2009 Christmas Letter

It is hard to believe that 2009 is almost gone! At the beginning of this year Scott was still deployed, but thankfully he came home in mid-January. We prayed for God to put him in a job position where he would not have to leave home and boy did He provide! A few months after Scott returned home an opportunity came up for him to move squadrons and so he did. Since then his work schedule is the best it has ever been! The hours he works during the week are great and he was only gone 14 days this year since moving squadrons!
This year we did a lot of traveling to see friends and family (as usual). We went to Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Colorado, North Carolina, Germany, and of course South Carolina! :) Lord Willing we will settle down there one day so we can be close to our family.
Oklahoma has been a very good place for us. Our church life here has been great, we have made many friends, and Memorial Road Church of Christ has provided us many opportunities to serve and be served.
Also, this year we found a Naturopathic doctor that I love and has brought all of us needed healing...especially Jackson...he has come so far in his health this year, I can hardly believe it! I am so thankful to God for that! We are trying for #2, but we are in no hurry. I'm sure if God thinks we need another child, He will give us one at the right time.
Scott is still working on his Masters of Ministry. He is getting it through Harding University and most of the classes are on-line so it is very convenient. This past semester he has been taking a class called Hermeneutics and Exegesis. This class has required alot of reading and writing so he is glad it's almost over, although he has learned alot!
Jackson is almost a year and a half old and is growing like a weed! He is over 30lbs now and is about 33 inches tall. It's so hard to believe my baby boy is walking, climbing, and talking (or at least trying to talk). He is a happy baby and brings us so much joy! Scott and I love that boy more than we can express and thank God for him everyday!!!
My days seem to fill rather fast with tending to Jackson, buying and preparing food for all of us, cleaning the house, doing laundry, Bible study, event planning, Church events, walking, talking on the phone, e-mailing, etc.. I am very thankful for the opportunity to be able to stay home and do the things I really enjoy and feel are valuable.
We are heading home to SC for the holidays. I'll be there about 20 days and look forward to seeing many of you during that time! For other details and pictures from this past year, you can just scroll down through our blog. We hope you have a Very Merry Christmas and a Blessed 2010!!!

I think Jackson is excited about Christmas!!....he must get it from his Mom and Dad :)

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.