J Cooper Photography

I have to apologize…we darted out for a long weekend and I left my poor blog unmanned all weekend long!  We decided we needed a break so we loaded up the mini van and took off to see some of our favorite people.  Of course we left a day earlier than expected to beat the snowstorm.  We were too desperate to get away to let the weather foil our plans

So the question is:  WHERE WERE WE?

The first person to guess the CITY, STATE, and VENUE in these pics wins a $20.00 gift certificate to my Etsy store (should be open VERY soon!)

And no cheating.  If I told you where we were headed you better sit this one out

1.  Does anyone else hate the 5:00 hour?  Or is it just me?  I try to remain upbeat.  But by the time 5:00 rolls around I am usually tired, grumpy, and splattered in spaghetti sauce.  The kids are tired, hungry, and whiny.  The combination is sometimes just too much to take.  I try to get the kids involved in an activity to pass the time while I prepare dinner…but 0h how I wish somedays that I could just hide in a corner with a bag of M&Ms.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love my children.  I adore them.  But I could do without 5:00.

2.  Of course somedays they stop from their busyness and flash me adorable grins during the 5:00 hour and then I feel insanely guilty for posting about how I despise this time of day.

3.  And sometimes they just eat the crayons.  That works too. (By 5:00 I am usually completely over it.)

4.  Especially if their cute chubby hands are working on a masterpiece.

5.  I don’t know why I even bother buying {other} shoes for my kids.  All they want are Converse.  So we did our spring shoe shopping and hit the Converse outlet.  The girls each got their traditional hot pink hi tops and now we are all set!  I figure they go with everything, right?  I mean…Sam wore his black Converse with his herringbone pants and sweater vest on Christmas Eve…so pink high tops are cool for Easter right?

6.  I need to tell you about a couple of special people in my life.  It is such a blessing to have friends who get you….who understand your heart and are along for the wild ride right along side you.  One of these gals I’ve never even had the chance to meet in person.  We designed for years together in ebay-land…ventured into photography together…stalked eachother’s blogs.  And now we’ll both travel to the other side of the world to meet our newest family member.  And she totally gets me.  And that is so very cool.

This means “I love you” in Amharic.  I can’t even express how much I treasure this gem!!  Can I suggest that you hop on over to Nic’s Shop and support her endeavors to change the world for a child?  Or maybe stop by her blog to say hi and provide a word of encourage (be prepared to get lost for a bit…her blog is about the yummiest thing around!)

7.  And here is another bit of loveliness.  This one crafted as a Christmas present by one of my VERY bestest friends…The Librarian (aka. my bigger, wiser, smarter oldest sister).  Is this not lovely squared?  “Mother” in Amharic, an Ethiopian map, and a symbolic bird.  Heaven in a necklace, I say.  Shouldn’t she be crafting these for fund raising for her own adoption journey?  Can I get a hearty amen to that?  Why don’t you head on over to her blog “Fly to his Heart” and make that suggestion (she doesn’t listen to me…I’m only her sister).  Love you Paisey….

8.  And one more gift to share.  I’m almost speechless on this one.  It is the BEST PRESENT I have ever received in my entire life.  It was created by my sweet husband…he gave me my life…in a book.  I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve sat down and attempted to do this.  And while I was bemoaning his many International business trips and complaining over the phone to him…he was sitting in a hotel room thousands of miles away…making this for me {boy do I feel like a heel}.  This is my blog.   Since the day I started it 2 years ago.  Every memory.  Every picture of our family.  Every word.  Every hard day. Every bit of hope.

I never knew he was working on this…didn’t even have a clue.  I am totally blown away by his willingness to do this for me.  I never would have gotten it done.  The last time I started a book, I got 3 pages in and was driving myself crazy with all of the re-arranging and re-editing….and I gave up.  THE.BEST.PRESENT.EVER.  And I thought he didn’t even read my blog

9. I just had dinner with a great friend.  Wow.  I am so very lucky.  My life is FULL of some pretty amazing people.

10.  Feeling very blessed.

She normally runs from my camera…

But I got lucky and she endured a few minutes with me…even flashed me a few of those jack-o-lantern smiles I so adore.

Of course she has a serious side too (yeah, right).

Wow.  I might actually get this little project done before Valentine’s day is even here!

don’t you think??

Don’t I have the cutest little man in the whole wide world?  {you don’t have to answer that}.

Working on a little Valentine’s project at our house this morning.   See those pink, sticky cheeks?  Yep.  He liked the lollipop   He is getting impossible to photograph…he is SO fast.  But the lolli did the trick (as long as you don’t mind those sticky pink cheeks!)

So I have been getting a lot of questions lately.   “Why adoption?”  That’s the big one that seems to come up the most.

And while I have many different answers to that question…there is really only one that counts right now.   I would love to share a billion statistics about the orphan crisis {147 million globally}, the AIDS epidemic, poverty, disease, governmental corruption, and abortion.  We’ve all seen the images.  Belly swollen children with forlorn eyes.  They are etched in our minds forever.

But I am NOT my child’s savior.

This child is saving ME.

Saving me from myself.  From this life of privilege that I take for granted and cling to so strongly.  From my tiny box.  From my selfish thoughts. This child is asking me to live radically…to live with abandon.  To love freely. And to cling to my Savior for the strength to change and become who He wants me to be.

To my little Ethiopian babe.  Thank you for choosing me.

Remember how we were trying to carve out some space in our finished basement?  I think we did it!

left to right (top to bottom):

1. my new pinboard.  been recovered a thousand times (make that 1001).  lime green frame + burlap + sheer ribbon + antique nailhead trim = yum.

2. looking into my new “office” (that makes me sound almost grown up).

3. the {almost} finished project…still waiting a few coats of polyurethane on the top before I can set down my Diet Coke

4. groovy chair still awaiting make over inspiration.

5. a new place to relax.

6. a closer look.

7. the other side.  found a place for both of my coveted aqua chairs.

8. a new take on an old favorite.  an aqua chest that got a bit more distressing.  plus some cute little vinyl wall decals that say “spread your wings and learn to soar”.

9. a headshot of my cute little dresser.

10. bookcases aren’t just for books you know.

11. our sofuteeper.  part futon. part sleeper.  all yummy nubby brown tweed.

12. peeking around the corner at the far end of our basement.

13. presentation boxes. proofing books. photos. cds. other what not.

14. won’t look like this ever again. definitely photo worthy.

15. the toy keeping beast.

16. success (after 27 calls to my Dad).

I had the priviledge of capturing this little one’s BIG CHOO CHOO Birthday bash…even more meaningful because I had the honor of photographing him as a newborn too!

Remember this sweet little man?

Now he’s sporting lighter hair, a mouthful of teeth, and a whole bunch of brand new tricks!  I arrived to the party a bit early to capture some smiles before the guests arrived…and he was happy to deliver!

It was a special treat to be able to provide this service to the birthday boy’s parents…they really were able to sit back and enjoy the evening without worrying about capturing every little detail!  If you are interested in having your party documented send me an email…I’d love to join in on the festivities!

Now…who’s coming to our next party???

If you’ve stopped by my blog before, then you know I am a huge sucker for a deal.  I have an eclectic style…it’s hard to put a finger on.  But one thing it definitely is…CHEAP.

So when the Spring Mini Boden catalog graced my mailbox early this week I did a little swoon.  I most definitely love their clothes.  Who wouldn’t love a catalog full of preppy colors, girlish shapes, and long-wearing knits?  But come on…REALLY BODEN….10% just isn’t going to cut it for me.  At least not right now with the adoption savings in full swing.

Would you buy this?  {skirt $24}

Or this?  {hoodie $38}

When this costs NINE DOLLARS for the SET!

And it comes in a myriad of colors (and stripes and dots…and even a hoodie set with pants)

No it may not last through 200 washes.  But I don’t think the seat of her swing out back is going to notice the difference.  And at that price I can get it in a rainbow of colors   I am NOT brand loyal…just CUTE LOYAL.  It has to be cute….bottom line.  But if Walmart can do cute…than I can do Walmart.   {these came in at least 5 different colors and included sets with skirts and pants…the skirts have built in bike shorts which makes me nearly giddy…sizes up to 5T}

And while we are talking about cheap.  We love a good slogan tee here at the Cooper house.  And I am a big fan of the junk food tees carried regularly at Gap and Old Navy…come on…who doesn’t love a trip down memory lane?  All those vintage graphics speak to me   How about a cute vintage candy theme?  {$5 each at Walmart…sizes 4-10)  And just as a side note…that Jolly Ranchers tee looks mighty cute under the green hoodie above!

OK…I am NOT typically a Walmart advocate.  But I had to share a few good finds.  A few nights ago we were all watching TV in the family room when an ad came on for Walmart…”Save money. Live better.”  As soon as the slogan appeared on the TV, A shouted out “That’t a lie!  Walmart won’t make your life better!”  I was so proud.  My seven year old had navigated the complex world of propaganda and had come out unscathed.  Then she followed her outrage with, “Everyone knows Costo is the best place in the world!”  HA!  I guess we’ve still got some work to do

Here’s my other thrifty find for today.

This hideously ugly $27.20 coffee table I rescued from Revival.   We have been working hard on reclaiming a family room space in our finished basement and it was lacking a landing spot for my Diet Coke.  But a coffee table really wasn’t in the budget.  Or so I thought.  I’m not really sure what I liked about this table.  Except maybe the price

It’s getting a clean coat of aqua paint (from a leftover project) and some distressing on the legs.  I had planned to paint the entire piece aqua but then decided I kind of liked the top stained.  WHAT DO YOU THINK?  I planned to glaze it with a darker stain on top to contrast the aqua and coordinate better with our tv armoire (I love that word…armoire…I feel so French).

So those are my thrifty finds.  Pretty nifty huh?  Now you can all rush out to Walmart to outfit your little girls (they ARE open 24 hours a day you know!)  And because I can’t post without an image of one of my own sweet people.  Here is J from this afternoon.  I think this is one of my new favorite images of her.  I was trying to practice something on her and she was being a squirrly five year old…rolling all over the floor like a little tornado..when I shouted something like “stop thrashing around and be cute for second”…and she gave me this.  LOVE HER!

The nitty gritty:  {for those who have asked}

Nikon D90,  Speedlight SB-900 bounced off ceiling, 24-70mm lens, Shutter 1/160, Aperture f/3.2, ISO 800, my own black and white conversion and a touch of vignette

Have a Thrifty kind of night!