"Oh Simmer My Timbers" by Jax Bacak

I don't know how well you can hear it, but Matt took this video on our vacation and got a sample of the pirate song loved by all, and made popular by our very own Jax.
Y'all asked for a video, so here it is!

My Own Man Vs. Wild

Have you seen this show?
This is my husband's favorite new show.
He told me he "wants to be him."
This guy is surely going to die very soon.
It's crazy what he does!
I personally enjoy the show, because I enjoy hearing him talk. He has a British accent, and I could listen to it all day. I just have to close my eyes when he eats raw zebra, and my husband is saying "What did he say???"
He things people with any foreign accent are completely unintelligible.
I remember going to see a lovely British film with him early in our marriage...I was loving it! And 20 min. into it, I look over at him, with this puzzled look on his face, and he whispers to me "I have no idea what they've been saying for the past 20 min.!"
I love my own personal Wild Man!
Sometimes I wonder how I'll survive with the sheer amount of testosterone that courses through this house, with a husband and three boys. (Plus a daughter who is pretty darn wild herself. She would ABSOLUTELY go on a wild adventure with her Daddy!)
Check this show out on Discovery channel if you haven't already.

Meet The Godparents

I told you this week was all about Treston, right?
So let me introduce you to the godparents.



We have selected godparents for each of our children to be special people in their lives, and to pray for them. Traditionally, godparents are to help ensure the religious upbringing of the child. We have chosen these two godly couples to pray like crazy for Treston, encourage him in his walk with the Lord, and encourage us to raise him to know and love the Lord.
Both of these couples have been in our HOPE group, have been dear to us, and were here to welcome Treston into our home. We couldn't decide between them, so since they're best friends, we asked them all!
So here they are in alphabetical order, left to right...


The Mosiers! They were just married a month ago! Check out their blog!Erin & Matt both recently graduated. Matt is starting grad school soon in Meteorology, which is probably why Rusty loves them! Ha! Erin graduated with a degree in Education, and will be working for us this year! She is going to help me school the children in the mornings, and will work in Rusty's office in the afternoons. We couldn't be more excited about this! They are both from Waco. These two love our kids, and are very dear to us!


The Vanns! You can check out their new blog also! (Both the Mosiers and Vanns wrote posts recently about Treston.)Nick & Carissa have been in our HOPE group also, and Carissa has been working in our office this past semester. She's one of the beautiful ladies in the front office. They are both recently graduated as well, and are moving to Sugar Land soon to start new jobs. We are going to miss them, but thankfully, they won't be too far away. Nick & Carissa have beautiful hearts for missions, and we can't wait to see what God is going to do with their family in the future.

Thank you, guys, for loving Treston so much! And thank you for being people of prayer that have committed to lift him up! We love you!!!

Happy Birthday T-Bear!

This week is all about Treston!
A year ago thursday, our little T-Bear was born.
That boggles my mind, because a year ago we didn't know he existed. We were swimming and vacationing, eating sno-cones and ice cream, completely oblivious to the fact that the fourth Bacak child was coming into the world.
Our baby was born and we didn't know.
It wasn't until the week of Thanksgiving, four months later, that we got the call from New Life.
It started here...

After we told New Life YES, we got this picture from Treston's foster Mom, Lesa.
I remember, we were eating lunch, and got the e-mail, and just stood there in awe, both of us repeating "He's so beautiful!!!"
A piece of this story that I don't think I've shared is that a new standard had been passed for adoption agencies in Texas ruling that a family could not adopt from an agency where a relative is employed. Which means, because my Mom works for New Life, we would never be able to adopt from New Life again, come Jan. 1, 2007.
That effectively would shut the door for us for baby #4.
We got Treston on December 6, 2006.
Thank you God, for opening the door and bringing us our baby.

Treston had been in New Life foster care with an experienced and very loving foster family. They have a special love for Treston, and took amazing care of him during those months.
Treston has been with us as a foster-to-adopt baby for almost 8 months. He is not legally a Bacak yet, so we still need your prayers.
But we are certain that God planned for Treston to be in our family before time began, and has once again lavished his love on us by giving him to us.
He doesn't look like me, and he doesn't have my genes (which is fine with me...my DNA is not so superior.) But he is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh. God creates family, not genetics. This sweet baby was born to me a year ago, before I even knew him.
I grieve the months I lost with him. I grieve that I did not carry him in my own warm and safe womb. But I am mostly filled with joy as I look forward to growing him up to love and serve the Lord within the warm and safe cocoon of this family.
Look at this beatiful boy!!!



So this week is all about Treston! We are celebrating Treston like crazy this first birthday. I hope the adoption celebration will follow closely behind, and it will be sweet!
Happy Birthday my beautiful boy. You have filled a hole in this family we didn't know was there. Your smile, your laughter, even your cry make this home what it should be. Emma, Jax, Justus, your Daddy, and I adore and love you.

Fun in the Sun- Viva La Padre!!!!

We are having a blast.
I have to brag on my fearless Emma. She is a boogie boarding machine!!!
She conquers the giant waves on her little board, and if she gets sucked in by a big one, she just pops her little head up, and goes for the next one.
She is truly a ferocious surfer girl!
One time she swallowed so much sea water, she threw up, and then went back in.
Crazy.
She goes out with Rusty or Matt and Nick, and they have been in awe of her.
What six-year-old girl does these sort of things???
Tonight is our last night, and we are sorrowful.
We went to the beach tonight for a little photo shoot. The beach is such a family photo op. Carissa, our personal talented photographer took some great shots.
There's a great one of Treston and all four of his godparents-Matt & Erin, and Nick & Carissa. Precious.
We are ready to plan next year's trip!
Viva La Padre in 08!

A Broken Scale and a Revelation

How many times must my bathroom scale break before I get it?
Evidently three times.
I've had three scales break in a relatively short amount of time.
The Holy Spirit is consistent, and I'm slow.
Last semester, He spoke clearly to me through my broken scale.
I finally listened.
I don't need to weigh myself on a consistent basis.
My weight can be an idol for me.
Don't you love putting your junk out on the internet for the world to read?
Well, here goes, because I am pretty darn sure I'm not the only one.

This is what I know...
Being in shape is a good thing.
Exercise is great! It's so beneficial, and I always feel better when I'm working out.
But exercise for the sole reason of maintaining a certain weight easily becomes an idol for me.

What is an idol? Anything that becomes more important to me than loving and glorifying God, or anything I ascribe my worth to, other than God.
(That's not Webster, that's just Jenn & Rusty Bacak.)

So, when exercising and maintaining a number on the scale becomes more important to me than my time in the Word, my duties at home, loving my husband, homeschooling my kids, or it just plain makes me GRUMPY when it's not happenning- is SIN.
I can slip into that sin easily.
Thankfully, I have a husband and friends I am accountable to who will stop me in my tracks.
I confessed this last semester to Heather, and she spoke truth to me, including that I have a daughter and she would undoubtedly inherit this sin, and SOON.
Good gracious, that made me sick.
I stopped right there in brokenness, and took my sin seriously. The thought of passing our sin down to our kids is sickening indeed.
I have felt great victory since that time, when God told me not to continually struggle with this, but to get it under control permanently.
Why?
BECAUSE AS BELIEVERS, WE CAN.

Rom 8:5-8
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. 8 That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
NLT

I have the Holy Spirit living in me!!! It's great news! When controlled by the HS, my mind is filled with life and peace.
I have never had an eating disorder, thank you God. I'm not above having that sort of sin in my life, I've just never gone there. If you have, please read this from the Her Hands study.
But the battle has always been in my mind, and the sinful nature, at times, was winning. According to that verse, I was not honoring God during those times! Feeling so completely disghusted with myself when I gained weight...thinking about needing to lose weight constantly...putting so much emphasis in my mind on this temporary tent I live in...putting exercise at the top of my to-do list...I've been there, been there, been there!

Exercise is good.
Self-control with food is good.
Maintaining a healthy weight is very good.

But if it comes between me and the Lord, it's VERY BAD.
I am so thankful that God is teaching me and growing me.
I am exercising still, and feeling good about it.
But the Holy Spirit is speaking truth to me about my body.
For now, I am not weighing on a consistent basis.
Not because it will definitely plunge me into sin again, but because I don't want to tempt myself to go there.
I am super grateful that I don't have to struggle with this forever, but that God gives us victory over our sin!!!
Read Romans 6-8!
It's awesome.
God is big enough to take on our every sin! In fact, He did, He nailed it to the cross with His Son Jesus, and the victory is ours for the taking.
So girls, if you're with me, let's take these thoughts captive. Let's re-train our minds to what the Word says, and burn our idols in a giant, flaming bonfire!
Who's with me???

A Stop On The Way...

On our way to our beach vacation this week (woo-hoo!!!), we made a stop in Corpus Christi for a homeschool field trip.
And for fun.
We went to the Texas State Aquarium.
We are studying oceans this month, since we are visiting the ocean, we find that to be a good time to learn about it.
Of course, the kids loved it...almost as much as their Daddy.
Did you know, Rusty and I visited an aquarium on our honeymoon?
In Van Couver.
Our kids come by their love of Creation honestly. Rusty is like a kid at these things.
It was great family fun.
We have arrived at our beach get-away, and the younger folks have just arrived. (Matt & Erin, nelyweds! and Nick & Carissa, married 7 mos. All four are Treston's new godparents!)
Rusty really showed how old we were when he talked to them about bringing a "boombox."
Awesome.
I'll post pics later on.

"Oh Simmer My Timbers"

I love this boy.
He's in a pirate phase.
He had a pirate birthday party, and got every pirate paraphanalia there is.
He has swords that make clanking noises, swords that talk, tattoos, and pirate teeth.
Best of all, he has a pirate song.
He sings it all the time, and many times because I'm yelling "again, again!" I clap and laugh every time. It's so great! It starts "Oh, Shiver my timbers" but he says:

"Oh Simmer my Timbers"
(how cute is that)
"Simmer my So
Yo, ho de oh
When you sail the ship 'cross the ocean sea
Lots of treasure that's filled with gold!
(no, it doesn't rhyme, Jax style)
Hoo-do-wok-uh Hoo-do-wok-uh
6,7,9,12
Oh Simmer my Timbers, Simmer my So!
Yo, ho de oh"

This is my new favorite song, when sung by my Jax of course. He could not be cuter! He got this song off of "Muppets Treasure Island" movie.
Check out the pirate underwear he's sporting too. Pretty awesome.
He likes to show them off, so if you see Jax, and he's wearing them, many people can attest to this fact...he may pull down his pants to show you his cool, pirate underwear.
He's the best.
Next time you see him, request the song. He just might oblige.

The Mother Guilt...

I've decided to stop being the worst Mom ever!
The Mother Guilt...
it's powerful...
it's far-reaching...
it can pop up when you least expect it.
I haven't videoed my kids very much lately.
Emma and Jax, yes, Justus and Treston, no.
(Keep in mind I have a jillion pictures of them, and they are scrapbooked too!)
You've heard this story before. Parents get too busy, the video camera "breaks", the dog ate your video tapes...it's every parents' sad story.
And every child (who is not a first child's) martyr cross to bear.
"Let's give em' something to whine about"... (sung to Bonnie Raitt's tune.)
Well, I'm trying to give them less to hate me for later in life.
You know, cut their therapy bills in half.
So I'm picking up the video camera. I'm capturing the moments. I'm trying to avoid the mother guilt.
Who needs it? I don't.
I have enough trouble sleeping at night.

Where is the Moon? By Emma Bacak

Read this book by Emma...I think it's seriously good!!! She wrote this completely by herself. I'm ready to look for her a publisher, but you know...I'm just her Mom. I added a few of the illustrations on the side.

Where is the Moon? By Emma Bacak

I got up from bed, and yawned and stretched.
It was going to be a good day! I was going outside to look at the moon.
But when I got outside, the moon was GONE!!!
I looked in the trees...
I looked in the air... (notice the illustration of her in the hot air balloon)
I looked in the bushes...
I looked behind the houses...
I looked in high buildings...
I looked everywhere...I didn't know where the moon was, and the sun was going down.
(note the illustration with the big sun with z's next to it)
I was walking back to my house, and I found the moon!
"There it is!" I said.
I asked the moon, "where have you been?"
The moon said "sleeping."
In the morning I woke up, and the moon was gone again.
And I started looking again...

My New Favorite Thing

Cherry Coke Zero. I love it.
Rusty likes the Vanilla.
It rocks.