Cinnamon Roll x 2

For the last two or three weeks when I'm driving for my 2nd job it seems like all I can think about is having a cinnamon roll.  I have no idea why and I try not to make a practice of eating stuff like that but today I decided to just go ahead and assuage my craving and be done with it!

So when it was time for a break I went searching for a donut shop.  Because if I'm going to be bad I wanted to do it up right.  

Before I could find the donut shop I happened onto a Market Street.  Those are fun little grocery stores and they have lots of great looking prepared food so I decided to find something a little healthier to eat since it was close to lunch anyway.  But as I walked through, eyeing all the goodies, guess what was the only thing I wanted!  Yep, a cinnamon roll!  Ugh!  But they had one.  It wasn't like what you get in a donut shop but I was running out of time so it would have to do.  After checking out I was leaving the store through a different door from the one I came in and noticed a little cafe/coffee type section and there it was!!!  The most beautiful and decadant looking cinnamon roll just taunting me and the sad one that I had in my hand.  

Before I could even stop myself I was telling the lady at the counter that THIS was the cinnamon roll I really wanted.  I must have looked pretty sad because she immediately said she'd trade it for me.  What a sweetie.  I put my rejected roll on the counter in preparation to receive the new and improved one and, listen to this, that lady said that I could just keep the first one and that she'd just give me this 2nd one!!!  (I don't think this lady will last too much longer if she keeps this up)  But who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?  I, like the obedient but greedy person that I am, took both rolls and scrammed!  

And both were delicious!!  Yes, I did!      

A View from the Crosswalk--Gifts

I don't get a lot of Christmas gifts from the kids that walk across the street and I like it that way.  I feel like those moms have enough to worry about (been there, done that!) at this time of year without thinking they have to get something for the crossing guard.  I like to think of myself as essential but unnoticed.  But I do get a few items of thanks at this time of year and this year I got a very special one.  In fact, it wasn't even given by a parent or a child.  An old friend from my former church stopped by my crosswalk on her way to work to share with me a product of her creative and thoughtful husband.  He'd made several of these for various people and blessed me with one.  Now that's what I call the spirit of Christmas.  Handmade, simple, and.....truth, all rolled in one! 

May all of you have a blessed and Christ filled Chrstmas!

The Santa Suit

photo by Kaylee Jacobs
Catch her latest venture at
http://myownwhitehouse.blogspot.com/

It looks like a small simple Santa suit but its history is one of family memories and tradition.

When my little brother, Kelly (the youngest of six children) was about five years old my mother made him this Santa suit.  I don’t know if there was a more official intent like a Christmas program at school or church, but ultimately he wore it for our family that year when my mom had him pass out gifts to each person.

When he grew out of it I’m sure the suit was packed away but when Kelly was ten, the first grandchild, Stephanie was born.  When she turned five, the suit, along with the job of handing out presents was passed to her.  So started the family tradition of the Santa suit.  Each of the twelve grandchildren has taken a turn at wearing the suit and passing out the presents.  And now the job has been cerimonially bestowed upon  the great grandchildren.

 

I’m sure when my mom stitched up the little suit she had no idea it would still be used after forty years.  But since she passed away a few years back, not only is the Santa suit assignment a sweet tradition but it’s a reminder of her and how much she loved all things Christmas.      

Cake, a Christmas tree, and Cary!

It's definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here whether I like it or not!  I can often be somewhat of a grinch about Christmas and all the "trappings" but yesterday I was able to grab a little of the mood in spite of myself.  
 

The first item of the day was a SPAN lunch party.  SPAN is the little public transportation company I work part time for.  So I made a cake.  A punch bowl cake!  For you old fogies who remember the 70's and 80's, this was a popular "covered dish" item and it seemed to fit the occasion well.   It's festive and is really fun and easy to put together.  A great way to start this day of Christmas doings. 

Next was Christmas tree time.  A friend told me about a small tree farm in Shady Shores that was reasonably priced so that's what I decided to do.  I get really tired of dealing with dry trees every year and Kaylee refuses to let me get a fake tree (I guess that's what I get for raising her with my strict live Christmas tree rule!  It didn't occur to me then that I'd get old!)  So Kaylee, Bob, and I were able to enjoy the beautiful and sunshiney day and went hunting for the perfect tree!

And here's the end result!  Before the house redo there was never a good place for a Christmas tree but now the "new" living room has a perfect spot!                                             

Now you may be wondering how Cary fits in to this post but, of course, it's Cary Grant!  Sigh!!  Isn't he just the dreamiest?.............but I digress!  Cary stars in the movie, "The Bishop's Wife" and I'd never seen it, which is strange because I love all movies old, and especially those, Cary!  Anyway, I watched it and I'm definitely recommending if for a favorite Christmas movie!  I mean, there are plenty of theological flaws and some liberal thoughts thrown in for good measure but, for Hollywood, it was a pretty good rendition of what Christmas really means.  They even acknowledged that Christmas is about Jesus' birth.  Imagine that!! 

     

A Red Scarf Christmas

Mothers-in-law are a tricky thing.  They come as part of the package, so to speak, and you never can tell exactly what you'll get when it's all said and done.  I was blessed!

Over my 30 year marriage Jinny has become a mentor, teacher, spiritual advisor, encourager, and friend.  She sings beautifully, preaches a deep and meaningful sermon (just to us), can keep up with Martha Stewart easily in the decorating department, is an over the top hostess, has been a wedding planner, and cooks like nobody's business.  

Jinny's most recent uncovered talent is writing.  About five years ago she wrote and self published a "Little House on the Prairie" type book called "My Heart Remembers", based on her childhood in Arkansas.  And she blessed her family once again this Thanksgiving by writing a very sweet poem, expressing her love and tenderness for her grandchildren and her Savior, Jesus.  So this Thanksgiving I'll be most thankful for my mom-in-law and honor her by sharing part of who she is:

          A Red Scarf Christmas

Our Thanksgiving meal is over and oh, how wonderful it turned

out to be.  Even though some dishes had to be amended

for some of our little ones, you see.  Some don't like onions,

nuts, and even dressing; something wonderful to me.  The

Thanksgiving dishes rattle as women scurry about and little

feet dance sweetly for the candy that melts in their mouth.

I heard the cry from a newborn baby doll held tightly in

Adelaide's arms.  She pats her tummy, and then gives her a

kiss.  She waits for applause, and then smiles at her success.

Cash runs to find his daddy, Chris, and climbs up on his knee.

And I hear him say sweetly, "Daddy, can I have just one more

piece of candy, please:"  I smile as Chris holds him close and

thank God for the fine man our first grandson has grown to be.

Hannah looks at her baby sister with love in her eyes and her

heart.  As I look at her it's easy to see what a wonderful 

mother she will be.  She favors her mother.  That's easy to

see.  This must please Elyse greatly for she is beautiful to me.  

Then there is Mimi & Lily.  What a wonderful, happy gift.  They're

as sweet as can be.  We all love them dearly with their shiny

black hair, big brown eyes, and the most beautiful skin you

will ever see.  Truly two perfect China dolls.

I look at our Bob Number Three, so handsome and tall and

wonderful to me.  He's Captain of The Fly Boys.  As he leads

the other planes far from me I wait and pray.  

Then there is our beautiful Kaylee, our first granddaughter to 

be.  We love her dearly and a good example for the rest is she.

She has a new house and it will be blessed as she turns it into

a home.  

I feel happy as I see all the family and friends sitting about.  

They are good people and all have sweet stories they could

tell.  Yes, I am thankful for the family and friends we care so

much about.  

There is a Christmas tree in the corner.  It is smiling brightly

for you and me.  And on that tree in the corner is a bright

red scarf we can see.  A reminder for those who love Him

what Christmas really means.

So many little stories are stored up in my heart, but nothing

will compare with the sweetest love story ever written.  It was

written in red on a tree.  Oh, what a blessing Jesus is to me.  

I love to tell the story of how He came to set us free.

                                         by Jinny Jacobs  

                                                           

    

The Newest Nieces........and me!

There have been two new additions to the family lately and even though I had to travel a little, it was so worth it to see these two beautiful sweet baby girls, my great nieces. 

The first trip was back in May when Kaylee and I drove to Colorado to see Abby, my niece Emily's baby.  She's grown a lot since then but this is the picture of the two of us together.

I'm so ready to go back to see her now that she's walking and talking.  She might even be able to say Aunt Jeanne! : ) 

Then there's brand new little Clara Jacqueline.  My visit to her was more recent and I only had to drive to Houston to hold her. 

Clara is my niece Melissa's firstborn and her middle name is the same as my mom's.  It looks like she'll have a head of red hair, just like her dad and grandpa (my brother).          
Holding and loving on these sweet girls was truly a blessing.   

Happy Moving Birthday!

This last Saturday was full of special milestones.  Bobby came home which is kind of special itself because it seems like we don't see much of him these days.  He's busy captaining his flight team and leading them to a 3rd place win at regional competition and a coveted spot at nationals in May.  I'll be posting a little more about that soon.  But back to the special Saturday!

Kaylee just recently bought a house, of all things!  It's the cutest little house in an older neighborhood.  She has really made Bob and me proud these last few weeks as she did business with a loan company, endless figuring to make sure she could make the payments, hired an inspector, sticky noted up the many loan papers with her many questions, and then signed all the final papers, all on her own.  I mean, we were there to encourage her and advise if she needed it but she really wanted to do it herself and did a bang up job.  Yes, she is my daughter!!!  You can't see me but I'm beaming! 

So moving took care of the first two thirds of the day!  Here's Kaylee sitting on her new front porch! 

And then it was time to celebrate!  Bob had just had a birthday so we honored that, the move, and Bobby's team win all in one fell swoop and a trip to Babe's!  Here we are with Bobby's girlfriend, Jennifer, about to eat our fill of their good ol' "home cooked" fare.  

I'm In!

Did any of you females know that yesterday was "no make-up day"?  At least that's what I heard on the news so it's got to be true, right?............Well, anyway, some creative young lady at a high school in a nearby town decided to make a stand and a statement, trying to persuade other young ladies that they don't need make-up to define who they are and how they feel about themselves.  I give her a big thumbs up and a Yay!!! 

Finally, the celebration of a special day that I can be excited about!  I've been celebrating that day EVERY day for......oh, about the last 6,000 days!  I mean, back in the day I was just like every other high school and college girl who wanted to be pretty, to be accepted, and to be attractive to the opposite sex.  But I was never very good at it.  Well, I was lazy!  Let's just call it what it was.  And then as I got a little older allergies made their entrance and mascara just became plain annoying.  So I quit!  I would make an effort on Sundays or another special day but then I started to wonder why I even bothered.  Bob didn't seem to be partial either way so if he didn't care, then why did I?
  

So began a journey by accident that became a journey of intention.  Intention to be myself with the face God gave me.  And I haven't looked back!  Goodness, if I'd saved the money I didn't spend on cosmetics I could probably buy a car or go on a cruise.  And the time I've saved?  Well, let's just say that a few more minutes to snooze in the morning or to relax a little longer over a cup of coffee is never a bad thing.
  

Please understand that this has been my journey!  I don't fault anybody if they want to wear make-up.  In fact, I'm usually impressed if it's done well and simply adds to the natural beauty.  I was just tickled that someone that is in high school was perceptive enough to take the idea back to it's foundation (hyuk!) so others could at least think about why instead of just following the pack.    

The Happy List

Take a look!

I did not take this picture last spring!  Nope, I took it yesterday and it is indeed a tomato.  There are actually two more little ones but they're hiding behind leaves.  For some (probably stubborn) reason I babied three tomato plants through the horrendously hot summer and now (even though one bit the dust) I'm seeing the reward.  I don't know why I did it because my soil and the weather didn't cooperate so the plants didn't even produce one piece of fruit when they were new and supposedly fertile.  But baby them I did and so now I may actually be able to feast upon a tomato or two before too long.........that is, if they don't freeze!!! 

Well,  now is probably as good a time as any for me to learn how to make fried green tomatoes!      

If You Build It They Will Come....or something sort of like that!

Last Sunday, the day after the garage sale, Dave, Kelly, Roger, and Bob rebuilt Dad's deck. The day started with Dad taking his three sons out to the truck stop for breakfast and, yes, he was aware of the blessing in that. I asked! : )

Bob and I showed up a little later and they got to work. Roger and Kelly had torn the old deck down the day before so they were able to get going. They didn't completely finish but Kelly and Roger went back a couple of days this week and I think it's finished now. Kelly even bought solar lights to put around the deck. Fancy!! Here are some pictures of the progress. I think Kelly's got some of the finished product so maybe I'll post those later.

Getting started

Still getting started

Making progress

It's looking like a deck

Here's how me and the kitty helped!

<>

And here's Dad helping!

Garage Sale #5 (I think)

I haven't really kept up with how many garage sales we've had at my dad's house but I think this one was #5.  Anyway, it's become somewhat of a tradition/family reunion now and doing it on the same weekend as Whitesboro's Peanut Festival just adds to the fun!

This one brought a sobering reminder that most of the stuff we were selling this year came from the storage unit that my dad had acquired and was cleaning out in June when he fell and broke his hip. We made lemonade out of a big fat lemon though and wouldn't let a little ol' set back like that take our fun away. Dad's doing great, by the way, and doesn't even walk with a cane now. And did I mention that he's 95? Yep, Kelly calls him a freak of nature and I have to agree......and be very thankful in the process. We don't let Dad do much of the work for the sale but he's a pretty good task master and keeps us in line!

We had several people tell us that coming to our garage sale has become a tradition for them and that just made our day. A couple of ladies from the Assembly of God church shopped and then invited us to come to the Peanut Festival booth the next day to buy some of their delicious peanut brittle. Yummy! Then some hispanic ladies bought about $1 worth of our wares and turned around and sold us $15 of their phenomenal homemade tortillas! We did have money left in the coffers when it was all said and done but it was kind of a surprise!

Not all of my siblings were able to come this year but I guess we made it without the two oldest, David, and Linda.  Dave actually came up Saturday night after we'd all cleaned up and left (convenient, huh?  We thought so too!).  I guess I won't be too hard on him though because he spent his visit building a new deck for Dad.  I'll write about that in my next blog.  Unfortunatley Linda wasn't able to be with us this year but she does live in Idaho, after all. 

I didn't take a lot of pictures but I'll post what I have so you can enjoy the garage sale too! : )

Amy and Erin were great helpers and also hosted their annual cookie sale.  Hey, don't even call me if you're just dying to have those beautiful lamp shades.  You'll just have to look elsewhere and hope to find an equal treasure!! 

Kelly brought all the lumber to build Dad's new deck.  He and Roger spent most of Saturday tearing down the old one.  That's Dad on the left.

This is me and my fun sister Suzi.  She's quite a sport when it comes to garage sale time.  We make pretty good partners selling trash and treasures.  Her grandkids weren't able to come this year so Suzi and I had a little vacay at Dad's B & B! 

Kristie and Tim helped a ton this year and it was so much fun to watch little Jayna play and pretty much just be happy!  They're a sweet family!

Learning Every Day!

I've decided that marriage is a perplexing and ever changing work of art.  God's art!  He created it to be an instrument to show off His glory!  We make it cheap and ugly though, because of our fallen state of selfishness and pride. 

I'm grateful because God taught me last weekend a little about myself and my role in keeping the art priceless and beautiful.  He taught me the very simple but valuable lesson (did I never hear it before or did I choose to ignore it?) that my role is to love God more than I love anything that Bob (or either of my kids, for that matter) does or does not give me or do for me. 

I learned that Adam and Eve were created for the clear and specific purpose of bringing glory to the Author of the universe.  Following that, the privileges that came with it were things like intimacy, affection, companionship, comfort, etc.....  But once Adam and Eve disobeyed and changed everything forever, all of a sudden the purpose and privileges exchanged positions.  Now our purpose is for ourselves.  We want and demand the privileges at all costs, including the sacrifice of the feelings, thoughts, and ideas of our spouse.  And the purpose of gloryfying God is merely an afterthought, something that happens if it's convenient, if all of our needs are met first.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37 that the most important act of obedience is to love God with ALL of our hearts, ALL of our souls, and ALL of our minds, FIRST, and then love our neighbor as ourselves.

So I refuse to allow Satan ANY victories here!  My choices will be God's for me and for the care and preservation of this most beautiful of His craftmanship, my marriage and family!  

   

   

A View from the Crosswalk--blessings!

The day of crosswalk blessings started this morning when as a sweet little kinder girl was crossing with her mom she handed me a flyer advertising an event at her church.  My smile was huge!  Then when her mother came back a little later she told me that Taylor had told her that I was one of the top two people she first thought to invite.  What a little sweetie.  The event was Team Impact, those body builders that preach.......nah!  But I sure loved how her sweet little heart works.  

There is this fourth grade little boy named Hayden that walks across the street and I get the feeling he's forced to be older than he is.  He's always very respectful, friendly, and really lovingly takes care of his litte pre-k sister that sometimes walks with him.  This morning as he walked up he had his head down and said he didn't feel good at all.  Man, I just wanted to give him a big ol' hug and try to make him feel better right then and there.  But this afternoon when he came toward me he looked like a different little boy.  It did my heart good to see him back to his happy normal self.  

Carissa came across the street happily complaining (is that possible because that's what it felt like) about how she had to empty and clean out her lunch box that day because her banana got squashed in it by mistake........oh, the trials of elementary school, right!  You gotta love these guys! 

The last blessing was so subtle that I almost missed it.  I'm sure I hear it every day but for some reason it stuck out today.  It was the laughter and squeals of little children as they're being freed from the confines of schoolwork, structure, and teachers.   I love my job!  

A View from the Crosswalk--hazards!

Don't get ahead of me now.  I know that you're probably thinking that the hazards of working at a crosswalk probably involve the cars, right?  Well, while I did have a close call once with a charter bus, mostly the traffic isn't what I worry too much about.  The drivers quell at the sight of my big red stop sign, after all!  (I love power!)

Nope, it's the unexpected little things that tend to be dangerous.  Well, dangerous is probably a little dramatic but, hey, it's all relative.  Take my stop sign for instance.  The other day I was just standing there waiting, and started swinging the thing because......well, because I have a hard time being still.  There!  I said it!  Bob's always known it and now I'm admitting it too!  Anyway, there I was just swinging that stop sign to beat the band and WHAM!! the thing hit me in the knee!  Ouch!!  I limped around for a full day and I'll bet the drivers passing by tried to stop laughing for a full day!  

Another hazard at the crosswalk happens to be a harmless and unobtrusive little storm drain that I park beside.  Over the years I've learned how to handle the thing but there have been episodes.  Like dropping my stop sign in it.  Later that day Bob had to go retrieve it.  I've also dropped a flip flop down there.  It was about halfway through the afternoon session so I ended up completing that work day, walking around in the middle of the street, with one shoe off and one on.  Needless to say Bob let that one go.  Man, where's his sense of adventure??

Once when I pulled up early one morning I heard the faint but definite cry of a kitten.  Sure enough, there it was, stuck down in the storm drain.  It just so happened that that year one of the parents that drop off a child on my corner worked for the city or somebody and had a ladder on his truck.  He was kind and took the time to take the lid off and climb down into the drain to save the little kitty.  Who says firemen are the only kitten saving heroes?

So despite the fact that I risk my life every day to heroically guide these defenseless little school children across the street I will continue to do it in my humble and unassuming way, taking on the hazards of the crosswalk!      

My friend Shari and the trip to Branson!

It all started about 21 years ago when Shari and her beautiful family moved in next door to us.  What a blessing they were to our family!  Our kids played together all the time and Shari and I had a walking date just about every evening after supper.  I didn't realize how blessed I was until they moved to Iowa in 1995, right before school started. 

But, thankfully, that wasn't the end of our friendship.  We made a plan to write to each other and sure enough, we did.  We have exchanged at least one letter every week since 1995, 17 years ago.  We've visited each other a few times during those years but the letter exchange has been the focal blessing to us.  We have raised our kids together, talked (written) through family and social issues, given and taken wisdom and encouragement, and just generally loved each other through the roller coaster of life. 

So I was really happy when Shari's oldest daughter, Rachel (see The Greene Family blog to the right), contacted me and said she wanted to plan a surprise birthday trip for her mom with me and another old friend from early marriage days.  After much planning, scheming, and (let's just call it what it is) lying, the three of us made it to Branson, MO last weekend and celebrated Shari's 50th. 

It was already so much fun just to meet up with Shari and share her birthday but I had the added bonus of being able to meet her friend, Jocelyn Strobbe, and we hit it off like we'd been friends for a long time.  We spent three days talking, eating, seeing the sights, and laughing.....lots and lots of laughing! 

 So happy 50th birthday to you, my dear friend, Shari! Your next letter will be in the mail soon!

me                Shari               Jocelyn

Pilot, Airman, and now speaker!

If you don't want to read a blog that's dripping with pride then you should just stop now because this one is sopping wet!

This past weekend Bobby was presented with one of three presidential scholarships given by Southeastern Oklahoma State University.  His represented the business department and he was then invited to speak at the dinner held for recipients, their families, and alumni.

Here's Bobby's speech: 

DIY

 Well, you can't have a blog without at least one DIY post so here's mine!  I bought these cute little bedside tables at an estate sale about six months ago and have finally gotten around to refurbishing them.  At one time they were actually part of a dresser and somebody sawed out the center piece and that's how they became bedside tables, at least for me. 

So here's the progression because I know that you are just so excited to read this!!  Oh, and don't ask me for help if you want to do this project because I probably won't recommend it.  At least not the way I did it.  I have this annoying habit of pretty much always doing things the hard way and that would be true in this case also.  I found out after the fact that there is actually something called a bonding primer you can put on top of anything, including stain.  That would have saved me the stripping and sanding process but then where would the fun be in that, right?? 

The table on the left is in it's original state.  The one on the right has been stripped but not sanded.

After sanding

Here they are modeling their primer and  paint.  All that's left is the glaze.  That was definitely the tricky step but after I got the hang of it it went pretty well.

And here's the finished product.  The other one is already in my room sitting comfortably beside my bed.  I'm planning on rearranging our bedroom so afterward maybe I'll show pictures of the finished look.  I'm always ready to show off my quilt anyway!  Thanks for joining me on my little redo journey!

A View From the Crosswalk--the shoe that lights up!

When Katie, a second grader, walked across the street this morning she was so excited to show me the new little bauble she'd recently hung on her backpack.  It was a tiny pink tennis shoe that lights up.  I could just feel her joy as she showed me and relished this simple little pleasure in her 7 yr. old world. 

I've been writing my memories down recently, so I think when Katie showed me her trinket, I was prompted to remember how fun it is to be a little girl.  The happiness and pleasure in the simple things like running for no reason, swinging as high as you can while singing every song you can think of, pretending to cook and keep house in a mansion that is actually a small area of dirt and bushes, relishing the honor of cleaning erasers for the teacher by whapping them on a tree outside, chasing and being chased by the boys, waking up in the car to the sound of a parent saying, "home again, home again, jiggity jog!", and just simply growing and learning how the world works so somewhere in the impossibly distant future you can be whatever you want to be!

I love having a job where on a daily basis I can be reminded that life is really just about simple pleasures and finding joy in a tiny little shoe that lights up!

   

I remember it well

Right around 11:00 p.m. tonight just 25 years ago the world was made a much nicer place when Kaylee Vann Jacobs made her entrance into it. 

She's not CEO of some company or a movie star on the front of People magazine but she's a thoughtful and caring daughter, a fun and loving sister, and the nurturing owner of one annoying dog named Thursday!  Kaylee is funny, smart, creative, helpful, practical, insightful, and humble and I'm proud to be able to call her my daughter.  

Happy Birthday my sweet baby Kaylee!  I'm so looking forward to many more years of laughter and just lots of good fun!      

Cousin Camp Tidbits

Of course, I've been going over Cousin Camp in my mind these last couple days and I wanted to share three  random events:

#1  On the 3rd day of Cousin Camp just as we'd arrived back home with Little Caesar's in hand, we had company.  What a nice surprise it was too when one of my older nieces, Kristie, and her husband, Tim, showed up to just say hi.  They'd left sweet little Jayna with Grandma and were in Denton doing some errands and just enjoying a day off together.  They didn't have to make room for us but they did and I sure appreciated their thoughtfulness.  Kristie jumped right in and helped pass out drinks and Tim just stood around being friendly and happy, as usual! : )  Thanks you guys for coming by to join our chaotic camp.

#2  Right when we got to my house on Tuesday to begin the fun, Sadie handed me an envelope and gave strict instructions to not open it until after Cousin Camp.  Being the obedient aunt that I am (any of you that know Sadie will snicker and completely understand what I'm talking about) I put it safely on my desk and carried on with camp.  But after the last person was gone and the quietness was hovering all around me like a cool spring morning : ) I remembered Sadie's note and opened it.  And your idea was right, Sadie!  It was exactly what I needed to read AFTER CC.   Here's what she wrote:

to:  my #1 Aunt  Thank you I had an awesome sumer and I can't wait tell next sumer  I Larnd so much this week and I Love you very much     Love Sadie

It doesn't get much better than that!  (Sidebar:  Her attitude teaches me that it would be so great if I could go to God in prayer, thanking Him beforehand for the answer, being that confident of the joy He has in store for me)

#3  Then Bobby came home.  I had set up the Cousin Camp store in Bobby's room this year and so when he arrived and put his things away he asked if he could have some of the candy he'd found there.  Well, apparently he had a pretty good time going through the items because here's what I found later that afternoon, Bobby laying on the living room floor playing with army men!  It just warms this mom's heart!!  When Kaylee asked him sarcastically if he was playing pretend, Bobby said, "No, I'm setting them up strategically!"  Yeah, this is my soldier!

Cousin Camp 2011 Day 3 & 4

Cousin Camp 2011 is officially over! My house is a wreck, my body is groaning all over, my cupboard is bare, but it was oh so worth it!  It was the last year for Amy, Erin, and Lily and they were my originals five years ago along with Mimi who has long since graduated.  So this year was particularly bittersweet.  But I have big plans for the oldest nieces next year.  Yep, it's back to Niece Camp and it will be new and improved!  

But back to this year......Kathy, you asked in a comment on a previous post who pushed the button at Sonic!  I had to LOL at that because that is one of the many little things that make CC such a joy and so much dad gummed fun.  And, by the way, Hannah had the coveted honor this year of pushing the button.  Gotta love it!

Yesterday morning we were supposed to participate in a ministry project but there was a lack of communication and the outreach ministry we were scheduled to help didn't need us after all.  I called a couple of other places to see if they could use a few willing adolescents but, alas, it was not to be.  Erin, if fact, commented that maybe it just wasn't in God's plan for us to do a ministry project this year!  Huh!!  The wisdom of the young.  After deciding she was probably right we just made our way back home to play.  Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if God was using this as a vehicle to alert me to step back and breathe since we had been so busy.  So we did.  For an hour! : )  

The rest of the day included a trip to Michael's to partake in their free summer craft project, Little Caesar's pizza at home, swimming all afternoon at my friend, Deanna's house (thanks Deanna), and then back home to get ready.  Get ready for what, you ask???  Well, last night is the most waited for and loved of probably all the Cousin Camp activities.  The annual scavenger hunt.  

Kaylee and I decided on a road rally this year.  She took one team and I took the other and we made our way to places like the park, Walmart, Dollar General, Kaylee and Bobby's old high school, Kaylee's house, and finally, to downtown Denton where we concluded with ice cream from Beth Marie's.  I can't decide which is more fun: creating the scavenger hunt or watching them participate.  I was pretty much smiling ear to ear when after they finished the last assignment Amy said, "Thanks, Aunt Jeanne, for all the hard work you did making this".  Now, it doesn't get much more satisfying than that!

After the final stop at the Cousin Camp store at home we finally got to sleep and then woke up to monkey bread for breakfast and a much anticipated trip to the Denton water park.  Parents picked up at 3:00 and that was all she wrote for another successful and fun Cousin Camp.  

But the craziness continues!  Kaylee's actually moving back in tonight.  She'll be looking for a house to buy and, in fact, went and scouted out her first one with a realtor this afternoon.  Eeeeeekkkk!!!  My daughter is an adult!  Well, we'll see.  I did say she was moving back in and she hates cleaning bathrooms so we may revert back to middle school days all too soon!  And Bobby's also home for the first time in about a month.  Fun times to be had all around on the Jacobs' Journey!         



Erin and Amy helping with breakfast and making yummy pancakes.



We can't have Cousin Camp without the fingernail painting session.  Yeah, that's Damien's back.  He's joining the fun too.  That's what happens when you're surrounded by a bunch of girls for four days.

One of the scavenger hunt assignments was to pose in a picture with a JoAnn's Fabric employee.

Another assignment was to pose with wearing a hat from Walmart.  Oh, Amy!

These are supposed to ultimately be rugs made from t-shirt strips but some came out as potholders.  Whatever it takes.  Hannah thought it would be pretty hung just like this on the hula hoops.  I agree Hannah!

Mystery Meal time.  If you can read them can you tell what they might be code for?  As an example, #12 was "green with envy" and was actually a pickle!  Kaylee thought up all the codes and made this poster.  Kaylee is definitely my right hand man for Cousin Camp and I relish her encouragement, ideas, and help.  Thanks, sweet girl!   

At the Mystery Meal table.  The kids were pretty good sports about the whole thing.  Mimi came and helped with the prep and serving.  Couldn't have done it without you, Mimi!  Thanks!

Lily and Hannah were on the same team and here's where Lily was posing in a hat!  Silly!



Here they are taking turns choosing items from the Cousin Camp Store.  It wasn't actually a store this year as I didn't use the lanyards and cousin dots.  When my eldest and much loved niece Stef was down last fall she brought a very cool spinner that she'd made to play with the cousins so I decided to go that route.  Depending on which color they landed on, they could choose from a certain shelf.  This is a VERY serious affair.  We have the Cousin Camp store every night. 



Sadie and Erica posing at JoAnn's.  Amy was taking the picture.

I'm exhausted!

Erin says:     

The night of day 1 was probably the most exhausting night I have ever had. I have a crick in my neck, and I feel like I could go to sleep at any moment all day today! I think anyone could. We had some mixups of medicine, need of a heating pad, and people talking too much. Thats pretty much it. We started waking up around 7:30 and we had these corney dog things for breakfast that we pretty much had to eat on the way to the train station. Yes we actually rode a train to dallas to go ice skating. The place that the ice skating rink was in was so big! It wasn't a mall but it was almost just like one. It had food courts and stores that you could shop in. And of course, the ice skating rink. Everyone loved to ice skate! Not very many people fell down a lot but thats just because they were holding on to the rail. After we finished skating, we ate lunch there in the food court, and then we ice skated some more. We got tired of it after a while, so we rode the train back to the car and went back to the house. When we got there, we got a craft box out and did some things from it while Aunt Jeanne was making a mystery meal. When we had the meal, it was so cool! We had a menu with things like red and yellow sweetness and dipper and we got to pick what our 1st course-4th course was. The food was so good! After dinner, we watched Amy and Sadie dance a little while and then we got ready for bed and went to the cousin camp store.

 That was Erin!  I was so happy that she was willing to post the update tonight and I'll just add a little ending.  What she didn't say was that we're too pooped to..........what is the word anyway?  Pop????  Oh well, you get the whole idea right?  I was going to add pictures to this day but there's bad news and then there's worse news.  The bad news is that I left my camera on last night after posting so the batteries didn't have time to charge this morning.  The worse news is that I thought I was taking pictures with Erin's camera but, alas, the technical flunkie strikes again and even after Erin's careful and precise instruction, I apparently didn't take a picture one!  Man, what a bummer. 

Kaylee was with us tonight and actually took a few pictures of the mystery meal so maybe I'll get around to posting those.  By the way, it's pretty funny watching the kids attempt to eat if they unknowingly ordered three items of food but no utensil to eat it with.  It was a blast!  Another fun memory was created! 

Two down, one and a half to go!  But whose counting?!?   (Me! )

Day 1 of Cousin Camp

Whew!  First day down.........well, till somebody else comes in to say they can't sleep or they need to change beds, or, well, just whatever might come to mind in order to stay up just a little bit longer.  Yes, Cousin Camp has started and I love it!!!! 

 First thing we did was meet at CiCi's Pizza in McKinney. Lily came to my house and the two of us picked my friend, Erica, up (she'll be joining us) and we met the others for pizza.  Here are Suzy and Catherine in the background just counting down the minutes till they can escape (and I was right in there with them) because there were about 900 other people there also.  How do they make so many pizzas so fast?? 

 A friend of mine invited us to come and swim at the Yacht Club outside of Little Elm.  It was a very nice pool and we were the only ones there so it was really great.  We even had a breeze which helped it seem not so..........well, actually nothing can make it feel not so hot these days. 

The ones you might not recognize are the girl on the far left and the boy next to her.  Those are the grandkids of my good friend Carmen.  Jarvis and Madeline were very friendly and hit it off with my kiddos.  The girl next to me is Erica, a friend I've been hanging out with for about a year and she's a big sweetheart so I asked her to join us for Cousin Camp this year. 

Carmen treated us to a walk down to the dock to see one of their sailboats they keep out there.

After swimming we came to my house, got settled into the sleeping arrangements (which was no small task), had a cold popsicle and started our trek down the street to Sonic.  Yeah, I know!  Anybody is crazy to walk anywhere in this heat but walking to Sonic on our first evening is apparantly an unalterable tradition.  So here we are for the fifth year posing with the carhop of the moment.  It was the first time we've ever had a guy.  He was a pretty good sport about being in a picture with a bunch of crazy cousins!  

I did convice them to let Bob come and pick us up though.  Only after promising them they'd get to ride around the block in the back!  Hey, I'll make deals when I have to!

  The last thing on the list for the day was craft time.  This year Kaylee found this great little rug idea that we made on a hula hoop.  Kaylee and Erin were the only ones to finish.  We'll work on them again tomorrow.  Hopefully!
So finally it was bedtime. Let me just tell  you.  It's no easy task getting seven hyper kids to go to sleep on demand!

I'll tell you what else is harder and more frustrating!  Trying to maneuver pictures and paragraphs on this blog to try to make it look any kind of decent.  So tomorrow night I think I'll let Erin or Lily do the blog.  After all, they're 12 and that makes them much more suited for the task.