Photo Shoot

Well, in a perfect world, I would have the energy and time to pursue photography. I absolutely love taking pictures and playing with them on Photoshop. Last weekend, our fave neighbors asked us to take some pictures of their family for Christmas cards. Naturally, we said yes, and we had a fun time with them! Sweet Hailey is just a natural beauty, so she looks beautiful in all of the shots! Haven is a beauty, too, but... well... she's two. She has better things to do than to pose for pictures. :) Luckily, we (my trusty assistant, Eric, and me) managed to get some good shots. Here are a few of my favorites:

I also got to take some of my brother and his precious family a while back...

When we got home from church, Abbie and I went outside to make a "birthday cake" with the leaves she collected from the park. She held on to each one of them the entire time we were there. :) I love this picture... she was talking to me the whole time I was taking pictures. I just love her.

Thankful for so much...

This Thanksgiving, I cannot express the amount of gratitude I have for the life I've been given. I am so undeserving.

Here are just a few things off the top of my head that I am truly thankful for:

I'm so thankful that God has blessed me with the love of an amazing man. He's given me a best friend, someone to love who loves me... someone to laugh with, cry with, grow with... someone who makes my life complete.

...and unbelievable family! When I say they are the best, I honestly mean it. :) We love, support, and encourage each other... I am so happy they are mine!

This new little blessing is a huge part of my thankful list this year! I am so aware of how blessed we were to find out Addie was coming so quickly... there are so many people out there who would give anything to be expecting, so I make it a point each day to thank God for this miracle.

This sweet thing is definitely on my list! She has made my life so much fun in just her short three and a half years! To say that I love her is an understatement! :)

I'm also thankful for Eric's family who treats me like one of their own! They are all so fun, and I'm very lucky to be a Jackson. :)

There are many other things I could list... great friends, a home, food on the table, a wonderful church... I could go on and on... I read on a friend's blog (April) that we should spend this holiday being thankful for what we do have and not sad about what we don't. These days, that it sometimes really difficult. I pray that everyone can try it this holiday season and really look for the good in every person and in every situation life brings.

Movie Recommendation!

Eric and I went on a date last night to see this movie! After all of the hype about it, we were wondering if it would live up to the expectations... well, let me tell you something... it totally did! I would rank this with some of the best movies I have ever seen! It was such an amazing story! I laughed, I cried, I cheered for the team... and the cast was awesome! Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw did not disappoint, and the main character, Quinton Aaron, was fantastic! This little guy:

was probably my favorite! He was the little brother, and he was hilarious! :)

Well, even though I didn't get paid for this movie review, I had to write it! I really think everyone should see this entertaining, feel-good, remember-what's-important-in-your-life movie!

Here she is :)

Here is our sweet baby girl, Adelyn Noelle Jackson! We had our ultrasound today, and it was so much fun! Addie was moving all around, so they didn't get all of the pictures they wanted. That just means we get to go back in a few weeks to take more pics! Yay! The doctor said it is nothing to be alarmed about, but since she was so active, it was just not easy to get pictures of the heart and the spine... which apparently they have to get. I'm excited to have more pics of her! :)

Everything looked great, though... 10 fingers, 10 toes... we even got to see the blood flowing! Technology is just amazing!

Thanks for all of the prayers and sweet thoughts... we are so blessed to have such a great family and sweet friends. Keep those prayers coming!

*If you're wondering where we came up with the name... we've always liked Addie, and we debated between Adelyn and Addison. We chose Adelyn since it's a little more girly and a little different. We chose Noelle for two reasons... I'm named after my grandmother, so Addie will be named after her grandmother, my mother (Nollene) and me, too (the "elle" in Noelle :).

Emotional Rollercoaster

Well, folks, tomorrow is the big day. :) We go for our appointment and ultrasound to find out if our sweetie is a boy or a girl! I have a slew of emotions running through me...

-I'm super excited to find out the sex of the baby! I can't wait to call my parents and brother and his family! I totally want to stop by the store and buy an outfit on the way home! :)

*Part of me wants a girl because of this cutie... Look at those sweet cheeks!
Another part of me wants a boy because I absolutely love having a big brother!

-I'm pumped to finally call the baby by his or her name! We will announce the name once we find out what the baby is. :)

-I'm nervous about what the ultrasound will show... will there be 10 fingers and 10 toes? Are all organs developing on track? Will I still be due around the same time? Earlier? Ugh. I'm fairly sure all of these are normal questions that mommies-to-be have at this point, so I'm desperately trying and reminding myself every minute of the day to give this stuff to God and let Him deal with it. :)

-Believe it or not, I'm a wee bit sad that this whole pregnancy thing is halfway over. :( I love being pregnant! Not that I'm not excited to meet this little person growing inside of me that is going to change our world forever, but I'm kind of attached to it right now... Now, check back with me in a few months. I'll probably totally be ready to meet the little bundle of joy! :)

Ok, that's it for my emotions for now. No new pregnancy info besides the fact that sometimes I just cry for no good reason. :) My energy is still in good shape. I've started walking/working out with some friends from work, and we have a great time! It is a little harder to get around and maneuver while carrying around a *cantaloupe, but thankfully, I have Eric to help me! He is such a blessing. :) I can't wait to see him as a Daddy.

*On Friday, we'll be 20 weeks. Here's what The Bump shows about our babe:

I will spare you the details it says about the digestive stuff and oil/skin cells our baby is making... :) He or she does have sweet little fingernails now, though! :)

Oh, one more thing I always want to remember... I'm in my class during Writing Workshop today writing about tomorrow and how exciting it will be, yada yada... I told my kids that the doctor will tell us if we are having a boy or a girl. One child yells out, "Or if you have a boy and a girl in there!" Another said, "Or if you have twins or triplets!" OMG. I almost fell out of my chair! I sweetly told them that hopefully there's no one playing hide and seek in there! We also took a vote: 15 think it's a boy and 6 think it's a girl! :) They want me to call them tomorrow night to tell them! I told them it would be a surprise on Thursday! :)

How can you not love them? :)

Kate and Guy Tie the Knot!

We were so excited to be able to attend Kate and Guy's wedding in September! We traveled to Bald Head Island, N.C., for the big event... here is the view from my spot on the beach the day of the wedding:

Not too shabby, huh? :)

Here are a few other shots from the weekend... we had a great little getaway! :)


The house we shared with 5 fun friends :)


Eric, me, and Matt right before we got pulled over... oh, but we weren't even moving yet. The cop just stopped us. I guess she was bored or something. Turns out she found us later that night, too. I think she liked us. I don't know why we looked suspicious to her... I mean, we're old and I'm pregnant. Built-in DD. :)


The girls before the wedding


Mr. and Mrs. Carden :)


Here we are... with a little rainy hair. You can only drive golf carts on the island, and we got caught in the rain on the way to the wedding. Awesome.

Rachel and Robert... our traveling buddies did well on their first weekend away from sweet Knox. :)

Eric, Papa (Eric's grandpa), me, and Baby J :)

Chicago Trip

This post is a little... okay, it's a lot late, but I just downloaded the pictures, so I wanted to put them on here. At the end of July, Eric and I took our anniversary trip to the Windy City to see Rascal Flatts and Darius Rucker in concert at Wrigley Field. We had a blast! The weather was unseasonably cool, so I was in heaven! The city is so much fun, and we definitely want to make plans to go back soon.

My love and me at the Navy Pier


Eric and the Chicago River


Notice the water taxi behind me... I am a new fan of these! We loved riding them! They were comfortable, cheap, and not nearly as smelly as cabs! I popped a Dramamine, and we were good to go! :)

We also tried to visit the newly-named Willis Tower, but this picture shows the reason we did not. Maybe next time. :)

This is the only picture we have from the concert. They said not to bring cameras, so we didn't... even though we probably could have. :( Oh well, this phone pic is still cute. :) The concert was amazing! I would gladly see Rascal Flatts or Darius Rucker again!

Happy (late) Anniversary, babe! I'm the happiest I've ever been because of you. :)

Trip to Rocky Top

Here we are at the UT/Memphis game. We had such a great time! It was Abbie's first game, and she loved it! She was so excited! The Vols scored a gazillion touchdowns during the time we were there, so Ab got to see lots of fireworks! :)

Sweet cheerleader :)

During the game... pure excitement. :)

Cute family pic!

Eric, me, and Baby J (almost 5 months preggers) :) Ask me how much walking I did. Seriously. Knoxville is freakin' hilly.

One more picture for the road... we played dress-up on Sunday. Isn't this Snow White precious? :)

Just because I love her...

3 months :)

Well, we have officially entered the second trimester! :) Hooray! Here is the latest picture of our little baby:
We saw the head and limbs, but right when the picture was taken, we got this lovely picture of his or her back. Isn't it precious?! :)

My fave website says the baby is now the size of a lemon! Yum! I've loved those throughout the pregnancy! The site also says:

Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo(thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth.

I am still feeling well. My energy is coming back little by little. I can now last until around 8:30 as opposed to 6:00 like usual. :) My likes and dislikes are still similar... except I really love Mexican food. Not so fond of the heartburn that I've gotten to experience, though. Eric even got to run to Kroger one night around midnight to get me some Tums. He's so sweet. :)

I'm hoping to get back to a normal exercise routine this week. The weather is simply amazing now that all of the rain is gone! It is fall and we are loving it! :) Hopefully, I'll get some belly pictures on here before too long!

Mommy's Likes and Dislikes

So, our appointment yesterday went very well! It was just a check-up, but we did get a quick ultrasound pic that I'll have to scan to put on here sometime... although Baby J. did turn sideways right before Dr. Tom-Tom took the picture so we didn't get a good picture of the head and arms. Camera shy? I sure hope not! :)

I got to thinking last night that I haven't really kept any kind of a Pregnancy Journal, so I've decided to write things on here when I get the time so that I'll have them for later. :)

So far in this pregnancy, these are my likes:
-sleeping
-Blue Bell mint chocolate chip ice cream (in a cone... well, in a cone, in a bowl, off the floor... whatever! :)
-vegetables (but not salad)
-ranch dressing
-soup of any kind
-sleeping
-Nutty Bars :)
-popcorn in a big bag from Kroger
-sleeping
-crackers
-maternity skirts and pants (a true Godsend)
-chocolate malts from Marble Slab :)

Some dislikes:
-not sleeping
-pepperoni
-baked/grilled chicken (crazy!)
-salads (another crazy!)
-the fact that my taste buds sometimes make me not like things that I normally would like

All in all, things are going great! No morning sickness... just exhaustion! I feel a bit queasy sometimes, but crackers and Sprite fix that right away! I know everything will be worth it when this little miracle arrives in about 6 1/2 months!

Lime, anyone?

Woo hoo! Our sweet baby is now the size of a lime. :) One of my favorite websites, The Bump, compares the baby each week of pregnancy to the size of a food. It makes comparisons so much easier for us! My how we've grown since our days as a poppy seed (week 3). Here is what the site says about this week of development:

Your fetus currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through. But, fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future.

Exciting, huh? :) We go to the doctor tomorrow for our monthly check-up, so we're pumped! Please pray that sweet baby Jackson is still healthy and that all is well for Mommy, too. I should have a new "lime-sized" pic to share tomorrow!