Future banker?

Henry is really into money right now. He got a wallet for Christmas and he is obsessed with carrying it everywhere and keeping a little jingle in it. They just don't make the back pockets on little boys' pants big enough to carry one. I caught him "stealing" coins out of my wallet yesterday. I felt like I did a good job explaining why we don't do that. But, today, I caught him again, and he was being very sneaky about it. That boy!
Tonight we were sitting and talking about his money, and he was showing me the different coins that he had acquired. He likes the pennies best! He laid one down and asked, "Mommy, who is that man?" I said, "Why, honey, that is Abraham Lincoln..." I'm about to go into who he was when he asked, "Is he on TV?"

How 'bout some cute pictures?

Bedtime CAN be so much fun!


Craft time


Gotta love the hair!


Yeah, I know I'm gorgeous!


Hard at work. We think Vivian is going to be left-handed like Henry!

I feel like a heel...

I often get asked if I ever just "lose it" with my kids. Tonight I was trying to get the kids to get their PJ's on, brush their teeth, and stop running around and screaming like a bunch of crazy people so they can get to bed. I've been through this routine countless times, so why did I resort to my loud, mean mommy voice and scream at my children? I felt horrible the second I did it, and I apologized to them all. Later, at tuck-in time, I went to William to say his prayers with him. I always ask him if there is anything special he would like to pray for. Tonight, he said he wanted to ask God to help Mommy not to yell like that anymore. And that's just what we prayed for, and I prayed really, really hard.

The Sweetest Girl in the World

yet fiercely independent...


I can wipe my own face, thank you!


Mommy's helper


I could swing all day!

She can hear!

Today was Rebecca's post-op appointment with her ENT. They did a hearing test and it was normal! Yeah! I knew this in my heart because she has been speaking English so much more and also so much clearer. Praise God she doesn't have any permanent hearing deficits! Can you imagine going 6 years with everything sounding muffled?!

An Alabama snowfall

Boy, if it had been cold enough we would have had a really nice snow. It was beautiful coming down in those big, wet flakes. It was only around a couple of hours before the rain came. We lived in Mobile, AL, until the boys were almost 2, and they hadn't seen snow until last winter. Regretfully, we didn't make it out in that slushy mess; it melted before 9 am, if I remember correctly, plus somebody had a fever that morning. This is definitely the first snow that Rebecca has ever seen. She grew up near the southern coast of China (very tropical). I'd like to say that the kids had a good time running around in the snow, but they kept complaining that it was COLD! I was trying to show them how to catch snowflakes on your tongue and how to make snowballs with the little bit that stuck to the back steps, but there was just a bunch of whining. Henry went out and took his shoes off to get on the trampoline, then started screaming that his feet were hurting and burning! A great introduction to the white stuff!


You have to squint to see it falling!


Things did get a little white...


What is this stuff?!

Rebecca's progress

Today, Rebecca has been home with us for 4 months. She has made tremendous strides in such a short amount of time, but of course, has so far to go. We were able to get tubes placed in her ears about a month ago, after battling ear infections and fluid, and her speech and language have really seemed to take off since that time. We jumped through hoops to get a referral meeting and then evaluation for services through the school system. We went today for the eligibility meeting, and she qualifies for speech & language as well as occupational therapy. She will be getting 2 sessions a week, 30 minutes each, of language, and 1 session, 30 minutes, a week of OT.
Rebecca also started preschool last week and loves it! She is going two half-days a week, and she is in the same class as Henry and William. We are looking nervously toward regular kindergarten in the fall. (The boys won't start K until fall 2009.)
We are awaiting the scheduling of her heart procedure at UAB. We are looking to have that done some time in March.


Rebecca ready for her first day at preschool

Tornado party

The kids and I, along with my SIL, niece and nephew, went to my mom & stepdad's last Thursday during the severe weather outbreak. They have a storm shelter in case we needed to take cover. It looked like a tornado hit the inside of Mom's house after 6 of her grandchildren took it apart! Here they are playing dress up. (Don't you just love Henry's scarf and lei combo?!) Couldn't talk Walker into getting into the action. He later decided he would let someone put a cowboy hat and bandanna on him.

Out of the mouths of babes

I think one of the best things about being a parent is getting to laugh at all the cute and strange things that your kids can come up with. Case in point: All the kids are still singing Christmas songs, which is about to make me pull my hair out, but that's another story. William was just singing his heart out tonight to a famed carol, "A Holly Jolly Christmas." I was listening intently because he wasn't missing a note, until..."Ho, Ho, the missin' toe, hung where you can see..." Now, I don't guess he knows what mistletoe is. I mean, the poor boy must have horrible images in his head when he hears that song! And I wonder whose toe he thinks is missing?

A Great Christmas!

Sorry for the late posting! Billy decided one evening to "clean up" the hard drive and inadvertently deleted some important files! I couldn't do very much on the internet, needless to say! I'm so happy to be back!!

All the children had a wonderful time during Christmas, and everyone was pretty well-behaved, surprisingly. Rebecca caught on to the present-opening pretty quick, and was overjoyed with each and every one. She wanted to play with each toy after she opened it, so we had to convince her to delay that gratification to the end. She would also want to try-on and model all her new clothes. We even had a PJ fashion show one day! William is all about getting presents, and he has no problem just moving on to the next one. Vivian was doing her share with the tearing of wrapping paper. Her favorite gifts were, of course, baby dolls. She is so cute; she just kisses all over them. Henry was especially happy with anything with wheels. He pretty much had a "Cars movie" Christmas! Let's just say it is pretty hard to teach the finer points of being better to give than to receive when grandparents are around! They can make Santa look bad! :)

We did have a little set-back. My grandfather, Waddell Jackson, who is 80 years young, went into the hospital in ICU on Christmas night. We are so thankful that he is back home again, doing well, and gaining strength every day. He felt so poorly Christmas morning that he didn't open his presents with everyone else. He loves Christmas so much, so you know he is pretty sick not to open presents!

Here are some photos, in no particular order.


Anna, Vivian, Henry, Walker, Rebecca, William, Scarlett, Fiona, and Phin with Paw-Paw


Henry shows off his Hot Wheels that Nannie and Paw-Paw gave him. He also got 2 cool carrying cases that he likes to sleep with!


Rebecca's Christmas haircut


Rebecca, Henry, William, and Vivian at Granddaddy Woodall's house


Rebecca's Tinker Toy creation. (She said it was a tree.)


Here's a Christmas morning pic. I was terrible with the camera; I can't believe I made so few!! Vivian is showing off her new purse, along with her usual bedhead!


Rebecca spends time with Granddaddy Jackson on Christmas Day. (He had to go into the hospital that night for an upper GI bleed.)


Decorating the gingerbread house


Happy Birthday, Billy! Here we had just got home from eating at the old Greenbrier BBQ and are about to enjoy some red velvet cake, Billy's favorite.


Bedtime story!


Walker, Rebecca, Vivian, Anna, William, and Henry


She got a hoola hoop!