Jackman...The Story Behind The Name....

First off, in the contest to guess Jackman's name before he was born, not one person guessed the name "Jackman". I believe every other J-name conceivable was guessed, and some were very creative. From to time the guessing started until the time he arrived, I had almost 200 facebook comments (containing anwhere from 1-5 guesses each) and I don't know how many emails. Me and Lisa were pleasantly surprised that his name was never guessed (although the Jacks and Jacksons had us a little nervous).

So how did we decide on Jackman? To fully appreciate it, you need a little back story. And by the way, it has nothing to do with racing...his name is not Jack-Man.

Most of you probably know that I have been keeping a list of possible names. This actually goes back to well before we even got pregnant. I always wanted a perfect name for my son. One that would be tough (and hard for little kids to make fun of, which makes for a real challenge).

Over the months me and Lisa would text message each other with possible names whenever one popped in our heads. Here are some actual texts that were sent:

"Jaxon?"

"Cougar?"

"Sawyer?"

"BattleCat?"

"Chigurh?"

"Cobra?"

Okay, most of those were my ideas, but you have to admit...those are some tough names.

Well, one fine summer day I found myself wandering through The WalMarts when the other 6 out of every 10 people are at work. All of the sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a reflection of myself. I turned and looked, and soon realized it was a picture; not a reflection. My curiosity got the best of me, so I had to investigate.

As I approached the celebrity news section of the magazines, I realized it wasn't myself I saw, but someone with a similar muscle structure and hairy-ness. It was none other than Wolverine...aka Hugh Jackman.

Wolverine is obviously a tough name, but since it doesn't work with the middle name "Dale" it was never a consideration. But "Jackman" had a lot of potential. No one can say that the name "Hugh Jackman" isn't tough. If that name ain't tough, then I'm a Chinese jet pilot.

Now me and Lisa aren't X-men fans, but we've got no beef with mutants either. And while we both concede that Hugh Jackman is a handsome fellow, and we enjoy his movies, neither of us have a crush on him (if I did, it would be a man crush, which is ok, but I don't...I'm a Clint Eastwood man).

I quickly realized how perfect the name was...rugged and down to earth, simple, tough, and just different enough to be different. I decided "this will be a funny one for me to send to Lisa", but at the time, it was more or less a joke on my part, so the text that would affect our firstborn son for the rest of his life was sent......."What about Jackman?"

A little while later I learned from Lisa that she liked it, and it quickly worked it's way up the short list, and found it's permanent spot at #1. I suggested many other names over the next few months, just to test how much Lisa really liked the name. To my surprise, not even the name "Methusaleh Hyphen Cobra Tornado" could de-throne "Jackman" from the tough-baby-name-list. The name "Jackman" dominated our top five list for over two months, and it became official about two weeks before the one who would bare the name arrived. Lisa did some checking; she never found the name "Jackman" in any of the baby books, websites, or even on Facebook (except for last names). We've gotten a lot of compliments on his name, and obviously we are fond of it.

I know not many of you have seen little Jackman in person yet, but this kid was born tough...and strong. He can push himself up when he's on his stomach and turn his head, seriously. He kicks like a Georgia mule. When he squeezes my finger, it's amazing to me the strength in that little grip of his. I know...you will say all parents think that about their kids. Well, my response would be...you'll see.

Jackman has got a long road ahead of him, and a lot of obstacles to overcome. God is already making a tough little man out of him. He's already molding him into who he is going to be down the road. It's really exciting. Part of me can't wait to get through all of this, and another part of me wants to savor it. It's such a strange, new feeling for me, and Lisa too.

We can't wait for all of you to meet our tough little guy,

JACKMAN.....that just looks tough, don't it!

'Bout Time...

Thank the Lord, we finally got to get Lisa and Jackman together.

It's strange really. Jackman has only been here for just over 2 days. The thing is, he has spent almost all of those two days in NICU, with no contact at all with his mama. That has been so tough for Lisa. I really can't imagine what it would feel like, and I was halfway going through it myself. For two days, I spent the day with Jackman in NICU, and the night with Lisa in "our" room. But up until today, the only time Lisa spent with Jackman was immediately after he was born, and a couple of minutes looking at him through the plexiglass transport before he was flown over to Children's.

Normally I would say something like "I don't know how she held up so well", but if you read my last post, you already know that I do know how she held up.

Well, at long last, Lisa got to be reunited with Jackman, even if it was only for a couple of hours. You can look at the picture and judge for yourself wether or not God has granted her peace with all that's going on. This picture is photographic PROOF of what God is capable of doing.

It turned out to be just like I told Lisa it would be. As tired and worn out as she is, and emotionally drained as she is, that couple of hours with him tonight made all the other disappear. I really enjoyed watching them together. We didn't even get to pick him up and hold him, but it didn't matter. It was just a pleasant, peaceful, happy time...for all of us.

We can't wait to go back tomorrow!

Resting in God

Many of you probably already know that Jackman was born yesterday, August 12. I'm not going to use the cliche that it was the happiest moment of my life, but I'm not going to waste my time or yours trying to think up a better one either.

Not long after he was born, it was clear he was having some problems, and before we knew it, he was being escorted by helicopter to Children's Hospital. We didn't know what to think, but we were scared. We found out that his esophagus doesn't reach his stomach, and he will be having surgery, sooner or later. The docs believe the problem is esophageal atresia.

I could go on and on about how pitiful our situation is, but instead I'll tell you about a little light God shined on us this morning.

First, we have too many things to be grateful for to list before I get to what I want to share, but know that we are realizing them, and we are thankful.

For this to make sense, you need some background info, so here are some facts: Jackman was born on August 12; today is August 13; I read the devotional for the 12th from "My Utmost for His Highest" today (a day late). It would also be beneficial to read it for yourself right now. Here is a link: My Utmost for His Highest, August 12.

After reading that this morning, I though to myself "how appropriate is that, I just wish I had read this before we found out about Jackman's problem". But it really spoke to me, and I took it to heart.

Well, we got a few more "surprises" today. I had totally written off the probability that we could encounter any other health issues, but there are some new concerns. When they did the surgery to put in Jackman's feeding tube, they found a small hole in his intestine. They removed his little appendix and fixed the hole, but they had to figure out why he had the hole. It turns out that they suspect that he may also have some problems that will require surgery on his intestines as well.

I almost dropped to my knees, and I don't know how I kept from crying when the surgeon told me that. It seems like too much to drop on someone who has barely been a father for a day. I immediately began to wonder how I was going to explain this to Lisa. I knew it would floor her. Not only does he have this problem with his esophagus (which may keep him in NICU for weeks, even months), but now this too. What else? Do I even want to know?

But something happened while the surgeon explained it. I felt peace. There's no other way to put it really; peace came over me. I should have fell to my knees, I should have cried. People would understand if I shook my fist at God and demanded, WHY?! But that didn't happen, just peace. Just enough to help me stand up under the weight of the latest briefing.

If you read that devotional, you will remember Chambers said: "it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to trust Him, the crisis will reveal that we will go to the breaking point and not break in our confidence in Him." I knew the reason that I wasn't broken was because God has proved Himself too many times in the past for me not to have confidence in Him.

God has taught me so much the past day and a half, and brought me so much closer to Him, and has given me so much strength, and has stripped away so much of my pride and selfishness. Not only that, He gave me and Lisa a little boy that I wouldn't trade for another kid, or anything else in this world.

We still cry...all day long. It's been tough for us, and really hard on Lisa being completely separated from Jackman. But don't get me wrong; we are not cursing God and shaking our fists at Him. On the contrary, we are resting in Him. He's the reason we can sleep. He's the reason we can laugh when we're not crying. He's the reason we don't despair. He's the reason I'm praising Him right now instead of loosing sleep, wondering "why me, why us". Of course, we are dying to get to see and hold our baby; we know it's ok to long to be with him. The important thing is that we have peace.

The only thing that holds us up, the only thing that dries up our tears, and the only thing that has sustained us since we were separated from Jackman, is confidence in God's sovereignty.

I can't wait for yall to meet our son, Jackman, when this is all over.

The End of an Era.....

Well, it's official...almost. The highly anticipated birth of our son will mark the end of and era. It's been a fun era too, the Me (or longer version - Me and Lisa) Era. All this past week I've been doing normal little everyday, in an out, routine things and thinking to myself..."this is the last time I will do this again before I'm a daddy". It's still a really strange thought to me. I shaved this morning for the last time as a non-father (I'm a once-a-weeker), I took the garbage out for the last time...without diapers in it, I ate at Zapopan for the last time without planning it around a baby's schedule, I cut my hair for the last time......well, that's been a while ago. But I think you follow me. It's starting to get real, and it's about to get really real.

Of course, I am looking forward to the new era; me and Lisa both are. I couldn't truthfully say I am excited about the diaper changing, and all the sleep all my friends are telling me I won't be getting, but I know there's a lot more to it than that. We are really looking forward to seeing Baby Boy Harper, and honestly believing he's the cutest baby ever born. We are looking forward to figuring it all out. The truth is, I am actually looking forward to seeing what kind of man God is going to make me into, and how he'll use me to make my boy His own. Yeah, I would have to say I'm excited.

Now I'm looking forward to a few weeks of saying to myself, "this is the first time I ever_______________."

August 4th, and 5th, and 6th, and.....

Well, the big day we have been waiting for so long has come and gone. Naturally, we are just a little bit anxious, and ready for the boy to get here, but we haven't gotten psycho about it. We've learned from past experiences that God's timing is always the best in the long run (especially when it doesn't look that way at the present). Me and Lisa were talking about it last night. If Baby Boy Harper got her on time, we would have missed out on a pretty awesome night at church last night. Of course, we would have been happy, and would have never known what we missed, but last night was a night that, afterwards, was obvious that God had planned out years ago.

So now we are counting the days. Doc says no matter what, we'll be holding the boy by Wednesday the 12th. Keep an eye on my updates. Those of you following those updates will be the first to know what's going on (and probably the boy's name).

Ready or not, here he comes..........

Just a few more days...

Well, it won't be long now. The closer it gets, the more I realize how little experience I have with babies (except for when I was one, but I don't remember anything that might be useful).

Anyway, that's me (the baby) and my Pop. There's almost a 100% chance the boy will be born with black hair and brown eyes. As a matter of fact, if I could find a bookie to take that bet we would all be set for life, but then again, who knows?

Me and Lisa are getting anxious. I guess she's more miserable than anxious, but anxious just the same. I realize a lot of people can't tell I'm excited. I confess I'm not running around giggling like a school girl, but I'm excited on the inside. I guess part of me is sad to see the "Era of Me" come to a close. I realize that everything is going to change in an instant. I know that it will be better, but it's kinda like standing on the high dive, you can't possibly know what the jump is really like till you jump, and in those last moments your heart is beating out of your chest. That's where I am.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Baby Boy Harper, and telling everyone his name. I've kinda been thinking I want a picture of me and him like this one of me and my Pop. I'm sure I'll be tired enough to be convincing. I know Lisa will be.

I am planning on Twittering what's going on come baby-time. You can read the updates on the right side as they happen, or on my Facebook profile. Stay tuned, Lil Harp will be here before you know it.

Crunch Time...

You got to love the drunk stork from the Bugs Bunny cartoons.

Anyway, the 4th of July means something a little different to me and Lisa this year...one month till Baby Boy Harper is due. From what I understand, there really is no telling when he'll actually get here, but I'm told sometime in the next 8 weeks or so.

It still seems kinda unreal. I know you are probably dying to make a joke about how it will be real soon enough. To tell the truth, I'll be relieved when he gets here because everyone has had a lot of fun at my expense about how clueless I am about the reality of having a baby. It doesn't hurt my feelings or anything...it just gets old hearing the same thing over and over (and if you are reading this, I'm not talking about you...but someone else).

I'll be the first to admit it's going to be a life-changer. I know it. I'm trying to relish these last few days of me time. I know that will be on hold for around 18-35 years, depending. But we are ready to see the one who has been kicking Lisa all this time.

As for the name...we really haven't nailed one down as of now, but we aren't telling anyone until he is born. For one reason, it's more funner that way (yes, I said funner). And for another reason, I don't want to get locked into a name if I can name him something like Battlecat or Tornado at the last minute. So in the mean time, have fun guessing.

Oh yeah, one more thing: The over/under on the arrival is starting out at noon, August 4th, and is subject to change, so get your bets in early. Losers pay 25% sugar.