Merry Christmas From The Jacksons!

Merry Christmas to you all! We love you very much and hope you and your families have a great holiday season!

We finally got our tree up! Saturday night we had a tree trimming party. My brother and his wife came over to help. We had a great time laughing and remembering together. Cody was much more into it this year, although every ornament he placed ended up on the same branch. But it was a great family night, one that I will treasure for years to come!

Cody and Aunt Andrea

Williamsburg Grand Illumination!

Sunday was the annual Williamsburg Grand Illumination. I had heard so many wonderful things about this event, that I really wanted to check it out. Some great friends joined us up there and we had so much fun. The kids were all such good troopers and loved playing together. It was so nice to get to catch up with all the ladies. It was a long day, but the fireworks made it all worth the wait! They were the best fireworks I've every seen. Cody loved them. He kept saying "stars...boom...boom...boom!" the whole way home. He was so amped up he didn't even fall asleep in the car, which is amazing. He's still talking about them. Anyway we had a blast with all of you and can't wait to go again next year.

Cody's Favorite Daddy Activity - Tossing him up in the air - It makes Mommy very nervous!

Big Smiles!



What traveling is all about - SNACKS!


The Maggiore Family




The Ride Home - I think this is how we all felt!

I have been off all week and have been having a blast doing "mommy things" with Cody. Here we are making Christmas Candy today. We don't have much for later, because most of it was eaten right off the wax paper. We had a great time making memories!

Below are picture of Chris and Cody playing t-ball. It was one of those wonderful mommy moments, when you see your husband and child bonding and all seems right with the world. It reminded me how truly blessed I am!

I am really getting excited about the Williamsburg Grand Illumination this weekend. Since I haven't been at work, I haven't seen my emails. Jen was kind enough to send out an informational email today. If you need any more information, feel free to call her or myself. It looks like the weather will be nice that day. I can't wait!

Norfolk Grand Illumination Parade

Saturday night was the Norfolk Grand Illumination Parade. Chris, Cody and I went. I hadn't been in years. We had such a great time as a family. At first Cody was not sure what all the fuss was about, but after he saw the first horse, he was totally in to it.

Things I forgot:

*That I put Cody's gloves IN his diaper bag, so I put mine on him and let my hands freeze. Once we got back to the car and I found them, I felt like a retard.

*To pick a place to meet the Schrodts. We never found them, put were both able to have a great time on our own.

*My camera. I could have kicked myself. Hence no pictures! :)

Things I remembered:

*HOT COFFEE!!!!

*Lots of layers!

Things I loved:

*Seeing the twinkle in Cody's eye at his first real glimpse of Christmas! He recognized Santa. He loved the huge balloons. The horses were without a doubt his favorite! He waved until his arm was about to fall off.

*Amazing family time.

*Getting to walk down the middle of Waterside Drive. It was so weird!

We will definitely go back next year! What a blast!

Last weekend, we went to Raleigh with Joe, Jen, Erin and Anna. We had a great time and the kids were so great. The weather was perfect and the kids got to play outside a lot! We always love our time down there with our dear friends! Thank you for having us and we look forward to next time!

Breakfast

Erin sitting at the table eating her breakfast like a good girl while this was going on...

Our last morning there. It was so cute to see them all sitting together watching cartoons. It lasted like 1 minute! :)

Hallelujah Harvest

Well another Hallelujah Havest has come and gone. I have to admit this was my favorite year by far. It was so relaxed and easy. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. I want to thank all of you who helped this year. Especially the guys who came up after church to help set up. And thank you to their wives who gave up that family time for them to go. We couldn't have done it without our hundreds of volunteers! Thank You!

So Cody hated his costume! My mom brought him up to the church for the event with him in one arm and the costume in the other. Chris and I had to manhandle him into the outfit. He sobbed the whole time. Once he had it on, he was ok, just don't try to put the hood on! He didn't really get the whole idea of trunk-or-treating, but he did get the idea of candy. I would tell him "Just one piece of candy" and he would look and me and go "Twoooo?" It's the only number he knows. Good thing he doesn't know ten. :) So here are the only pictures we got this year. Here's to better luck next year.


My Little Monkey

The only picture we got with the hood on!

Erin in the Moon Bounce.

So I Lied!

I know I said it would be a while before I posted, but I had no idea so many great things would happen in the last few days! So I'll just start in order...

Wednesday:

I picked Cody up from Granny's after work and she told me Cody had a very busy day. She had laid him down for his afternoon nap and about an hour into it, she was in the bathroom brushing her teeth when she heard a knock on the door. She opened the door and there is Cody standing with his binky and blanket. She was so surprised to spit toothpaste all over the bathroom! She took him back into the room and said "Show me what you did." She put him back in the crib and he climbed right out.

Then she was getting ready to give him a bath and she has this little potty chair in the bathroom. He sat on the potty and peed! She had her camera right there and took the most adorable picture. I'll post it when I get it from her. So she was showing me the picture when I picked him up and he grabbed my hand and took me into the bathroom. I asked him if he needed to go again and he said yes. I put him back on the potty and he went!
So I guess we are quickly heading into potty training and big boy beds!
Friday:
Chris, Cody and I went to Hunt Club Farms. We had a blast! Cody already had pumpkins from Granny and Nana, so we really enjoyed the hay ride and all the animals. They had a play area surrounded by animals and in the middle was an awesome playground, a mound of hay for the kids to jump in and a old tractor to climb on. We had to tear Cody away. It was such a great family event. The only bad thing was it felt like July! :)

Saturday:

Chris watched Cody in the morning so I could do a little shopping. It was wonderful. I think the guys had a good morning too! Then my Aunt was in town for a couple hours and she, my mom, myself and Cody did a few things together. We went to a really neat estate sale near the oceanfront. Then we had lunch at Beach Bully and them we went on the beach at 31st. They put one of those jungle gyms on the beach and Cody had a blast on it. We came home and spent the afternoon raking and planing grass seed. And Cody used the potty two more times today! It's been so awesome. He's almost potty training himself!

It was a great day.

What a wonderful weekend!

Pumpkin Patch Advice

OK, so it's been like a month since I last blogged, but I have to admit it has been one booger of a month. And as you can see from the ticker above, it's less than two weeks from Hallelujah Harvest. So for now you all will have to wait with baited breath for the exciting stories from the Jackson household...yeah right!

But here's my question. Chris and I want to do a pumpkin patch day with Cody on Friday. This will be the first year for us, so I am looking for the best one in the area. I know you all have the scoop on the best places in town! Is there any place that takes you on a hay ride and you actually pick your pumpkin off the vine?

Thanks for your help! I'm really looking forward to this!

Huge Blessing!

I have to share a story about what an amazing God we serve. Chris got home last night from his first night on the street. He was so excited about his first day, we talked until I thought my eyes were going to fall out of my head. But the coolest thing by far is that his field training officer goes to our church! He has been going here for a couple months. I think he is very young in his faith, so Chris has already been able to share a few thing with him about Christianity. Here Chris thought he was going into the Police force instead of ministry only to find himself ministering. How crazy is God! I'm so excited for this incredible opportunity for Chris. I told him, "He's going to be teaching you how to be a cop and you're going to be teaching him how to be a Christian." It just blows my mind. "Thank you Lord for giving Chris a job that he looks forward to going to and feels confident in his ability to perform!" It truly makes all the difference in the world!

Party, Party, Party!

What a whirlwind of a weekend! I feel so partied out.

Friday night we had a dinner with Chris' graduating class and wives. I had such a great time getting to know the guys that I had heard so much about for the past 5 months. I was also great to meet all the wives. We had a good time sharing our own "war stories" from the academy. :)

Saturday we had a get together at our house. God gave us an amazingly beautiful day. We had such a great time celebrating with our family and friends!

Sunday afternoon, we had a cookout at one of the graduate's house. Mark and Stevie almost live in North Carolina. It was quite a drive, but it was totally worth it. They have so much land and the kids had a blast. Cody ran from the time we got there to the time we left and got to experience so many new things. They guys played paintball for hours until the girls decided they wanted to take a crack at it. I played both times. The first time was all girls, and I was the last girl standing! The second time, it was guys against girls. The girls won again! I had so much fun! That's probably because I never got hit. :)

I'm so glad it's Monday, and life can go back to normal...

Today is Chris' first day on the street. I can't wait for him to get home and tell me all about his day!

Mommy and Cody after Church.

Cody's first time on a trampoline.

Cody and the HUGE soccer ball.

Cody petting a bunny for the first time.

Graduation

Chris receiving the award for physical fitness. Go figure :)

One proud wife!
So tonight was the big night...Chris finally graduated from the Police Academy. It was a wonderful evening. I got to go on stage and pin his badge on him. It was very sweet. He looked amazing in his uniform if I do say so myself. As the Class President, he was required to give a speech. I was nervous enough for the both of us, but he did a great job.

I could not be more proud of him! Watch out world, Chris is locked and loaded! :)

Labor Day Fun!

Sunday afternoon, we took Cody to Woodstock Park. They have a dog park, so we spent most of the time watching the dogs play. Then off to the playground for some climbing fun.

Last night was date night! Chris and I headed down to the Oceanfront for the American Music Festival. We walked the boardwalk and caught the end of the INXS concert and watched the fireworks. They said there were about 25,000 people down there last night. I believe it! After the concerts ended, we sat on the beach and just caught up with what was going on with each other. It was nice to be out. It also reminded me how thankful I am to have found Chris. Seeing all those people looking for anyone to love and care about them. I felt so blessed to have someone who loves me unconditionally!!!!

Today was a very full day. We had so much family fun! The day started off with a trip to the beach with the Maggiore family. Cody was in love with the ocean. I think we took half the beach home in his swim suit. :) We also were there for Erin's first boogie board ride. It was so much fun to see the joy on her face (and Joe's).

Next was off to the Fam's for a party. We swam in the pool and grabbed a bite to eat before heading home for naps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tonight was low key as we all gear up for the week ahead.