Morning Time...

Jackman and me big chair 3, a photo by gharper356 on Flickr.

Most every morning while the boys are asleep, and sometimes before Lisa wakes up, I get up and go downstairs to the living room. I go down there to sit in the big chair and read my Bible and pray. When I’m done, I wait.

I know Jackman will be coming soon. Sometimes he even comes before I can get finished. 

He’s over three years old now, and he’s been in his own little bed for a while. At first when he woke up, he liked to lie around in the bed like a teenager. I would have to go and drag him out. Now he’s got something that he seems to like better than that, which makes me happy. He likes to get up early and come sit with me.

He’s usually awake by around 6:00, sometimes earlier. As soon as he gets up, I hear him jump out of bed. The house is still dark then, and I can hear him walking slowly and carefully down the stairs. Then he peeks around the corner to see if I’m in the big chair. When he sees me, I just motion for him to come on and sit down. He hurries on down the last few stairs – always with Stitch and his Toy Story blanket in-hand. Then he crawls up beside me and under my left arm, and we just sit there together looking into the dark. Sometimes we sit there without making a sound for nearly and hour. It’s one of my favorite times of the day.

I wish I were like him. It occurred to me that I should be exactly like him, be as punctual, as enthusiastic, as eager to wake up every morning and go sit with my Heavenly Father downstairs in the big chair. I must admit that at times I do it out of habit or obligation. But for Jackman it never is – he just wants to come sit with me. I want to be like that so badly. We should all want that. 

Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” I think I’ve found my role model.

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!