These are a few of my favorite words

Watching movies about Milo with Milo is a lot of fun for two reasons - he always answers the questions we ask him on video while he's watching himself, and he gets such a kick out of himself. Good to know he already has a healthy sense of self-confidence. Every once in a while he's such a good eater that we give him a bit of a treat, and you already know about Daddy-Milo Oreo time. Well here's a video where he says two of my favorite of his words: Oreos and cookie. Enjoy.

The problem solver

The best part about Milo is that he knows a photo op when he sees (or hears) one. He heard me turn on the camera and whipped the curtain open just in time for me to snap a shot.

Milo's a good problem solver. When he doesn't want to pick up his toys, he hides behind the curtains (and I see little feet and one little hand peeking out). When he can't reach some toys, he stands on his fire truck to get them (and to try to open the door). He must take after his daddy...

The Dictionary of Milo

Chances are, if you stop by our house, Milo will have something very important to tell you. He's got a lot of words down pat - cookies, Mommy, Daddy, horse, and some tricky animals (baboon, hyena, hippo, ostrich, etc.). Here's a snippet of what else you might hear (spelled phonetically, of course).

Ahboo - open
Ah doo - all done; usually accompanied by some form of sign language
Ah ga - all gone
Ahmoo - amen; drawn out longer depending on the level of excitement about what is being prayed   over
Boo - used to refer to anything blue
Booboobooees - blueberries, possibly Milo's favorite fruit
Cuck - truck; Milo loves any kind of truck, but mostly the garbage truck - our trash collector must feel like a celebrity now that we come out every week to wave at her and watch (and smell) the truck go up and down the street.
Gagoo - thank you (usually shyly whispered)
Han - banana; not sure how this morphed from the more understandable "nanas" that he used to say
Shoot - fruit
Soesaur - dinosaur
Tahchee - cheetah (I personally think it's adorable that he says it backwards, though I don't fully understand.)
Teeeeeezzzzzzzzzz - please
Zoozees - Bruiser (one of our dogs); he still refuses to say Bella, which I think would be easier

So there you go! As long as you can make some convincing animal sounds and are familiar with these few words, you'll be fluent in Milo. Make sure you wear a hat, or Milo will make you wear one of his.

A snippet of what I believe (so you can think I'm weirder than you already did)

I’ve had several people ask me recently what I believe, and I’ve had a hard time giving it all in a nutshell. I guess it’s like asking a scientist to sum up what he believes about rocket science – it can’t all be done in a matter of minutes. But I love when people ask, because it means they care. So, in case you do, in fact, care, I thought I would start sharing with you on my blog, pieces at a time, because there’s so much, and it’s so exciting to me because it’s so important to me.

Number one, I believe that Yahweh is my Father, and that he sent his son Yeshua (Jesus) to die for us, to be the Messiah who leads us back into relationship with our Father.  (John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”) I believe the Holy Spirit is the comforter and teacher who was sent after Yeshua rose again and ascended to the Father.

I also believe that, as Paul says in Romans 11, we are wild olive branches being grafted in to the natural tree. When we accept Yeshua as our Messiah, we are grafted in to become a part of Israel. Am I saying we become Jewish? No. A Jew is a direct descendant of the tribe of Judah, so I can no more become Jewish than I can become of French descent, or Indonesian descent, or Brazilian. But we do become a part of the covenant that Yahweh made with Israel – a covenant that laid out specific commands for us to follow. Do we follow them to earn our salvation? Absolutely not. We follow them because we truly love Yahweh, just as we were commanded by Yeshua – “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15).

So we are supposed to keep the commands. But what were those commands? I’ve spent my entire life trying to do the right thing, and most of the time, it was the right thing in everyone else’s eyes. Approval has always been a big deal to me. But recently I read in Deuteronomy 16:20, “Follow righteousness, righteousness alone…” and I realized that the approval of only one person matters – my heavenly Father. What would he want me to do? As Nathan and I have prayed and studied the Word, we really came to the realization that we are to be following the Bible in its entirety, not just the New Testament.

The main difference in what I believe and what many other people do is that Nathan and I firmly believe that we are to be keeping the Biblical Sabbath. Why? Well, number one, it’s a commandment. In fact, it’s one of the Big Ten (but tithing, or abstaining from R-rated movies, etc. isn't…). In fact, keeping the Biblical Sabbath, by not doing any work at all or causing others to work, is what is supposed to set apart God’s chosen people. It’s what is supposed to make us look different (among other things, I’d hope). (Exodus 31:13, 16 “And you, speak to my children of Israel, saying, ‘My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I, Yahweh, am setting you apart.” “And the children of Israel shall guard the Sabbath, to perform the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant.”) Because I am grafted in to Israel, because I get to take part in the promise, and because I am in covenant with God, I feel that keeping his Sabbath is important to keeping my part of the covenant. And because I’m keeping my part, he is obligated to keep His – just like a legal contract, and that legal contract opens me up to blessing, protection, and health. Because I love my Father, I want to obey him, and I believe that the Old Testament is just as relevant as the New. Remind me one day to tell you about the renewed covenant...

We were commanded by our Messiah himself, who was literally the word of God made flesh, to keep his commands. What commands do you suppose he would have kept, considering that the New Testament didn’t exist until well after he came? I’ve realized that I can’t pick and choose my commandments. If the Bible is true and “the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure,” (Jeremiah 17:9) how can anyone decide for himself which commandments to follow and which ones to disregard? If we get rid of one of the Ten Commandments, shouldn’t we get rid of them all? Paul tells us that “through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3:20), so I would hate to toss out any of it and sin through purposeful ignorance.

I’m learning. I’m always learning, and I am constantly praying as I do so. Keeping the Sabbath makes me look weird. It’s inconvenient to people who want to plan things on Friday nights or Saturdays, and often times it frustrates them. Have I stopped believing in Jesus as my Savior? No. Have I stopped agreeing with the Holy Spirit and His work? Absolutely not. Have I come in to a new understanding of who I am, and who my Father is? YES, and it’s incredible.

I’m sure I’ll have more to share with you as the times arise. I’ve sat down so many times to write this blog, but I found myself on the defensive, wanting to prove myself to people who have attacked me for what I believe, and I couldn’t do it. I want to do everything in love, and until today, I wasn’t able to do that (I’m only human, but at least I’ve learned to filter things, right?). I hope you enjoy understanding how I think, and I hope you feel comfortable asking me questions and discussing it with me. I'm sure there will be more to come, just like there will be more Milo photos to come....

Red velvet faces

Warning: This is what happens when we make red velvet items around the house. There is beater, spoon, and bowl-licking a-plenty, and when you lick a red beater, you're busted.

Warning: I'm not perfect

Believe it or not, there are things that I'm not good at. I know, I know - you might want to stop reading my blog at this point, since you undoubtedly thought, "Kate Jackson is practically perfect in every way."

Well, it's true. I'm no good at playing basketball, paying attention to details, or sleeping with my mouth closed. I find it extremely hard to tell people the truth if I know it will hurt their feelings (working on this one, though). I really stink at measuring things. And today, I found a new thing to add to the list. I am horrible at dog grooming.

Forget all of my aspirations of making a little extra money on the side if it ever came to it. No one will ever drop their dogs off at my house for a little cut and shampoo. I'm retiring my (borrowed) clippers and sending my poor little pooches off to the experts at Lucky Puppy next time they get a little long.

It's sad how ashamed they both look here.

A place to hide

I need you to see what Milo's been up to... Because he's such a clever boy, he's learned that if he just moves something out of the way, he can fit in the spot it leaves. This includes the pots and pans in my cupboards, the toys on the hearth, and now the clothing shelf in his room. And the best part is that, even though he's very busy with what he's doing, he's never too busy to pose for a picture or two.

Eating solo

I apparently don't get out much anymore, and when I do get out, I'm pretty amazing at embarrassing myself. Like yesterday, when after enjoying a lovely lunch at Bullrito's with Nate and Milo, I decided to throw away our trash and sit back down at our usual booth.

Only problem? We weren't sitting in our usual booth, and I managed to park it right across from a poor, unsuspecting man eating solo. Once I realized that there was no high chair, no Milo, and certainly no Nate, I couldn't even say a word. I just got up from the booth and went back to our table.

As I was telling Nate, "We have to leave right now," I looked over at a man across the restaurant who had obviously witnessed the whole thing and starting belly laughing as soon as we locked eyes. Here's hoping that made his day, because I know it made Nate's.

A few words on...

There are few words to describe the feeling of your own flesh flapping so violently against itself that you’re sore the next day…

There are few words to describe the complete lack of coordination that comes from trying to mimic land moves underwater…

There are even fewer words to describe the sense of panic that comes from feeling your top rise up and your bottoms slide down simultaneously…

You know what? Never mind. I could sum it all up in two words – aqua zumba, and per Emily's request, here's a recap of what I mean.

I tried it, all for the sake of Ann, who was home from Houston. The way her face lit up when I mentioned it left no room for backing out, even after a few other people did. So Ann, Emily, and I, the ultimate troopers, packed it up and headed to the Boys and Girls Club Monday night, covered in layers of swimsuits and clothing (most of which would stay on in the pool). We scanned the area upon entering, checking to see if anyone we knew would cause us to leave, back into the pool, or hide underwater. Lucky (?) for us, we were a part of the few under the age of 50 (I’m not hating – these older folks could work it), so we tiptoed into the frigid water and waited.

Enter our adorable, twenty-something year old instructor, a toned vision in pink and tan (pink shirt, completely tanned body, not a centimeter of which jiggled. EVER.). She gave us a little run-down of what to do (well, I say that like I knew what she was saying, as we were in the back of the pool, heard nothing, yet still nodded our heads enthusiastically as if to say, “Absolutely. Totally on board with that.”) and we began.

We shook, we ran in place, we shimmied, we aggressively kicked our legs. Hmmmm. Okay, well, that’s what our instructor did. And I was pretty sure I looked just like her, until I looked around the pool and no one was moving. I was the only one, and I was working it hardcore. How embarrassing!

Oh, wait a minute. Yes, people were moving. Forward and backward, heads slightly bobbing. And then I realized that I did not look a bit like our instructor. I, in fact, looked like I wasn’t moving at all, either, because all of my amazing moves were hidden underwater. Let’s just say it’s probably a blessing those moves were hidden, too, given the level of silliness entailed when I got home and tried a few things out in front of my mirror. How can one be a dancer for most of her life and still completely lack any Latin rhythm whatsoever? I will say, though, that bouncing one's booty underwater comes with an extra level of satisfaction, as the water helps it continue moving long after you've moved on.

Emily and I decided on the way home that aqua zumba is a great workout because you don’t feel a bit sweaty after you get out of the pool, even after an hour of your most amazing, jiggle-wiggling dance moves. I stayed in my swimsuit and tank top, although we had a few almost-scares (let’s just be honest – I almost shook myself right out of that sucker). I got schooled by a man twice my age who knew all the moves and all the words.  And I got a good lesson in humility, all the while still thinking I just might go back for round two.

                                       

Good morning

Nothing cuter than this first thing, right?

Photo Book

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Let Go

I always knew Milo would be musical, since Nate and I are both so inclined that way. You can't necessarily tell from this (or tell that I'm not, in fact, tone deaf), but it's so adorable that I had to share. Here's Milo singing along to his favorite Teshuva song "Let Go."

The cutest little men

Every once in a while I realize that I've forgotten to share some pictures with you, and then I feel slightly heartbroken. These are some of my favorites of Milo that we've had in a while! Maybe it's because I absolutely adore Milo in red?

Such a sweet, sweet, SWEET little man.

I have no explanation for this face, but I like it.

 These pictures could seriously be of me and my cousin Courtney when we were little. Well, except we were girls... Obviously. But she was the little blonde-haired one, and I was the little dark-haired one. She was just a little older than me. I'm sure the two of us were nothing but good-natured trouble. This is Milo and his cute-as-can-be cousin Cason, who's a year older than him. The two of them went tromping around together the last time we were all at Stacy and Dede's, and it absolutely made me smile. Aside from the fact that we were waiting and waiting and waiting for a table at a restaurant when these were taken and I was very close to being seriously cranky...

Don't you wonder what they're talking about?

Just chilling.

It's the beginning of another week

For Auntie Jen, Love Milo

Milo wanted to show his Auntie Jen what he's learned to do with the lion chair she gave him... Enjoy!

Looks like we might have a little tumbler in the family?