until after Christmas. They turned 9 this year and I'm still in shock that my little babies are that old. Two weeks later Mike turned 11 and now we're talking about when he gets the priesthood next year. I watch the deacons pass the sacrament on Sunday and shudder to think my baby boy will be old enough to do that in less than a year. How did he get that old???!!!

Aside from the month of birthdays, 8 in all, we've been busy with the usual. School started and with it a few more activities to add to our all ready busy lives. Olivia played soccer again this fall and had a blast as usual, although we're still working on focus on and off the field. She gets distracted so easily. Mike has started a drums class after school on Thursdays. DRUMS stand for discipline, respect, unity, music and I can never remember the S! The music teacher at school is just amazing so we thought this would be a great thing for Mike to do and he's enjoyed it so far. Emily is home as many of you all ready know and we are currently battling the school districts to have her in Bayfield. It's not going well which is really frustrating. It's upsetting that well educated parents like ourselves trying to do what's best for their child have no voice and are completely ignored. I'll stop there before I go on an angry tangent!

Our most exciting news is our new van! We just bought it two weeks ago and are trying to get everything together so we can convert it for two wheelchairs. It will be so great to just wheel everybody in, hook them in to the tie down system and be on our way. The picture doesn't do it justice, it is HUGE. It's great for youth temple trips as we found out this Saturday!

The other pictures are the kids birthdays. Mike is such a ham, I love it! He's also being silly with the chopsticks in the other picture. We stopped at this great Thai restaurant in Poncha Springs, halfway between here and Denver. The kids loved it! Yummy food!

Now we're enjoying the last few days of warm weather before winter is upon us. The mountains are blanketed in snow and I shiver every time I look up at them. It is pretty, but I'm not looking forward to shoveling, especially since the new van is too big for our garage door. It should be interesting!

Interesting Saturday

2010-07-18T20:03:00.003-06:00

When the kids were tiny there were many times they got sick in the car and I had a lovely little toddler and car to clean-up. Blah!! I don't know how many times they did that when they were small, but it was too many for me. Now that the kids are older we haven't had a problem. They can tell us they don't feel good and we can roll down the window or stop the car, right?! Well, this summer we've had two of the kids get sick in the car and I had to clean it up. YUCK!!

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until we loaded the kids up to go to Grandma's to water the garden and yard while they're on a church history tour. Emily was acting like she had just had a seizure, pale and lethargic. We figured she would just sleep all the way there and be recovered in time to enjoy Grandmas. As we drove along I had to keep sitting her up, she kept falling over on Mike like a little limp noodle. That's when I started to think it might be more than a seizure. About the time we got into town I just knew she was going to be sick. I grabbed a blanket and held it up so she wouldn't get it all over her brother.

Fortunately we had just stopped at the light for Wal-mart when this all happened. I very quickly ran inside for wipes and gloves and came back out to clean her up. Since we were all ready half way there we decided to just keep going. We cleaned her and the car thoroughly when we got there and got to work watering. Once we finished we headed home and were lucky enough not to have any more messes to clean up.

So that's probably more than you want to know and no I won't be posting any pictures!

Firecracker 5K

2010-07-11T19:24:00.003-06:00

This spring I decided I was going to start running. I've tried over the years to get into it, but always quit after a few weeks. This time I caught the running fever and I've been loving it ever since. It's become my me time with the kids home for the summer.

I knew there was a 5K here for the 4th of July celebration, but didn't think I was ready. I'd just gotten back out on the road after having a cold. Kirk convinced me to give it a shot and I'm glad I did. I was shocked to run it in 34 minutes! It really challenged me, but it was a good run. My next 5K is in two weeks and I hope to take a few more minutes off that time! Here I am after the race!

Vermont Visitors

2010-07-11T12:44:00.009-06:00

Our yearly visit from my Mom and Dad has come and gone. It was great to have them here for a short time and wish we could convince them to move closer so we can see them more often! (Hint, hint!)

We had many fun adventures and just enjoyed time being together. For those of you who know my Dad you know he loves country and bluegrass music, so of course we made a trip to the Bar-D. We met Pam and Del and Cassie there and enjoyed a nice evening watching the show and enjoying our dinner. Emily LOVED it, she could not stop wiggling and screaming with glee.

Then we headed up La Plata Canyon in Hesperus to play in the river, the only problem was there wasn't much water. So Kirk took us on a hair raising adventure up the mountain. He lead the way in his car with my Dad and I followed in the truck. I've never gone off roading before so I cringed every time I heard the rocks ping against the truck. I white knuckled it all the way up, but I have to say it was worth the drive!

The next day we went to our town's 4th of July celebration on the 3rd. We had fun watching the parade, going to a ward social and watching the fireworks from the lawn of the church. It was a busy day, but we enjoyed be able to spend time with family and friends celebrating our freedom and those who sacrificed for it.

Grandpa took time to teach Olivia some exercises on my old guitar and she has been practicing every since. She asks every day when Grandpa will e-mail her more lessons to practice. It looks like she's chosen her instrument, now we need to get her one her size.

All in all it was a good visit and I think we all were wore out from all of our fun activities. Here are just a few pictures we took during their visit.

June 21st Happy Anniversary!

2010-06-21T21:46:00.005-06:00

13 years ago today my sweet husband and I were married in the Toronto Ontario Temple. We always look back and laugh at those few days leading up to this day and the adventure we had getting to the temple.

Since we were getting married outside of the country we had to get our marriage license three days before the wedding. So we flew from Provo, Utah to Detroit, Michigan. Our flight got in at midnight and we cautiously had to find our way to our friend's parents house. Needless to say we were a little intimidated to drive around Detroit at that hour. As Dave said "muggings and beatings start after midnight" thanks Dave!

So anyway...the next morning we drove our rental car across the border, got our marriage license, drove back to the airport and boarded a flight to Vermont. Hard part over, or so we thought. That evening we got stranded in the Newark New Jersey Airport because of a tornado warning. So we spent the night in the airport with hundreds of other stranded travelers. I was so worried about someone taking my wedding dress while I tried to get some sleep that I tied it to me with my belt and hugged it tight. I'm sure I looked pretty interesting.

After a night in an airport and another missed flight in the morning due to fog we finally boarded a flight to Vermont. We spent the night there before we drove the 9 hours to Toronto with my mom and dad. We couldn't afford a rental car so we borrowed my mom and dad's car for the drive and our honeymoon. (Just like they borrowed my mom's parents car when they got married. )

Story over? Not quite yet! The drive up was pretty uneventful as was that evening. I was up bright and early the next morning ready to go get married! Kirk was still sleeping an hour before we were supposed to be there! (We later discovered he was actually coming down with a sinus infection.) When we arrived at the temple they didn't know who we were, they misplaced our paperwork. After 10 stressful minutes of waiting they finally found the paperwork. So off we went. Once we walked into the temple the stress melted away and I felt the peace I always do there. The temple workers treated me like a princess as they do with all new brides. It was a very special and sacred experience and one I will always treasure.

Getting there was an adventure and that's just how life has been. We've been through lots of stuff together. Getting through school and having a baby, being so poor we couldn't afford more than window shopping for a date, Moves across the country for new jobs. The year of the

'3 T's" (twins, terrorists and a tornado in a month.) Life has been hard at times, but it's also been very rewarding. I don't think either of us would trade the experiences we've had together and as a family. So here's to another 13 years of adventures, gray hairs and more wrinkles than I want to think about!

Spring break fun!

2010-04-05T21:05:00.006-06:00

Since Kirk is now a working man as of today, we decided to play for Spring break. We considered a road trip, but decided it would be nice to just visit the wonders in our back yard. So we piled in the car and drove 3 hours to the east to see the Great Sand Dunes National Park. We've driven by so many times on our way to Denver and decided it was finally time we went to see them up close.

From a distance you can see the sand dunes up against the mountains, they look a little out of place really. I didn't realize they were so large until we pulled into the visitor center and started looking around. It really is amazing to think about how this little ecosystem functions.

The best part about our visit was the really cool wheelchairs they had. They have huge beach ball like tires that allow you to push it through the sand. Kirk had Mike and I had Emily, yes I am a wimp and wanted to little kid! So off we went across what looks like a beach and then up the hills, barefoot of course. The sand felt great between my toes and it was fun to watch Olivia jumping and rolling down the dunes and just having a great time. That was until the wind started to pick up, I can see why sand blasting works so well!!

When we put Emily down in the sand she just sat there letting it fall through her fingers over and over, she wasn't sure what to think. The only part she didn't like was the visitor center, she just likes to be on the go!

All in all it was a fun day and we look forward to going back when the spring run off starts to flow. Then there are little rivers all over that you can splash around in, it looks like a fun time!!

These last 8 months with Kirk home have been wonderful. Since we were prepared we were able to not stress too much and just enjoy some time together. At family home evening we talked about how lucky we've been and how we'll always remember this special time with Daddy. He will be missed, but it will be nice to have financial stability again and I'm sure he'll be happy to get back out there again.

So life is going back to normal so to speak and we are just grateful for a job and that we don't have to move! I think we are finally home! :) Enjoy the pictures!!

Faith is like a little seed...

2010-03-07T19:49:00.004-07:00

The faith of little children just amazes me, especially when it's my children. The other night Olivia was asking me all of these questions, serious gospel questions. We talked for about 5-10 minutes about it. We talked about a testimony and what it is and how we need to nourish our testimonies. Then she said "Mommy, I love the scriptures, I love church, I love my Father in Heaven and I love you and Daddy." That last part was so sweet and I hope she always feels that way. She is such a sweet little spirit and reminds me so often that our faith doesn't have to be complicated it can be very simple.

I am so grateful for the special little spirits that I get to raise and what they teach me every day. Sure there are days that are hard and I want to cry because my Mike is falling down all the time, or Emily is having another seizure, but all the joy they bring makes it all worth it. I would not be the person I am today without my 3 sweet little kiddos and the help of a loving Father in Heaven.

Just stuff

2010-03-04T20:58:00.004-07:00

Things have been pretty quiet in our house these days. The only big news has been Kirk's lovely CSI eye as we've labeled it. Over Christmas his eye got really red, but it seemed to get better. It flared up again and this time he was in a lot of pain. Sinus infection, or so we thought. When he went into the doctor she couldn't find anything and sent him home with oral and topical antibiotics. She said to go into the Opthamologist if it wasn't feeling better in a week.

Things didn't improve over the next week, in fact the pain intensified. So into the opthamologist to find out what was going on. After she looked at his eye and reviewed his medical history of allergies and Guillaine Barre Syndrome she knew exactly what it was. He had Uveitis, an autoimmune disorder; his body was attacking the healthy tissue in his eye.

So more eye drops and two weeks later things are a lot better. We had to dilate his eye for a week to help the swelling go down, it wasn't very fun for him. I kept asking him to look at stuff and forgot he couldn't really see very well. He's very happy to be done with those drops and is feeling much better!

So there you have. Life has been pretty quiet which I don't mind one bit. Now if I could just get over this cold...

It's been a while

2010-02-07T12:58:00.007-07:00

Wow has it been a while! Things have been busy for our family. I've started to create a new post describing our year and never seem to finish! So today I will finally get to it!

Last year was filled with some great memories including Mike's wish trip to Disney World! It was an amazing experience to be a part of. Make-a-Wish and Give Kids the World are amazing organizations that really make Wish kids feel special.

Other than that we had a busy summer filled with lots of fun. I had the chance to get away twice this summer and look forward to more time with the girls this summer! We ended the year with a trip to Nevada to visit Kirk's sister and her family. We enjoyed the warm weather, being with family and witnesses the baptism of our niece.

Our kiddos continue to grow in so many ways. Mike was away at camp when he broke his leg this summer. We were surprised when he decided to stay until the end; what a brave boy. He turned 10 and is starting to really change. He'll deny it, but he's starting to like girls. He loves to tell jokes, read Calvin and Hobbes, make lego creations, and play Wii. He has had his struggles this year, but is doing better. He is faced with so much and it's hard to watch him struggle, but I know his sense of humor will see him through. He was just made the MDA Goodwill Ambassador for the Western Slope of Colorado so we should have a great year meeting with local organizations to help with fundraising.

Olivia keeps growing, growing and GROWING. She can out eat her Dad and seems to be our bottomless pit. She will soon be up to my shoulders if she doesn't slow down! She enjoyed another year of playing soccer in our local Parks and Rec. program. She turned 8 in August and was baptized by her Daddy. She glowed all day and we were very proud of her decision. She loves to draw, dance, sing, make boiled cookies and is a very big helper. She is a very compassionate little girl.

Emily is growing as well. She is changing so quickly and her little personality is really developing. She LOVED all the rides at Disney World and Lagoon; she and Daddy are roller coaster buddies! She is always so happy and gets the giggles on a regular basis. Since Kirk has taken her to most of her tests up in Denver over the past few months she is a Daddy's girl. She loves, loves, loves her Daddy!!

As many of you know we have been waiting to find out if we will face brain surgery and at this point we are not. The doctors up at Denver Children's decided she was not a candidate. We are currently looking into getting a second opinion to make sure we do what's best for her.

Kirk has been home since August and although being unemployed isn't very fun, it has been nice to have him around. He's been a big help in the kitchen and taking Emily up to Denver this fall for tests. It's also made my calling as Young Women's President a lot easier. He is thinking about opening his own furniture and cabinet making business. We have been job hunting since August, but there are so many people applying for each job it makes it tough to get an interview. We appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers for our family.

As for me I am busy being "the Mom" and although I feel like I passed insane a while a go I love it. I still wonder some days what happened to my sweet little man or my chubby girls, time just seems to have flown by. It's so fun to watch their little personalities and see their growth over the year.

When I'm not busy chasing the kids or cleaning the house I'm still busy! Between home projects, trying to get in shape, playing the guitar, crocheting, reading a book(Ha Ha), being the Young Women President and everything it's no wonder. I am happy with my simple little life in a small town and wouldn't trade it for anything! Of course if spring could be here tomorrow I would be happy! :)

We hope you are all having a great New Year so far. We look forward to the many new adventures we will have this year and hope to see many of you along the way. Enjoy!

Love The Coppingers!!

Fall Fun!

2009-11-08T19:15:00.005-07:00

Wow, have we been busy this fall!!! Some of our activities have included: getting firewood, picking apples and making applesauce from them (29 quarts to be exact!), hauling rock to landscape the yard, building a deck, finishing random outside projects before the snow flies, soccer games and practice, the boys hunting with Uncle Jason and many other fun and not so fun activities!

Last week we went to the ward trunk-or-treat and had a great time watching all the little munchkins and visiting with friends. I'm posting some pictures of pumpkin carving and our costumes. Olivia decided she wanted to be a "hula girl" and put her costume together. Mike was Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes, we had fun spiking his hair. Since Olivia backed out at the last minute I was Hobbes. It actually worked well because he's always bigger than Calvin. Of course everyone kept calling me Tigger! Emily was the "grouchy ladybug" and wouldn't look at Daddy for the picture, she was mad at him. It was a fun evening!

Stay tuned for Emily's latest adventures with Daddy and her new big girl bed!!

My Cookin' Man!

2009-09-29T21:28:00.004-06:00

So many of you know that Kirk is unemployed currently due to the slow economy. He is busy looking for jobs and working on home projects. Last week he made a plant stand for our tomatoes and herbs out of scrap wood in a day! It looks great and I'm excited to get my desk back!

One of the greatest things about him being home is all the yummy food we've been eating. Since he's been home we've had a HOT breakfast every morning. Pancakes, oatmeal, cream of wheat and my personal favorite, hash browns. My breakfast for the school year has always been cereal, it's quick and takes little effort on my part. Unfortunately it's a lot more expensive than flour, eggs, sugar etc... He also makes dinner all most every night and he keeps looking for new yummy recipes that save us money. Tomorrow we are having peanut butter and banana stuffed french toast for breakfast!

I keep telling him we are getting spoiled and when he does go back to work I won't ever want to cook again. We'll be waiting at the door for him to come home and make us dinner! Maybe I should go find a job?!!

It really has been nice to have him home for a little while and to be able to spend so much time together as a family. It's made my calling as YW Pres. a little less stressful because I know he's always here when I need him. Which is good because we have 3 firesides this month, two of which are in the evenings an hour away.

We are looking forward to having a job again, but I think there will be a short period of weeping and wailing! I don't think I could ever compete with my hubby the cook!!

Emily on the tramp.

2009-09-15T21:45:00.003-06:00

Okay so I'm doing 3 posts in one evening! I haven't had time to do this for WEEKS! So it will probably be even longer before I do it again. I just had to add this little video of cute little Emily on the trampoline at Grandma's house. She LOVES to escape out the front door, scoot across the deck and get on the tramp. It is the cutest thing. This little girl is in heaven!

Double Digits

2009-09-15T21:17:00.004-06:00

I'm not so sure I like the kids having birthdays just two weeks apart; it reminds me how big they are getting!

Mike hit the double digits this week; I can't believe he's ten years old! My little baby boy just can't be that old, can he? He was very excited to get some Lego's and chocolate pie from Daddy. YUMMY!!!! He's gotten some special mommy time this week which has really been good for him. They are doing swim lessons for P.E. for the next two weeks and I've been going along to help him in the water. It's been really great for us to spend some time together, I've enjoyed it! So there you have it. They just keep growing and growing.

Turning 8!!!!

2009-09-13T19:57:00.006-06:00

My little twin girls are now 8 years old and I am wondering where the time went! It seems like only a short time ago we were anticipating their arrival and faced so many challenges for our little Emily. It was a tough time for our little family, but we were strengthened by the love and support of family and friends and a very loving ward in Maryland. I still feel like I have a huge debt to repay for the service given to our family during that time.

Now the girls are both doing great and bring so much to our family. Emily is sweet, energetic and tenacious. She has her own opinions and is always willing to let you know what they are! Olivia is just as energetic and sweet! She loves soccer, dancing, singing and lots of cuddles. She is loving and kind which I think she learned from her sister. I still look at her and wonder where that chubby little toddler went!

They're birthday was pretty quiet, the big celebration was on the following Saturday. We spent the day at Grandma Coppingers eating, opening presents, eating cake, setting off fireworks and just having fun. My Mom and Dad flew in on Friday and two of Kirk's sisters where there with their families as well. It was a fun day!

On Sunday we all shared in Olivia's special day; she was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by her Daddy. She woke up beaming that morning, she was so happy. I was full of mixed emotions. I was so proud that she had made the decision to follow our Savior Jesus Christ and be baptized a member of His church, yet at the same time I was a little sad to realize how quickly she is growing up. As I watched her walk down into the font the spirit hit me and I lost it for a minute; luckily no one could see me because I was at the top of the stairs of the font to help her out. :)

It was a very special day and I'm grateful for everyone that could be there to share it with us. I feel very lucky to be the Mom of such great kiddos. Our little Emily was so sweet and quiet during the baptism; She is such a special little spirit. (which is why she doesn't need to be baptized. :) ) It was a day I will always remember and I hope Olivia will too. What a blessing it is to know we have a loving Heavenly Father who has given us a plan here on this earth and a way for our families to be sealed together forever.

Disney World Summary

2009-08-16T16:11:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I started out with the intention to give you a daily update. As you can see I didn't do to well with that. So I am going to do a quick summary in case you're still interested in our adventure.

After Sea World we spent the next three days at Disney. The kids loved the Magic Kingdom and we had fun dodging the rain and finding rides they weren't afraid of. They both tried to climb me in A Bug's Life because they were terrified! We discovered that Emily is a little roller coaster fiend. If it went fast, spun, dropped or anything she LOVED it. She was just tall enough to ride most of the rides and Daddy was more than happy to take her. It was some great bonding time for those two!

Mike and Olive loved Toy Story and the Buzz Light year ride. Olivia actually loved to Teacups so we went back several times. Mike loved to go on the Safari ride at Animal Kingdom and the Indiana Jones stunt show. He also loved the fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom. To quote he said "Now that's what I call a fireworks show!" That's our boy!!!!

Overall, we had a great time despite all that rain. We are so grateful to Make-a-Wish and Give Kids the World for all they did for our family. It sounds cheesy but it really was a magical time for our family. We will always remember that special time we had together!

Return to Blogging.

2009-08-16T15:51:00.002-06:00

Well, all I can say is I can't believe summer is over! School starts Tuesday and I'm still wondering where the time went. We had a very busy and fun summer starting with our trip to Disney World! We also made a few trips to Denver and Utah and got spend time with family and friends. By August I was ready to just stay home for a while!!

Mike will be in fourth grade this year and I'm still trying to adjust to saying that! Olivia and Emily are both excited to be in 2nd grade and I am all ready missing all of them. Kirk just lost his job a week ago so I won't be completely alone which will be nice, for a while. He has been busy applying for jobs and working on the house. It's nice to finally get to some of our projects and have some extra time with Kirk. We're hoping this will be more like a small vacation for him. Keep your fingers crossed!

I am busy helping with projects like landscaping and building a deck, being the YW president, chasing kids and all that mom stuff! I just finished making Olivia's baptism dress thanks to a lot of help from my sweet friend. Thanks Tiff. I couldn't have finished without ALL your help! I still can't believe she's old enough to be getting baptized. Where does the time go?!

I'm sure the next few months will be filled with lots of activities and many adventures. I will try to keep you posted, but I've come to realize I just don't have much time to blog:(, even though I want to.

So there you have it! Hope everyone is well and had a great summer!

Broken bones

2009-06-23T07:25:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the sudden stop in our make-a-wish story. Last week we dropped Mike off at MDA camp in Empire, Colorado. The next day he broke his leg when his friend ran into him with Mike's scooter. We've learned why Mom always told us not to let someone else play with your scooter.

Anyway....They called me at home to get the okay to go to the ER in Frisco. I was sure it was just a sprain and was shocked when they called to say it was broken! My next shock came when Mike decided to stay at camp until Friday. My little boy is now a tough boy! Since he was pretty pain free and they couldn't do much besides splint it until the swelling went down they said he could stay.

So, we are now home after a very long day in the car(12hours). Grandma and Granddad were kind enough to take the girls so they wouldn't be trapped in the car like Mom and Dad. Which was nice for Mike because he could put his leg up and rest. We go into the orthopedic doctor today and are hoping for an alternative to a cast so Mike can stay walking.

With all the excitement of our first broken bone and having him so far away I kind of forgot about everything else. Stay tuned for an update and the remaining few days of our fabulous Make-a-Wish trip!

Wish Trip Day Two

2009-06-04T10:24:00.014-06:00

Day two started with breakfast at Give Kids the World in the Gingerbread house. The volunteers there were wonderful and took good care of us. We woke up to a drizzle so we donned our rain ponchos for the day and headed off to Sea World to meet my Mom and Dad. (They flew down from Vermont to be with us for the week.)

Our first stop was to feed the stingrays. Their pool is right outside so there were birds perched on all the rocks; most of them were cranes. What beautiful birds you may say to yourself, you may change your mind. When he handed me the fish he warned me about the "aggressive birds." As I walked away I noticed we were all ready being watched and followed! Mike was a little worried about putting his hand out there with a fish so I went first. I thought I'd just shoo the bird away if it came toward me. Well, those birds were fast and yes aggressive. One swooped right in and snatched the fish right out of my hand and nipped my thumb in the process. OUCH!

After that Mike really wasn't interested in feeding the sting rays. I just dropped the fish in really quick and the birds still got it. When you could avoid the birds the sting rays would come right up out of the water, it was cool.
Then it was off to explore the rest of the park! We saw dolphins, penguins, a polar bear, flamingos, beluga whales and of course Shamu. Shamu was the highlight of Mike's day. He smiled the whole time we watched the show. He especially liked it when he splashed everyone up front. (We were in the last row of the splash zone, that's where handicap seating is go figure!)It was so good to see him so happy and to see the wonder in his eyes. How fun for him!

Olivia got on her first ride and her last! Kirk took her on Atlantis. It has two big drops that I even had a hard time with. (Remember I'm the wimp!) She was in tears after that one and didn't trust Daddy. When he asked her how many scoops of ice cream it would cost him for her to forgive him she replied "3". She let him off easy!

After a wet day we went home early and had some fun at Give Kids the World. We took the kids to the Magic Castle where they have the La Ti Da Spa. Olivia got her nails done and her face painted like a puppy. As you can see the gal that did it for her was in costume, she was so funny. Daddy and Mike like the massage chairs. Each time we stopped by the spa Mike was right there relaxing. Mike also got a air brushed ta too on each arm, dragons. It was a fun place.

Then we went on the carousel before heading off to bed and resting up for our 1st day at Disney World. Stay tuned. (Hopefully my layout isn't to bad, I've been messing around with pictures for 45 minutes!)

All in all it was a good day and we really enjoyed seeing my Mom and Dad. Here are a few pictures!

Make-a-Wish

2009-05-31T20:02:00.006-06:00

As many of you know Mike was granted his wish by the Make-a-Wish foundation of Colorado. Two weeks ago we left for Disney World and had a whirl wind trip full of fun! We purchased a new digital camera so we could take lots of pictures and always remember the special time we spent together as a family thanks to Make-a-Wish and all of their sponsors.

Since there are so many things I want to share and TONS of pictures I decided to let you in on what we did each day! I'll try to do an update each week if not more! So here goes with day number one!

Monday May 18

After a relaxing night at a hotel in Denver we were off to catch our flight! When we arrived in Orlando there was a greeter there from Give Kids the World (I'll tell you more about these wonderful people in a minute). He helped us get our luggage find our rental van and did his best to make us all feel special.

We arrived at Give Kids the World just in time for a quick tour and yummy dinner. Give Kids the World is a special place that these wish kids stay at that is just as magical as Disney World. Each year they give 7-8,000 kids a place to stay that are having their wish to got to Disney granted. There are thousand of volunteers that come throughout the year from all over.

Not only did we stay in our own villa, complete with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, but there were so many activities that the kids could be a part of all week. They have a kiddie spa, riding stable, carousel, magic castle, theater, arcade, miniature golf course, accessible playground, pool and an ice cream parlor. It was an incredible place and a star with Mike's name on it is on the ceiling of the magic castle along with 70,000 other stars from all the wish kids that have stayed there.

If you'd like to learn more about Give Kids the World or it's founder you can go to their website.

http://www.gktw.org/

Here are a few pictures of our first night there. The first three are of our villa and the last one is the ice cream palace. Ice cream from 9-10 every day! You'll also notice the rain ponchos. These were part of our daily attire for the entire trip! I though Florida was the sunshine state, we all most got washed away!

Spring in the Mountains

2009-05-03T18:34:00.004-06:00

It has been a while since I've posted anything. We've had an interesting spring thus far. It got really warm, then cooled off and then got warm again, then it snowed. We got 3 inches the day of my sister-in-laws wedding reception. That's spring in the Rockies! Kirk said he remembers snow on the 4th of July as a kid. YIKES!!

This weekend my sweet husband let me take a few days off and go to Women's Conference at BYU. My dear friend Jessica watched the kids after school until Kirk got home, so thanks to her too. It was a busy weekend full of some interesting classes and some fun time with family. Now I'm hooked and I want to go back next year!!!

There was a concert Thursday night with some very talented artists. If you haven't watched the " Reflections of Christ" video it's incredible. Go to youtube and type in reflections of christ and you can see the video. The images are beautiful and Freddie Ashby has an amazing voice. "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" is one of my favorite songs. Hilary Weeks is great too. She sang some fun little songs about teenagers and being a mom.

All in all it was a great two days and something I would highly recommend to everyone!

Mischief!

2009-03-29T18:52:00.005-06:00

Dee Dee is always getting into mischief and she got herself trapped the other day. I heard a lot of crashing around in the laundry room and there I discovered Dee Dee inside the doggie bed we have and she was stuck. As crazy as she can drive me some days, she always makes me giggle. She is so like a little child right now, it's cute which is why we still have her.

Enjoy!

Random Pictures

2009-03-22T15:46:00.005-06:00

Two posts in one day, I must be bored!

Here are some random pictures of my kiddos. They love to show off for the camera. One of them is Mike in a ski mask. I guess he was the thief and Olivia was the princess. Kids are sure fun to have around!

St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-22T15:29:00.006-06:00

I have the great privilege of being married to a true Irish Man; red hair, temper and all! Along with this comes the yearly tradition of corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day, which also happens to be Kirk's half birthday. I had fun this year making clover shaped rolls for the occasion and the kids made place mats.

There happened to be a Relief Society Dinner that evening, but my little Irish Man looked so sad I couldn't abandon him and leave him to celebrate alone. He is a sweetie and I really don't mind making a special dinner every year, it makes life fun and interesting. I'm just glad corned beef and cabbage is all we do to celebrate. ( He was tempted to buy a green wig, but that didn't last long!) We still have to watch our movie to celebrate, "The Quiet Man", but we still had a fun evening.

Here are some pictures of our dinner, notice we are all dressed in green. Mike was actually upset he didn't have green pants. He said he had to be green head to toe or he would be pinched. Olivia was just excited to go to school to see if her Leprechaun trap had worked. Alas...their room was a mess and no one caught one!

Enjoy!!

Back to the 80's!

2009-03-08T19:34:00.005-06:00

On Friday the youth in our stake had a 70's and 80's themed dance in the downtown mall. Only a few of the leaders dressed up and got out there and boogied; I was one of them. I think I did pretty good with my 80's attire. I had some help from my friend Tiffany; She picked out the shoes. All I can say about those are ouch! I did NOT attempt to dance with them on; would have meant a trip to the ER I'm sure.

The youth had some pretty great outfits and it was fun to watch them dance and join in. I hit my limit after the cotton eyed joe! Who knew hanging out with teenagers could be so exhausting!!

We ( the leaders ) got a few funny looks as we sang Ghost Busters and tried our old dance moves, but it was fun. We kept trying to remember who sang all the songs they played.

Next time I hope to get Kirk to go with me, I told him I needed a chaperon and someone to dance with during the slow songs. We'll see how successful I am at convincing him to come!

I really do enjoy being with the youth even if they do wear me out!!!

Gray what?!!

2009-02-28T21:17:00.002-07:00

So...I was looking at my hair this evening and saw what I thought was a blond hair. After a closer look I knew I couldn't deny the fact that this hair was in fact gray, not blond!! That's when I saw the second one!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Kirk was kind enough to look and point out a third, thanks sweet heart. And then he says "you'll look beautiful with gray in your hair."

Excuse me.....and who said I was going to go gray?! Call me vain, but I'm not ready to go gray yet. After all I'm so young....at least I still feel like I'm twenty something! It's not to the point that I would think of coloring it, you can't even see these 3 little hairs because of where I part my hair.

So that's my little sob story. Oh woe is me, whatever will I do. First glasses and now gray hair. What's next a cane or maybe false teeth!

Go ahead and have a good laugh at my gray hair woes. I know I am not the first nor will I be the last to discover her first gray hair. It is what it is, life! It's really not that bad it's just fun to to share!

A night away...

2009-02-22T18:28:00.002-07:00

Kirk has been working on a new hotel at the Springs Resort over in Pagosa Springs for the past several months. They have a nice resort with many natural hot springs that you can soak in and a spa. For Valentine's Day he told me he had planned a special surprise, but we weren't able to make it that weekend.

So on Friday I left the kids with my newly married sister-in-law and her husband so I could meet him for my surprise. I had my suspicions and was excited to learn they were correct. Kirk had set up a couples massage for he and I and it was heavenly! Kirk enjoyed it so much he fell asleep. By the time it was finished we didn't want to climb in the car and make the 45 minute drive home, but we did. We left with a few goodies, including the nice comfy robe I'm wearing in the picture!

It was nice to be pampered and have no worries for the evening. Work has been pretty stressful and kept Kirk gone a lot so it was nice to see him be able to relax as well. As I said a few posts ago, he does drive me crazy sometimes and I may want to clobber him with anything I can find, but he is a sweetheart and getting better with age!

Favorite Song

2009-02-20T13:20:00.002-07:00

This is one of my favorite songs. It's called "Angels in Waiting" and it's by the country singer Tammy Cochran. Her brothers died of cystic fibrosis. It reminds me of my little angels Mike and Emily. They are such special kiddos and have taught me a lot about patience and faith and enduring to the end!

Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv4aPwf32Ik

My Sweetie!

2009-02-15T19:31:00.005-07:00

For Valentines Day Kirk had a special surprise delivered.

My surprise actually arrived on Friday 5 minutes before we had to dash off to the basketball game. The UPS man delivered a long box filled with a dozen colorful roses. I rarely get flowers so I was VERY happy!

Even though he can drive me crazy, all husbands do I'm sure, he is my best friend. He has been so sweet to me this weekend and even cooked dinner for the missionaries today so I could attend my stake meeting and have some down time. He spoils me more than I deserve at times and I am very lucky to be married to him. Thanks sweetie for all you do for me!

Go Wolverines!!

2009-02-13T21:33:00.005-07:00

Life in a small town can be so fun! Like Friday night basketball games and cheering for the home team. Of course for Kirk it's like cheering for the enemy. (The local high school was one of his rivals growing up so he's adjusting to seeing his little girl wearing purple and cheering them on.)

Last year was her first time at cheer camp and it was funny to watch her. She did much better this year and actually got in place at the end to be the base. She cried when I picked her up the other day because she was the base again. "I want to be a flyer mommy," she said. Later that evening I was telling one of my Mia Maids(the mascot) about it. She then proceeded to tell me Olivia just told her how excited she was to be a base. Go figure. Such the drama queen and only 7!!

It was fun to watch her and she was so excited to see her Daddy there watching. (He's been working long hours and isn't home much.) Here's a video of part of the cheer and a picture. Enjoy!

Going Green

2009-02-13T08:10:00.006-07:00

Ifinally painted my kitchen! It is now sage green and I love it. My kitchen in Maryland was this color and we moved right after we painted. (Darn!) It's the same color as my entry nook where the coat rack is and my couch so it works really well. Now the kitchen feels more warm and cozy and my cherry cabinets pop more!

Here are some before and after pictures. I was shocked to see pink when I opened the paint can, I never would have guessed it was in this color!

Now it's on to my great room. It's half painted right now and I've been avoiding it because I have to paint around some beams and a big truss! Hope all is well!!

Regional Training

2009-02-06T19:26:00.002-07:00

Wow! I had the opportunity to attend a regional training meeting in Farmington, NM for the primary, young women, and relief society presidencies. It was amazing and got me excited about my new calling as 1st counselor. We were blessed to have a member of each of the general presidencies come from Salt Lake and give us guidance in our programs.

Sister Cook introduced our new value, Virtue. I'm so glad they've added it and feel it will add more to an all ready great program. My favorite thing about this value is the color, gold. Gold has to be refined to be pure; what a great analogy for the girls.

They really focused on ministering to the girls and how we as leaders each minister in our own way. Whether it be encircling them with love, strengthening their faith, preparing for future roles or gathering them together. It really made me think of each of the girls and how I as a leader can help them and reminded me how much I need to seek Heavenly Father's influence. I still feel very small and wonder what I can do, but as Sister Cook said, the Lord will magnify us. What a great blessing to have such loving and inspired leaders. Especially our living prophet, President Monson!

I love this gospel and I love my Savior and I only hope I can be a light to those I've been called to serve!

Go Emily!!

2009-01-28T15:46:00.005-07:00

On Monday Emily had the opportunity to go ski at Durango Mountain Resort with the Adaptive Sports Program here in Durango. This was her third year doing it and they took some pictures for me! The two guys with her actually requested Emily after the fun they had with her last winter. They tell me she laughs and giggles the whole time and just loves it.

I considered going with her this year, but I guess they pack her up and take off on the slopes. I am not much of a skier(Kirk is) and didn't feel very confident about following them around. Not to mention it was snowing down here yesterday and I didn't want to go up the mountain!

It looks like she had a blast and she even came home all smiles and giggles. When I asked her if she had fun skiing today she just laughed and kicked and got all excited. I think that was a yes! I'm just glad she had fun and can't wait until next week when she can go again. Go Emily!!!!!

Blogger woes!

2009-01-27T15:05:00.002-07:00

My husband stole my camera!! Okay so it's technically HIS camera, but now I can't take any fun pictures to make my posts interesting!!! What will I do.......woe is me!

I guess you will all just have to use your imaginations to visualize my crazy weekend filled with fun.

Saturday came early with a trip to the Monticello Temple with the youth. This is our temple and it is a little over 2 hours away. It's not bad usually, but the weather on the way there was not all that fun! Later that afternoon and evening they were off to a stake activity and dance that night. (We split up so we all wouldn't have to be gone all day.)

I was all relaxed and happy and ready for a peaceful evening at home with my family. When I pulled down the driveway I saw Kirk putting a hose out the window in the wood shop. UH OH!!! A pipe had burst, AGAIN, and flooded the crawl space in the shop. So poor Kirk had to climb under our house and install a shut off that the plumber forgot to put in so this would not happen.

On to Sunday.....BYC and stake training that evening. What a lucky woman I am to have a great husband that will watch kids while I run off to take care of my calling. He called me right before it started to tell me what Emily was up to while I was away.

Apparently they were making cookies and Emily disappeared. Kirk found her in the laundry room, in the dogs kennel with the door shut. When he went to pull her out she got mad at him and pushed him away. I asked if he took a picture and guess what.....the camera was at the office. I think I just need to get my own camera so you can all laugh at my silly children on occasion. (Or me!)

So there you have it. The crazy weekend of a newly called Young Women's leader who still has not been released as the Primary Chorister! Hope everyone is well and having fun!!

Saurkraut Man!

2009-01-20T21:05:00.003-07:00

Kirk's wish for Christmas was a Sauerkraut crock. It's a ceramic crock you can pickle vegetables in, not just cabbage! He was very excited to see the big box on Christmas Eve and couldn't wait to get started. Here it sits on my counter while it slowly ferments the cabbage to make sauerkraut. Sounds appetizing doesn't it?! I don't care for it, but if it makes my hubby happy it's all good.

Really, I am grateful to have a husband that actually likes to cook and is very good at it too. When we got married he was actually a better cook than I was! He is actually the candy man. I can't make candy, but he has it down to an art. How did I get so lucky?! Wait...isn't he supposed to say that!

Cooking is one of our favorite family activities. We've cooked with the kids so much that they bug us all the time to help out when we're cooking. They think it's so fun and love it!

A Dog's Life

2009-01-20T20:51:00.004-07:00

Derf will be four tomorrow. He has been my buddy ever since my last two kiddos have gone off to school. I love having A dog.

As for having two; I'm still adjusting! Dee Dee has finally figured out the bathroom is OUTside and not on my floor. So I'm starting to like her a little bit more. (I can't believe I let him talk me into another dog! I am a sucker!) She still can't stay in one spot and is constantly fetching toys, but she's learning. She really will be a great dog when she's a little older, we just have to make it to that point!

Derf has turned into the grumpy old dog. He tolerates her for the most part, but gets annoyed with her energy level. He has gotten better with age! Poor Derf looks like a wounded solider. He has an ear infection so they taped his ear up so it could get some air. He was very patient at the vet and seems to be feeling good; aside from the huge amount of tape wrapped around his head! Dogs certainly make life interesting and make us laugh!

Confession!

2009-01-13T12:50:00.003-07:00

As you know I've been reading the Twilight series. I read all four books it 2 weeks and was totally addicted until I finished breaking dawn. Now I can't wait to see all the movies. I was ecstatic to hear that New Moon will be coming out next fall!! To all my friends that are Twilight fans, you have a new convert to the madness! I am still a little embarrassed to say it, but I think I am a Twihard!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T18:36:00.012-07:00

Here is our annual family letter. I e-mailed this to many of you, if you didn't get it I didn't have your e-mail address. Please send me your address if you didn't get the letter and I'll have it for next year. Send it to my old address coppx5@yahoo.com.
The pictures were taken up in Utah over Thanksgiving. We had the whole family together so we took a whole bunch and they turned out great. Thanks Kale for setting it up!!
(sorry if my layout is sloppy, I'm still learning.)

Happy New Year!!!

I had every intention of getting this letter out before Christmas, but as it always does time escaped me once again. Yet another adventurous year has come to an end for our family. It started with A LOT of snow and much grumbling about shoveling, living in 600 square feet, using a camp shower for all most 6 months and just being tired of building a house. After what seemed like forever, we moved in around Easter. We love our house even though it was sometimes a pain; it was worth the entire struggle.
We’ve all grown, especially the kids, and are excited to share what we’ve been up to this year!
Michael: Has become very independent this year. He is “too big” to go by Mikey and prefers to go by Michael. I can get away with calling him Mike, but he doesn’t like to hold my hand in public (but he’ll hold his dad’s.) He loves 3rd grade and he and his teacher have just clicked. This summer Mike spent two weeks away from home going to MDA camp and then to “Grandma” camp with his cousins. He came back and seemed like a different little boy, older to mom! Mike is currently into Bakugans (did I spell that right?), Lego’s, Cub Scouts and just being a boy! He is still our little comedian and loves to tell jokes.
Health wise he is doing great! We are hoping to have him participate in a promising new study this year for a new drug that may stop the progression of his Muscular Dystrophy. We are very excited about this new development! Some other exciting news for Mike is the chance he will have this year to have a wish granted by the Make-a-Wish foundation. Mike has chosen Disney World and we are all excited to spend some time smiling and laughing together and forgetting about the challenges we face. I’m most excited to see Mike feel special for a few days and maybe forget about the struggle he’s had this past year.
Olivia: Is still taller than her big brother and as energetic as always. After some apprehension about going to 1st grade again she is doing very well. She has confidence and loves to read and write; a big improvement from last year. She tells me her favorite thing about school is Math just like Mom! She started soccer this fall and had a blast. It was funny to watch them learn to play; she is all ready asking to play again. She is constantly singing, drawing, writing and making new friends. She is very excited to start guitar lessons and start teaching mommy everything she learns.
She constantly surprises us with what comes out of her mouth. Things like “life is full of happy little accidents,” and her latest “that was totally awesome!” She makes us laugh daily.
Emily: Has gotten very tall this year and is standing more and more. She’ll come over to you and try to climb your leg if she wants your attention. In the past month she has become quite the Daddy’s girl which has really surprised us. She will scoot over to him and climb up his leg until he picks her up. She is very adamant that Daddy, not mommy, comforts her. She is very quick and always busy. She has achieved all her goals this year at school so we are starting to focus more on communication. She is a joy and continues to fill the house with laughter each day. She has also managed to break all of my dining room chairs!
Kirk: Is busy with work as usual. The future is a little unclear with the economy, but we feel lucky to have a job when so many don’t. When he’s not at work, he’s busy reading (or listening to books on his iPod), working on honey-do’s or just playing with the kids. He’s been reading Eragon to them in the evenings and really enjoys sharing his love of books. He also adopted a new puppy, without telling me. I was very upset with the boy until he brought her home and my heart melted. Of course that has long since worn off and I’m ready to kick her out. She is a pure bred German Short-haired Pointer and will be a great dog if she ever grows out of the puppy phase! Stay tuned for next year’s letter, she may get fed to the coyotes before the month is up!!
Susan: Loving my new house, especially my HUGE kitchen; (which I have to share with Kirk.) I also appreciate being able to take a real shower and have a real toilet. I still wonder how we did 6 months in that little shop without choking each other! I am still working on painting the interior and putting up trim and plan to start landscaping in the spring.
When I’m not working on the house I’m busy chasing the kids around or being chased by them. Running them here and there, helping with homework, trying to teach them all they need to be good little citizens and every other job a mom does. I am still working on my guitar skills, got addicted to blogging and twilight and just recently have started woodworking with much supervision. (I still have all 10 fingers!) At church I have just been called to serve with the Young Women. Of course I’m still the Primary Chorister until they find someone new and officially call me to Young Women’s. I am going to miss the primary, but I’m excited for a change and some new challenges.
We are grateful for our family and friends all over the world and hope you are all well. We feel blessed for the time we can spend with you or just having the chance to visit with you by phone, e-mail or by blogging. As always you are welcome to come visit us anytime, we’d love to show you around Southwest Colorado; one of the most beautiful places in the entire world! (No we are not biased at all!!!!! :) )
Love The Coppingers

The Mom Song

2009-01-04T20:44:00.003-07:00

My sister-in-law showed this to me on youtube and it makes me laugh until I cry! It's what a mom says in one day sung to the William Tell Overture and it is so true. I think I 've said everything except the part about iPods and computer time.

(Watch out for some of the other garbage on youtube.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxT5NwQUtVM

Winter Fun!

2009-01-02T16:42:00.005-07:00

Kirk had the day off yesterday so we decided to go tubing with the kids. We started out on a mild hill so the kids wouldn't get scared. I ended up head first in the snow when I tried to jump on the tube. It was really fun, and cold! Unfortunately the camera was on view so Kirk missed a great picture!

Grandma and Granddad came with Miki and Kal and the kids and we had some more fun! Kal found a great hill and now I can't keep Olivia off it. The great thing about it is I can see her right out the window so she can stay out as long as she likes. All in all it was a great day and we were sad to see everybody go. We will miss visiting with Miki and Kal and the kids and look forward to seeing them again soon!

Here's a video of Olivia having fun! Happy New Year to all!!

Twilight!

2008-12-30T17:50:00.002-07:00

Okay, I am officially addicted! I started the first book in the series the day after Christmas and I finished number two this afternoon. It just pulled me in and I could focus on nothing else. I just had to finish it to see if Edward was really never coming back! Of course I haven't gotten much done around the house, but I blame my husband. He's the one that gave me the books! I'm going to get Kirk to download the next book in the series so I can listen to it on my I-Pod while I get the housework done and run my errands!

Here's a picture of my new "eyes"!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-28T19:05:00.002-07:00

I can't believe Christmas has all ready come and gone. We spent a few days with Kirk's family in Mancos. We only live an hour apart, but we were concerned about the weather and just camped out a few days. We got another 18 inches of snow in two days and now the sun is finally out. Of course our high for today was 19 degrees without the windchill!! BRRRRRRRR!!!!

Christmas was great and we missed my family as well as Kirk's sister Kale and her family! We've been pretty lazy for a few days which was really nice. The kids had a ton of fun and of course had lots of sugar and stayed up late with their cousins! They were disappointed to be going home, but we will see everyone again this week to go tubing! I'll post pictures when I find the camera, I still haven't unpacked yet!

I looked a little different than usual this Christmas. Just last week I finally went and bought my new glasses. I got the prescription over a month ago, but procrastinated the inevitable as long as possible. You see, for the past year I've noticed some changes in my vision and a 3pm headache each day. I knew I probably needed to start wearing my glasses for more than reading, but didn't want to admit it. So, I have finally accepted I am aging and need to wear my glasses. I got some really cute frames, but I am still adjusting to the new me. I will admit, I sure do enjoy reading a whole lot more. And I am reluctant to say I am hooked on the Twilight series! :) Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Projects!

2008-12-18T14:51:00.004-07:00

I all ready posted a picture of my painting project. There are few others I've tackled in the past two weeks. I know I'm a little crazy to do projects right before Christmas. It would explain why many of you have not gotten our annual Christmas letter. This year it will be a New Year's Letter, Sorry!!

There's a before and after picture of our entertainment center. Before we had a table and I finally found one at IKEA. I had to put some finish on it before I installed it. Kirk and I also made a new coat rack for our nook. He let me touch his tools and now I want more lessons so I can build what ever I want to. I always put the finish on all the projects, Kirk said he doesn't have the patience. I like it for some odd reason.

My third project was reusing our old tiny coat rack. I put flowers on it and now it will go in Olivia's room. I have plans for more painting and building bookshelves, but that will have to wait until after the new year. I plan to play with the kids for the next two weeks and have some much needed fun!!

It still needs hooks! But I'm all most there!!

Let is Snow!!

2008-12-18T14:28:00.005-07:00

We've had quite the week. The girls were sick on Monday and we had a snow day on Tuesday. It is snowing again today and it has made it beautiful outside. I've been watching the sun come through the clouds as another storm moves in. I love how it makes it look outside, of course I'm not much for shoveling it off my driveway! I told Kirk I do the Colorado workout. You just need a long driveway, a lot of snow and a shovel! The next house we build here will have a short driveway! :)

With all the snow we've stayed inside decorating the tree and painting part of the great room. I took some pictures, but you can't really tell what color it is. If you look at the one with the t.v. in it you'll notice the wall to the left is white. Like I said I only painted half the room. It looks great.

We also had time to finsih decorating our HUGE tree. In the 11 years we've been married we've never had a real tree. Thanks to Jason and Cassie we have one this year. It looks a little bare since we don't have a ton of ornaments, but I still think it's beautiful. I'm a country girl so I'm just happy to have a REAL tree for Christmas.

Thanksgiving Part II

2008-12-03T20:32:00.014-07:00

Now where was I..... Oh Yes, I told you about the dreaded chicken dance. Thank goodness no one took pictures of that!

On Friday we did family pictures in Kale's house. Her friend transformed the family room into a photo studio and took some great shots. Now I have to choose only a few and I love them all. She did individual shots of the kids, families and couples. There is one of Olivia and Emily that is darling.

After that crazy event the boys were kind enough to watch all the kiddos so we could shop. It was a fun girls afternoon and we found some good deals. The weekend ended with my nieces 7th birthday party and a trip to see the lights at temple square. We were lucky it wasn't too cold and the kids loved all the lights and the temple. When we went up into the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to look down at the lights we noticed a bride. Those will be some great pictures, but BRRRRR!!! I even walked by L. Tom Perry and didn't even see him. How could I miss him, he is SO tall! All in all it was a great weekend and we had a blast. We were all exhausted, but hey we always are when we get together. Enjoy the pictures and hope you all had a great turkey day!!

Thanksgiving Fun! Part I

2008-11-30T19:13:00.011-07:00

My post was getting a little too long so I decided to break it up into two!

Our Thanksgiving holiday started Monday. I left with the kids to spend some time with my sisters-in-law in West Jordan, Utah. I am proud to say I survived the 7 hour trip up with my children and still had all three when I arrived!:) We drove by BYU campus to reminisce and I was surprised at all the changes there and elsewhere. (Windmills at the bottom of Solider Summit!)

It was nice to spend some time with my fun "sisters" and their kids. I am so lucky to have them and love to visit with them when I can. Kale was kind enough to watch my kids so I could get a much needed haircut and have some mom time. Do you like my new look?

It was nice to have Kirk join us with his mom and dad and other sister on Wednesday. He about knocked me down when I came out the door to greet him. He is so funny when I'm gone, he gets all mushy and sad. It feels good to be needed!

Thanksgiving was a great day. Kirk took Emily and cared for her most of the day and she enjoyed it. She turned into a little Daddy's girl this weekend and didn't want Mom much. I love my sweet husband.

We had dinner at the Hone's ( my brother-in-laws brother). We had lots of yummy food and plenty of pies. I think there were 7 pies! We were favored to a magic show done by my nephew. Then it was on to karaoke, I even got up! I think it ended with some crazy 80's dancing and the dreaded chicken dance. We really had fun. Thank you Jeff and Becky!

I am Glad for Many Things

2008-11-16T19:11:00.003-07:00

Warning: The following may contain sappiness and could result in tears......

When I sat down to write this post it was originally all about Emily and how she has been sick lately. It really made me slow down and spend some much needed time with her cuddling on the couch. Moments like that really make you stop and look at life a little different. As I sat there and thought about all that I wouldn't get done, I realized what I was doing was far more important than any mundane task. I got to spend time with just Emily and that never happens.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner my thoughts start to turn to what I am grateful for just like everyone else. I am grateful for so much right now. For my sweet little Emily who teaches me how to be a better person every day. For her infectious laughter that fills our house on a daily basis. For my rambunctious Olivia who sings me songs and likes to be teased by her daddy. For my little man Mike (no longer Mikey :( ) He has such a great sense of humor and even after mommy has been grumpy has lots of hugs and kisses for me at bedtime. For my hubby who can drive me nuts, but loves me despite my many flaws. For our dogs even if the puppy is driving me nuts.

I am so very thankful for all the many wonderful people I have had the opportunity to meet and become friends with over the years. I'm thankful you all blog so I can still keep in touch even though we live far apart! I really believe that Heavenly Father watches over us through others and he has sent me some really great people. I am grateful for all my family and for my 3 "sisters" and a great mother-in-law that is like my sister. (Yes I know I am very lucky!!)

Most of all I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the changes it has brought to my life. None of the above would have even come about without it. Many of you don't know this, but in exactly one week it will be 17 years since I was baptised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I can't believe it's been that long and yet at the same time it feels like it's always been a part of my life.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and for "listening". I hope we can all remember our MANY blessings. Take care......

Painting fun and experiments!

2008-11-14T16:32:00.009-07:00

I have been meaning to post pictures of my big project I finished about 3 weeks ago. In September we started painting the exterior of the house and I finally finished the trim and it looks great. At first it was a little bit of an adjustment. I wondered if we had picked the right color etc. I think it was because it had been all white for so long. I still wish it was a little more brown than yellow, but after all that work I will settle for all most perfect. Here is the before and after, that's Olivia in the before picture being silly.

Yesterday I started to tackle the task of painting the great room. With the possibility of being unemployed next spring we are pinching pennies. So no more paint! We have 10 gallons of the exterior brown and 5 of some white. So I just started mixing the two until I got the shade I wanted. I was so proud of myself for saving us money that I took pictures. Silly huh?! It wouldn't be my first choice for the great room, but it will work and anything is better than white!!!

Now I just have to get it up on the wall, any volunteers?!!!!! I just want my house to feel all homey and finished for the holidays.

FUN BLOG!

2008-11-11T21:28:00.002-07:00

I just wanted to let you know about my friends cute blog. She is a very crafty woman with some super fun ideas. For example, she made these super cute bats out of socks for Halloween. I don't consider myself very creative when it comes to craft and I love all the ideas I get from her. Take a peak! www.thechildrensnest.blogspot.com

BRRRRRRRR!!

2008-11-06T20:53:00.005-07:00

When we woke up this morning we were shocked to see that it was VERY COLD. Now I'm not one to complain about the weather because we did choose to live here, but it's a bit early to be this cold. I took a picture of the thermometer, if you look at the bottom you will see 13, that's the outside temperature. The time is at the top. Kirk said when he got up at 6 am it was 9. Yikes.

It brings back memories of last winter, February I think, when it got down around -15 each night for three weeks. We had pipes freezing and heaters burning out. Not the best conditions for home building! At least now we are in our house and have a nice wood burning stove to keep us nice and toasty! I love the smell of a fire on a cold day, it reminds me of home!

Other than the cold life is good! Kirk and I are going on a real date tomorrow night which is long over do. Of course we may both fall asleep because we've been so busy lately!

The other picture is a random picture of our puppy. She likes to watch T.V. with her people.

Saturday projects

2008-11-03T07:22:00.005-07:00

Life has been so hectic lately that we haven't done much work on the house. On Saturday we decided to take advantage of the warm weather and finish the outside of the shop. We spent the afternoon building a "door." Kirk was so excited he said he wanted me to do a post on it. If you look really close you might be able to see that it's not a real door, it just looks like one.

It was fun to work on something together again. We're finally to the point where most of our projects are just one or two days. Yeah for us!!!!! I'm hoping to paint the great room before Christmas and get some pictures up. We'll see how that goes. :)

The other picture is of our Halloween candy. Olivia wanted to take a picture, she's very proud of the candy she collected for us. She is so funny.

Trick or Treat!

2008-11-01T22:06:00.006-06:00

Halloween festivities started early at our house. On Saturday the elementary school had their "Fall Carnival" complete with haunted house and trick or treating. That's actually why the cake came about, for the cake walk. Olivia did it three times so she could win a cake, lucky us.

Then it was school parties on Tuesday, the kids had the rest of the week off, so of course more candy and Halloween fun. Finally it was time for the ward trunk or treat. We ate chili and hot dogs, drank hot cocoa and watched the kids run from car to car over and over again. It was a fun night and the kids collected more than enough candy for all of us. I even dressed up as a bunny, which never happens by the way.

Here are some pictures of the kids. Olivia was Snow White, Mikey was a cowboy and Emily was Miss Behave. My friend Lori loaned me some costumes which made me a very happy girl! Thanks Lori!! Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween and survived all the sugar induced madness!!!

Making a cake

2008-10-27T07:07:00.002-06:00

Some of you asked how I made the cake. I used a bunt pan for the cake and made one cupcake for the stem. I flipped the cupcake upside down and put it in the middle for the stem. I had to use toothpicks to keep it from falling down in the hole. There were a lot of ideas out there, but this seemed to be the easiest. To frost it I just pulled the knife from the center and down so it looked more like a pumpkin. It was a fun project.

There was another idea I found, but didn't have the time or enough cake mix. It used two bunts. You put one upside down and then stacked the other one on top so it would look like a whole pumpkin. Thank goodness for the Internet, it helps me be creative. Have fun!

Pumpkins and puppies

2008-10-26T18:51:00.004-06:00

This weekend was the fall festival at school. I had volunsteered to make a cake for the cake walk and was planning to do something quick and easy. After spending the day with Olivia's class at the farm I decided to have some fun with it. I found a great idea on-line for a pumpkin cake. It was really easy so I tried it. I was happy with the results. Take a look!

If you've been following our blog you know we added a puppy to the mix a while ago. She is still driving me bananas, but learning some obedience. She is very intelligence and will be a great dog in about a year! We just have to be patient and work hard with her until then. I keep telling Kirk puppies are cute so you'll keep them while they drive you nuts!

I've always liked dogs, but never thought I would be such a sucker for those big brown eyes. I am a big sucker though, they are like my babies and I love their company. They are Kirk's hunting dogs, but also the family dogs and I think we'll keep them!
Hope all is well with everyone!

My little ones!

2008-10-16T14:40:00.011-06:00

Life has been so hectic lately, it was nice to have the kids home on Monday in honor of Columbus Day. We ran into town to fit Michael for some new leg braces and then came back home to relax and have some fun.

The kids had picked out a movie from the library so we sat down and watched it together. While Olivia and Mikey were watching a movie together I caught a cute moment. I looked over to see Olivia and Mikey curled up together like they liked each other. Now I have proof that they can actually get along!

While we watched the movie Emily had fun in the sun. She really love these big windows and to sit in the warm sun. This week at school she escaped. She was in her gait trainer, a piece of equipment that she can walk in, and left the classroom and shut the door. The teacher tapped on the glass and told Emily to come back in. Emily turned around and pushed the button to open the door. She is doing great!!

This picture is of Mike in his finished, finally!!!!, scout uniform. He was very proud to do the scout salute when I took his picture. He has really loved the scouting program and it has helped him come out of his shell. There are only 3 boys that come regularly so it is small.

Olivia has been busy with soccer each week and it's been fun to go watch her play. She's finally started to go after the ball and stay with it, but you still have to remind her to pay attention. Last week she was fascinated with a dirt clod and would kick it every time she ran by. It's funny to watch them play sometimes because they are still learning how the game works. They don't keep score at this age so it's just a fun time. I'm just glad it will be over soon, it's getting a little cold.

Even with all the stuff that's happening in the world right now, I can still be happy because of my beautiful children and the joy they bring me each day. We live in a beautiful place and have made some great friends. I love small town life and the quiet pace it brings! We hope you are all enjoying fall, even if you live in the desert!

FUN!!

2008-10-12T18:47:00.004-06:00

After family home evening last week things got a little crazy!

Emily has this chair with wheels on the bottom. She loves to scoot all over in it and especially loves it when we spin her really fast. It results in contagious giggles for all. Well now she has figured out how to spin herself! She will come rolling down the hall and just start to spin once she's out in the great room. It's funny to watch, here's a video I took.

Daddy then climbed on Mikey's scooter, which I always tell the kids is not a toy, and started chasing us all around. I thought it would be fun to take a short video of the maihem, but he caught me and I had to run. We were all rolling around laughing by the end of it all. I really do have 4 kids, one is just really big!

Enjoy the fun!

Beautiful Colorado!

2008-10-06T18:15:00.008-06:00

One of the things I love about going up to Denver twice a year is the drive. Not the length of it, but the beautiful scenery we get to see. At this time of year the aspens are a gorgeous golden color which is contrasted by the evergreens. The mountains here are breath taking and I have to pinch myself each day. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place!

On our trip up Kirk and I were discussing Colorado's diverse landscapes. There are huge mountains, deserts, plains, and even lakes. It's amazing to me how many different things you can experience in just one state. We are a bit biased, but we feel like we live in one of the most beautiful states in our country!

Another sign of fall! Apple picking, one of my favorite childhood memories! Pam and Del (my in-laws) have an apple tree and I was really shocked at all the apples we got from one tree. We had tons of fun tossing apples around, juggling and being silly! Even Dee-Dee enjoyed picking apples.

The last picture is of something I am just not ready for. SNOW!! Yes it snowed on Wolf Creek Pass! Winter is on it's way.

Enjoy the pictures.

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fire! Fire!

2008-10-05T16:38:00.005-06:00

Last week we had a bit of a surprise. I was making dinner when a source gas truck drove by, followed by an ambulance. Then another Source Gas truck came and two other cars. Then a firetruck and some other firefighters.

Now they didn't come with sirens blasting or even driving fast. The fact that the gas company was there made me think they hit a pipe with the digger, so I was wondering if we needed to go down the street. They were right next to my house! Then they started putting on their gear and getting the hoses out. Needless to say I got more concerned and went out to investigate. As I approached they all told me not to worry and laughed a little. IT was just a demonstration.

So we sat back an watched the fireworks. They turned on the gas and lit it with a flare. It was impressive and made quiet a noise. IT sounded like a hot air balloon only louder! Olivia ran down the hall the first time crying, but thought it was cool by the time they were done.(watch her dance in the video.) The neighbors all wondered what the heck was happening and came to check it out. I am still a little surprised they didn't notify the neighborhood, especially the house they were right next too!!!

If I didn't know it was a demo. I probably would have loaded everybody up and left. It was a sight! Here's a video, just imagine a big whooshing sound while the fire is going.

Our Mike

2008-10-05T16:07:00.005-06:00

We have had yet another busy weekend up in Denver visiting the MDA clinic at The Children's Hospital. First of all I must say that the new hospital is wonderful and we just love everyone at clinic. They really try to make sure Mike and his family is doing okay with the new challenges we face each day.

While we were there we learned about a new study they are doing that Mike may qualify for. They took some blood, he did not enjoy that part, to identify what is causing his Duchene's Muscular Dystrophy. If they identify the cause as a premature stop codon (PTC) he will qualify for a study on PTC 124. This has some promising results so far and could help Mike and other boys like him in many ways. It does mean more trips to Denver, but we are hopeful this turns into something really positive for him. At this point we are just waiting for the results and then will make a decision based on the information they give us about the study and possible side effects. If you want to learn more you can go to MDA's website and click on research. Then just select the disorder Duchene's Muscualr Dystropy and it will bring up all the studies they are working on.

Aside, from clinic we spent time shopping, playing and just relaxing! Our sweet friends the Giles let us camp out in thier basement while they were away. We missed visiting but hope to have some time this summer when we take Mikey up to camp.

Mike also celebrated his 9th birthday all most a month ago. It's hard to believe how big he has gotten and how much he has changed. He is still my sweet boy in many ways, but establishes his independence on many occasions! He just earned his wolf badge and is very excited to be a Bear scout. He loves science and has a great teacher this year that really brings out the best in him. It's hard to believe we will hit double digits next year!!

The Wildlife Experience

Happy Birthday Buddy!

The Wolf Badge Mother's pin.

Happy Birthday Girls!

2008-09-04T21:37:00.010-06:00

We tried to get Emily to stand.

On Sunday Olivia and Emily celebrated their 7th birthday. It's hard to believe my little babies are growing up so fast. On Saturday Olivia and I went shopping and I realized how big she really is getting. We had a difference of opinion on a few outfits; I thought she looked cute, she thought she looked "stupid." At last we agreed on something, I just wasn't prepared for that eye opening experience. Who said she could grow up so fast?!!

Look how cute they are. These are from Maryland.

Then we spent the rest of the day at the Recreation Center swimming as a family. Emily loved the BIG slide Daddy took her on. She had so much fun swimming with Daddy and Mommy. She practiced standing and even let go a few times and stood all alone! It was a great day! On Sunday we had a special dinner and cake and presents. (I sure wish my birthday could last 2 days!

I looked through some old baby pictures this weekend, they have changed so much and in so many ways. It makes me a little sad, but it is so fun to watch them grow and change!

This last pictures are of the newest member of the family. She has beautiful brown eyes that melted my heart when Kirk brought her home. I wasn't too thrilled about another little rug rat running around, but she looks so cute curled up at my feet right now. :) You guessed it, we have a puppy! She is a German Short Hair Pointer and looks a lot like Derf in her coloring. I would have to say this is the last dog for us, at least for a few more years!

School Days

2008-08-20T20:32:00.007-06:00

It's official, summer is over. I all ready miss having the kids around, but I know they are looking forward to a fun year. They have come home with so much to tell me each day and are so excited for the new year. After a few days mom will adjust and be busy with new projects. I'm about to paint the exterior of the house and then it will be on to the inside! Fun, fun, fun!!

Emily just started today and was very excited to see her friends and make some new ones. Her teacher and I have all ready spoken and she is excited to have Emily in her classroom. It should be a great year for her as well. We have some pretty high goals for her, we just have to convince her she wants to do them!

As for Emily we have some great news. We went into the hospital for an echo cardiogram, basically an ultrasound of the heart. The tech looked for a while and couldn't find the hole in her heart, this means it has closed on it's own! This is one less problem to worry about and now we can go to the dentist without having to take antibiotics before hand!!!

The funny part about this test is that we knocked her out! I gave her some medication to help calm her so she would hold still and it had the opposite affect. She was kicking, scratching and basically doing anything she could do get away for 20 minutes. The nurse gave her another drug and within 5 minutes she was out cold. It usually lasts 20 minutes, but Emily was out for the next 2 1/2 hours! We had to stay there until she was somewhat awake. So it was a pretty long day.

So that's the latest! Enjoy the pictures of our first day. Oh and the one of the wolf spider the size of Kirk's hand! The picture just doesn't do it justice! It was BIG, and there was another one around the corner. Yikes!!!!

Welcome to Holland

2008-08-18T12:23:00.002-06:00

This is something I hesitate to share, I don't want it to seem like I'm feeling sorry for myself. This story has helped me put what we face into perspective and I share it in hopes that maybe it will help someone else. We all face challenges and sometimes it's easy to feel like we want to give up. I've learned that no matter what we face, we can make it through and find peace.
Life may not turn out how we expect, but I wouldn't trade what I have leanred or the wonderfuly people I have had the opportunity to meet because of what we faced.

I love you all!!

"Welcome to Holland"By Emily Perl Kingsley, 1987. All rights reserved.I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland.""Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland

Star gazers

2008-08-12T15:28:00.002-06:00

There was a great meteor shower here last night and this morning. We got the kids up at 11pm to watch it, but the moon was too bright. We saw only one in 10 minutes(but it was still cool!). So we put the kids back to bed and decided to try again at 4 am. I guess I was sleeping like a rock so Kirk didn't wake me up at 4. He grabbed the kids and sat out in the driveway for an hour and a half watching all the meteors. The kids were so excited they could hardly contain themselves. There were several meteors ever minute, sorry I missed it. Oh well, it makes me happy just to know they had some quality daddy time! Now they are taking long afternoon naps, which NEVER happens. It's strangely quiet and I'm getting bored!

Well, maybe next year I'll have the determination to get out of bed!

Finally back!

2008-08-10T18:45:00.003-06:00

I am back!!! It has been a crazy few weeks!!!! Our computer died two weeks ago and I have been without e-mail and blogging for too long. Blogging is addictive!

A few weeks ago I went away for the weekend, ALONE!! It was our annual girls weekend at the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City Utah. Every year I go off with Kirk's mom, sisters, aunt, cousin and anyone else that wants to join our crazy weekend! We always have a blast and enjoy some much needed girl time.

We ate yummy food, laughed, shopped, laughed, shopped for wedding dresses for Kirk's sister, laughed and saw two great plays. Did I mention laughed?!! It's always a great weekend and I feel so lucky that I get to go every year. (Kirk played with the kids all weekend so don't feel bad for him?)

Here are just a few pictures from my fun weekend away. The first is of my beautiful and wonderful sisters-in-law Kale, Cassie and Miki. I always wanted a sister and now I have three! The other picture was taken at lunch and include Kirk's Aunt Lynn, cousin Jessica and Me! Can't wait to do it again next year!!\

By the way...if you ever get a chance to go the the Utah Shakespearean Festival it is great. I've seen some really great plays over the years!

Work, work, work!

2008-07-16T20:43:00.006-06:00

We finally put in a full day of work on the house! Kirk worked on putting trim around ALL the windows and I put a gravel border around the driveway. We also put up more blinds. Now we're just waiting for Bali to get in gear and send us the ones for the great room. Then the windows will be done and we won't be living in fish bowl anymore.

Here are some pictures of our busy day around the house. Enjoy!

My beautiful gravel work. :)

Our BIG Project!

2008-07-05T21:06:00.012-06:00

Here are some pictures of the all most finished project. We worked on base boards today and put casement around one window. We also put some of our blinds up. It's actually starting to look like a "real" house. Imagine that! We have blinds in all the bedrooms now instead of our fashionable blankets. The kids were very excited about that. I'll post some pictures of what led up to this point in a little while. I have to track them all down.

The Kitchen and timber in the great room

Our Bedroom and Bathroom

Grammie and Grandpa's trip

2008-07-05T20:41:00.008-06:00

Grammie and Grandpa come to visit!

In May my mom and dad came from Vermont for their annual visit. We enjoyed spending time with them and taking them on a great ride up to Ouray. It's a beautiful drive that takes you over 3 breath taking mountain passes. We also had fun at our annual trip to the Bar-D Chuckwagon. Here are some pictures of our fun time!

Susan :)

Bar-D Coal Bank Pass 10640 feet

Molas Pass The train headed back to Durango

Happy Fourth of July!

2008-07-05T19:37:00.010-06:00

We started the day with cinnamon rolls and giggles of excitement! The kids were so excited about the Bayfield parade that they got up and got dressed before Mom and Dad. We found a great shadey spot and there we are. Mikey and Olivia loved waving their flags as you can see in their picture. I think their favorite part was all the candy they handed out. The parade was full of horses, old trucks and of course local politicians.

After the parade there were some local bands, food and water games. The kids had a blast dumping buckets of water and playing with the hose. Even Emily thought it was fun to get wet!
If you can't tell they are totally dripping wet by now!

We spent the rest of the day eating yummy food with Kirk's sister Cassie and her fiance Jason, setting off some fireworks and throwing water balloons at the kids! To end the day we went to the fireworks here in town. It was a fun and relaxing day that was a big improvement from framing walls like we did last year.

Enjoy the pics. I'm still learning so I'll get the layouts right down the road!

getting started

2008-06-18T21:35:00.001-06:00

We're excited to start blogging! Come check us out in a few weeks, hopefully by then I will have some fun pictures to share of what we've been up too!

Colorado Coppingers

Welcome to Holland

Gratitude

Merry Christmas from the Coppingers

Happy Halloween

Okay, not sure what happened or how to fix it. Sorry....

Yup, I am catching up on blogging, finally!!

My baby's a Deacon!!

Double Digits

Red Rock Relay

Tough and sad week

Run, run, run!

Stand up!

Olivia's haircut

Picture Time

My Baby Girl

The Past 3 months

Interesting Saturday

Firecracker 5K

Vermont Visitors

June 21st Happy Anniversary!

Spring break fun!

Faith is like a little seed...

Just stuff

It's been a while

Fall Fun!

My Cookin' Man!

Emily on the tramp.

Double Digits

Turning 8!!!!

Disney World Summary

Return to Blogging.

Broken bones

Wish Trip Day Two

Make-a-Wish

Spring in the Mountains

Mischief!

Random Pictures

St. Patrick's Day!

Back to the 80's!

Gray what?!!

A night away...

Favorite Song

My Sweetie!

Go Wolverines!!

Going Green

Regional Training

Go Emily!!

Blogger woes!

Saurkraut Man!

A Dog's Life

Confession!

Happy New Year!

The Mom Song

Winter Fun!

Twilight!

Merry Christmas!

Projects!

Let is Snow!!

Thanksgiving Part II

Thanksgiving Fun! Part I

I am Glad for Many Things

Painting fun and experiments!

FUN BLOG!

BRRRRRRRR!!

Saturday projects

Trick or Treat!

Making a cake

Pumpkins and puppies

My little ones!

FUN!!

Beautiful Colorado!

Fire! Fire!

Our Mike

Happy Birthday Girls!

School Days

Welcome to Holland

Star gazers

Finally back!

Work, work, work!