For the past couple of weeks now, we have been using our “new” wood stove to heat our house. Propane has been ridiculously expensive and so we’re trying this alternative method. It’s been great so far. It will definitely be considered one of our best buys for the year. Costing only $15 for the used oil can and $150 for the starter kit, it is the cheapest wood stove you can get. It probably doesn’t score too high on its safety ratings, but with our trusty smoke & carbon monoxide detector-in-one, and with the Lord on our side, we aren’t too worried.  It may look ghetto, but it keeps our house a piping 72 degrees when the coals are hot!  

If you haven’t noticed, our pets love this room now!

For the past couple of days, it hasn’t stopped snowing:

Today Israel had a District 1 meeting in Marquette, so while Micah was sleeping, I decided to take Manu out to play.  He’s been having some trouble going to bed at their normal bedtime (7pm).  And he’s constantly tempted to wake up Micah to play after he can’t fall asleep.  So, in an effort to help tire him out, I’m trying to keep him more active during the day.  (And we’ve been pushing his bedtime back about an hour.)  Hopefully this new tactic works.

Building snow bricks for our cave…

We started making a snow cave.  (It also doubles as our personal sledding hill.)  When it stops snowing, it’ll probably be twice this size.  I’ll try to get a picture when it’s completed.  This is when we just started.

And lastly, here are the most recent pics of the boys chilling at home.  Micah is now 14 months and in 2 days, Imanuel will be one month shy of 3 years old.

 
And we especially want to thank Auntie Jen for the singing cow.  Micah wants it pushed over and over and over and over again.  In the second picture, he’s actually asking me to push it.

Micah’s long tresses and lashes.  He hasn’t had a real hair cut yet.

He can stand up and walk along furniture, but his main mode of transportation is still on all fours. 

While I encourage sharing, I try as much as possible to ensure that they don’t share their food with our dog.  Sometimes I permit it, but it is usually only when Imanuel asks if he can.  But I find it quite hilarious that both boys can now protect themselves and their food from the snares of Bentley.  Micah still isn’t 100% successful, but he’s getting there. 

The boys eating and making sure Bentley keeps his distance.

Imanuel handing a cracker to Micah as Bentley gets into position.
  
But then Micah stuffs it into his mouth before Bentley snatches it out of his hand.  I rarely have to intervene now.  🙂  But it is a rather stressful way to eat snacks. 

Micah is into putting objects into containers.  He’ll crawl around the living room picking up toys and putting them into the laundry basket or toy box.  He kept putting toys into the cracker jar and Imanuel kept taking them out.  LOL.

Micah signing “More” and “Please” – his two favorite words.

Manu smiling for the camera.  For some reason he just loves the full body PJs.

I can honestly say now that things are getting quite challenging and it has everything to do with the cute little boy wearing his “footies” seen above.  Everything prior to this time was a breeze for me (-I realize now in retrospect).  Trying to parent him has become like an experiment where you try to say/do the “right” things to get the desired results but every time you fail and/or mess up, it adds more and more variables.  It can easily lead to feelings of regret, fear, and insecurity. 

The older Imanuel gets (-and the longer I am a mother), the more I feel so strongly that God takes such a huge risk to entrust His children to humans.  Or maybe I should say that He has such confidence.  It is rather humbling.  I mean, I would trust very few people to even babysit my kids, let alone raise them.  And they are people who I obviously feel are “better” or at least would do a comparable job as me.  Yet God says to me (and to us) that He trusts so much in the power of His Son’s sacrifice, that He knows that it is possible for me to do the impossible.  He knows I can raise my kids to be fit for this life and for the life to come.  He knows I can overcome myself and be the example He wants me to be for my boys.  Sometimes I don’t feel comfortable with that responsibility.  But, the encouraging news is that the omniscent God knows that it is at least possible.  At times, it takes a lot of faith to believe.   

Anyway, to end on a lighter note, I wanted to write down some funny things I want to remember.  Imanuel loves to sing.  One of his up and coming favorite songs is “Read Your Bible, Pray Everyday” which also goes to the same tune as “I Will Make You Fishers of Men”.  He loves both of those songs.  Well, the interesting thing about that tune and both songs is that he cannot seem to get the lyrics right!  Without fail, he always sings,

“Bring your Bible, pray everyday and you’ll grow, grow grow…” 

I completely blame this one on Sikhu (by way of Sebastien) because she would always say, “Worship!  Bring your Bibles!” 

And another time, he was singing to himself, “I will make you fishers of men…” and when he got to the second verse (Hear Christ calling, “Come unto me, I will give you rest…”) he started singing,

“Hear Christ calling, ‘Come unto me, come unto me, come unto me,
“Hear Christ calling, ‘Come unto me, I will make you sleep’
“I will make you sleep, I will make you sleep…”

Then I began wondering if he even thought that was a good thing or not…

Anyway, everyday, while it brings its challenges, has so many more happy moments that at the end of the day, I feel so very blessed.  I am thoroughly convinced that God desires His children to experience happiness even here on this sinful earth!