Catching Up

Wow, I can't believe the last time I posted a blog was back in APRIL! I guess that shows how crazy life has been for us lately. Honestly, the past couple of months have been some of the most challenging in our marriage. We've had some huge life events happen all at the same time so I wanted to take a minute to write about them.

A Tribute to Gemma
On Monday, May 11th, Blake's beautiful mother Michele Cooper passed away after a long battle with ovarian cancer. Neither of us have ever lost someone close to us so this was really a difficult time. I guess no one ever knows when your time is up but we were really hoping we'd have more time with her. I know she was trying to stay strong so she could meet our little babies but her body was just worn out. Taking her off of life support was probably one of the most challenging things I've ever experienced. Blake's whole family was amazingly strong through the whole thing and in a way, it really was a spiritual experience. I am going to miss calling Gemma to tell her about the funny things that Ethan did that day and laughing about all the funny things husbands do. How lucky I am to have such a wonderful mother-in-law! I am glad at least that she isn't suffering anymore and that she's in better place. Part of me thinks that maybe she got a sneak preview of our babies up in heaven before the rest of us got to meet them. When I think about Gemma's life (by the way, she chose that name for herself because she didn't want to be called grandma:), I think of the scripture in 2 Timothy 4:7 which says, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." We love you Gemma!

Gemma and Ethan (her first grandchild) on Ethan's blessing day (March 2006).

The Twins FINALLY Arrive

Yes, the babies have finally come! All through my pregnancy, the doctors told me they wouldn't let me go past 38 weeks. So, when they scheduled me for a c-section at 39 weeks, I wanted to cry! Take a look at the picture below and you'll understand why...
Luckily they were able to move me up to my 38 week mark so on May 22nd, we welcomed Grant Alan Cooper and Addison Michele Cooper into our family. We chose to do a c-section because even though Grant was head down, Addison was transverse and that didn't sound like a very fun way of delivering a baby. The doctors were afraid they would have to knock me out completely because my blood platelets were really low (they thought I might have blood leakage from a spinal which could cause back problems). But we went forward with the spinal and it worked out fine.

The best news we had was that both babies were born completely perfect and healthy. Grant weighed 5 lb. 12 oz. and Addison weighed 6 lb. 15 oz. I still can't believe I was carrying almost 13 pounds of baby! Early on in the pregnancy, the doctors feared that Addison had some major health problems and told us that there was only a 15% chance she'd even make it to birth. If she did make it, they told us that there was a very good chance that she would have a chromosomal abnormality such as Down's or Turner's syndrome. Every day of my pregnancy I was afraid that it would be the day I'd lose her. But, day after day she grew stronger and stronger and when she was born, she had no problems whatsoever. What a miracle! We know that the many prayers and blessings I received allowed both of these beautiful little babies to come into our home.

So, now they are 7 weeks old and as darling as ever. We don't get much sleep these days (3-5 hours a night on average) but somehow we're functioning (thanks mostly to my mom who helps me SO much). I figure, someday they will learn to sleep through the night, right? :)
Big brother Ethan with Grant on the left and Addison on the right (One day old at the hospital).
Grant (left) and Addison (right) snuggling in the swing. So sweet!