Happy Birthday Jax!

Nine years old!? There's just no way! I feel like such an old lady every time I say "It goes so fast!" But guess what? IT GOES SO FAST! The day Jax was born is a sweet memory. Well, first of all, natural child birth...WOW! That was interesting.
But then our firstborn son entered the scene, and he was a joy! He was easy-going from the get-go, and still is. This kid goes with the flow, just here to have a good time, happy to make the most of the day, whatever it brings.
He doesn't let the little stuff get him down. He is up-beat, positive, and a ray of sunshine.
He is one of those kids that loves to snuggle, thankfully even still at nine, and really LOVES to just talk. He says this to me all the time. "Let's talk Mom." As far as love languages go, he is quality time all the way.
He has recently hit a super cool stage. He doesn't smile at photos anymore. He's busy looking cool. He is nine going on 16, and is obsessed with music and especially Toby Mac.
He wakes up really early on fun days, like today. He jumps out of bed ready to go, and ready to talk. He's a party waiting to happen on any given day, but his birthday is definitely the best day of the year for him. This kid loves to celebrate! (He comes by that honestly.)
He is patient and servant-hearted, and seeing how he serves his sister, we have always said he's going to make the best husband someday! (Like his Daddy.)
Jax is a gift to us, and we are so thankful to God today for nine years with Jax!

The Story of Jax

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Jax was born on June 19th, 2002. Emma was less than two years old and my surprise baby had been persistently giving me pre-term contractions that were concerning to both us and my doctor. For six weeks I had been sitting on our couch on "bedrest" (which basically means I was on house arrest with a rambunxious Emma toddler) ballooning out, puffy and swollen, hooked up to an IV giving me some sort of speed that slowed my contractions but made me jittery, irritable, and super-tired of being pregnant. At 37 weeks I was taken off the IV drugs and my Doctor allowed me to contract away.
And I did.
But he still didn't come.
So, ironically, I was induced. Mostly because I'd had a hellacious marathon labor with Emma. We thought that girl would never come out.
So on this night, seven years ago, I had that panicked feeling.
Some of you know what I'm talking about...I'd been wishing for this baby to GET OUT for weeks and weeks, and suddenly, I was hours away and I was telling God "I'm not ready! How can I be ready?" I was so worried about how little Emma would respond. I was sort of mourning our last few hours with just one child, as strange as that sounds to me now. And most of all, I was fearing the great, big change that was upon us.
It turned out to be one of the best "changes" of my entire life. But I was afraid. I snuggled with Emma, who was still furiously trying to bump her way back into my lap that had vanished into thin air one day, knowing my bag was packed and my Mom was there. Everything was in place for us to be at the hospital early the next morning, but I was terrified and just cried. 60% due to hormones, and 40% due to legitimate fear.
The next morning my Mom, Rusty, and I headed to the hospital. We did the check-in and regular inducement thing, and then waited. I just waited for those pitocin contractions to get started.
I didn't have much of a birth plan. I found out with Emma that plans seem to be futile in the world of pregnancy and child birth. Not one smidget of either one was what I had expected. So I just planned to be unplanned.
My contractions got good and going by 10am, when the Price Is Right was on, and I got to work.
For some crazy reason, all sense of reason left me, and I decided not to get an epideural in there somewhere. Actually, I don't remember making that decision, I just failed to make any decision. I wanted to see how super-heroish I could be during child birth. People had talked up natural childbirth like it was far superior in comparison to people who get the sweet relief of paralysis and numbness, and since Emma's birth was such a nightmare, I guess I wanted to see how far I could go and if it was really so great.
I don't remember really exploring these thoughts, thinking them through, or discussing them with Rusty beforehand. Maybe I did and I just don't remember.
All I know is I was at an 8 and it was too late.
I visited a planet of pain I'd never known. It truly is another planet.
It's hard to describe or even revisit mentally.
But at no other time in your life do you make "those sounds."
I remember earlier in the morning hearing a woman laboring loudly next door to me and thinking "what in the world is that sound? Is that human? Is there a whale giving birth next door? And am I going to sound like that???"
I was sure I would not, but sure enough, those bizarre, birthing sounds started coming out of me.
I would have given anything to get to a 10. Anything!
I was stuck at a 9, and my Mother being the brilliant birthing coach that she is (truly, that's one of her real jobs and gifts in life) moved me to a different position and magically got me to a 10.
I pushed with Emma for an hour, (rather pleasantly of course. Paralysis. Numbness. I would pay for one of those right now, I think). Turns out that pushing goes a heck of a lot faster if you can feel it.
So 10-15 minutes tops, and we got that beautiful boy out!
*(Just in case you're wondering, my recovery and birthing experience did not personally feel enhanced by the natural nature of it. In fact, I felt more out of it than with the epidural because I was visiting that alternate planet of pain.
But somewhere deep down, I felt proud of myself. And a little crazy. But proud that I had done it. I have only given birth two times, so getting to experience both ways was kind of cool.)
At 1:31pm, Jaxson Steele Bacak arrived. He was incredibly lovable from the start.
He has been pure joy to us. He is one of the most amiable personalities I know. He is rarely upset, always looking for a good time, and usually ready to supply it.
He is pure entertainment around here. He lights up our house.
He's pretty much happy from the moment he wakes up until he goes to bed at night.
He loves the Lord and His Word.
He is learning to be more and more obedient, respectful, and helpful.
We feel incredibly blessed to have had Jax everyday of these seven years.
Happy Birthday Jax!

You could die!

Boys...there's so much I don't understand about the testosterone driven breed.
I have learned a lot being a mother of three boys.
I had a little bit of Pre-Mom schooling having three brothers growing up, but I'm not sure anything can really prepare you.
Boys love to do things that I would never think of.
They show love by wrestling with you.
They disassemble whatever they can find. No reason.
They collect random things and carry them around in Ziploc bags.
They run toward danger, instead of away.
In fact, they seem to be born with no internal radar for danger. At least that's my boys. I feel like I'm CONSTANTLY saying "You could die!" And not to be dramatic. I'm for real.
You could die if you stick things in the light sockets.
You could die if you meander into the street on your big wheel.
You could die if you break into the medicine cabinet, laugh at the child locks, and have a taste test party with your brother.
YOU COULD DIE!
I feel like I give that speech at least 10 times a day.
Well, my boys are also fairly skilled at needing stitches.
That's another speech I give almost daily. "No stitches today, PLEASE!"
Justus has had about 18 of them. Twice, grabbing sharp objects, cutting his hands, and he was once attacked by a dog and needed about 14 in his face. That was horrific!
Jax only had 3 to his name until this past Sunday. He racked up five more.
He went ice skating with Emma and Rusty. He was doing quite well, but bit it on the ice, and voila! Wide, gaping hole in his chin. (He also knocked out his front tooth a long time ago, but that doesn't count for stitches.)
Rusty calls me and says "I'm bring Jax home and we're stitching him up."
Yes, we're very blessed to skip the whole ER nightmare and do stitches at home. I may not be his best assistant, but I try.
But looking at that open wound on Jax's chin made me feel a little sickish. And I'm not easily sickish.
So we hold him down...Jax is not our most stoic boy...Treston probably wouldn't even look up...but he was pretty big about it. He held still, and Daddy numbed him up and stitched away.
My new mentee, Jeanna, was coming over to jog with me, and she walks in while we're sewing up the hole in my kid's face. She feels faint at the sight of needles, so that was probably fun for her. We're not a normal family, I suppose.
Well, lucky for my boys, chicks dig scars.

Jax's Baptism Video

My Mom is the coolest. She makes videos of everything for us. They're awesome. This is the one she made of Jax's baptism. (short) Notice Robbie singing in the background. This made me bawl like a baby. My kids woke up this morning, and I was sitting at the computer, bawling. I'm so grateful for salvation!!!

Jax sings "He's My Rock"...

I forgot I had this on the computer until I saw Ashton singing on Heather's blog today. Wow, that was hysterical!
There's just nothing like these songs. I know the days are passing quickly so I need to capture them all on tape. Jax is my most passionate singer. I LOVE sitting next to him during family worship. I've got to tape some of those songs next.
Here you go...in his pirate shirt and all.

Jax cracks me up!

This kid is hilarious.
He memorizes everything he hears. (Scary, I know!)
So he uses movie lines in his everyday vocab.
Today I was in my room, and he busted open the door and said to me
"Mom, you're so cute I could dunk you in my coffee!"
(Except it sounds like "you're so coot I could dump you in my coffee.")
What would I do without those moments?
I can tell you. I'd go insane. These moments of pure comic relief provided by my little people keeps me going! I love it!

Jax's Party slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Jax's unique party invitation

Click here to see Jax's awesome Star Wars party invitation.
The force was with us last night!
I hope to post more pictures of it after we download,
but here is the video invitation we sent out to the
boys he invited.
Can anyone guess the true identity of Darth Vader
in this brilliant short film?
Hint: It's NOT James Earl Jones.

Happy Birthday Jax Vader!

Jax.
How I adore this precious boy!
He lights up our house.
I love the way he talks.
I love how he loves to snuggle with me.
I love the way he prays,
and kisses me goodnight.
I love how he adores his sister,
and when he leads his little brothers.
I love the big missing tooth in front of his mouth,
and his buzzed blonde hair.
I especially love that sweet smile.
He has that smile most of the time.
He's a pretty contented kid.
He dreams about his birthday all year long.
That's not an exaggeration. Seriously.
Tonight, after his big party, we will snuggle in bed together,
and I garuntee you, he'll say "So Mom, what should we do for my
next birthday?" Crack up.
We read Psalm 139 this morning, about how God knit Jax together
in my womb and has planned every single day of his life already!
I told him about how God thinks about him more times in a night than
there are grains of sand on the beach! That's the Bible!
We thanked God this morning for Jax. We thanked him for his health.
They thought Jax might have a heart problem when he was in my womb,
so this day six years ago, there was much rejoicing over his health!
We will continue to thank God for that!
We are thanking God that this year Jax came to know Jesus personally.
He is walking with the Lord and learning how to listen to His voice.
We thanked God for making Jax for His Glory! We are claiming that he
is going to be a mighty warrior for the King someday- starting now!
Then Emma prayed and thanked God for Jax, and no kidding, Jax was
so touched, his eyes teared up! He was wiping his eyes and telling
Emma thank you for praying that!
I am overwhelmingly grateful for June 19th, 2002.
I had an induced labor without an epideural. Quite memorable!
But seeing Jax's face at the end of it was a moment I'll treasure in my
heart always. He was beautiful from moment 1!
And he's been nothing but a blessing ever since.
Happy Birthday Jax! We love you!

Jax's Salvation & Baptism

This is Jax's baptism last Sunday night. What a special night for us! Look at my sweet little boy! I took his hand to walk him to the front when Butch called his name, and he looked at me and said "I can go by myself, Mom." Those moments kill me! He did. He went on his own, and climbed in that baptistry without fear.
I have to testify as to what God has done in his heart. When Emma was baptized, he freaked out! It appeared to be the most terrifying thing to him! He would tell us ALL the time, "I don't want to be baptized!" Emma would try to talk to him about being saved, and he would just say "But I don't want to be baptized!"
In his own time, he began asking lots of questions, and he discovered that we had something he didn't have. Salvation. He grew in his understanding of his sinful state, and what Jesus did for him. He developed a faith, even at five-years-old, in what it meant to trust Jesus. We talked about salvation just about everyday through his AWANAS verses, and our family Bible study and prayer. When he realized "hey, this is for me! This applies to me!" we couldn't hold him back. He was just five, and in my flesh, I wanted to give it more time. But last December, he was ready, and he basically told me on a Sunday at home he was praying to ask Jesus in his heart right then. I could join him or not, but he was praying! Wow! His eagerness to be a child of God was intense! He did pray, and he told everyone that very day that he was a "son of the King!" The Holy Spirit came and filled my son that day. The scripture says He will. I could see it immediately. All the fear he had about baptism evaporated. He never flinched in his desire to follow through with baptism, and even being a grown-up doubter, I thought some of that fear might re-surface as it came closer. It did not. He was excited about it. This was just God, because he is not my child that wants to be the center of attention or upfront. I have a few of those, but that's not Jax. He would rather hide behind Emma. But you can see him in this picture, brave and excited. He was also so excited to take his first Lord's Supper that night.

This picture looks scary, like they're holding him under. They're not, I promise.
We baptize by immersion, because that's exactly as Jesus did it and told us to do it.
It does not save us. It is a command in scripture, and he says to do it following your conversion, but it is an outward testimony to what has happenned in your heart. I am realizing more and more that it's not enough to experience the power of God in your life and keep it to yourself. We're supposed to proclaim it to everyone! We're supposed to publicly proclaim His faithfulness! Baptism does that.
Jax has gone from death to life. Just as Jesus taught Nicodemus in John 3, he's been born again. I gave birth to him, and it was one of the greatest days of my life. But the joy of seeing true salvation in my children is unparalleled. Jax has a hunger for the Lord. He loves God's Word. He loves to pray. These are fruits of his salvation and the child-like faith that Jesus tells us to have. I do see a pure and untainted faith in my children that I myself long for. There's no greater blessing than to see that in your children! Walking and living their whole lives for Jesus is their only hope! If we are making ANYTHING...education, sports, healthy lifestyles, whatever, more important than this, we are MISSING IT! There are many good things to teach our kids, but this is PARAMOUNT!
Here are some verses I am praying over Jax.

Ps 101:1-4
I will sing of your love and justice.
I will praise you, LORD, with songs.
2 I will be careful to live a blameless life —
when will you come to my aid?
I will lead a life of integrity
in my own home.
3 I will refuse to look at
anything vile and vulgar.
I hate all crooked dealings;
I will have nothing to do with them.
4 I will reject perverse ideas
and stay away from every evil.


Ps 86:11-13
1 Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.

I am asking God to help him live a blameless life. I want him to serve the Lord with an undivided heart. I am overwhelmed that He has delivered my child from the depths of the grave. I am asking God for big things for my children. Not big worldly successes, but I'm not going to concede that my children must make a string of foolish decisions or rebel against us and the Lord later in life as a normal part of growing up. NO! I want him to walk in the path of righteousness and NOT depart from it. He will make mistakes. He will sin. But I want him to live in the abundant life promised to all of us who are believers. I want him to be a mighty worker in God's kingdom.
God has saved our Jax. Our hearts are full of gratitude to the Lord, and we take our job of teaching and discipling him very seriously. Praise God that I don't have to do that in my own strength. Praise God that that responsibility doesn't rest on me alone as a Mom, but that my husband leads us in that. I can only humbly pray that God would become more famous and glorified through our lives as a family.
That's what it's all about.

We Love, We Love God's Word!

I love this video! Jax had to learn all the books of the New Testament for AWANA's, and so we sang it to the tune of "We Will Rock You" by Queen, circa 1975. I actually wrote that in his Sparks book, but I'm not sure if his listeners appreciated it. Could he be any cuter? My Mom made this into a fun movie, because that's the kind of Nana she is. Enjoy.

Jax and heaven

This is one of my favorite pictures of Jax. I tried looking for a semi-serious picture of him, but there just aren't many. He's so fun!
I am overjoyed to share the news of Jax's salvation!!!
We knew that Jax was getting nearer to accepting Christ. He has known the facts for sometime now. Being around Emma helps! AWANA verses every morning really helps! He has memorized so many verses about salvation in two years of Cubbies and this year as a Spark, it's awesome! We talk about the verses, and what they mean each morning. He understands. He came to the point where he grasped his sinfulness and need for a Savior. But we were waiting for it to reach his heart. Well suddenly, it did! There was no stopping him! As much as we wanted to slow him down to be sure, he was adament that he would have Jesus in his heart! Today! I think I knew for sure when he overcame his long-term fear of baptism. Baptism has just freaked him out. But suddenly, he wanted to be baptized! (He's not one who likes to be the center of attention, so to say this, without fear spoke volumes!) Praise the Lord that Jax's eternity is secured in his accepting the gift of salvation that Jesus offers us! I am praying boldly for his life to reflect holiness and purity, and that God would do unimaginable things through him! My heart burns with a desire to see my kids passionately serve Him with all of their days. The Holy Spirit has come in and taken residence in his life. His prayers already sound different to me. After all, the Bible says we are NEW creations! This happenned right before church on Sunday night, so when we got there and started singing songs about forgiveness and salvation, I just wept! My sweet little boy now knows that salvation!
After Jax prayed a sweet prayer with Rusty and I, he then promptly asked when we were going to heaven! I love that!
In fact, just earlier in the day, Emma asked me the same thing. Her little friend Suki the fish died. She was of course, devastated, knowing Emma and her overwhelming love for all animals. (At least this time Justus didn't murder her fish. That was bad. Remember that post?) She was in my lap, crying her eyes out, and asked if Suki would be with her in heaven. I said I thought so. And she said "Mom, when are we going to heaven??? I've been waiting SO LONG!!!" How precious that my children already long for their real home. Do we ache for heaven like this? Or are we too busy loving this world? That got me thinking.
Then at Sunday night church we studied Romans 5, which talks about our hope that we have, in sharing in God's glory, and persevering through trials by clinging to this hope.
That directed me over to one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, Colossians 3. These words have always pricked me heart, but I don't think I'd given them their due thought process in my mind.

Col 3:1-4
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. 2 Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. 3 For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

Most other versions say set your mind on things above. The King James Version says "set your affections on things above."
So what does it mean to set our mind, heart, and affections on things above? On heaven? On the eternal?
I like part of this commentary I read by Matthew Henry.
(v. 2): Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. Observe, To seek heavenly things is to set our affections upon them, to love them and let our desires be towards them. Upon the wings of affection the heart soars upwards, and is carried forth towards spiritual and divine objects. We must acquaint ourselves with them, esteem them above all other things, and lay out ourselves in preparation for the enjoyment of them. David gave this proof of his loving the house of God, that he diligently sought after it, and prepared for it, Ps 27:4. This is to be spiritually minded (Rom 8:6), and to seek and desire a better country, that is, a heavenly, Heb 11:14,16. Things on earth are here set in opposition to things above. We must not dote upon them, nor expect too much from them, that we may set our affections on heaven; for heaven and earth are contrary one to the other, and a supreme regard to both is inconsistent; and the prevalence of our affection to one will proportionably weaken and abate our affection to the other.

I especially like that he says things here on earth are set in opposition to things above. We can't love both. As Jesus said, we can't serve two masters. The more we love God and the things that have eternal value, the less we love this world and the things that are fleeting.
So being the practical girl that I am, decided to make a list in my journal of the things in my day, my life, that are eternal and that are temporal. When am I pouring my energies into something that is wasted? More than anything, I want my kids to spend their lives on the eternal; to be passionate about the things of God. That means I have to set ALL my affections on those things now.
This has been challenging for me. I am still asking the Lord what it looks like to let heaven fill my thoughts, and to set my affections on things above. I think He might still have a lot more to say to me about it. Rusty has read the book "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn, and recommends it. I hope to read that soon. I read his book "Safely Home" and it totally changed the way I thought of heaven, and definitely about missions and awakened me to persection of the church today in other countries.
I hope heaven and eternal things will fill your thoughts and consume your affections today! Mine too!

New and Upcoming Theory About "What Happenned to the Dinosaurs?"

This past week we learned about dinosaurs in our little homeschool. What a fun unit! So the kids learned about extinction, and about the two main theories that exist concerning why the dinosaurs became extinct. I had them come up with their own theory and draw a picture of it, and this is what Jax told me:

What do YOU think might have happenned to the dinosaurs?

I think the pirates shooted at the sun, and the sun came in the water, and the light was burned out. So they had to sleep every time, and they can't breathe, so they DIED, and were stinct. (extinct)

JAX...all-boy, and a little evangelist!

Emma and Jax have caught pet frogs, Toadie and Freckles.
Toadie goes everywhere with Jax in the backyard. The other day, they were playing with the frogs on the trampoline (poor Toadie and Freckles) and Rusty didn't see Toadie anymore. He asked Jax "where is your frog? Did he get away?"
Jax said "Oh no! He's here!" and pointed down his pants. Only boys will carry their pet frogs down their pants. (Well, and maybe Emma.)
But Jax really surprised us this past weekend! When Kathleen was here, Jax took her in my bedroom by themselves, and Jax asked Kathleen if she knew Jesus? This melted me, because Jax has actually been the designated pray-er for Kathleen all year, and it shows me how God is working on his own heart, truly burdened for her. What a sweetie!

"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!

"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.

Happy 5th Birthday Jax!

I can't believe it. My Boogie Bear, as we call him, is 5 years old.
He is a CONSTANT source of joy in our lives.
I love his crazy, ecclectic, self-created, twelve-piece costumes he wears, and that he runs through the house- stops dead in his tracks when he sees me in the kitchen- and says "I love you Mom" and then runs off. He often declares I'm his "best Mommy ever." This child melts my heart.
His best friend is his sister Emma.
He either wears costumes or underwear. Hardly ever anything in between, unless forced.
He loves fruit, and hates chocolate.
He asked for cereal for his special birthday breakfast.
He believes in pirates, superheros, and everything Scooby-Doo.
If he needs something out of the garage at night, he asks me to go with him so "he can 'tect me" (protect me.)
He asks everyone who comes to our house or he recognizes at church "What are YOU doing here?"
He'll still snuggle and take a nap with me.
Every year is an adventure. I look forward to five-year-old Jax. I LOVE being his Mom! Happy Birthday Jax!