The Scariest Hour!

On Monday, April 7th, I was at Jacqui's house. Jacqui had to go pick up a friends kids from school, and left me with Jaxson, Reese, Cooper, and our friends little 10 month old baby. When Curious George ended, Reese and Jaxson came up stairs. After a minute or two, I went to check on Cooper. I couldn't find him anywhere. In the past he has gone out the back door and ran up the street. He is so quick, so when I didn't see him in the back yard I started to get a little worried. I began searching the house, top to bottom. I looked in every hiding spot I could think of, because he has a tendency to hide. I was calling his name over and over. I grabbed the baby and had Reese and Jaxson follow me outside. We ran up the street. I couldn't see him anywhere, but I talked to a neighbor to see if he had seen him. He immediately called for family in his house to come help. Jacqui's neighbors took Jaxson and Reese and the baby for me, and I started running up and down the nearby streets, as did Mike (Jacqui's neighbor). I called Jacqui to see how close she was. Then I ran back into the house, and knelt down to say a quick prayer, asking Heavenly Father to help me find Cooper. Then I ran outside and ran up and down the streets talking to any one I saw. I looked in garages, backyards, ditches, water drains, and nearby farm fields. I knew Cooper didn't have shoes on. Each time I set out on a new street, I would run back to the house searching frantically through it, screaming for Cooper to come out. While all of this is going on, my thoughts were turned to a little seven years old girl who was kidnapped just a week before. I was in such shock, that I kept having really bad thoughts of what this would end in. Meanwhile, neighbors were out, and also checked the house, yard, and every nook and cranny we could think of. Jacqui's friend called the police, and everyone was out looking. Bryce and Jared were on there way home, trying to get here as fast as they could. Jacqui got home, and joined in the searching. The police came to the house to find out more. It's now been about twenty five minutes since I first noticed he was gone. We were all out running, and some how met in the living room at the same time. The officer told me that we needed to search the house again, because 90% of the time, the kids are in the house. He then walked straight to the love sack, which was in the corner of the room, pushed up against the wall. He grabbed the corner, pulled it back, and began talking to Cooper.








I collapsed to the ground and began wailing. All those thoughts and worries had come to an end. I knew he was safe, and my emotions finally showed themselves. Up to that point I had been in such shock, that I hadn't showed much emotion. Jacqui picked Cooper up out of the corner and brought him to me. Immediately we could smell why he had been hiding the entire time.


As he watched me cry, his bottom lip started quivering, and he asked me why I was crying. I apologized and thanked the officers. I also thanked the neighbors for their great help.

Things I learned:



-Do not procrastinate. We never know how much time we will have with our children.

-I learned that I need to take advantage of my time spent with Cooper.

-When Cooper says, "You want to play with me mama? You and me." I need to stop what I am doing and play with him.

-When Cooper says, "You want to watch this with me, mama? I need to watch the show with him. I am a busy body and I need to make sure that I spend quality time with my son.

-I love him so much and I can't imagine life without him.
(On a softer note, I learned that I should maybe exercise more often, so that when I need to go out and run up and down the streets, my legs won't be so sore the next day.)

-25 minutes can feel like forever

-I learned that there are people out there who still care and who are willing to drop everything and help. That really meant a lot to me to have them helping me find Cooper. I couldn't have done it by myself.

Things I hope and pray that Cooper learned:
1. He shouldn't hide.

2. If he does hide, he needs to answer mother or anyone else who is calling his name.

3. He won't get into trouble if he messes his pants. He hardly ever has accidents and I have tried to tell him that he won't get into trouble and that he just needs to tell mom.


I am so thankful for all those who helped me. I am thankful that my Heavenly Father heard and answered my prayer. I am so thankful that I have my little boy here with me this day!