Surgery a Success

Cooper's surgery was a success. The doctor said he can usually see nose when he goes in to take adenoids out, but it was so swollen he couldn't see past adenoids. His left ear was blocked off better than ear plugs could have blocked the sound. Doctor said he had a bad sinus infection. They cleaned out everything. He should do a lot better now. He is very cranky and sad, but doing well. He only wanted daddy after surgery.

His oxygen was low so he has to have some by him. He let George have some, too.

The job! The job!

I'm excited to say that Chris got the job he was been waiting to hear about for 3 weeks! He is the new manager of Weber State's Indoor Practice Facility. We are happy and relieved that he will have a full time job kind of in his career field. He's very excited! We are all happy he will still be close to home and working in what he loves, sports! He will have his own office and the new facility is BEAUTIFUL! Pictures to come! So proud of my hubby! He has worked so hard for this!

Happy Halloween!

We decided to dress Cooper up as Mr. Frederiksen from the Disney movie "Up" this year. His costume turned out even better than I expected! When Eileen and I spotted the coat, we knew it was more than perfect! I bought his little bottle cap pin on Etsy. We had a lot of fun visiting grandparents and aunts/uncles. Happy Halloween!

And we couldn't help but laugh when Pawpaw Todd was dressed as a scout for Halloween!

Twinners

These two showed up to church in the same outfit today. They are meant to be best friends!

Stressed

Life sure is overwhelming. I just want to cry. I think I have been so stressed lately that I have daily headaches. I just can't seem to figure life out. I know we're supposed to count our blessings, but it's hard when it seems like everything is going wrong. Chris has struggled to find work since March. His career field is small and specific. We have been living off of a little of our savings each month. We've gone from over $3000 in savings to just over $500. It's dwindling and it stresses me out. And the joys of being a home owner! Our garage door needs replaced, our doorbell needs fixed, and we have a huge hole in our downstairs living room due to a leak in the bathroom. We have been down to one car since March. The other is broke down in the garage. The list goes on and on. To top it off, I can't find anyone I trust to watch Cooper while I'm working. I can't send him to a daycare. It terrifies me that he will be molested. I am just torn. And we just found out that Cooper's left eartube hasn't been working and may have to have eartubes put back in. That's $1500 out of pocket. Life is incredible stressful right now. I just want to be home with my boy. I want to be the one to take care of him. I don't want to spend my paycheck paying for someone else to watch him. However, we also want to be self-reliant. We aren't big spenders. We have never had internet or cable. We just want to provide for ourselves and live with what is necessary in life. We don't want to make so little that we live off the government either. We just want to provide for ourselves. We do have so many blessings though. We have a home. We have a car. We have food. We have amazing friends. We have the church. We have jobs. We are providing for ourselves. I just need a break from real life. A vacation would be nice. One of these days. I just need to be grateful that we have what we have and that things aren't worse. I know things always work out it's just a matter of me being patient.

2013 Family Photos

We had our annual family photos taken by White Dandelion Photography. We loved the fall colors and were able to have pictures with Mom, Todd, and Brandon. It was nice and I love the images. I am so grateful for family.

{Pictures to come.}

Best Friends

I am so glad that Cooper already has a best friend. His name is Sam. Cooper calls him "Mas" and Sam calls Cooper "Booker." They love the play together. They say good night at the window each night when they go to bed. They are growing so fast!

Loved

Cooper is loved beyond words by so many. He enjoyed playing with his aunts on the iPad. It was a good laugh for us all.

Weber State!

Chris, his dad, and his grandpa used to go to Weber State games all the time. Now Cooper gets to go with His dad and grandpa. It's fun having Chris sit with us because he is usually working the Ames, but not anymore. We had a lot of fun! Cooper plays football and days football all day long so he loved it! He was even saying, "Go cats!"

Streaker!

Cooper keeps taking his diaper off lately. I put it back on and went upstairs to finish getting ready for church. I came back downstairs and he was standing there, butt naked, playing the iPad. Hilarious! He has his daddy's butt!

Pumpkin Time!

We went to the pumpkin patch with our really good friends, the Roses and the Bennions. The adults and kids alike had a blast! We played in the courtyard on the slides, took a train ride, and ran around. We also took a ride to the pumpkin patch and picked out our pumpkins! We ended the night with Crown Burger... mmm!!! A very fun night!

Fishing at the Fish Farm

Chris' parents called us Monday evening and wanted to take Cooper to a local fish farm in North Ogden to catch some fish for Family Home Evening. We all enjoyed it. Cooper enjoyed throwing the food in the pond, helping hold the rod, and watching the fish wiggle. He would watch them and start wiggling like them. It was pretty funny! We had a blast. I love looking at the pictures. It reminds me of just how lucky I am to have such wonderful inlaws and just how much I love my two boys. Life is good!

Our Little Athlete

Cooper loves any sport that has a ball in it. He loves baseball, football, and soccer. I tell him to get his bat ready and he gets the bat up on his shoulder where is should be (regardless as to whether he actually has a bat in his hands or not). Anything long and skinny will do. If all else fails, he'll just act like he has one. He's swinging all day. He throws balls all day. He loves to kick them, too. When he sees a hoop or basketball he says "b-ball." He is a spitting image of his dad. He also likes golf. We took him to the driving range with us on a little family date night and he thought it was the coolest thing. He would put the ball down for dad. He loved watching Daddy hit balls. He would say "woooooe!" He liked to hit a few as well. He would look both ways before swinging. It was hilarious and adorable! We love our Cooper!

{Pictures... and maybe video... to come!}

Mommy's Silly Boy

This kid makes me smile and laugh on a daily basis. Love him!

My VERY OWN Classroom

As difficult as it is to go back to work when the goal was to stay home, I'm very excited and truly blessed. This job couldn't have been more perfect for me and my family and I'm so grateful I only need to work part-time. Though my family and home were neglected for many days while I got things together, I was able to get everything ready. Here are some pictures of MY classroom:

I'm A Big Boy Now!

We bought Cooper his very own potty yesterday. We figured this way he can easily get on and off of it, but also to help him relax so he can actually go. We have been taking him to the potty and he finally went this morning. I have a feeling this is going to be a long process, but I'm so proud of my boy! He stood up and clapped when he was done. Super cute!

{Don't mind the other stuff he put in the toilet. Not even sure what it was! LOL}

An Opportunity

I've said it before that the Lord has a better plan for us than we have planned for ourselves. Though the goal was for me to be "stay-at-home-mom" this year, finding a full-time in Chris' career field has been difficult. So difficult that he hasn't found a job yet. Today, I was offered a job and it just seems right.

• It's younger grades (which I wanted). Kindergarten to be exact!
• It's part-time.
• It's mornings so that means less time away from Cooper because he will be sleeping when I leave and I'll still have my whole afternoon/evening/nights with him.
• Because it is kindergarten, it's half days. Which means I have MY OWN classroom and MY OWN class! As a teacher, it's been a dream of mine to do this at least once before deciding to stay home, but seemed impossible to do at part-time.
• This allows Chris to continue to look for a full-time job in his career field instead of getting a lame job just so I can stay home with Cooper. Happy husband makes for a happy wife!
• Chris will stay home with Cooper in the mornings while I work until finding a full-time job.
• When he does find a full-time job, we will be able to save for me to stay home next year and to have another child.
• If I teach one more year, I become qualified as a Level 2 teacher. I've already completed all the requirements and passed the exam, I just need to teach one more year. If I don't teach another year, the requirements could change and I would have to start all over as a Level 1 teacher. Not cool!
• I'll be at the same school I was last year. I love the staff and the principal. It's close to home!

I'm very excited, but it's hard to be excited about something that takes you away from your son at the same time. In many ways though, we feel this is what the Lord was having us wait for. Though it's not the plan we had, and I would do anything to be able to stay home with Cooper rather than work, it just seems right. So, here's to school starting in less than a week and an entire classroom I have to decorate! Ahhhh!!!

The Road Trip of Life

Life is a funny thing sometimes. I'm so grateful for the experience we had with Cooper being born early because it taught me that the Lord has a better plan for us than we have for ourselves. This has been something I've needed over the past almost 2 years, but now probably more than ever. I currently don't have a job. Our goal was for me to stay home this year to care for the little guy, but Chris has yet to find full time work. So, my last paycheck has come and I still don't have a job. Chris is still looking for full time, but there just isn't much out there. Hardly any teaching jobs have been posted. It's a trial and definitely one of faith. I was offered a job, but we both didn't feel it was right for our family so declined it. Talk about a leap of faith. I know things will work out. The Lord is looking after us. He always has. I know we'll look back on this and be grateful for what we learned... to trust in the Lord.

Weber County Fair

We went to the Weber County Fair this past weekend. One of the things I love about Chris' job is all the free event tickets we get. We got free tickets to the fair (and the Raptor's game we went to last time). It saves us money while allowing us to get out and enjoy time together as a family. Uncle Brandon and Nana went with us. Cooper also got to see Pawpaw and MeMaw while we were there. Cooper helped Nana feed the animals. He wasn't sure about it at first, but loved it by the end. He LOVED the carousal. When it finished he would tell us "more." He even won a ball at the duck pond. We had corn dogs, funnel cakes, and lemonade. We had a blast!

Girl's Camp!!!

I haven't been to Girl's Camp since my last year as a young woman. Though the initial thought of leaving Cooper for two days was difficult, I'm so glad I did. He had a fun time with his grandma, aunts, and his daddy. I got to know the girls and leaders better and feel the Spirit so strong. Us leaders were up so late the night I stayed laughing hysterically! I laughed so hard I had an asthma attack. Good times! Camp Woodland is BEAUTIFUL! Our tent was right by the river. I was able to hear the water at night and the crickets. I slept so well! The 2nd Counselor in the General Young Women's Presidency speak to us. She was so cute and said so many things that I needed. I couldn't help but crying feeling the Spirit and knowing my Heavenly Father was there and aware of my trials. The last night after testimony meeting I was given a letter from Chris (and Cooper). It was such a sweet, simple, thoughtful letter. It said just the things I have been needing to hear. I laughed and cried. I love these girls! I'm so grateful for my calling in the Young Women organization. I feel so blessed to work with these young, strong, beautiful girls.

Choo-choo!!!

Eileen, Cooper, and I went to the local Farmer's Market. Cooper enjoyed seeing all the dogs, played soccer with a horse, and rode the train with MeMaw!