Lately, things just haven’t been going as planned.
2014 has been a rough year for our family and yet, in a twisted way, it makes 2015 seem so much brighter and hopeful. There have been lots of unexpected, but exciting changes in the Ramos household. Last month, I was asked by the GLAS board to teach part-time in the mornings. After prayer and weighing out the pros and cons, I accepted the position. With that decision, came along another dream come true for Titus. (His first dream come true was when he got to see the dentist a couple years back.) He would finally be able to go to school with his big brothers! We surprised him with the news on his birthday and we bought him a new backpack and school supplies.
Today was Ty’s first day of school. He is in Pre-K and his teacher is Mrs. Robinson. He acts shy, but he loves her and is so proud to be in her class!
In the mornings, I teach Algebra I & II and I help with a few other subjects also. It was a great first day and I’m looking forward to getting to know my students better. They are such great kids! On our way home, Ty was so tuckered out he couldn’t make it more than 10 minutes in the car…
It was a memorable day for both of us! With this part time teaching position and with GYC, I can now say that I am officially working full time, and I’m taking a reading diagnostic course on the side. It’s a busy life! But I cherish the fact that I’m working in the same building as my boys and I still have the joy of being Imanuel’s teacher for a couple subjects too. 🙂
So, even though this post comes several years sooner than expected, we trust it is what we’re supposed to be doing. It is our prayer that God leads us in our every step and I’ve found freedom in trusting Him.
Ty Ty, it gave me such joy and pleasure to watch you walk into school, meet your teacher, put your coat and backpack into your very own little locker, and step into your first classroom. May your journey of learning continue to flourish for Jesus’ sake. You’re growing up too fast! It is our prayer that God molds you into His likeness and that you grow to love and serve Him always. We love you so much more than you know! Happy First Day of School, Baby!
With our boys getting older, we’ve become veterans when it comes to knowing the ins and outs of baby tooth losing…or pulling…or falling out. To date, Imanuel has lost 8 teeth and Micah has lost 2. Ty is still dreaming of the day he discovers his first wiggly tooth. Israel and I both had our share of doing the honors of making that final yank and seeing the joy on the boys’ faces. This last time, Micah had a very unique situation. His bottom adult tooth grew in behind his baby tooth so it didn’t push the baby tooth out. So, when the baby tooth got quite wiggly, we were excited to know that he wouldn’t grow up with layers of teeth like that of a shark.
The day Micah’s tooth was quite shaky and almost ready, Israel was out of town and over the phone, he entrusted Imanuel to do the honors of pulling out Micah’s loose tooth. I wasn’t sure if that was a good idea, but he did it! And he did it in his own creative way:
The month of September was so much fun because my sister, Julie, was here visiting from Guam. We finished a 10k Mud Run together, our family all played in the Korean Independence Day Sports Tournament, and we bid our brother, Justin, farewell as he embarked on his new journey to dental school in Loma Linda, California. We also spent a lot of quality time with our parents and this was one of the most memorable experiences!
Over the course of the last several months, we prayerfully made the decision to send the two older boys, Imanuel and Micah, to our local Adventist junior academy. It is called Greater Lansing Adventist School. We are very pleased with our decision and the boys are loving it. Imanuel’s teacher is Heidi Hunt and Micah’s teacher is Julia Robinson. The principal is an excellent educator and Christian, Judy Shull. We praise God for this school and for their dedication to Adventism and education.
Their first day of school was August 19, 2014. Here are some pics from that day and also some pics of what Ty did that day.
Meanwhile back at home with Mama…
And Ty gets his first golf lesson from Grandpa on the green. 😉
I don’t do as much as I should for Judy. She never misses an important day, anniversary, special moment. She plans ahead with incredible detail for weeks and months in advance when people are coming over or when we are hosting a special event.
When it comes to family, she’s even more meticulous in her preparation.
I knew that when our tenth-year anniversary rolled around, I wanted to do something special. It had to be more meaningful than spending a lot of money to show how much I appreciate her and all that she’s done for our relationship.
At first, the plan I had was to take a trip to Tahiti–where we had our honeymoon and fell in love all over again. I saved up years of air miles to ensure free tickets. However, in the fall of last year, we were surprised to find out that another baby boy was joining the Ramos Family! Unfortunately, to our dismay, we lost him.
We were devastated and this proved to be one of the most difficult journeys we’ve traveled together. But God is faithful.
Already committed to staying in the US during our anniversary, I had to plan something different for the girl who has been the biggest blessing in my life. Since we’d been married for 10 years, I decided on preparing 10 meaningful moments together. Here are a few of them (the rest are none of your business):
Torino was voted as the 2014 Detroit restaurant of the year by the Detroit Free Press. Calling them ahead of time, they agreed to prepare a nine-course vegetarian meal for me and my special date while Auntie Kimmy took care of the boys for the evening.
I think that Judy gets prettier with each passing year
The meal included a non-alcoholic beverage service. The whole experience was great and the food bordered between delicious and sometimes, incredible.
The staff made the night extra special by providing a menu for us that wished us a happy anniversary. Their customer service was very good!
After enjoying a great meal, we drove to Judy’s old stomping grounds — the home where she grew up. We drove through her neighborhood and checked out places where she played and made a lot of childhood memories.
I arranged a special bouquet of flowers for her — the three lilies symbolizing Manu, Micah, and Ty. Lilies are biblical flowers and I think they are the most beautiful flowers ever.
The next day was the day of our actual anniversary — 7/11. Since we’ve been married for 10 years, I thought it’d be great to renew our vows. What better place to recommit our lives to each other than Grace Orchard — our home.
In our backyard, we have a lovely little gazebo that I thought was perfect for this kind of event. So the boys and I planned out a service together. Manu was my best man and Micah and Ty walked their mom down the aisle.
Renewing our vows
For the ceremony, the boys got new dress gear from Gap.
They were able to serve as witnesses to their parents’ commitment to each other. Following the wedding ceremony, we all participated in a wedding reception. The highlights of our reception included a wedding cake from Meijer, fruit-by-the-foot favors from Judy, chocolate, and old pictures and items from our wedding ten years back.
We looked at old pictures and letters and told the boys stories of way back. Their constant giggles were a strong indication of how much they enjoyed listening to them.
They came prepared to be guests of honor, bringing loads of gifts. Each gift was more valuable. First they gave us an envelop full of pennies. By the end, they gave us their treasured 2-dollar bills!
The last ten years have brought many experiences. To have a partner that genuinely loves and accepts me for who I am even though they are thoroughly aware of my weaknesses and insufficiencies is as incredible as grace itself. The one person who has every reason not to love me is also my best friend — what a thought. It reminds me of Someone else — a Person she points me to and teaches me about every day of our lives together. Thanks, Judy!
Squash three ways: pickled, blossoms, and in a special foam sauce.Frozen apricot salad with pea sauce frozen in liquid nitrogen.Sou Vide Asparagus with chocolate (mole-type) sauce and butter which was turned into a powder using lecithin.One of my favorite dishes: Sou Vide tomatoes with eggplant and english peas. Incredible.Best tasting tofu — originally this dish was fish but they exchanged it with tofu in the veggie menu. Their best — wish they made more of this for us!Potatoes and turnips. Forgot what the green sauce was but it was very deep and complex. Great balance.Melon and Cucumber sorbet. Refreshing.Modern strawberry shortcake — basically.Housemade chocolate and caramel with sea salt.
Reading 1 Corinthians 13 for us.At Grace Orchard. Wedding 2.0If I don’t teach em how, who will?They love their mamma
This spring, we had the privilege of seeing baby bunnies grow over the course of a couple weeks. A mama cottontail decided to have her babies in the worst possible place…in the middle of our lawn near our back deck. Once we discovered the nest and the kits, we made sure Bentley & the cats weren’t let out unless supervised. Shockingly, there were a couple times when Bentley ran right by the nest and couldn’t smell them! We rarely saw the mama who only came to feed once or twice a day. It was a special treat to see these cuties!
So, recently, I decided to pass on my jawesome dog training skillz to my 3 year old son, Micah. He was really interested in learning so I thought I’d give it a try. Bentley has been very patient and eager to obey thanks to his treat of choice, Goldfish crackers. I think the both of them have great chemistry and a bright future ahead of them.
This first video gives you an idea of the language barrier the two had to overcome:
This second video shows what a little practice and perseverance can achieve…
I took the boys to a program at our public library where a family brought their mother goat and her two kids. We went with a couple other moms and their children that we know. The librarian read goat stories to the kids (including my all-time fav, Bill Grogan’s Goat) and then we went into the community room to meet the real ones. We learned how to take care of goats and saw a milking demonstration. The boys enjoyed it although they were so shy and needed coaxing to pet them.
We wanted to let you know what we’ve been up to here at home. The good news is that the weather has warmed up and we’ve been having sunny, clear blue skies. The only downfall is that the earth is quite wet and muddy due to the thaw and whenever Bentley comes back in, he leaves a trail of mud around the house. Mama isn’t too happy about that one.
On Friday, we were pleasantly surprised to find that Bentley’s arch-enemies have returned..
…the DEER! Lots of them have been visiting us in our backyard. The crows are back as well.
Bentley hasn’t been to happy about that. Check out that action shot!
We’ve been playing with our cars and other motor vehicles. We made a really long train that was almost as long as the kitchen! We each play with a dinosaur. Micah gets the white one from church and Manu plays with the big, green one.
Ty has been a little more adventurous and trying to reach things from the tables and desks. Here, he is trying to get a little leverage from your boating Crocs.
We decorated our Relay for Life luminaries with lots of fun spring stickers and Auntie Jeanette will bring them to the race for us.
For church this morning, we decided to go with our retro neck ties that used to be Uncle Jukes’s.
We’ve been eating lots of processed foods like (Big Franks and frozen waffles) since Mama hasn’t felt like cooking much. It’s been yummy! But she still makes us eat fresh fruits and vegetables.
Here we are playing our homemade trumpets before leaving for church.
We were super-late for Sabbath School, but we were still able to hear a Bible story from Grandma Karen. Kaelan even sat next to us on the beach mat!
During church, they asked Micah to collect offering! He went up with Rachel and he did a great job. Well, tomorrow we are going to pick you up! We can’t wait! Miss you very much and we love you.
