Goodbye 2011.

7:36 PM

What a year it has been! And how the year has flown by. 2011 started off with a bang and just kept on going. What faithfulness the Lord has shown us during this time and continues to show us.

January 15, I wed my love and best friend, then we were off to the Big Island, Maui, and Oahu for a 2 week honeymoon. On the 21st, I turned 21! We returned home to the most overwhelming pile of gifts I have ever seen, finished the winter and spring in our little condo, Will returned to school, then came summer, more birthdays, and moving time!

The perfect little two bedroom house smack dab downtown became available, and despite many applicants we got the home. We scrubbed and painted for days, then move-in time came. This house has been the greatest little home. It is totally perfect for us and where we are at right now. The Lord definitely knew just what we needed, I'd say even more so than we did (but doesn't he always?). He provided big time. This new place to call home didn't come without work, but work we were both very capable of doing. And boy was it worth it!. For more on our move, and possibly a good laugh, check out my post HERE.

By early summer we settled into our new home and loved every minute of it. Then came…baby news! On Father's day of this year we learned of our little blessing. We were expecting our first! What a wonderful, challenging time this was. We felt a million emotions during the next 12 weeks, the longest 12 weeks of my life. In August, our hearts broke. We lost our baby, but with the Lord and incredible friends and family to lean on we made it through this challenging time. We learned to trust our God on a whole new level. It was by His grace this baby was brought into our lives and also taken out. We learned, in a way that couldn't be more real, that the Lord gives as he does take away, and to trust him with the thing very dearest to us, our growing baby. We prayed long and hard for this child, we asked the Lord for a miracle, then we waited 6 long weeks. The outcome didn't look good, and 6 weeks after we learned of our little one's poor outcome, we miscarried.  I have never experienced pain as I did on the night and in the following days, but as painful as this lose was, we grew immensely, in our own relationship and in our relationship with the Lord. We drew close and Will and I grew together more than ever. The next few months were hard without a doubt, but we knew the Lord was on our side.

Before we knew it, summer passed, and then fall. Suddenly Thanksgiving was staring us right in the face. By fall, Will's school semester was well underway. Things were well. We even managed to sneak away for a few days. We headed straight to Oregon for a grand feast with lots of family to celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday, as well as to share some very special news. Once again, we were expecting.
This time with a thriving baby. The start of my pregnancy wasn't a piece of cake, but we are doing wonderful now. Our little baby had a twin, which has now joined our first and is with the Lord. One day we will get to meet these little munchkins, and I cannot wait. One day we will also share with our little one on the way, the story of his/her two siblings who came ahead of them.

Now, rugby has begun again for Mr. Cooper, school has come to an end (at least for a couple more weeks), and Christmas flew by. Today we celebrate the beginning of the New Year almost as we did last year around this time, on Oahu, surrounded by family. In a couple weeks our anniversary will follow. I cannot believe it. 1 year already. Where has time gone? I also couldn't be more thankful for my husband, who has been by my side every minute, every second of every day. Year 2011, has had many ups and downs no doubt, but I don't feel as my husband and I's relationship could be any more solid. We know it has to be of the Lord.

We have witnessed and felt loss, watched both of our parent's 25 year plus marriages fall apart, felt heartache, joy, excitement, love, and so much more this year. We have had much to gain, raw, down-to-earth life experience, and much healing. I wouldn't change a second of this year for anything, but with that said, we also gladly welcome in 2012.

And that we will do his evening! We will be with friends and family here on Oahu! We've spent the afternoon making lots of food. Soon we will sit around the campfire, watch the sun go down, visit, eat, laugh, and play. As midnight approaches, we will head to the rooftop, where we will lie and watch a spectacular firework show. Tomorrow we board a plane, and fly back home. Until then, we enjoy our last few moments of 2011 and reflect back.

I am so excited to see what is in store for year 2012.

Happy New Years friends! May you be blessed in this year ahead of us.

Love,
The Cooper Clan.

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