Good Use of Power Tools

October 28, 2011

We carved our pumpkins last weekend. We used the power tools to do quite a bit of the arm work this year in our pumpkin carving adventure.  There was a lot of carving going on!  We used the trick we always use of lubing up the exposed pumpkin areas with Vaseline (or in our case cocoa butter Vaseline which smelt good) this will help those area's not to go bad or rot, it lets you enjoy your carved pumpkins for a greater amount of time.  Although Josh's pumpkin that was a pumpkin with a ton of holes all over it took a bit of time to cover in Vaseline....it'll look cool all lit up though!  Poor Brooklynne wanted nothing to do with the pumpkins.  Right when Grandpa and Grandma Noble had arrived to deliver the pumpkins from their garden a week earlier, Brooke went out my parents car in grandma's arms (my mom was holding her) and some crazy way ended up getting stung by a bee on her pinky finger.  She didn't cry, just clasped her hand in a fist and kept on saying bee, bee, bee, hurt, hurt.  Sure enough she got stung by a pesky bee and her little pinky was all red a swollen.  Brooklynne must had related the pumpkins to getting stung on her finger because she would not go near the carving experience.

Brooklynne's new Hair-Do's, thanks to Ellie- was that a shocker?!

 

A few pics of the kids before Church one Sunday.  Ellie has been doing a good job at being our missionary.  She has brought two of her friends to church and another to a baptism recently. This particualr Sunday she was bringing her friend Madison, she is setting a good example.

Purple + Pizza + Phone = Perfect

October 28, 2011

We have a teenager.  Jarom turned 13 on the 22nd.  All's he wanted was a cell phone this year.  We tried to tease him a bit and steer him off track as far as his b-day gifts, he reminded us over and over what phone he wanted.  We tried to play like he wasn't getting a cell phone but it's always been a "big thing" in our home when they turn 13 they can have a cell phone.  He's been enjoying texting all of his friends.  We celebrated his b-day Friday night, a day early since he had begged all week long to.  Quite a bit of the extended family adults on Matt's side were over for a family meeting so since the grandparents were over we figured we'd have pizza, cake and presents the night before so his phone would be all charged up to use on his actual b-day.  We did celebrate with his other favorite food of choice "breakfast for dinner" on Saturday night.  It was a pretty easy please this year for our first official teenager of the home.

Self Managers

October 28, 2011

Congrats to these two Self Managers.  At the first opportunity of the year, our two elementary schoolers received their Self Manager Badges.  Some students go the entire year and never receive them.  Way to go Ellie and Spencer.  Matt and I just had their Parent/Teacher Conferences last night.  The teachers always have so many kind words to say about our children.  On our way out, we were stopped by three of the kids former teachers and it was nothing but rave reviews for our children.  Let's hope the two remaining kiddos at home keep the name good for the Jackson 6.

The Haunted Graveyard

Friday Oct 21, 2011

Ellie's Fall Festival Cake.  Ellie wrote in her journal entry for her weekly homework what type of cake she would be decorating for the Fall Festival so when she went to put it together she knew exactly what she would be doing and had to put everything on it that she had mentioned in her writing. She ended up using many of the supplies we had used to fill our spook Halloween jars with which was nice that we didn't have to go out and buy any other supplies than those we already had in those jars or in our cupboard. 

Ellie even had some helpers with the frosting left overs, looked like it was good stuff!

Pumpkin Pie Cake found at Cooks.Com, an easy festive fall treat.  Who's had their Pumpkin Spice milk shake or blizzard or even ice cream yet this year?  I had a buy one get one free at the McCafe at McDonald's, a few weeks back Josh had wanted a smoothie so on the way home from a morning primary meeting- we splurged...oh boy my autumn spice (pumpkin) milkshake was SOOOO GOOD, whip cream and a cherry to top- very perfect! (This was one of my pregnancy cravings with Josh oddly enough, I've looked forward to them seasonally each fall since.)

Understanding Mourning

Friday October 21, 2011

My cousin Dalin passed away yesterday.  My mom called with the sad news last night.  I was fine upon hearing the news, after all it was expected.  The minute I got off the phone with my mom, I lost it and started crying...well into the next day I really haven't stopped.  There will be a few here's and there's where I am like okay, I've grieved and I've got it all out , let's move and stop with the crying already. A few months back our family had a picnic in Dalin's honor.  Cancer has been his battle for quite some time and after a long haul, it was determined that there was just no more that the doctors could do and they gave him three months to live.  The picnic was emotional for me.  I had to sneak away for a bit, Ellie and myself.  We took a walk around the field and property of the church building where it was held in Puyallup.  It was hard for me to think of the emotions, feelings and love involved with not only Dalin and everything he was facing but with the family.  It was hard for me not to put myself in the place of my Aunt Ginger as his mother and to think of everything she was going through as a mom of a son with a terminal illness.  Ellie and I cried and I prayed that I would just get myself together so I could go back and join the rest of the family.  I have this problem when I start to cry, it is terribly hard to me to stop.  I will be just fine but I will still be crying and crying and crying, I just must be ultra emotional or something.  I know Dalin is finally happy and in a far better place than ourselves and it's not even like we were too close as cousins.  He was sixteen, just three years older than Jarom...so I keep on wondering what my problem is.  Why is this such an emotional time for me.  I know it's not up to us when it's out time to go, it's all in God's order and time and when it's time, it's time- it's just a part of life.  We live and we die, then we move on with the whole plan of our Heavenly Father.  I think I am just thinking about the reality of it all and knowing how hard this trial would be for me if it was my youngest who had to go through everything Dalin did and as a mother how it would hurt so bad inside, that feeling of helplessness of the inevitable and how strong my Aunt Ginger had and still has to be to go through all of this and to keep going in the future with out her son in this life.  I know people go through things like this everyday but for myself for some reason this has really hit home for me.  Our elderly loved ones die after living a long, good life and not undermining the sadness it brings into the life of their loved ones when they are gone but when a child dies or even a mother or father before reaching that "elderly status" it's different.  I feel for the family, Dalin's brothers and sisters, thinking about what they must be going through at this time is saddening and so heartfelt to me.  I'm not sure if it's the spirit that's so strong that's making me so emotional.  The fact that I do have a knowledge of Eternal Life and my unwavering faith and just knowing that we will all be together forever as a family some day and the realness of that at this time in my life or the fact that it's been a more eventful week with other extended family issues arising concerning loved ones and them coming to a head and the uncertainties of that or with Jarom's birthday being this week and the fact that he's now a teenager and knowing that time just doesn't stop and how I love my own children so much and to even imagine my life here on earth with out one of them.  I'm really not sure but I really need to get myself together.  Brooklynne is so sweet, before her nap she kept on saying, "sorry mommy, sorry mommy."  It was quite cute to see her awareness that I was sad and how in tune she is with others feelings at such a young age...seeing her mommy sad was something she hasn't really seen before so I'm sure she was a bit confused since it's usually me comforting her tears, she kept patting me on the back.  I had to keep on assuring her that mommy was fine and it was nothing she had done to me.  I know mourning is normal, natural and needed in times of loss.  I guess I'm just trying to understand the process of it a bit better....Then there's the funeral, who likes funerals?  Cry me a river...  I remember once when I was younger going to a funeral with my mom, I didn't even know the elderly man who died but I think I cried more than anyone in the funeral service, see apparently- it's been a life long issue. I think it just must be the spirit and the emotions of my knowledge of the truthfulness of the only true Gospel of Jesus Christ we have that leads me to be so overfilled I just can't contain or get a grip on my feelings?  I think I'll go with that explanation and keep my fingers crossed that addressing my mourning through writing out my feelings will turn the faucet off.          

When I was out driving around- running errands earlier today, I admired the many colors of the leaves whose colors had changed before they fall to the ground this time of the year. I walked outside to check the mail earlier and had to go back to the house to get my camera to snap a few pictures of the ever changing leaves in our neighborhood.  I absolutley love the colors of fall!  I just love color in general, I wonder what the colors are like in heaven?

#21 is a Bun in the Oven

Saturday October 15, 2011
Ous sister is law and Aunt Sarah had her baby shower for their "little rockstar" to be, #21 as far as the grandkids go on the Jackson side.  It's Matt's brother Jake and Sarah's first boy (he will have three older sisters to dote on him when he arrives in December.)  Everyone is super-excited to see this little man when he's born.  Ashley headed up the shower and both sides of the family took part.  We had a "Baby Rockstar" theme which was fun.  I loved the invites, check them out, it even came with a ticket for the event- super cute Ashley!

The Lady of the hour and her Bun in the Oven, Sarah- Mrs. Jackson herself!

The Backbones of the Jackson Family, isn't that the truth~ behind a good man is always a better woman right hon? Ashley, Sarah, Mom-Cheryl, Me and Stephanie.

 The Cousin Girls of the Jackson Clan

Ashley, Jackie, Stephanie, Heidi, Sarah and Myself.

Ellie tagged along with me, she was happy to see many of her girl cousins there in attendance as well.

This little guy is all set, so many cute baby boy things out there these days!

The little girls had fun helping when it was time to open presents!

 On Friday afternoon while I was getting these all set for the shower the next morning...

Josh was getting a bit creative in his own. 

How ingenious of this little guy- rubber bands to help the blankets of his tent stay on the tops of the chairs and the sticks typically used in our windows as extra break in protection used to sturdy the blanket in the middle of his tent.  Very clever this little four year old is!