The Jackson Family & Friends Blog

Testing from Naples

2007-11-01T18:59:00.000-04:00

Just a test post to see how everyone is. I posted some pictures from yesterday at http://rachelalexandra.blogspot.com/

Blessings!
Dave, Adriana & Rachel

A Visit to Grandma's

2005-12-12T22:20:00.000-05:00

Before Christmas is here, I figured I'd better get the pictures taken over Thanksgiving up on the blog. So... here we go.

We decided some time ago to drive to Crossville, TN from Naples, FL. It was 812 miles, or so, took a long time, but was a super trip. We took our time and had fun.

First, Adriana had to wrestle getting the camera away from Rachel, taking pictures of her foot, the dashboard, the floor... we deleted most. And finally we got into a part of the country where we knew we weren't in Florida anymore. Mainly, we were climbing hills.

Here, we were already close to Tennessee. Since we miss the changing of the leaves down in Naples, this was a real treat. Still some leaves on the trees - and what colors!

Mom said to take... well, I think it was I-24. Even though Crossville is near Knoxville, it's easier to get to by way of Chattanooga. We didn't even take a map. Jim and Beth had been back and forth a few times, plus Mom and Dan knew the way. A couple of cell phone calls when we had to get off the major highways, and we were set.

Surprisingly, we simply take I-75 to I-24 and then a state road in Tennessee. So, we're always on the big roads, except when we get closer to Crossville, Mom & Dan's home. We stayed the night in Chattanooga. We left Naples around noon and it was getting late.

About this time we were asking each other what to call Dan. I said, let's just ask him what he wants to be called. We didn't want to be disrespectful. He's a great guy and this was a great opportunity to get closer to him.

We don't see countyside like this in Naples. This is beautiful. Rolling hills and green fields.

We stopped at a couple of turns in the road on the way to Grandma's house to take pictures. At one point we stayed about 5 minutes, which is forever when you are about 7 minutes away from Grandma's and the subject of the photo did not want to be bothered.

A white horse, content as can be, kept his head down and was grazing away until I finally yelled and got his attention. Adriana snapped a quick shot and we moved on.

One more beautiful farm and we were almost to Mom's (Grandma to Rachel) door. There is something about the rolling hills, the blue reflected in the water, and the home set off the road, far back on the property. (I'm also creating lots of text here to frame around the photo before we get to the picture Adri took of my Mom coming out of her home - as we drove up for the first time.)

And finally, we arrive. As we drove through the Lake Tansi area, I expected I'd need a little help because the roads are many and they are all rolling and turning. But, beautiful. This is late November, so the leaves are for the most part, on the ground. Still, the area where Dan and Mom live is well wooded and hidden away until - there's the house - and Mom running out to meet us.

You guys do know you can click on any of the pictures and see the full size, download it, print it, etc.

Soon, Jim and Beth arrived - they live about an hour and a half away. The boys and Rachel had so much energy, they got out on the front lawn and ran and ran. I bought a little foam football at the Dollar Store which became the toy of the day. Here are the trio for a quick pose.

The kids got along great and worked up quite an appetite for the Thanksgiving meal. We were all inside trying to stay out of the way of the major cooks - but I still bumped into everyone as I made my way back into the kitchen to make another tea for the fifth or sixth time. Mom and Dan need a water filter. That stuff can't be healthy for you. Maybe it's just my tastebuds.

Look at this table. Of course we couldn't keep our hands off anything; or was that just me? So good and full of aroma. Before all this took place - that is - setting the table, I forgot to mention that Beth had us do some crafts. We made pilgrim men and women and a few Indians. Well, one Indian. I can understand now how I didn't see any Indians on the way to Tennessee.

More tomorrow! Got to get some rest. Lots of photos...

Michael's Big Days - Phase 2

2005-11-18T00:12:00.000-05:00

Finally, there are oral answers to the judges questions about the students' knowledge of TaeKwonDo tenets and precepts, we are done. Did Michael pass? We won't know until the following week.

The big day has arrived and Michael is awarded his new yellow belt. Hurray! Erik is so impressed with the testing and the awards ceremony that he asks to start TaeKwonDo training. He starts tomorrow.

And Michael is happy that testing is over!

Michael's Big Days

2005-11-17T23:11:00.000-05:00

Michael chose to participate in TaeKwonDo as his PE choice for this school year. He has been attending classes as a white belt since early September. Saturday was his first testing day; if he passed his tests, he would promote to yellow belt.

TaeKwonDo is the Korean version of the martial arts, with the emphasis on the artistry of the art and principle of defense, rather than offense. It teaches honor, courtesy, self-control, integrity, perserverance, courage, and community. Many of the students at his school are home-schooled and are Christians. The Master Instructor graduated from home schooling and is an excellent role-model.

Michael was nervous as we approached the testing site. He was very quiet during the long ride to far south Austin. (Note the smile!) As his school was called, he moved slowly to the part of the room where he was to await his turn. Naturally shy (huh), he held back until all the students were assembled.

Finally, it was his group's turn. They went through the listening positions (well-done). Then the students performed the Chon-Ji, the white belt pattern, in pairs before the judges. Chon-Ji means "the Heaven, the Earth", refering to creation. The Chon-Ji is the pattern of moves that form the basis of TaeKwonDo.

Next came one-steps. During one-steps, the student works with an attacker who makes two offensive moves toward the student. The student then responds with several basic defensive moves, which he has learned in a specific sequence. At Michael's level, he must demonstrate five such sets. The artistry in execution of the moves is most important; there is no contact with the aggressor. Oh no, a bit of hesitation as Michael struggles to remember the beginning of the last two sets, which have only been added recently to his repetoire because of his age.

Bowden Update

2005-11-15T16:32:00.000-05:00

Here Comes the Bride

We haven't had our computer capabilities for working with photos long so here is our first attempt at sending you some. Any suggestions accepted!!

Kim and Justin were married on July 30, 2005 at Rose Chapel in Ft. Worth, TX. It was very special that all of her sisters and Les and I could be there for the very special day in their lives. As you can see the bride was beautiful, and the groom was very handsome. Everyone could see that they were excited about beginning their new lives together.

Justin and Kim are living in Mom's house in Arlington. Kim is finishing her education and plans to graduate in May from Arlington Baptist College with a degree in Elementary Education. Justin is a graduate of Baylor University and is currently employed as a manager of Cold Stone Creamery in Mansfield They are planning to fly to Nebraska to spend Thanksgiving at Christy's, where all the sister are gathering for a time of Thanksgiving.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2005-11-15T12:57:00.000-05:00

We love you!!!

We called Mom and it sounds like she and Dan are going out this evening for dinner. Mom was busy sewing. Sounds like fun!

Really, she should be out at a Day Spa, but we couldn't arrange that.

Love you Mom and wish we were there to celebrate and eat a piece of cake with you!

Kim's wedding

2005-11-14T20:23:00.000-05:00

Hurricane Wilma Aftermath

2005-11-03T00:32:00.000-05:00

I know you've been wondering how we fared with Hurricane Wilma.

We had plenty of advance notice. Even so, I decided not to board up our windows. Of course everyone who sees a hurricane coming rationalizes how it may hit and which way the winds will swirl and whether or not you need to take extra precautions.

Our neighbor to the right, Mark and Holly Shapiro wisely had their trees trimmed a day before Wilma hit. The benefit is that trees with little resistance don't normally end up falling on your house, or falling at all.

Adriana did an excellent job of gathering our most treasured effects (stuff), into a large Rubbermaid tub and we loaded that into the car. We got our snacks, water and general things to keep us occupied, like books and paperwork we needed to do as our thinking was the hurricane could leave us without power or certainly could wipe out our home (we're a 10 min walk from the Gulf).

Our good friends, Lloyd and Donna Montgomery were gracious enough to allow us to stay with them through the storm. They "did" board up their home and live several miles interior. We used one of the kids bedrooms. They have a five year old boy (Lloyd as well), and an eleven year old girl (Mary Audrey), and Rachel was set - much fun!

We had a five inch color TV in our room with Dish Network and the local channels, so as we turned in for the night, since we knew the storm would hit around daybreak, we watched the local coverage.

Around 4:30 AM the power went out.

However, Lloyd is very well equipped and had battery operated radios and high beam flashlights for us. We tuned in the local AM station and after about 20 minutes, it, too, went off the air.

An FM was simulcasting the TV, so after tuning a bit, we were back in business. Of course all we wanted to know was where the eye was going to make landfall. This was important so we could know the rotation of the wind, etc. I wasn't concerned about a surge from the Gulf. Our house is pretty high and it would take a bigger hurricane to produce enough power - and by then our home would be blown away anyway, so I guess we're in good shape.

We prayed that God's will would be done and that Naples would be spared.

The eye went south of us. It went south of Marco Island and over what they call Ten Thousand Islands. There is (was) a small community out there - everyone evacuated. They are left with what they took with them as the storm destroyed everything.

As soon as we could, about 8:30 or 9:00 AM, we set outside to see the damage to Lloyd's home. To the house itself, there really wasn't anything. But to the yard, almost every tree was either uprooted or damaged.

Then we took off in Lloyd's Hummer and tried to make it down to our home.

Many of the streets were underwater - even deeper than his H2 could go. So we kept taking different roads - some blocked by police because the power lines were down in the street - and an hour and a half later, we made it.

The first thing that caught my eye was the queen palm that sits out in front of our home. It was tilted by the storm, but did not fall on the house. Thousands of these same palm trees were down, scattered all over the city.

Next, I noticed a tree I grew from seed (tropical almond) that I brought from Rio was almost totally uprooted. And this thing was very large.

On the other side of the house a large pine tree branch had fallen, striking the roof and breaking two tiles, then landing less than an inch from my home office window. God spared us - that would have been a huge mess in the house.
Other than that, an enormous ficus tree belonging to Mark tipped over and landed in our yard. This one he couldn't trim before the storm - too big. But it's trimmed now...

Remember, if you click on the picture you get the enlarged photo.

All in all, as you can see, many, many trees just totally uprooted and fallen all over the city.

We got our power back two days later. In the meantime, Daniel and his mom (left side neighbors) graciously let us plug an extension cord from their small generator to our refrigerator. We made coffee and had a light! And here's the best part.

After the storm the weather was clear and dry - I mean 45% humidity and 75 degrees. Awesome weather for cleanup (and sleeping in a house with no power).

We thank God and yes - Naples was really "Blessed" - contrary to the headline that ran the next day.

Hurricane Wilma

2005-10-22T01:37:00.000-04:00

We are watching the hurricane. We are near the ocean so we'll move inland a few miles to a friends home. You guys have our contact numbers. I'll try to get some pictures up here ASAP. Pray for people that have been affected or are in the path of this storm - including us!

Life at PQQ September 2005

2005-09-30T08:06:00.000-04:00

Hey, I bet you would enjoy dropping in here at PQQ for 24 hours! Just have Scottie been you down and let Hollywood pay the cost! What would you see here in 24 hours? Well, this is the infamous 6-Weeks Break. After lunch the teams and most of the staff are heading to Manaus for games at Hawkins's Institute (That is not it's name but I thought you would recognize it better by that name). Then after the games they will all pile on the chartered busses that brought them to Hawkins's from Barrozo's. They will go to the mall, Amazon Shopping, and stay until it closes at 10pm. The busses will take them back to Barrozo's and then the launch will bring them home. Saturday morning we will have a brunch for them and at night a hot dog cookout at the rapids. The rapids are just right for swimming right now!!

The down side of a visit right now is that we have about 3 different bugs running around camp. (That is bug in the viral sense) I think that you'd have a good chance of leaving here sick! Les was sick but is better. Two of our cooks are sick!

Well, I just had a fright!!!!!!! I'm typing this with the keyboard on my lap as I like the height better than the desk top. I felt a creepy thing on the back of my t-shirt and reached back to brush off what ever it was, not thinking about what it might be. I felt a very large something and screamed and flung it at the same time. The key board stayed on my lap but it had typed lots of gibberish! The creature, which is a very large locus is now perched on the screen looking directly at this post. Do you have any comments, Mr. Locus??

I need to get to work pretty soon as we are short of help and there are hungry kids to feed!

May each of you have a safe and God honoring weekend.

Debbie (Amazonsis)

Summer is Over

2005-09-26T16:48:00.000-04:00

Yes, summer is over and there is big time Red Tide down at the beach here. That means algae blooms and kills thousands of fish. Kind messes up the beach, and clears out most everyone. On the first few days it actually doesn't smell that bad. But it can gag you deep in your throat - with something you can't really smell. Later, the fish start smelling - BUT - this is Naples, and the city and county workers come down to the beach and quickly clean up the mess.

Before it got too bad, Adriana and Rachel took a swim and had lots of fun. This was from 9/11 at 12:09 PM (digital cameras are something).

The benefit of the end of Summer is that winter is on the way, and that means wonderful weather for us here. Of course with that come the snow birds, or Qtips, as Dale calls them.

The beach is normally really great - help me out here, Debbie (right)? So, come visit and we'll make sure you leave with a tan.

Note from Debbie

2005-09-21T08:27:00.000-04:00

Hi! I got on one time and now I don't know how to go back to the Jackson Family Blog. Send me an e-mail with info. HELP. Your computer stuck sis

News from Brazil

2005-09-20T15:04:00.000-04:00

Hey I'm trying this. How do I read what you guys have written and how is it better than e-mail?

We are fine and hot and busy. We really look forward to seeing you guys when we have home assingment in June. I think this is all for now. Safe in His arms.

Les and Debbie

Go South Hurricane Rita

2005-09-20T08:12:00.000-04:00

I was picking Rachel up at Sea Gate Elementary yesterday and spoke with one of the school people about how windy it was and that rain would soon be on the way. Hurricane Rita is moving through. The gal told me that school may cancel if the storm hits Naples when kids get out, typically around 2:30 - 2:45 PM.

This morning it is overcast and windy, no rain. And according to the news, school is still on. There may be an early release, so we're to watch the news or listen to the radio. We live right across the street from the school.

This morning Adriana has Bible Study - called RefresHer - at First Baptist Church where we are now members. She is studying The Patriarchs by Beth Moore.

And around 11:00 AM, I'm back over at the school to eat lunch with Rachel. They have exactly 20 minutes to eat lunch. Whoa! I don't remember ever being rushed like that, do you guys? Guess it's because they know 2:40 comes around real quick.

Well, that's the latest from here. If Rita gets Rough, I'll Report more... :-)

2005-09-19T20:39:00.000-04:00

It seems like last week we were all in Arlington for Mom's wedding, and now summer's over and school is in full swing!

The boys are being home schooled again, but I promised if they would get caught up to sixth grade, I would put them in a regular school after Christmas. Unfortunately, I will be leaving Allstate Workplace Division as of November 1st, so it probably won't be a private school for them.

Good news! Kelly has enrolled for her first real semester in college. She's going to take an Algebra class because she didn't do well on the entrance exam in the math area, and she has to pass that before she can take any other math classes... Going to school and working full time will be a challenge, but I'm sure she can handle it. She's really looking forward to getting back to her studies. She wants to eventually major in pre-law, so she's going to try to complete the legal administrative assistant courses. This will allow her to work at a law firm while she takes her upper classes.

Dick, of course, is still "in season" with the lawn repair, but we can tell fall is in the air. I wish the weather would get the message! High's in the high 90's with 60% humidity makes it feel like 110 degrees outside. No one is mowing because we haven't had much rain. Consequently, they're not breaking them like they should. :-D

What's everyone doing for Christmas?

Welcome to the Jackson Family Blog!

2005-09-19T10:31:00.000-04:00

And I get the first post! Too cool, as Rachel would say. Here is to a great start where we can all stay in touch and enjoy what each is doing around the globe.

This photo was taken in April of 2004 on our last trip to Brazil. It's in a by the kilo restaurant that belongs to a Brazilian/Japanese friend of ours - so they had all the sushi and sashemi you could eat!

But now I want to visit Paricatuba - and Adri wants to get down to her family. Her grandmother isn't doing well, so keep her in your prayers.

Will post more soon! Love, Dave, Adri and Rachel

How Rachel Gets to School

2005-09-05T19:49:00.000-04:00

Since we live across the street from Seagate Elementary, we thought well naturally we'll walk Rachel to school and pick her up as well. But when the humidity is 85% and the temperature is 85 as well - you wish you didn't have to walk at all.

I know Debbie and Les are probably laughing because that's what they face every day.

You know me. I had to make it a game to go to school and many times fun getting home as well. So, here's how we did it. Rachel has to be at school at 8:10 AM - first bell. She has until 8:20 when she's tardy. We haven't had a tardy yet!

But here's what we do around 8:00 AM. Dad gets the bike out of the garage and Rachel rides on the cross bar. Since we only have a short way to go, it's not that tough.

Also gives me a chance to get in a little exercise. :-)

On weekends we sometimes ride the same way to the beach.

According to Rachel, you can only go so far riding this way - then your bottom has to take a break.

Seagate Elementary Day at McDonalds

2005-09-02T12:33:00.000-04:00

This was a first, as is a lot of things we are experiencing this year with Rachel going into public school. One of the first things I noticed was that they no longer call it "PTA". It's now "PTO", and I'm the only dad there - which is a totally different post.

Rachel made friends with a little girl named Kanti the very first day of school. Kanti's mom couldn't make it to McDonalds night, so we picked her up and off we went.

It was nice to meet all the other parents and to see Rachel's teacher out of the classroom environment.

Okay - I tried to stay away from the food there, but with everyone eating - it was getting difficult to resist. So I rationalized that "fries" wouldn't be "so" bad - and then it was the ice cream... well, they called it yogurt and it had fruit on top. In any case it was pure sugar and had little taste to it.

After we ate and chatted with Rachel's teacher, who came by for a photo op, we mingled with the other families and I took some pictures of the kids. So cute!