Can I have a quarter please?

Unfortunately, this has been a very difficult year for us. In January we lost Kurt's Grandad. In April, we lost my Pappaw. Tragically, in July, we lost Kurt's brother, Craig, in an automobile accident. Craig was a quiet guy, but he was a really good guy. He was a fantastic uncle, and Jackson just loved him.
Here's a picture of them on Christmas. Craig and Brittney spoiled him, really. It makes me really sad that Jackson has now lost both of his uncles, but I am so happy that he at least had the first few years with Craig. We all miss him very much.

Phil and Donna Stackhouse, some family friends, bought a Japanese Lilac tree for Brett and Susie when Craig passed away. Brett and Susie are probably going to be moving eventually, so we decided to plant the tree at our house. Brett, Susie, and Brittney came up one evening so Kurt and Brett could plant the tree. It's a really pretty little tree, and we planted it right at the back of the property.

Brett told Jackson that every time he waters the tree, he will pay him a quarter so Jackson makes sure he reminds Kurt to water the tree every day. He doesn't hesitate to tell Brett when he needs to pay him either. I like it that we have the tree at our house so we can talk to Jackson about Craig and the importance of the tree.

After we planted the tree, Jackson just had to show us how good he is at baseball. He actually is pretty good for a 2 year old. He usually hits about every 3rd or 4th pitch. He actually hit it so hard the other day that it flew up on the porch, hit the house, and bounced into the hole for the basement. We had to have the concrete guys toss it up to us when they were taking the forms off a few days later. Granted, it is a big bat, but I'm still pretty impressed with him for a 2 year old. Anyway, I don't have any pictures or videos of him hitting the ball. . . I will have to get one because it is so cute (and again, pretty impressive in my eyes. . . of course I am his mom). We did get a picture of him pitching to Brett though and I thought it was pretty cute. We don't really have very many pictures of Brett so I love it that we have this picture of him playing with Jackson. Jackson loves his PeePaw so I'm glad we got this photo.
As difficult as the year has been to this point, I am hoping that the birth of Kaden will be a turning point for our family. I think we have dealt with enough heartache for awhile. Through it all, though, we have definitely realized how blessed we are with family and friends who are so supportive in so many ways. It's times like these that one really feels how much they are loved and how blessed they are in life, and we can't really complain one bit.