J Cooper Photography

We hate to give up our week at the beach….but it looks like we will have to let it go this year.  Last year I sold one week at our condo and it went like hot cakes…would love to find some families that can use these units this year as well!

We have visited Nags Head FIVE times…and we ABSOLUTELY LOVE it EVERY time!  So sad that this isn’t the year for us to go…but hopeful that someone will be able to take advantage of this awesome deal!  The beach is amazing and there are so many fun, family-friendly activities near by.  The condos are RIGHT on the beach though…so you’ll want to spend most of your time enjoying the surf!

We have TWO units available the SAME week.  PERFECT for anyone who wants to bring grandma and grandpa (or friends) along!  Each unit is only $795 for the WEEK and sleeps up to six people.

Here we were last year enjoying our favorite spot.

And at Kitty Hawk!

I’m happy to provide help with activities and such!  FIRST COME FIRST SERVE!!   Email with any interest at:

info@jcooperphotography.com

Hope someone can enjoy this special spot in our absence this year!!!

We have been busy all weekend enjoying family.  I’ll have more pictures to post tomorrow…but tonight I just wanted to pop in and share how thankful I am for family.

My own family.

And the one I see growing under our very own roof.

Hope you are celebrating with someone you love too.

Last year was our first time to build a fairy garden.  I know I went into great detail HERE about our first attempt.  But I couldn’t resist sharing our second go around!  As soon as it started to warm up this spring, the girls started begging to get their fairy garden set up for the year.  They enjoyed it SO much last year…we knew it would quickly become a MUST each summer.  Anything that will get my kids outside and enjoying nature creatively is a no brainer for me.  So I was just as excited as they were to get this year’s garden set up!

Last year we saved all of the elements from our garden in a big metal tub (minus the pieces that got stolen…so sad)  We compiled all of our goodies in the garage.   This is your chance to have fun and just pull out all of the random tiny things that are scattered around your house!   This year we invested in an adorable copper fairy garden set (trellis, park bench, wheelbarrow, garden tools, bird house, and bird bath) at Earl May.  The girls proved last year that they were mature enough to take good care of their garden and we will set these pieces aside each year so that they can be re-used year after year!

We loaded everything in the wagon and hit the back yard.

Friday morning we celebrated our FIRST DAY OF SUMMER by shopping for a container for our fairy garden.  Last year we re-purposed a metal tub.  But this year we wanted the garden to be a bit bigger.  And we were hoping for a container that could sit up off the ground so that The Beast wouldn’t tromp right through the middle of the garden!

We found this fun vintage wheelbarrow at Cool and Collected and knew it was PERFECT!

We parked it under a big locust tree where it was nice and shady!

Make sure to drill a few holes if you aren’t using a traditional planter.  Then add a bit of gravel for good drainage.  I’ve also heard plastic water bottles work well if you have something deep and need to fill space.

Then go CRAZY adding in your plants and little treasures.  We didn’t have a master plan…cause we like to wing it around here.  But you could lay it out on the ground first if you need more structure!

We planted the taller plants in the back.  I had purchased one sheet of live moss but later realized that we had tons of moss growing along our side yard on the rocks.  So I sent the girls to harvest more of it!  Then we just tucked it in all around the other plants.  We used gravel and rocks for a pathway and gems for a little pond.  Then we added some playful mushroom stakes around the sides to set the stage.

We bought the fairies last year at Micheals.   We finally found Super Sam a “manly” fairy too.  Not that he really cared…but at least he has his own fairy and doesn’t have to steal the girls’ anymore.

And now…a billion close up shots of our little fairy friends enjoying their new garden.   When you get down inside it…it really is magical!!

{an areal shot of the whole garden}

{happy and sweaty little munchkins}

SUPER FUN project…and something you can put together in an evening if you have all of your supplies gathered!  We had ours put together in less than an hour and then headed straight in for baths and ICE CREAM!!!

Happy planting…come back and share if you make your own!

I’ve had an obsession with vintage sheets for awhile now.   I started stock piling them when I made THESE QUILTS last year.  After the quilts were made I had quite a bit of fabric left over.  And what’s a girl to do with leftover fabric?  Make baby quilts, of course!

A very special friend of mine had the sweetest baby girl you could ever imagine.  She was getting chunkier by the day so I had to take a last minute trip out of town to photograph her and see her mama.  Two months is a bit old for traditional newborn photos although we were able to still get her asleep and snuggly for a few.

Here mama is a true VINTAGE connoisseur.  She’s actually the acclaimed “Dumpster Diva” and has even appeared on the Nate Berkus Show.  So I couldn’t exactly show up with just any old gift   They are a true “green” family and love all things vintage, re purposed, and recycled.   So I whipped up a little quilt using vintage sheets with flannel batting on the inside!   The colors were so fun in her vintagey goodness nursery!

Have you ever seen anything so sweet?  Vintage sheets + beautiful baby girl = heaven.

And while I was on a roll I whipped up a little gift for a friend as well.

There is no end to the JOY that vintage sheets can bring to your life.  Trust me.   Take a gander through your local Goodwill and you just might fall in love with a set of your own.

I’m not sure why the school year winding down seems to add SO much more to our calendar.  I guess it is one of those crazy “I’ve got school aged kids” phenomenons.  We’ve really limited our activities outside our home this school year.  When we moved, we felt like it was a perfect opportunity to clear our schedules free from guilt, and only add back in those things which we deemed “necessary”.  For this season….the “necessary” activities were church (Sunday morning church AND Awana) and violin lessons (a private lesson for each girl once a week PLUS one group lesson every week).  No soccer, gymnastics, ballet, etc.  And to be honest…it was MORE than enough!

Somehow we’ve remained busy enough with {just} those activities!

The girls have worked hard to prepare for their end of the year violin recitals.  First up…their solo recitals.  It has taken a good deal of effort and patience to get established in a new studio.  They have been troopers!

The Brainiac on Seitz Concerto No. 5 in D Major, Movt. 1

Miss Middle on “Hunter’s Chorus”

Part of their new violin studio (the other half of the studio had their solo recital the week before)

Then the girls had to quickly switch gears and prepare their graduation pieces for the Suzuki Association Graduation recital.   The Brainiac was determined to learn the graduation piece from Bk 4 before the concert and only had a few weeks to perfect it in time!

At the rehearsal she was quite proud of herself.   They started tuning up the kids’ instruments and announced that they would be rehearsing the Vivaldi Concerto.  She took her instrument to the front of the hall to be tuned and the teacher said “Oh, sweetie…the big kids are playing the Vivaldi right now”.  To which she replied “I can play that piece!”  So she hopped up on stage.   She stood at the end (they line up by height) and looked down the line of older kids ready to play.  She grinned to herself and looked at me in the audience as if to say “I am SOOOO good.”  Next thing she knows…another little girl about 6 inches shorter than her hops up on stage next to her.  She looked that girl over once…then twice…then looked to me again like “WHAT IN THE WORLD?!?!?”   Too funny to watch her experience that moment.   Lesson learned…there is ALWAYS someone better AND younger than you!!

{got to embrace the grain on these…no flash photography allowed!}

Here she is playing the Vivaldi Concerto in A Minor, Movt. 1

Then Miss Middle got to join her sister on stage for Bk 2 “Long Long Ago”

VERY proud of all of their hard work!

And to round out this week of “Lasts”…Super Sam wrapped up his first year of preschool!  We are SO very thankful for his experience at Messiah Lutheran here in Lincoln.  His teacher has been phenomenal and has made his transition to a new class so great!   Next year he will go to preschool every day for their Pre-K program….how is THAT possible???

{a couple of phone pics as I forgot the camera in our rush out the door!}

One more day of school here…and then…HERE WE COME SUMMER!

And just like that…he turned two.

I have many thoughts on the topic of his birthday.  But right now I am too tired, emotional, and tired (I may have mentioned that) to really get my thoughts dislodged from my head.  So I’ll share his little party in pictures instead.

My sweet baby boy on his special day.

We had a little party with Mimi and Baboo, Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt Lessie.   I didn’t go crazy with a theme (shocking)…although I did coordinate some red polka dot napkins with the red lanterns in the trees so I guess that counts for something.  We gobbled down hamburgers off the grill and homemade cupcakes with butter cream frosting.   The boys opened some gifts and were royally spoiled (Super Sam has a birthday just around the corner as well so he hopped in on some of the celebrating a tad early).  The day was sunny.  Pretty much just perfect.  In fact…Saturday was so great…we just kept the party going and rolled it right over into Sunday afternoon!

Here are just a few of the snapshots I took during the festivities!

{a quick family shot which may have been fairly cute IF I wasn’t tight holding Danny’s arm in an attempt to keep him from pulling my hair.  And IF Super Sam wasn’t ready to stick his hands down his pants!}

A typical family shot for us!  (Thanks, Dad, for capturing us anyways!)

We are so thankful that we get to be the family to help Danny celebrate another year!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANNY BOY!!!

{Happiest of Birthdays to our sweet Danny Boy}

Many more thoughts to come.  But for today…YES…I DO believe you are gonna change the world little one.

You’ve already changed our hearts.  And I’m pretty certain you’ve changed a few others along the way as well.

We love you more every day!

I wrote a post on Facebook today to some adoption friends asking this question…”Do you all ever feel completely under qualified to parent your children?”  Is it just me?  Please tell me you feel this way too.

I parented along for 8 years feeling fairly confident in my abilities.  There were little hiccups along the way.  Like when The Brainiac refused to take a bath for 2 weeks straight.  Or Miss Middle twirled her hair into little knots at night that required the hair scissors.  We mostly worked through those issues.  And I was naive enough to think we had pretty much done it on our own.  Hey, we are smart people.  I have a master’s degree in Violin Performance.  That ought to count for something, right? {HA HA!}

Then along came Danny.  And he has rocked every parenting choice I have made to the core.  I’ve questioned my questions.  I’ve actually read a couple of  parenting books and I’m a self professed “self help book hater”.  What I’m trying to say…is I’m a failure.

It’s not a new issue…it’s just new to me.  I was so busy parenting along all those years I didn’t realize how much I was failing.  But now it is so crystal clear to me.  Like a mac truck running over my face.  I’m completely UN-equipped for this job and there are four little people who are hoping I’ll figure it out sometime before they reach adulthood.

The amazing part of this dilemma is that in MY weakness…God is strong.  I can feel like a failure some days and it is ok.  Because God has the entire situation under control and really doesn’t need me anyways (whew…what a relief!)

So here’s the plan now.  I’m going to put one foot in front of the other every day (that was some great advice from a friend today).  I’m going to love my kids and pour into them.  I’m going to set boundaries and try to enforce them with patience and grace.  And I’m going to just smile (hey…fake it til you make it) and PRAY these little people into grown ups.

Today I heard more hard stuff about this little boy I adore.   I’ve been wanting some answers for a few weeks…and I got them.  Unfortunately, they weren’t what I really wanted to hear.   We are probably looking at at least another year of work before he walks on his own.   We are ordering new braces (taller ones) and our own personal walker.   We don’t think he has much feeling in his left leg.  I’m applying for a handicap sticker for our car.

These aren’t the things that define us as a family.  But it is HARD to hear that your child isn’t “perfect”.  I think I’m still grieving his diagnosis for him (and for me).

I’ve had some great suggestions from readers about Danny’s therapy.  Just to clarify.  We participate in our school’s Early Intervention Program which offers free therapy in our home up to age 3.   He’s been utilizing this service since February of last year just 6 weeks after coming home.  After his Cerebral Palsy and PVL diagnosis we also started receiving medically based PT and OT through a local Rehabilitation Hospital.   This has been AMAZING for his progress!  Unfortunately, our insurance only covers 20 sessions PER YEAR and we will quickly burn through those before the end of the summer.  We could pay out of pocket for a few additional sessions.  But even if I broke my TJ Maxx habit…we can’t afford weekly sessions to continue.

So we are PRAYING our insurance will make an exception at the recommendation of his neurologist!!

{In the sensory room…practicing tracking his eyes near and far…which I’ve got to say…he ROCKED.  Gotta love a 6 foot tall lava lamp!}

{Petting Thumper…his reward for walking all the way down the hallway}

{Blurry….but Holy Cuteness!}

With at least FOUR therapy sessions every week (sometimes more)…we are BUSY BUSY!   I’m learning to juggle this new normal and trying to remain THANKFUL for this opportunity for him to learn and grow.   I am beyond thankful too for a BIG GOD who has got this all under control….cause I know for sure, I don’t!

I tend to paint.  I know that doesn’t sound logical at all.  Life has been stressful lately.  We are trying to settle into a new normal routine that now includes therapy four times a week on top of our other weekly commitments.  Throw in a handful of end-of-the-year recitals/concerts/parties…and you end up with one slightly stressed out Mama.  So I paint.  Which theoretically adds more stress.  But, whatever.  Roll with me here!

Projects help me blow off steam.  So when I should be getting ahead on the laundry or washing down my sticky kitchen floor…I’m rolling up Sherwin William’s “Southern Beauty” late into the night.

The girls have been {mostly} patiently waiting for us to tackle their rooms.  I wanted to get the main floor whipped into shape before I headed upstairs…but there are still plenty of projects waiting for me there too.  When we were looking at houses I was insistent on 4 bedrooms.  We were blessed with a house that has FIVE upstairs (and two more in the basement…hoping to raise a whole African village here someday!)  This was a happy surprise because it meant that the girls could go back to having their OWN ROOMS.   Miss Middle declared her space “The Fairy Room” for the first three months we lived here.  But she has apparently grown up a lot in the first grade and now considers herself a “mini tween”.  She informed me a few weeks ago that she wants a teen room.  To which I replied “YOU ARE SEVEN!!!!!” in my most calm and understated voice.  And then I painted her room the softest shade of baby pink I could find.  (I’m also one of those evil moms who dresses my girls in LITTLE GIRL clothing.  Pure Evil).

These are just a few sneak peeks at her room.  We still need to paint the window and patch one spot on the wall (where we removed the totally rad intercom).  I need to hem and re-hang her curtains and find some fun pillows for her window seat.  And maybe a shaggy rug.

We resurrected her quilt from several years ago (it was in storage as we were using twin beds in the last house).   The ONLY things I had to purchase were the hoops for the fabric ($1 each at a flea market) and the fun pom pom garland from TJ Maxx for a whopping $5.99.   Everything else was a re-use, re-purpose, recycle!

I’ll try to pop back in with a few more details as we fill in a bit!   She is pretty excited to finally have a space to call her own!

Thankful to spend the day with the little ones who made me a mom.

Thankful for a mom who is a best friend.

Thankful for my Gaga and her bond with my little ones.

And praying for all my friends who are moms today.  Those with kids.  Those longing for kids.  Those who have lost kids or their own mom.  Those with kiddos on the other side of the world.  And the the “first moms” who give sacrificially to make motherhood possible for others.

Happy Mother’s Day!