Wild Man Jackson!

These pictures are just because...we have a fun time!

Facts about Jackson at 16 months

1. He got 1 complete molar in, another has completely broke the skin, and then the third molar is about to break the skin (all this happened last week while he was sick). So he has 11 teeth in all now. They all seemed to come at once. I think they get like 20 baby teeth….am I right?
2. I get his augmentin done him by putting him on the changing table and putting my arm around his head and then my hands hold his hands. I just plunge a little at a time. I make sure to applaud him which he response really well to and we get it all in.
3. He has no patience (A.D.D. already) so he gets real bored when he is eating…it takes him a while. So, to get him eat his entire meal he must be watching Mickey Mouse in the high chair…
4. To get out tough stains I spray shout on his shirts and then spray it off with hot water using my sprayer in the sink before I put his clothes in the washer
5. Nap Time changes daily, which makes it a little harder to plan out our days. Some days he would like 2 naps because he is tired, but other days he just needs 1 nap. We transitioning to 1 nap a day. Today he did great a slept from 1:40 to almost 4 and then went to bed earlier (8:20). It will be great when Jackson wants to do this every day.
6. Saving money: I am using Walmart brand diapers during the day since I change him so many times a day, and then I use Huggies brand at night because the Walmart brand will not work all night long. I also like Target brand wipes. I know some women have stated on their blogs that they only spend $35 dollars a week on grocery and foods but I really have no idea how they do that. I could maybe see $50 or $75 dollars, but $35....how in the world???? I think they suggest buying a certain book to read to see how you do this. I know they use a lot of coupons. If yall have any tips on how to spend only even $50 a week on grocery and food, I am all ears!
   

Hilarous Video of Jackson Running and Jumping!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Music and What God has Been Has Been Teaching Me

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

Charlie downloaded this song off of itunes, and Travis Cottrell has a great version of this song “Praise to the Lord the Almighty” from the album Alive Forever. It is a great song to worship our great God to!

God has been teaching me so much through reading though Job. I commented on Esther’s blog about one of the chapters and this is what I said. “I hear you! It seems like the friends are never going to relent on poor Job. I have found the study notes helpful during this part of the reading. I think this really does show us the danger of bitter arguments about anything, including what we believe about God. All his friends felt so sorry for Job when they first got to him. Now, they are slowing putting burning coals on his head just to defend their wrong view of God.

God has really been speaking to me through these chapters about arguments. Is my hope when I argue to be proven right? To be vindicated? To emerge spiritual superior? I need to be seeking peace through Christ Jesus. It is not about who wins the argument, but how am I showing Christ's self-sacrificing love in disagreements. Job's friends should have closed their mouths about 10 chapters ago. Proverbs says that with many words sin is not absent. These friends and Job (to an extend) are surely guilty of sin at this point. It sure seems hopeless at this point, but I know that God is soon going to answer Job. Praise God that in His great plan before the foundation of the world, he knew that he would send his Son to be our mediator between us and God. These chapters just really show how sinful we are!”

I am also reading a great book on marriage, When Sinners Say "I Do" (Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage), by Dave Harvey. It is an excellent book, and I hope to blog about it when I am done reading the book.

Jackson Playing with Millie Boo

Here is video of Jackson playing with Millie Boo in the back yard yesterday. It actually got warm enough for us to go outside. As you can see, Jackson is doing so much better. God gets all the glory for healing him quickly!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Jackson has the Croup and a Left Ear Infection!

These pictures were taken over the last week. We have been busy! Who knows where Jackson got the croup from. Carol came and visited Friday, then we went ice skating with FBC children's ministry and there was another 16 month old little girl who Jackson could not stop hugging/messing with. Unfortunately, he has learned how to pick his nose. Then we went to Spartanburg on Monday for 1 night to see my family since Kelly was going to be there!

Jackson’s symptoms happened fast. Monday morning he had a cough and then by that night it turned into a cough that sounded like a dog barking. He was not sleeping, and just getting worse by the second so we went to the doctor yesterday afternoon. We had not been since Jan 3^rd - an entire 3 weeks! (the doctor was surprised Jackson is not in daycare sense he has been sick every 3 weeks this winter). It almost seems like the solution to Jackson always getting sick is him staying at home until March when he turns 18 months and it gets warm outside---studies have proven that once they turn 18 months old their immune system gets really strong. The doctor said that he had the croup and a left infection.

How I am treating it:

1. The doctor gave me an oral steroid to give him for 3 days which seems to be making him a little hyper. He has never been on a steroid so this is new (this helps with breathing….he coughs so much sometimes that he almost throws up).
2. He had a fever of 102 last night so we gave him Motrin
3. He is on Augmentin for the ear infection (which unfortunately gives him an upset stomach but was one of our only choices for antibiotic this month)
4. Saline nose spray and blowing out his nose every couple of hours/sitting in the bathroom while the shower is running hot water
   

Pray for us. Jackson is not taking naps, and at night he coughs all night so we go in there a good bit to make sure he is ok. Any more suggestions to make him better, I am all ears! It is really hard when they are sick and he does not understand what is going on. He literally tries to climb upon me to make it go away. I just really struggle when he is sick. I know when I am sick, it helps me become more like Christ and draw closer to Him. But when Jackson suffers, what is the point? Is Jackson suffering to make me grow in Christ? He will not remember this suffering latter on in life, so I need to repent and ask God for forgiveness for me being angry at the fact that he is going to the doctor every 3 weeks. If God wanted to protect him from all these illnesses He could.

My goal as a parent is not to protect Jackson from life, but to prepare him. Since Jackson has suffered a ton this week, it is only fitting that God has me reading Job right now in my daily reading. Today I read chapters 8-11, when God gave us mercy and let Jackson finally take a nap. Job was looking so desperately for a mediator he says, “If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both, someone to remove God’s rod from me,” (9:33-34). He knew the guilt between him and God. Praise God that Jesus is “the one mediator between God and men” (1 Timothy 2:5). One thing I have realized, is that a person must realize their guilt before God before they can accept God’s Son as their Savior.

Latter on his so called friend Zophar states, “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens --- what can you do? They are deeper the depths of the grave --- what can you know?” I know I will not fully know or understand why God allows babies to suffer helplessly, and it is not a question I am going to spend time worrying over. Wow, God really spoke to me in so many ways today through His Perfect Word.

While I am on the rant, let me just comment on something I heard James Dobson say yesterday on the radio. I think James Dobson is great and has done so much for so many people. But, he said yesterday that young girls just have “to forgive themselves.” Where does it say in the Bible that we are supposed to forgive ourselves? Nowhere! We are not God who can grant forgiveness for our own sins. I think that what he means is that girls need to accept God’s forgiveness when they ask for forgiveness. But, we need to say what we mean, be precise, and mean what we say. Instead of wasting our time trying to “forgive ourselves,” which I just do not even know how you do, we should take time (maybe even list our sins to God), and ask God to forgive them. Then, we should take the time, to forgive other people by either saying how someone has sinned against you, or writing it out. We can ask God to give us strength to forgive that person in probably a long prayer. After we have forgiven them we need to make commitments to never bring the sin that someone did to you up again in conversation or in your own mind. Once you have forgiven them, it is over; Jesus’ blood has washed that sin away. I think many people’s anger and bitterness, including my own, is a result of us not forgiving people in our lives who have hurt us, and a result of us not confessing our sins to God and repenting from them. Forgiveness is an action that we either choose to do or not do.

We had some Snow Last Night!

We were so excited to see snow last night! It did not last long, but it was beautiful! I am so blessed to have this new digital camera....it actually has a setting for taking pictures in the snow. That is why these pictures turned out so great (it actually took pictures of the snow coming down). If you look closely, you will see Millie Boo in some of the pictures. She ran around very fast, and did not know what to do with the snow. Jackson was asleep, so he did not get to see the snow....sad. Enjoy the pictures!

Jackson is now 16 months old!

I cannot believe Jackson is already 16 months old. We drove up to Rock Hill to see Charlie’s only living grandparent “Geemaw” on Saturday. We had not seen her since last Christmas, so it was great to see her!

Things are still going great, he just gets stir-crazy at the house….I think he is ready for preschool already! He still cries every time I drop him off at the nursery which is hard…I just try to drop him off as fast as possible ( I usually type off some instructions so I do not have to talk to whoever is there to watch Jackson). We are going to toddler time at the library starting this Wednesday morning. The program goes for 5 weeks and I am so excited! Overall, he is a joy, and has so much love to give. He is a great hugger and he loves people!

Some transitions:

Nap Time:

1. He is ready to go down to 1 nap a day, but the only problem is that I cannot get him to sleep but for like 1 hour and a half to two hours. I think he wakes up early because he is hungry. I would love it if he slept for closer to 3 hours starting at like 1 pm. Right now he sleeps for like an hour and a half after lunch and then sometimes he goes back to sleep around 5 and I have to wake him up at 6:30 and then to bed around 8:30 or 9 pm and wakes up around 7:45 am.
2. Toddler Wise says that you usually try to transition to two naps a day at eight months and usually continue this through sixteen to eighteen months. They recommend transitioning to one longer nap right after lunch at 18 to 20 months old. I guess we are just in that transition time. I just need to move up his morning routine to about ½ hour.

Eating:

1. He is getting better and will eat a variety of food now! Again the books say that just one teaspoon per age of child of food. So that means Jackson only needs about 1 teaspoon of food! I am sad to admit he still gets a morning bottle, midday bottle and night bottle. My goal is to cut out the middle of the day bottle in the next couple of weeks! He will only drink like a couple of ozs of milk out of the cup, but he drinks like 4 ozs of pear juice out of the cup. If anyone has any suggestions about getting rid of the bottle, I am all ears!

Playtime:

1. A new idea I have been trying that I discovered in the Toddler Wise books, is that I put a basket a toys in the middle of the den, and then just let him go through it and play. This last for an entire 15 minutes, which is long for Jackson, and then he helps me clean up the area. I think he is right on track with everything, except problem solving skills…I think (and so does the doctor) that he is advanced when it comes to problem solving. A couple of weeks ago, he got my keys and put them in the bottom keyhole of the door, and tried to unlock the door. I have only unlocked the door a couple of times with him because he is usually asleep when we come in, and I just always lock the bottom deadbolt behind me.
2. Toddler Wise also recommends teaching your toddler self-control with their hands. Ezzo states that, “teach your child that self-control begins with the folding of her hands. That is a wonderful concrete way for her to understand calmness. Children as young as eighteen-months can learn this wonderful skill.” I am trying to teach Jackson to fold his hands when we pray at night. Sometimes it actually works. I have now finished reading Toddler Wise. I would recommend this book to anyone who has toddlers. Of course, I do not agree with everything, but it helped me realize more what I do believe, and it helped me get some new ideas on how to teach Jackson.

Happy 4th Anniversary, Honey!

We actually got married before everyone had a digital camera so we finally got a few pictures scanned. This was definitely the second best day of my life next to accepting Christ. I cannot believe that we have already been married four years and have been together for seven (our first date was in December of 2000). I was just a teenager when we met (I was 19, he was 21) and now we are raising a child. It's crazy how fast life really does pass by. I know without a doubt that God meant for us to be together for the rest of this life serving Him from our first date (and surprisingly Charlie knew that from our first date as well!) I am so thankful for Charlie and how he is always learning in growing in every area of his life. I think I am the most proud of him right now because he has had the privileged recently to help lead children to accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. He goal really is to reach people for Christ and disciple them, and there is no greater goal. I am so blessed to be his wife and to be living a life that is for eternity!

We are going to celebrate tomorrow night by going out to eat while Mimi keeps Jackson. Yay!

Reading the Bible Every Day!

This Week's Reading:

Monday Jan. 7th: Genesis 18-19
Tuesday: Gen. 20-22
Wed: Gen. 23-24
Thursday: Gen. 25-26
Friday: Gen 27-28
Sat: Gen 29-30
Sunday: Gen 31
Monday Jan. 14th. Gen. 33-35

You can also go to this site: http://eword.gospelcom.net/year/31/cjan01.htm

What I do:
1. I have a journal and I write the date at the top of my page, and sometimes a prayer at the beginning. I always write the titles down that are found in my NIV student study Bible, as well as what I learned from my readings that day
2. I listen to it through the NIV dramatized version on cd through the computer with my Bible in front of me taking notes.
3. Try to memorize Ps. 23 at the end of my devotion time, and try to think about the chapters I read throughout that day.
4. I try to make it a priority by not letting myself put makeup on or get dressed for the day, until I have read the Bible.

I am reading the Bible through in a year doing it chronically in my Bible Study that mets Tuesday mornings.

Video of Jackson pointing to Gigi in a picture!

Toddler Wise Makes me Think

Yesterday, Jackson caused a 5 foot ladder to fall on him. The ladder was against a wall and I was doing laundry and moved the laundry basket that was in front of the ladder to my bed. One minute latter I heard a huge thud. Literally, it was 5 seconds of not watching him and Doddlebops was on in the next room so I did not think he would come anywhere near me....boy was a wrong! Praise the Lord the ladder only hit his face. He is fine, but it is so funny that I am posting on Toddler Wise....boy do I need to read about how to be a better parent to a toddler!

Again, I do not agree with everything in these Baby Wise books but I am reading Toddler Wise right now and I thought I would share what I have read (in general these books make me think, and force me to think about how to be a better mom). First, Ezzo states that there are 4 principles of instructions.

1. Principle #1 is “when you speak to your child in a way that requires an answer or an action, you should expect a response. Children will rise to the level of expectation of their parents.” He goes on to say that a walking talking two year old can only comply with an adult 60 percent of the time. He is not capable of more. When they reach 3 they can comply 70 percent and then when your child reaches five they can do eighty five to ninety percent of compliance. I am not too sure where they get these figures, but it does make since. I guess Toddler Wise does help me be a better mom so it is good reading. Perfectionists, like myself, expect Jackson to do every little thing I ask him to do. I do not believe that we can become perfect here on earth, so why do I expect Jackson to obey his parents 100 percent of the time? It is crazy that these Toddler Wise book really makes me think hard about my theological beliefs. I have started to use the rod (I use a wooden spoon) on Jackson, but only if it is an action that can result in injury or hospitalization. In the last two months, I have only had to use it one time and that is when he kept on crawling up my parents wooden stairs after I told him no, and then I said he would get a spanking (I even gave him 3 times to not do it). The rest of the time, I usually put him in the pack in play when he is being defiant. In the pack in play he has no toys, just books.
2. Principle #2 “With toddlers, you must give instructions, not suggestions.”
3. Principle #3 Healthy discipline is always consistent. Consistency provides security and freedom
4. Principle #4 Require eye contact when giving face-to face instruction

Here is my problem....I think Ezzo is saying that toddlers do not sin until they are 3 years old. I understand what he is trying to say, but after I have told Jackson that it is wrong to do something, he then has the knowledge of it being bad, and then sins. I believe we are all born sinners. Listen to what Ezzo states, “For the one-year old plus, it is simply the operation of his nature. He looks, he sees, he wants, he takes. He does not sit back and contemplate the rightness or wrongness of an action because such behavior for a one-year-old is valueless (me, myself, and I are dominate thoughts), while at three years of age behavior becomes value-driven.” Just because Jackson is not taking the time to think about his actions, does not make all his actions right. Do yall agree? Do you understand what I am trying to say here? Maybe Ezzo is saying that about 3 years of age is the “age of accountability,” or the age that God holds people responsible for their sin.

Ezzo goes on to say that, “A child’s desire to do wrong can only exist when there is the knowledge of wrong. With children, resident knowledge of wrong begins to manifest itself around three years of age during the early formation of the higher conscience.” There are no footnotes so I have no clue where he gets this information. Do yall agree with this?

The only other good thing that I want to comment on is that Ezzo states, “temper tantrums, for example, are often the result of an over-stimulated child in need of sleep. The action of the tantrum should be considered secondary to the real problem. It is not discipline that the child needs, but rest. Have you ever seen a well rested child throw a temper tantrum?” I would say amen to that. Still the best book I have read is Shepherding a Child’s Heart, but this book does not focus exclusively on toddlers. Next book I want to read is Don't Make Me Count to Three: A Mom's Look at Heart-Oriented Discipline by Plowman. What other books would yall recommend?

I have signed Jackson up for toddler time at the library for 5 weeks starting in a couple weeks and we are excited about that. I also might be joining Gold’s Gym and doing the BodyStep classes there…but we will have to see about that. They have childcare and it would be a great way for us to get out more! However, I am not bored at all - things are as busy as ever with church and everything

Ps-a lot of teeth are about to come through, one just came through on the bottom making that tooth number 7....I was trying to get a picture of that 7th tooth coming in....wow he is going to have his mommy and daddy's gap in his front 2 teeth! He also has excema now and we were back at the doctor for the like 100th time this winter. They just gave us so steroid cream and it has gotten a lot better!

Psalm 23

Here is one of the best video's I have seen all year. I am trying to memorize this Psalm, and I will have it and then two days later I forget. Abby is a great encouragement! It drives me crazy when parents do not even try to teach their children some hard theological truths such as the Trinity. Listen, back in the day, children had the first 5 books of the Bible memorized by 10 years old and we do not even want to try to explain the Trinity to them when they ask. Hope you enjoy the video.

Happy New Year!

Wow, we have had a fun week! We went to see Kelly in Atlanta this past Saturday and we had the best time. I got to go to my favorite dorky store...Franklin Covey....I have had a Franklin Covey planner since I was in the 7th grade with all the stickers and everything. We went to First Baptist Atlanta Sunday morning and it was great. It was a wonderful worship experience and we learned a lot from their preschool ministry just by dropping Jackson off at their nursery. The youth pastor actually preached and he did a great job....I really enjoyed his way of giving an invitation at then end. He preached on 1 John 3:8. He reminded us that what we think about is what we are passionate about. Romans 8:6 states that

"For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."

What we think about is really what we care about. It is so important for us to take every thought captive to the mind of Christ and to not dwell on things that are passing away here on earth. This is one way we fight the fight of faith. We need to have a time, place, and plan to spend every day in God's Word. Without a plan, we plan to fail. I am so excited that our Bible Study is trying to read through the Bible in chronological order. It is going to be such a blessing to everyone.

The above pictures are us at the Cheesecake Factory in Atlanta...yum! Then, we went to Waynesboro and finally met my cousin's baby Luke who is now 7 months old (he is in the above pictures)! He is so sweet and we had a great time visiting with Aunt Sandi and all her family!

The one good thing that I think I read in Toddler Wise is to have a bedtime routine with your toddler. We started a new one a couple months ago. We tell Jackson to go get his Baby Bible book. We go on and on saying that this is the your most important book you will ever have. We say we are going to read a night night story from this Bible. Then we read a story, pray with him by holding his hands, and then sing a night night song. All in preparation to go night night. I do not ever want Jackson to remember a day with us not reading the Bible or praying.

We had a New Year's Eve party at our house last night that was so much fun. I think we had around 15 adults and 15 children. We played games (new year's resolution games) and had a great time of fellowship. I hope yall all had a great New Year's. Ps- I will never be coming back into town again on the day we have a party...bad planning on my part.