I love him for it...

In continuing my love fest from the last post, I must brag on a few other reasons that we are married.

1. Chocolate. I had to work from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Saturday doing tax returns so Jackson showed up to the office unannounced just to bring me my favorite candy: a Cadbury Fruit & Nut Milk Chocolate Bar. It was both figuratively and literally the sweetest thing ever. I love him for it.

2. Cleaning. Saturday was a good day for my love for Jackson because when I got home from work I saw that he'd cleaned out the garage without being asked. Holy cow, people. He's all mine!!! I love him for it.

3. Grocery. While Jackson has gone to the grocery at least 67,890 times to my 10, I still love him for it. He went again on Saturday while I was at work so I wouldn't have to go with him (Note: I know this is totally a first world problem but I really hate the grocery store. This could be a chicken or the egg argument* in that since I don't go to the grocery often I no longer know where things are, but that's OK by me).

4. Chick flick. Jackson agreed to watch "About Time" with me. It was one of the most wonderfully sad movies we'd ever seen. I cannot recommend it enough. The premise is time travel, but it is really about so much more. At one point the main character's mother informs him that his dad has cancer so he goes to his childhood home. When his mom answers the door and he asks how she is, she answers, " Furious. I am so uninterested in a life without your father." I broke down at that point and probably sobbed for the next 30 minutes uncontrollably.** Jackson enjoyed the movie, too, and even shed some tears himself. I love him for his tears.

5. Laid back. I make a lot of plans to do random things. Sometimes they involve Jackson. Sometimes they do not. Sometimes they're things to do on the weekends and sometimes they're things to do on a weekday evening. Take our weekday evenings for example: sometimes I have a facial. Sometimes I go to an exercise class. Sometimes I work late. Sometimes I go to the gym. Sometimes I want to eat at home. Sometimes I want to eat at a restaurant. Jackson never complains. He just asks what my plan is and we act accordingly. Guys, this would never work for me. If he was as random as I am I think I'd be exasperated. Not Jackson. He just rolls along like life was meant to be so manic. I love him for it.*** 

*Have I ever mentioned that I solved that questions years ago? The answer is the chicken. It only make sense based on Adam and Eve logic. I certainly never took the creation story as the formation of two embryos.
**I'm a real softy.
***Have I mentioned that I love that man? I do.

Why we are married...text message edition

I've often read that one of the keys to a happy marriage is to stay best friends. We've done that. I'd add a bit to that and make it read more like, "stay best friends by becoming interested in one another's interests." 

When Jackson and I first married I would nap during football games on Sundays. I'd nap during golf tournaments (OK, I still do if Tiger isn't playing. Sue me.). I only cared about basketball and even then I didn't care that much. Sure, I'd make a bracket come tournament time but that was really just to win money. After a couple of years I realized that Jackson loves sports and was never going to stop loving them. I made it my mission to learn about his favorite sports so that we could enjoy them together. I now argue that I'm a bigger sports fan than he is- ha! While he keeps things boring by only cheering for one team, I like to cheer for multiple teams. He likes to root for Phil Mickelson. I root for TIGER, Rickie Fowler, Bubba, etc. and occasionally Phil. Look, Phil seems like a heck of a guy and I appreciate his tax planning initiatives more than anyone but he's so...boring. 

Anyway, this now mutual love of sports provides us with plenty of topics for bantering via text message. We had two particularly funny exchanges yesterday that I thought I would share. 

Jenna is the blue writing, Jackson the gray. Tim means Tim Tebow.

My love for Tim Tebow (former NFL QB, University of Florida Gators STANDOUT QB, Heisman winner to name a few...) is unending. Tim, in his wonderful person style, generally interacts with sick kids which has lead me to joke about wrapping bandages around my head in hopes of meeting him. (Note: I probably would not fake an illness to meet him because that is lame. I probably would fake an injury, though. That's much less lame. HA!) I was pleased to see that during the Florida basketball game Tim was there taking photos with average fans. There's hope. Jackson has even agreed to help me with this goal. That, my friends, is love.

We love to make fake hashtags 

Next up was a guy getting cut from an NFL team for supposed gang affiliation. Jackson and I talk often about the need for the NFL to help these guys from tough backgrounds get used to have so much money and power. This was a prime example of that. I was more impressed, however, with Jackson's rhyme about the Eagles. That kid is a keeper.

Writing your own obituary...

I've threatened many times to save a draft of my obituary on my blog to be published only after I passed. Jackson thinks that idea is so creepy that I've never done it. After reading this obituary, though, I've decided to start working on it just in case. You see, I've never read something quite so touching.

I was listening to the radio this morning (I rarely do that in the morning as the news is always so depressing) when I heard about this actor who had recently passed away due to skin cancer. They were only covering his death because he'd written his own obituary. I looked for it when I got to work, read it and cried like a baby. What a great reminder about what truly matters to us when we reach the end...

http://stpauljerseycity.org/stpaul/2014/03/24/in-memory-of-jim-rebhorn/#hislife

My favorite part was this: "They deal with grief differently, and they should each manage it as they see fit. He hopes, however, that they will grieve his passing only as long as necessary. They have much good work to do, and they should get busy doing it. Time is flying by."
The radio folks thought it was bad luck to write your own. I disagree. Why wouldn't we write our own goodbyes? If death gives me the two weeks' notice I've always requested for it to, you better believe a few of my hours would be spent penning my goodbye to the world. I might as well save myself some of those precious hours.Whether or not this prompts you to write your own obituary, I hope it serves as a good reminder to appreciate all that makes you who you are. It made me wonder how many of us could write that everyone we loved knew that we loved them. I hope we all could, but I'm not so sure that is true. Jackson and I heard a song the other day and one of the lines says the singer isn't afraid of dying (OK, it is an Eminem song, but it is still touching). I asked Jackson if he was afraid of dying. He said he was not. He asked me. I said I was petrified. I cannot help but wonder if part of my fear comes from feeling like I have unfinished business to attend to. I've always thought it was just the fear of the unknown, but when I tried to explain to Jackson why I was afraid it didn't have much to do with that and more to do with making sure I didn't have regrets. I need to work on that. But first, if you'll excuse me, I need to go grab more Kleenex.

Alex's 4th (early!)

We're going to miss Alex's official birthday party because we will be traveling so when he heard that he was coming to town we decided to throw him one of our own. Kylie took the day off of work on Friday and took the little guy to the zoo with my Mom. Then they came to our place that evening for cake and presents. We got him what he wanted: a dinosaur coloring book. We also got him these cool twistable crayons (thanks for the idea, Jax!) that do not need sharpened and are not wrapped in paper (great for neat freaks like me who hate when the paper rips!) and a big dinosaur toy. He was pretty happy. He also seemed to enjoy the frosting on his cake and left the cake itself for his Aunt Ninny. Love it! 

Alex's cake and presents

I made a little video of Alex's reaction to blowing out his candle. (If you click the "cc" on the video you will get a transcript because the audio isn't the best.)

He is "addicted" to coloring according to my sister so he promptly got to work on a page for us. We didn't get to see Kylie for her birthday so we gave her the wallet that we got for her. Better late than never?! :) The second of the three photos below was Kylie's priceless reaction when I mentioned how much Alex looked like his father. Whoops.

His new coloring book was a hit as was the cake! 

MacKenzie is never sure about children. When Alex figured out that Jackson could throw him around he was amped. MacKenzie was not pleased. She kept trying to get to Alex so she could play, too! Alex wasn't so sure about her, though.

MacKenzie investigating Alex

MacKenzie wore herself out chasing after Alex. I swear children amaze me with their energy.

MacKenzie forgave Alex for stealing her dad once he started playing with her toys, though. She doesn't discriminate against any ball players. :)

But if a kid can throw a ball he's OK with her...

We used some of Jackson's rewards points to book Kylie and Alex a hotel room for the night and were supposed to meet them at the Indianapolis Children's Museum this morning, but we accidentally slept in. (That kid wore us out. We slept until 9:40. That NEVER happens!) We felt SO bad. Then Kylie sent us this photo of Alex's reaction to us missing the museum and we felt even worse. 

Alex's reaction to our sleeping in... :(

Thankfully they still had a great time at the museum and didn't need us. We still feel awful, though, and owe Alex a trip next time he is in town.

He still had a great time seeing the dinosaurs! 

Swinging for Spring

Jackson is pretty excited for the weather to break so that he can go play golf with this little guy. Check out that swing Mr. Jax Porterfield has!! WOOT!!! MacKenzie would love to go run and retrieve the balls he hits if Gunner ever tires of it, Heidi, let us know! ;)

Speaking of the Porterfield family, Heidi is selling homemade wooden signs to help finance a mission trip she is going on. Check out her collection at: https://www.facebook.com/heidikrindesigns

She's so talented and I'm so impressed with her talents!! 

Meeting Josslyn Bates

Josslyn is home!!! We got an appointment in her busy schedule last night and got to finally hold her. Oh my goodness is she tiny. She is still just under 5 pounds. She's so skinny, but she knows how to eat like a champ. Mommy says she has quite the attitude already, but she was very subdued for our visit. We woke her up and she didn't even complain.

Ms. Josslyn Bates snuggling her "Aunt Jenna" for the first time

 She did try to nurse from me which proved to be a losing proposition as my restaurant never opened. ;) I also kept telling Josslyn that I "helped make her" since I introduced her parents. Everyone thought that sounded bad, but Joss and I knew what I meant- perverts! :)

Snoozin'

Momma waking her up! 

A little evening snack

Fiona (the dog) wanted a sip of milk, too!

I zoomed in to try to give you an idea of just how tiny Josslyn is- look at how large Shaya's hand looks next to her little body. She's a great eater, though, and is doing just fine! Welcome to the world little one, we're so happy to have met you!! :)

TINY!

So big!!!

We had dinner with the Porterfield family last night. Jackson made turkey chili and cornbread. Guy contributed mac-n-cheese (in case the kids didn't like chili) and Heidi had fruit and dessert. We had "pizzookies" which are really just giant chocolate chip cookies with ice cream. You should be jealous, honestly. That Heidi and her desserts. 

Jocelin LOVED Jackson's turkey chili

We were so impressed with Jocelin's eating. She shoveled down TWO bowls of chili. Jax wasn't as convinced and peaced out on dinner to go play. If I only I skipped eating more often...

Catchin' a quick show...

We were amazed at how much Jocelin had grown since the last time that we saw her. She's like a big girl now. (Insert tears here!) Both kids were much more independent this visit and spent some time coloring and watching t.v. Thankfully they're still young enough for me to be able to color with them without being embarrassed. I'm so not artistic that Jax will likely have me beat next year on that front. 

Sadly, I was coloring when the funniest thing of the night happened. Heidi had peeled carrots to eat with dinner and put the peels down the drain. This clogged up their garbage disposal so Jackson had a plunger working out the clog. Work it out he did. The water shot out of the next drain and right into Jackson's mouth. Heidi dropped to the floor in laughter. Andrew laughed hysterically. Jackson was spitting and sputtering. I MISSED THE WHOLE THING! Ugh. According to Heidi it was priceless. :)

Typical scene: both kids on Jackson and Gunner keeping guard

They did remember Jackson's ability to throw and spin them around so some "rides" were given. We played chase and colored some more before it was time for baths! 

Jax explaining a picture he drew for us. Note: Heidi birthed both of these children and is still skinny as ever. It is a good thing she's so likable or else I'd have to hate her. 

Jackson gifted us a piece of art before heading upstairs to get ready for bed. He has school on Tuesday mornings and hadn't taken a nap (I'd take a nap every single day if I could) so he needed to get to bed. Jocelin managed to color herself so she got in the bath with her brother. It was the cutest thing ever. 

Two cuties in the bathtub!

We headed home to get to bed early ourselves as we both had early mornings today. Thanks, as always, for hosting us, Porterfield family!!

#MCM?!

You'll recall that we visited a good friend of mine from high school when we were in California for Christmas. Jackson made the mistake of telling me that he liked my (male) friend's body build and wanted to be built like him. I thought this was so funny (dudes don't usually admit that they noticed another guy's build so it struck me as hilarious) that I just had to tell Joe. He appreciated the compliment and I thought that was that. Nope. Yesterday while bantering back and forth with Joe about his two little daughters he sent me a "selfie" to share with Jackson. I laughed hysterically and quickly sent it on.

Joe's selfie:

Joe. Excuse the silly face.

Joe knows of my love for his wife, Lorraine, and her clean eating and heavy lifting lifestyle so he sent me a photo of her as motivation to hit the gym harder. Mission accomplished. I killed it in the gym at lunch yesterday. 

Lorraine. Excuse the abs of STEEL. 

Ok. I thought that was the end of "selfies" for the day. I was wrong. After I sent Jackson the photo of Joe he decided that he wanted to send one back to Joe so when he got home from work her snapped a photo of himself....with his sunglasses still on because it made him look very "Secret Service-y" for Joe.

Jackson.**

You cannot make this stuff up, folks. I laughed so hard that I snorted. Joe wrote back calling Jackson a "beauty." Ohhhh man. Boys.

**I have no words for this photo. I still cannot look at it without laughing. 

P.S. #MCM is some silly thing people do on Instagram. MCM= Man Crush Monday. I won't pretend to be hip and into the whole hashtag scene. I prefer mocking them with my friend Kort, honestly. 

"Baby Magic"

Saturday afternoon we headed to Plainfield for a"Triple Date" with our friend Corey, Ashley, Chris and Jenny. Corey and Ashley are expecting and find out the baby's gender in a couple of days. Chris and Jenny are parents to August- the little guy we met for the first time right before the horrible snowstorm. He's already three months old! Time flies! Anyway, August's babysitter fell through so he hung out with us. :)

August checking things out

The weather was so nice that we decided to head out for a walk on the trails near Chris and Jenny's house. It felt good to be outside for a bit and stretch my legs after working on tax returns all morning.  

The crew out for a walk

Auggie takin' a break

August was such a good little walker. He just looked around and took it all in. He was born in December and with this horrid winter we've had I think his time outdoors has been limited.

Jackson working his charms...

I was amazed at how light he was when I held him. I kept saying he weighed less than a sack of sugar. He actually weighs 12 pounds, but come on. That's tiny! He cried after I held him for a bit so my time was through. I like to hand unhappy children back to their parents to be solved. :) Jackson tried his hand at being the baby whisperer. He wasn't all that successful. It was like August would settle down and then he'd look up at Jackson, get scared and scream. I don't blame him. ;)

Jenny and Chris made an excellent vegetarian meal and an awesome lemon cake for dessert. Why didn't we have them cooking for us instead of going to restaurants all along?! Things were going well. Then...they suggested we play a competitive game. With teams. I should have just left at that point. Honestly. When I play games I become another person. I cannot control it. It is ugly. This time was no exception. Jackson was being an absolute jerk enforcing the rules with a heavy hand and really made me mad. (We were clearly on opposite teams.) At one point I had to walk away from the table so that I didn't kick him where it counts could clear my head. We survived, but I am going back to my "I do not play games. EVER!" rule for the sake of my marriage and friendships. Know thy self, folks.

Game night action shot 

I got a video of August being freaked out by Jackson. Ashley and I might be bad people for laughing at a crying baby. I swear he was not being harmed and his mommy rescued him shortly after I stopped recording. :)

We headed home late Saturday night and crashed out. Playing with babies and playing games really took it out of us. We both woke up sick as little dogs and I had to miss my exercise class. I hate when that happens! :( I got up and got to work, though. Taxes don't wait for you to feel better. The deadline is the deadline. 

After I knocked off work we headed to Upland for dinner with my folks. Guy made chicken and noodles which is a Petefish favorite. MacKenzie enjoyed a chance to play with the Upland dogs and get some extra pets from Grandpa and Grandma Duck. She's a mess. 

Tax Season tuckers MacKenzie out...

Whenever we visit Upland MacKenzie takes DAYS to recover. It is just so much excitement. This is how I left her this morning. Life as a puppy is sure rough... ;)

She was still exhausted this morning! ;)

Excitement is coming...

One more month of tax season and then we'll be back on the road again! I promise the blog will be more exciting soon.

Here's a brief rundown of our scheduled adventures:

April 18-20: Washington D.C. for a Petefish family function. We're going to tour the Pentagon (YESSSSSSSSSSS!) and finally see some of the monuments we haven't managed to see yet. I'm also hoping that the cherry blossoms bloom late and we get to see them! :)

May 3: The mini-marathon in Indy. This will likely not be an exciting adventure, but the blog afterward with my complaints will surely entertain.

May 9-12: NORTH DAKOTA! We will be doing another half marathon (who had that bright idea?! Oh. ME! OOPS!) and seeing whatever sights there are to see in North Dakota and celebrating Mother's Day and Jackson's birthday!!**

Memorial Day: ehh...to be determined. Ideas welcome.

June 6-15: ALASKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 50 by 30 complete! (Note: I'll only be turning 27*** when we are there so I've completed that goal rather timely...ha!)

June 27-July 6: Colorado! Jackson has to be in Denver for a work conference and I'm flying out to join him on Friday evening. We're going to enjoy spending time in Denver again and then head up to Aspen for the 4th!

Labor Day: ehh...to be determined. Ideas welcome.

Labor Day-December 20: pinching pennies because...WAIT FOR IT! WAIT FOR IT! THE MOST EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT OF ALL FOLLOWS:

December 20-January 4: KIWI CHRISTMAS!!!! WE ARE GOING TO NEW ZEALAND AND THEN TO AUSTRALIA!****

See? I told you that the blog was about to get more exciting. I've wanted to have a "Kiwi Christmas" (New Zealanders are often called "Kiwis") for years. It is summertime there and they have all kinds of beach-themed celebrations of Christ's birth. I've also wanted to go to Australia since I was born (perhaps that is slightly exaggerated) so I am excited to see New Year's fireworks over the famed Sydney Opera house. Now we just have to make it through the next month of Indiana's fickle weather and tax season...siiiiigh.

**He's going to be old.
***I won't actually be 27. TEAR!
****I know CAPS mean you're screaming. I AM! I cannot deal with my excitement level. I'm more excited about this trip than any other much to Jackson's chagrin.

Answered prayers

I heard a sermon when I was in college that urged writing down your prayers. The minister urged this for a few reasons but the ones that stick with me today are these: 1. When you're writing, you're focused so there is none of this lack of focus that internal prayers sometimes have 2. You can review your prayers later and see how God was working when you didn't know the details yet.

As I visited my blog this morning to post the photos of Baby Josslyn, who had been the center of many of my prayers in recent weeks, I saw God's work. Then I saw the post about Sgt. Jacob Rich, who has also been in my prayers in recent months, and remembered the news that I heard about him this week and saw God 's work again. Sgt. Rich is involved with the Tug McGraw Foundation (yes, in honor of Tim McGraw's dad) and through that involvement a surgeon at Duke University's School of Medicine heard about his cancer and contacted him. The surgeon thinks that he can help Sgt. Rich and is flying him to North Carolina for a consultation- free of charge. If that isn't the most beautiful thing...I don't know what is. 

So please, please continue to pray for both Baby Josslyn as she develops and Sgt. Rich as he explores new treatments and remain heartened that God does hear our prayers and He still works miracles. 

Meet Ms. Josslyn Bates

Ms. Josslyn Marie Bates arrived on March 3rd in the evening. Weighing in at 4lb 10 oz. she was a tiny little miracle, but a miracle nonetheless. Baby and Mommy are doing well. Joss will be in the NICU for a bit and is currently learning to nurse.** Thank you so much to everyone who prayed for this little lady when she was in utero.

**When Shaya told me that Josslyn was having to learn to eat I let her know that I never had that issue. I also made jokes about how society's pressure to be thin is so pervasive that even infants are dieting. Ha. No worries, I think I'm funny enough for all of us. 

Since I quit Facebook Shaya now has to send me all of Baby Joss' photos via text message. I like to think that is makes me even more special. I'm just saying. ;):) We cannot wait until she's out of the NICU and available for SNUGGLES!!!

Snoozing.

Proud grandma, Mrs. Newton!

Oh my sweetness!

After her first bath!

I have no words for this adorable photo.

Cashed out after breakfast

Thinkin...

A little kindness

I've written about this before, but kindness is an often overlooked trait that can make a real difference. I've linked to two stories below that will remind you of that.

I read this post today and was reminded at what a profound impact small acts of kindness can have:
http://todaywasmeaningful.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/in-just-one-day/

Just when you've given up on America's youth a story like this makes you believe again...
http://msn.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/hs-wrestler-loses-state-title-match-embraces-opponent-s-sick-father-031014

Sgt. Jacob Rich

If you are a regular Petefish Post reader you will remember this post about helping out a Marine. Sadly, Jacob's remission was short and now he's been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. You can read a little more about his story below and make a donation to his family at: http://sgtjacobrich.wix.com/rich

From the Facebook page started in his honor, "Sergeant Rich was diagnosed with cancer on his lower spinal cord late 2012, had it removed, and underwent various treatments shortly thereafter. He has endured neurological damage to his left leg and has used a wheelchair or crutches since that time. Sergeant Rich took up hand-cycling and started competing with Wounded Warrior around the country. His goal was to attend the para-Olympic tryouts. Just this month, doctors discovered the cancer appearing in his brain and gave him 6-12 months to live. We have taken up an initiative to raise money in order to start a trust fund for his three children."

Even if you don't give, please keep Jacob in your prayers.

Hoops and haps...

We had a busy week! Tuesday night we went to the Pacers vs. Lakers game. The Pacers won and we had a great time. We had dinner at my favorite Turkish joint before the game and just enjoyed the date night.

Collared shirts under a "vintage" jersey...too cool 

Wednesday wasn't the greatest as Jackson got into a fender bender with an uninsured motorist downtown. Bummer :( The damage isn't too terrible and he wasn't hurt so all is well. The damage came in at around $2,000 and the repairs will be done soon. We're hoping he gets to get a long-term rental from work so that he doesn't have to put so many miles and...dings...on his car.

The passenger door no longer opens...

 Thursday evening I had an exercise class with Amber and we were able to squeeze in a quick walk before we froze. Friday's weather was even better and MacKenzie got to play ball outside for the first time in ages!

I had such a long week that I decided on Thursday to take Friday off. Jackson kindly booked me an appointment at the Spa at the Conrad (my favorite place) so we slept in, grabbed a lunch downtown and then he went to his office and I went to the spa.  I had a lovely afternoon there and then met up with Jackson to do a little shopping before heading North for a basketball game in Marion.

Giants warming up...

We enjoyed the last game of our season ticket package as it was senior night and those are always fun. The Giants won and we're exciting to cheer for the team's star, James Blackmon Jr., when he is a HOOSIER next year. We made a quick stop in Upland to drop off some state fair worthy chocolate chip cookies to my folks before coming back home for the night. It was a great day and I enjoyed not being in my office or talking to anyone about taxes. :) 

The weather was so lovely today that we took MacKenzie for a LONG walk outside. It was great. We spent the majority of the evening at my second office. I had a ton of tax returns to prep and Jackson helped me out by organizing documents and taking care of the dogs. MacKenzie got to come over to play with Bill's (my 2nd boss) dog, Toby, as Bill was at a wedding in Kentucky today. Jackson also ran to the grocery store because he's a brave soul. We're as ready for this snowstorm as we'll ever be. I'm so over this winter...