J Cooper Photography

Nothing really.

We are gearing up for the next installment of fun around here….a second round of Christmas to commence this weekend!  We’ve been lucky enough though to have my nieces here this week.  I am one blessed aunt.  These kids are so much fun.

We took in a movie.

And the littlest girls are busy having a sleep over.  {Can’t wait for the Peruvian Princess to join in on the girly fun this weekend!}

It hasn’t been ALL play and NO work though.

WE HIRED A PAINTER – YEAH!

He was scheduled to start last week and paint all of the woodwork on our main floor in 3 weeks – DOUBLE YEAH!

Yesterday…WE FIRED OUR PAINTER – BOOOOO!

Turns out he didn’t have a clue how to paint woodwork which is kind of an essential skill for the job

So guess what I’ve been doing?  Yep…lots and lots of white paint.  And sanding his mistakes.  And painting some more.

We took a little break from heavy duty painting and whipped up a proper hearth for our living room fireplace.  It had a sad and pathetic little metal sheet on the ground.  It was screaming for a major re-do.

Here’s the before: (remember that I already painted the wood surround)

And here’s a grainy iphone snapshot of the hearth in progress!  Just wait till you see it on the fireplace with the NEW TILE (just waiting on the grout!)

I also had fun on a smaller project over the weekend!  I had a hard time parting with my fun pantry chalkboard wall from our other house and knew I needed one in our new kitchen.  The problem…there are NO full walls!  So I opted for a framed one to hang near the eating area.  I re-purposed a large white frame I already had….had some MDF cut to fit the opening (on Christmas Eve at Home Depot) and painted it with Rustoleum’s chalkboard paint.  It was easy peasy and makes a cute addition to our kitchen!

I know lots of you have already stripped your house bare and are busy organizing your rubbermaid tubs.  But stick with me on Christmas for a few more days, K?  I still have loads of cute photos I want to share and we haven’t even made it to Round Two yet

Hope you are home enjoying those you love!

We have another round of Christmas festivities coming up this weekend so I wanted to be sure to share the first round right away!

We started out on Christmas Eve with a service at our new (old) church

{The Foursome dressed in their “Christmas Best”}

{Dapper Danny}

{”Danny….what do you want for Christmas?”  “Oh…I don’t know…I just like the paper!”

{”Have you been a good boy this year??”}

{Super Sam}

{Miss Middle}

{The Brainiac}

We came home and opened our stockings.  That clever Santa made an early stop at our house while we were at church.  I think it is so sweet how our girls WANT to believe in Santa even though they know better.  EVERY year I make an emergency last second potty break as we are loading the car for church so I can dash back into the house and fill the stockings

The kids also opened their Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve so we’d be ready for cinnamon rolls and PRESENTS first thing!

I was adamant about getting a Christmas picture on the hearth in their pjs.  But then Danny woke up soaked through his diaper from head to toe.  Did I let Mr. P change him before we headed downstairs??? Heck no!  Sat that sopping wet baby on the hearth and snapped myself some keepers first

The kids each got 2 gifts (toys or something they asked for) and a book.  We were worried about having a “light” Christmas this year but the kids were thrilled with their gifts.  Less is more – gotta remember that!

This was also the first year the kids exchanged gifts with each other.  My Mom and I took the girls to Target to help them shop for each other and then topped off the night at Starbucks.  Of course…they picked out the same gift for each other!

Before lunch we hopped out of our jammies and headed to Mimi and Baboo’s house for Christmas dinner.

{Serious Gaga love going on here!}

{And Baboo lovin}

{And Mimi lovin too!}

We topped off the weekend with a fun get together with a few forever friends!  A couple of these gals were my kindergarten pals!  So fun to see old friends!

The merriment is just getting reved up around here!!!

A year ago our lives looked very different.  We were gearing up to travel to Africa to bring our son home when we received THIS NEWS.  We had plans to fly out on Christmas Eve…had our bags packed and had prepared ourselves for Christmas away from our other children.  We had a CHANGE OF PLANS,  and then decided last minute to head HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS instead.  We knew that although our trip had been delayed…IT WOULD BE WORTH IT through the pain and heartache.  We received UPDATES from our agency through the heart wrenching weeks until we were CLEARED FOR EMBASSY.

And just like that…the wait was over…and we were a family of six.  It is hard for me to even comprehend all that has happened in this past year.  The blessings seem to be heaped in such generous portions I’m dizzy just thinking about them.

We are blessed beyond measure to have our children home together.  We are thrilled to be home.  We are humbled by all that God has done for us in the past year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Wishing you the gift of faith, the blessing of hope, and the peace of His love this Christmas and always.

Love, the Coopers

Well now I am really regretting that Goodwill table you all thought I purchased.   I definitely did a double take…pulled it down off the shelf it was on and gave it a once over.  And the price was definitely right, but in the end, it just didn’t fit the space.  So I let it go.  The lamps, however, DID come home with me (both of them) and I didn’t have to think twice about that purchase  They were the only thing I’ve purchased from my i-phone line-up so far.  The rest have just been wishful thinking.

It is so hard to control yourself with a big, new house to fill up.  None of my furniture fit into this house the way I was expecting.  Heck.  I didn’t even know they painted over the wallpaper here.  I guess that’s the pitfall of buying a house after one 20 minute trip through after dark!

I know lots of you are chomping at the bit to see room shots and I promise I will get to them as we complete tasks.  Right now it seems every room is a disaster…gotta make a big mess to make progress!  We did take some time a few nights ago to get the dining room back in working order.  It isn’t finished but there is nary a tool in sight in that room and that means I can escape the chaos of the other rooms and stand in there for a few minutes each day as a mini vacation from the mess.

Here’s a happy little spot I decorated festively.  I was about to mention that this ONE wall in our house was perfectly complete.  Then I noticed I never re-installed the vent cover on the wall.  Oh well. Perfection is over rated

The only thing I’ve purchased for this room so far is a new rug (we had to leave the old rugs with our old house).  I got a STEAL on this rug and it fills the space really well.  I liked how it works with my animal print chairs too  I’m hoping to find the perfect console/buffet table for the long 16′ wall on the other side of the room.

Still on the list in here:  add library paneling below the chair rail and purchasing a new chandelier.  Anyone know a great source for affordable lighting?   I’m thinking something with crystals for a bit of bling.  But I’m open to suggestions

Our other immediate need is a dresser for our bedroom.  In our old house we used two extra large night stands as his and her dressers.  But with the addition of french doors, a fireplace, and a window seat in our new master bedroom…wall space is limited.  We recently moved those dressers to our living room to flank the fireplace.  Hey…a girl has to have a dresser to house her new mercury glass lamps you know!  But that has left our unmentionable laying in heaps on our floor.   You’ve got to admit, though, that those shiny lamps kinda make your heart skip a beat don’t they?

I know I should be posting about Christmasy things with it being just days away.  But I am still shopping, haven’t wrapped a single present or baked a single treat.  I would NOT suggest moving to a different state 3 weeks before Christmas if being a disorganized, stressed out mom doesn’t suit you!

I tried to walk around our house with my camera today to capture a few beautiful spots to show you…but the dirty laundry on my couch and the kitchen island full of tools kept getting in my way!

I did take a quick snap of this little spot in our kitchen away from the clutter.  My Mom gave me this Santa punch bowl set as a house warming gift…so fun and quirky.  Not so sure I would actually drink out of them but I set up a little hot chocolate station just the same…roll with me here!

My girlies are off of school for the next few weeks.  I’ve got the candy for our gingerbread houses on the counter.  I ran out tonight for Scotch tape.  And Mr. P is making his shopping list for our traditional Christmas Eve beef stew.  We are ready to settle in and celebrate the JOY of this season as a family.  Last year we shrink wrapped our Christmas tree with a hope and a prayer that we would need it wrapped tightly for a big move home.  This year as I unwrapped those branches the joy was overflowing.  Moving is hard business…but the blessings are mixed in with the inconvenience and always rise to the top!

I’ve got a secret:  sometimes I browse around online and put things in my shopping cart.  I never intend to check out…but it feels good to just “put it on hold” even when I know I don’t have the finances to go through with the purchase.  Silly I know.  But I doubt a little pretend shopping ever hurt anyone.

My new fun game is to take phone pictures of items while I am debating my purchase.  I find myself snapping happily through TJ Maxx and the Goodwill.  I’ve gotten a few strange looks from time to time….but it always helps me once I’m home.  I’m a visual learner and need to be able to click on that picture over and over again to visualize it in my space.

So here are a few snaps I took this week.  I’ll let you guess YEA or NEY for each item.  Come on…play along…it will be fun!  The first person to get them all right gets the honor of financing my current shopping cart at Pottery Barn

1.  Pedestal table from Goodwill – $28.00

2.  Beaded chandelier from Home Depot – $169.00

3.  Linen chair with nail head trim at TJ Maxx – $249.99

4.  Matching mercury glass lamps with linen shades from TJ Maxx – $39.99 each

5.  Antique pine buffet from a local design shop – $425.00

So what do you think?  How well do you know me?  And if you are my shopping partner (cough cough: mom)…your aren’t eligible.  But I will let you process my Pottery Barn shopping cart if you REALLY want to

It was a busy weekend full of progress on the house.  Here’s a little re-cap!

Dining Room Before:  Poo brown paisley wallpaper, poo brown paint below chair rail, poo brown ceiling, oak floors, oak chair rail, oak baseboards, oak window casing

Dining Room After:  removed wallpaper, scrubbed walls, primed from ceiling to floor boards, painted all trim (except the windows which will have to wait for warmer weather), painted walls, and painted the ceiling – not bad for a week’s worth of work!

Still waiting on:  installation of library paneling below the chair rail and a new chandelier.  Overall…I’m just thrilled to have a happy spot in our home that feels like home…even if there are still tools everywhere!

The Kitchen Before:  tacky red plaid wallpaper on the upper half of the walls, poo brown paint on the lower half of the walls, oak cabinets, oak trim, oak floors…DARK, DARK, DARK!

Kitchen After:  removed all the wallpaper, scrubbed all walls, primed areas with wallpaper, painted all walls, installed bead board below the chair rail

Still waiting on:  painting cabinets white, new tile back splash, removal of light box over the island, new lighting over island, sink, and kitchen table – we still have a ways to go!   But it is already SO much lighter!

And to celebrate seeing the LIGHT…I grabbed my camera for a bit and Super Sam and I tried out some spots in our new house.  I’m really missing my family room with the floor to ceiling windows for photos…but our front foyer seems to be a great spot to catch some rays

Just throw the front door open and the light comes streaming in!

You go right ahead Little Man and hug that oak post to your heart’s content…..tomorrow it is going WHITE!!!!

I never knew it was possible to be SO excited about white and beige paint.  But I’m pretty sure they are my new best friends

I either need to seriously get out my real camera or learn to use my i-phone.   Cause these pictures are really cramping my style!   Things have been so hectic here though that I feel compelled to share them anyways as they are the only documentation I have right now of the past few days.

My in-laws made the long trek from Colorado again this week to help with our laundry room/mud room renovation.  Over the weekend the men were busy working so we took the kids to The Children’s Museum to run off some energy (read: keep them out of the way).  Warning:  The following pictures are horrible quality but my little subjects were just so proud of their creations that they are keepers anyways!

{Oh, jeepers Jenn…hold the camera still already!}

Some objects in this photo appear larger than they really are.

The kidlets sang in church on Sunday.  Two weeks at their “new” church and they didn’t even bat an eye.  In fact I tried to talk them out of it…but in all honesty…they actually knew more of the words than half the kids on stage!  I had NO idea that the 3 year olds were also going to sing until Super Sam walked out on stage dead front and center.  OH.MELT.MY.HEART.  Two practices and that kid knew his hand motions for Baby Jesus like a rock star.   When the song ended, he shouted out “Let’s try that again faster this time!!”  That’s my kid.

Someone had a birthday and we had a little impromptu late night par-tay.

It’s time to break out the footie sleepers.  Little boys in blue footies are almost as great as mercury glass.  I could have a million little boys if they promised to just snuggle on my lap and read books all day!

We are trying to get back into a solid school routine which means the early morning violin practicing has resumed.  I snuck down to peek through the living room french doors at their little moment together.  Nothing like some Seitz Concertos in your mismatched pajamas!

After months of practice on the stairs…we have a CLIMBER!  Danny Boy made it to the TOP all by himself!

Do you think he is proud?

Time to get to bed and scrape all the primer off my hands and arms!  You know its been a good day when you are covered in paint!

I know Thanksgiving was a couple of weeks ago and most everyone has moved on to Christmas caroling and gift wrapping.  But the past few weeks have been a flurry of activity here and I haven’t had the proper time to come to this spot and express my thanks.  We moved into our new house 2 days before Thanksgiving.  We were living in complete chaos.  Boxes everywhere…dramatic and tired children…cranky parents.  But our parents here in town (boy, is it fun to say that) and our parents from out of town helped ease the pain.

My mom hosted Thanksgiving dinner so that I wouldn’t have to worry about cooking that ‘ol bird.  And while I tried to make sense of my silverware drawer, my mother in law whipped up the green bean casserole and other tasty treats to take to our feast.  Both sets of parents spent the better part of the week unpacking an endless supply of boxes and encouraging us to keep going.

So even though the Thanksgiving meal is history for most of us this year…the thanks here continues.

This Thanksgiving will likely go down in history as The World’s Craziest Holiday.  But even amidst the chaos my heart felt immense peace.

Last Thanksgiving I had just left my baby on the other side of the world.  I had looked straight into the eyes of another woman who loved him and said “love him for me while I’m gone”.  And then I had walked away, boarded a plane, and flew across the world…landing smack dab in the hustle and bustle of Black Friday shopping.  I cried into my pillow that morning at the sheer conflict emerging in my soul.  I learned a little bit more what it meant to be content in Him.

This year the contentment was easier to find.  That tiny baby boy is now a chunky {standing HALLELUIAH!!) toddler.  That baby boy I had to leave is HOME.

I’m making a promise to myself to carry contentment in my heart this season.  I know it will be hard.  The house prjects are piling up…the gifts aren’t going to wrap themselves…the committments….the lonliness of a new city…the missing of friends….

But we are FULL regardless of our situation.  FULL of God’s grace and mercy.  FULL this season of God’s love and I’m so very thankful for all He has done.

{We tried for some family photos after our Thanksgiving meal…probably should have gotten the cameras out BEFORE the feast!}

A few things I’m thank{full} for this year:

* God’s perfect gift of grace

* Family who loves us

* Little people to keep us grounded

* The safety net of good friends

* The provision of a new job and house

* Laughter and tears

* Chai tea

* The truth of God’s word

* mercury glass (I had to say it)

* you

It has been a long time coming (about 9 months to be exact) but the therapy is paying off and our Danny Boy has a new trick to share with you!  He’s quite proud (wish the video captured his expression) and now he’s spending the better part of his days screaming for me to help him back down

I can’t say he is cruising quite yet…but he did take about 5 steps around the coffee table tonight.  We are just beyond proud of our little man.  He has worked so hard to get moving and the joy on his face is such a gift.

So happy and blessed to have the privilege of seeing so many of his “firsts”.

Way to go Danny!  We love you!

We are still battling intermitant internet on our home PC so let’s just carry on with trusty Instagram, shall we?

A few tidbits of my day here in Nebraska.  It’s been a whirlwind 2 weeks so far…there is just so much going on here.  Between the home renovations, new school routines, and Christmas holiday…I’m feeling pulled in a thousand different directions.  But last night we made the decision to call in some help on a few big projects…and I’m hoping that will take off some of the pressure and help us to also have time to just “be” here…which is the whole reason for the move!

So here we go!

{new scheme this year…all antique silver and white.  it had been 12 years and I was ready for a tree overhaul}

{tree #2 is turquoise with glittered birds and feathers…I’m probably going to turn into one of those crazy old ladies who talks all day long to her parakeet and wears a floral moo moo.}

{finally carved out a little niche for my laptop}

{mercury glass obsession. I may need intervention.  Except I’m not ready to seek help just yet.}

{lanterns and more sparkle on my freshly painted living room fireplace}

{lath strip star and glitter branches.  Kass if you read this: you KNOW you are sorry you didn’t buy that star!}

{tiny houses and pretty books}

{tiny houses and pretty books part deux}

{gargantuous birdcage}

{on my island}

{12 step program?}

{a simple reminder that joy isn’t so hard to find}

{the tacky tree decorated by the kids – I’m not allowed to touch it}

{goldfish probably aren’t considered festive but are a daily necessity at our abode nonetheless}

{messy dinner calls for an early bath}

{all the corners of the world rejoice}

{seriously addicted.  better than thin mints and that is saying something}

Happy Wednesday friends!