Happy Birthday, Jason!

Today is Jason's 33rd birthday. Happy Birthday, Jace!! This is also my 100th post! The timing could not have worked out better! Since I've been blogging, I've noticed that people make a pretty big deal about their 100th posts. So, in honor of Jason's birthday and my 100th post, I want to list 100 things that I love about my amazing husband. My friend, Erica, listed 100 things about herself on her 100th post and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Since I'm not a creative person, I'll just copy her idea with a twist! I know she won't mind!

Jace, here's to you!

(in no special order)

1. You love Jesus Christ!
2. You are so patient with me and allow me the freedom to make so many mistakes.
3. You'll gratefully eat eggs and toast for dinner.
4. You love our little boy so unselfishly and so abundantly.
5. You are still a kid inside and you love kid things - bubble gum, Haribo candies, animated movies, video games, go-karting, etc.

6. You don't care if I'm still in my pajamas when you get home from work!
7. You mow our entire lawn while holding Jackson. Now that is patience and unselfishness at it's finest.

8. You worked at a fireworks stand to pay cash for my wedding ring.
9. You warm Jackson's jammies with the hairdryer to take away the cold sting.
10. You work so hard at your job and you take care of the people you manage.
11. You support me in my role as a homemaker and provide for us so abundantly so that I can stay home.
12. You love to travel and you trust me to carry the map.

13. You are a great planner, but you can be spontaneous (Noordwijk Beach...one of your greatest non-planned ideas!).

14. You drive a 1999 Toyota Avensis, which had no AC this summer, instead of a Mini Cooper S or a BMW.
15. You want to buy souvenirs wherever we go.
16. You are the GREATEST dad ever!

17. You are a servant leader.
18. You pace when you talk on the phone.
19. When making a big purchase, you research and research and research and research.
20. You love my family and they adore you.
21. You dream BIG.
22. You let Jackson throw all of the balls down the stairs and then you go retrieve them...again and again and again.
23. You respect the people who work for you and you never humiliate them or reprimand them in public.
24. You love the unlovables and the hopeless wrecks.
25. You pray for me, Jackson, and our family every single night.
26. You have really great taste - in clothes and in home furnishings.
27. You love fantasy football and could talk about it for hours and hours.
28. You like to stay up late and sleep in late.
29. You ride bikes with me even though you are a runner.
30. You have a Calvin Klein tightie whities butt! (Sorry if that's TMI...it's just the truth and I mean it in the most tasteful way!)
31. You don't like anything being left in the cars - no trash, cups, papers, bags...
32. Your threshold for cleanliness in the home is much higher than mind, which means that you add no additional pressure.
33. You read all seven Harry Potter books and have seen all of the movies. You got my brother and both of our moms addicted to them as well.

34. You didn't get mad at me whenever I wrecked our Passat on our 4th anniversary.
35. You have to iron everything, including t-shirts and jeans, although parenthood is helping you loosen up.
36. You are affectionate. You aren't embarrassed to hold hands or to hug in public and you love and kiss on our little boy a lot.
37. You like to shop. Yes, you like to shop!
38. Deep down, you are competitive...even though you try hard not to be.
39. You are a gifted athelete. You are quick and fast. Your strength to weight ratio is pretty amazing. I loved watching you at SOS.
40. You went to childbirth education classes for 12 weeks and read books on pregnancy and labor to be my best labor coach. I couldn't have done it without you.

41. You have a lot of common sense.
42. You help me to stay balanced with so many things in life - parenting, eating, cleaning, bettering myself.
43. You care about your health and want to stay fit.
44. You support me in all of my health promoting endeavors.
45. You love to ski and introduced it to me. Now, it's my favorite thing to do.

46. You love your dad and have many fond memories of him. You miss him terribly.
47. You do not like to make mistakes.
48. You are concerned about our future and you are doing all you can to invest in it.
49. The dimple on your right cheek.
50. You love me and Jackson more than your career and were willing to change it so that we could all be together.
51. Family is super important to you.
52. You are looking for a new job and I'm not even worried.
53. You are meticulous, which brings to mind a very funny memory...and I quote you, "Do you know the meaning of meticulous?!"
54. You send me on scavenger hunts with great surprises at the end.

55. You allow me to coordinate our clothes for pictures or occasions.
56. You asked Jesus into your heart at a soccer camp when you were 10. He called you early and saved you from a lot of terrible things.
57. You buy feminine products for me. Not all men will do that!
58. You like to wear running shoes and don't care for flip-flops because you like to be prepared for the unexpected.
59. You taught me how to throw a football and have convinced me that I'm not that bad at it.
60. You eat leftovers, willingly.
61. You like to watch football with me.
62. You want me to homeschool our child(ren) as much as I do and you think I'll be great at it.
63. You love to give gifts with a lot of meaning.
64. You have a hat fettish, a shoe fettish, and a coat fettish.
65. You are not happy when your clothes get dirty and we're out.
66. You read the Bible to Jackson every night and you are very fun to listen to.
67. Your love for Jesus was so contagious that it encouraged me to know Him more.
68. You sat in the driver's seat while I pushed the Jeep out of the mud with Ronald and Davey. What a great memory of that mud kicking off of the tires and onto my face.
69. You now eat onions in things as long as they are super cooked.
70. You give me freedom in the kitchen to try new things and you NEVER complain.
71. You are so much fun!

72. You like to make sure that I'm safe and comfortable - warm jackets, shoes for cold weather, blankets in the car in case I break down, reflective belts, bicycle helmet...just to name a few.
73. You think before you speak.
74. When we were engaged, you told me that yelling would not be a way of communicating in our family. We work very hard to make that a reality.
75. You carve a great pumpkin. I can't wait until this year.

76. You introduced me to Stephen Curtis Chapman's music.
77. You love teenagers and know how to communicate with them really well.
78. You love my brother and you have a very special relationship with him.





79. You watch romantic movies with me and you actually enjoy them.
80. You carry the 5 gallon water jugs upstairs for me even though I can do it.
81. You make a big deal out of anniversaries and birthdays and you never forget.
82. You are very compassionate toward people and value their feelings.
83. You are driven and you work very hard to achieve your goals.
84. You have this thing where you tuck up your shirt when it hangs long. It's your own unique mannerism and I love it.
85. You support my love for UT football even though you are a Baylor Bear.

86. You are honest (even when you have to retell something because you got one fact wrong).
87. You rarely throw stuff away.
88. You know how much I love to dance. You bought me ballroom dancing lessons.
89. You cut the fat off of the raw chicken so that I don't have to touch it.
90. You let me make seven cakes for Jackson's first birthday. (For those who don't know, there is a very long story behind this.)

91. You lead our family.
92. You are a great listener. You let me talk A LOT.
93. You make me feel safe and secure.
94. You are so merciful and tender.
95. You got your Master's degree while working full time and supporting me through my Bachelor's degree. We both graduated two weeks after Jackson was born. What a ride!

96. You love your parents, brother and sisters.
97. You are an individual and are not afraid of doing something that goes against the grain.
98. You are an encourager.
99. You are super cool.

100. You have been my husband for almost 10 years and you are without a doubt the greatest man that I could ever share my life with.

Happy Birthday, Baby! I hope the cake is delicious. I hope the day is great. You are mine and there is no other!

Tea Time with Jack

Since our Ireland trip in May, I've had a bigger interest in tea. I've always liked herbal teas, but my new favorite is vanilla red bush tea. Now that autumn is here and the weather is much cooler, I drink tea 1-3 times per day. It is amazing how a warm beverage can warm you up!

Jackson, of course, wants to drink what I'm drinking. I don't ever drink caffeinated tea, so I'm happy to let him have his own cup. He drinks well out of my tea cups or coffee mugs; however, I know that accidents happen and since I'd prefer to keep my cups from being dropped, I currently give him the to-go cups that you can buy at the grocery store. I'm using these until I get us some stainless steel commuter mugs. We drink tea so much that I feel it's a worthy purchase!

Here's a photo of him having our morning tea:

Notice the red shoes in that last picture. Jason and I went to buy him new shoes last week. We let him scan the row of size 22's and these are the ones he picked out. We also got him a brown pair (that were 1/2 off...yay!), but they've only been worn once since we bought them. Every morning when he wakes up, he says, "Shoes. Shoes." When I ask if he wants to put his shoes on, his reply is always, "Red." He wants to put them on when he wakes up. He does not want to take them off for his nap, but I make him. He wants to put them back on once he wakes from his nap, and then he doesn't want to take them off when it's time for bed. He has a row of shoes in his bedroom and he just loves to look at them. His dad has a shoes fettish. Perhaps he passed this on to Jackson?!

Jackson also has favorite shirts. If one is clean and in his drawer, he wants to wear it. If he's wearing one of them, he doesn't want to take it off. In fact, he doesn't like to take off whatever he's wearing. When we tell him it's time for bed, he always pats his chest. Sometimes, he'll say, "Shirt." That is his way of indicating to us that he wants to wear that shirt to bed rather than putting on his jammies. Sometimes, we oblige, but usually we talk him into putting on his pajama top. The crazy thing is that in the morning, we'll go through the same routine except it's with his pajamas. He wants to wear his pajamas rather than putting on his clothes. I could be the one to blame for this. I have a terrible habit of staying in my pajama pants for a huge part of the day and then sometimes sleeping in the shirt I wore during the day...if it's a comfy one. I guess I should start getting dressed first thing in the morning. But that just isn't as comfortable!

I'm so excited that autumn is here. I love this season. I love the colors, the smells and the food. One day last week, we were walking through our village looking for some ripe apples to pick. You can't walk 50 meters without finding an apple or pear tree. It's wonderful. A man happened to be in his yard picking apples from his tree and he kindly filled Jackson's hat. I made pumpkin apple pie last weekend. It was great!

Here's one last photo of Jackson. Last week, the weather was beautiful, so we spent a lot of time outside. He loves to push things. Usually, it's his mower, but on one of our walks he decided to bring Teddy in the shopping cart. Teddy is starting to spend a lot more time with us. This is a recent attachment. Jackson has never been attached to anything except his thumb and his mommy and daddy. When he got this shopping cart, I thought it would be cool to put this bear inside so that he could push the bear around. Ever since then, "Teddy" has benefitted from a lot more attention.

Meredith = Preggo!!

I have been holding this in for weeks because she wanted me to wait until she finished her first trimester. Finally, I can share the news. Meredith is expecting a baby in April!!! We are so excited. In fact, I lived off of the excitement for at least two weeks. It was all I could think about. I am so thrilled for Mer and Ryan that I can hardly stand myself! I cannot wait to see my baby sister holding her own baby. Boy or girl??!! I have no idea. I can see them with both. My brother seems to think it will be a boy. We'll have to wait and see. They are so good...they already have the names picked out. Wow! Jackson wasn't 100% Jackson until he was on my belly covered in vernix! Let's just say that Jason and I are not the greatest decision makers!

Here's a photo of the proud parents-to-be:

A Little Taste of Home

Saturday, we took a trip to a nearby base for a big bazaar they were hosting. Bazaars are wonderful treats to military members living overseas. Typically, vendors from all over the continent fill two (aircraft) hangers selling merchandise from their respective countries. One can find furniture, pottery, wine, cheese, shoes, carpets, paintings, toys, crafts, antiques, etc. It's a great place to look around and find unique things from this part of the world. Every time I go to a bazaar, I think of my friend Michelle. She is a bazaar's delight! (Michelle, I saw a collection of Russian nesting dolls and thought of you!)

The drive was a little over an hour, so we took a soccer ball and gave Jackson some time to run around before we went into the hanger and braved the rows of untouchables with our toddler. I was really surprised at how well he handled the ball. He was dribbling and kicking all over the place. It was a nice area for him because it was relatively flat - something we don't have around our house - and open. He played for half an hour, then we went inside the first hanger, and then he played again before we went inside the second hanger. Here are a few photos:

I think he's got skills!

His face is so cute in this next one. You'll have to click on it to enlarge the image and see how delighted he is.

He almost ran into me on this one. I couldn't get him to take his eyes off of the ball. I guess that's a good thing!

After the bazaar, we were starving. The base we were at has a Chili's! Since we didn't make it to Houston and we haven't been in the States in over a year, Chili's sounded great. I ordered the Southwestern Cobb salad with extra pico. I love pico! It was so delicious, I could have eaten it by the spoonful. With their pico, there is no need for salad dressing. My goodness, that salad hit the spot and gave me a little taste of home.

We got our food to go because the wait was longer than we wanted, but it turned out even better. There was a very wide and large grassy area in front of the restaurant. We let Jackson lose with his lawn mower while we waited on the food. Our plan was to picnic on the grass, but for some reason (that I can't think of at the moment), it didn't work out so we moved to an outdoor table that they weren't seating. It was great! The weather was brilliant and I wasn't worried about all of the rice that fell on the ground instead of making it into Jackson's mouth.

Here is one photo I got of him happily pushing his mower on the Chili's lawn while Jace and I sat and talked. It was so wonderful!

The Details...

So here are the promised details of our travel changes...

We obviously canceled the first Friday flight for me and Jackson because of Hurricane Ike. There was no sense in us flying there to participate in the hurricane and it's a good thing we didn't because our flight was canceled. Jackson and I would have boarded our flight in Luxembourg but then never boarded the flight from Amsterdam to Houston. We would have been stuck there either until Jason drove up to get us or until we got a later flight to Houston.

I switched our tickets to Tuesday, but when no one in our families had power Monday morning, Jason thought we should continue to stay here and wait to go later in the week. We figured things would be looking a lot better by Thursday or Friday. I didn't want to wait until Friday because I didn't want Jackson getting there on the day of the rehearsal dinner, so I asked the airline if they would switch our tickets to Thursday and also bump Jason's up one day so that we could all fly together. They were willing to do it without any additional fees, which was awesome, so we thought we'd for sure be in Houston on Thursday afternoon.

Wednesday afternoon, our bags were completely packed and ready to be loaded into the car. Then, I got a phone call from my sister-in-law saying that the wedding had to be postponed because too many of the people involved in making the wedding happen (cake lady, reception hall) did not have power. My poor sister-in-law! I can't even imagine. So I immediately called the airline, explained the situation, and they were willing to give us a credit for the full amount of our ticket price. Our tickets were use or lose, so I felt this was a gift from the Lord.

So why did we choose to stay and not come to Houston anyway?? Well, for starters, if Jessica decides to have her wedding in late October or November, there is no way for us to be there because we can't spend the money or the extra vacation time to fly to Houston again, especially when we'll be back for good in early December. Also, by not coming to Houston, we'll be able to move back three weeks sooner, which will put us in the States around 15 November. We also found out that we can book our airline tickets for the move back to the States and the Air Force will reimburse us up to the amount they would have had to pay to move us back. It is hard for me to justify coming to the States for a vacation when we'll be back for good in less than two months and we can save ourselves $1500.

So that's the scoop and I am totally okay with it. I never dreamed that this would happen again. If you read my blog back in March/April, then you know I was supposed to go to the States then and never got there. It's a little unbelievable, but I trust in God's sovereignty and can't complain. If anything, I'm really learning, "If the Lord wills, then I will...!" I am sad about not seeing my family and friends, but we'll be there soon! I am so ready to see everyone. You won't believe how much Jackson has changed! We'll be ready to celebrate his 2nd birthday on 29 November, which is a Saturday this year and two days after Thanksgiving. Yay!!!

"I have coffee!?!"

Yesterday was one of those days that you would not want to repeat. Nothing went as planned, but amazingly, I was able to roll with it and not lose my mind. My life has been out of sorts for the past week because of all of the changes we've made to our travel plans. One day I'm cleaning out my fridge because I think I'm going to be gone for four weeks and the next day I'm picking up a friend's little girl who is Jackson's age and gratefully taking care of her for the weekend while I figure out what I'm going to feed the four of us plus make a meal for her family. Whew!

Last night, Jackson had a rough night. I'm sure our lovely day didn't help out. He went to bed late because of all of the last minute travel changes. About 30 minutes into his sleep, I heard him screaming. I went into his room and laid down with him. He kept trying to fall asleep, but just could not seem to get comfortable. I had noticed on Monday night that we was cutting two new teeth. Perhaps his teeth were bothering him?? But he wasn't showing any signs of teething pain. He'd gotten a terrible diaper rash earlier in the day and his little bottom was on fire. He never ever gets diaper rash. He's had it once in his life and it was when we first moved here. I have this great cream from Dr. Burts that I like to use if I notice even the slightest change in color on his bottom. Well, I gave it to Erika, the little girl we watched for the weekend, because she got the worst diaper rash I've ever seen. Jason gave her full strength apple juice while he was taking care of her and Jackson last Wednesday when I was at the hospital with her mom and dad. He had no idea that he needed to dilute it. Erika just happens to be one of those kids who has a bad reaction to full strength apple juice. I felt so bad about it being our fault, that I gave her our cream because it was working a lot better than her Desitin. I never dreamed that Jackson would get a daiper rash a few days later...although the thought did pop into my head that he would get one just because I gave away the cream! But I didn't actually believe it!

So back to last night. Teething. Diaper rash. A busy day. And I'm sure he wasn't oblivious to the last minute changes we were trying to make to all of our travel plans. It was almost midnight before he finally fell asleep! You would think that he would have slept in. No way! He was awake before 7. Then, by 1100, he was exhausted, so I put him down for an early nap. I thought that I'd have plenty of time to workout, doing some rounds in the sauna (our landlord has a sauna in this house), and shower before he woke up. I was 20 minutes into my workout when I heard him crying. He was "all done" sleeping after one hour, and I was all done thinking that I might try to get him back to sleep. So we got ready, played outside, went to the base and played at the playground, went grocery shopping, and then went to get what I felt was a well-deserved Starbucks.

I rarely drink coffee. For one, I don't like it unless it has a lot of milk and sugar, which I try to avoid. Plus, if I drink the littlest bit of caffeine, I'm wired for hours and hours. I do like Starbucks Frappuccinos, but they don't have those here and it's really cold anyway - 50 degrees. So I thought I'd try my first hot coffee drink at this cafe on base called Kuhl Beanz. I usually go there for hot tea, which Jackson loves. We drink vanilla red bush or herbal tea together at home almost every day. We both like it with a little honey and a few drops of cream! I told Jackson that we were going to go get some tea. He liked the idea. When I was getting him out of the car, I said, "Let's go get some coffee for Mommy and some tea for Jackson." He said, "Coffee." I thought he said car keys but he repeated himself until I realized he was saying coffee...a word he never hears. I said, "Oh! Coffee. Yes, Mama is going to get some coffee." His reply, "Jack." I said, "No, Jackson has tea. Mama has coffee." To which he replied, "I have coffee." I could not believe my ears. He was saying this as we were walking through the door and a lady heard him. She started laughing. I assured her that I do not let him drink coffee and that I don't even drink coffee, which is what made this so amazing to me. He kept repeating himself and smiling at me, "I have coffee!" We got him Calm Tazo tea and I got a really great decaf vanilla latte. It hit the spot!

Sorry for all of the rabbits I chased during this post. There is so much to talk about because so much has been going on and Jackson is changing so much every day. A couple of months ago, he started saying and using words a lot. But in the last week and half, he's been putting words together, forming sentences, repeating things I say, and saying 10-15 new words every day! I can't believe it and it is so exciting!

Unpacking...Again...in Germany!

Well, I'll give the short version first for those who care nothing about details. We had a trip planned to Houston for four weeks for me and Jackson and three weeks for Jason. (He was meeting us one week later.) Due to Hurricane Ike, Jackson and I did not leave last Friday on our flight that was eventually canceled anyway. We switched our tickets to Tuesday, the 16th. Since no on in our family had power and things were still a little crazy in Houston, we decided to change our tickets again for Thursday, the 18th. Only this time, Jason was going to fly with us. The airline was willing to change his ticket from Friday to Thursday at no additional charge. This was better for us since we could all fly together, rest from our weekend of toddlers, and avoid the power situation in Houston. Well, we got a call Wednesday evening that the wedding we were all in on Saturday had been postponed. We immediately called the airline and by nothing other than the hand of God, they were willing to give us a credit for our tickets to use at a later time. Bottom line, we are not coming to Houston.

At the moment, I am too exhausted to explain details. I really need to sleep...for the benefit of my entire family. I will continue this post tomorrow because I am sure that it doesn't make a lot of sense as to why we didn't just choose to come home anyway. There is a reason behind the never-ending change of plans!

Random Jackson Funnies

Here's a post I wrote almost a month ago. I was jotting down things that Jackson does that just make me laugh. I never got to complete the post, but I don't want to delete it because it's the precious memories of my child; so, here's the unfinished product.

1. Jackson loves Daddy! We were talking to PaPa the other day. He kept waving bye-bye and then saying Dada. I understood that he wanted me to get off the phone with my dad and call Jason (it was time for Jace to come home from work). So my dad and I said goodbye and we called Jason. Once he answered, Jackson looked at me and said, "Dada." Then he said and signed, "Home. Home." I said, "Jackson, you want Daddy to come home?" "Uh-huh!"

2. Friday (the 15th of August), we went to Jason's work on our way to Stevie's house. Jackson and I walked in the building and then climbed the stairs. Once we got to the top, Jason just happened to be in the hallway. As soon as Jackson saw him, he got a big smile on his face and Jason walked over to us. Normally, Jackson immediately wants Jason to hold him. This time, Jackson turned toward me and the stairs and started saying and signing home. He was telling Daddy that it was time for him to come home. Unfortunately, the day wasn't even halfway over!

3. Tonight, I was making Smoky Corn Chowder while Jace and Jackson were in the study/extra bedroom. Jace was laying on the couch with bare feet when Jackson came up to Jason, grabbed his big toe, and said, "Weeee, eeeee, eeeeeee!" and then said and signed, "Home!" I guess he picked up on the little piggies!

*I'm seeing a home trend here. I'm not sure why we laugh at all the things he does that have to do with home, but we do!

"I fast!"

The Lord has been good to provide an opportunity to serve some friends from our church as they bring their second daughter into the world. My friend Stevie had a baby girl this morning at about 10:25. Stevie and her husband Isaiah have a little girl who is 6 days older than Jackson. Her name is Erika. They really needed someone to take care of Erika so that Isaiah could be at the hospital with Stevie. Since I am still here, we've been able to help them out and it is such a blessing to both families. As I type, both toddlers are sleeping peacefully.

Last weekend, before we left for the Bernkastel Wine Festival, Jason was eating cheese and offered some to Jackson. Apparently, he liked it because he said, "More cheese" to Jason. This was the first time he'd ever put two spoken words together.

Today, as we were leaving the hospital, he was holding my hand as we were walking outside to the parking lot. I said to him, "Jackson, you are walking fast. You are walking so fast!" He smiled really big and then said, "I fast!" I couldn't believe it! It was so precious. I asked, "Did you just say I'm fast." He replied, "I fast!" He then repeated himself a few more times. It was so cute.

I actually can't believe how many words he's started saying over the last two months. And he says them on his own without any prompting. Like tonight, we took dinner to Jason because he had to work late. Jackson was sitting in his lap and he pointed to Jason's wedding ring and said, "Ring."

It's so funny when we try to figure out a word that he's saying. We'll guess several words and when we finally choose the right one, he'll say, "Ooooohhhh!" very enthusiastically. That is actually his new form of Yes. If we understand what he wants, or we ask him to do something that he wants to do, he'll reply, "Ooooohhhh!" His eyes open really wide and he kind of tips his head backwards as he says it. It's as if he's saying, "Oh, you understand. Yes." We think he says it because we often say that after we figure out what he wants. For example, we'll say, "You want..." and when we guess the right thing we'll say, "Oooohhh. That's what you wanted/were saying."

He just cracks us up these days. He's getting really funny. He likes to tickle us, which makes us laugh so hard. He and Jason have this special signal call (or whatever you call it). Jason whistles a 2-whistle tune to Jackson and Jackson squeaks it back to him. It's so funny. Jason will sometimes hide from Jackson and then do it so that Jackson can find him. Or Jace will do it if we didn't hear him coming through the door at the end of the day. Tonight, when we went to Jason's office, Jackson passed it up by one door. Jason saw him and whistled his tune. Jackson stopped in his tracks, smiled, turned around, and then ran into his office. It was so cute. I love that they have this little thing between them. I also must confess that I would like to have a little thing between us too!

Another thing that sends me into laughter every night is when Jason reads a Bible story to Jackson. He is very animated and makes the story very exciting. He makes sound effects and big exclamations as he reads. Whenever he does this in the story, Jackson will mimic him. It is hilarious! Jason will make animal sounds or weather sounds (wind, rain, ocean waves, thunder, lightning, etc.) and Jackson will mimic him. If we read something really great, Jason will say, "Yes!!!" to which Jackson replies, "Yesssshh!!!" Or he'll say, "Yeah" and then Jackson replies with a big drawn out, "Yeeaaahh." The look on his face is hilarious. A couple of weeks ago, Jason said, "Sweet!" Now, this is one of Jackson's favorite words to say during story time. Except, it sounds like, "Peet!" What makes it funnier is when I try to mimic them. Sometimes, Jackson will look up at me and say, "Dada" with a big smile. It's as if he's saying, "No, Mama. Only Dada says it."

Okay, I had no intention of this post going where it went but I'm glad it did! I just documented a lot of really great memories. I love my child! In the words of Dash on The Incredibles, "I love our family!"

For those of you who don't like posts without pictures (Michelle!), I'm including some photos taken about two weeks ago. Here's another thing that Jackson does that makes us laugh. He learned to sign cold. One day, Jackson and I went back and forth signing cold and laughing about it. When Jason watched us do it one day, he joined in too. Ever since then, my efforts to play the cold game are fruitless. It is now only fun when daddy does it! Here they are going back and forth while Jackson eats frozen peas:

Ike!!!

Seriously, can a girl just get to Houston?!! I'm supposed to be getting on a plane in the morning (tonight for you Texans), but thanks to Ike, I won't be getting there until next Tuesday. Jason felt it would be safer for me and Jackson to wait until after the hurricane passed through to make our much-anticipated arrival in Houston. I am disappointed. I've been packing for days and had everything ready to go. I've been so excited to see everyone, but now I'll have to delay the gratification even longer.

Regardless of all of that, I'm more upset for the homes that are going to be destroyed and the lives that will be lost in this terrible storm. I am praying for the safety of everyone who will feel the effects of Ike. Please be safe!

Friends and family, we will see you soon...Lord willing. I am praying for all of you and for your homes. I love you and miss you terribly. Tuesday just won't get here soon enough.

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Long before 9-11 ever happened, my brother-in-law was born and celebrating his birthday year after year. I think this day is a just a little different now that he shares it with the anniversary of one of the most tragic days in US history.

Ryan,
Happy Birthday! I thought I'd be celebrating with you tomorrow night, but thanks to Ike, we'll have to postpone that celebration. I'm so sorry that things in Houston are no doubt getting crazy as we speak. What fun birthday fun! I hope you enjoy the day regardless and take time to have some good food, good cake and good times.

Thank you so much for always being so welcoming to me. I'll never forget the first time that we met in San Antonio. My first impression of you has stayed true - you are the sweetest person, you'd give someone the shirt off of your back, and you go out of your way to help others. You have always been so kind and so good to me. Thank you for that!

We cannot wait to see you. Even though you and Megan saw Jackson in January, he has changed so much since then. You are going to have a blast together. You are such a great uncle and we love to watch you play and interact with him, which is why I put this picture on the post...it shows your playfulness!

We love you and are looking forward to spending lots of time together...if I ever get there! Have a great day despite the Houston drama.

The Books on my Nightstand...

I love books. I love to read. I just don't have a lot of time for it these days. At the start of summer, my good friend Sheri sent me a Bible study for us to do together. She lives in the States and I of course am here in Germany, so our plan was to chat through email and over the phone once per week. I felt honored that she thought of me and could not wait to get started. The ladies in my church were doing a summer Bible reading challenge that took us through the New Testament books except for Matthew, Mark, John and Revelation. Since I had already signed up for it, Sheri and I decided that we would both do the reading challenge and then start our study 14 August.

The book she sent is called Becoming a Woman of Beauty and Strength by Elizabeth George. It is one of her books in the series A Woman After God's Own Heart and this particular study is over the book of Esther. Back in February, I did a study in this same series that covered the book of James. Sheri also gave this book to me and I wrote about it here. We are now in our third week and I cannot help but speak of the amazing things that the Lord is doing in my heart as I open His Word each day. This study is perfectly fitting for my current season of life. It does not take hours each day to complete, and each lesson can easily be broken up into two or three days if needed.

In an effort to not make this post ridiculously long, I'll just summarize some of the things I feel God has been working on in my heart. I love sharing what He does in my life and wish I could be more detailed, but the thought of typing it all out is very exhausting...especially when I am leaving for one month in the States in 9 days and have a lot to do.
- People tend to admire four qualities in others: human wisdom, power (strength), kindness, and riches...But God puts a higher priority on knowing Him personally and living a life that reflects His justice and righteousness.
- Do not covet a life of wealth. If you have plenty, give liberally. If you have little, seek contentment.
- The wonder of God's sovereignty - Proverbs 21:1 "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes."
-God does not see as we do. He looks at the heart and not the outward appearance. Faith and character are what's important to God. He cares about your heart!
-I'm learning to relax...a lot more! For anyone who knows me well, I'm prone to get stressed about things. I think it has to do with my issues with perfectionism. I feel He is showing me more and more how little I control and how much He controls. It's a huge weight off of my shoulders!
-Moderation in all things! Balance! I can't be 150% at everything!
-Giving love and extending grace to my child are so important. I will not ruin him if I don't feed him perfectly, provide the perfect amount of mental stimulation, play with him too much one day or too little the next day, etc.

It is amazing how life changes in every area when I make time with Him a priority. It is amazing how he works in my heart in areas that I haven't even covered in Bible study. He permeates every part of my life when I make time with Him a priority. I am so thankful for Him in my life. Do you know Him? I hope so because His love is better than life. I can't imagine my life without Him!

Another book that I'm reading is called Grace-Based Parenting. So far, I really like it. It is helping me take a step back and look at parenting with a much bigger view and mindset. I so desperately want to love my child like God loves me. I'm praying He'll show me how. I know that the more time I spend in His Word, the better I'll understand what that love looks and acts like. Parenting is such a huge responsibility. I just want to do it His way!

I'm also flipping through a few Montessori books. I really like her approach to education. We studied it a lot while I was in college because the Science Ed department at OU was a big believer in her methods. I'm finding that I naturally use her approach in our day-to-day living. I don't have the names of the books because I'm at the coffee shop where the internet speed is 20x faster than at home. I'm uploading photos to our online albums for my MIL and it is saving me hours and hours!

Yay or Yeah???

From this point further, I will start spelling the exclamation of elation as YAY instead of YEAH. Oh my gosh! I just realized that I was spelling it wrong. I read a comment on a friend's blog while I was typing my comment. I noticed she wrote YAY. I decided to look it up on dictionary.com. Sure enough, I've been spelling it wrong. Goodness! I went back and changed my post previously titled "Yeah! Dada!" And I'm college educated! Who would know! I'm not changing every post, so if it says YEAH, You can be certain that I mean YAY.

Bernkastel Wine Festival

We had such a great family day on Saturday. It is wine festival time here in Germany and Bernkastel was having their annual wine festival and huge fireworks show. Jackson woke at 5:50 on Saturday morning (what is up with that?!), so we decided to head to the festival early and skip the fireworks because we knew he wouldn't make it that late.

I absolutely love the festivals in Germany. Booths fill the streets with handmade gifts, all sorts of food and drink, and fun rides for children. They have bratwurst, currywurst and a ton of other wursts that I'm not even sure of. They serve french fries, mushrooms in cream sauce (yum!), flamed salmon, smoked cheese, crepes (filled with your choice of cinnamon and sugar, nutella, or a mulititude of other fillings to suit your taste, including rum), and waffles (the amazing thick good kind and you can top them with cream, sugar and/or cherries). They have stands that look like our version of the Sweet Factory with rows of candies and chocolates and other stands that sell sugared and spiced nuts. I love the booths that sell the sugared nuts and German gingerbread cookies. I can smell the butter and sugar as I walk past. I think I've bought 100-200 grams at every festival or market I've been to. They also have booths that sell beer and wine.

One thing that I love about Germany is their concern for the earth. You do not see a lot of paper or plastic at the food booths. Instead, they serve your beverage in a mug or glass and your food on a plate along with stainless steel cutlery. When you buy your food or beverage, you pay a small fee for your glass/dish/etc. You can either keep it or return it to get your money back. I love it! It totally cuts back on the amount of trash accumulated at such crowded events.

So, we started our day walking from booth to booth and surveying all of the handmade items - jewelry, journals, purses, coats, sweaters, parkas, wooden toys, wooden boxes, aromatherapy products, decorations for the home, etc. We passed by a small playground and set Jackson free. Interestingly, he wasn't at all interested in the see-saw, slide, sandbox, or swings. He just wanted to open and close the gate that led into the fenced play area. We had to pry him away because we were trying to find the carnival area that had rides for children. We knew he'd love them.

At the end of the craft lane, we found pony rides. He was very interested in looking at the horses, but made it very clear that he did not want to get on them. Then, we found the toddler rides! There was a great track with tons of cars and trucks, and the track didn't just move in circles. It went up and down and around and back up and down and around. It was drizzly, so no one was in line to ride. We took him up to the cars and let him pick the one he wanted to ride in. Let me tell you, the man knew what he wanted. He headed directly to the semi truck.

After the first ride, we let him ride again. Jason wanted him to get into the Ferrari, but he would not have it. We tried every other vehicle and he only wanted the truck. So back to the truck he went. If we would have let him, he would have stayed in that truck all day. He loved it. We walked around to find other age-appropriate rides, but nothing looked as good as the vehicles on the track.

We grabbed some crepes and then ate them under the overhang at the bumper cars. What were we thinking? Jackson was in heaven with the rows of "cars" that were lined up waiting for someone to ride them. (It was early in the day and raining, so there weren't that many people in the carnival area.) He jumped from car to car. This boy's dreamland!

Pause for a bite...

Now back to the cars:

We had to walk back through the craft booths so we could cross the river and get to the other side of the festival. As soon as we approached the play area, Jackson started exclaiming, "Gate! Gate!" and wiggling his way out of Jason's arms. We stopped to give him some time to run around and to give our legs a break from all of the wonderful walking we were doing. All he cared about was opening and closing the gate:

A little boy, probably about 4, was apparently bothered by Jackson continuing to operate the gate. He was trying to find a way to latch the gate so that it could not open. His mom was yelling at him from afar, so he stepped back. And here's how the next few seconds went:

"What are you doing, kid?"

"I'm gonna keep on closin' this gate. See. I'm closing it."

"Yep, it's closed. And then I'm going to open it again, and again, and again..."

"Mine!" (He actually said this!)

"I'm the master of this gate."

I could not believe he screamed, "Mine!" He just started using that word whenever we eat and it's in a very innocent way. He likes to point to my food and say, "Mama" and then point to his and say, "Mine." It was one of those moments when you try so hard not to laugh because you know that his attitude is one that you do not want to encourage. I laughed anyway. I couldn't help it. But he didn't hear or see me!

We tried for a family picture:

And then we just had fun snapping photos:

He found the dirt hiding in the inner rim of the tire and poured it down onto me. Then I decided to put him on the ground and let him do whatever he wanted with the sand:

All good things must come to an end. It was painful, but we had to leave the play area. Jackson was so exhausted. He hadn't napped all day and woke so early. I knew that he needed to get in his stroller so he could fall asleep. In minutes, he was out. We crossed the river:

And headed to the wine and food booths:

Then we crossed the river again to get back to our car. But we made a few stops first. Jace bought me a handmade journal with handmade cotton paper (Erica, this is the one I'll use for Jackson's memories! Thank you!) and a handmade necklace with matching bracelet! We were so close to the rides, that we decided to give Jackson a few more rounds on the track. Again, he only wanted to ride in truck. I even tried to put him in the same truck with a different paint job, but he just told me no. He only wanted the first truck. I've gotta hand it to him, the boy knows what he wants. Here he is eating, driving, and messing with controls on the dash. Quite the multi-tasker:

What a fun day! I'm glad we didn't let anything stop us from going.