11 things about 11 months

Well, here it is. Jonah is 11 months old today.  So, for today's post I'm going to make a list of my thoughts about this milestone.

• First of all I DO NOT like odd numbers. I never liked the odd numbered grades in school, they always seemed harder. I don't necessarily like my baby being 11 months, either. It is too close to 1 year.
• I am VERY excited that Jonah is growing and healthy. I love watching him reach new milestones and every bit as much as I don't like his aging, I'm glad for it.
• I love to hear him say "mama" even if the times he says it, more often than not, he is upset.
• The "tooth count" is up to 4. It has been this way for a couple of months. I know he is still teething, I just can't even tell which one is on it's way in.
• We are DONE nursing. This is a very new milestone, reached due to several factors (tooth count, surprisingly, not included). Kinda bittersweet, but only kinda.
• Jonah loves to explore and learn about everything. Translation: everything in my house that is within his reach is subject to destruction. Major cabinet locks are in place, more to follow today!
• Everything goes in his mouth. He is worse than a goat. In fact, the only difference between Jonah and goats might be his cuteness and that most of the time he smells better.
• Jonah is very good natured and easy to love. People smile when they see him coming, and that does this mama's heart good!
• He takes steps!! For more than a month now he's been walking while holding the furniture. The other night Jonathan and I stood on either side of him, each of us holding a hand and he walked between us. So cute. He doesn't have the balance to stand on his own quite yet, and for that I am grateful.
• I am learning there is not much this boy is fearful of. Neither physically nor mentally. Which means he's going to get himself into trouble. We will have to be diligent and creative in our discipline strategies!
• And finally: THIS HAS BEEN THE BEST 11 MONTHS OF MY LIFE! We love this boy so dearly and cannot imagine things any different.

If you are reading this today, then thank you for loving our boy, too! Thank you for your part in our family and joining in on the Atkins' Adventure! Sure is a fun ride, so far, eh? 

Meet Taylor

This has been on my mind quite a bit lately, so we're going to navigate away from Jonah today and meet my friend Taylor Poor. Taylor is an amazing young lady who fights an uphill battle...daily. She has a constant reminder to turn to Jesus! You see, Taylor has a condition called RSD, and is constantly in terrible pain. The thing that amazes me about Taylor is her incredible heart! She sings her heart out in worship and plays her tail off on the softball field. She gives her all to the things she does and I really admire her tough-yet-sweet spirit!

I have copied her story from another blog.  In March of 2007, Taylor began feeling pain in her leg while she was running track. She spent weeks going through test after test, finding no answer to the pain in her leg. As time went on, her pain moved around and was now in both legs. Finally, she was diagnosed with a Popliteal Artery Entrapment in both legs which is very rare in general, but more common in athletes. Taylor was scheduled to have surgery on April 19th, and when she went in for surgery, her doctor performed surgery on the wrong leg. She HAD to have the other one done, so he did it back to back with the first. The doubled surgery and trauma that both legs faced caused a disease called RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy.) A chronic nerve condition that has placed her in 24/7 excruciating pain.
Taylor and her family have tried everything in the US to find some way to give her relief; everything from nerve blocks and morphine shots, to major surgery, but all things have ceased to work. It's a matter of God's divine healing now. Her constant pain doesn't stop her from living a vibrant life for her Creator, but there are times that the pain consumes her life.

Taylor pictured with Jimmy & Dawn at a recent fundraiser they had for her at Coldstone!

And now, a word from Taylor. This is taken from the Facebook page some friends have designated to her awareness:

Three years ago today, I woke up from a surgery that I had been told would fix everything. I had been told that I would never have to deal with this pain again, and that life would soon again be normal. However, I was told wrong. Little did I know, that April 19, 2007 was a day that would change my life forever, because this was the day that I began life with an extreme case of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy.

It took a long time after my diagnosis in July of 2007 to come to terms with the word "chronic." I was still waiting for the perfect doctor with the magic cure to come along and make it all stop. It took quite some time before it sunk in that I may be dealing with this awful pain for the rest of my life.

I kept going back to Psalm 118:24, which says: "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." I have used this so many times before, however, I realized last night that this is to apply to every day of our lives. It doesn't say, "This is the day that the Lord has made, but something hard happened a few years ago that is a huge part of my life today, so I don't have to be positive." No, not at all! It says, "Let us REJOICE and BE GLAD in it." This is the pure joy that is uncircumstancial that I believe we are supposed to have in our lives every day that can only come from God.

Not only did I realize that I needed to face today with a positive attitude and rejoice in what God has given me, but I realized how much RSD has done for me that is POSITIVE. I was talking to a friend earlier about how much RSD has really played such a huge role in the person I am today. The past three years of my life have really been defining years that have molded me into the person that I am. I have realized that this life is not about me and my thoughts, but about what God has planned, and that I cannot survive this life without Him. I always thought that I had all of the answers, but in reality, I have no clue. He has His perfect plan for my life, and all I am supposed to do is walk humbly with Him and live in His will. 

Taylor is currently preparing for another procedure that is scheduled for December. She will travel to Florida where she will receive a drug called Ketamine for 3 days, which is designed to reset her central nervous system. This is serious stuff, people! We would love any support you can offer. (her family is selling some really cool t-shirts...contact me if you want one!!) Prayers are the most important influence. Just managing the constant pain is a major thing for Taylor! She is in high school...which if you ask me, is hard enough on its own! We'd love more followers on her Facebook page; Praying for Taylor. You can also check her out at http://prayingfortaylor.blogspot.com/! Thank you for reading!

So, Whaddayathink?

Today's post is a little different. I'm hoping it becomes a bit interactive today. I would LOVE some feedback/input.

First of all, how about the new design?? Jonathan helped me put together the title piece. Isn't it lovely? I've been looking for a new "look" for a while. I think this might stick! I am, however, one of those people who loves to move around furniture from time to time. Seeing as my furniture has nowhere to move/rearrange, I might have to spice up the blog a little every now and then.

Ok, so now for YOUR input/feedback. I would love to know what you see here that you'd like to see more of, OR any suggestions for upcoming blogs...something I haven't posted. What of our family life should I feature?

I almost wrote about screaming and crying today. Almost. Think about it...all the things I write are happy things, and let's face it...life is not a series of one happy event after another. But, rather than display all the ugly moments in our home, I'll just tell ya, it ain't all pretty! Take my word for it!

Let me end by saying, I am asking for constructive feedback here...be nice, please!

Good Question!

Earlier this week a sweet little girl asked me a cute little question. She very innocently and casually asked me what I wanted Jonah to be when he grows up. My quick answer was "Whatever he wants to be." Well, that didn't satisfy her one bit. She then asked, "But, what do you think he will be?". I couldn't tell her that I don't know him well enough yet, to know what his interest might be. I'm his mother, I should know my child. Her sweet little brain wouldn't be able to understand why I haven't figured him out in 10 months time! So, I thought about it. What do I want Jonah to be?? I have an answer. A very confident answer, in fact! Here it is: I want Jonah to grow up to love Jesus and be respectful to others. I could expand that to say "respectful to himself and others". That pretty much covers everything. So, this same sweet girl, in the exact nature of girls under the age of 10, considered my answer and proceeded to ask another question! "But, what if he smokes cigarettes?" My answer? "Well, if he respects himself and others, he won't." Did I mention we were in the car for this conversation? Well, after the cigarette question, we reached our destination and the conversation ended! Have I mentioned lately that I love my job?

Before I go, I have to talk about that ever-so-sweet picture above. Isn't it just precious? Well, I must confess, I "stole" it. I took a picture of a picture. And I'm only kind of sorry.That's all.

Trip to the City!

Today we met up with some local friends at Silver Dollar City!! Little Jonah was so cute (what's new) even though there wasn't much for him to do. Most of our time was spent looking for a good photo op. It is always about getting good photos! We didn't ride the train, but we did go look at it. We also looked at the animals in the petting zoo!

Jonah's Aunt Melody has some goats just like these. You can't tell here, but he is standing...Jonah and the goat are the same height! Next we looked at some pigs:

Do you see what they are eating out of? Yeah, a cast iron skillet. Right before I turned on the camera one of the pigs was standing in the food dish. Jonathan commented that is was ironic to see the pig in the skillet!

Then, we saw some chickens. I think they were Jonah's favorite! I am pretty sure the red one is a turkin!

Next, we found our friends we'd planned to meet there! 

(no, we didn't find them sitting like that, but it would have been pretty neat if we had!)

Onward to the ball area, per Skyler's request:

Can you see Jonathan helping Jonah (above)? I don't think that lasted long, as Jonah had very little interest in shooting the balls away.  He wanted to eat them (which is ultra gross)!

 

Then they found this little hose that vacuums up the balls. Jonah kept trying to grab them to put them in his mouth. Just before he got one, Jonathan would suck it up. It's pretty cute:

And in the words of Porky Pig, "bdibbdibbdib That's all Folks!"

Gotcha!

Hey there! Seems as though I haven't posted in a while...or so I'm told. Sorry ya'll, there are only so many hours in the day. Most of mine are spent keeping the baby safe or photographing his blunders! Just sit tight. I'll get it all posted someday. Maybe you'll just have to come over to see Jonah! So, did you read the title? Are you curious yet what I'm going to post? Or have you already skimmed ahead to just see the pictures?

Jonah has a new thing that is so incredibly cute! When he gets caught at something he gasps! I got it on video one time. He usually reacts a little more, but this one is pretty good. I'm gonna show the video, but first I'll tell/show you some of the things he has been caught doing lately.

One day, last week, I knew exactly where Jonah was (he was watching Harry out the back door) UNTIL...it got really really quiet. Then I went on a baby hunt. He was very quiet, so it took me a minute...but I found him. And when I did, he waved both arms in excitement. He is sooo cute! He had crawled behind the love seat and removed all the tissues from the box. Thankfully he was equipped with a pacifier, so he didn't eat the tissues!

This picture is a follow-up to the video. This is what he did after I "caught" him. My favorite thing about this picture is the way he is standing on his tippie-toes!

And, finally, the sweet boy got all tuckered out! Really, this picture was taken in the morning time before he set out on any missions of destruction. He is resting up to be ready for mischief! I just thought this was the sweetest thing. I love this boy! *side note: yes, he is in our bed. no, he did not sleep there all night. I bring him into our room when he first wakes up. I feed him. Sometimes he stays awake to play/have family time. Sometimes he goes back to sleep and we pack him in with pillows when we get up.



Ok...drumroll please! I took this video of Jonah. I was hoping to get more of a reaction, but you just can't plan these things. I started the camera in the other room with hopes to totally surprise him. I guess he hadn't gotten too engrossed in his work! He is still just as cute! Enjoy.

I really hope the video worked. I have had quite a time trying to load it. I am unable to see if it's good until after I publish. Here's hoping! If not, just enjoy this for now and I'll make sure I get it out another day. Happy Blogging!

A Cabin, A Lake, A Boat, OH MY!

We recently had a little family get away...well, sort of. My sister and parents rented a little (ok, huge and beautiful) cabin near the lake. Jonah and I drove out there in the evenings to crash their peaceful getaway! Actually, we were invited...Jonah was the guest of honor, you know! It was a really nice cabin with a wonderful view of the woods out back. Unfortunately, I did not take many pictures. Here is the best shot I can give you. Jonah is sitting on the back deck.The view from the front...not so nice! Oh how I wish I'd taken a photo of the view from the front porch. It was a classic old-school trailer park! Complete with rusty siding and detachable porches! In fact, we had to drive through the trailer park to find the cabin tucked away at the end of the cul-de-sac! Anyway...back to Jonah...and more interesting facts. On the last day of the cabin adventure my family rented a boat. We invited my favorite friends under 4 ft tall and had a blast. Jonathan was adventuresome and took the girls up on some rocks where they jumped into the lake. (this made me a little nervous, but he was ever so safe)


Boy did we have FUN! Everyone but Jonah had fun. Jonah's love of the water stops at the bathtub! Poor little guy was swallowed up with safety gear. He looked like a life jacket with legs and a hat! Well, here, see for yourself!

When we stopped to swim and have our little picnic dinner, we unbundled him. He even sat in the driver's seat with Grandpa!

Apparently we brought this little guy along as the afternoon's entertainment! He kept us laughing. Ben can be kind of shy and timid...until he warms up to his environment! He warmed right up...in fact, he was downright HOT! He started imitating animals...oh it was FUNNY. The blue heron was everyone fave!




What a fun little family outing! It was so nice out that day. We had the perfect weather. Now, if only there was no cold water spraying in our faces as we sped through the lake and no life jacket to inhibit mobility...it would have been perfect.