Pictures of our Beautiful Baby

So far so good. Micki is 6 days old today. Yesterday she went to the doctor and everything looked GREAT! She weighed 7 lbs 14 oz, so she's only lost a couple ounces . . . which is completely normal for those of you stressed out granparents that might not know that! She is eating well, and often, as can be seen by Jim and my bloodshot eyes! But each night she is sleeping a little more and we are hopeful by January she will let us sleep most of the night. Anyway, here are some pictures of her each day from her first week with us.

12/4 (Thursday)

Ready to leave the hospital and venture out into the COLD (literally) world

12/5 (Friday)

Looking around in the safety of Daddy's arms

12/6 (Saturday)

She is pretty happy when she is sleeping

12/7 (Sunday)

Though she loves her sleep, she is more awake and alert every day

Michelle Elaine Jackson

She's finally here! And she is so beautiful! We waited so long to meet Micki, but it was worth the wait. We went into the hospital Tuesday at 8:00 am as Jim and Brooke . . . we came out Thursday evening as Dad and Mom, carrying our baby girl with us! She arrived at 2:14 pm on Wednesday, December 3, 2008. Weighing in at 8 pounds even and measuring 19 inches, she is also very healthy. So far we are exhausted and happy and excited for all our new adventures together!

Due Date

Well, I am looking and feeling "uber pregnant" as Jim would say (except he won't say because he would be too afraid of my wrath!) We are having nightly talks with our little one, trying to tell her that if she is feeling so crowded she should come out into the big, cold world for some wiggle room. We promise to love her and be nice to her and Jim even tried bribing her with chocolate, but so far she seems conent where she is. So, if she has not come by her due date, December 2, we will be making an 8:00 am trip to the hospital for something we like to call "Operation Ready or Not You ARE Coming Out!" (A.K.A. induced labor). Everything is ready for her, the nursery, her well stocked closet, even a new diaper changing station in the bathroom. Jim built a beautiful pink shelf for all our cloth diapering needs! Now we are just missing a baby! Anyway, it looks as if her first Thanksgiving will be NEXT Thanksgiving. This year it will be Jim and me, and some company that we are looking forward to. My mom and dad are coming down with Trevor, Madison and Travis, just for the day, though I tried to convince them that they didn't need to, since they will be turning around and coming back for Michelle's birthday! (It is possible I didn't try very hard, since I do miss them terribly and would LOVE to have them here! Still it is raining now and is supposed to be snowing by tomorrow night! I'd rather have them safe than have them here.) But they are planning to make the trip, no matter my protestations. We also will hopefully have our friends Brandyn and Jacqui with their 2 little ones over for dinner! A full house-my favorite and Jim's LEAST favorite. I tell you, sometimes I don't know how we ended up together with all the differences! He must REALLY love me! I know he does, because he is going to be doing a lot of the meal preparations to feed 11 people for Thanksgiving when he would probably rather spend it in the car listening to football on his Sirius Radio.

Christmas Spirit

It's no big secret that I am crazy about Christmas. It is the most wonderful time of the year, after all! Jim usually reigns in my jubilance until Thanksgiving, but this year, I tricked him! Hee, hee, hee! :) I convinced him that since the baby could come any day, and he doesn't want to be setting up Christmas alone, that we needed to get it done early. So, we got out the decorations Monday and have been setting up a little every day. We are nearly finished . . . at least, as finished as we are going to be for this year! I guess when it comes to Christmas decorations, I am never really finished because every year I find more to add! I really want one of those GE symphony light shows, but that might have to wait one more year!

Be careful on the edge of that roof, Jimmy!

MOST of the lights are working!

Finally all done for the year! It's so beautiful!

Baby Shower

Honestly, I can say I did not expect a baby shower. Jim and I do not know a lot of people here very well, and with me just changing jobs this year, it made it even less likely. However, a very sweet woman in our ward, Kira Brewer, took it upon herself to organize a shower for me. It was very considerate. And it was a lot of fun! Sometimes I forget how much fun it can be to talk to other women. People gave generous gifts--a lot of very cute clothes and a couple of nice, warm blankets for the cold winter months ahead. We ate some delicious treats, and I found a new craving for pineapple!

I also saw the doctor. He says everything looks perfect and the baby can come any time now. I agreed! If I haven't delivered by week #39 he says we will choose a date to induce, so that is something to look forward to, if nothing happens before.

Childbirth Class

It was a long Saturday--but it was worth it. Jim and I spent Saturday (9:00-5:00) at the hospital. This trip was not for the real thing, or even a false alarm, it was for education and practice for the real thing, and also helped us learn how NOT to have false alarms. We got to take a tour of the area where we will be spending some time (hopefully in just a couple more weeks!) The hospital is brand spanking new, at least the part where we will be is new. In fact, it is still under construction on the upper levels. That is the sad part. One of the levels is supposed to be the new Postpartum unit with individual rooms, but it isn't supposed to be open until December 2. So likely we will be in the old part with double occupancy rooms. The teacher told us that Dads are welcome to sleep in the second bed as long as there isn't another occupant. But if one arrives in the middle of the night--guess who gets kicked out!

Anyway, the class helped us feel A LITTLE more secure about what we are about to face for the first time--childbirth! Me being the ultimate wimp I still worry that it will hurt too much and that as a result I will do something wrong for the baby. But people assure me this is not likely. Besides, if all goes well with the epidural, the pain shouldn't be TOO unbearable. My doctor seems confident anyway, and I trust him.

The closer we get to the big day, the more unprepared I feel. But ready or not, here she comes! Can't take it back now! One of the girls I serve with in the primary is putting on a baby shower for me this week. I thought that was incredibly considerate of her, since I don't really know any of the girls in our ward (just my visiting teacher). We really do have a great ward! I wish my family could be here for that kind of stuff . . . the drawback of living so far away. Still I am thinking about all of you and will be thinking about you at the shower, I am sure! We look forward to seeing everyone as you are able to make it to visit and see the baby!

I am becoming . . . MY PARENTS!!!!!

Do you ever think you are becoming like your parents? Sometimes I do--and last night was one of those times. When I was growing up it used to drive me nuts how my dad thought a vaporizor could heal any ailment. Whenever one of us got sick it was "make some orange juice and get a vaporizor going in your room." I honestly never thought I would own one!

I have come down with a pretty nasty cold, and as I am pregnant there is nothing I can take. That means sleeping is almost impossible, and the best solution is humidfying the air to make it easier to breath. So last night Jim went to K-Mart, and guess what he went for . . . You guessed it!

I suppose there are worse things than becoming my parents. They are pretty darn good parents! We all turned out okay--vaporizors and all!

Autumn Time and Halloween Visitors

This is Jim's usual spot lately. He is really enjoying becoming a small time chicken farmer! He spends a lot of his time "taking the birds for a walk" or feeding them, or putting them up for the night. He's so thorough!

Someone else enjoyed the chickens this weekend. Two very good friends from college have moved to Reserve, NM--only 2 hours away from us. They came to visit this weekend and their son, Kadyn, was practically joining the chickens in the coop! He chased them and ran with them and was all around having a good time. We had a good time too, with Brandyn and Jacqui and the kids. It is always fun to have visitors! We went to the stake "trunk or treat" and dinner. We have never done that before and it was enjoyable. Certainly there were more trick or treaters than we get at the house. (A total of 2 this year).

Pictures of a Fat Mamma

Some people have suggested that we need more pictures of myself on this family blog. I am generally opposed to pictures of myself looking so . . . round, but I will accommodate. My mom has asked for weekly pictures so Jim has been taking them on Sundays. (I guess my consolation is at least Jim still thinks I'm cute.)

There is not much else going on. We are still trying to get everything as prepared as possible for Baby Michelle's arrival. Of course you can never be fully prepared for such a big change, but we want the house to be ready for her. Thanks to Grandmas she will at least have clothes to wear and somewhere nice to sleep. The rest is just details, right?

Chicken . . . bahk, bahk, bahk!

So we have been talking about getting chickens for a few months now. The problem is, you can only buy them locally in the spring. If you order them online there is a 25 chick minimum, and we definitely don't need that many! So we were going to have to wait until spring. But then . . . I got an email at work from a teacher who DID order the 25 minimum and also doesn't need that many. He is selling 15 of them! I told him we would take a few! Now Jim is spending Saturday building a chicken coop so we can bo pick them up! He's so talented. He just creates this stuff and it is totally awesome! Our coop will have a spot at the bottom for the chickens to be outside on the ground, and it has a cool trap door so they can get in and out of the roost! Of course, it will get painted-eventually. But right now we just needed to get it built so we could pick up those hens.

Dating

Our garden provided us with an abundance of delicious produce this fall, so we have been learning how to preserve it all by either freezing or canning. It has been a lot of fun to do together. We have bottled tomatoes and A LOT of frozen zucchini in all shapes and sizes. Today we froze green peppers. We really do love this! A couple of weeks ago we went to the cannery together and canned powdered milk. That was one of the most surprisingly fun dates we have had in a while!

Of course, we also go on real dates! We went to see Eagle Eye last weekend and it was pretty good. This weekend Jim bought tickets to Little Shop of Horrors at a theater in Flagstaff, so we enjoyed the evening there. It was a good show. Before the show we enjoyed shopping at Barnes and Noble for Michelle. That little girl is going to have to be spoiled with books I decided because I have never had so much fun in Barnes and Noble, and I have had a lot of fun there before!!

Jim the Carvin' Fool

Jim is in the mood . . . the mood for . . . wood. He is a carving fool lately. Right now he is working on an adorable double pumpkin with a cat poking its head out of the top! Of course, he is also working on Christmas presents, but those are a secret!

Homemade Root Beer

We had a ward social Wednesday, September 10 and we signed up to bring homemade root beer. This was our first time making it and it was quite an ordeal. Safeway was out of dry ice so I had to drive to Pinetop (20 minutes from our house). Finally I got some and got it home at 6:00--the time the social was supposed to start. Anyway, we finally got it done and got it there. It was really good, and all of it was gone within minutes!

Mini Reunion

Well . . . weddings, funerals and baby blessings. That seems to be when we all get together. Mike and Jacqueline's little Maya was blessed on September 7 (the day after Mike turned the big two nine!). We were all together briefly and in sometimes strange groupings, but I think everyone had a good time--I know we did!

A rare picture of both of us snapped by the photographer in training . . . and the cutest little brother the world has every known! Thanks Travis!

This is a family photo (minus Tabitha and crew) that caused a lot of trouble to get . . . but since Colby is getting ready to leave on a mission for 2 years it was probably worth the pain!

Dad and baby ready for the big event! She is sooooooo cute!!! (He's okay too-we'll keep him.)

Labor Day

Mike and Jacqueline escaped the Valley of the Burning Hot Sun for Labor Day and brought Ryan and Maya for a weekend of partying hartying! We went to the Taylor Sweet Corn Festival where Ryan went crazy in the Petting Zoo! The kid loves animals, that's for sure! He really liked the big white goose.

He also liked playing in the yard. Uncle Jim taught him how to play in the mud, something every kid should learn. He loved splashing in the puddles! Also he played a lot of ball. I think he'll be ready for the Mariners in another year or two (but they might not be able to afford him). Jim took him for a ride in the wheelbarrow and taught him how to chop wood with an axe (something he is definitely a little too young for!)

I think we all had a good time and enjoyed the weather. Sunday night we had good enough weather to light a fire and make smores! It was a very nice evening and the stars were beautiful! It was hard to say goodbye on Monday! Fortunately we will be visiting them soon--this upcoming Sunday for baby Maya's baby blessing!

Good Times in Tucson

Madison was a softball All-Star playing for Santa Clara in Tucson. She was awesome! And we all had a good time hanging out when she wasn't playing. The poor staff at the Ramada was probably glad to see us go so they could have some peace and quiet. Mike brought his son Ryan (he's the little one). We all brought our swimming suits, and we partied like crazy people! However, it was WAY too hot and we were happy to be back in the much more moderate White Mountains after the weekend.

Hard at Work

Jim and I are hard at work. Well, mostly Jim is working hard and I am providing as much support as possible. We want everything to be ready for the baby--not just ready, but perfect. Jim had to build a new desk for our new study/office, and now he is constructing the interior of a closet for Michelle. He is so talented with the woodworking!

A new niece

We have a new niece. Maya Isabelle Moore. She is too sweet, isn't she? Mike and Jacqueline are the proud parents and both Mom and Baby are doing well.

New Blog

Jim and Brooke Welcome you to Jacksons' Journal!

Well, we don't know a lot of people and don't expect many visitors, but Jacqueline, our sister-in-law with all the good ideas, suggested we start a blog (see relevant links for their family blog) and I had a little time this summer before school starts, so here it is. This is our first posting.

Honestly we are not that interesting, so we don't have much to say. Jim is working for Speedie and Associates. They love him, and he loves his job. He has found something at which he excels. Brooke is starting her new teaching job at Blue Ridge High School in a couple of weeks. Already she has started going to work to get her classroom set up.

We thought everybody knew but found out last night that we were wrong--we are expecting a baby girl, December 2nd. We are looking forward to adding some excitement to our mostly mellow lives. We have been working on the 100 Acre Wood nursery and are happy with the result. We hope she likes it too. The only person possibly more excited than us is Jim's mom. She has already gone hog wild buying goodies for the baby; which we greatly appreciate! Brooke has had some fun discovering myregistry.com and adding stuff to it. Jim is loving all the shelves he is having to build for the nursery and new study (since the old study is now the nursery). All in all, this new baby is already taking up most of our interest!

Thanks for visiting and reading. Feel free to comment back.