More Cooperisms and an Answer to a Question - Part 2

Last week I posted about some of the funny things Cooper has been saying. Since then I have been e-mailing myself as he says other things in order to do two things: 1)Have a record of the funny things he does and 2) Post them here to share.

Cooper recently moved to a new class at day-care. In the class, there is a little boy named Jeffrey. He is a little older than Cooper, so he is generally in the class for a while and then moves up before it is time for Cooper to move up. The other day Cooper was talking about Jeffrey. I asked him if Jeffrey was his friend and this was his response. "Yeah, and Jeffrey's parents look cool."

A few days before that we were getting ready for work and Cooper was up and playing in our bathroom. He put on a pair of Allison's sandals and was walking around our bedroom and the bathroom. He stumbled, kicked them off, and said "Those are not cool!" Apparently Allison and/or I say the word cool quite a bit and he has picked up on it.

Tuesday of this week we ate dinner with our good friends, The Tidwells. Cooper loves to be with Nick and Kristin. We were at Snappy Tomato and had a table that has a booth on one side and chairs on the other side. Allison and Cooper were sitting on the booth side. Kristin and I had not sat down yet and Cooper looked up. He said, "Sit with me Kristin." She looked at me as though to say, "What do I do?" Cooper then said, "Here's some room," in the sweetest little voice. Kristin, obviously, couldn't resist that. He really is a sweet little boy.

One day last week we were driving downtown, on our way home from work. A small shuttle bus from Christie's Cabaret passed in front of us. If you haven't seen one, the shuttle has several women on it. Cooper saw it as said, "What's that truck about?" I couldn't stop laughing. It is so amazing how perceptive their little minds are, as he clearly knew that was out of the ordinary. Allison, in her mommy wisdom said, "It's about the girls," and Cooper apparently was satisfied with that answer.

I am always amazed at his little mind and how much he is listening and soaks things up from the world around him. I will continue to write these down and post them here from time to time.

More Cooperisms and an Answer to a Question: Part 1

One of the most rewarding and enjoyable things with Cooper has been to sit and see how his 2 year old mind works. Most of the time you can tell he is thinking about something. Whether it is trying to figure out how to put together a puzzle or figure out what we are talking about, you can always see his little mind at work. Allison had a post about a week ago about some of the things Cooper said recently, and I wanted to add some more things he has done since then.

Yesterday we had to take our Highlander to Car Max to have the oil changed and a few other things checked. This was our conversation as we approached the building:
Cooper: What's that building?
Me: Home Depot.
C: Is that where Mommy went? (Allison had gone to Home Depot on Sunday while she was out)
M: Yes, but not that one. She went to the one by our house
C: What's that?
M: Car Max. That's where we are taking our car to get the oil changed.
C: No, we're taking our truck.
(pulling into the parking lot)
C: Where's Matt, he's going to fix our truck. Apparently he thought Car Max (Matt) was a person. He also asked where Matt was as we were pulling in to pick the Highlander up that afternoon.

This morning we took the Highlander to Bennett's Automotive in Smyrna to have the brakes worked on. As we pulled in the parking lot Cooper saw a guy in the parking lot. When he saw him he asked "Is Matt going to fix our car?" We couldn't stop laughing! More to come in a day or so.

Welcome Back to Omaha

I have been a sports fan for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I probably watched pro baseball games at least 5 days a week. I didn't generally watch complete games, but I was always watching. As I have gotten older I watch more football than baseball, but there is one event that I always try to watch as much as I can--The College World Series. I am always amazed at how good the players are. Similar to college football, there is almost always lots of excitement in college baseball. Maybe it's my connection to baseball in general, maybe it's the sound of the bat, or maybe it's a combination of everything that goes into each game, but I love it each June when the eight teams converge onto Rosenblatt Stadium.

What Do They Do the Rest of the Summer?

Today Allison, Cooper, and I went to watch our niece, Natalie, play baseball. Earlier in the week Allison told me that we needed to go this week because it was her last regular season game. One June 13?!? When I played as a kid, we were only half way through the regular season at the beginning of June. Playing baseball was a major part of my summer. As a kid we didn't take vacations because there was a chance that we would have to go out of town for a baseball tournament--in August. Also, they only played 10 games. Now I think that playing 50 or 60 games in one summer is excessive, but 10? I just wonder why there are so few games and why they are finished before the end of June. I would have driven my mom crazy if 2 weeks after school let out for the summer baseball was over. Natalie's league isn't the only one that is this way. I have heard/read other people whose children are finished with baseball already too. Granted, she is not playing on an elite travel team, but neither did I. Does anyone know why many leagues are finished before the end of June and why the only play 10 games? Just curious.

Running for a Great Ministry

On Saturday Allison, Cooper, and I will participate in our 3rd Run 4 Kids, benefiting The Tennessee Baptist Children's Home. This is an event that we look forward to each year, and a ministry that we are big supporters of. The home houses kids that, for various reasons beyond their control, have been removed from their own home. Just like many other not-for-profits, the Children's Home is having a tough year. Because of the economy, donations are down and that makes fundraisers such as this that more important. If you are interested in running or walking in a 5k, please come out and join us. There is a 5k, and 1 mile race for kids ages 4 to 9, and a 100 yard dash for kids under 4. There will also be food, a live band, and other activities the whole family can enjoy. You can sign up on-line here until 11:59 p.m. CST tonight or you can show up and register on race day starting at 6:30 a.m. If you aren't able to make it to the race, but you would like to donate to this ministry, you can do that here.

Please Pray

Please pray for our friends Anna, Jason, and Ian Miller. They found out today that Ian has a brain tumor. The doctors will do an MRI on him in the morning at 8:00 am and he is to have surgery at 8:30 am on Friday. Ian is 17 months old. You can follow his dad on Twitter here and may be able to get updates and know specifically what to pray for. For now, please pray for healing, wisdom for the doctors, and peace & strength for Jason and Anna.

The Principle of the Path - A Book Review

The quotes “Direction—not intention—determines our destination” and “We don’t drift in good directions. We discipline and prioritize ourselves there” are a short summary of Andy Stanley’s book, The Principle of the Path. In my opinion, Andy Stanley is trying to get his readers to realize that it does not matter what we want to happen unless we intentionally attempt to make it happen. We may have the best of intentions, but if we don’t act on those intentions we may never fulfill them.

This was a great book. This is the first book of his that I have read, but I will definitely pay attention as he writes more. This book was very inspiring. It made me consider whether or not I am acting on the things that I feel God is calling me to do or simply hoping those things will happen. I especially liked the way he backed up what he was trying to teach with Biblical stories and/or principles along the way. This book was a quick and easy read. I definitely recommend this book, whether you are seeking a path or not and you can get it here.