Jackson Update 12-9-09

Just a quick update from our scare today that included a trip to the ER by ambulance.  From what we can tell, Jackson had a seizure today while in class at preschool. Thankfully he goes to preschool at the church and Stephanie and I are just down the hallway.  However, this seizure wasn’t like most of the ones from the past.  This seizure took place without the rhythmic convulsions like seizures of the past. This is  probably what scared us more than anything.  His eyes were open, but he just had a blank stare on his face.  It was like he wanted to respond, but couldn’t respond to us so just stared. Very scary!

The school had already called 911 when I got there.  The paramedic weren’t any real help.  It was almost as if they did’t know what to do, or how to deal with a little kid.  Once we got to the hospital, the waiting game began.  After some Tylenol and Motrin, a long hard nap, and 3 hours in the ER, Jackson returned to his normal self.  Praise Jesus!

We are now home, watching Sesame Street and keeping Tylenol and Motrin in his system to keep another fever from spiking causing another seizure. Please continue to pray for our little guy.  We believe that one day, God is going to use his story in a powerful way.

Thanks to all that prayed, came by, text, or left messages on my Facebook.  We are so thankful for your friendship and feel loved and blessed to have you in our lives!

Jackson will go to the Dr. tomorrow to make sure it is just a cold and not the onset of an infection before we make the trek to Missouri this weekend.

Don’t be hate’n the video may be old but the words are true and so powerful!

One More for Jesus!

Josiah and I have been reading the Bible together before he goes to bed each night for quite sometime now. We have made it through the Old Testament and just started the New Testament. The last couple of nights have been on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Tonight, the passage was from Acts 1 when Jesus ascends to Heaven. As Josiah and I talked about the lesson, we talked about Heaven and who gets to go to Heaven. We talked about what keeps people from heaven. He knows that sin keeps people from Heaven (We’ve talked about sin for awhile and he knows what sin is). So when I told him that sin keeps us from God and if we don’t have Jesus in our heart we can’t go to Heaven, He understood it. He asked if I (me) died would I go to Heaven and I said yes because I have asked Jesus into my heart and He forgave me of my sin. And because I have done that, when I die, I get to go to Heaven. After I said this, I asked him, “What happens to people that don’t ask Jesus into their heart?” He said with a gulp, “they go to Hell.” I asked, “Why do they go to Hell?” He said, “Because Jesus hasn’t taken away their sins.”

At this point my heart began to race. I asked Josiah, “Have you ever asked Jesus to come into your heart and forgive you of your sins? He said, “I want too but I don’t know how!” So innocent. I said, “All you have to do is pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart and to forgive you of your sins. If I pray with you, do you want to pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart and forgive you of your sins?” He said, “Yes!” So needless to say, we called Stephanie into the room, of coarse Jackson followed, and as a family we prayed together and Josiah asked Jesus to come into his heart and forgive him for his sins. As a dad, this the moment you pray for and as a pastor/dad you try not to rush, but tonight I am proud to proclaim we have one more for Jesus in the Gould Family! Josiah asked Jesus into his heart!

Oh To Be A Kid

Today I took Josiah to the dentist! In between appointments we grabbed a quick bite to eat at McDonald’s. Watching Joe play with a huge smile on his face was the highlight of the morning!

As I sat at the dentist office, that mental picture of Joe looking down at me saying, “Daddy” with a huge smile on his face will forever be etched in my memory and on my heart!

It made me think back to when I was a kid. Life was much easier. As a kid the biggest stress-or in my life were rainy days that kept me from playing outside or my friends not being able to play outside with me!

Life is much different now! Even though kids are expensive (if it’s not the hospital with one, it’s the dentist with the other) they are well worth it. Everyday my boys remind me of the important things in life. They seem to always find something to make themselves happy or make us laugh. They trust and give so much not expecting anything in return. They get excited by the small things that many times are overlooked! They don’t know a stranger and are so accepting of others!

Oh to be a kid again! Wouldn’t it be nice?

Praying Hands

For the last couple of weeks we have been letting, (should say begging) Josiah to pray and thank God for our meal each night as we sit together as a family.  Typically Jackson is already way ahead of us and has to stop eating to pray.  This past week as we were waiting for Josiah to make it to the table Jackson said “we pray” and put his hands together and started praying.  The only thing I could understand was Amen at the end! Ever since then, now when we sit down to eat, both boys pray.  Jackson prays in tongues and Joe prays in English, but God know what both of them are saying, and Stephanie and I delight that the boys are eager to talk with God! What a blessing!!!

Packing Round 1

Well it’s that busy time of the year for me, long days and week long trips with students.  This Saturday we will leave Grace Community Church for a week long mission trip to Galveston TX.  However, my wife and boys are leaving for MO tomorrow.  As I put Josiah down for bed tonight he said in his sad voice that he was going to miss me.  I tried to encourage him with all the fun stuff they were going to do while they were in MO, but he said it didn’t matter because he was still going to  miss me.  It makes me feel good, but sad at the same time.  Josiah is getting old enough where he really wants to be with Daddy.  It will definitely be a quiet lonely house for the next three days.  But I know that they will have fun and that God is going to use our team in a special way next week in Galveston.  I will be posting daily happenings and testimonies from our students.

Ephesains 6

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.” v. 4 (NLT)

Being a Father is both fun and challenging.  I am learning as my boys grow they are picking up all the good and bad qualities that I show off in front of them.  The challenge as they develop is to lovingly teach them the way they should act.  How I do this has big returns in the way they respond.  For example, right now Josiah is starting to lie.  We are in the process of teaching him why he/we shouldn’t lie.  It’s a process that if we aren’t careful we could totally miss the opportunity to teach him this in a loving way and something he will struggle with his whole life.  My role as a dad has huge impacts on my boys.  Realizing this early will save me from heartache later.

Something to think about:  When it comes to the way you interact with your kids, do you spend more time building them up or tearing them down?  Here’s what I mean, are you always pointing out things they are doing wrong or encouraging them in the things they are doing right?  I was encouraged and challenged yesterday by this thought.  As parents we should spend 90% of our time building our kids up and 10% of our time correcting behavior.

It’s a great challenge that may seem unreasonable at first, but what do you have to lose if it does not work?

Today, if you’re a dad, try to spend some extra time with your kids.  Encourage them by telling them the good things you see going on in their life.  Example, Josiah is only 4 but I try to encourage him daily with Words of Life.  Give it a try, it will bless you and them and bring your relationship closer.

Warmness = Wagon Ride, Gilling, and Family Fun

We had some warm weather yesterday and the family tried to take advantage of it the best we could.  While grilling some steaks the boys and I played in the back yard  One of their new favorite things to do is ride in the wagon.  So, I strapped Jackson in, he like to bail mid ride and the seat belts keep him safe and contained, and pulled them around the yard.  Even though the scenery never changed we had a lot of fun.  The highlight for me was seeing Josiah pull Jackson around the yard and hearing Jackson say cheese every time he went past me! Here are some pic of our wagon ride.

Bust a Move – Jackson Style

Jackson has been working on his dance skilz.  We happened to catch a short clip on video of it this weekend.  Here is his debut, enjoy!!!

Josiah aka Womanizer

So, today was valentine party day at MDO where Josiah goes to school.  On Tuesday Night Stephanie had Josiah put his name on all of his classmates Valentine cards.  As he was filling them out he asked if he could give one to Dani “his girlfriend”.  Dani was the girl that Joe played with all last year.  They were in the same class but this year they are not.  So this morning, he went to the other class and gave her the Valentine present that he had picked out for her.  Her eyes got real big when she saw him and saw the little heart shaped box of chocolates, Josiah got ready to walk away and she gave him a hug! It was a proud moment for the Gould boys.  Josiah was on cloud 9 and I was so proud of him!

When I picked him up, Dani came into his classroom and gave him a special valentine.  Again it ended with a hug.  At this age it really cute and so innocent . . . I just hope I am not training him to be the womanizer that Brittany Spears describes in her song but a young man that will treat girls and women like a daughter of the King.

Here are some pics of him putting his classmates gifts together!

Jackson Update #8 from Home

Jackson is doing much better.  He is still congested and coughs but is now eating and playing like normal.  Stephanie and I are still uneasy at night when it’s time for bed.  Jackson coughs more and has a hard time spitting it out or swallowing the mucus. (I know that’s gross) However, I do believe we have made the turn to recovery.

On another note, our neurologist has increased is medication.  We are in the process of switching from depakote to keppra.  Stephanie and I feel that the levels of these 2 meds were too low and that’s why he had a seizure on Saturday.  Hopefully we will get those levels balanced and not have as many seizures.  That’s the whole point of switching medication.  Please pray with us in this direction.

Thanks so much for the prayers and taking this journey with us.  I will keep you posted if things get worse!