Coopenstein!

Is this kid really nine-months-old already? I cannot believe it. Seriously.

And on that note, is it really August already? Holy cow. Hallelujah. Amen.

Moving on.

Cooper is now nine-months-eight-days-old. You heard right. The child that was just yesterday a tiny, little, swaddled thing whose repertoire of tricks consisted merely of eating, pooping, peeing, sleeping and looking cute is now a crawling, standing on his own, holding his own bottle, mobile, chatty almost-toddler. I honestly can’t believe it. I’m shocked every time I see him do something new. I’m not ready for this! I can’t imagine how his parents feel!

Shoot, I can’t even sit on the floor to take a picture of him without this happening…

Gimme a break, kid!

Here’s the dialogue I imagine going along with this one…

Me: “Whatcha’ doin’, Coop?”

Coop: “What? Me? Oh, just standin’ around… just mobile, independent Coop bein’ mobile, independent Coop. How’s my pose? You like it?”

… or not.

Apparently Cooper doesn’t need any help in the being fed department either.

You know, his father was drinking at a young age too   

Updates.

Hello, faithful readers. I’m assuming only my “faithful” readers are the ones still checking my blog because I’ve apparently forgotten how to write on it. Sorry ’bout that. I just wanted to quickly update ya’ll on everything that’s been happening!

Abram is sweatin’ it out in Iraq. He’s doing well but he is definitely ready to come home. He says the days seem to be growing longer and hotter over there. Eek! I can’t even imagine… the only time the men find some relief from the heat is when there is a haze of sand. Can you even think of what that would be like?! I certainly can’t. SO, just keep him and all the other men and women serving over there in your thoughts and prayers as summer, and this deployment, drag on into the dog days. Thanks

Here at home, we’ve not had tons of progress on the house. We’re waiting to get everything settled with insurance. We have mostly everything settled down but are waiting to hear back on one thing… hopefully we’ll be able to get the property sold soon, dust off our hands and move on. If you could pray for that as well, it’d be much appreciated

I have been keeping myself busy with all this here waitin’ goin’ on by picking up a new hobby! I started learning how to knit! Though I’m sure it sounds totally thrilling, it is actually a lot of fun and very relaxing. And rewarding

By the looks of things, Teddy isn’t too thrilled about this new hobby. My practice piece took up a LOT of time… because I didn’t exactly know what I was doing.

I still don’t know what I’m doing, but I’ve managed to knit the heaviest, thickest scarf I’ve ever seen in my life. Though it isn’t perfect, I’m pretty proud of my first Finished Object I’ll definitely be sporting it during the colder months.

It’s a tad on the short side, but that’s fine. There are a few dropped stitches, especially toward the beginning of the scarf, which caused a couple uneven edges. It was kind of a learn-as-you-go deal and I learned how to correct those types of things as I worked on the piece and I’m pretty proud of how it turned out

And since I’ve been feeling so crafty, while also not allowing myself to make any purchases for a house we no longer have, I decided to get my craft on and make something. Though I did have to buy the supplies, the total cost for this cute little tray was under $7! Woohoo!

I still need to seal it somehow – stain or shellac – but I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out, considering it was so “cost effective” to make

I also caved while at a garage sale and bought four chairs who were in need of a good home. I have grand visions of an antique dining table surrounded by mismatched chairs.

Lord help me.

Or I just like to fill my parents’ garage with “stuff”.

Either way.

I hope this “quick update” finds you all well! Much love

Congratulations, Molly and Dustin!

This weekend I had the pleasure and honor of attending the wedding of one of my oldest friends. Molly and Dustin were married in Bloomington at Deer Park Manor. It was a beautiful ceremony and the reception was a lot of fun It was awesome to see Molly and Dustin so excited to exchange vows and begin their new life as a married couple. So sweet

Molly was ga-ga-gorgeous!!!

The two of them were sooo very happy I just love love! Don’t you?!

…sweetest thing ever.

God bless the two of you as you begin this exciting journey I pray you’ll have many, many, many days of happiness together!

I’m not gonna lie – the wedding made me miss Abe even more (if that’s possible) than I already did. I can’t wait till that kid comes home I love you, babe!

Happy (belated) Birthday, America!

Every year on the Fourth of July, the ‘Trager family comes together to celebrate with a big pitch-in dinner, cold drinks and lots of fireworks. This year was no exception… though it (of course) wasn’t the same without Abe here. Nevertheless, we all got together and celebrated our great nation, had some AWESOME dogs, brats and burgers – way to go, Joshy! – and just caught up with one another!

Of course I had the camera in hand most of the night

Coop was ready to celebrate with a smile and his festive attire!

Josh and Joe, my brothers, got in on the bottle rocket action. I believe they were trying to set off in excess of six at one time. All brawn… no brains

A staple on the Fourth…

Let the show begin!!! Coe and Coop had prime seats during the show He was really into the fireworks! He didn’t take his eyes off of them the entire time… future pyro in the making, right there

I hope you all had a FANTASTIC Fourth of July!!!

God bless America!

Isn’t it Ironic…

You know, before Abe got deployed, sooo many people asked what I was going to do. Was I going to sell the house, move back in with my parents, lock myself in a padded room for the year and cry… etc. Not really on that last one (though it does sound tempting from time to time ). Anyhow, I think it’s somewhat hysterical and ironic that yes, I am living with my parents. I think it’s even more ironic that I was so adamant that I would be an independent woman and make it through the deployment living alone, going to school full-time, working, raising the puppies (Hunter hadn’t yet passed) and taking care of the house.

Apparently God had a different plan. And I’m glad he did.

Now, I’m not living alone, I’m still working, I’m on a break from school, I have help raising the puppy (he gets lovies from the ‘grandparents’) and though I help to keep the house in shape, I’m not managing a household. God knows when a lady needs a little break. And yes, I did say a break. Yes, I realize that our home was flooded and (announcement!) chances are we’ll never live there again. I honestly and truly believe down deep in my soul that the house we were living in wasn’t the house God wanted us to be in. We’ll wind up out from under the house when all this is done, with a clean slate, and we’re saving TONS of money right now! GOD HAS A PLAN!!! And He is good… GREAT… ALL THE TIME! (Sandy )

ANYHOW… all this rambling and such was brought on when I was going through and editing some photos earlier this evening. My parents have a dadgum BEAUTIFUL property. A property that I am free to wonder around at my whim… and I have TONS of free time because God knew I was going to need a break! Woohoo! It is so refreshing to walk around their property and take in the beauty of nature and to sometimes find little surprises here and there. Teddy loves it as well Abe and I got to relax – even in the midst of dealing with losing our home – by taking walks in the morning with our coffee and the pup and again in the evening. We got to enjoy one another and breathe each other in while he was at home. ::sigh::

I already miss him again, but I think that goes without saying.

Again… rambling. Let me just say again that I am SOOO RICHLY BLESSED in this life by my God. He knows me sooo much better than I could ever know myself. People have asked me ever since the beginning of the deployment and especially after the flood how I have managed to maintain a positive attitude. Because He has blessed me. Because I trust Him. I know that He won’t give me – or us – more than can be handled. AND I’ve realized that a positive attitude often leads to a positive experience. I am no idealist, far from it, but I understand that attitude is everything. How could I not have a positive attitude with my God?!

SO… here are the photos that brought all of this on! Thanks for allowing me to bare my soul I promise I’m done now and that, hopefully, my blog will not be used as a means of catharsis again

I’ll start with my favorite “find” on the property thus far. Abe and I were taking one of our walks and he pointed it out I LOVE IT!

We totally want to carve our initials into it when he gets home

And these kind of speak for themselves… just pure beauty! Love, love, love!

 

 

 

 

Sooo… two questions. 1) How could I NOT have a positive attitude? and 2) Can I get an AMEN!?