We spent Thanksgiving in College Station this year. I didn't take a lot of pictures, but here are some that I did take.
Jackson helped Papa J get the turkey fryer ready to go.
Jackson holding his cousin, Jack.
Jackson and Lauren love trying to play with Jack. Jack is still a little young to know what to think about his cousins. Jackson and Lauren try so hard, but just don't know what to do! Papa J is one proud grandfather in this picture!
Uncle Jonathan plays with Lauren.
Lauren and baby Jack!
Jackson and Uncle Jeffrey try to break the wishbone.
And he won! Or it slipped out of Jeffrey's hand. . .
Back home -
Proud mama moment. . .
Before Thanksgiving, the school did a coin drive to buy food for the local food pantry. I told Jackson that he was going to have to use his own money to help others. Jackson pulled out his bag of coins that he was saving for DisneyWorld. Jackson and I sat down at the kitchen table to count money. He began counting his money. When he had three dollars, he asked me how much food that would buy. I told him three cans of green beans. Jackson thought for a short while, then said, "That's not much." He looked at his money again and said, "I should give them more." He counted out another dollar. He asked me how much food that would buy. I explained that he now had enough money to buy one chicken. He looked at his bag of money for Disney and said, "That's not enough. How much do I need for food to go with the chicken?" After talking about what a good meal consisted of, Jackson decided to count out a total of $10. After every dollar he counted, I reminded him that he was using his money for Disney to buy toys. I also told him that it was his decision on how much money he donated. When he stopped counting out money, he had only four dollars left for Disney. I couldn't be more proud of what a giving heart he has. I was also impressed with his compassion and understanding for others. Thomas and I were so proud of him, that we bragged on him. Before long, others in the family and close friends contacted Jackson to match what he had given. Jackson did give his coins to the school coin drive, but we took the other donations to Wal-Mart, where I had him purchase the groceries to give to the food bank. I wanted him to be able to see how far his money went (or didn't go), and to have the experience of taking the food to the food bank as well. Below is a picture of Jackson with his shopping basket.
