Jackson's 2nd Thanksgiving

This year we were in Bettendorf for Thanksgiving. It is very nice to be able to be home for the holidays and not trapsing all over the countryside. We had a very nice meal with my parents and brother and his fiance, Jenny. We ate lots of yummy food... even though the meat thermometer broke and kept saying the turkey was getting COLDER... it all turned out yummy!!

Jackson ate a little bit of the dinner... he is really only interested in eating pasta and bananas these days... but he like the sweet potatoes and stuffing. He wouldn't eat the squash, potatoes, or turkey... he also loved apple and pumpkin pie and especially the whipped cream (mostly when Grandpa was squirting it into his mouth). He was a very happy little boy! He hung out with Jenny most of the day, sitting on her lap and wanting her to play with him. Very cute!

I am getting terrible about pictures these days... I need to take more. But as soon as I take out the camera Jackson attacks it and it's hard to get a good one of him. I'll post some pictures soon.

Happy Black Friday Shopping!!

Moving

Well, it's out there... we are moving. Not until this summer (late summer if I have anything to say about it), but we are leaving the QCA. We are headed to Northeast Iowa... Waukon to be exact.

Why on earth would we leave? Well, Andy was offered a great position with Farm Bureau... something we couldn't pass up. So, we are headed to NE Iowa. We are lucky, we know people there, since Andy is from Postville... but it will be a change. I am going to stay home and take care of Jackson and any future children we might have. Which I am VERY excited about. But we will be far away from my family and friends. Hopefully, everyone will come to visit us a lot!

Jackson and his cousins- Thalia, Sari, and Arielle. He loved playing with the girls!

Smores

Jackson had his first smores experience last weekend! It was fun and messy! :)

Sand baby

Jackson had a fun a few weekends ago in the sand... just getting it up now!! Enjoy!

Elmo

Jackson and I went with our friends Heather and Mia to see Elmo Goes Green, at the Adler Theatre. He had a BALL! He sat on my lap the whole time just starring at the stage! He was dancing, too! I had my hand in front of his face once to take a picture and he pulled it down so quickly! It was awesome!!

Uncle Lynn

On Saturday we recieved some bad, no awful news. My uncle (my dad's brother), Lynn, had been killed in an accident. He was driving his trike (a motorcycle with 3 wheels) when a deer hit him and broke his neck immediately. It was a huge shock to everyone. At 52, he was invincible.

Although it has been almost 2 years since I had seen my uncle last, due to pregnancy and new baby, I still feel an empty hole in my chest. He was a man that loved life. He was happy, laughing, and loving. He rarely had a bad word to say about anyone and never took anything in life too seriously.

He always called me "Emmy", everytime. I never remember him calling me by my given name. When we were in Wisconsin visiting our grandparents, Uncle Lynn always came to breakfast. I remember his closeness with my grandparents and how much he loved them and took care of them. His love for the outdoors was another thing I will remember. While with Uncle Lynn we never were just sitting around watching TV, we were doing/planning something outside. His love for Old Milwakee beer was another attribute of his. He always brought his own Old Mill if he thought there might not be any. The love of his trikes will never be forgotten and the fact that he ended his life here on earth while riding one seems fitting. His brothers were his best friends. He spent a couple of days a week with Uncle Lyle and made time to spend with my dad as often as he came up to visit. They were outdoors men- with a project or activity always on the agenda. Lastly, his devotion to his daughter, Laurali. In every moment he was doing things to make her life the best that he could.

He was a loving and compassionate man who will be greatly missed by all that knew him. I know in my heart that right now he is in Heaven with his parents wishing we would all move on, laugh, and have fun until we meet him there.