Here fishy fishy

We are having the BEST time at campmeeting! We came last Tuesday but campmeeting officially began Sunday. Our tshirt this year says, "it's hard to explain... But we love to tell the story. I can't explain how sacred this place is to me. The website is horrible but there is a little info on it. Www.loudsvillecampmeeting.com

I'm typing this quickly from my phone at 1:30am so don't expect too much. We are all exhausted because rules have to go out the window here. Ava was out hunting frogs at 10pm last night and tonight, everyone was out at the tents visiting. The children's program starts tomorrow.

Today, we went to Helen to feed the fish and get fudge. There are a few must haves during campmeeting... Fred's famous peanuts, a Smitty's hot dog, and fudge from Hansel & Gretel's candy store. We have taken care of two of the three. I have a cute video that I hope to attach tomorrow. Now, off to get a few hours of sleep so we can have too much fun all over again tomorrow.

Untitled from Lena Jackson on Vimeo.

AVAbration!

We had Ava's 4th birthday party Tuesday morning, the day before her actual birthday. She wanted a Princess tea party and that is exactly what she got. It was so much fun to plan. I went a little crazy with it. Kevin said that it must have been the tea party I never had as a child. What really happened is that I have been picking up things here and there for a while so I didn't know how much I had until I started pulling everything out. It turned out great. We had 9 Princesses all dressed up, one Prince and one Knight. When the girls arrived, they received a ring and a princess tattoo. Why do kids like those so much?? The boys weren't left out. They got Batman or Spiderman tattoo's. We made tiara's, crowns for the boys, necklaces and shields. Thank you Oriental Trading! Then they were served bite size food and got to have pink lemonade in their tea cups. Ava had the best time. When she started opening gifts, she got shy. She does this only once a year when she opens gifts. All other times, she doesn't have a shy bone in her body. I don't think she likes all of the eyes on her. If that is the case, then she gets it honestly from her Mommy. After the cake, they were able to make their Magic Mix. Thank you Merritt for the idea (it came from one of your play date posts)! That was a big hit and it definitely won't be the last time I do that. It was the perfect party favor!

Ava really enjoyed her party. She was so happy all day and I know she felt special. It definitely wore her out. She and Nora both took a 4 hour nap!

Enjoy the pictures! I wish I had taken more time with the pictures. Some are out of focus. :(

Bye Bye Three

It's not supposed to be this emotional for my "baby girl" to turn four tomorrow...but it is. Why does it feel like I can click my heels together and she is going to be wearing makeup, shopping for bra's (gasp), driving, dating, dances, etc... She's my baby. She is still my 8 lb 11 oz bundle of unconditional love with big black eyes and a sparkle that is contagious. Thankfully, the only thing that has changed is that she is definitely not 8 lbs anymore! It is already hard for me to hold my tall girl now. It melts my heart when she sees the emotion in my eyes and says, "Don't worry Mommy, I'll always be your baby and your best friend." A few nights ago, around 4am, I felt my sweet girl crawl in my bed. She leaned over me, gave me a kiss and said (I'm not exaggerating), "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my Mommy you'll be." Thank you Mom for giving me that book years ago so that I can share it with my daughter and in turn, be blessed at 4am. Amazing.

Three years and 364 days ago, my dreams were realized and God blessed us with a ray of sunshine in our lives. Each day is filled with hilarious comments, mispronunciations and the absolute best hugs we could ever ask for.

Here are a few pictures of Ava at her birthday parties over the years.

Thank you God for such an incredible gift and blessing me with the ability & willingness to sacrifice so that I can be with Ava each day. Help them to enjoy each day and to not grow up too fast. Please let my sweet Ava never doubt how much I love her. Amen.