The JOY of Buster

Tomorrow my nephew will be eight years old! And no his name is not really Buster, he just decided one day that would be his name, but it only lasted that one day! His name is John, but goes by Jack, Jackman, little man, Lucy’s Applesauce King 😊

Since he will be turning 8, allow me to share with you eight things that make Jack, uniquely and lovable JACK! 💕

1. As I have mentioned in other posts, there is absolutely nothing like a baby at Christmas-time! There hadn’t been a boy in our family for a while when Jack arrived. So that was new and exciting. But a baby boy at Christmas, it is like having a very small glimpse of what Mary and Joseph experienced. Because there is not a huge difference at birth between boys and girls, other than diaper changes, but soon you find their personality emerges…
2. Trucks, planes, trains, boats, cars, mighty machines, anything that has wheels, wings, or a motor… Boots that stomp and make clomping noises… Banging utensils, water bottles, anything that made a fun noise… dinos, stink bugs, you name it… Jack was all in and in for the ride! Everything was “A-LOOK!” He could and can make motor noises that outmatched is daddy. He can scream at such a high pitch, the little boy who cried wolf has nothing on him! (He likes to use this scream to aggravate his sister 😏) He has a ear for rhythm and music, and he would welcome anyone to listen to when he was tiny, and had no care in the world to how loud his music was 😂 Mighty Machines DVDs are memorized by all family and now are worn out, but they still work! Dump trucks, excavators, bulldozers, 18-wheelers, Gators, Trucks, oh boy!!! Matchbox cars line ups. Tractors galore! His newest love, Hess Trucks 😊
3. If you know Jack, then you know Luke Bryan. Jack is a country music loving, singing, accent perfected boy! Luke Bryan is his “favorite.” But I challenge you to a sing off with him and his sister, on any country song! These two soak up the lyrics, sing with all they have, and dance like there is no tomorrow! Imagine 3-year old belting out Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset… that was Jack 😂💕
4. Jack holds the record for forehead knots, bruises, stitches, and glue in our family. We are not a graceful family, nor do we have “normal” accidents. But Jackman, poor guy, has come in contact with tables, counters, steps, railing, you name it, he has knocked his head on it. I don’t even remember what he busted his lip on, but they glued it at urgent care, and then not even a day later, he busted it open again and had to get stitches. We are a very clumsy family. We are the family that when we go to the ER or urgent care and they ask what happened, we say, “do you really want to know?” Because it’s simply that bizarre. (Example: My mom had a bench fall over on her foot, it ended up fracturing a bunch of bones in her big toe and she was in a shoe for almost a year. Very painful. All because of a bench!) But Jack is a trooper – He has a head of steel! It’s his trademark in his toddler pictures 😊 And 9 times out of 10 he would just stand back up and shake it off!
5. OH boy, does he love bedtime! He has always been a stickler for his bedtime! When he feels like he is getting tired, it’s time to take a bath and go to bed! And he is honest about it! He tries to stay up sometimes, but it gets the best of him, and he ends up crashing. And I am usually right there behind him 😊
6. He ADORES his big sister! When he was younger and we would pick him up from his school and be headed to pick up Lilly at her school, he would start saying, “my sister, her is at school…” Everything was “my sister…” Then it became, “Lilly! Where is Lilly? What is Lilly doing? Can I play with Lilly? Can I go where Lilly is going?…” There is about four years in between them, which I do think makes for a good relationship. They are still siblings, but they are also best friends that could easily become stand up comedians one day. He is very straight forward, and dry, sometimes we don’t know if he is trying to be funny or serious. She is the complete opposite, even if she isn’t being funny, she will laugh and not stop! Both have the most contagious laugh! Jack has this “I am super tired and everything is funny, and I can’t stop laughing” disease, that is absolutely beyond hilarious, and will have everybody laughing!!!
7. Jack has a BIG HEART! He desires to learn and know about the world around him. He loves books and videos and one-on-one time, when possible. He was Lucy’s Applesauce King 😊 he received that title because he got her to eat her first apples! He was nervous around her at first, maybe even a wee bit jealous of NaNa’s (what they call me) new addition. But once he discovered she would watch mighty machines with him and eat apples when HE fed her, he was all in! 💕 Jesus is in his heart and he is growing in knowledge and trust! He teaches me and ask questions that we have to search for together!
8. And last but definitely not least, he is currently training to be a Ninja Warrior! I am so incredibly thrilled that he is enjoying this activity at the moment. And that the coaches, the structure of the gym, and the disciplines he is learning, seems to be really encouraging him, and the goal is to work on each skill and level at his own pace and time. Sometimes in life we just have to prove it to ourselves that we CAN do it! 😊

And of course I wouldn’t be able to witness and be apart of Jack (and Lilly’s) life, if it were not for my brother and sister in law. So to them, Thank you for this enormous blessing!

Life Book of the Week: Jack’s favorite book is one of my life books, “The Giving Tree,” by Shel Silverstein

17 Days until CHRISTMAS!!!