Happy Belated Birthdays!

Okay, so I have always been pretty convinced that I have a split personality. Half of my life I am really clean, organized, funny, social, and the other half I am lazy, slobish, clutzy, anit-social, and completely forgetful. Lately I have been the latter, especially the forgetful and slobish part. Well, and the clutzy too, but it has only hightened since I got pregnant. When I was pregnant with Josh, I tripped ALL the time. When I was 7 months along I fell down an entire flight of stairs at work completely embarresing myself and bruising every part of my body. Luckily Josh was pretty padded. That was only once, stuff like that happened the whole 9 months. Now I am back at it again. Like just now, I was talking to Kenni on the phone and I dropped the phone, so in trying to pick the phone up and put it to my ear, I somehow shoved it into my eye. It was hilarious, and I felt pretty dumb.

But alas, I digress, what I wanted to write is that I have been forgetful and haven't wished a great many people happy birthday on my blog, these people especially:

-My Mama

-Kristen

-Katie

MY MAMA

Her birthday was the 21st of February. She is gorgeous and funny and everything wonderful. I wish more and more lately that we lived not so far apart. 3,000 miles makes it hard for me to follow her around the house while she cleans like I used to do. Luckily, I know for sure she is coming out in October, so that makes me happy. One of my favorite things about her is that she is the greatest nuturer I have ever known. She knows just how to comfort, correct, and love. She used to stroke my head whenever I was sad, tired, or sick. I miss that so much sometimes, so I told Tyson about it so he strokes my head now which makes me so happy. Moms are just the greatest, the Lord really made miracles when He made mothers.

KRISTEN

Her birthday was the 25th of February. I first met her when I moved to Provo at the age of 6. We hated each other. :) Until our freshman year of high school when we were both in the same English class and got together to help each other with an essay we had to write. We didn't do much homework, but we talked about boys and made fun of people's laughs until we started laughing like them. It was so much fun. Those next four years were some of the best of my life. We met and started hanging out with Heather, and then Kirsten and Marissa and Kip. We had our ups and downs, but it was a lot of fun. I will never forget how forgiving Kristen always was to me. I was not the best friend, but she kept on loving me and taught me to be a better person. I was so excited when she told me she was getting married and then when I met Nate, I was so happy that she found someone so perfect for her.

KATIE

Katie's birthday was yesterday, she is Tyson's little sister. The first time I heard about her was my first Valentine's Day with Tyson. We were snuggling at my house after our freezing picnic, watching some old movie that neither of us remember (not because we were kissing, we were talking). I was losing my voice for some reason, and so I would ask Tyson a question and he would answer it. So I asked him to tell me about his family. He told me about Katie first. I don't remember much of what he told me except that she was so funny, that she and I were the only people in the world that could make him laugh when he was trying to be serious. That she sang like an angel. I called Katie that March 5 to wish her a happy birthday. I don't know if she had any idea who I was, because I wasn't with Tyson, I was at home with my family in California for spring break, but she laughed and was very nice to me. Ever since then, she laughs at me but it still nice. She sang at our wedding reception, and she does sing like an angel. I hope you had a great birthday Katie!

If there are any I have forgotten, I am so sorry! Have a very merry un-birthday everyone!

Baby Names

If it is a girl we are thinking Isilee. We like Claire, Constance and Sarah for a middle name. I mean, I know we don't even know if it is a girl yet, or what it even looks like. But I love the name Isilee Sarah, I'm not sure why, I think because it sounds like a little princess, but a good, sweet, little princess.

If it is a boy...I don't know. Tyson and I are really big 'Boy Meets World' fans, so maybe Cory Matthew, what do you think? Hehe, just kidding, well, kind of. I am really bad with boy names, I can't ever think of any. My brother Yance made me promise not to use Thor, Bron, Gideon and Gidgiddonah (I don't think that is a problem for me) and Kenni and Chris have dibs on Darwin, so just so you know, those are crossed out on our list. :) Any ideas? Don't worry, you have seven months. Haha.

In Search for Easter Puffs

Okay, so last year at about this time, I was in Washington for Kenni and Chris's wedding. I stayed with the in-laws for a few days and in their freezer, what did they have? Easter puffs. I tried one and since then I have been hooked. Only problem is, they only have them during Easter time. So I have been dying for them to come out on the shelves of stores. I am not even a huge Little Debbie fan, but these, wow, are amazing if frozen. So Tyson drove me all around town yesterday and we searched every store and alas, although they are in Washington already, they are not here. I think I shall put on mourning. Haha, just kidding, but seriously, I want some...and soon. :)

P.S.- Mom Cooper, we did buy Josh Yogos, never fear.

My Valentine

So Valentine's Day was kind of crazy, but really fun. Tyson and I went up to the temple while Chris and Kenni were so nice to watch our little munchkin. Since the drive is 3 hours up to the temple and 3 hours back, Tyson and I always get a lot of conversation in and I love getting to know him better. I think it is so funny that there is so much I still don't know about him. We usually end up talking about memories with our families, or our past significant others, or talking about our future together. We always dream we will live in this huge gorgeous mansion on a big farm out in the country somewhere. Tyson pictures the mansion a lot bigger than I picture it, I'm pretty sure. Especially since the first thing I think of is cleaning it. :) But Tyson is always so sure that we will be filthy rich someday. I still have mixed feelings about whether I want to be or not, but I know that if Tyson wants it, he does whatever he needs to do to get it. Like me for example. Let's talk about that story, it is my favorite.

We met on January 6, 2006. My friend, Ryan, told me and a few of my friends that he had just gotten a new roommate and we could come over and meet him if we wanted to. We went over to check him out, not for ourselves, but we wanted to see if he would go well with one of our other friends. So I met Tyson and turns out he already had two girlfriends, one in Utah and one here. But he was nice and funny and I found out he was from the same place that KJ, my brother, served his mission. But I didn't think much about him. I had a missionary, and my mission papers were all filled out, I was just waiting for April 2 so I could submit them. Well, at the end of the month, my friends and I wanted to go do baptisms at the temple, but we needed more Priesthood holders to come with us. So we invited Tyson and his girlfriend. Well, she couldn't come, but Tyson did. We drove a few hours Friday night and stopped at our friend, Luke's parents house for the night. The whole time Tyson and I pretended we were married (I'm not sure why, I often liked to play that game with guys, I would just call them husband, so really it wasn't a big deal, I don't know why I was that way). So we had a great time at the temple the next day and Tyson and I held hands for a few seconds because everyone told us to for this picture they were taking. It was really funny and just a joke, but I found myself always looking to see where Tyson was and what he was doing and who he was talking to. I just couldn't help myself. The whole drive home we sat in the back seat and just talked the whole way. He told me about the "dear John" he got on his mission and I told him about my missionary and how I felt about him and how I was going to go on a mission. He asked me why I wanted to go and I didn't know. I really wanted to serve the Lord, but I think the real reason I was going was because I wanted to prove I could, and because I thought that is what my missionary wanted me to do.
That following Monday, Tyson dumped his girlfriends and asked me out that Thursday for the next day. So we went on a date every night after that. Until Valentine's Day when Tyson went way out of his way. He decorated my room in hearts, wrote me poems that he put in my books for each class that day, and then that night took me on a walk/picnic. It was perfect. And we were wrapped up in a blanket (it was freezing!) sitting on the bleachers and he asked me if he could kiss me, but instead of responding I just kissed him. The rest of the night I swung from being totally giddy happy and feeling guilty that I had betrayed my missionary, again. But Tyson told me that he would steal me away from all my other plans, and I didn't believe him.
A week later he told me he loved me and I knew that I loved him too. It was so weird that it happened so fast. He made me feel happier, prettier, better than I had ever felt in my whole life. He still does. A few weeks later, on March 15, I realized I not only could, but I wanted to marry Tyson. So I called him and told him that, then I hung up the phone. Later that night, Tyson proposed to me, and I said yes and that I wanted a secret engagement. Which lasted for like 5 minutes since I can't keep secrets worth beans.
Every Valentine's after that had been really special for us, mostly because of our memories and that our first Valentine's was the day I really made a choice that I didn't want to just date this guy, and he really went way out of his way to show me he liked me and that I was worth all the trouble. So this Saturday, he snuck away while I was babysitting and got me flowers (mostly because he didn't want me to be sad, but they are really pretty) and he wrote me a poem which is my favorite.

"To My Valentine. :)

My heart, my life, my friend, my wife.
My woman, my love, my gift from above.

To you, for you, I write these short lines.
From our first February I have written poetry in your Valentine's.

My words are awkward, my love is great.
With you I would love to ice skate.

Your forever I will always be,
with cookies, flowers, and frisbees.

I love you!!

Tyson :) "


Isn't that just hilarious and precious? I don't know why I am writing all of this, I highly doubt anyone will really read it. But it just makes me so happy that I have someone that is still so in love with me. The Lord has blessed me so much! And now not only do I have him, but a little minature Tyson and maybe a minature me in lets see...7 months and 2 weeks. :)

Politics

Best family quote:
Mom was talking about democrats
Carmel (who was pretty young at the time, maybe 5): Mom you shouldn't say swear words.
Mom: Carmel, I wasn't swearing.
Carmel: Yes, you did. You said (whispering) "democrat."

So I realized I never say anything about politics, mostly because I am never quite sure how I feel about it. But I did watch the Inaguration and I was very impressed by Obama's speaking ability. Like Shannon Hale might say, "he has the gift of people speaking." But I'm not quite sure what to think of him as the man to lead my country. I hope and pray he will do his best, trying to listen to what the Lord would have him do. I hope he cuts government spending on all the stupid stuff it does and that he helps people not be so dependent on the government for supporting everything they do. But I don't know, I hope he doesn't make it mandatory for 3-5 year olds to go to school. I hope he lives up to the hope he has given America. I didn't stand on a street corner holding "vote for Obama" signs, but I did do that for Bush. :) I still can't believe I did that. But I'm glad I did. My extremely Republican family was proud.

News from the Homefront

So Tyson said that I need to post more. He won't read my journals, so I guess he likes to read these because they are like a journal, but public so he doesn't feel bad reading them. So a lot, well, kind of, has happened since I last wrote. I feel so much more at ease and calm about everything, about losing my job, about lots of different things. When really, I think I should be crazy scared.
Grandma and Grandpa Cooper came to visit a few weeks ago and it was a lot of fun. We stayed up until 2 every night with Grandma so she could take her pills and we had a lot of good talks and of course they loved being with little Josh. The only bad part about it was it made me miss my own mom a lot. I was tempted to tell Tyson that we needed to move back to the west coast because I just can't handle being far away from her anymore. But I love it here, it has become my home. I have spent the past almost 6 years of my life here, grown more independent than I thought was possible. I have fallen in love here, had my first baby here, I have so many memories here in this beautiful valley. The sunrise this morning was amazing, it wasn't gold or yellow or pink, it was perfectly blue. Bluer than I have ever seen the sky. And I know I would miss it terribly if we ever left this place.
So I have been babysitting a lot for people on the side, keeping busy with writing, laundry and trying to help the people around me. I decided that the Lord must have a reason for me losing my job and I decided that reason was to take care of His children more. So I have been trying to find ways I can help others. I haven't been very good at it, but I feel a lot better at least doing little somethings.
Plus, I have been able to spend a lot of time with little Joshua. He loves to draw on whatever I am writing, read when I am reading, play hide-and-seek and visit our neighbors with me. Tyson and I spend most of our time watching Psych and Lost. I totally love both shows! I just wish Lost played 2 times a week because the suspense is killing me. :) And we have been reading a book called 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' and it is really good. I have learned a lot from it already.
Then there is the big news that has changed me completely, and will continue to change me. On Wednesday evening, Josh and I went over to Kenni and Chris's house to hang out while Tyson was teaching the Dave Ramsey class. Kenni had an EPT that she isn't going to use any time soon, so she let me use it and yup, we are expecting another little one! I am really excited and really nervous too, mostly because I don't want another c-section and because it is still really early. I used to think that I shouldn't tell anyone if I got pregnant for awhile because the baby might not stick, but I think every child should be celebrated, even if they are here for only a little while. But we are hoping this one, despite all the craziness that goes on in our home, will want to stay. We want a little girl and to name her Isilee, yes like the character in 'Goose Girl.' But Tyson and I fell in love with the name, so I guess we will see what the munchkin looks like. I am just excited for life, and excited (kind of) to get round again. Anyways, that is the news from the mini-Cooper's. Being a mom for me now will be as K.J. and Tyson put it "a lifestyle now, not just a hobby." :)

Okay...so stuff did happen

Okay, so I didn't realize so much did happen over the past couple of weeks. I just downloaded the pics from our camera and I kept saying "Oh, oh, yeah, I forgot about that." Hehe So this is a sweet puzzle that Tyson got for me for Christmas and it took us two weeks to build. Our table was completely covered that whole time so everytime we wanted to eat, we had to eat atop our puzzle. It was really fun though, intense, but fun. It is a scene from Italy, so it was like we were there for two weeks. :)

We also went out of town for a few days. Tyson had this computer Access training for a couple of days and Josh and I got to go with him. It was really fun because we got to see a few friends we haven't seen in awhile and it was just a blast getting away together for a few days.

This one is hilarious. Our friend's Emilie and Logan and their little boy Tommy came over. Well, it turns out Josh and Tommy have the same p.j.'s Hilarious huh? They are both so cute!

Josh making one of his fabulous faces.

Can you see his slippers? They are elephants and soooo cute!

Josh's first hair cut. I gave it to him. He doesn't have much hair except in the back and it was all curly, but it was getting a little unruley, so I had to chop it off. He didn't like it one bit, but I think it looks better now.