Late Bloomer

Valentine's Day

Please Be Mine!!!

Hugs and Kisses,
The Jackson FamilyThe girls think these Valentine chair backers we send love notes in make perfect backpacks for them.

May you find love and happiness on this special day!

New Year's Eve

Out with the old, ring in the new! Goodbye 2008 and Welcome 2009!
For the first time in YEARS we celebrated New Year's Eve the proper way, in Salem playing Tripoley and loving every second of it. The boys are old enough to understand how to play and while we have tried to play it in years past here alone in Kentucky, it just isn't quite the same.

Growing up New Year's Eve was always one of my favorite holidays. There wasn't a big let down after Christmas wrapped up because not only did we get to enjoy another week without school, but we got to count down the new year playing my favorite game ever!

The Tripoley tradition started even before my birth. My dad and his family played it growing up and he continued it on with us. I certainly am going to do the same with my brood for years and years to come.

In fact Swensons, who often have joined us in our feast and game playing over the years, gave Rich and me a game of our own as a shower gift. We have since purchased an upgrade and the boys love pulling it out on New Year's as much as I do.
Greg and Kate made these fun party hats and brought some sparkling cider to kick off the new year.
We had an ample supply of goodies, treats, snacks and food. As you can see Josh made a wise choice when selecting his chair- right next to the good stuff.We divided up into teams since we had a large group (everyone except Jeff, Sarah and Kurt). Rhett had a Children's Choir performance, so he was gone for a while, but he brought his friends home to say hello and then headed to a party.The girls kept busy running up to the loft then bringing down their toys to play with near the group. They LOVE these old shopping carts Greg and I got as children.The party was going great, we stuffed ourselves with BBQ ribs, potatoes, salad and many other choices. Then Matt ate something (we don't really know what) that didn't quite agree with him. He had an allergic reaction (which has happened before) and soon his lip was swollen. He gagged down 1/2 a Benadryl and then fell asleep. A short while later, I noticed Matt had run to the bathroom and the smell of vomit. I think the intense gag while taking the medicine upset his stomach and he managed to throw up all over the couch, rug, carpet and bathroom leaving a trail behind him. After a long pause of the game (30 minutes) and some major carpet cleaning the party was back on. Just not for Matt or Trey who soon began to complain on stomach pains (but thankfully never got worse than that....)

Greg's winning stack of chips! Josh nearly made it to midnight, but us EST folks had it a bit rougher. He ended up asleep on a pile of towels on the kitchen counter.

Hello 2009! We can't wait to see what you have in store for us....

D.C. Bound

The long awaited day for Rich's month long trip to D.C. arrived yesterday morning. It was a quick and relatively painless goodbye since we were cutting his flight a bit close even though he was flying out of Lexington.

Once upon a time there would have been many tears shed on my part followed by a bitter sting because of the physical distance that would be between us. But the pain was a bit dulled that morning, for me at least. After almost 12 years of marriage and months of separation after I had twins- twice, it seemed a bit like old times dropping him off at the airport. It is always sad, but not as sad as it had been in the past. It certainly is not because I love Rich any less than I did when we were engaged or married with a few children. In fact I love him oh so much more.

The true reason was because I wasn't the one going off on an unusual adventure totally alone. He has a future of long lectures all day, followed by quiet meals by himself, an empty apartment to come home to each evening and a cold bed to sleep in every night. I know what a hardship this is on him and I'm grateful he is willing to go and put in the time giving us a wonderful future.

How could I be sad or complain when I am the one getting the long end of the stick in this whole deal? I have it easy. I certainly am not going to be alone, in fact I usually get at least one extra warm body crawl into bed during some time in the night and no peace or quiet during the day and million hugs and kisses (mostly slobbery) and stories about crazy dreams and talks of toy wish lists and a ward full of loving people willing to help if needed. And best of all Rich was leaving me a part of him- five parts of him in fact. What would I do without my babies adding spice and joy (along with never ending messes!) to my life? I have no idea. Rich on the other hand was the one that will have work and silence and loneliness. I am sure his heart ached as we pulled away from the curb leaving him behind.

At least yesterday started the countdown toward the end. I don't mind the whole thing beginning because then we are finally actually moving toward the finish of it all. And that's the best part of all, knowing it will soon be done. I guess I have a similar attitude towards a lot of things that are difficult, for instance missions. It will be hard, but the reward is immense and the reunion is always sweet. You, as the mother, just have to put on a happy face and send them on their way knowing that it will make it easier on the prospective missionary knowing you are proud of what they are going to do and there will be help from good people and from above in their journey through.

Like missions, this is something that we knew was coming years in advance. Rich has known about this part of residency far before he chose his specialty. It was one of those random negative things we briefly discussed when he was in the process of deciding what he wanted to try to match in. We knew radiology had 3 sets of boards during residency- one being a killer physics test and that he would have to spend 5 weeks at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C. But you just have to take the bad with a good and know that yes, it will be tough, but we will persevere through it all.

We tried to have an enjoyable weekend together before he left. The boys' basketball games filled Friday night and Saturday morning. We had a farewell dinner at Qdoba and then the reality set in and it was crunch time. Even though Rich had his exact dates for this trip for eight months, he was busy looking up bus routes and shuttles and train schedules on Saturday night. He began packing at 12:30 PM while the kids and I built blanket forts under the desk in our room. The trip was looming near, but the idea that he would be gone was hard to really think about or talk about since it was just easier to enjoy every moment together before he actually left.

Sunday morning arrived too quickly and we were rushing to get out the door. I had to laugh when we walked through the complete disaster we call the bedrooms upstairs and I spied a dollar bill on the floor. I told Rich he had better pick that up and add it to the small amount of cash in his wallet since it never occurred to me to head to the ATM that week. He said he had planned on it. It made me chuckle. That's a residents life I guess, keeping even the small bills. And you never know when a dollar or two might come in handy!

We arrived at the airport with 35 minutes until his flight left. He happily posed for pictures with all the kids before he had to say good-bye. The boys were giving him souvenir ideas while the girls blew kisses. I hated sending him off, but thankfully cell phones and airplanes make him seem not quite as far away.

When I called him later to see if he got checked in and through security he told me his bag was 9 pounds over and he was doing some major juggling with his small carry-on in hopes of avoiding the $90 fee for overweight bags. He ended up stuffing 3 sweaters, a bottle of Glucosamine and a few large Ziploc baggies stuffed with instant oatmeal packets (I insisted he take so he would at least have breakfast every morning) into his shoulder bag. Poor thing.

Then he discovered at the gate there was no airplane meaning he would miss his connection in Cincinnati since he only had a 35 minute layover. They rerouted him through Detroit which got him into Baltimore about 4 hours later than scheduled. He took a bus to the Amtrak train which took him to Union Terminal where he then rode two different metro lines and finally got to his apartment- 2424 Pennsylvania Avenue, just 8 blocks down from the White House.

And so the adventure (for us all) begins. I'll keep you posted.

Two more random things. I had a good laugh during our farewell dinner. We all walked into the restaurant around 8 PM and it was filled with college age kids. As we approached the counter one young female employee turned to the other server and in not a quiet voice exclaimed, "There are 5 of them!"- referring to our kids. It was so funny because we were right there watching her. I thought it would be fun to complement her math skills, but instead gave her a big grin and told her, "You're right. Two sets of twins. Lucky us." Five may have been the correct answer, but our attitude towards the number were complete opposites. It's all how you look at it.

Bringing me to my last thought. I gave a lesson to the young women after I dropped Rich off and it was about Finding Joy Now. I LOVE teaching, especially the young women because I learn so much personally as I think about the topic as I prepare and then actually give the lesson. I thought it was so appropriated for this particular time in my life. It basically taught the girls that you just have to decide everyday to see the good. Too focus on the positive and it will help you get through tough times, help you make good decisions and want to help and serve others. I love the talk President Monson gave in the last General Conference address that was entitled- Finding Joy in the Journey and I shared part of it with the girls. It was the one talk that stayed in my mind long after the other messages faded a bit from memory. We have to find the joy. Find happiness. Find love and share it. And peace, contentment and blessings will follow. They always, always do.

We LOVE you Rich!!! Hurry home!

Girlie Adventures

Lest you think the girls have been missing out on all the snow day fun, don't be fooled by their lack of outdoor winter photos. They have been up to A LOT inside making the most of each and every day! By......Helping with laundry.Creating their own stores with clothing racksShopping all the time!All purchases go straight into the basket so they can be easily moved to the next mess pile, I mean next room.Where did Brynn go? (Hard to see her amongst the chaos of clothes and toys!)Playing peek-a-booKaitlyn found her!Silly girl!Creating amazing outfitsBrynn found this size 12 month dress in the storage bin and barely got it zipped up. And yes, that is my SIL's garter from their July wedding. Josh caught it and Brynn happily decided it made a fantastic headband.This girl just loves to twirl!Going to pretend parties in the van. I don't even want to know what I will find stuffed into all these bags!Helping me bake, even when I don't really need their assistance.Look at my sugar coated hands Mom.I'll just brush them off onto the floor. Nice.DaNCinG!!Hiding under the chair. Oh and did I mention that they are amazing at creating disatrous messes? Actually, I'd use the word experts.While the boys room stayed clean all day while the boys were finally back in school, the girls room across the hall was an entirely different story.....They did ALL of this while I was down emptying the dishwasher. Fast, efficient and very, very messy. But we still love you girls!