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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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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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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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Third Time’s a Charm

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The number three brings completion to many things: triangles have three sides, the work of God is done in three Persons, (Judy says:) we have three pets, we eat three meals in a day (except Judy, she eats like 5, but “that’s part of our story” — Morgan Freeman, March of the Penguins), etc.

This has been a huge inspiration and guide in our family planning strategies.

So the Ramos family is happy to announce that on December 24, 2009, the last member to be born into our family is due to arrive (unless the doctor visitations that will soon follow don’t live up to their expectations). Although grandparents (and many of you!!!!!) are fasting and praying for a girl (and have managed to brainwash our oldest to want a little sister), Judy and I are really excited for either! Here’s our reasoning:

BOY BENEFITS:
– Three boys in a row — how many people have it in them to do that! That’s the most consistent I’ve been in my life!
– We can roll with a men’s quartet (assuming that they can sing as well as their daddy).
– They can all share one bedroom until they’re 18 (with the suffering economy, we have to be prepared “for anything that may or may not happen” – GW Bush).
– More MANual labor for difficult times.
– Manu’s hand-me-downs to Micah could survive one more kid, right?!

GIRL GOODIES:
– It would make all of our friends and family very happy.
– Judy would no longer be the only female in the household (including the 3 pets)!
– A girl would help soften the rough edges of the boys (me, not included because I’m a man).
– Israel would get to do his favorite thing: go on a shopping spree.
– Does anyone else think that a baby girl would be able to have her daddy wrapped around her little finger?

Thankfully, God gets to make that decision for us. We will gladly accept either.

On a different note, Judy has been really sick! This has been the worst one yet. But her willingness to be happy, press on, and still work hard have been a silent witness to all in our home. I can truly say that she’s one of the best mothers I’ve ever known in my life and that our upcoming baby will be lucky to have her as a mother.

So as we enter into the next stage of parenthood, we ask for your prayers. We really want to be the best parents we can be and have a desire to take this responsibility seriously.

Thanks,

Judy and Israel

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The Scavenger Hunt (after Easter)

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So, I’ve been known to be cheap.  Maybe I should rephrase that.  I’ve been known to only buy things that are on sale (and thus cheap)…and I relish in the fact that I am getting a great deal.  Now I don’t think I was born like this.  I was raised to be quite frugal, but I’ve had a couple of crucial key experiences in my life that have caused me to be as I am…  

DKAY – (Detroit Korean Adventist Youth – the original “KAY” as far as I’m concerned) was at one time filled with like-minded individuals.  We always had annual Christmas Gift Exchanges.  I think we still do in fact.  Anyway, as opposed to everyone get the gifts anytime/anywhere, on the day after Thanksgiving – aka Black Friday – we would ALL go to the Birch Run Outlets to get our gifts.  Meaning we got gifts 1)from outlets and 2)on sale.  You cannot get a better deal than that.  You can imagine just how far the $15-$20 could go with items being up to 75% off!  I think one year we actually waited until after X-mas day (to have it joint with New Years) so we got some really killer sales then too.  So, thank you, all of you DKAY “OG”s!  I wouldn’t be the way I am without you!  

GODIVA CHOCOLATIERS TWELVE OAKS was my first job when I was in high school.  It was a wonderful job…low stress, decent pay, and lots of yummy benefits.  Holidays were the busiest times – particularly Valentines, Christmas, and Easter.  The price of our chocolates back then was $31 per pound.  Now (-I just looked on their website) it is up to $40 per pound!  Anyway, people would easily spend $60+ for gift baskets on special occasions.  However, the day after, all holiday items would be marked 50% off.  That combined with my employee discount, it was an absolute steal!  Now, to me, it just doesn’t make any sense how someone could buy something paying twice the amount just to give a gift “on time”.  In fact, after the first time Israel bought me some Godiva chocolates, I told him about the day after half-off sales. So, every time after that, he always waited until the day after.  If your boyfriend did that to you, perhaps you’d think it was pretty low and ghetto.  But, I didn’t mind one bit! 

So, with all of that said, I will share my final experience (today) that may continue on as a Ramos Family Tradition.  Israel was gone for the past week for conference and GYC meetings.  He came home late last night and since today is Monday, he took the day off.  So, we thought of the perfect, fun, family activity.  Yesterday was Easter and today was the day after.  We went to Walmart and everything “Eastery” was 50-75% off.  So, we got some “Eastery” things there and planned a Scavenger Hunt for the boys.    Using about $6, we had everything that we needed – easter eggs, easter baskets, and easter goodies among other goodies.    


Green basket for Imanuel, Blue basket for Micah.  75 cents each.

I think we had around 20 decorative and sports-themed eggs that I filled and hid around the house.  Imanuel not understanding that they are supposed to look like “eggs” made this comment about their shapes:  “Mama, basketballs and baseballs aren’t like this, only footballs are like this!”

Bentley helped me hide the eggs…NOT.  More like tried to steal them and sneak off with them!  That’s why we’re still missing one now.  The game is not over yet!

What a wonderful surprise inside!!  An individually-wrapped PRUNE!  Don’t worry, they weren’t all filled with prunes.  (Although Imanuel thought they were yummy too!)  Others had fruit snacks and candies too. 

Imanuel stuffing a prune in his mouth.  He was very happy today.  And he learned how to be a good egg/ball hunter!

Daddy helped Micah find the eggs so he technically cheated.  But he had fun getting them and putting them in his little blue basket.  🙂  Eating the goodies was obviously his favorite part.

Until next time bunny basket…

Well, that was the story of today.  I hope all of you are inspired to take advantage of “day-after” sales.  Hallmark and other stores (like Walmart) make business by pressuring us into spending tons of money to celebrate a “day”.  I say, take advantage of the “after holidays”!  We could start a revolution.

“When you’re getting a great deal, things are always more fun and exciting”!  – Judy R. Ramos        

Good night, all.

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Another Sabbath is Here

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 After a tiresome week of traveling (-driving down to Lansing, meetings, visiting, & driving back up), we arrived back home and are adjusting back to normal life.  Traveling always has a way of throwing things off when it comes to parenting.  Not only does it mess up the daily routine/schedule, but it always leaves opportunity experiences that make character building challenging.  I must add that often times new experiences and influences greatly benefit children.  But outside of the safety and protection of home, you never know what will come up.  It takes a lot of wisdom and patience to discern what you should/shouldn’t do.  I think I could write forever on this topic since we do so much traveling, but I’ll refrain for now.  Let’s just say that I’m glad to be home where Imanuel’s bed which is easily accessible when it’s obviously nap time and with Micah’s toys so he is content to play on his own…for the most part. 

I think I can officially say that he can walk, but half of the time he wants to hold my hand and a quarter of the time he still crawls.  So, we’re almost there.

We got home on Tuesday afternoon and on Thursday (-yesterday), we found ourselves driving Israel to the airport for another trip.  He is in Germany for ATS Youth.  What a lucky duck.  I sometimes wish he had a video camera attached to his forehead that was always on “record” so we could share in his experiences.  That would be preferable to us actually going with him.  I must add that many people often ask me how it is that I manage by myself without Israel when he goes on these trips – taking care of the babies and the pets, keeping the wood stove burning, working for GYC, cooking, cleaning etc. 

The answer is quite simple. 

First of all, Israel always asks my permission to go on a trip.  Now just to make things clear, I’ve never told him “no” except once.  And that was for New in Ministry the week Micah was due (in the middle of winter).  How can I say “no” to God’s calling?  I don’t think I could live with myself.  I also trust his judgment because he has sometimes said “no” himself. 

Secondly, he always offers to fly all of us over when possible (-using airmiles, of course).  I know that is what he really wants.  However, I usually tend to make the head-not-heart decision to stay home.  It’s just so much easier that way. 

And thirdly, I’ve found that in a strange way, him being away occassionally on these trips has actually strengthened our own presonal relationships with God as well as our marriage relationship.  Sometimes we need to be away from each other to truly appreciate them.  And when we’re away from each other, we have more alone time with God.  I think that’s important.  So, while this may sound strange, Israel being gone is often a blessing!   

We often bicker about which is more difficult:  to be the one left at home or to be the one gone on a trip.  I think being left at home is definitely more difficult because you’re at home in your element missing someone in your everyday life.  On the other hand, when you are on a trip and you leave your family at home, you are experiencing a completely different lifestyle/schedule and usually you are busy enough to keep yourself occupied. 

Anyway, to sum it up, it’s difficult and it always will be.  But I think it’s been much more manageable since I’ve realized that God often uses Israel’s trips to reveal Himself more to me AND since Imanuel can talk now and we can actually hold a conversation.  He also is my little helper and is always willing to be there for me (-unless he is napping).     

As Sabbath approaches, our little family traditions make us miss Israel even more.  From Friday dinner to Sabbath family worships, it’s not the same without him.  (And it’s impossible for us to read the Spanish story with any clarity!)  It has been about a month since Micah started partaking* in the Sabbath Roll (-minus the dah-guang: pickled radish).  He can down an entire roll by himself and eat plenty of edamame on the side.  I think that’s his favorite meal for sure.  Imanuel eats 1.5 rolls.  So, for those of you who understand how much this is, when I make the rolls for our family, I have to make 4 cups of rice!  Anyway, it was a good day and I’m glad it is the Sabbath.        

*And speaking of partaking, a couple Sabbaths ago, I forgot it was communion Sabbath and therefore forgot bring an alternative, unblessed, edible distraction for the boys.  Surprisingly, Imanuel didn’t mind not partaking at all.  Praise the Lord!  I think Grandma Karen explained it to him.  Micah on the other hand was a mess.  We had to hide our bread (-“we” meaning me and the two ladies sitting on both sides of me) but when the juice came, it was over.  He kept grunting and lunging for our juices.  Oh, and he did remember to emphatically sign “please” plenty of times.  Next time, I’m sitting in the back.      

Here are some pics that we wanted to share with Daddy of us eating our Sabbath Rolls:

   
I cut Micah’s rolls skinnier because I knew he would stuff them in his mouth whole.  I caught him once trying to stuff 2 at a time.  When his mouth is filled to capacity, he requests a swig of “Sabbath juice” then swallows it all in one gulp.  I think when he gets older, we’ll sign him up for the veggie hot dog eating contest (-if that exists).  We’ll be rich. 
 
the Micah and his “kim-bbops”.
 
Manu ate with his new chopsticks today.  We got complimentary kids’ trainers from P.F. Chang’s (for Tennille’s birthday!) while we were in Lansing. 

Manu demonstrating his skills.

We love Sushi!  🙂

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Israel’s 29th Birthday – 2/26/80

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It has been a few years since we’ve been home for Israel’s birthday.  Usually we take our vacations this week (during spring break).  But it was nice because it was just a very relaxing day where we could spend time together as a family.  We didn’t do anything fancy.  We just couldn’t afford much this time.  As a special activity, we did a family sauna.  LOL.  Israel’s gift was practical (-as in, something he needed anyway):  2 sets of long johns.  I baked some cookies and a cake.  And Israel made dinner because that’s what he wanted to do and we invited Daniel and Alanna to join us for that.  It felt like a scene from “Little House” (-except I don’t think Charles knows how to cook).  But it was nice just to spend time as a family and to give Israel special treatment for the day. 

The day started with Israel starting up our wood stove to heat the house up!

Sauna time!  (pronounced:  SAH-oo-nah for you non-yoopers out there)

We sweat it out while the kids played with the water (-they sweat too!). 

On Daddy’s birthday, we all decided to dress like Daddy for the day – PJs!

Micah putting on his crown.

The Cake:  vegan strawberry cake with lemon icing and crushed walnuts (on the sides)
I knew my Cake Decorating Pathfinder Honor would come in handy!  😀

Dinner with Uncle Daniel & Auntie Alanna.  Manu pretending he is Little David.

The Menu:  Pieces of “mandoo” swimming in a mushroom/kelp-based broth with a cube of tempura tofu resting in the center.  This dish was topped off with diced scallions and watercress.  Served with white rice.  An original recipe from Chef Israel Ramos.  It was excellent.
 
He recruited some help to blow out the candles.

We didn’t realize how much smoke 29 candles would produce and we had to fan the smoke detector so it wouldn’t go off!

It was so nice to receive so many phone calls/messages etc. from loved ones.  We thank all of you for remembering and caring.  Israel, hope you felt special and loved because that’s what you are!  God bless you this next year and may He grant you the desires of your heart!  We love you more than you know.

Love,
Judy, Imanuel, and Micah

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Our New Wood Stove, the Snow, and the Boys

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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!