Merry Christmas!

You were there when your Father said let there be light
You obeyed when he whispered "Son, You have to leave tonight"
To spend nine months in a mother's womb, three days in a borrowed tomb


But it's the time in between that brings me to my knees
Knowing You came for me and all that I can't be
I'm amazed, so amazed And I thank You for the time in between


Don't take much for this crazy world to rob me of my peace
And the enemy of my soul says You're holding out on me
So I stand here lifting empty hands, for You to fill me up again


But it's the time in between that I fall down to my knees
Waiting on what You'll bring, and the things that I can't see
I know my song's incomplete, still I'll sing in the time in between
So many ways Your love has saved the day
And I'm grateful for them all


But it's the time in between, the middle of two thieves
That says everything, it's the reason I believe
I'm amazed, so amazed
And I thank You for the time in between
Oh Lord, I thank You for the time in between
-Francesca Battistelli & Clint Lagerberg


These are not my words, but as I play them over and over in my car I realize they make up the perfect Christmas song this year. Thank you so much, Jesus, for coming to Earth so many years ago. And for the perfect life you lived as an example for us. And for sacrificing yourself for my guilty heart. That great act of love saved me and I thank you. Let's celebrate! Happy Birthday, Jesus! Merry Christmas!

thoughts

Some random thoughts/realizations I've had bumping around in my head this past week.

- giving thanks will always rememdy a bad attitude

- friends and loved ones that are willing to "babysit" your kids are worth their weight in GOLD

- never wear black pants when your child has a runny nose

- good intentions don't get you too far without actions!

october fun

It's crazy to think that November is cruising by so quickly.  I even started thinking of all we need to cook for our Thanksgiving meal last night.  So I guess I better go ahead and share what the end of October was like.  We had so much fun visiting the pumpkin patch.  They had tons of animals - Cooper got to ride his first mini horse and got a fistful of camel hair. 













Next we visited the zoo for the first time and now have a zoo membership. If anyone wants to go, let me know!  The giraffes were the highlight of the day for me.  Cooper and I got to feed one of the female giraffes some lettuce.







Last was Halloween.  Charlie Brown and a little lamb - what could be cuter?  They had more fun playing with the grass than showing off their costumes.  Julie is such a ham - never a bad picture.  Cooper on the other hand was a little more stand-offish.  No smiles!  Must be a guy thing.











Now we have lots to look forward to.  Thanksgiving in MS then down to the coast for more festivites in Orange Beach!  Yay! 

all kinds of new stuff

On Thursday Cooper started babbling!  Babababababa and sometimes I could hear dada and mama!  Andy was so upset that he missed it all.  He also started shaking his head "no" around the same time.  I don't know what made him so excited to try out his communication skills, but he really got it going this week!!  He is so cute when he's talking too. 

Cooper and I flew to Jackson to visit family this week.  It has been a good visit, but Cooper started out sick and I ended up sick.  :(   We drove to Birmingham to introduce him to my grandmother (Cooper's great grandmother) over the weekend.  She had such a good time seeing him.  I only wished that we could have spent more time with her. 

Cooper got to spend the night with Granna on his last night in Jackson.  I think that she had a really good time.  She must have played really hard with him and wore him out because he slept late and has taken two really good naps today!  I know he's had such a good time with all of his grandparents.  Grandad, Grammie, Granna, Papa Bear, and Mimi!  And of course, Uncle Matt too.  He loves his Uncle Matt.  :)

Next month we've get to see everyone again, but we've got to go see Uncle Nathan, Aunt Nicki and Bella and Andy's Granny and Grandad.  Cooper has so many loved ones to visit with in Mississippi!  Hopefully we will all be well next time so we can see everyone.

anchors aweigh

Halleluiah, Praise God it has been raining in Texas for two days!! Our Sunday has turned into a rain day and that's awesome. If we do happen to float away, I'm going to let this little guy steer the boat.  ;)





Captain Cooper!

barking baby

There's not much Cooper has done so far to mimic us. I keep waving "hi" and "bye." I even try some sign language at feeding times - more, all done, hungry? I think he understands hungry, but only when I say it. I tell him "mama" and "dada" all day long, only to get a loud shriek in return.  (Oh, he's got the shriek down pat - sometimes we have shrieking contests when it's just Cooper and me around.) I do think we caught him clapping a couple of times but not really in response to us. 

And then yesterday it happened - he started mimicking... THE DOG!  Yes, I caught him barking.  You may not believe me, so see for yourself.  It goes like this:  Cooper and I are playing upstairs.  All is quiet.  Roscoe begins barking.  Then I hear a faint "ah ah ah ah ah" from Cooper.  Over and over and louder and louder until Roscoe stops.  I think, "well that's unusual.  Surely he's not doing that because of the barking."  But then it happens again.  10 minutes of silence from Cooper and all of a sudden Roscoe starts barking. And so does Cooper.  Huh.  What do you think?  World's cutest barking baby?  I think yes.  :)

more pictures!

A few pictures...

with Papa Bear's hat


daddy and cooper


riding in my car!!


grammie and cooper



papa bear and cooper



granna and cooper