Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Family Game Night: Favorite Games!

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I love sharing our favorite games!

It’s much trickier now to find time to play games as a family – mostly because we have a lot of little ones who like to put game pieces into their mouths. But whenever we can, we like to pull out a game to play with our 6 and 7-year-olds. And once all six little ones are put down for the night, we can get out some of the more detailed games for the grown-ups!

In case you’re looking at games to enjoy during the holidays with your family, we wanted to share these lists again. We’ve added new ones too!

Favorite Games List

Family Games Little Ones Enjoy

  • Hoot Owl Hoot (my favorite to play with the kids!)
  • Pop the Pig
  • Spot It!
  • Candyland
  • Memory
  • Hungry Hippos
  • Trouble
  • Don’t Break the Ice
  • HiHo Cherry-O
  • Uno Attack
  • Farkle
  • Pass the Pigs
  • Huskerdu (great for younger kids – still fun for adults)

Family Games for Bigger Kids and Adults

  • 5-Second Rule
  • Connect Four
  • The Game of Things (Great fun for a group!)
  • Rummikub
  • Settlers of Catan (With extentions, which you’ll need if you have more than 4 players.)
  • Settlers of Catan Cities and Knights (This is an expansion of Settlers of Catan. This is our favorite add-on to regular Setters.)
  • Seafarers of Catan (Also an expansion of Settlers.)
  • Ticket to Ride
  • Carcossonne
  • Bohnanza (This one is unique. Great for older kids and adults. We love this one!)
  • Life
  • Risk
  • Manhattan
  • Guestures
  • Taboo
  • Blink (A great stocking stuffer!)
  • Headbandz
  • Acquire
  • Sequence
  • Clue
  • Apples to Apple Junior (This is probably our favorite group game. We don’t recommend the regular version of this game because the cards are less familiar to the kids.)
  • Scattergories
  • Pictionary
  • Cranium
  • Boggle (This game totally counts as school work, but no one knows they’re learning.)
  • Monopoly
  • Sorry
  • Quelf (I’ve actually decided that I very much dislike this one. The kids like it though.)
  • Racko
  • Balderdash
  • Yahtzee
  • Mastermind
  • Skipbo (We’ve played hours of this game through the years!)
  • Wits and Wagers
  • Anomia (One of my new favorites!)
  • Pandemic
  • Castle Panic
  • Mars Attack
  • Codenames
  • Tsuro
  • Avalon

Your turn to weigh in! What are your favorite family games?

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What I Teach My Kids about Geometry, Food, and Budgets

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I’ve always been a very practical person. I’ll even admit this to you: When my kids ask me during an advanced math lesson, “Mom, when will I actually use this Geometry or Algebra 2 stuff in real life??” I’m like, “So sorry Dude, YOU WON’T.”

But then I make them do it anyway.

Will some kids grow up and use the Geometry and beyond-basic Algebra lessons they learned in high school? Absolutely. But all of my kids (so far) are more creative types. In fact, beyond some very basic pre-algebra skills, not ever in all my 47 years of life have I used the high school level math I learned as a teen.

Oh, except for what I’ve had to relearn so I could teach it to my kids, who will also not likely ever use it. But I’m not bitter.

So like good little soldiers, we complete the courses anyway, and here’s how I explain it to my kids:

It’s a state requirement for high school, therefore we will complete these classes. And we will  keep a good attitude while doing it (except for when we don’t, because there are some lessons that only Jesus-as-Tutor could help us understand). But what you are really learning about while doing these difficult lessons? Hard work. Discipline. Perseverance.

Amen. Preach it, Mom.

So now you know how I really feel about upper-level math classes that all of our kids are required to take. I think you already know how I feel about identifying gerunds and diagraming sentences.

I just so much prefer to teach my kids about things that matter to our family. Jesus. Caring for others. Life skills.

So we plow our way through the harder, less-practical-for-our-lives-stuff. Then we focus our time more on what we know we’re going to need and on where our gifts and interests lie.

Food, Budgeting, Leadership…

This year’s Homeschooling Bundle piqued my interest because it includes really practical courses and books about things like:

  • Leadership for your teen
  • How to run a business
  • Personal finance (banking, budgeting, and buying)
  • Photoshop for kids
  • Creative writing
  • Prepping your high schooler for college
  • Scavenger through the grocery store
  • Building strong readers
  • So much more

 

THIS is how we love to learn at our house. And we’re sort of not actually homeschooling anymore. Except that we are. This explains it all.

So practical skills that we all need for life – that is where it’s at.

And also: FOOD.

Because of my love of food, and because of the fact that every one of us needs to know how to shop, plan, and cook food, I made all of these for us to give to our kids:

This is a 2-in-1 package that includes:

  • Fun With Food activity book for kids ages 2-10. It’s full of fun menu planning, grocery shopping, and budgeting activities that are practical but almost game-like. Never before has learning the skills of menu planning and grocery shopping been this much fun!
  • Feed Your Friends is a book for preteens and teens. It shares inspiration and tools needed to learn basic meal planning and cooking, and it’s all centered around teens cooking with and for their friends. I would have loved having this during my teen years!
  • PLUS, both of these come with a set of recipe cards that can be printed and turned into a recipe flipbook to use in the kitchen. The recipes included are kid/teen favorites!

 

Let’s teach our kids real life skills.

Let me say this again though: Even if you don’t homeschool, you homeschool. Because we are our kids’ first and best teachers, no matter where they attend school. So look at this with an open mind, grabbing the resources to help your kids of all ages learn so many valuable life skills!

Our Bonus For Teens:

Here are a few more details about our Feed Your Friends package.

I know how this works. Most teens love to hang out with their friends. All teens need to learn basic cooking skills before launching into the real world. So I put together this package just for teens, full of recipes, party planners, and more so that they can practice their cooking skills with and for their friends!!

It’s a book full of printables plus a file full of recipe cards that they can print and turn into a recipe flipbook to have in the kitchen!

 

Bonus for kids ages 4-10:

Here are a few more details about our Fun With Food package:

It includes a 30+page printable book full of fun activities to help them learn to grocery shop, budget, and plan simple meals. This is hands-on, fun learning – activities I’ve never seen before but created to be fun and almost game-like. But ah yes. They’ll be learning too!

Plus the book full of blank recipe cards, menu planning activities, grocery shopping/budget practice, and more.

All of this has been so much fun to put together! Here are a couple of sample pages to see some of the included activities:

They also get a file of recipe cards to print and make into a Recipe Flipbook.

I love it when practicality and fun go hand in hand. These packages are a win in every way!

I’ll give them all to you for free as a thank you for purchasing this week’s Homeschool Bundle from our links.

But wait. I don’t homeschool!

It’s doesn’t matter. WE ALL HOMESCHOOL. Read my thoughts about this here.

Just don’t let the word “homeschool” in the bundle title scare you. These resources are for everyone. I’m using them even though we mostly don’t homeschool currently. Because we learn from home all the time!

Get your bundle here. (offer expired)

Then email me and I’ll send you all the freebies!!

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Family Update – More Kids, Extra Pink?!

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I couldn’t type one word of this post without tears. It’s what I do now apparently: snuggle and chase a bunch of little ones all day and cry a lot.

The tears are mostly the result of joy and awe spilling out all over my face. But there are also a few bucketfuls that are from heartache, frustration, fear, and longing. Never before these last 2.5 years of starting our foster care and adoption journey have I realized my absolute need for God’s strength and provision. I am so thankful for what I am learning. I am beyond thankful that God is perfectly in charge.

Wait. I’m not in charge? No, and it stinks. Except that it doesn’t, because so many times I pray for something that I think is best, and then God shows me that guess what? His ways are still best. Better than mine. Always.

So here’s a family life update, which is constantly changing, full, and often smells like a dirty diaper.

Family Update!

Well, let’s see, where to start? Our summer was full of long walks with the babies-turned-toddlers riding in the double stroller, and Brayden, our 6 year old walking beside me. We walked for miles, using the time to practice Brayden’s struggling speech skills. We did a lot of “unschooling” during this time noticing bits of nature, talking through math problems, finding things that started with different letters – so much learning. I will look back on this summer as one that was incredibly busy and wonderfully wonderful.

Elias graduated from high school and we were finally able to celebrate with a simple party in June. We had a cake pop and iced coffee bar (I highly recommend the iced coffee! Cake pops? They were a hit, but I’m not sure I want to take the time to make them again, ha!)

Justus was blessed to spend the summer in Texas as a youth ministry intern. As a result of his great experience, he came back in August ready to add another major to his original college plan. So now he is both a vocal performance major AND a ministry major. What a beautiful combination for whatever career God has for his future.

Just before school started we were amazed to get all seven boys together for our traditional back-to-school lunch. We didn’t go school shopping together like we usually do, and we didn’t go to the restaurant like we usually do. Instead, we grabbed take-out and ate together at the park.

From this:

To this:


Mid August, we got Elias and Justus moved into their college dorms/apartments. Even Keith helped. :)

Suddenly, Malachi went from the youngest of four boys to the oldest of four boys at home. He rocked this role from the start. We settled into our school year homeschooling a sophomore and a first grader while chasing two busy toddlers.

Just when we thought we couldn’t get any busier, God surprised us and changed our lives completely by putting a newborn bundle of pink in our lives. She’s a bio family member of our other bonus kids, so God’s yes was an immediate yes for us too. We were all smitten from the moment we laid eyes on her.



Our college boys come home with they can, and oh look, sometimes they have a special girl with them!! :) :) :)

Our littles love to pile on our big boys whenever they show up.


Asa doesn’t make it home often now that he is living and working in Lincoln. But he and his special girl come when they can and we treasure every minute.

Phew. So here we were. Trying to juggle this very full life with four awesome big kids, a fabulous six-year-old, two one-year-old toddlers, and a newborn. Homeschool much? Well, isn’t that the question of the year.

Malachi is a sophomore so he’s able to do a lot of his work on his own and with a tutor that God led us to hire for him. Homeschooling Brayden became a much bigger challenge, though the truth is, the challenge had started even before we got a newborn.

The past several months had revealed more of the struggles our little guy faces with academics and behavior. The time his needs were taking me every day took away from other important needs, and I found that even when I poured a huge amount of energy into his learning and behavior needs, I still wasn’t able to give him what he required. I regrouped, tried different ideas and methods, prayed, prayed, prayed.

God answered. I ignored Him though because He told us to send Brayden to school. Send our boy to school? No, that couldn’t be the answer. We’ve always homeschooled. I could do this. I would do this.

God said it again in a different way. Then again. Then again. Finally, I listened and we obeyed. Funny how I’ve always supported every person’s educational decisions for their family no matter what they chose, but goodness I had a hard time letting go of this for myself. I’ve grieved and cried because wow this change is a big one. I’ve always been a homeschool mom, I cried!! Then Justus said, pointing to Baby Sis, “Well up until two weeks ago you’ve always been a boy mom.” Well isn’t that the truth? Change might be hard, but it doesn’t have to be bad. Change can be very, very good.

God is faithful and good. He paved this out and eased Brayden’s transition, and here we are. Brayden has been going to public school for two months now, getting the extra help and resources that he so badly needed. Truly, we are so grateful.

So back to being more than just a boy mom. What a huge change, and well, it’s alright I guess. ;)

We try to sleep when we can. My kitchen floor is almost always gross. Our toddlers are almost two. One of them is likely to go back to bio family soon. Keith (our adopted toddler) is Mommy and Daddy’s sidekick whenever possible. And look at this! Asa and his film crew came from Lincoln to feature Keith in a special video. I’ll let you know when it comes out!

Malachi holds Baby Sis (diapers are a no-go though!) so I can chase toddlers and make dinner. Just when we started to feel settled in again with our newest little one, God answered a prayer we’ve prayed for a very long time…

Another bio family member of our littles gets to move in with us too! So now there’s not just one girl, but two!

Friends? We have a GIRL ROOM in our house now!

Our newest one is sweet as can be and constantly amazes us with the level of girlness she has brought to our home. Princesses, dress-up clothes, hair styling, dollies, crafts, sparkles – once again, we are smitten. I walked into the boys’ room one day this week to witness this:

So this is our life now. Seven boys. Two girls. For today. And we’re truly learning that we must live just one day at a time.

God’s mercies are new every morning. We ask for your prayers and we thank you for your constant encouragement and support. Whatever you do, don’t underestimate what God may have for your life. If He surprises you by bringing you something unexpected, lean in, and be open to all He wants to teach you through it. The challenges that come with the changes will be met with God’s strength in the most beautiful way you can imagine.

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Family Summertime Activities

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Looking for some creative ways to spend time with your family this summer? Here are some ideas for Family Summertime Activities that we shared last year. We’ll be pulling these out again this year to do all over again!

It’s easy to have big ideas at the beginning of the summer to think that you’ll do ALL THE THINGS with your family before school starts up again. It’s ok to come up with lots of ideas but don’t feel bad if you don’t get to all of them!

We hope that the ideas we’re sharing here are unique and doable for you. Just choose what seems to be the best for you and your family.

Obviously, anything food related is always a hit! So you’ll see that many of these ideas have to do with food. What can we say?

Also – I can’t say this loudly enough: SERVE OTHERS TOGETHER!!!

Do not make summertime or anytime all about you. Ask God to help you find ways to serve others. The opportunities are endless and God will most definitely show you who needs your help when your heart is open for service.

Our family has made so many wonderful memories together serving others. Not because every act of service has been easy or fun. But because serving together has taught us more about who God is. And looking back on that as a family is always glorious.

So whatever your plans this summer, put “Serve Together Often!” at the top of your list. Pray as a family about this and watch God work!

Family Summertime Activities

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Introducing, Keith Coppinger!

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Here’s the precious face I’ve been looking forward to sharing with you!

He’s learning to feed himself, and he’s oh-so proud.

His name is Keith, and as of today, he is Coppinger Boy #6.

Foster care and adoption is an emotional experience in at least a thousand ways. There’s joy and there’s sorrow. Adding to the family also means there is loss in some form. We don’t take that lightly.

But today, we fully embrace the joy of adding to our family. We embrace it so much that the tears won’t stop. This little boy, who has been a part of our family since he was just 2 months old, has overcome so much in his short life. That we get to be a part of this and learn more about victory in Jesus because of him humbles us greatly.

Keith loves Mommy and Daddy. He thinks all of his older brothers are THE BEST. But when Brayden walks into the room, there’s no doubt who he thinks is the BEST BEST.

These two have a special bond – so much so that Keith’s first word was actually “Brayden.” I was lobbying for “mama.” We all asssumed it would be “dada.” But when the big day came, Keith looked up at his beloved Brayden and said, “Dudden! Dudden!” It is the sweetest thing ever.

We continue to foster Boy Babe #2. Our older sons continue to embrace this new life with grace and love. Matt and I stand in amazement as we experience all God is doing and teaching us through this.

Thank you for walking this journey with us. Your love and support has meant so much – and I’ll thank you by sharing lots of adorable Keith pictures now that I can!!!

Here he is with Justus, age 20. Because yes, we now have sons aged 1-22!!!!!

He’s already learning to cook. I’m pretty sure he was making me some coffee…

Keith got to wear Elias’ hat!

Yes, he truly is as sweet as he looks.

And most days, he’s happy as can be!

God bless YOU in whatever ways He is working in YOUR lives. I have no doubt He is doing great things!

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Merry Christmas from the Coppinger Crew!

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With love overflowing and hearts full of wonder, we wish you the happiest of Christmases.

The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26

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How Much Do You Pay for a Doctor Appointment?

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I’m curious how much you pay for a doctor’s appointment. And for healthcare in general.

This is not because I’m nosey. Well fine. It’s a little bit because I’m nosey. I’m just really curious about how healthcare works for different families in different circumstances.

Here, I’ll go first.

We pay full price, out of pocket for doctor appointments (specific $$ amounts below).

Our family has chosen to have Christian Healthcare Ministries as our health insurance provider and it is perfect for us. We pay a tiny total of $135/month for this, which I feel is remarkable. We have a high deductible ($5,000 per incident). But we had the same super high deductible when we were paying almost $900/month for regular insurance too. So obviously, we really love the $135. :)

(How happy are we that I don’t have to put stickers over Bonus Boy’s face anymore!!!!)

With CHM, we don’t have a copay for doctor visits. We don’t have amazing benefits, dental, or vision coverage. Basically, we only have CHM insurance in our back pocket in case something major happens. Therefore, when we need to go to the doctor, we pay 100% out of pocket for the appointment.

BUT, the hundreds of dollars we save each month (around $765 to be exact – whoa!) more than covers all of those doctor fees. Plus it gives us a cushion so we can save for the deductible if we need it.

I love that instead of giving so much money each month to an insurance company (it felt like $money$ down the drain!), we can instead put that money toward our chiropractor, natural doctor, and wholesome food. We only go to a doctor when we really need to, trying natural remedies at home first.

How much do you pay for a doctor appointment?

Ah, so I haven’t even answered my own question yet. Our chiropractor costs $45 for a thorough adjustment and healthcare advice. Our natural doctor charges around $65 for a consultation, then we pay additional amounts for the supplements and remedies she offers.

Last time we went to our local Urgent Care for a check-up (Matt and I had to get a physical before becoming licensed foster parents) – it cost us $125 each. And that was apparently a discount because we were paying cash. Hmm. Then we got billed separately for the urine test. (I can’t remember how much those were.)

So all of these come out of our pocket each time we need them. Still, we save thousands of dollars every year going this route.

Do I wish we had a co-pay?

Sure, if the copay was $5 like it used to be. Remember those days? I remember those days!

At this point though, and you’ll have to let me know how it works for you, I don’t think a copay would benefit us. We really, really like paying such a low monthly premium. And since we rarely go to traditional doctors anyway, I don’t think having “regular” insurance would really help us much.

Fun times.

So, $45-$65 per visit.

That’s what we pay when we go to the doctor. Plus the cost of the supplements they recommend.

We go in phases of needing to go frequently and have periods of time that several months go by without a visit. It all depends on the need!

Oh, and last year when Elias suffered a terrible ankle injury during a basketball game, we got to drop a cool $850 for an ER visit with all the perks (like a wheelchair ride). Good thing we save almost that much every month on our insurance premium. Ha!

I’ve been thinking about all of this – the cost of a doctor visit, the cost of health insurance, the cost of supplements – as I have considered this:

Should we pay $37 for this health care option? —>

It may sound funny to think of this as a “health care option” but hear me out!

As this year’s Healthy Living Bundle sale time was approaching. I spent a few hours looking through almost every single product. We’re talking 46 eBooks, 32 eCourses, audios & workshops, 10 printable packs & workbooks, and 2 summits. Phew.

Why did I spend so much time on this? Because I can’t and I won’t promote a product or recommend that you purchase something if I don’t feel confident that it’s worth your time and money.

While reading through so many of the materials, watching the videos, printing the packets, exploring the eCourses – I found that I kept learning new tidbits that would really bless my family’s health. There I was, looking to see what I could maybe share about the bundle as I determined if it was “worth it” – and the entire time I found myself learning:

  • Better ways to help my kids eat good food
  • How to transition our baby to solid food in a healthy way (he has four cute little teeth now!)
  • Tools to give my kid who hasn’t been officially diagnosed, but who probably has something like ADD, and needs some extra love and care when it comes to learning
  • How to walk someone through a sugar detox
  • Recipes my kids can use to learn to cook in our Instant Pot
  • More about cooking great food with just 5 ingredients
  • How to get a better night’s sleep

There’s much more, but those were some highlights for me.

And then I realized: The contents of this bundle, this package containing $3000 worth of health information and tools, costs less than one of my chiropractor appointments. I have learned so much already, and while I don’t need or want all of the products included – paying $37 to learn what I have learned and I’m learning is absolutely worth it.

Click here or on the image to see all the products in detail.

So I decided to tell you about it.

I’m not sure what you pay for a doctor visit, but I’m guessing the $37 price tag on this Healthy Living package is comparable or even much cheaper. I want to encourage you to check into this because well, where else can we pay just $37 for so much worthwhile health information?

Already bought a Healthy Living Bundle in the past?

Me too!! I have them all and seeing as they’ve been around since 2012, that means this is my 8th one. :) But each bundle is brand new and full of the latest and greatest. I guarantee you’ll learn something new (or if you’re like me, you’ll learn 7 new things in the first hours, ha!).

When the price is lower than a doctor visit and holds so much more information than I could ever get in one doctor visit – that’s when I know it’s beyond worth it to purchase. (Though it doesn’t take the place of a doctor visit if we need one. It had to be said.) ;)

And then there are these:

Really Cool Bonuses

All of this comes with your bundle purchase, which is so much fun and so beneficial.


These are legit bonuses! Totally free, physical items. We pay the shipping, and that’s it!!

I always get the Lymph Rub from TriLight Health because it is so good to have on hand to fight off illness! I like a lot of their other products too, and keep them on hand as ready-to-grab home remedies.

I already also ordered the bonus from Perfect Supplements, Earthley, and MadeOn. So many great free items to help keep our families healthy!

How much do you pay for a doctor appointment?

I’m thankful that we rarely need to go to a doctor, and that when we do, we have great options for natural care. (I’m also thankful for traditional doctors who are there when we need them!) I’m thankful for home remedies and natural home-care options. I’m thankful for everything I can get my hands on to read and learn and grow in ways of healthy living.

So, I’m thankful for this, and I recommend that you check it out and enjoy learning from it too! —>

 

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Introducing, Brayden Coppinger!!

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It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for! It is my honor to introduce you all to our son, our Bonus Boy:

Brayden Coppinger

If you’re crying over that sweet face right now, you can be guaranteed that I am too.

Yesterday was a very, very big day!

We all wore flamingo apparel to the courthouse. Why, you ask? Why would we all wear flamingos for our special day in court?

Because we are a flamingo family. See, our oldest son Asa started a flamingo-wearing tradition a few years ago at the beginning of his freshman year of college. He started wearing some sort of flamingo apparel every Friday, dubbing it “Flamingo Friday.” It was so much fun that slowly we all started picking up flamingo socks and shirts also. Last year I even decorated my re-constructed bathroom with flamingos (because how else can a mom living in a household full of males have a PINK bathroom, am I right?!?!).

Anyway, flamingos. We love them. It’s a Coppinger thing.

So it only made sense that on this special day when we were adding a precious new one to our flock – we should all wear flamingos to celebrate.

So now it’s official! He is Brayden, our Bonus Boy. He made our youngest child become a middle child. He made all six of us reevaluate our priorities. He made us dig down and examine what it means to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus daily. He made us let go of the idea of soon having an empty nest, and helped us embrace the beauty of a home that starts over and embraces God’s better plan.

He made us the Coppinger7.

I stand in awe of this and of all the unknowns that God has yet to reveal.

While the adoption is now final, we realize that the journey is really just beginning. Yes, we are incredibly blessed to have this opportunity. But there’s no such thing as a “happily ever after.” We find that we need to constantly be in prayer over each day, asking for wisdom and guidance as we navigate roads we haven’t traveled before.

More than anything, we’ve learned that having an open heart to “whatever it is God wants to do in our lives” means that He’ll likely take us to a place we didn’t expect. But what better place is there than one that God leads you to Himself? Guaranteed, through it He will always provide for every need.

We praise God that our open hearts led us to this challenging and beautiful new life. Welcome to our world, Brayden Coppinger. You are dearly loved.

 

 

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Once Upon a 25th Anniversary

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Once Upon a 25th Anniversary…

On this day, 25 years ago, two kids got married.

They were sweet and they were head over heels and they were ready (or not) to embark on the next journey of life called marriage.

Immediately following the wedding, they excitedly drove away toward their honeymoon destination, Colorado Springs, Colorado. They enjoyed a stay in a hideaway cabin, while taking in the scenery and walking the fun streets of Manitou Springs.

All the while, they talked and dreamed. They imagined what their life as a married couple and family would become. They talked about their future sons and daughters (ha!), what they might look like – if they’d be tall, blond, athletic, and adorable.

They rode the Cog Railway to the top of Pikes Peak, and as they rode, they made a decision. Right there they declared, “On our 25th anniversary, let’s come back here and do this again!” And so it was decided. They would celebrate their 25th anniversary back in Colorado Springs.

As the years went by, God made many of their dreamy dreams come true. They were in ministry together, went through hardship together, figured out more of life together and would you believe? They had four adorable children – all sons – who are most certainly tall, blond, athletic, and much more incredible than they could ever have imagined.

Somehow those children grew and grew and began to leave the nest. They became teens and adults and the couple saw God at work in them in ways that left them constantly in amazement. Through this, the couple recognized more and more their need for Christ. They learned that God is the Father of their children. Surrender became a keyword in their household. They asked God to help them learn what it meant to live fully through the Holy Spirit because they knew they couldn’t do any of this life through their own strength or without help.

Then, one day without warning, God taught them a lesson in true surrender. Who was this? A 4-year old boy on the doorstep? Would they be willing to give him a home?

They gathered the family and spent some time in prayer. Yes, they decided. They would gladly give this dear one a home.

So four boys became five, and they all marveled at this unexpected turn of events in their lives. While big boys were leaving the nest, a new boy was added. Then just a few months later, the boy’s baby cousin moved into the home too. Six boys? One of them tiny? Well now, no one, not anyone had seen this coming.

But God. He had known all along. And as the family looked back on the past year’s events, they saw how He had prepared them for this. How He was fully in this and how He would always provide.

The oldest of six graduated from college just as the youngest of six was learning to crawl. Tears of trial and tears of gladness fell frequently down the mother’s cheeks. “How did we get here?” she often wondered.

Then quite suddenly, the couple’s 25th anniversary began to approach. Laughingly, they remembered their decision, made so long ago, to go back to Colorado Springs to celebrate their 25th anniversary. The couple marveled again at the innocence of the decision they had made as newlyweds, the unknown blessings that God would provide to their family and home through all these years. The four biological sons God would give them. The Bonus Boys they would fall in love with. The life, the ministry, the lessons, the love.

So much for the 25th-anniversary trip, thought the couple. No matter though. God had them where He wanted them. They could go on that trip another time.

But their friends wouldn’t hear of it. As they listened to the story of the sweet young couple who had so long ago made dreamy, faraway plans, they stood resolutely and said, “We’re making this happen for you. You are going.”

Tears fell again over the love being poured out. And then, because God was a part of it all, the plans began to fall into place.

With the help of the couple’s fabulous, servant-hearted grown sons and the absolute determination of the kind and loving friends, the couple filled the freezer with nuggets and the refrigerator with applesauce. They made a five-page instruction list and gave thorough tutorials to their sons on how to change diapers and make bottles. The sons and the friends said, “Enough. We’ve got this. GO.”

And so they did. The couple was amazed that it was happening, but away they went. They drove and they talked and they reflected on all God has done during the past 25 years. They praised God for their willing sons and darling friends who were so precious to care for the little ones so they could have a much-needed getaway.

It really happened. They went to Colorado Springs. They hiked and they walked the shops at Manitou and they relaxed and they soaked up the sun. They went to some of their favorite honeymoon spots and realized in awe how long ago it had been, but how quickly the 25 years had passed.

They laughed at themselves because even while they were away from the kids, they found that they talked about them constantly. They prayed together and they rested and they conquered The Manitou Incline – a challenge they loved taking on together.

Meanwhile, back at home, the kids were all well. From the friends to the big boys to the little boys, all fared just fine.

The couple returned home refreshed and ready for hugs. What they had once dreamed of, then had written off as impossible, had actually become a reality thanks to the love of so many who were willing to serve.

What will the next 25 years have in store? Well, if the couple has learned anything during these first 25 years of marriage it is that only God knows the plan. They know to be open and willing to say “yes” to God’s yes. They know that He is providing for them and preparing them for all that the unknowns that are to come.

Praise God for 25 years of experiencing God’s goodness and faithfulness, together. Here’s to every new tomorrow…

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