Well, it feels pretty good to be alive - especially with today being Father's Day. I cried a bit as I put Knox to bed tonight, asking God to give me many more Father's Day's with my children. I don't know if I will be that lucky or not, but for one day, today, it did not matter. I couldn't give Mr. Knox enough kisses on his forehead as I put him into his crib. Sometimes I scare Coop because I squeeze him too tight as I get him ready for bed. I know that tomorrow is not promised to anyone, but the further I get away from my diagnosis, and the closer I get to surgery, the more I appreciate every second that I have. This week was crazy. We worked so hard in "The Meadow" to make a couple's wedding day special. I of course ended up in the hospital. As I came in from some yard work, I layed down because I wasn't feeling well...Wendy took my temperature, and I was running a fever of 102. She called the Cleveland Clinic, and they said to get to the ER. So we went to Robinson Memorial. After several tests, they diagnosed me with pnemonia. I got to spend the night in the hospital. I will be fine. (Now I just have to get over the poison ivy). Oh yeah, we got a new truck...I'll have to get a pic of it and get it posted soon...it's pretty frickin' cool. But the center of everything is Mr. Knox, and the Cooperman. For the longest time, I couldn't imagine having kids. Now I can't imagine my life without them. Funny how life works.
Mr. Knox has been crawling confidently for a little over a week. In this video, he sort of pulls on the carpet to get along, but he has proven that he can crawl even without the shag carpeting. He will be walking before long. Coop stood up and walked on his first birthday...and it will be interesting to see how Knox compares.


Smile, today could be your last.

Over the weekend Wendy and I took Coop down to Founder's Day. It was their 75th anniversary. Some guy gave a long winded (but well spoken) speech about Dr. Bob and his wife Annie and the importance of AA. We missed the beginning of the speech, and a stranger joked to me that the Gettysburg address was shorter. It was a fun morning though. We left the house at 7:30 and drove down to Akron. After the speech, they played Amazing Grace three times on the bagpipes, and then said the serenity prayer. It is always amazing how many lives that AA touches and how many people have been given a second chance through their program. I have to admit that even I was skeptical when I first met Wendy, but after seeing what they do first hand, they have literally helped thousands upon thousands of people deal with their addiction. I am grateful, because otherwise, I wouldn't know the woman that I am married to. It makes me proud that my wife is a member. It truly is a group like no other. I think what is so great about it is that no one passes judgement, and everyone is accepted: regardless. I mean, here at the Akron gathering, you have 500+ bikers...guys as tough as nails, but there are tears streaming down into their beards as they play Amazing Grace. The same grown men are holding hands as they say the "Our Father", and the Serentiy Prayer. It is a first class operation all the way. And again, I am grateful for it.

After the ceremony, the bikers fired up thier bikes, and filed out. Coop waved at everybody...many of the biker chicks waved back as they rode out of town. Coop really enjoyed it.

...Of course I find humor in everything, and just as things were getting serious, some guy decides to bend down in front of us. I could not resist taking a picture of his crack.

Smile, today could be your last.

It was a really fun weekend. Sat. night, Wendy and Sandy and I went to the casino. No luck, but it was fun. Sunday, we all went over to Paul and Liz's house. Coop had a good time playing with their daughter, Elise. They have a really nice home in Medina and I hope that they enjoy living there for years to come. After the grill-out, PK took Coop for a ride on his John Deere. Coop loves tractors...especially John Deere's.

Mr. Knox is starting to do what resembles a push up. Not exactly crawling yet, but he sits on his own. He also has a couple of teeth pushing through on the bottom, so he fusses a lot. It's gotta be painful.

Monday (Memorial Day) we went over to Aunt Sherry's and Uncle Dave's. We enjoyed fishing in their lake, and Coop even caught his first fish. A moment I will not forget.

Hey Coop...on a scale of 1 to 5...how good is that cake?

Smile, today could be your last.