Happy Birthday Cooper

Well, Cooper woke up this morning and came into my room and said with all the excitement of a 4 year old, "Can you believe I'm four." I cannot believe how quickly time has gone by. It just seems like we brought him home. Cooper is our little miracle. He was born nine weeks early weighing 3 pounds and 6 ounces and 17 inches long. He was a fighter. He was hooked up to all kinds of tubes and the nurses said he kept pulling them. At one point early on they had to sedate him so he would not pull them out. Those three weeks were a huge struggle for me. It was difficult going to the hospital every morning, afternoon and evening and see him hooked up to machines and monitors that made all sorts of scarry sounds that alerted the nurses to check on his breathing, his oxygen, and his heart. I had to give him back to the Lord and realized that he was not ours. I am so blessed and humbled to think that God chose me to be the mother of this four year old bundle of non-stop energy. I will never forget the morning I walked into his little cubicle and he was not hooked up to any tubes. All I saw was his sweet little face sticking out of his blanket. I called Chris and could barely get the words out "everything is Ok...I'm fine...Cooper's fine."

God answered so many prayers during those 3 weeks. We were told that he could be in the NICU between 6-8 weeks. I prayed so hard that would not happen and that he would be home sooner. Looking back on those days I am so grateful for the nurses who took care of him. They were the ones who loved on him, talked to him, and fed him when I could not be there. One of the pictures I posted was of Chris's hands around Cooper. Every night when I would leave I would just pray and ask God to strengthen him and that God would just hold him safely in His hands. I so badly wanted to hold him and be with him everyday all day but at the same time I knew God had placed us in the perfect place with the perfect nurses and doctors.

Cooper is constantly making us laugh...he loves life. Thinking about sweet Cooper just makes me smile. He LOVES "Cars" and is constantly changing his name to "Lightning McQueen" or "Chick Hicks". He likes to help. He asks me alot if I have a "job" for him to do. He loves to be outside and he adores his brothers and sisters. He still likes for his Mom to hold him (Chris thinks I baby him too much) :) and he loves his Daddy. I don't think yet that Cooper understands what a miracle he is but I keep telling him about his "baby years". Chris and I KNOW that God has such a special plan for his life.