He is ready for another year

After placing 7th in the younger juniors at Commerce last year he is ready to go again!  We test and tune next weekend and we are so excited to run his car.

You can read the post from last years test n tune day here.

You can see a little more about his racing from the 2011 season here.

I hope to blog about his racing better this year and take more videos.  You can see a video of his last race in Greer, SC here

His last race of the whole 2011 year in Greer, SC

His big night at Commerce.  2nd place and the qualifier winner!

Qualifier Shootout Winner Night of Fire.  He got 3  of these trophies last year!!

He was SO proud of his 2nd place trophy!  We were so proud of him as well. 

They poured water all over him for getting 2nd place!!

Jackson also got to race at Bristol TN.  We went out 1st round, but he was a super good sport!

Well here is to another year of racing and to hopefully documenting it better!!  As Jackson has always said before any sports game or racing.  We praise God when we win or loose!!

My baby niece is here!!!!!!!!!!

After fighting over who would hold Grace the first, Stephen won!!!  It was suppose to be Jackson, but I guess we just forgot all about that and Stephen was in LOVE!!  He LOVES babies anyways, but this baby is different!  He is a big cousin now and he was ever so sweet to her.

I got to hold her last night and this morning and my heart is sooooooo full of love.  I could sit and hold her all day and if I wasn't holding her I could just stare at her.  She is the prettiest baby I have ever seen!!

Jackson was in love!!  He was soooo mad that we had to leave.  I think  he could stay all day!!

Jackson likes being an older cousin too!!

She had her eyes open a good bit while we were there this morning!  Isn't that hat adorable???  She knows how to suck a paci already!  I love babies with pacis!! 

The boys liked looking at her and she sneezed or something and spit her paci right out!  Jackson was looking right at her through the cradle and it scared him!!!

Stephen would take his fingers and act like he was tickling her!!

I get to keep her while Holly goes back to work.  I can't wait!!!  We are going to have soooooo much fun!

Stephen's 1st soccer practice!

Stephen started soccer tonight!  He will go Tuesdays from 6:00 - 6:45.

He is so excited.  This was right before we found his coach!  He is sporting his brand new Nike pull over he had to have at Khols today!  He also picked out a new pair of shoes for him in the ladies department cause the box said "nike"  Gosh he knows his labels way to early.  He gets it from his brother!

Standing by the goal!

Big Bro Jack had to get in the picture!!  He was Stephen's helper tonight!!

Stephen was super nervous at first!  This is his I think I am going to be sick cause I am sooooo nervous look!!  I love the little girl raising her hand!!  These kids are soooo cute!

They got soccer jerseys the 1st night!!

I love this little dimple faced fellow!!

Running!!!

I think this was the funniest thing to him.  They had to run backwards!!  He giggled the whole time!!

More running backwards!!

Jumping over the balls!!!

This picture makes me think he is saying in his head "hey kids pay attention" or "I am the boss you listen to me"

7 years 6 months!

Seven years and 6 months ago I said I do!  Under mine and Bart's picture is a counter and it says 7 yrs 6 mo!  I can't believe its been that long.  My little Jackson was a month away from turning 2!!

I know God choose us to be a family and I am ever so grateful!
Our little family of 3!!!

GT Lover!

For Valentines day we usually don't go all out.  We save that for Birthdays and for Christmas.  For Valentines Day we did something a little special for Jackson and did a room make over.  He is in LOVE with Georgia Tech and his best buddy was selling all the stuff in his room that was GT.  I thought it was a great idea to buy it and surprise him for Valentines Day.  So Friday before Valentines Day I could not wait.  I picked it up and of course Stephen was with me and saw everything so I went ahead and put his room together and did not show it to him till Bart got home that night.  I wish I would have taken a picture of his face when he opened the door.  

Since we waited till Bart got home from work and Jackson knew something was going on I had to act like we were mad about how messy his room has been.  He keeps a pretty clean room for a 9 yr old, but his closet is always a mess.  He doesn't keep it organized and it drives ME NUTS!  I have his clothes organized  by summer clothes, winter clothes and church clothes. One of his chores is to fold and put away his clothes. Most of the time he does not put his clothes up right, but he is only 9.  So anyways I kept his door shut and when Bart got home I gave him his laundry basket and told him I clean his room the way it should be and we were all going to walk in and see it together so that EVERYONE knew what it looked like clean and that he will know so when he goes to clean his room he would know how to fix it!!!

He has 2 big pillows that aren't pictured because I had to buy new ones.  The picture from the far left has been in his room for ever and it was a gift from his aunt and uncle on his dad side.  They are big GA Bulldog fans, but he was sooo cute I could not take it down.  The Big picture is of Tim Tebow.  Jackson LOVES him and really looks up to him.  His Aunt Holly subscribed the Sports Illustrated Kids for his Birthday and Tim Tebow had his picture in it.  Jackson loved it so much I decided to frame it.  I have got to find a bed skirt and a curtain.  I can't find a curtain I like so I might have to make something.  For now the flag works!

The green frame is a certificate for doing the Action Show at Hollywood Studios at Disney.  You can watch his video here.   His name is something he made in Kindergarten using tissue paper!  I love how Stephen is looking at his stuff in this picture.  He was soooo good and did not tell the secret about the new room. 

I love his letters that are orange.  They matched his other room, but know I think I am going to paint them either black or yellow and might do a really thin stripe of the other color.  

Wall art.  

Dr. Seuss, Youth Revival and a testimony

This week has been a great week.  We are soooo blessed.  Here are a few things that have been happening around the Skelton house.

Matt stayed with us on Tuesday and we had a picnic outside.  They LOVE eating outside!  The sun was bright and in Matt's eyes!  

Stephen ate his cheese stick and then was done.  

We had youth revival at Church and it was AMAZING!  Jackson got to bring a friend each night and some nights he had 2 friends!  Tuesday was twin day and Jackson and his friend Riley dressed up as twins in honor of Dr. Seuss bday for Thing 1 and Thing 2!  Riley rode the bus home with Jackson Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday!!  He is a sweetie and very well behaved!

Stephen had to get in since he was wearing some kind of jersey!!

They never get tired of a trampoline!!

I am in LOVE with these!!  They are sooo pretty!  I have more blooming .  

Since it is Dr. Seuss week at school they had Wacky Day on Wednesday!  Jackson was dressed wacky for sure!!!!

Half is hair was spiked, the other half flat down.  His John Deere shirt obviously doesn't match his orange sports shorts then top it off with a dress shirt!  Different socks and different shoes!!!

This is his  "mom enough pictures" look!!!

Wednesday he had Riley and Caleb ride the bus home with him!  He thought he was hot stuff!!!  He LOVED having friends over this week.  They are some of the sweetest kids!!

We have had a really good week.  Youth Revival was so good and I received a blessing each night.  Jackson was soooo tired each night as we did not get home till after 9:30 each night and even 10 one night after dropping kids off.  He really wanted to chill out and watch tv before bed, but it was sooooo late.  It was all worth it cause it plants a seed in his heart that will stay there forever and ever and will continue to grow.  Stephen fell asleep 2 nights and maybe even 3 nights.  I can't remember???  I just get so happy when I see my kids at Church.  I want my kids to know about Jesus and what he did for us.  

Tuesday night was probably my favorite night.  After service Mike asked for some to share their testimonies.  I just can't talk in public.  Get me with a few of my girlfriends and I can talk up a storm, but please don't ask me to talk in public.  Its way out of my comfort.  I love to blog, but if I had to talk in a group I would get soooo nervous!  After a few people shared I really wanted to share, but my heart would race and I thought if I opened my mouth I might get sick!  Jackson and his friends sat with us Tuesday night and he kept nudging me share your story mommy!  AWWW :)  He has both heard about when Bart and I got saved, but I was to "shy" to talk in front of the whole church.  It was really important to Jackson and so I shared.  I cried like a baby!!  Jackson said "thank you mommy" right afterwards and when we got in the car Jackson asked why I cried and I told him it was happy tears and I was talking about the good things that God had done for me.  Let me just say that God is good and I am soooo blessed.

Growing up my parents and I went to the Methodist Church in Cleveland.  I have so many fond memories from VBS, Sunday School, Christmas Bazaars and the youth.  After my parents separated we stopped going as much.  It ended up us not going at all.  When my dad got remarried and I went every other weekend we went to a Lutheran Church.  Mom and I and I am pretty sure my sister Pamela visited Free Chapel some.  We did not go like we might should have, but we did go some.  One Wednesday night in April when I was 13 I went to the alter and prayed and got saved.  Over the years I grew out of church and away from God.  I found out February 15, 2002 I was pregnant.   I was scared, but my family stood by me and helped me out.  On October 18, 2002 Jackson was born and I just was amazed!  My dad really wanted him baptized and so I started going back to the Methodist Church in Cleveland.  I got back in Church and he was baptized January 18, 2003.  It was a really hard year.  I worked at Regions Bank and I remember sitting in the drive thru asking God to help me and questioning why I couldn't be loved like I wanted to be loved.  I was by myself and just prayed God would send someone good to me who would love me.  After I was done praying I just had this peace about everything and it was like I knew that GOD loved me and that was enough for me.  I put everything in Gods hands.  The next week Bart's sister Holly came through the drive thru and asked me if I was married.  I said "no why?"  She said "my brother thinks your pretty!"  I kindly just ignored it and just went on about my business.  The very next week she came back by.  It was a Monday and I said "you know I have a baby right?"  I don't remember what she said, but on her receipt I wrote my number down!!  That night Bart called.  It was the sweetest voice ever!  He asked me out for Friday night!  He had the most awesome truck and I was soooo excited to go out on a date!  We had the best time!  The rest is history in the making!!!

My point is God loves you and no one will ever love you like God does.  When you put your worries in God's hand everything will work out and he will take care of you! 

Have you shared your testimony with your child today?  If not, please do it soon!  They find comfort in knowing!  I know my Jackson does!  Feel free to share your testimony in the comments!  I would LOVE to hear it!!

Jackson and ADHD

Jackson was diagnosed with ADHD back in December.  His teachers have been discussing the ADHD since kindergarten.  At first I was I really upset that he had several of the signs of "ADHD" and sometimes I just ignored the fact that people thought he was "ADHD".  I didn't like the labels and really just wanted it all to go away.  I loved him the way he was and did not understand why people could not love him the way he was.  Bart and I are not wanting to try the medicine and I am SOOOOO glad we have not done so.  I will tell you why later.

 First here are some of the reason we aren't wanting to try the medicine for now:

1.  Medicine will change him and GOD created him.  Why would I want to change something GOD created??

2.  He might have side affects like his appetite, headaches, stomach aches, not able to sleep good, nervousness, or tics.

3.  Find different ways to help him.

4.  He is not so "hyper" anymore and he is maturing a lot.

I think it is really important to keep GOD close in all areas of you life and pray about anything you want to pray about.  He has A LOT of people praying for him.  We have asked prayer at church for him in the past and he has lots of family members who pray for him.  He has a mama who prays for him lots daily.  Jackson has always had a really good appetite and I would hate to see him drop weight because I was popping a pill in his mouth.  I know that does not happen with every ADHD case, but I have seen soooo many where it has effected their eating habits.  Jackson has always been a super good sleeper.  When he lays down at night he is out like a light.  I am a firm believer in extra help.  If it takes a non-adhd child 15 minutes to do homework it might take Jackson an hour.  I always sit down with him and help him do his homework.  Yes sometimes it stresses me out and yes sometimes we get upset, but I would rather spend lots of extra time with him to help him re read his passage, help him with spelling or sit down and give him examples of fractions for math.  Yeah I would rather be playing on Facebook or even watching tv, but knowing that I can take that extra time with him right now is worth not giving him the medicine.  He matures from year to year.  When 1st grade started his guidance counselor commented on how mature he got over summer.  I think his racing has matured him a lot and being around the kids at church more has matured him alot.  And most of it is that he is growing up, learning right from wrong and learning there is a time and place for everything.  Yes he still has moments when i have to say to him "Jackson are you 9 or 4?"  BUT he has improved dramatically.  He is growing up to be a really good mature young man.

So back in December we went back to the doctor and got a written diagnosis.  He has an AMAZING doctor in Lawrencville.  Dr. Rubina is a wonderful Psychiatrist and she is with Gwinnett Psychiatry.  You can visit their website here.  She was able to send in the written diagnosis to Jackson's school and his school has put him on a 504 plan.  He gets extra help at school and will get help during standardize testing.  He wont get help with questions or answers, but he will get to be in a small class setting and extra time to take the test.  That will help him so much because every little noise he hears he gets distracted.  If he hears another student cough or sneeze he stops what he is doing looks around and then when we goes back to what he is doing he is lost.  Same with the door opening, air conditioning turning on or someone talking.

It has been A LOT of work.  Not only for Jackson, but for me and his teachers as well.  Jackson is a trooper though and LOVES to go to his small groups.  We haven't got his test grades for last Friday but the week before he had AMAZING test grades!  He seems to be doing so well.  We are all sooooo proud of him and well here is a picture to see why we are soooo proud of him!

My sweet Jackson was star Student the week of Jan. 17th and again on the week of Feb 20th.  

He did not flip his card for 4 weeks straight.  When he was flipping his card it was for the occasional talking, playing and just being a typical little boy.  For the past 4 weeks when he was doing something wrong he either corrected after realizing it on his own or correcting it after 1 try and not getting constant reminders.  It helps that he has like the best teacher ever!  We LOVE her so much.  While we aren't out of the dark yet we couldn't be more proud!  We still have about 12 weeks of school left and the CRCTs are coming quickly.  We have a lot of work to do to pass the CRCTs, but I am confident through prayer and his 504 plan that he will do his best and that is all a mama can ask for.  

I am so glad that we have not gave in and tried the medicine.  He really has done so good with out it and I know that he will continue to do so.  Please pray for him that he continues to do good in life and school and that he passes the English part of his CRCT.  

2nd cousins

Matt and Stephen
3 months apart
2nd cousins
best buddies


They might just might be 2nd cousins, but they are like brothers.  I keep Matt usually 4 days a week sometimes just 3.  These little fellers are so sweet together.  They love to play with each other.  They get along together so well and share together so good!  We are super luck to have such good little boys!

Lately I can't keep them inside. They LOVE playing outside.  That is where little boys should be!  We have been taking lots of nature trails here lately.  Walking to the creek and looking for deer markings, funny rocks or really big sticks.  They love climping on top of the top soil pile.  Its fun having boys!

Sisters

Today I went to get a pedicure done and I was almost finished when 2 girls walked in.  They were sisters and I use to work with the oldest sister and then my husband graduated with the other one.  It made me miss my sisters so much.  Pamela the oldest lives 2 hrs away and Mary the youngest lives about 45 min away.  Its hard to get together with everyone's schedule.  I actually found this picture about 2 weeks ago.  I was wanting Barts opinion on my hair and this is about the only one I found with me having short hair and it actually fixed!  ha!!  This was taken in 2003 when we were eating for my birthday.  

Its sooooo nice to be with them.  

We had a family day at the Lake in August 2010.

Mary is 17 years younger than me and 19 1/2 years younger than Pamela. 

I can't remember what we did this day.  It was taken in May 2011 and I think we went to get Pedicures???

Thanksgiving 2011 at Pamela's house.

I love my sisters and they aren't just sisters.  They are friends to.  I miss them like crazy!!!