Simple prayers...

"Dear Lord,
Thank you for this day. Please let Pawpaw feel better. Thank you for Mommy & Daddy. Let's have another great day tomorrow!
Amen. "

from his precious lips to God's ever-hearing all-knowing ears

Sorry I'm late...

Well, I did it again... When I get out of blogging mode, it's really hard for me to get going again. I have lots of Christmas pictures to post, so here goes nothing...



We had a wonderful Christmas. We got to see many family members and spend time with friends.

I decided not to put up both trees this year, but I made a few decorative changes to our main tree.

I put extra effort into my giftwrap this year (with a bit of help from Jon).

Jackson can never have a relaxed smile in a posed photo. What a cheese ball!

Jon's gingerbread creation won second place in the annual contest.

Jackson assisted in making a variation of last year's Rudolph cookies for his class party.


On Christmas Eve, Jackson (finally) fell asleep using his favorite new stuffed penguin from Papa Mitch and Mama Lane as a pillow.

Santa brought him exactly what he asked for!!

I love this picture of Jon, Jackson and Drew trying to figure out all of Jackson's new Transformers.

Jackson giving Drew lessons on the new DS.

Jackson's very own PILE of gifts at Neane and Big Daddy's house.

It seems like we are still catching up from the holidays. Things are busy as usual around here. Jackson still has not finished all of his thank-you notes. (I really wish I had made him finish before school started back! It's a long slow process with him). Jon's band has been playing once or twice a month, and business is good for him at work. I've been working one or two days most weeks for a little change of pace.

Jon's grandfather has been very sick in the hospital since last Thursday. We finally got a good report today, and he seems to be on his way back. Praise God!

Jon was able to do some duck hunting in Arkansas with friends this weekend. I entertained my friend, April and her daughter Sarabeth while Jon was hunting. We had a lot of fun visiting and playing with the kids. I posted some pictures of Sarabeth on my photography blog.

I'm going to try to get back to picking up my camera and posting regularly. Stay tuned!

Happy December!!

A few years ago, we started a new Advent tradition in our family. I began collecting children's Christmas books and wrapping them like gifts on December 1st. Jackson gets to open one each night to read during the countdown to Christmas. He really looks forward to it, and gets so excited about some of the books he has forgotten about throughout the year. This year, he even picked out the wrapping paper at the store, although I'm still shocked that he chose shiny red and gold over a colorful and playful Santa print. This "new" tradition of ours really helps to get us in the spirit!

P.S. In the beginning, I didn't have enough books to last the entire Advent season. I wrapped the ten or so books that I had, then re-wrapped the favorites after they were read the first time.

Playing Catch-up

Well, I knew it wouldn't take long before I started procrastinating on the blog again. It's been a busy couple of weeks, but I'm ready to catch up now.



We had a great Thanksgiving with famiy and friends. Our camping trip was cancelled due to wet weather, but it all worked out nicely. It's nice to get back into the "routine" after a long holiday weekend!

I'm planning to post more tidbits throughout this week, then get back on a regular blog-posting schedule.

I've posted new family portraits for my BFF, Shannon here. I have two more photo shoots scheduled for this week, too!

A week without pictures

It was a busy week in our lives. I didn't get the camera out at all, unfortunately.

Jon and I have been battling cold-like symptoms.

I worked two jobs Tuesday & Wednesday.

Had an election night get-together. I misplaced my usual recipe, so I made this baked potato soup, which turned out very yummy.

Procrastinating the painting of my bedroom and the organizing of my closet...Maybe this week?

Bought Jackson's main Christmas present.

Jon's band rehearsed on Thursday evening while I started packing for the weekend.

Have been praying a lot for close friends and my uncle Roger, all in various stages of cancer.

Had a wonderful weekend with friends on a camping/ hunting trip.

Brushing up on my knitting after almost a year without practice- love to knit in the cold weather months!

Jackson got a flu shot today. Jon made chicken fried deer steak for dinner. We spent the evening watching Kung Fu Panda together.

The week that lasted a month...

So, last week was a seriously long one! Started out with Jackson staying awake most of Sunday night. He stayed home from school on Monday due to lack of sleep. We stayed in our pj's all day long. He rested and played on the computer.

Jon and I refinished our soon-to-be, new hand-me-down KING sized bed on Tuesday. It was my first time applying wood stain and I loved it. Can't wait to find something else to stain! (I'll post a picture when we get it all put together).

Jackson continued to have trouble staying asleep throughout the week. On Thursday, I called the doctor out of sleep-deprived desperation. The things I was worried about were all ruled out, and we came to the conclusion that Jackson is freakishly scared of a Goosebumps character he saw on a television commercial. We came up with a special prayer that he now says everynight, asking God to make sure Grandpa Chuck and Mammaw will watch over him while he sleeps. He has done MUCH better- still waking once or twice, but going back to sleep. Thank you Mammaw & Grandpa Chuck!!!

On Friday, I went with Jackson on the first grade field trip to the zoo. (I won't be posting photos of the kids since the school name is on the shirts & I don't have the other parents' permission). It was a wonderful day to visit our fine zoo.

Can you believe the color? I had to stop and take a deep breath.

After the zoo, Jack and I both napped for awhile. When daddy got home, it was pumpkin carving time.

Then we all got into costume for a ride around the neighborhood in our brand-new toy with good friends.

Jackson aka"Ironman" had a blast trick-or-treating his way around the neighborhood and over to his grandmother's house, where we spent the rest of the evening eating chili dogs and treats.

Saturday was the last of the fall festivals and an evening with friends. Sunday was church, mexican food, and football.

Here's to another great week and a little more sleep!

Edited to add: I almost forgot this week's favorite project! I had an OLD flea market cabinet holding my cookbooks in a corner of my dining area. It was great in my old house, but never quite worked for me here. So, I took this Target bookcase out of my craft/music/game room and accessorized it. I love the result- especially my transplanted parsley that is actually really enjoying being indoors. Gotta love a free project!

A Week in the Life

Since becoming a stay-at-home mom, people are always asking me how I spend my days. I'm going to document my time here in a weekly post complete with pictures. I got the idea here. I'm going to leave out the lazy, unproductive stuff, but you can figure in several hours of mindless tivo catching up from my comfy side of the bed.

Jon's been super busy at work. I think he needs a vacation.

Jackson's doing well in school. He's finally getting the hang of spelling tests, I think. His daily homework takes about 30 to 45 minutes- depending on how focused he is. We found a new motivational tool for him this week when Jon broke down and bought him his first set of Pokemon cards. I was really hoping we could somehow miraculously skip that strange rite of passage. No luck. He loves them.

Made polka dot pumpkins to finish off my Halloween decor. Got the idea here. I don't want to fool anyone into thinking that I have any fabulous original ideas or anything:-).

Moved my ferns into the house and replanted my urns. Jon and I also did a lot of work in the front flower beds.

Still have pansies to plant & I should really paint those faded shutters. I love fall!

Hung some fabulous new artwork.

Cooked two nights this week- spaghetti & meat loaf. Had lots of leftovers.

Spent $580 at the dentist on Monday.

Worked a contract job on Tuesday & took Jackson to a musical- Planet Funk.

Wished my mom a happy 52nd birthday on Thursday. Had lunch at a fabulous chinese bistro I've never been to.

Went to a costume party on Saturday. I have decided not to post those pictures. They are much too scary.


Posted on my blog for the first time in four months. What a week!

Friendly Christmastime Competition

We had a great time this week hosting and WINNING our first ever gingerbread house decorating contest. Here's the proof:

Out of the blue, Jackson decided to name our team: "Jingle Smells". I know this sounds like it had some influence from Jon, but I was there, and I swear it was all Jackson.

Here's our competition: (they couldn't decide on a team name) John, Chase & Jack

"Ho's on the go" was a late entry from our neighbor, Tim:

Chase & Jackson eagerly awaiting the big event: (yes, they stuffed their faces full of sugar for two hours straight)

Table O' Sugar: (before)

Table O' Sugar: (after)

P.S. There were actually no winners.

P.S.S. Team Jingle Smells ROCKS!

Spidey

I still can't get over how Spiderman took over our lives on Jack's 5th birthday. I did a quick scrapbook page tonight using these two photos Jackson begged me to take:

Happy Birthday to Jack!

Jackson is FIVE!! He started the big day with his gift from mom & dad- a Gameboy! He figured it out really quickly and didn't want to put it down.

His party was a grand slam! I think he went into over-stimulated mode. He had a couple of major fits during the day- especially when he realized he wasn't going to be the one to crack open the pinata.

It was a great day. Lots of friends, family, food, and gifts. I'm pretty sure he got every Spiderman toy there is- he was a happy birthday boy! Four days later, I'm still recovering from exhaustion!

My little brother

My baby brother, Drew is all grown up. It's the end of his senior year, and I can't believe it. Since he's much too "cool" to have senior pictures made, my mom and I talked him into a little photo-shoot with sis. I got lots of great shots of him- this is just one unedited favorite of mine. I'm going to have to spend some time in photoshop with these considering he had two large hickies (how do you even spell that word?) on either side of his neck. I love my brother and I'm so proud of him. I know he's going to be an amazing man!

Camp Jackson

Uncle Will and Dad were welcomed to Camp Jackson this weekend. Here are some pictures of the boys enjoying some guy time in Jackson's fabulous new playhouse:

I should mention that Jackson is a pirate these days- nothing wrong with his eye.

Road Trip!

Two weeks ago, my wonderful grandmother had her 90th birthday!

She's so awesome! We made the trip to Lubbock to celebrate with her and had an amazing time. One of the added bonuses of our time in Lubbock was the couple of days spent with my dad and stepmom. I got to see my sister, Misti and grandfather, Chuck, along with many long-lost family members that came for Mamma's party. Jackson had a great time at PapaMitch's house. He also got to see a volcano movie at the OmniMax, visit the science spectrum and experience the freshest, tastiest Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Having to have my car towed two hundred miles home and replace the transmission was worth it, believe it or not.

Me and Jackson with my dad and his dad.

Mamma and her "kids".

Chocolate iced with sprinkles!

PS. Baseball has started! Stay tuned for photos and all of the hilarious details.