Splish! Splash!

We've been taking advantage of good friends that have pools this summer! They've been nice enough to let us bring the boys swimming whenever we want. We're really lucky! Here are a few pictures of them being fish. Gotta love the goggles! :)

TIMBER!

Jonas went to his electricians house to help him clear a tree that had fallen down on his property last week. It got hit by lightening and made huge mess of his yard. We went to lunch with them on Saturday and they were telling us what had happened. Jonas offered to bring his chainsaw and help him. It turned out to be a bigger job than he anticipated. It was a red Oak that was estimated to about 125 years old. While they were clearing, another part of the tree fell. Luckily no one was under it at the time. In fact Jonas had just sent someone to the shed for a rake! They ended up recruiting some more people to help... as it was now blocking the driveway. They got it done before another summer storm blew through. They were grateful for his help. Everyone was exhausted after a hard afternoon of work. Guess what was greeting up when we got home??? Yep, seems a new set of storms hit us. Now in our back yard is a huge limb that fell from our great big oak tree. Guess what my husband will be doing next weekend with the help of his friend? You guessed it!

Lucy is home

Lucia Isabella Jackson, "Lucy", of Park City, UT , passed away at Primary Children's Hospital, Thursday, May 22, 2008, after a tragic accident. Lucy was born June 11, 2006, in Salt Lake City, UT, to Victor Michael and Molly Bice Jackson.Lucy fell in love with Peter Pan and Captain Hook after watching her mother fly above the stage in the role of Peter. Lucy loves "juiccccce", jumping, dancing, feeding horses, playing with friends and family. Her little body wasn't big enough for her exuberant and lively spirit which illuminated all who met her. Her name means "light" and she lives up to her name in every way. Lucy is survived by her parents, Vic and Molly, grand-parents, Le and Marlene Jackson and Russell and Nancy Bice, and many aunts, uncles and cousins who love her. We anxiously await her glorious resurrection so that we can be together again.We are so grateful to the wonderful doctors and staff at Primary Children's Hospital who took such good care of our little Lucy during her last few days in mortality. We have felt the love and prayers of family, friends, and caring communities who held and sustained us during these difficult days. Thank you. Memorial services will be held Tuesday, May 27, 2008, at the Park City LDS Stake Center beginning at 11:00 am. A viewing for friends and family will be held Monday, May 26, from 6 to 8 pm at the Kimball Ward, and at the Park City Stake Center from 9:30 to 10:30 am on Tuesday morning. Burial will be at the Salt Lake City cemetery. In lieu of flowers, friends have established a special fund. Donations to the "Lucy Jackson Fund" will be accepted at any Utah branch of Chase Bank. Lucy donated her liver and other organs to save other children. A child in San Francisco received her liver and we are waiting to hear if it was successful. Just imagine how the parents of that little child felt when they got the good news. I'm so proud of Lucy.

I did not know this family personally. Lucy is the second cousin of one of my friends in middle Tennessee. Lucy apparently choked on a piece of an apple. She went into a coma and never came out of it. After hearing about the tragedy from my Mom, I found the family's blog. Looking at pictures of this beautiful little girl, I cried and cried. The family has inspired me with their courage and Faith. As a mother of three children I ask why? Why would this happen? I am comforted by the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith:

"The Lord takes many away even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man and the sorrows and evils of this present world, they were too pure, too lovely, to live on this earth. Therefore, if rightly considered, instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil and we shall have them again. The only difference between the old and the young dying is one lives longer in heaven and eternal light and glory than the other and is freed a little sooner from this miserable world."-The Prophet Joseph Smith

I wanted to share the obituary on my blog for all to be touched as I was. Lucy is home.

COLE

I realized I don't have hardly any pictures of Cole. So here's something for him....

Confident

Ornery

Little

Energetic

Whirlwind Weekend

Happy Monday! We had a crazy weekend, but a great one! Jonas got back from attending scout camp at Skymont at about 1 am on Saturday. He was tied and cranky! He'll never admit it, but he was! He had fun with the boys, but was definitely ready to come home. He said sleeping in a cot in a platform tent was a whole lot easier at 14 rather than 30! He woke up bright and early to take the boys to a baseball camp at AT&T Field. I stayed at home with Cole who is still too little for some things, much to his dismay. It was a free camp sponsored by Chevy. They had a great time! They practiced hitting and fielding techniques with the Lookouts players. They're a AA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. My husband tried to pass for 12, so he could play on the field too.... but no such luck! :^) Oh... and they had lunch too. It was a really good day for them!

We decided to go back to the field to watch a ball game that night. This time with just each other. We left the kids with their Uncle Mike so we could have some time together. Jonas has been out of town so much this month that we desperately needed a date night. It was a great game. The Lookouts ended up winning 4-3. We stayed for the fireworks afterwards and then went out to dinner downtown at The Big River Grill with some friends. I had a hot dog and the game and wasn't too hungry, so I went straight for the good stuff. Key Lime Cheesecake. YUMMY! Jonas got a mushroom/swiss burger. I think mushrooms are best left on the ground. After all they are considered a fungus, but whatever. He said it was really good. Anyways, Chattanooga really has a nice downtown and it is especially beautiful at night. We stayed out a bit later than we intended, but we came home to the kids all in bed asleep and it was just a really good day.

We got up and went to church on Sunday, ate some lunch and got Jonas all packed up to leave again. He got in to Daytona Beach around midnight. He's hoping his work will get done soon there and he'll be back mid week. I've been reading a lot in the evenings. House cleaning and cooking is another story... :^) Why bother. We've been hitting a lot of drive thru's. I'm contemplating taking the kids to Chuckee Cheese, but I'm not sure how brave I'm feeling or if I want the headache that comes after. We have plans to go to the pool and the library this week. They are looking forward to it. The summer really is flying by.

So, that was our weekend. I'm sure I'll have another update soon!

Dixie or Yankee?

Why have I been writing so much lately? Ummm... That would be because my husband has been out of town and I am bored! Something that has aways been a fun topic of conversation for us has been certain words that mean different things in the South. I say that, because I, of course , amd from Baltimore. Yep! I'm a Yankee. Most of the time it's just a civil conversation. Very rarely does it get heated! :^) Here are some examples:

(Yankee) Shopping CART
(Dixie) BUGGY
Last time I checked a buggy was what you put a baby inside of.

(Yankee) A TOBOGGAN is a SLED
(Dixie) A TOBOGGAN is a winter HAT
You should see the looks on people's faces when a Southerner goes up north and asks for a Toboggan and is handed a sled.

(Yankee) GOOSEBUMPS. You know those things to get when you are scared or cold.
(Dixie) CHILLBUMPS. Needs no explanation. That is just weird.

(Yankee) TPing- That would be toiletpapering someone's house. Something I've never been apart of.... :^)
(Dixie) ROLLING- That would be TPing someone's house. :^)

(Yankee) COKE. That would mean COCA COLA and only COCA COLA.
(Dixie) COKE. That would include all soft drinks.
If I want a Coke, I ask for a Coke. If I want a Sprite, I ask for a Sprite. Now doesn't that make sense?

These are just a few. If you think of any I've missed, well then post a comment. They say opposittes attract and I suppose that's true. Jonas and I have a lot of differences, but in the end I think we do well and balance each other out. I've tried to expose the boys to my Northern roots. I've been known to correct them when they start to ask to push the BUGGY at the store. Cole... I believe there is little hope for him. Everything is a Coke. I have to ask... "Now do you want a SPRITE COKE or a COKE COKE?" I loved growing up in Maryland. I have so many memories. I lived there for 17 years of my life. I love living in the South now though. There are so many great things about it. Life is at a slower pace here. You learn to relax and not be in such a rush all of the time. Southern hospitality is real! For the most part people are so friendly. I am thankful to have experienced both.... but for the record, I don't think I'll be calling a hat a TOBOGGAN any time soon. Just sayin. :^)

Jeremiah the Jedi....

So.... Our family went to Disney World in January. It was a great trip! Lived up to all the expectations I had before going. While we were there, Jeremiah got picked to fight Darth Vader and ultimately was named an honorary Jedi. We even went as far as to take him to Downtown Disney where he got to build his very own lightsaber. Apparently it is the only place in the world you can do so. Anyways, he took this training very seriously. We thought it might wear off after a few months... but nope... he is going strong. Anyways, our church had a softball tournament last Saturday. Unfortunately one of our players got hurt and ended up requiring stitches. He's okay, of course, but it was crazy when it happened. There was a lot of bleeding and Jeremiah was one of the first on the scene. I asked him later if he was scared seeing all that blood. He replied... "Mom... Hello? I'm a JEDI! Jedi's don't get scared of a little blood!" Right Jeremiah... Should have known. I wonder how soon it'll be before he decides to use this tactic at school. I can just see him saying to his teacher.... "Homework??? Jedi's don't do homework!" Let him always be little... :^)

Check out my Slide Show!

Summertime

Long time, no write! School is out.... Summer is here! What's everyone doing with their summer? We just wrapped up a week at cub scout camp. I'm exhausted, but the kids had so much fun. My sister and her kids came down for the week to help out. We were kept quite busy. It was held at Chester Frost Park in Hixson. Luckily, it's just about 5 minutes from the house. They dissected owl pellets, built treasur boxes and bird feeders, raced boats, shot bows and bb guns, played games etc. The theme this year was "local heroes." We had different people come each day and tell us about their jobs. We even had the K-9 unit come. He had a dog named Oobs. The officer hid some marijuana behind a tree and the dog sniffed it out and found it. The kids just thought that was awesome. I was the programs director this year. I'm supposed to be for the next 5 years. You know what?? I kind of missed being a den leader. Yeah, it's great to be able to plan all the activities, but I like getting to know the boys and getting on their level. I was still able to somewhat. There's always that one kids that kind of pulls at your heart. His family didn't come for the closing campfire. They missed his skit and we had to call them to come and pick him up. He wanted to come back the next week. He asked if he could come and live at my house.... Makes me sad. Some days I think I'd really like to be a teacher, but then I think I'd have a hard time not bringing the "work" home with me. Who knows??? Maybe it'll happen.
Jonas was the rangemaster all week. He had the great idea of having the boys try and pop balloons on the target. They just loved it! He left yesterday for Port Orange, Fl to work on a Kohl's dept. store. He'll be gone at least a week. Lucky him gets to spend his evenings on the beach.... Next time he's bringing us along on his "business trip." I'm spending a few days at my mom's. Last week she fell and broke her leg... I guess I get my clumsiness honestly! :^) She's in a hard cast at least 3 more weeks. I came up here for the week. Cole when he first saw her said: "Memaw! You need to watch where you're going!!!!" He's always honest!
Life is good with the Shackleford's. I count my blessings and am grateful for the life I have been given. The boys make me laugh every day. I hope everyone is doing great! Hopefully anohter update will follow soon!