My Calling as a Homemaker

My Occupation? A Homemaker. I take my job seriously. I have an important job and I am honored to run the household and be able to be a stay at home mom. I strive to excel in everything I do, and this being my calling from God recently I had to make some changes to be better. I have never felt called to be a teacher or a nurse. In fact, in kindergarten I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up and I said, " A wife and mom." That is all I have ever wanted to do.
I have not always taken my job so seriously. It used to be that I would just fill in gaps of time before Ross came home from work. My home took a backseat to most things. We were disorganized and stretching ourselves thin. We were involved in to many things and it had a negative impact on our family. When we were home I was stressed because the house was a wreck.
So, once I realized that I was unhappy and stressed because I wasn't taking my #1 ministry a priority, I made changes.
My home and family are my #1 ministry. Some may disagree with this because we should be giving out right? Usually that is thought of as serving outside the home. Some may think it is even selfish to serve your family over other areas of ministry. I do serve at church and it is very important that we do. We can't be takers. I can't put that above my family though.
Well, I have always felt that our home was a ministry. The Lord has provided money for us to have a house. How can we use that house to serve God? Have people over for dinner, have moms over for play dates, and always encourage everyone who walks in our doors. We have to use what the Lord has given us to glorify Him. Ross and I look at all of our possessions like that. God provided vehicles for us. So how can we use those to serve God and our community? Give people rides, if someone can't drive themselves to something offer to pick them up! Easy squeezy.
So, some changes have been made in the Jackson household and it feels good and right. We are spending more time at home, having more people over for dinner and building relationships. The house is cleaner. This makes us all feel better and more willing to have people over last minute. So, I am a homemaker. God has called me to be this and I am honored to do it and I will strive to do it the best I can.

White Chili Recipe

We had this White Chili for dinner tonight and it was delicious! It is super easy to make and very filling! It goes a long way, so invite some old friends or new friends over for dinner!

This is a crock pot recipe, so I made it at about 11am and we enjoyed it at 5pm. I love having a meal cooking all day during a busy day!

White Chili

3 15oz cans Great Northern beans, drained

2 cooked and shredded chicken breasts

1 Cup chopped onions

1 cups chopped yellow or green peppers

1 4oz can of diced chilies

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried oregano

3 1/2 cups chicken broth

sour cream

shredded cheddar cheese or mont. jack cheese

tortilla chips

1. Combine all ingredients except sour cream, cheese, and chips in slow cooker.

2. Cover. Cook on low 8-10 hrs or High 4-5 hours.

3. Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream, cheese, and chips.

Enjoy your chili and company!

To: Julius

Julius you track dirt into my house and I yell at you. On Monday, you cost me $164 because some how you got fleas. I spent all day washing and vacuuming and de-fleaing our house. Gross. I hate bugs. I hate the thought of bugs. You brought them in my house. Your fur is really hard to maintain. I have to brush you daily so you don't get mats.

Julius, you make us laugh everyday. You have helped Ezra learn how to treat an animal. Ezra loves seeing you in the morning as much as you love seeing him. We love taking you for walks and we love watching you stick your head out the window on your beloved car rides. I threaten to give you away a lot, but they are just empty threats. I would never really want to give you away. You are part of our family now.

Induction Scheduled!

I had a doctor appointment today and they have already scheduled me for an induction on DECEMBER 23rd!! I will be 39 weeks then and that is routine to do since my blood pressure runs on the high end! So I will for sure have this little girl before Christmas! Perhaps it will be Christmas Eve, but anyway, I am excited to have an end in sight and a date to look forward to! It will be a crazy Christmas here! It will be a non-traditional one, that is for sure!

Grace at 30 Weeks

I had an ultrasound last week. Below is the picture we got of her face. We also got proof that she is for sure a girl! I took a picture of the picture, so the quality isn't very good. Looks like she has some beautiful high cheekbones!

31 Weeks

Here is the growing belly at 31 weeks!
(this picture was taken at 30 weeks)

Polka Dot Birthday

Ezra attended his first birthday party this last Friday. It was for a friend from church. She had a polka dot party! All of the little girls wore polka dots and the boys wore stripes. Her mom is very creative and has a real gift at hosting parties. All of the food was in some sort of polka dot form. It was very fun and Ezra is hooked on birthday parties now!

Why Mommy?

Ezra has hit the "Why" stage! He doesn't ask why after I say something, he is asking why things are the way they are.
Some of his questions are the following: (You can tell he asks these questions a lot while we are driving!)
Ezra asks,
"Why do birds have feet?
Why do airplanes fly?
Why are there signs on the road?
Why are there trees along the road?
Why do we walk on grass?
Why do cars drive?"

I love his curiosity and eagerness to learn.

Long Time, No Blog.

It's been a couple weeks since my last blog! A lot has been happening around here!

• First of all, I haven't posted any new pictures because our computer died on us. We got a new laptop, so I just need to take pictures and post them now! I will try and get that done this weekend.
• I haven't really felt like having my picture taken either. I am feeling quite huge. I am really ready to have this baby girl! It will be so much fun to meet her and see what she looks like! Also, I am really ready to start exercising again and get this baby weight off!!
• I had an ultrasound this week and we got another picture of her face and proof that she is still a girl! I will try and get that posted this weekend as well. Grace is about 3.5 lbs and 17 inches long!
• My blood pressure is still doing great! I have another dr appt next week. I was already in the hospital at this point with Ezra, so I am happy everything is going well.
• Okay this is big news...... After much prayer and thought Ross is going to stay in the Army! It is a bit of a long story, but the short version is this: Ross had knee surgery a year ago and now needs it again! In order to get the surgery he was going to be extended. He will have 9 years in the service after the extension, so we decided we might as well do another 11 and retire with the military! I am very excited and it just feels right. I'll blog more about this as soon as we have more details on our next adventure!
• Ezra is recognizing letters on everything! He loves to say the name of the letter. I hope to have him in preschool next fall. He is really ready for it!
• Julius, the dog, still drives me nuts at times, but I love him and he has been so good for Ezra. I get upset though when he tracks grass and dirt on my clean floors! The rain isn't helping! Oh well, he doesn't mean to, and I am trying to stop verbally abusing him.=)(REMEMBER-I am talking about the DOG not my child!)
• Ezra is really into text messaging right now! He pretends to text Julius and his stuffed doggy. He also uses Ross and my phone to text the others phone. It is funny to hear my three year old talking about texting!

Okay, that is all I can think to tell you all now. I will try to get some pictures up this weekend. No promises, but I'll try.=)

28 Weeks

Where Did the "Nesting" Go?

This little cartoon fits me perfectly at the moment. The last 2 months I have been crazy cleaning woman. The garage as been organized (Thanks Ross!) , laundry is done everyday, there hasn't been a dish in the sink, dusting done ever other day, corners of bathroom floors cleaned with q-tips and disinfectant wipes.....you get the point. Anyway, then all of the sudden about three days ago I have no motivation for any of it! I just want to sit down (which involves some moaning and groaning from my aches and pains)!

I sure do hope I get some energy back to keep this place nice and tidy before Grace arrives!

Personality Test

I enjoy doing personality tests to see what they say.

If you want to do a personality test you can do one here.... www.41q.com

This was my result:


Your personality type:
Popular and sensitive, with outstanding people skills. Externally focused, with real concern for how others think and feel. Usually dislike being alone. They see everything from the human angle and dislike impersonal analysis. Very effective at managing people issues and leading group discussions. Interested in serving others and probably place the needs of others over their own needs.

Careers that could fit you includes:
Teachers, consultants, psychiatrists, social workers, counselors, clergy, sales representatives, human resources, managers, events coordinators, politicians, diplomats, writers, actors, designers, homemakers, musicians, religious workers.

Lincoln Logs

Ezra and I organized his "toy closet" a few weeks back. He has organizers with drawers and the drawers are labled with the type of toys that belong in the drawer. I made sure that Ezra was part of the cleaning out/organizing project. First of all so that he would start to understand whey it is important to keep the things that the Lord has blessed us with nice. Also, so that he knew it was hard work to clean up big messes! I figured that if he was part of the process he would value and appreciate having a clean play area.

He has two rules when it comes to the drawers. #1- He can only pull one drawer out at a time. #2- He has to put all the toys back in the drawer and in the closet before he can get out anything else. (Thanks Lauren for the idea!)

We told him that if he kept to the rules and had a good attitude that he would be rewarded with a set of Lincoln Logs. He has done a great job keeping up his end of the deal, so we took a trip to Toys R Us and found the Lincoln Logs on sale! (Thank-you Jesus, for your little blessings.) Above are pictures of Ezra's new favorite pass time! They are also a great way for Ross and Ezra to spend together. They have already built numerous different types of buildings.

A side note- Ezra calls them "Linky Logs".=)

27 Weeks

I'm 27 weeks pregnant and the finish line seems a little far away! I have between 10 and 13 weeks left depending on if I develop preeclampsia. I have been getting my blood pressure checked at the fire station and it has been in the 120's over 60's all week! If I keep that up I just might have a new years baby after all!

Grandma and Grandpa

SPIDERMAN!!!!!!! My grandparents stopped by from Nebraska on their roadtrip and treated us to 2 great meals!! We enjoyed catching up and Ezra loved showing off for them.

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