Before and After

There are certain times in your life when you know that after this moment, life as you know it is over. Before knowing Christ as my Savior, before meeting my husband.......I can think of so many of these moments. Life after Cooper will never be the same as life before. I will never forget the incredible love I felt for him the first time I saw him. I will never tire of his gorgeous smile.

Life after Cooper became mobile is much different than when he simply rolled over. He is now crawling with ease.  At this point he crawls towards us instead of away from us. He wants us to be on the floor playing with him. And I am happy to oblige. Crawling Cooper is so cute! Although I don't think that will last long. Tonight, he pulled himself up to the couch.  He's been pulling up to things for a couple of weeks now, but pulling up to the couch seems like such a big kid thing.  I have a feeling he will be walking before we know it.

Another life changing moment - On Saturday, Sept 24, my dad had a stroke. As far as strokes go, it was relatively minor. No matter how minor, a stroke is still a stroke. He had some bleeding in his brain in the part that is in charge of verbal communication.  The damage seems to be causing problems with word and name recollection at this point. He can't always say the word that he is thinking. He knows what he says isn't right, but he can't remember the right word. He has some trouble remembering the names of his youngest grandkids. This is hard to see, but hopefully it comes back to him soon.

The stroke also seems to be affecting some aspects of his personality. He just isn't the same joyful, peppy person I've always known. It may take a while for everything to come back to him. Or it may never come back at all.  Only time will tell. According to the doctors we should know within the next 3 months how much of the damage is permanent. I'm just praying that Cooper gets to know his grandpa. I'm just still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that HIS grandpa and MY dad may not ever be the same person.

Life will never be the same after my dad's stroke.  Life will never be the same after the birth of my son. Life will never the same since marrying to most amazing, supportive and loving man I have known. Life.........may never be the same. But we still have life - abundant, sustaining, blessed life.