Friday, June 26, 2009

Happy (Early) Birthday, Daddy!



Although he doesn't officially turn 54 until Monday, we got together tonight to celebrate Daddy's birthday! After one of Dad's favorite dinners (meatloaf!) we dove into his favorite cake - butter pecan with butter cream icing and butter pecan icecream!!!




Daddy is going to try to "swing out" a bit with his new salmon colored dress shirt! Snazzy!


It was a very patriotic birthday! Here Daddy shows off his new door mat!


Courtesy of his "commie liberal" daughter - one of his favorite gifts! A little bumper sticker that's right up his alley! :-)


The sticker!


Mom got a new sticker too! It reads: "Lord help me to be the person my medication wants me to be."


Family pics!










Singing "Happy Birthday!"

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Country Roads...Take Me Home...

This past weekend we loaded up the van (with Russ and Michele!) and caravanned down to West Virginia with Kevin, Alicia, their girls, and Sam's mom, Elginia in the other van. We spent the weekend hanging out with Sam's family at their campground in Mt. Nebo, WV. Here are some pics from the weekend!

We took the tram down the mountain side at Hawk's Nest State Park to see the river below!


Mike holds a sleepy Matthew while waiting to get on the tram!




The Moser Clan!


Kevin & Alicia and Russ & Michele


Rowan, Zachary & Gwynne


A shot of all the Rose-Hulman Engineers (and a future engineer!) pondering the wonderous huge, mechanical pulley system of the tram!


The river at the bottom!


Sam & Em


Michele & Russ


The Wyatt clan - Gwynne, Kevin, Rowan & Alicia


Hanging out with the fam at the campground!






Sam's mom, Elginia, posing with her sibs! From left to right: Joyce, Janie, Claude, Elginia, Loretta & Ulaine.


Just the sisters: Joyce, Janie, Elginia, Loretta & Ulaine


Elginia's clan!


Ulaine's granddaughter, Allison, celebrated her 14th birthday on Saturday!



Heading out of Mt. Nebo, we stopped by one of the many waterfalls along the way!


And just because a Sam & Em vacation never seems complete without some sort of adventure: about 15 miles outside of Lexington, KY in Winchester our van's transmission started acting up. We managed to pull off into a rest area only to open the hood to have smoke pour out! Never a good sign! So we were able to make it up to the next exit to a BP, where Sam and the guys spent the next 5 hours trying to fix the van. So five hours, 3 bottles of oil, 2 bottles of transmission fluid, and 3 trips to an AutoZone later, we're finally ready to try it again. We all pile into the vans (thankfully, since we were caravanning, Kevin's van was able to stay with us!) and head out of the BP parking lot. Well...about 10 feet out onto the street and the transmission finally and completely goes kaput! So we now have to call a tow truck and OF COURSE we let our AAA membership expire a couple of months ago to save money! So we have to pay full price for a new membership and an additional $25 "Quick Start" fee on top of that! So we wait for the tow and the van is taken to a transmission place in Winchester called Cobra. Sam and I decide to stay the night in Winchester, while everybody else makes a tight squeeze into Kevin's van so they can finally get home. The next morning Sam calls Cobra, and of course they can't get to it for another two weeks. So long story short, another place in Winchester called Top Line Transmissions picks it up from Cobra and is currently (allegedly) working on fixing it. Much thanks to Elginia who came back down to pick us up the next day! The only good thing is that the transmission is still under warranty from when we had it rebuilt last year at Edward's Transmissions, so hopefully we won't have to pay anything for the repairs! We'll still have to make the 3 1/2 hour trip down there to pick it up though when it's done! Ugh! And to top it off, Sam had a doctor appointment scheduled for Monday with our greedy, money hungry family doc, and when Sam called first thing Monday morning to tell them that our car had broken down and we were stranded in KY and he would be unable to make it to his appointment, the office gal told him there would be a $25 fee for a missed appointment! Well, of course there was!
How many engineers does it take to fix a car! :-)



After 5 hours at the BP the tow truck comes to take her away!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

And One Shall Become Two...


So quite a few weeks ago, Azazel (the ground hog who's been tormenting me for 4 years by staring at me through the living room window) dropped out of sight! One day he's waddling around, fat as a house, and the next day he vanished! I didn't see him for like 4 weeks, so I thought surely he must have finally died. After all ground hogs only live 3-6 years in the wild (oh yes, I've read up on it!) Well, after a few weeks of peace and quite, one day while I'm passing through the dining area, I look out the sliding glass doors and see what at first I think is a funky little squirrel or something. I did a double take, when I realized that it actually looked more like a tiny little ground hog! No! Surely, it can't be!?! Well, I didn't see it for a couple of weeks, but here about a week ago I finally saw it foraging around the yard! I think maybe our "Azazel" wasn't a "he" after all! This new G.H. definitely "feels" like a girl, so she shall be called Lilith - a night demon. So I've been watching Lilith scurry around for a few days now and have been surprised at how fast she seems to get from one side of the yard to the other. I couldn't figure out how she was so quick and stealthy. And then today I saw it...while Lilith was foraging for clover by the garden beds, ANOTHER ground hog scurried out from underneath the shed! Frick!!! We've practically got a herd of them now! This second G.H. definitely seems to take after Azazel - he's much more brazen and comes right up to the window...to watch me...with his menacingly beady black eye. I can already tell his little soul is black as coal...he's definitely up to something. He shall be called Grigori - one of the watcher demons. I know your little tricksy games ground hog! And you will not win this time!


Now, all I can do is hope that Grigori and Lilith don't get too "friendly" with each other.

Monday, June 22, 2009

I Survived VBS!

We hosted about a thousand kids last week at Grace Church for VBS this year (including about 150 kids from the inner city Shepard Community)! I was involved in the Missions team, since the missions focus this year was the Capeharts in Guatemala. I taught four groups of first and second graders a missions lesson each day! I really enjoyed teaching the little guys about Guatemala, missionaries and the Capehart family! I think the kids enjoyed it too - although during one of my lessons I looked out over the crowd of first graders and saw a little boy holding up his hands like a pretend gun and shooting at me with one of his eyes closed as he was aiming!

Here are some pics from the week!

The missions table with pics and info about Guatemala!

The theme at VBS this years was "Camping!"
The worship team leads the kids in songs and dance!

This volunteer had double toddler duty!

A small group game!

Craft tables were set up in the gym!

The kids enjoy craft time!
The little guys play in the sandbox!

Throughout the week the kids collected money to help send kids from the Guatemala City dump to the English Summer Camp run by the Capeharts! They also collected shoes to send to Guatemala!

After the first day of VBS, this sign showed up on the door to the volunteer cafe! A note to the student volunteers asking them to please limit their visits to the "food room" to just once a day! Gotta love those hungry teenage boys!


The kids wrote prayers for the people and kids in Guatemala!


The first graders listen to a Bible lesson!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Strawberry Pickin'!

Last weekend we joined Sam's sis and brother, and his brother's wife and girls, to pick some strawberries at Spencer's U-Pick in Noblesville. It was so late in the season, that most of the strawberries were already gone, but we managed to find enough! And the girls had a great time picking strawberries! Here's some pics!
Before the pickin' starts, Sam chills on the porch with his neices!
Gwynne makes a new friend!
The puppy, Chloe, eating strawberries in the patch!
Hard at work!
Sam found this weird little fella!
Rowan showing off her pickin's!
Sam and I managed to find over 4 pounds of strawberries!
Eating pesticides, insecticides, dog pee, and God knows what else...Sam can't wait before trying a strawberr! Ewwww!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Ah, those were the good ole days...

Ok, so now I'm on a roll -strolling down memory lane! How about these oldies but goodies! Here's a few of my faves! Enjoy!

Thunder Cats!


The Smurfs!


Gem and the Holograms!


He-Man!


She-Ra!


Strawberry Shortcake!


My Little Pony!


Fraggle Rock!


Care Bears!


Shirt Tales!


Transformers!


Inspector Gadget!


Gummi Bears!


Muppet Babies!


Berenstein Bears!

Yip Yip Hooray!

Alright, all you 30-somethings Classic Sesame Street junkies! Does anybody remember the Yip Yip aliens? What a blast from the past!!! Hilarious...weird, but hilarious!!!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Prayers Needed!


Hi friends! I wanted to take a moment to ask everyone to be praying for our friends Don and Heather Logan. Last fall the Logans answered God's call by packing up their kids and lives and moving all the way to Chichicastenengo, Guatemala to be missionaries with Matt and Leslie Capehart (the missionary family we always work and stay with in Guatemala.) Almost since they arrived, they've had a really rough go of it. It started with them all getting very sick soon after arriving - not a "oh I've got a sniffle" sick, but serious "in the hospital" sick! Then, of course, their car they had just bought broke down and needed expensive repairs. And hardest of all, they have been experiencing a really dark period. There's been increasing violence in Chichi and the Logans have been told by their close Guatemalan friends, about some of the Mayans in the area who have been "praying" curses upon them. They've even found dead chicken parts and chicken feet tied and strung around their house (a Mayan curse.) Whether you believe in this kind of thing or not, it certainly seems that the Logans are deep in the midst of a kind of spiritual warfare. So that brings me to why I'm writing this post. Recently, Don completed a 40 day fast, for several reasons, but mostly in preparation for a missions team they love dearly from their church in Pennsylvania who are currently in Chichi. He really struggled through the fast, but they had seemed to be in a better place the last couple of weeks. Just a couple of days ago though, I heard from Don through his FaceBook that they just had all of their money stolen! I don't know any of the details yet as to how or who, but I do know they had $8,000 stolen. As you can imagine, they are absolutely devastated and just reeling right now. This is a huge emotional and financial blow to them. I know they could really use our prayers and support right now! If you would like to learn more about the Logans' work in Chichi and perhaps make a donation to them, here's their website:

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Adoption Update!

Check out our adoption blog for the latest in the adoption proceedings!

www.samandemilyjacksonadoption.blogspot.com

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Henry Poole Is...GREAT!



I don't usually post movie reviews on the blog of movies that are no longer in the theater, but this one was so good, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to tell everyone about "Henry Poole Is Here." Don't worry, all of you who aren't Luke Wilson fans, this is definitely not your typical "Luke Wilson" fare! I don't want to give too much of the plot away, so I'll just say that this is one of the most touching and thought provoking movies about faith and miracles that I've seen in a long time. The beginning was a little hard to figure out what's going on, but stick with it - it's well worth the ride! If you've already seen it, I'd love to hear what you thought about it!

Rockin' with The Big 80's!



On Saturday night we headed to Britton Tavern in Fishers to listen to a GREAT 80's cover band called The Big 80's! Decked out in 80's gear and props, they played all of the great, classic 80's songs! (I thought it was pretty darn funny that since we went to church Saturday evening before the concert, I wore my "club" eyeliner, 4 inch hoop earrings, and body glitter to church! hee hee)

Complete with lampshade hats, we "whipped it real good!"

For about the third time in my life, I finished my WHOLE margarita!
Robyn & Em tearing up the dance floor!
Sam & Em take a very "80's" spin (hands in back pockets and all) to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing!"
Em, Robyn & Shannon!

Sam's "walking like an Egyptian!"

A bit of AC DC!

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Congratulations, Smarty Pants!

Last Wednesday Sam had to take a big engineering test for work! He passed with flying colors (like we knew he would!) On my way home from Muncie that day, I stopped by Concannon's bakery to pick him up a lemon meringue pie to celebrate!

Sam also had another reason to celebrate: it was time to take out his stitches! After googling a video on how to take out stitches, Shelli felt pretty confident we could do it! :-)

The Tools: Hmmm...I guess I can do more than make cards with my CutterBee scissors! :-)

Taking out one of the stitches!

Next, Shelli takes a "stab" at it! What a good helper Aaron is! At one point Aaron thought he saw a little piece of the stitch still in there, but couldn't quite tell if it was the thread or a whisker. So I gave it a gentle "tug" at which point Sam screamed between clinched teeth, "Whisker! Whisker!"

Saturday, June 6, 2009

When you're feeling down about yourself...


Just read this, and you'll feel a whole lot better. So last night, I had a bad crack on my heel, and like I always do, I glued it shut with Super Glue. Well, apparently I didn't quite let it dry all of the way before I went to bed because when I woke up in the middle of the night a few hours later, my left heel was glued to my right calf. Yep, that's right folks...I glued my legs together. See, I told you your life could be worse.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Adoption Update

Check out the adoption update on our adoption blog, if you're interested!

www.samandemilyjacksonadoption.blogspot.com

Now That's Some Good, Clean Fun!

A friend sent me a video today of a guy named Tim Hawkins doing a comedy skit on homeschooling! It was so funny, I started looking for other videos of his comedy routines and ended up spending about an hour laughing my butt off! Tim is a Christian, so his comedy sketches are clean (no F-word every other word, which is what most comedians think passes for "funny" nowadays) but they're pretty edgy and absolutely hysterical! Here's a few to whet your appetite:

A lovely song about wives!


Tim talks about churches and prayer!


Talking about marriage and The Dress Barn! (It begins with a small excerpt from the "Wives" song, but keep watching for the Dress Barn part!


Scary bed time prayer!


www.timhawkins.net

Monday, June 1, 2009

Grace's Hands of Hope Picnic

We went to Grace's annual Hands of Hope adoption picnic yesterday at Holland Park. I posted pics on our adoption blog. If you're interested you can go to: www.samandemilyjacksonadoption.blogspot.com

Happy 1st Birthday, Sitota!

We had a wonderful time with the Elliotts celebrating Sitota's 1st birthday on Sunday (although he doesn't actually turn one until June 2)! It's hard to believe he's one already; it seems just yesterday that they were bringing him home from Ethiopia!


Sam & Em got Sitota a gift we knew he'd love - strawberry puffies and his own personal size watermelon!


Checkin' out his melon!


Isabel and Syd help Sitota open his gifts!






Sitota loves his new "cars" blanket that Grandma & Grandpa Hanschu sent him!



Sitota's Curious George cake about 5 seconds before we scoot him closer to get a picture of him with the cake...


Sitota's cake about 5 seconds after it comes into his little go-go gadget arms' reach!


Yep, with ninja-like speed he reaches out and takes a nice swipe out of the cake!


Singing Happy Birthday!
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Who would have thought that the kid who has never met a food he didn't like wouldn't like chocolate cake!?!


The poor little guy hates the cakes so much he starts gagging!
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Time to hose him off!


Oh well, at least the other kids liked the cake!


Syd & Parker enjoying their cake!


Em gets a little "Graham Time"!