Once upon a time, there lived a baby and a puppy.  They got along very well, however, one day, something happened to change this.

The baby received an early Christmas present from his aunt Alice.  It was a puppy toy that talks and sings!  The baby loved this gift very much.

The problem was that the puppy was quite fond of the puppy toy too!  He would steal the baby’s puppy toy and take him to his bed.  He did this whenever the baby was playing outside of his pack ‘n’ play…

So ~, the baby had to spend most of his play time in his pack ‘n’ play.  He didn’t like this and he would often pretend to escape out of it with his new puppy toy.

A few days later, closer to Christmas, something wonderful happened.  The first christmas cactus flower bloomed!  This was very exciting because the baby’s mom almost killed the christmas cactus plant last month.  BUT, this was the MOST exciting thing.  The doorbell rang and the mail man left 2 large packages for the baby!

It was a baby playard!  And it was very big!

The baby liked it very much!  Now he could play with his toys and not worry about the puppy stealing his toys! 

And, he could practice walking around the sides of the fence. 

“Thank you, Abuela, Abuelo, Tia, Tio, and Jacob!  I love my Christmas present!”

And the baby had a very merry Christmas.

The End.

I’m sitting here with Bentley…(and Ina).  And, guess what I just ate for lunch?  A PASTY!!  That’s right.  I’ve officially gone through initiation to be a “yooper”… (or a “yoopie” as Jen likes to call it).   It was very good.  A church member, Karen, brought me one yesterday.  Now I see why everyone is obsessed with them up here!  They’re SO GOOD!  I want to learn how to make them.  One of our friends from church said she would teach me.  Anyhow, if any of you guys come up, be sure to eat one! 

Here’s a link because I know all of you want to learn more about the pasty, the official food of the U.P. 
http://www.hu.mtu.edu/vup/pasty/history.htm

And FINALLY, a quote about the pasty:

“The Pasty is the Yooper Burrito of the Upper Peninsula”  – Daily Mining Gazette        (said by a Naval Recruiter in Houghton in the early
90’s

Last week, we received a special package from Frank and Melinda.  They had sent us a box full of Owen’s clothes for Imanuel.  We were so thankful because Imanuel was just beginning to outgrow the rest of his 12 month clothes and I had JUST been talking to Israel about how we need to get Imanuel some more bigger clothes.   Praise God for generous people (with good taste)!  And, we’re hoping that some of Owie’s cuteness will rub off onto Imanuel as he grows up wearing his clothes.    Thanks again, Owie and his parents!

We like to call this the “Stephen Row Outfit”.  For those of you who remember, Stephen would ALWAYS wear his paperboy cap…even with a gym suit! 

 
This is the FIRST thing that the baby responds to by command (without hand gestures- he can do “give me five”).  Whenever you tell him to stretch, he does what you see above.  It’s quite funny.

“Daddy, is there someting on my face?”

“Why are you laughing at me?!  That’s not very nice!”

Imanuel is getting more and more fun each day, but he is also getting to be more of a handful.  It seems he has the memory of an elephant, because no matter where I place him in the house, he always remembers where his favorite hot spots are:
1.  The dog bowl (especially when full of dog food)
2.  The computer cords
3.  Dog bone(s) (wherever they landed last)
4.  GYC registration forms or minor consent forms (aka: the papers laying around the house)
5.  Crumbs of food on the floor
6.  Daddy’s important church papers

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An Israel Update:

Israel is (as we speak) on his way to Ecuador for some youth meetings there.  Please pray for those meetings.  I think something exciting is happening there.  And, I’d like to take advantage of the situation (and the fact that the baby is sleeping, GYC phone is not ringing, and no GYC emails in inbox) to address the sauna* burning incident.   

*Sauna is indeed pronounced, <SAH-oo-nah> – it’s a Finnish word and up here, almost everyone is a Fin.  Our (Korean) parents actually pronounced something right when we thought they were wrong!

SAUNA Incident:
Israel had the fire going downstairs and when it got hot enough, the guys (Sebastien, Dan, and himself) went in.  It is a dry sauna, however, Israel enjoys wet saunas better.  It makes you sweat faster and so less time sitting in the room waiting.  So, in order to create a wet sauna effect, Israel had put a pot of water on top of the burning rocks so the water would evaporate.  When that didn’t steam quickly enough, he decided to pour the water directly on top of the rocks.  The water that he was pouring was already hot because, remember, he already had that water sitting on the rocks for a while.  So, when he poured the already hot water on the rocks, the steam shot up suddenly, and while Israel jerked his head to face away from the steam, he also jerked his hand which was carrying some of the hot water and he splashed himself…and Sebastien’s arm.
His face peeled, but with the help of our plant friends, aloe vera, his skin has regrown. 

That’s all for now.  Can’t believe there’s only 2 weeks until GYC!   Hopefully we’ll be able to see a lot of you there! 

Imanuel Alexander has been the single-most powerful example of the fact that love is
a gift from God and it gives just a glimpse of God’s undying love for us.  I think the love a mother has for her child is the most natural love that exists despite our fallen nature.   A mother loves her child simply because that child belongs to her and came from her….and in many ways, is a part of her.

Love for a spouse is different.  It is not as natural as the love for your child.  It does not come as easily as with your child.  But this type of love is strongest when there is a complete, intentional surrender of yourself to the other person.  This type of love requires work.  Some require more work than others.  When all is said and done, (and the honeymoon stage is over), love, at times, can be the most difficult choice to make.  

In our human experience, particularly as women, God has given us these two important opportunities to understand and experience His love for us, and how ours ought to be for Him.  God loves us because He made us and we are His.  God desires to take us under His wings as a hen gathers her chicks, as a mother desires to protect her child.  That is God’s love.  And, God desires us to love Him, as a bride loves her bridegroom.  This love is a choice and at times can be a difficult one.  After the emotions die down, this love does not come naturally to us, but rather, it takes work, as we search His heart through the Word.  It takes a convincing that His love for us is well worth it.  We love Him because we realize that He first loved us. 

As a woman…as a mother and a bride, God’s love has become more real to me.  Much more so than before I had the latter two titles.  It gives me encouragement that through the best and worst in our roles and relationships, God is teaching me how to love Him.   That is the ultimate goal.   In the end, no matter what type of relationships we have, (and we all have relationships), when we experience true love for someone, it should point us to our Lord.

It IS true.  Love never fails.

I’m thankful for my baby and my earthly bridegroom who teach me every moment of the day how to love my Lord better, (sometimes at their expense).   I’m also thankful for everyday people that challenge me to the fact that the love I have for my family, ought to be the love that I have for them as well. 

Lord, help us love as You do!

Imanuel is officially 9 months.  Here are some pics from today, which I took during my momentary breaks from GYC.  Pictures and my new video camera- (Israel got one for me as an early Christmas) has been my stress buster during the past few weeks.  That’s why amidst the chaos, I’ll still post.    GYC Registration officially closes at midnight tonight!  It’s 11:20pm and the fax machine is still going…but here are some pictures of things that has helped keep my mind sane.

Sunrise…and Snow!!

Brushing Imanuel’s teeth with his very first toothbrush!

He really likes it!

Holding vaseline which we have to put on his super-chapped cheeks.

Imanuel is looking more and more like his daddy.

*edit*  :  Imanuel would like to thank Uncle Jukes and Auntie Aileen for his new sweater and hat.  He really enjoys nibbling on the alpaca fur… and then eating it! 

Inspiring stories in honor of the Sabbath…

“Those who up to this time (1847) had accepted the third angel’s message, were poor in this world’s goods, and consequently could do but little financially for the spread of the message.  Elder White and his wife and Elder Bates saw the importance of personal labor among the scattered brethren, and also the necessity of preparing reading matter to place in the hands of the people, as an aid in leading them to the knowledge of the truth.  Elder Bates was aided much in presenting the Sabbath question by his tract on that subject, as he went to different localities, and by the circulation of the same through the mail.  He labored with the utmost perseverance.  At one time, owing to a lack of money with which to pay his fare, he was about to start on foot to go from Massachusetts to New Hampshire.  Just then, he received a letter from a young sister who had engaged to do house-work at $1 per week that she might have something with which to help the cause.  After working one week, she was so impressed with the thought that
Elder Bates needed money that she went to her employer and obtained advanced pay so as to enable her to send him at once $5.  With this he paid his fare to New Hampshire, by public conveyance.  At every place he had good meetings, and many souls accepted the truth.”  -Loughborough

Taken from The Spirit of Sacrifice & Commitment, Section II “Early Sabbath-Keeping Adventism” p. 61-62