My Sister

Today is my sister's birthday. Out of respect for her, I won't tell you which birthday - but it isn't the big one . . . yet!

My sister is a bit older than me. She was starting college when I started junior high. I still remember the day she didn't want to play Barbies with me anymore. I also remember watching her have so much fun in high school and wishing I could be just like her! I looked up to her with that deep sense of awe one feels when in the presence of a hero.

She and I are also very different from each other. She is what's referred to as a "people person" while I'm the more introverted type. She is quite creative, comical, and immediately likable. And she always did a great job of encouraging me in my strengths. I have letters she wrote me from college reminding me that differences aren't bad things. God gave us each our own gifts.

Being adults together changed our relationship again. She was a great support through some trying times in my life, sharing tears and always a laugh - even from the other side of the world! And now we can also relate as two mothers - though her stories in that area are much more entertaining than mine! (see her blog for details)

I am blessed. My sister is my friend. I know not everyone can say that - and I couldn't always say that. It's nice to have a friend that comes from where you come from. She gets me. She gets my family! She hears me. And we laugh at the same things. One of our favorite "games" to play is Guess My Favorite Part. Nine times out of ten we can guess each other's favorite part of a song or line from a movie. I know, we're weird.

So, happy birthday to you, my dear friend, my sister. I still look up to you, still admire your strengths, and still look forward to our phone conversations. I am not only grateful that you were born, but I'm grateful we were born into the same family. Our relationship has been through various phases throughout our life. Can you guess my favorite part?

For Naomi

Some very sweet ladies threw a little party for Naomi a couple weeks ago. Everything was beautiful - check out the spread!

With both grandmothers

One of the best gifts was a t-shirt from my sister - anyone surprised by this? She also gave me dog poop bags to use for diapers when out with the baby. Another big hit with the onlookers!

I really did laugh, I'm just reading something else in this picture.

Thank you, ladies, for a lovely afternoon!

Couple pics from the weekend

Piano recital time! Cole got to play a duet with the teacher before going into his solo pieces. He was excellent!

Then we rushed out the door to the soccer game - and they won! Cole made some great stops as goalie.

Then we headed over to our church for cleaning duty. We don't have a janitorial staff so the members take turns cleaning up.

Needless to say, by 3:00 I was pooped!!

Nesting?

We went for carpet, that's all! But we left with a lot more!

Last weekend Brice and I headed to a discount store in town to find a remnant piece of carpet that would work for the nursery and one for our play room/office/extra room. This discount store was having its semi-annual tent sale on this particular day. So we strolled through the tent.

We left with a love seat, a kitchen table with four chairs, and two lamps. Oh, and some carpet.

Here's the new kitchen set. We love it!! The sides of the table fold down too.

And here is one of the lamps. Looks like it was made for our bedroom, eh? Perfect match! That's turquoise trim on the lamp if you can't tell.

Picture of the love seat will come once it is in place in the new and improved extra room. Tomorrow's task is to put everything back in that room. It has all been in our dining room for two days while we got the carpet installed. I need things to return to normal now.

Naomi's Nursery

My sister sent me to a fun blog where tons of people have submitted pictures of their nurseries. Some people are quite creative! After admiring some, laughing at others, I fell in love with this one:

However, when Brice and I went to register at a local baby store, we found a bedding pattern we liked and decided to go that route instead. But I just couldn't let go of the "Allison" nursery. My sister even posted the two rooms on her blog to get a vote. When I told Brice, he quickly responded that he preferred the "Allison" room too, so the final decision is made!!

We went to pick out the paint last weekend. We selected four of the color sheets, each with four colors on them, and laid them out for comparison and selection. After mere seconds I said, "Well, I know which one I like, but I'll wait 'til you make your choice." He quickly pointed to one of the 16 colors and said, "That one!" Yep, it was the one I had chosen in my head. (deep sigh) Potential conflict/discussion avoided! A guy comes Thursday to start painting!

Plus, my sister found the butterfly decals on a website for cheap. What would I do without her? Beck - please come down and help me put them on the walls just right!

So that's the nursery! Next topic . . .

For all my fans

What I hear you would like to see here:

Photos of my pregnant self
Photos of the baby's room in it's before state

Nursery plans

Doctor visits

Our wedding anniversary

Cole and his amazing soccer skills
Work

You have been heard. Now to find the cord to my camera. Stay tuned . . .

Goalie

Intense, Serious, Focused . . .

My Little Buddy

One of the girls in our church walked in with the cutest little cell phone case! She made it herself and offered to make Brice and I one as well. So here is my new little cell phone buddy, Lily (named by the creator):

The head flips back to reveal a pouch for the phone - custom sized for my particular phone type!

If you want a Little Buddy, email Susannah at Stuckeyslittlebuddies@gmail.com!

For Stephanie

Tired of looking at the spelling bee? I got to where if I pretended it wasn't there, maybe it would go away. No such luck.

Previous post: December 16, 2009

Current date: March 26, 2010

Things I could update you on: 328

I haven't and don't take many photos of my oldest child. Nothing to do with my love for him, I'm just not that kind of mom. They say there are less and less pictures with each child after. This poor new one might not get a single photo! So here is a brief update on our family - with no photos!

Brice turned 30 in January! With great age comes great responsibility. He is now the official Children's Ministry Director at our growing little church. Right now his duties revolve around Sunday morning children's church - curriculum, volunteers, supplies, worship, and now redecorating. He meets with our pastor weekly and is enjoying the tasks laid out for him. He has also completed all the necessary steps for attaining his massage therapy license. He will hopefully be setting up an "office" in the next couple of months. Oh yeah, and he's still teaching 6th graders. Please, no one ask him to do anything else!

Cole turned 10 in January! He is still my star student and competitive athlete. After a mediocre basketball season, he was ready to get back into soccer. He has begun goalkeeper training as well. His piano skills are also improving - he received a Superior + rating at his last competition. And he was recently invited to join the Duke TIP (Talent Identification Program) for excelling students. Go Cole!! But above all these things that make a momma so proud, his heart has remained tender and open to his Savior. Even Duke can't top that!

I am now 6 months pregnant! And if you haven't heard, IT'S A GIRL! Yes, we all knew it, though I held out hope we were all wrong. I'm coming to terms with the situation, being as that I can't change it. I'm actually looking forward to having another girl around - now the pets won't be my only ally. Her name is Naomi Katherine Jackson and she's a mover! Other than being pregnant, I am planning Cole's elementary school's silent auction being held at the end of April, I'm helping Brice with children's church plans, and I'm looking into making money from home instead of an office once Naomi arrives.

Brice and I celebrated 3 years last week. Doesn't seem that long, and yet it's hard to remember life without him. I'd rather not.

So, what have we learned? The Jacksons are busy - sometimes stupidly busy. But no matter what the schedule holds, we usually find time for a good game of Monopoly every few days!

Until next time . . . .

The Bee

Cole was the spelling bee winner for his class this year. (3rd from the right on the front) The winners are seated, their alternates are behind them.

This picture was taken yesterday after the school-wide spelling bee between the 8 class winners to find a school winner to go to the district competition.

Cole made it through round one by spelling 'influenza', but 3 others did not survive.

The second round brought Cole the word 'surround' and he simply skipped the 'u'. He could have kicked himself.

It just wasn't meant to be. The same girl who won last year won this year. The whole thing took about 20 minutes!

He later said he was glad he didn't win because he didn't want to study words for the next month preparing for the next competition. Way to find the silver lining, Cole! :-)