What a week!!

There was Christmas, my niece came for a visit, I have been battling a cold, I saw my nephew Jordan after about 2 years, and.... isn't that enough. I can't seem to stay off the road, going to/from SF, but at least I haven't been on a plane in a while. But, the good news in all of this is that my family is all doing well, I'm feeling better AND my boss just told me that he's sending me and Kelvin to the Superbowl again in January!! I got to go for the first time in 2007 in Miami, compliments of my boss, too. That was crazy. I'll add photos and details about that trip later.

This couldn't have come at a better time. I just need a break, to hang out with my honey and have some fun while not worrying about the weight of the world. Well, worry might be too heavy of a word, but I do try to handle/manage all of it to the best of my ability. But, God has been so very good to me, I have no complaints.

Right now, I am just so thankful for so many things mostly, that this year is coming to an end. Rarely ever will I admit to being stressed, but I think I said it twice this year!!! But, overall, it was GREAT!

In 2008 we've been blessed with more new additions to the family than we lost, I am still employed with a fabulous company and was even promoted again this year through the worst economy that I've ever lived through, I am married to a man who still can give me butterflies, I couldn't imagine any better kids than we have, I love where I live, I have fantastic in-laws, our best friends have moved around the corner, we have our health, all types of comforts, and Bush is leaving office! God has really been good to me, and I don't want to take any of it for granate.

I am filled with joy! I don't know what else to say. God Bless, Tracy

Jadon, born 12/13/08 at 9:49pm 7 lbs, 20 in

Here is a picture of my beautiful new godson, Jadon. If I wasn't so tired, I'd go into how beautiful and excellent he is, but I really wanted to record this as quickly as possible. To be cont'd

Merry Christmas

Hey there family and friends. Let’s see…what’s going on with us now.

Right now we are into corny ‘butt’ jokes. At first Lindsey thought she was too sophisticated for such a thing, but she has embraced ‘the butt’ and we all get a kick out of it.

For instance, Erin will ask, “Mommy, how do you spell elephant?”. Me: “B-U-T-T”. Erin: “That spells butt” or “Stop spelling butt” or “You are always spelling butt”. It’s hilarious. Here’s another for you.

Me: “Knock, Knock”
Lindsey: “Who’s there?”
Me: “Bee”
Lindsey: “Bee who?”
Me: “B-U-T-T”
Both girls: “That spells butt! Stop spelling butt!!”

On our way to school, Erin and Lindsey do math and spelling with me in the car. Of course, I have to include ‘butt’. For example, this morning Erin had to spell this sentence “The sun was hot today on my butt”. Butt makes everything better!

As you can see, we got our family photos back recently. We normally get them done the day before Thanksgiving and they get them back to us pretty quickly. We were happy to have Joseph with us that day, and couldn’t resist sticking him in some of them.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our godson, Jadon. He’s expected to arrive on 12/19 via c-section. Now that the Kizers have moved around the corner from us, we get to see them even more!!! We couldn't be happier about their move. So, Joe Joe will be with us for at least a night, then Kiki will be with us for the holidays.

As for my son, Pietro, I still miss him almost as much as the day he left. We all do. I’m not sure how he did it, but he’s a permanent part of me now. We still talk all the time, but I long for the day of the smell of his feet. His picture is still on the wall, and he’s in all of our hearts.

Let me not forget my other nieces and nephews. Unfortunately, I just don't get to see them as much as I do others. I love them all dearly, as well as the rest of my family. I just wish they lived closer!

Please feel free to send us an update on you and your family. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years. Please keep us in prayer, and we'll do the same for you all. God Bless, The Sac Jacksons

And, remember, Jesus is the reason for the season. To read about His birth, go to Luke 2:6-20.

Luke 2:11 (NIV) "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord."

More Jackson Christmas 2008 photos

Here are a few more. Enjoy

Erin update

Well, she has definitely progressed since I last wrote this. She has her good days and bad. One day I came home and saw her on the staircase by herself. I said, "Erin, you're doing really good." She said, "Mommy, I'm not scared. I decided not to make the devil happy."

This comes from her daddy telling her that she should pray whenever she feels scared. I reminder her of this, when she and I were in the car one day and she said she sometimes forgets. Then, I told her that God didn't give us fear, but he gave us power, love and other things, so God is not happy when she is scared. And, it makes the devil happy. I can't believe she got it!!!!

She regresses at times, but no longer shakes and cries. She'll wimper a little here and there, and whine, but not the shaking and the rest of the drama. She also likes to go around the house and look in all of the scary places with me. That used to help my anxiety when I was a kid. She hasn't mentioned the 'finger' thing again since that day that I wrote last. So, who knows what will ultimately work.

Have a great day, and God Bless. Tracy

Drive Thru????

This is actually pretty old news. This happened on Oct 30, RIGHT after I got done voting. No, it's NOT my car, but I happened to be in that area at the time of the accident because I went to the registrar's office to vote. I didn't write about it then, because I didn't want to be distracted from my purpose and message at that time, which was voting.

It was the first day that it had rained in months here in Sac. Actually, the last time it has rained was Memorial Day weekend in late May, and it was just a trace. The last real rainfall we had had was in Feb 2008, so clearly the roads were slippery and it was a mess outside.

So, this is Oct 30, 2008. I can't explain how this accident happened even when it was explained to me. Everyone was fine, including the employees, thank God. But, from what I understand, they had to take the occupants out with the jaws of life. I heard that they jumped the median and went across two more lanes, through the parking lot and DEEP into this store. It was not intented to be a drive thru, but they must have thought it was :).

God Bless, The Jacksons

Erin....Ughhh!!

My daughter Erin is all of a sudden TERRIFIED of being alone. I'm not even talking about in the dark or isolated. But, she will start shaking a crying going up and down the stairs if I'm not standing right next to her!! I can't even watch her go down from the top and have her dad or sister meet her at the bottom. She thinks things (monsters) will come and take her. She's never been like this before. She said it was something on Dora, Snow Princess that scared her. She won't walk in the short hallway by herself without a lot of drama. This has been going on now for about 3 days.

BUT, this morning, she told me not to worry because she could go in the hallway by herself because her fingers are her friends, and she's not alone. OMG!!! How come I didn't think of that?! Lindsey told me that there was some type of show where a girl pretended her fingers were puppets to help her take a shot, and that helped her, so Erin decided that her fingers would be her imaginary friend. WHEW!! Whatever works! I can't wait until this is over.

Lindsey reminded me that she used to get scared and think that a pig was under her bed. I almost forgot about that. I remember going into her room when she was scared and she said that something was under her bed...she thought it was pink and had a tail. Then she said, "I think it's a pig" and SCREAMED!!! It took everything I had in me not to die laughing. That didn't last long, and hopefully this one won't either.

God Bless,
Sac Jacksons

Lindsey's Really Short News Report

On 11/1/08, Lindsey wrote this story. These are her words, verbatim (my words are in parenthesis):

Hello viewers. Welcome to the Really Short Report. The weather forcast is being reported by Erin at 3:30pm. The breaking news is being reported by Lindsey at 3:35pm. And, finally the Traffic Pulse is b eing reported (by) William at 3:40pm. And now for the weather.

Erin: Hello. Ok, troughout Sacramento, clear skys most of the day and the empurture, 85 degrees in the morning, 93 n the afternoon, and 89 degrees in the evning.

Thanks Erin. Ok, now Lindsey will report the Breaking News.

Lindsey: Huricane Katrina struck again! Yesterday in San Diego, California! It damadged 900 homes in San Diego.

OK. Thank you Lindsey. Wow She's always finding news. OK, now for the Traffic Pulse.

William: OK. If you're driving in intersection 80, be on the lookout for a 3 car aciden. And intersection 85 isn't looking to good either.

OK, thank you William. Wow he's always up to it.

Thanks for tuning in on The Really Short Report.

I saw The Color Purple today

It was so incredibly well done. I can't believe such a fabulous show would actually come into Sacramento. We went to the last show of the Sac tour, and it was a full house, but I think the whole show sold out. There was not a dry eye in the place. It was a little different than NYC, and of course the NYC show was better, but I can watch that show 20 times in a row, like it was the first time that I saw it. I LOVED IT!! And, it was cool that Kelvin and I got to go together. When I saw it the first time, I was with my grandmother, in Oct 2007. It was such a privilege to be able to have that experience with her, and then again with Kelvin.

The tour is a little more sexually overt than I remember the NYC show. Either way, I was just riveted. It was also wonderful to look at the attendees and see that it looked like America! And, America embraced this story of pain, triumph and redemption. Magnificent. It was great.

I can't believe it! Thank you America!

Amazing...Seriously, I am almost in disbelief that Barack Obama has just been elected as the nation's first black American President. This is an amazing milestone for all Americans and others around the world who have had a history of exclusion in their government and society.

I go back and forth between crying tears of joy, laughing, shouting, and just sheer awe. Hallelujiah. This is really one of the most memorable and pivotal days in my life, and something I can check off of my "bucket list". It is unreal, because I have to admit that I didn't know that America would progress to not only allowing, but embracing someone with dark skin (or who wears a skirt), would be voted in by a majority of ALL Americans (who cared enough to vote) to represent us to the rest of the world.

As I think of the history of the country, when it has dealt with people of color, most of the milestones have come with a fight, that includes protests, rulings, marches, judges, and the changes have been made grudgingly. At this particular moment, I can't think of a time when the advancement has been embraced like this one. It was like a big fat hug from America, just for me. Yes, I know it wasn't about me, but it felt like it.

There is still so much progress that needs to be made, but first let's just glance back over the last few years and smile at the tracks we see in the sand. For example, as I was leaving today from work, one of my co-workers asked me what was the big deal about this election. And, a few months ago, this year, another co-workers was physically describing a woman as a typical American. I said to him, "So, are you trying to say that I'm not American?" and he said yes. Shortly afterwards, he changed his mind and realized that what he said was really stupid, but these are not isolated incidents. And, my brother, who's 15 years younger than me, and I were both told that it won't happen in our lifetime by our teachers. So, I offer these examples as illustrations but at the same time, I prefer not to dwell on these. I've come too far, and I thank God that my girls will never hear that type of stupidity and rhetoric to confine their minds and aspirations.

It's no secret that there are people who want to believe that racism doesn't exist, shouldn't matter, or would prefer for things to go back to way things used to be. I also believe that many people use racism as an excuse for their failures, lack of motivation to improve, and as a self-fulfillig prophecy. Regardless, we are still moving, and moving in the right direction. Praise the Lord.

I have always felt blessed to be an American, but haven't always felt welcomed by all Americans as an equal. The best way to describe this feeling is if you had a cold mother-in-law (by the way, mine is great, other than the fact that she didn't support Obama, she's pretty darn cool) who finally tells you to call her Mom, with a big convincing hug to match and officially welcomes you into a family that you 'technically' already belonged to.

Thanks....I needed that. And, for all of you who contacted me to share your excitement or to offer kind words, it meant so much to me. Thank you doesn't seem sufficient, but that's all I got. (Pics: partying with the girls when the announcement was made, screen shot when it was announced. I hope they get it!).

Today is finally election day!

I can't wait until this thing is over! So many issues that are hinging on this election! There's of course, the presidential election, there's Prop 8 in CA ($73 million spent, which is the most for any proposition EVER!), Congressional seat could give Democrats a huge majority (60 is the magic number...that would be dangerous), and numerous others. I have decided that I am taking tomorrow off because I will be up ALL night long watching the results come in from across the country. We're in for a long night. Let's see if Barack is victorious.

God Bless! :)

Lindsey cooking

She's cooked before, but of course, she wanted her picture up here, too. She's the corn bread maker, great at making pizza, and a great prep cook. She's really good at breakfast, and can even flip the pancakes now.

Erin's first time cooking

Here is Erin's first time cooking, today on 11/1/08. She always helps me with the prep, but she actually cooked the tacos. They turned out great. Yummy!

Halloween 2008

It took FOREVER for the girls to decide what they wanted to be for Halloween this year. A day or two before Lindsey said she wanted to be a snow princess, and Erin wanted to be a snow fairy, whatever these things are!!! So, on Halloween I found some cute outfits for them, and they loved them. They were fairies, but not 'snow' fairies' or 'snow' princesses!

This year the trick or treaters were lighter than normal. I think it's because it was the first rain of the season on Halloween, the street light near us was out, the house next door to us has been foreclosed for two years now (I think the lender is going to wait out the market conditions, damn THEM!), another one of our neighbors had their lights out for a long time, and the economy just sucks. We normally get a bunch of kids dropped off in car loads from outside of our neighborhood, but I only noticed a few.

At around 8:00pm we decided to head to our church for the harvest day festival. It was really good UNTIL they did the costume contest. They split the groups into pre-school to 3rd grade, and had the kids walk around and then they voted on the best costumes. It really wasn't well thought out, because they were scrambling for judges, and the age group just wasn't mature enough for the decision. Once they announced 3 winners, some of the kids, ESP my Erin, had a meltdown. She cried for about 45 minutes. We ended the night with her having an emotional breakdown. It was so sad to ruin her great night with that. We won't be doing that again.

Just Erin

Erin is now six years old, and in 1st grade. Her best buddies are Joseph, Emma, William, and Brooklyn, and her cousins and sister. Here she is in OR, at her birthday party, just hanging out in the backyard, and at a family friend's house. She is VERY animated, and loves to make a lot of noise (HONK, MOUAAAAA, OHHHHHH!, etc.). She learned how to swim all by herself this summer, after having a scare in the water on Easter. She felt comfortable in our pool since it is only 3 ft deep in the shallow end. By June, she swam like a mermaid. Her favorite movies are Transformers, Big Momma House II, The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean, and anything with a lot of action or comedy. She's just a blast to have around.

Lindsey getting stuck on horse swing

It was much longer than this, quite frankly. But, by the time that I caught her on it, this is what was left. It was hilarious.

Treehouses

Well, it's October 2008, I've finally decided to start trying to 'blog' again about the family. On Oct 24, we all took a long weekend trip to Oregon, to a 'treesort'. It's a treehouse camping grounds, right at the southern border of Oregon, right off the coast. We took our godson, Joseph, with us, too. It was such a blast! They have ziplines, horses, lots of open spaces for the kids to run around, big rope swings...it was a great outdoor adventure. Check out the place: http://www.treehouses.com/. I found in on a vacation show a few months ago and decided to check it out.

Poor Lindsey fell off of a 6 foot zipline when one of her parents (I won't mention his name) allowed her to ride it while standing up. So, when she hit the end of it, she flew off backwards. She got sick, later that day, but she didn't let that ruin her trip. She even got back on it. She was a trooper.

There is a camp fire set there, so the kids all roasted marshmallows and made smores, and they roasted hot dogs on a stick. I don't think Erin stopped smiling, until she went to sleep, and she asked how can she earn at least 5 days there next time.

Joseph....he's all boy, so this was the perfect way for him to burn off all of that energy. He went non-stop, each day. He was so sad to leave. I think if we let him, he'd had stayed there without us. It was a great trip!

Yesterday I voted

I take great pride in the fact that I am able to vote, so much so, that I decided to go to the registrar's office to cast my ballot early. I review all of the propositions, and candidates (at least the ones that I care about) and choose very carefully. When I do it, I feel like I honor those who fought, marched and died for the rights of all to vote. I also watch other nations whose citizens don't have the ability to make decisions about their government and are subjected to malicious dictators, and I am in awe that some don't care about this. I hear so many excuses for not voting: it doesn't matter, it doesn't really count, etc. These are all lies that some want you to believe so that you are apathetic, so politicians can continue to push through their own agendas, and that power can continue to shift in one direction without you believing you can control this. When you stop voting, THEY will stop caring about you.

I know this is a rant, but there are a few things that I'm passionate about: my faith, my family, voting, education, personal responsibility and accountability, and a few others.

Normally, I'm private about who I voted for, but this time I say with pride that I casted my ballot for Obama. It was an emotional event for me. Of course, there are a number of people who believe that I would vote for him because he's a black man, but I find it ironic that I've voted for people of all of ethnicities, both male and female, and no one questioned my motivation for casting those votes as being racially motivated. I can't say that I always vote the party line, as I have some views that each party champions. But, this is first time in my voting years that I've ever felt like there is a man of God, who represents our interests, who's genuine, with lots of character and charisma running for office. I also understand the significance of the fact that we could finally crush the racial barrier and send a message to the world, that anyone can achieve what they put their mind to.

In addition to breaking through the glass ceiling, it will also bring about a healing to a number of people of color who have lived through segregation, who have experienced or witnessed discrimination, and who will be able to gain a sense of pride in the fact that more things seem possible. And, it will also remove the excuse from some of those who use self-fulfilling prophecies to to justify their ignorant behavior or to remain in their condition, and to criticize those who are trying to better themselves by saying they are trying to be something they are not. I'm glad I didn't accept other's opinions of my capabilities, and know that I have excelled and exceeded in areas even I didn't know were possible.

When times are bad, there are a few scriptures that come to mind that comfort me. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Isn't that amazing?!

So, the next time you are considering 'hating' on someone with a dream or ambition, just think that you may be responsible for blocking the blessings that God may have in store for him or her. Don't tell someone that what they want is impossible, just simply encourage them to create a plan to get there, get as much information and education as they can, and find a support system to help him/her.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. Oh yeah, and if you want to see a little glance of me at the registrar's office yesterday, click on the link below. It was shown on News 10 in Sac.
Voting Surge Could Delay Election Results

By the way, I don't care who or what you vote for, I just care that you vote. So, please do not sit on the side lines on election day.

God Bless you,

Tracy

Just Lindsey

Lindsey at various moments from Christmas 2007 to October 2008. Here is her own personal blog:

Hi.I`m Lindsey.Here is a little bit about me . I`m good at tons of things.Like ,knowing how to find somthing I lost,and getting Beaver Achievers,but that`s just me. The way I find the thing I lost is, I think, if I were the thing and someone lost me, were would they probaly have put me?

Thanks for comimg to the Sac Jacksons!



Lindsey

Girls in Philly

These were taken in NYC at the Junie B. Jones play that I took the girls too, and at the Brooklyn Promenade. Then we went to historic Philadelphia to see Constitution Hall, the Liberty Bell and the mall area of the place where many of America's founding fathers walked. Amazing learning experience. Kiki had a GREAT time. She was the perfect age for this type of trip.

NYC Mar/April 2008

Here we are at the Empire State Building, in Central Park on a carriage ride, at the Brooklyn Promenade which has the most spectacular views of the city, on the Staten Island ferry (you can faintly see the Statue of Liberty behind them, but it was really foggy that day) and the girls at Princeton University in Princeton, NJ with their mascot

Girls in trees

Oct 2008

Random pictures of the kids

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love my kids! They are the best gift that God could have ever given to me, and I feel so blessed to have each of them. I could go on, and on, but I think you get the picture. My kids + my husband + my family & friend = my heart.