TGIF

Yeah, it is Friday! I love this day. It means I get to sleep in tomorrow. Even though I probably wont due to the new routine my body has adopted due to Hannah going to school! Today was a pretty calm day. Trey and I spent our morning vacuuming the living room and kitchen area after we picked it up. I was pretty productive with the house cleaning this morning. We also got a visit from the Orkin man. He came out to treat the house for insects and most importantly fire ants. Well the fire ants aren't in the house but rather in the yard. Just a couple of weeks ago we found out Hannah is allergic to fire ant bites. Her ankle, toes and hand swelled up pretty good after getting bit. This was the second time it had happened and so we put two and two together. No more fire ant bites for her! The rest of the day I was completely lazy! It was great! Tonight we went out to dinner with DJ's parents to celebrate Dennis's (his dad) birthday. I brought Iva home with us because she is going to spend the weekend with us. Her mom is lucky enough to get to go to Dallas to see not only the Hogs play tomorrow but also the Cowboys on Sunday! Below are some pictures from dinner.

Dennis, Cindy, Iva (hiding her head), Hannah, Trey and DJ at Applebee's

DJ's parents, Dennis and Cindy

So this last picture is just something I have to rant on for a minute! I went to high school at Bryant. For the ones who don't know Benton and Bryant are BIG rivals. We live in the Benton school district now, where Hannah is currently attending school. This is kind of a bummer for me. I never thought I would have to support the Panthers in any way, but here I am a panther mom! I am slowly getting over this transgression! Ha! Hannah is helping though. She wants to do a day cheer camp with the high school cheerleaders. After the day camp she will get to preform at the Benton football game. So I will go, happily, to support her and in some small way support the Benton football team. OK, now I am done ranting. (I am not quite as enthusiastic as the sign is, but I will eventually get there!) :)

Just like Sisters!

I pick up my niece, Iva, some days after school to keep her until her mom gets off work. Hannah and Iva are only 9 months. They really have a good time together. As a matter of fact at this very moment while I am typing this they are both in timeout for fighting and arguing with each other! They love each other as much as sister!!! No really, over all they are great together. Even though there are 3 years in between the girls and Trey, they do include him in playtime too.



Trey, Iva and Hannah

Trey escaping the girls for a little while!

Lexi escaping the girls for a little while too!

Hannah playing with the dolls

A day all about Trey

Today is all about Trey! We started the day out with potty training lessons. That didn't go over too well, but we will get there soon! Then we went with Daddy to replace the weed eater in Maumelle. After coming home, Daddy went to get a hair cut and so I thought I would give one to Trey as well. It was getting a little shaggy! Below are some pictures of today and one from the beach this summer. I just love his facial expression in the beach photo. He wasn't real excited about pictures at the beach! 




at the beach

playing ball left handed with right handed glove



before hair cut

after hair cut

A New Era

(This post is kind of lengthy but still a good story, sorry!!)

About two weeks ago DJ started thinking it was time to find a new job within pharmacy. Walgreens has been a part of our lives for 6 years now. And I say it just like that because it hasn't been just a job really but rather another piece of our marriage, family, and life. DJ has spent a lot of his time (including days off) at the many stores he has worked at within the company. Managing the store pharmacies have required more time than the company allows. And since he is salary, that means free over-time. Good for Walgreens, bad for the Jackson household. Now don't get me wrong! DJ has devoted all the time he has to our family, me and the kids. He has been a wonderful father and husband. But honestly the time away from home was getting more and more because of Walgreens demands and we just didn't like where it was heading in regards to our family (or the safety of his patients). So it was time for a change!

Some of you know we entertained an offer to move to Tulsa to go into business with a college buddy of DJs. He is a doctor now and owns a clinic and offered us a partnership of the clinic if we would move to Tulsa and DJ would run the pharmacy based in the clinic and also be the office manager. We prayed about this for 4 or 5 months. Finally we decided against the move (for now). We had too many things on our (-) list and they outweighed our (+) list! It just wasn't God's timing.

So a couple of weeks ago DJ started thinking about buying a pharmacy or starting his own here close to home. This is a huge step for anyone. But with the way pharmacy retails are beginning to dominate, this would have been a huge risk too. Also, finding a pharmacy with an established reputation and cliental that was ready to be bought out was almost impossible. And getting a bank loan while owning two house ... well you get the point!

Our goal now was to find a pharmacy. So Sunday, Sept. 18th, DJ had a plan to talk to a pharmacy friend who attended our church. He also informed me at the beginning of service that he was going to be re-baptized. WHAT? Well, he explained that when he was 8 he accepted Christ and was baptized then, but after attending church with his Aunt and Uncle when he was 15 he learned what it meant to truly follow Jesus and became reborn then. But he never got re-baptized. This was an internal struggle for quite some time and he decided to correct it that Sunday! Well, as we were taken in the back room to talk with decision volunteers, the helper assigned to us was a pharmacy friend, Dell McCarley! After talking with him about DJ's baptism, DJ asked him about owning a pharmacy and wanted to get his advice (by the way this was not the same person he wanted to talk to that morning). After we got home, DJ saw in the paper that Dell's pharmacy had a job opening. We had no idea that Dell's pharmacy was hiring when we talked to him at church that morning. And we had no idea God was going to lead us in this direction. Who knew Dell would be there when DJ made the decision to be re-baptized. But DJ didn't apply to the job since he was looking to become a business owner. However a couple of days later, Dell called DJ to discuss the job with him and eventually offered him the position. After much prayer and discussion DJ (and I) accepted the offer. :)

Some people might look at this and say it was just luck or coincidence, but I know it was JUST GOD! He had his hand all over this. It is something completely different from what DJ has done in the past, but the schedule is perfect and an answered prayer. It is what we have been seeking for about 3 years now. He will not have to work on Sundays or holidays. He will have a normal day schedule with occasional afternoons and Saturdays. Finally my husband will be home for dinner (most nights)! :) He will be a compounding pharmacist, and that comes with less patient and insurance interaction, which was one of DJ's biggest stressors at Walgreens.

So, starting in two weeks, DJ and our family will embark on a new era! Thanks to answered prayers and patience while waiting on God's plan and timing.

Fall...

...it is my favorite time of the year!

I love the weather, the cool nights and pleasantly warm days. I have had my main room windows up for the majority of this month. Since the bedroom windows are still closed, it isn't too cold during the nights. Maybe a little chilly first thing waking up and walking into the living room and kitchen, but overall nice through the day.

Another thing I love about this time of the year is the colors! Spring is pretty with all the new flowers, but I just love the look of autumn. The browns, reds, and oranges! It screams peace to me. Unfortunately when the trees turn these amazing colors that means we only have a short while before the leaves fall off and you are left with a grey tree! But for that short time it is just amazing.

Football is another great thing about this time. I must admit that I was more in love with the sport before I had kids. Not sure why! Maybe it has something to do with the less time I have now. I don't get to watch much TV unless it is Mickey Mouse or Super Why. And when football is on, there is always something to do around the house or with the kids. Even though I don't watch it as much anymore, I still have a buried love for it. And one day things will arrange themselves where I will have more time to watch it! DJ can keep my updated until then.

One of my most recently added favorites to this season is school. I didn't understand the power of "going back to school" until this year. Hannah has been in preschool for two years now. It wasn't until this last year that she really began to enjoy going to school. So when Summer started I was somewhat relieved that I would get to sleep in, but Hannah wasn't. She really missed going to school. Towards the end of the summer she became restless and got into more trouble. So when school started back it was a relief! Along with school there has been other things that have filled our down time. Routines are back in order and life continues on!

Hello Again!

It has been way to long since I last blogged! Enough said. Here is a catch up!

A lot has happened in our life since I was last on here:

- We have built a new home.

- Hannah has started Kindergarten at Howard Perrin Elementary (in Benton).

- I have become more of a morning person! I know! This is in part to getting up with Hannah every morning. I am awake early and therefore go to bed early. But I have enjoyed every minute of it. And because I am away early I am more productive! This might be due to the gallon of coffee I drink every morning...no really it is just a cup or two! But I do get energy from it.

- I was saved! I realized the decision I made when I was 12 was not a decision of faith and complete trust, but I "get out of Hell card". So on March 20th of this year I gave my whole heart and life to Jesus. I know now the commitment I made and try everyday to live by faith and trust Him for everything in my life. Sometimes I still fail, but I know God still loves me and will never leave me!

- Our family took a vacation to the beach! It was a lot of fun. We went with some great friends and relaxed the whole week! Hopefully we will be going back again next year!

- I have lost 45 lbs!!! I lost some of that about a year ago and about 30 lbs. this summer alone. I fit into a size medium shirt and can wear some of my old t-shirts from high school and college. The main thing is I am healthier now! DJ lost 20 lbs. this summer with me. We did it on the HCG diet. You can google that to find out more information. We did drops that a doctor prescribed. It was mentally hard, but a very rapid way to lose weight. I would still like to lose a little more, but I am in no hurry and I will do it through exercise and eating healthy.

- My grandmother passed away. She is technically not my grandmother by blood, but rather in all the ways that count she was. See, my dad's parents were tragically killed when he was 8 years old. My dad's uncle and wife, GiGi, took him in and raised him. After my dad's uncle left GiGi, she still continued to keep him as her own. She also had two daughters and a son of her own, but my dad was always considered hers too. I didn't have a close relationship with GiGi due to distance and other things, but she was still a great woman. Hannah and her had developed a lovely relationship during the last few years. Hannah and GiGi would exchange phone calls and snail mail occasionally. Hannah didn't really understand the whole death experience, but I know she misses her. And so do I. I wish we would have been closer, but I am happy she is in heaven with the Lord.

I guess that is my life from the last 9 months or so in a nut shell. I am going to try to keep up the blog for myself. I would love to look back and know what God has done in my life and how I have grown (spiritually). And to have a written memory of my kids childhood! I also like sharing it with all my friends!