You are my greatest SURPRISE!

Tomorrow will mark the day that I became the mom to a double-digiter.  I will forever remember the night before the happening of said event with the brain made memory of my 9 year old boy dancing around singing the two words double digit over and over again.  What can I say 10 is a big deal.

For this old thinker of a mom, this post and this moment have been a long time coming.  After a decade of being a mom you would think I  would have been granted with some bit of Sage wisdom or if I could go back and do something different it would be a, b and c.  But if you asked me in this very moment I would tell you the wisdom can really be summed up in that of those brain made memories, some of them almost like videos they are so crisp, some of them in slow-mo because you believed for a second you may have been able to change it if you would have done things differently.  But I suppose the one bit of sage wisdom would be that I wouldn't change any of it....I don't wish for any of it to be different....not even the hard stuff.  And boy howdy has there been hard stuff, especially with my soon to be double-digiter. And if there is one other thing I would pass on it would be the encouragement to really get know your kids, don't be afraid of the sticky parts, of the things that you would maybe change (go ahead judge me for saying that out loud) figure out what makes them tick, strive to know who God has created them to be, because these facts are where the true blessings in mothering hide.

Tonight before I wrote this I laid in bed with the hubdub and reminisced about the day Elliot was born. We talked about how I nearly killed him for eating ranch doritos right before I went into hard labor, this is not the best choice when breathing in your wife's face through doubled up contractions.  We talked about how he made me watch the European Antique Roadshow through the whole bout of my labor.  And we talked about how our moms were there and how invaluable that was.  But mostly I thought about what a great team we made in that delivery room.  How I never felt alone for one second, how there was never a moment that I thought I wouldn't make it and the moment I had him I knew why.  The moment we had Elliot I knew that life would never be the same.  I knew we were in for something great.  That being Elliot's mom would forever be my greatest surprise.

Elliot was born into the world with the look of a little old man.  His face looked of that of someone much older and wiser of his several minutes old self.  And so it has gone for the past 10 years.  He is wise beyond his years this one.  We always joke that there is 50 year old man stuck in his body, constantly trying to take him over.  He loves to read the newspaper, he loves technology, he loves to debate, theology and faith based conversations are some of his favorite and they keep him awake at night.  He frustrates me to no end but he also amazes me beyond my wildest dreams. And I have learned a lot about him in this last year.

Often Elliot can be frustrating because he is frustrated:)  He likes to understand things to their core. He needs to know why....now every parenting book out there will tell you that this is a big "no no" when parenting...because I said so should suffice in all situations with truly obedient children. But not my Elliot, his soul needs the explanation, and so it goes.  We have talked to him like an adult since he was 2 years old and it just how we do.  I threw out my parenting books at about the same time and instead I have strived for much of that time to surround myself with other women who have done it before, whom I respect and admire, not women with perfect children but women with lovely hearts and open minds.  Women who don't judge but support.  With mothering my children I have found those relationships to be invaluable.  And I pray daily that I can return that great gift by sharing it with others.  Because when your children are two you think you may know it all but when they are 10 you realize you know nothing.  And so now you know Jager's hate parenting books and classes and I keep trying to change it that but I think that recently I have become quite comfortable with the fact.

This year has tested my strength in being Elliot's mother, it has stretched and grown my love for him in ways I would have never dreamed.  It is funny how when they are born you think you couldn't possibly love them more than you do in that moment but the truth is it continues to mound like scoops on an ice cream cone.  Each bump in the road stretches and grows it almost simultaneously because the stretching requires the growing and vice versa.  But this year has also brought a new aspect to our relationship and that has been one of trust.  When our kids are small they trust us almost inherently, they learn early -if you do not raise them like wolves- that you are their source for just about everything.  Food, Love, Safety, Shelter to name a few.  But the problem or maybe the beauty rather is that as they grow they start to think for themselves and as that happens the trust can fade because you are not always making the decisions that they would like you to make.  We have had that for the first time this year and I have had to ask Elliot to trust me, I never have had to do this before. And it has been hard and it has rocked my mama world in ways I never imagined it to be rocked, and it has been painful but it also been oh so good.  God has used it to not only grow my relationship with Elliot but also to show me the flaws in my relationship with Him. And so for now I have earned his trust again, I am sure that will falter once or twice along the way but I continue to pray that I will have the wisdom enough to take the time to let him question me, so I can explain the heart of the matter.  

I have learned in the last year that Elliot is a justice fighter.  Oh boy, I think he got this from me and if he learns when to cast it out and when to reel it in he will find it to be one of his greatest assets and one of his biggest faults.  It goes way beyond don't mess with my mom for this kid.  He is an underdog finder, a broken winged bird picker upper, a stray dog lover, he roots for the losing team and will stand up for what he knows is right until the bitter bloody end and it can get ugly. He hangs on through the hard stuff and I love that about him.  He loves bigger than his heart can handle and I know that he will have his heart broken many more times in his life.  But he uses his heart for good and it's a beautiful thing.

But mostly I have learned that boys are weird and I still don't understand them, they make weird noises and smell funny.  I do happen to be quite fond of this smelly, noisy boy.

Bottom line though,  I am incredibly humbled and honored that God chose me to be Elliot's mom, he has brought me more joy than I could have ever imagined and definitely more than I have deserved.  I pray that when he is a dad someday -a long time from now- he will be blessed with as great a surprise as I have been.

Funnies.

 I took this kid to the Dr. yesterday.  Just a med switcharoo and scheduling for another sleep study.  We finally weaned Elliot off of the sleep meds that were helping with his  night terrors but now he isn't sleeping very well in general...so back to the drawing board.  No matter though we had some time to goof around in the mirror at the Dr's office as our Dr. was running behind.

I love this kid.  I can't hardly believe he will be 10 this summer!  He is my jam.

It can be hard to get him to be silly.  But we were able to get there yesterday. I know these are ridiculous, but its important to be ridiculous sometimes!

Being a mom is kind of my favorite thing!! 

Happy Birthday My Dude!

It happened he turned nine. And I love just the same. It wasn't earth shattering. But it was a great day.

One of the things I like most about Elliot is his love for life. Sometimes it can be a bit deep, but other times he is just the most fun loving all around lovable little dude. Every gift he opened to night was followed with the same exact genuine excitement, thankfulness and praise. I was so pleased with him. My heart oozed with love for him and how he is growing, how he is maturing. I love watching him grow into the person God is intending him to be its a gift.

Elliot kept on reminding me today was his birthday. I kept on assuring him there was no way I was ever going to forget. 9 years ago I was holding the most beautiful baby in the world. However I must tell you that 2 days prior to his arrival I was begging and pleading for any way to remove him from my body and I am not kidding. 2 days prior to his arrival I dropped the remote on the floor and went I went to pick it up I ripped the back of my pants. Not a good day in the land of completely pregnant. It was actually my due date. Yep the hubdub made the mistake of giggling and I proceeded to cry and cry and cry some more. I had experienced about 22 weeks of pre term labor at this point and had been off all labor ceasing medication for a good four weeks and now my body was confused to all get out. It didn't know when to contract or how to contract and so it just contracted all the time with no change in the areas that needed to do so and I was exhausted. And I thought it was a dirty rotten trick. So wah. June 19th came and my Dr. agreed to put me the hospital over night to try and get me some rest- it was a blessed time. I laid in bed with my giant slurpee and promptly after finishing I slept for a whole 12 hours....can I get an AMEN. At 2pm they broke my water and at 4:20 pm I had myself a wonderful little boy. I can not believe for two seconds that that all happened just like that 9 years ago. It was the greatest day!

Today was pretty great too as I mentioned. Like always in the Jager house your birthday starts with breakfast in bed. This year it was whole wheat pancakes with, scrambled eggs and as if the maple syrup doesn't have enough sugar, as Elliot says "my mom's canned peaches" and a glass of milk.




No crazy over the top creation this year. We went straight up and i made a two layer cake. Half chocolate chip mint ice cream and one layer devils food cake topped with fudge sauce. It wasn't actually really good, I thought it would be disgustingly sweet. And this little man loves himself some chocolate chip mint.


I love that I captured this face. You think he liked his skateboard? My dad asked if he could say broken arm. I replied that we hadn't been to the ER In almost exactly one year, they probably miss us around there anyway;)


And although his face doesn't show it he loves these two to the moon and back. Candid shots are so much better with him:)

Elliot I love you so much. I would have carried you around for another nine months if thats what it would have taken, just to end up with you as my son. You were incredibly worth it!! I love your brain, I love your heart...I love you!

Sometimes things are not as planned but oh so perfect in the end.

Mom guilt is a sneaky little devil. It attempts to crawl in at the most random times and insert itself into places it does not belong and we moms lack the brilliance to disregard it from time to time.

Last night was almost one of those times. Actually it was a bit of one of those times.

Yesterday we had an amazing opportunity to spend some time with our friend Bob who lives in Nicaragua. He was flying into Seattle last night and it was the only time we would have to see him while he was here. So what do the two oldest Jagers do...we decide to make an evening out of it...drive to Seattle see a good friend and enjoy an evening. Well the evening was meant to start about 4 hours before it did...and I thought we would be home at a decent time, but thats not how it worked out. Poor Bob's plane was delayed not once but twice at two separate airports and we were already in Seattle so we decided to wait anyway. By 10:30 he was in Seattle and we went to get a somewhat second dinner and enjoy some conversation and base touching with a friend that we don't get to see - ever. I am so glad we made the effort and double glad he was excited about seeing us after about 18 hours of travel:)

What i was missing from being at home was sort of silly. My kids have summer birthdays which means they don't have birthdays that fall during the school year. So being that they have fabulous teachers they always have their parties sometime around now in their classes. I thought I would be home last night to spend my normal inordinate and unnecessary amount of time making them their typical custom cupcakes but since we didn't get home until 2am that just wasn't going to happen. My mom said just go to Safeway buy some cupcakes in the section they call the bakery:) Brian said thats so smart pop them on your own tray no one will ever know the difference. Here's the deal...Jessica Jager doesn't do the bakery at the grocery, and it has nothing to do with anyone else its just my gig. I feel called to spend the time on my kids in this way and I laid a huge slab of mom guilt on myself when I realized I wasn't going to be able to keep up with the tradition. Life goes on is what I should have said, I should have bought the darn cupcakes and moved on. Well this morning I had to pick my kids up from my moms and get them to school by 8:30 and have their treats to school by 10. Cupcakes were so not going to happen in that amount of time. God knew I needed a reality check and he sent it to me in the form of my sister who is a fresh new mom. I was talking to her on the way to get the kids and she asked what time the cupcakes needed to be at school she laughed at me with my reply and said so not going to happen. Then she went on to say,"Here's what you are going to do...go pick up doughnuts, its practically breakfast time those kids don't need all that sugar in the morning." Pause two reasons I loved this, first off she's a genius, and second those doughnuts have just as much sugar if not more than the cupcakes:)

So what did I do, I went to the bakery and bought maple bars for Elliot's class and sprinkle doughnuts for Grace's. Showed up at school read a book to Grace's class passed out doughnuts, walked across the hall to Elliot's class passed out doughnuts sang Happy Birthday and God Bless You Today....and guess what my kids were blessed(ultimate goal), they thought I was rad and I wasn't stressed at all. Win, WIn, Win, Winning:) My wise MIL told me once that Mom guilt is for the birds and you know what she is so right. With a bit of reformulating the brain and regrouping your thoughts and listening to others advice you could skip over all that stuff and move on like the rockstar you are! MOMS UNITE:)





I CAN'T BELIEVE WE WILL HAVE A 7 AND 9 YEAR OLD IN OUR HOUSE SOON!!!!

Mom Stuff...Elliot Edition.

I've been pondering much lately over what type of mom I really want to be for each my kids. You may think it is a bit late to ponder such thing but I think its important to reevaluate and evolve - if you will - as time goes on. My kids change as the sun sets and that calls for new techniques, new goals , new approaches. This job ain't for sissies you know. Its stupid hard sometimes.

I would like to say that I mother both of my cherubs the same, but lets face it I don't, its impossible. I try to be fair but fairness is all relative. Each one of them was made perfectly how God intended and they weren't made with the same cookie cutter. This means they each have their own needs, own ways to be loved, different weaknesses and strengths. And I find with this all being said that is my job to love, nurture, discipline, support, discourage, etc. accordingly.

The day Elliot was born my heart grew to a point that I can not even describe. I never knew its was possible to love this unconditionally, this fully. I will never forget the first time I laid eyes on his tiny face with his wrinkly old man forehead and nose that seemed just the slightest bit to big for his little sweet face. These memories are the type that make your throat burn and your heart beat. It was as if the whole room fell silent it was just him and I and my utmost thankfulness to a God that would use me to create something so utterly perfect, so utterly flawless. I remember almost breathing him in completely. I remember immediately cataloging each feature, each noise, each wrinkle, each mark. And I remember feeling so connected to the calling of being his mother. Its these moments that I find it hard to believe that others would deny the existence of a heavenly father, its beyond control, its instinctual something that I was created to do.

Being Elliot's Mom means being patient with his infinite questions, he has a mind that wants to learn the ins and outs of every little thing, no wrong left unturned no corner to dark. This quality is one that can drive insane but his brain is also something that I stand in awe of, he learns so quickly and he is always, always thinking, there is no brain down time for the E. Being Elliot's Mom means being sensitive, oh man he needs love this kid, he needs reassurance, there is no one that is harder on themselves then this little guy, he strives for perfection in all things, its hard to watch, but something we are working on. Being Elliot's Mom means taking the time to talk, hes a hasher, he likes to weed through the hard stuff, he's a feeler and a lover of the world, out of both of my kids he understands Jesus love the most, it makes me proud and breaks my heart at the same time. Being Elliot's Mom means not always being able to take the easy road, things are hard for him and in turn hard for me sometimes but there is so much reward.

I love being Elliot's Mom and I know that God selected me for the job perfectly.

We went on a date yesterday and he said lets make sure we can spend the most amount of time just me and you as we can. Melt...... We had ice cream, ran some errands ate sushi and the whole time I felt like the most blessed Mama in this whole world. He reminds me of his Dad in the way that I we can anything or nothing together, if its just the two of us thats enough to make the day special...I'm a lucky lady, and someday Elliot will make another lady very happy in this way....he has a gift.

Elliot you are a blessing to me. The thing I hope to teach you the most is that there is nothing to big to conquer if Jesus is in your heart. And that failure is really just an opportunity to grow, its nothing to be afraid of. And lastly that God has a purpose planned just for you.....find it and hold on, in this you will find true happiness.



We have had a saying since Elliot was about 2 1/2, one day I said you k now Elliot you are my dude, and he replied yep you are my girl mom. We still say this to each other now, its our way of saying I love you...and if either of us needs a little pick me up we say our half and the other completes it.

Elliot you are my dude, I love that you call me Mom!!

Numero 600.......

This is my 600th post woot woot.

Us four Jagers had a movie night this past Friday. It was so much fun. We even made home made pizza with whole wheat crust (my kids would rather Little Ceasars but they don't complain to much).

Grace made a giant "cozy spot" on the floor and we snuggled up and enjoyed the show.


I love these three more than anything.....I mean look at them!

Mr. Husband left for Disneyland this morning. He was awarded a special honor at work as well as a conference held in Disneyland by the Disney Institute. They are even putting him up in the Grand Californian. I scream no fair:) At the same time I couldn't be prouder. Only one other person was chosen from our district so it was a very large compliment. I am so thankful that my husband has a job where he can find joy and fulfillment. It has been and continues to be a blessing.

In other news we have decided that we are taking everything we need to Costa Rica in two backpacks. We will also check one bag that has our sunblock and liquid stuff in it.

So all of my things need to fit in this baby...

The brewer and his wife the infamous Rah leant them to us. They purchased them when they went to Europe for three weeks and these were the only bags they brought. If they could pack for three weeks in these I can surely pack for ten days in one. If you are related to me and have traveled with me before (aka Bubba, Krispis, Jaim or Mom) you can stop laughing now it is possible and I am up for the challenge:) And to catch the rest of you up I may be a tad bit of an over packer...its not a disease but it may be a hint at a not so hidden form of anxiety:) I hate to be without something I need. And if you forgot something awhile travelling with me I most likely have an extra. My Dad is the same way. When you vacation with him if something breaks he surely has what it takes to fix it....your flip flop blows out he has an extra pair probably in various sizes. Its just the way we roll. But for this trip I am vowing to travel light and only take what I absolutely need, it will be good therapy for me!

In other news Grace's class was in charge of putting a chapel service together for school. Today was the day for everyone to enjoy their hard work. If you aren't familiar with our schools practices, at Ebenezer on the last Wednesday of every month they hold a chapel service, each grade takes a turn throughout the year to plan, prepare and host it. I try to go to chapel every month simply because it is a great reminder to watch these kids innocent perceptions of their faith. I love it! It is also such a great opportunity for these students to participate in something that stretches them and teaches them about public speaking, and performance as well as them learning to speak openly about God in a public setting. Grace has been ecstatic about the service for over a week and all she talked about was a play they had put together. She informed me this morning that she was an actor and her part was a boy but it doesn't matter because its just pretend. She then went on to say she didn't want to be a narrator because she gets stage fright and that makes her voice small and squeakish:) I thought this was a profound realization and was proud of her for being joyful it what she was good at. Isn't it wonderful that God makes us all strong in our own right. If God had made us all willing speakers there would be no actors:) That is what Grace and I talked about this morning. And i was so thankful for the reminder once again that we are all made with our own purpose and strengths to complete it.
I didn't get a great picture so you will have to deal with what I got. The kids were pricelessly adorable. There are 11 in her class this year and they are all so sweet.

Grace has the hat on in the striped dress.

I just got a call that Elliot's medication came in at the pharmacy. Another praise would be for amazing medical benefits the prescription cost 60 cents:) So here's praying for a new normal, hopefully sleep will be upon us.

Thanks for hanging in here with me I k now what I write isn't always butterflies and rainbows. It has always been my goal to keep it real around here:) But don't think for a moment that I don't feel blessed in this life...It's everything I never knew I wanted and more!

We have a plan:)

I kind of love this little guy. He told me he had a 12 pack the other day I was nice enough to point out that those weren't ab muscles they were ribs:) Got to keep the handsome guy a little humble...his teacher says that he is first pic for the ladies in his class:)

We finally received a call from "THE DR." yesterday. We got some good news and we now have a plan. I like plans you should know this about me. I am goal oriented and do well with lots of steps toward that goal. God knows this most of all because thats how he made me. That all being said this is exactly what "THE DR." gave us yesterday.

First off I should tell you that there doesn't appear to be any extending health problems with our boy. No apnea, no typical seizures, no heart problems. The sleep study led the "THE DR." to believe that Elliot is still extremely sleep deprived which was also the cause of these episodes beginning in the first place. Elliot's brain waves show he is in a certain type of his sleep cycle called Delta Sleep for 25% of the time he is sleeping typically kids his age are in that stage about 13% or less. The Dr. says this is actually significant. The amount of Delta Sleep Elliot is having leads to the likelihood of more and more sleep terrors its the kind of sleep we dream or have nightmares in. If we can get him caught up and experiencing more "good sleep" we should be able to reduce the amount of terrors significantly. "THE DR."suspects that we will still experience night terrors a handful of times a year....I quickly told him I can do a couple of times a year compared to every night:) In layman's terms Elliot's Brain is very confused about what type of sleep to have, how much and when. Sleep deprivation is a very serious situation and can lead to dozens of other problems. So Elliot dealing with this any longer than needed is not an option.

So here is the plan. Yay! We will wean Elliot off his Melatonin and slowly introduce a new medication called Clonidine( I struggled with sharing the name of the med as I am sure I will have people that feel the need to share all of the bad reactions and horror stories that come with any med), it is used for several different things in the medical world, very often for panic and anxiety in kids who are diagnosed with ADHD. It may take a few weeks to get the dose right. After a few months we will be back in touch with Sleep Clinic at Swedish and re-evaluate the situation. Basically our goal with this is to reset Elliots sleep rhythm and hopefully all will go back to our version of normal.

I know many of you have issue with medication. Yep me too:) I have many medical "issues" personally that I do not take meds for and will not until that is the last option, my Rheumatoid Arthritis for example has been completely handled with diet and exercise, and although I have been offered a pocketful of meds I don't believe that is a good option for me at this point. However some conditions require meds and I believe in those situations it is a great option. We have tried to deal with Elliot's sleep issues in every way possible at this point. I also believe everyone needs to make the best choices they can when they are in a situation. You can't judge especially in situations where people are making decisions for their children, if you have never had a child that deals with chronic issues you have no place to even dapple in judgement. Brian and I have prayed much, discussed much and toiled with the ideas of how to deal with all of this and I believe this is the best option for our little man at this point.

This may seem a bit defensive....as you may be able to tell I have had to deal with a lot of neighsayers and judgers in the last couple of months. I have not much more patience for this sort of "support" at this point. In this I should also say we have many hand holders and walk along siders and prayers. We can still use all of these people as we now head into the plan set before us. But neigh saying and judging can pretty much be left behind, we have had our fill and it would be gluttonous to partake in anymore of this:)

Thanks to all of you supporters....I can't tell you how many times I have felt the strength of others prayers, hugs and kind words in the last few months.

So here's to praying for sleep in the Jager home... I feel hope in this area:)

Unexpected Blessings

My son has had multiple night terrors a night since Thanksgiving (minus a 5 day respit over Christmas). It has been exhausting. He screams horrible things and can not be consoled. He does not remember a lick of it come morning. To say that we are all a bit anxious at this point would be an understatement. We are trying some extreme things to get his sleep rhythm back and the last two nights have been better....only two terrors instead of 5 or 6. It is all stemming from anxiety..and I think the root of the anxiety is changing all of the time. Right now it seems to be centered on me and I am not sure why. When he is shouting at night he screams for them to not make him leave me, for me to not disappear. Its heartbreaking and strange all at the same time. This child has never even had a glimmer of separation anxiety with me in his entire existence. I have attempted to talk to him about it during the day and he has no idea what I am talking about.

This morning I decided to do a bit of sleuthing at school to see if he has been having any anxiety there that his teacher has noticed. He strives for perfection at school, which he does not need to do. I mean the kid is brilliant and I don't mean that in my kid is so smart kind of way. He just has the type of learning style that takes little effort (I wish I did;). I have also shared on here that he is my people pleaser... disappointing anyone is crushing to him....so much so that it is hardly an option for him. So when talking to his teacher she shared that sometimes she can tell that things are bothering him, but he is slow to share whats going on in his head. He has also been seriously flipping out over his reading goal for the year....if they read 5000 pages they get to have lunch with their principal. The kid read 600 pages over Christmas break, so the worry is kind of out there but oh its there. Elliot came over as I was talking to his teacher and she wrapped him in a hug and told him God had made him exactly as he intended and that he was special and loved. She went on to tell him that perfection need not be a goal and he needed to only worry about being himself. And finished with telling him how brilliant she thinks he is without even trying.

I hope Elliot was as blessed as I was in that moment. I nearly lost it. What a blessing to be in a school environment such as my children are. To have a teacher that loves them. To have a teacher that wants them to be who God intended them to be. To have a teacher that takes the time to recognize each of her students as individuals.

Ultimately I know God is in control with Elliot. I know that sleep deprived or not we will all get through this time. It is only that...a time. In the mean time if you could a bit for my little man I would so appreciate it. He could use the prayers right now.

Elliot vs. The Babysitter

We had a babysitter tonight. I always warn the babysitters that my kids are crafty...not overtly naughty but for sure crafty.

The babysitter was downstairs watching t.v. Elliot was upstairs supposedly sleeping in his bed when the babysitter hears his radio.

So she treks up the stairs and confronts the little rascal.

She tells him he needs to turn it off because hes not sleeping.

He replies with,"The Lord is more important to me than my sleep." (Because he was listening to Praise.)

She says to me....At this point I didn't know how to respond:)

He did make the right choice and turned off the radio.... and was sleeping when I got home....but really these kids are crafty.

Also today the 3rd and 4th graders went to the health care center to sing to the residents. Upon walking into the facility a child walks up to my son and says, "The teachers totally lied it doesn't smell weird in here at all." Yep....got to love them!!

And one last Elliotism before I leave you this evening, "How could I not believe her? People with glasses are really convincing."

Thats all folks!

Blast from the past:)

Found this in the archives today. Oh man they were cute. Still are but really!!
Pause the blog music on the bottom of the page so you can here there cute little voices. I apparently had a cold....Nasal Mcnasalson.

Thank You Becky VanDyk!

Becky VanDyk is a good friend of ours and she also happens to be a photographer among other things. So naturally we asked her to take our family pictures this fall.

I cannot tell you how badly we needed to have our photographs taken. The last time we had a professional picture taken of the 4 of us Grace was two....yeah its been to long.

Thankfully we got quite a few that I like so I thought I would share them with you and promote Becky a bit, because she is fabulous!

My kids are not super cooperative in getting their pictures taken, they are more interested in being silly and driving their poor mother insane but I think this actually got us a more natural photo in some cases so I am happy with that!

Click here to see the pictures whole.


I pretty much love all of them!!

You should know.....

You mess with Grace and Elliot's going to teach you a lesson.

So Elliot and Grace(mostly Grace) had their first week of school meltdown after getting off the bus today. It was rotten for everyone involved.

But to be expected for sure!!

In this it comes out that there is a bully on the bus who has been bugging Grace. I told her it was important that she tell the bus driver so she could handle it. Their bus drivers name is Miss Femmie by the way...adorable I know. Anyway in saying this Elliot catches wind and says, "Don't worry Gracie you just point him out to me on Monday and I will teach him a lesson."

So we had a talk about what that meant to him....he had something else in mind, much different from what I had in mind. So we settled on him asking the kid to stop if he experienced anything happening. Brian once told him the only time it is okay to punch someone first is if they hit your sister or your mom....yep these are the conversations that go on in the Jager house. Elliot was sure to remind me of the rules.

I love how much these two love each other. I love how Elliot is the first to make sure Grace is okay if she is upset. And how Grace can't sleep upstairs if Elliot isn't home. They are so sweetly attached to one another. Oh how I wish I could have had a protective older brother to teach people a lesson.

So I will be adding bus prayers to my long list:)

Peaceful sleep where art thou?

My son, my Elliot ... I love this boy more than my heart can handle sometimes. He is my child that is most like me. We have similar hearts and similar personalities. He has never been my sleeper, naps were never his thing, falling asleep has always been difficult. Although as a baby and toddler once he was asleep he would sleep through the night no problems. Lately though we are in a strange cycle and I am at a loss.

Lately it seems we go a few weeks just fine and then we have 3 or 4 day stretch of nightmares...I would actually classify them as night terrors because when i get to him he is still sleeping yet able to talk to me a bit once I get him calmed down. The dreams are horrible and are often about him dieing, being left alone or him being hurt...I can't say the boy hasn't had a bit of a traumatic summer in the injury dept. so I am not sure if that is related. The nightmares seem to be consistently waking him up every couple of hours and I would be lying if I didn't say it wasn't beginning to shake me a bit.

Things we have tried, flipping his pillow to the good dream side, talking about good dreams or things we could dream about before sleep, praying specifically for dreams before bed and talking about Gods ultimate care and comfort for us.....I feel as if we have tried it all and I am starting to think maybe there is a bigger issue. I also pray over him out loud each time he wakes up hoping that God will make it stop and that Elliot will feel comfort...I know He is there.

So this is my plea for help, tips, advice whatever....I am at a loss of what else to do:(

Just not sure how much screaming of death I can take in the middle of the night and I so badly want to help him.

My boys went fishing....

This is the only photo I have...I would have to add little boys in rain gear to my uncontrollable smile list.



And I assure you he was more than proud when he caught this. In fact he caught the biggest fish that day at 25 lbs. He called with a full report shortly after cleaning it. Not sure the big boys will be able to go fishing with out the little man anytime soon:)

Eight is Great!

I have decided that year eight may be the greatest age yet. Elliot will tell you that he had the best birthday ever. I am here to say that I am pretty sure he is not exaggerating. He was so thankful for everything, and was just all around excited to spend the day with his buddies from the neighborhood. It was a great day!

We started the day with breakfast in bed, which was his request. I think everyone should get breakfast in bed at least once a year. I always get breakfast in bed on Mothers Day. It is the best, I am not going to lie. So I made Elliot Cinnamon Honey Whole Wheat Waffles, Breakfast Sausage, Watermelon and Bananas, and milk of course. He was ecstatic however the first thing out of his mouth was I forgot it was my birthday followed by you remembered I asked for breakfast in bed:) I love the little dude all the time but the mornings are the best:)

We have a house full of Josh lovers....Elliot made sure to spend some time holding Josh on his birthday. He spent most of the time asking Josh to open his mouth so he could see if he had any teeth. I assured him that not only did Josh not have any teeth but he couldn't follow commands yet.

I made a snake cake this year. I will tell you it was a piece of cake to make however it takes a ton of frosting. The spots are reeces pieces, the tounge is made out of fruit roll up (didn't know where to find these in the grocery store by the way and the clerk laughed at me, Lea is probably laughing too, guess it goes alongside the casserole category?) , the eyes are marshmallows, the mouth is made out of ding dongs. So there you go. Oh and I used a bundt pan to make the cakes and then cut them in half. I made two cakes, for Elliots it was ginormous. Elliot loved!



Eight year olds get pocket knives in our family. All of Elliots buddies were highly impressed with his new freedom to whittle sticks.

The kids celebrated with a ginormous water fight. By the way I do feed my child despite what it looks like. He tells me his going to be a lean machine like my Grandpa for his whole life:) Time will tell I suppose:)

Elliot I love you my dude. I am so happy I get to be your Mom. It is a complete priviledge to watch you grow, to watch you learn, to watch God work in your little heart. I pray that you will always have the vigor and drive to do what you need to do, to get you through tough times, and help you enjoy all of lifes moments to their fullest. You are a bright, smart, funny, charming and wonderful little man. Eight is great and I can't wait to see you through eight more:)

My Monkey Fell Out Of A Tree.

I have been calling Elliot Monkey (affectionately) since he was born. He would always just cling on to me when he wanted to be held. Now I call him a spider monkey because if I pick him up he is so tall and his legs are so long he can literally wrap himself around me:)

Well last night my monkey fell about 6 or 7 feet out of our tree in the front yard onto the sidewalk. Grace came running in the front door crying telling me Elliot had gotten hurt. Here comes the bad, experience sometimes gets me in trouble mom part. I was waiting for him to come in after her screaming. Well that didn't happen and about 30 seconds later my neighbor comes running in and says Elliot is really hurt we need towels. When I walked out of my door I see my child laying face down in a puddle of blood and he wasn't moving-and I am not exaggerating his shirt was soaked there was a puddle laying under his head and his arms were covered with blood-all I could think was he busted his head or something. Turns out he hit his jaw to the point of splitting it wide open.

After the ambulance came and stopped the bleeding we got him to the ER and they put seven stitches in his jaw. He also chipped some teeth, knocked some teeth loose and jammed his knee. He tried to grab on to the branches when he was following so one of his arms is pretty badly scraped as well. We have plenty of bumps and bruise and road rash to go around.


It is pretty amazing how skin can just split open, it was so wide we could see his jaw bone. Sorry for the graphics...I don't have a weak stomach at all. 7 stitches.


Apparently he was trying to save the neighbor boys rocket from the top of the tree, the rocket was rescued:) I am not sure the neighbor kids will be the same for awhile they were all pretty traumatized by the whole event.

I am constantly reminded that God is so good to us. I know boys fall out of trees all the time and walk away with a couple of stitches. I am not sure that they fall onto pavement out of trees all the time. We are so blessed that Elliot walked away with just a few stitches, it could have been so much worse.

I am also reminded how great it is to be able to raise my children with faith. Grace went to the neighbors house after this happened while we went to hospital and my neighbor said she gathered up her buddies and they prayed for Elliot. This alone makes me cry, that my children know that they can go to God first with everything and that my little sassy Grace would think to pray for her brother all on her own is amazing to me.

We reminded our kids last night during bedtime prayers that it is God that gets the glory for this one. That God was there to protect Elliot and make sure he was ok.

Lego Man

My Elliot is a Lego Man. He calls himself a Lego master.

This weekend he brought this downstairs, told me this was only half of his minifigs, took a picture himself and told me to post it on the blog.

And since easy requests are my favorite, here you are.



And we live in our house so my desk is covered in whatnot all of the time.

Check back tomorrow for a kitchen must haves post along with a give away and a new recipe.

My Child May Be A Monkey.?

I am sure my child is part monkey, she is truly the most flexible human being I know.

This is how she sits at our new desk while she draws.
The Dr. actually bent her into a pretzel for fun at her last well care check. I guess if nothing else works out she can always join the circus.
As you can tell the interesting, yet always flamboyant and fashionable jammie choices keep coming.

P.S. if your name is Lea and you want to see pictures of the new cabinets/bookshelves/desk I will do a full post soon I promise:) And I miss you!

The story of a kindergartener and a second grader.

That's right I am a mature mom now...what? Oh man I can't believe I am the mother of two school aged children. I have worked so hard for the last seven years to prepare them for the great big world of school and social awareness:) and the day has come that they are both in the great big world of school. Now I guess I can't be so dramatic...no one has ever described Ebenezer as big, it is smaller by design after all:)

So the morning was interesting. I got up at early...and I might add for those of you who don't know I am not a morning person...however school mornings are important. I like everyone to be able to leave the house in the morning with happy hearts and full bellies with a healthy lunch in hand and this is no job for weenies. Now Grace has always been along for the ride on school mornings but she does not need to be ready for the day by any means, basically food has been her only requirement in the past. Well this does not ring true anymore and let me tell you she went through three outfits this morning before she found the perfect one. This is hilarious to me. People say I am in for trouble with this one...believe me I know. She has always been opinionated and thats ok with me as long as she is polite and respectful about it:) So back to the morning...we had a warm breakfast...in the new dining room...I made lunches we had showers, got dressed, put our shoes on and we were out the door with 6 dozen cookies and 2 dozen muffins because I remembered that as Eagle Booster president you provide refreshments for convocation. This whole time it actually seemed fairly natural to get two ready and out the door. Until we got to the Green Barn. When Elliot started kindergarten we made it tradition to pray for him from the Green Barn until the parking lot at school. It has been a fabulous tradition and I encourage anyone who drives their little ones to school to do it. It makes any stressful morning better..I have used as a time to ask God for forgiveness for me for being impatient with my kids- which was so humbling the first time but Elliot actually thanked me for asking for forgiveness which made me cry...I will blog more about this topic later- I also pray for each kid and bless their day. So here we are in the car, I thanked God for our morning for our good nights rest and the sun in the sky and then I prayed for Elliot thanking God for him and his school and praying for his teacher as well and then naturally it was Grace's turn because, well I was dropping her off too. What I am dropping her off too? Insert big lump in my throat, wavering voice and tears flowing down my cheeks here. But we got through it and Grace received her blessing and God received His glory. And the tears subsided and we rolled into school like rock stars with Jesus in our hearts and God on the brain. Because, as I have said before, Ebenezer Christian School is the happiest place on earth!

So enough of the sap....I am sure a lot of you have skipped ahead to see my beautiful children. This year I let them pick out their own first day of school outfits, it saved on drama and increased the cheerfulness. So here it is ENJOY!

The Picture In My Mind...

Forgive the picture scanning once again or lack there of. And disregard whatever is happening in the right hand side of the picture. Not much to say about that.

I woke up with this picture in my mind this morning. And the picture represents both things that I hold dear today. My precious baby boy...now not so baby as he officially turned 7 today. And my amazing husband who became a Father 7 years ago on this day. Both events require celebration.

Elliot turning 7 is surreal. I can very vividly remember the day he was born. I remember looking into his tiny face in complete awe of what God used my body to create. Elliot is the most loving, fun, smart, brilliant in more than one way and a complete lover of Gods world and his little life. He teaches me daily of about what is important. He told me the other day his heart was to big for his body...wonder where he gets this from. We have had the nicest conversations lately and not all of them have been life changing but they have all been tucked in my heart because it is so nice to hear him talk about what he feels and thinks and enjoys and detests. Its just nice to conversate because we can because he is 7 and 7 is a pretty big deal. I get the complete joy of hearing him pray before bed every night, much of what he prays about is the same from night to night but he always has a key point, sometimes it is a thanks God for loving me or please be with Grandma because Grandpas gone, or thanks for making me so good at legos (classic at least he is thankful), or please forgive us for damaging your world (a new favorite), but the other day he chose to pray for me as I was laying next to him on his bed. He thanked God for me and asked Him to be with me as I cooked for for lots and lots of people:)

What a blessing you are to me my monkey....Your mom loves you more than you know. And7 years ago I had no idea what a blessing you would be to me in so many ways.

The second part of the picture in my mind this morning was my Husband. I can still remember the look on his face this very first time he held Elliot in his arms. It was as if the whole world had stopped and every fear he had of being a dad just melted into a puddle on the floor. And this is the moment that I knew for the rest of forever there would never be anything that would get in between our little family and this man. My children have a dad that loves more than they ever could imagine and it is an amazing and beautiful thing to be able to witness!!

Babe you are an amazing Dad are kids are blessed to have you. And I am blessed to have as a partner in the crazy parenting universe.