Busy Christmas time for the Jackman Family

Wow...this one's a long one.  It has been a fun couple of weeks at our house.  Little Ben started speech at school because his r's, or lack of, are starting to effect his reading and spelling terribly.  Logan started basketball...she is a guard.  She made a basket during half-time today!!! It's fun to watch her.  I am proud of her for trying so hard and saving the money to do it.  She went to practice all by herself the first day and by the end of practice she had talked herself into joining the rest of her team. lol  She is coming so far!  She is still scared, but choir and her teachers have really been a tremendous help for her confidence.  Carter continues to work on his merit badges and piano...and percussion.  I can't wait till he has real drums...lol...the bells and the practice pad for his drums are SO loud already!  Morgan is still working on her cello.  She was supposed to tryout for a solo today and panicked and gave it to the other boy.  She is so upset know that she didn't even try.  She is getting more and more beautiful everyday.  She is also working on her personal progress with me too.  We have finished our Faith experiences and can now start our Faith Projects.  Little Ben wrestled a few weeks ago and did great!  Grandpa got to come watch him and help him a little bit too.  It was so fun to see him do well on his first tournament.  Balian is...exhausting. lol  He is very fun, funny, happy, crazy, energetic, etc.  He informed me the other day that we should have another baby.  I told him that I'm not having more.  We discussed that I asked the Dr. to cut my baby tubes...and he did, and burned them so I can't have more.  He was almost screaming when he exclaimed, "Why?! We could have had another baby by now!!!"  I was laughing pretty hard and thought..."EXACTLY!"  I have such sweet and wonderful kids!  They always want to make something and take it to people in our ward.  They love people and think that everyone is as happy as they are.  We had a neighbor lose their home to a fire last week and my kids wanted to help.  Little Ben let me go through some of his clothes and shoes to take him to wear so he had something to wear to school. One of my good friends helped me gather stuff and we got clothes for all of them and some food for them, along with some toothbrushes.  I wish I had more stuff to share...that hadn't been used. lol  I saw her walking this morning with the new coat my friend had given her.  It made me smile. :)  Her parents live in our ward so they might get to come to church with us now.  We are continuing to get up @6 in the morning to read scriptures as a family...mostly. lol  Not everyone makes it all the way to the room we are reading in before they crash again but most of the time the kids do great.  Morgan and Logan are my regulars. Also during the last two weeks, our town had a Winterfest.  I was on the committee and ended up making snowmen out of different items and materials because out of all the teachers at the school, two did it.  Then I had a lot of help from Brandon's family and Josh on the trailer I had to decorate for the School Choir to ride in for the light parade.  After the parade my kids sang I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, and then my group of ladies The Way Off Broads sang too.  I took polls for the snowmen prizes and then awarded them.  I was excited that one of mine won 2nd place.  I used two hula-hoops and made a Venn diagram, turned it sideways, hung it from fishing line, and stuck eyes, nose and mouth on the wall behind it.  It was fun and we had assigned that one to Mr. Hansen's class, which is the special education teacher at our school.  Since one of my friends that was helping has a student there, and Ben and Dawn both work in that classroom, we thought it was a good choice. :)  Anyway, then we handed out gloves with Frosty and then cleaned up while the kids watched the fireworks.  Ben got off work for the end so that was nice.  I have been going to the daycare, the Head Start and Little Ben's class pretty regularly for my observation hours, and have 2 1/2 papers left for the next 10 days of school.  Life is awesome. Life is crazy. Life is warm now that I got hot burning wood from the shop! Saturday is my Relief Society Christmas Breakfast.  I have to be there by 7am to set up. lol It's now time for all of the work and family parties.  I didn't mention the gingerbread house night, or the Christmas story night at Dawns...or the performances the choir, band, orchestra, and my singing group have done and have scheduled. lol  I'm tired.  I think it's time for bed now.   Love you all!!!  I miss you and can't wait until Christmas to see some of you.

After Thanksgiving

On Saturday we made little stuffed angels with Grammie.  It was so fun and they turned out really cute!  Even Carter and Ben made them.  Balian was too busy playing Super Smash Brothers to care.  We got to eat some of the turkey cupcakes mom made too.  They were darling AND yummy!  Then we went with Ben's fam to cut down our tree.  It is now decorated and has little angels hanging on it.  I am ready for Christmas!...or at least my house is. lol

Jackman Thanksgiving

I made the most delicious reeses' pieces pie!  It was so yummy!  Our thanksgiving was okay.  Ben had to work all day, but we got to see a lot of his extended family members.  I want to make flags for flag football so we can all play at the next one.  All the cousin's kids are finally old enough to want to play sports.  They play 500 with a football, which they now call 5000...I guess it's inflation. The littler kids played catch with a baseball or kicked the soccer ball around.  It was so fun to see them want to get out and play!  The played a little basketball after we had cleared the gym of all the tables and food.  We had some yummy things, but of course my favorite is the mashed potatoes with gravy all over it...and a recent favorite is cranberries all over my turkey.  The kids loved the 40 pies they got to choose from.  I had the best pumpkin roll I'd had in forever and a super yummy coconut cream pie.  Since it's all about the food, I thought I would share! :)  I am thankful for my wonderful family and friends.  It seems that my prayers are getting repetitive because I just am so thankful.  Sometimes I just kneel there without knowing what to say, just so overwhelmed with how blessed I am!  I just feel so thankful for everyone in my life!  What better time than this to recognize what we have?  Anyway, Ben is crazy busy and we cherish our weekends even more than before.  I am rushing my school work and trying to stay motivated to clean my house.  I love you all and miss you!

Who's a TURKEY?

All my sisters are REAL Turkeys!

Thanks for being in my special "Flock".      

T  true to herself
U  understanding of others
R   respects herself
K  keeps covenants made
E  eager to serve the Lord
Y  young at heart
S  Stronger than you know

 (This is my favorite, for each of you , in each different circumstance you really are stronger than you think you are!!)  Know that I want to be with you and share in your life everyday!
Love, Mom

I'll learn from you.....

So, I am having a super hard time trying to stay positive about everything. I am super ungrateful and onry. I don't feel good and I am stressed out. So many people have things worse then me for sure but I am having a pity party for myself.

Katie is enjoying her new school as much as possible. She is doing good and making great progress. She has been taking an art class and loving it. She wants to learn to ice skate this winter so we will see about that.

Tyson is looking forward to kindergarten next year but doesn't realize how far away it still is. He is excited to be able to ride the bus with Katie. He loves gymnastics and hockey. He also wants to ice skate.

Jake is in the middle of his teaching week so life is good this week. He leaves for field on Saturday but will be back on Thanksgiving day. We are sad we won't have any family for Thanksgiving but we will be having a few of the single airmen for dinner and a couple families. Hopefully we will be able to go to field with Jake on Wednesday for a special dinner.

I don't do a whole lot of anything these days. I am lazy and fat and super unmotivated to do anything. I am pretty lonely and feel isolated a lot of the times. I try to keep myself busy by doing unimportant stuff so I don't have to think about what is really important.

Well, I'm sure this has been a great uplifting post for you to read. I love reading Ty's posts. Your such an amazing women and mother. I wish I could be there to go to your kids games and matches and listen to you sign. I miss you!

I am still waiting for auction stuff. I don't care what it is or if you think it is of value. Also, I really liked the email mom sent about having an American anti stuff Christmas. We are going to try and focus on meaningful gifts and not stuff.

I love you all and hope your happy and well. Can't wait to hear from everyone else. Loves, Lacie

Jackman Update 11-14-11

My husband starts his new shift today.  He will work up at Diamond Ranch Academy from 2/3pm-10/11pm M-F.  He will be home every night and every Saturday and Sunday.  As of now, he will not miss Christmas!  Morgan tied her last soccer game on Saturday.  We started getting one egg a day from our chickens...but now we aren't getting any.  One of our chickens might be missing.  We will have to count tonight when we put them away.  That could be why we stopped getting them a few days ago.  Plus my neighbor told me that some dogs ate all the chicken up the street last week. We should have bunnies for Christmas!  I love bunnies.  Anyway, enough about our farm.  I am writing a song.  All our orchestra, band, choir, and singing group concerts are coming up.  Logan wants to sign up for basketball...:(  Not my favorite sport, but if she wants to spend her money and see how she likes it then so be it.  She has enough to pay for her dance already and it doesn't start until January.  Little Ben's only wrestling tournament is this Weds. @5pm in Hurricane.  I am excited.  He will be a great wrestler, but he will definitely need help. Right now he's more interested in showing how tough and wiggly he is.  I hope it's an age thing.  Carter is working on his Emergency Preparedness merit badge this month and doing pretty good at everything.   We get to see if the cast comes off tomorrow.  Balian is 5...he made an outline poster today at school...and they talked about 'enormous'.  He measured 10 1/2 of his hands tall. lol  Anyway, we are doing pretty good.  Busy as always, but good.  Miss you all!  I would love to read some posts from everyone else. We have been so extremely blessed by our friends and family already this season!  I wish I could share all my blessing with everyone! 

November

Hi Kids,
 Well I started taking pictures today for the beginning of the auction, and all of a sudden, I feel like  there is nothing of value that anyone would even want..... Any suggestions?
Dad and  I worked a lot this week. Dad is finishing up the furniture he is building to the Jubilee of Trees. I will post the pictures of the DR. Suess furniture he is building when he has them finished. This is his busy time getting ready for the Home Show homes.  One of the things I enjoy the most at work is the people I meet from all over the world, at least once a week I meet people from areas close to Spokane, Williston, Hurricane and LaVerkin, and Idaho Falls Area, It is comforting to me to know there are good people where ever you are!
 We  had a great time at Special Needs Mutual. We had a Potato Derby. Set up Pinewood Derby tracks and all the "Friends" decorated their own potato. We had these cool little blocks of wood with wheels on them and little nails sticking out of the top so they would stick a potato on to them and they would race down the track. It was a fun activity for them. Sometimes I still feel like I don't have a place there because I do not have an assignment each week. But just being there, I am starting to have the girls in my class  trust me a little.

We got the Primary Program over with last week. Dad did a great job leading the primary children in the singing. It was a wonderful program. All those who came to visit really felt the spirit and the love of our Heavenly Father as these children testified of the Scriptures.
My cousin Paige Stevens' granddaughter, Jessica Segeberg, has moved in for a few weeks til she finishes up this semester at Dixie State College.
It has turned cold here, and I am grateful that I am HERE where it is cold and not SOMEWHERE ELSE where it is colder. Love you all so much!!!! Mom

Halloween 2011

Okay, so my creative kiddos had some funny costumes. I took a lot of Halloween pictures, but all of the ones when they were holding still turned out bright yellow. I did my best to adjust it so you could stand to look at them. So you don't have to guess, Morgan is Justin Beiber, Carter is a chicken, Logan is Rapunzel, Ben was the grim reaper/skeleton, and Balian was a barbarian.

We got to go up to Diamond Ranch Academy for a staff family party. They had bounce houses, a rock wall, and a gladiator course set up. It was a lot of fun. Then of course we took off into the night to fill our bags with candy. Morgan, 12yrs old, didn't get to go this year, so she had a party on Saturday with about 18 screechy girls. I was exhausted. lol She also got to go to a friend's party on Halloween. Carter is 11 so he went out with his cousins Kellie & Ashlee this year. They went fast and filled right up. I'm sure they had fun. Little Ben started wrestling, but it's almost over, so he will go to the next 3 practices and the last 2 tournaments. He loves it! Balian turned 5 yesterday!!! My baby is bossy...and spoiled. It's fun though. I don't want him to grow up, so I am going to have to deal with that quick, otherwise his teachers an not going to be able to stand him. lol Ben hopefully got the Saturday shifts at Diamond Ranch now. Most of our sports are done now until about Feb, so that should work out okay. I made poodle skirts for the elementary dance festival. It was stressful, but the dances were darling! Logan will be quite the dancer. Ben...oh Ben. lol He was hilarious! He had so much fun and "owned" the music! I didn't even know he liked dancing! I was laughing so hard I had tears. It was fun. I wish I was less stressed, then i could have remembered to invite people. Logan and Ben also earned the "Cubs of Learning" awards at school on Friday for the month of October. Anyway, we are just plugging along. Today is the 1st of Morgan's 2 playoff games in soccer, so next weekend it will be done until Feb. Looking forward to my first partial Saturday home in the last 3 months!

Sports

So as the end of both soccer and football are approaching, we have had quite an exciting week. Last Friday Carter went to his 2hr, 3xs a week, football practice. Lucky for us it was UEA weekend, so there wasn't a game scheduled. I picked him up from practice to find that he had jammed his finger tackling someone. We went home and iced it. The next day, the center of his hand was just as bruised as his pinky knuckle, and just as swollen. We took him into Instacare and confirmed he had broken his hand. Most breaks require a cast, which can then be padded so the child can continue to play football...yes, apparently this happens a lot. Anyway, we prepared and went in to get a cast. We left in a 1/2 cast, splint type thingy. The doctor said that if he plays with a break in his hand, especially for the last two games of the season, he may have to go in and grind down the bones and put a metal plate in it. We both left with watery eyes, but knowing it was for the best. (He decided to go with a splint so that he couldn't change his mind, pad the cast, and play his last two games.) So now Carter has a broken hand, no cool blue cast for everyone to sign, and he still has to go to practices and games. His team did win their first game of the season yesterday though, with him on the sidelines cheering them on. Earlier in the day, Morgan's soccer team also won their first game for the season! She is the back defender, and is awesome. She very rarely comes off the field during the games, and was last season's most improved player. I am so thankful for a coordinated husband. I am amazed at the athletic ability my family has. Logan is saving up for her first dance classes in January, so she passed on the Fall sports, but was brave enough to try out for a choir solo, and got it!!! She won't let me hear her sing, so I have little ears all over the school listening for me. Little Ben is playing flag football, is very determined, and has a few games left. (I love the city sports here. 3 week seasons!) Wrestling started 2 weeks ago, and it's killing me that I couldn't sign him up. This is going to be "his sport". He loves nothing better than wrestling! Balian is playing soccer for his 3rd season, and I am coaching again. Funny, I know, but I only have to know more than the kids. lol
I am making the kids' Halloween costumes again this year and they are looking great!...or they were, until my timing flipped on one machine, and the tension spring broke on the other...within the same 3 minutes that the foot pedal started sparking. *sigh* I don't dare borrow anyone else's machine. I can't afford to fix it when I'm done.
So this week is Ben's 90 hr week, so I need to be organized and on top of things so we can thrive. Just surviving is a last resort, but I usually get to that point by the end of the week. lol
I will try to post each week, so that it's not a novel next time. I love you all!

It will work

Each Month we will all get 1000 points and the list of items. It will be very simply, so don't worry. We probably won't know in advance what will be coming, because as we reduce and remodel each room we will have to decide what to keep. Today we are cleaning out and painting the garage. I decided Dad hoards things worse than me. Do you even know how many fishing poles we have?  Some that don't even work! We have an old wooden fly pole that would be good for decoration only. He said he is going to put it on ebay....we all know that won't happen. I don't know what to do with that one. Anyone? Anyone? Anyone?

Jelly Bean to Gummy Bear

Ok. I have lots and lots to say but I'll spare you all. I just wanted to share my little gummy bear with you all. It is great that I get to have an ultrasound every two weeks for now so I can see the baby growing. My first picture is out little jelly bean and now I have a gummy bear!

Hope you are all well. Love Ya.

Permissions

I added everyone to the blog as an author so we can post as ourself. Make sure you accept the invitation. Love Ya.

This is a New Blog for our Family Experiences and Events

We will, and want each of you to post events that are coming up and pictures of events that have happened. We are so scattered and busy in our lives raising our families, and trying to earn a living, that we have got to stay in touch with each other and be aware of the many things that are happening in each of our lives, or we will miss out on what a family is and the support that family gives to us. We need to share happy times as well as  the disappointments we experience. Please share  your family updates and experiences with us at least once a week. I will try to do my updates on Sunday.

We have decided that as we get the money to work on our home we will be fixing things that need to be fixed as well as doing some remodeling that will allow us to rent out the basement as an apartment. Which will bring us some income after the remodel is finished. It should take about three years to pay for the remodel. The possibility of selling our home is also a very real option.
 As we go through each room in our home and downsize, we will be doing away with a lot of items that have been a part of our lives and yours. When we were at Time Out For Women last year, the Eyer's spoke of doing the same thing before they went on their mission. they told about cutting down on the quantity of THINGS they had in their home. You may remember the Family Auctions they told stories about! Well, we  have decided to do just that. Soon we will post pictures and items that are up for auction. Each of the Children will receive  a thousand (1,000) points to start. (It will be up to you in your own families to involve the grandchildren. There will be some items that they may want to bid on.) All items will include information about their importance in our lives.You will place bids through this blog to us. Each family will be given a bidder name that nobody else will know, so you won't know who is bidding. Auctions will be ongoing, and each item in the auction will be open for bidding for 1 month. In some cases there will be items that are for auction more that 1 month. We want this to be a fun way to get some of the items that mean something to each of you, while we can reduce the amount of stuff we have around our home. Items that are not bid on will go to the DI. There may be items that are not available for you to take possession of right away, but will be labeled with your name. I hope you are looking forward to this event with us. Let's Have Fun!!!!

Dad and I are enjoying our new callings so far in the Special Needs Mutual. We are looking forward to having Kayla and Kenny's family here for Christmas. We will be able to spend time with Jodi and Tom's family and Ty and Ben's family before  and on Christmas. Then we have the chance to travel to Spokane and See Kami and Phil's family and  Lacie and Jake's family for my birthday. The only ones We are missing is Melinda and Randy's family. :(  Hopefully we can see them soon. We love you all. Let us know what you are doing and how you are holding up.