Rewind: Julie's Going Away Party

One year ago today, I drove to the airport to pick up a pretty Danish girl from the airport. I hardly knew much about her, but was so excited to spent the year getting to know her. It's crazy to look back and think it's only been a year because I just can't really imagine my life without her!

It's been almost two months since Julie left, but we had a big going away party before she did! Tons of people came, of course- because Julie is just super fun person and so many people enjoyed having her in their lives this past year. We all wanted to make sure that she felt tons of love here in the states as she traveled back home to the people who loved her first. It's about time I finally get around to posting about it!

There were lots of friends:

Lots of food:

and lots of fun!

She had two delicious cakes

And we gave her a hard time about choosing to eat from the Danish flag!

I can’t believe Julie has been gone for almost 8 weeks now. We miss her like crazy, but she’s been having a blast back home. We Skype and email to keep in touch. She spent a week in Italy at the beach with friends earlier this month and is currently in Paris with her mom, so I’d say she’s having lots of fun adjusting to home life! She does have plane tickets to come visit in October-YAY!! Super excited.

Julie's Sweet 16

I have had so much fun celebrating Julie's birthday this week. She has been counting down days until her birthday practically since she got here, so I have been contemplating for awhile about how to make it super special.

Her birthday was on Tuesday. Monday evening I stopped by the school put balloons on her locker. Turns out it was the wrong locker, but I was only working with approximate directions from a friend (outright asking just seemed a little too obvious). Thankfully the friends I've been communicating with about her birthday were there to help out!

We encountered a few unwelcome surprises that day, but we got them all worked out and then I, unfortunately, had to go to class while Julie had a volleyball game. I was told that the entire gymnasium full of people sang happy birthday to her and that she served the winning point of the game. She was on cloud nine. I so wish I could have been there. She went home with some friends to celebrate her birthday some more with pizza and brownies. I popped in around 8:30, so I got to partake in a little bit of the fun. By the time we got home, she said it was too late and she had too much homework to open the presents, so we decided to wait until Wednesday.

Julie had so much fun opening the presents from her family and friends in Denmark. And her mom sent Jackson a gift too so he didn't just have to watch Julie have all of the unwrapping fun! Between the several things sent from Denmark, the things I got her (Mizzou shirt and Disney Princess SillyBand Bracelets), and the gifts from the party she ended up with a lot of really cool stuff!

Her party was last night.  There have been several parties lately and a few more are on the schedule, so we wanted to do something a little different than the typical cake and ice cream treats. So, we opted for waffles. And Mickey Mouse waffles at that (Julie loves Mickey and even has a dog named Mickey back home). The topping choices consisted of: syrup, chocolate syrup, peanut butter, mixed berries, strawberry jam, whipped cream, and chocolate chips. It was a big hit.

The stack of waffles!

 

Some of the kids got creative with their toppings!

We had about 20 high schoolers hanging out at our place and it was a lot of fun.

Julie had a great time. Isn't she just really pretty??

I shared her birthday surprise on facebook last night because I just couldn't keep it in any longer! But for those of you who haven't watched it yet-- you totally should!

This is Julie as she was watching the video, right at the point when her brother was on the video. She didn't take her eyes off the tv or stop smiling the entire time!

 

Being a host mom to a 16 year old is so much fun (albeit very, very busy), but lots and lots of fun!! I love this girl!

Fun, but tiring weekend

We had a great weekend. Derek's going away party was a great success. It is such an encouragement to know we have so many friends and family who are here to support us both in these upcoming months.

 Derek grilled the yummy hotdogs.

And HanNah made all the wonderful food!

Derek was so excited about all of the attention he received-- especially the kisses from Aunt Leah.

Our dear friends Billy and Gina traveled up from Springfield just to come. He was our campus minister at the BSU down at college and he has continued to be an encouragement to us!

Jackson walked into a cabinet on Sunday morning before church ending up with a nice big boo-boo on his eye. We went to Applebee's with Derek's parents after church and Jackson ended up falling asleep in his chair. I had to put my hand down to keep his head from crashing into the table to prevent another big mark on his face.

I had a host-parent orientation meeting yesterday afternoon while Derek and his dad looked at his car that wouldn't start (ugh!). My cousin Greg and his wife Andrea came over with their daughter Bethany last night for dinner. They live in Prague, but are back for a few months. It was good to catch up and visit.

We have a busy week ahead of us as it's Derek's last week before he heads off to basic. He has the week off work so we have lots of time to spend together--Yay! We are heading out this afternoon to go visit his brother in St. Louis for the night and we will be driving back tomorrow. Uncle Joe is coming over to help get started on getting the basement studded a couple days this week and one of these days we are going to go on a date night at Derek's two favorite places-- Burger King and AMC Theaters, and use the gift cards our wonderful friends Jeff and Missy gave us (who also traveled up from Springfield for the weekend, but I didn't get a picture.)

So anyway, I probably won't be on here much more this week. But I'll be back next week for sure. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for him to leave!!

Oh! And Julie arrived safely in the US yesterday and is at a two-week language camp at Bryant University on the east coast. Yay!

Derek's Golden Birthday

This year was Derek's Golden Birthday- he turned 26 on the 26th. (How ironic that our bill was $26.03 when we went to Arthur Bryant's that night!) Of course, Derek didn't really care, but I think it's fun to celebrate. So, I threw a last minute surprise party together for people to get together at his parents house after church on Sunday night. Thanks everyone for coming!!

His birthday loot:

• 26 dollar bills (x2)
• 26 Dr. Peppers (x2)
• 26 bags of Cheez-Its
• 26 Mini-Snickeres
• 26 Bite-size Snickers
• 26 pieces of candy (x2)
• 26 pistachios
• 26 facebook wall-posts (haha!!)

And of course, a few pictures!  Instead, his mom made his favorite chocolate chip cookies. So, we opted for candles in the pizza (we had eight of them!). And we didn't have a six either, so we improvised with  4+1+1. 

Jackson going through Derek's gifts

And finding a use for the cans that are just lying around. He got them stacked 5 high on top of the coffee table. Pretty impressive.

So when Derek goes to buy something for $26 in ones- what type of job will the cashier think Derek has?

Me and the birthday boy!

Aunt Laura and Jackson!

Dad has plenty- why can't he share?!? I bet I'd like Dr. Pepper if you'd let me have some.

Jackson's 1st Birthday

The last week of October marked Jackson's birthday week and much celebrating took place. Despite the fact that it's now the middle of November, I am still a little bit in denial that my baby has become a toddler and that he is officially one year old.

Jackson's first birthday picture

Jackson's birthday party was on the Saturday the 24th and was in our new house in the basement, even though the upstairs was still a major construction area. It was kind of a last minute plan because when we first starting thinking about his party, we had no idea what shape our house would be in. We swept up the basement, put down a rug, and brought our little playground inside and I think it went nicely. Mom and I (but mostly Mom) made food and it was yummy! We had sandwiches, fruit, spinach dip, chips, some veggies, and of course- a cake! My friend Tammy has a special talent for making cakes and she did a FABULOUS job.

The cake- half chocolate, half fun-fetti- Delicious!

Jackson eats his cake

Just a little big messy!

Jackson had several friends come to the party and he had fun and of course grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles joined the party too! Linda and Forrest got him a kid broom to appease his desire to carry the big broom around the entire house. Grandpa Duff got Jackson this little big that dances, sings, and squeals and needless to say all of the kids love it. Jackson got several other gifts and he plays with them all, though his favorite thing is get to play with the 'big kids'!

Yum- a basketball!

Jackson and I went up to Kearney on his actual birthday and went to Chick-fil-a for lunch with Grandpa. They have a playplace that is more suited for the toddler and Jackson always enjoys climbing and going down the slide. The manager at the restaurant gave Jackson a balloon and Jackson carried that thing around as if his life depended on it-- up the stairs, through the tunnel, down the slide, even when he fell asleep in the car. Both Jackson and Grandpa had a good time.

Jackson and Grandpa

He sure loved that balloon!

Since Jackson's birthday was on a Wednesday, we planned to have a mini celebration after church with cookies and edible markers. The kids all decorated some cookies and Jackson just squealed in delight of having the 'big kids' around once again. Not only is Jackson loved and adored by all of our family friends, he also have a fan club from kids ranging from age 2 up to the 7th graders at church- especially our Sunday school students. In fact, we are having a Sunday School party tomorrow and the 4-5th graders have insisted on Jackson being present.

Decorating cookies

Happy Baby!

These boys love each other-

Grant and Jackson

And can't forget to mention that Jackson was just so excited about his birthday, that he was up several times in the night. We were awake from 3:30-5:00 all because Jackson wanted a banana and it took us that long to figure out what he wanted. We are so blessed to have Jackson in our lives and also for our friends and family who love him so much! And here is a video I made for Jackson's birthday. It is kind of long, but it's really cool. And for more birthday pictures CLICK HERE.

Videos and Pictures

We've had a lot of fun lately, so we've taken lots of pictures. I've even uploaded a few videos so you can see just how much he has grown! This past week, Jackson crossed over into his seventh month. I can just hardly believe it!

On Memorial Day weekend, Derek and I spent some time up at my parents house and we really enjoyed ourselves. The company is nice plus the food is always wonderful! And randomly, an old friend happened to be driving through the city, and she stopped by and we had a wonderful time visiting! What a surprise! Last weekend was also Jackson's first time swimming-- and he loved it! He splashed and kicked and was just so happy to be in the water- even when he got water in his eyes. I think we have a young Michael Phelps on our hands.

More swimming pictures

I'm still working part time hours at the daycare at church and Jackson has a little friend named Keliko who is one month younger. Both of these boys are so easy going and I really enjoy taking care of these fellas while I'm at work. Plus they are so super cute and give out lots of smiles.

Jackson and Kel

Going for a walk- Jackson was real concerned about missing
what was going on up front!

More Pictures: The most recent pictures are at the end of the album

Derek and I had our Sunday School kids over on Friday night for a game night party and everyone really had a good time. They played Apples to Apples, Spoons, some games on the Wii, and we had a Sorry! tournament. Click Here are some pictures from the party.

Now for the videos:

We had to lower the mattress in Jackson's crib when he started to pull up!

Jackson and his toy



Jackson LOVES to play with Mia and
she is so patient to let him get away with it!



Aunt Laura really had Jackson laughing!