J Cooper Photography

We had a blank spot on the wall above our piano downstairs.  The budget was tight for some artwork and I wanted something creative that the kids could enjoy.  We spend a lot of time in this spot practicing our violins so I wanted something HAPPY and CHEERFUL (because we all know that violin practicing is ALWAYS about cheerfulness…yeah right!)

2 packs of 11×14 canvases from Michaels for $7.99.   An assortment of acrylic paints in our craft bucket.  A few hours of good, dirty fun at the kitchen table.  VIOLA!

Happy painting!

P.S.  Dear Little Man,  I’m sorry I didn’t get a picture of you creating your masterpiece.  But I was already feeling like “octopus woman” trying to contain your painting enthusiasm (read: paint flinging) and didn’t think throwing my camera into the mix was a wise idea.  Next time, buddy.

First off…THANK YOU for sharing in our excitement with us!  We have had a WONDERFUL weekend celebrating with my family.  Words cannot describe the COMPLETE JOY we have in knowing that we have a precious baby boy waiting for us in Ethiopia!

Many of you have asked…”Now what” so I thought this would be a good time to fill in a few gaps about our next steps.  We would really covet your prayers over the next several months as we wait to travel to see our beautiful boy!

1.  FINISH THE PAPERWORK.   We received all of the official paperwork this morning.  I spent the entire afternoon Friday working on writing up our transition plan so that has already been finished!  How’d I do that with the littles running crazy you ask?  Naptime for the littlest…popped in the movie “Annie” for the girls…filled up two bowls of M&Ms…and told them “pretend I’m not here”.   Worked like a charm

We met our social worker this afternoon to have her sign the referral paperwork…then I rushed to Mr. P’s work to pick him up (the brakes on his car went out on the way to work…$800 later…OUCH!)…and then rushed to our bank to get everything notarized before 5:00.  Mr. P ran in at 4:55 to ask if a notary was still around and a nice man behind the counter announced that he would be happy to stay a few minutes to help us out.  What a HUGE blessing!  When we sat down and started to spread out all of the paperwork we found out that he was also an adoptive Dad and had a heart for the fatherless.  He had several great stories to share about how his life had been touched by their adopted son…so cool!  Then he stamped the first document.  My eyes focused a bit harder…I cocked my head…and looked a bit closer.  SURE ENOUGH!  His notary date was EXACTLY the same as Daniel’s birthday!  Once we were done at the bank we rushed to the Fed Ex store to try to meet their final 6:15 pick-up…and WE MADE IT!  All of our paperwork is on its way back to our agency and then onto Ethiopia where the special mother’s will tell Daniel that HE HAS A FAMILY!  (of course we won’t really have a clue…but it is a beautiful thought isn’t it!!)

(Mr. P caught this photo on his phone for use…check out the sweet UPS lady in the background…she was SO EXCITED to help us get one step closer to our little man!!)

2.  PRAY FOR A COURT DATE:  We may have missed this window of opportunity already…we’re just not sure.  The Ethiopian courts close for most of August and September during their rainy season (the roads become impassible at times).  This closure causes a backlog of cases that need to be seen in court.  We are praying that our file will be opened in Ethiopia before the courts close and we will be issued a court date for this fall.  It is a long shot…but God is BIG…and we are trusting in His timing.  It is likely we won’t receive our court date until the courts open back up.  It’s likely that our court date (and FIRST trip) won’t be scheduled until AT LEAST October..and maybe longer.  THAT IS A LONG TIME for this Mommy to wait folks.  Which leads me to….

3.  PRAY FOR PATIENCE:  We want what’s best for our little guy.  We know God has His hands directing and guiding the entire process and we are trying to rest in that.  We are going to be keeping ourselves VERY busy this fall as we wait!  Between my photography, our kid’s schedules, and crazy house projects, I am helping out the Kansas City Matilda Jane trunk keeper for the season to make a bit of extra money for our travel!  So sign up to host those parties people…let the fun begin

4.  PRAY FOR GROWTH:  We can’t stop looking at Daniel’s pictures…he is absolutely beautiful and perfect to us!  But he needs to grow and get really great nutrition over the next few months.  We are very confident that he is receiving wonderful care at Hannah’s Hope…but we are longing to have him home.  We are praying that God will strengthen him and protect him while we wait to have him in our arms!

We can hardly contain our excitement…we received a call yesterday that will change our lives forever!  That’s right…OUR REFERRAL for our sweet boy!!

Our day started out like any other…lazy summer schedule…a trip out before lunch to run some quick errands…and a play date with some great friends.  As our friends were getting ready to leave for the afternoon my phone rang.  I casually glanced at the caller ID without any expectation.  I honestly wasn’t even thinking it would be our agency but when I saw the phone number I squealed and my heart was immediately jumping out of my chest!  My sweet friend corraled all the kids and herded them up the stairs into one of the bedrooms so that I could hear our case worker give us all of the beautiful details about our son.

I immediately called Mr. P and told him to come home (he was wrapping up his work day anyways) and paced the floor until he walked through the door and we could scramble down the stairs to see his pictures together.  Perfection.  And absolute utter joy.  He is the cutest stinkin little monkey I have ever seen.  We are so blessed to have these fun pictures of our evening!!  A very special friend dropped her activities and rushed to our house with camera in tow to document our night and excitement.  (Here is my shameless plug for my sweet friend SARA and her amazing photography!!  All of the images I am sharing tonight were taken by her!!)  After we made a few phone calls to family…we headed out for some Mexican food for dinner…cause there was NO way I could wrap my brain around cooking dinner!

His name is DANIELl.  He is about 2 months old (we think) and he is seriously the cutest little guy I have ever laid eyes on!  I can’t post a picture on here…but if you live in my hood I will gladly show you his photos in person (like a hundred times or so) so don’t fret!

I am completely blown away how God has chosen to show His hand in the details of Daniel’s life.  His name has significance for our family in a deep way.  I have been praying over the past few weeks that our child would 1) have a name I could pronounce and 2) have a name that we could easily keep and still feel “American”.  Christian names aren’t all together uncommon in Ethiopia…but when our caseworker said, “well…his name is Daniel…I almost fell off the couch”.  THANK YOU GOD for that special gift!

Another fun story about his name.  My sweet friend (see above paragraph to re-visist my shameless plug for her) was the first person to buy Daniel a gift.  One day not long after we got placed on the wait list she came bearing a gift.   Although we were on both the boy and girl lists she said she “just knew” we were going to get a little boy and she HAD to get this for him.  From behind her back she pulled out a GIANT stuffed LION.  Seriously people.  A LION!!!  And Sara isn’t a fortune teller or tarot card reader   Just a vessel used by God to show us that THIS.IS.OUR.SON!!

Daniel means “God is my judge”.  And the person who named him certainly had his future in mind.  I pray that God will continue to rule over his life in a mighty way!

I assumed Sara would come over and grab a couple of quick pics of us looking at his pictures…but being the over achiever that she is…she had us traipsing around in our backyard in a full blown family session (note to self next time around: think about what we are wearing a little more thoroughly..ha!)  But truly…we will treasure these images FOREVER.  They are insanely special to me!!

Baby “Africa” made an appearance throughout most of the picture time.  I can’t wait to see Daniel in our arms and running with our other kiddos as part of our family soon!

Ms. J thinks he is “so adowable” and can’t stop talking about life in an orphanage (we recently saw “Annie” at the outdoor theater and she is a bit obsessed).  She’s “nouvous” about Mommy and Daddy leaving for a big trip to Africa but so excited to be a big sister again.

Ms. A hasn’t stopped talking since we received the call.  Within 15 minutes of printing off his pictures on our home printer, she had framed them with construction paper…crafted a card stock pouch…attached a ribbon…and had all of his images neatly tucked inside and dangling around her neck.  She’s shown his picture to every person we have seen in the last 24 hours.  I’d say she’s excited

Mr. S can’t wait for his partner in crime to get here.  Just as long as he understands that Mommy belongs completely and solely to him   I think we’ll have a bit of adjusting to do!

Our world is about to get 110% crazier…and we are THRILLED!!  Hang on Daniel…we love you and will be there soon!!

It’s been a CRAZY 24 hours for our family.  MY SISTER received her official referral of her Peruvian Princess TODAY as well…WOW…God is BEYOND GOOD!!!

We have been blown away over and over again how the people in our lives have invested in our adoption.  It is already truly amazing how many people can’t wait to meet this little one…the outpouring of love and support has been constant and humbling.  And it isn’t just our family…or our best friends…or our c-workers.  It’s people from the blogging community…neighbors we see on rare occasions…friends we’ve made but have never met…

Some of the stories are too personal to share…moments of investing that took our breath away and left us speechless and stunned.  And some of the stories need to be shared in pictures   Like this amazing little dollie that showed up in my mailbox this week from a BEAUTIFUL FRIEND whom I’ve never gotten to hug in person.

It is rare to find a person like Angel….busy with three littles of her own and a thriving business…she etched out time (and heart) in her schedule to make the most lovely gift for our family.  And don’t for one moment think that the coordination between Baby Africa and our little one’s quilt is a coincident.  Angel doesn’t roll like that…she has coordinating down to a science!  (Please take a moment to support her crazy cute ETSY SHOP!!)

I put the dollie upstairs in the nursery…but couldn’t leave it there and eventually retrived it and have been carrying it around with me all day long.  I am so longing to hold our little one…and this is the next best thing

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

To our son:  We love you so much already.  We can’t wait to hold you…kiss you…count your toes and fingers…snuggle up at bedtime…dress you in cute slogan tees…rock you in the wee hours…we can’t wait.

To those of you who have invested so much already in our lives:  Thank you.

I got sidetracked on the vacation photos.  And while I still have 800+ images to sort through…I thought I better come back to my blog and share a few more (gotta have good documentation when Mr. P generously makes me another blog book!)

I’m missing the beach already…we’ve been home about a month…and I would leave tomorrow to go back if I could (even with the 20+ hour drive).  But instead I’ll hang on tight to these sweet memories of my kids soaking up the sunshine to brighten my day

A few random memories…in no particular order:

a walk on the beach near sunset

our new kite

the loves of my life kite watching

oh to be this young and free again!

my pretty little 7 year old

Ms. Spunky Pants

Ricco Suave…breakin’ all the rules

a moment alone with daddy

Mt. Wannhaukaloogie…”shark bate ooh-ha-ha”

“duh dum….duh dum…”  at the Aquarium (a favorite spot for our family)

easy, breazy, beauty

Thanks for indulging a quick trip down memory lane.

I haven’t shared any client sessions in a few weeks…I’ve been sidetracked with decorating and adoption news   But this session was too fun not to blog!

If you need a good workout…try chasing twin 7 year olds, twin 5 year olds, and two 2 year olds around the park.  oh, yeah.  We had a good time.

Everyone took a turn on Charlotte for a head shot

This family is so special to me.  And I was so honored that they asked me to capture them together!  They are living in South Africa right now…so our visits are few and WAY TOO far between!

Can’t look at this last image without singing the “double mint” commercial!

Saving  the fun family shots for your gallery my friends.  Oh, how you will be missed this next year!!!

I have been completely obsessed with my house this week.  I guess it’s like hormonal pregnancy nesting…I feel like I could “POP” at any day…so I’ve been keeping myself  BUSY!  The girls have been busy at “Aunt Librarian Camp” so I have had a bit of free time this week during little man’s nap.  So I sewed up some cheapo pillows for our family room and re-painted one of our cabinets!  It did wonders for brightening up our family room!

When we moved into this house I still apparently had my ongoing love affair with red and sage green.  Yeah…so over that now.  I REALLY wanted a big change but really didn’t have a budget for BIG change.  So I opted for pillows and shopping the basement   I think I have FINALLY figured out my style.  It is called “Eclectic Cheap”.  You know you are “Eclectic Cheap” too if your style is fickle and you have no budget

Here’s my run down of expenses:

Paisley fabric:  Home Goods tablecloth $14.99 – yielded 4 envelope backed 18″ pillows

Yellow tile fabric:  Target cloth napkins  $9.99 – yielded 2 18″ pillows

Yellow houndstooth fabric:  Home Fabrics Warehouse  $5.99 – yielded 2 envelope backed 18″ pillows

Aqua fabric:  Home Fabrics Warehouse  $3.99 – yielded 2 ruffle front pillows (had the trim on hand!)

Not too shabby, eh?  That’s a whopping $35…give or take a few!

Once I had the pillows sewn up I had a bit of a dilemna.  They looked great…but clashed with my red bookcase.

You know where I’m going with this don’t you???  Yup.  Out came the aqua paint!  But once I had it painted it looked a bit “Florida Hotel” so I did some serious distressing (I broke out the hand held sander for this one) and some stain.  The end result is very chippy and rustic…but I do love it!  I think the flash on my camera (it’s almost midnight here people…I went for AUTO) took the distressing and staining to an un-natural level.  Or maybe it really did turn out that distressed.  It’s too late too tell…either way…it’s way cuter than the red

I borrowed a few things from my sisters and Mom…and shopped my store room…and finally decorated the top of my cabinets (it only took me 3 years!)

I bought those little bird canvases at Gordmann’s for $2.77 a piece on clearance and just ran with the quirky colors.  It’s amazing what you can find when you raid other people’s store rooms!

Then I brought a few globes up from downstairs for our built-ins which helped spread the aqua around the room a bit!

This is my next project…for above the chairs in my family room.  The collecting has already begun   Check out A Time for Everything for inspiration!

Hoping a call from AGCI comes this week before I move onto the next room!!!

One of the things I really love about our adoption agency is the online Yahoo group.  I love that I can connect with families all across the country who have a heart for adoption and understand our situation.  There is an overbundance of advice and encouragement to be found through a group like this.  But even with that support…most of these families…we’ll never get the opportunity to meet.

That’s why I’m SO thankful that Ms. Traci showed up at our garage sale to say HI!  She is a fellow AGCI-er standing in line to meet her Ethiopian Princess!  What a HUGE blessing to meet in person and talk about all that we are going through!!  And she lives close enough to go out for lunch…to meet us at the airport…or to schedule a play date once we’re home with our Ethiopian babes!

Adoption wasn’t our only connection either…she’s an elementary MUSIC teacher   And she’s a whole-lot-of-fun to boot!

Traci…thanks for taking time away from your busy Saturday to come say hi…I’m so glad we are on this journey together!

And to the rest of you…head on over to TRACI’S BLOG and leave her a comment to show your support

We are getting VERY close to seeing a little Ethiopian face in the Cooper house!  And just after we took these pictures…we found out…we are actually NUMBER ONE!!!!!!  Anyone wanna do the happy dance with us??

Courts will be closing soon…and families have waited WEEKS at the #1 spot with our agency….but we are HOPEFUL that we will be getting a call SOON!

Can’t wait to see that sweet face!

We are completely sleep deprived and hopped up on ridiculous amounts of sugar…but we had a VERY successful and FUN first day for our GARAGE SALE!!

I can’t even begin to describe the immense blessings our friends and families have showered on us.  THANK YOU a hundred times over to those of you who donated items, stopped by the sale to shop or just say “hi” for support, brought us drinks and treats, came to “talk adoption”, or just prayed for a successful sale!  We still have A LOT of “treasures” left…but our first day went amazingly well!!

Last week I decided last minute to plunge forward with this event…called “The Librarian” and “asked” her to come help me…and she didn’t even hesitate.  She dropped her activities (the week before she has to lead music for the entire VBS program at her church!) and drove 3 hours to help me sort, price, organize, and coral kids.  But more importantly…she came to support.  Because she has a heart for adoption too.  And she knows that in order to receive God’s grace in your life…sometimes you have to get your hands a little dirty and pour grace out on others.  My cup is running over this week.

{On a side note:  “The Librarian” made our Africa tees.  She made them for our whole family…cause she is cool like that and stuff!  If you head over to HER BLOG and LEAVE HER A COMMENT…she would probably be willing to make one for you too…if you like that kind of thing!}

As Mr. P and I sat down 9 months ago to discuss how we were going to make this adoption happen…fund raising really never came up.  I’m not a saleswoman…and I’m not particularly good at asking for help.  But I’ve found that the “I can do this all on my own, thank you very much” attitude denies others the opportunity to be part of something big.  And I personally CAN’T WAIT to get my little man home and introduce him to ALL the people who have helped us bring him home.  What a beautiful story of redemption, community, and love!!  Yes.  We COULD do it on our own.  But God has a plan for this little guy that is bigger than just us and for his story to unfold we will have t humble ourselves and be willing to accept help from others.  We are BLESSED beyond measure with friends, family, and even a few STRANGERS who desire to be a part of this adoption!

Midway through the sale…a neighbor walked up and asked if we were accepting donations.  A few minutes later her 12 year old daughter walked back down the block with several garage bags FULL of her Littlest Pet Shop collection!  She had countless pieces she had collected and over TWO HUNDRED pets that she wanted to donate.  I almost cried with joy…because she GOT IT!!  And all on her own….she took something that was once precious to her…and she GAVE IT AWAY…to bring JOY to others!!  What a beautiful lesson!