It's The Most Wondeful Time of Year

I have always loved the Christmas season and all it truly stands for. However, this year it is 10 times better with Jackson. He is in awe of EVERYTHING! He has had some many priceless faces already this year. My favorite thing is that his fascination and excitement hasn't dull after the first 50 times of turning on the Christmas tree lights, turning on the star in the nativity set, seeing all the lights and decorations outside. He has challenged me to be that excited about my relationship with Jesus and what he has done for me each and every day.

We finished putting the finishing touches on the tree. We have it pulled into a surge protector so Jackson can easily turn it on and off. How come all Christmas decorations look better in person?
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Brian also finished putting up the lights outside. He did a great job! He made me a little nervous on top of the roof. Each night we have been taking walks around our block so Jackson can look at the lights. Have I mentioned he walks, really runs, around the whole block and isn't tired afterwards? He waves to all the snowmen and other blow ups around the neighborhood:)

I love this picture of Jackson laying on Brian with the light shining down. It makes me think of the star that shone in Bethlehem the night our Savior was born.
Here is our house lit up for Him!

I want to start now sharing the good news with Jackson. If anyone has any good ideas to do each day leading up to Christmas please share:)

May you stay focused on Jesus this Christmas season and enjoy through the eyes of a child too!

Break Time Fun

I am thankful to do what I love most each day! But, I am also so grateful for the time off because it allows me to spend extra time with Jackson and I don't feel like I am missing as much with him. I did have a goal to get further ahead with my lesson plans but we have been having so much fun that it just didn't happen!

Emily and Huntley came over to hang out with us. Jackson showed off for Huntley and Emily and I got to catch up on life together. I miss teaching with her and talking every day!

Jackson and I made a few trips to Target-some necessary and some not so much! Each time we pull in the Target parking lot Jackson says "animals, animals". So I tell him if he sits nice in Target we can go see the animals. He nods and says "ok" each time. I love it! He found the mouse from If You Take a Mouse to the Movies:)

We raked millions and millions of pine needles so our lawn would look nice for the Christmas lights Brian was going to put up. However. after all of our hard work our lawn still looks covered in them. That is the downside to living in our neighborhood.

We also spent many nights walking around our block. I can't believe it but Jackson almost makes it the whole way around-running! Since the first few nights of break were nice and warm, we enjoyed sitting outside and eating popscicles.

Brian was the one to get up early on Black Friday to try and win the $500 gift card at Sports Authority. He didn't win, but he got 40 free dollars to spend there. Once we all got up around 7:30 we headed out to a few stores and picked up some Christmas presents. I love when I can I throw up my hair and wear sweats all day. I did do this plenty this weekend and it was glorious! I think I like it so much because it means I have no set in stone agenda.

Before putting up all the Christmas decorations, we did some deep cleaning and threw out a bunch of things. Always makes me feel better! Again Jackson helped!
Now that the weather has turned a little cooler, we wait until the afternoon to take a walk. I love being flexible and doing what ever I want to do it when I want to. Jackson has a great set up for walks. He has his milk, water, crackers, pine cone, and toys!

And I think I am going to pretend that tomorrow is not Sunday!

So Blessed

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known among the nations what HE has done." 1 Chronicles 16:8

The Lord has blessed me beyond measure and I love reflecting on all HE has done for me!

I am especially thankful for HIM

And HIM!


We spent the morning just the 3 of us making apple crisp, playing, walking, and watching the Thanksgiving parade. Jackson went crazy over the big balloons and singers! After Jackson's nap we headed over to my Aunt's for a late lunch. Jackson's favorite part of the meal was the bread! Jackson had a great time playing with Uncle Mike and Aaron.
We headed home and decided to start off the Christmas season by setting up the Christmas tree and listening to Christmas music. Oh my goodness! Jackson was the cutest ever. He was so excited about the tree and lights. At one point he pulled up his chair and just sat there starring in amazement!

I am looking forward to making many more sweet Christmas memories with Jackson this year. He brings new excitement to all we do!

Happy Happy Birthday

To a great mother, mother-in-law, and grandma!

We all love you very much and wish we were there celebrating with you!

Thank you for all you do for us and making us feel so loved!

Our lives are better because of the role YOU in play in them!

Happy Birthday!

And 7 years ago today I said yes when Brian got down on one knee. Maybe I need to get him to play me the song he wrote and sang that night. Brian said it best today when he said it was the best decision of his life! I agree and can't imagine life without him.

I'm Glad I Did

The last couple of days Jackson's nose has been running more and he developed a nasty cough. When I picked him up yesterday afternoon, I just had this feeling I should call the doctor's office and see if they were open this Saturday. I scheduled an appointment and all night I doubted myself and was sure the doctor would just laugh at me for bringing him in. But, I kept the appointment due to the fact that this week is Thanksgiving so if he got worse I wouldn't be able to take him to our doctor.

Jackson and I headed to the doctor this morning and left daddy at home to clean up the house:) It felt like summer time when it was Jackson and mommy going to a well check. Then I had flashbacks and l longed for Thanksgiving break even more. Thank goodness it is only 2 school days away!

I couldn't have asked for better behavior from Jackson at the doctor's office. He was sooo good! He read his books to me and took many pictures of the chair, walls, ceiling, and himself! He cracks me up so much. I am pretty sure I spend most of my days laughing at the silly things he says and does.
The doctor even complimented him on how well he was behaving! Jackson ended up having the very beginning of an ear infection in his left ear. She said it was a good thing I brought him in now or we most likely would had a sicker boy over Thanksgiving break. Um, no thank you!

I am so glad I trusted my gut and scheduled an appointment. I guess sometimes moms do know best!

Love Christmas Cards?

Me too! I love sending them out, and I love even more getting one in the mail. Right now you can get 50 free cards from Shutterfly. I use Shutterfly on a regular basic to order prints, calendars, photo books, and buy Christmas presents. Most of the time I only pay shipping, what a steal!

Here are a few of the cards I am contemplating for this year:

I love cards with a focus on the true meaning of Christmas!

I thought this one would be cute with the picture of Brian and me kissing Jackson at the top of the blog:)

And this one is just bright and cherry!

Shutterfly is offering 50 free cards to bloggers. Go here to get yours and don't forget to send one to me!

Mommy's Little Helper Weekend Edition

We had a great weekend! The only downside is that they always go WAY too fast! Friday night I made pumpkin pancakes and they were as good as I was hoping they would be. I was craving them since I read the recipe in a magazine a couple of weeks ago. That night we played in a fort with Jackson. Then Brian camped out with him downstairs and let me sleep upstairs in our bed without a monitor turned on. It was heaven!

They woke me up at 8 o'clock and we frantically got ready to walk for the MS 2010 walk at Katy Mills with our Sunday school class to support our friend. I skipped blow drying my hair, did my make up in the car, and we pulled in right on time! Jackson had a blast riding in the stroller and we strolled 1 lap around the mall together. Afterwards we did a little shopping and snagged Jackson some good deals. He fell asleep on the way home and slept for 4 hours, that may be a new record.

It stopped raining and warmed up a bit so we walked over to the park to play. Jackson had to take his ghost flashlight with him. He didn't put it down the whole time we were playing. We never know what toy he will want to bring with him when we go somewhere. I love this picture of him running around!

With mommy and daddy:)
Just playing at his favorite place in the world-

Lately Jackson wants to help us do what ever we are doing. He says, "I help" or "me mix too." Most of the time it is a good thing! I was in the mood to make cookies and we had butterfingers left over from trick-or-treating so Jackson and I baked away. After they were done and cooling on the countertop he pushed over a chair, climbed up, and grabbed himself a cookie!

"Mmm cookie!" Cookie is the first thing he asked for this morning when we came downstairs:)

Today we spent the morning at church, always a refreshing time. Then Brian and I organized our closets and now have a lot of clothes to donate. The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging around, finishing school work, running errands, and since it is Sunday making homemade pizza for dinner!

And now we have a new chef in the house...

Jackson was enthralled by the bread machine kneading the dough. He kept asking "what happening?" He helped spread the sauce, sprinkle the cheese, and taste test it to make sure it was just right!

I am hoping for a relaxed week that flies by!

A Quick Visit

Brian's dad flew in Tuesday afternoon in order to help Brian's uncle drive one of two cars that he bought down here back to Wisconsin. We met him for dinner Tuesday night at his favorite Houston spot, Spring Creek BBQ. Then Jackson stole Papa for the rest of the night.
Wednesday night we went to Genghis Grill for dinner, and I think Mel may have another favorite spot!

The "boys" before dinner. Jackson will let Papa rock him to sleep with no problem at night, but that is not the case with daddy and mommy.

Then early Thursday morning Mel set off for Kansas to go pheasant hunting. I was surprised I didn't get a call from Brian saying he was riding with his dad because I know how bad he wanted to go hunting with all the Hartzler men.

Jackson loved seeing his Papa but does not understand how he was here for a couple days and then gone, but in about a month he will get to see all his grandpas and grandmas again!

Fall Back and Relax

We had a wonderful low key weekend! Just what we all needed after a long week going in opposite directions.

Friday night we went out for some fancy dining at Chick-fil-a and then did a little shopping at Old Navy. I scored two pairs of jeans for $27 with two 40% off coupons and a rewards coupon and they fit perfect! We came home and played with Jackson. I stayed up late to finish lesson plans so I wouldn't have to think about it all weekend.

Saturday morning I made scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls, and blueberry bread for breakfast. We all wanted something different:) Then we cleaned, did laundry and pilates, and played with every toy in the house. We stayed in our pjs until lunch time! After Jackson's nap we made a quick run to the Outlet Mall to make a return. It seemed busier than normal, maybe Christmas season has already begun? We enjoyed walking around outside in the beautiful weather. We left and headed straight to the park. Jackson loved playtime and worked on his climbing skills! We were welcomed home to the smells of dinner cooking in the crockpot. I made my own version of chicken spaghetti, and I must say it was very yummy! To wrap up this wonderful day we had our first family movie night. We rented Toy Story 3 and Jackson actually sat and watched it for a long time. I wish I would have taken a picture of us all camped out on the couch with our feet up, oh well. Jackson went to bed later than normal so we were hoping we would benefit from the extra hour of sleep. Nope no such luck!

Our Sunday morning started at 6 am! Although I didn't want to get out of bed I must say it was very plesant not rushing getting ready for church. Since we had time, we took a family picture!

After church Jackson napped and Brian and I rested on the couch! We ran a few errand and then walked to the park. I am loving the afternoon weather! The mornings are a bit cool for me, but the afternoons are close to perfect. Jackson was hard at play but every now and then he would stop for to give a hug or an eskimo kiss! How sweet is that?

He practiced his climbing some more. I think he has it pretty much mastered!

We had homemade pizza for dinner and are hanging out at home for the remainder of our weekend. I love that we were able to spend the weekend together taking it one hour at a time and not rushing to go anywhere specific. Thank you Lord for blessing us with a weekend together! I am just hoping Jackson isn't up at 5 am tomorrow since he is already in bed!

20 Months

I'm a little behind on this post. I have to admit I actually forgot that Jackson tuned a month older. I guess that means it may be time to skip monthly posts!

Dear Jackson,
This last month has been a wild one! You now say more words than I can count and say a word I have never heard you say before everyday. I love hearing you say your own name. You pick up on things so quickly. You still love to be outside, at the park, and taking walks around the neighbor hood. Just last night you put your sweatshirt on over you pjs because you thought then you would get to take a walk!
You have discovered you love candy, thanks to Halloween. You are still a great eater and weigh around 32/33 pounds and are 36/37 inches tall. I have to buy 2T and 3T clothes for you. You still love books and are becoming a better reader. You make connections between your books and real life actions and objects. You also love to act out your books. This makes the teacher in me very pleased:) You will play with all your toys by yourself but are much happier when daddy and mommy play with you.

You scared me for a few days this month. You began throwing fits like I had never seen when you didn't get what YOU wanted. We prayed for you and for what to do. I am thankful to say the fits are way less often and more short lived. We started putting you to bed later and this has helped the bedtime fits. You also are very sneaky because you usually end up stealing our bed sometime during the night. Daddy and mommy are on the very edges and you are sprawled out in the middle.

Your personality is so sweet! You love to help us with whatever we are doing and will share all your food with us:) You now ask us to pray before we eat and sometimes ask us to do it again, and again, and again. You also surprised me when in the car the other morning you asked me to pray. I pray for you every morning on the way to Miss Sandy's in the car. I didn't know you knew exactly what I was doing when I was talking outloud, but I guess you did! You love to give eskimo kisses, but you say "em-o".

You are so much fun and we cherish every moment we get to spend with you!

Love, Mommy

Trick-or-Treating

Jackson got a couple of uses out of his dragon costume this last weekend.

Friday after school my aunt called and said the Y was doing trunk or treat, so after dinner we headed over there. Jackson was really unsure about the whole thing. So I just walk around and hold up my pumpkin bucket?

I couldn't get one smile from him. He was just starring at all the other kids walking around. He finally discovered that he could eat what was in his bucket. I think he has had more sugar this last week than in his entire 20 months of life!After we made it around the circle of trunks we took him over to the playground. Then it was non-stop smiles!!

I know what to do here!

On Sunday Louis and Katrina came over for dinner and then went trick-or-treating with us. Hopefully this a tradition that will continue! I made my mom's chicken noodle soup modified just a little served with crackers and cheese, and finished with pumpkin cut out cookies. Brian made special ones for our guests!
We got a few more smiles Sunday night! He loves wearing his costume:)

Once it got dark we head out for some fun. After the first couple of houses Brian ran home to get some water because Jackson was sweating. It was a warm night, especially when wearing a fleece dragon suit with a hood!
Jackson was a lot more into trick-or-treating this time. He would take off running to the next house saying "Go, go, go!"

Family pic with our dragon (wish Jackson had a cuter face in this one)

At the last house (someone Katrina and Louis knew) we stripped Jackson down, let drink some water, and eat a treat. He was drenched in sweat! He walked/rode the rest of the way home in his diaper. Hey, you do what you have to!

The whole gang- Thanks for trick-or-treating with our Louis and Katrina.