J Cooper Photography

I will be holding my son forever.   We leave for Ethiopia on Christmas Eve morning…and arrive Christmas night in Africa.  Sometime Sunday we will head over to Hannah’s Hope to be re-united with Daniel…and he will be ours…FOREVER.

The last two weeks have been hard.  Not just because my baby is on the other side world.  But what our eyes saw in Africa changed our hearts.  And it is hard to come back to a life of excess uneffected by what we have seen.  It has been particularly evident (kind of like an icy slap to the face) coming home to the overabundance of the holiday season.  The tinsel and lights…giant plastic Santas…and malls crowded with eager shoppers have me scratching my head.  Don’t get me wrong.  I LOVE Christmas. I love shopping for the “perfect” gift and wrapping it up in coordinating Christmas paper to place under our tree.  But I’m also looking inward more this year at the excess in my own heart.  And there are lots of cobwebs to clear if I am going to make room to love Africa more.

So let’s talk about INTENTIONAL giving.  Not gift giving because she bought something for you and now you feel obligated to buy something for her.  Not gift giving because you are somehow connected on a family tree and feel obligated to break the bank to show your love.  Not gift giving that satisfies your desire to be a good gift giver (and don’t worry…I’ve done all of these many times over).  Let’s talk about giving a gift that will MATTER to someone (and might feel pretty darn good too!)  And before you ask…YES…we are doing gifts this year.  And YES…my kids are getting what they want.  I bought a huge tub of board games for the kids to share…Sam is getting a train table…and the girls are getting their “wants” from the American Girl store.  So, I’m not talking about just doing without….just giving responsibly

But there are also several ways that our family is going to gift others in an intentional way.

I “met” Karen through her blog and was stunned by the poignancy of her online journal.  She has helped with the set-up and growth of several care points in Ethiopia for orphaned children.  These centers provide medical help, nutritious food, clothing, and schooling for children who have been orphaned.  Many of the orphanages in Africa are not licensed…the process is stringent and expensive…and they are merely getting by trying to use their resources to adequately provide for the children in their care.  Without a liscense, however, the children in these orphanages are not adoptable.  The mission of these care centers is to keep these orphans in their cultural surroundings (with their current care givers: sometimes a grandma, older sibling, or neighbor) and provide for them BEFORE they have to be relinquished!  Our family has been searching for a way to pour into Ethiopia from home and we defnitely found a way to make a positive impact on ONE child’s life from our little world in Kansas!  For just $30 a month you can sponsor a child to receive everything the care center has to offer!  We are hoping to visit one of the care centers in Addis Ababa when we go in a few weeks and meet our sponsored child!

There are over SIXTY new children that have come to these 2 care centers since Karen returned from her last trip just about a month ago.  I would encourage you to sit down with your family and talk about this amazing experience to partner with a child on the other side of the world.  By keeping these children IN their cultural surroundings…you are providing an opportunity to help them grow into future leaders of their communities!  Visit KAREN’S BLOG to read about her experiences in Ethiopia and contact her for information on how to get involved!  I’ll be sure to post MANY pictures as well if we are able to coordinate a visit!

Another GREAT way to expand your borders a bit this Christmas is to purchase a family gift from Hands of Hope.  You can even purchase gifts in honor of a family member!  The entire online catalog is full of information about how to bless a family on the other side of the world with a sustainable gift:  goats, chickens, cows, sheep, fishing ponds, fruit trees, mosquito nets, medicines, school supplies, water wells, bibles, etc.

With little kids in the house we have to make a concerted effort to put the needs of others in front of their faces.  My girls have been pouring over the World Vision catalog mapping out their favorite ideas (A is all about the goats and J is still undecided).  I think one of our new Christmas traditions this year will be spending a night reading The Greatest Love Story and then choosing our family gift from World Vision.  Do you want to join us?

I have lots of little things to share:  craft projects, cute tiny clothes being washed, more photogrpahy sessions, and even Daniel’s new rug (YEAH!) but just had to come and share these treasures.  JUST TWO MORE WEEKS!  Our hearts are SO FULL!

OK….it’s no big secret that I have a love affair with Matilda Jane.  I really do love the company for their quirkiness, fab clothing, and the generally “do good, be nice” vibe.  It’s no secret too that I love to photograph the clothing.   It is beautiful, artistic, and little girls love to wear it (which translates to super great pictures).  Denise recently ran a “Spread the Love” contest.  The company invited fans to send in an email nominating someone for some Matilda Jane love.  I instantly thought of my sister, The Librarian.  You all know her story…Mom of 4 almost grown kiddos gives up the easy life to bring home a tiny Peruvian Princess (how’s that for a gross oversimplification!)  I almost didn’t send the email…I figured there would be thousands of entries (I think there were)…but you know where this is going don’t you??  This afternoon my phone rings…her voice is kind of shaky…”What’s this giant box of Matilda Jane doing on my front porch?” she asks.  SCORE!!!!!!!!  Nothing makes me feel better than to see someone encouraged for doing the right thing.  I love that this company “gets” it.  Just makes me so darn HAPPY!

* I think she might have gotten extra credit points because I sent a picture of Emma IN Matilda Jane on her adoption resolution day IN Peru (that is where it is manufactured).  SMILE.

You can read the whole story HERE on my sister’s blog (and catch up on how Emma is doing at home!)  She is going to be the cutest Peruvian Princess in the whole entire world!!

I drug my camera around with me today to document the day by day happenings here at the Cooper house. But now it is 10:00pm and I am so tired I can’t get up off the couch to load up my pics.  So what you get tonight is a run down of our day.  Just a typical day in the life around here…

{before the “sparkle” left his eyes}

6:30 alarm goes off
6:45 should really be getting out of bed
7:00 feet hit the floor already late
7:30 ready and getting the girls up
8:00 everyone up, dressed, hair done, and eating breakfast
8:15 out the door for school drop off
8:30 back home to make sack lunches for later, start a load of laundry, pick up breakfast
9:00 leave for preschool
9:30 arrive at preschool
9:45 TJ Maxx run looking for a gift
10:30 pick-up Ms. Middle from school (early release day)
10:45 home to grab violin, lunch, and re-load the washing machine
11:45 leave for violin lessons
12:15 lessons with Mrs. T
1:15 leave to pick up The Brainiac (early release day)
1:45 hanging in the car line
2:00 The Brainiac is out of school
2:15 run through Von Maur looking for itty shoes for Daniel (score!)
2:30 drive back to Prairie Village to pick up Sam
3:00 Find Sam bawling in his teacher’s arms
3:00 arrive at the after hours urgent care with screaming 2 year old
3:30 covered in 2 year old vomit.  lovely.
4:00 leaving with meds for an ear infection and pink eye.
4:15 home and frantically picking up for visit from the in-laws
4:30 in-laws arrive and the toys come back out
5:00 call Mr. P to pick up prescriptions
5:15 start dinner for myself and Sam
5:30 get girls ready for dinner out with grandma and grandpa
6:00 Mr. P home and everyone leaves for dinner
6:15 feeding Sam and gobbling up my plain pasta. yum.
6:30 snuggle and puzzle time with my little sickie
7:00 pjs and brushing teeth
7:15 reading one last story and singing our songs…lights out
7:45 the girls are home
8:00 more pjs, teeth brushing, and kisses
8:30 show Africa pics to in-laws and talk for a bit
10:00 post to blog
now I’m off to shower and pass out in bed (and maybe finally rid myself of the puke on my shirt!)

Ready to start all over again tomorrow

Today started out much like the other days this week…cold and hard to get out of bed.  I didn’t think a lot about what it would be like to be home without Daniel before our trip.  I was so focused on getting there to meet him, that I pushed that thought right out of my mind.  And it hit me like a ton of bricks the day we walked through our door alone.  This week has been hard with the missing.  I’ve been in a bit of a fog…walking around my house knowing there is plenty to do…just not finding the energy to actually get it done.  I’ve spent a lot of time in front of the computer looking at his pictures and watching our trip videos…trying to find a way to stay connected and feel him here with us.

This morning I was determined to be more in the moment.  This little guy changed so much in our week away.  I dropped him off a toddler…and somehow he came back to me speaking in complete sentences?  Yesterday in the car he said, “Hey Mommy…knock, knock!”  I had to ask him to repeat himself 3 times…not because I couldn’t understand him…I just couldn’t believe my baby was telling me a knock knock joke!  (and for those who are wondering…the rest of the joke goes…”who’s there?  Cow.  Cow who?  Cow POO!!  This is apparently REALLY funny to a 2 year old!)  Anyways…Sam is a puzzle master.  So I pulled out my camera and just enjoyed him doing something he loves to do.  It’s amazing how much our heart settles when we just SIT STILL and listen to what God is trying to tell us.  And this morning I needed to just be still and listen.

This little girl is changing a lot these days too.  We cuddled up in her room during rest time while she read me a story.  She.read.me.a.story.  And told me about her day at school.  And reminded me once again why we are doing what we are doing…and that although waiting is hard…it isn’t the worst thing ever.  Our time will come.

And then our phone rang….and we got GOOD NEWS from our case manager….WE HAVE AN EMBASSY DATE OF DECEMBER 27th!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We will be spending Christmas this year in Ethiopia holding our newest son.

God needed to quiet my heart today so he could whisper something special to me, “he is yours.”  So thankful I sat still long enough to hear Him.

I’m trying to busy myself to distract myself from missing my son.  And when I need distracting that means I start decorating   I’m keeping it simple this year and trying to work with what I have.  But…please tell me that some of you do this:  open the box of long awaited decorations and then sigh in disgust over the contents.  I’m not the only one, right?  I think I could re-do my tree and mantel every year with a different decor and be perfectly happy.  But I behaved myself this year and stuck to what was in the store room.  The bird canvas is a mantel staple (a lucky find at Home Goods that matches my funky aqua bookcase) so I just decorated around that.  The topiaries are from Nell Hill’s.  And they WERE technically in my store room.  I bought them in September during our Girl’s Weekend shopping trip in anticipation of Christmas.  That counts, right?  The rest…an apothecary jar filled with mercury glass ornaments (via the Hobster Lobster last year), a rusty wire bird stand, some somewhat “natural” looking greens, old books, and some rustic birdies.

I sprinkled a few little Christmas touches around the house too…being careful to keep it simple.  I love these little vintage churches perched on my dining room buffet.  Unfortunately, my kids love them too.  I always know when they have been playing “take Baby Jesus to church” because there is a smattering of fresh fallen snow all over my black buffet

And a few vintage bottles with berries on an old silver platter.  I really like natural and vintage Christmas bobbles…what gets you excited to decorate this season?  OH!  I did find a GIANT wooden star at a local flea market that will go up on a ledge in my living room/entryway.  That ledge has been vacant since the day we moved in.  I’m pretending it doesn’t exist…because I think builders who put quirky weird ledges overlooking living rooms should have their licenses removed.  So, I’ve been boycotting our ledge.  But now I’m turning over a new leaf and I’m going to make amends with the ledge….and I’m gonna give it a big, fat wooden star just in time for Christmas

Hoping to start working on our stockings tomorrow.  We’ve been a stocking short since Sam was born.  And I have been ready to move on to a new style for a few years so this is going to be the year.  Have you ever been stocking shopping?  There is a serious need in this world for stocking designers.  Wow.  Slim pickings.  So, I’m doing the responsible thing, and diving into my fabric stash…and whipping up some Cooper family stockings.  I’ll be sure to share when I’m done (as long as they aren’t too ugly!)

On a side note…still waiting on our Embassy dates.  And in the meantime…Daniel is sick AGAIN!!  We just received an email today from our caseworker.  How I wish I was there to hold him!  Please pray for a quick recovery and good care until we can get there!