Thankful

As we enter the busy holiday season with the advent of November, today I just wanted to take a break and reflect on how blessed I am this year.

I am so thankful to have a wonderful, supportive husband who loves me even on my cranky PMS days and who works extremely hard to provide for our family. He truly has a long-term family vision and together, we work towards a peaceful home with lots of love and laughter for our kids. I am so thankful that God gave him to me to help me through this journey of life. I love looking toward the future with him while enjoying the present - rich or poor, sick or healthy.

I have been blessed with the sweetest baby boy that has ever been born. He is such a joy to play with every day and cuddle with at night! He has been very healthy, is smart, and is learning more each day. What an adventure being a momma has been!

I have been blessed to have a close family - maybe not so much in distance any more, but certainly in spirit. I love my parents and am continuously amazed at my brothers and their talents, as well as how much they love their nephew :) I also have a great family-in-law, with in-laws who are great grandparents to Jackson, and brother-in-laws who do live close to us.

I am blessed to work at a job that gives me the opportunity to stay at home 5 days a week with my sweet little one while only working two and still making enough money to pay the bills. While some days are rough and some times I just don't want to go to work, the benefits of being at home with Jacks far outweigh the 2 hour drive and long work days.

I am blessed to live in a great, safe neighborhood with awesome neighbors, where we can go on family walks at night, and there's always someone right down the road who will let you come over when the electricity is out and you're alone or help you unload groceries when the baby's cranky or just come over to eat dinner in the middle of the week. It's awesome to have someone who we can truly live life with - and we're looking forward to our newest neighbors moving in next door in December, too!

There are a thousand other things I am thankful for as well, but those were the ones on my mind today.

What are YOU thankful for today?

Pumpkins!

We have had the most relaxing two weekends in a row! Last weekend, we just hung out and enjoyed the weekend, visited with my brother and three of his friends while they were on fall break, and visited a new church. This weekend was just as fun and relaxing.

Saturday afternoon, I took Jackson to the pumpkin patch with one of my lifelong friends, Charity, and her sister Jasmine and kids. We had a great time - it was overcast and not too hot, we got to do a hayride which Jackson loved, and I got to practice my photography skills a little and ended up with several great shots.

Here's me & Jacks at the pumpkin patch - he is getting hot and cranky in this pic. It was before we got on the hayride. (If it doesn't get cold soon, I'm going to have to find some new clothes for Jacks - he has outgrown all his summer stuff, and it's too hot for the clothes I bought for this age!)

Jasmine with two of her kids, me and Jackson, and Charity. I grew up with these girls in Alma and have known them since I was six. Charity and her hubby live two houses down from us and are the best neighbors ever!
Jackson was really not sure about the pumpkin patch at first.... but once he got down in the dirt, he loved it!
My sweet punkin - barefoot and all! This is my favorite picture from the day.
He is trying so hard to walk - it won't be too much longer!

Sunday we went back to the same church we visited last weekend, and we really like it there. There are lots of people our age with kids about the same age, and we just feel at home there. It has been great to be attending church again! It's small enough that we feel like we can interact with most of the people there, but not feel like we're in a "small group" setting.

Anyway, I have a doctor's appointment today so I am not working until Tues/Wed this week. My grandma and I are going to take Jackson to Little Rock with us and enjoy a nice lunch and probably a little shopping while we're there! :)

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

....bonus round

And just because I love my boy Kris Allen, and think he deserves better than what the media has been giving him lately - here's a link to his new single, performed for EW.com. I enjoyed it this morning and thought you might too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvaJ3wUUJd4&feature=player_embedded

Random October pictures

I love this picture of the two boys I love most in the world. They were just hanging out at the park this past Saturday, and I was on the steps above them and caught this little cuddle moment between them. Love!
Jackson LOVES to watch his daddy play ladderball in the backyard. He will sit there forever just watching Tyler go back and forth.
So, this is a cute picture of my brother B and Jacks from when we visited B in Nashville. What you don't know is that Jackson's diaper had leaked poo everywhere and his clothes are saturated in nastiness, and B is just trying to keep him from sitting down on his carpet while I figure out where the clean clothes and diapers are, and Tyler is in the shower because he found out that the diaper leaked when he put Jackson on his shoulders to walk around..... definitely a memory for the baby book.

I love this picture of me and my sweet husband. We had to go to a banquet for Tyler's work, which is a rarity, and we got dressed up and enjoyed a night out without the babe. It's definitely not common to see us this dressed up and without spit up or green beans in our hair.
This might be one of my favorite pictures I have ever taken of Jacks. That thumb sucking action! That little ear! Those intent eyes watching his daddy play with the dog! I love that boy so much.
Well, that's what's been going on in our lives the past week or so. I am glad to be back at home after my 2 days of work and getting back into a schedule today. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday!! :)

Today

Today has been one of those days like the bad dreams - the ones where you keep trying and trying to get out the door, and for some reason you just CAN'T make it! I have been up since before Jackson was awake to get ready. I had a bunch of errands that needed to be done. We're out of toothpaste, for crying out loud. I need to go to Target before we get cavities.

But it just hasn't happened. My purse got left in Tyler's car, which is now 30 minutes away in the parking lot the hospital where he works, and he is in meetings all day. I have no wallet, no keys, nothing. Not to mention the fact that Tyler got rear-ended yesterday while driving my car, so my bumper is all buckled in and you can't open the back door of my car, so I was going to have to squeeze all my bags into the front seat anyway.

When I realized that (during the time that Jackson was in the bathtub and suddenly pooped all over everything).... I sat down on the bathroom floor and cried. And cried. And cried.

Then, I got myself back up, rinsed the poop out of the bathtub, gave Jacks another bath, put him down for a nap, made some lunch, put some Hillsongs on, and started my day over.

Mommies have it rough sometimes.

This blog is about being real. That's what I have done today.

For my husband

Five years ago today, this was me and my husband. We had just met. (Who takes pictures with someone you just met!?!)

I am so thankful I decided to go on that Chi Alpha retreat and meet some new people - cause I just so happened to meet the most important person in my life! :) On October 7, 2005, we met at the Chi Alpha Fall Retreat in Branson, MO. I never dreamed how much my life was about to change for the better!

About a year later, on November 21, 2006, Tyler proposed...

I just love this pic of us. It's very much who we are - sweatshirts and all.

Christmas at Tyler's grandma's...
Easter at my Sue's house...

Engagement pictures...

Then another year or so later, December 16, 2007, we got hitched...
Tyler cried like a baby through the whole wedding....

Then I graduated....

Then Tyler graduated.... (and apparently wore the same shirt... just noticed!)

We bought a house....

Random picture that I love :)

We found out we were gonna have a sweet baby boy....
REALLY have a sweet baby boy!....
We HAD a sweet baby boy...
And he changed our lives forever....

And now we rarely take pictures by ourselves - this is one of very few I've gotten since Jacks was born with both of us in it! :)

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Thank you, Tyler, for being such a wonderful husband. You are my best friend and I have loved every moment of the past five years with you. You take care of me (and Jackson) in so many ways, and make sure the garbage gets taken out and the yard stays mowed. I love you for so many reasons and in so many ways. You are the best gift God has ever given me, and I can't wait to grow old with you and continue to see what God has in store for us.

What a difference a week makes....

So, we're almost a week into this new sleep arrangement, and it has totally transformed our family. Jacks has been sleeping 12 hours pretty consistently at night. Ty and I have our evenings back to eat dinner in peace, cuddle on the couch and watch a movie, and go to bed at a normal time so he can get up early for work. Jackson is so much more himself during the day - happy, lovey, and so much fun to be with. Naptimes during the day give me a chance to catch up on housework so that while he's awake I can enjoy our time together. What a difference!

This weekend we're heading over to Nashville, TN to visit my (oldest) younger brother. This is his third year in school there and we've never been able to go visit for various reasons, so I am excited. We haven't seen him since we were at the beach the 2nd week of August!

Tomorrow marks 5 years since Tyler and I met. Stay put for an "anniversary" post of sorts tomorrow! :)

Bedtime Battles update

So, we survived our first night. Heck, we ACED our first night! :) Jackson went to bed about 7:15 p.m. (which seems so early, but the author of this book, who is an MD also, claims that sleep begets sleep, and that by putting them to bed so early, you allow them to sleep more.) It worked! After 20 minutes or so of crying, he slept straight through the night until 7:15 a.m. when I had to WAKE him up! He has been in the best mood today, playing and talking and being his sweet self with none of the tantrums and screaming fits we have been having over the past month or so. The 20 minutes of crying was much easier on my nerves and emotions than our usual 2.5 hours of wrestling, wrangling, and weeping. Tyler and I got to entertain friends all evening without Jackson screaming the entire time! It was truly a wonderful change for our family.

We have been faithful with our naps again today, and hope to put him to bed between 7 and 7:30 again. I am a believer now.

I am just a first time mommy trying to do the best for my sweet one. All I want is peace in our little home. I think you must be desperate for peace in your house before you are willing to try this technique, and I was. I highly recommend reading the book if you are having difficulty, because there are many tips and tricks that you can adopt without going so far as to let them cry it out. It also starts with newborns and goes through age 12 years, so I am going to keep it around for each new phase.

Off to eat some chili and play some ladderball with my hubby.... :)

Bedtime Battles

I mainly use this blog as a place to vent - so here you go. Jackson will be 8 months old tomorrow. Since he was born, he has always had very random sleep patterns. He slept well when we first came home from the hospital - in fact, we thought, "Oh! He is a great sleeper!" Well, that went out the window around 4 months of age. For the past 4 months, it has taken a Herculean effort each night to get him to sleep: rocking, walking, bouncing on the bed, swaddling, patting, you name it, we've tried it. We have tried gripe water, gas drops, putting cereal in his last bottle, sound machines, anything else we could think of. And after the hours (yes, usually 2+ hours) at night of trying to get him to sleep, I would collapse in bed, praying he would sleep through the night. To no avail. He generally gets up several times in the night, is fidgety in his sleep, cries out, screams with his eyes closed, or flails around. Even in our bed with us, even if we feed him a middle of the night bottle, even if we change him, burp him, swaddle him back up. This has taken its toll on my mental health, my relationship with Tyler, my whole life (and Jackson's, because he doesn't get good sleep and is frequently cranky!)

Several friends have suggested different books over the course of the 8 months, but I honestly thought that just doing our own thing was best for this family. But recently, in a moment of desperation, I updated my status on Facebook saying something about Jackson not sleeping. A long-time family friend messaged me and suggested a book called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I was desperate enough to finally read it, and it didn't hurt that her husband is a pediatrician (hey, honest here!). She assured me it had worked for both her kids, and that they are both good sleepers now. I quickly downloaded it to my Kindle and started reading.

So, blog world, I am going to try it, starting today. I have already put him down for a first nap following the advice of the book. It took 15 minutes of crying, but he went to sleep and slept for an hour and a half (a long time for my boy!). He is working on the second nap now - we'll see how it goes. And bedtime itself may be a whole new kettle of fish. I am just praying that God will give me wisdom on how to use this method to help my child, my family, and my marriage.

Bouncing back

We have been slightly under the weather here at the McDonald household for the past 2 weeks or so. Jackson has had his first ear infection, plus has been very congested. Tyler and I have both been battling the sinus junk as well. So, it has been a long few weeks for this family. Tyler's parents have been in and out of town to help with the sick bebe and to attend a wedding this past weekend. I have gone back and forth to Ft. Smith the past two Monday and Tuesdays for work, but this week am working Thursday/Friday up there. I have also been working out with my personal trainer, trying to shed some more of this baby weight - and she is kicking my butt, fast! Tyler is on call for the first time in a long time this week, and Jackson and I are missing him as he is having to stay at work late.

So here are a few pics of our life lately:

My sweet boy who is always up in the middle of whatever I'm trying to do - he is SUCH a momma's boy!
One sick little boy - if you know him, you know that for him to lie still this long means he must be feeling badly.
Playing peekaboo in the curtains is our new favorite pastime.

At least it's better than the also popular opening and closing drawers.
My little family, all decked out for the Hogs game - which we sadly lost to Alabama. But hey, we aren't fair weather fans. Wooo pig sooie! :)

Random post, sorry... but that's my life right now!

my heart

Happy Thursday!

Falling forward

Oh my goodness, I can't believe how much time has passed since my last blog. So many, many changes have taken place in our lives. Definitely signs of God's faithfulness to us! So, since my last post:

• Tyler received a promotion and is now manager of surgery and same day surgery at the same little hospital where he was working as a nurse.
• I accepted a position in an inpatient rehab unit at a hospital in Fort Smith
• My parents moved to Fort Smith & that has been a HUGE change for us
• Jackson is now 7.5 months old!

We definitely have had a change of pace in our lives the past 2 weeks or so. Tyler began working full time again August 30, and August 31 was my last day at River Valley. What a bittersweet week that was! I began my new job last week, working 2 days a week in inpatient rehab in Ft. Smith. God was so faithful to provide me with a job where I could make just as much money, but only work 2 days a week! Now, I drive to Ft. Smith Monday morning, work all day, spend the night, work Tuesday, and drive home. Jackson gets to stay with my momma; she gets her grandbaby fix; Tyler was able to take the promotion; I make enough money to cover the rest of the bills; Tyler gets one night a week of quiet to work on homework; EVERYONE wins! It has been a great transition for us. God is certainly, always, unchangeably, immutably faithful. What a wonderful God we serve.

As we head into fall, Jackson is gearing up to help us lose weight as we chase him: he can certainly get around as fast as he wants to by crawling, and is trying so hard to start taking steps away from the furniture on which he has pulled up! What an independent and strong-willed child Tyler and I have produced. Some days I want to pull my hair out - but he is so much fun and I enjoy getting to stay home with him more SO much!

Here are some recent pics:

Us with Tyler's family at his grandparents' a few weekends ago
My sweet, sweet baby boy
First time at the beach in Florida - not a fan of the sand or the water!
My precious child, watching a cat outside
Bathtime! :)

It's summer time.....

Monday, I took Jackson to his 4-month well child visit. Everything about him looked great! He's now 15 lb 9 oz, and 24 inches long. That puts him in the 75th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height. They told us that he could bump up from just rice cereal to eating vegetables, too, and to feed him veggies twice a day. So, this week he's gotten to try green beans and squash! He is a piggy and eats them up! Here are some pics of the first time he tried green beans:

Mom, have you taken ENOUGH pictures yet?

These are good, but I'm tired of your camera in my face.

He has also mastered sitting up, and can sit up for long periods of time without falling over. He gets tired eventually and slumps over, but he has been really good about not flopping backwards this week! Here are some pics from this morning:

Hey Momma!

Daisy is just so funny!

Check me out, sitting up and all!

This has been a pretty laid back week, with just work and not much else. Tyler brought Jackson to see me at work on Friday, and Tyler's parents stopped by Friday evening for a little while. Today, Tyler went golfing and Jackson and I got to hang out with one of my sweet friends, DeiDre. We went with her to Cracker Barrel for brunch, and then came home to work on some housework and outside chores. Tomorrow, we're gonna go to the middle service at church and then have some friends over for lunch. After that... we're just looking forward to some down time together as a family.

Great is Thy faithfulness.

The song, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" was played at both of my great-grandparents' funerals when I was sixteen years old. At that time, it was a song filled with comfort and peace, knowing that the Lord would be there even when others cannot. When Tyler and I got married, I felt that it was a great song to include because of the hope and constancy it conveys, and had it played during the seating of the grandparents and parents. In different seasons of my life, this song has spoken different things to my spirit. Tonight at church, we sang "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" again. It really caught my attention because it seems to reflect where I am in my walk with the Lord right now. There are a lot of things up in the air in my life and most nights I go to bed wanting to pull the covers over my head and have a good cry. A lot of things going on right now don't seem to make sense in my human brain. There are deaths and illnesses and major life changes and financial problems. I can't see the next page of God's plan and, uber planner that I am, this stresses me out. There are so many unknowns and not nearly enough knowns for my type A personality.

I believe that every one of us relates to God in a certain way, or that a specific characteristic of God really reflects how we view the Lord. For me, the Lord's faithfulness has always been something that drew me to Him. No matter the circumstances, no matter how many times I have failed, no matter how many times I have turned my back on Him or how many times I have prayed this week or any other decision I make, He is FAITHFUL. My favorite Bible verses are those that promise His faithfulness. One passage of Scripture that I hid in my heart at a young age is Psalm 18, which includes verse 25 -

'To the faithful, You show Yourself faithful...'.

If you only knew how many times I have prayed, sobbed, whispered, or boldly declared that verse in my life. During a particularly stressful time in college, I wrote "TTFYSYF" on the top of my study notes. I still have one from a statistics class that says - "4.0 GPA - TTFYSYF" written in large bold letters across the top. God WAS faithful - I made a 4.0 that semester.

As I face the unknown, I praise the Lord that He is faithful. He never wavers, never changes, and never stops loving me. And I love that about Him.

4 months old!!!

Time is just flying by so quickly! It's been a hectic couple of weeks. Tyler is now officially the caretaker for Jackson Tues-Fri. He is enjoying getting to spend so much time with Jackson, I'm enjoying knowing that my baby is safe with his daddy and the fact that the house stays pretty much clean without me having to do much, and Jackson is enjoying the fact that he gets to sleep in a little bit longer in the mornings! Here's my sweet boys:
Last weekend we went to El Dorado Sunday & Monday for Tyler's brother, Dustin's, graduation from El Dorado High School. We got to see a lot of Tyler's extended family that we don't see often, and Jackson got to meet many of them for the first time.

This weekend, we had several things scheduled, but most of them did not happen and we got to enjoy a semi-relaxing weekend at home together. Unfortunately, we found what appears to be a leaking pipe in our foundation. Water is leaking out of the brick in the backyard. We aren't quite sure what that will entail, but we'll see... tomorrow we might know something more.

Today we had the Ashworths and the Morgans over for an early dinner cookout. It was raining when we started grilling, but had cleared up enough to just be HUMID by the time we ate. Love just chilling with friends! Holiday weekends are the best.

Jackson will be 4 months old on Wednesday, and I can't believe it has already been that long. He is growing up SOOOO quickly! He is trying so hard to crawl, and if you sit him up, he's almost to where he can hold it by himself. He just requires one finger's worth of help to help him balance. He's been eating up some rice cereal... getting much better at eating it rather than wearing it. He's loving playing in his Exersaucer and has started "talking" to his toys, especially the teddy bear that plays sounds and a monkey that hangs from his car seat. He does NOT like to ride somewhere in the car unless he is full and clean diapered and ready for a nap. He's starting to want to sleep un-swaddled now. This boy loves music, too! He loves to have anyone sing to him or even just have music playing in the background. Maybe the music genes will skip a generation and he will get some of the talent my brothers inherited from my dad.

A rare moment of peace in the carseat last night

Laughing at Uncle Brennan and Uncle Mills and Grandpa Chris playing guitars

Home Sweet Home

One year ago today, Tyler and I signed papers on our house and along with the help of both our families, got all of our stuff moved from our 600 sq-ft apartment to our new home! I think it's important to stop and remember the things that God has done and ways He has provided in our lives, so... here are a few pictures. :)

Packing madness at our old apartment

Showing off our new fireplace :)

It's finally ours! :)

A year later, we still love our home and feel that it has been a great investment for our family. The Lord has blessed us so much!

Catching up

Well, like I said a couple days ago, I can't believe it's been a month since I have blogged. Life gets crazy.

I've been working, Tues-Fri, every week. Tyler has been working some CRAZY hours, hitting overtime by Wednesday a lot of weeks. This has made for some very long nights alone with Jackson and one very stressed out, exhausted Mama. Thankfully, that time is coming to a close and he will be staying home with Jackson from now on, only working Mondays and possibly an occasional weekend. So ready for this change!

So, let's go back in time. I had a wonderful first Mothers' Day this past weekend.

It lasted the entire weekend! Saturday, Shirley and David came up to keep Jackson while Tyler and I went to a co-worker's wedding. Tyler and I enjoyed our first outing alone in a while!
After the wedding, we came back to the house and hung out with Tyler's brothers Joey and Dustin for a bit until church Saturday night. Tyler's parents & brothers, my parents, brothers, and grandparents, and Tyler, Jackson, and I went to church together Saturday night and all sat together. I thought that was pretty awesome. Then, Sunday morning, my in-laws and sweet husband let me sleep in a little later than usual and I got coffee and a card in bed! :) My in-laws went back to El Dorado and Tyler, Jacks and I got to spend the whole day as a family together, just watching movies and hanging out (since the weather was not so great). Then we had dinner with my family at my parents'.
Jackson with his Poppy


The weekend before that, we found out that our best friends Charity and Jonathan Ashworth are building a house three lots down from ours! Charity and I have known each other since we were kids back in Alma. We reconnected in college and got married around the same time. Jonathan and Tyler are buddies now, too. We are too excited to have them so close and can't wait for all the cookouts, movie nights, and yes, golf days that will ensue! :)

Jackson is really growing so quickly lately! It really does go too fast! He is now a lot more social, and smiles at everyone! He loves to play peekaboo, and recognizes his bottle as his "food". He can sit up with support from his Bumbo or pillows around him.


He laughs and coos at you all the time. He's been eating rice cereal occasionally and getting better with that. We go back to the doctor the first week of June for a check up, and I can't wait to see how much he's gained! He is such a blessing in our lives. We can't imagine or remember our life without him!

So, that's what's been up... really not too much... just day to day life :)