Pics from our fun weekend in Fayetteville...read all about it below!

Our weekend getaway

After weeks, yes weeks, of being sick with one illness or another our family had a great weekend. We spent quality time together and enjoyed a day of exploration, all without coughing, sneezing, or whining! So much so that it deserves an entry in this otherwise neglected blog of ours!

We knew we had to take advantage of the weekend after waking up to smiling children and happy voices. Where to go? What to do? Something different sounded good, somewhere we hadn't been before. Our destination? Fayetteville, NC - not too far, not too close and we had never visited that town in all of our 5 1/2 years here. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of living or visiting NC, Fayetteville has had what we like to call a 'bad rep'. It is a military town for Fort Bragg Army Base and Pope Air Force Base. Its been given the stereotype of 'run down', 'burnt out' and has even been affectionately christened 'FayetteNam'. Lovely, right? Wrong! I'm sure there are areas of the city that deserve the reputation that they've been given. But, don't you find those in every city? What we found was charming, quaint, and fun! The downtown area came with bricked streets, great architecture, and too many shops to visit in one afternoon - or at least one afternoon with three kids!

Two of our favorite finds in the downtown area were the Airborne and Special Operations Museum and ....the TRAIN STATION! As luck would have it, as we visited this lovely old station, an Amtrak arrival was imminent. I can't tell you how excited Jacob and Chloe were. They both enjoy all things train more than most kids enjoy candy. Even Jonah could be heard giving a 'choo choo'! But when the train came into the station, the kids were a bit intimidated by the loud noise so they greeted this great diesel from behind closed station doors. Thank goodness for large windows!
The museum was a great adventure as well. More so this time for the grown ups though. This building housed all things Army - from WW1 through present day operations. As we were walking up to the entrance, we found the stone plaque that was dedicated to the unit that my dad served with in Vietnam. I can't say that Dad and I have talked much about his military service - besides knowing he had a pet monkey that loved to fly and didnt behave herself - but touring that museum with him in mind was an honor.
Our last stop was the mall - what would a visit to a new town be without it. Compared to what we have here in Goldsboro it was exciting and huge! Stores, stores, and more stores than we've seen in months called our names. I'm proud to report that we resisted the temptation and left with only a couple gourment cookies. The kids topped off their day with a ride on the carousel. Wheee!

It was a great weekend, as are most of our weekends. This one just happened to include an adventure to a place unknown, a locomotive, a trip back into history and a ride on a musical horse. If only every day could be this exciting!

Random Thoughts

Yes, its been almost a month AGAIN since I was here. I thought we were going to try to make sure that I kept up with this blogging thing better? I need your help..keep reminding me..haha!

Jonah's birthday has come and gone. My baby is a toddler now, and approaching the 13month mark in only days already! His birthday party was such a great time - thanks to all of our wonderful friends for celebrating with us! Amy's cake was amazing, so much so in fact that we almost didnt want to cut it for fear of ruining her creation.

Then it was time to play dress up - Halloween! I think the most difficult part of the whole experience was chosing the costumes - who knew that kids could be so indecisive!? In the end a muscular Spiderman, a Fairy Princess, and ferocious little Monkey graced us with their presence for a Fall Festival at church and on the streets of SJAFB.

Now its November and it finally feels like fall! Bring on the jackets, jeans and hats! And if we complained, which we dont, we might even say its COLD right now!! After so many months of humidity and heat the cold air is more than welcome to stay for awhile.

School is good for the kids. Jacob has finished his first grading period of Kindergarten and has passed with flying colors! Report cards arent used in his class, so instead he got an award for doing great work and for having perfect attendance so far this year. Way to go Jacob! Chloe is loving preschool. She is learning to write her name and loves to wear her backpack:) Jonah is walking!! About a week before his birthday, he took a few very tentative steps. Now he is moving all over the house on only two limbs - yeah Jonah! I have yet to take a pic of this new milestone, but I will soon.

Speaking of milestones, you will love this one! I went to the dentist! Ordinarily its a task that isnt worth mentioning, but for me (and those of you who know me well understand) its a huge ordeal! To say that I am terrified of anything dental is putting it mildly. I have made excuses one after the other to avoid making this step. But for whatever the reason, last week God gave me enough strength to make the call. Yes, I realize that this seems funny - but its NOT! I WAS SCARED!! Of course, being that I have been putting things off for so long, I do have a few things that need fixed, but over all it wasnt as terrible as I expected. Just keep praying that I continue being brave and not run away screaming from my next appointment - did I mention that said next appointment will be for a wisdom tooth extraction!?!?!?!

So there you have it - a short update. Any questions? Love to you all!

Happy 1st Birthday Jonah

I cant believe its here - Jonah's first birthday. Where has the time gone? I can remember exactly how this day unfolded one year ago - I dropped Jacob off at preschool and came home to enjoy the day with Chloe. Nothing was unusual. I felt a bit off, but being that I had been sick the entire nine months, it wasnt worrisome that I felt out of sorts. About 930am, I called the dr because there had been some activity that wasnt normal - even for me:). Of course, we were told to come to the hospital for a checkup. Again, routine and expected. Paul and I arrived at the Labor/Delivery floor fully expecting to be observed for awhile and sent home. Never did we think that day was going to be a birthday for our little baby boy. I was not quite 37weeks pregnant, and having two c-sections previously, they were a bit more cautious. 'Just in case' I needed to be delivered, preparations were made. We were still thinking that this was only going to be an 'err on the side of caution' idea. This was about 130pm. By 430, I was having contractions (something that I had never experienced before!) and by 658pm on 19 October 2006 Jonah Luke Jankowski was born.
I remember looking at my swaddled little boy, eyes barely opened, thinking how amazingly blessed our family had just become. From the moment he came into the world, he has been nothing but a source of pure joy to our family as well as our friends. His goofy faces, the way he loves to cuddle, sucking his thumb, and the crazy growls and squeals all make Jonah the beautiful little boy he is today. Seeing his smiling face looking up at me each morning make our days that much brighter. Jacob and Chloe love having someone to laugh with and play with. Jonah makes our family full and complete.
Happy birthday my beautiful baby boy - we love you and thank God for the blessing he has given our family - you.

A Few Pictures

An Update

So I think its safe to say that I wont win any awards for keeping this blog current. I am trying, I promise! But unfortunately the computer hasnt been a huge part of our life lately. Moving happened, shift change happened, and school happened. And I cant keep up:)

Lets start with moving. We are officially moved in - only a couple boxes left to unpack and pictures decorate the walls. And YES - there are pictures! Just a few, but at least it will satisfy curiosities for a while.

I think they are pretty self explanatory but just in case... The first two are our kitchen. Yep, I know its big and I do appreciate that! But I am having a hard time getting past the older aspects and colors! Shallow I realize, but this is me:) Oh, thats Lillie (she just wanted to say 'hi'). The living room is dark - sorry, I will try to take another pic later. Its not too bad, again just carpet color. Its a bit smaller than we had before but it works. Next is our bathroom - can you tell how huge it is? LOL....not at all! But I guess as long as it has a toilet and shower we cant complain. And the kids toyroom - best invention ever! They love having a room to themselves, and I love that their bedroom isnt chaotic all the time. I will try to take more pics of the rest of the house -inside and out soon.

On to school. Jacob LOVES Kindergarten! Its been such a blessing to see how enthusiastic he is about learning (and playing with his friends). His favorite time of the day? The bus ride home from school! He cracks us up. Here he is on the first day.

Chloe has started preschool too. She is only going twice a week for a few hours, but its still exciting to see her growing up. And Jonah is 11 months old!!! I know we say it all the time, but I cant believe how fast the time has gone - my baby boy will be ONE YEAR OLD in only weeks!!! A silly Jonah face.....

The month of September has already been a busy one for our house. Routines seem to be coming together and daily life is settling back down into our 'normal'. Hopefully this means that I will have a bit more time to keep up with the little tasks - such as this blog! For now, its time to wake up the little one, pick up the middle one, and wait for the oldest one:)

Moving along...

We're moving! Not to a new town, but to a new house. The section of housing we currently live in is being renovated in a few months, and we would be moved. So, after many weeks of questions and prayers - do we let the miltary move us into another house on base? do we buy a house? can we afford all that goes with buying a house? what are our other options? - we were given an answer. Our friend, Venessa, has relatives here that we have gotten to know during our almost five years in NC. They have become an extended family of sorts. A family that owns/rents houses. Do you see where this is going? We are blessed to have been offered a very nice FOUR bedroom home at an extremely generous price. The house is much larger than what we have now, and has a beautiful fenced backyard - a great bonus for our family! I have to be honest and say that the asthetics of the house gave me a few reservations at first. But I know that this is an answer to our prayers (an amazing answer!) and we are excited to make this house our home.

With the new address comes a new school district for Jacob. Talk about paperwork! He will actually be starting Kindergarten just days after we are moved. What a transition time for him. Pray for his 5yr old anxieties to be calmed. He and Chloe are excited to have a 'new house for us'. I dont think they quite understand all the work that will come with it, but its great to see the anticipation in their smiles. I will try to take pictures of our handywork - remind me!