Ever Wonder Part 2...

I could not resist...I had to yearbook Jason.


1954 - Don't you just love the twisty curly in the front?

1958 - The slick back and bow tie...looks like he should sing in a barbershop quartet or something

1960 - Jason with glasses

1966 - Jason with blond hair

1970 - love the sideburns

1976 - the year Jason was born

1984 - love the big hair...

1988 - the mullet - business in the front and party in the back :)

So which ones do you think look the best?

Ever wonder...

Ever wonder what you might have looked like during different decades? Well my friend Leighanne did this on her blog so I totally stole this from her, but I just could not resist it. If you too may wonder what you would have looked like in a different decade then go to www.yearbookyourself.com and try it out. Have fun!!!


So here I am through the decades...



1952 - this picture reminds me so much of looking at pictures of my grandmothers.

1954m - is it just me or do I look like a school librarian?

1966 - man that is some puffy hair

1968 - I don't think I could have pulled this one off.

1974 - I wish I could get my hair that straight.

1978 - the year I was born

1984 - man you gotta love that hair :)

1986 - gotta love the feather back effect

Wow! Styles and hairdo's have changed so much.

So bloggy friends which picture did you like the best???

Allie's wedding

Madeline and Allie the beautiful bride.

Madeline and Hannah Grace the cutest flower girls :)

Me, Madeline, Aimee and Hannah Grace

Lil Miss Madeline anxiously awaiting the start of the wedding.

Sweet smiles :)

This moment of rest only lasted a second...thank you Susan for capturing it :)

Time to walk down the asile. She had no problem with this at all.

Standing all by herself like a big girl! (and she is not even 2 yet)

Madeline did so good at Allie's wedding yesterday. I was so proud of her. She walked down the aisle and stood up at the front with the wedding party just like she was supposed to do. She really did a great job...until she saw me taking pictures. When Madeline saw me she squealed MOMMY and took off running for me, slipped and fell (poor thing) She came away with only minor scrapes and cuts, but she only cried because she dropped her bucket. :) Jason said that is his girl for being tough :)

Allie, I am so happy for you and Rob! You looked so beautiful! We love you!

6 months...

A few quick updates:


Yesterday the tow truck came to get the car. Jackson and Madeline stood at the end of the driveway waving to it saying "Bye-Bye broken car". Oh I am so thankful for the good ol reliable Toyota Camry!

Today, Madeline and I went to a bridal luncheon for Allie. Madeline is going to be the flower girl in Allie's wedding next weekend. (Allie, I hope you do not expect too much out of our Madeline...)

OK now for the main reason for this post.

It is hard to believe, but today marks 6months since Jason began this 2nd deployment. Jason left on Feb. 16 to begin training. It is just really hard to believe that 6 months have already passed by. Some days it feels like he just left last week, yet other days it feels like it has been 6 years (how can that even be possible???) I feel as if I have been in a fog. Most days it actually feels like I am treading water and yet never reaching my destination (anyone else able to identify with this feeling?)

A lot of the struggles I had at the beginning of this deployment are still there...fears, anxieties, loneliness, sleepless nights. Those struggles are nothing like they were in the beginning, but they do have a way of creeping up on me when I am not keeping my main objective as a commitment to know God and trust in His plan for me and my family. I would like to say that I always do this, but I am human and stumble, a lot.

My priorities have changed a lot. I no longer see things the way I did before. Call it what you want, but I feel it is the sovereignty of Christ opening my eyes. I realized I have wasted so much time and energy pursuing things for my own happiness and my own satisfaction. Which has really got me thinking...do I have the same priorities and pursuits in my life that Christ would have for me? Are my values the same as His? It is all part of this cycle of dying daily to me! to my needs and to my wants.

I know that through these past 6 months there has never been a moment when I was out of Christ's mind. He knows me. He knows my needs. He knows this journey in my life before I did and He is with me every step of the way. There is no moment when His eyes are off of me. No moment. And even though I may get distracted, He does not.

"There is unspeakable comfort-the sort of comfort that energizes, be it said, not enervates-in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that His love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion Him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench His determination to bless me."

J.I. Packer

We have had a rather difficult week here at the Crow house, but we kept going. We kept going because of the grace and strength that only Christ could give during those moments, because believe me there were times when I just could not. This week has been a really tough week for Jackson. I have been struggling with him and hurting for him. And just when I thought I just could not take anymore, the engine went out in the stinking Ford. Went to drive the Camry...tire was going flat. Oh my how I miss Jason terribly! How I wish he was here to help me and take some of this responsiblity off me. I am comforted that Christ is with me. There is no moment when His eyes are off of me.

Choose Your Battles...

A lesson I am learning (sometimes the hard way) is that I have to choose my battles. I used to think that it was important to always dress in a certain way (the way society tells us that we need to look) and I have found myself pushing those same beliefs onto my children. When in all honesty it really does not matter at all right? So, I often let Jackson choose what he is going to wear. Today I was taking Jackson to get a haircut and I told him to go get his shoes on....well instead of the flip-flops or the clogs, he comes out in his rain boots. OK, it is not raining today, nor is there even a chance of rain in the forecast...I think to myself "oh my, Jackson I sure do wish you would wear some different shoes" but I just smiled at him instead. I did remind him that the shoes were about 2 sizes too small for him, but he really wanted to wear them so he did :). I did have to intervene on one part of his attire though, he was wearing goggles. I convinced him that the goggles were not a good idea since he was getting a haircut (you know they might get in the way or something).

Jackson has really been my source of sanity the past couple of days. Yesterday when the car broke down on us and I was overwhelmed and crying this is our conversation:

Jackson - "Mommy are you OK?"
Me - "No , Jackson not really"

Jackson - "Mommy are you crying?"
Me - "Yes, Jackson I am, mommy is frustrated right now"

Jackson - "Mommy JUST DROP IT"

Me - stopping crying and starting to laugh a little "Jack what did you say?"

Jackson - "I said just drop it mommy"

Me - laughing/crying now....where does he get this from????

Jackson- "Mommy is the car broken?"
Me - "Yes baby it is broken"
Jackson - "Mommy just go get that blue car we saw on the toy commercial" (He is referring to the Toyota commercial we saw on TV earlier that day)

Leave it to my 4 year old to help me see the humor in life....in his little mind I can simply go to the car lot and get a different car :) If only I could see the world through the eyes of my child.

I Don't Know If You've Been Told....

JACKSON CROW IS 4 YEARS OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jackson celebrated his 4th birthday Saturday, complete with swimming (thank you Dad and Wendy for opening up your home for the party) and an army tank cake (thank you Torie and Crystal for the cutest tank cake ever created!) The party was a success, but we sure did miss Jason, A LOT! I can not believe my little man is 4 years old and about to start pre-school...unbelievable how quickly time passes. The video above is Jackson opening the card and present from his daddy (thank you Aimee for making the video and getting some really great pictures) Be sure to pause the playlist at bottom of page before you click on the video :)

Vacation...

my sweet babies...they were holding hands on their own and I luckily had the camera ready :)


Jackson


dance break (I think someone walked by with their music on and the kids could not resist)


Miss Madeline


I think her look is telling me to stop with the pictures :)


My man Jack


THE WIGGLES!!! We got to see a Wiggles concert while we were on vacation! It was great!


Madeline dancing in Pops lap.


My man Jack and me at the Wiggles concert.


I love my babies!


My little sillies and their sunglasses.


Jackson taking a break on the beach.


my precious Madeline.

Well another summer vacation has come and gone. We had such a great time. The weather cooperated most of the week, no one was stung by jellyfish, the kids had a blast, the adults were exhausted, our shopping shoes (and bank accounts) are worn out, we ate way too much good food, attended a Wiggles concert, and I turned 30. That about sums up the week. (Except the fact that we brought half the sand in Gulf Shores home with us) :).
Vacation was really great and hard at the same time. We missed Jason so much! I spent so much time thinking about what Jason would be doing if he was there and how much I missed him. There is just something about the beach that makes me think and reflect. So that is what I did. Each day when the kids went down for their naps, I would have my time. Some of the time I would read, but mostly I just sat in silence with my thoughts. Which is when I came to the conclusion that I "think" too much and never rest. As a busy mommy, I am constantly going, not allowing myself to truly rest. I found such a calmness when I allowed myself to rest. I reflected on Christ and His faithfulness to give strength and peace and safety to me and my family during this deployment.
I really had some great quietness...but now we are home. :) The kids are trying to get adjusted to being back at home and I am crazy busy planning Jackson's 4th birthday all alone (which is really hard). But in the midst of all this, I am forcing myself to slow down and rest...

There we are!!!!!!

WOW!
I can not believe our show finally aired! We had as much fun watching the show last night as we did taping it! (Little disclaimer here: ***we were TOLD to act that excited...but lets be honest here, I really was that excited!) It was so neat to watch the show last night. We were actually seeing and hearing things for the first time. Throughout the whole show Aimee and I were saying "do you remember that?" or "I don't remember this part". We were so busy smiling that we missed out on certain parts. Watching Paula and her guests cook the food reminded me that we were at the studios for well over 5 hours and we had NOTHING to eat. What a bummer! Paula....if you are reading this (HA!) please be sure that your audience is at least given a sample of what you cook :) You know, show a little southern hospitality :)

I have tried 3 times to upload the pictures of us watching the show last night at Aimee's house, but for some reason it is not working. I will try again later to post those.

Aimee, I had so much fun with you on the ultimate BFF trip ever! Thank you for being the bestest friend EVER to me! Thank you for talking to me on those long hard nights, thank you for listening to me, thank you for crying with me, thank you for always praying for my family, but most of all thank you for being you!