Jackson's Health Journey

I am happy to report that for the past few weeks Jackson has been free of any sick-like symptoms!!! This is huge for us since most of the time...and I mean MOST...he has struggled with something. For the first 8 months of his life it was coughing, runny nose, ear infections, fever, eczema, vomiting, etc... As you can imagine, this was all very stressful for me! I had already been to a few conventional pediatricians and a couple of naturopathic doctors, but Jackson still was not well. So in March this year I decided to see another Naturopathic doctor here in Oklahoma City. His methods of diagnosing and treating people were very different from anything I had experienced, but I thought "you can't knock it till ya try it". After the first couple weeks with Dr.Reed, Jackson's eczema cleared up and he has stopped having ear infections all together. Jackson has had the croup about 4 or 5 times in his life and after each bout of the croup his cough will last a LONG time and it is usually accompanied with vomiting. Dr.Reed has been the only one successful in getting his cough to stop after each episode. After this last time he got the croup, Dr.Reed figured out that the persistent coughing was due to allergies. After treating the allergy problem, Jackson has stopped coughing and his nose has cleared up! Yeahh!!!! I am super-pumped about this and pray his great health continues!!! We have prayed and prayed for Jackson's health issues to clear up, and I believe Dr.Reed has been an answer to our prayers. All of his medicines are herbal combinations and Dr.Reed will tell you that his knowledge and treatment methods come from God. He says he could not think of them on his own:) Well, after 9 months of working with Dr.Reed I do believe he has a gift from God.
And on a side note...one reason I am so extreme about Jackson’s diet is because I know that what you eat effects your health and I want to be sure to do everything I can to ensure Jackson's good health.

VitaMix and Juicer

2 kitchen appliances that I use daily are the VitaMix and the Breville Juicer. These products are great and I don't know what I'd do without them! The VitaMix I have used for months to puree' Jackson's food, but after one of my last visits home, my sister-in-law (Chelsea) got me into making smoothies. This has been great because you can make a super-healthy meal out of a smoothie. Most everyday my smoothie is:
1-2 cups coconut water
1 Tbs Berry Green
1 Tbs Hemp or Flaxseed
1/2 Tbs Fiber
1 Tbs Udo's Oil
1 pitted date
1/8 cup almonds
1/2 banana
5 oz frozen berry mix

All organic, of course

We started juicing this summer after buying the Champion Juicer, but after a while we quit for several reasons...one of which was the difficulty of dealing with that particular juicer. So when I went home and Chelsea came over and showed me how to juice with this Breville juicer, I was hooked. As soon as I got back home, I went out to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought this Breville juicer and it is so easy to use and clean!!! So now, every morning before we eat anything, we drink a super healthy glass of juice. The main ingredients we juice are (all organic): carrots, apples, lemon, Romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, celery, cabbage, etc... The plan is to incorporate more and more vegetables and fruits in time. This has been a great way for me to consume vegetables since there are so few vegetables I will eat and then they are usually cooked which kills all the enzymes and many nutrients.

November Highlights

The hat Aunt Amie sent Jackson from Germany...Jackson's not sure about all the leaves... Jackson's first 4-wheel ride...

Santa Clause aint got nothin' on me!

Jackson is FINALLY eating more solid foods like mashed-up bananas (as pictured below), mashed potatoes, green beans, etc...

Kyle's groom's cake is probably the coolest we've ever seen...all of it is cake...including the pictures!

For Thanksgiving this year we went to Kyle's wedding in Denver...Kyle is one of Scott's good friends from college. Here is a picture of us from that wedding. We were able to get one good dance in while PK held Jackson, so that was great! :)

Kyle, Carrie, Rachael, and Scott

The 3 buds from The Air Force Academy: Ashley, Kyle, and Scott. I met them all at the same time in Daytona 2001.

At the wedding we talked mostly with PK, Courtney and Ashley...

Because Jackson is into EVERYTHING, we've been forced to put locks on most drawers and cabinets within Jackson's reach. That is what Scott is doing in this picture and I thought it was so cute how interested Jackson seemed to be in what his Daddy was doing.

And on a side note...Jackson now is able to light a match. Comforting. Very comforting.

October Highlights

Here is Jackson ready for church Sunday morning. Thanks Mom and Dad for pretty much his entire wardrobe. My good friend Laura stopped in for a visit...I think Jackson likes her!

We had some cold days in October and so here is Jackson suited up to play outside. We try to let him play outside for a half hour to an hour everyday since he loves it so much. We think he'd stay outside all day if we'd let him.

Dressed up for the Fall Festival at church. Jackson was not his normal happy self this night because there was so much noise and so many people. He does not like loud noises.

A beautiful sunset taken from our backyard.

Me and Jackson wandering around outside while we were away at a retreat.

One of my very good friends got engaged! Lindsay and I have been friends since middle school....Congratulations!!!!

July Family Photos

These pictures were taken in July 2009 by Lucas Brown with Kickstand Studio.
This is one of Jackson's one-year old photos.Scott, Jackson, and Rachael

The 7 Kellis Kids (ages)

top left to right: Ross (24), Rhett (26), Raegen (18)

bottom left to right: Rom (29), Rachael (28), Rochelle (14), and Raleigh (16)

top, left to right: Keke', Ross, Heather, Scott with Jackson, Rachael, Rhett with Bella, Bethany with Maya, Rom, Chelsea with Sophia

bottom left to right: Rochelle, Raegen, Raleigh, Mom, Dad, Rom, and Ryder

Scott's Trip Across the Pond

This is a blog about Scott's trip to Greece and England with the military. As you can tell he really had to rough it while on the road. Hope you enjoy some of the pictures he and his crew took while answering the call of their country ;)

Pictures from Greece

The harbor at Chania (the C is silent)

Market street
My Room
A beautiful view from the hotel in Crete
The water crashing on the rocks




Jolly Ole England

ParlamentBig Ben

The Tower Bridge

Westminister Abbey

Buckingham Palace

Harry Potter's Platform at King's Cross

A well known pub where we ate dinner

The Tower of London

Entrance to the Tower of London

The White Tower at the Tower of London

A well endowed knight

Conversing with some of the local folk

September Pictures

Well Scott and I are back together in OK again. Below are some pictures from the past month. Scott plans on blogging some of the picturres he took while he was in Crete and England.
This one is a sweet note Scott left for me.
Jackson's Halloween costume...our little monkey!

This was when Scott and Jackson saw eachother after being apart for over 2 weeks...notice Scott's smile!

Jackson passed out on our plane ride home.

Havin fun with Grandaddy! (Rachael's Dad)

Our happy boy!

Ellison, Jackson, Sam, and Papa celebrating Papa's birthday (Scott's Dad)

Grandmomma Watson with Jackson in their new back yard (Scott's mother)Jackson with Grandmomma Sue

Great-Grandaddy Jameson reading to Jackson (Scott's grandfather)

Keke's going-away party. He's going to California and we are going to miss him!

Jackson playing outside at my parent's. My Mom vacuuming Raegen's apartment in Auburn...she is quite the perfectionist!

The whole gang tailgating at the Auburn game.

The Kellis girls: Me, Raegen, Raleigh, and Rochelle

My best buds from Auburn...Cortney and Jessa

Cortney, Rachael, and Jackson. War Eagle!

Being goofy...Raegen, Rachael, and Raleigh

Gettin loved on by Grandmomma Kellis (Rachael's Mom)

Keke and Jackson

Rochelle...the family cross country star!

Emma Cassady...we watched her one night while her parents went to an OU game...isn't she a beautiful little girl?!!

Me with Jackson and Emma.

Our two neighbor girls that come over to visit from time to time...Jaycee and Erin

Travel plans

Well, it is that time again...time for Scott to do some missions with the Air Force and me to use the opportunity to go home to SC for a visit. I do miss my family and friends back in the southeast and I am really looking foward to seeing them! I leave on Monday, September 14th and return on Saturday, September 26th. Scott is leaving on the 17th and should be back a week later. I sure am going to miss him!

Jackson at 14 months

Jackson is 14 months old now and I cannot believe how fast he is growing up! I know you always hear mothers say that, but it is so true! The other night I had a dream that I put him down for a nap and when he woke up, he was a teenager! I was so upset that my baby boy was gone, I woke up crying!
This past week he has really taken to the outdoors. He loves to just walk around outside picking up sticks, grass, dirt, flowers, mulch, etc.. He usually gets so dirty I have to give him a bath as soon as we go back inside. I thought little boys started getting into the outdoors around age 3 or 4.... not 14 months! I guess this proves he is Scott's son. :) He LOVES sticks!
He loves being read to and looking through his books on his own.
Gearing up for the winter...
Playing IN his toy box.
Jackson is over 28 lbs now and poops all the time!!!

Jackson's Menu

I think some of you may find Jackson's menu interesting, so I thought I'd blog about it. I got most of my ideas from The Great Physician's RX for Children's Health by Jordan Rubin and Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. One of my goals is to meet all of the daily food requirements for a one year old which are: 4 servings a day of grains, cereals, breads, or pasta; 2-3 servings a day of beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds; 4 servings of dairy a day or 24 oz of milk; 4-6 servings a day of fruits/vegetables; 3-4 servings a week of egg yolk; and many nutritional enhancers. All the food I use is organic. Also, my Naturopathic doctor thinks I should nurse Jackson until he is 3 years old since it is so good for him, but I think I will quit before then:)
6:00 Nurse one side and put back to bed
8:00 Nurse on the other side when he wakes up
10:00 Super Porridge mixed together with the VitaMix (an awesome blender)
Includes:
~1/3 cup of a grain/legume blend
~liquid vitamin
~1/2 cup raw fruit like peach, blueberries, apple, etc.
~most days an egg yolk that has been hard boiled
~a pinch of kelp
~1 capsule of buffalo liver
~1 tsp coconut oil
~1/2 tsp children's probiotic
~1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
~1/2 tsp ghee (clarified butter)
12:00 finish feeding him what he did not finish at 10:00 of the Super Porridge and then nurse him to sleep on one side
3:00 Nurse on the other side when he wakes up from his nap
4:00 4 oz of a blend of 1/2 avocado, 1 banana, and 1 Tbls of either groud
almond, hempseed or flaxseed. I blend these using the VitaMix as well.
6:00 pureed vegetables...usually from a jar
8:00 Nurse to sleep

There are other good foods and supplements I hope to give him down the road like Sheep's Milk Yogurt, raw goat milk (when I finish nursing), acerola cherry powder, whey protein concentrate, nutritional yeast, cod liver oil, sunflower oil, etc....

First Steps

A Little Different

Well it seems as though Scott and I get weirder and weirder as time passes. It started when we got married by not having television. We have not had television in our home for our entire 7 years of marriage and that has been a wonderful decision for us (we do have a TV that we occasionally watch DVD's on, but not television).
A couple years ago we started making changes to our diet like taking supplements, buying organic, drinking raw goat milk, etc...
Another thing is that we have been seeing a Naturopathic doctor...he is awesome by the way! This past week we ditched the microwave. I am currently trying to perfect Jackson's menu and you can imagine how different it is. I may blog about it later. I am very happy about all these decisions even though they are weird! They all have been major blessings for us.

July Pics

The most recent family picture taken when we were hanging out with my sisters in Bricktown in Oklahoma City. Jackson's thunder thighs barely fit in the booster seat at the place where he gets his hair cut.

Rochelle and Raleigh came to visit me at the end of July while my parents took Raegen and her friend's on a crusie for her graduation. I love spending time with my girls!

Scott won yard of the month in June! Congratulations Honey, you do a great job!

Jackson interested in our new neighbor's tiny dog.

Koen Monahan in ICU in Memphis. He's doing fine now....Praise God!!!

Jackson is 1!!! Thanks Cortney and Jessa for the CUTE romper!

4 generations: Grandmomma, Charlotte, Scott, and Jackson

Our friends from Greenville who stayed the day after Jackson's birthday party to hang out and play...Kevin, Erin, Robbie, us, Katie, and Tee

Some of my family there for our annual 4th of July celebration

Jackson passed out on his Aunt Raegen at church

The Coo Coo clock I brought back from Germany as a souvenir

Happy Birthday!

Jackson and Raegen share the same birthday of July 3rd so we decided to throw them a joint birthday party. Raegen turned 18 and Jackson 1. Happy Birthday! I love you two dearly!The Birthday Boy and his Daddy

The Birthday Boy and his Momma

My three beautiful sisters...Rochelle, Raegen, and Raleigh

Our table at the Summit in Columbia, SC.

Blowing out his birthday candle.

A view of the SC state capital from the Summit Club where the party was held. We South Carolinians have alot of state pride!!!

Keke and Raegen...the dancing King and Queen!Dancing, dancing, and more dancing...

Uncle Currtis and Aunt Rene'

Raleigh and Uncle Curtis

Ross and Raegen...my brother and sisterDad dancing with Raegen

Doing the Train

7 Year Anniversary

Today makes 7 years for Scott and I as a married couple. I have been blessed to have had 7 good years of marriage with the man I love.
This was my Dad walking me down the isle.
My Grandpaw preformed the ceremony and we had the wedding in my back yard. It was a wonderful day! This was a candid shot taken right after the ceremony.

Pardon the getto pictures. We did not have digital pictures so all the ones I have are scanned and I'm not sure why I cut this one like I did. O well. You get the picture. These were Scott's groomesmen.

These were my bridesmaids.

This is us on our honeymoon enjoying chocolate covered strawberries. We usually have chocolate covered strawberries on our anniversary since we love them so much. In fact, we are eating them right now.

Germany Trip and Shower

We decided to take a trip to Germany to see Scott's sister, Amie, her family, and the sights. This is us on the 10 hour plane ride over there. Jackson was a real trooper! Day 1: Neuschwanstein
One of the most visited castles in all of Germany is Castle Neuschwanstein, and the Hohenschwangau Castle nearby. These two castles were homes of the Bavarian King Ludwig II who lived an extravagant life, but at a price. After spending all of his fortunes on elaborate castles in the beautiful alpine regions of southern Bavaria, he was declared insane to help prevent the total economic destruction of the region. Shortly after, on a return trip to Munich, he and his psychiatrist mysteriously drowned in Lake Starnberg.
The Hohenschwangau Castle, built for King Ludwig's parents.

The beautiful view from the castle.
The castle from a distance.

Day 2: Island of Flowers and Meersburg

Meersburg is a quaint medieval Geraman town on the shores of Lake Constance, known locally as Bodensee. It is the home to the oldest inhabited castle in Germany, having been built in the 7th century. We took a ferry from Meersburg to Mainau which is often referred to as the Island of Flowers. The island lies close to the German city of Konstance and has been inhabited in some way since the times before Christ. The island is home to many rare plants and flowers and is a lovely site all year. I love flowers so this was one of my favorite sites!

Meersburg:

This a picture of the countryside we passed on our drive to Meersburg. It all looked similar to this.

There are flowers everywhere!

We had dinner out beside Lake Constance. Very nice! Scott is holding his ice cream cone.
Day 3: Eagle's Nest:

A trip to Germany would be incomplete without a visit to a WWII site. One of the more unique sites is the mountain retreat of Adolf Hitler and his companion, Eva Braun. Perched high upon a mountain top in the Berchtesgaden region of Germany is the Kehlsteinhaus, once known as Eagle's Nest. It was designed and built as a 50th birthday present for the dictator. After WWII, the house and all the surrounding land were held by the Americans, only returning ownership back to Germany in the 1990's. Today it is a popular tourist attraction and restaurant.

This is on the bus ride up the mountain. View's from the Eagle's Nest were breathtaking!

I could've sit up there for hours!

In a bunker at the base of the mountain.

Day 4: Hiking

Hiking in southern Germany is unmatched in scenery, ease of trails, and of course, the all important huttes as a needed break along the way or at the end of a glorious day of romping through the mountains. The hike for this trip began at the Sollereck lift, winds its way down the mountain of the Freibergsee, a beautiful glacier lake tucked in the valley, and then back through the idyllic pine forests of the alps. A stop at a wonderful vacation inn on the Freibergsee for some delicious apple studel completes the day.

Jackson and I did not go on the hike. I did not think it was conducive for Jackson since we did not have a backpack for him. This was one of Scott's favorite things he did in Germany and he said the apple strudle was the best he has ever had!

Some pictures from the hike:

This one's for you Aunt Rachael!

At the end of the day we all went to dinner at a very authentic German restaurant. Here is a picture of Wayne, Amie, Andrew, and Alex.

Day 5: Munich

Munich is a city that could take months to fully explore. From famous celebrations such as the Oktoberfest festival each September to the palaces, museums, and Glockenspiel, there is just so much to do and see here. One impressive site (if you are into that sort of thing) is the Residence, the former royal palace of the Bavarian Monarchs. It auctually consists of a complex of buildings that house the famous Cuvillies Theater, the Treasury, and one of the most impressive displays of art and architecture in the world, spanning from the late Renaissance through Baroque, Rococo, and Classicism peroids. Nearby is the famous Glockenspiel. Tourists flock to the town center, Marienplatz, each day to witness the ringing of the bells and the dancing of the court jesters of the bell tower. Nearby is an upscale shopping center and the pedestrian zone that offers a variety of shopping, dining, and sites.

We took the train to Munich and saw some of the beautiful countryside along the way. Jackson loves the wind in his hair. The Glockenspiel in the Marienplatz. Its goes off at 11:00, 12:00, and 5:00. It's like a big coocoo clock but instead of the coocoo bird it has jesters and other stuff.

I love these flower shops.

In the Treasury we toured, this was my favorite piece.

The courtyard of the palace.

A hall inside the palace

Another hall inside the palace. Alot of the palace got destroyed in WWII so a good bit of the original is gone.We went into a Tiffiany's store and asked what the most expensive thing was and the clerk told us it was one of these rings. They cost about $600,000.This is Scott's sister, Amie. She planned out all of our days and was an excellant tour guide and host!

Day 6: Weihenstephan in Freising

Let me start by saying that it was my brother-in-law, Wayne, who was the most interested in going to see this brewery. I was along for the ride and thought I might as well go since we are in Germany and Germans are known for their beer.

The town of Freising is the site of the oldest working brewery in Germany, Weihenstephan. Orginally a monastery, the monks began making beer at the site as early as 1040 AD. Although there are a multituse of flavors of German beer available, particularly in Bavaria, the beer most commonly brewed at this site is Weizenbier, a wheat beer. Beer is so important to the region, in fact, that a part of the adjoining university teaches courses in beer brewing and quality. We took a tour of this brewery but could not understand anything since it was all in German.

This picture is Jackson asleep on our bed. We slept on the couch in the den that turns into a bed while we visited the Spitzers and Jackson slept with us.

Day 7: Kempten...where the Spitzers live and we stayed

Kempten is a lovely town in the heart of the Allgau region. It is the "county" seat for it's area and is the largest town in the region with a population of about 60,000. It also is one of the oldest urban settlements on record in Germany, with an entire archaeological park dedicated to Roman runins in the area. Kempten has a lovley Basilica (cathedral) and Residence (palace) decorated in the Baroque and Rococo styles. Each Wednesday and Saturday the town comes alive with the local Farmer's Market, and the Rathaus (town council building) in the center of the pedestrian area is just lovely.

This is Kempten's mall.

The city square
The neat restaurant we went to out in the country.

Day 8: Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Garmisch-Partenkirchen was originally two separate towns with each enjoying a diverse economy and style. Partenkirchen is the older town and was originally along the Roman Highway. Garmisch was settled by Germanic tribes some 800 years later. For the occasion of the Olympics in 1936, the two towns were consolidated to manage all the venues. Today, many of the Olympic sites are favorite toursit attractions. The town is also home to many retired US military as being one of the most idyllic places in all southern Germany. It sits at the base of the Zugptitze, Germany's tallest mountain. Daytrips up the mountain can be quite spectacular.

Rachael on the Zugspitze.Day 9: Flying back to America

Scott holding Jackson while he slept

Jackson on the airplane ride home...our little traveler!

Day 10: Domini's Baby Shower

This is a picture of the Kellis girls: Raleigh, Rochelle, Mom, Raegen, and Rachael

These are the hosts with Domini in the front

Germany is Beautiful!

This is our fourth day in Germany and we have been on the go since we got here! Let me start by saying that it is very beautiful here! Everywhere we go it looks like scenes out of a story book with green rolling hills, quaint German style houses with flower boxes filled with flowers and the beautiful Alps in the background. What suprised me is that I assumed just some parts of Germany looked picturesque, but from what I have seen, it all looks this way!

We arrived in Germany Thursday morning and made our way to Wayne and Amie's by noon. That afternoon we went down to Kempten's pedestrian area to eat lunch, look around, and buy some fruit. It had cobblestone walkways, beautiful flowers, lots of shops, outdoor dining areas, street vendors, fruit stands, music being played, etc...needless to say, I was impressed!
Thursday afternnon we went to Neuschwanstein Castle which is where the Cinderella castle idea came from. It sits on top of a mountain and is a very remarkable structure! The view is breath taking!

Friday we went to the quaint and beautiful town of Meersburg that is on Lake Constance. There we saw the oldest inhabited castle in Germany and caught a ferry over to Flower Island. I love flowers so it was a treat for me to be surround by gardens of flowers that overlook a beautiful lake. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to stroll through that everyday?!

Saturday we drove to Berchetesgaden where Hitler's Eagle's Nest is located. It is on top of a mountain in the Alps. About the view....can I just say WOW!!!! It was amazing! I think I could just sit up there and look for hours! God's creation in spectacular! There I bought the one keepsake I wanted from Germany....a Coocoo clock from the Black Forest. We also went and toured some Nazi bunkers and the memorial building. It was sad to see pictures from such an evil regime.

Today Scott, Amie, Wayne, Andrew, and Alex are going on a hike. I decided to stay here with Jackson so he could have a break from the traveling and plus the hike did not sound conducive for him.

I plan to post pictures when we get back home.

First haircut

Last weekend we took Jackson to get his first haircut at this place that specializes in kids haircuts. I knew we were going to need someone skilled in cutting hair while the client moved his head around. As you can see in the picture below he did not stay very still, but the lady still did a good job.
Before:
During:

After:

Germany

Scott's sister Amie lives in southern Germany with her husband and 2 sons. Her husband, Wayne, is on a temparary job assignment there with Bosch. So we are going to visit them and see some of the sights. We are leaving on June 3rd and are flying back into OKC June13th after hosting a baby shower in Atlanta. We have our time there all planned out packed with some great sounding stuff! Scott and I are both very excited and yes....Jackson is defiantly coming with us! I'll be sure to post some of the best pics when we return.

The past couple weeks have felt busier than normal. My Mom came to visit last week and then we all went to see Keke' graduate Harding University in Searcy, AR. As you can see in the picture below Jackson does not like lots of noise and crowds. The clapping and cheering at the end of the graduation ceremony really got to him. Sitting in the bleachers at Keke's graduation.

My Mom and I before one of our shopping trips.

Eating out at PF Changs one night.

Jackson's wild hair.