Friday, October 28, 2011

Long time coming...

I am not sure how we have managed to not post in a month. Here are some highlights…

1. We have another family member! A houseparent couple finished up there 14 years of dedicated, selfless service and we were honored to get one of their previous family members. Our newest edition seems to be fitting right in and we feel blessed to have her.

2. Next week we will be gaining another family member and at that point we will have 9 kids, room for only one more. It’s hard to believe our house is filling up!

3. To enjoy the fall season we traveled to a farm where we went on a hayride, walked through pumpkin patch, and made a scarecrow that we affectionately refer to as Judy.



4. God is speaking to all of us through His word. Right now we are reading through Proverbs and through that book God gives us so much wisdom on how He expects us to act. Each morning we are reminded that we are so insignificant and God is so much bigger.

5. We had the honor of having a former NFL player, Lee Rouson, speak to our kids about his life transformation. He spoke truth in a way that only a NFL Special Team Player of the Year and two-time Super Bowl winner with the New York Giants could. One quote that seems to be a family favorite is when he referred to the Bible as “basic instructions before leaving Earth”. Thank you Mr. Rouson for sharing your heart for Jesus with our kids!

6. Each time we get a new family addition we have a family tradition where we have pizza the night they arrive and then the first Sunday they are there we go out to Taco Tico for fifty cent tacos after church. I am starting to think the workers there get a little antsy when they see the Jackson clan come through the door. This is how last Sunday went down… we park in our spot, get everyone’s taco count, and parade in. Half of us go to save our corner seats and the other half join me at the register. This is how the conversation went… “Hi, what can I get you today? I need 60 hard shell tacos please.
16?
No, 60.
Oh, as in six-zero? (As she looks over my shoulder and towards our corner)
(smiling) yep!
What she doesn’t realize is they were gone faster than they could make them.

7. The kids are currently on “special session” and next week is fall break from school. Our kids go to school year around so the schedule is basically 6 weeks on, 2 weeks off. One of the two weeks they have “off” gives them an opportunity to take a class not offered during the school year, like Art Appreciation, Oklahoma History, Horsemanship, or Life Skills. If a student does not take one of these classes, they could also schedule meetings with their teachers to get extra help when necessary. As a former teacher, I personally LOVE this set up.

8. If I could sum up what God has taught me recently it is a lot about what unconditional love looks like and how I can express it. I think we often feel that we think our kids know we love them, but do they? Do they know we love them when they lie to us? Do they know we love them when they sneak behind our back and do something stupid? Do they know we love them when they bring home an F? Do they think we will love them more if they tell us the truth? Bring home an A? I don’t want any of my kids to feel that my love will change for them over any of the above and I am realizing that whether we like it or not, they do often feel that way.

These are the highlights from the past month… according to me at least. I am sure if you asked other members of the family it would be entirely different. They keep me laughing, that is for sure. I am so glad God gave us laughter. It makes life so much easier on tough days. If you ever wonder how you can pray for us specifically my prayer each day is for everyone under our roof to fall more in love with Jesus and for them to truly find the hope and peace that can only come from having a relationship with Jesus. God is good.

3 comments:

  1. God Bless you!! This is so amazing. Cookson is so amazing. My husband and I were just getting ready to interview there and got the job offer in New Mexico to be houseparents. We are currently on our 7 days off after working 16 and what an amazing blessing from God!!! This job is amazing and such an honor to do God's work!

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  2. My wife and I are considering applying at Cookson Hills. I've been following your blog since last summer and really appreciate the updates. Would you mind sharing a little bit about what your schedule looks like each month. Only 4 days off a month is that right? How does that work for you guys? I would love any information you have to offer. Thanks

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