run, jackson, run!

`

last wednesday was jackson's big jog-a-thon!

the whole family came out to watch him run.

the girls even made special signs to cheer him on.

notice that someone started out pretty grumpy...

but quickly turned it around once the music started :)

the kindergarteners all lined up, waiting for the whistle to blow.

and they're off!

there's our boy!

 he was full of energy!

(please excuse the next few pics.  i switched lenses and accidentally flipped a switch, so they are all blurry. big boo!)

the girls didn't want to be left out.

so they quickly jumped in and started running, too.

 

jackson & bella ran 2 laps holding hands.

my mommy-heart just melted.

here are 2 videos of jackson getting his jog on.

 

jackson ended up running TEN laps!

a whole mile!

go jackson!

jackson earned over $100 for his school.

thanks to everyone who sponsored him!

after a good run,

the kindergarteners were rewarded with popsicles.

bella quickly took control of his popsicle...

 and even gave him a few licks! ;)

a pic of jackson with mommy & daddy

(thanks bella for taking it with daddy's phone!)

jackson requested we go to his favorite place for lunch afterwards.

how could we tell this face no?

jackson, we are so proud of you.

you are not only smart and kind,

but also a great little runner!

way to go, buddy!

hint, hint...

i'm sure you've been counting the days.

but just in case... my birthday is in 20 days.

i've always loved my birthday.

and then jackson was born.

4 days before my 27th birthday.

the birthday excitement is now more focused on him.

as it should be.

i mean, i am a grown woman, right?

but i do still get a little excited when march comes around.

i can't help it.

and i wish i could say that gifts are no big deal,

but.... i like them.

at least i'm honest, right?

i shared jackson's birthday list here.

so i thought maybe it would be fun to put together a little wish list of my own....

for the 2 people who are buying me gifts ;)

shara's 33rd birthday wish list

1.  i want this camera.

isn't she beautiful with her full-frame and amazing picture quality?

sigh.

okay.  i know it's ridiculous.  like wishing for a pony when you are a kid.  

there is no way i'm getting it since my gift-givers are more in the $20 range.  

but much like the little girl asking for the pony, i'm putting it on there.  

cause i do wish for it.  it would be great for this!  

and really, i could have put this one on there (which doesn't come out until march 30th) 

but that would have just been greedy, right?

and since we're currently living in fantasyland...

2. i want this lens to go with #1

let's call it my unicorn.

and one more daydream....

3.  anything from this store,

but particularly this, this, or this.

or maybe this or this.

okay.  let's return to my previous statement of anything.

that might be easier ;)

well.  let's enter the land of reality, shall we?

4.  i heart this dress.

intensely.

and priced at $24.94, i've actually got a shot at wearing it in this lifetime.

i love all 3 colors, but that yellow striped one was made just for me.

5.  this dress.

i don't love it as much as #4.  

but it's pretty amazing.

i think i love the blue.  but the yellow is lovely as well.

5.  colored jeans.

i've been working my booty off

(literally.  i've lost 10 pounds already!  13 more to go!)

and i think it would look pretty good in something other than blue denim.

(side note: i have not tried these on.  i'm not even sure of what color i want.  but you get the idea)

6.  gift cards to here

i love anthro.  but anthro's prices don't love me.

luckily, forever 21 likes to bite their style.

i love their $5 jewelry and tops that don't make me feel guilty when i'm over them the next season.

and i love to go shopping, so a little trip to this store would make for a fun afternoon.

especially if the gift includes babysitting ;)

7.  cute bathing suits.  and cover ups 

(cause i don't love just being in a bathing suit).

and i plan on spending a LOT of time at the beach and pool this summer.

8.  these shoes.

hello summer!

or these boots

(cause my boots are sad.  

and i'll need them again in just a few months!)

9.  fun jewelry!

i love earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.

they just make life happier

10.  anything that involves a date with my hubby.

double bonus if it includes friends!

like a movie.  or a yummy dinner.

or even better... a night away!

well, i'm feeling a bit gluttonous now.

sorry for the overload of the want monster!

but at least now you know what to save for, right?  ;)

only 19 more shopping days, people!

(i am in NO way asking for gifts, by the way.  this was just my fun way of making a little list.  

your friendship is the best gift of all!)

hello, march!

ah yes.  march.

i like march.

i mean, it is my birthday month.

so i've got that going for me.

(33 this year!)

march makes me think of spring,

(even though it has a tendency to be rainy)

warm weather,

(although 70 in february was pretty rockin'!)

and leaving the dreary days of winter behind.

oh march.  i like you.

someone else in my house likes march, too.

this little guy.

next week, he's running in his first jog-a-thon at school.

he wanted to tell you all about it!

he's pretty excited to run!

(he was also REALLY excited about his t-shirt he got to bring home today :)

did you know my little guy is going to be SIX on the 23rd of march?

can.not.believe.this.

he was asking me every 5 seconds quite frequently how much longer until his birthday.

i showed him on the calendar, but that didn't stop the asking.

so we did what any mom would do.

we made a paper chain!

bella and jackson had so much fun cutting the paper into strips and then helping me staple them together.

today he got to take off his first chain.

you would have thought i'd handed him a king-size bag of m&ms he was so excited.

he has a lot of opinions about what he wants this year.

after telling me about a billion things he wanted,

i suggested he make a list.

so he sat down and made this list.

all by himself.

sounded out every single word.

did i mention how proud i am of this kid?

1. eeyore  2. scooter  3.  racetrack speedway (i think from CARS 2?)  4. shoes (mommy agrees)  5. agent p (stuffed animal from his favorite show, phineas & ferb) 6. legos  7. geotrax  8. books  9. computer games  10. buzz (um, i don't think he actually wants this)  11 & 12. monorail & tram (little replicas at the park)  

he also just informed me he wants to add more to the list.

unless it says 'shirts & shorts', i don't think so :)

we have a fun disneyland day planned to celebrate his birthday... no big party for age 6!

and jackson isn't much of a party kid.  

but disneyland is ALWAYS awesome, right?

it looks like march is going to be a fun month in bachmanville!

ps... found this little video today- kinda made me want to cry!

he was just 2 1/2, singing 'my god is so big!"

can't believe this sweet boy is almost 6 years old.

time flies

yesterday marked our six month move-i-versary to orange county.

is that possible?

six months!

i remember before we left, 

several wise people told me it would take at least six months,

if not a year,

for our new life to feel like home.

at the time, that overwhelmed me.

six months. a year.

that seemed like such a long time!

but how quickly those six months have gone.

and it is incredible that after six months, this is home.

god has poured out his mercies upon us.

wonderful new friends.

a thriving church.

an awesome life group.

play dates for our children.  

that doesn't mean i do not miss fresno.

miss my family.

miss my friends there.

miss my house.

(i'm just being honest.  i loved that house)

but there is no place i'd rather be than right in the center of god's will.

and time & time again, 

he shows us that this is right for us.

we are where he wants us to be.

it takes time for a new life to become regular life.

and there are still things that just need more time.

but i think we're off to a pretty amazing start.

we thought it would be fun to celebrate with a family day.

it had been SO beautiful here lately-

weather in the 70s!-

that the beach seemed like a perfect idea.

(although it was definitely NOT 70 yesterday... a bit colder & windier than we hoped!  

but that didn't stop these little ones!)

this sassy little girl was excited to rock her new bathing suit and play in the water.

charlotte loved playing in sand with daddy

our little dreamer was happy to explore the shore...

and then chase some birds

daddy dug a big hole- 

perfect to sit in!

bella discovered the fun of collecting shells.

and jackson wrote his name in the sand

(along with his coming-up-soon birthday)

cheesy smiles abounded

bella discovered some ladybugs that had obviously gotten lost

jackson napped in the sun

and daddy (once again) proved to be the best daddy ever

life is good.

and we love our home.

and i had to share this one...

when did my 4-year-old turn 16?

this makes me a little nervous for our future... ;)

100th day

today was jackson's 100th day of school.

each child had to come up with a project of 100 of something to share with the class.

100 buttons sewn on a shirt.

100 goldfish glued onto blue paper.

100 stickers on posterboard.

the 100 things were supposed to represent something about the child.

something they love.

we bachmans never like to do things the normal way.

so we thought and thought about what jackson loves.

pancakes.

he thought it was a great idea.

he counted out 100 mini pancakes.

we cooked them and then set them on the counter to harden up.

after that, he & i glued them onto a plate.

he made a little '100 pancakes' sign that we put on top.

voila!  a project perfect for our little boy.

he has to present his project to the class, so here is a little video of him practicing this morning:

100 days of kindergarten is a big accomplishment.

jackson has worked so hard this year.

and it has not been easy.

kindergarten has been a gigantic adjustment,

both for him & us.

he is learning to write sentences.

he is learning to add numbers.

he is learning how to make friends and be successful in school.

we are learning what it means to be parents of a school-aged child,

particularly one with special needs.

we are learning how to balance the needs of our child 

with trying to maintain healthy relationships with school staff.

we are learning how to advocate for our child when no one else will.

we have all learned a lot these past 100 days of school.

and i have no doubt there are many more lessons ahead for our family.

but the one thing i already know:

jackson is amazing, hard-working, and brilliant.

and we couldn't be prouder of him.

awe-ful

i really love my husband.

there are a lot of days i wake up and can't believe this awesome guy married me.

almost 11 years of marriage, and he just keeps getting better.

with three littles running around,

it can be hard to get good time together,

and even harder to do ministry alongside each other.

a few weekends back,

jeff was invited to hume lake to speak at their junior high winter retreat.

in the almost-six-years since we've been parents, 

i have been unable to just be a wife when he is speaking at a camp.

i always have the kiddos, which means they are in bed while he is speaking

(and i'm sitting in a dark room with a flashlight trying not to wake anyone!)

since it was supposed to be snowing and we'd be in a one bedroom,

we decided it would be best to not bring the kids for the short weekend.

so we dropped them off in fresno

(thanks jr & mom!)

and headed up the hill. 

just us!

i cannot tell you how wonderful this weekend was.

obviously, just being with jeff was wonderful.

real conversation!

hand holding!

no forcing vegetables on anyone during a meal!

of course we were surrounded by junior high students,

which meant eating meals surrounded by boys

playing jeff's favorite camp game, "apple fork"

(you'll have to ask him.  i'm always afraid of losing an eye)

also a fun surprise,

one of our high school students from davis was there!

she is all grown up, graduated from college, 

and working with junior high students in slo.

it was so sweet to get to catch up with emily.

we are so incredibly proud of her!

(hello bad lighting! but emily is still the cutest!)

but the most wonderful part of the weekend 

was the opportunity to really do some business with the lord.

'quiet' times for me are rarely quiet with kids everywhere.

 i rarely get a good chunk of time to just really focus on what it is he has for me.

i am grateful to be at a church that is really challenging me 

and pushing me in my faith.

i have been learning a lot about myself recently,

and i think god is really working on me.

not always easy, but good.

the theme of the weekend was

'living an awe-ful life'...

a life in awe of the lord.

the verse they studied was romans 12:1

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

over the course of four sermons,

jeff focused on being in awe of god, the need for obedience, god's mercy for us, and living a life of worship.

it always amazes me that god uses my husband to challenge my socks off.

during every session,

i was convicted, encouraged, and motivated in my faith.

(you can listen to all jeff's talks here.  and you should.  they are that good.)

go down to week 5 and then download all the 'jeff bachman' amazingness.

god really did a work on my heart at hume.

january had been rough, and my attitude was bad.

i needed that refreshing reminder of who GOD is, and in that- who i am.

am i living my life as a sacrifice to god?

do i consider how to worship god in my everyday life?

am i acting out of obedience to god- sacrificing my desires to him?

do i remember the mercy he showed me on the cross?

too often,

the answer to those questions are 'no'.  

i am thinking about ME far more than i am thinking about god.

i loved when jeff said,

'having a right view of who god is allows us to have a correct view of the rest of our lives.'

i hate that so often i allow my circumstances to shape my view of god,

rather than the other way around.

the worship over the weekend was incredible,

and so many of the songs spoke directly to my heart.

one song in particular stayed with me throughout the weekend and beyond,

echoing what god had been speaking to my heart.

how i want it to be the lyrics of my life.

i'll stand with arms high & heart abandoned,

in awe of the one who gave it all.

i'll stand, my soul, lord, to you surrendered.

all i have is yours.

being a wife, a mom, a friend, a daughter, a customer, a driver, a co-worker...

every bit of my life is called to be a gift back to my creator.

we are called to life an awe-ful life.

a life of sacrifice.

a life of service.

a life of worship.

i am so grateful for the weekend with my husband at hume lake.

so thankful to be reminded of what is truly important.

and so ready to live an awe-ful life.

hume lake photos when there is no one around to take a picture of you together ;)