Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving! It is time for my tradition of writing a list of things I'm thankful for, in the amount of my age.

I'm thankful for...

1. Ryan. I know it goes without saying that I am thankful for my husband, but I still think it's important to say it. I'm thankful for him because he is the best partner for me, and he has done the best job since the baby was born of showing me that I am still his number one priority and that I matter so much to him and I come first. I'm thankful for him because he works hard so that I can be home with our baby. I'm thankful for him because he is a great dad and cares so much about our son. I'm thankful for him because he tells me that my changed, post-pregnancy body is beautiful because it shows what I did. I'm thankful because I know that so many other blessings I am thankful for are a part of my life because I chose to marry him.

2. Ethan. I am thankful to Ethan because he is the one who made me a mother. I'm thankful for him because he makes my day with his smiles, laughs, baby sounds, when his eyes get wide and he kicks his feet because he's excited that I looked at him or spoke to him. I'm thankful for him because he is so loving - you can see it in his eyes, almost like when he looks at you sometimes, it's as though he has a thought bubble above his head that reads, "I love you." I'm thankful for him because he sleeps through the night (thank you Ethan). I'm thankful for him because he has made my heart grow - not just for him, but for others. I look at everyone now as someone's son or daughter, and it makes me have more compassion for others. I'm thankful for him because being his mother has given me answers to questions I've pondered over my whole life. I'm thankful for him because he has taught me that sacrifice doesn't have to feel like sacrifice.

3. Mom. I'm thankful for her because she is a giver. She gives and gives and gives to her children (and to others). I'm thankful because she's provided an excellent example of sacrificing for her children - I never did understand why she didn't seem to feel that she was sacrificing, and I understand her better now that I'm a mother. I'm thankful that she is always there for me and listens to every detail and worry. I'm thankful that she always wants to help in whatever capacity she can, and I'm thankful that she is such a wonderful grandma to my Ethan.


4. Dad. I'm thankful for him because he is always able to calm my fears or lay my worries to rest with logic and evidence. I'm thankful that I can call him anytime with a question and he'll go look up the answer for me. I'm thankful because he makes me laugh (especially with his text messages) and gets fired up for me when I've been dealt an injustice. :-)


5. Joseph. I'm thankful for my brother because even though it didn't look possible, he made it happen so that he could come to Utah and surprise me and be there for Ethan's baby blessing. I'm so thankful he did that. I'm thankful for him because he makes me laugh, and I have a lot of great memories of him from high school because he was such a good friend to me and would be protective of me, and come talk to me at night until I fell asleep.


6. Rachel. I'm thankful for my sister and that she lives nearby now and that I get to see her so much. I'm thankful for her because she will baby-sit so Ry and I can go to the temple, or she'll come hold the baby while I clean. I'm thankful for her because she'll see that toilet paper or paper towel is on sale for a really good deal, and buy me some. Or she'll see that my favorite ice cream is on sale and buy it for me. She'll pick up a Sunday paper, unrequested, for me so that I can try my hand at couponing. I'm thankful for her because she is such a great example to me when it comes to the gospel. She is a great example of someone who seeks the Lord's guidance and follows it. I'm thankful that she is such a great influence on me and that she is one of my best friends.


7. Sam. I'm thankful for my brother and that he lives in Utah now and I get to see him on long weekends. I'm thankful for him because he has got to be one of (if not THE) nicest and most helpful people I have ever met. He comes to visit and takes out the trash, does my dishes, willingly and happily holds the baby for me for as long as is needed so I can get things done, is happy to baby-sit so Ry and I can go on a date, and is so nice to me. I tend to apologize a lot ("I didn't have enough of this particular spice so dinner might not taste that great I'm sorry!") and he always reassures me and makes me feel better. When I do something dumb and make the comment, "I'm a bad mother!" He always tells me that "bad mother" is the last thing he thinks of me. He's always so helpful and nice to me and I'm really thankful for him.

8. Elena. I'm thankful for my littlest sister and her phone calls, text messages, Facebook communication, emails, etc. I love hearing (or imagining) her sweet voice, and she's just got a fun way of speaking that puts a smile on my face. I'm thankful for Elena because she was born when I was almost twelve, and I got to have a big part in taking care of her as a baby, and she is the one who gave me the desire to be and the faith that I could be a mother. I thought if I loved her that much, then I could probably love my own child a whole lot, too. I'm thankful for her because for some reason, she's kind of my conscience. Because of her existence, I have more compassion.

9. Noah. I'm thankful for my baby brother and the host of funny and/or sweet memories that the little boy Noah gave me, many of which are documented in my journal for me to enjoy over and over again. I'm thankful for him because he has a big heart, and he loves my son and wants to help take care of him when he's in town. I'm thankful for him because he shows kind gestures when I'm sick (turning on soft music for me to help me feel better) and he is always thoughtful - giving me a rock shaped like a heart, etc. I'm thankful for him because he was a great example to me when he was preparing to be baptized.

10. Aunt Pam. I'm thankful for her because she is the BEST aunt anyone could ask for. I'm thankful that she has made the drive from Seattle to Portland at least a thousand times so that she can be there for all of us six kids when we have something going on - first day of school, recitals, etc. Sometimes she even makes the trip there and back in one day. I'm thankful that she lived with us for a big part of my childhood and when she moved, she made and continually makes the effort to still be just as huge a part of our lives. I'm thankful for her because she is an excellent listener and always listens to me go on and on and acts interested, even though much of the time I am probably not saying anything interesting. I'm thankful that she's great at keeping in contact via Facebook and email, and I'm thankful for her awesome laugh (especially when she and my mom laugh together).


11. Uncle Dave. I'm thankful for him because even though he stole Aunt Pam away when I was in fifth grade, and I hated him for it for a little while, he has become one of my favorite people. I'm thankful that he makes the effort to come visit us with Aunt Pam when he can and that I've gotten to spend so many holidays with him. I'm thankful for him because you know he thinks of you - he'll send an email or a recipe or a link and you'll know that you were thought of because he saw something and had to share it with you. He is also good at thoughtful gifts and I'm still thankful for the awesome recipe box he gave me (backed up on CD, even) when I went to college. I'm thankful for him because he makes me laugh, a lot.


12. Aunt Connie. I'm thankful for her because since I was a little girl, she has been such an amazing example to me of charity. I'm thankful for her because she always texts back, and she loves to hear about and see my little boy. I'm thankful for her because she infuses everything she does with so much joy, laughter, and heart. It's made my life - holidays, my wedding, etc. - that much more enjoyable and memorable.


13. My family acquired by marriage. I'm so thankful to get along so well with my in-laws. I'm thankful that my son has cousins. I'm thankful he has aunts and uncles who care about him. I'm thankful to be close to both my sisters-in-law and to learn from them and spend time with them, and that we all had baby boys in the same year and that we were brought closer by that event - and will probably be kept close throughout the years because we all have sons in the same year of school.

14. Our next door neighbors. Kam and Steve are a huge blessing in our lives. I'm thankful that they are great neighbors as well as great friends. I'm thankful that we live next to what I would call "high-quality people." Integrity, sense of humor, wholesome, spiritual, logical, and the kind of people you just feel safe around. I'm thankful that they are always there for a helping hand, a laugh, company when my husband is out of town, for near-daily stroller walks with Kam, for their little girl Ruthie and how Ryan and I can chuckle together hours later over a "Remember when Ruthie did _____?" I'm really thankful to live next door to these people.


15. The gospel. I'm thankful for the knowledge it gives me and the light it sheds on my understanding of everything.


16. Breastfeeding. I'm thankful for it on so many levels.


17. Cloth diapering. I'm thankful that it's allowed us to save money, avoid adding to landfills, keep our baby away from chemicals, and avoid blow-outs and diaper rash. And that they make Ethan's bum look so cute. :-)


18. The temple. I'm thankful for the little bit of Heaven it adds to my life here on Earth.

19. That I get to be the beneficiary of Ethan's smiles, laughs, and loving glances.

20. Gospel Principles manual. It is chock full of doctrine, is easy to read, and is a great resource to answer so many questions and lay so much speculation to rest.


21. HypnoBirthing.


22. Midwives, particularly the one who delivered Ethan, and her presence of mind at the end of delivery when a dangerous situation presented itself. I'm thankful that with the help of a nurse and Ryan, she and I together were able to bring Ethan safely into the world.

23. Good music and the talented musicians who create it.


24. Childbirth and what it taught me about the Atonement.


25. The Internet. How did anyone raise a child without it? I'm thankful that I can research anything and everything. I'm thankful for the Internet for teaching me how to cloth diaper, how to make baby food, activities I can do with my baby to encourage his development, and more. Thank you Internet for helping me be a better parent.

26. That families can be together forever.

A video of our Ethan

Just thought I'd share a little video of the cutest baby ever:

He's been rolling over since he was between 5 and 6 weeks old, and we have lots of videos of good rollovers on our video camera, from which we can't yet post videos. This rollover isn't one of his good ones, but I like the video because I just think he's so stinking cute. He's 8 weeks old here.

Welcome to the world, sweet baby boy.

Ethan Ryan Copeland was born July 11, 2011, on our two-year wedding anniversary. He was 9 1/2 pounds, 21 inches long. Labor was long. My water broke Saturday evening and he was born early Monday morning. We used the HypnoBirthing method and it was a rewarding experience that bonded Ryan and I in amazing ways. He was a champion throughout such a long and difficult labor. They told me I could begin pushing and Ryan leaned over and whispered, "Happy Anniversary," and kissed me. I looked at the clock and sure enough, it was midnight. After three hours of pushing, our sweet baby was here. The moment he arrived was intense - he was in some trouble. I was shoved backward, all the nurses in the room jumped on me, one of them pushing hard on my stomach, and I heard the midwife, who had been so encouraging and positive the whole time, say frantically, "Lola, push NOW." She had told me the last one was the final push and I thought I'd given everything I had, thought I had no more to give, but in the split second that everything was happening, all I knew was that tone in her voice. I knew I had to summon everything inside of me and give all the strength I didn't have. I'd tried so hard to keep labor peaceful and quiet so my baby could enter the world gently, but it was in that moment that I finally really cried out as I reached inside and gave everything. And then he was there. The next few moments were emotional and crazy, but when he eventually heard my voice, he stopped crying. They laid him on my chest and I knew that he knew me.

 We love this beautiful baby.

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Happy Anniversary!

Disclaimer: I wrote this a couple days before our anniversary. I just felt it strongly. Ha. Good thing I did it then, as my water broke two days before our anniversary and little man was born ON our anniversary.

Two Years...

It's been two years since we got married and I love my husband more than ever. I think he's wonderful and perfect for me. I still think he is the handsomest guy ever and I can still watch a movie with some A-list hottie in it and think that he doesn't hold a candle to my man.

In two years we've been through a lot more than I thought we had. A wedding, Ry finishing school and graduating, getting his first professional job, going on a cruise, moving to a new place, callings, job changes, insurance, experiencing the 9-10 months of pregnancy together, family hardships and health scares, and our first baby is due any minute. These experiences have brought us even closer. I mean, we even experienced trying escargot together:

Yes, these experiences have brought us closer. We are best friends in the truest sense.

I adore him.

Getting married was the most exciting thing. What a day. Walking into the temple together, and then walking out of the temple together, going "Ohmygosh, I can't believe we're married," as we stepped out the doors and greeted friends and family.

Looking at each other all evening, laughing, and thinking, "Did we really just get married? Is life really this good?"

And then waking up the next morning, looking into each other's eyes, and getting to do that every day since...bliss.

Marriage is work, but I welcome the work. People say marriage is hard, but I wonder if what they really mean is that marriage is work. I'm not sure those two words: "hard," and "work," have to be interchangeable. Maybe I am young and naive, but that is how I see it.

We may not get everything right every day, but I am proud of our marriage and some of the goals we have met. I'm proud of us that we have gone on a date every single week since our wedding. We've never missed a date night. I'm proud that we made a goal to go to the temple at least once a month and have met that goal for two years.

I'm glad we bought a car together, that we have learned about finances and budgeting together, that we cuddle in church, kiss after every prayer, and go to bed together every night.

I will miss being just us. I will. We love spending time together and being Ryan and Lola. But I know it's beautiful that we're building our family. And I am so thankful to be building a family with him.

Happy Two Year Anniversary to my best friend, the man of my dreams, and the love of my life.

  

I love you eternally.

Happy Father's Day

I'm thankful for my dad. He's taught me a lot. He taught me to be a skeptic. He taught me not to accept the first thing I hear about something. He taught me to be a critical thinker. He taught me the basics: throwing a ball, kicking a ball, riding a bike, how to do math. When I was younger, he taught me to see the good qualities in people when I was speaking disparagingly about others. He's set a great example of how to treat the elderly, and growing up I watched him serving the widows in our neighborhood. I have yet to meet a single person who loves babies as much as my dad does. He really loves my mom. He's always worked so hard, sometimes at the cost of his health and sanity, to provide for us. Even though he's a total workaholic and we all tease him about it, he's always shown up to all our things - no easy feat, I'm learning, with six kids. Yet he is always there at every school thing or whatever else we're involved in, standing in the back with this enormous proud grin and a video camera. When I turned sixteen, he set up a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood and at the end met me in a park and asked me on my first date. He took me to a really expensive restaurant (I'd never been anywhere like that) and then to my surprise sweet sixteen party. At the time I was kind of embarrassed about the scavenger hunt/date thing and how it ended up being my dad of all people, but now I can see how sweet an idea it was. I'm thankful for my dad.

Maternity Photos

I tend to think that people who hate and make fun of maternity shots are anti-feminist and stuck in a different era. There's my little disclaimer before I post these. :-)

VERY last-minute, our friend Sarah Michelle did some maternity photos for us! I had gone back and forth forever about it, but her offer was too great to pass up. This is only her second maternity shoot - she picked up photography as a hobby in the last year, and man does she have some skills! I probably did mine later than most people do - I'm just about 9 months pregnant. But it was fun to see our friend Sarah and document this important part of our lives. We've been taking weekly shots of me standing sideways since I got pregnant, but I really wanted to capture what a great dad Ryan already is and how loving and great he's been through this whole pregnancy. We took them this morning and she already had a few up on Facebook for us a few hours later! Thank you, Sarah Michelle!

We love this baby. He was wiggling and making us giggle throughout the entire photo shoot. Even though I was originally very against getting photos done, I'm glad we did because it's good to have some nice family photos at this stage of our baby's life. :-)

Mother

"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie."

"As in all things, the Savior set the perfect example in the love He showed for His earthly mother. In the final, most pivotal moment of His mortal life—after the anguish of Gethsemane, the mock trial, the crown of thorns, the heavy cross to which He was brutally nailed—Jesus looked down from the cross and saw His mother, Mary, who had come to be with her Son. His final act of love before He died was to ensure that His mother would be cared for, saying to His disciple, “Behold thy mother!” And from that point on the disciple took her unto his home. As the scriptures say, then Jesus knew that “all things were now accomplished,” and He bowed His head and died." -Bradley D. Foster

"When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses? When the surf of the centuries has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will still be standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside telestial time. The women of God know this." - Neal A. Maxwell

"When we understand the magnitude of motherhood, it becomes clear why prophets have been so protective of woman's most sacred role. While we tend to equate motherhood solely with maternity, in the Lord's language, the word mother has layers of meaning. Of all the words they could have chosen to define her role and her essence, both God the Father and Adam called Eve "the mother of all living" - and they did so before she ever bore a child...Motherhood is more than bearing children, though it is certainly that. It is the essence of who we are as women. It defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature..." - Sheri Dew, "Are We Not All Mothers?" (I love this quote because Sheri Dew does not have children.)

I'm thankful to my mother for showing me what it means to truly sacrifice everything for your children. I'm thankful she taught me to be intolerant of intolerance. I'm thankful that she has always expected me, since I was very little, to be the person who stands up for others and never to be unkind. I'm thankful that even though she is incredibly busy and tired, she picks up the phone when I call 6 times a day. I'm thankful she taught me by example to be honest. I'm thankful for her thoughtful care packages. I'm thankful that because of her I always know I have support and I am never alone. I hope everyone has a mother like mine and I hope I can be at least half the mother she is.