Tag Archives: titus israel

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Ty’s First Long Trip

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Last week, we had to be down in Lansing for Israel’s ordination review.  So, our whole family took the long drive downstate.  This time was different, though, because it was our first trip down with all 5 of us.  We decided not to take Leon (our conversion van) since he doesn’t have snow tires and his safety ratings aren’t the greatest.  So, Israel installed our car top carrier on the Freestyle and we loaded it up.  I started packing several days before our trip to make sure we wouldn’t forget anything. 

It’s amazing how my packing mentality has changed throughout the years.  When I was single, it was all about trying to bring as much as possible.  I wanted enough options with my outfits, although I was usually limited to how much trunk space would need to shared.  Once I got married, it was even better.  I had half of the car to pack my stuff.  Israel and I would just throw our stuff everywhere and anywhere in the car. When Imanuel came into the picture, three-quarters of our car was dedicated to baby stuff and we downsized our belongings.  I packed Imanuel’s stuff with the worst-case scenario in mind.  I would bring a minimum one outfit per day (-but typically a few extra outfits “in case we get stranded”) and enough diapers to last an extra few days.  (I hadn’t yet realized that our destinations did have stores that sold diapers and the like.)  I would pack items such as the baby bathtub, a big bag of baby first aid supplies, baby laundry detergent, etc.  The addition of Micah forced us to cut down so I began to eliminate obvious items that I could do without or never ended up using.  This included my number of outfits & shoes, amount of toiletries, the baby bathtub, the stroller if it was winter, and also the excess of diapers.  I would only bring the number of diapers I would need for the trip and maybe a few extra.  I also began to pack just one outfit per day.  I limited their belongings to one bag each.  This would include their diapers too.  Then, they would share a backpack with their books and toys.  We made a big cut-back when we only needed to bring one pack ‘n’ play since Manu graduated to sleeping on the floor.  Our compact double stroller was also a great investment when Micah was old enough to sit in it.  But even still, our family of four could easily fill the entire car top carrier and any extra space in the car.

So this last trip, I officially became a self-proclaimed packing genius.  My favorite word has become “consolidate”.  Here is the general breakdown:

– Total of 4 travel bags:  1 for Manu & Micah, 1 small bag for Ty, 1 for me, 1 for Israel
   My bag included the following:
     – 1 toiletry bag for me & the boys
     – 1 small bag with emergency medicine/supplies for infants, toddlers & adults
– Israel’s backpack:  all electronics, computers, worship books, kids’ books, toys, & DVDs
– My hand bag:  doubled as a baby bag
– Ty’s stroller & travel bassinet
– Blankets for the car
– 3 water bottles & a bag of snacks for the road
…and that’s about it!

I’ve become so obsessive with packing efficiently that when we stop at gas stations to fill up, I get this refreshing feeling as I throw away all the wrappers/trash from the snacks & diapers.  I feel like our car gets lighter and less cluttered as we go.  And on the way back up, I try as much as possible to keep the same number of bags.  We turn one of the travel bags into our family laundry bag and we distribute the rest of our clothes into the other 3.  If we plan on stopping by a hotel, we’ll turn our smallest travel bag into an overnight bag for the whole family.  To answer your question, yes, Israel thinks I’m crazy.

I’ll never forget the night when were moving to the U.P. from downstate.  The moving truck had gone before us with most of our stuff.  In our car, we had 6 month old Imanuel, 1 year old (crazy) Bentley & his dog cage, Aroe & Chance and a litter box, along with a few travel bags.  We stopped by a hotel on the way up.  Israel ran in to see if they allowed pets.  They said yes.  First, Israel brought in Imanuel who was in his car seat and I had Bentley on a leash.  The lady at the front desk smiled at us.  Then, Israel ran back out and came back in with the two cats in his arms.  The lady gave him a crazy look.  Finally, he brought our bags and the litter box.  We all slept in one hotel room that night. 

I’m just imagining how hilarious that would be if we had to fit all five of us, plus Bentley and the cats in our car.  Then, how crazy it would be if we had to stop and get a hotel!  Anyway, I’m going off on a tangent…

We are now safely back and almost unpacked.  It was a super-fun trip and we’re so glad we were able to spend some time with family and friends.  Wish we would have taken more pictures!  But it was so nice having everyone meet Ty.  It was also really awesome that we got to see Ian again…and I was finally able to hold him!  He’s so adorable!  Well, I’ll end this with a video clip that I took on our trip.  Manu and Micah’s car seats are in the way back of the car and Ty is the only one in the second row.  I caught the boys in the back in one of rare moments when they weren’t napping, bickering, or telling on each other.    (It’s sideways and I don’t know how to rotate it!)

Until next time!

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Third Night’s A Charm & Family Pics

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Tomorrow, Ty will be 7 weeks but I couldn’t wait any longer.  He has been growing at such a ridiculous rate so, 4 nights ago, I decided to skip one of his night meals.  The first night was a bit rough.  He woke up and waited patiently for me to feed him.  When I didn’t, he cried for a while, but his pacifier helped.  The second night, he woke up again expecting to eat, but this time it only took about 10 minutes with his pacifier and he went back to sleep.  Last night, while it took him a while to finally go to sleep, after his last feeding at midnight, he slept through the night feeding and didn’t wake up to feed until 7:30am.  I think this proves that he is definitely getting plenty of milk…more than enough.  So, he’s down to 6 feedings a day.  I’m hoping this will control his weight gain.  We’ll see what our doctor will say at his 2 month well baby visit. 

On a more general note, the Lord has really given me the strength to live from day to day.  I can truly say that I trust God.  I know that He is able and willing to help me, if only I rely on Him.  All around, my life has been a testimony of God’s grace:  I’m learning how to love Jesus more by spending time with Him daily.  I’m also learning how to love people more by letting things go and giving them the benefit of the doubt.  My love and appreciation for Israel and the boys are growing deeper as time goes by.  I’ve been exercising faithfully and getting into shape.  And as a bonus, my house is clean and chores done!  It is so true that “[t]hose who make God first, last, and best are the happiest people on earth”. 

Here are some pictures of the boys who transformed my life!  I can truly say that because of them, I’m learning how to walk with God. 

My Sweet Heart


My Silly Boy

(BTW, that thing he’s playing with is Ty’s “pee pee teepee”.)


Last Monday we took the boys to the Mineral Museum at MI Tech.

 

and…My Sunshine  🙂

Happy Sabbath! 

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“I Wanna Be Like Mic…ah”

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Ty will be 4 weeks tomorrow morning and he has leaped from a “normal” 50th percentile birth weight (7lbs 12ozs) to a staggering 97th percentile (just over 12 lbs).  He has been feeding every 3 hours and at night he usually has one 4-5 hour stretch from ~1am – 6am.  And he only feeds for about 15 minutes.  The only reasoning I can think of is that Ty’s metabolism is super-duper slow…or Micah is sneaking him cookies when I’m not looking.  Either way, he is morphing into a “ball of flesh” as Israel likes to call it.  We’ll see if their doctor will put Ty on the night-time starvation diet like she did for Micah. 

Here are pictures from today of Micah holding Ty.


“Little bro, it’s not always easy being big, but don’t worry.  I love you…and I got your back.”


Daddy and the boys
 

Happy 4th Sabbath, Ty!  And a blessed Sabbath to all of you!

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The Umbilical Cord

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So, Ty’s umbilical cord fell off last night.  As I was changing his diaper after a feeding, I noticed that it was gone.  I thought it was a semi-exciting moment, so I called Israel in the room to share the news.  I asked him to help me look for it since it must have fallen in his onesie.  We weren’t able to locate it right away and Israel’s first response was, “Bentley probably ate it.”  I kept searching to which Israel exclaimed, “Who cares, it’s not like we’re going to keep it anyway.” 

I would have let that comment slide were it not for the fact that over 3 years ago, we had a very similar scenario, but our conversation and outcome went very differently. 

When Imanuel’s umbilical cord fell off, it was such a momentous occasion.  It meant that we had properly dried that thing out and we could finally give our son his first bath!  We were so excited.  We looked at each other and asked, “What should we do with the cord?”  It was something that held so much meaning. And the cord was like a piece of him – a piece of us!  We were not sure what to do with that hard, raisin-looking piece of flesh.  So, we kept it on our night stand for a couple of days because we couldn’t stand to just throw it away in the trash…like it didn’t mean anything.  After about a week of it just sitting there, I revisited the cord issue.  I felt we had given it its due respect.  It was time for us to throw it out.  But Israel said no.  He liked it right where it was…sitting and collecting dust on the night stand.  In fact, he liked looking at it so much that he ended up keeping it there for over a month! 

So last night, I reminded Israel of this.  I ended up finding Ty’s cord in his onesie and gave it to Israel.  I asked him if he was sure he didn’t want me to tape it into Ty’s baby book.  We had a really good laugh.

It’s so interesting how much things change from going through the experience of raising your first child to subsequent ones.  I remember when Imanuel was first born, sometimes being moved to tears just thinking about how as each day passed by, I would never be able to relive them.  It saddened me to think that one day, I wouldn’t be able to hold him in my arms or rock him to sleep.  I didn’t want him to change so quickly!

But now that Imanuel is older, it almost seems silly that I thought that way.  While there is something special about remembering the past, in each growing stage of Manu’s life, I love and appreciate him even more.  There are lessons to be learned and we must move on.  I’m so glad he is no longer a newborn! In His wisdom, God has designed us so that in each stage of development, we are meant to grow and be strengthened.  Just as in the Christian experience, we are created to grow more and more into the stature of Christ.  In each stage, we can find completeness in Him.  That is nothing to be sad about.

With Micah and Ty, I have found emotional freedom from trying to hold on to what you can’t.  Each new day brings hope for character development and ultimately hope for salvation.  In the meantime, I am going to enjoy and savor every moment with my boys…because I know time will fly by. 

Israel tossed out Ty’s cord in the trash without a struggle.  He will soon have his first real bath…and a whole series of his “firsts”.  While the excitement isn’t quite the same as for #1, the depth of love starts with each new child where the other kids’ left off.  Ty, you are deeply loved! 

(And just to let you know, no slackers here on filling out the baby books and picture taking!  🙂     

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Ty

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At around 5am, I heard a calm and soft voice calling my name. Still drowsy, I responded to Judy and she said, “I’m having contractions.” I quickly woke up and my natural doctor instincts kicked in. I asked if they were regular and how far apart they were. When she told me that they were five minutes apart I knew I had to do the responsible thing and call back-up. I said “Let’s go right now” (to the hospital). She called the hospital to see if we should come in and they said we should. Judy jumped in the shower and I notified Daniel that he should preach. We contacted Grandma Karen and she was willing to babysit Manu and Micah.

Since the baby wasn’t due for another two weeks, I didn’t want to get my hopes up. The scheduled C-Section was set for the 21st — a week before the actual due date. When we got to the hospital, the nurse checked her out and said that for sure she was going to deliver that day. Things started to get exciting. The boys went to Grandma Karen’s house and I stayed back with Judy. The hospital then called the medical staff to come in: Dr. Reyskin, the OB/Gyn was a visiting doc from CT (but originally from Russia) and the pediatrician on call was Dr. Murray, a visiting doc from downstate.

They prepared her for surgery and brought me some scrubs with funky boots. And then I followed the nurse into the OR. The people were really nice! Really, really nice! Judy did a great job and I saw, for the first time, the ACTUAL birth of one of my kids. The pediatrician took him for examination and they let me follow right along in the OR as though I was one of the staff. I went back and forth a few times between baby and mom. We took a few pictures. And we thanked God for a safe delivery for both mom and child. I then followed the nurses as they led me and our baby to the room next door for him to be weighed and measured.

After making a few calls to family Judy was brought out and the three of us met in the hall and came into the room where she’s recovering.

The baby’s name is Titus Israel Ramos or “Ty”. It means “honorable” in latin.

The name was chosen in honor of Auntie Julie. It was also chosen because the message of the book of Titus is relevant to our family at this time:

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared…
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us…” (Titus 2:11-14).

The surgery went well and Judy and Ty are resting at the hospital. We expect them to be home by Monday (I was supposed to go on a trip this day!).

We are so thankful for God’s goodness toward us and praise Him for His kindness toward our family.

Here is the birth announcement

Announcing Ty

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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.