Merry Christmas from the Coppingers

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

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

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

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!!

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

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.