Day 56

this evening was exquisite and it called for celebrating. Cope is 56 days old today. sounds like a good enough reason to me. 

one thing i love about where we live is our proximity to downtown. especially guru's. we strolled there tonight. ate good grub. and threw down a blanket for lounging. everyday in this family is great.

 

i don't have anything neat to say, so i am just putting up pictures

blessing

blessing day came and went. it was a real grown up moment for me. that was MY baby being blessed. oh unbelievable. oh how time flies. 

copeland was an angel during the blessing: arms drooping down, body hanging limp, so relaxed he almost nodded into dreamland.  one of the sweetest moments of the day was having all our loved ones around us. i felt like copeland must've in the circle: so supported by everyone that i was sure life was going to be okay. it's hard to believe they were all there to show love for our growing family. my brother even wore my dad's tie so he could be in the circle vicariously:) thank heavens for family.

maybe?

sometimes i have hope he could be blonde:)

a few weeks ago President Eyring visited San Salvador to dedicate the brilliant El Salvador Temple.  he was able to speak to the missionaries of that country and my parents shared some of what he said. i will never forget the words he said about smiles: 

  

"He has great things for you if you will work hard and SMILE! The smiling tells Him you will believe, that you have faith things will work out."

as my own little future missionary started smiling recently, not only is my heart one million times happier with each smile, but in the back of my mind i can't help but hear president Eyring say, "the smilling tells him you will believe, that you have faith things will work out." 

it's what you wear from ear to ear, and not from head to toe, that matters

glad as i can be

we're so glad when daddy comes home. i couldn't contain the tears at the airport. sweet relief.

we didn't even make it home from the airport before we stopped at JCW's to get some grub. nothing like an american burger to flush out two weeks of chinese food.

we all slept better with him around.

family bowling night

he wears his double chin well

mama's girl and daddy's boy. cope's cousin april, who is two weeks his elder.

proud daddies at family dinner 

exiting survival mode

devin went to china for two weeks for work. we booked his tickets two days before he left. cope was three weeks old. i shut down and did the bare minimum to survive. luckily taking pictures can still be done while in survival mode since i uploaded 432 this morning. i spent a lot of time with family, feeling ever so grateful to have such a good one. i'm positive i would've keeled over dead without them. here is what my two week hibernation looked like.

hopefully, this mama bear will get back to living life fully again soon.

Cope has been good for us. so very good.

i had this long post written about motherhood, and it got deleted. since summarizing my thoughts about all this is daunting enough, this one will be quick, jumbled, and honest.

you hear it said that having a baby is hard. it is.
-hard on your pocketbook.
-hard on your body.
-hard on your patience.
-hard on so many other levels.

but even in the challenging areas there are gains that have come no other way:
-luckily, the words sister Beck said at a worldwide leadership training meeting three years ago have stuck with me, "you don't have children with money. you have children with faith."
-surprisingly, i've never been more accepting of my body since having a child. i'm appreciative and honored to live in something that can do such miraculous things. that's really huge for me.
-.... i'm still working on the patience. but i listened to this talk and laughed and cried.

there are even some surprising rewards i didn't expect. petty things like how my nails have never been so strong or long in my whole life. and of course the serious things like how our marriage is sweeter. like many more notches sweeter. we are more needed, more gentle, and literally more in love.

i wish you heard it said more how rewarding motherhood is. so this is me saying, despite all the hard, nothing in my life has been more fulfilling, humbling, challenging, softening, and exciting. and i love it.

4 generations

Copeland is the 50th great-grandchild on the Killpack side.

But surprisingly, he is the first grandbaby to carry on the Killpack name.

Hopefully we can carry that name with honor.