Lots of Snow!

Cooper ready to get out in the snow

Snow, snow, and more snow!!! Not only did we have a white Christmas this year, but have already used over 1/2 of our 10 allotted snow days missing school....and it's not even through January yet. In fact, my boys are starting to view snow as "not a big deal", whereas they used to get up at the crack of dawn, driving me crazy to get outside and play in it.

Colby with his snowman

My boys- Carson, Colby, and Cooper playing in the snow

Carson with his snowman

Colby with our neighbor, Zach

The boys with our neighbors- Zach and Alexandra

Cooper

Colby

Tiger Basketball 2011

Carson's 3rd year with the Tiger b-ball team

After the game they won this year- so excited!!

Carson is in full swing with basketball again and plays with the EWA league here in Franklin. This is his 3rd year to be on the Tiger Team with Coach Jeremy and Coach Mark. A lot of these boys have played together since the beginning and it is really neat to see how they have "grown" in their knowledge of the game. This year is a "transitional" year, as they have moved up to an older league, where a lot of the teams have older and much bigger kids, and things are much more intense. So, despite more losses than they are used to, it has been a great year for them to build on their skills. Keep in mind that they won the Championship for their age group last year, however, they have only won one game this year. Carson has definitely had a hard time with that, but it has really been a good lesson for him to keep giving his best effort, whether winning or losing! I'm super proud of him!

Carson's 1st year on the Tiger team
(Look how little they are- so cute)

1st year

2nd year after winning the championship!

Reflections on 2010

I always think it is a good thing to take a little time and reflect on the past year as you begin a new one. Most of all, it allows me to center my thoughts on God's faithfulness and the ways HE has provided for and guided me over the past year. It also helps me to think about my hopes and fears for what lies ahead, which translate into goals and things I would try to improve upon or change.

It truly blows my mind how life circumstances can drastically change from one year to the next. I feel like our family has lived out the saying, "You never know what tomorrow holds" over the last couple of years, and can honestly say that I am thankful for these circumstances, as they have allowed me to experience God in a real way, and probably more fully than I could have ever imagined otherwise. In fact, 2 years ago tonight, I was at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in the ICU with Cooper (then only 5 months old), who had just undergone his 2nd major surgery to remove the rare, cancerous tumor from his head and neck.
                                                  

Then, one year ago, yesterday (Dec. 31st), our entire family was at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital delivering the first of many "Cooper Trooper Caring and Courage Kits" to help other families impacted by childhood cancer; with TV crews, hospital staff, and Cooper's oncologist with us, celebrating what the foundation was doing.
                                        

Now, here I sit 2 years later, on this same night, thankful that my boy is cancer "clear" at this time. I here the hum of the monitor as he is sleeping in his room. I wonder where this child gets all his energy. My biggest concerns for him right now are making sure I don't miss a dose of antibiotic for the step throat he got last week, and trying to teach him why biting his brothers is NOT OKAY. God is amazing, faithful, and really does know the plans HE has for us!

Cooper now!

What I want for 2011

I know as a wife, I want to be all God intended for me to be to my husband. I want to be his support, showing him the respect he deserves, I want to be his best friend, his biggest cheerleader, his comfort, his advocate, his challenger, his love that is unconditional.

As a mom, I want to pour love into my children, show them the love of Christ and point them toward HIM, encourage them, discipline and speak truth to them, protect them while also allowing them to fail and learn from their mistakes, demonstrate a loving marriage to them, build into them the qualities and character that God intends, all while keeping my cool! :)

Me with my older 2 boys- Carson and Colby

As a friend, I want to speak truth in love, be myself, laugh often, cry when needed, have no regrets, and treasure the small amount of time that I get to spend with them in this crazy phase of life.

Most importantly, as a daughter of The KING, I want to make my time with Christ a priority, soak in HIS truths, pray more often, and spend more time thanking HIM for all the blessings HE has given me. I want to spend more concentrated time in Bible study and journal more often.

I have lots of specific goals that I won't go into, but that is a general picture. I have to say, while 2010 was full of blessings, there were certainly many moments of uncertainty, fear, sadness, anger, and frustration. However, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God uses all of the "hard" circumstances to mold us, press us, and prod us to fall completely dependent upon the Greatness of who HE is. I look forward to what HE has in store for me and my family in 2011!

A Precious Phone Call

Tonight our phone rang at about 9:30pm, with a call from Dr. Jim Netterville, the amazingly gifted physician who did both surgeries to remove Cooper's tumor. I just had to write a little about this man, who truly is a "hero" to our family and so many others.

I have sent a Christmas card to his office the last couple of years from our family, not necessarily expecting that he would even see it. This year he opened our card and called us at home to thank us, ask about the family, and about what all we were doing with the foundation. We talked for 10 minutes or so, and I don't know if he will ever realize the profound impact it had on me and Rod, that he would take the time out of his busy schedule to call (keep in mind, it has been almost 2 years since he did the 2nd surgery on Cooper). He was so kind and encouraged me with these words, "how wonderful it is that you and Rod listened and obeyed God's calling to help others, when you were going through what some would consider hell on earth."

Cooper with Dr. Netterville 

I have had the opportunity to know quite a few people in the medical field, and I must say that this man is truly one-of-a-kind! Not only is Dr. Netterville the Director of Head and Neck Surgery at Vanderbilt,  an international leading authority on treating head and neck cancer, one of the world's experts in the treatment of skull base tumors and has a vast clinical experience, he is a man of God, humble beyond words, with one of the most caring hearts of anyone I know. I look forward to the day when Cooper is a little older and can personally thank him for what he did. God has gifted this man with an amazing skill, and I still thank the Lord for placing us in Dr. Netterville's care.


We will forever be grateful to this man for removing the sarcoma (which he himself referred to as "the size of a tangerine in an infant's head") through 2 complicated surgeries on Cooper's head/neck. However, the magnitude of our gratefulness for the "person" he is, and not just the "surgeon" cannot really be expressed in words. What a blessing to get this precious phone call tonight!

The Cooper Trooper Foundation Pumpkin Patch Fundraiser

This year was our first year to do a Pumpkin Patch fundraiser for the foundation! We exceeded our expectations and are so proud of the success we had- the foundation raised over $12,000!!!! We will be able to help so many families whose world has been turned upside down by childhood cancer.... that is so exciting.

Cooper playing in the Pumpkins

On a personal level, I just feel so humbled and honored that so many people were willing to volunteer to help pull it all off. God has truly blessed our efforts to reach out and impact families, especially the young siblings, of those in the fight against pediatric cancer. It still amazes me how passionate so many, who have rallied around our own family during our difficult time with Cooper, have become in joining us to fulfill our mission of supporting other families. Words cannot describe the gratefulness I feel in my heart about that!

I think for me, the opportunity to get the word out and let people know about what The Cooper Trooper Foundation does, was really the most exciting thing. I had the opportunity of talking with so many families who didn't know what we did. One of the highlights for me was meeting a couple of families who have actually received our Caring and Courage Kits through Vanderbilt and hearing the impact it had on them as a family during a tough time. I also met several adults who were siblings of kids with cancer at one time- to hear how this experience impacted them and how thankful they were that our foundation was providing a resource now, that they never had the opportunity to receive was priceless!

Members of Page H.S. and JV Football Team, along with coaches who came to unload our first shipment of pumpkins!

Thanks guys!

 Volunteers- Elise, Tessie, Kim, and Will

Volunteers- Jeff, Hap, and Andy

Volunteers- Courtney, Suzanne, Molly W., Molly C., and Mark

 Carson and Colby at the patch

Volunteers for the 3rd shipment of pumpkins- we unloaded 2000 this day!

 Lots and Lots of Pumpkins!

Colby and Carson

 Some of the kids spelled out "PUMPKINS" with the small pumpkins

 Suzanne, Molly, Traci, and me

 Becca Lewis with her mom, Suzanne, and Cooper- Becca was a huge help with Cooper at the patch!

Thanks Becca!

The Sigma Chi Fraternity from Vanderbilt Univ. helping with clean up! 

They made this process go a whole lot faster!

We definitely plan to sell pumpkins again next year!!!

Thank you to everyone who volunteered and bought pumpkins this year.

A special thank you to Molly Westmoreland for coordinating the whole event!

Family Visits

This past weekend the boys Grandma got to come for a visit. Colby was proud to play baseball in front of her. Carson was proud to show off his bike-riding abilities, and Cooper was just proud to show off!! The weekend was complete with a trip to Wal-mart (one of their favorite things to do with grandparents) to get some new silly bands. Apparently, they filled her in on all kinds of things they want for Christmas as well! We watched football, played outside, read books, watched some funny Tom and Jerry episodes, grilled burgers, went to church, and just hung around the house. We were glad she was able to get a ride with some people heading this way, so she didn't have to drive by herself.

Bunky's cousin, Terry, also came in town right after Grandma left because he was here for work!

Two weekends ago the boys Papa came in town for a visit! Again, they got to go to Wal-mart and came home with remote controlled cars, which continue to make lots of noise and zoom all over the house. They have so much fun with them though. We also had our own little tailgate at the house and watched football. Plus, Colby got to play his first baseball game with Papa looking on. The boys also enjoyed wearing Papa's glasses! Thankfully, they didn't get broken. I couldn't get Cooper to cooperate for a picture with papa this time! :(

Colby's 1st Baseball Game

Colby is full "swing" into baseball and loving it! He has sat on the sidelines watching Carson play various sports for the last 3 years and is now feeling like such a big boy himself. He is so fun to watch and takes it very seriously. His papa came in town and got to watch his first game. Then, several of our neighbors came to watch him play his 2nd game. This past weekend his Grandma got to watch him play. He may begin to think that he should have his own cheering section at every game after all the attention.

Daddy getting Colby ready!

Colby in his Rangers uniform (notice how big the pants are)

He is our "little" guy and the small pants swallow him!

Colby and his coach (aka dad) before the game

Colby and Papa at his 1st game

Running home! Notice the serious face with the tongue out!