We've Got A Secret!!!!

Image courtesy of flickr.

Go ahead...you can say it. I've been a really BAD blogger. Hopefully today will make up for my absence and get me back into the flow of blogging again!

So...my title says that we have a secret! Some people know it already and now I am going to share it with all of you. Ready? Are you really ready?

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Going to Disney World in 11 days!!!!! What - did you think I was going to say something else? :-) And we will be staying here.

So, that is the secret and I am entrusting you all to keep it that way. Why you ask? Well, Rachel and Rebekah DO NOT know anything about it! Yep, we're going to surprise them with this trip. Our plane takes off Saturday, April 18th at 9:05 a.m. and we will arrive in Orlando at 3:05 p.m. Our plan is to wake them up EARLY on Saturday morning and tell them! I want to video their reactions. If we get it recorded, you better believe I will be sharing it with you all!

I also plan to try to blog along the way of our trip. We will be there until Saturday, April 25th. A whole week at Disney World!!! We can't wait. Now I just have to start getting everything together. One of the closets in our master bathroom is really big and I plan on keeping the suitcases and everything in there while I'm packing. The door also has a lock on it - very handy!

So, I have a few busy 11 days ahead of me! Not to mention, I have my work to still do and get ready for me to be gone for a week. It is just going to be the four of us going. Nana is going to stay home and hold down the fort while we are away. Hopefully, Kathy will be nice to her!

Cabot Family Christmas

This year my entire family was able to celebrate Christmas together. And we were so happy to get to host the celebration at our new house. My parents, my three sisters and their families, my mother-in-law and Patty and Michelle's mom, Dorothy were all in attendance. That made for 22 people here! It was crazy and tiring, but it was a blast! I loved having them all here.

Here we are at gift time. We rearranged our family room to open it up more so everyone could see. There are ten cousins/kids and they got to open their presents first. It was mayhem! After the kids were done and sent off the play with their new toys, the adults got to open their gifts.

We put the seven youngest at our kitchen table. Carson, the youngest of all of them, was in his high chair. In this photo, starting from the left is Joshua Mullins, Hannah Mullins, Sam Hutchinson, Matthew Hutchinson, Rachel, Courtney Bettis and you can see the back of Rebekah's head.

The two oldest cousins...also teenagers...got to sit at the bar. Aaron Mullins is on the left in blue and Andrew Hutchinson is on the right in red. We teased them that this was the "transition bar" - too big for the kiddie table, but not old enough for the grown up table!

Since we rearranged the family room, we were able to set up four of my scrapbooking tables and all the adults were able to enjoy their meal around one table. I don't remember the last time we were able to do that!

While the adults were finishing up eating and talking, Carson decided he was just pooped out. He climbed up on our couch and went to sleep. Looks comfy, doesn't it?!?! I love how he has his legs all crossed - precious!

The life saver of the day was our Guitar Hero World Tour band, set up in our bedroom. Most of the kids hung out in there ALL day. I don't think we heard one argument or complaint. They really enjoyed playing this game and many of the others we have. It was nice having the Wii set up in our bedroom, then the adults could still be in the family room and talk comfortably. We were even able to get up a mean game of Mexican Train dominoes while the kids played.

Here is a photo of Jon Paul and my niece Hannah. Hannah is Patty's youngest child and she is autistic. She has come along way. I was so happy to hear her saying many more words this visit. She seemed to really feel comfortable in our house and played all day without asking to leave. I was also overjoyed when she wanted to sit in my lap and help me play dominoes. She sat in my lap for about 30-45 minutes and I loved every minute of it. She doesn't volunteer her affection very often. Jon Paul was also surprised and happy when Hannah came over to him on the drums and took the sticks out of his hands and wanted to play along with the other kids. She's precious and we miss her!

One last shot of some of the band. They had a lot of fun and I'm glad we had it here for them to enjoy. My sister, Cynthia, and her family all stayed at our house all weekend. We celebrated the weekend immediately following Christmas. Patty and her family stayed at Michelle's house in Lonoke. My parents drove up from Sherwood for all the festivities. So, our house was nice and centrally located for everyone!

Scenes From Before Christmas

Just wanted to share a few scenes
of our Christmas preparations.

Here are the girls with Santa.
Rachel asked for Tinkerbell and
Build-a-Bear DS games.
Rebekah asked for a baby doll that
goes pee pee and poo poo,
washes her hands and brushes her teeth.

Here is our fireplace and mantle.
This was one part of the house that
I could not wait to decorate.
I love the way it turned out.

These are mine and Jon Paul's stockings.
We received these as a wedding
present and have used them every
year we've been together!
Jon Paul is Santa - I'm the Snowman.

And here are Rachel and Rebekah's
stockings. We got these two years
ago and I love them!

And last, Nana and Kathy's stockings.
Kathy loves her stocking more
than what's usually in it.

Here is our Christmas tree.
This was fun to put up this year in the new house.
We put it in the corner of the dining room,
and you could still see it in the window from the street.

Jon Paul and I received the starting set
of this nativity as a wedding present.
Over the years, we have added to it.
My grandmother, Dandy, was also a collector.
The pieces are beautiful and I love
how they have the "old world" look.

This is the Gloria angel.

The shepherds were watching their flock by night...

The kings came to visit him, bring him gifts...

Come back...more photos to come!

Happy Blogiversary and Happy New Year!!

Today almost came and went until I realized it was my one year anniversary of blogging!! I couldn't let today slip by without me posting something!

Sorry I have been neglecting you all this past month. After posting everyday in November, I guess I got a little burned out. Also, December is a busy month for me and everyone else on the planet! So, I promise to get back into the swing of things and post here more often. I do have a lot to blog about!

So check back and look for posts about our Christmas celebrations, my upcoming birthday and many other things I'm sure!! Sorry this is short, but I must head to bed soon. Our New Year's Eve celebrating has caught up with me. We didn't do too much. We did travel to Arkadelphia to put flowers on Jon Paul's dad's grave. Then we headed over to Garvin Gardens in Hot Springs to look at their 1.7 million Christmas lights on display. It was really beautiful. We got back home around 9pm and we stayed up to watch the ball drop and goofed off until 1am. Rebekah didn't make it, she went to bed around 10pm - she still needs her sleep or she is GrUmPy!! Rachel made it and she and Jon Paul "camped" out on the living room floor, a tradition they have had for three years now. Only this year we didn't get the tent out. And I completely forgot to take a picture! Oh well, there is always next year!

So, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. And may you all have a blessed upcoming year.

Christmas Card and Newsletter

Merry Christmas From The House of Jones!

Our family hit the ground running in 2008. We were going to build our dream home and we had to get our current home sold. So, January was filled with Jennifer and Betty getting the house all ready to put on the market. After de-cluttering and rearranging, we listed the house on February 1st and received a full asking price offer on February 18th! We closed on the house on March 14th and moved into a tiny three bedroom apartment on March 15th.

Apartment life was just that, apartment life! It was not enjoyable and we had frustrating moments, but knowing it was temporary made it tolerable. We lived in the apartment while our house was being built and on August 4th, we moved into the house of our dreams. It hasn’t been without trials, but we are blessed to be in it and we are loving every square inch of it. We have 2,701 square feet with 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, a playroom and large living, dining, office and kitchen area. Our new house is located just over the Cabot city line. We love it here and plan to be here as long as God allows.

Jon Paul is still working in Little Rock. His commute is a little longer, but worth it to be where we are. He still enjoys his computer, the Wii (including our newest game, Guitar Hero World Tour!) and his newest toy, the iPhone. Jennifer is still staying home and working part time as a virtual assistant to Eric and Ann Burch, helping with their real estate business in Jonesboro. It has been nice to learn about real estate, especially with the sale of our old house and building of our new home. We have joined a local church and have gotten to know some new friends.

Rachel is 6 years old and in the first grade. She started her new school and loves it and her teacher, Ms. Buck. They offer so many activities and she enjoys being part of each and every one. Her favorite class is art and music. She still enjoys playing on the computer and reading. She is reading chapter books now and finishes a book in about two days. We have started the Accelerated Reading program and she is quickly racking up points. Rachel joined the church choir and started Awana’s. She is in Sparks and has almost finished the first book.

Rebekah is 3.5 years old and attends preschool 2 days a week. We were sad for her to leave her old school, but it was much easier having her closer to home. She loves it and her new teacher, Ms. Jennifer! She thinks it’s funny that her teacher has the same name as her Mommy! She is growing up so fast. She loves her baby dolls and stuffed animals. She rarely goes anywhere without one of her animals. Right now, she is learning to use the computer. It is amazing to see how much she can do at just 3 years old! She has also joined the preschool choir at church and started Awana’s. She is in Cubbies and loves to wear her vest every week!

Jon Paul’s mom, Betty, moved in with us in the fall of 2007. This was one of the reasons we built our new home. We wanted Betty to have a space of her own. She is happy to have her own bedroom and bathroom now. Before, she was sleeping in our living room! We have enjoyed having her with us. The girls love seeing their “Nana” everyday and she has been a tremendous help to both Jon Paul and Jennifer.

We invite you to come visit and stay at the House of Jones anytime you are near. We love seeing our family and friends. Jennifer started a family blog (and if you're reading this now, you found it!) this past January. When you have some time, you should check it out. She was able to chronicle every minute of the selling of our house and the building of our new home. And in November, she posted several entries taking you on a personal tour of the new home after we were all settled and decorated! So, check it out and leave us a comment that you were there! We love you all and wish you a blessed Christmas and wonderful New Year!

Jon Paul, Jennifer, Rachel, Rebekah and Betty

Christmas Cards

While doing my Christmas cards this year, I was thought it was interesting to see just how far our friends and family reach. This year we are sending out 77 Christmas cards. Yes, that is a lot. But I come from a rather large family and we do have a lot of friends scattered across the state, nation and even globe! So this year, I tallied up just where our cards are being mailed to.

Here is the breakdown:

77
total cards

54
mailed in the state of Arkansas
(Sherwood, Jonesboro, North Little Rock, Little Rock, Lonoke, Vilonia, Austin, Cabot, Benton, Van Buren, Jacksonville, Arkadelphia, Midland, Mansfield, Springdale, and Fayetteville)

22
mailed out of state
(Spokane, WA; Arlington, WA; Virginia Beach, VA; Baton Rouge, LA; Council Bluffs, IA; Myerstown, PA; Independence, MO; Draper, UT; Anna, IL; Evergreen Park, IL; Harviell, MO; New York City, NY; Clinton Township, MI; Shelby Township, MI; Fort Worth, TX; Richmond, TX; Jackson, MS; Fort Leavenworth, KS; Windermere, FL; Shawnee, KS; and Georgia)

1
mailed out of the country
(Australia)


Everyone, connected to The House of Jones, in some way or another!

I wish I could send one to each and every person, but I do have to draw the line somewhere. So, in case you don't get our card, I will post our Christmas card and newsletter here on the blog after Christmas. So, come back and see the highlights of 2008!

Uncles Are The Best!

A few weeks ago, my sister Michelle and my nephew were at our house. Carson decided to latch onto Jon Paul. Guess he is all warmed up to his Uncle Jon Paul! I was able to snap a few great photos.

Who knows...maybe Uncle Jon Paul has a computer geek in the making as a nephew!!

Our Family Cat

I don't believe you have met the sixth member of the House of Jones. Her name is Kathy and she is our cat.

Jon Paul got Kathy before we met. Kathy loved me from the first time I met her. I didn't see her true colors until after Jon Paul and I were married.

You see, Kathy is evil. She is evil because she will rub up against you, look at you longingly, begging you to pet her. And when you give in to her invitation and pet her, she will snap at you and take your arm off if you're not fast enough.

After we were married, I saw her do this to most anyone who came over to our house and were brave enough to try to pet her. Never once had she done that to me. I like to tell Jon Paul that Kathy approved of me from the very beginning!

Kathy has loved both of the girls from the moment they came home from the hospital. She is protective. Rebekah and Kathy share some sort of bond. They have a connection unlike any other I have ever seen. Kathy will let Rebekah do most anything to her and almost never snaps at her.

She can be funny now. I think she is telling us she needs a little friend. She will go into the girls bedroom and find one of their small stuffed animals. Then she will come through the house with it in her mouth, meowing at the top of her lungs. It's really cute...unless it's at 2:00 in the morning!

So, now you know Kathy. And you have been warned should you ever come to our house. Look, but you probably don't want to touch!

Father's Day...

New House/Family Update...

Well, we have a driveway, a sidewalk, and a mailbox! Lots going on... Already looks like home with those yard ornaments on the driveway!! The girls LOVED the driveway and I know it will be used a lot. I'm just glad to finally have a flat, smooth driveway. At our old house, it was bumpy and made of rocks and they couldn't hardly ride anything on it.

Yesterday the ceramic tile was supposed to be laid. Today they were supposed to grout. Tomorrow the counter tops are supposed to be installed and Thursday or Friday the plummer is coming to finish his stuff! So, this weekend, we should have a lot more to take pictures of and show you.

On the home front...both of the girls are out of school. Rachel has started her Summer Quest and she loves it. My friend, Sharon, is keeping the girls on Tuesdays and Thursdays for me so I can work. And on most Wednesdays, they are going to their Granna's house.

We have scheduled Rachel's birthday party for 6/27. She has chosen to have it at the Build-A-Bear store. I thought I might have another year or two before we go there, but she has begged to go this year. We explained to her that she wouldn't be able to have near as many friends come because of the cost. She said that was OK. She was able to choose five friends she wanted to invite and then she has six family members (sister and cousins) that will be there. So, eleven kids at Build-A-Bear! Fun!!! I also have a friend who is making her cake for me. It's going to have a picture of her with her Build-A-Bear on it. She is going to be surprised! We still have to come up with something to get her. We're thinking she might get a new bike. We'll see! I can't believe she is almost six years old.

Guess that's it for now...have a great week!

Edited at 8:45pm: I wrote this on Monday night, set to post today (Tuesday). Found out this afternoon that the tile was NOT laid. It will be laid in the morning and grouted on Thursday. Counter tops are now scheduled now for Friday!

Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter. We started celebrating yesterday. Some friends of ours hosted their annual Easter Egg Hunt. They hid approximately 1,300 eggs for kids of all ages to find. It was really amazing. This was our second year to attend and it was even more fun this year. Rebekah was more into it and of course, Rachel was super excited. The eggs all contain either candy, toys and some even have money. And the coveted Golden Egg has a Five Dollar bill in it. All morning long before the hunt, she kept telling us, "I'm going to find the Golden Egg!" Well, to our surprise, SHE DID!! Here are some photos from the big hunt.




After the Egg Hunt, we headed over to my parents house for another egg hunt and dinner. Both the girls got WAY too much candy, some toys and about $16 in money for their piggy banks. This morning we made it to church. Rebekah was not happy about going to her class, so she went to big church with all of us for the first time. She did really well. She was quiet, colored and very well behaved. I was so proud of her. Here are some pictures of the girls in their Easter dresses, along with their baby dolls in matching dresses!




And a funny Easter revisited. On Easter in 2004, Jon Paul's parents came up for a visit. We had Easter dinner over at my parents house. Rachel was about 21 months old. She loved (and still loves!) to play with my mom's large Easter eggs. We were trying to get some family photos taken and she thought it would be funny to put one on Nana's nose. Here is the photo:

Rachel remembered doing this to Nana. This year she came running out with the egg and said to Nana, "I need to put this on your nose!" So, in true scrapbooker and blogger form, I grabbed the camera and told her to go for it! Here is the revisit:
Hope you all had a great Easter! Until next time...

A Request for Prayer

Our extended family got some bad news this week. I can only ask any and all of you who stop by here to say prayers for the Hamilton family.

Kristina Hamilton is my sister's (Cynthia) husband's sister. She is married to Brian and they have one daughter, Makayla (7) and one son, Braedon (2.5). A little over three years ago Brian was diagnosed with Melanoma, which was contained to one lymph node and removed. He was going for check ups every six months. This past Thanksgiving, he went back because he had started having severe headaches. The news wasn't good. Two tumors were found in his brain. He started an agressive radiation treatment and went back last week to see how it was working. Well, it wasn't. In fact, the tumors had grown by 30% and he has been very sick. He is battling nausea, headaches and personality changes. This past Thursday he suffered his first seizure. And in the last month, he has lost 30 pounds.

One tumor is in the front lobe and is about the size of a quarter in diameter. This tumor is in the part of the brain that controls personality. The tumor and radiation is causing swelling, which is causing his personality shift. The other tumor is in the back of the brain and about the size of a double yolk egg. After seeing that the radiation has not worked, his doctor told him that baring a miracle, he had about six months left.

Please pray for this family. Kristina and I are the same age. She said she feels like God has been preparing her for this since he was first diagnosed over three years ago. She is amazingly strong right now. Makayla knows her Daddy has cancer and that it has something to do with his head. Beyond that, I don't know if she knows the severity. Kristina said she will be told things on a needs to know basis. Braedon was a big Daddy's boy before Brian got real sick. Now he won't have anything to do with his Daddy. I'm sure he is scared.

Pray for a miracle. We know God is capable, but should He chose not to heal Brian, please pray for mercy. Pray he won't have to suffer and he can get some normalcy back and spend quality, fun time with his kids and Kristina.

This has really hit home for me and my sister, Cynthia. We lost our father when he was 37, the same age as Brian. Cynthia was 13 at the time and I was 8...almost the same age as Makayla. It isn't anything you want a child to have to go through, I can still remember how hard it was on me and my sister. I also think of my family now. I don't know what I would do if I lost Jon Paul. He is the love of my life and a great husband and father. All this just brings everything into perspective and you realize just how precious life is. Thanks in advance for all your prayers...