Catherine's First Wedding

Today was a big day for my baby girl. She went to her first wedding!

Austin works with Special Occasions Catering, so he was working the wedding all day. Catherine and I spent our last morning alone before I go back to work just playing and eating. Then in the afternoon we went to spend a little time with my sister and darling nephew.

We got home from my sister's with just enough time for us to get dressed and her to eat. Then we were off to the wedding!

The wedding was of a close friend of mine. It was on his parents' property, and it was gorgeous! We got there as they were walking in. Catherine was very well behaved the whole time. She hardly made a peep during the whole ceremony.

The reception was in the barn and it was so lovely! The food was excellent! It was interrupted by a dirty diaper and a spitup induced costume change, but it was wonderful!

Catherine had a great time at her first wedding, and I enjoyed catching up with many friends. They were so good they even made my drinks and plate for me! Catherine and I are two lucky girls.

Best wishes to the happy couple! May you live happily ever after!

April 27, 2011

As I sit in my house holding my baby girl and looking out the window, I can't help but remember the events of last year.

The night before my dad told me there were going to be bad storms, and we needed to be careful. However, his nickname that one of my sister's friends gave him is "Tad the Weather Dad". He worries about storms, so I wasn't that concerned.

We went to school the next day, and it was business as usual. When the storm alarm went off, I assumed it was a precaution. Little did I know how serious it was. I felt awful because when we did storm drills I told my kids we will probably never need to do this. I mean tornadoes don't happen here. Needless to say I don't say that anymore. They dismissed the kids and sent us home. The worst was over, or so I thought.

Austin and I went home, and Aus took a nap. I didn't because I was still anxious. It started to storm again, and I woke Austin up because the sky looked green. He told me it was fine, but let's go to Ft. O to eat and see the weather because we didn't have power.

I'll never forget sitting at Applebee's when Laura Aldridge called and said a tornado is headed for our town, but I still didn't worry too badly because tornadoes don't happen where we live. Aus and I went to Walmart to wait out the storm. When we parked, we both were commenting on the lightening; it seemed to be nonstop.

They did a code black while we were in Walmart, and we had to stand in the middle of the store. After they cleared us, I got a text from a friend asking if we were ok. I said yes and kept shopping. I got two more texts quickly asking if we were ok, then the first friend wrote back that a tornado was on our road. I dropped everything I was holding and ran to Aus saying we had to leave then.

The whole way home I kept wondering if we still had a home. I sent a text to a neighbor asking if it was still standing, and she said we were blessed. When we got to our neighborhood, the police wouldn't let us in because of a gas leak. We went to my parents' house to wait out the rest of the storms and spent the night.

The next morning we came home and saw the devastation that was our neighborhood. God truly blessed us. Our home was fine. Our back porch was rearranged, but that was all the "damage" was had. Across the street had roof damage, the next house was missing a roof. The house three houses across the street was gone.

Throughout the next few weeks I was amazed at how our community helped each other. Our next door neighbors went from being neighbors to close friends. We delivered water during the day and "camped out" at night.

It's weird to think of how much has changed in this past year. I now appreciate every day a little more, especially now that Catherine is here. (A month after the storms we found out she would be here. Maybe I'm a little thankful for no power. ;) )

God brought the storm to teach us not to underestimate His power, but He also showed us the love we all have for Him and one another. Even in the midst of a storm He can calm. 

Crazy 9 weeks!

Well, Catherine is here!  In fact, she has been here 9 weeks.  I am really good at keeping up this blog.  I can't imagine why I haven't found time these past few weeks to write. ;)
Life as the Copes know it has changed. 
The first few nights home were crazy.  I knew I wanted to be able to feed Catherine, and my mind was set.  However, she had different plans.  I know that mother's milk is best, so I pumped - every 3 hours for 30 minutes.  She was also eating every 3 hours, so not only were we going by her schedule but mine as well.  I was getting zero sleep, but that sweet face was all I wanted to see.
I was very much a stickler (still am really) about germs.  I essentially kept her under house arrest for the first 8 weeks.  I still make everyone wash their hands before they touch her.  Some people may get upset, but she is my first (and only - says Austin), and I want her to stay healthy. 
When Catherine was born she weighed 8 lbs 9 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. Her two month check-up was today.  She weighed 12 lbs 13 oz and was 23 1/4 inches.  She is a growing girl!
Today was rough!  I had a great deal of milk frozen, but she eats so much that she is flying through it.  Today we started supplementing my milk with formula.  I can't seem to figure out how many ounces she should be eating though.  If I feed her the normal 5 oz, she cries because her stomach hurts 2 hours later.  If I feed her 4 or 4 1/2 she screams right after she is finished.  We will figure it out though.
This new adventure is very scary, but oh so rewarding!  Hopefully I will be a better blog updater. :)