We are back! Happy New Year!!

Wow, people are probably wondering what in the heck has happened to the Coppin family?! Well, a lot actually. Since my last blog, 2 months ago, we've had a few changes around the Coppin household. We first went to back in Mid November ND to help Joel's grandparents, Mary and Jerry Meyer, celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. We got back and I started a new job.

Yes, I am back in the workforce! After 3 years of staying home, I decided that I might need to get back to work. Not for any financial reasons (but it will help) but mostly for myself. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids and staying home with them and it has been wonderful and I am so thankful that I was able too. It was just time and I believe things happen for a reason. I had put my resume out there online and applied at a few retail HQs (not to many retail HQs in CO) but that was my extent of searching. Not really looking too hard. A recruiter called me from an accounting and finance recruiting firm called Accounting Principals, for a position within as a recruiter. They specialize in accounting and finance positions on a contract/contract to hire basis. Having a basic understanding of what recruiting was I thought I would go in and find out more. After less than a week of interviews and job shadowing I was offered the position and accepted. Wow, this is all happening so fast. A change of industry might be good. I knew if I didn't try it, I would regret it. I really had nothing to loose. I started the day after we got back from ND, Nov 19th. So far, I am loving it. It's hard because it's a slow time of year but I have already had success placing a few people, not too bad for a month of work I am told.

We were so fortunate to find a lovely in-home daycare, which Rachel (Brayden's pre-school teacher) refered us to. It happened to be that she had 2 openings for a total of 8 kids. We really loved the fact that Brayden and Avery would not be separated in different rooms like a care facility. The second best part of it is that Brayden will continue his pre-school on T/TH and Rachel will take him to daycare, just a few blocks down the road. Brayden just loves Michelle's house. He has 2 little boys there his age and they have a blast. Everyday Brayden tells me how much fun he is going to have at Michelle's house. As for Avery, she's had a little harder time adjusting. Mostly in part due to her molars coming through. She was not just fussy there but at home and on the weekends. They finally popped right before Christmas and she's been a very happy little girl. Back to herself :)

Since we went to ND in mid November and will be going back in March for Jamie and Angie's wedding we decided to stay home for Christmas. This would be our first Christmas not being back in ND. My entire family; Mom, Dad, Bryce, Jenica and Nate made the trek to CO! They came early Saturday morning (20th) around 1-2am all driving. Next time you see my parents and brother, just ask how Loyd and Harry did on the trip (Dumb and Dumber) and why John Denver is full of *hit. We'll just keep it at that :) Saturday mid-morning we headed up to Keystone for a few days. We got to our condo and enjoyed hanging out together, sledding, and skiing. Brayden tried skiing for the first time. We figured he was free for lift ticket and the skis were only $13. Let's just say, it wasn't very fun for either. He told me "Momma, I don't want to ski until I am a big boy". We headed back Tuesday morning to our home and got settled in for the rest of the week. Mom, Jenica and I went to a bridal shop that night to pick out bridesmaid dresses. We had so much fun and were able to find the dress! It's going to be beautiful! Save the Date : November 28th, 2009! Christmas Eve day we headed to Hobby Lobby and found some incredible centerpieces and other items for her wedding. That evening we went to Christmas Eve service and had a wonderful meal of crab legs/fillet mignon. The kids were so tired we didn't open gifts that evening! The next morning they were so excited to open their gifts and play. Around noon; Kim, Anthony, and Teya stopped by to visit as well as Tom and Mitch. We enjoyed cheese fondue and card games. That evening Joel and I served another fantastic meal. We were all so exhausted and the "family" (as Brayden refers to them as) prepared to leave bright and early the next morning. We had so much fun and were so thankful they were able to come and spend time with us!

So, as you can see, a few changes have happened and therefore our blogging had ceased. We are now on a schedule and things have been running well. It's always an adjustment and I was worried our house/family life would fall apart. But the opposite has in fact happened. We are truly a team now working together to make our family operate. And as for me, the time I get to spend with my kids is so special and we enjoy every single minute!

Here are pictures from the last 2 months so you can see how our kids have grown and what we did for the Holidays. Happy New Year and Peace to ALL!