Just Because

I thought that I would post a couple random pics, first because they are cute and second because I am kind of bored and I feel like adding a new post to my blog.



This was the only way to get the both of them to sit still and not cause any trouble. Good thing for books. Just thought that it was a cute picture.



This is one of our drawers that Logan loves to empty out and sit in. He gets stuck everytime and just whines until I go get him out. I think that it is funny and he sure loves doing it.

Bad First Impression

So we had our ward party last friday and it was the first time that Logan got to see Santa, and I have to say that Santa left a bad first impression. I will let the photo speak for itself.



Sure hope he wont hate Santa next year!

The South Hills Lights

It was so fun to take Logan to see the lights in the South Hills this year. He is fascinated with lights and I think that he really enjoyed it, other than it was horribly cold, but we sure bundled him up. I love taking him to experience new things, it is so neat to see him get excited and to just watch him enjoy the simple things in life. So I hope those who are around here take the time to go enjoy the beautiful lights.



What you see as you start your journey.



He just loved the lights!!!!!



Almost a perfect picture (dont think Logan knew where to look) :)!

Matthew Jacobson Family Newsletter

It has been an unusually busy year this year for our family. Trying to get Matthew through school and trying to keep up with a very active little 1 year old, sure makes it hard to find time to relax. But at the end of the day it is sure worth all of the tiredness and tears.
Logan-Who is now 15 months old, is such a precious little boy. He is certainly getting a mind of his own. It is fun to sit back and watch how much he is learning and just how fast he is growing up. He had quite a scare this year. About May he had to have surgery to remove pus from his hip. He had a septic hip and after 8 weeks of IV antibiotics he has fully recovered. We caught it early and so there was not any permanent damage. It was rough for him going through it, but it sure didn’t slow him down any. He walked without any trouble and now he is just running all over the place and climbing on and in everything. He is just your typically active little boy. He is making so many sounds that sound like words and he sure isn't quiet about them. We can't wait to hear him start talking, but are afraid that he is going to have a lot to say and will make sure that everyone hears him. It sure is amazing how fast time goes. It doesn't seem that long ago that we were trying to agree on and name and deciding what to bring him home in. Although there are still many sleepless nights, there is nothing better than when he looks in your eyes and gives you the biggest ear to ear grin and you know that you are the luckiest parents in the world to have such a precious little boy. We love him to death and couldn't have asked for a more precious bundle of joy.
Matthew- Has had such a busy year this year. Early this year he was in school trying to finish up his Licensed Practical Nursing Program. He had school from January to July. He did very well and was able to graduate in July. At his graduation he received an award from one of the Nursing Facilities that he did some of his preceptorship hours at. On top of his schooling he had to get in 80 hours of experience at different nursing facilities. He made it through everything and came out on top. He learned so much and he really enjoys working as an LPN. He took his boards in August and after weeks of worrying, he passed. So he has his license to work as an LPN in the state of Idaho. What a great accomplishment for him. We are so very proud of all his hard work! He just recently got a job working for Home Health and Hospice. He works about 20 hours a week there and then he still works part-time on the dairy. We are so glad that Flint and Lisa work to help us out. We are so grateful for them. Matthew has just been working so hard to take care of us. He has big plans this next year. He really wants to get back to school and get his RN. We will see how things go and hopefully we can make it work so that he can reach his goal. He is the greatest husband and father. Logan just loves him to death as do I. It is nice to have him around. I can't forget to mention that he also teaches a 12-13 year-old Sunday school class while also being made the 2nd counselor in the elder's quorum. So as you can see he has been very busy this year.
Mom, honey, Niki-- whatever name fits best. I have been just that. I love being a mom. I enjoy chasing Logan around the house and trying to keep him out of trouble. It is pretty exhausting but they say it keeps you young. I sure hope so! I am a full time mommy with a side job. I am still working two days a week at Silverlining Herbs here in Buhl. Thanks to Lisa and Laura for watching Logan, without them I wouldn't be able to work. I am the 2nd counselor in the Young Women's and I just love working with the beehives. It has been an interesting year and I hope things look better next year. I also really got into canning this year. Our garden wasn't the greatest, but we managed to get enough stuff out of it, to get a good start on our food storage this year. Canning sure kept me busy, trying new things was a great experience for me and I am already excited for next year. Other than those major things, I just am your everyday mom. I try to keep a clean house and am working so hard and trying to become a better cook. I run the usual errands, groceries, doctor's appointments, to the bank, and whatever else comes up. I love being able to take care of my two wonderful boys. Never thought that I would enjoy the role of mother and wife as much as I do, but there is nothing that I would rather do.
So even though it has been a crazy busy year, we still find time to spend together to grow in love and happiness. We couldn't have made it to where we are without the love and support of our family. We have truly been blessed. We can't wait to see what next year has in store. We hope that this letter finds you all doing well. We love you all so much and wish everyone A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year.
With Love
Matthew, Niki and Logan

CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!

Here is to hoping that Santa will make it down our chimney this year!


Here is our little helper this year, helping Matthew put up the Christmas lights on the tree.



Christmas Tree 2009

CRAZINESS

I can't believe that I kind of did the Black Friday thing. I kind of got a tip on how to beat the rush to get things that I wanted this year. My brother works at Wal-Mart and they are open 24-Hours. So they had all day sales and door busters (5-11AM). Well I didn't know that the items on the all day sale started at 12:01AM (like many many people here in Twin.) So most of the items I wanted this year were on the all day sale so my sister and I were at Walmart at 10:45PM, because we had nothing else to do. And were there to get the items we wanted at 12:01AM. There were only like a handful of people there so we were able to get everything that we wanted with out having to wait in lines and there was tons of elbow room. Then we went back that morning to get the door buster items that we wanted. So with less things to get when the crowds were there, I am happy to say that I was able to snatch everything that I wanted to get this year. Although, I debated to tell everyone my new found secret, it is just too good not to share with family and friends (well share with those who were like me and didn't know). You will have to stay tuned to see just what awesome deals I got. I cant wait for Christmas! Oh how fun the madness was!

Why? You Might Ask....

I don't know if you have noticed but I have new music playing on my blog. I just have to tell everyone. I don't know if any of you notice the name of the artist (Jon Schimdt),or have even heard of him. I had never heard of him until my sister asked me and my mom to go with her to a concert he was putting on at CSI. It was a concert to benefit the Boy Scouts. I just have to say that it was such an incredible concert. It was worth every penny. He is such an incredible pianist and he brought along a celloist(?)by the name of Steve Sharp (Nielson ?). Anyway, they really know how to put on a show. They entertained and played great music. They didn't just sit on stage and play, they interacted and talked with the crowd. I would love to go see them again next year if they come around and this time I will take Matthew and maybe Logan. So I recommend if anyone has the chance to go listen to either of them in concert, you wont be disappointed. This isn't really the type of music I listen to, so even if you don't like this type of music it would be worth it. It was kind of nice to get out without having to pack Logan and all of his stuff with me. I really needed it and it was nice to hang out with my mom and my sister. Another recommendation is what we did after the show. My mom treated us to dessert. We went to Chili's and had their White Chocolate Molten Cake. We usually get just the Chocolate Molten Cake, but decided to try the White Chocolate one because it is new. I have to say that they White Chocolate was 100 times better. So there you go if you want to try something new. It is always fun to do something and experience something that you don't do everyday. What great memories this will be.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

The hospital puts on a Festival of Trees to raise money, not quite sure for who or what, but for the past two years my mom has volunteered to be in charge of decorating the tree that the Operating Room Staff donates. So she enlists my help and we have fun coming up with an idea and decorating the tree. Last year the theme was a Child's Wish and this was our tree:



On afternoon we spent several hours melting wax and crayons to make our own homemade ice cream cone ornaments. It was sure a lot of fun. The we added candy and shiny ribbon. It turned out great, and the best part was that mom and I had fun doing it.

This years theme is Silver Bells, because it is the 50th Anniversary of the Festival of Trees. So we decided to do silver bells and angels. We put them together and got the line from its a wonderful life, " Everytime a bell rings an angel gets its wings." So here is what this years tree looks like, hopefully it will bring in a lot of money.



Then mom made a little angel doll and she always does such great work. She has made a few of these dolls in the past and I didn't remember them until I saw this one, I just love the hair (She curled every individual strand with a small curling iron).



Whoever buys the tree gets everything that is with it, so we added some more angels. So they get the beautiful tree and all the angels.



Overall I think this tree is beautiful and that we did a good job this year. I can't wait to see what happens next year.

I Finally Understand....The Wisdom Of Little Boys.

My mom gave me these from the newspaper and told me that they remind her of Logan. I think that maybe all little boys think this way. Not that Logan is a horrible little boy, but he sure is determined and you can't change his mind for anything. These sure help make it easier to understand what his little mind might be thinking or will be thinking in the future. They sure made me laugh. Just gotta love Dennis the Menace! :)!!!!!!!!

Carseroni Time

Logan and I had the privlege of playing with Carson for two afternoons this week while Laura was in Utah and while Zac was working. We had soo much fun! We got to make cookies and Carson helped me mix the cookies and roll them in the cinnamon and sugar. He did a great job. Logan just sat and picked cookie dough out of the bowl. He thought it was yummy! Here are two pics of them helping.





They were both such great helpers, and of course Logan wanted to do everything that Carson was doing. So Carson figured out how to climb into Logans crib so then I had to put Logan in with him.



They were both good, but they kind of picked on each other. I thought that it was funny and only had to step in a few times. I just love how kids only want to play with the toys that other kids have. It sure was fun, but two kids sure wore me out, but it was good for me (I think)!

Long Nights Ahead

So last night Matthew officially started working for Home Health. He has the 10pm to 6am shift. I think last night was a little rough, and it is going to take him a few nights to adjust. He will work tonight and maybe tomorrow night and then next Thursday he will be evaluated to see if he can work by himself. His schedule is 3 nights on and 3 nights off.

Logan and I survived our first night alone. We locked all the doors and turned on a movie. It doesn't bother me when Matthew is gone during the day, but it is always nice to have him home at night. It always seems that my mind is always a little more creative at night when I am by myself. I seem to think of all these scenarios that could happen, but never in a million years would. I think that I just need to relax. We have never had any strange things happen when we have all been here, so I don't know why they are going to happen when I am here by myself. Maybe I will get used to Matthew being gone at night, but until then I think that Logan and I are going to have some long nights ahead.

We finally did it!

Today was a great day. Matthew and I accomplished many things on our TO-DO list that have been on there for quite sometime. First of all one side of our sink has been clogged for quite awhile, and not to mention it is the side with the garbage disposal. I have been telling Matthew that we need to get it fixed and so today I made him help me. We took apart the garbage disposal which took longer that I thought it would and then we cleaned all the pieces and put it back together. Then we poured some liquid plumber down in it and now not only does the sink drain, but my garbage disposal is back and working great. I was afraid that we were going to have to replace the disposal, but luckly our $4 bottle of liquid plumber and some man power and we are back in business. YEAH! We can now add to our list of occupations -PLUMBER!

And as I posted earlier that our water supply for our food storage is lacking and has been since April. We now have water. We are the proud owners of a 50 gallon tank filled with you guessed it water. And I also purchased some cases of bottled water. What a relief to know that we finally have water. We finally did it!

Seeing as summer is winding down and things need to be put away. We spent a few minutes outside putting some of our things away for the winter. We put our grill, bikes, and lawn mower away. Now all I need to do is roll up our hoses and put them downstairs, and maybe mow our lawn and remove the leaves.

I love getting the things done on my TO-DO list. What made today special was that I got some help from Matthew, he even helped me clean the house. Made things go faster and Our house looks great. Glad to say that we finally did it!

SAY CHEESE!

I had to figure out a last minute idea for mutual the other night and this is what I came up with. I had the girls do a picture scavenger hunt around the church. It took a while for me to come up with some ideas but I came up with a list. The rule was that at least one person had to be in every photo and most of them two girls were in them. I wasnt sure what the girls would think of it, but they had fun and they were pretty creative and we got some great pictures. Here are some pics:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

After this activity the girls went around the church and took pictures of the alphabet. They found letters in some pretty odd things. That was fun but the pics didn't turn out very clear but they had fun with that too. I guess that is why I love the working with the beehives, they are out to have fun no matter what. The girls I have a just a blast and I love doing things with them.

New Hobby

My mom is very talented when it comes to sewing and making anything. So I decided that I would have her teach me all she knows. She is starting me out easy, here is a baby blanket that I tied. Next week some time we are going to go get some fabric and we are going to sew some pumpkins. I also have a pattern to make Logan his own little chair for Christmas. I have a lot to get started on, but first I have to learn how to sew. I am actually excited, because I need something fun to occupy my time. I just hope that sewing will be fun for me and that it wont be something that I get frustrated with (I have no patience, which might pose a problem). For now it seems like a good thing for me to get into, but we shall see.

First project.

Random Pics!

Mowing the lawn with Grandma.

Loves drinking out of straws.

Playing in his room.

Pull the dandelions out of the lawn and letting the little seeds fly away.

Freaking out because he couldn't get out.

Me and Mom

Got him his own electric toothbrush and he loves to copy me when I am brushing my teeth. He cries when you take it away.

CHEESE!

He sure is getting big. I kind of miss the little baby stage, but sure enjoy how he is learning and growing. I just love that we get to play and I just get the biggest kick out of him. He is the cutest and the funnest kid to be around. I just love him to death.

A Day with Dad

Getting ready to go feed horses with Daddy.

Just lovin' it being outside by all the horses and cows. Hearing them "moo" and "nay"
sure did bring a smile to his face.

Thought it was the coolest thing to watch daddy give the horse some hay.

Thought the horses eating the hay was pretty cool too.

A job well done!

LOVE MY DADDY!

Just Lion Around....

Logans first Halloween. Or at least the first one where he is was actually awake. Last year he slept throught the whole thing ( I guess that I will give him a break he was only about 2 months old).

Me and my cute little cub!

The cutest Lion in our pride.

Hanging out with Grandpa.

I am already trying to figure out our costumes for next year. Next year all of us will have a costume. Matthew didn't want to dress up this year, but there are no excuses next year. I hope everyone had a great Halloween. We sure had fun.

Halloween Party #1

We threw a Halloween party for all the young women, since our ward didn't have one this year. We had dinner and then played pictionary and then we played bunco. It was fun each of the girls and the leaders dressed up and it was fun. I got to borrow an outfit that my adviser brought back from Egypt. It was fun and don't think that I have dressed up for Halloween since I was about 12 or before. It was fun and I can't wait to dress up tomorrow with Logan, so stay tuned for yet another awesome costume.

Playtime..

While we carved pumpkins Logan and Hailey played, under Maricela's supervision, of course. Logan hasn't mastered the art of playing soft. It was cute though Hailey would keep her eyes on Logan and just smile and laugh at him. She is jsut sooo stinkin cute.

Then after everyone left we went to play and Logan now loves to climb in this chair and he hangs his legs and just swings them back and forth. He is just learning soo many things lately and he just looks so darn cute doing them. Just love it when he smiles and shows those pearly whites, it just melts my heart.

PUMPKIN TIME!!!! YEAH!!!!!

We had a few people come over and carve pumpkins at our house this year. Brandon, Maricela, Hailey and Mason and Whitney. We had fun. We ate dinner watched a little Bill Engvall and then carved these marvelous pumpkins.

At least a few of us smiled!

Whitneys Pumpkin

Brandon's Pumpkin

My Pumpkin

Mason's Pumpkin