Aunt Melissa, Uncle Troy

I'm somewhat used to being called "Aunt Melissa" because some of our good friend's kids call me that. However, a few months ago, I found out that I am really, yes, really going to be an aunt! David and Robyn are due to have a baby on August 4th, which means she/he will be just shy of a year younger than Madelyn, and 3 years younger than Jackson. I can't believe it took me so long to post this news! I am extremely THRILLED. I didn't have cousins growing up, but Troy did, and his cousins are still A LOT of fun! So, I am very, very excited that Jackson and Madelyn will have a cousin! Congrats, David and Robyn!

The Quotable Jackson

Each week, I'm going to post a quote from Jackson from that week. Mainly, this is so I can remember them, but I am sure you will enjoy them too! This one is from last week:

After Jackson was drawing on his notepad his shapes (he has drawn squares and triangles), Jackson looked at me, sighed, and said, "Mommy, drawing triangles is hard work!"

That made me smile. :)

New Look!

Do you like it? I do! :)

Christmas Day and More

I must admit that have three separate Christmases in one day is very difficult. Instead of feeling relaxed with the family, I felt rushed and stressed. What do all you married people do to spend enough time with both families at Christmas? If there is some sort of trick to it, let me know!

Of course, it didn't help that Jackson, Madelyn, and I were all sick, and Troy wasn't feeling all that well either. But, besides all that, we saw all of both of the families (except for my Grandma Fran...we missed her! And Mike and Gen!) in one day. I wish I had more time with both families. I wish Christmas was officially celebrated over two days, not one! Could we get that changed? :)

Jackson was ecstatic to open gifts. He absolutely loved the idea of getting toys and books, and wasn't so excited about clothes. That's a toddler for you! Although, I was excited about his clothes! Although, I must say, he was very proud to wear his new Thomas pajamas that he got from his GG Teddy. We were very blessed to get all that we received this year. It almost felt weird opening all the gifts because we couldn't afford as much for our families this year. But, it isn't about that really!

Christmas was a bit different for my side of the family this year because Michael wasn't there. Since him and Gen moved to Washington, they couldn't make it down for Christmas. We missed them! But, Jackson was able to open the gift they sent him via video chat. I'm thankful for technology!

I look forward to next Christmas when we aren't so sleep deprived and I can do more of what I wanted to do this season, like the Jesse Tree, a spin on the advent calendar. Here are some more photos from Christmas day....enjoy!

I hope!

Troy and I are both of the "right-brained" creative type. We love the arts and would love our kids to love it. We, of course, won't force it one them, but we are sharing our appreciation of the creative with them. This past week, Jackson was in the living room drawing on his notepad (that he asked for because he wanted to be like Steve in Blue's Clues), and he called out to us, "I drew a triangle! Come and see!" Sure enough, he drew a REALLY good triangle (pictured above), and a right triangle at that! Do 2-year-olds draw triangles normally? Perhaps he will be an artist like his mommy! :)

Sleep, anyone?

10:15 went to bed (she did..I tossed and turned until...)
11:15 woke up to feed
11:40 went back to bed
2:15 woke up to feed (3 hours...wow!)
2:45 went back to bed
4:40 woke up to feed
5:05 went back to bed
5:15 woke up and cried. Inconsolable . Change diaper. Massaged belly. Got up and walked around with her. (despite my efforts to go prevent Jackson from hearing Madelyn he wakes up and asks for us)
5:50 went to sleep

This is becoming Madelyn's routine every night for a few weeks now, minus the crying. She only cried for a bit the last two nights. Its going to take more than caffeine to get through today. I feel almost as David did when he when he wrote Psalm 142.

"5 I cry to you, O Lord;
I say, 'You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.'
6 Attend to my cry,
for I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me!
7 Bring me out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me."

Of course, David was in more of a pickle, but you get the idea! Sleep depravity is no piece of cake. I am keeping in mind that this is just a season. And, in the grand scheme of things, it truly is a short season. But at these wee hours of the morn, it seems long. Very long. I am thankful that the Lord is my portion and that I have more to look to than a cup of coffee to get me through today. Its a good thing, too, because I don't even like coffee!

Christmas in a Flash

Christmas seemed to come and go this season. Here is a bit of an overview!

Preparation

This was the first year that Jackson was able to take part in the preparation of Christmas. He helped decorate "his" tree with little Peanuts Nativity ornaments. Troy shared all this Peanuts Christmas decorations with Jackson and there were even some he could play with!

Jackson was also able to help with some holiday baking. We pulled a chair up to the counter and he helped me make chocolate brownies and frosting. He was really good at holding the measuring cup while I measured ingredients and helping me stir everything. His specialty, though, was the taste-testing the frosting! I did a lot of "baking" this season. For some reason, I really, really enjoyed it. I found a few recipes that turned out really well. One of my favorites was the Oreo Truffles. They were really rich, but absolutely perfect with a glass of milk! I also made some Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies that were delicious. I suspect these delicious desserts may be the cause of my lack of weight loss this holiday season!

Parties!

We had a few parties to attend this season. We hosted our 4th Annual Tacky Ski Sweater Caroling Party. That was a success, although, Troy and I were very tired after it and decided to do this tradition every-other year, perhaps. I know all you party-goers would be disappointed to hear that! For this party, everyone (or almost everyone) came to our place sporting their tackiest of tacky sweaters. We had a contest for the tackiest sweaters. Tim and Michelle were our finalist, and Michelle was voted the winner. We also went to a near-by nursing home and sang Christmas Carols. This was my favorite part of the night. I enjoy the smiles and reactions we get from the people in the nursing home.

We also attended our 12th Annual Citrus Group Party. I look forward to this party every year. This is a yearly get-together of the "Citrus Group" (a group of Troy's friends from college) and their wives. This party is always fun because all his friends have really become my friends too. Kimm always does a great job of hosting! We ate dinner, talked, laughed, cried (well only some of the kids, who will remain nameless). The kids decorated gingerbread men (Thanks, Tess!). We also had a gift exchange and the kids had a used book exchange. All together, as it is every year, it was great fun!

The Mission Inn

Every year, we try to make it to the Mission Inn to look at the beautiful light display there. This year, we actually made it to the lighting of the Mission Inn! We went with Joey and Kirsty and met both of our families down there. Jackson really enjoyed the fireworks. We also had the opportunity to go down to the Mission two more times with friends. Every year it seems there are more lights up! Apparently,

there was over three and a half million lights on the Mission Inn for the 2009 Festival of Lights. Amazing! The only critique I have for the Festival of Lights is that they keep their stores in the downtown mall open later! We were trying to find a place to eat around 7pm on a weeknight and every restaurant was closed! It seems to me that they are missing out on a lot of business!

Presents

It has become somewhat of a tradition to give our families framed photos of us for Christmas. This time around, I wanted the photos to be special and creative, so I asked my brother-in-law, David to take them. They turned out well! I'm posting some of my favorites. To wrap the framed photos, I purchased a roll of plain brown paper for 25 cents, and a set of finger paints from Target. I rolled the paper out on the floor, put the paint on paper plates, put Jackson in some old clothes, and let him have a go at decorating the paper himself. I loved to see his creative side come out! He got paint all over himself, me, the kitchen floor, and, of course, the wrapping paper. It was well worth it because each recipient of a photo frame also got a little masterpiece from Jackson! I may make this a tradition as well!

Family

The holiday season is always a fun time to get together with extended family. Troy's aunt and uncle from Missouri came down for a visit the week of Christmas. We had a blast going to their favorite sandwich shop, D'elias Grinders, which, I'm going to say has wonderful sandwiches, my favorite being the Chicken BLT. Its always a treat to go there!
We also went to Logan's Candy Shop where we saw candy canes being made. This was very interesting to watch and we got fresh, warm samples at the end of the tour. I will never eat a cold candy cane again! (I hope Angie doesn't mind, I borrowed the photo from her blog!)

Dress

Madelyn's first Christmas dress...sweet!

Christmas Day

Sorry folks...Christmas Day deserves a blog post of it's own, so I will post that ASAP! :)