Prayer Request

One of my family's friends is going through a very tough time right now. This person lost her husband a few years ago to cancer, and is now facing the possibility of losing her youngest son as well. Even if he recovers, his condition is very serious and will probably require medical treatment for the rest of his life.

I don't feel comfortable going in to any further details, but God knows what's going on and who I'm talking about. Please please please include this family in your prayers. I'm very worried about how my parents' friend will cope however this turns out. I pray that God grants her peace and the means necessary to provide her son the best medical care possible. I pray that if he doesn't make it, that God will be there to heal her pain.

Can't Sleep

Steven got sick from food poisoning this weekend (yuk!) so after a thrilling Sunday of "hurry up and wait," at a clinic and a hospital, he got to spend today at home, relaxing, and feeling like junk.

Unfortunately, I do not sleep very well when I'm stressed, therefore I'm blogging!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/26/california.octuplets/index.html

Check that link out. Holy moly, having one baby is enough!

Ok, I am completely without direction right now. I'm going to try sleeping once more and if all else fails, I just found a new Disney show on iTunes. Mmmmm I love the Disney channel.

Will blog soon about Jess & Chris' visit, as well as a blessed event I caught on camera last week. In the meantime, please keep Steven in your thoughts & prayers. He's having a tough time & generally feeling icky.

Spouses & Siblings

Nate Johnson, you'll appreciate this story...

Last night Steven, Jackson, and I went to Strikz to meet up with our friend, Cale, for some bowling. In the first frame, Steven had hit 1 pin, and Cale and I both had hit 7. It went downhill from there. Steven and I used to go bowling in Yokosuka and he would beat me probably 65-75 percent of the time (and he'll tell you that he "let" me win to make me feel better... it's a dirty lie). But we both averaged 80-100 points per game, so it was never a whooping for either one of us. Which is good, because we are both competitive. I mean, I'm competitive, but Steven is COMPETITIVE. Whoa. So last night, when I was already beating him one frame in, it was a problem, so the blame started coming. First, it was the ball. Our balls must have been "better" in some form, so he started using our balls. Then, I got the first stike of the night, which really ticked them both off. Cale came back with a few strikes of his own. Unfortunately (for all involved), Steven did not. Next, it was the lane! This lane was no good because it "hated" Steven for some reason I'm not entirely clear on... Then it was ALL the lanes in that particular bowling alley. NEXT time we should go bowling at Main Event or Plano Super Bowl because this bowling alley was no good. First game ended with Cale at 91, I bowled 77, and Steven... well... lost. I won't embarrass him with his score.

The next game started and Steven and Cale went to get a beer (when Steven & I go out, only one of us drinks so the other can drive, and if Jackson's with us it's usually not me drinking). When they came back, Steven was up first, aaaaaand he guttered. Apparently he was getting sick of the blame game, so he started in on the "if I don't try, I can't fail" tactic. First, he decided to bowl with his left hand. Of course, Cale acted surprised that Steven hadn't been bowling left-handed all along. Since bowling left-handed hurt & didn't improve his game any, Steven declared very loudly that he gave up and started lobbing the ball down the lane without any concern for where it would land. Guess what, it usually landed in the gutter. Next, he decided to see if his "bad luck" (because it COULDN'T be his lack of bowling skills) would wear off on our balls and started hurling them down the lane as well. Cale broke 100 during this game, I bowled an 86, and Steven bowled an 18. Little 5 year old Dominic in the lane next to us had an 18 in the fourth frame!

Which brings me to the title of this post. Spouses & siblings know better than anyone how to push buttons. And I'm a button-pusher. The whole night I was razzing Steven every chance I had. I really think that it mostly bothered him that he was losing to ME. Cale isn't one to spare feelings either, so he was in on Steven as well. At one point Jackson started to wimper and Cale quickly asked him "What's wrong Jackson, are you sad that your Dad can't bowl?" Luckily for me, Steven isn't one of those pouty competitive types, he just makes a joke of it, so we ended up having a great time.

Speaking of "pushing buttons..." his first game score was 54.

Who Could Resist?

...this face!! I sure can't & now it's my desktop background.

Jackson had a BIG weekend! Friday night he went over to Mema & Papa's house to play with the new dolphin toys Mema bought for him. And Saturday night he went to Grandma's house to watch Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. Grandma tells us that Jackson thought the portrayal of Shylock was excellent (even if he did pass out in Grandma's arms).

While Jackson was being spoiled by his grandparents, Steven and I were left to fend for ourselves. Friday night we went to see Paul Blart, Mall Cop. It was definitely stupid & predictable... but I couldn't help but laugh. One of my favorite parts was watching the "bad guys" run around the mall. They were doing "Parkour" or street-jumping all over the mall. YouTube has a lot of videos (google street ninja), and it's just unbelievable to watch people do this! It must take a lot of skill. Mind you, I'd NEVER try it because I'm klutzy & I'd probably break myself (I've already snapped my femur once, that's enough!), but I love watching other people do it. Anyways, it was interesting to see how it's made it's way in to mainstream culture, kind of like the Fast and the Furious did with streetracing.

Anyways, after that we went to Chuy's, a mexican restaurant. YUM! It was very good and even though the service wasn't great, the food was! I had the Chica Chica Boom Boom, and anytime you can use onomatopoeia to order your meal, it's a good night. I actually wanted to dance and beat box my order, but I thought that was probably a little much, so I chickened out.

On Saturday night we went out with our friend Cale. Cale and Steven knew each other in middle school, and then I met him in high school. He dated my high school best friend, Claire, for several years and they were both in our wedding. Cale also works in the Dallas area, and we had been talking about getting together since we came home, and last night we finally made it happen! I forgot how much fun we have with him. We went to Posado's (more Mexican food!! YUM!!) and then to Starbucks. I felt really bad at Starbucks because I kept laughing so loud I think I was disturbing the other customers. Cale and Steven were trading stories back and forth, and Cale was easily keeping up with Steven's story-telling ability. Every so often I'd pop in with my own story & they'd usually fall short... so finally I gave up and just enjoyed their stories. Even now I'm laughing a little. Cale and Steven have planned to go golfing and to a Stars game in the next couple weeks, which will be great for Steven. As much as he loves spending time with Jackson & me, I think he has really missed having "guy time."

This coming weekend my college best friend, Jess, is coming to visit with her boyfriend, Chris. I couldn't be more excited!! Steven & I haven't met Chris in person yet, and Jess hasn't seen Jackson. It's going to be a great weekend and I only wish we had more time to spend together! Jess and I always have a lot of fun together & even though I've been in Japan, we've managed to visit each other a few times over the past couple years. It's going to be a great weekend!!

Jackson's Bathroom

Today I officially finished my first project since we got to the apartment, much to Steven's (wallet's) excitement. In Japan we only had one bathroom because families with up to 3 dependents are given a 2 bed, 1 bath apartment. Our new apartment has 2 bathrooms, to which Steven said "You mean I don't have to wait for the toilet? Awesome!" Haha, it's the little things in life...

So since we already had a bathroom set for the master bath (that we couldn't use in Japan b/c it clashed with the tile), I got to go buy a whole new set for Jackson's bathroom! Three Targets, one Lonestar Kids & Baby and a Babies R Us later... the bathroom is finished!!

I'm pretty proud of how it turned out.... can you tell what the theme is? I decided to take one "jungle animal" from Jackson's room theme and use it in the bathroom. Ok, I lied, really I went to Target and planned to do penguins, but the monkeys were cuter. Since the shower has a glass door, I couldn't use a shower curtain, so I got these wall decals instead. It just looked so empty with no decoration on that end of the bathroom.

So my next step is to tackle the nursery. My best friend from college, Jess, and her boyfriend, Chris, are coming to visit us next weekend, so I hope I can pull the house together by then!

Daddy's Office!!

Jackson & I went by Daddy's office today... here are some pictures of our visit.

What an upgrade from the Blue Ridge!


The waiting room... also known as the "quarterdeck."


To the right is the mess hall, and to the left we have "the head."


The XO's taking a break to give his newest recruit a good cuddle.

Jackson had fun playing at Daddy's office and I think Steven was happy to take a few minutes off from work after a busy week. I gotta say, his office looks pretty good! I wonder who helped him decorate.... ;)

Unpacking

One reason I'm happy to be back in Plano is that we don't have to move anymore! Every year at CU I had to pack up and move all my stuff home (ok, I admit it, I cheated & stored some stuff in the TriDelt attic sometimes even though we weren't supposed to) & then bring it all back again 3 months later when school started back up. In the summers I would move my laundry to and from camp every week. Then I moved to Japan with Steven and 2 years later we're back again.

Unpacking is so much fun because I find things that I've forgotten about, but then I have to find a place to put it all! That part is NOT fun. I'm not very good at organizing, and especially staying organized. I hope (in vain?) that that will change since I'll be staying at home with Jackson. Today Steven and I had a conversation about that. I find myself looking for jobs even though I don't plan to get one. It's just that I've always had a job since my sophomore year of college, but I'd rather spend my time with Jackson than put him in daycare.

But I'm off-topic. UNPACKING! We have soooo much to unpack! It's amazing how much stuff two people can accumulate. Then we got a call yesterday saying that our Household Goods are here... which seems like a blessing and a curse. We can finally set up our apartment, but we have to figure out where to put all that stuff. Sounds like it's time to go to the Container Store!

Bath Time!!

I'm still trying to get into this "Stay At Home Mom" role, so I haven't had a lot of time to blog. Most of my time is spent cleaning up the kitchen/living room, doing laundry, feeding Jackson, feeding Steven and I, and playing with Jackson. Guess which "chore" is my favorite.

So tonight we gave Jackson a bath... and here are some pictures!

Getting Clean!! (With a little help from Mommy & Daddy)

Jackson loves the Tigger bathrobe that Aunt Jess sent!

The best part about being a baby - Daddy hugs!!

Light Show

Recently, Mr. Jackson has REALLY been into lights. He sometimes cries if I don't lift him up on my shoulder so he can look around. His favorite toy right now is the Fisher Price "Rainforest Melody & Lights Deluxe Gym" (see left - no that's not Jackson in the picture) because it has lights that blink with the music. He will lie there and just be fascinated by the colors and patterns. It's amazing to watch. It also gives me about 20-30 minutes to get things done around the house. One nice thing about not working is that our house is much tidier than it was in Yokosuka. Especially when I was pregnant, I had a hard time coming home and cleaning up after having been at work all day. All I wanted to do was zone out and watch some TV. Anyways, Jackson's other favorite light is at my parents' house. They have this lamp that hangs in the TV/Gameroom that's been there as long as I can remember. It has to be Jackson's favorite lamp in the world! He struggles to lift his head up to stare at it while I'm trying to burp him. Here's a picture of it on the right. It's a pretty funny shape, so I can see why he likes it so much. Unfortunately, we don't have any cool lamps like this in the apartment, so we'll have to visit Grandma so Jackson can see his favorite lamp.

Moving in to the apartment is going well! I tackled Jackson's bathroom first, and now it's covered in cute, playful monkeys. Tomorrow Steven is going to build his crib (yay!) so then I'll probably start in on the nursery. I can't do too much quite yet because my best friend from college, Jess, and her boyfriend, Chris, are coming to visit us!! Jess hasn't seen Jackson yet (except back in May when he was in my belly) and I haven't met Chris in person, so it's going to be a lot of fun to get together with them!! Jess and I always have a blast when we're together, and Steven will be relieved to finally have an ally.

Well, Jackson is passed out in my lap and Steven is passed out on the couch... do you think they're hinting at me? I guess it's time to go to bed, but before I go, here's a picture of my favorite little boy having a cuddle with his Daddy.


Good Night!

First Day at Home

So today was my first official day as a "Stay-At-Home-Mom." Surprisingly, even though I got a few things done (unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, cleaned up the game room and kitchen, did some laundry, got a plumber to fix the leak under the sink), I still felt like I should have been doing something more. In the future, I think I'll need to find more to do. I'm so used to being busy all the time that now that we're back from "vacation" I don't really know what to do with myself (and Jackson). Steven found a Mommy & Me class in the area that sounds like it could be a lot of fun. We're definitely going to have to check that out. And once the weather warms up and dries out a little, we'll probably start taking walks (because Mommy has to lose the last little bit of baby weight and the holidays did NOT help) around the apartment complex. I've also toyed with the idea of knitting Jackson a baby blanket. I bought some soft, baby blue yarn a few years ago because I had a friend who could crochet really well, but she never had the chance to use it. So, I have all this yarn... and a baby... and VERY limited knowledge and ability to knit. I think I've started at least 6 or 7 scarves and only finished 3 of them. Of those, I only really liked one (which I made for Steven). That's 3 scarves in 15 years of knitting... my track record isn't the greatest. But I think that it's a hobby I may want to pick up again. I also need to start Jackson's baby book and finish our wedding scrapbook. This is a trend in my life, I'm very good at starting things, but not necessarily the best at seeing them through. I hope I can change that now that I'll be spending more time at home.

Let's Try this Again....

So, you may remember our last (failed) attempt at creating a blog. It began with a hope and ended on a depressing note. Yesterday Steven, Jackson, and I went out to lunch with Steven's friend from HS, Lauren. She suggested that this would be a good time to start up a new blog since we've just moved back to Plano. I think it's a great idea because reading other people's blogs makes me feel like I'm still part of their life even when we don't have a chance to talk very often. So... here it goes again!

Since returning to Plano we've been living with my Mom and on an extended vacation. I think that's why it feels like we're just on leave, instead of actually out of the military. Today is the last day of that vacation. Tomorrow we will pick up the keys to our new apartment, Steven has his first official day in the office, and I have the first of many appointments to get things settled at my parents' house and our new apartment. Speaking of our new apt, it kicks our old apt in the booty! Steven and I are both SO excited! The floorplan to the right is the apartment we're renting, but ours is flipped. Steven and I are taking the bedroom with the attached bath and MONSTER CLOSET!! This may not be good for Steven since I have more time on my hands and several malls in the area... watch out, here I come!! This closet is literally big enough to hold a twin size bed, with room to spare. SO different from our situation in Yokosuka. That leaves Jackson with the long bedroom. We're going to split the room in to a play area and a sleeping area. We found these alphabet foam squares that we're going to put on the ground in his play area and we're going to get some low shelves for his toys and a mirror for the wall so he can check himself out. We've found some great options on the Lakeshore website and they have a store in Dallas! I think it may become one of my favorite places to find things for Jackson.

The other thing we love about the apartment is that we have a 2 car garage AND 2 covered parking spots!! Steven has decided that rather than park inside the garage, he's going to create a "man space" on one side, similar to what his father has done in their garage. I am so fine with that if it means that my house doesn't have random tools everywhere. It's been fun thinking of things to put out there. So far we've come up with a workbench (complete with tools of course), a hammock, a mini-fridge, a TV, and a heater for the winter. I wonder if I'll ever see him again if he gets all that stuff. At one point I suggested a pool table, but seeing as my car will be in there too, I don't think that's a good idea anymore.

So here's hoping that this blog takes off a little better than the other one did!