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White As Snow

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It was quite a sight.  We woke up on Sabbath morning and we were excited to see that there was a thin layer of frost covering our yard.  An hour later after I fed the boys breakfast, snow began to fall…and fall and fall and fall!  It hasn’t snowed this early since we moved up here over 3 years ago.  I took some pictures and a video of it with my new camera so I could share it with Israel who is down in Tennessee now.  Imanuel was very excited to see the snow.  Micah was more in a state of shock if anything.  I don’t think he remembers snow from last year!

As it snowed, I tried to think of a way to make a connection to spiritual things.  After all, it seemed like quite a magical moment for the boys…almost surreal.  I quoted Psalm 51:7:

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;  Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.”

As I explained that Jesus can take our “dirty” hearts and make them clean, Imanuel listened intently.  Then he said, “It’s like our hearts are hard, but Jesus can make them soft again!”  I was so surprised by this comment because I don’t recall the last time we talked about that.  But our short worship made a strong impression on me.  It helped me realize my need for a new beginning.  Going through the day to day grind, I found myself getting a little more impatient, a little more unforgiving, and a little less sensitive.  I re-dedicated myself to Jesus that day.  Just as a new season is beginning here in the U.P. I decided to once again give my heart over to Jesus for a good cleansing and softening.  White like snow!  What incredible forgiveness! 


     
So, there you have it.  Our first snow fall of the season on Saturday, October 10, 2009 at approximately 9:30am!

This pic was taken yesterday afternoon.  Yesterday also marked the first day I let Bentley out to go potty and he took a few steps out, peed on the snow on the deck, and ran back in.    A clear indication that indeed, winter is here!  I’m so thankful we have warm, toasty house to live in.  But more importantly than that, I pray our home will be a place where Jesus always resides.

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Julie’s Visit, Making Wood, & Boys’ Update

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The past few months have been really busy, but were lots of fun.  My sister, Julie, came to visit Michigan during her last vacation of residency.  She helped me clean and reorganize our entire house which resulted in about 4 loads of drop-offs to Good Will, 9 bags of trash, and our truck full of recycleables.  From our kitchen pantry to every closet in our house, everything was sorted and cleaned out.  She purchased a bunch of storage containers for us to help us keep organized too!  I wish we had taken before and after pictures!  Anyway, it was great.  I feel so much more ready for baby #3 to arrive.  On top of that, we planned a surprise baby shower for our brother Jukes and Aileen.  After sorting through all of the kids’ closets, we were able to give a bunch of the boys’ clothes and baby items I didn’t need to them and with so much extra, we had a bunch to give the Conways too!  (Yes, we had an over-abundance of baby boy clothes!) 

On our trip downstate, we stopped by the DeYoung’s Family Zoo and enjoyed seeing the animals up close and personal.  Imanuel was able to bottle feed a baby camel, pet a baby bobcat and hold the leash of a New Guinea Singing pup.  It was such an awesome zoo! 

 

We really enjoyed spending time with our family during our brief visit downstate. 

When we came back up, Israel had his work cut out for him.  In preparation for the winter, he decided to purchase entire logs instead of pre-cut wood.  It was a couple hundred dollars cheaper this way, but he would have to chain-saw and chop them himself.  AND, he ordered LOTS of logs.   

With the help of some church members, he got the majority of the logs cut.  The only problem was that we had to stack them…and we only had a garden wheel barrow that we purchased at Walmart.  It was beginning to fall apart.  So, today, Israel bought a cart that could be pulled by our riding lawn mower.  We had to assemble it ourselves, but it was fairly simple and after an hour, we were able to haul tons of wood into our garage.  It was a great investment…not only for hauling wood, but to take the kids for rides! 

After loading a few carts of wood, we were tired so we decided to take the boys for a “wagon” ride in the backyard.  We stopped by our apple trees to pick and eat a few apples.  I was privileged to be the “tractor” driver since Manu thought my tummy was too large to fit in the back cart.  So, I drove our lawn mower while Israel, the boys and Bentley sat in the cart.  It was lots of fun!

Hopefully within the next few days, we’ll have all of our wood cut and stacked for the winter.  The leaves are already beginning to change the the weather is cool and crisp.  I think after living in the Yoop for 3 years now, fall is my favorite time of year.

Manu and Micah are much easier to handle now that they enjoy playing together.  Micah is becoming more vocal and learning to express himself.  It just seemed like last week when the only words he could say were, “ready?” or “hot?”  Now in the car he always asks, “Almost there, Mama?”  He knows how to sing almost every song in the “Kids Sing Praise” CD.  He tries to pray by himself too.  He is always willing to repeat words or phrases that we try to teach him.  That’s lots of fun too.  It’s so cute to hear him calling, “Manu, where are you?!”  I think his speech development is much more rapid than Imanuel’s was.  Probably because he tries to say everything that Manu does. 

Micah is definitely more of a risk taker and is more adventurous than Imanuel too.  Maybe that’s why we already had to take Micah into the ER 3 times and we never took Imanuel in.  (It would have been 4 last week if Imanuel wasn’t there in the woods to yell at Micah to spit out the poisonous berry he decided to put in his mouth.  Micah just suffered for a day with fever and diarrhea, thank God.) 

I just cannot wait until this child is born.  I feel like once he’s out, I can at least start going back to my own physical self.  I’m feeling so large it’s not even funny.  But I can’t complain.  God has been very good to us and we are so thankful for the life we are able to live up here.  Okay, I think I wrote enough!  Until the next time I’m struck with inspiration…

(I’m going to put the rest of the pictures up on Facebook including exclusive pictures of Israel chopping wood!  🙂

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August 2009

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Summer months are usually the busiest of the year for us: Camp Meeting, Sagola Summer Camp, VBS at L’Anse and Greenland, UP Camp Meeting, the canvassers, worker’s meetings, and ASI.  This year, instead of taking our vacation in the winter time, we decided to take it in summer so that our nephew Jacob would be out of school to join us.  Our little Ramos Family Reunion was held in Orlando.


Just a month shy of it’s thrid birthday, our Ford Freestyle hit 100k miles.  Add 300k airmiles in travel to the equation and you’ll come up with how busy the travel schedule for the Ramoses has been!  We’re looking forward to a break from all of that.


When we have nice, warm days in the UP, it becomes a huge thing.  We think to ourselves that we better enjoy the weather, because the snow will fall by tomorrow.  Somehow, Manu really got into waterballoons this summer.  So we went to Wallmart to get some.  We also got “water squirters”, but we returned them due to their horrible quality.
 

With the busy-ness of this summer’s schedule, we were only able to really take one day off at home.  Uncle Daniel joined the party.  It looks like he’s enjoyng himself 🙂

For VBS at L’Anse, we had a creation theme.  The messages were focused on animals in the Bible and other lessons were given on animals that defy evolution.  At Greenland, the theme was: Rome and the Underground Church.
Starring:

Brutus Flavius Marco — the prison guard that needs to be converted. 


And Paul — the prisoner of Jesus Christ unto those that are at Rome, peace be unto you.  As you can see, I had the ability to escape, but I chose not to.  Brutus even let me borrow his sword — hahahaha. 


Notice how Brutus is “gettin down” (as CD Brooks says) on the right. 

After the VBS programs, camp meetings, and worker’s retreat, we paid a visit to Orlando, home of the world’s most famous mouse. 

Me paying tribute to Mickey… Manu, trying to be cool like daddy.


Walking in downtown Disney (they own a whole city) with the Disney theme park behind us. 


One of our favorite places to visit is Gatorland. 


Many people don’t know that they house Gators AND Crocs.  They have a bunch of them!

   
They also have a “waterpark”
At first, Manu was afraid to run through these jets, but after watching cousin Jacob, he got the courage to stand (wanted to encorporate Oshkosh into this, somehow).


Abuelo teaching the boys how to swim.  Micah trying to recover from Cayman’s water nightmares. 


Underwater photography provided, in part, by world famous photographer: Israel Ramos


Tio and Cousin Jacob at “the largest pool in Central Florida”


Manu learning how to go swimming on his own, thanks to Tio. 


Cousin Jacob is teaching Manu how to go underwater. 

 
More awesome photography by the IR.


My dad.


Hahahaha.


Micah-likes


Manu sporting the goggles.  (this picture is sponsored by Speedo)


Talented mommy holding a baby IN THE WATER while taking care of other “personal” items. 


My mom is not teaching Micah how to swim, she’s holding on to the life preserver.  



Playing Old Maid.  Manu keeps on thinking that you win by trying to find and keep the OM. 


We met this friend of a friend of a friend that we’ll call Ray-Ray.  He used to work for Disney but is retired now.  He got us in at majorly discounted prices.  Here we are at the Animal Kingdom. 


The animal kingdom is like a wannabe safari/zoo.  Really nice.  We got pretty close to the animals. 


The hippo site. 


The mom was on the other side.  But here is her baby. 


At one of the exhibits, they had a 3D video on bugs.  This is Manu with his bug glasses on.  He took them off during the movie because he thought the bugs were going to eat him.

 
When we ate at a restuarant.  Some balloon guy came and made a race car for Manu.

 
The shark from finding Nemo.

 
Hahaha.  This is my brother holding up the ball.  Don’t post comments about his hand not “touching” the ball.  The “Hahaha” means that we recognize that. 


By the end of our vacation, Manu could go under the water without plugging his nose.  This is a such a cool pic.

Peace.  Love.  Harmony. 

– I’m o.u.t.

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G is for GIRL!!!

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The Nam(m) family comes with a predominantly male background. For some generations, except for Judy and Julie, all the Nam(m)s have been boys. So with the strong…admonishment of Grandpa Namm, we were looking to break down this streak of men.

On the Ramos side, my dad had two sons and three grandsons. Grandgirls — none. Grandpa Ramos was also looking for a girl, or nothing at all.

This is why it was with great joy that we looked forward to this day: the day where we could announce to the world that we are finally having A GIRL!!!

Hence the title: G is for GIRL

When we went to the ultrasound, Judy, the boys, Uncle Daniel, and I went into the room. The lady that did the ultrasound was really nice. She explained what she was doing, did a quick rundown of the whole baby’s body, and quickly showed us his face, feet, hands, and spine. When we got to his bottom, I saw the confirmation of the sex — F. The name I chose for our little girl is Ella.

But we’re gonna have to allow someone else to use that name. Because after about half an hour, the ultrasound lady said to us, “these are the legs.” “And see here…” And that’s when I knew that our girl, was actually a BOY.

So G is for girl. But it’s also for George.  Or Gregory.  Or Gustavo.  Geraldo?  Gary.

Our prayer this morning was for God to give us a baby that, in the end, will find salvation. And then that it would be healthy. Anything else, we really didn’t care about. So, we are very happy to welcome the third brother of the Ramos-Namm Family!


In the waiting room.

The boys doing some reading to ease their nerves. 

Uncle Daniel was our special guest.  Here he is doing the Obama pose.

And…

…here is our third baby son! 

     
His feet

A 3-D profile.  His head and back are leaned against the left side of photo and he is facing right.

We want to thank all of you for your support and prayers!  We love you.

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Guess What Daddy Found?

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This past Monday, Israel was able to take his day off so we planned something fun to do together.  Imanuel really wanted to do a “craft”.  So, in the morning, I went shopping and among many other things, I bought a 3-D Chalking Kit.  It came with plenty of 3-D chalk, stencils of jungle animals, 2 plastic 3-D glasses, a brush and sponge, and a couple chalk holders.  So, in the afternoon, we drew many pictures on our large circle driveway and watched them “pop out” with the glasses.  Micah didn’t really get into it.  He prefered going up and down front porch stairs.  But Manu had fun.

Later that evening, we had worship and put the kids to bed.  Then Israel went outside to bring all of the stuff back into the house, but he came in with more than the chalk set.  He was holding a baby bird!  It had been standing right on our chalk drawings and appeared to be all alone.  It wasn’t even afraid at all.  It was just sitting on the palm of Israel’s hand.  A couple times when Israel put his other hand close to the bird’s head, it opened its beak up.  So, I immediately went out to our garden to look for worms.  I found two and we tried to feed the baby bird.  It ate one.  Then I decided to look on the Internet to find out what we should do.  It took us to a link from Yahoo Answers and we learned a few things from a bird biologist:

1.)  If you find a baby bird on the ground and its nest may be nearby (-trees or shrubs nearby), leave it there because the mother is probably still around.  If it has fallen out of a nest and you can see the nest, you can gently put it back in.  If you can’t see the nest, still leave it there because the mother will still take care of the baby from the ground.

2.)  If the baby has feathers, it is probably learning how to fly, so leave it there!

3.)  Only handle the bird if you are positive that the mother has died and it cannot feed on its own.  Carefully take bird in but don’t try to feed.  Different birds eat different things – worms, seeds, fruit, etc.  Never feed human food.  Call local wildlife shelter immediately.

4.)  MYTH:  If you touch a baby bird, you will leave your scent and mother bird will kill or reject baby.  Birds actually have a very dull sense of smell.  Mothers will take their baby back so if you ignorantly touch/handle a baby, put it back where you found it!

So, considering the fact that our baby bird DID have feathers, it wasn’t injured, and there are a bunch of birds that nest in our many trees that surround our driveway, we immediately brought the baby bird back out and left him on the grass by where Israel had found it.  By this time, Imanuel woke up because we were making too much noise so he was able to see the baby bird too.  When he first saw it, his initial statement was:  “Is it REAL?!”  🙂  It was just so calm and never struggled or try to get away.  We took some parting pictures (& video): 


Anyone know what species of bird this is?

We left it out there and went inside.  However, Manu started getting very concerned.  He was wondering why we were leaving the bird out there all by itself.  I tried to explain that we learned that the mama bird was probably out there and she will take care of her baby.  And that we have no idea how to take care of a baby bird!  But then he was concerned because we didn’t know where the mama was.  Then in a fit of emotion, he burst out in tears and demanded that we get the baby bird back because we can’t leave it out there all by itself!  We promised that if it was still there in the morning, we would take it back in.  Then we prayed together and Manu asked the Lord to help the mama to find her baby bird. 

After Manu went back to bed, I kept an eye on the bird through our window.  After about 10-15 minutes of just sitting there, it ran a few steps and then FLEW into a nearby tree!  It must have been learning to fly!  I was so relieved!  And about a minute after it flew away, we heard Manu in his room burst into tears again saying that we needed to get the baby bird.  So, thankfully, Israel was able to go in there and assure him that we saw the bird fly to its home.  It was a happy ending. 

We thank the Lord that despite our ignorance, we didn’t do any injury to the bird, AND that we actually had the opportunity to see and handle one of God’s beautiful creatures.  It was almost a heavenly experience.  🙂 

So far, Daddy has surprised us with a large painted turtle and a baby bird (which we were able to release together)…what will be next??

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Update on My 2009 Things To Do List

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A couple weeks ago, I created a 2009 Things-To-Do List for myself. I’ve been consciously and subconsciously working on them. There definitely are some things that I need to work on more deliberately (-like calling to schedule a massage), but I’m trying to pace myself so some these things can actually become habits. Here’s the list in no particular order and how I’ve been progressing:

10. Find a hairstyle that I really like and find a hairdresser that can make it happen.
– I’ve been looking all over the Internet for styles that I like that may work with my face shape, hair type, etc.. Not been too successful. But I was looking back at pictures of me with different haircuts and I think I may have found one that I want to try again. We’ll see what happens.

9. Not gain more than 35lbs during this pregnancy. (Never been done before.)
– Okay, not much done differently in this area. Except I’m working on #6 so this may help.

8. Make it a habit of reading more.
– I started reading about an hour each day right when I wake up and/or at night. This is more for my devotional time, so I’m thinking that I need to find another good book that I want to start reading. Perhaps I should start reading the newspaper…

7. Transform the current office into the new baby room.
– I cleaned out the office of everything I felt at liberty to clean/throw away. I’ll have to get Israel to do the rest. But we do need to create a list of items we need for the new baby. I’m thinking we may end up getting a nice set of bunk beds for the boys and some clothes drawers. Then the new baby can use the furniture that the boys are using now. I just can’t wait until Friday to find out if we’re having a girl or another boy. Then I can go through all of the baby clothes we have. If it’s another boy, I can start organizing them. If it’s a girl, I can pass all of the boy clothes to my brother and Aileen, sort the unisex clothes, and start building her wardrobe. So, we’ll see what happens.

6. Develop an exercise routine and stick to it.
– So, I’ve decided to start off, that my exercise routine will be to brisk-walk on our treadmill for 15 minutes a day. It sounds sorry, but this actually causes me to break a sweat and feel tired. That’s how out of shape I must be in!

5. Learn how to cook more healthy, yummy meals.
– Now that I can eat most things without feeling nauseous, I’ve been doing more cooking. But haven’t found (or been looking for) new recipes to try. I think I want to find a crock-pot cookbook.

4. Get a massage regularly – since for us, it’s free!
– Need to just make a phone call! Maybe I’ll do it after ministerial retreat next week.

3. Cultivate a deep devotional & prayer life.
– My devotional life has been much better since I created the list. I really covet my time in the morning and/or night and/or whenever I have time. It helps that Israel gets the boys in the morning so if I’m not done reading yet, I’m not forced to cut things off prematurely. It has been a blessing for the whole family. I find that I’m much happier and less stressed.

2. Take a nice family picture…(after I get my nice haircut from my nice hairdresser.)
– No progress. Maybe after my haircut I’ll be more motivated.

1. Train Bentley not to bark and go psycho on visitors or passing trucks.
– Bentley has been getting better. I just need to find time to train him and have practice sessions with people coming over. Today we did have a minor break-through though. I was inspired by an episode of “The Dog Whisperer” to see if I could get Bentley to go on our treadmill. This would be perfect for our long harsh winters since there is no place we can walk him (unless we dig a long path). Today, he trotted on the treadmill for 10 minutes. He did a great job and I think he enjoyed it!

I enjoy seeing progress made and things getting done. Perhaps that is why I love to-do lists so much. I really hope I can work through these and make them happen. It helps to know that many of these not only benefit me, but my whole family. I pray that God will be my strength.

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Seven-Eleven

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This year marked five years of marriage for Judy and me.  And it is so satisfying to see our love for each other and happiness together grow to this point.  Strongly believing that God has brought us together brings a sense of blessing during our happy times and faith during the challenges.

For our fifth anniversary, we were able to take advantage of needing to go downstate and we spent some time at the Great Wolf Lodge.  We wanted to take our kids to the water park.  We were thankful that we were able to also enjoy a day of fun with close friends Steph and the Shins.  Justin couldn’t make it and Jeff almost made it but needed a long nap to recover after his church business meeting.


Great Wolf Lodge is located in Traverse City, MI.  Judy and I fell in love with that city.  I think it’s the best city that I’ve been to in Michigan (and Ann Arbor is tough to beat, for me).  We got there just in time for the Cherry Festival (cherries are among my favorite fruits).


When we got to the hotel/water park, I asked for a room upgrade and they gave it to us at no extra charge! 


The kids had their own “Wolf Den” — that’s where Manu slept. 


This is how the inside looked.  They had a few slides that we were able to go on and a jungle-gym type thing, with a lazy pool, and a lot of cool kids things.  The kids, unfortunately, were afraid of the kid’s slides (even though they like slides at parks, etc.)


I know that this looks like we’re playing video games.  But we’re not.  I’m teaching Many how to ride a motorcycle.  It just so happens that this motorcycle simulator is in an arcade.


Micah riding with his friend Alvin (from Alvin and the Chipmunks)


Me and the boys getting ready to hit the pools. 


Amazing how two little boys can change the lives of two grown adults.  We love you, Manu and Micah, more than you’ll ever know. 


I knew that you were the best spouse anyone could ask for, Judy.  But I didn’t know you would be so much better than I ever could have imagined.  Thanks for giving me the happiest years of my life!  I love you.

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To Clean or Not to Clean

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Today has been one of those rare days.  I do not want to clean the house anymore.  In fact, I feel almost as though I’m actually avoiding what needs to be done.  At one point, I did feel like cleaning the house, but then I felt like moping around and doing nothing.  I finished up GYC stuff and played outside with Manu while Micah took a nap.  I’ve eaten a couple of instant meals.  But overall, I’ve been lounging around refusing to pick any toys off the ground because there are just too many.  And because I just don’t want to.  There are clean, folded clothes that need to be put away but I don’t feel like it.  I started doing the dishes but ended half-way and I almost dread having to finish them.  I feel like I’m in a sort of rebellion – against being my OCD self.  It may be that I’m just burned out.  It may be that my hormones are out of whack.  The thought actually crossed my mind right now that I’m glad I’m grown up and don’t live in my parents’ house because they would surely would have made me clean by now. 

It would be a wonderful and liberating feeling to be OK with my house being in its current state.  Israel has been trying to “help” me feel this way for a while now.  I think it actually would be very therapeutic for me to not clean and to see that nothing horrible will happen.  The only problem is that on Friday, colporteurs will be coming and staying with us for a week.  So, then that makes me go into a minor state of panick.  The house needs to be clean by Friday.  But I’m not sure what I should do.  I’ve considered asking Israel to clean the whole house, but that just wouldn’t be fair to have him clean while I sit around and peruse through FB.  Should I just suck it up and clean now or wait to see if tomorrow finds me with renewed inspiration to clean?                

Is this how men/husbands feel about helping around the house or doing chores?  Is this how some wives feel about housework?  It really is a horrible feeling…to really not want to do something that you really need to do.  I’m guessing this is probably where discipline and self-motivation comes in.  So, maybe I should just get a cleaning lady?  Yes, it’s that bad…   

PS:  I hope this is no indication of this baby’s attitude towards cleaning…  

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4th of July Weekend

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This probably was the most memorable 4th of July we’ve ever had.  There really wasn’t much to compare it to.  I do have fond memories of watching the Detroit fireworks when my dad would take all of there by the river.  I always loved it.  Even though we never got to buy those glow sticks and we usually ended up half-eaten by mosquitoes, we had lots of fun watching the fireworks and just being there together.  Israel actually told us that he always hated going to see fireworks as a kid.  So, this weekend, we pulled out all the stops, so to speak. 

On Friday, we didn’t do much but unpack and try to do some cleaning.  On Sabbath, we went to church and for potluck, we had a picnic out at Grandma Karen’s cabin by the lake.  There was lots of yummy food.  A highlight was when we saw a large family of ducks swim by and nibble seeds off of some tall water reeds.  We came home and the boys took a nice, long afternoon nap while Jen and I chatted.       

Then after they all woke up (3 hours later), we headed over to Agate Beach to close the Sabbath.

Manu and Bentley were the only brave ones to go in the water.  It was FREEZING.

Bentley actually enjoyed playing fetch in the lake…as long as he didn’t have to swim!

Jen soaking up so vitamin D.

It was a beautiful evening.

That night, we had our own, personal fireworks show on our back deck.

Lots of sparklers…then it got too cold out.

So, they watched from inside as Jen and I put on the show.

The show went on for about 15 minutes, then it was time for bed.  Now, Manu loves the 4th of July.

The next day, we decided to go see Pictured Rocks in Munising, MI.  It was about 2.5 hours east of us.  We went with Daniel and Jennifer too. 

The banner says, “Munising, The U.P.’s Best Kept Secret!”  We’re in line to take the sunset cruise.

We’re sitting in the cabin of the boat because it was getting chilly outside.  It was very beautiful to see the naturally-occurring colors and formations in the rocks. 


The different colors are caused by limestone, copper, and manganese deposits.


This formation looks like an Indian head.


On our way back, the crew feed the seagulls.  They started doing this this years ago.  I remember this part when I came here when I was little.  The seagulls know food is coming and as soon as the boat turned around and headed back, hundreds of them surrounded the boat.

We got back late that evening.  The next day, we concluded our 4-day weekend with some grilled vegetable shish-kabobs, quesadillas, and veggie chicken fingers & buffalo wings.  It was yummy.

   
We’re glad we were able to spend the holiday with wonderful friends.  I’ll post all of the pics from Pictured Rocks in an album on Facebook.

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Memoirs of Trying Times

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This Thursday will mark week 16 of this pregnancy.  I think I can honestly say that weeks 6 through 14 were the most trying times of my life.  It has been the most difficult pregnancy out of the 3, by far.  Micah was the most merciful.  I actually took medication to help with my vomiting which I’ve never done before.  Now that things have gotten better, I’m trying to get my life back to normal and back into the swing of things.  Although I felt so horrible – symptoms including excessive vomiting, sour stomach, acid reflux, indigestion, sensitivity to smells, chemicals, soaps, toothpaste, and that taste of bile in my mouth (reminiscent of Imanuel in utero) etc. – there was one overwhelming blessing throughout these times.  His name is Israel. 

From the time we first found out we were going to have another baby, I know he was so happy.  He also told me that he was thankful for this opportunity to “do things right this time”.  To be honest, I kind of brushed off this remark.  He has always been good to us.  I think anyone who knows Israel could testify to what a wonderful father he is.  He has such a deep love for his children and he genuinely loves spending time with them.  Yet, this time around, (this final time), special care and attention has been given from the very beginning.  While the morning sickness has been by far the worst, Israel has been patiently and lovingly caring for us better than any time before.  That has given me such great strength during these difficult times. 

It has been hard for me to complain about how I feel when I see Israel doing his best to ease my burdens and care for the boys.  Except for Sabbaths (when he has to leave for his first church by 8am), he gets the boys when they wake up so I can sleep in, he has changed all of Micah’s diapers and wiped Imanuel’s butt when he is available at home, and in the evening, he has gotten the boys ready and put them down for bed.  And this has all been in addition to the quality time he spends with the boys each day.  While it may not seem like a big deal, it really is when you know how busy Israel’s daily schedule is (and all that the boys’ morning and nighttime routines entail).  He has just been there for me and I feel overwhelminging supported and cared for.  He has been my special blessing during these tough times and I will never forget that. 

As I was reflecting on these things this morning, I realized that I haven’t appreciated him as I should.  So, this is for him: 

Thank you for loving us and giving yourself for us.  You make me want to be a better (pregnant) wife and mother.  And our children are blessed because of you.