At a New in Ministry meeting last year (where un-ordained boys become men [like David Shin]) Pastor Loren Nelson, our Ministerial Director (or immediate boss), talked about Sabbath traditions — things that he does with his family to welcome the Sabbath.  This was an important part of his pastoral experience.  I found out later during one of Pastor Jay Gallimore’s two visits to our place in the UP that he also had a Sabbath tradition: Teriyaki Stakes for the Nelsons, Pasta for the Gallimores.

Other friends of the fam, like GYC President Justin McNeilus and his wife Stephanie do a double tradition: Taco Dinner (passed from her side of the family on Friday) and Biscuits and Gravy Breakfast (passed from his side of the family on Sabbath).  Luke Whiting used to eat Fruity Pebbles on Sabbath when he was young.  I think Joelle had a special set of toys for the Sabbath.

Anyhow, Judy and I thought of a tradition that we could start for our family.  So that the kids could look at Sabbath as a special treat.  There have been some ups and downs to this endeavor.  The downs?  We’ve introduced drums to the worship service.  Judy (maybe it was me) got Manu some instruments for Sabbath family worship song service at our house.  And it included a drum.  We didn’t think much of it — “The drum is not a bigger sinner than the trumpet” — CD Brooks in I Want My Church Back.  Until Manu started dancing with Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho.  I think he got his dance moves from Grandma Namm.  The move is called “The fall down” and it’s a bouncey, pouncey, gettin’ down motion.
(Notice: the above comments regarding Manu’s worship experience has been written for comic value only and should not be interpreted in any way, shape, form, or sub-form as an indication of apostasy (apostasia in Greek) in his worship experience as a Seventh-day Adventist-church-dedicated baby)

On a good note…

One of our favorite Sabbath traditions is our Friday night meal.  Pastor Kevin Paulson gave us some crazy golden-gobblets for our wedding present.  They’re gold-plated.  Upon hitting some rough times (financially), we thought of selling them for mega loot cakes but resisted the temptation and held on to them.  So on Friday night, we pull them out to welcome the Sabbath together.  We also have what Manu calls “Sabbath Juice”  to go right into them.  We get the juice from World Foods in town.  It comes from some other country: Thailand, or some country in Africa maybe. 

This isn’t Mango juice.  It’s Mangue jus exotique! 

We got back the golden vessels that Neb stole from Israel.  Thanks Kevin Paulson!

Judy also invented the Sabbath Roll (I named it though).  Ingredients:  Avocado and some secret ingredients.  The Sabbath Roll is what I look forward to every week.  I eat three to four of them with some Thai hot sauce and soy sauce.  It is such a great way to start the Sabbath!  And Justin Namm, you better not be thinking of any fat jokes and comments. 

This is the Manu Roll.  I’ll give you a hundred dollars if you can guess why.  Only one guess.

The finished product.

I’m thankful for Sabbath traditions.  From great food to start the weekend to our three church preaching marathon every week, to Marv always waiting for me at the exit of our middle church to talk to me for a couple of minutes before I rush off, to our Head Elder’s long prayers, to parking across the street in the winters because of the snow in our parking lot, to sneaking in through the back at our last church and finding that Ernie left a bulletin there for me, to a nap while the kids nap to recover from the marathon, to looking forward to the next Sabbath with the family again and being sad when I miss a weekend at home. 

May the traditions continue throughout eternity with food at the tree of life and preaching marathons done by the holy men of God who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

The End.

PS: Judy’s “efficient” side kicked in and wanted to put these pics up so that she wouldn’t have to post later on….
 
 


More traditions: when I go through Amsterdam, I always get her the same flowers: Tulips.  (Guys getting flowers for girls at international airports: It’s a pain trying to clear customs with them and not all flowers get to go through… only ones purchased at certain places, so do your research.  Why do I go through all the hassle?  Take notes, fellas — that’s why I got married ahead of the class!)

At the peak of Micah’s weight outrage!  His head is bigger than Manu’s (whose legs are falling asleep and required that the photoshoot be cut short).

The new and improved “streamlined” Micah.  I erased the comment that I was gonna put regarding my expression.

Ripley’s Believe it or Not: Micah is actually wearing a turtleneck.  He’s sporting some Alice Park. 

Tom: These are not gang signs.  They are peace signs.  Manu, however, doesn’t have it right yet.  But he’s learning.  Bentley ended up killing wal-mart man (Manu loved him so much that he’s seen here [in their last picture together] sitting on him: an obvious sign of affection for a boy his age…daddy is behind him sitting on green man ball)

Hopefully he doesn’t become dependent on the swing, Judy 🙂

Since last Monday, I’ve been feeding Micah his last meal at 10pm and then waiting until 8am to feed him again.  It was a rough first few days because Micah would wake up 2-3 times (for sometimes hours at a time!) wanting to eat but I had to just hold him and give him a pacifier.  Well, I’m very happy to say that the past couple days, Micah has been sleeping 8 hours at night – from 10pm – 6am!  At 6am, I hold him and give him a pacifier.  I suppose I could have him cry it out, but it’s so sad for me to see him so hungry!  So, things are looking hopeful.  🙂  I can’t tell you how well-rested I felt after the first time he slept in until 6am.  I couldn’t even go back to sleep!   Even though Micah is 8 weeks old, it has been much longer than 8 weeks since I last slept through the night.  Pretty much the entire 9th month of my pregnancy, I was waking up to use the bathroom at least once a night.  So~, it has been a long time.  Sleep is such a blessing!

On a different note, Imanuel has been super-duper obsessed with the DVDs that LaLa got for him.  They’re by the Cedarmont and Brentwood Kids Company.  I like the content & songs – Imanuel is learning lots of Christian kids songs and he loves the ones on the zoo and the farm.  My only complaints are that I think they could have more of a message AND they were made like in the 80’s!  The kids are sporting jean shorts, hot pink skorts with flowers, the girls all have perms with poofy, curled bangs, and the zookeeper/farmer Rodney has a mullet and does back flips!  The problem is that all of the more current and newer kids videos feature kids jamming to “Christian” rock.  So, I’m thinking that we need to come up with some good Adventist message videos (& books) for kids.  It can be called GYC Kids Company.  🙂  Jen, I nominate you to be the president.  I know you have a burden for the books and you have good style.   I trust you will choose a good wardrobe manager for the kids’ outfits.  If we all combine our ideas/talents, I think we can come up with some good stuff!  Like I can donate my pets to be in the videos.  We just need to think of a song about Bentley – it can be about obedience.  🙂 

Anyway, we’re about to go to Walmart so I’ll have to herd the kids and get them ready.

Imanuel says “G’bye.”

This past Monday (yesterday), we went to Dr. Rajanee’s office for Micah’s 2 month visit.  (Thank you, Sikhu for coming with me and watching Imanuel!)  It was kind of a rough visit for him.  He had 3 immunization shots and an oral one.  Also, as a result of this visit, he was forced to lose almost 2 meals.   (You’ll see what I mean as you read on…)

Here was his breakdown of his physical measurements:
Height:  24″ (90%)  Head:  41cm (75%)  Weight: 17lbs 8ozs (>99% – off the charts!!)

Because he is so heavy, his doctor actually told me to skip his feedings at night!  She told me to make his last feeding of the day at 10pm and not feed him again until 8am!  Also, he would need extra tummy time.  He’s so heavy and chunky that it’s hard for him to hold up his head (which he should be able to by now).  Tummy time will help build his muscles so that he can do this.  LOL.  (It’s not funny, but at the same time, it is.)

So~ last night was the first night where I had to NOT feed him.  He did fine as long as he had a binky in his mouth.  The problem was that it kept falling out.  Anyway, he woke up again at 7am and I just didn’t have the energy to hold him over one more hour so I just fed him.  The crazy thing was that he wasn’t very hungry.  He ate a little on one side and then he just knocked out and I couldn’t get him to eat anymore.  Then the next time he woke up was at 10am.  He was then ready to eat.  This made me feel better because I realized that he physically can go 10 hours without eating.  This will definitely help expedite him sleeping through the night which is great for me.  I had been hoping to get Micah to consistently go 6 hours at night between feedings but after a trip to the doctor, it became 10 hours…just like that.  That was definitely unexpected! 

Other than that, things have been going pretty well.  Israel has been in Romania for the past few days (since Sunday) so it’s been me and the kids (and the pets).  It is going much better than I had thought.   I’ve had time to do all of my GYC responsibilities which was totally unanticipated…and as you can see, I’ve had time to reflect and write out this xanga page (- the boys are both asleep).  The good thing is that Imanuel goes to bed usually around 7:30pm and doesn’t call to get out of his crib until around 9:30-10am.  He just likes hanging out in there and playing with his stuffed animals.  Another crazy blessing is that Micah has been taking nice long naps all day and staying awake from ~8pm-11pm.  This has been great because I have been able to spend time with Imanuel during the morning, and when Imanuel takes his nap (~1-3pm), I usually have time to myself to get GYC and other chores done.  Later in the evening, we have worship and Imanuel goes down for bed at around 7pm, and then I have time alone with Micah until he goes to bed.   Thank God for helping me schedule the kids!  It’s still a full day, but completely manageable.  Of course it’d be nice to have Israel here with us.  Imanuel just LOVES to play with him and when he’s here, he spends a lot of time with the kids.  But God always takes care of us while he’s away – that’s for certain.  

Well, I’m going to bed now because I know in a few hours I’ll need to get up, put Micah back to sleep without feeding him, and then pump.  That all takes time. 

But, even now, being a mother of two is still the greatest thing.  No regrets…yet.  🙂          

Holding my chunky monkey.  So now both of us are on diets…  😉

Today was the first Sabbath that I had to get both kids ready and to church by myself.  Israel leaves for our first church, L’Anse, a little before 8am to preach at 8:30am, then he heads over to our second church, Greenland to preach at 10am, and finally he gets to Houghton at 11:30am to preach.  Usually Imanuel and I just go to Houghton Church (since it is the closest one).  Anyhow, with Micah to get ready, it took longer than I anticipated.  So, while I was shooting to make it by 11:30am, I ended up getting to church at 11:50.  At least we made it in time to hear the whole sermon.  We took these pics when we got home.

Imanuel loves wearing a tie on Sabbath like his daddy.  His Auntie Angie bought him the suit and tie.  Thank you!  It finally fits!

Micah also dressed up for church today.  He wore shoes for the first time and his owl outfit from Auntie Stephie.  It is size 3/6 month and unfortunately, I think this will be the last time he wears it!  So, we took a picture to memorialize it.  
(This morning I barely got his arms to fit in the shirt, and the button on the pants almost popped off!)

Both boys are doing some lay-activities and I think I may join them.  Thank God for the Sabbath.

MICAH:  is now almost 17 lbs and just about 7 weeks.  He is growing like crazy and pretty much looks like a 6 month old.  He’s a good baby.  He doesn’t cry much and when he does, it’s usually because he has some sort of indigestion/gas going on.  Considering his weight, he’s pretty patient about waiting on feedings.  I don’t know how he’s gaining so much!  Anyway, he’s a cutie.  I think his face looks like a baby owl.  He has some huge “moon” eyes and his face is shaped like a hamburger.  LOL.  He’s very sweet and I think he’s going to be more laid back than Imanuel.  He sleeps well and it’s been more fun because he’s starting to be more awake during the day and sleeping more at night.  Oh, and he loves my dad.  He’s an expert at getting him to stop crying!

IMANUEL:  is almost 30 lbs and turned 22 months.  I think his favorite thing to do now is to sing and to play with his many balls (- balls are definitely his favorite toys).  His favorite songs at the moment are “Give Me the Bible” (yes, the hymn), “Jesus Loves Me”, “The Battle of Jericho”, and “Gohm Sae Ma-Ri” (Korean song about family of bears).  After Pastor Conway gave a week long series up here (- “Give Me the Bible” was the theme song), Imanuel has wanted to sing that song for evening worship EVERY DAY.  Imanuel sings along too – for all 4 verses!  His abuela (La-la) bought him a Bible Songs DVD by the Cedarmont Kids and he’s probably watched it at least 50 times.  Anyway, Jericho is his all-time favorite on that DVD.  Last week, he started requesting me to sing it instead of his normal bedtime song.  (For those of you wondering, yes, it’s the one that goes “Joshua fit he battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho….”.)  In fact, he loves it so much that his lime green recorder has become his trumpet.  And, starting a few days ago when Imanuel trips and falls, he says, “Fell down – Jericho – fell down!”  When he falls, he believes he IS Jericho. 
Imanuel loves to talk and he copies whatever he hears.  It is so hilarious.  These were some of funny things he’s said:
– He called me “honey” (with Korean accent) a couple times bc that’s what my parents call us.
– During evening worship, he’s given himself the liberty to say who should pray.  Last night, with all seriousness, he said, “Owl, pray” as he held up his stuffed baby owl.
– And just for my little bro, Justin:  Today my dad was telling Imanuel not to go into the foyer area and he said, “Don’t go down there”.  Imanuel immediately responded by saying (Dad-style), “Simbas down there!”  LOL!  

JUDY:  is starting a serious exercise/diet regime.  After hitting the 6
week mark, I can finally start doing some serious exercise!  Because
I’m breastfeeding, you’d think I’d be losing weight more easily, but
I’ve realized that this is not the case.  I am so hungry all the
time…and with my mom here, I’ve been eating just as many calories as
I’ve been losing.  So, I’m not sure if that benefit of breastfeeding is
applying to me at this point.  I have a feeling that I’m gonna have to start making good use of the treadmill!

ISRAEL:  is doing a lot of traveling this month.  Pray for him…and for me and the kids!

AROE:  is still very cute and affectionate (aka needy).    

CHANCE:  is getting fatter and fatter every day since he doesn’t go outside anymore.

and last but not least…

BENTLEY:  turned 3 on Friday!  (His b-day was Jan. 4, 2005)  Happy Birthday, Bentley!  We are so glad that we have Bentley as our dog.  He’s only getting better and better as the years go by.  🙂

Okay, so that was my update on the family.  Our lives our pretty crazy and things get tough at times, but I’m thankful that in each member of our family I’m reminded that God loves me.  I’m realizing more that our children are perfect gifts that God gives to us.  They’re perfect not because of who they are, but by how they so deeply and specifically impact their parents.   Not only will parents have stars on their crowns representing their children, but I think children will also have stars representing their parents for the many ways they taught us and led us to Him.