New Blog

http://www.drcindyblog.com

My blog is moving thanks to the wonderful talents of Daniel D! God has blessed us with such talented friends, thanks Dessingers for all your time, effort and help with the new blog. I love it! Hope I do it justice and that everyone enjoys taking a peak into our lives.

Sweet Post!

I think you should take the time to check out my friend and colleague, Sarah Jones', blog. She does such a great job with articles and current research. And, her site looks so professional... In fact, my lil' ole blog is very jealous these days... We're about to change that lil' situation soon : ) Thanks, Sarah, for being so sweet and posting about us. We love you, keep up the good work!

Not Me! Monday

I know everyone else is joining MckMama in a "Not My Child! Monday", but I figured since every story I have to "not" tell on my child this week is my fault, I better stick w/ the Not Me! Monday...

I most certainly do not have a precious 10 month old son now because if that was the case, that would mean I have neglected my poor lil' blog for over a month... Surely not, Not Me!

And, I most certainly did not take that 10 month old to a wedding this past Saturday because my parents were going and JB was out of town so there were no sitters available. I would not wake my son up from his nap to go to a wedding, nope, Not Me! And, even if I was dumb enough to do so, I wouldn't sit towards the front and look at him with pride because he had fallen back asleep right before the ceremony started. And the bride will not forever be stuck with the memory of my precious child, on video forever, screaming to the top of his lungs because he suddenly woke up and decided he wanted to nurse as the pastor (same one who did my wedding!) tried to start her ceremony. I was not that mother at the wedding, Not Me!

To boot, my child- at only a few weeks old- did not have his first diaper accident on the mother of the above mentioned bride when we took him to his first baby shower, nope, Not Mine! Wow, do we owe this family...

Sunday, after the wedding when I asked mom if she was embarrassed by Harper's behavior, my own son's grandmother definitely did not reply, "Yes, mortified, let's not talk about it, try to forget!" We wouldn't be that embarrassed, nope, Not Us!

I did not agree to work every afternoon this week while JB is out of town. And, even if I had agreed to do so, I wouldn't have spent the whole afternoon w/ wonderful patients missing my precious little boy, wondering how working moms do it everyday. Nope, Not Me!

Finally, this will make you glad I went to work today and left someone else in charge of Harper... I did not win the "Worst Mom of the Year" award this past weekend by loosing Harper, nope, Not Me! I mean, I know he is fast and can go places quickly and get into anything he wants to these days. So, I would never let him out of my site, nope, Not Me! And, I certainly didn't find him in the garage (on his way out) when I had left him in the living room to play while I grabbed some clothes from my room. I wouldn't have an infant in a house with the door and the garage door open because our AC was out, Not Me! Surely I would watch him closely if I was doing something so dumb. I wouldn't turn to my mom in a panic when I saw no sign of him in the living room and ask, "Where is Harper?!" And, when we frantically went searching to find him in the garage eating insulation, probably on his way to the road, mom wouldn't reply, "Do not tell JB about this, you'll never hear the end of it!" And, I most certainly wouldn't blog about it. Nope, Not Me!

Happy Monday, hop on over to MckMama's blog and join the fun!

Not Me! Monday

My itty bitty baby, who was just born yesterday, is not nine months old today, nope, not my child!

He does not snort and cough at me everytime I walk by, letting me know that his throat is just a little parched and he would like to nurse now, nope, not my child!

And, he certainly doesn't yell at me and smack the table with his hands in public restaurants if I don't feed him food or ice fast enough, nope, not my child!

When I sit him in front of the window in our living room and walk away, I don't come back in everytime to find him standing (pulled up on the window seal) yelling and frustrated at our fat basset hounds for not running around and entertaining him, nope, not my child!

We didn't have two people mistake him for a girl this past week. And, one lady did not carry on a ten minute conversation with me about how he was the perfect little girlfriend for her little boy. And, I did not avoid correcting the lady to tell her he was a boy and wasn't going to be anybody's girlfriend! Nope, not my child! I was praying to avoid embarrassing her, and hoping very badly JB wouldn't walk over and interrupt our conversation asking me to "hand him to him" or if he could "take him" or to tell Harper, "Hey buddy!"

He wasn't perfect and sleeping for 4-5 hour stretches at a time the other night when he joined me at a birth (JB, mom, dad and ALL baby-sitters were out of town at the same time!), only to wake up while the mom was pushing, deciding he needed to eat right then. Nope, not my child!
*Big thanks to Aunt Marcy for walking with me!

While adjusting a client today on a home visit, I did not have a colleague drive my car around outside the client's house to keep my napping child asleep. And, when he awoke, my colleague and I most certainly did not keep my child entertained and semi happy at the client's house by giving him paper to eat, nope, not my child!

And, on this photo shoot, he did not almost eat a dead worm. Nope, not my child!, who has so much to teach me about the adventures of raising boys (oh joy!).

Finally, he most definitely is not the cutest boy in the world, and we definitely don't love him with ALL of our hearts, now do we?! Nope, not our child! How could we be this blessed?! Happy Nine Months, Precious Boy!!

Not Me! Monday

I did not spend all week planning for Father's Day, which I thought was yesterday. I do not need to put so much planning into this day to "one up" my awesome husband, who gave me an incredible first Mother's Day. And, I did not just realize I had an entire extra week to plan, finally finding out on Friday that JB's first Father's Day is really on the 21st, not the 14th, Nope, Not Me!

While my in-laws were visiting this past weekend, we most certainly did not eat out every single meal. I was not a horrible hostess, not cooking a single meal, Nope, Not Me! Precisely, I was a good enough hostess to cook them one homemade meal, a meal that was supposed to go to a friend's house who had just had a baby... That meal didn't make it there w/ the storms we had, it ended up as our one home cooked meal :)

In this lovely Texas heat, I did not find myself so parched while out running errands that I drank (guzzled rather) water from Harper's new sippy cup. Nope, Not Me! And, I most certainly did not duck down in my car to drink from said cup so as to not be seen by drivers in the next lane, Nope, Not Me!

And, I have definitely not become that mom that makes airplane noises and pretends to eat my child's mashed up vegetables in attempts to get him to love food and stop nursing so much/often, Nope, Not Me! I make fun of those moms.

Last weekend, I did not recruit my friends and family to help me take down the old, flowered wallpaper donated to the house by the lovely old lady who used to live here and repaint the entire house in a day and a half because I had a baby shower to throw on Sunday. Who would decide to redecorate an entire home with a 7 month old baby in a day?! Not Me!

I did not opt to nurse my child in church on Sunday because it was the only option to keep him quiet during a very important service, who bribes their child with food to keep them silent? Not Me!

And, my child's ability to use the potty instead of his diaper at 7 months old was most certainly not the discussion everyone was having at a good friend's husband's funeral this weekend. That would be really inappropriate, and I would not find myself at the center of that discussion, Nope, Not Me!

This morning at work after sharing that I made an awesome green smoothie with goat's milk kefir for breakfast, I was not told that I am a "hippie without the dreads", Nope, Not Me!

So there you have it, Not Me! Monday... Hop on over to MckMama's site and join the fun: http://www.mycharmingkids.net/

Fun Giveaway!

Go check out Meredith's cool, cute blog for a chance to win a great prize. Thanks for the opportunity Meredith!

Lettuce Wraps

So I tried this recipe, from my best friend's blog today. But, you guys know me, and you know I can't cook anything and leave the recipe intact. So, of course, I had to change some things up. I think as long as you don't expect to taste PF Chang's, they are really good. They reminded me more of sloppy joes on lettuce. But, that's ok because we have given up bread and use lettuce in its place rather frequently. What did I change? Well, I used fresh ginger, made some brown rice to go with it, added chopped almonds on top for crunch (we are big texture people), used romaine lettuce instead of iceberg for more nutritional value, used 1lb of turkey and 1lb of chicken (it's what I had), and I didn't like all the preservatives in the plum sauce so I used plum jam and organic tomato paste (think I'll use less paste next time to make it more like wraps and less like sloppy joes). But, all in all, they were pretty tasty- thanks Kitty :).

And, speaking of lettuce wraps, about a month ago I found a new all time favorite lettuce wrap recipe. It has become my new favorite meal to bring to new moms; if you are expecting a baby and I am signed up to bring you meals, expect this one. We love it around here! Plus, it's great to have another recipe we can use when doing the cleanse. It is a little more work than the crockpot, but totally worth it.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

1/4 cup of Sweet Chili Sauce (in the Asian section at my stores)

1/4 cup of Honey

Fresh Basil

Sea Salt

Pepper

1/4 cup Almonds (I chop mine)

Chicken (I use 4 breasts)

Red Bell Pepper

Onion

Eggplant

Brown Rice

Lettuce (traditionally iceberg is used, but we like romaine)

Cook the chicken (I usually stir fry mine in coconut oil) and brown rice (I usually fry mine in coconut oil until it lets off a "nutty" smell, then boil in chicken broth- tastes awesome!). Stir fry veggies and combine w/ chicken once cooked. Season with salt/pepper. You can add whatever other veggies you like too (I get creative- squash, sweet potatoes, zucchini...). Add chili sauce and honey to cooked chicken/veggies. Enjoy your wraps- stack rice, veggies/chicken in salad leaf and top w/ fresh basil and almonds (we'll add soy sauce too sometimes).

Oh and a hint on the announcement- Kate and Heather, you two should know :) because it was Kate's idea and Heather's hubby is hard at work for me. And, no, unfortunately we are not expecting a little brother or sister for Harper yet, at least that we know of anyway ;). Sorry to disappoint, but I had to tell at least that much- the phone has been ringing off the wall :)

Not Me! Monday

After being so excited that Stellan was finally home from the hospital and anxiously awaiting MckMama resuming Not Me! Mondays, I did not miss participating in her return Not Me! Monday last week, nope, Not Me!

Last week while we were at a friend's house, Harper most certainly did not poop down the front of my white shirt, after I took him to the bathroom and was talking and playing with him before putting his diaper back on (I thought he was done, wrong). And, I most certainly did not forget to pack myself a change of shirt. So I did not proceed to try to wash my shirt in her sink with hand soap before returning to socialize. And, I was not super happy that we were eating guacamole for lunch so I could simply hold Harper, positioning to hide the lovely poop marks, and after eating blame the faint green on dropped guacamole, nope, never, Not Me!

I most certainly did not miss the recognition of moms and prayer for moms at church on Saturday for my first Mother's Day because I was in the nursing room feeding Harper, nope, Not Me! And, I didn't think to myself while in there, "Well isn't this appropriate?!" Nope, Not Me!

I didn't keep turning and looking for MY mom all weekend anytime someone wished me a "Happy Mother's Day" because I definitely don't feel old enough or like I am in the stage of life to be celebrating my very own Mother's Day, nope, surely Not Me!

After finally setting up the co-sleeper where it belongs, next to the bed, and cleaning out all the junk in it so Harper could have a place to sleep, the ironing board has not become the new storage device in our bedroom. I would never let that happen, and I most certainly wouldn't walk by it for 3 weeks, thinking how badly I need to clean it up, nope, Not Me!

I am not the wife who would laugh hysterically at my husband for doing his hair, before work, using a towel that Harper had peed on. And, I certainly would not think to myself after figuring out that he had done this, "Good, maybe he will finally learn only to use the towels hanging on the rack!" Nope, Not Me!, that would be really mean.

Surely, I am not blessed enough to have married such an awesome man, who treated me to the best first Mother's Day ever yesterday. Not Me! And, should I feel guilty that he spent all his free time on Saturday making me a scrapbook for Mother's Day? As if that is not wonderful enough, he also bought me a gorgeous opal and pink Sapphire (Harper's birthstones) necklace to include with the book. I would have never imagined getting to enjoy spending a great day with my family yesterday, and I couldn't be more grateful for my mom after these past few months spending a little time "in her shoes" as a mom myself... Nope, Not Me!

So there you go... Hope you'll join MckMama and everyone else in the fun of Not Me! Monday

Stay tuned to my blog, and hopefully this week I'll have an exciting announcement to make : )

Fever

After spending all day Sunday (4am-8pm) at a precious friend's home birth, I was so disappointed to spend all Sunday night dealing with poor little Harper's first fever. I have complained in the past about not sleeping on some nights... However, until Sunday night, I don't think I understood that you could literally spend an entire night with a baby NOT sleeping at ALL. Usually on nights where Harper isn't so keen on sleeping, we can convince him to at least get a little rest by rocking or bouncing him, changing his diaper, using his sound machine and if all of this doesn't work, I can at least get a bit of rest by sleeping on my side as he nurses. But, on Sunday night, we tried and tried, but NOTHING worked. He would latch on and suck a couple of times, then he would latch off and scream in pain. The only thing that soothed him a little bit was sitting upright in the rocking chair or walking the house with him on our chest. And, as the night progressed, his little body got warmer and warmer. We could tell his teeth were bothering him because he would blow raspberries on our shoulders and stick his fingers as far back in his mouth as he could manage to get them. And, we gathered that his ears and sinuses weren't feeling too well either because the pressure of laying him down was unbearable and he would not nurse for long periods of time. I have seen many patients with these same symptoms, but as you may know, it is a lot different when you are living it out with your own child as a mom rather than being a doctor to your patient. And, I know that with teething it is common to run a fever, not sleep, have loose bowels, have a runny nose, and/or have ear/sinus pain/pressure. However, it is so much easier for me to stay level headed with my patients; at one point yesterday, when Harper hung his head and cried on my shoulder, I broke down and cried over his pain with him. It is so hard to watch my little boy hurt! But, I am so grateful for this experience because it has done nothing but convince me more to practice what I preach, and I will go into the office understanding my moms better.

So what did we do with a fever? Simple, let the body work. God is so incredible, and the way He made our bodies just amazes me. And, I am so sad to see that we constantly try to change the perfect vessel He has made. I am thankful for fevers; and, I am especially thankful that fevers come on with teething. Why? Well, if we didn't have fevers during teething, it would be much easier for us to get sick. See, the tooth has to erupt through the gum line, so this causes a series of potentially dangerous events to happen if there wasn't a protective fever set in place by our amazing Creator. When the tooth comes through, the gums are open and allow things to enter the body that normally wouldn't come through an otherwise closed system. Also, there is generalized inflammation in the face (sinuses) and ears as the teeth come through. So, without a fever, we are more susceptible to ear infections and colds and sinus infections at this time. And, mucous production increases to wash out bacteria during this susceptible time for infection. Of course I can totally understand after going through this- and struggling as I watched my precious baby deal with pain- why parents would jump for the Tylenol and Motrin. But, this simply wasn't an option or consideration for us. Why? Well, there are several reasons. For one, I trust that our bodies are perfectly created to function perfectly 100% of the time. I don't want to mess with what God has created for a purpose. If I choose to decrease his fever, I lengthen the time he has to spend not feeling good. His body turns the fever up high to kill off whatever doesn't need to be in his body, and if I turn down the temperature, his body will pause and then try to turn it back up again. Or worse, it will be more susceptible to infection, possibly acquire an infection and then have to take extra time to kill it off. So, why not just spend some miserable time letting the fever do its good, and then it will be over and we will be back to normal and happy in no time. Secondly, have you looked into the ingredients in Tylenol and Motrin? I am not going to stress out my child's developing liver and cause potential heart complications and stomach bleeding by giving my child Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen just so he can cool down his elevated temperature and be happy. And, I am certainly not going to give my child corn syrup, sugar (sorbitol) or food dyes! Isn't this one of the primary reasons why I breastfeed, to keep junk out of my child?! Did you know that 1 teaspoon of sugar decreases immunity for at least 10 hours? And, there are tons of side effects (like killing off brain cells!) when it comes to artificial and alcohol sugars so don't think that flavoring the medicines with these or going "sugar free" is a better answer either. And, corn syrup is one of the worst things you can put in your body, much less your baby's (another reason why I am so glad we breastfeed and don't do formula- since corn syrup is one of the primary ingredients in formulas), so I certainly wouldn't be giving him a medication with this ingredient just so he could feel better. Furthermore, considering sugar is one guaranteed way to decrease and stress out the immune system, it's ironic that these medications all contain it in one form or another. Isn't it just great that some of them include Splenda or sucralose instead? Do you know what makes up Splenda/sucralose? Simple- sugar and chlorine. Would I give my child chlorine? NO! So why would I give him some chlorine with sugar on a day he is miserable with fever? Beats me... Probably because parents either don't read labels, or they don't know what the ingredient is on the label, or worst yet- they trust the doctor who told them to give it to their child w/ a blind faith. No thanks, I'd rather have the miserable child with fever than these meds! You won't find me giving you the popular opinion that God gifted doctors with wisdom and knowledge to invent these wonderful meds. Nope, I think it's simply another thing we have invented to bypass God's plan and make our lives easier but not better.

There are many things we have to achieve through hard work, and health is one of them. Know what else I did not do? I did not sit around taking my child's temperature with a thermometer. Why? Do I need to see a number to tell me my child has fever? Nope, I can see he does by watching how he does not act like himself and feeling how hot his skin is to the touch. Harper feeds off of my emotions, and what better emotion to make one sick than stress? And what would stress me out more than seeing a climbing number on the thermometer? No thanks! Did I worry about the fever? Yes, my main concern was keeping him hydrated and getting him well. So, we stayed chilled out at home. I stripped him down to his diaper, and we laid in bed skin to skin and nursed as much as possible. The result? The fever is almost totally gone, he is getting back to his happy, active self, and I have a healthier child because I let his body go with what it was designed perfectly to do best- work! Fever is a time of detox and helps rid the body of toxins and keep toxins out that haven't yet entered, and studies show it decreases cancer risks too. Therefore, I may not have enjoyed the couple of days with an unhappy child, but I am so thankful that the Power that made the body can and does heal the body, and we come out on the other side better!!

Replace Panic With Education!

Turn off the TV, ignore the media hype and educate yourself with articles like this one.

6 Months Old!

Yesterday my baby boy turned 6 months. I am cherishing every moment, even when looking forward to the next phase. Although it gets more fun each and every day, I do miss the last phase, and continue to think how time flies by way too fast! I can not believe that in 6 short months, it feels like we have lived a lifetime! JB and I can not hardly remember what life was like before Harper. And, what a gift from the Lord to be able to love someone this much- it's absolutely amazing! He makes me want to cry for joy every time I look at him, and I feel as if my heart is going to burst! These past few weeks feel like he has started to change and develop faster than ever. His left bottom tooth has started to break through his bottom gum (hence the teething necklace he is always wearing- which works wonders!). He loves to chew on cold celery stalks. He got his first little black eye while we were shopping at Whole Foods and he was riding in the shopping cart. He can sit in highchairs while we eat now, which makes mommy's and daddy's lives so much easier. And, he is so close to crawling- up on all fours and rocking back and forth. We have gotten him on a routine, and we are all sleeping so much better! JB's genes are definitely stronger because Harper is one of the loudest, most active babies I have ever seen. It is definite entertainment for us, and there is never a dull day! Poor people around us who come to eat out for a quiet meal on the town, Harper's loud shrills and shrieks and laugh definitely shatter that notion! Also, my little boy loves the outdoors, he enjoyed his first fishing trip and likes to play w/ his bassets and keep an eye on them while he swings. We are so overwhelmed with gratitude and joy that the Lord would choose to bless our lives so richly- we love you, Harper!

3 Month Photo Session

We had our 3 month photo session w/ Marquette a few weeks ago (Harper was just a little over 3 months old). I can not say enough about how talented Marquette is, and I am very thankful we did her baby plan... Great way to preserve memories! If you live in the metroplex and need pics, her website is http://www.simpletreasuresphotography.com/. And, you can follow her blog to see all her latest work- fun! But, here is a preview of Harper's 3 month shoot. Excuse mommy's double chin- give me a break, I'd just had a baby about 12 wks ago in these pics!! Here is the link, and the event code is "harper3":
http://web7.sendtoprint.net/proofbook/harper3/base.asp?ig1=ig&ww=1214&js=1

Family: If you are interested in placing an order on any of these, let me know.

"Not Me!" Monday

Last Wednesday on our way home from Kansas City, in frigid temperatures, I did not push our cart full of luggage through the rental car parking lot uphill with a backpack on my back and a diaper bag on one arm and a purse on the other while Jim Bob laughed at me as he watched me do this from the warm temperature of the waiting room as he held sleeping Harper and NO bags, nope, Not Me!

We did not pack 7 pieces of luggage for 2 adults and 1 baby, nope, Not Us! And, I was totally prepared that traveling with a baby now meant having to pack the whole house, so we'd be prepared :)

I most certainly did not almost pee on myself as I was laughing so hard while pushing this luggage and watching Jim Bob simply watch me, no, Not Me!

I did not keep from peeing on myself by visualizing myself having to ride all the way home on an airplane while nursing and holding my child, freezing in my wet urine smelling pants, nope, Not Me!

I do not have a fear of peeing on myself because it's something I used to struggle with all the way up into high school anytime I laughed too hard, and in junior high school I was most certainly not nicknamed "The Pee Queen", nope, Not Me!
*You would think someone would have taught me those great Kegel exercises we learn in pregnancy yoga earlier on in life!!*

I did not put Harper in his swing this week so that I could eat some of my delicious coconut milk ice-cream and use both hands to do so, and I most certainly did not finish off the entire tub of deliciousness all on my own in one sitting, nope, Not Me!

I do not have a pile of dirty cloth diapers laying on a trash can lid in my halway because I am too lazy to get the trash can and put the liner in it and the diapers in it, nope, Not Me!

I am not doing all my laundry at my mom's house this week because my washer is broken for the second time this year, nope, Not Me! And, I most certainly didn't break it by loading it too full and allowing a knob to break off for the second time, nope, Not Me!

I did not catch myself thinking, "Just move him to play elsewhere, it'll dry, he'll never know." when Harper peed on Jim Bob's side of the bed this week, nope, Not Me!
*And, yes, my conscience got the best of me and those sheets did make it to the wash at mom's! JB is so lucky I am honest to a fault!*

I did not explain to my sister's new boyfriend (of one week) what a "froobie" is, nope, Not Me!

So there you have it, I love reading the "Not Me! Mondays" so this week I decided to jump in and participate... Kids give you TONS of material to work w/, especially in our busy house. I hope you'll pop over to http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ and participate too... I promise you'll live to tell about it, and I'll enjoy reading it :)

Besides, I needed to blog because I know you all miss me when JB is on here being all spiritual :)

Answering my cry....

At church this morning during worship, one of the praise team members shared this verse with us and I wanted to pass it on to all of you because it touched me so much because it was so true to where I am with my Jesus right now.

"Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever."Psalm 28:6-9

My favorite part of that passage is the second sentence: "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped" That's one of the most profound pieces of scripture I've read in awhile. It basically sums up this past year for me. God has brought me through alot this past year. I've been at the very top, feeling like there was nothing God couldn't do through me, and I've felt like I was at the very bottom...wondering if God had forgot about me but trusting Him that His word is true and that He would never "leave nor forsake me". God has been teaching me about the strength of my faith in Him. He's allowed me to be tested this year harder than I ever remember being tested. But I have learned after all this year that my God is faithful! He is my strength and my shield and nothing the enemy throws as me can prosper with Him as my front and rear guard.

I am humbled by what God has shown me and what He has accomplished through me. I know that I don't deserve any of what I receive but because of the blood of my savior I can stand boldly and make my requests to heaven. What an absolute honor!!!!

Lord, search my heart and make it clean. Break my heart for what breaks yours, everything I have for your kingdom's cause.

JB

Now I Understand..

The past few months have been a wirl wind and a blur to me. Cindy and I have never known when to slow down and when to say "No", and then we had Harper in October and it's been busier than it ever has been. I always remember growing up and asking my Dad questions about things he was doing or talking about and he'd always say to me, "One day when you're a dad you'll understand." I always thought that was such a cop-out answer for not dealing with the issue or answering the question I asked so it always made me mad! I was always a curious kid (imagine that!), and I always loved to learn so I always thought he was blowing me off. But now that I have Harper, I think I understand my Dad on a level I could've never imagined before.

My Dad is one of the hardest working men I've ever met (next to both my grandpa's). We grew up (like he did) farming and ranching so there is no such thing as 8:00-5:00. You work until you get done and if you don't, you keep working. And all the years growing up, I never heard my Dad complain, at least not to me. Maybe he did to my Mom behind closed doors, but to me, he never complained about how hard he worked, or that he didn't get to make it to every tennis match or every shooting competition because it was planting season and they had to get done. He worked hard so that I never had to worry about a thing growing up. We weren't rich, but we never had to wonder if we could afford anything either. My parents did a great job with their money, especially for as little as they knew about it. My Dad wasn't necessarily the saviest business man and he'll tell you himself that he missed some big opportunities to invest in some ventures that shot through the roof, but he made up for his lack of business knowledge with hard work, honesty, and integrity. The thing I always remember and never forget is when he used to take me with him when he'd go to work. It didn't happen alot when I was younger because he didn't want to bother me on my days off, but when he took me around with him....I loved the way people in town responded to my dad. I was always so proud to go into "Walker's Auto Parts" and "Graves Implement" and "Franklin's" with him because every where we went, EVERYONE liked my dad and everyone respected him. My dad is a pretty quiet guy (I must've got mine from Mom!!), but when he talked, people always listened to him.

I'm really hard on people because I expect alot out of people, mainly....because I expect more than that out of myself. And I've realized that even though my dad isn't perfect and hasn't been perfect all the time....neither have I. I think I've been too hard on him the past few years and because of that I've held him at arms length to protect myself from either me not measuring up to what he thought I should be, or maybe to protect him from not measuring up to what I thought he should be to me....I don't know. What I do know is I am who I am today because of the things my dad has taught me. I plan on passing these lessons on to Harper:

1. Honesty: My dad was always honest and taught me that there is never an ok time to lie. Because of his teaching, I'm honest to a fault sometimes. When guys got in trouble in school, the principle (my best friend's dad) would bring me in because he new I was never scared and that I'd always tell him the truth no matter what. In this world you're not rewarded for being honest anymore, you're rewarded for the opposite...sad really.

2. Work ethic: My dad worked his tail off for us and that's what I'm doing for my family now. Laziness was not an option for us growing up which helped me to learn how to work hard. My dad was a bit of a workahaulic, which I unfortunately have inherited as well so that is one part I hope to not pass on to Harper, but I'm glad that he'll know how to do a good days work and be proud of what he's accomplished.

3. Confidence: Dad taught me to have confidence in the things I was doing and to believe in myself that I could do anything I wanted to. He taught me that there was nothing out there out of my league if I wanted it bad enough.

4. Never, Never Quit: This has gotten to be such a cliche as of late, but to my dad and I this is sacred. No matter what I did growing up, dad taught me to give it 110%, and to never, ever quit on myself, no matter what happened. I was never the most athletic guy on the team or the smartest kid in the class all the time, but I would out work everyone else to get the job done.

God has blessed me on so many levels and continues to do so every day, and he is teaching me areas I need to grow and showing me new areas I need to surrender to Him, but one of the greatest blessings I have, is my Dad and the lessons I've learned.

So this is for my Dad......thank you, for everything....past and present. Thank you for working so hard for us all those years with no thanks. Thank you for always being at my games and showing up for stuff I did. Thanks for all the shooting lessons out back in the yard. Thanks for supporting me and Cindy and Harper. And I'm sorry, for all the times I haven't appreciated you, you deserved and still deserve better. Here's to the years to come...cheers.

JB

"Is it really that difficult?!?"

I had breakfast with one of my really good friends this morning (shout out to my boy Ben!) and the two of us were just hanging out, talking about different things God had been doing with us lately and had been teaching us and areas He had been growing us in. One of the things we talked about for awhile was how backwards we all have everything. Because our culture is so "Fast Food", and "Give me what I want when I want it, exactly how I want it...". Because we're given everything without having to work for it or suffer because of it. Because we've been blessed beyond our wildest dreams but somehow have come to expect it, and even worse...feel entitled to it somehow....we've made everything way too complicated.
Take our health as an example (Since this is what I teach and deal with on a daily basis). Everyone wants a formula for their health. "Doc, tell me what to do to ______ (you add it in...be healthy, lose weight, gain muscle, get pregnant, be smarter, be stronger..etc)" We've totally missed the point and are making everything way too complicated. There are only 2 reasons why we get sick...only two. Because God has PERFECTLY created the body to handle every circumstance and every contingency....only 2 things can happen: 1. Toxicity or 2. Deficiency
You either A: Become toxic in things you shouldn't have in your system (toxic thoughts, processed foods, caffeine, smoking, artificial sweeteners, plastics, xenoestrogens, etc) driving your perfectly created physiology away from normal function, OR B: You are deficient (lacking) in things your body has to have to function (water, nutrients, rest, stress-relief, exercises, spinal motion, essential fats, etc) and that in turn is forcing your body into a state of sickness and illness in order to adapt to whichever of the two (or both) that's happening in our bodies. So if we can figure out which one of the two are happening and correct them naturally and allow our perfect bodies to return to perfect normal function, then our bodies can correct what's gone wrong. That's not to say that there is a point of no return at times because of the damaged caused by years of abuse and misuse.
What about with marriage?? We now have availabe every kind of marriage program under the sun to try and give us a "formula" for having a great, productive, godly marriage. "Respect him so he'll love you and he'll love you so you can respect him!" "Tell your wife 3 things good about her every day..." "Tell your husband all the ways you appreciate him exactly 5 times a week.." And on and on and on and on. Isn't marriage supposed to be a mirror image of Christ and the church?? So if we as couples and husbands and wives focus on God and His love and listen to His direction, and then put our spouses needs and desires before our own all the time....where's the difficulty??? I'm not saying Cindy and I have this perfect set-up, or that we have it all figured out because we don't and we're human and learning just like everyone else...but God has been teaching us and guiding us lately on simplifying everything about our relationship with Him and every other aspect of our lives because most of our stress comes from the complexity we try to add in to each of our situations. Maybe marriages are hard because of selfishness, I don't know. I know I was extremely selfish when Cindy and I got married and with God's love and help and her patience, I grew in that area and because I love her more than I love the air that I breathe, I'll do anything and everything to make sure that she is taken care of and cared for and loved on not because I expect anything in return, but because THAT'S THE WAY GOD DESIGNED IT!!! Doesn't it say "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."????
Weren't the two greatest commandments that God gave the disciples 1. "Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, mind, and soul." and 2. "Love your neighbor as yourself"?? What does this tell us about God? THAT'S HE'S SIMPLISTIC!! Everything comes out of our love for Him first, and then our love for other people over our own agendas or wants and desires. If we ultimately love God as much as we claim we do and as much as He commands, then out of that the only reaction is to love everyone around us like He does because that is a natural overflow of the love of Christ inside you. And if you're loving everyone around you, you CAN NOT be selfish at the same time!! Think about a world, no wait, think about a Church that lived this way and worked off of these principles and just imagine all that God could and would do through His people!! You can't imagine it because the possiblities are described by only one word: Miraculous!
I don't know everything, but I've learned alot, and I'm continuing to learn more everyday as I do because the Spirit continues to reveal His heart and His direction to me and I strive everyday to deny myself and say "Yes" when I hear Him because I know that when I do things under my own power, I always mess it up. I'm tired of not doing things right because I'm selfish and want my own way...I'm ready to see what God will do with a broken, open vessel that's listening for for his voice and ready to step forward in faith into all that He's chosen for me and my family.

JB

Elimination Communication

OK, so you would think I would learn by now never to make fun of something or say, "I would never do that..." God definitely has a sense of humor; and, pretty much everything I have "trash talked" I end up doing. For example, I used to say I would never go to a chiropractor (much less become one!), in high school nursing babies grossed me out, I thought I would also work and never stay home, and I could have never imagined giving birth without meds (much less at home!). There is much more I could add to the list, but you get the picture.

Well, I can vividly remember adjusting this six month old little girl in my office repeatedly for the same subluxation. As I was going through with the mom and trying to figure out what could be causing this, she asked me if it could be the way she was "potty-ing her". You should have seen my face: potty-ing her?! What?!? She is six months old, how do you potty her? What is potty-ing her?? After her explanation, and doing some research, I remember coming home and laughing to Jim Bob. "You won't believe what these crazy parents are doing! This is insane!" Little did I know I would eat my words one day.

Then, I went to a Holistic Moms Network Meeting a few months before I was pregnant w/ Harper (the meetings are held at my office). It was interesting to hear about this technique called "Elimination Communication", and I was very curious. So, I bought a book to research more called Diaper Free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh. I no longer would make fun of families doing EC because the research in the book and at the meeting made total sense! We decided we would try it when we had Harper.

As I shared our plans with my parents, my mother made fun of me, "Let me know how that goes!" EC is not about "potty training" an infant. There is no training involved, but rather it is all about communication. Something so rare here in our disconnected society is actually the norm in other societies. And, I loved in the book the part where she talks about the fact that we consider our dogs more intelligent than our children. After all, why is it that a puppy should be able to use the bathroom in the proper place at only a few months old, but we let our children go in their diapers until well past the age of 2 years old? Doesn't it make sense that when your baby is hungry or sleepy you know and read their signs and signals? Of course you do; and, learning their signs for needing to go to the bathroom is just as simple. That is what we do with Harper, and when he signals that he needs to go, we take him to the bathroom. Up until 4 weeks old, because I was so overwhelmed as a new mom, I just watched him closely to learn his signals. And, I would change his diaper immediately when he went. Then, after 4 weeks, I started taking him to the bathroom. I am not upset if I miss and he goes in his diaper (the difference in EC versus potty training). And, I have no expectations. I am just trying to listen to my child's needs and not let him grow so attached to his diaper that he misses it one day when it's completely gone. The result? I will often go two weeks without changing a poopy diaper. On average, I only change about 3 wet (pee) diapers a day. Before doing EC, I was changing about 10-20 poopy diapers a day. He wakes up from his naps dry, and often will wake up from sleeping overnight dry too. Once they know there is another option rather than the diaper, they prefer it and will choose it when they can. After all, who would really- if given a choice- choose to go to the bathroom on themselves and sit in it for hours?! EC just makes sense. And, it is not anymore time consuming than changing a diaper would be. Not to mention, you will have to take the time to take your child to the bathroom eventually- whether you do it early on with EC or later when you potty train them. What about my doubting mom? Well, she now takes Harper to the bathroom too... As does JB and his parents. Everyone is in shock that it works! And, every time he goes for mom, she says, "Cha-ching!" EC has saved us so much $$! Many of my Facebook friends asked me to video him going to the bathroom. I am sure his dad would gladly- you know if you have seen all the crazy pics he posts (poor Harper)- but I thought that would be really mean.... Can you imagine someone showing him that when he is older: "Look what your mom put on the Internet!" However, even though I won't volunteer Harper's pics online, you can find out more info here and watch a great news clip video here. Feel free to ask me questions in the comment section. But, all I have to say now is we have tried it, and it works!!! Never say never!

"Inspirational Skiing"

I just got from a ski trip this past week (YES, i do work, this was a Christmas present!). I went on the trip carrying some pretty heavy burdens and trying to seek answers for some of them. I'm going to be honest, snow skiing is probably my number 1 favorite thing to do and the first couple days I couldn't turn my brain off and I wasn't having that much fun. I'm in a ski in, ski out, incredible condo on a great mountain in Idaho, all expenses paid, and I was thinking about the stuff I needed to be doing here!! But I kept praying, and kept seeking, telling God that I wasn't moving until he spoke to me. We skied (sp?) Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Friday I decided to go off on my own on the mountain to ski some more advanced runs to really push myself. After I had hit a couple of the black runs on the front bowl (sorry if you don't speak ski lingo!) I was headed back up for more when God spoke to me plain as day. He gave me a picture of me going down the side of the mountain and reminded me of how much harder it is to make it down the mountain when I fight the mountain. When you don't trust your ski's and you try to fight it all the way down instead of allowing yourself to just go down the mountain and let the mountain do the work. He said that He was my mountain and that His will was going to be accomplished one way or another, but it wasn't easy right now because I was holding back and fighting Him. I have a bad habit of thinking that I know better how to get things done than He does (hilarious huh?!?) and not giving 100% of myself to Him. This isn't the first time He's talked to me about this, but this time it was different. It hit alot closer to home and I had more fun that day and skied better than I have in my life. All because I stopped fighting and doubting the mountain and I just devoted all of myself to what I was doing. That's my goal now that I'm back, focusing on Him, but I'm done fighting.....sorry for the rambling, just a thought I had on a lift chair in Idaho.....for what it's worth.

JB

12 weeks!

I can't believe my little boy is 12 weeks old today! I need to measure him because he is getting so long. He now weighs 11 pounds and 14 ounces. He really hates being in his carseat because he loves to move around, talk to us and be held. He definitely gets the moving and talking from his dad! This week several things are new in his world: He is drooling a lot, I think the road to teeth is starting (hopefully it'll be slow though because we love his precious gum smile). His lungs are stronger, thus he is a lot louder (there is NEVER any doubt about whether or not he likes something :). He loves to watch his basset hounds (I am sure they are looking forward to him running after them and pulling on their ears). We bought him an activity gym on Saturday because he really liked playing with his friend Christopher's; he is so smart, he immediately started grabbing at the toys hanging from it and will hang on to them. He hardly fits in his 0-3 month clothes now, and isn't quite filling out his 3-6 month sizes- he is just so long! And, I am still amazed at how little sleep he functions on. We love our little boy, and cherish each day with him!

The Mom Song

A friend posted this on his blog a few days ago, and JB and I thought it was hilarious. Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/1509073

11 Weeks!

Now that I am slightly coming out of my "sleep coma", I realize that time is flying by and so much is happening day to day. I have not done a very good job of documenting, and it's easy to forget when you are functioning on little sleep. So, I am going to try to document better for Harper (and the grandparents, great-grandparents and aunts). For those of you who are not family and could care less, forgive this very motherly post ;)

Harper,

I am having so much fun w/ you, I wish time would slow down! I can't believe you joined our family on the outside eleven weeks ago today. We are so blessed! You change on a daily basis, and so much has happened in eleven short weeks. You have quite the little personality, and are truly your daddy's boy. You weight 11 pounds 5 ounces, exactly 4 more than you did at birth. And, mommy's and daddy's arms can definitely attest to that- you don't like to be put down, and we are really sore!! You found your thumb on the 26th of December and immediately started sucking on it. GB walked into our room and found you on our bed examining your fist, turning it back and forth as you looked at it, on the 30th. Since that day, your hands have become your main source of entertainment, and you love to suck on them. Mommy is very grateful for your swing- it's the only thing besides her arms that you will sleep in sometimes. If I am lucky, you sleep about 30 minutes during the day- only after you have nursed yourself to sleep- and at night you give me about 3 hours of straight sleep. You still like to eat A LOT- about every hour to 2 hours during the day and at the most you go 3 hours at night without eating- but, if I moved and used up as many diapers as you do, I guess I'd need to eat that much too. At night after our last feeding when we go to join daddy in bed, you love to lay awake and talk to yourself. I love to hear your little voice and feel your legs and arms move. You bring me so much joy!! On the rare occasions you are happy riding in your car seat, you love to talk to your pet monkey, but the laughing catepillar really disturbs you. You love to hold your head up and look all around, and you are doing great with tummy time. You get really happy when we sing "You Are My Sunshine", and you like reading your memory Bible verses and singing your kids' hymns with me. Everyone comments on how beautiful you are and how you are so much more alert than any babies they have seen your age. We know God has something incredible in store for your life! And, the favorite part of your day- besides eating- is always when daddy comes home. We miss him during the day, but are so grateful he is blessed with a wonderful job and willing to provide for us. You talk and grin with him more than with anyone else, I love it! We are so excited to see what these next few weeks hold, thank-you for making these first 11 so great!

Love,

Mom

So many Choices!!

On Thursday (January 1st), Cindy and I went to the movies with her parents to see the new film "Slumdog Millionaire". I know, I had never heard of it either, but Cindy and her mother were dying to see this new film so we took them. The movie is about a boy in India that makes it on their version of "Who wants to be a Millionaire" the game show. As they ask him the myriad of questions from every discipline, he knows each answer from life situations he was put in growing up in the slums of India. He had no schooling, no formal teaching, but had attended the "school of hard knocks" and had picked up a few things along the way. It was a really good movie actually, surprising me, but you'll have to go see it for yourself to see what all happens. The reason I brought it up though is that it brought out a really incredible depiction of how everything in our lives comes down the our choices.....

"Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live! Choose to love the LORD your God and to obey him and commit yourself to him, for he is your life. Then you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

One day back in the fall I was driving a patient (now good friend) of mine over to Dallas to see another doctor there. He did not have the means to go and he needed the evaluation and so I drove him myself. As we drove there and back and talked the entire way about our lives and what God had done in and through us and what He was currently doing.....we were both really shocked and amazed at where our choices had brought us. At any one point along our lives and along our paths, we could have made a different choice and everything would've turned out so differently for us. It was the sum of our choices to this point that had brought us to that day and had brought us together to help heal him of the physical ailments he is dealing with (also dealing with choices!!).

Like in Deuteronomy, God offers us the choice every single day between "blessings and curses". That's why it is sooo vital that you are walking daily with Him and being still and listening to His sometimes barely audible voice to give you the direction you so desperately need in the decisions you are faced with every day that you wake up. Walking with God doesn't mean you will be perfect and never make a wrong decision or choose the wrong thing, but it does mean that more often than not you will know which choice will bring you God's blessings and which won't. This may be the biggest problem with the whole idea of God, the Holy Spirit, and the christian life.....the simplicity of it. I think (I know for alot of people I know) that for some, they want it to be much more complex and alot harder to figure out than just saying, "YES!" to Him every day and listening to a God who loves them unconditionally, with only one string attached: saying "Yes" to his Son and giving him lordship over your life. The other thing that is probably so hard is that choice to give up ALL of yourself and to give it ALL to Him so He can bless you and He can use you to spread His love to whomever He chooses.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths."
He wants ALL of our hearts and wants us to give him the reigns and the control of ALL of our ways and situations. But He doesn't force that on us!! Isn't that amazing!?!? The God of the entire universe, who spoke this world into being with a word, who parted the sea for the Israelites to walk across on dry land, who walked on the water to calm a raging storm, who turned water into wine to show his majesty and glory, who sent His Son to be an example for us and to be a sacrifice for all the sins we've committed or will commit, that same God gives me the option NOT to choose His will or to give Him all of me not because He is sadistic or doesn't care....but because He loves us too much to force us to follow Him! Wow!! I think it is so simple, but so absolutely perfect that it's impossible to fathom of our own strength and vision and we have to allow Him to touch our eyes and our hearts to see what He sees and feel what He feels. When you do that though, get ready....the emotions you feel are indescribable. The joy is unbelievable, but the pain is unbearable. I've never cried harder than when I asked God to show me what He feels when I touch people. The pain that people are going through as they choose to operate on their own wisdom (Prov 3:7), and the remorse they feel over choices they made in the past rocked my world.
I think even greater than the fact that God gives us the choice to follow Him or not with our daily decisions, is the fact that when we make the wrong choice.....He immediately forgives us and loves us anyway!!! This is not a license to choose poorly knowing He'll still be there because He knows our hearts, but rather a safely net to know that if we make a wrong step on this high wire act of life and we fall, He'll be there to catch us and restore us if we let Him.
So go check out the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" and see the picture of two brothers growing up under the same bad circumstances and same hardships, but each making different choices and how they turn out. It was a great parenting lesson for me. Really meditate on His word though and ask Him to show you clearly what your choices are....it's when you are closest to Him that your path is the clearest. He never stears us in the wrong direction, we just stop looking at His map!

JB