Fall is for Football... and Beaches!!

Hello guys! Lots of pictures tonight, so enjoy! We'll start with a few Darlington football pictures that I've been meaning to post for several weeks. You will notice that Christa is wearing two adorable pillow-case dresses in all of the pictures. After the "Fish and Tea" post a couple of months ago (where I shamelessly hinted that I wanted a pillowcase dress for Christa:), not one, but TWO wonderful friends offered to make us some. Kimberly made these football dresses, and Amy just sent me a precious pink and brown one that will be posted very soon! Both of these lovely ladies sell their creations at very reasonable prices, and at least one of them custom-makes hairbows of all sizes as well. To thank them, I'd like to offer them a little free advertising here on this space. If any of you moms have little girls in need of some cute dresses or hairbows, let me know, and I will direct you to the talented seamstress who lives closest to you! The dresses and hairbows can be safely mailed in simple envelopes, so the shipping costs are very low if you live far away. All of the products we have used so far have been great quality, and we have received numerous compliments. They also make excellent gifts for friends and family! Kimberly will be at a school bazaar here in town the first weekend in November. If you are a local friend, and would like to do a little personal shopping, e-mail me for more details on that.

In the meantime, enjoy these pictures from earlier in the season...




... and also these pictures from Christa's first GA game yesterday!!! Sadly, Cline had to work, so he missed this milestone. But Christa and I had a great time watching the GA/Tennessee game! She did really well, considering it was such a long day for her, and even caught a cat-nap during half-time.

Our family will be doing some traveling this week, down to the Lighthouse Family Retreat in Florida. Cline and I went to a meeting about it last week, and we can not wait to get involved with this organization. At the meeting, we learned a fascinating story of how this ministry came to be. About 10 years ago, a woman named Melinda was working as a nurse with pediatric cancer patients. She attended a Crown Financial Ministries event (which is a Christian-based charity dedicated to providing guidance on how to manage money using biblical principles). At this event, Melinda was asked the question, "What would you do if you had one million dollars?" Melinda replied, "I'd start a group to take kids with cancer and their families to the beach." The person who asked the question said, "Why don't you do that?" and so Melinda met with some prominent leaders, including Andy Stanley, and founded the Lighthouse shortly thereafter!

We also got to meet some of the people we'll be working with, and everyone seems so nice and genuine. I'll tell you all about it (within the guidelines of HIPPA) when we return. While we are gone, I am planning to take a little blogging/e-mail holiday. I don't know if we will have internet access while we are down there, but even if we do, I'm afraid it would be a distraction for me and take away from the experience of the retreat. So, if you don't hear from me for a few days, that is the reason.

You guys have a great week, and please pray for our team and the families we will be serving throughout the week. Pray that the kids will be healthy enough to enjoy their time at the beach and that the volunteers will be able to show Christ's love perfectly to them. Pray that the parents and siblings will also have a wonderful time and leave feeling refreshed and strengthened. Also, please pray for Cline's grandmother who will be having some surgery on Wed. and for Cline who is so sad to be leaving her while she is sick.

Christa is 5 Months!!

Hello all! We've had a very busy and fun week! Where to start.... well, we had a great weekend in Rome. On Friday, I went against every motherly instinct I have (once I got permission from some of you) and drug my little baby daughter into 3 hours of 30 degree weather for a football game. Darlington made the second round of the playoffs, which was great, but sort of messed up my personal weekend plans. Long story short, I had to choose between Atlanta traffic on the busiest shopping day of the year, or frigid cold. I chose the cold.

Saturday we headed back to Atlanta so the guys could go to the GA/GA Tech game. Christa had her first Varsity experience (which was crazy crowded - whose idea was it to go to the one right next to the stadium???), but it was fun. The girls watched the game from Chas and Bethany's Atlanta condo, then all of the family went to the undisclosed location of the "Jackson Family Christmas Picture Taking Experience." I have a funny story about that, but I'm sworn to secrecy until the cards go out. For those of you who aren't familiar with this tradition, Cline's family does a themed card every year, complete with the perfect picture, a corresponding slogan, and an original signature from every member of the family on all 200 cards that are mailed. Creating this masterpiece is the highlight of my mother-in-law's year, and it's quite an experience to see how it all comes together. Friends of mine, if you'd like to be added to the Jackson Christmas Card list, e-mail me your address, and I'll see that you get one. We returned to Augusta late Sunday, and Christa's pretty much been sleeping since we got back. I think we wore her out, but she was a trooper, and we had a blast seeing all of the family.

Speaking of Christa, she perfected her rolling over skills yesterday. She doesn't get much floor time because she loves her bouncer, takes long naps, and we don't have a whole lot of floor for her to lay on. But when I placed her on a quilt trying to get a cute picture last night, she worked at the rolling over until she mastered it. She had a big smile on her face as I clapped and "yayed" for her new accomplishment. I was lucky to get it on video!

This weekend we're headed to Rome again to spend some time with my family. I suspect mom and I will squeeze in some Christmas shopping, and on Sunday we have our first appointment to see a house! I am so excited to start this process. Time is going by so fast - June will be here before we know it!

Well, I'd better wrap up, as this is getting long. This will likely be my post for the week unless something amazing happens in our family before tomorrow. I may add an official 5 month picture later today. Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday To Me

My 27th birthday was yesterday. I wasn't expecting a ton of celebration this week, since we sort of already celebrated with my family over Labor Day weekend. But it turns out I have some great friends here in Augusta. Ruth, Kelly, and Rosie treated me to a DELICIOUS Italian dinner at Taste of Italy on Tuesday. I'd never been there before, but I'll definitely go back - it was excellent! Thank you guys; I had a blast! Yesterday, my actual birthday, Cline treated me like a queen all day and cooked a tasty shrimp scampi dinner for us, complete with candles and a cake. Tonight, he is taking me on our first "date" since the baby was born. We'll be leaving Christa with a non-family member for the first time. Not because we wouldn't enjoy a meal with her, but because at the mention of the word "date" she feels an irresistible urge to cry all through dinner, requiring separate meals for mom and dad. It kind of kills the romantic ambiance. I'm not worried about leaving her one bit - I know she'll be in good hands (thank you, Ruth). I have also received some very sweet cards in the mail, and when we go to Rome next weekend, we'll celebrate with Cline's family. So basically, the entire month of September is a celebration of me this year!

Also this week, we mourned the loss of the South Carolina game on Saturday. I hate losing games so close to the beginning of the season, especially to teams with a chicken as a mascot. I mean come on! A chicken? Seriously? What's so intimidating about that? Or is it supposed to remind us of all the redneck, illegal cockfighting that goes on in SC? (Cline actually wrote that part - we're obviously handling this loss with class and maturity:) We just hate to lose because we like to hold on to that National Championship hope as long as possible. Oh well - maybe next year.

Cline and Christa are doing well. Christa slept 11 hours the other night! She's trying hard to find her thumbs, and will sometimes soothe herself back to sleep if she wakes up. She's like her mom - knows when it's time to wake up, but HATES actually getting out of bed. She'll go from a soft whimper to an all-out scream when I pick her up, until I get her settled again in my arms. It's pretty funny.

Have a great day!