Thankful 2011

This post may be a little boring to some, but today I read a quote and it really made me think about what I'm grateful for. 

"If you can't be thankful for where you are, be thankful for where you are not."

So I decided to come up with a list of all the things I'm thankful for to keep as a reminder on tough days. These are in no specific order

My family, My friends, My religion, Times I got to spend with my Grandpa Stewart, Road trips, Music, Love,

Broken Hearts, Lessons Learned, Trials, Naps, Vacations, Palm Trees, White Sand, Food, Shelter, Dreams, Education, Sunshine, Lightning, Thunder, Freedom, Military, Laughter, Dance, Babies, The Book of Mormon, Institute, Long talks at night, Pillow fights, Oceans, Flowers, Rain, Free agency, Kissing, Modern technology, The ability some people have to make me laugh in the worst of times, and My best friend in the world Michelle.
There are a lot more, and I could make a huge list of people that I am so thankful for, but I don't have the next year to write. :)

For Thanksgiving this year we went to my Aunt Cheryl's house for lunch. It was fun because that is the tradition we had every year when I was younger. This year though, it wasn't the whole family, it was Aunt Cheryl's family, Our family, and Uncle Craig's family. It was so fun! I haven't gotten to see Josh, Michelle and the girls in quite a while, so I really enjoyed having them around.
Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving:

^After Getting Ready For Thanksgiving^

My Girls!!! ^Bailey, Me, Greenlei, Marlee, Callie^

^My Best Friend-Chelle^

^Greenlei And I^

^Marlee and I^

^Callie and I^

^Bailey and I-We Can't Be Serious^

^110% Typical- Bailey Waiting For Callie To Finish Playing With The iPhone So She Can^

^Greenlei-She Had Her Mouth Like That All Day^

^So this picture is of me with one of my cousin's friend's glasses on. They totally remind me of Justin Bieber glasses, and I really want a pair. I'm pretty sure that at my next eye doctor appointment I'm going to order a pair of glasses like this.^

Anyways, not a bunch of pics, but I did have fun. We went shopping Thanksgiving night at midnight and got home about 4:30 am Friday morning. I'm headed to see Josh, Michelle, and the girls again tomorrow, so I'll probably have more pictures to put up! I love those guys! I miss them like crazy.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!

Birthdays 2011

Hey everyone. So November is a busy month for our family. Lots of birthdays, and we started off the month with Michael's birthday on the 3rd. He turned 18, and it was lots of fun. We ordered food from a place called "Scratch". It's a Jamaican inspired tiny restaurant where they make everything from scratch. It is so good, and we love to eat there. I decorated the kitchen with some balloons and a Happy Birthday banner, and made Michael a cake. I'm terrible at making cakes, so I just baked a cake, frosted it, put some cars on it, wrote a message and called it good. He loves the Fast and Furious movies so I wanted to do something that included that theme. My little brother is seriously one of the most amazing people I know. He is so kind and warm hearted. He is always there when I need him, and he does a lot for me. I know he gets sick of me sometimes, but I seriously can't imagine life without him. He's so much fun, and makes me laugh all the time. I love you Michael. Happy 18th birthday. 

The week after Michael's birthday is my birthday (a week exactly) and I turned 24 this year. I had a great day. I woke up and got ready, then went out with my mom and met my Uncle Max and Aunt Lil at my Grandma and Grandpa Jackson's house. As soon as we got there, we all went out to lunch together for my brithday. I absolutely loved it. It was so fun to get to spend time with them and enjoy a fun lunch. After lunch, my dad met us at my Grandma and Grandpa's house and we had pie and ice cream. It was so nice. Thank you to Uncle Max, Aunt Lil, Grandma and Grandpa for that. It was very special to be able to spend part of my birthday with them. 

Aunt Lil, Me, Uncle Max (PS I look like crap and this pic is blurry but oh well- I love these guys)

Grandpa Jackson, Me, Grandma Jackson

All day I was laughing telling my grandma that her shirt reminded me of the fruit striped gum that had the zebra on it and came with lick and stick tattoos. We laughed a lot.

After we left my grandma and grandpa's house, we came home and hurried and opened presents so I could go to Institute. We decided that it would be easier to celebrate my birthday tonight, instead of last night when it actually was. So for my birthday I got some great presents:

As soon as I got home from visiting my grandparents and aunt and uncle, I walked in the house and saw a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, from my super sweet cousin TJ. He dropped the flowers off, and took me to dinner after Institute. He's such a great guy. Love him to death.

From my parents/Michael I got the following:

(All my gifts together)

A Gospel Doctrine Study Guide

A scripture bag with scripture markers (my camera was really crappy this day- and if I try to fix the red eye it makes weird grey marks all over my face, so I'm just having to deal with the red eye situation)

Awesome pearl bracelet which was also part of my cake. 

Thanks to my family :) You guys are awesome. 

And from my Grandma Jackson I got:

The cutest picture board which also has hooks on the bottom so I can hang things from it. I love it!

My really good friends Candyce, Chris, and their kids, Reece and Paisley gave me:

This little Ugg boot that is also a chapstick to go on your key chain (LOVE it)

This lotion- which is my fav. It's amazing. If you have a store that sells it close to you, I HIGHLY recommend you go buy it. They also got me body wash and lotion of another Thymes scent that I love!! They are so awesome.

And my Grandma Stewart, who is so awesome totally bought me a jacket with a fur hood. Love it!

So we decided to do my birthday dinner and cake tonight instead of yesterday night. My mom made my birthday cake and I just have to say that she is incredible. So awesome. The best birthday cake I have ever had in my life, and also the first time she'd ever done a cake with fondant. In my opinion, she rocked it! :) The chocolate from the letters on the cake got a little smeared, so sorry for that, but the cake was INCREDIBLE. Thank you so much mom for the time and effort that you put in to it. You deserve a medal or something!!!

Not only is my mom absolutely amazing, but my dad wrote on facebook something that made me cry and made me realize once again just how incredibly lucky I am to have the family that I have. I would not trade them for the world.

My dad wrote:

Today is my first born and only daughter's birthday. I want everyone to know how proud of a father I am. Jade will always be my baby girl. She is so beautiful and under that stubborn exterior sometimes (definitely from my side) there is a huge, loving, caring person. I'm proud of her and want her to know how very special and important to me she is. I love you Jaderbugs. Happy Birthday!!!

Totally made me cry. Love you daddy! :)

Once again, thank you to everyone who made this day so special. From all of the wonderful birthday wishes, to the gifts, spending time with the family, my cake, and kind words that were shared. It was a great birthday. I love you all, and said a special prayer of gratitude for all that I have been blessed with. Xoxo