Quick trips and the like....

No pictures to protect the privacy of others involved! Yesterday we were heading out to Fargo to pick up the parents! My brother called at 5:55am to tell me that they were coming in 45 minutes earlier than I thought. Then I got a call from Dad at 6:30 saying they were delayed and had to get a new plane. Then I got a call at 7 something with mom saying that they've been to three different gates and were hoping to be able to get on the plane soon! Then I got a call at 8:30 saying they were boarded and hoping to take off soon! So we got our poop in a group and headed out around 9am to drive the 2.5 hours to pick them up! On our way out of town, we got a call from Ruth who asked us to take her pick up truck and pick up a desk to bring back. So we stopped to switch everything over, then 1 mile away from her house, there was a hitch hiker on the side of the road, so we picked him up and took him to the next town over and finally, we were on our way! We pulled into Fargo just in time to pick them up! So we got back around 7pm last night and had a tour of Sam's newest art and all our Christmas decorations. I'll have to take some pictures of them for you to see! Anyway, we are just getting in the Christmas mood! Need to get squared away and see what else we have left to do!

I left mom and dad at home this morning watching Baby Gabe and waiting for the snow. It's such a beautiful day today - tons of fog, I would run right out and get a picture, but I left the camera at home in case the Gabe meister started walking or spouting long sentences! Need some footage of that - didn't want to miss out! :)

Otherwise, getting ready for a very festive Christmas in the Tundra,

Love, Sarah

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

On Friday, we had a heat wave, so.....







....it was time to gather our Christmas decorations!!! As you can see, it was a whole family adventure - although Gabe spent his time snuggled up in the car seat sleeping, which was good, since even though we had a heat wave, it was more like 28 degrees! Anyway, getting the house all decked out for visitors on Thursday! :)

Also, I just wanted to let you know that Gabe has already starred in his first drama...



That's right, that little baldy head peaking out is our precious little Gabe playing the most important role of "the little baby Jesus!" He did just perfect, as I knew he would. After all, we've known all along that he's had a dramatic flair - (takes after his dad that way! :)

There was one more thing I was going to share with you.... the heat wave is over.... This morning, I ran out to start the car, in my scarf, coat, boots and robe! It was so cold!!! I came in and told Sam that we had moved beyond scarf weather and striaght to neck warmer weather - it hurts to breathe!!! So he asked me what the temperature was and I told him I didn't want to put myself through that much misery... So I quick, took a picture right before I ran out the door!



Ok, so I realize, it may be a little difficult for you to read that... Took the picture through my window with the sun facing me... So....



Does that make it a little more clear??? Burrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I did have a bunch of fun stories that I was going to share with you, but the cold has knocked it right out of my mind and now you'll have to settle for stories on Gabe and the weather! :)

I just saw on Facebook that Christmas is only 9 days away! Ahhh!!! I'd better start shopping and get things done. My parents come in on Thursday and we have lots of things going on, but Christmas has totally snuck up on me! Hopefully I can get some more pictures to share with you soon! Have a great pre-Christmas festive day!

Seriously, FREEZING in the Tundra,

Sarah

Good Morning...or maybe afternoon? What is today?

Since that momentus day on Sept 29, 2009, I haven't been able to keep up with the days, to save my life - they all sort of melt into each other. Did you know the other day I found out it was NOVEMBER?!?!! And now someone told me the movie, "New Moon" was coming out today and I was like, Oh no, that doesn't come out till the 20th! Note to self: Never seemed so assured of yourself unless you have a clue! November 20th???? That means Thanksgiving is like 1-2-3-4-like next week! Which, by the way, I'm very excited about because I GET TO GO HOME TO VIRGINIA!!! That means Gabe gets to meet his whole other side of the family! Granted, at this point, Gabe is kind of take it or leave it, but I am very excited and his other grandparents are very excited!

I had some new pictures for you but here's my deal. This is what I've been up to a lot lately.....



...and this is what Sam has been doing a lot lately....



So there you have it folks. All that to say, besides the fact that my life is a perfect tragedy, Sam is out hunting again today and took the camera with the new pictures on it, with him!*

Congratulations to my mom! She has finished her rounds of radiation with flying colors! Now she is busy preparing her house for all the Thanksgiving festivities. My aunt and uncle are coming up from Florida tonight or tomorrow and they are off to parties and festivities. Then on Tuesday, Sam and I fly in with the Gabe-meister. We land in DC and stay there with extended family till Thursday, when my brother and sister-in-law arrive from FL! Can't wait to see everyone and I'm so glad that mom has finished her radiation and had a little time to rest up in preparation for everything!

Gabe-man: He's doing great, besides the fact that he just spent the last 30 minutes crying himself to sleep. I put him down sleeping like a baby and 10 minutes later, he woke up crying, it was a tired cry and I was fighting myself for going in there to check on him or pick him up and snuggle that adorable little man, but everytime I couldn't take it any longer, I'd head in that direction, he would stop crying and act as if he was sleeping.... Then I'd come back and get settled in - all over again, for 30 minutes!! But I haven't heard him for the last 15 minutes, so I think he's finally sleeping! He's starting to smile more! That sure is fun! Whenever I have things to do and people to see, he doesn't seem to make that too easy! I think he likes getting uninterrupted sleep! Imagine that! Anyway, among my new pictures to post are some smiley ones of him, so keep in touch - they will be arriving shortly - as soon as Sam gets home from earlier mentioned hunting! :)

And me: I'm getting stronger and stronger by the minute. In fact, Sam and I went on a walk yesterday and I climbed a huge hill with the little Gabe man attached to me via Moby wrap. It was really quite nice! Speaking of our walk yesterday, well, maybe I'll wait for my camera for that story.

I was complaining to Sam the other day that I've lost all my funny-ness. I'm pretty sure that my stories revolved around the crazy things he does and now I spend a lot more of my time feeding the baby, changing diapers, laundry, dishes and straightening the house.... There really is nothing funny in that. And although our walk yesterday didn't turn out too funny - still, another crazy adventure!!! Tune in next time...

Well, folks, the little guy just woke up again... I'll have to check on him and get him calmed down - actually he stopped again... But I should go - it's getting close to tax time, so I need to get my paperwork in order! Until next time,

Concentrating on my blessings in the Tundra,

Love, Sarah

*My life may not be accurately pictured here. Some facts may have been exaggerated to illustrate a point. Some pictures could have been brought in from archives, but alas, some are current! I still have the best husband ever even if he has been gone the last 15 weekends in a row for whatever reason! ;)

Ok.

Turns out my mind is mush. I thought I downloaded my frozen pond pictures before I deleted them. Evidently, I didn't. So disregard my previous note on banner picture. Until I get a good family picture, you'll have to endure pictures of the cutest little guy in the world! :)

It's about time...

I'm posting some pictures that may not be appropriate for the faint of heart, but they were so cool, I couldn't pass it up!

First of all - the little guy, Gabe, just reached his 6 week mark on Tuesday! I heard someone once say that it DOES get easier and frankly, I had my doubts. But it's true, well, I don't know about easier, but better, definitely better! The last few days he's been such a joy, waking up happy and smiley and then eating perfectly and then going back down for a nap. We definitely have had our days, but overall, it's so much more enjoyable.

I wanted to share this pictures - for my Aussie cousins - here's little Gabe, the Kangaroo!



Here are some we took at about a month....











Here are some from way back when - 6 weeks ago!











Ok, well, this is what we have right now. Now that Gabriel is getting some personality, and not just sleeping, eating, etc., we'll get tons more photo's and video!!! He is going to be visiting his Grandma and Grandpa in VA and tons of aunts and uncles and cousins in about a week and a half - so that will be tons of fun!!! Stay tuned...

Oh and one more thing - the new picture on my blog banner - I just had to show you - that was in October sometime. I haven't started keeping track of dates yet, but I wanted to show you how we really do live in the Tundra - even if yesterday was 60 degrees!

Keeping it real in the Tundra,

Love, Sarah

Giveaway Winners!

I'm sorry it's taken so long to get back to you - all of you - my faithful followers! I feel like I have been hiding under a rock - Erik, thank you for pointing that out!

Today I figured out who was going to win Sam's print by guessing Gabe's birthday... It's between two people - Wes and Aleycia and the winner is..... Aleycia!!!!! Thanks to a helpful patron of Boneshaker Coffee - Aleycia, you are the winner. I will get in touch with you to let you know what prints we have available!

Well, the little man, Gabriel is nearly 6 weeks old - they told me it would get better and it has. I never thought the time would come when I wouldn't mind going out in public just in case he woke up! But right now, I'm sitting in a coffee shop typing along with the little man sleeping at my side! Sam is off deer hunting and won't be back till tomorrow. That has certainly been an adjustment. I used to get to spend so much time with my best friend, Sam... Now I get to hang out at home with Sam's little man - Gabe! And that is fun, but an adjustment. Gabe has started smiling a lot today, especially and that certainly makes life more fun! :) But I continue to ask for your prayers - for all the adjustments!

We head home to VA in a couple weeks - pretty excited about that. Even though I've been home all this time, I need a vacation! Can't wait to introduce the addition to the rest of the family - especially his grandma and grandpa and aunts and uncles!!!!

Trying to think of what else has been going on lately - mostly just making the bed and doing dishes and laundry on a more regular basis - and that's not too funny... I did take a load of junk to Salvation Army yesterday and opened the hatch of the van only to have all of it come pouring out on my toe and end up breaking most everything in there!!! So luckily there was a dumpster right by the door. Mission accomplished either way - so that's not that funny of a story - I guess you had to be there! I find that most of my funny stories revolve around Sam and I haven't been able to hang out with him much lately, so I'm fresh out. We haven't even had a Sabbath in weeks, it feels like. I hope we get to take some time off this Sunday since nice weather has touched down in the Tundra - seriously - it's 68 degrees right now, maybe even 70!!!

I was going to post some pictures, but I'm getting ready to go on a walk and don't have time. But for any of you that are on Facebook, I did post some there. For those of you NOT on facebook, I will try to get them posted here soon!!! I hope I haven't lost all of you! We will be getting internet soon and I'll be back in business.

So, to you, all my family and friends - thanks for hanging in there with me! I will be back soon, I promise, with video and pictures of Gabriel's "Early Days!" I didn't even post those on Facebook!

Well, gotta run and enjoy the last minute warm weather in the Tundra,

Love, Sarah

The Big Debut!

Well, not that big, because I don't have any pictures right now! I need internet at home and basically to get my poop in a group! Turns out the library won't let you upload photo's to their computers! :P Go figure!!!

SO..... GABRIEL NEALE COLEMAN!!!!!!!!!!! Weighing in at 8 lbs. 2 oz. 21 inches long of pure adorable sweetness! Seriously, he's the sweetest, cutest, most adorable, most delicious, most perfect baby in the whole entire world - everyone tells me, so I must not be prejudice! :) (At least, they'd better tell me that if they know what's good for them! HA)

We went in to be induced last Tuesday morning at 2am. I was 0 dilated, will try not to go into all the gory details, but anyway, here goes.... I was given the prolactyn(?) gel and the contractions started a little more than I had already been experiencing. The whole while, I'd planned on going naturally, then during that time of NO SLEEP, I was figuring out how to get pain medicine REALLY fast! In fact the nurse came up to me to ask me what my pain plan was and I told her I didn't have one, but I was figuring one out really fast! :) So by 8am, the Dr. came in to break my water, I was about a 1 dilation - holy cow - 9 more to go?!?!? Kill me now! So then by noon, I was about at a 3 and begging for an epidural! We had an amazing labor and delivery nurse - seriously, I couldn't have asked for someone better, she basically camped out in my room! She got an anesthesiologist in there for the epidural with contractions coming about every 5 minutes at like a pain level 0-10? well, I'd say about a 55! The epidural was a rough go. You have to be so still and he couldn't get it. I guess Sam said I get poked about 10 times. He even nearly passed out! Finally it took around 1:15 and I fell asleep immediately - this is after about 2 days of not sleeping! At 1:45, I was awakened to put an internal contraction monitor in and the nurse decided to check and I was immediately at a 10!!! Holy Cow! All it took was a half an hour rest! Go figure, having babies wasn't quite as hard as I thought! ....Or so I thought! So it's time to push - Sam, got your camera??? The time is here!!! I was ready - couldn't feel a thing - amazing!!! So I started pushing at 2. and pushing....and pushing... and pushing.... and pushing... At 3:30, the Dr. came in and said that the baby's head was stuck and turned in the wrong direction and they couldn't even get in there far enough to get him turned around. She suggested a C-section. I was devastated. This was NOT turning out AT ALL how I'd planned. But I'm flexible. I told her I'd like to keep pushing for another half an hour... She agreed and let me go. I went for another 45 minutes and the little guy didn't even budge! So now, it was off to prepare for a C-section... The little guy - Gabe - was born at 5:05pm and he was just beautiful! Sam followed him right away to get cleaned up and got to spend the first good hour with his son, holding him and loving him...It was so special for him!! I was recovering... and having a hard go of it! Turns out, to make a long story short, I'd lost a lot of blood and continued to do so all during recovery. My hemoglobin plummeted down to a 6.7 and is only now starting to climb. It's a long road, I've noticed. Sure that was only a week ago - but seriously!!! It's so hard to "take it easy!" But when I look at little Gabe and see his precious bright eyes looking around and stopping to focus on my face as I feed him, or his dad's voice as he loves on him and talks to him - it's all worth it!

So all that to say - please continue to pray for us! We brought Gabe home on Friday and have been learning all about him since! He's already changing so much, getting bigger, more alert (don't know how that's possible!) and he's just beautiful! I can't wait to introduce him to my mom and dad, his namesake - Neale, in November! I've been feeling extremely tired and like I said, having a hard time taking it easy - I feel like I should be able to do all the things from before! I've been way more emotional than I like. In fact, it's a good thing I'm sharing this via internet, or else you'd have to pick through the sobbing tears to figure out what I'm trying to say - and I'm at the library!!! Sad, isn't it?!

On a side note, which should be more fore front than side note, my husband is seriously perhaps the most amazing man in the world. Now I realize that I've made some pretty big calls all during this post, but it's my blog, I'm allowed to! But seriously, I can't even explain to you how well he takes care of me and little Gabriel and our home and everything! He's still got his art show coming up in a few weeks, which is a BIG deal and he's got a lot of things to do for that, but he's just so amazing! There is no way I could do it without him! So just a plug for most amazing husbands in the world - if you've got one, stop right now and run to him and give him a big kiss and tell him he's the most amazing man in the world! 2nd only to Sam Coleman! I plan on doing this as soon as I see my man!

Well, we've been home for three nights so far and we've had two "off" nights and one "on" night. I'm praying that tonight is an "on" night! We've been spending our days figuring out what we did wrong yesterday and changing our actions so that it doesn't happen tomorrow! I have a feeling I'm going to be spending the rest of my life in this particular state! I have learned that nuks are evil - even if you only use them for 1 hour. I've figured out that just because babies are super cute when they sleep - don't let them do it for as long as they want! I've learned that even though newborns don't have teeth - they can still bite! Ouch!!! I've learned that you want to keep the hospital id bracelet's on for a couple days after coming home, just to make sure that your precious gift wasn't switched at the door for an alien child! I've learned that having a lactation consultant for a good friend is indespensible! Three cheers for St. Aleycia Gerlach! There are a lot more things that I've learned, but it turns out the library is about to close and I need to go now. I was just informed there is an hour time limit per day on the machine and I'm getting an evil look!!! Will check in later!

Feeling overwhelmed in the Tundra,

Love, Sarah

Alright - time is up!

I cannot continue the Giveaway contest, because #1 - we are heading in to the hospital tonight/tom. morning. And the Dr. said tomorrow is the big day! So once we actually see the whites of little Coleman's eyes, I will check the entries and see who picked the correct day and do a drawing with those particular people and I'll be contacting you with the choice of your prize!!! I'm still praying that there is a possibility of those of you who chose today - contractions started last night. I don't know if they are the "real" ones or the Braxton Hicks kind, but either way - I hope that when I go in tonight, things will have progressed far beyond what they expect and we'll have baby out sooner than ever! Keep praying!!! I did have some pictures I was going to post for you today, but Sam took my camera out duck hunting this morning and so I don't have it with me. So stay tuned for lots of posts!!! I still haven't finished the nursery, so I didn't want to post those pictures yet, but hopefully we'll be able to get that done pretty soon. I wanted our chalk board to up to welcome the new guy, but alas, not done. Too busy. But we will get it up, one of these days, I promise! :)

Other than that, my mom started her radiation. Please keep her in your prayers. I think it's going well so far, today is her third day into it!

And on another note! Sam has decided to postpone school until next semester! So we are very excited about that and Sam has a few weeks to focus on his paintings and get those ready to go for his big show. A load was really taken off when he made that decision and so yay!!!

Other than that, I guess we are all as ready as we can get for Baby Coleman to arrive. Will be posting stories, pictures and news asap - make sure to tune in!!!!

Getting ready for a new little man in the Tundra,

Love, Sarah

Thursday Morning!

Good Morning Folks,

Just wanted to stop by and say so far, no baby. Things are progressing, but slowly at this point. Everyone has been giving me pointers on how to make the baby come sooner, but frankly, I think he got wind of life OUTSIDE with the womb with Mom and Dad and he's decided he might like to stay INSIDE for a bit longer! :)

I did want to show you a couple senior pictures - now, just remember, these are straight out of the camera, but they were just too good not to share... I'll be working on editing them here pretty soon, so keep in touch for more!!!

Before.....ahhhh, what a cutie patootie!


and after..........hahahahahahahahahahahaha



I'm sorry, I couldn't resist! He totally fell in by accident! I love it!!!

Hope that brought a smile to your face like it did mine!

Waiting for a baby in the Tundra,

Sarah

Good morning and greetings, Fans!

Ha, I crack myself up! Well, we've had quite a busy last few days! Hopefully I can show you a little of what we've been up to! And on a side note - I'm sorry to those of you who have picked dates for little Jr. to arrive up to this point - he's still comfy and cozy tucked away inside! It's getting closer, I CAN assure you of that fact! :)

Let me think if I can remember what we did over the weekend. Oh, Saturday was just a regular busy, uneventful day, but Sunday, we knew we were going to have a busy day, so... we took our Sunday drive on Saturday and I can't explain to you the situation we were in, so I hope to illustrate it.

Just to start my pictorial example, it all started with this. We were just driving. No one said anything. Then Sam pipes up - "Don't ask me where we're going, because I don't know."

(PS. It's a video, so click the arrow to PLAY)


Ummm..... I told Sam that I didn't really figure he knew where he was going, but secretly, I was just thankful that we weren't in my van! :) By the way, yes, that's Tonto running on ahead - his only trick is staying ahead of Sam but he never wants to get left behind, so every once in a while, he slows down to make sure we're still there - "Better keep going, T!"

Anyway, we got to a little pickle and Sam had to decide if we could even continue, so this is his verdict....



Uhhh, guess that was a - NO!

So here's one more video on getting out of where we never knew we were going in the first place!


So now you have it folks! A little taste of our Sunday drives and maybe you understand a little better why folks are always wondering about the status of our vehicles! But hey, it's fun! And quite the adventure!!!

Sunday..... we had a busy day - we had church in the morning, and then a meeting, and after that, the most amazing wonderful ladies put on a baby shower for me! And then we finished up the evening with a Crossfire Bonfire! (Crossfire is our Jr. High Ministry!) So besides a little 20 minute opportunity to run home and lay down for a couple minutes, we were out and about all day! And just so you know, Sam didn't come to the Baby Shower. He used his time off to head up to Center, ND for Prairie Days. Thought there would be a link for it, but I guess not. Anyway, if you want to hear all about that adventure, well, you'll just have to ask Sam, but he never submits on this blog, so he misses out on telling his story, or version, or defend himself, or whatever. But that's his problem - not mine! :) So back to me! The baby shower was so nice - the Youth decorated downstairs at church - it looked so nice - I've got pictures, don't you worry! We had yummy goodies, one of my Sr. High girls made the cake - amazing! She's the same one who made my birthday cake, if you remember that. Bridget Hineman - remember that name! She'll be the next famous chef/baker on one of these reality shows - or in a famous restaurant - maybe not in a restaurant because she wants to go into Dermatology and I don't know about you, but something tells me that cooking and skin diseases just don't go together. So I don't know how she's going to work all that out, but believe me - she's amazing, she'll figure it out! Ok, I digress! Where was I.... oh yeah, the baby shower - there were 40+ of the most precious ladies in the world all gathered together in one room just to celebrate this new life in me! Talk about overwhelmed!!! Those ladies had me opening presents for an hour straight while they got to visit with each other - I didn't even get to visit with all of them, but I can't tell you how much I appreciated their presence (presents)! Such sweet, sweet people! Let me stop rambling and show you some pictures!


Yep, that's the famous "Bridget!"


This is Kari Knudson sharing a devotional while Sam was still there. She is one of the wonderful gals that put this shin dig on - I can't even begin to tell you what a treasure she is... Be on the look out - this picture is just a tame version of her - you'll see her wild side come out in a few pictures!


Lots of wonderful food!!!!


Just some of the wonderful people there!

Here's the thing - I caught Kari acting very suspicious. She told me she found the camera I'd put away and I warned her that whatever pictures she took WILL be showing up on the Internet. So I consider that a fair warning, don't you? So feast your eyes on the REAL Kari!!! This is what I found on my camera!!!








There you have it folks! I wish I had pictures from the other showers that my precious friends gave me, but alas, that was BEFORE I had a camera, so we all miss out! But Katie, Sadie and Ruth gave me a family/relative and close family friends shower back in May, which was really nice. And then I had another one when I went home in July, with my precious peeps from back in VA - that was a hootin' hollerin' good time! It always is with those ladies!!!

Do you think this post has gone on long enough? Are you sick of my life yet? I haven't even started on what we've done this week so far! HA!

On a more serious note, I don't know if you know that Sam is going back to school for his Master's in Pastoral Counseling. He started his class on Monday and I think he's feeling quite a bit overwhelmed, if you can please pray for him, I'd sure appreciate it. He's got a lot on his plate right now with the start up of Fall Activities with church and his one man Art Show in October, his new class and oh yeah, a baby on the way! Please pray that I have the discernment to know how to help bear his burdens. Thank you.

We've also been busy taking Senior photo's! It's just starting to turn Fall around here, so what few leaves we have are beginning to change and make for really nice photos. We've got two more Sr.'s photos to do this week and then we are off to get them all edited and distributed...

I have my last dr. appt today, so I'll let you know how that goes tomorrow - if I'm still around here tomorrow! I know there are a lot of guesses for tomorrow - so we'll see who is right!

Well, goodbye for now folks! Hope you enjoyed my weekend as much as I did! :)

Until the next time, enjoying the Fall in the Tundra,

Sarah

Seriously...

I was going to do a nice long post of the weekend, but I didn't feel too well yesterday - didn't sleep much and so I didn't have access to the computer. Today, well, I'm swamped and don't have time to download and upload and all that good stuff, so watch out - it's coming - hold on to your hats!!!!

Coming up for a breath in the Tundra,

Sarah

End of another week....

Ok, I know that I promised pictures of the nursery at this point, but I just remembered I have a baby shower on Sunday and maybe I'll be getting some treasures, so why not make you wait a little longer! It's not going anywhere, and besides, I have maternity clothes flung all over the place in there and nothing on the walls yet. So I am going to make you wait a bit! I still have to find a place for some things and I want to give you the grand tour!

On another note, for those of you participating in my Giveaway and are anxious to find out how I'm feeling - still good. I know that I've passed at least one of your dates, so I'm sorry for your loss in the Giveaway, but don't give up on me - there will be more! :)

It's still summer here. As in, summer came last week and it's still here - miracle above miracles!!! I was telling some friends of mine last night that I think I got jipped. I honestly thought we'd get weather like this when I wasn't quite so pregnant. I was counting on some serious fall weather by now! How can I even decorate my house with corn stalks when it's stinkin' 80 degrees outside? There is something VERY wrong with that!!! Oh well, I think next week, it's suppose to cool down a little. I really have nothing to complain about except for the fact that I can't walk out of the house without pouring sweat and that's just plain disgusting!

On the home front - Sam, the main man, has been painting! Oh man, you should see some of his work. Last night, he got home from guys Bible Study about 9pm and started a painting, while we were watching Hannah Montana, the movie (I know - side note later) and he ended up staying up till, well, frankly I don't know - 3am maybe? Anyway, I looked downstairs this morning and he had completed this whole huge painting and it's just BEAUTIFUL!!! I know that I'm a bit biased, but seriously, this is a keeper. There are some of the ones he does that don't really tinkle my bell, but this is a beautiful one out in the badlands with some yellow flowers in the fore ground - amazing and so real to life!!! So how about that - I really think the Lord is blessing his diligence. Please continue to keep him in your prayers as he is feeling the crunch time to get these paintings done for his one man show in October. I know he can do it though! So, yeah, the Hannah Montana movie... well, remember #1 that we deal with youth on a regular basis and it's good to keep up with Youth Culture! And for #2 - Sam loves Hannah Montana - HA! I think that's so funny! He thinks she's the funniest thing. So here we are watching this movie last night and laughing away! It was so lame in a lot of parts that we couldn't even help rolling our eyes and laughing! But let me tell you - Hannah Montana knows how to put some good music in her movies! :) I did keep me awake all the way till midnight and that is more than I can say for about 99% of the movies we rent. That might be pretty sad, but it's a fact!

Well, I guess I'll close for the weekend.... The street fair is this weekend, maybe I'll get out a do a little walking! Should be a good time! I'll be checking in Monday, so have a great weekend!!!!

Waiting for Fall to hit in the Tundra,

Sarah

Follow up from the weekend....

I was actually really busy at work yesterday and didn't even have the time to download my pictures, much less even blog about my treasures. (Not that there is too much to say.) I think we are getting a little too picky for Yard Sales. *Gasp*, did I say that out loud. I don't really think I meant it. It's just that sometimes when your house becomes so full of real junk, it's hard to see the treasure-ness in items you might find on the yard sale route! I think this change of heart is really telling me that I need to do some purging of the junk in my house, so that I can make room for more! I think one problem is that Sam is a little bit of a pack-rat and coupled with the fact that I can tend toward the pack-rat side (after all, my mom's theory on life is "Why buy one, two is better!"!), brings on much stuff! But it's so dang much fun!!!

Maybe you ask where do we even find these yard sales? Well, here's a good spot to start!



Seriously, why advertise in the paper when you have this opportunity?!

Now, here's a look at the good ole' days. The only problem here is that I didn't want these parents to think I was stalking their children, but come on - you are going to let your kids do this? Be ready for some pictures, they were so enthusiastic that we didn't even look at the rummage sale, we only stopped for....



That's right - you guessed it - LEMONADE!!!! .25 cents a cup, baby! I was trying to get a picture of Sam actually at the stand, but especially my bending-over-to-get-the-camera reflexes are a little slow these days!

Now here is a classic example of a drive-by!



But in light of the situation, (this is Sam's mom, moving her stuff from one rummage sale location to another) we stopped to load up her, ummmm..... treasures. Right, treasures.

We found many more drive-by's this year than ever before. Like I said, we are getting a little more selective about our time and treasures. Plus, getting in and out of the car that many times might just have put me into labor! We did find a couple things. A small stroller and two little bean bag chairs - one is a lady bug and the other is a bumble bee!!! Craziness, since that's exactly what our nursery is decorated like! Speaking of, I will promise to take some pictures today of the nursery because at this point, you never know when I may have to take a leave of absence from my blog and leave you high and dry! :) It's ok, we'll go through the detoxing together! :)

Should I, or should I not??? I'm pretty excited about a couple of senior photo's that I've been tinkering around with for Erik! I think I will post one of my favorite's so far to give you a taste of what's to come - let me know what you think Erik?!!!



Well, that should more than make up for some of my posts with no pictures! Don't forget to vote on my Giveaway post... You have a great chance of winning since I don't have many entries right now. And seriously, people, I don't want Sam to get a complex thinking that no one wants his art - he's very excited about this giveaway!

Alrighty then, trying to figure out how to get ready for a baby in the Tundra,

Love, Sarah

Giveaway!

For all of you out there holding your breath with me for winning a Pioneer Woman's giveaway - exhale, didn't happen again!!!! But... I think I'll do my own give away!

So for those of you that voted on my baby's due date, write me a comment for the date that you guessed and for those of you that pick the right date, I'll do a drawing and get you a Sam Coleman print! How's that for celebrating a new life!!!!

Plus, I think that Sam will be more than happy to oblige! Anyone can join - the contest will start right now and go till Sept. 28th. You can only enter once!

Just comment on this post for the contest!

Waiting to find out if I won some amazing boots....

Ever the optimist. Trying to win something on Pioneer Woman! One day, I will succeed and I'm afraid it might just be one of the biggest highlights in my life!!! Is that sad? Wait. Don't answer that. Guess what? It's POW WOW weekend - do you realize what this means? Only the biggest yard sale weekend of the YEAR!!!! Nevermind that we haven't gone to a yard sale the rest of the summer. We decided we have too much junk in our house as it is and we don't need anymore. I did a little the beginning of the summer looking for some baby treasures and that's what I plan on doing this weekend! I'm not exactly sure what I need, but don't you worry, when I find it, I'LL KNOW! My one brother in law, Judah, thinks it's all junk, but my other brother in law - the kindred spirit, Charlie, he sees it all for what it really is - a treasure!!!! Sorry Judah, but I'm sure you'll come around one of these days! :)

Well, we are on countdown for a lot of things. #1 - Rally Sunday, that's this Sunday and that means Sunday School starts back up again. So after being gone from church for too many Sundays to count, we'll be back, full fledged! #2 - Rally Wednesday is this coming Wednesday night (16th) which is the start of Confirmation! We are switching things up quite a bit and so Sam's got a lot on his plate right now. But it'll be nice when that is over. The first one - you just never know how it's gonna go, but we have a lot of people that have put a lot of time into this service and I'm pretty sure it's going to knock everyone's socks off. The only dilemma I have is that my Women's Bible Study is at the exact same time. So I just don't know - I'm so torn. I need the fellowship, but I might have to skip the first one just to gain the momentum of the back to school spirit!!! We'll see. I'll keep you posted. #3 - Thursday night (17th) starts Sam's league Men's Volleyball. Yes, he signed up for a weekly league to play V-ball with the boys and have a Bible study afterwards. Good for them. That goes till December or something. #4 - Friday night (18th) is our back to school kick off for Jr. High Crossfire. #5 - Sam is starting back to school with Liberty Theological Seminary. I don't know when his class starts exactly. #6 - It's time for the annual Papa's Pumpkin Patch family fun day! Which crazy enough, Sam is in charge of! But he says that he's pretty much handed those responsibilities over to someone else, but we'll see. #7 - Sam's got a big commission art piece that he has finally started on and I pray he feels like he's got a good start, because I think it looks great! Don't know exactly when that's due. #8 - Sam's also got a one man art show the last week of October! Hmmm.... I should be working on some invites for that. At least getting some labels ready for that. Thanks for the reminder. He just has to get 30 originals ready to put up... No big deal, right? #9 - We have 2 senior and 1 family photo session to edit and 2 more seniors to take during the Fall. #10 - Oh, I almost forgot - we have to squeeze the birth of our first born son in there somewhere between #6 and #7. So you can see, we've got a lot going on. Any prayers you've got to spare, we'd sure appreciate it!!! And winning the oh so cool cowgirl boots on Pioneer Woman sure would help! But I'm not going to hold my breath! (Pretty much winning anything on Pioneer Woman would help!)

I know I need to add a few more pictures, I will. I actually got the nursery straighten up yesterday. It looks pretty close to being ready to welcome a new person! I've got laundry washed, books ready to read, diapers ready to put on, and who knows what else? I don't really have a clue what I need for a new little baby, but we'll figure it all right? I've decided that you can really get inundated by all the "things" to do to prepare for a little person. You've got people telling you that "life is never going to be the same" "you'd better sleep now - you'll never sleep again" "you've got to change everything that you ever knew" "you'll never have fun again" "this little tiny person is going to take over your life" "your whole entire world will be turned upside down" "Sam will finally have to grow up" "you'll never have peace and quiet for the rest of your life" "you won't even know what hit you" "you better do whatever you want to now, ie, travel, etc. because you won't be able to do it again for the next 18+ years" "you'd better get out of your system everything you ever wanted or hoped to do it because now you have to do whatever your kid wants to do" - but.... "it'll all be worth it." Yeah right. No wonder parents are super heroes. It's been about 9+ months to get all of this hysteria out of my system and actually look forward to meeting this little guy. I have to remember all the advice is coming from other people with other lives and they aren't me. Sure, I'm sure some of it is legitimate, but I think we'll figure out how to adjust to our new little addition. There might be bumps along the way, but I have an amazing husband, who is surprisingly a lot more grown up than a lot of people give him credit for. And most of all, we have a God that loves us more than anything and has already filled our life with lots of loving people that have already offered to come along and help us. He's given us this little blessing for a short while to raise in the nurture and admonition in the Lord, and we will do our darndest to make sure that happens, even though I know we'll screw up - we always do! But God is bigger than us! So that's about where I stand these last few weeks as we look forward to meeting our new little guy! (PS. I know you think I'm kidding about all that advice, but it's true, I heard every bit of it and more at least once in the last nine months!)

On another note - please continue to pray for my mom. Her radiation starts on 09-22-09. And she'll have it for 5 days a week for at least 6 weeks. So if you work out the math there, it means, we're hoping she'll finish up before Thanksgiving and that also means, no time to come out when the baby is born. We will be heading back to VA for T-giving as we have a lot of family coming from all over to meet our little fella and fellowship. So there is no sense in Mom and Dad coming out. That also means our projects get put on hold for another year probably. It's quite disappointing, but I want mom to get better and healed up! So please pray for her during this time as well. Thank you!!!!

Sorry for all the writing and not so many pictures... Pictures will definitely be coming! Thanks for your patience!

Fall is on it's way in the Tundra,

Sarah

Updates on.....Life......

Well, here's how the story goes. I don't know when was the last time I updated you on life. But I just had another ultra sound yesterday and the tech just gave me a picture, not a cd, so I was trying to scan it in so that you could see my 37 week old baby! But the scan did not turn out too good, so you are going to have to trust me on this one - he is the cutest baby that you've ever seen in the whole entire world! He's up to 6lbs. 12oz. give or take half a lb. or so. That means in the next three weeks, he may gain up to a half a lb. each week coming into the world at a whopping 8 and a half lbs. Of course, that's all speculation. Nothing in this world is for sure! Well, maybe a couple things, but I'm not really going to wax philosophical on you right now. That just wouldn't be right on this absolutely perfect ND day! What can I say - it might take a while for summer to get to the Tundra, but when it does - watch out!!! My computer registers 78 degrees right now and I'm wilting away inside.

I started MOPS this morning. I know a few of you may think I'm being a little too premature, but a girl has got to prepare herself, you know? Anyway, speaking of all this baby-ness - I'm assuming I can make this big announcement since she did on Facebook - and we all know that when the announcement goes on Facebook - it's official!!! Sam's sister Katie is expecting a little guy/gal!!! That's right - the beginning of April will be welcoming another little peanut into the Coleman Clan. How exciting is that???? She's 10 weeks now and ready for the morning sickness to subside, but otherwise perfectly excited and happy about the new little life growing in her! So congrats to Katie and Mike Montplaisir in the upcoming birth of #1!!!

Well, I just got a call from the Love of my life - by the way, he's got a lot on his plate right now - if you could say a little prayer for him, I'd really appreciate it! Anyway, he's on his way to pick me up - so I'll check in again later!!! Have a great day - hope yours is as beautiful as mine!

Soaking up the Sun in the Tundra,

Sarah

Well....

for those of you who voted on my baby's due date past Sept - I don't think you are going to be right... The dr. just told me yesterday she wasn't going to let me go much past my due date! So if you can be praying - I need little Baby Coleman to come sometime between 9/17 and 9/29! Thanks! It might sound crazy, but I don't really want to be induced and I want the little guy to be as healthy as possible!!! There is the latest on my account! :) Getting ready - we picked up the crib last night. So today I'll be working on laundry and trying to get the rest of the nursery set up! Pictures yet to come!

Getting ready in the Tundra,

Sarah

Are you a smeller?

If you have to ask me, what the heck is a smeller? - you OBVIOUSLY aren't a smeller! I LOVE smells - good smells that is. I go crazy with fresh laundry. And right now, on my desk, sitting beside me is the most delicious smelling peach I think I've ever smelled in my whole entire life! I'm thinking I need to wait till snack time for it. When is snack time anyway? Ok, I can't stand it - the smell is getting to me - snack time is NOW! One bite and....oh, so disappointed...... You know how they say, don't judge a book by it's cover? Well, certainly don't judge a peach by it's smell.... Another bite - it gets a little better, but frankly, I've lost all the excitement with that first impressionable bite. My life is not as happy as it was before. Some of you may be thinking right now - what the heck is this girl writing about and why the heck am I reading it? Well, that's a question that only you can answer. And frankly, I think it might be a bit of a personal problem! :) Now, getting back to my peach, if I were more of a blogger and less of a smeller, I might have even documented the whole process with pictures. But seriously, the smell was just getting to me! So there you have it! I have a pretty intense sniffer. Most of my memories are linked to smells. Is that weird? Never mind, don't answer that. Every time I smell diesel - it reminds me of being 11 years old and standing in the Garden Tomb right outside of Jerusalem, Israel. Did you know that they've created a bus station right under Golgatha? Seriously. It was a pretty intense moment in my life and so as I stood there taking it all in, the diesel really marked that memory on my brain - funny how things like that work... Whenever I smell celery - I ALWAYS think of Thanksgiving. It could be the middle of summertime and as soon as I smell celery, it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling like the cozy, comforting Fall is right around the corner. I remember waking up to the smell of Turkey in the oven every Thanksgiving. My mom had already chopped celery and onion to fill the inside of it with all of her other seasonings... Ummmm..... I'm definitely not ready for the Fall, but the thought of Thanksgiving...

Well, to get us back on track for the summer, let me show you a couple of pictures with just did with one of our amazing pastor's families... This is raw footage, mind you - Sam's got the good pictures on his camera, but they are so stinking cute, I couldn't resist posting a couple just to give you a sneak preview to what is to come. Eventually, meaning sooner than later, we are going to get a S2 (S-Squared) Photography website up and running to see all of our photos, but for now - with the lack of equipment that we need right now.... we'll just have to settle for this!









Just a reminder - these are not the final product - Sam's got the good photo's, this is just a taste, but they are such a cute family!!! I just had to share! Well, I guess my aimless ramblings have filled up enough of your time. So I'll let you go - I need to make a to-do list for the day! So have a terrific day! It's gone from 56 degrees to 70 degrees - so I hope you are enjoying your day as much as I plan on enjoying mine! :)

Life is good in the Tundra,

Sarah

Just to let you know...

I'm still here. Trying to think of something great to say. Just not coming. Oh well.

Stumped in the Tundra,

Sarah

PS. We are going to be doing some family pictures this afternoon - pray that the sun comes out a bit more!!! Stand by for some new pictures of peeps!

Post 100?

Whoever knew that I would have enough to say to fill up 100 posts on a blog. Some of you may beg to differ that really, I never did have enough to say to fill up that many posts, but I did it anyway. And really, you can't stop me! Even if everyone decided to stop reading my blog, I'd probably write anyway. It's fun. So there. Besides, how else would all my college students go away to school and feel so homesick that they just need a little bit of home and so they tune in to the good ole' blog that stays with them through thick and thin and realize that they aren't alone? They don't have to feel crazy for being homesick - there are craziers out there - and they go by the names of Sam and Sarah Coleman!!! I'm here to make other people's life more bearable - that's what I've decided. A long time ago, I told Sam I was here to teach him patience, but it turns out that didn't really work. And I'm not going to be patient enough to teach him patience. So I've decided to move on with my purpose in life. Now I'm going to make other people's life more bearable!

Now, what was I saying? Ha. I guess nothing really. HA - and you wonder how I can fill up 100 posts! Hey, you don't have to read them, you know.... Well, we are on countdown for the big meeting of Baby Coleman - 5 weeks left, I hope no more than that. Ahhhhh - 5 weeks????? Ahhhhhh!!!!! I don't think I'm ready for this!!!!!!!!! I guess it's too late to turn back now! What was I thinking???? Breathe, ok breathe, ok, I'm sure I'll be fine..... Sorry about that.

Well, I'm busy uploading videos on facebook of our tubing adventures! Unfortunately, I missed the best parts because of hitting a bump in the water and nearly flying out of the boat - the tubers - mainly Sam - flew straight up in the air - we are talking VERTICAL while still holding on and then came soundly down on Tiffany - the 4'6" tiniest girl! I think there was a permanent indention of her body on the tube. I felt really bad for her - she'll probably never bounce back. Anyway, all the boys have been complaining about how sore their muscles are since their tubing/wake boarding adventures - let's see if I can upload some for you!!!

This is Sam's first time wake boarding - pretty impressive, if I do say so myself!



Now let's see if I can get a video on here...



Well, that took quite a while, let me see if I can post this for your viewing pleasure!

Livin' it up in the Tundra,

Sarah

I'm trying...

Sometimes, it's so frustrating not to have the time to do the things you WANT to do, do you know what I mean? And then when frustrating things like your computer is super slow.... Oh well... I need to get some photos uploaded!

Anyway, this is what I was busy doing last night while Sam was out hunting clay pigeons. And from what I heard, he only found half of them! But good for him, he had a great time and is getting in practice for hunting season, although I think Tonto needs more practice than Sam!!! I don't know much about hunting for clay pigeons, but something tells me, it'd be pretty hard to sniff them out and nearly impossible for T to retrieve them anyway, so I guess it's all good! :) So here's the nursery. It's coming along. I would have taken more pictures, but this is the only section I've gotten done so far.



I think the red is super cute and I'm so glad that Sam encouraged us to go with the brighter colors.

I have a bunch more pictures and video footage from the weekend at the Hinemans, let me see if I have a couple minutes to get them on here. Actually, since my computer has been acting up, I don't. So you'll have to tune in tomorrow and hopefully things will be cooperating better!

Tune in later!

Summer has finally arrived in the Tundra! (or maybe it's Indian Summer - a little early, don't you think?)

Love, Sarah

Updates....

Well, just so you know, there was no one at my house painting our steps in the rain. Sam ran the "Homeless" fella's situation by everyone at church and they told him he'd be crazy to bring him home and give him a job and that not a one of them were coming to the morgue to identify his body and I guess that made Sam second guess his decision. So there you have it - me waxing philosophical on my husband's sensitive heart and the church shooting him down. Oh well. I still take you back to the heart motivation....

I was running late this morning and wanted to get pictures of the rocking chair I covered and the valence that I made yesterday. Our nursery is coming along nicely. We finally picked up a dresser. Just need to get the crib now and things will start to be underway!!! It's definitely coming together and it's already so bright and cheery. I suppose soon, I'll have to start washing clothes and get ready for the little guys big debut! When I think about the whole new adventure getting ready to come and all that goes along with it, it's very intimidating, but when I focus on the little guy and just getting to meet him and know that he is half of me and half of the love of my life - our very own, lent to us for a short while by a great God who trusts us enough to send him, well, I just get so stinking excited!

My mom just called and she has a meeting with the Radiation Dr. in a couple of weeks to start her radiation...Please pray that all that works out. I feel very confident in her decision and the Lord has brought confirmation after confirmation to her regarding her own decision and so I'm very thankful for that! So most likely her radiation treatments are going to overlap Baby Coleman being born - well, maybe, we'll see.... So please continue to pray for this situation! Thanks a tons!!!!

Well, I'm off to the Lake this weekend. Looks like things are going to warm up in the Tundra - we're looking at 80's on Saturday and 90's on Sunday. We'll be back in time for church on Sunday, because our church is getting together with a bunch of other churches, where it's called "The Gathering." All of our churches get together at an outside amphitheater and worship together. It's quite cool! Well, that's about all going on in the Tundra this weekend!

Looking forward to sharing some new pictures on Monday!

Have a great weekend!

Livin' it up in the Tundra!

Sarah

Entertaining Angels?

Last night was our last Garden Tour of the Summer. The summer is winding down here, that's for sure. I guess it was 100 degrees for a couple days while we were away, but it's been chilly since we've been home. I guess yesterday it did get up to 80, but mostly staying in the 70's. Everyone says it's going to be another early, cold winter. I don't know if I'm really ready for that! In fact, I know I'm not ready for that - I'll tell you what I AM ready for - all this Global Warming that everyone and their mother keeps talking about! Bring it on baby!!!

Well, anyway, it was a perfect evening for touring people's yards. I have no idea how they make their yards just so perfect. I have an idea that they don't plant things 2 inches away from each other so that at the end of the first season, the plant bed looks like it's been there for 30 years. That's just ONE idea. Sam says he's probably going to have to dig up every plant and space them a little better - I don't guess now would be the most appropriate time to say - "I told you so." So I'll just let it rest at that.

On a whole other note - did you know that my husband has a soft spot for hitch hikers? It's true, he picked up countless numbers of them during his college years and hauled them between Bismarck and Minneapolis. He's had some interesting adventures in talking to a lot of them. Most of them were aching to get out of the car once it slowed down to a mere 30 mph. It was also usually by the time Sam got to the salvation message. I'm not sure if it had to do with the way the conversation was going or if it was just his driving. The jury is still out on that one! :) So last night, on our way to a Garden, we saw a fella holding up a street corner with the following sign - "More then Willing To Work - Renovation by trade but will even clean toilets" He was a clean cut individual, looking to be in his 50's? 60's? Sometimes you can never tell. What's their story anyway? What brings them to standing on the corner of the biggest road in Bismarck with a sign like that? Bad choices? Bad luck? Unfortunate circumstances? You just never know. It's a wonder he didn't think we were stalking him. We drove past about 15 times and then went and parked in a parking lot across from him. Sam's heart went out to this fella. He wanted to talk to him. I'm a lot more selfish. I was sitting there figuring, how in the heck are we going to pay this fella to do jobs around our house that we could do ourselves? Where are we going to let him sleep? I don't especially want to bring a stranger home tonight. I'm tired. Why do I have to deal with this? Meanwhile, my soft hearted husband is sitting beside me thinking - we just got paid some unexpected money from some art that sold. We have those steps that need to be painted. He could sleep downstairs. I wonder what his story is. Why does he have a cane? Who can I connect him with to get him a job? I just want to talk to him. How do I get over there to talk to him? So you can see a little glimpse into the life of a Saint and Sinner. The whole time, scriptures are running through my head - taking care of the least of these my brethren... entertaining angels unaware... don't worry about tomorrow... look how I take care of the lilies of the field. I could go on. But you already have enough of a glimpse of my utter selfishness. So then Sam said outloud - How are you suppose to talk to him, just pull over on the ramp of the interstate - I just want to talk to him. And from somewhere else inside of me came - You could pull into that parking lot and walk over and talk to him.... Hello - where did that come from? So Sam immediately goes and parks and as soon as he did, this fella picks up all his stuff and starts walking toward us. I start praying - God, protect us. May your will be done and not mine. Sam jumped out and talked to him. He was sleeping right there in some bushes by an old abandoned building. He was clean cut. He was from Butte, MT. He was desperately looking for work. While Sam was talking to him, a little Native American girl came running over to give him some money. He graciously and embarrassingly took it. I'm more convicted. But I'm getting more excited about helping this fella and I'm especially thankful for such a wonderful, sensitive husband. He had a cell phone. They exchanged numbers. Sam told him we had a little work, but not much - he said, he didn't care. He'd do anything - except work for crazy people, he'd done that. He said he'd be ready first thing in the morning - give him a call. This morning I woke up and reminded Sam to not forget about his friend, LR. I don't know what happened today. It rained. He can't paint outside in the rain. Sam had staff meeting this morning. I don't know what's happened with LR or if he's even still around. Heck, he could be at my house painting treacherous steps down to the road. But let me tell you - I had a lesson in trusting the Lord last night. It was a hard one. Maybe we ended up helping LR, maybe not - but God certainly used him last night to teach me to trust Him and not when it's convenient and fun. But there are people who have needs for whatever reason all the time. To be on the look out for them - just like Sam is. Every morning, Sam and I pray for opportunities to serve others - here was a perfect example - and I think the lesson comes like this - whether you actually serve or help someone is besides the point, the point is to just be WILLING to. Be sensitive to the Lord's leading. Whew. Wow, that was hard. Thanks for letting me share my lesson with you. I hope you have a fantastic day finding lots of ways to see the Lord working around you!

Also, I wanted to update you on the status of my mom. She goes into to visit with her Oncologist tomorrow. I think she's decided to just do the radiation and hormone therapy, not the chemo. So I would like to continue asking for prayers for her healing and that she would be confident in her decision. That she would not be anxious through radiation (5 days/week for 5-6 weeks) that she's not going to make it to Bismarck in time for Baby Coleman to arrive. (Please don't pray that he's late either. Thanks!) Pray that the Lord's promised healing hand would be on her and give her the peace that passes all human understanding - just as He promises! Isn't it wonderful that we serve such an amazing God???

Humbled in the Tundra,

Sarah

****Warning****

I just finished posting about my previous 10 days, so scroll down for previous post before reading this one - unless of course, you are one of THOSE people, who like to read the last chapter of the book before you even start the book - but don't EVEN get me started on THOSE KINDS OF PEOPLE! Just do me a favor, ok? Scroll down and read the other post first... Geesh, why do you have to be so difficult? - some people's children.....

So HI! I'm back! It's been a full 10 minutes since I last posted, but I have a lot more pictures from Colorado. We were home for a little over 24 hours, just enough time to do a little laundry and re-figure some packing, remove our forks, go to the Dr. for a check up, rent a few audio books for the long drive, go through Sam's goods from Guatemala, tell our dog hi, and have a little bit of sleep before we got up at 4:30am on Saturday morning to begin our 17-20 hour drive to CO! We did make it the first day to Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes, CO - with 7 people in the Suburban and Sadie and Nathan in their van. When we got to Cheyenne, WY, we got to spread out a bit... Anyway, here's a couple pictures from our evening hike up to a waterfall that night.

What a hunka hunka burning love, aye?





The next day, we headed out again, all through the park, it was really pretty, except it was called "Alpine Tundra" instead of my fond name for ND - the "Arctic Tundra." But you'll have to understand the definitions of the two so that you understand that I'm not exaggerating when I call this place the Arctic Tundra! The "Alpine Tundra" has to do with elevation, while the "Arctic Tundra" has to do with the temperature... ND does not have elevation, so I've been right on all this time - and for you all you crazies out there that think I'm being SO DRAMATIC - whatever. If you drive to the highest paved road in the United States - in Rocky Mountain National Park and stop at the visitor center at the top - like 12,000 ungodly feet, you can read the sign for yourself! So there!!!! Enough of that.

It was really COLD here too though...



We picked up Katie and Mike in Buena Vista, CO. It's great to see them again! And then we headed off to Family Camp. Seriously, after 3,000 (maybe slight exaggeration) hours in the car, I thought I was going to loose it in the windy, twisty road down to the Camp. We ended up just outside of Lake City, CO - ever heard of it? Yeah, me neither. But it's beautiful. I mean REALLY BEAUTIFUL! And guess what, there were houses for sale EVERYWHERE - so guess who decided that's the new place we are moving too - yep, you guessed it - Sambo says we're moving. But then again - he always says that, so don't get your panties in a wad, ok, Most likely, we're not going anywhere! You can take the guy out of the Tundra, but you can never take the Tundra out of the guy!

Well, here is a plug for Camp Red Cloud. What an amazing experience! We were there for a Creation Mountain Adventure with Alpha and Omega Institute. And it was a great week! 0 as in ZERO cell phone reception, no tv's...basically no contact with the outside world... Here are some fun things we did....

Self portrait - pretty talented, ain't I? these were "family communication building" games... Needless to say, the staff at Red Cloud were NOT sure what to do with the Coleman Clan.



A hike to a waterfall....



High Ropes Course....







Biking for the girls minus me (you should have seen how tiny those seats were - shiver....) and fishing for the boys plus me (you should have seen how tiny those seats were - shiver....oh sorry, did I already say that?!)



I guess this is the only picture I have from fishing - here's the thing - I got a one on one tutorial on fishing with my main man finding me a grasshopper and getting me all rigged up - he even casted for me and showed me how to do it and everything. I sat there and sat there. Then he left and I reeled in and casted myself and within seconds, maybe even milliseconds, I caught my own fish. THAT picture must be on his camera - so trust me on this one - Sambo was NOT the only one in the family catching fish. There, I've said my piece!



On Wednesday, we had an all day event - Rock climbing....



Let's see, what else.... Repelling! I didn't repel - OBVIOUSLY... But here's a great shot after the Outlaws came down!



Some people went on an early morning horse back ride to Breakfast - again, NOT ME! :) So don't you worry your pretty little heads out there in blogger land! I'm taking care of myself, I promise!



And finally, for the pies de resistance - the POWER POLE!



This picture is a little dark and hard to see, but what the heck is a Power Pole, you might ask? I'm glad you did. It's where crazy people climb up a 23 foot telephone pole and stand on the very tippy top of it and then if that's not bad enough, they jump off of it to a trapeze thing and then they let you down with a rope. Yeah. Sounds insane to me - and you didn't even see it happen. Let's just say, I'm pretty glad that I had an excuse not to go on a lot of these things because frankly, I'm sure I would have ended up shortening my life. Can you believe people do this kind of stuff for fun?! :)

Anyway, after all this, we headed back to the Tundra on Friday and stopped in Colorado Springs on Friday night, finished our trip on Saturday and got back at 3am on Sunday morning and do you what to know what my normally extremely active husband had to say about all this?



'Nough said!

We're happy to be home in the Tundra,

Love, Sarah