3 days to 5....

The big day is getting close now. Only 3 more "sleeps" until our little boy turns 5. Hard to believe that it can go by as fast as it does. I decided when there were 10 days to go until Ky's birthday that I would take the next 10 days and walk down memory lane. I would pick 1 memory each day and record it here on our family blog. This has been such a fun process. I have really enjoyed it.

Today I will be sharing memory #3....

As a mom of 3 boys I take it very seriouly that I am raising up soon to be men. Don't get me wrong, I do not want them to grow up too fast and I want to cherish these days of small but I know that despite how hard I try to prevent it, they are still going to grow up. I want them to be good men, Godly men. I want them to be the leaders of their households and to be gentleman. The list goes on and on for what I hope they become. I am so thankful that God has given my boys such a wonderful father to model these Godly traits to these sweet princes of mine. He does a phenomenal job and I know we are blessed.

But I know I have my role too. I have to, in so many ways, allow them to be the young men that God has called them to be right now. Since their baby sister and I are the main girls in their lives we have to allow them to treat us as God has called them to and they essentially get to practice on us so that when they find the bride that God has called them to share their life with they are really good at it. :-)

Often times this means allowing my 4 year old to hold the door open for me even if it is easier to get it myself. Allowing all 3 boys to help hall the groceries in even if it means that my 3 year old swishes the bread a bit. What I have learned from being a boys mom exclusively up until 5 months ago is that these traits, this behavior, comes very naturally if you let it. They will race to get the door for me and they go out of their way to meet their baby sister's needs. It has really been quite amazing to watch.

With that all being said, this reminds me of one of my favorite memories of my soon to be 5 year old. We were at the same family camp I wrote about a couple of days ago. There was another family there that had three girls. We were all at the main lodge area when it was time to turn in for the night. These 3 girls and their mom were going to be walking in the dark to their cabin which was one of the furthest away. They also had never been to the camp before so they weren't as familiar with things as we were. Ky immediatley saw the need and at 3 1/2 he offered to walk them to their cabin. It was so adorable! Not only did he walk them to their cabin but he walked them to their very front door and opened it for them! It was so adorable. I will never forget that night and my little gentleman.

4 Days to 5...

Only 4 days to go until my 2nd son's 5th birthday and to celebrate this milestone I have been recording my top 10 memories of him. So here is memory #4....

With the recent weather turning on the cold side I can't help but to be reminded of his birth. My husband had just recently been transferred to Alaska where we packed up all of our belongings and with me being enormously pregnant we made the very long move. We had just moved into our house on October 7th and I was due on October 31st. Needless to say I was frantically trying to get everything unpacked and settled before our precious boy decided to arrive.

In the morning hours of October 30th I informed my hubbie that it was indeed time to go. We got all of our stuff together and our oldest son in the car and headed to the hospital. On the way in I have the bright idea that Jason should stop at Wal-matt and buy some magazines because you never really know how long these things will really take and I didn't want him to get bored. So he stopped. While he was in the store I had 3 massive contractions. I kept thinking what is taking so long. When I looked at the clock he had been in there less than 10 minutes. I then informed Jason that we should probably skip taking our oldest son to the babysitters and just go right to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital I knew things were serious. They got me in a room and then left. I immediately told Jason to get a doctor in the room. He had to call 4 tines to get the doctor into the room. During that time our babysitter also came and got Cale. This proved to be in just in time. Within 10 minutes I delivered Ky. They had no
time for any kind of monitors or an I.V. He just arrived.

October 30, 2005 ~ 8lbs. 4oz. ~ 21 inches long

5 days to 5....

The past 5 days I have been walking down memory lane remembering all of the wonderful things about our middle son, Ky, who is about to be 5 in 5 days. Be sure to go back and read days 10-6 if you have time.

For memory #5....

I keep remembering Ky as a little guy. Born Kylind James, named after two pastors (two of his great-grandpas) and boy was he awnery! This increased drastically after his baby brother was born.

Ky has these big blue eyes and at the time he had these amazing ringlets. I didn't cut his hair for the longest time because I didn't want them to go away which I got a ton of grief for because everyone said he looked like a girl. But they were so cute!

I am going to try to post some pictures of him when he was just a little guy. I know you will get as much of a kick out of them as I did. :-)

6 Days to 5....

For the past few days I have been recording memories of my soon to be 5 year old son, Ky, in honor of his upcoming birthday in 6 days. I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed this process. I love remembering all of the fun and wonderful things my son has done to touch our lives in the past 5 years. It has also inspired me to do something similar for my other children in the very near future so stay tuned....

As for memory #6....

Two summers ago we attended a family camp called Sonrise Family Ranch. If you have never been there GO! They have the most amazing ministry there and we make a point to get away to this amazing place at least once a year. It has been life changing for our family.

Anyway, we were attending another family camp and I noticed there were a couple of older boys there with their dad. Before I knew it, and not surprisingly, Ky had buddied himself up to the oldest boy, Josh. Well Josh was this kind of tough guy on the outside but as I began to watch how he dealt with my then 3 1/2 year old there was a gentleness about him. This 17 year old
boy had the patience of Job and spent hours fishing and giving him boat rides and whatever else Ky would dream up. I watched and studied from afar and really began to see Josh's heart through it all.

Ky, we have found, is a really good judge of charecter. I began to mention my observations to my husband who is a youth pastor. I remember telling him - there is just something about that young man. So Jason started to watch too. When we finished the family camp Josh started attending our youth group and we would invite him over to our house for other activities with the other youth group kids. More often then not I would find Josh hanging out with our boys playing video games or bouncing on our trampoline. Jason ended up inviting him on our mission trip just a few weeks later and he agreed to go. The first night we were there Josh gave his life to Christ. It was overwhelming to be a part of. Jason then had the honor of baptizing him in the ocean. It was truly amazing.

When I think about it all I know that God used Ky to touch that young man's heart. He used Ky to make sure my husband and I were paying attention. I don't know if we would have done things any differently if it weren't for Ky but I am glad we don't have to find out because I think it turned out pretty great

I don't know if Josh will ever read this but I hope he knows how much he means to our family. We love you "Big Josh" (as Ky affectionately calls him.) :-)

7 Days to 5....

My middle son will be celebrating his 5th birthday in 7 days. I still can't believe he is going to be 5! Time just seems to fly. In honor of this special day I have been recording some of my favorite memories of this precious son God gave me. I actually thought this was going to be easy but it isn't. It is hard to pick what to write about actually.

Today however, I am remembering the little things. These are the things that I want to hold on to and cherish. Like the fact that Ky refuses to wear button-up shirts except to church. He calls them "church shirts." If we put one on him during the week for something he always looks at me with those big blue eyes and asks, "Are we going to church today mom?"

Watching a movie with Ky is hysterical. It doesn't matter how many times he has seen the movie he always asks, "What's gonna happen next?"

If you ask for a kiss he will reluctantly offer you his forehead or cheek.

He loves fresh coconut.

He is afraid of the dark and usually always is the one that comes and gets into bed with us in the middle of the night.

He is completely warm blooded like his dad.

He loves his friends.

He cleans his room without us asking a lot.

His favorite drink is milk or "white milk" as he calls it.

There are lots of little things I just adore and somehow they just don't seem to be little things. In fact, they are just Ky.

Just 7 more "sleeps" my son until your big day. I know you can't wait. :-)

8 Days to 5....

My son Ky will be 5 in 8 days. I thought it would be fun to record a memory that I have of my sweet son each day of these last few days until his birthday. Here is my #8 memory....

#8....
Ky is this rough and tough little boy on the inside but has a very sensitive heart on the inside. As apart of this tender heart of his he absolutley loves animals. We were leaving our house the other day and he spotted a black kitty in a field across from our house. He asked me if that kitty was lost and if it had a home. I told him I didn't know. He was convinced that we needed to adopt that kitty ourselves and was trying to convince me of that fact ss well. When I think of this memory I can't help but to smile as it does truly show my son's heart and how compassionate he really is....

Stay tuned tomorrow for memory #7!

9 Days to 5....

My 2nd son Ky will be 5 in 9 days. To honor this milestone I have decided to write about my 10 favorite memories. When I started this I had no idea it would be so difficult to pick my 10 favorite memories. But I will give it a try.

Here is #9....
Ky was born at 8lbs. 4oz. and he continued to gain 3 pounds a month for several months. At 3 months he was 16lbs! He was such a rolly poley little thing. I remember his doctor telling me that Ky could go without his 2 a.m. feeding. My response - yeah, I will call you and you can explain that to him!

They also said he would be a late roller, crawler, and walker because he was so chunky. This was the furthest thing from the truth. He rolled at 3 months, sat up on his own at 5 months, crawled at around 6 months. He never walked, just took off running at 11 months.

There are so many great memories of Ky as a little guy! Stay tuned tomorrow for memory #8!

10 Days to 5....

In 10 days my 2nd son will be 5! I can't believe it! To celebrate the 10 to 5, I am going to tell my top 10 favorite memories of my son, 1 each day for the next 10 days.....

10.) We deliberately did not tell Cale (our oldest son) right away when we found out we were expecting Ky. Somehow Cale already knew that "there was a baby in my tummy" as he put it. Every day he would ask me and ask me and I would just change the subject or not give a direct answer. Finally, I asked him why he was so adamant that there was a baby in my tummy and he said, "because I prayed about it last night and again this morning and God just told me there was a baby in your tummy..." Well, how do you argue with that?

I will never forget that. Oh, and there was also never a doubt in Cale's mind that Ky was going to be a boy! Stay tuned tomorrow for #9 in the 10 to 5: Top 10 Memories....

The Dresser

A couple of years back I purchased an old dresser at a thrift store and have intended on refinishing it ever since. Since then we have moved twice, had job changes and added a new little one to our family so I did not get to this project as I intended. I had started it a couple of times but before I could get too far into it something would always come up. So, today I gained the determination to tackle this project full force this time and boy did I!

It started out with the most hideous color of paint which I was thankful for when I purchased it. I have found that the uglier the paint on the outside the better the deal I get as the consumer. Being the person that I am and having the mind that God has blessed me with I can see the beauty of the finished project before I ever get started. Really, this is a huge part of the fun for me. Taking something that most would turn away from and turning it into something great that I can proudly display in my home.

Anyway, as I am sanding and scraping away I begin to realize how many layers of paint this dresser really has and as I sand and sand and sand some more layer after layer is revealed. All of the sudden I am working really hard to go from one layer to the next. I am going from one sheet of sand paper to another and finally it hits me at one point when I was taking a break what this dresser truly represents. It represents each one of us….

I stood back and looked at this completely hideous piece of furniture that was not in good shape at all, at least on the outside. It had scratches and scars, dings and dents, yet once I get it all sanded down and finished the end result will be a thing of beauty. That is exactly how God feels about us, the way that I felt about that dresser that day in the thrift store when I purchased it. I saw the finished project. I saw it sitting in my bedroom proudly displaying all my treasures. I never once thought of the crud and grime that I would have to go through to restore it to that thing of beauty and neither does God when he thinks about us. He doesn’t see us and think, wow, they really have messed up their life and it is going to take a long time to restore them to their original form I will just move along and find someone a little less messy. NO! He embraces us for who we are and what we have done. He believes in us and loves us regardless. We are the ones that make it complicated. We are the ones that keep adding the layers. How do I know this? Because I was once that person and to some extent still am.

When I finally figured out how badly God wanted to have a relationship with me I said, “Okay, but I am only going to show Him this layer. If I let Him go any deeper, He isn’t going to like what He finds.” Well, after I would reveal that layer to Him and still felt God’s love and grace I would think, “Wow, He is still here, maybe I can reveal a little at a time to Him but I certainly can’t reveal it all because he certainly won’t love me if he knows the whole story.” But guess what, He kept on loving me no matter what. The most amazing thing though, He kept on healing me. He keeps on healing my heart to this very day for the sins of my past and my present. He always meets me where I am at and He never turns away. It is I who shies away from Him in embarrassment. Then I always have to remind myself, what am I doing, He already knows and He has already forgiven! It is I who has not forgiven myself. My effort to “hide” anything is futile and really only a waste of time prolonging my healing process. But that is the human side of us making us forget what a big God we serve.

As I looked for scripture to provide encouragement to those who may be struggling with some of the things that I am I found so many that relayed this very message. It is overwhelming to me how many times God tells us and in how many different ways to cast our worries upon Him. If He really doesn’t mean it why would it be there so many times in His word? If this is something that you struggle with I pray that you can hand your worries over to the Lord. I pray that you don’t just give him your first layer or you 10^th layer or even your 110^th layer….give Him everything. Hand it over to him to heal and then allow Him to change others lives through you. God Bless.

Here is some scripture for your consideration:

Psalm 86:7

John 14;1

1 Peter 5:7

Psalm 37:7

Isaiah 49:13

Psalm 55:2

Psalm 46:1

Can I Pray for You?

I am starting this post for all the prayer requests our family gets. I am hoping to keep updating this so if you need prayer for ANYTHING please post it in the comment section and we will pray for you!

I always lift my husband and children in prayer. I pray for the protection of Jason, Cale, Ky, Creide, and Kearyn. Please Lord light your path for them to follow and use them to expand your kingdom. Thank you for blessing me by allowing me to be Jason's wife and Cale, Ky, Creide, and Kearyn's mom. We love you God. ~Amen

Creide....

Creide, Creidey, Creidey-Bear, Creide Jaxton… the many names he has almost matches the many different aspects to his personality. He is a fiery little man that just turned three in September. Even before we knew we were expecting him he left a lasting impression. My first awareness of my 3^rd son was through a dream prior to my knowledge that I was even pregnant with him. I was told in my dream that I just had another boy. I told the person in my dream that was impossible because I was not even pregnant. The person was adamant that I did indeed have a baby boy, he was at the hospital, and I desperately needed to go get him as there had been an explosion in the town we lived and it was unsafe. I remember feeling anxious and wanted to hurry to go get him when it hit me that I wouldn’t know which baby was mine. I stopped the person to ask them what I named my baby so that I could make sure I got the right one. That is when they showed me his birth certificate and spelled his name one letter at a time. “J – A – X – T – O – N.” When I woke up that next morning I told Jason about my dream. He said, “Another boy?!?.....Ky is still just a baby,” referring to our 2^nd son who had just turned 1 years old. Later that month I took a pregnancy test and it was negative. I did not believe it and took something like 6 or 7 more pregnancy tests before I finally got a positive test. Jason thought I was crazy. I just knew that I was pregnant and couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t getting an accurate test…. I was indeed expecting. Everyone kept saying how they hoped it would be a girl this time and I told them that it wasn’t going to be. It was going to be another boy because that was what my dream had told me. I also told my husband that despite my due date being September 29^th that I felt that I would have him on 9/11 because of the explosion in my dream. Sure enough, on September 11^th, 2 ½ weeks early, I delivered Creide Jaxton, our 3^rd boy.

We thought and thought about what to name him. My first thought was that we needed to use the name from the dream however a family member had recently had another baby and his name was very close to Jaxton. So I started thinking of different variations of the name Craig, my husband’s middle name and my father-in-law’s name. I came up with the names Creide and Quaid. That next weekend we went to church and the pastor was giving a sermon on your “creed”. Jason and I both looked at each other and knew that God was telling us to use the name Creide. So, Creide Jaxton it was (of course we had decide to decide on how to spell it but that is an additional story.)

Since his birth, he has definitely made such an impact on our lives. His footprints are forever on our hearts. He continually makes me laugh with the things he says and does. He is by far our most dramatic child. My favorite thing about Creide is his smile. When I see his precious little face light up with that smile of his it makes my heart light up with joy. This past month he turned three and it is so hard to believe that God has blessed us with three years with this child already. It has been such an amazing experience for both of us. I can’t wait to see what God calls this little man to do with his life with his “rock-star” name and his “rock-star” attitude as we always say.

Creide is the most affectionate of the boys. He genuinely misses his brothers when they are gone and when they return he almost always greets them with a hug. He is the most tenacious of the three, he never gives up. He is also my most accident prone. He has already had a couple of breaks and stitches to mark his bravery. This is something that I hope he outgrows in the very near future.

He never gives up. Keeping up with two big brothers is a big job and he does his very best. I often look at him and wonder, as I do with the other boys, what God has laid out for him. I wonder how He plans on using my little man to expand His kingdom. The scripture that comes to mind when I think of him is “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,” Philippians 4:13 as I look at this little guy and how he never gives up. Most of the time he is the last one to sleep at night and the first one awake. You can hear his non-stop chatter about different things and he just makes you laugh. When Kearyn was first born we took her to church the first time. A dear friend of ours was hold her and he asked her if she could “put her back” (in her carseat) “and just look at her.” He is always coming up with things like that.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I just don’t feel overwhelmingly blessed to have each of my children. Thank you God for choosing Jason and I, trusting Jason and I, and loving Jason and I so much that you have given us such wonderful gifts. Now let’s just hope we don’t mess them up!