2011 ~ Knox Family

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Miracle

7:29 PM Nicole Knox 7 comments

If you go to church much or watch Christian television or listen to Christian radio you hear about miracle's happening in people's lives. I've always loved hearing about the amazing things that change people's lives that start with tragedy or something unexpected. I've also wondered how I would respond if I were in their situation and if it happened to me. This week our family had the opportunity to experience our own miracle.

Our youngest son Judah (11 months) was diagnosed with Strep on Tuesday. This was a big relief because now we knew how to treat his illness. Judah was loaded up with some medicine and we were given directions on how to care for him. Things improved immediately for Judah. He began to eat, poop, and pee which were all great signs of his health improving. Wednesday came and he continued to eat, poop, and pee but his energy level was declining and he began to favor his left side and did not like to be touched. We let this go on for a day and then called the Dr's office and got some oral antibiotics. Judah's health continued to decline and eventually we contacted our pediatrician directly. He came to the house on Saturday, Christmas Eve, and suggested we go to the ER.

Fortunately we were just about the only people at the ER at 11am on Christmas Eve and they were able to see Judah quickly. After blood samples, urine samples, saliva samples, and a spinal tap the Dr's decided that Judah had Bacterial Meningitis. We had no idea what Bacterial Meningitis was but by the response of the number of nurses and Dr's that came to the room we knew it was serious. It's not the same Bacterial Meningitis that you see on the news where whole schools and towns are on lock down. This Bacterial Meningitis is NOT contagious and came from the bacteria that was already in Judah. Because of his high temperature and meningitis, Judah had a seizure during the spinal tap. Fortunately, God placed the right people in our lives to explain to us in terms that we understand what it is and what impact it will have on Judah and our family. They did a CAT scan on Judah and moved him to the PICU by 3pm.

I have to pause and let you know that we woke up that morning thinking we would be serving and worshiping at our Christmas Eve services at church. Instead we ended up in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit with a son that had a high chance of dying. It wasn't the plans we had for Christmas Eve.

We had to wait in the PICU waiting room until a second IV line was put in. This process took about 30 minutes. As we are sitting there wondering what is happening and what our future looks like God continued to bring people to encourage us and pray for us. Finally the nurse came to get us and we were able to see Judah. A friend and church leader walked with us and spent time helping us process the situation and praying for us. We only got to stay for a short time before we had to leave the room again. This gave us a chance to move our car from temporary parking and get some clothes. As we were walking to the car we stopped in the hallway and realized that the spirit of God was with us. We were reminded of what God told Moses in Exodus 14 "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." We could physically feel the spiritual encouragement from all the people praying.

That night was when we saw the first sign of improvement in Judah. Nicole was laying next to him with her latex gloves, germ free suit, and face mask. Judah raised his hand and tried to pull the mask away from Nicole's face. This was the most movement we had seen in several days.

The next day we learned that our PICU Dr would be a lady that attends our church. We were so excited because we had heard great things about her. She came to our room by 9am and gave us the medical plan, that included at least a week in the hospital and then she told us what she would be praying for. Then we held hands and laid hands on Judah and prayed for a supernatural healing. Judah continued to improve and midway through the day he was trying to crawl out of the crib.

By that evening they decided he could be moved to the general floor which was a great step in knowing that he was improving. We found out that a part of Judah's recovery there would need to be antibiotics given at home through a PICC line. A PICC line is like an IV but the tube goes from his arm to right above the heart and is intended for longer use. They inserted the PICC line on Monday morning which paved the way for us to talk about going home. Judah was crawling around his crib and would laugh and respond to us.

Several Dr's that had seen Judah in the ER and PICU would come visit him and couldn't believe how he had recovered. One Dr made the statement that Judah was a true Christmas miracle and another Dr later said that the only way they were able to explain Judah getting better is by calling it miracle. We stayed one more night and then early Tuesday they let us know we would be going home that day.

Judah's name means "to praise" because in the Old Testament, Genesis 29:35, when Leah gave birth to Judah she said "this time I will praise the Lord." We can't talk about Judah's health and not give God the credit, honor, and glory for what he's doing.

Tim

Merry Christmas 2011

8:43 PM Nicole Knox No comments

Merry Christmas!!!
We hope 2011 was a great year for your family. It was an incredible year for us. We experienced so many great things and were reminded of God’s faithfulness time after time. Our family has grown in many ways this year and it’s been a constant reminder to trust God in every circumstance. 2011 marks 10 years of our family being together with our wedding anniversary being on December 15th. As our family gets older we are reminded of how precious and short our time is. We are very grateful for the time we have and fully believe that every moment we have with our kids is a moment that we are to intentionally show them God’s character and love. Here’s a glimpse of what’s happened in each family member’s life this past year.

Judah is our youngest son. He was born January 31st and will be 1 very soon. Judah has been a delight to have. He’ll eat anything we put close to his mouth or whatever he can grab. He is crawling around and very close to pulling up. He loves to laugh and the older kids enjoy helping with him.

Abigail is our daughter and she just turned 2 years old. Abigail is all girl. She loves to have a purse and her accessories everywhere we go. She brings so much joy to our lives. She graduated to a new class at church and enjoys singing songs and loves the hand motions that go with them. She loves to color and will try almost anything her older brothers are doing. Abigail also thinks baby Judah is her baby and likes to feed and hold him.

Micah is our 2nd child and he turned 5 in September. God gave Micah the gift and passion to serve. He is always asking how he can help and often gets upset if someone does a chore that he wanted to do. He’s a funny kid and very creative. Micah loves music and makes up songs for whatever he’s thinking about.

Nathan is our oldest child and will turn 7 in January. He loves numbers, time, keeping track of dates, and countdowns to everything. God has given Nathan athletic ability. He played T-ball in the spring and had a great time. This winter he will play basketball for the 1st time. Nathan is growing spiritually too. It’s fun to watch him connect a Bible verse he’s learned to a situation that he’s in.

Nicole continues to grow as a woman of God, wife, and mom. She is teaching P.E. in our homeschool Co-op and focuses a lot of her energy in training and homeschooling our kids. She has picked up some new hobbies. She loves to read and has recently began cooking a variety of new home cooked meals.

Tim continues to serve in full time ministry at LifeChurch.tv but his role and location have changed. He is now the Children’s Pastor at the new Midwest City Campus and has enjoyed being a part of starting that campus and meeting so many amazing people. God continues to prove that His timing and plans are much better than what we can come up with on our own. This year Tim went camping a few times with Nathan and Micah and a group of awesome dads and their sons. He is valuing the importance of other godly men speaking into our kid’s lives. He also spends a lot of time reading to Abigail and building that bond between a dad and his daughter.

This year our family has learned to trust God in every season of our life and to believe that our lives are seasonal. What our family is facing today might be something different tomorrow.

We hope that 2012 is a great year for you and your family.
Love,
The Knox Family

Serving at The Tapestry Project

7:22 PM Nicole Knox No comments

Today we got to serve as a family at The Tapestry Project and help give families Thanksgiving dinner.

Before we served today Tim read to our family. Matthew 25:35 -For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.

It is such a neat thing getting to serve as a family.

Baby Judah did great hanging with mommy.

Love me some Abigail and daddy.

We even got to serve hot dogs to families.

As we were leaving Nathan said "mommy that was fun I think we should come back!" I am so thankful that Tim leads our family in serving others.

Bricktown Ballpark

8:10 PM Nicole Knox 1 comment

Today we went on a tour of the Bricktown Ballpark with our homeschool co-op Ignite.

We visited the dugout, the press box, the clubhouse, and the suits.

It was such a neat day for our family.

Baby Abigail is 2

7:56 PM Nicole Knox No comments

Baby Abigail turned 2 today. While I was putting her to bed last night I just cried holding my sweet baby girl. She truly is what her name means JOY. I am so thankful that the Father lets me be her mommy. I pray that we will always be close.

Abigail had a blast in her big girl class at church. She was all about bringing her new purse the boys got her=)

Abigail we sure do love you!!!!

First 5K

9:35 PM Nicole Knox No comments

Tim and I ran our first 5K and had a blast!

We are looking forward to running together soon.

I sure love this man.

One size does NOT fit all.

8:14 PM Nicole Knox 1 comment

I love when people email me asking what we do for homeschooling. At the same time it's hard for me to answer sometimes. We truly believe every family is different and every family is going to educate their children different. We desire for our children to have a love for learning. So we do "school" all the time. We believe that life is learning too.

The other day we had the privilege of going into the Oklahoma Governor's Manson. It was so neat the conversations we had with the kids during and after. (and yes my forth child, baby Judah, is in a pink stroller ha)

We read all the time!!! We love "living books."

The kids love going to the Zoo and building dams in the children's zoo.

We climb lots of tress!!!

We take lots of nature walks and talk about all the amazing things God has made.

We even do Phonics outside.

All this to say learning is all around us and is so fun!!!

My sweet friend Deleise sent this post to me from FIAR and I thought it was amazing! It is so freeing to know that we will have different seasons in our life and the Lord will show us what that looks like.

Have you found the Lord's rhythm for your homeschool this year?

"Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Mt. 11:28-30 (The Message)

Finding the right rhythm for your homeschool is different each year. Your children are all a year older this year. Maybe you've added a new baby since last year, or maybe you're pregnant this year. Maybe your mother-in-law lives with you now. Maybe your oldest (and best helper!) has graduated and gone away to college this year. Maybe your husband is home more because of work hours being cut back during the recession. Or maybe he's home less this year because he's working a 2nd part-time job. Each year is different. Each family is unique.

As you discover the Lord's "unforced rhythms of grace" you'll find that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

Being out of rhythm in your homeschool is like trying to push a chain up hill.

• When do you begin your day?
• Which days do you homeschool?
• How often do you take breaks during the day?
• How long do you spend with each child today?
• When do you take a day off to recharge?
• When do you begin this school year?
• When do you wrap up this school year?
• How long do you spend on phonics each day?
• How long do you spend on fractions each day?
• Which child needs the most attention this year?

The list of choices is endless and your options vary from year to year, from season to season.

One size does NOT fit all!

One size fits NO ONE!!

• It doesn't matter what your co-op leader is doing this year.
• It doesn't matter how your sister-in-law does it.
• It doesn't matter when the public schools do it.
• It doesn't matter how you did it when you were in school.
• It doesn't matter how you did it last year.
• It doesn't matter how you did it when your oldest was age 8.
• It doesn't matter...

What matter is finding HIS rhythm and stepping into HIS grace for this unique season of your life.
If you're already "pushing a chain uphill" on most days take time to ASK HIM about what HE wants you to do this year- and HOW He wants you to do it.

You just might be surprised at His answers.

First Day of Co-op/What should a 4 year old know?

9:33 PM Nicole Knox 3 comments

We had our first day of co-op this week and it was AMAZING!!! We're so blessed to be apart of an amazing homeschool group.

My friend sent me this blog today and I wanted to share it.

What should a 4 year old know?

I was on a parenting bulletin board recently and read a post by a mother who was worried that her 4 1/2 year old did not know enough. “What should a 4 year old know?” she asked.

Most of the answers left me not only saddened but pretty soundly annoyed. One mom posted a laundry list of all of the things her son knew. Counting to 100, planets, how to write his first and last name, and on and on. Others chimed in with how much more their children already knew, some who were only 3. A few posted URL’s to lists of what each age should know. The fewest yet said that each child develops at his own pace and not to worry.

It bothered me greatly to see these mothers responding to a worried mom by adding to her concern, with lists of all the things their children could do that hers couldn’t. We are such a competitive culture that even our preschoolers have become trophies and bragging rights. Childhood shouldn’t be a race.

So here, I offer my list of what a 4 year old should know.

1.She should know that she is loved wholly and unconditionally, all of the time.

2.He should know that he is safe and he should know how to keep himself safe in public, with others, and in varied situations. He should know that he can trust his instincts about people and that he never has to do something that doesn’t feel right, no matter who is asking. He should know his personal rights and that his family will back them up.

3.She should know how to laugh, act silly, be goofy and use her imagination. She should know that it is always okay to paint the sky orange and give cats 6 legs.

4.He should know his own interests and be encouraged to follow them. If he could care less about learning his numbers, his parents should realize he’ll learn them accidentally soon enough and let him immerse himself instead in rocket ships, drawing, dinosaurs or playing in the mud.

5.She should know that the world is magical and that so is she. She should know that she’s wonderful, brilliant, creative, compassionate and marvelous. She should know that it’s just as worthy to spend the day outside making daisy chains, mud pies and fairy houses as it is to practice phonics. Scratch that– way more worthy.

But more important, here’s what parents need to know.

1.That every child learns to walk, talk, read and do algebra at his own pace and that it will have no bearing on how well he walks, talks, reads or does algebra.

2.That the single biggest predictor of high academic achievement and high ACT scores is reading to children. Not flash cards, not workbooks, not fancy preschools, not blinking toys or computers, but mom or dad taking the time every day or night (or both!) to sit and read them wonderful books.

3.That being the smartest or most accomplished kid in class has never had any bearing on being the happiest. We are so caught up in trying to give our children “advantages” that we’re giving them lives as multi-tasked and stressful as ours. One of the biggest advantages we can give our children is a simple, carefree childhood.

4.That our children deserve to be surrounded by books, nature, art supplies and the freedom to explore them. Most of us could get rid of 90% of our children’s toys and they wouldn’t be missed, but some things are important– building toys like legos and blocks, creative toys like all types of art materials (good stuff), musical instruments (real ones and multicultural ones), dress up clothes and books, books, books. (Incidentally, much of this can be picked up quite cheaply at thrift shops.) They need to have the freedom to explore with these things too– to play with scoops of dried beans in the high chair (supervised, of course), to knead bread and make messes, to use paint and play dough and glitter at the kitchen table while we make supper even though it gets everywhere, to have a spot in the yard where it’s absolutely fine to dig up all the grass and make a mud pit.

5.That our children need more of us. We have become so good at saying that we need to take care of ourselves that some of us have used it as an excuse to have the rest of the world take care of our kids. Yes, we all need undisturbed baths, time with friends, sanity breaks and an occasional life outside of parenthood. But we live in a time when parenting magazines recommend trying to commit to 10 minutes a day with each child and scheduling one Saturday a month as family day. That’s not okay! Our children don’t need Nintendos, computers, after school activities, ballet lessons, play groups and soccer practice nearly as much as they need US. They need fathers who sit and listen to their days, mothers who join in and make crafts with them, parents who take the time to read them stories and act like idiots with them. They need us to take walks with them and not mind the .1 MPH pace of a toddler on a spring night. They deserve to help us make supper even though it takes twice as long and makes it twice as much work. They deserve to know that they’re a priority for us and that we truly love to be with them.

And now back to those 4 year old skills lists…..

I know it’s human nature to want to know how our children compare to others and to want to make sure we’re doing all we can for them. Here is a list of what children are typically taught or should know by the end of each year of school, starting with preschool.

Since we homeschool, I occasionally print out the lists and check to see if there’s anything glaringly absent in what my kids know. So far there hasn’t been, but I get ideas sometimes for subjects to think up games about or books to check out from the library. Whether you homeschool or not, the lists can be useful to see what kids typically learn each year and can be reassuring that they really are doing fine.

If there are areas where it seems your child is lacking, realize that it’s not an indication of failure for either you or your child. You just haven’t happened to cover that. Kids will learn whatever they’re exposed to, and the idea that they all need to know these 15 things at this precise age is rather silly. Still, if you want him to have those subjects covered then just work it into life and play with the subject and he’ll naturally pick it up. Count to 60 when you’re mixing a cake and he’ll pick up his numbers. Get fun books from the library about space or the alphabet. Experiment with everything from backyard snow to celery stalks in food coloring. It’ll all happen naturally, with much more fun and much less pressure.

My favorite advice about preschoolers is on this site though.

What does a 4 year old need?

Much less than we realize, and much more.