1st Day of School

The 1st day of school has come and gone but I figured I better post some pictures...
Cole has now started the 9th grade. I asked him the other day what his favorite subject was and he said "seminary." I love it! Keri is now in 6th grade. And Carson is in 5th. It's hard to believe how fast they are growing up...

Boondocks

A few weeks ago Mark and I decided to take the kids to Boondocks. It seems like the summer has just flown by and we're already into fall. The kids favorite part of the park was riding the Go-Carts. This next picture is of Keri. She spinned a couple drivers out and passed almost all the drivers. You could say she was pretty aggressive. But, after two turns on the track they told her she couldn't drive anymore because she wasn't 60" tall. :( She was pretty lit up about the whole thing...So was Carson...He was only able to drive one time....I think it's because they were passing everyone and showing everyone up. JK. LOL...:)




The kids enjoyed the bumper boats, the arcade, XD Theatre, and even Laser Tag. They could have stayed out on the Go Cart track all day, but no such luck. Maybe next time. They sure do take after their Dad. Just a few weeks prior Mark got kicked off the track for spinning one too many people out. He had a few friends that helped him out. Ryan? Riley? You know who you are...

Maxwell Joseph Yeates

This is probably one of the hardest posts I have ever written. And I've debated back and forth several times whether or not I should include it on our blog. But the little spirit that touched our family's life over the past few months is so wonderful and amazing that I couldn't help but share. This is the reason why I haven't blogged for over 2 months...
Maxwell Joseph Yeates was born on July 27th with a diaphramic hernia. From the moment he arrived his life here on earth was a struggle and a challenge. Each day was spent in the NICU at Primary Children's Hospital fighting to keep his lungs and heart going until he was able to have surgery to correct the hernia. I have never prayed for something so hard in my life-that this little baby boy would be able to go home with my sister and her family. We had all hoped and prayed for a miracle, especially after waiting so long for him to arrive. But the miracle that we prayed for was not the same miracle that the Lord had in mind...


On August 14th Max passed away and returned home to his Heavenly Father. And on the 19th we gathered together as a family and celebrated his life...


I believe that losing a loved one is the most severest trials we will ever have to face in this life. And so often we question "why?" Perhaps it is to fill us with a yearning to know; to search for an explanation. (Such a search leads us out of this world and into a higher one.)
The past few months and weeks have been very humbling and once again I have been filled with a desire to understand "Why?" In this searching, my testimony has been strengthened and I have learned so much...
#1 President John Taylor once explained that "the reason why so many children were called away, notwithstanding the great faith and power of the priesthood exercised to keep them here, was that they were bright and noble spirits who held important positions in the kingdom of God in the spirit world, from which they could not long be spared." Knowing this gives me great comfort. That the Lord needed him there more than we needed him here.
#2 I must be ever so kind and tender with the ones I love.
There were many times when I went to visit Max in the hospital and was not able to touch him because the doctors were too busy trying to keep him alive. And during those moments when I was able to place my hand on his arm or foot I was ever so careful. Ever so tender. And so it is with my loved ones. I now have a desire to be more kind and warm hearted with my children and family.
#3 "Thy Will be Done"- Max's journey here to earth had been such a miracle that I had only thought there would be a miracle ending and that he would be able to go home with his family. But that was not the Lord's plan. The Lord had a different miracle in mind. Losing Max made me realize my helplessness, and that there is only One who holds the power of life and death. It is our duty to pray for the sick to be healed, to exercise our faith, but we must do so with this feeling in our hearts, "Thy Will and Not Mine Be Done."
I have thought so much about how this little one has touched my life and the lives of my family members. And I am blessed. Blessed to be his Aunt. Blessed to have spent such beautiful moments with him. And blessed with the knowledge that "Families Are Forever" and we will see each other again soon...

4th of July Bee's Game

I think it's official!! It is now a Cooper tradition to go to the Bee's game on the 4th of July and catch the awesome fireworks show! For the past few years Mark's dealership has hosted the fireworks show and we have been able to round up some free tickets. This year was even better! Cole got to be the official "Bat Boy" of the game...



This is what Carson did instead of watching the game...


JK. He actually named almost all the players on the team. I thought it would be hard for him, not being out on the field himself. But he loved every minute of it...


What an awesome night! A little bit of baseball, a little bit of peanuts, and a lot of spectacular fireworks...

Astros Take 2nd Place

This season Carson played for the Astros again. It was so fun to see how much he has improved over the past year. (Maybe it had something to do with his Lucky #7!)When it all was said and done his team took 2nd place in the league. To celebrate we all went to Wendy's for a yummy treat! Carson's choice! Great job Carson! We are so proud of you and your team!

What Happens While I'm At Work

(Yes, that long thing Cole has in his hands is a snake. Sorry about the quality of the pic. It was taken with a camera phone.)
Yesterday while I was out painting the kids kept calling me for little things like, "Can I straighten my hair? Can I go play with my friends? Do I have to do my chores? What time are you going to be home? What's for lunch?" You name it they called me for it. So after about the 8th phone call I told them not to call me unless it was an emergency. Unbeknownst to me they started calling their Dad for questions and permission on everything.
While Cole was out walking Rocky he found a pretty big snake over by the Adair's yard. The thing was well over 5 ft. long. He called Mark and told him about it. Mark told him to take a picture of it and text it to him. After sizing it up he asked Cole to bring it over to our house and put it in our backyard. Apparently, Mark thought it would eat some of the little rascals that seem to flock to our yard. After bringing it over to our house the kids wouldn't leave it alone. They were curious and wanted to play with it. Cole had that thing wrapped around his arm and Keri had a part of it too. They took pictures and texted them to all their friends.
All while I was working...
They weren't even going to tell me about it because they knew how I would react. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
I won't even start on the list of things that could've gone terribly wrong...
I'm sure the kids regretted telling me about it because they ended up getting a lecture for a good 1/2 hour.
Stephanie, is this yours?

A Few of my Favorites...

Just wanted to share a few of my favorite books I've read over the past couple of months...

This one made me really think about how far we've come and how far we still need to go.
Do we have the courage to change the world?
This one made me fall in love with sea turtles.
We always return back to our birthplace. Some sooner than others...
Made me realize what I am really hungry for. Food is not it...

Still reading this one. And loving every minute of it...

Let me know what you think...