New Year 2012

There is no event so common place but that God is present within it, always hidden, always leaving you room to recognize Him or not to recognize Him.” - Fredrick Buechner

I love the beginning of a new year. Something about setting goals, starting fresh, beginning anew... but at the same time I'm always nostalgic about saying goodbye to the year behind.

This year as the clock got closer to midnight I looked at Jake seated next to me, in the middle of a huge party, and said, "I'm kinda sad! We'll never have another 2011!"

 2011 was SO huge for us. On one hand we are so glad that it is over, that we are married, that we have transitioned through everything. But on the other hand, we saw God do so many amazing things in 2011 and the year was so FULL that I can't help but be sad letting it go. We moved homes, moved cities, got engaged, got married, both changed jobs, went to Hawaii, Uganda, and Florida, when we weren't going back and forth from Oklahoma to Texas to Colorado. This year was a whirlwind and yet it was so exciting. One we will remember for the rest of our lives.

But with that goodbye, we say hello to 2012 and all that it entails. We are so excited about what this next year holds and if it is anywhere near what 2011 was, we are totally in for the ride of our lives! Can’t wait to see what God has up His sleeve for us!

Finally, we brought in the New Year with a Blake Shelton concert (guest appearance by Miranda Lambert (his girl!) and Kelly Clarkson!!!), stayed the night at WinStar, and then drove the rest of the way to OKC to celebrate with friends! 

We got to hold and meet 4 day old Lydia who made her appearance into this world almost 3 weeks early! And spent the actual NYE at Price's house, hanging with a bunch of friends, eating WAY too much as we brought in the New Year. It was a great weekend and SO good to see some OKC friends that we miss so much!

So sweet!

I love it when he holds babies!

Happy New Year! May your 2012 be blessed!

Books that changed me in 2011

Idle time was something I did NOT have in 2011... with getting engaged and then married a short 4 months later, changing jobs, moving cities and homes, and just trying to figure out how to do it all, I wasn't left with a lot of extra time. 2011 will be always be such a HUGE year for us but tonight on January 1, 2012 I realized that there were also a few books that really changed me and my perspective in the last year that I had to highlight. I'm always looking for new books that others recommend so if you're looking for a good read you have to check these out:

one thousand gifts. Can I just say WOW?!? My mom gave me this book right before I went to Uganda this summer and it couldn't have been a more perfect time. Ann Voskamp walks you through her journey of changing her perspective through life's ups and downs by starting a list of all the gifts God gives her each and every day. I started my list in Uganda and remember sitting, looking at the Nile river thinking I had SO much to be thankful for. Here are some little joys I wrote down:

1. African Adventure

3. Eyes heavy from fun

5. Songs that make you stop everything- no matter how many times you've heard them

6. Toenail polish and awaited pedicures

7. Spinning fan to relieve me from the African heat

1000 Gifts will rock your world and has permanently changed mine!

This one I'm only half way through. You can read more about it on my other blog, but again, WOW. Katie is an inspiration and reading about her journey really ignites something in my heart. It makes me want to a.c.t. To do something. And aren't those the books that really make a huge difference? The ones that cause us to step out and to really make this world a better place. Such a great read!

Christmas fun!

3 Christmases this year and we loved every single moment! What a blessing to spend so much time with the ones we love! Hope you had a very merry Christmas as well, from the three of us Jacksons!

TEBOW!

WSJ- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203413304577084770973155282.html

Ok so I know there's a lot of emotions surrounding this special, little player pictured above, and even some people I know personally aren't huge fans. But the question that keeps playing in my mind is "HOW COULD YOU NOT BE?!?!"

This Broncos season has been such an awesome one to watch! Growing up a Denver fan, we haven't had a lot of magic since the Elway days. I can confidently say that I would be a Tebow NFL fan even if he wasn't a Bronco, but the fact that he plays for my home team, just makes it so much more exciting! Even my husband (Mr. Dallas Cowboys and Sooner fan) has led the excitement around our home. He is the first one to google the game (yea we don't get much coverage here in Dallas) and then plugs the laptop into our TV so we can view the game on the big screen. It's been such a blast! This last Sunday when the Broncos beat the Bears, we were even betting on the game...(Jake has to make dinner now by the way) and were screaming and jumping up and down once overtime arrived. It's just really made Sundays even more fun around our house!

But what I really want to talk about is Tebow himself. I've listened to the interviews and I've heard the ESPN guys talk. Both positive and negative. And I can actually see how Tebow could get annoying to non believers. To be honest, I have found myself flinch a little at the blunt, honest, "in your face" spiritual comments Tebow has made and then I find myself ashamed. Really? As a Christian, isn't this exactly how we should make a stance, vocally and unashamed? How exciting that we have a man who is willing to take the heat for what he knows is the truth, especially in the spot light. What a testimony! And of course we can also talk about just how much fun he is to watch on the field playing the game of football. No one has ever seen anything like it.

Jake has kept me busy reading Tebow articles and watching ESPN.. we both get excited to hear what people have to say. And I loved this from a recent article I read:

"And I know, lastly, that the most important story here is not that Tebow and the Broncos are winning in dramatic fashion, but that the Lord seems to have worked in this man such that, though faced with unbelievable fame, major wealth, constant attention, and the classically all-American success story, Tebow seems only to want to talk about the gospel.

That, my friends, is the real miracle, and the work in which all of us---whether church planter, pipe-fitter, or homemaker---may participate."

Go Broncos! And go TEBOW! We love watching you guys play every Sunday!

Big news!

Well folks, I have some exciting news to announce and news that will probably change the future of this blog a little bit. As of this week, I have started what I like to call  a "dream job". I've been volunteering with an organization called Every Orphan's Hope for several weeks and in mid November they asked me to join them full time, starting in December. I seriously had tears in my eyes when the invitation was given and couldn't have been happier to accept. After all, I'm doing what I love and I get to come to work every day knowing that my efforts are making a difference half way around the world. And you know what is the craziest blessing of all?? I'm REQUIRED and PAID to travel to Zambia twice a year as part of my job description! Could it get any better than that? What an answer to prayer this job has become!

So what do I do on a daily basis? Well I'm in the process of working that out but I'll be in charge of donor and sponsor relations. I get to give sponsors updates on their children, communicate with the homes in Zambia to receive those updates, and ultimately make sure that our sponsors have the relationship they desire with the children that they have come to love. I get to be on the front lines and see these relationships develop and I can't wait! I also have been given the freedom to do a little business development, which is another thing I'm very passionate about.

I'm so thankful for this opportunity! If you want to read more about my upcoming Zambia adventures, feel free to visit my other blog at passiontogive.blogger.com

And if you want to learn more about Every Orphan's Hope, check out this video:

http://vimeo.com/30296319

Loving This Season

I've been out for a few months. Packing change into every single area of my life. And having every kind of amazing adventure I could ever wish for! If you want to read an update and see Part 1 of my trip to Uganda head over to my other blog.

But today I just want to talk about what I'm loving right now... because there's just so much!

Since the wedding we got to honeymoon in Hawaii, which was SO amazing. I'll probably have to do an entire blog post on just the trip because there's too much to tell. But man, did we have a great time and recommend it to anyone going on a honeymoon or vacation. Maui is just unreal and such a trip of a lifetime.

Once we got back, we had a new town-home to move into. Craziness pretty much sums it up. Jake started working the day after we got back from our honeymoon and I was left to pick up the pieces and put everything together into a place we would call "home". Plus we moved to a new city with a new church to find, gym, grocery store... you get the idea. So I embarked... embarked on the last month and a half. And oh I have loved it! I love being a wife, and I even love the household duties... the cleaning just isn't as bad as it once was and the cooking has been my favorite... but I'm getting ahead of myself :)

All my stuff was still 3 hours away in OKC. My apartment rent wasn't up until Aug 28th, so August consisted of 3 more trips up there to pack, move, and clean. Then to turn around and drive back down to Dallas and unpack, move, and clean some more. And have I mentioned wedding gifts? Such a joy to unpack and settle in but man oh man, is it work too! Everything had to be washed (dishes), boxes had to be thrown, places had to be found. And actually, half of our wedding presents are still in CO...no joke! So I have tons more ahead of me too I realize :) We are so thankful and it has kept me busy!

So what else have I been doing with this time off work? Well I get to go to the gym every other day and spin. I get to cook every meal Jake is home. I get to run errands, coupon, and make grocery shopping almost fun! I joined a local church's bible study and have loved getting to know those women. I get to have a clean house (which is SO hard to maintain when you are working and with our new dog, I might add)! I've changed my name on everything and combined Jake and I's stuff, made a budget, and am on top of paperwork for once in my life. And finally, I've got to make this house a home. It's been soooo fun!

Cooking has been my most favorite hobby this last month. I just want to know one thing.... how did people cook before Google??? Horribly, I'm convinced! Can you imagine not getting an answer to your question, mid-meal prep, and just having to guess? I'm sure stuff turned out terrible! I have learned quickly to keep my laptop on the counter and if I have a question on anything (can I freeze this? substitute this?) the answer is seconds away! It's amazing!

Being a CO girl, I wanted to try something new that I had never made before and something that I love eating now that I live down here in the South. So last week, I got a lot of grease/oil together, got some flour and egg and made the most amazing Chicken Fried Steak and Mashed Potatoes, thanks to the Pioneer Woman. Oh.My.Goodness. I think we both took 3 years off of our lives with that meal but it was so worth it and turned out so YUMMY! It wasn't quite as hard as I thought it was going to be but it made a huge mess, which is sometimes half the fun (good thing the hubby helped me clean afterwards!)

If I told you not working has been easy on me, I'd be lying a little... I have totally felt the pressure to go back to work but I'm really counting my blessings during this season and have enjoyed it fully! I'm in the process of interviewing for a couple positions, so soon I won't have the time like I'm used to. But as long as my priorities stay the same, I think I can still do and enjoy just as much. Some things just take a back burner in different seasons and I'll see that's okay.. but for now, I love focusing on my husband, the home we're building, and the time I've had to focus on the details. What a joy it has been!

The next few months...

How I have wanted to post about all that is going on in my life lately… and yet I have this feeling that I will just continue to be absent until I can come up for a breath of fresh air.. probably around the end of September :) I will definitely try to write when I get some extra time (what is “extra time”??!?) and will hopefully post my Africa pictures soon. It was such a trip of a lifetime that it kills me to not be able to write about it. But here are some of the huge highlights that are happening in my life right now, and while I don’t have any time, it’s all amazing stuff that I wouldn’t trade for the world:

July 4th weekend- Texoma baby!

July 10th weekend- CO bachelorette party

July 15th- last day of work here in OKC

July 16th weekend- OK bachelorette party

July- finding a house to rent by the end of the month!

July 20th- Flying home for the wedding

July 23rd- Jason Aldean concert with the girls!

July 29th- getting married to my best friend and the most amazing man I know

July 30th- taking off for Hawaii!

Aug 6th- starting life in Dallas, TX as Mrs. Jackson

August- moving out of my place in OKC

August- Jake starts his job as a teacher and coach!

Sept 10th- Dallas Wedding Reception

So I know I’m missing a million things in-between all those events, but just writing those out makes me exhausted so I’ll stop there! Your prayers won’t be wasted on us during the next few months as we try to get our new lives started! And hopefully I’ll be able to jump on here and post every now and then! Hope you all are having a great summer!!!