Joe's Annoyance...

I'm sitting here in the office, which is right next door to the playroom. Joe just finished his homework so he's sitting to enjoy a snack and some tv. A commercial came on for a temperpedic bed. They kept saying, "Ask me why it..." and they'd say something, then "ask me....."...... "Ask me....." I hear Joe's little voice, with a little bit of attitude thrown in, "What's so GREAT about it?"

It's funny to me for a couple of reasons. The attitude cracked me up, because he was obviously annoyed by them continuing to say "ask me" in the commercial. Plus, the fact that he's still small enough to "talk to" the tv like that.

Sometimes, because Joe is so smart and understands so much, I forget how little he is. It's these little moments where he does such a tiny guy thing that reminds me what a special time in his life I'm living in!

**Excuse me while I walk away from the computer and go enjoy some tv with my little boy!**

Jackson Family Thanksgiving...

Here are some pictures from our night of fun!

Dinner Time!!! It was so good!

 Nana and Papa got the boys some new Small Paul Jammies!

 That old Santa has been in my family, at the family cabin, for YEARS... probably since I was as small as my boys...maybe longer. We've loved inheriting him!

 Joe decided to decorate the tree.... and Papa. (Poor Papa)

 This is my favorite pic of Lynne and Aaron because she just looks like a proud Mama.

 "Lift me up Dada, Lift me UP!" He was SOOO excited to be the one to put the Angel on the tree!

 Joe... thinkin he's catching up to Papa!

 Matthew...stretching as far as he can!

 I LOVED this shot of their feet. That's Matthew's little toes... I wonder if they'll be as big as Papa's someday.

It was GREAT to finally have the Thanksgiving meal together! I'm so thankful for our family. Both my side of the family and Aaron's are just amazing... we're blessed beyond belief by the strength of character and depth of relationship with the Lord that our parents have. No matter how tough the economy is, or this life is in one way or another... our God is good and we're rich beyond our wildest dreams!

Some notes from today...

Today was a special day. There were tons of rough spots, as there are every day, but there were some shining lights to this day that far surpassed the tough moments. It's Sunday, so we were able to go to Crossroads this morning. Matthew DID NOT cry when I left him in class, as he's had a recent history of doing.  I ended up sitting right behind a couple Aaron and I had met at Fuse, the marriage Bible study at our church. It was so fun to see familiar faces.

The drive home is where Heaven touched my life today. Joe was pondering thoughts. I SO wish I had been recording this conversation because I can't even remember all the words he said, but here's some of the gist of it. First, we were all just kind of quietly listening to some music. Then Joe said, "Mama, if God is so big that a giant is like an ant to Him, then can he REALLY even see us at all?" WOW, what a thought. He's 5. I said, "Well, God has extra special eyes that get to see us all the time no matter where we are or how small we are." He was ok with that answer. His thoughts continued though. He wanted to know how Jesus came to earth. He said, "I know God is his dad and he let earth have him so we can be washed clean of our sings, but HOW did he GET HERE?" I told him that he came as a baby in his mom's tummy just like all people do. He said, "Yeah, but how did he get from heaven to his mama's tummy?" I said, "Well, that is just a miracle buddy." Thankfully, he accepted that answer!  He thoughts continued. He said, "Well, I guess those people in prison will just have to go to hell then huh?" Sheesh kid! lol We had a talk about redemption... I told him, "Well, no matter where someone is or what they have done, God's special eyes can still see them and His special heart will forever love them and want to forgive them." He said, "So, if the people in prison pray and ask Jesus to wash them clean, He will do it?" Yes. "So, if we love our Dad God and tell Him we're sorry when we do the wrong thing, He'll always hear us and forgive us no matter what?" Yes, so there are some people who might spend their life in prison because of mistakes they made and consequences for those mistakes, but they have asked God to forgive them and Jesus' sacrifice on the cross wash them clean, so we will meet them in Heaven." He then articulated that whole conversation in such a clear and understood way that I was just in awe. That is the part I just wish I had recorded... a sermon from a 5yr old's heart.

Today was the Jackson side of the family Thanksgiving (I'll post pictures later)... and there was one shining moment that I don't want to forget to write down. I might not have all the exact details perfect, but I know I have the big picture right. Joe has a piggy bank that he treasures and is saving to go to the toy store. He gets so upset when his money gets disturbed. Tonight, as Nana and Papa were getting ready to leave, Joe reached his hands into his piggy bank and grabbed a handful of money. He walked over to his Nana's purse and went to put it in. He told Nana that she does so much for him that he wanted to give her something special. What a sweet boy.

Today was a good day... I love hearing my son really grasp the story of redemption and salvation, and then to love enough to give something that he treasures. That's just special.

***sitting in thought***

Joe's 1st Solo Book!

I am SOOO excited to present Joe's first Solo Book! The only thing I did for it was fold over a couple of pieces of white paper and staple them together like a book. He walked away from my with blank pages and came back with this:

I wish I knew what he was doing... I would have hidden the yellow so I could actually SEE the picture really well! I love that he draws a muscley stomach and the patch eye for his pirate.

Another time I'd love to get rid of the yellow! lol If you can see, the yellow is a canon shooting towards another pirate ship that is coming!

Now you can see the canon with the canon balls flying towards the other ship!

 Abondone SHIP!! We're HIT! I love that he went to black for the "EMERGENCY" mode on this page!

 The good ship floating away. It says, "Pirts Uv The Carubein"
SOOOO cute! I love the sounding out of words, and how much he loves to write and draw!

I opened it in Photoshop and traced his writing so it would be more visible! ;) I LOVE how the "CA" is on one line and the "Rubein" on another. It's interesting to me too that he wrote "uv" instead of "of"... He knows the word "of" but it just didn't click in his head that THIS use of "of" in the title is the same as his sight word "of." ;)

Jump Shots! SO FUN!

The Boys and I had a little adventure at the top of the stairs! There are two stairs from our room into the hallway... I sat in the hallway and just took pictures of them jumping! Here's some of the fun!

Matthew got his headband first... So, of course, Joe wanted one too! The only thing I had that was similar was a pair of pajama pants! ha ha ha Soon after putting them on, Joe took them off and say they make him look too girly!

And He TAKES FLIGHT!

 

Now this one, this one freaked me OUT! Just at the moment of impact, the picture took! You can see the effect of gravity on his body! Weird eh? 

Brotherly Love...

 He reminds me of the mean guy from Karate Kid. He made sure to run and get his seal a rubber band to match!

 

Thanks for joining in our fun! My adventures with my little loves are the highlights in my life and it's so fun to share them! ;)

Thanksgiving Fun!

(Side Note: I completely didn't realize I had already posted some pictures from Sonoma when I did this blog! Man, I'm losing my mind! I'll leave it here anyway because most of the pictures are new!)

Here are some pictures from our trip up to Sonoma and Thanksgiving with the Hardin(Hardister/Querin) bunch! (Oh my goodness, I have about 400 pictures, it's so hard to just pick a few!)

We took the kids to the park to play... I LOVED all the fall colors in the trees behind them as they looked into the Koi pond!

Joe and his "Cat Head" shaped leaf!

"Hey Mama, Look at my acorn collections!"

Little Miss Squishy Face. We had just taken her pigtails down and she is the perfect little "Cheese" ham for the camera!

That handsome hunk in the middle is Abel, my cousin Cynthia's son. He's just about the sweetest little guy, and so brave runnin around with all the big guys! When they ran past him and bumped his shoulders around a bit, he just stood there and laughed!

The leaves... I don't know what it is about fall leaves, but it just speaks "comfort" to my heart. I absolutely LOVE all the colors we got to see!

Charlie does NOT like his picture taken! I didn't get as many of him this trip because he is REALLY good at avoiding a great shot! ha ha ha

He climbed on up to have a look outside. Made me want to have bay windows in my house because he was just so cute jumping up there and enjoying the view!

Even though the men started playing a really loud game, he snoozed on the couch. This was a sign that Matthew really didn't feel well, poor guy.

If you look close, you can see the orange splat on the wall... My mom let Joe get the rotten eggs out of the chicken coop and throw them at the wall. He LOVED that job!

So many other shots I could share, but we had a fantastic time being with my family! Dada even got to join us for a day and then we all drove home together! If you're on Facebook, you can check out more pictures there! I have about 80 of them up from the trip! ;)



Im really sleepy, so i need a bath.

Matthew found his duck in the playroom. He got all excited (which I could hear from the office)... and then came the presentation. He slowly walked into my office and said, "I am soooo sleepy." I wasn't quite sure where he was going with that because it was only about 10:30, so I knew he wasn't tired. Then he goes on, "I'm so sleepy, so I need a bath." ha ha ha I love that they come up with a story instead of just saying, "Hey Mama, I found my duck and I want to take a bath with it!"

When the bathroom has no hook!

It's Thanksgiving and we weren't able to "feast" with our family... but our little family spent the day resting and hit an early movie. Tangled, such a cute experience with our boys. Aaron leaves for work in the morning, so I'm glad Matthew's seeming better. The night times are still the hardest. We needed a night like this where we could watch their little faces react to a movie and hear Matthew's 3yr old comments loud enough that the whole theater knows his thoughts! lol  Afterwards, he got to be "Mama's Hook." He loved his little job and wore it with pride! ha!  On this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for a boy who can breath so much easier and for a husband who loves us enough to work as hard as he does. I'm thankful that we have more than enough to eat and we have love in abundance in our home. I love that I still love to look over and see my husband's face, and there are still moments where he just melts my heart and I think he's just so handsome. Life never seems to be "easy" but I feel incredibly blessed and I'm so thankful. 

The Little Things that Make Me Laugh!

Joe just walked in and said, "Mama, I really need to go to the haircut place because my ear keeps itching." I get what he meant, but I just sat here and laughed. I wonder what would fix an itch on his back? Lol I love that boy and the way his mind thinks (even though it is sometimes the demise of my patience!) LOL

Good Sense of Smell

This morning, I was cooking some scrambled eggs while my boys watched a movie in their playroom next door to the kitchen. I heard Joe's little nose sniffing the wind and then he said, "You're cooking us waffles, I know because I have a good sense of smell!"  How do my waffles look? ;)