Hands to the Heavens

Recently Trip stumbled upon an incredible band.

~ Rend Collective ~

Being that he is the "chief music officer" of our home, he shared the songs with me and the boys. And now, at any given moment you will find dancing and hands to the heavens in shouts of joy and praise. Even Mr. Henry has a few hand motions to his favorite songs. And Lord help the poor person who witnesses the hallelujah crazy in our car as we drive around town.

Each song has lyrics that just leave me in awe - and the music that corresponds fills me with incredible joy. Regardless of how the day may be going, one of their many songs from any of their albums will allow the Holy Spirit to sing loudly and quiet the noise of this world.

Their philosophy...

"We made a recent theological breakthrough as a band 

and it has changed everything about our approach: 

seriousness is not a fruit of the spirit …

but joy is."

~ Create In Me ~

...Create in me a clean, clean heart
Create in me a work of art
Create in me a miracle
Something real and something beautiful
You’re not finished with me yet
You’re not finished with me yet
By your power I can change, I can change
‘Cos you’re not finished with me yet...

~ You Bled ~

...You bled your heart out
Now I feel love beat in my chest
How wonderful
You gave your beauty
In exchange for my ugliness
How wonderful

You left your perfection
And embraced our rejection

How marvelous, how boundless
Is Your love, is Your love
How wonderful, sacrificial
Is Your love for me...

A Year Later

As I sat down last night to reflect on Jackson's birthday I realized it has been a year since I last wrote a post. Whew! A entire year has passed and yet, in some ways, it feels like mere minutes.

This past year has been such a rich year in the life of our family. I am filled with such gratitude of what the Lord has required of me as a mother on behalf of my boys.

Particularly, this boy...

This time last year we were still in the midst of learning about Jackson and what was going on his brain and how he processed the world so differently than most children his age.

A year later...I continue to be in awe of a God who chose us to be his parents and how our daily trust in Him has led us to the place we are now. Working with Jackson daily, sometimes hourly, has created in me a passion to lead both of my boys to be the best that God has created them to be.

I have been encouraged by this quote many times this year...

I look forward to sharing again on the blog as I have time. Whether it be a humorous anecdote from the wild life of raising boys, or a serious lesson that the Lord has given me - I pray that the posts encourage you.

FOUR

Jackson Lane is FOUR!!

As we celebrate this sweet boy today I am overwhelmed that God has entrusted Trip and me with a child like Jackson. This past year has taught us so much about him. We have caught a glimpse of so many things that have yet to come and we are humbled and thrilled to be the ones to guide him.

Jackson Lane, oh how we love you. 

Happy Birthday to you! 

We are eager to see what this next year holds for you!

Christmas 2012

Spring 2013

April 2013 ~ A Preschool First!

July 2013 ~ Muddin' in Ohio

July 2013 ~ Jamestown Settlement

Summer 2013
~ The summer of RAIN ~
....and lots and LOTS of baseball.

*********************

Favorites:

~Anything related to a fire truck, car, 

plane or construction vehicle

 ~Hummus, cheese, any fruit, yogurt, pancakes,

 peas, cucumber and broccoli, fish sticks, Fro Yo!

~Baseball, playing in the pool or sandbox, 

climbing his fort and sliding down his fireman's pole

~Bob the Builder, Thomas, Fireman Sam, Clifford, and

any documentary about firetrucks or trains

~BOOKS!
Jackson set a goal at the library this summer to read 100 books.
He met that goal...and then some.
We are truly grateful he is a child who loves to read.


~ 4 ~
Happy Birthday, Jackson!

Henry {ONE Year}

Oh Henry. 

Happy Birthday to you, sweet boy.

This year has flown by and you have been an absolute joy. You fulfilled a promise that I clung to during my pregnancy. God proved, once again, to be faithful to us as a family. And I am so glad that He gave us YOU at the very time He knew would be perfect.

This final month before you turned ONE you experienced lots of fun "firsts". Your first trip to the zoo, first carousel ride, first pair of shoes, and your first grilled cheese are just a few of the fun things you did to celebrate your last month as my baby.

You are on the cusp of walking. You have a fierce determination to do it independently and that determination, coupled with your desire to keep up with Jackson, tells me your days of crawling are numbered.

TEETH!!! I must note that your bottom teeth must have truly been a pain to cut since you barely flinched while cutting the next SIX. Within a matter of two weeks you went from two bottom teeth to 4 upper teeth and two more bottom teeth. Let the food adventures begin!

Dear Henry,
At one year you are 31in tall and 21.5lb.Your favorite foods are any veggie or fruit, oatmeal, eggs, toast, and grilled cheese. You love to climb in the fort, slide down the slide, swing and play with any truck in your reach. You love your books, particularly Brown Bear, Brown Bear. You love to be sung to and hum along, particularly to "Amazing Grace". You have a very funny personality and a flair for the dramatics at times. {I have no idea where you get that from...ahem.} While you don't say much more than "Dada" right now, you understand us all perfectly and love "chiming in" when it suits you.

Sweet Henry, you are such a blessing to us. We celebrate this first birthday with such joy and thank God daily that you are a part of our family.

I love you so much.
~ Mama

Henry {11 months}

ELEVEN.

One more month and there will be a candle on a cake.

But before I start freaking out about what is yet to come, I'll look back and savor this past month. This month was such a fun month for Henry.

 

He is a funny kid with a temperament that we have all fallen in love with. And he's tough. His big brother has yet to master the term "gentle", but Henry doesn't care. Whatever Jackson has typically done invites giggles from Henry. And as he attempts to cruise, Henry has learned that falling is no fun. But he rarely cries. He simply looks for confirmation from one of us: "yes, I bet that did hurt, but oh! you're such a big boy!" and gets back up.

He is truly learning to play. I noticed at the beginning of this month that he loves to drive the cars around the playroom. He goes from one side of the room to the other just driving whichever car grabbed his interest. There is also a Thomas set that has mesmerized him. He has finally learned how to place Thomas on the mountain so that the train car moves down the track. And he plays with that toy over and over and over....

The biggest change for Henry this month was his HAIR. Sweet baby had an old man combover. It was a mess.

Trip kept teasing me:
"Don't you love him? I mean, look at him...he looks like we don't know what a barber is for..."

Oh for the love. 

It wasn't that I didn't know the direct route to the boys' barber, it's just that...well...I knew I'd be a mess cutting my not-even-one-year-old's hair. I knew the minute that combover was gone he would look older. I mean the days of him being my baby are passing too quickly. Now I'm going to fast forward the process by having his hair cut?!

But I did it. I cried.

But in the end....He looked so. much. better.

Sigh....

Happy Eleven Months Henry!

The Sunday Funnies

Two videos captured recently to show 

some of the silliness in the Radtke House.

Bathtime is such a fun close to our day. 

Henry loves popping his lips and enjoys it even more 

when big brother adds in his "pop" too.

With all the recent talk about Jack's brain, 

have you ever wondered where it actually is?

Three words Jack:

Location!

 Location! 

Location!

Henry {10 months...and a few days}

April 2 marked ten months for Henry.

This was not missed in our house.

But truth be told this past week messed with me big time.

It started with Easter. I love Easter. I am emotionally and spiritually overwhelmed each year as I set aside time personally, and now with my sons, to consider exactly what Christ did for me. When I contemplate the truth that if I had been the only one on earth, regardless of my sin, He would have still followed through with His plan - I'm just wrecked. God loves me that much. He loves you that much. 

Then on Wednesday the boys and I had to say goodbye to our BSF family. In light of all that we have been learning about Jackson and his mind, it had become apparent that the BSF environment was no longer the right fit for him. Please don't misunderstand, the BSF children's ministry is an incredible program. But for a child with sensory processing disorder, it was too much. Everyone we knew was praying for Jackson to triumph and finish the year. But God's plans proved to be different for him. And since I am confident that God's ways are perfect, we said our goodbyes and walked away knowing that decision was the best for our family.

Finally, Trip read this article and passed it to me. I cried as I read through the post and then shared it on my Facebook page. I wanted others to be encouraged by this man's honest words. His insight gave me pause to think about where Jackson is now and where God will take him...in His time. Most importantly I want Jackson to be able to say when he is older, "My parents taught me the meaning of unconditional love and fought for me every single day of my life. I learned about hope and redemption from watching the journey they’ve been on themselves and couldn’t be prouder to be their son."

And in the midst of it all...there was Henry. 

Sweet Baby Henry.

God knew exactly what He was doing when He placed Henry second in our family. When I was pregnant with Henry God told me:

"Kristin, you will give birth to joy.

I, the Lord your God, 

knew what you & Trip would walk through between

this child's conception and birth...

and I choose to give you JOY."

And what a joy he is. He knew that we would need a baby during this season of our family that has an incredible temperament. Because, let's be honest, not just any kid would sit in a stroller for hour-long occupational therapy appointments...without making a peep.

And so, I close this post celebrating Henry's tenth month and thanking God for all that He is walking us through right now.