Busy Month...

This last month has been crazy at the Cooper household...

Dan began detasseling on July 4. I thought he'd be done in 10-14 days, but nope, this year it was a LONG season. He finished last Sunday, July 25. I was naturally elated to wake up (after 4:30am) to him in bed on Monday morning.

We had Bible School at our church this past week, which was also quite an endeavor. We had between 50 and 60 kids each night, and I was the Bible story teacher. I got to dress up like Elijah, the woman at the well, and tell the kids other stories as well. The best, most rewarding part was seeing Lily growing up--she would sing and dance with her other preschool friends--brought me to tears!! Last night after we were done with the program and driving home, she was singing one of the new songs she learned. What a blessing. I can only imagine how God and His angels were smiling down on Denver, IA, at the site of these kids :)

Amidst all of this, I'm trying to finalize where the kids are going to go for childcare this year. Our provider from last year has moved to California, so here we go, changing...again. Today I visited one home that I liked, but they had so many animals, it smelled like a pet store. I want my kids to be comfortable around animals, but the smell is annoying! So we decided on an in-home provider in Waverly--between the two schools I work at, which is great. Actually, it's a home that we looked at when we were considering buying a home in Waverly a few years ago. It flooded in 2008, so the entire first floor has been re-done, and the lady--Sarah--seems very nice. So next week, we'll go sign a contract and start getting her kids into her home to get them ready for full time care in 3 short weeks!! It's been wonderful being home, but I'm ready to get back to school. It'll be a rough transition for the kiddos, though, I think. They have gotten used to having Mom around all the time...Jack especially...he's mommy's boy....fun for me, but also causes some rough moments when leaving him in the nursery or with babysitters. So, the next 3 weeks will be filled with different experiences to get hte kids used to not being around me so much :)

Other big news is that I think we're getting closer to purchasing a mini van. Crazy, I know...the baby of all the cousins is the one to get a mini van, but it just makes sense. One of our cars is at 120,000 miles (which we're going to keep; I love it); and the other is at 92,000. Now is the time, I guess, to make the change. Plus, I'm ready to have some more space!! After detasseling, we have some extra funds saved for this endeavor, so we'll see when we bite the bullet, but I htink it's coming :)

Well, I best be going. I need to get home so Dan can get to school to work on band camp stuff :)

Love you all--
sarah.
and dan and lily and jack