A Very Happy New Year to you! I thought this message that I got with my tea bag this morning was a good one going into the new year. We all need to appreciate and honor ourselves more.
I will let these pictures speak for us to let you all know what the Jackson Clan has been up to these past few months. To give you an idea of what we are each up to individually, here is a quick update.
Isaac - is 4 and a hoot. He is in Ms. Sigrid's Preschool class and loves it. He is observant, shy with new people, very sure about what he wants, likes, etc. Has a very sweet disposition. Is sharing and giving. He enjoys reading books (for him this means flipping the pages and looking at all the pictures). You CANNOT stop him before he has gone through the entire book/every page (it will cause a great upset). He loves his naps and will often ask if "it is nap time yet?" when he is feeling tired. His favorite color is green. He HATES the smell of metal zippers and therefore it is a struggle to get him to wear or zip up a sweater or coat with a zipper. For Christmas, he wanted his own pack of gum, Rudolph and the Abomindble Snowman.
Kai - is 7 and a piece of work. A good piece of work, mind you. He is the opposite of shy and very sociable. He can be very sensitive and meloncholic at times. He is in Mrs. Burkey's 1st Grade class and is loving every minute of it. He is soaking up all he is learning with great love and enthusiasm. He loves working with numbers and figuring out what letters make up words. He has knit a chicken in handwork class and has made several beeswax creations that he is very proud of. He loves to draw, paint and build with legos. Kai is a lover of being out in nature and is always creative with things to do and create. His favorite colors are red, green, black (he likes all colors I think but pink and purple). He is constantly thinking, moving around and making noises. He loves listening to stories while engaging in some art/craft project. For Christmas he wanted a nutcracker and a bell from Santa's sleigh.
Jeff - turns 51 on Jan. 2nd. Whoot, whoot! He has been busier than ever continuing his work as editor of Rock and Ice Magazine, writing a screenplay which he sold to Chockstone Pictures.
(Click there and read up on all the movies put out by those guys), and writing children's stories and another screenplay which he hopes to sell. The man is a work horse and needs a break. He has taken some climbing trips this year, some long/some short. He hopes to have more time to relax, get back to yoga, spend time with the family, and write more. Jeff has had a very tough year in losing friends. 2 friends are in comas from climbing falls, 1 friend passed in his sleep and 4 by their own hand. It has been a hard fall and winter for Jeff. He has spent many weekends at memorials.
Hannah- turned 40 in September and brought in this year with Super Powers! She is still teaching at the Waldorf School as an educational support teacher doing movement and listening therapies. She has done a lot of traveling this year with the family and solo. She wishes to bring awe, wonder and magic into this new year, have new experiences, spend time with her family, travel and remember all the little things in life that bring a smile to her face.
Here is wishing you all the very best for 2015. We do hope your beautiful faces will gift us with a visit this year and/or that our paths will cross.
Sending you love from our home to yours,
The Jackson's
Kai and his Cub Scout Troop practicing the Flag ceremony.
Cub Scout Cubanopolis! Each Scout had to make a car from a box to race. Isaac and I were Kai's pit stop support team - change his shoes, clean off his goggles, give him a drink through a straw. Pretty silly, but fun.
We know we are home when we see this beautiful mountain- Mt. Sopris.
Kai and I had a date to the Maroon Bells and Aspen.
Every school morning, I drop Isaac off at preschool and then go outside to the window to say goodbye. It is a ritual he wanted to do. Such sweet air blown kisses and loving waves of good-bye to start my day.
The boys out climbing with Papa.
Our Jack-O-Lanterns this year. I attempted to make a jar filled with fireflies.
HMMM. I can't get this one to flip. You will have to see these cuties sideways.
This year Kai was the Lone Ranger and Isaac was his sidekick-Tonto. Me?-A witch and Jeff-Afroman.
Jeff had fun climbing in the dessert this fall.
Cub Scout Pumpkin shooting time with a tennis ball air-pipe thingy.
Kai with his first grade class and their 8th grade buddies.
Kai with his class showing off their carved pumpkins.
BEAR!
This year as we celebrated the nights getting darker at school with the Lantern Walk, we were blessed with a beautiful sunset.
Martinmas is a the holiday that occurs between Michaelmas and Christmas
on November 11th. St Martin is best known for his act of kindness
towards a poor beggar he encountered who was freezing in the Winter
cold. Martin used his sword to cut his own cloak in two pieces, giving
one to the beggar. This act of compassion gave the beggar hope and
comfort. The traditional symbol for the Martinmas holiday is the
lantern. The lantern is the symbol of our own light which we can shine
on a dark world, and in Waldorf school we celebrate the holiday by
holding a “lantern walk”.
I feel blessed to be able to work with Kai at school. We have a lot of fun.
This is a game Kai invented where the playing pieces are lego heads. Each head has a separate starting place, but the same ending place and the distances are not equal. (It didn't matter :)
Always dressing up.
Brother love.
Mama and Papa Love
Each class gave a presentation of what they had been working on with their class for the Thanksgiving Assembly. Here is Kai's class singing "Oh When the Ants Come Marching In."
The entire school helped make this enormous pinata for the assembly during their Spanish classes. One child from each class was drawn to come up and take a wack at the Pinata. This was reason for a lot of excitement among the students. After it was broken, each class got to go up on stage and choose one toy and one wish (each child wrote a wish for another student to put into the pinata). It was a beautiful thing to witness. The history of the
Pinata is very interesting and fun to learn about.
How to tell when the little ones help you decorate your tree. Clumps of ornaments can be found all along the bottom of the tree.
Making winter treats for the birds and other assorted animals in our yard.
A very fun Thanksgiving trip to Moab. The boys got their badges for Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.
Our little junior rangers picking up trash along the trails.
In this picture Isaac was trying to tell Papa a secret. He thought secrets were told to the other person's mouth.
Family Portrait on the opposite canyon wall.
The first week of Advent.
The first Light of Advent It is the Light of stones:
The Light that shines in seashells In crystals and our bones.
The second Light of Advent It is the Light of plants:
Plants that reach up to the sun And in the breezes dance.
The third Light of Advent, It is the light of beasts:
The Light of faith that we may see In greatest and in least.
The fourth Light of Advent It is the Light of humankind:
The Light of hope, of thoughts and deeds,
The Light of hand, heart and mind.
This year for our school's Winterfaire, I made Gnomes, stamped cloth gift bags and wax cloth wraps for snacks and other foods. It was a good year for me. Yeah!
Having hot cocoa and cookies on a cold night in Carbondale. The whole town gets together to greet Santa, light the big Town Christmas Tree and all Main Street's Christmas lights while singing carols. So fun.
This encounter was truly magical to watch. Both boys were filled with awe and wonder.
Celebrating St. Nicholas
Jackson Boys in their new woolies. Once these are on, these boys literally wear them 24/7 until winter is over. Good thing they have 2 sets.
Ringing the Salvation Army Bell for Cub Scouts.
Christmas Cookie exchange party. I successfully made Turkish Delights. YUM!
Isaac asked while holding up his right hand, "Mama is this my right hand?" Me - "Yes" Then he held up his left hand and said, "So this is my wrong hand?"
Off to see Nana, Grandaddy, Uncle E. and Javier for Christmas in Texas.
Making cloved oranges.
Both Kai and Isaac love to comb their hair and then they ask, "Do I look handsome?"
Every night in Texas was a bubble bath night in Nana's big Jacuzzi tub.
Chillin' with Uncle E.
Nana and her Grandbabies.
A fun lunch out with our friend's Andy and Angela Rose.
Sunset from Nana and Grandaddy's house.
Everything is bigger in Texas, including the acorns.
Getting sweet kisses from my boys under self-held mistletoe.
Excited for Santa. They left him their gingerbread train for the reindeer, an orange, some water, and a box of raisins.
What Isaac wanted most was his own box of gum. He happily carried it around all day and ate every single piece before the day was done. He would chew a piece for a short while and spit it out just so he could have another piece. Precious.
Jeff's secret Santa had interesting taste.
Building a motor with Kai's inventor kit.
Digging for gems. Isaac LOVES and collects shiny rocks.
Out for a Texas walk with Uncle E. and Javier.
Travel made for some sleepy boys. Home at last for a second Christmas. Who is so lucky?
Uber sweet decorated cookies. Not to worry, only allowed them to have 1/2 a cookie. The rest :)- for the birds.
A lovely soak in our local hot springs in the Crystal River.
A quick icy cold dip in the river to wash away the old year and welcome the new.
