Happy 12th!

Today Heath and I celebrate our 12th Anniversary.
Heath surprised me with trip to Island Park last night. We were suppose to have a small cabin but we were upgraded and ended up with a huge cabin with windows that looked out at all these beautiful trees with snow on them. It had a hot tub outside and it was a beatiful cabin. It was a great way to celebrate 12 years together. We have had so many great memories. It is so nice to be so peaceful and happy in life.
Happy Anniversary!

Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone has a great Christmas and that we can feel the true spirit of this holiday.

Sledding in Utah

We went to see my sister in Saratoga Springs this weekend. The kids loved playing there. We had a great time shopping on Friday, sledding and making caramel/chocolate apples with my brother-in-law.

Here are pictures of the kids sledding and making a snow fort. They have a great little snow hill right in their neighborhood. I was amazed at the kids energy of going up and down the hill. They didn't seem to wear out from it. Hannah absolutely loved it until she got taken out by a guy and flew in the air about ten feet. It even knocked her boots off. Luckily, her head just hurt a little and she was more scared about the guy helping then about getting hurt. She was a little more cautious after that.

Thanks Huls for a great weekend!

Jackson Family Favorites

For my families Christmas exchange this year, we had to make a list of favorites in our family. Here is our list:

1. Hershy’s Cookies and Cream Candy Bars or Kisses – We all can’t get enough of these, especially Hayden
2. My new favorite cooking utensil – the Can opener. I don’t know how many times I couldn’t open a jar or spaghetti sauce thinking I would have to change my dinner plans.
3. Fleece blankets – not an original idea but we love these kind of blankets. You throw two pieces together and tie the edges. It’s quick and easy and the best to keep you warm.
4. Mr.Yoshida’s Sauce – a Sam’s Club special. We use it in a lot of different kind of marinades for meat. It adds a great taste.
5. Steaks – Heath usually buys the whole beef tenderloin from Winco and we cut it up into different steaks and freeze them. They are great steaks and it is a lot more economical to do it this way.
6. Walmart brand Cetaphil lotion – It is the best at keeping Nancy’s eczema under control on her skin. We haven’t noticed a difference with the knock-off brand and it is half the price.
7. Haagen-Dazs Dulce de leche caramel ice cream – so yummy!
8. Cocoa-Motion – this quickly mixes our hot cocoa to just the right temperature and there is enough for all of us.
9. A Sandwich cutter shaped like a dinosaur that I got at Walmart on their bread isle. It is Hayden’s favorite because it cuts off the crusts and he gets two dinosaur sandwiches out of it. We use it everyday.
10. Local Favorites – Chiz’s ranch dressing, Me-n-Stans honey butter, and Geraldine’s Orange rolls.

Humbled

Today I had one of those experiences that make you think. I was coming home from Fred Meyer's and on one corner there was a man asking for money with a sign that said "Please Help". I had my normal thoughts race through my head, "Why does he need help?" "If I gave him money, would he just go buy alcohol?" "If I was homeless, I wouldn't choose cold Idaho to not have a home in?" "I should help, maybe this time I will." Do you ever have these thoughts? Well, usually it leads to me being very indecisive and then I never end up helping them. Usually I am just too scared to do anything about it. Well as I was watching him, a ladies car stalled on the other side of the street. This man dropped his sign, ran through traffic, and was the first and only one to help her push her car to the side of the road. If he was so quick to help, what does this say about my actions? Here was this man I was somewhat looking down on, yet he was so willing to help someone in need when I wasn't. Why is it so hard to break out of our shells and do something that is good for others? This man I will probably never see again, but he taught me a lesson today. Hopefully I can make a difference the next time someone is in need.