Homemade Stockings

December 19, 2009 I decided to make stockings this year because our previous ones were from the dollar stores that we've had for a long time. My friend Nan helped me with the pattern and getting all the things I needed. My sister, Shelley, came over today and helped me whip them out really fast. A lady from my ward, Bonnie Hale had an embroidery machine and so this week I took the white fur (that you see on the top of the stockings) over to her house and she embroidered the names of everyone on them. I am very appreciative of all their help. Don't they look nice? Just don't look too close because you might see all the little flaws!

Our Handsome & Beautiful Children!

 LUKE (3 months)

ALEAH (2)

QAIDEN (5)

 RACHAEL (8)

JACOB (10)

Winter 2009 photos: Jacob (10) is in 5th grade, Rachael (8) is in 3rd grade, and Qaiden (5) is in Kindergarten. I took a picture of their professionally taken photographs, that's why there is a glare on them all. Jacob's and Qaidens were really terrible and so I had to do retakes. Jacob's first photo was sooooo funny....he took his glasses off like I asked, but also seemed to have opened his eyes as wide as they could go, and looked like a zombie!! Qaiden's hair was all askew, so these look a little better than the other ones. Aleah's picture was taken at Sears Photography but this picture I took myself while getting them done. Luke's picture is soooo cute and it was taken at Target. I liked his the best of them all! I think I'll go to Target for all of our future pictures!

THANKSGIVING

November 26, 2009 we celebrated Thanksgiving will just our little family. Richard and I were still a little under-the-weather (sick) but we wanted to still have a great big feast as is tradition, so we slaved away making all the usual, such as: deviled-eggs, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, buttered corn, homemade rolls, olives, sweet pickles, cheese-stuffed celery, mashed potatoes with gravy, and not forgeting the turkey! After that delicious meal, we talked about the Pilgrims and had a short presentation with pictures and all went around telling what things we were grateful for. We had the cherry/rhubarb (both from our backyard) pie I made later that day with vanilla ice cream. It was a nice meal, but the day wasn't the best...the kids were fighting with each other all day and we weren't feeling well, so it wasn't the most relaxing day. The next day was Friday and we always decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, so that's what we did ALL day + clean! Finally I was able to rest on Saturday and we were able to finish the 1000 piece Presidents puzzle we have. I LOVE puzzles! We had a better day because we were feeling a lot better and just relaxed all day! All I can say is that I hope next year will be a better Thanksgiving...maybe we'll go to my parents for Thanksgiving because they'll be home from their mission.

FALL FUN...

Our kid's new yearly tradition is to fill the jungle gym with all the leaves we rake and leaf blow from our ward...they invite the neighbors and have a BALL jumping and hiding in there! Levi(Jacob's friend) and Tate Crowley live next door.

The Cooley Christmas Poem 2009

It has been a year of plenty and full of such great fun,
So let us start with the eldest right down to the little wee one.

We’ll call him Captain Cooley for in June he so became.
He still is in the Air Force Reserves which stayed quite the same.
We took a road trip to Missouri this summer to visit his family,
Attended his High School Reunion as well and so much we did see.
We’d never been where his family grew up, so it was such a treat.
To mingle with family and friends so kind, was really rather sweet.

Charise started the 2009 year off with news that a baby would come.
Helping a sister with her wedding in March kept her busy but not a ton.
Spring was spent planting our garden, and touring more of Utah.
Ensign Peak and Goblin Valley State Park are just two of what we saw.
Still attending her Book Club each month keeps her love of books burning bright,
She loves to stay in shape, so works out with all her might..

Jacob LeRoy is our 10 year old, is such an example for all.
To siblings he’s kind hearted, always answers when his parents’ call.
He’s in the Webelos, Cub Scout Troop of our Ward,
Takes piano lessons but tends to get quite bored.
He scored so high in his IOWA test he may qualify for advanced class.
And come this January he will begin to learn Karate at last.

Rachael Anne turned 8 this year so chose to be baptized by dad.
Her grandparents couldn’t be there so she was a little bit sad.
They were called on an 18 month mission to Mozambique, Africa they went.
We know they are as proud as us, but so far away they were sent.
She’s in the Spanish Immersion program where she speaks only Spanish half day.
She also started piano this spring and will start Gymnastics and stay.

Qaiden John is our energetic 5 year old and the funniest of boys.
He started Kindergarten this fall and loves to play with toys.
He’s becoming more reverent in primary class for his dad is his teacher still
While I’m taking a break from his class since at that time Luke gets his meal.
We plan on getting him into wrestling sometime in the coming New Year.
For we know that it would channel his energy and cause us no big fear.

Our 2 year old, Aleah Reese is such a joy to raise,
She is always happy and so laid back, and it’s not just a phase.
As some may recall she has hypotonia, affecting every muscle she has there.
We teach her sign, speech and PT and only cause we care.
Although she may be slower than some other kids it’s true,
She gets stronger every day and makes progress in speech too.

Luke William only 3 months old, is such a happy thing.
Now he coos a lot and lifts his head, what a joy he can bring.

At this special time of year, we want you all to know
That we care and do love you all…so...
May the New Year bring you all happiness of plenty.
For the Lord is ever watchful even if we do not see.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Love, The Cooley Clan

Rich's Shed

Rich's shed is finished! It only took about 3 weeks to build (mostly on the weekends), and was built using our old fence we took down when we replaced it with a new beige vinyl fence. It was a good way to reuse the wood so it didn't go to waste. GREAT JOB RICH! I'm so glad my husband is so handy around the house! I love that about him! We will put all our garden/yard tools inside. He still has to put up the shelves, but that will only take a few hours or a day job. 

A Mother's Love

November 1st, 2009...

Rachael (8 yrs) took this photo for the school's Reflections contest. The theme this year is, "BEAUTY IS..." and she hopes that this photo will be a winner!

"Beauty Is... a mother's love!"

I think she did a pretty good job of capturing it without me even knowing. I just wish we had a better camera to have taken it. Our camera isn't the best quality. Oh well. GREAT JOB RACHAEL!

Luke with Grandpa Cooley

Richard LeRoy Cooley holds his grandson!

TRICK-OR-TREAT



The kids entered a coloring contest at the Dollar Tree and because there were only 6 entries, all 6 (4 of which were my kids') got a big orange bag filled only a quarter way with candy and some halloween pencils. They decided to use those same orange bags that night for Trick-or-treating with their picture they colored still taped on the front! They were sooooo excited!!! I'm glad I talked them all into entering!

Luke's Baby Blessing

November 1, 2009 was the blessing of our 5th child, Luke William Cooley. There was only a small group there because we had the swine flu in our home all week...Qaiden started it off on Monday, then Rachael and Aleah had in on Wednesday, Jacob got it on Saturday night after Trick-or-treating, so he stayed home for Luke's baby blessing (that's why we took a picture of him on the "sick couch"). The Swine-Flu (H1N1) has been circulating throughout the neighborhood and really everywhere, but it wasn't as bad as the media predicted. It is just a little worse than a cold but not as bad as the regular flu. Aleah got it the worse...temperature got to 103, but only during that night until the early afternoon when she bounced back pretty fast...but we did take her in that morning to get some antibiotics and some other stuff. She only got it worse than the others because of her Hypotonia (low mucsle tone). Those with neuromuscular problems tend to get sicker than others we found out. Today (Sunday), Rich says he's coming down with a fever/chills now. So, my sister, Cheryl and her family didn't come (they have the stomach flu in their home right now) and my friend, Jenn and her husband, Mike Stoeber didn't come because they are expecting and didn't want to get exposed. Well, it turned out for the best...even though we missed seeing all of them. It was a nice blessing nonetheless and noone came over for soup/rolls/salad/pumpkin pie for that reason. Thank you to those that came at least for the blessing...Ron/Bertha (friends), Aunt Karen/Uncle Wynn, Shelley(sister)/Paul, and Dad. It sure was nice to see you all at this special occasion! Sorry to those who didn't make it but we'll see you soon I'm sure.

Qaiden's Ice Cream SMILE!

Aleah LOVE's her ice cream!

Logan Canyon Trip

October 31st, 2009...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We took a drive up through the Sardine Canyon to Logan, Utah for the famous AGGIE ICE CREAM...

YUMMY! Richard's father, drove up from Missouri for Luke's baby blessing and so we all drove to see where we used to live from 2001-2004 and where our middle child, Qaiden was born. It was a nice trip, but not as scenic as I thought it would be. All the BEAUTIFUL colorful leaves had already dropped. That is such a spectacular sight to see if you want to see what FALL should look like. Oh well, I guess we'll go up again next year. We ended up getting home just in time for the kids to get ready for Trick-or-treating that night. YEAH!!

Luke is 1 month old!!!

Isn't Luke so adorable?

Time sure flies by really fast...Luke is already 1 month old! Can you believe it? They grow so fast, so I am treasuring this time with him being so little! I just LOVE babies!

Luke William Cooley



Here is our little boy with his eyes wide open! Isn't he such a cutie pie?! He is a mild-mannered baby which is great for mommy! I think he looks like Jacob...my eldest, but he has the Cooley nose. Most every other feature is Nebeker though! What do you think? 

Our Family Is Complete!!!



Our Family of 7 ... Richard LeRoy (38), Charise Alithea (31), Jacob LeRoy (10), Rachael Anne (8), Qaiden John (5), Aleah Reese (2 1/2), and Luke William (newborn).

Saturday afternoon, Richard brought the kids over to see their new baby brother. The nurse, Gloria, took this picture of us together. The kids were so excited to take turns and hold baby Luke. They are so gentle with him and can't seem to get enough time with him! I have the best kids in the world! It has been a GREAT few days.

Baby Is Here!!!

Here, Luke is relaxing on top of me after getting all cleaned up.  There is no feeling like having just given birth to a baby and the nurses putting him/her on my chest.  I have such an intense love for that child at that point and there is no way to describe it except it is a HEAVENLY feeling...

This is what true JOY is!

Luke weighed in at 7 lbs 14 oz.



Luke William Cooley arrived at 8:28 a.m on Saturday, September 19, 2009 after 7 slow hours of labor. He is such a cutie and so good. Not fussy at all. We feel so blessed to have a healthy little boy and know that we have a great responsibility to rear each one of our children to grow up to be the best they can be and to contribute to making the world a little better place! Luke is another added blessing to us and we are sooooo happy to have him be the newest member of our family!!!

Labor Begins...

Me in Labor...don't I look LOVELY?! I guess my husband snapped a shot to show you how tired I was. It was about 4 a.m. when he took this picture. Let me tell you how the labor went...It was 1:30 a.m when I woke up to a hard contraction and I just knew we had to leave for the hospital. We left at 1:45 (after calling Nan Schmalz, a neighbor/friend to come sleep over here for when the kids woke up) and got to the hospital at 2:00 a.m. After registering, we didn't get to the Labor and Delivery room until 2:30 a.m. After checking my cervix, I was dialated to a 4 and then a 5 a little while later. From there, I didn't get very far very quickly... for some odd reason, my uterus was not contracting like it should have and I stayed at a 5 forever! I then got to a 6 finally and I asked my midwife, Stacie Carter if she would just pop my water...maybe that would speed things up. Well, after popping my water, I got to a 7 and then hung out at an 8 forever! I was getting very tired and fed up with how slow I was progressing, so when they asked if I'd like some potossin (which helps speed up the contractions), I didn't hesitate! After they gave me that, I had the baby in just a few contractions which was probably 15 minutes later! FINALLY!!!

1st time growing these!

This is the first time we have grown this type of CUCUMBER...

It's a Limon variety. It tastes pretty good, but not a lot of cucumber, so I don't know if I'll grown them next year or not. It's nice to try though. I think my favorite type of cucumbers, are Armenian. They are a light pale green color and grow pretty long...so you get more meat out of them.

My Sister's New Baby!

Chantel and Norah

My sister, Chantel just had a baby girl and named her... Norah Ryann Wilkinson! She is a replica of Chantel in my opinion...especially her eyes. Both are doing well. She had her Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at about 8:30 a.m. She was a big 9 lbs! Congratulations Chantel on going natural ... that's the way to do it, but many give up and can't stand to go through pain for longer than 2 minutes, so WAY TO GO SIS!

Missouri Trip...conclusion

 Goodbye Missourian Cooley Family!

Abby, Lydia, and Rachael playing with the cute little kittens!

 Qaiden and Abby

The Cooley Cousin Train...

Rachael wanted me to teach her how to float!

Aleah, Emma, Neil, and Abby in the little kid pool!

Jacob had fun throwing the rings with Wesley and diving for them afterward.

Swimming is fun!

After two days in Branson, MO at Silver Dollar City, we drove back to my sister-in-laws home for the night. We woke up late on Thursday morning and drove up to Nevada, MO which is 1 hour north of Webb City (where we stayed at the Swarnes' home) to visit, eat lunch, and ride on ATV's at Oralea's In-Law's (Mary & Neil Swarnes) home. Mary traveled up to Logan, Utah when we lived there with her son Joe and Oralea about 7 years ago so it was nice to visit with her again. They have a nice home with their own pond for fishing, and a nice piece of property to ride the ATV's. The kids rode little battery operated 4-wheelers, while Joe with my daughter Rachael in back and his son Neil in front drove one ATV and Rich and myself drove the other one around the property in the backwoods...there were lots of spider webs and the trail had definately not been used for a while, but it was nice with the breeze blowing...always an adventure when ATV'ing. After eating lunch, we got ready to leave and headed over to Rich's other sister, Gayla's mother-in-laws home just 5-10 minutes away. While there, we played with their 3 little newborn kittens, little newborn puppy, and let the kids play and swim in their outdoor swimming pool! It was sure nice of Gayla's mother-in-law (Blanche) to host all of us Cooley's at her home! Everyone had a blast, especially our kids with their cousins, Wesley, Abby, Ally, China, Lilly, Neil, Lydia, Emma, and Anna. They didn't know them at all, so it was a much needed family gathering. After swimming some, we layed things out on the picnic tables for a big BBQ dinner. After eating, visiting, swimming, playing, etc., we drove back to Oralea/Joe Swarnes home. Friday and Saturday were our last two days. Rich wanted to go to his 20 year High School reunion. So, Friday night, we went to the park to see some of Rich's classmates...it was weird and not that exciting, but we ate a few snacks, let the kids bounce in the bounce house, and at the playground for a while. It was the first part of the reunion. On Saturday, we visiting with two of his best buddies, John Cyr (wife, Casey and 8 yr old daughter, Saddy) and Daniel Dillon...they met us at Oralea's home and had lunch with us along with Rich's other sister, Tawnya and her two girls (China and Lilly), Roger (Rich's brother), his Dad, Oralea's family (husband, Joe and kids Lydia (6), Neil (4), Emma (2), Anna (2 months), and we were surprised to see our ex-brother-in-law Bill Ringen who visited us when we lived up in Alaska when he was married to Rich's sister, Nikki. It sure was a nice visit with all the family and close friends, and much better than any school reunion! Saturday night we did go to the Country Club for a nice buffet dinner and an awards ceremony...Rich won the award for "Robbing the Cradle"...I was the youngest spouse there (7 1/2 years younger)!!!! That concluded our trip to Missouri...which was one we'll never forget. We left Sunday morning after a yummy full breakfast of sausage/potatoe dish, blueberry muffins, canned fruit, and juice. We drove all the way home and didn't get there until 3:30 a.m. on Monday morning...long trip, and glad the driving is over. We thank Oralea and Joe for their hospitality in putting us up for most of the week. We wish we lived a little closer to the Cooley family members because we had a really nice trip!

Silver Dollar City rides...

Our kids wanted to stay at Silver Dollar City forever...we should have left them there!

Tea Cup fun...Dad and the 3 older kids are in the middle teacup.

The flying swings.

The Racing Regata...which boat do you think won?

We rode the train through the park as we shared two cotton candys and the HUGE dill pickle (I guess I was having one of my cravings)!

Aleah spent a lot of time in the stroller, but she had fun nonetheless. We got a lot of treat to keep her happy. Look at the cute face!!!

The kids are waiting in line for the Fire In The Hole coaster ride. Richard was watching the show just next door but the kids wanted to do the ride instead. Aleah and I just got some snacks while we waited.

Mom coming out of CRAZY Grandfather's Mansion...everything was either upside-down or not what it seemed! ...very interesting!

The little kid coaster was short but worth the ride, even for the big kids!

Here is Jacob and Rachael on the Electro-Spin ride. As it spun, it also slid up and down on a coaster type rail.

Dad on the Electro-Spin ride...the kids had to find a seat ont he other side of the ride.

Front to back: Jacob, Rachael, Qaiden and Dad on the American Plunge! I told Rich that he wouldn't get very wet...hee, hee, hee...little did he know!

Ok...I guess I WAS having more fun than I thought!...nice picture, huh?

Our next stop was the Butterfly ride...only Qaiden and Aleah had fun on this one...Jacob and Rachael were ready for the big kid rides! I was actually allowed to ride this one :)

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee...

The Frog ride was fun....I don't know why my kids are so fascinated with frogs...

After the Marvel Cave, we were walking past the Blacksmith's Shop and Richard said he wanted to stop and see what they were doing. The guy let the kids' hold a sword that they made and showed the knife they were in the midst of working on.