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!!!

Off to Africa...

I'm off to Uganda for 10 days! Feel free to follow me (if I can get internet access) on my other blog, here:
www.passiontogive.blogspot.com

The to-do list

So we’ve been able to check off some HUGE things off our wedding to-do list and with less than 3 months to go (oh. my. goodness.) it's been really nice to put a check mark next to some of these things:

Church - check

Reception Site (the family dinner) - check

Rehearsal Dinner Site- check

Bridesmaid Dresses- check

My Dress- check

Flowers- check

Photographer for the wedding - check

Engagement Pictures - double check

Honeymoon - check

I'm going to explain most of these with pictures, as I think that's sooo much more fun than going into all the thoughts and details behind the decisions. But for the most part, just realize that I am soooo blessed to have my mother (who's profession is actually Wedding Coordinating! I've been to 100s of weddings since I was a little girl..I know... I'm SOOO lucky to have her!) and we have been going non-stop wedding planning for the last month and a half!

The Church: Faith E Free in FOCO

The Reception Site (the family dinner) : 

(I haven't been too picky about things but I REALLY wanted this place for the mountain view)

The Rehearsal Dinner Site:

Pretty excited about this place too.... wanted it in Estes Park so the Texas folk could enjoy the mountains

Bridesmaid Dresses: The Limited

And the best part about this dress: THE PRICE! With coupons, some of my girls got it for around $50... pretty happy about that! And it's mailed and received in only a week so they have been able to take it back to exchange sizes or get alterations without any time pressure!

My Dress: NO PICTURES can be seen at this time :)

Flowers: We are using Jordan's in FOCO and they have great prices! I'm pretty excited about my ALL WHITE bouquets and here's some examples of all white bouquets I've been looking at online:

Wedding Photographer: Clayton Jenkins

Check him out! Being excited about having him as our photographer is an understatement! He has been awesome to work with already and I know will make the BIG DAY unbelievable. We even went over our photography budget for him because I was so impressed with his work. I just know that when it's all said and done, the photos and the memories will be all that we are left with to remember the special day. Therefore, I wanted an AWESOME photographer and believe Clayton and his wife are a great choice!

Engagement Pics: Can't wait to show you in an upcoming post!

Honeymoon: H-A-W-A-I-I baby! And of course, there will probably be an entire post just about this amazing place we get to go to! So excited!

So there you have it... the big check marks so far. So much left to do, but I feel great with this big stuff settled! If anyone has any wedding advice, ideas, or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!