The Jackson Family

He's Here!

2009-05-06T11:50:00.022-04:00

Buchanan Thomas Jackson

"Canon"

Born: April 28, 2009 at 5:50 pm

Weight: 8 lbs. 15 oz.

Length: 20.5 in.

We are pleased to announce that Canon has finally arrived! I went in Tuesday morning for a scheduled induction. I was already having regular contractions when I got there, but they were not getting the job done. The pitocin was started around 11:00 am, moments later things really got rockin'. At 1:15 pm, they broke my water. About an hour later, I got my epidural. Let's just say that it was only partially effective. :) Quite a strange experience. By 5:00 pm, I was complete and was pushing by 5:20. Thirty exhausting minutes later, Canon made his entrance into the world. It was a beautiful moment.

Our first week has been wonderful and full and sleep deprived! Canon is a very healthy boy! Tuesday, he was up to 9 lbs. 3 oz. Cody is doing well, all things considered. He is trying to be very helpful and for the most part is very understanding of my new responsibilities and his lack of "mommy time."

So without further adieu, here is our new addition!!!!

BIG NEWS!!!

2008-08-28T11:58:00.002-04:00

So I have some news...and I know this is an extremely impersonal way of getting it out, but the chances of seeing you all together anytime soon is slim, and I would hate for you to hear it from someone other than me, so here goes! Chris and I are expecting our second child! No it was not on the cruise :) We are very excited! I should be due around the end of April. Things are going great and I feel wonderful...just tired! So I'm sure we will talk more about it when I see you all, but I just wanted to get the word out!

Bermuda

2008-07-09T16:21:00.032-04:00

June 21st - 26th, 2008

Our cruise to Bermuda!

Our ship left from Norfolk, which was so convenient. We were able to get dropped off right at the ship and walk right to the boarding area. We were through security and on the ship within 30 minutes. I highly recommend cruising from this terminal.

Here are some pictures of us leaving port.

I celebrated my birthday on the cruise. One of the nights, our waiters sang "Happy Birthday" to myself and one of our table-mates, who was also celebrating a birthday. It was really yummy!

Here we are getting off the ship in Bermuda. It was so simple to get off and on the ship throughout the two days we were there. It was like having your hotel right there.

Our first stop was the capital city of Hamilton. It was a bustling city. We did a little shopping here. One of the things that surprised us the most was the business attire of the men. They would wear short sleeve dress shirts, ties, shorts and...KNEE SOCKS! It was so funny looking!

I loved this little alley. There were shops all along the way up. The whole island is rocky and hilly. It really surprised us.

A beautiful church in Hamilton.

A scenic spot!

A pretty little park in Hamilton.

One of my favorite things was how people with houses on the top of these rock cliffs would carve stairs out of the rocks to get down to the water.

After touring Hamilton, we went on a snorkeling trip. We snorkeled around this little island and the coastline. We saw some amazing fish and the most vibrant purple coral. The trip also included a scenic hour long trip around the island. One of the crew told us all about the island. We got to see sea turtles and the world's smallest drawbridge. It was so much fun!

On the last day in Bermuda, we struck out on our own and headed for this lighthouse. We climbed to the very top. You could see the entire island from the top. Unfortunately, the window were foggy because it was so hot, so none of the pictures turned out. But it was beautiful!

After the lighthouse, we cooled off with a trip to Horseshoe Bay. It was gorgeous! The sand here is pink due to a type of coral in the water. When the coral dies, it breaks into pieces and washes up on this beach. The water here is also the third saltiest in the world. The pictures below are if you walk a little farther north of the main beach. Over there, these rock jut straight out of the beach. Were we able to climb to the top of a couple of them and get some amazing pictures.

One of the last nights on the ship. This was our first real vacation with just the two of us. We had such a great time and can't wait to go back again. Maybe next time you all can come with us! There was so much more to see and do there!

May

2008-05-12T19:57:00.032-04:00

May was a great month for the Jackson family. Here are some of the highlights:

Chris graduated from Virginia Wesleyan College with his undergraduate degree! I could not be more proud of him. He really worked hard to make it happen. It was so good to see it all come together for him. After the ceremony we celebrated with a family lunch at Olive Garden. It was a great day! Thank you to Mrs. Jenn, Erin and "Baby" Anna for letting Cody come play at their house during the ceremony. I know he had a lot more fun there! It wouldn't be a Jackson family event with out the Maggiores present! We are so blessed to have friends like them!

He looks smarter already!

Chris' dad, mom and granny.Mmmmm, Lunch!

That same weekend, Chris and I chaperoned the ASBC's Bible Drill Team on their reward trip to Great Wolf Lodge. I got up there early to set up the rooms and got a chance to get a couple hours in the water park with Cody and Chris. We had an amazing time and were so impressed with the park. We can't wait to go back.

Cody (above) waiting for this (below) to happen

MONSTER TRUCKS!

The spring after Cody was born, Chris and I struck out on one of our first "baby-free" evenings. We went to oceanfront expecting a quiet moonlit stroll on the beach and instead found "Monsters on the Beach"! It was so much fun and we decided that night that when Cody was old enough, we would take him to see them. So this year, Cody made his first trip to the monster truck show and was totally enthralled. He didn't move off Chris' lap the entire 2 hours, his eyes were glued to the beach. He wouldn't even look at me if I asked him a question. The months that have followed have been filled with truck noises and sending toy trucks over "ramps". I could probably count 100 times that he has asked me if it's time to go see the monster trucks again. We can't wait for next year!

The Month of April

2008-04-27T20:30:00.045-04:00

The month of April has come and gone and it's time for my monthly update! It's been another busy month, but we got a glimpse of summer time weather and it was glorious!

Thanks to Craig, Cody was able to go to his first Hockey game. He loved it and talked about nothing else for at least a week. He'd walk around saying "hockey....ice....hat (patting his head)....BOOM!

It made quite the impression. My dad was also thrilled with Cody's excitement. Being a northern boy, he really would like to stick it to Chris, if Cody were to choose hockey over say...basketball :)

I really think Cody and Erin's favorite part was the snacks and climbing over the chairs. Oh, and the the floor was so sticky, I literally lost my shoe mid step leaving the row. Yuck!

These pictures are of a really fun warm day. Cody loves the hose. This is the Jackson's version of a wet t-shirt contest! They are in order so you can see how they progressively get more dirty.

Just some cute sleeping pictures I couldn't resit posting. He fell asleep watching Curious George.

Every Saturday of this month, Chris has been playing in a work football league. It's been really fun getting to know some of the people he works with.

And of course, his team is in first place!

This is Chris' partner, Steve. They went through the academy together and are so excited to get to work together on the street as well. I call him Chris' other wife. They are at the movies right now. They are hilarious!

Last week, Cody had his first taste of Cold Stone! It was a hit, as if it wouldn't be :) The Maggiore's joined us and it was a blast, although I think the whole place breathed a sigh of relief when we left. The kids were more than a little rowdy. Oh well it was all in good fun!

My friend, April passed this costume on to me after her kids outgrew it. She though Cody might like to dress up in it for play. Well after the Halloween, monkey costume disaster, I decided to throw it in the stuffed animal trunk and had totally forgotten about it. On Saturday, I walked into Cody's room to find every animal on the floor and he was holding the Tigger going "think, think, think". He wanted to put it on and I obliged. I though it would last a minute, but it was on most of the day while we were home. When I finally peeled it off of him for his bath, he was dripping sweat from this head. Gross!

This was the reaction I got when I told him that Tiggers don't need Binky's.

In other news, I found out that my best friend since elementary school, is going to have a baby! I'm so excited for her. She is due on Halloween, but I told her not to worry, the baby would most certainly come on Hallelujah Harvest night. That's just the way life works!

Also, Tricia was released from the hospital on the 22nd. She is still close by and does about 4 hours of physical therapy every day, but she is getting to sleep the whole night with the man she loves by her side and after 6 months of not getting to do that, I'm sure it's wonderful. Baby Gwyneth is doing well! Her due date was the 24th. Its hard to believe she's been here so long when she shouldn't have been. Praise God they are both doing so well and please continue to lift them up to our Lord daily!

We also found out that our church has selected a pastoral candidate. He is coming this Wednesday and Sunday to preach. I am so excited. I know this means that Rob, our executive pastor, is not getting the job, and I do love him and his family very much, but I am happy to see all the things this new guy could bring to the table. Most of all I'm just happy to be moving on and getting back to the business of ministering to our community and not worrying about interviews and rumors and all the nonsense. I'm ready to move forward!

Cody said his first 4 syllable word today, "macaroni" and it actually sounded right!

I got to so see Sue's new baby girl today! She is beautiful. I totally thought it was going to be a girl and think it's hilarious that God gave her the shock of her life. That's what she gets for guessing!

Love to you all and I'll blog you next month!

Two Days of Heaven!

2008-03-25T21:58:00.030-04:00

Chris and I were both off yesterday and today, and let me tell you, we needed it! The last couple weeks have been crazy, so it was so nice to have great family time. We slept in, ran errands, took Cody to his first movie, went out to lunch and caught up on our DVR. It's been like being on vacation at home. Pure heaven, to steal a line from Sue! What a blessing. I feel so refreshed and ready to face the rest of my week!

I'm also getting to catch up on my blog. So here's a month's worth of pictures :) This one is of Cody playing in the puddles. A couple of Saturday's ago, we had that massive rain storm and what started out as throwing balls in the puddles, turned into this! I also got a great video, but I can't get it in a format blogger will accept yet. I'll keep working on it, cause it was precious!

These picture are of Cody and Molly "helping" MeMe plant her garden. It was a riot watching her try to plant and shoo them away at the same time.

Our back yard has the most amazing daffodils in the spring. I love to take advantage of them for spring pictures.

Molly's first trip to the beach. She loved it and Cody had a good time as well. It was really windy, so we didn't stay long, but it was a fun family outing!

This is just a fun picture. Cody was trying to postpone bedtime and it worked. He was playing Krispy Kreme employee. We would tell him what kind of doughnut we wanted and he would pretend to get it for us and we would pretend to eat it. It was really fun and cute to see him being able to use his ever growing imagination.

Easter Basket! I just barely got to be a part of this. I was on my way out the door for church when Cody woke up. He especially loved his Cars movie and finger paints! I really wanted to carry on my childhood tradition of finding Easter baskets in the backyard, but it just didn't happen this year. Hopefully next year!

My handsome men in their Easter outfits! I'm so blessed!

After our family Easter lunch, we went to the Ratz for a egg hunt. We had such a great time. A perfect ending to the day! Thank you Sue and Dave for opening your home. You are such amazing hosts! I think we might have a new tradition!

Cody's first finger painting experience! He wasn't to sure about it at first, but he really got into it. I was so glad I had taken his clothes off, 'cause that paint got places I never thought it would :) I love being the one to introduce "firsts" to him. It was really fun!

So there's my month of blogging. March has been a complete blur, but a great month. As I have sat here and reviewed the time, I realize once again, that I am an extremely blessed woman.

Thank you, God for your gift of life eternal and abundant!

She's Here!

2008-03-01T19:01:00.011-05:00

Some of you knew that Chris and I were going to get our dog today, but for those of you who didn't, here she is! Her name is Molly and she is part lab and part boxer, just like Luke was. She is so pretty. We drove down to Wilmington today to get her. She was so good on the way home. She slept in my lap most of the trip. Cody seems to really like her.

Cody the Builder

2008-02-16T11:19:00.005-05:00

For Christmas, Cody got this very realistic tool set. He has been facinated with my dad's tools for months, so we needed to get him some substitutes. This day, my mom was painting her bathroom and Cody desperately wanted to help. Here's the solution. Cody "helping" MeMe "fix" her bathroom. He's so funny!

Love the diaper hanging out the back. How does that happen?

At least its not crack :)

Check out the tounge. He was "working" so hard!

More Birthday Fun

2008-02-16T10:47:00.011-05:00

Jen already blogged about this, (like a month ago) but I thought I would add my pictures and comentary. For Chris' birthday, the Maggiore's treated us to one of our favorite food events...all you can eat pancakes at IHOP. We had a great time and the kids were very good. I love this picture of Erin and Cody!

This was obviously before the pancakes :)

These pictures are from The Jumping Monkey. This was the Jackson family's first trip here. We had such a great time! Thank you Erin for sharing this fun place with us! What a great idea for a birthday present, mom!

Future Fire People? I love how they are both looking opposite ways!

(Insert Car Sounds)

Playing House

My Favorite Picture!

I managed to get Ryan in a couple. He was a pro here and had little time to stop and smile for the camera :)

I KNOW, I KNOW!

2008-02-04T21:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I know it's been forever since I've blogged. I've missed Christmas, birthdays and new years. So I plan to make up for it tonight. Cody's in bed, Chris is at work and I'm in front of the computer. So here we go!
Christmas

We had a great Christmas. Chris turned 30! I actually managed to surprise him with his gift. He had been really wanting a new recliner. (I "killed" his ugly blue one from his bachelor days) I was able to sneak it in the den after he went to bed with the help of my brother and father. He walked in the room and said "who is that for?" He was pretty happy.

Santa brought Cody a train table. I have it on very good authority that after a little trouble getting it together, Santa had a great time bringing Cody gifts for the first time ;)

I got an ipod and the nike+ for running. I love it. It tracks all sorts of stats during your run and tells you how far you have left, etc. It's so nice. Thanks Chris!

The day was full of family, food, and wrapping paper shreds all over the place. Just the way it should be!

Cody's 2nd Birthday

We did Cody's birthday very low key. Just family and a couple friends and pizza. It ended up being so much fun! We did a curious george theme for my "little monkey." :) His great-grandpa, Barry, made him a monkey cake.

Partied Out! One Tired Little Boy!

Need a Lift?

2008-01-11T09:42:00.000-05:00

I couldn't help but share these pictures with you. They are of Nathan and his tiny baby girl. He was able to touch her without gloves for the first time last night. It blows my mind that someone so tiny can survive, but she's doing it! They are cautiously very optimistic about her future!

Prayer Request

2008-01-06T07:53:00.000-05:00

UPDATE - Thursday 2:30 pm:

Both girls are doing as well as can be expected.

Tricia has been completely taken off the paralytic drug and 1 of 3 sedatives. Nathan was talking to her today and told her that baby Gwyneth was here and safe and she turned her face towards him and opened her eyes. She also squeezed his hand and smiled when he asked her to. Her heart rate also dropped 5 points when he walked in the room. What a blessing that she is responding to him!

Today they will continue to wean Tricia off the last 2 sedatives. Please pray that when she wakes up, so does not fight the ventilator. I'm sure it will be an emotional moment when she realizes she is a mommy! Also continue to pray for baby Gwyneth. One of the doctors that delivered her told Nathan yesterday that she was the best 24 weeker she'd ever seen. Pray she keeps up the good progress.

Thank you!

You can stay posted by checking out Nathan's blog: www.cfhusband.blogspot.com

UPDATE - Wednesday 9:08 am:

If you get a chance, go to Nathan's blog. He has an amazing slide show of the baby. It's incredible that someone so tiny can survive.

From Nathan

I arrived at 7:30 this morning to get a brief glimpse of my sleeping wife and then to spend a few minutes with my baby. Both are continuing to hang on.Gwyneth seems to be doing very well. Unless you've been there, you can't imagine the amount of care she is receiving. So many things to watch for and constant attention just blow my mind. She has a wonderful chance of surviving these first few months and growing into a beautiful, healthy girl.Tricia's ventilator was reduced before I left last night (good), but was raised again before I arrived this morning (not so good). If she can simply gain a little momentum to be awakened, I can relax. Until then, she could go either way.It's amazing to consider that both of my girls are in almost exactly the same state. Both are lying on the backs, almost totally unaware of their surroundings and of each other, both are on ventilators, both have multiple IV's, pic lines, arterial lines, etc., both will have a feeding tube (prayerfully Gwyneth will have one very soon).As I spent time sitting by Tricia's last night, I talked to God in a way that I never have before. I spent time praying for my two girls, for each family member and friend who has spent time with us the past few weeks, for all of our friends and family who have not been able to be with us, and for the thousands we have never met who are thinking of us. I prayed for the entire medical staff, as many as I could remember by name. And, as I did yesterday afternoon as Gwyneth and Tricia were being physically separated for the first time, I told God that I will accept whatever He chooses for my girls, and asked that He would consider the desire of my heart.Again, I will write more about yesterday when I can. Right now, I'm hopefully going to go spend some time with my wife and find out what the plan is for the day.Thank you all.Nate

UPDATE - Tuesday 3:15 pm:

From Nathan

1lb 6oz She is stable, and I'm waiting to go down to NICU to see her. The delivery doc brought us a picture...she has hair (go figure with the two of us). That's all I know.Tricia is sleeping in ICU. The next 24 hours will be critical for Tricia. She's doing well on the vent, but until she's awake, we won't know fully what the future looks like. I spent 5 minutes with her before they kicked me out to do some things.I'll give more details later, but 75 people in the OR tells you something of the miracle that today has been so far. Lots of tears, both of fear and of joy.Your prayers over the next few days will be the most treasured.Nate

UPDATE - Tuesday 2:45 pm:

The baby is here. She is 1 lb 6 oz. As of now she is stable, but things can change very quickly. Tricia is in ICU and still on the ventilator. Things a looking much better, but please don't stop lifting them up in prayer!

UPDATE - Tuesday 1:45 pm:

They are doing the emergency c-section right now. Please pray!

UPDATE - Tuesday 12:01 pm:

They are taking Tricia back any moment. They are going to intabate her in the OR. If she takes to the ventilator, they are going to try to sedate her and keep her calm until Friday. On Friday she will be at 25 weeks and the baby's chances of survival improve drastically!

If her body rejects the ventilator, she will be in big trouble. They will do an emergency c-section and take the baby and then help Tricia as much as possible.

UPDATE - Monday 12:07 pm:

They have decided to take the baby this afternoon or Tuesday morning. Please pray for safety for both the baby and mom. It is critical that Tricia some through this surgery successfully. Please pray that the baby will be strong enough to survive this early. She's 24 1/2 weeks!

I would like to ask you all to join me in praying for some dear friends of my friends Zach and Brandie.

Nathan and Tricia live in the outer banks. Nathan is the worship pastor at a church down there. Tricia has cystic fibrosis. She was scheduled to have a lung transplant in the very near future when she found out she was pregnant. The surgery has obviously been postponed until after the baby is born. The only problem is, that as we all know it certainly doesn't get easier to breathe when you are pregnant and it is taking a lot out of her body, that was already fighting hard to survive. She is and will remain at Duke University Hospital until the baby is born. They are hoping to make it to 26 weeks so the baby will have a shot at making it. Please pray that God will help this baby mature ahead of schedule and that Tricia's body won't be so depleted by this that she is no longer a candidate for the transplant.

Thank you for your prayers! I have added both of their blogs to my list if you want to check up on them or post a prayer to their blogs.

It's times like this that I stop and thank God for my amazing healthy family and am challenged to think, would I be so steadfast if I were in their shoes.

Puzzling

2008-01-04T09:02:00.000-05:00

This post is for Beth. She and I love to do puzzles. This one was a "gift" from my brother for Christmas. He purposely sets out to find ones that his thinks will drive me crazy. This one came close! It took 5 days to complete, which for me is insane. So here it is. It will probably never come out of the box again. :)

Merry Christmas From The Jacksons!

2007-12-19T10:05:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-17T07:54:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-12-05T07:19:00.001-05:00

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!

2007-11-30T16:09:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-20T21:38:00.001-05:00

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!

2007-11-20T21:17:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-07T07:11:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-10-20T17:13:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-17T17:50:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-09-18T15:14:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-09-17T20:12:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-13T21:41:00.001-04:00

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!

2007-09-03T20:56:00.000-04:00

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.

Blueberry Pie

2007-08-28T20:25:00.000-04:00

Tonight for dessert, I made Chris' favorite, Homemade Blueberry Pie. I have to say it was pretty good. Cody loved it! Especially with Ice Cream! What fun to watch him experience new things!

2007-08-25T12:46:00.000-04:00

Friday, we went to picture people at the mall to get some pictures done of Cody. You can see one of the outfit above, but the other outfit was his tuxedo from Brad's wedding. Cody fell asleep at the reception, so we didn't get any good pictures of him in the tux. It was so cute, I wanted to get some before he out grew it. So here we are walking around the mall waiting for the proofs. We went in the toy store and the pet shop. Everywhere we went people were oh-ing and ah-ing. He loved the attention! Here are some pictures. It was so funny!

2007-08-25T08:17:00.000-04:00

My parents are got a new mattress today and the old one was put in the den until it get taken over to Brad and Andrea's house. After today, I don't think Cody is going to want to let it go :)

We have had the most fun on it. He's learned to "1, 2, 3, Jump!" from the couch and belly flop on the mattress (hilarious). And these pictures are from Daddy and Cody "wrestling" last night. We've had a blast. I'm going to be sad to see our new "trampoline" leave.

Have you ever seen a bigger smile on Chris' face?

Or Cody's?

Both boys being distracted by the same thing on TV and the exact same moment. Man like father like son :)

My Eight Things....

2007-08-24T09:26:00.000-04:00

Ok...so I've been tagged and here are my eight things:

8. I HATE bananas! I hate the smell of them, the taste of them and the texture of them. It is one of the hardest thing I do as a mom to cut them up for Cody.

7. I was a member of the first class to start at Atlantic Shores Christian School. I was in K4. I think I was the second student enrolled after Danny Budde.

6. Ok, everybody is telling hair stories, so I'll share one of mine. When I was in the 7th grade, I was having a really bad hair day. I asked my mom to trim my bangs, but she said it would make us late for school and I would have to wait 'til I got home. Well I was stubborn (Hey that could be my #5!) and took a pair of scissors in the bathroom and grabbed my bangs and "Snip" and accidentally cut them almost flush to my forehead. All that was left was this little poof of hair right at my hairline. Needless to say, I was indeed late to school that day. My mom made me go in anyway. It was one of the worst days of my life. I guess Chris wasn't the only one in the family with a "boof." :)

5. I was born in the tiny town of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in the same hospital as Judy Garland. When you go in town, they have this huge Wizard of Oz mural painted on one of the buildings. You can tour her childhood home.

4. I think I've been swimming my whole life, but I swam competitively all 4 years of high school. In fact during my junior year, my relay team won 5th place in the Virginia Private School State Tournament. I still have the medal so I can prove to Chris and I was an athlete at one point.

3. I have been a book nerd most of my life. All through school, I always had a book with me. I found out my senior year that one of the most popular boys in school had wanted to date me in the 10th grade but I, in his words, "read to much." Ouch! I guess he was just intimidated by my superior intellect :)

2. I have had the same best friend since the 5th grade. Her name is Brandie and I could not have a better confidant, sounding board, shoulder to cry on, exercise partner, 24 watching, or sit around and do nothing friend. She and her husband now live in our neighborhood and our husbands have so much fun together too. I'm so blessed by her incredibly steadfast friendship. I love you, girl!

1. The way to a man's heart in not through his stomach...in fact the way I got Chris, was actually the opposite. New Year's Eve 1999. We had a Sunday School party and Mr. and Mrs. Maggiore's house. (Joe was the teacher of the class.) And Chris and I got in an argument over who sang the duet with Shaina Twain, "From This Moment." I said Bryan White and he said Vince Gil. We argued for a few minutes. (Again, we are both very stubborn!) He was getting in my face telling me I was wrong and before I knew it, I had slapped him in the face in front of all his friends. He turned and walked out of the room and I thought he would never speak to me again. Three months later, he started calling me out of the blue and by May we were dating. I guess he wanted a girl who would stand up to him.

Well man did he get it. :)

There I did it. All eight. It only took an hour. Good thing Cody takes long naps!

Now I am going to tag Jamie Saunder, Sue Ratz and Katrina Ward! I can't wait to see what you all are going to write. This was fun thinking back. Thanks for passing this on Beth (Blog-Harasser!)

Doggy-Dog

2007-08-18T15:03:00.000-04:00

Most of you know about the newest member of our family...Doggy-Dog.

We rescued him from a pile of things that were going to be thrown away at church. He was used as a prop in a Kid's Thang drama and they no longer had the room to store him. You would not believe how much Cody loves this enormous dog. When he wakes up in the morning, our dialogue normally goes something like this:

Me: "Good Morning!"

Cody: "Mama!"

Me: "Hi, Baby."

Cody: "Daddy?"

Me: "Daddy's already at work today."

Cody: "Doggy-Dog?"

"Juice!"

So then I carry Cody, the large St. Bernard, and the cup of juice upstairs where we watch a morning cartoon, before getting ready for work. It's a hilarious routine. What even funnier is watching me try to carry Cody and his massive dog up the stairs. It's a miracle I haven't broken all of our necks! When we leave the house, we either have to take the dog in the car with us, or say a proper goodbye before leaving. We put him down for "naps." He drinks from Cody's cup. It's absolutely ridiculously cute, so I thought I'd share it. :)

A Day At The Park

2007-08-18T14:47:00.000-04:00

Vroom!

WHEEEEEEE!

TURTLES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today, Daddy was working a side job, so Cody and Mommy went to the park. I took him to Fun Forest. He was a little overwhelmed at first, but as soon as he saw the giant car with TWO steering wheels, he was hooked. We had a blast and now he's down for a (hopefully) long afternoon nap. I had so much fun experiencing this new environment with him. He's so much braver than I every remember being as a child. He wanted to be right in with the big kids jumping off everything. I think his favorite part was this way to brave squirrel who was looking for food on the ground and stopped to take a bite right in front of us. Cody squealed in delight. We usually watch them from the kitchen window, but this was up close and personal.

After a sick child all week, it was great seeing him back to his old self!

And the Award Goes To..................

2007-08-11T09:44:00.000-04:00

And the Leader of the Year Award Goes To.........................

Sheila Harrison

That's right our very own Sheila won the highest honor from the Children's Ministry last night at Shores Awards. I thought you all might want to see her accepting her award.

Other winners included Jayne Hoare and Jennifer Maggiore!
We had a great evenings with those we serve alongside every week!

2007-08-09T07:48:00.000-04:00

Baby Kylee

We finally got to meet Brad and Katrina's new baby girl. She is so tiny! But she is beautiful and healthy and a great eater. They say she is very calm and rarely cries except when she's hungry. What a doll baby. She has the blackest hair and long fingers. The feet of her outfit are little frogs. So cute!

Brad and Katrina a doing an amazing job! I'm so thankful that she is here and both mommy and baby are healthy! "Thank you, Lord!"

Sorry!

2007-08-07T10:49:00.000-04:00

I have been chastised for not blogging for over a week. I'm sorry for being so delinquent, Beth :) Life gets a little crazy during the week. It seems like an endless cycle of getting up, working, coming home, making dinner, bath time, nite-nite and then back up again. So we make the most of our weekends. Speaking of which...Don't forget softball playoffs are this weekend. We play at 7 pm. We have to win this weekend to play for the championship next weekend. So all hands on deck! I can't believe the season is almost over which means summer is almost over. We have so much fun seeing you all every week and watching the kids and boys play!

The newest news with me is that I have started running. Yes, I said it, running! Two friends and I run three nights a week. I only do a mile. They do two. Buy they have been doing it longer than I have. We have such a great time that I ALMOST forget we are exercising.

So that's it for now. I'm going to see Baby Kylee on Wednesday so hopefully I get some pictures of her to post :)

2007-07-29T07:40:00.000-04:00

Boys and Dirt!

Last night at softball was very soggy. Cody went to chase his runaway ball into the grass and on the way found a huge patch of mud. He slipped and got covered in mud. I thought it was so funny and so did everyone in the bleachers. He hated having mud on his hands. One shoe is completely caked with mud. Of course it is only his second day wearing these new shoes. :) I had to strip him down to his diaper and put him in the sink of the bathroom. It was like a comedy routine. All in all it was a hilarious moment and I got some really cute pictures. BOYS!

2007-07-29T07:31:00.000-04:00

Baby Anna is Here!!!!!

We are so excited for our friends Joe and Jen. They have welcomed a second baby girl into the world. She is so precious. We look forward to many years of smiles, laughs and watching her grow up!

I couldn't help but snap these last two pictures as we were leaving the hospital with The Williams. Harrison is such a big guy. He took Cody and Jackson by the hands and was helping them find their way out. It was so cute how he was being so responsible. What an unexpected treat to see them this weekend!

2007-07-28T15:49:00.000-04:00

This Saturday morning, we took a family trip to the Norfolk Zoo. We had a great time! It was very, very hot, but we were all in good spirits. We saw a ton of great animals. Unfortunately, the one animal we had hyped Cody up to see, The Lion, was being lazy in the shade just out of sight. We had been practicing roaring like a lion on the way there. It was so adorable! He waved "hello" at every animal as we walked by. That melted his mommy's heart. We had a nice time on our family outing. I really want to do a playtime for the kids there in the fall. They have a wonderful grassy area where they kids can run and we could set up a picnic lunch. It's so much nicer there then I remembered!

2007-07-28T15:38:00.000-04:00

Who needs TV when you have a house being built next door?

Cody loves to watch the big machines and the guys putting up the walls and roof. It's like our very own Handy Manny in our back yard. It's hard to keep him away. I had my camera with this time, so I thought I'd snap a couple pictures. He was having so much fun :)

2007-07-27T13:21:00.000-04:00

Dinner last night with Zach and Brandie!

I took them to one of my new favorite places, Jason's Deli. I just went there for the first time last week and love the chicken salad. We went to the one in the new shopping center behind Target. It's so nice over there. I can't wait to see what over shops are going to be there too.

We had such a great time with Zach and Brandie. Cody loves playing with them. We can't wait for them to add a new member to their family! Hint, Hint :)

Cody taking time to smell the roses...I mean day lilies!

2007-07-25T07:21:00.000-04:00

This HUGE dog was looking for a new home yesterday and Chris has been begging for a puppy. Cody loves to ride him and uses him as a big pillow. I think he's even better than a real dog. He sits and stays, he doesn't need to go outside. You don't have to walk him. He doesn't bark. And he doesn't mind when Cody pulls on his ears!

Thank you Mrs. Shelly for our new pet! He's been a big hit in our house.

Corn on the Cob

2007-07-25T07:01:00.000-04:00

Last night at dinner, nothing I put on Cody's tray seemed to make him happy. He kept pointing at the table and whining but nothing was working. Finally I realized he wanted the Corn on the Cob. Surely he can't eat that I thought :) As soon as I handed it to him, he got this hug grin on his face. He did not leave one kernel on that cob! And we had a very quiet dinner!

2007-07-24T17:52:00.000-04:00

Cody and Daddy doing "work" this Sunday. Cody loves to ride on the tractor! He would sit on it all day if we would let him. He hears other neighbors cutting their grass and he stops everything and listens and says "mower" with wonder in his voice.

Our Friends!

2007-07-24T14:15:00.001-04:00

Here are some of our amazing friends! We are so blessed to have them in our lives!

2007-07-24T11:30:00.000-04:00

For Father's Day this year, three girls in my small group and myself, got our husbands a tee time at a beautiful golf course in Williamsburg. While they golfed, we shopped at the outlets "Toddler-Free." It was a wonderful day of friendship for both groups! I can't wait to do it again next year. Thanks girls!