Happy 8th Birthday, Jackson!

I ask it every year, but every year I wonder - When did this happen? 

How did our baby get to be 8? Jackson is a beautiful, creative, smart leader. He loves his brother and sister and has become such a help at home. Since moving into his own room, he has amazed me by the way he likes order & cleanliness and the pride he takes in his possessions. He has become very responsible.

He still loves Legos. He has created a Lego City in the basement with all of the different sets he and Philip have collected.  His imagination has no limits. 

He loves to sing, dance and play music. He enjoys playing the Wii and collecting things. He has even started getting into magic!

I am so proud of this young boy and look forward to seeing what this year holds in store for him. 

Jackson Bender
Age 8
45 pounds
46 1/2 inches

Cousins' Reunion

I love the tradition Susan and Tim have started of a summer Cousins' Reunion! It is so much fun to gather around their beautiful pool with family. 

The little girls braved the high dive! 

Blueberry Pickin'

It has been several years since I have braved the heat with the kids to go blueberry picking, but this year seemed as good as any to bring the tradition back!

Mom and Emily were up for the adventure so we hiked up to Portland, TN for a morning of picking. 

Thankfully, it was cloudy so the heat wasn't unbearable. We enjoyed picking blueberries, blackberries, grapes and even peaches. Such fun!

These two ate more than they picked!! 

Mimi brought along Benjamin

Elizabeth, Benjamin, Philip, Leighton and Jackson
(Elizabeth spilled grapes on her and didn't want that showing in the picture)

Camp WEBE

Our boys are now seasoned pros when it comes to church camp. Last year, they went with Wesley to Camp Watoga and this year, they spent the week at Camp WEBE.

From the smiles, I can tell they had a lot of fun!

The Pee-Wees at WEBE

Jackson, Philip and Mr. Steve 

Mail Call!

Someone was excited to get three pieces of mail!

Baby Tristan was a hit with all at WEBE!

Jackson made a new friend - Chloe