Cooper's 5th Birthday Party

Last Tuesday we had a "Movie Night" birthday party for Cooper's 5th birthday. It was the day that "Tangled" came out on DVD, so we thought it would be fun to do a low key evening with a few close friends. The kids got to come in their jammies and bring their sleeping bag and pillow.

Here is the invite that my sweet friend, Shara, designed for us...isn't it so cute? They were the size of a real ticket:)

Here are the favors...we got popcorn tubs from the $1 section at Target and filled it with popcorn packets, candy, a curly straw and a fun pencil.

Coop got to pick out different kinds of candy that he liked, we put them in cute glass vases, hot glued different color ribbon around them, and labeled them with card stock.

We found "Tangled" fruit snacks and thought it was a fun addition to our candy bar:)

It was hard to figure out how to serve all the kids popcorn, candy and a drink without making a huge mess on our floor. We went by In-and-Out and asked for their "eat in the car" cardboard trays. The kiddos could fill one side with popcorn and put some candy in a plastic bowl to set on the other side.

Coop's drink of choice...Lemon-Up....half lemonade, half 7-up:) I found some cute cups at Target that had sea animals on it with lids and straws.

We had a backdrop to take pics in front of with little posters from the movie, complete with a red carpet in front of it:)

I wrapped up boxes with fun wrapping paper to give the table some color, dimension and height. Simple and cheap:)

Completed table decorations...

Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder dolls as centerpieces (Yes, they were borrowed:)

The "popcorn cupcakes".... Aren't these cute? These were from a blog that had all sorts of cute ideas for cupcakes. They were super easy. Just bake the cupcakes, ice the tops, and use yellow marshmallows to make the kernels. For the bottom of the kernels, you cut a single marshmallow into thirds. Then "glue" a whole marshmallow to the top with icing. Voila!

Coop struttin' his stuff on the red carpet.

Daddy telling Coop all the things he loves about him and how proud he is to be his Dad. Super sweet:)

Singing Happy Birthday and blowing out the candle.

Coop enjoying the movie...

The kiddos intently watching. We borrowed a bigger t.v. from some friends and put it on a table so the kids could see.

Enjoying his popcorn and all his treats!

Sweet buddy Jackson. These two have been friends for most of their lives. Their birthdays are only a day apart. They were born 13 hours apart:)

My attempt at an "after the presents are opened" pic. All the kids cooperated except Coop...he was too busy checking out one of his new toys:)

The party was a big success and not too much craziness. The kids were wonderful and I think Cooper really enjoyed it all:)

Happy 5th Birthday Cooper Philip Rumley!

Busy, Busy, Busy

What can I say? Life has gotten away from me:) I have so much to catch up on, but I thought I'd try to get a few pics up in the meantime...It's funny when you keep putting off blogging trying to find the time, there's always something else more pressing. Oh well, better late than never!?!

We have a crawler on the loose. Look out, because if he's anything like his big bro, he'll be walking in a couple months. I joke that it is my new weight loss plan I'll be adopting. Any moms with busy children will relate because you never sit down and you forget to eat (or don't have time;)

We've also been doing a lot of Just Dance for Kids on the Wii. Way fun, totally recommend it! We have had so much fun! I'll have to find a video that actually shows Coop doing the moves. Very funny;) He's pretty good at it! And it's a nice energy releaser on rainy days!

A pic from Tyler's birthday when we headed out to the cemetery. All 3 of my sweet boys;) Notice the shrine on the stone next to Tyler's. I always get a little giggle when we head out there.

Somebody is 5! Yes, 5!!!! I can't even believe my baby boy is so BIG! I'll be posting more on my sweet Coop in the next few days after his party next week:)

Sweet brothers;)

Okay, so I'm almost a month late posting these, but here are Sawyer's 7 month pics. (Yes he will be 8 months in a few short days, but I'm in denial...)

I'm so grateful to my precious friend Cori who has the most wonderful photography classes! I took a class of hers a few weeks ago and it has completely opened my eyes as to how to work my camera on MANUAL! That's right, no more automatic! I think they turned out pretty cute:)

Love that blue-eyed baby boy!!!

That's it for now, but just wanted to get a few pics up to feel like I'm attempting to keep up with the blog world:) Thanks for your patience!

Happy 2 Years Tyler James

Happy 2nd Birthday Tyler!

You came into our lives very unexpectedly on February 9, 2009, at only 36 weeks when I had to go in to the hospital with complications. I like to think the Lord was giving us four additional weeks with you;) I was so afraid, having you so early, having a c-section and everything happening so quickly, but you were healthy and happy from the get go, and weighed an impressive 5 pounds, 11 oz. Praise the Lord!

Your big brother loved you from the moment he saw you, except for the occasional pinches and scratches he was faithful to administer;)

Your chunky little legs allowed you to inherit the song "Chunky" from the movie Madagascar. We had many a family dance parties to that song:)

( Please excuse the fit that Cooper throws at the end, and the video makes it look like Jerrod is shaking Tyler's booty more than he really is;)

(Never a dull moment! Poor Tyler is like "get me away from these two:)

You loved sleeping on Daddy's chest. It was one of your favorite things to do:)

You had big brown eyes, just like your Mama. You were a little stingy with your smiles for a while, but Daddy could get you to laugh by tickling your belly!

(Video taken just the day before Tyler passed away)

Just as unexpectedly as you came into our arms, we lost you before we had a chance to say goodbye. June 24th is a day that will be forever engrained in my mind as the day you saw Jesus face to face. I put you down for an afternoon nap and you never woke up. When the Lord predetermined the number of days you had on this earth, He took you home in the most peaceful way possible.

(Swimming just two days before Tyler passed away)

We love you so very much and miss you like crazy. I am so thankful for the promise of LIFE we have in Christ and the hope we have in Him. It's because of Him that I will hold you again soon and know the fullness of joy that is yours.

***I have been putting off writing this post, in denial that Wednesday has come and gone and the world is still going on with it's business. Thank you for your patience. Wednesday was a very difficult day for us. I'm not sure why, but it was much harder this year than it was last year...go figure. We purposely kept Wednesday low key...Coop went to preschool for the morning, Jerrod stayed home from work and we were able to just sit in the day. We went to lunch with Rick and Judy, our mentors, friends, co-workers, and fellow travelers on their own journey of grief after losing their 5 year old son over 30 years ago. What a sweet time. To just sit with people who get it, who recognize that the day should look so different, yet it feels very empty because someone is missing.

In the afternoon, we went to Tyler's spot and took new flowers. Coop ran around a bit and we got to just sit and take a few pictures. Then we ended our evening with a small birthday party at the park with our Life Group, eating pizza and cupcakes. I could tell the emotions were running high for both Jerrod and I, both of us individually holding everything in, trying not to burst at a moments notice.

I felt very overwhelmed when it came to thinking through details of celebrating Tyler's birthday because nothing seemed like enough. It always feels like I'm missing something, which is something that will probably never go away since Tyler absence can never be replaced. Even as I write this, I think back to all the things I wish I would have done, but didn't because I was too overwhelmed and frankly just kind of shut down. While Cooper and Sawyer's presence bring us such joy, Tyler's absence will never go away.

The mood around our house has been a little more solemn this week. We are so thankful for every call, message, text, card, email, hug and presence of those who love us, checked on us and recognize our grief is still very real. Thank you. The Lord has been so faithful to supply us with amazing support and we are so grateful, because to walk this alone would feel next to impossible.