Hustle & Bustle

I can't seem to figure out where all of the time is going?!?!?! I feel like this year has flown by so stinkin' fast! I had big plans of sending out cute Christmas cards, getting my Christmas shopping done really early, and having a well planned, relaxed holiday season. HAHAHAHAHA. I think I have learned my lesson this year. I should never have planned ahead like that. Lol. Instead of being on top of things, the opposite has come true! I barely have any of my Christmas shopping done, no Christmas cards will be going out from the Jacksons this year, and I feel incredibly behind!!! I need time to simply slow down just for a week or so! Can't a girl catch a break? ;)

On a happier note... I do finally have my Christmas decorations up! Lol. I am trying to pull it together and know that even though it's not as organized as my OCD self would hope, it will all come together eventually.

Does anyone else feel like this? Am I alone? What's stressing you out this Holiday season? What's making you happy and thankful this Christmas?

Being Sick...

Today I am finishing up day 4 of being sick. I am getting pretty tired of it and am more than ready to get back to my normal self! I went to the doctor and she told me that I have a viral upper respiratory infection, along with a good 'ole common cold, and fluid in my ears. I was excited that is wasn't strep again or the flu! I was quickly brought back to down to earth when she said that she couldn't do anything to help me since it is viral! :( She said I just had to rest, drink lots of fluids, try over the counter decongestants & meds, and rest some more! She said it would take 7-10 days to run it's course. Are you serious??? I don't have that many days! I am probably one of the most impatient people in the world and this whole pulling back and resting thing is not the easiest for me. I just thought I would vent on here tonight. I was supposed to sing last night for church and tonight for church but couldn't because I can't stop coughing, sneezing and sound like a man! I am hoping and praying this ends sooner than later! :) What is annoying you tonight?

Random thoughts from Robin...

I have put off updating our blog for a long long time now all because I felt overwhelmed that so much has happened and I couldn't possibly get it all on here. BUT, tonight, I have decided to overcome that and start back. Instead of trying to catch you up, I have decided to start back with today. Here we go...

Today is Monday, our day off. I love this day every week! :) I love to be lazy and hang out with my hottie husband all day long!!! I love cleaning together, cooking together, snuggling and watching tv together... basically almost everything we do on Mondays is TOGETHER! I think that's why it's my favorite day!!!

What's your favorite day of the week and why???

Life is so busy right now...

I don't really even know where to start... So much has happened in June and I failed to blog about any of it. I think I am going to look back in my journal later and try to catch everyone up on here soon. I don't know, maybe it's just better to start from where we are today, a little of what we have learned along the way and move forward rather then look back...

Maybe I am just over analyzing, who knows?!?!? Well, for now, I guess I will just share my current thoughts off the top of my head. FYI: This is always a dangerous thing as I can be one of the most random people in the entire world and I really don't think God created me with a filter of any kind.

Moving on... Today I am sitting in my little shack fixing to head down to Alvin, Texas to see my handsome husband as he is at Middle School camp. I miss him and am excited to get to see what they are up to and how God is moving in the student's lives. I just got home from a morning( really a day) full of contemplative meetings. 

Side note: (WOW, I can't seem to stay focused.  I am even more ADD than normal, sorry) Life seems to be flying past me like someone is holding down the fast forward button. Does anyone else feel this way? I don't think I am doing much more than I normally am, but somehow feel like I am just out of control and can't seem to get my thoughts, my messy house, my life in general, or anything else in order right now! 

Alright, back to my day. I started out the day with a meeting about "Why" we do what we do. It really made me think back through the past month and the lessons God has been teaching me. So often, I get caught up in the process and the results not coming out like I had hoped or planned for... I forget the "why" I am who I am am and what started me on this journey in the first place. Is this making any sense??? I really need to start asking myself "why" a lot more and evaluating my every move on a deeper level! It's definitely a good thing!

I have been challenged today and am feeling all kinds of emotions ranging from confusion, frustration, peace, dissatisfaction and motivation to find more of God. I have a new stirring and hunger inside of me. 

I love visuals, so here are a few photos to help you visualize my feelings! :)

Weight!

Alright, here are my thoughts for today...

I had this conversation with my friend Cheryl the other day and we couldn't figure it out. Maybe you guys can help me out. Why is it that the things like eating right, working out, and resting; which we know are good for us, are the things we continually avoid? 

Maybe it's just me, but I know it's good for me and I even feel better about myself and have more energy after I work out and exercise. BUT, for some reason, I struggle to stay motivated. Why is that??? I seem to find anything and everything to do that gets in the way of me doing what's best for me and my body! :( 

Help me... do you have any thoughts, tricks, or ideas of how to stay motivated and be more self-disciplined???

My Adventure Book

Wow. Blake and I went on a double date late last night with our sweet friends, the Scranton's. We saw "UP," the new Disney movie. It was too cute but way sadder than I expected. It actually made me think the whole car ride home and even now as I type this. Are cartoons supposed to make you cry and truly contemplate life?!?!? Maybe I am just overemotional and vulnerable because of where we are in life right now. It seems that tragedy and sadness is hitting a lot of our friends and loved ones. It has made me think about life and death this whole week. You never know how much time you have left or what God's plan is for your life. Wow, my mind is flooding with all kinds of thoughts on life right now...  

Oh, if you haven't seen the movie yet, you may want to stop reading... I don't want to spoil it for you!

Anyways, it starts off about a precious love story and made me very nostalgic. I have been crazy emotional lately and very extra attached to my sweet husband's hip. The movie made me think about the moment I met Blake all the way through today and all of the memories we have made together. The laughter, the tears, the big life changes we have carried each other through, the tragedies we have been there to hold one another through, the crazy hectic times, the sweet relaxing moments. Even in the short time we have known each other, 7 years, there have been so many thoughts that come to my mind right now.

How could I have gotten so attached to someone in such a short time? I found myself crying as Ellie dies in the movie and leaves her best friend, the love of her life behind. I starting thinking about Blake and myself. What if one of us dies and leaves the other behind? What if it happens before we get to live out all of our dreams together? What if it happens and we have regrets of not making more of the sweet time that we have together? It was really beginning to bother me and eat away at me all throughout the movie. Then, at the end of the movie, it made me change how I was thinking...

I have now been encouraged to not worry about the future and dwell on the time that we "may" or "may not" have together, but instead hold onto and cherish every single little moment that we get together today! I love my husband and cannot not imagine my life without him. I thank God for bringing us together and for all of the incredible blessings He has given us over the years!

In the movie, Ellie made a book and called it "My Adventure Book." It was a scrapbook with all of her dreams and goals in it. She made it as a child and didn't realize that as she got older her dreams, goals, and priorities would change. I am now looking at my life-long dreams and goals. Which ones should I strive after and which ones should I realize are just a childhood fantasy? I am not sure yet, but I do know that "My New Adventure Book" will not be full of the things I want and hope to do in the future but instead, full of the pictures and stories of the fun things (the adventure) that we are getting to walk through together every single day!

Thanks Ellie for making me look at life through your fun eyes! :)

The past 2 years in a nutshell

Blake,

I love you more than I ever dreamed was possible. I am so blessed and thank God every single day for giving me such a sensitive, loving, caring, strong, man of integrity for my husband! Here is a look through the past 2 years of our marriage and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life making more sweet memories with you by my side!!!

Love you,

Robin 

2 Amazing Years...

Wow, we have officially hit the 2 year mark in our marriage. Two weeks ago today, May 12th, was our 2 year wedding anniversary. Time flew by way too fast and it's so weird how I feel like we've been together for forever but it also feels like just yesterday that we got married. How can I feel both of those at the same time?!?!?! 

On our "official" special day, the truck broke down on our way to dinner so I grabbed us some Pei Wei to-go and we ate dinner together in my car in a parking lot, so romantic! Lol. I guess it just goes to prove it's all about the love between two people and the memories you make no matter what the circumstance may be! It will be a funny story to tell our kids some day! :)

So, we went with Blake's parents to Orlando, Florida to celebrate a little be-lated. Only it decided to pour rain the entire time! I don't mean it was a light summer shower... I mean it was a torrential down-pour and flooding the whole week we were there! :( I will blog about that more later.

In the meantime, here is a video we showed at our wedding reception of our lives and how we came together, enjoy! 

The Shack After...

Here are some quick shots of The Shack after, we still have some work left to do but here it is so far...

My favorite place to hang out in the yard... the swing!

That tin building is the Shack (well, the right half of it is)

and there is Whitey/ Orville, my car that will never die or let me down! ;)

My front door with my welcome sign and new cute baby mail box

My one baby fake flower that sits right beside my front door and makes me smile everyday

When you walk in the front door and look to your right,

this is what you will see... the bathroom

We found that cute little cabinet thing @ Bed, Bath and Beyond... love it!

I got a cheap mirror @ Ross and put black paint on it and brushed a metal scrub brush over it until it looked kind of antiqued like I wanted! We put up new towel rack and matching silver accessories.

Here is the view from our bedroom door. I had to get creative and make hidden storage all over the room. Can you figure out where all I store things?!?!?

This is the little kitchen area... IKEA was our best friend in making this place livable! A buddy helped us put the accent lighting under the cabinets and we got a new fridge, compliments of my awesome mother-in-law. The island in the middle is a huge help for extra counter space and storage! On the far right is actually chester drawers that I use for kitchen drawers, it matched and fit in perfect! 

I turned my armoire into...

my pantry... I loved this piece of furniture and knew it would give the Shack character so I improvised so I could keep it with us and it turned out to be perfect!!!

This is the main wall in the living and my favorite because Blake let me paint it my favorite color... RED!!!

I always have to keep lots of blankets around because I stay cold and love to snuggle

This is the front door

This is the view looking into the bedroom from the bedroom door,

 that is right next to the armoire... That's our dresser.

Our bed and t.v.

The t.v reminds us of being in a hospital when we have to look at the ceiling to watch it! 

I love my simple, quaint room... it is very peaceful

I still have a bunch of black and white prints to arrange on this wall behind the bed.

They will be in various sized silver frames.

We took the closet doors off and put up curtains to open up the room a little and give it a splash of color as well... I may replace these curtains with  longer ones eventually.

I love to have everything organized @ all times...

I had to get very creative to fit a bunch of stuff in a very little space.

I hope you enjoyed my quick little tour update on the Shack... we really are proud that we were able to transform it from Shack to Sheik!!! It has become very homey and we are loving living here! Come visit it in person soon! We even have a guest book to document everyone who experiences this part of our life journey with us, so much fun! 

Wedding Planning...

Tonight I am remembering what all goes into planning a wedding. It's 12:30 AM in the morning Tuesday morning and I am still at my parent's house in the Woodlands trying to help make wedding plan decisions. 

Here, I will try and paint a picture for you of what it looks like around here tonight... I have my mom asleep face down in the floor, my sister on iChat with her fiance, Eric trying to keep him involved in picking music for the ceremony, and me sitting at the family computer printing off labels for their invitations and trying to keep everyone organized, on task, and motivated to keep working and not fall asleep. My little brother is in bed, my husband is watching t.v. with my dad and amazed that the Rockets actually pulled it off tonight and beat the Lakers. I guess I am not being very successful with the task job... since I've lost 2 family members to sleep and 2 to the t.v. :( 

That is my quick update before I move onto my next task tonight or this morning really. I will give you fun picture updates of the past couple of months very soon. Life seems to be moving so dang fast I can't seem to keep up and get everything done! :( I have got to get my blog slacking under control!!! SORRY! 

The Shack Before...

Wow, I know I am WAY overdue in updating our blog. :( I am really having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. But I am attempting tonight. Here are the BEFORE pictures of the Shack that we moved into back in February... 

Justin, Randy & Blake acting like they are working! ;)

Then Stacy and Blake decided to paint each other instead of the walls...

Nice work boys, you get points for being artistic!  ;)

Me getting organized as always...

Natalie working hard and being very fashionable @ the same time, as always! 

Krista was a champ scrubbing and painting the bathroom al by herself

Our little baby Shack...

 

Painting my bedroom

Napoli is hott stuff!

Ellen was the official edger... so did GREAT!

Our kitchen before we made it our own

The bathroom before we took the mirror and cabinet down to give it the "Jackson touch"

Our bedroom closet before we took off the doors, adding curtains and added new shelves

Justin changing out the light bulbs.. such a helper in his cool jean shorts! ;) Lol.

The whole gang minus Randy who helped turn our little Shack into a cozy home!

We have the best friends EVER

We should start our own HGTV show... from Shack to Sheik

Wow... it's been too long!

I apologize for not having updated our blog in such a long time. There is so much to say and so much that has happened over the past month. My goal is to have you guys all caught up complete with pictures and lots of stories within the next couple of weeks. Wish me luck! :)

-Robin-

Superbowl Party @ the Shack!!!

We had to break in the Shack with all the amazing peeps who helped us to make the Shack what it is today!!! :)

The Boys

(Stacy, Justin, Blake & Randy)

Randy was ready for the commercial in 3D

The Girls minus Krista

(Natalie, Robin & Ellen)

The Scrantons

(Krista & Stacy)

Stacy was wasting my camera battery :(

 

He took so long that we didn't get a picture of all the girls! :(