My Jackson Paul

Today, I will remember for a number of reasons...
1. Rodney worked from home! That was awesome. I so miss the era of that being the norm, but alas, it's not... Anyhoo, he did today, and not only did I totally eat it up, but so did the other smaller residents of 446 Shady Willow Lane. :) Fun times.
2. I/We got some major cleaning up done. The office and dining room of our new house has looked like we just moved in ever since we got here about 6 weeks ago. But today, things changed. Yeah, simply, we got some stuff done...arranged...put where it's supposed to be... YAY!
3. Tonight, Rodney picked out his belated birthday present from me (only about a week late, but who cares, really - not me. LOL!) It's a new game for the Nintendo Wii. It is called "Guitar Hero." Enough said. Well, not really - It's actually pretty cool, and one day, I intend to take some video to share with the rest of the world via the WWW. :)
4. The flat tire incident. UGGH. It's all taken care of now, but geez. WHY!?
5. But the very, very best part of the day was meeting Jackson's teachers for a little 15 minute Parent/Teacher conference. I went into it knowing that he's a good kid, and hoping all the good that I see in him daily is noticed by the teachers as they meet Monday through Thursday from 1:30 - 4:00. Well, it is. (And the crowd goes wild!)

The conversation was very pleasant from the moment I entered the room, and they both took a turn to tell me how much they think of Jackson. Miss Lydia is the lead teacher, and is absolutely fabulous! I had a great first impression of her at the orientation just before school started, and our conversation about her interest in the well-being of my son has confirmed my speculations. Mrs. Judie is the assistant, and reminds me of Sister. She's got a sweet twinkle in her eye as she talks, especially... about Jackson. She said that they are buddies. :) Some of the sweet things they said were what a kind little boy he is, what an obedient little boy he is, and how he is liked by all of his classmates, girls and boys alike. It felt, to me, like they were just going on and on. They let me know that he is so polite, and is always ready and willing to pick up when its time to, and sit still when its time to, and generally very well behaved. As a matter or fact, I believe the very first thing out of Miss Lydia's mouth when we sat down was, "I sure wish all conferences were as easy as this one's going to be." I got teary somewher in the midst of the compliments, but regained my composure pretty quickly, I think.

So, I have just been on cloud 15 this afternoon and evening. Jackson makes me so proud, and I am so very blessed to call him mine. I love you, Jackson. :)

Our "Just Because" pictures

And more specifically, our "just because" happens to be just because we were all showered and clean and ready to head out one morning last week. Not only that, but in the clean clothes pile in my bedroom floor lied the two shirts that Jackson and Brady wore for the pictures... I thought - "Those two shirts would look good together in a picture!" About an hour later, there we sat, somewhat smiley, somewhat cooperative, somwhat not... saying "Pumpkins" for the camera! So, without any further adieu, here's my latest proud product from The Picture People. :)

I'm Alive! I'm Alive!

This summer our family has been living at my parents' while our house has been under construction in Rolesville. It's been great - and while all good things must come to an end, there's no telling how much I'll be coming back to visit seeing how nice it is to stay here full-time. :)

There's far too much to tell tonight, so I'll try to highlight some of the memorable moments...

~Watching "High School Musical 2" 100+ times with all the grandkids. I particularly love when Jacy speaks the dialogue and does the dance moves with the tv. :)

~Zach Efron point #2 - Going to see "Hairspray" with my mom and sisters. We all had silly grins on our faces the entire time, and I truly can't wait for it to be released on DVD.

~Transformers: More than meets the eye. Try to imagine that phrase out of the mouths of several little boys, and that's the soundtrack to this happy home. They sing it, they play it, they live it. Thank you Youtube!

~My dear BFF Tiffany/Tiss/Tiffner/Love/Nifty. She's been my sweetie and most enduring confidante since the day I got down here. She's helped so much with Carter and has continually shown all the little Steelman boys so much love and affection. We all love you, girl, and you think you're going to miss me? I have a feeling (aka I KNOW) that you will be missed just as much, if not more. :)

~Rodney's frequent trips back up to Rolesville to stay with Lindsay and Steve (while he spends the workweek there, and the weekend here). God bless them for their hospitality - One day we hope to repay you for your overwhelming generosity.

~Carter growin' up too fast. When we got down here on July 8th, when he was 1 month old, and now he's about 3 1/2 months - is always smiling, cooing, and making us all realize how fast time flies when we're having fun.

There are so many more, but for now, I'll close with this: The "crowd" down here will never know how blessed I feel to call Harkers Island home. Even more, to call Joel and Susan my Ma and Pa. In addition, my dear brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews all mean so very much to me. I'll say that when we first decided that this stay at Harkers Island was our best option, I had some apprehension about how the logistics would work out - 3 families under one roof... But, alas, it's been just lovely. Even "loverly" as Eliza Doolittle would say. I've had the "warm night air" and plenty of time in their "enormous chairs." Thank you all. I love ya. Mean it. :)

(I'll come post some pics soon)

And a few new videos ...

dated may 9, 2007... my little angels...

jackson playing with playdough - making mommy a birthday cake. :)


jackson singing "happy birthday to mommy"


brady singing his "abcd's"



brady counting to 10

"In Utero"

"in utero" was my google search...

i landed on this site (www.michaelclancy.com), and saw something i'd seen before... the picture of the 21 week (in utero age) baby boy, samuel... whose hand reached out during the surgery to correct his spina bifida diagnosis...what i saw for the first time, however, were the words from the photojournalist who took the picture. these are his words:

"During a spina bifida corrective procedure at twenty-one weeks in utero, Samuel thrusts his tiny hand out of the surgical opening of his mother's uterus. As the doctor lifts his hand, Samuel reacts to the touch and squeezes the doctor's finger. As if testing for strength, the doctor shakes the tiny fist. Samuel held firm. At that moment, I took this "Fetal Hand Grasp" photo.

As a photojournalist, my job is to tell stories through pictures. The experience of taking this photograph has had a profound effect on me, and I'm proud to share this moment with you."

Michael Clancy

i'm writing this, because of the thrill that is mine, and many of ours to have housed a 21 week old baby in our bodies... is it not AMAZING!?! the grasp, the life, the spirit of a 21 week old - i love it - and i love how my love for jackson and brady and carter have grown so tremendously over the last few years...

today, a speaking in our church meeting chose to phrase it as "mother love." she pointed out that she feels that the "mother love" within us is when our qualities most like God shine through...the qualities of tenderness, mercy, long suffering, etc. become part of our being. i have to agree.

happy mother's day to me ;) and to the rest of the beautiful mothers out there (you especially, mama)...

March sure went by quickly!

Jackson & Brady were in a silly mood for this one, obviously.

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Also, a few recent pictures from the last couple weeks. Not only are the plants and flowers growin' in this beautiful spring weather, so is the belly o' Leah.

A clip of Jackson; uh, I mean Spidey!

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Do note, this was performed for me and the camera, only after a bribe. He was headed away from me so quickly for one reason, and one reason alone. There was C-A-N-D-Y downstairs. Need I say more? :)

Drumroll please...

it was a lovely appointment. all the measurements were great, and i seem to have another big bun in the oven (measuring 1 week ahead).

jackson came with us. :) brady was napping, and rodney's aunt came over to watch him... jackson was an angel. i laid there with the ultrasound tech going to town, and he sat in rodney's lap, very interested, and i'd chat with him like "look jackson - the baby has a brain! do you have one?" ... well, she finally got to the good part... she got the cursor to leave the little arrow, while she quickly touched the "it's a boy" button. :) she said "there you go!" and i said, "it's a BOY?!" and she confirmed that my eyes were not deceiving me. i looked over at rodney to see if he had gotten the word, and he looked suprised and very very happy! we told jackson, "it's a boy!" and he said, "I WAS RIGHT!!!!!"he was pretty excited too!

in all honesty, to find out it's a boy was REALLY exciting, and add to it, a bit of relief. not because i didn't want a girl, but because i'm so ready... i know that this baby is a blessing from God and that i'll have the EXACT family that He wants me to have, and IN that fact, i find a great deal of satisfaction and contentment. happy monday to me!

January 31, 2007 Professional "shots"

These are from a recent trip to the Picture People. They've impressed us once again. :)

Some videos of recent snow and the wii fanatic

Jackson and Brady sure did enjoy the little taste of snow we've had lately. Raleigh got a couple of inches about two weeks ago, and then another day this past week, we got less than an inch. They built snowmen both days, though... And the best part was knocking them over. Brady especially enjoyed helping "install" the carrot nose! :)

The Wii paying is so amusing! We have this game (called Wario:Smooth Moves) that is perfect for even little ones like Jackson. In this video, you'll see him pretending to hula hoop, dance with the rest of the people on the screen, count 1-2-3 as a referee in a boxing match, and a few more activities. :) He has so much fun, and asks to play it 2 or 3 times a day! :)

Just for the sake of documenting a little family info, we are only hours away from finding out if Jackson & Brady will have a new little brother or new little sister! I'll have to come back and report after the appointment tomorrow. (It's scheduled for Monday, Feb. 5, at 2:30 pm) :) This pregnancy has been very good, and I have absolutely no gut instinct about what I should expect to find at the ultrasound appointment. I'm baffled, truly. It's going to be a wonderful piece of news, either way. :)

Enjoy the little video!

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January video...Around the house

Our January so far... :)

Leah's 1st Blog Entry! :) WOO-HOO!

Expect this from me... Lots of smilies (frowns included), and very little sense. Ok, Now we're ready. :)

My legend is as such.
:) ... This one is for happy.
:D ... This one is for smiling ear to ear.
:( ... This one is for sad.
;) ... This one is for winking.


I also like ellipsis...

Today is January 7, 2007. I am blogging while Rodney serves dessert to our two little darlings, Jackson & Brady. Oreos tonight. They're loving it! Oh, and these Oreos do, in fact, follow a healthy and well-though-out supper. Spaghetti-O's. MU ha ha ha!!! :D

I'm a 27 year old mom of 2 fabulous boys. They rarely deserve a title other than fabulous...Today happens to be one of those days, for Jackson, at least... ;) I'm also a wife to a fabulous husband. He's always fabulous! ;D

Jackson is 3 (born 9-25-03, indeed, one of the happiest and life-changing moments of my life!). He's IMMENSELY into superheroes. He loves to jump off the couch, so as to immitate Spidey in his artful landing. He is presently asking me if I can someday sew Batgloves into his Batman costume, which happens to be resting on his sweet little bones as I type. After I replied yes, his follow up was, "And you have to get Brady some Robin gloves, ok?" "Yes, my darling."

Brady (aka Brady Boo Hoo, aka Boo) is the smiliest and sweetest little munchkin you've ever seen. ;D He's 19 months old, and was born 5-23-05. He LOVES to try to be like big brother, and loves to snuggle with Saydee, our 5 year old Boxer/Pitt mix. Saydee, my first child, has had to deal with much since she was first acquainted with her younger siblings. Bless her heart, that's the best I can do to sum up that little brown girl. Back to Brady. Here are some defining characteristics... Tall and skinny. Loves ice (I believe he got that from Grandma!). Has recently had a burst of vocabulary words and/or ability to express himself more clearly. His favorite word is probably dinosaur. His pronunciation is the best... "die-TOUR!" He loves a bath. He's currently huggin on his new Tickle-Me-Elmo...And one last thing... I think he likes his mommy. ;)

Here's an old video montage from Summer '06. I'll do another soon, I'm sure!

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These are a few pics that Aly took over Christmas break. God bless her! :) Visit her photography website if you get a chance. It's www.alydart.com.











That has to be enough for now. Duty calls. :)

Well, I'll add one more picture... My little fetus! :) (I'm 16 weeks, 3 days along.)

Picture taken at about 12 weeks...