Cooper Family NEWS & Thanksgiving Fun!

For those of you who don't live near us, you may not have heard our big news yet. We have decided to leave NJ and move to Indianapolis, IN! Honestly, I probably couldn't have found Indiana on a map a couple of months ago but when a great job opportunity presented itself, we started investigating.

Since then, Blake has been offered a job with a firm in Indy. We recently flew out to see the area and we were so impressed. Not only were property taxes a fraction of what they are in NJ, but the people were so friendly, the towns were beautiful, the schools were terrific, etc. We were having a hard time finding a reason NOT to go. So, Blake will be starting work there on Dec. 12th and we'll stay behind until we can sell the house - ugh! We really believe that in the long run, this will be a great move for our family. We are amazed at how the Lord directs our lives and orchestrates events that take us where we need to be.

So, with that said, since this will be our last Thanksgiving in the NY area, we thought we'd brave it and hit the Macy's parade with the kids. When we arrived, the place was PACKED with people. Luckily, my sister Natalie and her family were with us. Her husband, James, is a police officer in VA and he was able to score us a great place to sit in the area reserved for family of officers. We were still a few rows back but as you can see from the picture, we could still see the amazing balloons and floats!

The kids really enjoyed watching the balloons and floats and playing with their cousins. They did pretty well through most of it until the end when both of the twins decided to have a meltdown at the exact same time. We were trying to make our way out through the crowds when they both started crying and insisting that I hold them both along with the 50 pound diaper bag I was carrying. Blake was loaded up with chairs and blankets so we both thought we were going to die! Our necks, arms and shoulders were on fire carrying our heavy loads, pushing through the crowds. We've decided that if we EVER do the parade again, it will either be when our kids are teenagers or from the balcony of a nearby hotel!

After the parade, we all went home and crashed (except for mommy of course who was up preparing food). Then we went to Grammy and Pops house for dinner. It was fabulous! It was so nice to be together with family and remember all the things we are grateful for.

Two days later, we had Thanksgiving dinner again with Blake's family. We had such a wonderful time visiting with them and letting the kids play with their aunts, uncles and grandpa. We are truly going to miss having our family close to us. It has been such a blessing these past 5 years while we've been in NJ.

This holiday season, I'm grateful mostly for family, the gospel, and the Lord's guiding hand in our lives. Happy Thanksgiving!