8 Times the Fun

When you let a bunch of kids play with an octopus sprinkler......well, they have 8 times the fun!

In addition to honoring those that have given so much for our country and spending time with friends this is how we do Memorial Day around these parts!

Not Forgetting to Let Him Be Little

G's kindergarten year...It has come and gone. Where did the time go?

Really, where did it go?
We blink, and 10 months have come and gone.

You know, remember my kindergarten "graduation" so vividly. Broken right arm in a cast to my shoulder, milti-colored polka-dotted dress from Dube's in downtown Katy, far left hand side of the stage in the cafeteria at Williamsburg Settlement Elementary, singing "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" and not being able to do the hand motions with my arm...
It was yesterday! Right?

Will G remember this day the same way I remember mine?
Will he recall where he stood, the songs he sang, the shirt he wore?
I do not know.

But, what I do know, I will not forget.

This program, this moment, this time with him right now...it will be cherished.

In his ceremony (that, by the way, was amazingly touching and a perfect celebratory end to a most incredible 1st year of school for G) they played a familiar song as they scrolled through hundreds of pictures of their year...

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

Yes, I have always loved this song, but hearing it yesterday was hard for me.

He IS growing so fast that we MUST remember to let him be little. He will only be this way for a while...We will remember to give him hope.
Will we will remember to give him praise.
We will remember to give him love every day. We will let him cry.We will let him giggle.And, we will even let him sleep in the middle (with his sisters, 2 big dogs and mostly evil cat)...Oh, we will let him be little.

Happy promotion day G!
Mission accomplished! You are officially a 1st grader!
We love you!

Making His Own Footprints

Today was a day of great celebration in the Coker house, but before we get to that, I need to ask that you bear with me on this post...I might get a little off topic, and I beg your forgiveness before I begin...for I know I will struggle to keep to the point.

With that being said, I want to go back a few weeks...to Mother's Day...

We had an exceptionally incredible sermon at church on Mother's Day. True, most of our sermons are awesome --inspiring, thought-provoking, reflective -- but this one was especially all of these things.

It was the last of a 60-something week sermon series on the book of John. (Who knew the sermon series had been going on that long, but I digress...) Anyhow, it was about Doubting Thomas. (You should be happy. I just deleted almost 400 words..all because I decided to spare you all of the details that struck me, and TRY to stick to why I am inspired to write today...) But, at the conclusion of the sermon he made a connection to Mother's Day that I have gone back to time and time again since Jerry spoke nearly a month ago...

He told us to take a look at our children's feet and then challenged us to remember that their feet are NOT ours. It was stated that it is ever important for us as mothers - as parents - to know that one of the greatest things we can do in this noteworthy role is to let our children make their own footprints. But more, we should be delighted, overjoyed, and filled with pride, when they choose to not to follow in ours...

During this part of the sermon I immediately thought so of Gunnar, and when we got in the car Eric said he had been thinking the same thing. (We think a little alike...You think that is why we are a great match? Digressing again...)

Of the four Coker kids, he is the one that often beats to a different drum...his very own drum. And while it has always endeared Eric, myself... and many others for that matter to him (he reminds me in so many ways of one of my sisters), we also often fear that it makes him feel lost in our "crowd."

Eric and I talk frequently, but are often unsure, of how we let him know that it is not just "okay" -- it is awesome that he beats to that different drum. It is perhaps one of the absolute most special thing about him.

So, back to today...

As Gunnar stoically stood on the stage of his elementary school, his teachers spoke of the years to come...and how they wish for each of those in his class to come back and visit, but placed a caveat on their remarks by stating that these students might have to remind them of their names -- not because these teachers will not remember them, but rather because they will change and grow so much in the years to come that it might be hard to recognize them.

So true.

He WILL change, and Eric's and my prayer for him...That he will make his own footprints.

Dearest Gunnar, we are so proud of you, and we truly love you for you.(Love this picture! It is his signature "look.")

And as you make those footprints you are destined to make, know that we will love you more for each one.More, we wish that YOU will find the same joy in making them that we find in watching you make them.And, may you always make them with Him in mind first. It is He that made you the unique one you are, and it is to Him that we owe great glory.
On to intermediate school...

End of Season Celebrations

End of season soccer last week. End of baseball this week. G has been busy wrapping up his seasons in fine fashion!
He is showing off two new trophies in recent days, but Mommy only took pictures of this one...See it? It is pretty spiffy. There have also been a couple of rounds of cupcakes, but again, Mommy only took pictures of these. And because she has tagged along with grace, you got to see a picture of Ballerina blowing bubbles for your viewing pleasure! I missed the BIG bubble because I was too slow. :( (That is what being pregnant in 96 degree weather in MAY does to you!...It makes your feet SWOLLEN and Mommies SUPER slow to the camera draw.)

Cheers! It has been another great spring of sports!

A Big Step and an Example to Follow

Wow! This past weekend was jammed packed. Birthday parties, sleepovers, baseball games, Saturday school, dance rehearsals, dance recitals...It never stops! But, there was also a big moment for the oldest that really made Eric and I have to stop...

...and relish in the moment in which we found such great pride.

You know, there are big moments in your young life and then there are BIG moments in your young life. And, this past weekend was perhaps the BIGGEST that Cannon has ever had...and perhaps possibly will EVER have.

He was confirmed. This last year -- Shoot, these past few months -- We have found ourselves talking again and again about how much Cannon is growing up. We will go without seeing him for a few days, and when he comes back to our house we are sometimes in awe -- of his newly found maturity, confidence and understanding.

However, since Christmas we have most impressed with his growing faith.

We will be in church and I will give him a crazy look for being on his iPod, but then he will show me that he is following along with his Bible app. We will go to lunch and he will quiz me on my thoughts about a part of the sermon that perplexed him. We will be driving in the car and he will quote scripture to his siblings that are having some "issues" in the backseat. (Perhaps my favorite because it causes such controversy in our car! ha!) We will say our blessing at supper, and he will ask to offer a special word.

Man, his faith has grown.

And, as he stood before our church and took a vow of membership, we were more than reminded of our own vows.As was spoken that afternoon and taken from I Timothy...Cannon, ^"2 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."

You truly did such for your father and myself this past year...and especially this past weekend. To say we are proud would be an understatement. Congratulations on this big step in your spiritual journey. God bless.

Dance, Dance, Dance

Ballerina - She is too much for me. Really. Too much.

So, I talked a while back about her dance pictures and how stoked she was to be taking them.

But, if she was stoked about dance pictures, there are NO WORDS to describe her excitement in anticipation for her dance recital. NO WORDS. Friday night we had to spend an hour talking about what Saturday was going to look like...Then we had to review it before we went to bed...And, she was up before dawn on Saturday asking where her costume was so that we could go to practice.

She was so funny. She would ask questions like, "My family is going to come...right?" "My friends are going to be there...right?" and "You are going to take a lot of pictures of me...right?" She would ask these questions so many times all I could do by the end was just giggle when she asked them.

And, in fine Ballerina form, she was "on" as soon as we arrived for the performance. I thought she would never make it until dance 15 - when we were supposed to report to the back for her turn to perform!She soaked up the attention..However, she really soaked up the attention from her "favorite person," Daddy. Oh, and there were some other fun people there too...
...like her brothers...
...some aunts and uncles (and this is just some)...her grandparents...and some very special friends...
And, of course, Mommy and Daddy!

Oh, Ballerina, your first dance recital was amazing. We we so very proud of you!