Jackson's First Christmas!

know I'm more than a little late on this, but we had a great first Christmas with Jackson! It was such a special time for Tyler, Jacks, and me. Christmas Eve we went to candlelight service at our church. It was packed out, raining outside, and freezing. Jackson was ready for bed and cranky, but the service was awesome. Candlelight is one of my favorite services of the year - even in the hustle and bustle, it seems that it is a quiet, reverend time to worship our Creator. We had communion as well, and I thought that was a great way to take time to remember the sacrifice the Lord made for us. They had tables set up where each family could take communion as a family and were prayed over by the elders & deacons of the church. Here is a picture from the church website of us standing in line for communion.

After church, we came home and put Jackson to bed in his Christmas jammies, ate dinner, and then Tyler and I got to play Santa! We had a blast putting together Jackson's toys and setting them all up for him.
Then we watched a little tv together and hit the sack, knowing our baby gets up at 6 a.m. most days, and we figured Christmas would be no exception!

Christmas morning, we got up and took Jackson to show him all his toys and see what he thought about them. He was so funny; he played with all of them and was just pleased as punch to have all those new toys! Here's a video of him when he first saw all the toys.

After we opened presents & stockings, we got cleaned up and packed our car and headed down to visit my inlaws. Tyler's family hosted the extended family dinner on Christmas Day evening this year. It was a very special time for his grandparents because all of their living children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren and (all the spouses) were able to be there. Later that evening we exchanged presents with just Tyler's parents and brothers.
Tyler & his brothers modeling their Ninja Turtle boxers

Candy cane love!
Me & my hubby opening presents (please excuse my double chin. I'm working on it.)

The next morning, Jackson got a second Christmas morning with his GranGran and Poppy. He got a set of golf clubs and a rocking horse - which was so much fun to watch him play on!

Earlier in the year, Tyler's mom had bought all of us matching pajamas and wanted a group photo. So:

Then we came home , worked all week, and got to do Christmas again with my family on New Year's Day! My grandpa cooked a deer leg, we made mashed potatoes and lots of other yumminess, and all went to my grandparents' here in town to watch football and exchange presents. Jackson had an ear infection by this time and wasn't too thrilled about presents or food or anything for that matter. He got lots of fun toys from his Sassy, Grandpa, Nan and Bop though!

We do Christmas poppers every year with my family and it's always fun to see what's inside each one.
My dad being a ham.
Me & my mom
Jackson with Grandpa
Jackson playing while we were trying to eat. He just doesn't sit still for anything! Ha!

All in all, we had a great first Christmas with our babylove. He certainly kept us on our toes and changed a lot of the things we normally do. It's interesting being on the parent end of Christmas, that's for sure!

My hubby and I didn't really do gifts this Christmas (or any Christmas that I remember!) because we tend to buy one big-ticket item as our joint present. Last year it was a new TV, and this year we bought a new table & chair set for our kitchen. We're loving finally having a real table to sit and enjoy dinner.

Hope everyone had as much fun during the Christmas season as we did. I can't believe it's come and gone already. Now on to the next fun thing - Jackson's first birthday party in 3 weeks!

Day 6

Day 6: What’s your favorite band? Why? What are your favorite songs by them?

My favorite "band" is actually an artist, I guess, and the answer is Brad Paisley. I love Brad Paisley because he is so very honest and real. His lyrics are clever and witty. Most of his songs I can relate to as a southern girl, and they usually make me laugh. It doesn't hurt that my husband resembles him pretty strongly when he wears a cowboy hat. And I would be letting my brother down if I didn't say that I respect him as a fabulous guitarist as well. All of his songs are my "favorites", but there are a top few.

• "Then" really reminds me of my relationship with my husband, and how we started - quick, but we knew we were in love from the first time we met.
• "Anything Like Me" rings so true when it comes to having a little boy.
• "Oh Love" is a duet with Carrie Underwood. I firmly believe that Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley were created to perform duets with each other.
• "Wrapped Around" is just a cute little song with a great little tempo.
• "Two People Fell In Love" is just a sweet song that reminds me how important it is to pass down a legacy of love.

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Hope everyone is doing well heading back after the snow days. I am settling into our routine again and looking forward to a bunch of chores today. While my husband did a great job of picking up the house while I was gone... the laundry has piled up like nobody's business and there's a houseful of food that is screaming to be made into yumminess and there are bathtubs to be cleaned.

Day 5

Day 5: Post a picture of the view from your window.

I totally failed for the 30 Day Blog Challenge today.

I worked from 7 am to 4 pm, drove from work to my mom's, picked up Jackson, and drove 2 hours home (plus an extra 30 min because I had put my mom's keys in my purse and had to turn around and take them back to her...). I just walked in and realized that it's pitch black outside and you wouldn't be able to see what it looked like outside my window anyway.

So. At least I blogged today. The Challenge is to blog every day anyway. And I did. Ha!

Day 4

Day 4: Write your own obituary.

Well I can't think of a more depressing theme for the day. So...

Let me talk a little about the legacy I hope to leave on this earth when I am gone. I hope that my children remember me as a loving, fair, honest and fun mother; that their memories of me include lots of snuggles, kisses, building forts, homemade cookies, family dinners, and campfires. I hope that my children know how much I love my husband (their father) and that we can set an amazing example of a Godly and truthful marriage to them. I hope that my husband knows how much I love him and that I have tried in all ways to be a loving, caring, faithful wife who has served beside him for many years of our lives. I want my husband, children, and grandchildren to know that I love the Lord first and foremost, and I want them to know without a shadow of a doubt that I have interceeded and sought the Lord on their behalf every day of their lives. I want them to know the Word of God because we (their mom & dad) taught it to them at a young age. I want my friends to know without question that I am generous and that our home is always open and welcoming to every person in our lives. I want to be able to stand before the Lord on my judgement day and say truthfully that I have done my absolute best with all He has entrusted me with - finances, time, resources, children, and husband.

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So, folks, how was your snow day? Mine included working with minimal to no staff to help me, and coming home to a pot of soup at my parents' house. Hope you guys had a little more fun than I did! :)

Day 3

The Most Memorable Day of Your Life So Far:
Well... I hate being cliche', but by far the most memorable day of my life so far was the day I had Jackson boy.

I blogged all about the details here, so feel free to read all about it.

But since I've already covered those bases - let me break it down to the most memorable MOMENT of my life - which was certainly the moment I met my sweet boy for the first time. Ever since that moment, watching A Baby Story or something similar on TV makes me weep. That feeling of pain and success has to be close to what marathon runners feel as they cross the finish line. It was a high like no other. Seeing him face to face and looking into his pretty blue eyes - oh, it was incredible! Not only did I find strength I did not know I had, I accomplished something that I was unsure I would be able to accomplish and that was an unbelievable feeling.

Just a little backstory for you - Jackson was a surprise and an answer to prayers. My doctor had told me that I would most likely either be on birth control or fertility drugs, and that I would most likely have a difficult time conceiving. However, God had a different plan for our little family and gave us our precious boy without any trouble at all after only 1 month without hormones. What a wonderful miracle!

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So, Jackson and I are camping out at my parents' house in VB this snowy Sunday. We got up this morning and after watching the weather, decided that it would be wise to come on up so that we wouldn't be risking driving at 5 am tomorrow morning. We came up in time to attend church at NLC FS, and it was great to see some old friends that we don't see very often. We have been napping, drinking hot tea, making chocolate chip cookies, and playing Kinect all afternoon and just watching the snow come down. Hopefully I'll be able to get across the river to work in the morning.

Everyone stay warm and be careful! Have a great week.

Day 2

Well, welcome to Day 2 of the 30 day challenge! :)

The Meaning Behind Your Blog Name:

Since it's called The McDonalds, that's pretty self-explanatory! I married a guy with the last name McDonald, and there you have it.

I do have the phrase "All because two people fell in love" across the top of my blog currently, and have for a while. Everything that goes on in my life right now comes back to the fact that I fell in love with my husband about 5 years ago. We got married, bought a house, had a baby. The most important two people in my life are my husband and my son. That sounds so cliche', but it is very true! The picture behind the phrase is one of my all-time favorite pictures of us and was one of our engagement photos in fall 2007. And to be perfectly honest - I can't remember how to change the photo on there, so it will probably be there for quite some time more.

Maybe the next few days will get a little more interesting! :)

I need to catch up and post some Christmas pictures of Babylove's first Christmas! I'll do that when I get a chance here soon!

30 Day Challenge!

I have not been very faithful with keeping up with my blog over the past few months. In an attempt to jump-start my blogging this year, I am going to follow my friend Shanna over at Keepin' Up With The Moodys and do the 30 day challenge! :)

Here's what the 30 days will entail:

Day 01: 10 interesting facts about yourself.
Day 02: The meaning behind your blog name.
Day 03: The most memorable day of your life so far.
Day 04: Write your own obituary.
Day 05: Post a picture of the view from your window.
Day 06: What’s your favorite band? Why? What are your favorite songs by them?
Day 07: What fictional character in television, film, or text do you most relate to, and why?
Day 08: A photo of something you ate today.
Day 09: Your favorite photograph of your best friend(s).
Day 10: A photo of yourself from five years ago.
Day 11: A song to match your mood.
Day 12: Your favorite TV shows.
Day 13: Your favorite movies.
Day 14: A photo of yourself today and 3 good things that have happened in the last 2 weeks.
Day 15: Something you’re afraid of.
Day 16: Something you crave.
Day 17: First 15 songs that come on when you put your MP3 player on shuffle.
Day 18: Favorite books.
Day 19: Your worst habits.
Day 20: Your favorite things about yourself.
Day 21: A photo of your pet, or an animal you wish you had as a pet.
Day 22: Books on your To-Read list.
Day 23: Your fundamental beliefs.
Day 24: Photos of places you’ve traveled.
Day 25: Five random things you love and five random things you hate.
Day 26: If you won the lottery, you’d…
Day 27: Your top five favorite restaurants, & your favorite things to eat there.
Day 28: Your nicknames.
Day 29: Short term goals for the month ahead.
Day 30: Something you miss & something you’re looking forward to.

Whew! Here goes nothin'.

10 Interesting Facts About Myself:

Good luck, folks, there ain't that much to say.

1. Oh wow, I don't even have a number one. Someone should have dictated questions to answer.

2. When I was pregnant with Jackson I drank milk like CRAZY, I mean a gallon every 2-3 days by myself.

3. I don't eat most fruit. I have texture issues. I can eat an apple or banana occasionally, but otherwise - no.

4. Like Shanna, I never really played organized sports. I did swim on swim team for 3 years, so I do have some medals and things from that, but otherwise - I wasn't really athletic.

5. I really hate funky smells. I have serious issues with them.

6. I simply cannot sleep until I have taken a bath or shower. I can't stand the thought of getting into bed with prickly legs and my sheets rubbing them all night.

7. I love to read cookbooks and am currently working my way through Rachael Ray's Look + Cook. It's awesome.

8. I have a small obsession with the Pioneer Woman and check her blog almost daily for new recipes.

9. I could eat coffee ice cream every single day, and would then weigh 900 lbs.

10. I really, really hate it when people use "your"/ "you're", "its"/"it's", "they're"/"their"/"there" incorrectly. Especially on printed things like advertisements. Don't you have an editor?!

Okay, so there you have it. You probably already knew those things about me anyway, if you have known me for any period of time. Some of the days I'll probably decide not to answer the questions anyway... but here's to trying! :)