Bring on 2016!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow...2015...what can I say?!?!?!?!?

One of my goals for 2015 was to travel ALL year long...

And I did!

January through March, Nick and I were in Cochabamba, Bolivia!  I grew up here from 12-years-old through graduating high school so I always love to go home, enjoy the view of the Andes outside of my window, see some old friends and eat the amazing food!!!

We flew back to the USA and in April, we drove up to Illinois...

...and spent time with part of our Business Team in Quincy!!!

Then, in May, we flew to Salt Lake City...

...and camped at the Young Living Lavender Farm 

during Hustle Under The Stars...

...with our Business Team and two of our favorite people, Brian and Katie!

We flew back to South Carolina...

 ...and bought our first house on June 19th!

Then, a few days later, Young Living flew us back out to Utah again for the 

Silver Retreat, put us up in a great resort and spoiled us for days!

In July, we drove to Greenville and attended a fun 

Business Meeting and dinner with some of our team!!!

Then, in August, we drove all the way out to Texas...

... to attend the Young Living International Convention with our team!!!

We welcomed another niece into the world!

And then a few days later, for my 30th birthday, I chopped off and 

donated 12 inches...knocking another item off my bucket list!

In September, we drove down to Orlando to attend FUEL!!!

While we were there, we took time to visit Celebration (a "perfect" Disney town)...we were here 10 years ago, working in the Magic Kingdom for the summer...and falling in love :)

We came back home and, then in the beginning of October, I spent a weekend with about 40 girls in Tennessee at One Drop (another Business Event)!

We had a TON of rain and flooding and we almost couldn't get back home

...my hero came to save me in his big man truck and I took this photo that I adore :)

At the end of October, we flew up to Chicago...

 ...and attended another FUEL with some more of our team!!!

In November, we drove up to Greenville for Nick to compete in a 5k with his family...

...and I was a GREAT Cheerleader!

Finally December is here...we spent the weekend in 

Murrells Inlet to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary!!!!!!!!!!

Then, the next weekend we drove down to Miami...

 ...to go on a Caribbean Cruise with my family!

See what I mean?!?!?!?...we traveled the ENTIRE year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ever since I was little, I wanted to be able to travel ALL OF THE TIME, but as I became an adult, I quickly realized that's hardly realistic.  I KNEW that I needed a job where I would have the freedom to travel, but I had NO IDEA where I would find a job like that!!!  

Isn't it funny how God KNOWS us, LOVES us, puts

DESIRES in our hearts and then GIVES them to us?!?!?!?!

I finally have my DREAM JOB and I'm checking things off my Bucket List because of it.

Here's to all the friendships I've built and memories I've made during 2015...

Bring on 2016!!!!!!!!!!!

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The richest family in town...

My daddy posted this on his Facebook profile and I wanted to share here:

The following, is a story of where we were as a family fourteen years ago.  I do not send it out to scare anyone or dwell on the past, but I do read it each year to remind myself of God’s incredible goodness, mercy and grace that he has showered on the Jackson Family.  We are blessed.

This was in email form and I sent it out from our home in Cochabamba, Bolivia, to family, friends and supporters.  There are a series of emails that I sent in order to keep folks posted on what was happening.  The notes also helped me process and think out loud.

Take a walk with us as we marvel at what God has done.

This note was sent around 3a.m. the morning of the 24th.

12-24-01

  Dear all...I have indeed been running the events over and over in my mind.  I have an incredible image of Cindy engulfed in flames and our screaming.  I tried everything to put her out.  Screaming does not do it. If screaming could, she would have been out before flames reached her body.  I have never screamed so much in my life.  Screams came from some place deep where horrors are stored.  

As soon as it was over, I was cradling her on the floor.  I had screamed for wet towels and my screams turned to soothing.  Looking Cindy directly in the eyes and saying that it was going to be all right.  "It's out, It's out, It's out!"  I made the youngest girls come in and see their mommy… that she was o.k.  That she was alive.  As they looked on, they winced and strange, “Spielberg”, sounds come from their little bellies…Deep, hurtful sounds.  

I made them see her up close and then we got a mirror for Cindy to see herself.  I was to blame.  I know it was indeed an accident.  But I am absolutely to blame and cannot shirk that.  Why was I not thinking clearly when we decided to add more alcohol to the fondue burner?  I am fine.  Just wondering.  My hands were burned but it seems like nothing compared to my brides.  I am ashamed and at the same time grateful.  

Can you imagine, what would have happened if more of us would have caught on fire.  Someone would be dead now.  Can you imagine if I would have caught on fire at the same time as Cindy?  Who would have helped us, not the girls.  It took all my energy to eventually put my wife out.  What would have happened if one or more of my little girls would have also caught on fire?  I cannot get that awful idea out of my head. 

God has a plan.  We cannot begin to understand God's wisdom.  I am grateful.  I have made a decision in my mind.  There have been several people that have offered help to get Cindy to a burn unit in the states.  It got my tumblers thinking until 3 a.m. this morning.  I am going to check on airlines today to see if Cindy and I could get on a plane.  I am going to buy two first class tickets and one regular to be at the bulkhead.  Cindy will be able to rest well near the front and with a larger seat.  The extra first class will be for a nurse to ride beside Cindy and take care of her.  I will try to get a bulkhead seat.  We would switch between the two seats according to Cindy's needs.  

Whether we get help with the expense or not, this is what I will do unless the Lord shows me another way.  There is no reason not to have my mate of 20 years at the best medical facility available, if I can.  Pray as I make these plans.  As soon as she is stable and safe to move, I will move her.  Pray for wisdom.  Pray for the minds, of our two youngest girls, Maggie and Lizzie to just fog over for now.  They both have had terrible memories of seeing their mommy on fire, and not even "Big Poppa Bear", could put out the flames quick enough.

In Acts 27  Paul and some other men have been caught in a storm on the Adriatic Sea.  They have been fighting for their lives for fourteen days and nights.  On the four-tenth night it says they took soundings.  Verse 29 says, "Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight".  

We too are praying for daylight, and it will come.  

In Bolivia,

Wick

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     When I was little, I got tired of watching It's a Wonderful Life and White Christmas.  We watched them EVERY SINGLE YEAR and they seemed old and outdated.  However, this year I watched them and got all choked up during two scenes...please take a second to watch both:

CLICK HERE - White Christmas

CLICK HERE - It's a Wonderful Life

     You know why I got all choked up?!?!?!  I was listening to someone the other day talking about when her father died and no one came around to help or even showed up at the funeral.  I realized that my family, although we have gone through hard times, has ALWAYS had people around us who care...people who show up.

     In White Christmas, hundreds of people show up to support the General, encourage him and get him and his family back on their feet.  The same thing happens for George in It's a Wonderful Life.  And the same thing has happened over and over and over again for my own family.

     We have NEVER been without a home, food, cars, clothes, jobs, money...we have NEVER lacked for anything.  My parents have lived their life in such a way that people would do just about anything in the world for them.  They have friends...true friends.  It's taken me 30 years to appreciate these two movies because I've realized that everyone goes through hard times, but not everyone has the type of friends that have your back, through thick and thin.

     When I look at my parents, I see their success...it may not be success by the world's standards, but they have what I want Nick and I to have.  When my life is going downhill and I feel like I've lost everything, I want the type of friends that come around when its not fun to be around.  "Things" can be lost in a flood, burned up in a fire and stolen by a thief, but relationships can be built and last a lifetime!  Christmas is a wonderful time of year and I love the gifts, but I want to be reminded of what really matters...friends and family.

     George Bailey's little brother said that George was the richest man in town, but I have to say I disagree...The Jacksons are the richest family in town...I just want to say to my daddy and momma, I have watched y'all live an adventure and make an impact on every life you touch and I hope that I grow up to be just like both of you!

     Merry Christmas to EACH and EVERY person 

who has EVER loved on my family and cared for us...you have truly 

been a blessing to us and we are SO THANKFUL

to have YOU as a friends!

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Survivor

On December 21st, 2001 my mom was severely burned...over 35% of her body was 3rd degree burns.

We were having an early Christmas dinner and when we went to refill the Fondue burner, it exploded.  While my sisters ran upstairs to hide and my dad threw my mom on the floor and rolled her around, I ran back and forth to the kitchen 2 times with water in a faded green tupperware container.  When the fire was out, my mom held up her arms and her skin was hanging off.  She asked for a mirror and ibuprofen.  We had no idea what we were doing, so we ran to get our beach towels, soaked them in water and covered her skin in them.  After calling one of my parents friends, Greg Bryce, he arrived and we helped my mom walk, yes walk, out to our land cruiser and drive her to the nearest hospital.

She sat in the Bolivian hospital for 5 days, slowly dying, because they didn't know what to do with her either!  My dad was snapping photos like crazy and sending them back to a friend (and Doctor) in the USA, Peter Zavell, who told him that my mom needed to get to the USA or she wouldn't make it.  My dad, a doctor, two nurses and a friend flew my mom on a regular airplane to Miami and then from Miami they were picked up and flown to the August Burn Clinic.

My dad left me and my sisters behind in Bolivia.  I remember going to the airport to say goodbye.  She was in the ambulance and we were peeking in the window to look at her and talk to her.  I didn't think that I would even see her again.  A week later my dad returned to Bolivia with plans to take me and my sisters back to the USA with him.  We had trouble getting out of the country because my mom wasn't there to sign paperwork.  I remember my dad had brought back gifts from North Metro Church...a purple hairdryer and a makeup case.  After he told us to pack 2 weeks worth of stuff for our trip, I took my new hairdryer and makeup, some clothes and shoes and packed them into my pink monogramed duffle.

Once we arrived in the USA, we were picked up in Miami by my Uncle Russell and we went home to our 800 sq ft house.  My 3 sisters and I shared a tiny room with 2 bunks.  When we went into our room to dump our bags, we found that people had left gifts on our beds.  Sweet Pea Body Spray from Bath and Body Works was one of my gifts and Cucumber Melon Body Spray was one of my sisters gifts...to this day, if I smell those scents, I am immediately brought back to that bedroom.  People had furnished our entire house, decorated it for Christmas, filled up the kitchen with food and so much more.

My mom ended up surviving, so we stayed in the USA for 5 months, enrolling in private school during that time and waiting until she could travel again.  I went one time to Georgia to visit my mom in the hospital with my mimi.  My mom had something that looked like seaweed stapled all over her skin.  I got so sick, I had to sit down and put my head between my legs so that I wouldn't pass out.

A few weeks into our time in the USA, I remember Margaret and Sarah Charles picking us up and taking us shopping at the mall.  I still remember getting into her car, sitting down, leaning my head back on the seat and feeling so relieved that someone (an adult) was taking care of us.  I felt like I could relax a little and that someone else was in charge.  Margaret bought me a pair of Express Jeans a red T-shirt from American Eagle.  I will never forget it.  Things were so hectic and I was the oldest, so I felt very responsible to "mother" my little sisters...do their hair, get them dressed for school, make sure they are ok, etc.  But, I was still only 16 myself and, at that time, I wanted to be babied a little bit too!

After 5 months, my mom was finally able to return to Bolivia.  When we got back, we still hadn't celebrated Christmas, so we got to open all our gifts and celebrate Christmas in June!  For 2 years after her accident, we helped my mom with taking off her compression suit, bathing, applying creams, putting a clean compression suit on, taking her meds and much more!

Because she was burned, she began to visit the burn clinic in Cochabamba, Bolivia and from that she ended up founding her own non-profit, Burn Care International.  She saw that, just like her, burn victims in Bolivia were not getting good care.  Today, she not only has her own office in the Burn Clinic in Bolivia, but she travels around the world and helps burn victims in developing countries.

Every time I think about my mom's accident, I am reminded of this verse:

Although that was the hardest time in my life, I know that it was in God's plan.

I am so thankful to each and every friend and family member who helped us and cared for our family...I know that we are truly loved by many!

And I am so thankful that my mom not only survived, but now she is changing lives all around the world!

Please take a moment to visit her website and consider making a donation so that she can continue to help burn victims around the world!

Burn Care International

Vows

     I have ALWAYS loved that Nick and I chose to write our own Wedding Vows because we talked about and decided on what we wanted to promise to each other.  Through the years, I have often thought back to our Vows and wondered how are we doing in keeping them!

I still remember standing on the stage and saying my Vows to Nick.  I could hardly speak because I was so choked up, realizing that I was promising some pretty serious things!!!

But, it's amazing to see, 8 years later, how we have ALREADY lived out our Vows.  We are best friends.  We pray for each other.  We have stuck by each other no matter what comes our way.

Still to this day, I CANNOT believe that I got to marry Nick Stewart.  Everyone who knows him loves him.  He is compassionate, sincere, disciplined, hard-working, trustworthy, selfless, calm, strong, handsome, kind, smart, funny and so many other wonderful things.  

I will forever be thankful that God brought us together.  

To my Nick,

Happy 8th Anniversary...I love you and...

I thank my God every time I remember you.

Philippians 1:3

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