A Dozen

Today marks our 12th anniversary! 

12 years ago today, Stephen and I started out on a journey.  We were married, sealed together for time and all eternity. 

A dozen years later, this is us.....

It's hard to imagine our lives without each other or without our 3 boys, but I think back to the first half of our marriage, before the boys came along, and realize just how different those years were from our experiences of the last few years.  The last 5 years have flown by, with more changes than I can count!  We've moved, we've had babies, we've changed jobs and started new schools, and moved again.    Already in our 12th year of marriage, we've packed in more than we'd planned for--new job, new baby, new car (twice), new home.

If there's one thing I can say about our marriage, and life in general, it's that I never know what to fully expect.  We plan and pray and proceed and repeat--sometimes having to start all over or ending up on a completely different path that we'd originally planned.  Whatever challenges come our way, I don't have to worry about Stephen's love for me and his ability to roll with the punches and figure out a way to make things work.  We can always count on having love, faith, hard work, fun, and now our completed family to hold on to as we travel this journey together.    

Baby Push-Ups

 Look at that body.....

....he works out! 

 Kyle and Ryan both did baby crunches.  Evan prefers the push-up.  It's how he eats like a horse but still stays so lean!

Casa de Cooper

 We're almost all moved in and settled in our new home, but we hadn't taken any family photos out front.  We attempted in the bright sunlight and got a lot of squinty eyes. 

 The one indoors turned out a little better. 

 Then we tried again as the sun was going down with much better results. 

We are loving our new home!

After the Vacation

We've just returned from a fun-filled, action-packed, week-long family reunion at Lake Greeson in Arkansas.  This is what I get to work on for the next few days....

That's what a family of five, and especially Evan, can dirty up in 6 days at the lake. {One load is already washing, too!} 

If I ever get to the top {or bottom} of this mountain of laundry, I can't wait to start posting pictures from the actual fun we had on our trip! 

Cousins

 The 2010 babies are growing up.....

 It's fun having a popcorn snack with your cousins! 

Meeting the Neighbors

 I've often been told that when you're feeling down, it's best to forget yourself and go to work doing something nice for others.  Last week was one of those weeks, so we got busy getting to know the neighbors.  What better way to get people smiling than a sweet treat? 

We made some popcorn balls for Family Home Evening and attached a get-to-know-us message and went door-to-door to drop them off, say hello and welcome ourselves into the neighborhood. 

I think we're really going to get along well with {most of} our neighbors, and I look forward to getting to know them even better.  {Now that they know that, YES, our house is occupied!!!}

Helpful

 Po LOVES to help.  As a mother, I know this is a good thing and something I need to encourage and develop, but it can be exhausting trying to have the patience to let these little ones "help" with things like laundry, sweeping, loading and unloading the dishwasher, and taking out the trash, when I know I could just do the job more efficiently myself. 

Then, there is the helping that just lets me sit back and smile.  Like when Ryan thinks that Evan needs a blanket..or 2.  It's a good thing Evan is a good sleeper.....

 Thanks for the help, Po!

Pre-K Graduation

 Kyle made it through his first year of school!

I'm so glad he's had a wonderful year, with great teachers and friends.  Kyle has grown and matured quite a bit in his experiences in school this year.

Last night we got to watch him walk across a stage and get his first {of many} diplomas.

First, the graduates put on a little program.  There were a few songs, a bible verse, a video of pictures from the school year.  Here's a few snippets from the night:

One of Kyle's favorites, Going on a Bear Hunt:



Thank you, God, for Making Me:


Kyle gets his diploma:



All the Pre-K graduates of 2012:

Dad was able leave work early and catch the end of the graduation:

Kyle and Mom:

With Grandpa and Grandma:

The other boys got to stay home with Aunt Liz and McKinley.  It was a nice treat to get to enjoy the graduation with the little ones. 


Afterwards, we had a nice meet and greet.  It was sweet for Kyle to get to say good-bye to all of his friends and to get their numbers so we can get them together this summer!  I was also so happy to hear several moms tell me how good Kyle is and how their boys are always talking about Kyle.  That makes a mom happy. 

As we said good-bye to his teachers, Ms. Lora shed a few tears.  She hugged Kyle and kept telling him how much she loves him and how she's going to miss him.  She told me she just loves him so much and what a good boy he is, that he's just so sweet, and she's going to really miss him next year.  It's nice to hear that other people love this little guy and helps me hold onto those sweet memories.  I guess I can forgive him for refusing to sing to me on Mother's Day!   

Then we were on to the graduation dinner.  Kyle's choice? Cane's!  He wanted to make sure he had TWO toasts AND his own sauce!  Not a bad choice, I'd say.

Congrats, Kyle.  The road is long from here.  You've only just begun! 

Sweet Brothers

Ryan is such a sweet brother.  He is always looking out for Evan, bringing him toys and blankets, trying to help him eat, and giving him hugs and kisses.

I hope these two will continue to be very close as they are grow up.

Evan's First Swim

Baby Evan got in the pool for the first time last Thursday.  I'm sure there will be many, many more swimming experiences in his future!

Kyle Coop

While I was getting the younger boys ready for bed last night, Kyle was upstairs working on one last surprise for Mother's Day.  I climbed to the top of the stairs and saw him in the gameroom.  He said, "Happy Mother's Day! Come look!" I told him I loved the tower he built for me.  "It's not a tower," he replied.  "It's a temple.  And if I don't finish up these last parts, the minister is going to be really angry with me."  {I just smiled and watched him finish building.} 

"Okay.  It's ready.  Take a picture."

Kyle has grown up SO much in the last year.  Every now and then there are glimpses of ye ol' poop scoop, but more and more he's becoming more mellow. 

I still get cracked up at some of the things he says:

{Last week when we were on the way to Grandma's house.} "OH. MY. GOODNESS!  That's the donut shop!  We MUST be close to Grandma's house!!!" 

{As he pulled up to the barber shop with Stephen}  "Are we going to get our nails done, Dad?" 

There are many, many more things Kyle does and says that make me smile or just shake my head.  {I would write more, but I have to end this because I hear a crying baby!}  I'm so grateful I get to be Kyle's mom!  

Precious Gifts

 Ryan colored this for me in nursery today.

 As we all know, he doesn't speak English, so Kyle answered the questions.

 Kyle made this for me at school. 

 It took me about 2 seconds to find the mistake that they didn't. 

I also got some wonderful new dishes to add to my collection and a Kyle classic to add to the stories:
The Primary Children always sing songs to the mothers at church.  Kyle didn't want to go up there, but I asked him nicely.  He went up to the front and SAT DOWN in a chair while all the other children stood and sang and smiled for their moms.  MY child, I have to remind myself.  Poop Scoop special.  When he came back to our pew, I asked him why he didn't stand up and sing.  His response, "I didn't want to stand up.  I wanted to just sit down."  It makes a mother proud.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all women.  I remember the Mother's Days of the past, when we were trying so hard to have children.  I remember how hard it was to celebrate the day as a woman in the age group who "should" have children already, until I finally realized that it's not only about celebrating mothers, but also the God-given qualities of motherhood every woman has just because she is a daughter of a Heavenly Father who knows and loves her.

Happy Mother's Day to our mothers.  It's such a blessing to have been raised by women who love us and teach us and do their best to be examples to us, even today.

Now that I am a mother, Mother's Day has an even deeper meaning, as I take in all that I have learned by being blessed to have the experience in this life of being a mother to my three boys.  Here's just a few things that have been on my mind lately: 

Five Things I've Learned About Being a Mother

1) Time is Precious.
I don't mean this in the selfish way, like because I'm a mother, I never seem to have time to myself.  Yes, this is true, but because my own personal time is so precious, I'm reminded how much it means to spend this precious time with each of my children.  The time I'm able to dedicate to one-on-one time with each boy is golden to them.  I've learned that it's essential to spend quality time, in an activity of their choice, uninterrupted--as much as possible--with each child every day.  It means so much to them--even more than I think--because they start to understand how precious my time is and realize that I give it up for them.

2) You have to have thick skin.
If you don't have a strong sense of self-worth, you're not going to make it.  Children have a way of innocently pointing out our weaknesses, short-comings, and insecurities just matter-of-factly.  Plus, without your own identity and your own talents, hobbies, and traits outside of motherhood, it's easy to start to get lost in the sea of late-night feedings, diaper changes, teeth-brushings, and rides to school/soccer games/activities.  It's important to know yourself and have an understanding of your own importance and talents in order to be a stronger example as a mother.

3) You need to give yourself some leeway, a.k.a. try to have an eternal perspective.
You make mistakes.  It's okay.  Some days are just bad days and you all get to go to bed and start over the next day.  And some events/challenges/days that seem impossible and so hard to handle when you're in the moment will soon be something to laugh over.....if you even remember them at all.   

4) It's important to have consequences--both positive AND negative.
Children feel safe when there when things are consistent.  Routines are priceless.  It's also SO important to set boundaries and enforce those boundaries in with rewards along with punishments.  Even as an adult I experience sadness, disappointment, hurt feelings, and negative consequences of my actions or the actions of others.  It's the negative things that often jolt us back onto the right path because we are quickly reminded of how it feels to not be in the right.  Kids need that sometimes, too.

5) Don't compare yourself to others, a.k.a. NOBODY'S perfect.
In life, you are not able to look at the answers to the questions before the test is given.  You can't always get the answers from someone else because everyone's tests are different.  You also might look back on someone else's test and think you know the right answers.  You don't.  You may think that you'd be the perfect parent to that child.  You wouldn't.  Before you had children of your own, you may have thought you'd do it better than anyone else could.  Don't kid yourself.  When you have more than one child, you look at first-time parents and just know you never did that when you only had one.  You did.  You may wonder how someone else is able to handle this or that when you feel like you are barely keeping people clothed and fed.  You may wonder how someone else is NOT able to handle this or that when you are running circles around the neighborhood.  Don't fret over it, because as perfect as someone's life may seem on Facebook, the Christmas newsletter, or even from the perfect smiles captured in their family photos, it's NOT perfect.  Nobody's perfect.  Including you.  And the sooner you learn that you are given YOUR unique circumstances and challenges for YOU and for what YOU need and quit trying to compare your life to anyone else's, the happier you'll be.  The next time someone tries to tell you how their house was always clean, their kids were always dressed in perfectly pressed clothes and a hair of their heads was never out of place, they never drew on the walls or cut their own hair, they could read before they could walk, were potty-trained before speaking, or could swim laps before they started school, just smile and remember that NOBODY'S perfect.           


And no matter how many mistakes you make as a mother, your children will always love you--even just for giving them the gift of life.  You have already done for someone else something they could never do for themselves.  Every minute, every second, everything beyond that is a gift!


Happy Mother's Day!

6 Months Old

 It's Baby Evan's half birthday!

Evan is such a good baby.  I get comments all the time about how mellow and easy-going he is.  "He must be such a good baby!"   He's also a very happy little guy.  He is sleeping well and eating like a horse.  He LOVES cereal!  And, he LOVES to spit up. 

Evan is on the move, too.  He's a roller and can get himself across the room with surprising speed.  He enjoys playing with toys--especially those that light up and make lots of noises.  One unique thing we've noticed lately about little man is his fascination with scratching.  He loves to feel different textures and materials by scratching them and listening to the noise.  I have to make sure I keep his nails on the short side or he'll scratch himself and us up, too! 

There's been quite a bit of stress in Evan's first 6 months of life, and he's been a great blessing of not adding to much to that stress.  I'm so glad that he is here and that he knows how to brighten up the place with his smile.

2 year-old Stuff

 It's already been a month since Ryan's 2nd birthday.  The time is flying by.  Baby Ry is gone, and every now and then I see glimpses of Toddler Monster.  Most of the time he is the happy, outgoing, jovial, loving, flirtatious, hugging Rhino we all know and love.  Sometimes we get more of the Terrible than the Terrific Two, though. 

Ryan's newest thing is meal-time antics.  He gives me looks like you wouldn't believe some nights, as if I have attempted to feed him sludge.  We've had several stand-offs, like the Night of the Terrible Taco Soup:

He was NOT well-pleased when it made its way to his tray. 

Instead of relenting and following the at-least-one-bite-of-everything-on-the-plate dinner house-rule, he sat there.  And sat,

and sat,

and sat,

and sat.




Until he fell asleep.  

Well played, Toddler Monster.  Well played. 

Casa de Cooper B&B

We hosted our second official visitors this past weekend.  It was fun to have Eric and Emmy here for a quick trip.  We mostly just hung out, ran around with the boys, ate some yummy Mexican food and pizza, took advantage of their generous babysitting services, and enjoyed catching up a bit.  It was nice to pick a sista's brain on decorating thoughts, too.

Evan and Emmy

Eric and Kyle--the boys and their electronics

Sadly, they were only here for a quick trip, but I'm so glad they were able to stop by and visit our little B&B!

Cinco de Mayo Futbol

 We had a Sabado Gigante on Cinco de Mayo.  First, Aunt Emmy and Uncle Eric were at our casa when the ninos woke up, since they had flown in the night before to see us for a few days before leaving on their cruise de Me-hee-co.  {Mexico, for those of you would do not HABLA ESPANOL.}

After breakfast, we got ready for Kyle's futbol game.  Since the coach was no esta aqui for the game, los ninos got to have Coach Cooper!  Estaban was *super official looking*, too, huh?   

 When we were at the game, we also got to see Aunt Liz and McKinley and Grandma and Grandpa.  Kyle was que popular! 

Kyle le gusta mucho the goalie position.  He's pretty good, too.

Even though it was mucho calor outside, the kids had fun, and we seem to be getting things together a little bit every week.  We also got smoked, once again, but it wasn't quite as frustrating as some of the other games.  It also helped that we had the rotations a little more organized this week and that some of the kids that haven't wanted to play actually played!  

We had some tasty mexican comida after the game and enjoyed some more time with Tia Emmy and Tio Eric--another successful cinco de Mayo!  

Lessons Learned/Reaffirmed

It's been a strange week.  In some aspects, I feel motivated and accomplished.  In others, I feel like I'm spinning my wheels and still getting nowhere.  Mostly, several experiences from the week have served to reinforce lessons I thought I'd already learned.

I'll start with the good stuff.

Lesson--90% of will power is just making the effort to START a task.
This has been made more clear to me as I have {finally!} started working out again after just{?} having a baby.  It's been SO much easier than what I'd worked up in my mind to be dreading.
I've also been amazed at how many projects I've been able to complete in MUCH less time than my procrastinator's mind would have like me to believe, therefore talking myself out of even beginning.   

Lesson--It's important to spend time doing little things that may not seem to matter because they may matter to other people.  
It's SO hard for me to learn to let what I may think are important things at the moment slide and focus on what's truly important--my family.  We all seem more frazzled when I get wrapped up in cleaning/organizing/decorating/{fill-in-the-blank} projects while neglecting the simple things like going to the park, playing games, coloring, reading books, or just playing together.  My kids were nearly in heaven the other day when I decided to leave the kitchen a mess in favor of spending 30 minutes in the front yard, letting them help me water AND using the water hose on them!  Also, Kyle has asked to go out front to watch the builders work on the home that's going up across the street.  He's spent hours over the last few weeks watching it go from foundation to brick, being especially intrigued by the progress he misses while at school.  And these 2 had so much fun just laughing and singing with mom, while playing on the floor for a few precious moments.  These will be gone before long and there will ALWAYS be another load of laundry or another sink of dishes waiting.
   

Now for the lessons that have been harder to learn:

Lesson--I can't do everything, and it's OKAY.
It's SO hard to admit it, but I really can't juggle everything.  On days that I am up and ready and everyone's dressed, the laundry may be spilling over.  When the house is clean{ish}, the kids might be in pajamas until after lunch and I may not get a shower until their nap time.  I haven't been out to meet and greet the neighbors and get involved in the community.  There is still much more to do on the house.  I don't know too many people or have many friends to call and make plans with.  I haven't made time to work on developing some of my personal goals or catching up on family history, but IT'S OKAY.  I do what I can do and make baby steps and what needs to get done gets done.  And, if we have a frozen meal for dinner one night....SO. BE. IT.    

Lesson--You have to be ALL OVER people to get anything done these days!!!!
I've often heard that the squeaky wheel is the one that gets the grease, and we are truly feeling that frustration.  It took several visits to the office, a handful of emails and phone calls to various people, and trips by even more to complete a list of warranty concerns for the house, but that was FINALLY wrapped up this week.  It was like pulling teeth to get someone to find the code to reprogram our front door or even get us the sink kit that should've been left in the house.  Also, the navigation advertised in the new car we bought OVER A MONTH AGO has never worked.  We went back and forth with the dealer and finally had to threaten to bring in a lawyer and the BBB in order to get it resolved.  Then, we had to find an authorized dealer to give us a quote and actually do the work.  THEY tried to give us the run around about how it was going to take longer than expected...blah, blah, blah, so when I told them to just put it all back together and forget about it, they *miraculously* solved the problem in a few hours!  These experiences have not done anything to restore my faith in people, but have let me practice being more assertive and knowing which questions to ask and what to watch out for future reference.  

Lesson--You only have so much time to teach children right from wrong before the world creeps in and tries to take over.

It only took a few months of Kyle being out in "the world," out among peers who may/may not have the same values that we do for me to hear inappropriate language from his lips.  He's FOUR AND A HALF!  Those years of talking about choosing the right and being a good example and not using ugly words and what would Jesus want you to do seemed to slip through my hands like seconds compared with how quickly and effectively peers' influences tried to take my baby away.  It's definitely a wake-up call to be even more vigilant in doing those things we know we should be doing.

Although I've enjoyed being able to step back and evaluate a few areas of my life, it's time to keep on trucking with the important things as well as those that just have to get done.