Star Student

Jackson received a STAR award from the principal at school. He is so proud of it...and so are we!

Continue to be Studious, Thoughtful, Astonishing and Respectful, AJ...

We are so proud of you!!

Jackson's Birthday Party

Jackson's birthday party was at the movie theater this year. He invited 10 of his friends and they watched Arthur Christmas. It had just come out the day before so the kids were all excited to see the movie!

 After the movie we went down to the food court area and had cake and presents.

 Jackson received some great gifts from his friends. Many of the gifts were legos and bionicles. He loves putting things together. Now I am finding all these little pieces around the house...let the lego phase begin!

 I made the rainbow cake just like I did last year (5th Birthday) and it was just as pretty as last year.

 That is one HAPPY birthday boy!

We are so thankful for the 6 years we have had with Jackson. He is such a sweet, kind and full of energy boy! Each day I count my blessings with him. He makes our world much brighter every day!

Happy 6th Birthday AJ!

Two Birthday Boys

Jackson is 6! I put balloons in his room while he was sleeping and taped his door with crepe paper. When he woke up in the morning he came in our room and said, "Mom, something crazy has happened in my room!" It was fun surprising him that way.

 Then he noticed that Micah left him a birthday present...and he was really excited!!

"He" left Jackson a Bakugan toy. And Jackson absolutely loved! I think Santa might have to bring a few more for stocking stuffers. ;-)

 Jackson eating breakfast off the same plate that me and my brothers ate off of when we were kids. It's fun to carry on that tradition with Jackson and Grace.

I brought lunch to Jackson, and of course it was Subway. At first he didn't wasn't so sure about me coming, but then he changed his mind. Gee, thanks Jackson! If he is this independent when he is 6, what is he going to be like when he is 16!

I also made a big cookie cake to share with his friends.

 He couldn't wait to open his presents. It was a good test of patience for him because he had to wait until Jason got home from work. 

He got some great gifts!

Grace was so happy for Jackson to open his presents!

The next day was Jason's birthday! Jackson wanted him to wear his birthday hat from school. We went out to dinner on his birthday to celebrate. Happy 35th Jason!

Surprise Box

Every few weeks Jackson gets to bring home the "Surprise Box" from school. They get to pick something to put in the box and write down clues for the kids to guess what it is. It is a great inference activity.

Here are the rules:

Jason helped Jackson to write the clues. He wanted to do it all by himself. Mr. Independent!

Here are the clues:

Can you guess what it is?

 A transformer! Great job, Jackson! Can't wait to hear if anybody guessed what it is.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a busy, busy Thanksgiving weekend!

We started out with having friends over for a great meal and hanging out after. There were 10 adults and 9 kids...so a house full!

The kid table

 Now that the kids are taken care of the adults dive into the food!

On Friday we did the Christmas decorations. I love this time of year!

Jason working on the kids Christmas tree.

 Jackson was busy looking through the toy ads and picking out a few things.

 Big mess and all!

Grace loved dancing to the Christmas music all morning...with her tutu on of course!

On Saturday morning our elf, Micah, came back!

He brought them hot chocolate and donuts for breakfast. Micah also brought them a gum ball machine from the north pole.

 The kids were so excited to see him!

What you can't see in the picture is they are eating by candlelight. For some reason we were without electricity for the first few hours of the morning. They thought that was funny!

 The Yost's came over for the annual Michigan vs. Ohio State football game. As usual it was fun having them over. We also had a friend who Jason and Tom worked with in Okinawa and now lives in Italy come for a visit while she was in the area. It was great to see her and catch up. We will definitely be making a trip to Italy to visit her.

By the way, Michigan won for the first time in 7 years. Go Blue!!

 The kids had so much fun together. Grace and Ella were stuck together like glue. It's so cute to see them grow up with each other. Jackson and Cooper hung out some too. One day they will be buds playing boy toys. 

 Right before the kids went to bed. Ella had her kimono jammies and I remembered that I had some for Grace from Okinawa. 

We have so much to be thankful for! God is good!

Mornings with Grace

I have been enjoying my time off this week from work. Grace and I have been having fun playing together in the mornings while I am in my robe and drinking coffee.

Classic...pushing a Walmart stroller with babies inside on Barbie rollerskates!

 We took Emma on a walk and she got her babies all bundled up and ready. She was so proud of how they looked.

 We got all ready for the ride and out the door when I realized that the tire was flat. I tried to fix it, but instead ended up busting the tire. So...we switched to a smaller stroller and headed out for a great walk in the woods with Emma.

 This is Grace's tea party for Thanksgiving. She has it all ready and set up for our company coming over on Thursday. She said I have to leave it there until then...so we will see. Eventually they all got books to read and pillows/blankets put under the table for when they were ready for a nap.

I am loving these times with her. I know they will too quickly pass!