Mini Cooper

This picture reminds me so much of Cooper when he was a baby! Haydon is sucking his two middle fingers and holding a “baba” (aka blankie). That is exactly what Cooper did and still does to comfort himself.

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They have a WordPress app

I am so excited I just got an iPhone and they came out with a word press app. that means you’re going to be seeing a lot more of me on this blog with a lot of spelling errors because I plan on using Siri from my iPhone to type most of my blog posts. so please bear with me if you’re reading something that doesn’t make sense. My goal is not really to spell everything correctly, rather just to document my life with my family.

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Meet Haydon

Haydon Hamilton Foley
Born 2/18/12
8lbs 13oz
Born 5 days late but right on time 🙂

More pictures to come soon. This pictures if of Haydon the day after he was born.


November & December 2011 Update

I know I have been terrible about blogging. I almost feel guilty because not only do you guys get updates, but I don’t documents some of the best moments created in this family. It is now January 2012 and I will do my best to catch all of you up on the end of 2011.

November-
Was a fun month. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Houston at my in-law’s house. My little niece, Harper, was such a cutie pie that trip. My girls has fun playing with Harper, but Cooper enjoyed her the most. Cooper and Harper seem to have a special relationship with one another. Cooper has patience with Harper that he does not have with his own sisters. Cooper is also quick to share with Harper and wants to “help” her. Watching the two of them interact was fun. We managed to get our Christmas lights up at the end of November this year too 🙂

December-
That was a busy month for us. With all the hussel of Christmas and then my family flew in to Houston for about 2 weeks back to back at Christmas, which was a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed having Grandma and Grand-dad here. Cooper was calling my dad, “Grand-dad Man”, which was so fun to hear him say. My poor dad did not get a break with Cooper always begging him to come and play with him. I think that the two of them had a ton of fun together. This trip really sparked a great bond and memory of my father with Cooper. Molly and Anna just feel in love with my step-mom, Grandma, especially Anna. It was cute to see the girls playing dolls with Grandma and how much they loved her almost immediately. At Christmas Eve service, Anna was with Grandma for most of the service and was as happy as can be. The kids got way too many toys for Christmas, but it was a lot of fun to see their excitement as they opened all their gifts. Having younger children on Christmas day has really changed the experience of Christmas for me. I enjoyed every moment of it! My sister and her husband, Mike, were a big hit with the kids. I can still envision the the kids sitting on our pull-out sleep sofa with Mike putting on their bracelets and necklaces. Mike was such a good sport about that. Lizzy and Mike gave the Cooper remote controlled cars, which he loves, and they have been zooming up and down my hallway every since. I miss my sister like crazy and I wish she and Mike could have stayed longer! But have no fear, Cooper has name one of his stuffed dogs Lizzy, LOL….so she can live in spirit at my house 😉

The Twins-
Molly and Anna have really changed so much. They got their first hair cuts in December. Just a trip in the back so they did not have rat-tails anymore. Molly freaked out and cried until we took the smock off that was around her neck. Otherwise, the girls did great with their first hair cuts. The girls’s language is still developing. At this point, Anna knows most of her colors and a few shapes (star, circle, oval, and diamond). Molly knows just a few colors (yellow, blue, and purple) and a few shapes (star, diamond). Anna has started to put together two words such as “more TV” or “open please”. Molly is putting two words together, but not quiet as often. Hopefully, Molly’s language will catch up soon. Anna loves puzzles and putting magnets on a magnet board. Anna has incredible focus and can sustain a task, such as sitting and playing with magnets for over 30 minutes. Molly loves her babies dolls. She loves to rock, hold, feed, and push them in their strollers. Anna loves babies too, but Molly has a very special fondness for her dolls.

Cooper-
He is still my same old Cooper who is obsessed with his McQueen Cars. It amazes me how much interest he has in the movie cars and anything related to cars. Cooper continues to make strides in his learning. He knows 16 site words which he learned from the DVD Preschool Prep Meet The Site Words Vol 1. He is learning to read some very basic words such as cat, hat, man, fan. I have created some basic sentences for him to read using the phonics he knows and the site words and he can read them pretty well, and he is only 3. I know he did not get his smarts from me- LOL. Cooper has enjoyed going to preschool 2 days a week and socializing with the other children. Chris went to his recent school conference and the teachers said he was doing great 🙂 3 years old has presented some new parenting challenges, such as having to deal with the struggle of his personal will, but I think we are making improvements on that front. I am not sure 2 was so so terrible, 3 seems to be more of a challenge for me. I think because Cooper is so verbal now, we have more verbal arguments than we did at 2. But Cooper is a really good boy, who is really learning to obey Mommy and Daddy well. He is also a big help to me now and brings me things that I ask him to bring to me. He is also good at cleaning up his toys when asked (for the most part). I cannot believe how big he is. I think he weighs close to 38lbs and wears 4t clothing. Not my little baby anymore.

Baby #4- I feel bad that I have not blogged about this baby at all, except to announce that I was pregnant. My pregnancy has been very uneventful, which is a good thing. This baby is very active and likes to have late night parties in my belly while I am trying to go to sleep.  I hope that is not a sign of what is come, LOL. I am due Feb 13….so not much longer. We still don’t know the gender of the baby and will find out on his or her birthday. The kids seem to be excited to meet the baby, especially Cooper who likes to hug and kiss my belly all the time. He has told me he wants to share a room with the baby and teach the baby how to walk and crawl. The girls seem to sort of understand that I have a baby in my tummy. Molly the other night took some lego blocks that looked like a bottle and started to feed my tummy- LOL. I hope that adding a 4th child to our family will be easy and that all the kids will instantly fall in love with their new sibling.

I will post some pictures in a separate post later on. It is time to start my day. I have been up since 4am with pregnancy insomnia and the sun is finally starting to come up and I think I should go shower and a start to my day. Thanks for reading and catching up with the Foley Clan!


October Pictures

Cooper as Tow-Mater

Our Twin Fairies on Halloween Night

Girls watching TV together

Molly

Anna

 

Cooper


A Woman After God’s Heart

Colleen is a dear friend of ours that we made when Chris and I lived in Maryland. She lives and does ministry with the youth of inner city Baltimore, Maryland. Here is a recent ministry news letter that she sent out. I read this and tears where welding up in my eyes. Colleen truly does desire to seek God’s heart and walk in His ways. I hope you find encouragement to seek God’s face and know his heart after you read Colleen’s ministry update!

Dear Friend and Ministry Partner,

I know it has been a while since I have sent out an update, it’s taken me a few months to get settled into my new ministry role and recovering from a long but productive summer! Before I begin to tell you about all the wonderful things God is doing in my heart, life and ministry let me just take a moment to thank you for being a partner, whether through prayer, finances or both, it is because of supporters such as your self that I am able to continue to love people full-time. I am so grateful that God is allowing us to partner to change His kingdom.

This summer God truly blessed Captivate East Baltimore, we hosted 8 Summer ministry teams, we hosted teams from as far away as Indiana and as close as Pennsylvania, they did everything from completely makeover the fellowship hall to host an Art Auction that raised nearly $600, $200 which went to the Helping up Mission (a local homeless shelter and recovery program to empower men) and about $275 that went to do something special for the kids at the end of the summer, and many many things in between, they loved us and our neighbors, just as Christ loves us!

Each week this summer we hosted a FREE summer camp for anywhere from 25-60 kids, it varied depending on the week, each week had a theme and each theme tied directly back to Jesus. This summer 25 kids accepted Christ, we are working hard to follow-up with each child and make sure they are connected to City Kids and the local church (Captivate), our hope is that through these kids we can reach their parents and families and build up a neighborhood of Christ followers. God was so good to us this summer!

God continues to be good to us, on Wednesday Nights we’ve kicked off a program called Kids Club, it meets from 6:45-8 p.m., the kids who join us are divided into small groups, where they can learn about Jesus in a non-threatening environment. God has blessed us with a small worship team, a group of wonderful small group leaders, and a gifted group of college students who come up with a craft each week to tie everything together. We vary from week to week on the number of kids there, however it’s going to grow in God’s time.

As I began to find my place in the neighborhood I’ve been welcomed with open arms by the majority of my neighbors, and I have began to form great relationships with them. My home is a constant revolving door of kids and neighbors and to be honest I wouldn’t have it any other way, any given evening kids can be found eating a meal with me, reading, doing homework or playing games. I love that I get to share my home and heart with the people within my community. I love that when I leave the house I have to give myself an extra 5-10 minutes because I am going to have to explain exactly where I am going, who I am going with and when I will be back, I am thankful (most of the time) that as I have dinner there are eyes peering in my kitchen window, I am thankful that the kids don’t hold back, they tell me exactly what’s on their mind.

This week I will host my first small group in my home, a group of young women 17-22 we will meet on Thursday evenings, we will be studying Every Young Woman’s Battle, about keeping a pure heart and lifestyle in this world. The girls who are planning to come are amazing girls, who I have really connected with, my hope and desire is that they will begin to invite their friends, and the group of girls will grow. I continually thank God for providing such a place as this for me.

We have a few exciting weeks coming up as on October 30th at 5 p.m., the kids are taking over the evening service in East Baltimore, we’re going to be presenting the Pumpkin Gospel and sharing an evening of Kids Club with our “older friends” I am SO excited about this. We’ll also be hosting a fall fun night for the kids (October 26th) and a trip to the pumpkin patch (October 22nd). These are opportunities for us to love the kids, and share Jesus with them. I am so excited about the ways that God is allowing me to share the love of Christ with my neighbors.

Would you join me in prayer for a few things?

I am pursuing a dream of empowering young women through my story, I want to speak publicly about my story and how God has made me new. So this month I am speaking at a small girls retreat, I am SO excited about this but SO nervous, would you pray that God would allow me to say the right words, He would use my story to change someone’s life?

Would you pray that a relationship can happen with a few neighbors who I have been praying for? That if they don’t know Jesus they would come to know Him and if they do that they would step out of their comfort zone and join us in ministry on their block. That they would accept the invitation I have extended to them to come and get to know the children of our community. The past week my heart has been burdened for them and I find myself in constant prayer for heart change, would you join me?

Finally, would you pray that as I continue to follow the footsteps that God has ordered for me, that I would not step outside of them, that I would walk humbly and love just as Christ loves us?

If you’re local I would love to get together and share stories, show you where ministry happens and fellowship with you. Again I am SO THANKFUL for your love and support.

Blessings and prayers,
Colleen


http://facebook.com/colleensamantha
www.colleensamantha.com


Ring Around The Rosie


September Recap

Emery, Cooper, Anna, & Molly (Annie's Visit)

Cooper's 3rd Birthday Party

The beginning of September started off with a few different parties and the girls got sick 🙁

The following weekend my step-mom came into town for a quick visit, which was a lot of fun. The kids love playing with grandma!!

The following Thursday- Sunday my good friend Annie and her 8 month old daughter, Emery, came for a visit from Maryland. We had a blast hanging out and letting the kids play together! Emery is the cutiest baby ever 🙂 She has a great smile and just always happy.

Then when I was taking Annie back to the airport, my friend Jayme (from DC) surprised me at the airport for my 30th birthday. She told me she was staying for the week. We had a jam packed week. We got our nails and hair done. We did a ton of shopping to find things to decorate my empty house. We also made it to the beach one day to soak up some sun.

Cooper turned 3 on September 22nd and I turned 30 on September 22nd too. We had a family dinner that night, which was a lot of fun. Then Cooper has his friend’s birthday party that following Saturday- a Cars theme. Then we all had dinner at my in-laws with my brother and sister-in-law and my niece for my birthday dinner again! A lot of celebrating going on. It was a blast.

Today is the first day we’ve had down in a while, but I think it is very needed. The girls have colds again or are teething and are super tired. Cooper is quietly playing with some of his new birthday gifts in the other room as I type this. What a September!!


August 2011 Pictures

 

 


Update Long Over Due

I realized that I have not been good about blogging since the twins were born- shame on me. Cooper has a ton of blog posts about him and hardly any on the twins. So I am going to try posting more, especially of the twins.

The twins, Anna & Molly, are going to be 17 month on September 9th. Wow! My babies are not really babies anymore. Chris and I continue to fall more in love with them each day. They are such easy toddlers and have such different personalities. Many people swear they are identical, and while Chris and I are still not sure if they are identical or fraternal, they could not be more different to us.

Molly looks like me, Susanne, as a toddler. Molly is very sensitive and has a ton of empathy for other people. If she sees her sister Anna upset, she is quick to grab her blankie and give it to her- hoping that will comfort her. Molly likes to clean up and have everything in its place. I love when blanket time is over. I do not even have to ask Molly to clean up. She just starts putting the toys back on the shelf and in correct boxes. But boy can she throw a tantrum. She is all drama! LOL.

Anna looks like my cousin Paige, but she also favors Chris. Anna is our free spirit and very independent. She does not need a lot of reassurance. When she gets her mind set on doing something- she does it. She is also our ham. She loves to smile and laugh. She is just plain goofy. She makes me laugh all the time. She is a picky eater and I have some battles to get her to eat her food. She loves to sit- that is probably her favorite past time. You can find her sitting on a chair in the playroom, the step in the hallway, or just sitting on the bench in our bedroom. It is super cute to see Anna just sitting there.

Cooper is going to be 3 on September 22. Wow. He is a little boy now. He is so smart. He just yacks and yacks and yacks. He has a thousand questions and never grows tired of asking why. LOL. He loves his sisters. He loves to wrestle with them, but it makes me so nervous when they start to get rough with one another. Cooper has a very tender heart and is very affectionate. He loves to hug and cuddle. He loves to have books read to him. And yes, his love of cars, trucks, and trains has not changed. He spends a lot of time with his mimi and papa who adore him! Cooper’s preschool teacher told me that he knows all his shapes and colors, but he has known them since before he turned two. When she asked me what I wanted his goals for preschool this year to be, I said- to work on motor skills and how to use the bathroom independently. While Cooper might excel verbally, he still needs a lot of help with his cordination, writing, and bathroom skills. Cooper is fully potty trained, except at night, but he cannot seem to get his undies and pants back on himself. I hope that skill develops this year! While he might be turning 3, he will always be my baby!