J Cooper Photography

Our church is taking submissions for the family directory.  It seems so easy!  Just send in a family photo and we will include you in the directory.  Whatever.  Apparently, we don’t take family pictures all together.  Pictures of the kids – check!  Pictures of the dog – check!  Pictures with Mom and Dad in the shot – not on your life.  I don’t have any outstanding issues against being in photographs (minus the crazy girl head tilt)…it’s just…I’m usually the one behind the camera.  So what did I do?  Beg my poor father with the broken ribs to meet us in a field of bee infested clover to capture our family…of course.

Hey, Look.  We are all smiling (some of us a bit more naturally than others but I think it counts).

And a couple more just for kicks and giggles.  (geesh, with the head tilt already…next time I’m bringing a personal head tilting spotter along)

Don’t think for one nano second that this was an easy task.  There were literally hundreds of shots of us looking completely stupid.

{this is where I want your head}

{clothing malfunction}

{headband malfunction – noticing a theme here?}

{I think my husband is stoned and I can’t control my left arm.}

{something is really funny.}

{this is where I want your head.  again.}

{maybe if I just hold it.}

{itchy lips?  strong-willed toddlers?}

{Super Sam you slay me.}

{do you smell something?}

So as you can see…we aren’t the easiest bunch to photograph.  Good thing we paid my dad his weight in ice cream after the job was complete!

First off…THANK YOU for all the prayers on behalf of The Brainiac!  We came home from the hospital this afternoon and she is back to her regular shenanigans (at a much slower pace).  The doctors at the hospital were not able to determine the cause of her pain.  She is feeling better but is definitely not back to 100% yet.   We have an appointment to see a pediatric gastroenterologist at Children’s Hospital on Monday for further testing.  We are praying that they will be able to get to the bottom of what is causing her so much pain and sickness.  She is very worried about having another “episode” (as are we!) even though she is feeling significantly better.  We were given some medications to try to help control some of the symptoms until we can get into the gastro next week.  We are praying too for no more horrible spells….or back to the ER we go

On days like this…I am SO thankful for the health of our family.  It is never fun to be sick and dealing with hospital stays.  But for many…this is a way of life…and I am reminded of how BLESSED we are.

I had to share one silly picture of The Brainiac playing with her siblings today.  She may not be back to “normal” yet but she still has a good bit of spunk even when she is under the weather.

Thank you for the MANY phone calls, texts, Facebook messages, offers of babysitting and meals.  We are very fortunate to have so many amazing people in our lives!

Keep praying for continued healing for her!

The Brainiac has had a LONG day.  We got sent home from the ER yesterday after the tests they ran were non-conclusive.   We headed to our doctor’s office in the afternoon and they were baffled by her symptoms as well.  But in the evening things went down hill quickly and I ended up laying in bed comforting her until she finally fell asleep.  This morning I was woken up at 5am by one sick little girl screaming in agony.  So back to the ER we went.  Have no fear…she definitely got their attention today!   She had an ultrasound and CAT scan but nothing is pointing to the pain.

She was really feeling the pictures don’t you think?  Don’t worry I got a few half-hearted smiles out of her today (just didn’t catch any on camera).

She’s been admitted for the night so that they can try to get on top of things.  She’ll see a gastroenterologist at Children’s this week for more testing if the hospital can’t come to a conclusion (or ease the pain).  Praying for answers for our normally talkative, energetic girl!

Does anyone else feel like summer is just spinning out of control?  Typically I look forward to the lazy days of summer…but right now the lazy days have been full of a lot of indecision and unanswered questions.  We’ve got a little girl who has been sick on and off for several weeks…ending in a trip to the ER today.  She has perked up this afternoon…but we left the hospital with few answers and a little girl still crying in pain.  We are weeding through some life decisions and I’m longing for a few days to just kick back and swim at the pool or hang on the back deck with popsicles!

I know this is just the ebb and flow of life.  I’m so thankful for our health and that most of our “problems” are little more than mere inconveniences!   Praying we have a happier girl tomorrow for our first day of VBS!

Sometimes it take a couple of down days to really appreciate this amazing life God has provided!!

It is painful as your mommy to admit that you are four years old.  This last year has flown by with lightning fast speed and it seems to have catapulted you straight out of toddlerhood into the Land of Big Boy.  But I’m gonna hang on just a little bit longer…after all…you’ll always be my baby.

At four…You are opinionated and funny.  You are smart and clever.  You are learning how to write your ABCs and draw hippopotamuses.   You are ridiculously sensitive and cry when your hands get messy.  You are often lost in a world of make believe.  You are a lover of video games and all things electronic.  You think Thomas the Train hung the moon.  You still love for me to sing you three songs before bed.  You adore your sisters and think your baby brother is a big pain.  You know every Sunday School song known to man and always do the actions too.  You like to pick out your shirt everyday.  You are still a picky eater and live on carbohydrates.  You love waffles, Goldfish crackers, granola bars, and toast.  You despise the very thought of vegetables.  You are scared of our 4 pound dog.  You call your sisters “my girlies”.  You are definitely a one man band and we are certain you will someday be the star of your high school show choir.  You still love your ratty blankie.  You hate loud noises including potties that flush and your screaming brother.  You give the most amazing snuggles.  You hate to have messy hair.  You are outgoing and love to make new friends.  You are my STILL my baby boy whether you want to admit it or not.

Happy FOURTH Birthday, Super Sam.  We adore you.

It was pretty fun to watch Super Sam in the spot light for one night!  He wanted a DINO party this year.  I had BIG plans for a fun all out dinosaur party.  Just a few problems with that plan.  1. He doesn’t really have many friends yet.  2.  Parties are a lot of work.  3.  I was short on time.

So we compromised and had a fun themed party with a few neighborhood friends and called it good!  I had planned to just let the kids run around like hoodlums in the backyard (read: I didn’t really plan many activities to keep them busy).  But the clouds rolled in late in the afternoon and by the time the party started it was pitch black with rolling thunder and torrential rains.  So the party came inside, I bumped up my ISO to ridiculously high levels, and we just ran with it!

When I asked him what he wanted to eat for his party he exclaimed, “BAGELS!!!”  We went with his second choice…PIZZA!  I kept it simple…pizza, fruit salad, and carrot sticks.  And of course cupcakes.  He requested chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting with chocolate sprinkles.  He is so obviously my son.

There were only two planned activities…a pinata and a fossil dig.  We buried some miniature dinosaur skulls (found at Michaels) in the sand and let the kids dig them up!   The favors were tiny paint cans filled with plastic dinos and the fun foam dinosaur hats from the Dollar Tree.  The cupcake toppers were so cute (wish I had a better picture) and were found at TJ Maxx as a set with matching cupcake liners.  We pulled all of our dinosaurs from around the house and used them for fun decorations.

Not my most creative party…nor my best pictures (thanks a lot Mother Nature)…but the birthday boy certainly enjoyed all the attention and had a WONDERFUL night!

Whoa.   It’s been awhile!  Summer has officially taken over my family and the blog has had to take the back seat for a few days.  Hmmm….where did we leave off?

Since last week we’ve had Super Sam’s 4 year old Dinosaur Party,  we’ve battled the stomach flu, we’ve celebrated Father’s Day, and the girls are going strong at violin camp…not to mention that I am in the throes of painting, painting, painting (once again).

I have so much I want to share….but I will have to pop back in tomorrow…it’s nearly midnight and I’m just moments away from pumpkinhood.

Just sharing one photo tonight.  Love this photo so so much…Super Sam swings a bat like a girl…his friends are looking on in amazement…and Mr. P…well that is classic “watch where you swing that bat, buddy!”

Happy Monday friends!

We ate dinner on the deck and then worked on cleaning up the yard.  Ok.  Mr. P worked on cleaning up the yard and I played with the kids  We have been working hard on Danny’s walking!  Tonight he was able to hold just ONE hand and walk around the yard.  His balance was a bit iffy…but he was even staying upright on our very uneven grass…going up and down the little hill in the middle of our yard!

This is a pretty HUGE step for him!!  He is gaining core body strength and getting better control of his left leg!  Praise God for the work He is doing in this little boy’s body!  Every simple task that we take for granted is hard for this one.  Yet he keeps trucking along!

Check out the hug at the end too…melts my heart.

I know I shared the hilarious out take from our little mini session with the Cooper kids a few days ago.  But I had to come back and share a few of the keepers too!  I have to say that the older three kidlets were quite delightful that evening and SO cooperative.  But Mr. I’m-Two-Now-Thank-You-Very-Much….yeah…he was SO TWO.

But we had fun anyways…and I got lots of shots of them together which was my main goal!  On our way to a nearby neighborhood we swung by my parents house to grab the old red wagon.  That rusty old wagon was an integral component of my childhood and it is still hanging out in my parent’s garage.  It made the perfect prop to contain the boys and The Beast!

I promise not to babble on and on about how much I ADORE these kiddos….or how AMAZING they are…or how FORTUNATE I feel to be their Mama.  Just gonna share the pics!

I’m trying to decide which shots to print for a wall in our downstairs family room.   So I’ve included numbers…help a girl out and tell me your favs!

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And let’s not forget the REAL keeper!

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There’s not much that beats busting your guts singing to God with 50 kids!  What an amazing weekend with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders at Kidz Kamp!  It was just as much fun as I expected.  The Brainiac LOVED every minute of her first camp “away” and went to bed in tears tonight that the whole thing was over so fast.   She has now been indoctrinated into the wonderful world of camp skits, GaGa ball, human foosball, camp fires, and even her first (and hopefully last) tick.   I’d call that a complete experience!

Here’s to new summer experiences that create a lifetime of memories!