Something to blog about!

Well, it's been a little while since I've blogged, and part of the reason is that I really couldn't think of anything to say! Then I had a thought. I know there are several of you that read my blog that have fond memories of the house on Patsy Drive. Well, you know that mom and dad built a house and are no longer on Patsy Drive. I have a lot of fun memories there, and a lot of them involve some of you. Then, I thought that some of you might like to see the new Jackson abode...so here are a couple of pictures. Excuse the fact that the one of the pool is crooked...I was standing at a funny angle trying to get the fountain in the background!


While I've got so many fond memories on Patsy Drive, I have made new ones on Plantation Springs Drive, as well! This will be the house that my children remember the most. Mom and dad had some family and friends over for my 30th birthday, several friends and I have spent time together in the pool...the list goes on. I'm sure there will be many more as the years fly by!! (and by the way...I'm sure mom wouldn't mind me sharing pics of the inside for those of you that might like to see them...that would give me another topic to post about!)

Update

Well, it's hard to believe that we're about to start our third week of school, and I haven't reported anything! Things are going great. Macy is loving school and making lots of new friends. Her teacher tells me that she is behaving, so that's also great news. Her favorite things are PE and chapel. I hope that she continues to be excited about learning. So far, she has told me the past 2 weekends that she didn't want to go back to school (but I could read her mind, and what she really meant was, "I don't want to get up before 7:00!") But, once Monday comes, she's always excited. Trust me, I don't like getting up at 6:30 everyday either, but you do what you gotta do! It's been good for me too. I started going back to the Y. I drop her off at school and go straight there. I even lost 3 pounds last week! Yippie! Thanks to those of you who have asked about Macy over the last couple of weeks!

I have to post a few pictures from a spur of the moment trip me and the kids took yesterday with Mimi and Papa (mom and dad). Ethan had just gotten home Friday night from a 3 week training session in Chicago, so we wanted to see him and Sam, of course! That baby is a doll...and he is really looking like his cousin Brady (who is also a doll, I might add)! Even Ethan and Lisa say that they can see more of Brady in him everyday!

He LOVES when his Mimi swings him...mostly, he just LOVES his Mimi!!

Gotta start 'em early! He likes playing the guitar with Papa!

Sam, Ethan, Brady, Mimi, and Macy after dinner.

There was one more picture I was going to share...but surprise, surprise...blogger isn't cooperating. Then, I decided it's better to save it for another post anyway! It'll give me another topic to blog about and maybe it won't be another 3 weeks before I blog again!

Gotta go get the school girl (and her tired old mom) in the bed!!

Finally!!

Here are the pics that I tried to post earlier:

Morning of the first day of school!

Don't forget the backpack!

Here she is in her classroom.


Check out Elliot's great taste in hats (not to mention the HUGE wad of gum)!!

I think he REALLY enjoyed being home!!

Hard to Believe!!

Well, it's official! Macy is in kindergarten! I can't believe it. She was so happy and excited. It just blows my mind how quickly time flies. It is so hard to grasp the fact that she is growing up so fast! She's having a great week so far. Most of you know that she's got a wonderful teacher (our preacher's wife) and we couldn't be happier. Brady misses her, but he does OK. It is easier on me when she's here because she helps keep him entertained, but they are so rowdy together that it's nice to have the break. The only thing is, he wants me to be right there with him a lot of the time and I've got things I'm trying to get done while I've only got one child in the house! (This is where I would insert a couple of pictures if blogger would let me...I'll post them later. A lot of you have already seen them.)

NOW...if I may say...LAST NIGHT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For those of you who don't know, or might have just forgotten, me and several girlfriends went to Birmingham to see the AMERICAN IDOLS! WOO HOO!! Let me just give a little "shout out" to Trina, Bridgett, Amy B, Scarlett, Gena, Shannan, and Cortney! Love you girls! It was a blast! The concert was great!! Bear in mind that I said it was in BIRMINGHAM...Taylor's home town! One word: PANDIMONIUM!!! It was crazy! If you think that boy was a dancing fool on TV, you should've seen him last night! HOLY COW! It was a great concert, but also a great time to be with special girlfriends. A time spent talking, sharing, and singing. What a blessing!

I loved that the idols all seemed genuinely happy to be in Taylor's home town. Taylor was noticeably blown away by the response. He seems so sincere and humble. It was really neat to be a part of it. I found a couple of pictures that I would like to share, but blogger doesn't want me to share them. I will be trying again later. I hope to have better luck then! Amy B took several at the show...check out her blog later, I'm sure there will be plenty posted! There is a link on the right...

Elliot is AWESOME, btw! Someone else that REALLY rocked was Lisa Tucker. She was great on the show, but she did her thing last night, for sure! Speaking of "doing their thing"...two words: Chris Daughtry! Hubba, hubba! HAHAHA (did I actually just type those words?) Paris morphed into Beyonce for a couple of minutes! Everyone did great...everyone except for Pickler. I don't know what was going on with her. I'm thinking that she might've even been a little under the weather. She didn't sound very good, and she wasn't acting as perky as I've always seen her on TV. Oh well...everyone has an "off" night!

Alrighty, that's it for now. I need to get some things done around here, and I really need to take a nap this afternoon!

My Girls

Well, I have posted a "girlfriends" post before, but I wanted to share another couple of quotes that one of "my girls" sent in a recent email. I trust that we all know the joy and importance of having strong relationships with other women, and I'm SO blessed to have a circle of friends that are so special to me. These quotes really made me appreciate those friendships.

"What matters is that you have a small chorus of female voices to speak into
your life. A group of women who know that your life and each of theirs
matters. A group of women who are invested in helping you and every other
member make a difference."

" A band of sisters who carry deep values and who watch over one another in
love, is stronger than any woman on her own."

Thank you, God, for bringing such special, strong women into my life!!

How Exciting!!!

I thought these two pictures were so great and really summed up the excitement at the ballpark last night! If you haven't heard, Josh Willingham won the ballgame for the Marlins last night in the bottom of the 9th inning! Way to go Josh! Check out these pictures:

The Florida Marlins wait at home plate for Josh Willingham after he hit a walk-off two-run game-winning home run against New York Mets pitcher Billy Wagner in the bottom of the ninth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2006, in Miami. The Marlins won, 6-5.


Florida Marlins Josh Willingham (14) is greeted at home plate by teammates Miguel Cabrera, left, and Alfredo Amezaga, right, after hitting a walk-off two-run game-winning home run against New York Mets pitcher Billy Wagner in the bottom of the ninth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2006, in Miami. The Marlins won, 6-5.


God has blessed Josh with such a talent and such a down to earth, humble attitude. I'm convinced that he has had such success because of the way God has equipped him to handle it. Keep up the good work, Josh! We look forward to having you home soon!!