CATCHING UP..............

Well if my mind wasn't racing right now maybe I could make a post that could catch everyone up on our lives since last Wednesday but I really cannot think that I will have any order to this post so bare with me.

Last weekend was a whirlwind but we had a great time. We had the March of Dimes March for Babies walk. We were the ambassador family this year which made it even more special. My Mom and Karli came up to walk with us and we had a great time. I serve on the committee for the walk every year but I have to say this year seemed to be the best in regards to atmosphere and kids events. Raelynn and Coop had so much fun. The walk itself was even nice. This is actually the first year I have gotten to walk with my family.




After the walk we took Raelynn shopping for some new clothes. I love shopping with her and having Aunt Karli and Grandma there too made it even more fun. Raelynn ended up with some adorable outfits which she desperately needed as it was warming up. Unfortunately the first part of this week was too cool to wear them which was killing her. Coop even got a new pair of summer shoes. We have been so fortunate to get such great hand-me-downs from our friends that poor Coop never gets new clothes so I figured new shoes was the next best thing. Raelynn has been saving many for months now to buy this baby she so desperately wanted. I couldn't figure out why she wanted this certain doll so badly as she has plenty and that is why I wouldn't just buy it for her. So on Saturday she wanted to stop by Walmart and see if she had enough money to buy the doll. We had looked at it a couple weeks previously and so I knew she did have enough. Unfortunately when we got there she was $5 short. Luckily Grandma just so happened to have a "coupon" for $5. So Raelynn bought this little doll and as soon as we got home she went running to her room. Well come to find out, which I never realized, this baby she bought was the identical girl doll to a boy doll she already had. She was so excited because now she could give her brother the boy doll and now he would have a doll all of his own. So yes, I had made my daughter save her money for weeks and weeks so that she could en essence get her little brother a doll of his own. You see we have been looking for a boy doll for Cooper for weeks as well but have not been able to find one. She was so happy and they have played for hours with their babies. We also attempted to remove Raelynn's training wheels from her bike per her request. Unfortunately she wasn't quite ready for that. So the training wheels went back on and then Daddy took her bike for a spin to see that everything was working!

We have an exciting week ahead. Cooper is finally liking swimming lessons which is great so he is going swimming on Friday while Raelynn is having her first sleep over. She is so excited she can hardly stand it. We are going to make pizzas and watch movies and whatever other fun things we can think of. I love having her friends here because I love to see her have so much fun! Saturday night Terry and I are actually going out without the kids. We have two birthday parties to attend. We are actually getting a babysitter. This will be the first babysitter we have ever had that is not family or our best friends although we do know her as she coaches Raelynn's little soccer group :) Anyway it should be a fun filled weekend.

So there is so much I want to say and yet so little I can about some things. I have to say though, I am always amazed by the challenges life gives us but what I am equally amazed about are the tools God gives us to deal with them. God has given Terry and I two of the most wonderful children in the entire world. They have became my "tools" in dealing with every challenge we are faced with. Thank you God for giving me all the "tools" I will ever need!

SURGERY IS SCHEDULED.....

Well here we are again....pre op is scheduled for June 7th and Coop's 3rd open heart surgery is schedule for June 8th! I cannot say I am ready for it but it is good to finally have a date to work towards.

COOP'S NEW LOOK & STAR GAZING.......

It is almost 11 pm and I have so much to do I don't know where to start so I am updating my blog instead.....and I say I never procrastinate! Yesterday Coop visited the eye doctor and the news wasn't great. His left eye is weak and his right eye is becoming dominant. Therefore, we now are patching his right eye to make his left eye work harder. He did pretty well with it today. We made sure we got some cute patches and in enough colors to match all his outfits, hahaha! He was a little whiny and sensitive today but I am hoping he gets used to it. We will be patching 2 days, off 1 until May 14th when we will go back to the doctor. I hope it helps him. Surprisingly enough he did not mess with it at all. I guess he figures it is just one more thing. Besides, he is cute no matter what :)


Tonight Terry had a meeting so the kids and I ran some errands and had some great time together. At bedtime we all read our story and said our prayers. I tucked Raelynn in and then put Coop to bed. After a few minutes making sure Coop was going to sleep I went back into Raelynn's room and told her to come with me. We snuck out onto the deck with a blanket and sat on the deck and watched the stars. It was incredible. We sat there talking about all sorts of things. At one point Raelynn whispered to be very quiet. She asked me if I could hear the stars twinkling. I told her I couldn't. She told me to listen really careful. We sat there in silence for a few more seconds. Then she just turned to me and said, "Thanks Mommy, this is the best night I have ever had." Wow, now I heard the stars twinkling and it was magical. As I carried her back inside and put her back in bed, she made me promise we could sneak out there again soon. I kissed her nose and told her I loved her. If she only knew, I would have loved to sit out there all night with her!

WHEN MOMMY IS SICK, MOMMY #2 TAKES OVER......

Today I woke up with stomach cramps. I managed through most of the day but by late afternoon I truly thought I was going to die. There was one other time I had this same stomach ache when we were in the hospital with Coop on his 2nd surgery. The nurses had tried to get me to go to the emergency room then but I remember after feeling like I would rather die all of a sudden it went away. So today I just kept thinking it would go away. By the time I got off work and got the kids I was almost in tears. I told the kids on the way home that I had a terrible stomach ache and that when we got home I would like them to just play for a 1/2 hour or so and let me lie down. We got home and little Miss Raelynn went into Mommy gear. I had no more than pulled into the driveway and she says, "Mommy will you get Coop out of his car seat and then you can go inside and lay down. I will carry in everything and get Coop inside." It was so sweet. Needless to say, I carried my stuff inside and made sure the kids were in, but then I did change and lay down. Raelynn got she and Coop a little snack and drink and they sat in the kitchen talking away eating there snack. As I lay on the couch listening to them, I could not help but smile even though my stomach her so bad. Raelynn continued to take care of everything from letting Poho out to laying down the rules for Cooper as he played outside. I even heard her say to him as I assume he was dumping sand out of the sand box, "Cooper! Now is that a good decision? If you do that we won't have any more sand in our sand box. Is this what you want?"(By the way our backyard is fenced :)) I guess Coop decided it wasn't a good decision and started following the rules because next I heard her tell him, "That's a good boy Cooper, it's important to follow the rules like Sissy." I text Terry around 7pm hoping he was on his way home which he was. I called Raelynn in and told her they needed to come in for dinner. Raelynn helped get Coop washed up and helped make their dinner. When Terry got home about 7:30 pm, she and Coop were in the kitchen eating dinner having a good 'ole time. Throughout the evening she checked on me regularly and helped heal me with her kisses and "I love yous". And sure enough, just like before, all of sudden it was gone. My stomach didn't hurt anymore. I have no idea why this happens but fortunately it did just before bedtime so that I got to read bedtime stories and give the kids their goodnight love. Not that I want to be sick ever, but at least now I know when I am, my backup is ready to go!

A WHOLE LOT OF FUN..............

Where do I begin?! This weekend was so much fun. My family got into town on Thursday night late! Friday Terry and I were off to work, Raelynn to school, Coop to Mary Beth's and Mom and Karli prom dress shopping. I met up with them over my lunch hour and helped make the final decision. Karli is going to look beautiful! She got a gorgeous dress! I have been fortunate enough to help both she and Steph shop for almost all of their prom dresses and I love it. I cannot wait to share that fun with Raelynn. The talk of prom and excitement actually led to me trying on all my prom dresses and even going back to my 8th Grade Promotion dress! If that didn't give us some good laughs! The good news is I could still wear them all although the 8th Grade Promotion dress would have definitely caused death from lack of oxygen if I had to wear it too long. This was Raelynn's favorite though because it looked like a princesses dress. Friday was also a treat because for the first time in months Coop took his swimming lesson without screaming. I have no idea why, but I guess he decided it was fun again. I was very thankful because I was getting to the point I was considering taking a break from swimming.

Saturday was our 2nd Annual Bowl-a-thon. It was a huge success bringing in way over our $1000 goal. The kids had a great time although it was very hectic. We also honored Raelynn for her being the original Rock Star that Raelynn's Rock Stars was created for. I think she felt pretty special and for once a part of Cooper's Cause Foundation was all hers.





Saturday night Steph and I attempted to make Mom a Lemon Meringue Pie for her birthday on Sunday. It was a disaster! First I bought instant pudding instead of cook & serve, the crust looked like death, and by the time we got around to using the meringue that we made way too in advance, it had lost it's stiffness. We basically trashed the entire first try and started again. The final pie was pretty good but still looked terrible. We actually had to have Mom help us on her own birthday pie to try to savage our disaster. It again gave us all a lot of laughs!
Steph and Karli laughing at my frustration....

Mom attempting to fix our mess....
(By the way, the beer bottle was definitely mine!)
The finished product....

Sunday was Mom's Birthday. We celebrated with a few gifts and of course, the Lemon Meringue Pie!
My family left after lunch and I did a fast and furious cleaning. Then Raelynn and I made banana splits and played some games while Coop napped. Then when Coop woke up we all headed to the park including Terry. It was great to get out and enjoy this wonderful weather! This is my time of year!

Oh, and we can't forget that Cowboy Cooper made his appearance this weekend and we haven't got the hat off of him yet!