I Will Testify to Love

(The title of one of my favorite worship songs)
Yesterday was such a great day! I was asked to give my testimony at MOPS at our annual Tea and Testimonies. I was so nervous about speaking in front of so many women, but it went great! God was with me all the way and I was able to share how He has blessed my family through this whole brain tumor ordeal. I promised God that if He got me through that trial alive, I would know He had a purpose for me, and part of that purpose was to give Him the glory for my recovery. Well, I do that all the time, but I finally got to do it on a large scale. Yippee! I am so very grateful to Him!

Starting Over

Well, I got a little behind on my blog (like almost 2 years!) It seemed like I would never be able to catch up, so I am just going to start again, and maybe go back and fill in some of the blanks from those two years. But when I think about catching it ALL up, I get too overwhelmed!

November 1, 2007 was one of my best days ever! That is the day Cooper Orion Hebert was born. I was finally a Grandma and I was overjoyed! I got to watch him come into this world and it was the most amazing moment. I was filled with so much emotion-love, gratitude to God, joy, pride in my daughter. Of course, I cried. Those who know me would expect nothing less.

All that Cooper went through, health-wise, for the next 8 days also made me cry. But it mostly made me pray, lots and lots of prayer! And God heard our prayers. Cooper got better and came home, healthy and whole.

Watching him grow and thrive has been a joy. And so has watching the wonderful mother my daughter has become. I LOVE being a Grandma! I am very blessed to be able to spend lots of time with Cooper and I love every minute of it. He is so darn cute and has so much personality (you don't suppose I am a bit prejudiced, do you?)

It seems like the time went so fast, and then he was a year old already. I love my pictures of him with birthday cake all over his precious little face!

And then there was the whole brain tumor chapter of my life. Long story short, God brought our family through a really tough time. It was such a learning experience for me--learning to trust completely in God and seeing how faithful he was in every way. I can never thank or praise Him enough.

And now He is filling my life with Blessings! My two new little grandsons, Caleb Joseph and Still Unnamed Baby Boy (lol), will be arriving in August, due just a couple weeks apart. What a Double Blessing! It is so fun to watch Kelly's and Shauna's bellies grow!

Waiting and Planning

Only 10 weeks to go! The time is going so fast, and yet so slow in some ways. I can't wait to see him and hold him, and yet, are we ready? We followed family tradition, and got the crib and dresser/changing table for Cooper, like my mom did for me, so that is ready. Megan and Kelly and I are busy planning a shower for Oct 6, but there is still lots to do for that. We suddenly realized that the time is creeping up on us and we need to get the invitations out!
We will also get to attend the shower that Teri is having. I just love baby showers, and it will be especially exciting when it is for MY grandson!
And in the midst of all the fun baby planning, now we are also wedding planning! Megan and Ryan will be married on May 31st in Tri Cities, so my life is filled with all kinds of fun events to come! I am so blessed!
Shauna is looking so cute and round. I can't wait for Carla to get maternity shots of her. Megan is coming home this weekend and I am anxious for her to see Shauna. Shauna has grown a bit since Megs last saw her! Yeah, quite a bit! Our baby Cooper is getting big, and no longer our "little bean". Gotta get lots of pics of the girls. Good thing I got a new digital camera! And I may have even figured out how to use it! Spent some time last night reading the directions so I could take engagement pictures tomorrow with Ryan's parents. I better get scrapping, I am way behind!

The time is getting closer!

...and the excitement keeps growing! As does Shauna's belly! This is such a fun and magical time. Imagining what Cooper will look like, the fun we will have with him. We went to NW Trek yesterday for Grandpa Al's birthday celebration and it was such a perfect day. The weather was great, we saw lots of animals on the tram, had a nice lunch in the sun and talked about bringing Cooper next year. It will be so much fun to show him all the animals and see the excitement on his little face! We will have to get a membership to Trek and Pt. Defiance Zoo so we can go whenever we want. I loved all those times with my own kids and can't wait to get to do it again with my grandchildren. What a blessing!

IT'S A BOY!!!!

Grandpa was right! It's a boy, or as the sign I bought said "It A Boy", lol. Sign was made in China. I was going to return it, but now it is a new family joke, so think I will keep it.
We waited so anxiously for Shauna's phone call, and when the phone rang I was SO excited! I asked if the baby cooperated and Shauna said, "yes, Cooper was very cooperative!" And I yelled, "It's a Boy" for Kirk, Grandma and Grandpa and Dustin to hear. I asked if they were sure, and Shauna said "oh, yeah!" So we quickly decorated with our silly sign and blue crepe paper, and they brought up a video and still pictures. We had to wait for Matt and Kelly to arrive to see the video. It was so great to see his moving little body, his heartbeat and count his ten tiny toes. It seems so much more real now! I really feel like a grandma and I can't wait to hold him! This is SO fun!!!

Pink or blue????

Tomorrow is the BIG day, if Baby cooperates! Woohoo! We can't wait! It is so amazing to be able to have a window into the secret life of the baby in the womb. Wow.

All of the women in the family are thinking pink, and I would love to be able to buy her those cute pink outfits and have tea parties and teach her to scrapbook, but I would also love a little boy just like Matthew was. He was the sweetest little boy, and the easiest of my babies. He loved to play store and read the (Richard) Scary books with Huckle and Lowly Worm. And he was such a good big brother when Megan came along. He was just as cute as a little girl, with his blonde curls and blue eyes, and he was cuddly and lovable.

And Dustin was such a doll, too, with his huge blue eyes, his endless curiosity, and his affectionate hugs that could melt my heart.

So I will be thrilled with pink or blue, I just can't lose! I am so blessed and will love and adore either one, and if it is a boy, the added bonus will be that Grandpa can teach him to fish! I might even like fishing if I get to do it with a grandson! And I can teach a boy to scrapbook too. He can scrap photos of his fish!!!

I have got my toad house all set up, and even have a toad residing there already. Won't a granchild love that? Grandpa still wants a pond with fish, but Grandma is too much of a worrier for that. I've got rain gear so we can go out to the garden and water the pumpkins we will grow. We are pondering buying a trailer so we can take grandkids camping in style. And I am constantly dreaming of trips to Disney with grandkids, and photos with Mickey and the princesses. Girl or boy, we are gonna have so much fun!!!! Thank you God for this wonderful blessing!