The Coffer Family

2010-03-24T17:42:00.003-04:00

What I Am
by Katie Coffer

I am a girl with Turner Syndrome,
it doesn't hold me back.
I am the beach
with the crashing waves,
I am light pink like the sun
setting at dusk.
I am the summer season,
when sand gets in between your toes.
I am pizza with lots of toppings.
I am music playing.
I am a girl
who likes to play with her dad.
I love my family
so sweet and caring.
I am who I am
and nobody can change it!

Katie Coffer, age 10, Columbia, SC

Where have I been?

2009-11-16T13:15:00.002-05:00

I have not posted or updated our blog in months. I am such a slacker! So much has gone on and I have not put pictures on my computer in so long. Big Sister turned 10 and I have some fun pictures from her birthday party. I also need to do Halloween, the beginning of school and summer fun pics. I will try to work on it during the Thanksgiving holidays.

Myrtle Beach 2009

2009-06-30T13:32:00.002-04:00

We went to Myrtle Beach to spend some time with friends, here are some pictures of the girls.

New Product / Clog Toppers

2009-06-21T16:41:00.003-04:00

This is my newest product. These are cute Clog Toppers that fit just like a jibbetz into your crocs or other holey shoes. I don't have them listed on my website yet, but I will put them up in about a week. They are so cute and can be custom made with your initial in the colors that will match your crocs.

The Coffer Family in Edisto, June 2009

2009-06-17T20:46:00.003-04:00

We went to Edisto Beach, SC for our annual Coffer Family Beach Vacation. We all had a great time and it was so nice to spend time with our extended family. The girls loved hanging out with their cousins.

American Girl Video

2009-06-05T08:47:00.003-04:00

So you know both of my girls love their American Girl Dolls. They have watched the videos on youtube over and over. They decided to make their own video and they wrote the script and rehearsed it all by themselves. The only thing I did was to record it for them. Hope you enjoy the first ever Coffer Girls AG Production. (Don't forget to turn off the playlist on the left hand navigaiton bar.)

Katie's Piano Recital

2009-06-01T11:10:00.004-04:00

Katie has been taking piano lessons for about a year. She played 2 songs and did very well with both of them. This was her 2nd song.
Don't forget to turn off the playlist, in the lower left.

Sparkleberry Fair

2009-04-26T19:55:00.004-04:00

Well, I have fully recovered from Sparkleberry Country Fair!!! I sold a lot of bottle cap necklaces and a few sets of croc bows. Billie Jean and I started our day by arriving at Clemson Extention at 7 am, by 9 am it was really starting to get hot. By 1pm it was HOT!!!! We were miserable, we were both sick and not geeling very good and then you add that heat and it was a hard day. It was so nice to get home and take a shower, not even a hot shower, but just to get clean. You would not believe how dirty and dusty that place is, all of our stuff had a coat of dirt on it. We had to try and clean everything off while we were packing up and then got the blow dryer our to blow the dust off when we got home.
I did see some friends out there and got to chat a little. I met a new friend named Christy, she sells really cute handmade clothes, here's her link www.boutiquelulubelle.com I am ordering a few outfits for the girls from her, I will post a picture when I get them.
Billie Jean and I will be at Blythefest in May, I'll post some details later. Hopefully that won't be as miserable, at least we will be inside for that one.
Have a great week!!

Happy 7th Birthday Allie

2009-04-20T16:55:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday Sweetie!!

A Birthday weekend

2009-04-20T16:47:00.005-04:00

In the Coffer Family, 4 of the 5 grandkids have birthdays within 4 days of each other, so this past weekend was the birthday weekend. It started with Andy and Gracies 4th birthday party at Monkey Business Saturday morning and then Addie had her 2nd birthday party at a local park that afternoon. Allie had her 7th birthday party at our house with her friends that evening. Here are some pictures of the festivities.

Heart Walk

2009-04-20T16:45:00.001-04:00

A picture from the Heart Walk, March 21, 2009

Washington DC Slide Show

2009-04-10T17:37:00.001-04:00

Our Spring Break Trip to Washington DC

2009-04-10T16:52:00.006-04:00

Spring Break 2009 was spent in Washington DC. We left early Saturday morning and came back on Thursday. We had a great trip and met up with the Harrell family a few times. Sunday was the most beautiful day, it was sunny and about 67 degrees. We did the monuments and The Mall on that day. Monday was a very cold and rainy. It rained just about all day and the high was about 47 degrees. We went to the museums that day, along with everyone else in DC. They were very crowded. Tuesday was a little warmer, but still chilly and we had our US Capitol Tour, that was very cool and we really enjoyed seeing Union Station and the rest of Capitol Hill. On Wednesday we sailed down the River on a boat and took a trip to Mt. Vernon. We had a fun time there as well. The girls loved the baby lambs, they were just too cute. We met up with the Harrell's for dinner at Hard Rock and Allie got a special treat, she had the whole restaurant wish her Happy Birthday. The girls also loved riding on the subway. I have to tell you that the Metro in Washington is a little confusing at first, but by Wednesday, we had it all figured out. The Metro in Paris is easier to figure out than that one. We had a great time in DC!

Heart Walk 2009

2009-03-22T19:18:00.005-04:00

It’s that time again!! Time for the 2009 American Heart Association’s Midlands Heart Walk. This year’s walk will be held on March 28th. Katie has walked in the Heart Walk for the last 8 out of 9 years. S he loves to collect the pins each year and put them on her red "survivors" hat. In 2008, “Team Katie” had 25 walkers, this year we would love to add more to that number. Last year she raised over $800 and had 25 friends and family walking with her. This year her goal is $1000 and even more friends and family. This is a big soccer season, wo we have a lot of friends who will be on the soccer field instead, but I know they are still with us in prayer.

As most of you know, Katie was diagnosed with a heart condition shortly after birth. She is followed by her cardiologist in Columbia regularly to monitor her heart health. Last July Katie had a heart cath at the Children’s Heart Center at MUSC where a balloon was inserted in her aortic valve to open it up a little. The results from this procedure have been good and hopefully she can avoid any more procedures for a few more years! However, there will eventually come a day when she will need to have major surgery to have her valve repaired or replaced. The American Heart Association uses the Heart Walk to raise funds for research and to educate people on heart health. This research has specifically benefited our family as we have researched possible surgical techniques that were not available a few short years ago.

If you can join us Saturday morning, we would love to see you. We will all be in the red Team Katie shirts.

My new favorite song

2009-02-25T09:49:00.003-05:00

I love this song, don't forget to turn off my playlist before you listen to it. My playlist is all the way down on the bottom right.

Welcome to Holland

2009-02-21T09:18:00.004-05:00

WELCOME TO HOLLAND
byEmily Perl Kingsley c1987 All rights reserved

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland.

""Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy.

"But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills... .and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

New Items in my Shop

2009-02-17T09:12:00.008-05:00

I am carrying some super cute new items in my online store. These floral pattern market totes are just like the other ones I have, but in a sassy new pattern. Being a pink lover, I know I will get this one, it's just too cute!!

Here is the link to my store, www.shoponawhimsy.com/

I am Mom of the week!!

2009-02-09T08:55:00.004-05:00

I just found out today that I am the Featured Mom of the Week at Buy by Mom. I was so excited to see that, I just had to share. Here is the link to the write up.
www.buybymom.com/ablog/?p=277

She has a lot of stuff about me and On A Whimsy, she even has some pictures of the bottle cap necklaces and croc bows.

Angie, the owner of Buy by Mom, did a product review awhile back, here is the link to that
www.buybymom.com/ablog/?p=137

Valentine's Day Freebies and Sales

2009-02-08T16:19:00.009-05:00

Julianne from Unique Scrapbooking is going to show us how to make a Love Coupon Matchbook, visit her site here for the directions to this super cute idea for Valentine's Day.
www.uniquescrapbooking.blogspot.com/

Also ~ here are some sites that are having Valentine's Day Sales

Melissa with Shoppe our Attic has 15% off at www.shoppeourattic.com/

Susan has 15% off at her 2 online stores www.sweet-pea-creations.com/ and www.alleyandcompany.com/ She has some realy cute Valentine's Day Cards~

I am having a 15% off sale on my Photo Bottle Cap Necklaces, originally priced at $24 on sale for $20.40, still free shipping too. While they won't be ready before Valentine's Day, they still make a super cute gift. visit my website~ On A Whimsy~ for more gift ideas.

Tiffany at Charmies Online is having a 15% off sale on any of her items that have red or pink in them. Use the coupon code HEART during check out for the discount. If you want something that is purple, green or gold use her Mardi Gras sale for those items, the coupon code for that is FLOAT . http://www.charmiesonline.com/

Remember this guy....

2009-01-28T13:25:00.009-05:00

Picture of Chris Sligh courtesy of Fox

Chris Sligh from American Idol season 6. He's from Greenville, SC. I remember watching it when he was a contestant and I thought her had a really good voice. I have been hearing his new song "Empty Me" on the radio for awhile and I love it. It's my favorite song right now. The words are so powerful and self reflective. Here is a video from YouTube:
Don't forget to turn off my Favorite Tunes music.

My New Blog Layout

2009-01-27T12:33:00.005-05:00

Look what I just found.... I new website that has FREE Blog Layouts. I just changed mine today and I think it looks very cute. Go to www.thatblogplace.com and search the 100's and I mean 100's of free blog layouts. There is something for everyone there. She is also having a sale for $5 off a custom header , here is the code for that, FAB5. Enter that coupon code during checkout to get $5 off. On her blog, www.that-blog-place.blogspot.com/ , she is having a contest ~ she's giving away a custom header to 10 lucky winners, just make a comment and you will be entered, hurry though, the contest ends on Feb. 1st.

Valentine's Day Mini Chocolate Bar Wrappers

2009-01-23T14:03:00.006-05:00

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY - Chocolate makes a special treat for those you care about most. This is a fun way to show your classmates, coworkers or friends that they are extraordinary!

These Valentine's Day miniature wrappers fit over the Hershey's Miniatures

Just click on the image & right click to save. Pull into any graphics/word program to print!

These cute wrappers and made by Sharlee at Sweet Memories & More. You can visit her website at:

http://www.customcandybarwrappers4u.com/

She has some of the most adorable custom candy wrappers , unique party favors and chocolate birthday favors.

~The Sweetest Things in Life start here~

It's Snowing!!!

2009-01-20T14:01:00.004-05:00

We woke up to the beautiful sight of snow this morning. Last night the School District called off school for today because of the weather. I was really hoping it would snow. Here in Columbia, we rarely get any snow, so to get this much really shuts down the city. We just don't have the equipment that is necessary to keep the roads safe, so we stay home. It was fine with me today, but after 4 days of being out of school, I was a little worried that they would drive me crazy. We went outside and I snapped a few pictures of them having fun in the white stuff. Allie even made a snowman. We put him in the freezer to show daddy when he gets home tonight.

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-03T15:11:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year to all of my friends and family, We have had a great year filled with exciting and scary times. I don't make resolutions anymore, so here are a few of my goals for this year:
* Be a better wife
* Be nicer to my kids
* Teach Katie more things instead of expecting her to just pick up on them
* Take a trip with just my mom and my girls
* Have each girl spend the night with a set of grandparents at least once a month
* Sub at school at least 5 times a month
* Get more excercise to make my heart healthier

I'm sure I will think of more and as I do, I will add them to the list.
Have a great new year!

Our American Girl Adventure

2008-12-28T21:24:00.003-05:00

Santa brought the girls an American Girl weekend for Christmas. We left on Friday for our adventure. We had soooo much fun in Atlanta.

Christmas Morning

2008-12-28T21:07:00.001-05:00

Look who I saw...

2008-12-28T19:05:00.005-05:00

... in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve night.

I heard some noise outside of our window and went downstairs to "catch him". I took the second photo and then he saw me so I ran back upstairs and went back to bed until I heard him leave. Then I got up and printed the pictures out for the girls to see the proof. Santa left us some great gifts this year. I will post more on that soon.

Photo made possible with the help of the great people at
www.capturethemagic.com

Goodbye Sweet Dixie

2008-12-22T09:17:00.002-05:00

Our sweet, loving black lab died during the night Friday night. She was just the sweetest dog I've ever known. So loving and loyal, she will surely be missed. She was not feeling good on Thursday evening, she wouldn't eat or really even stand up. I knew she wouldn't make it much longer. I tried to pet her and give her as much love and attention as I could those last couple of days. At least now I know she's not hurting anymore. She was with us for just over 12 years. We got her the year after we got married, she was our first baby. Here is the most recent picture of her, taken in November.

All she wants for Christmas...

2008-12-22T09:11:00.004-05:00

....is her two front teeth. Little Sister lost her other front tooth last Friday morning. She looks sooo cute with out those two teeth. But, now as a mommy, she will never have that little girl smile. At least she lost them pretty late, so I got to enjoy the little girl smile for a little longer than ususal.

Cute new polymer clay charms

2008-12-18T19:29:00.005-05:00

I just got a shipment of some new charms to make more polymer clay necklaces and I had to share. There is a lady in Texas who does the most beautiful work. I have ordered from her several times and am always amazed at how super cute her work is. I am posting a few pictures, these new necklaces should be ready soon and I will list them on my website by the end of the year.

puppy, zebra, belle

Helpful online shopping hint.....

2008-12-14T11:04:00.005-05:00

If you need to order anything online, please search the retailers name and the words "coupon codes". I just ordered from Land's End and while I was at my check out page, I saw that the shipping was over $15. I opened another window and searched for "Lands end coupon codes" and I got a code for free shipping on any order. It's so easy to do and can really save a lot of money. In less than 2 minutes, I saved $15. Stephanie~ if you read this, they have a really cute denim skirt on sale. I ordered one!!

The Tooth Fairy flies in!

2008-12-11T15:58:00.002-05:00

Little Sister finally let me pull one of her loose teeth. Those two front ones have been loose for about 4 months now, the one on the right had gotten really loose and I finally convinced her to let me get it. She looks just adorable, I can't wait until the other one comes out. Maybe it will be before Christmas and she can sing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth"

The Christmas Play

2008-12-11T15:55:00.002-05:00

This year the play was called "The Christmas County Spelling Bee" Both of the girls had speaking parts in it and they both did a great job. This is a picture of Little Sister acting silly, big sister is in the background sitting just to the right of LS. They play was held at Spring Valley Baptist on Sunday, December 7th.

Thanksgiving and the start of the Christmas season

2008-12-02T16:07:00.002-05:00

We had a great Thanksgiving, we went over to my in-laws house and had turkey and all the fixin's. It was so nice for my husband to be home for 4 days straight. We always go to get our Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving. I went shopping in the morning with some friends, we started at 5:40. That's unbelievably early, but I've never done it before, so I wanted to experience it. It was crazy, but lots of fun. After I got back home from shopping, I was exhausted, but we went to the Farmers Market to get our tree. Little Sister got to pick it out this year and boy did she get a big one. We put the lights on it on Friday evening, and got the ornaments on it on Saturday. Here is a picture of the finished product. Very pretty if I do say so myself. The Holidays have officially begun and I have decided I am going to enjoy every precious, crazy, stressful minute of it. They always go by so fast, so this year, I'm going to be making lots of memories with my family. I've already added the picture of my family into the main header, here is a picture of the tree in all it's shining glory. How pretty!!

Happy Anniversary Honey!!

Love ya,

Karina

BOGO Free sale at my online store

2008-11-29T09:11:00.001-05:00

On A Whimsy is excited to offer you a buy one get one free sale on our personalized bottle cap necklaces. You get 2 super cute necklaces AND Free Shipping for only $10. Just add either the personalized initial necklace or the name necklace to your cart and enter the information in the extras box for both necklaces. Monday only!!
http://www.shoponawhimsy.com/

Thanks,

Karina

Beautiful Holiday Ornaments

2008-11-26T17:33:00.002-05:00

Since I work from home, I come across all types of other work at home moms. I saw these ornaments that Melissa makes from eggs, they are just beautiful. Here is a picture of my favorite one. Go to her website www.michiganeggconnection.com and then go to egg art to see all types of wonderful creations. She also has some beautiful pins made from eggs as well. You will be amazed at how pretty these are.

A Family of Believers

2008-11-23T15:58:00.004-05:00

Well, it's official~ my family is a family of believers. The little sister professed her faith in Jesus today and was baptized. It was a beautiful moment and I am so glad that I was back there with her to see her smiling face when she came out of that water. She has been so excited all day, it has been her special day. Big sister was baptized around the same age and now our family will be united in heaven one day. With Thanksgiving coming this week, I am so thankful to have my family and to know that we all have Jesus in our hearts and will live eternally with Him forever.

Big Sisters Birthday Party

2008-11-23T15:52:00.002-05:00

Big Sister had a High School Musical Party for her 9th birthday. She had 6 of her closest friends come over and celebrate with her and then we all went to the movie. She had a fun time. It's so hard to believe she is already 9 years old. Where does the time go?

Madagascar 2

2008-11-19T09:05:00.001-05:00

The girls and I went to see the new Madagascar movie this past weekend. We met Stephanie and the boys there. It was cute movie, but it seemed like it had more adult humor in it than the 1st one. The girls really liked it though. Where will they go next?

Christmas is in how many days????

2008-11-12T14:00:00.004-05:00

As you can tell by my cute new "Custest Blog on the Block" design, I am ready for Christmas. I have been ready for it for about 2 months now. I started listening to my Christmas music around the first of October. I told my hubby one day when we had our heat wave (in October), that it just felt wierd to listen to Christmas music when it was this hot outside. His response was "IT'S OCTOBER!!" I shouldn't be listening to Christmas music in October anyway. Well now, we are into November, so it's perfectly okay. I am about half way done with my shopping, not too much more to go. If you need some creative ideas for gifts on your list, visit my website at http://www.shoponawhimsy.com/ I have lots of cute stuff and more coming soon.

I'm not exactly ready to skip Thanksgiving, so here is a cute clip art that I found to put on my website. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Be thankful for all you have around you. I sure am. I'll post a list sometime soon.

Have a great day.

2008-11-12T13:34:00.009-05:00

Here are some posts from Katie's blog. Since I'm starting over, I am going to get rid of the girls blogs and put everything in this one. This was Katie's summer.

Ugg, Heart Surgery...August 7, 2008

I had to have my aorta fixed. It is what is called BAV with stenosis. They had to blow up a balloon in my valve to stretch it out a little bit. It would make my heart stronger and work better. I had to go to Charleston for a few days. Here is a picture of me right after surgery with Woofie, my best surgery buddy. He has been though lots of surgeries with me. I am feeling fine now and I'm ready for school.

A Chance of a Lifetime...July 19, 2008

I was asked by a friend of my moms to do the honors of throwing out the first pitch in the local Blowfish baseball game on July 19th, 2008. I was asked because my moms friends organization DAR was doing a fundraiser for MUSC Heart Hospital. I was going in to have my heart surgery on July 22, so they asked me to do it. I had a blast!! My mom and dad and sister came to watch. My 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Harrell came out to watch too. This is a picture of her and her family; soms Ethan and Dillion and Mr. Randall her husband.

ME ME ME..

This is a picture of me in the airport coming home from Vermont

Our Family Beach Trip, June 2008

We went to Edisto with our family in June. We had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of our trip, this one is of me and my sister Allie. I'm on
the top step. The bottom picture is one of all of the grand children on my daddy's side of the family.

Starting Over...

2008-11-10T17:23:00.003-05:00

Okay, I've started several blogs and just haven't had time to keep up with all of them, so I'm starting over and putting everything on one blog. This blog will contain all of my On A Whimsy stuff, all of the cute stuff the girls do and all of the interesting stuff our family does. Hopefully, I will stick to it and write some intersting things for you to read. I've worked on big sisters blog and I'll try to transfer her info on to this blog. Wish me luck!!
Karina