Coming home from Iraq!

My cousin Jeff is finally coming home from Iraq! He arrives late Sunday afternoon at the Air Force Base and we are all going to welcome him home! His three boys still don't know that he is coming home, so it will be such a great surprise for them! I can't wait to see their faces when he finally gets off of that plane from his third tour over there. This one was his most dangerous yet and I am sure that God was protecting him over there while he was defending our freedom! I thank God everyday for men and women like him who care enough to risk their lives for us!

We can't wait to see you, Jeff!

What a holiday season!

I cannot believe that it is actually over! Where did the time go?! It seems like we were still shopping for gifts just yesterday and now we are done with Christmas AND New Year's! The kids had a great Christmas and got a TON of stuff from family and friends. We are so thankful to be surrounded by such wonderful people! I think that my family bought out the entire children's clothing department in Sears this year! We have tons of new outfits for winter and summer. I won't have to buy them clothes for a long time!

Marvin was really excited to get his sawzall and it was worth it when I saw how happy he was to open it up and tinker with it. He immediately charged the battery and got it ready for use even though it is too cold outside to use it anyhow. Men....

I got a lot of nice things for Christmas as well. I got a Broom Vac, jammies, Third Day CD, board games, electric knife(for my Dad to cut the Thanksgiving turkey), a moppine(a Rachael Ray item), smelly stuff, and 500 thread count sheets that are like heaven! My gramma also got me two precious moments for my collection! Yahoo!!

New Years was also a lot of fun! We hung out with my cousin and his wife. We went out for a nice dinner without the kids and then we went back to the house, put the kids in bed and played games for the rest of the evening. We probably would have stayed longer, but Marvin had to work this morning, so we left aroung 2am.

Now it is back to the daily grind and a sense of normalcy. We have to take the decorations down and get ready for the next holiday. Valentine's Day! I always love that holiday because we go away for a weekend and just enjoy each other. We don't get to do that very often.

Well, I think that is about it in the Jackson household! Have a great New Year everyone!

Thanksgiving Surprise!

We are so excited to announce that Michaela has lost her first tooth! On Thanksgiving! She has been struggling with this tooth for over a month now and we were getting frustrated at the lack of progress! We tried to get her to wiggle it regularly, but that was like wrestling a polar bear.....pointless! So, we were wiggling it for her Thanksgiving night after all of the guests had gonce home and when Dad got ahold of it, he just put his fingernail behind it and....Voila! She didn't even cry! What a trooper! She was so excited to put it in her toothfairy pillow and she went to sleep faster than she ever has before in hopes that she would arrive and leave her a treat.

The next morning she woke up and came down to our room early in the morning with the surprise from the Tooth Fairy. It was $3 and a letter thanking her for her first tooth! She was so excited! She proceeded to tell me that she didn't see the Tooth Fairy come into her room because she had wings that you couldn't hear flapping and she was invisible like a ghost! LOL!!! It is amazing how kids rationalize things!

Needless to say, I have her first tooth in a safe location and ready to be put in her scrapbook!

Puttin up the Tree

Watching the girls put the Christmas tree up this year was so much fun! They loved looking back at all of the ornaments and remembering them from last year. We had to talk about whose ornaments were whose and what the signified. Their happy little faces dancing to the Christmas music in the background is something that will stick in my mind for the rest of my life. I just love the holidays and everything that comes along with it!

Mmmm...Spaghetti!!!

Rebecca had spaghetti for the first time the other night and she had a blast eating it! I put it on her high chair and she went to town! There was not a dropped noodle to be found. She had so much of it on her face and she was just shoveling it in. I couldn't help but laugh at her and of course get the evidence to use against her when she is older. But even with sauce all over her face, she is still so darn cute!!!!

Alaina'a Date night with Daddy

Alaina and Daddy had their date night on Monday night after he got home from work. Alaina asked about her date all afternoon long and she was so excited when he walked through the door. Alaina got to choose the restaurant she wanted to eat and and I am sure that most people can guess where that was......McDonald's!! LOL!!!
So, they had a good dinner and then they went shopping for a while. Alaina must have her daddy wrapped around her little finger because she came home with a little electronic drumset. Spoiled little booger!!!
Well, she ended up having a great time and loving every minute of it! I can't wait to do it all again!

Put down the scissors!!!

Well, for the fourth time in her short little life, Michaela has cut hair. Only this time it wasn't her own!!! She decided to play Barber on her little sister! They started out by sneaking the school box upstairs without me seeing it. Apparently it was all a request by Alaina, but who really knows....I am sure that no one will ever know the "real" story!

A few hours go by and Alaina and I are playing on the couch and I notice that she now has bangs. Now wait a minute....she has NEVER had bangs before!!!! OMG!!! So, I hold her head still to take a peek at the damage all while trying not to teach my children new words and I tell them that if they EVER cut hair again, they will both be in HUGE trouble! So, furious and frustrated, I put them both in the corner for some thinking time and decide to just let it go from there.

But wait....there's more!!!! The next day I am sitting and talking to Alaina and I notice that her beautiful, dark, long eyelashes don't look right. Hmmm....what could be wrong??? OMG, she cut her eyelashes off, too!!! Can you believe it?! Not only is her hair two inches shorter, but her eyelashes are almost non-existent! At this point, I am about to have a heart attack and drop over dead! But, what am I gonna do about it now, it is done and over with. So, needless to say, they no longer have access to scissors.