Our Unk looked high and low for these special chef hats for our Christmas baking. I think Unk's intentions were for us to make a gingerbread house - sorry Unk! We did good to get some cookies baked for Santa - store bought cookies at that. Oh well - we had good intentions. Thanks Unk for going through so much trouble to make our baking experience extra special. We had lots of fun! Thanks Again - Unk! We love you - The Tatum Chefs

Jackson's Christmas Party @ Granger

Here's me and Jackson at his class Christmas party. We had so much fun! It was really fun to watch him enjoy himself and interact with all of his little friends. He was sad when it was time for me to go to Jase's party. He doesn't want to understand the concept of "splitting time".

Jack Jack and one of his many little friends. So sweet!

Jackson with (as he says) "The bestest teacher in the whole world". He so loves her and she loves him right back!

Jackson was so excited to be having his very first school party!

Jase's Christmas Party @ Granger

Jase ans Mrs. Sheffield. He thinks that she is way cool! She thinks that Jase is way cool too! I am so glad that he is in her class this year.

Kiddos decorating Christmas cookies! They think the more icing - the better! Yummm!

Jase and his friend are in line waiting to make a Christmas craft. Woo!Hoo!

This is Jase and a couple of his friends. They are sitting on the classroom floor eating pizza! YUM-O!

Is Santa Real?

Well - I had to have the talk with Jase this week! He said that in Sunday School last week the kiddos at his table had a discussion about Santa. Jase said "I gave them proof that Santa was real, but Mom, they gave me more proof that he wasn't!". He proceeded to ask "Mom, Tell me the truth! YES or NO - is Santa real?". Hmmm.... What is a mom to say to this million dollar question? Where is Jason when I need him? Ha! Just so happened Jason had to run in to the office for a few hours. How do all the hard questions always come up when he is not home? Well - I knew that it was time for me to let him on Mommy and Daddy's secret about Santa. When I told him that Santa was not real - he was crushed. As we began to talk further and he realized that Santa was actually Mom and Dad, his little heart was filled with such gratitude! He was so amazed that his Daddy and I would "jump through all of the hoops" to make Christmas morning so special for him. He got a real kick out of knowing that his Daddy ate Santa's cookies. He and I also looked at all of the letters that he had written Santa all through the years. At the end of our conversation he said " Mrs. Claus, when do you do all of this shopping?". My response was "I'll never tell. That's part of the Christmas magic.". A real dreaded conversation turned into a wonderful experience for me and for Jase. He is such a humble child. Jason and I are blessed to call him ours.

Jackson's Scare

Well here we are after a real scary weekend with Jackson. For those of you who don't know - Jackson came home from school on Friday and had to go straight to the potty. All of a sudden, I hear "Mom, Mom, it's spraying red!". I ran to the bathroom as quickly as my legs would carry me. Very frightened, I see blood. I was terrified and Jackson thought it was really cool! I immediately raced to the pediatrician's office with all three kiddos in tow. Dr. Phillip took two urine test and both showed high levels of blood in his urine. The test for a urinary tract infection was negative - so we had to look at other possibilities. She checked his blood pressure and that was good - she was concerned about possible kidney failure. After spending a couple of hours in the doctor's office, Dr. Phillip thought it was safe for us to go home for the night. As my pediatrician, I had to trust her. All the while, I was praying for God to give her wisdom on what we should do next. She had scheduled Jackson for an ultrasound for today (Monday), and she sent us to have labs drawn on Saturday morning. After returning home from the lab on Saturday, the amount of blood was quickly increasing. Meanwhile, Jackson is not having any pain or discomfort. I called Dr. Phillip looking for more answers. She sent us directly to Cook Children's ER. Jason was at work and nowhere to be found. I dropped Jase at Christy's. Gracie, Jackson and I headed to the hospital. When we got to the hospital, they immediately took us back and began running some test. The ER Dr. was very nice, but he told me we could be looking at a blockage, a kidney stone, or a tumor on his little kidney. Wow! My mind was going 90 miles an hour - all the while trying to keep by composure for Jackson. Jason made it to the hospital as soon as he got the word from the plant security guard. I had so many people praying for us - I could honestly feel their prayers. God had given us the peace that passes all understanding. Several test and several hours later - we finally got some good news. His kidneys were normal! Thank you Lord! The lining of his bladder was very thick and that indicated that he had a viral infection in the lining of his bladder. The ER Dr. said that he was going to be okay. The infection could take 4 to 6 weeks to completely heal. So blood is something that we might see for a while. Jackson will see Dr. Phillip on Wednesday to have another urine test. If there are still visible amounts of blood in a few weeks - we will see an Urologist. Jackson is doing fine. Thanks for all of your prayers! Jason and I could really feel them on Saturday! Please continue to keep Jackson in your prayers. Thanks Again!

Fabulous Christmas - Harvest Church

Last night was The Children's Christmas program at church. The children from Kid-U put on the program. It was really cute with an awesome message. Both of the boys were in the program. Jase and Jackson participate in a drum line. It's a really cool way for the kiddos to beat on tables and worship the Lord at the same time. It's really something to see! The boys love it! After the program, there was a cookie reception. It was lots of fun too! I didn't get very good pictures of the program, but I guess they're better than none at all! Enjoy! Hope you have a Fabulous Christmas!

Jackson's Birthday Cake

Jackson is waiting for Daddy to bring the birthday cake. Can you tell he is SO excited? He could hardly wait! What a precious little boy!

Mommy, Daddy , Jase and Gracie are singing Happy Birthday to Jackson! He has come a long way. Do you remember Jackson's 3rd Birthday? He cried as we sang Happy Birthday. I guess he thought, "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!". Ha! Ha!

Jackson made his wish - actually he said that he had several wishes, and now he's blowing out the candles. It turned out to be a great day! Our little family had so much fun celebrating Jack Jack's birthday!

Happy Birthday to Jackson!

Jackson wanted to go to Build-A-Bear this year for his birthday. Of course Gracie was all for it - Jase was not quite sure. He is getting to the age that "coolness" is an unspoken issue. He thought that he might be too old to participate. You will see in the pictures that he got over that very quickly. Once he saw what fun Jackson and Gracie were having, he decided to join in on the fun! Jackson chose a Siberian Husky for his animal. He and Daddy named him Spike. Gracie decided on a pink leopard that she named Raisen - all on her own. Jase just picked out some new clothes and shoes for Rocky, a Build-A-Bear that he got on his sixth birthday. The kiddos had so much fun stuffing, bathing, brushing and dressing their animals. It was a really fun afternoon for our family.