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The Update on Underpants

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So, the two boys in our home have upgraded underpants. 

For Micah, in an effort to be more earth-friendly, to limit our trash, and to be kinder to his bum, we’ve become a gFamily.  www.gdiapers.com  We’ve joined the revolution.

Imanuel on the other-hand has upgraded from colorful-tighties to solid tone boxer-briefs (- upon strong recommendation from the man of the house, because he understands).  So, Imanuel is thrilled to know that he wears undershirts and underwear that look just like his daddy’s.  I was tempted to take a picture of the two of them and post, but after further thought and consideration, I realized it probably wouldn’t have been the best decision. 

The next update will hopefully be when Micah is officially at crawling.  Now he can scoot forward (but still mostly backwards), and he has started the rocking/swaying on all fours.  That is the tell-tale sign that it will soon come!

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“Thank you for writing Your Bible for me”

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Before I put him down to bed: while I’m brushing his teeth, making him go bathroom for the last time, and changing him into his PJs; my Manu will ask “Can I talk to you for a little bit?”

So I’ll take him to my room and we’ll lay in bed together. I’ll ask how his day was, if he had fun, etc. And whenever we connect really well, I’ll try to tell him something about Jesus. I’ll say “Manu, do you know that Jesus died to save you?” and he’ll respond “Jesus died to save me?” Last week, he asked “Can I say thank you to Jesus?” And so it began…

I had to explain to Manu that although we can’t see Jesus and we probably won’t see Him until He comes again, we are still able to talk to Him and He hears us. In our conversation, I tried to explain to Manu that God’s presence is very real and that He still communicates to us through His word. And then, it struck him. I could tell. He began to understand. He said, “Jesus talks to us through the Bible?”

After telling him that he was correct, I asked Manu if he wanted to talk to Jesus. Manu told me that he would. I told him that we talk to Jesus through prayer as if we’re talking to a friend. I told him that he could tell Jesus anything he wanted to tell Him. And so we knelt on the bed and Manu prayed a prayer that I’ll remember for a long time.

“Dear Jesus, thank you for dying for me. Thank you for writing Your Bible for me. I love you. In Jesus name, amen.”

* added note: This post was written by Daddy.

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Spiritual Lessons from #2

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You know, you typically wouldn’t expect having a second child to be as impactful on your spiritual experience as having your first.  However, as Micah Christian is growing into a toddler (-I can’t believe it!) and his personality is starting to come out, I’m learning so much more about God’s love and who He is.  I wanted to share some of those thoughts while they are so fresh in my mind:

1.  God loves each one of us as if we were the only person in the world. 
Now with marriage, you learn that your spouse loves you and only you.  That is to teach us how to love God only before all others.  After having a child, you learn to love (in a different way) the child that you created.  It shows a glimpse of how much God must love us, as we too were created after His own image.  Having my second child, I’ve learned that it is indeed possible to love another being just as much as your first creation.  It was difficult to imagine this was possible, until we had Micah!  As I now understand that God considers each one of us his sons and daughters, I realize how deep that love is.  It doesn’t matter how naughty, disobedient, or down-right evil we are!  He knows us so deeply (as a parent knows his/her children – but magnified) and He loves each of us unconditionally.  How humbling and amazing!

2.  God wants us to love one another.
Imanuel has had a few disagreements with other kids and some of them even resulted in a few pushes and shoves here and there.  It hurt me, yes, to see that other kids didn’t want to play with Imanuel or that they were bullying.  It hurt even more to see that Imanuel was being the bully.  But nothing could compare with the first time I saw that Imanuel get upset with Micah.  There is something about seeing your own children fighting.  In the parent’s mind, you always envision that your kids will be the best of friends, sharing fun times together, encouraging each other, understanding one another…after all, they have the same parents and share the same blood!  But in this early stage of the kids’ lives, seeing them unhappy with one another is a very fearful, painful experience.  (I don’t know if this will change once they are older…as I assume this would happen quite frequently! – Do you see why I wanted to share these powerful thoughts now?  🙂 
And so I think of God, and how sad He must feel when His own children don’t get along with one another!  It’s one thing to not get along with the “heathen” because they don’t understand us.  However, to fight or get upset with our brothers and sisters in Christ – those who should be our best friends and closest companions – that must be sad for Jesus.  Unity was one of His sincerest prayers.  It makes me want to avoid hurting other church members at all cost!  To stop the back-stabbing, gossiping, and insults!  If my two sons were to grow up and this is how they treated each other, how sad I would be!

3.  Differences in us makes us special.
In our mind’s eye, we can envision the perfect Christian person.   Obviously Jesus.  But many times we feel the need to change our personalities so we could be like Jesus.  However, seeing my two boys and how different their personalities are, yet how “perfect” they are, I’m realizing how God created us with such diversity and that we are to embrace it.  As I train and develop my two kids, I’ve come to realize that I should compare their characters to Jesus but allow their unique personalities to also shine for the glory of God.            
If we only look and contemplate our lives, we can often see how the Lord is trying so desperately to save our souls.  Each aspect of our lives, the major and insignificant, are given to point us to the One who so willingly gave His life so we, His children, can be reunited with our Father eternally.  And after several thousand years of being separated, what a joyful, blessed reunion that will be! 

I want to be there to finally meet my Father who gave/allowed experiences in my life, just to try to communicate how much He loves me.  How about you?

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9 Months + 9 Months Later

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Micah Christian turned 9 months this past Tuesday and this past Friday, he had his 9 month check-up with his pediatrician.  Here are his stats:  weight – 23lbs 4 oz   height – 29inches
At his past check up at 6 months, he was almost 23 lbs…so he has really been slimming down- even though he is still a big boy.  He still only has his 2 bottom teeth and he hasn’t discovered what it takes to get himself up on all fours.  He’s close though.  He scoots around quite a bit and has found an unconventional way to reach the toys out of his reach:  rolling there.  Micah loves to laugh – especially at Imanuel when he makes a lion’s growl.  Imanuel makes it a point to try to get him to laugh quite often.  It’s very cute. 

Overall, Micah is quite the momma’s boy.  While he doesn’t cry much at all, he whimpers with his lips closed and gives me this distressed look like his heart is breaking.  He has recently learned that if he reaches out his arms in my direction, I’m more likely to get him too.  It’s hard to describe in words, but if you could see it, he just looks so pitiful.  It’s so bizarre because having done this the second time around, I feel like I am much more susceptible to give in to Micah’s wants than with Imanuel.  I don’t know if it is because of Micah’s big brown eyes and his round face (that so much resembles a baby owl) or if it is because I am more relaxed and less stressed about parenting than when it was just Imanuel.  But Micah is seriously such a ham too.  Anyway, I pray that I remain consistent and as dedicated to Micah’s training (-if not more) as I was with Imanuel! 


“Micah-Micah-Micah”


Imanuel trying to get Micah to laugh in the car.  This was taken en route to Toronto for Andy & Laura’s wedding.  This was Micah’s first wedding and it was a very special one too!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
On a different note, the softball team that I was on was undefeated the entire season! 


Our softball team:  EE (Electrical Engineers) after winning the championship game
Andy-our team captain/manager, Jeff, Scott, Ken, Michael, Jorge, Myelise- our faithful record keeper, Julio, Mary, David, Amy, Manu- our cheerleader, and me


Grandma Karen gave us some peas and beans from her garden this past Sabbath.  As Israel and I were eating some raw peas (they are super-sweet, by the way) I had to take a picture of this one that Israel opened.  It reminded me of us.  There were four peas inside that varied slightly in shape and color, but fit so right together.   

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Israel’s Day Off

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Since Israel doesn’t have a conventional job, he takes Mondays as his day off each week.  Today was nice because not only were we able to spend family time, we spent the afternoon at Lake Superior.   Israel and Imanuel actually went into the cold water for a little bit, but spent most of their time playing in the sand.  Micah and I just soaked up some sun on the warm sand. 

Some of the seagulls that were around started pecking at something in the water near the shore.  After a closer look, Israel realized that it was a dead fish.  So, being the educator that he is, he went in and brought it to Imanuel and gave him a little fish anatomy lesson.  We’re not sure what type of fish it was, but it was pretty big.  Anyway, after that, Imanuel didn’t want to put it back in the water for the seagulls to eat.  He wanted to play with it instead.  But, Israel used that as another nature lesson to explain that dead animals provide food for other animals.  So, he put the fish on the sand and the seagulls eventually came by and started eating it.  YUCK.

Anyway, despite the SPF 50 sunblock that the kids were wearing, Micah got so dark!  I think he has Mexican skin.  I should have taken a before and after picture.  I don’t think Imanuel even got a tan at all.  (He obviously is the one who got Korean skin.)  Well, here are some pictures of our wonderful afternoon at the beach! 


Micah relaxing on the beach.  This was where the two of us hung out the whole time.


Building a sand castle!  Imanuel has been in this phase where he always needs to be matching with Daddy.  Today, they were pretty close!


Taking a dip!  (The water was cold!)


Micah played with the soccer ball the whole time.


Sitting in “warmer” water


I forgot to bring his hat, so being the resourceful person that I am, I used Imanuel’s extra underwear.  I know – I’m so innovative.  And no one could even tell the difference…


The Ramos guys!  We couldn’t get a good picture no matter how hard we tried.  This was the closest we could get.

We love it when Israel has the day off.  Whether it’s driving to Marquette to eat Thai or just going shopping at Walmart, it’s the day we always look forward to!  As long as he’s not out of town (or the country), me and boys get to spend the entire day with their daddy.  It’s the best times!

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A Week with Magabookers & Inspiration

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The magabookers just left after a week with us here in the Yoop. It was a blessing to host them and in many ways, it was very refreshing to see young people working so hard for Jesus. They were a grateful bunch as well. Imanuel and I were able to pray together for the colporteurs from day to day. Before they left every day, he would exclaim, “God bless you!” as they walked out to the car. They were definitely a great influence on him! Now he wants to go sell books! (Must get that from Daddy’s genes.) I really hope my kids decide to colporteur when they grow up…

On a different note, this past week was a week of re-inspiration. It started over a year ago. Over a year ago, my sister and I rearranged our living room and we bought two large picture frames. We never ended up printing pictures and filling them, but my sister insisted that we at least hang them up so it would remind us to fill them. Well, the blank picture frames were up the entire time and from time to time, I would feel the need to print some pictures, but I never acted upon it.
So, this week, I decided enough was enough. I got on the computer and got Israel to do the same and we went through all of our pictures and saved a bunch that we liked onto a CD. I took it to Walmart and I had them printed on the picture kiosk. We were so excited by the pictures, that we decided to buy 2 more picture frames and filled them too. After that, we were inspired to do our scrapbook page for our Florida vacation that we took this past February. (After we came back from Cancun, our first family vacation back when Imanuel turned 1, we bought a couple scrapbooking sets and a bunch of materials for them. We dedicated one to family vacations.) So, Israel and I spent one evening working on our vacation scrapbook, which was very fun and exciting. This sparked both of us to work on two different projects over the next couple of days. Israel spent hours (over a few days) working on a wedding album (-finally after 4 years!!) And I was finally inspired to catch up on the baby books! I filled in all of the information, put in some pictures, and I just went through a bunch of pictures and saved the ones that I still needed to fill in the books. Today I’m going to take them to Walmart to print. It was SUCH a productive week in the area of family bonding/reflecting/archiving. And we did all of this just because one day, my sister decided that we should hang the frames up, even though they were empty! If we never hung them up, they would still be collecting dust in the closet, along with our empty photo albums, baby books, and scrapbooks!

And as I think about it, I realize that this is human nature. What is our problem?! How come we can’t get ourselves to do things that we know will benefit us in some way unless we get inspired? We often realize our needs, responsibilities, and even wants! But it’s so hard to get a move on it!
But, if we give ourselves reminders to inspire us (- if we put ourselves in positions/places where God can speak), we can finally overcome ourselves and what seemed like a laboring task, would be a delight! Sometimes it just takes one little thing that we decide to do that would give us the momentum to accomplish many things. Just one solid commitment. Just one firm decision. And in the spiritual sense, that one little thing can often be inspired by those moments spent with Christ. In giving of ourselves to Him, we’ll be surprised by what we feel inspired to do!

Back to the colporteur work. I can imagine some of the people who bought GCs or DAs or COLs etc…and as they look at the book, they feel obligated to read it since they paid their donation. But as time goes on and remains untouched. However, one day, as the Holy Spirit inspires them, they will look over at their bookshelf and see that dusty book that they bought from a cold, wet colporteur who was working their way through school. They’ll pick it up, read it, and the rest is history.

I hope to be inspired every day to cheerfully do the things God would want me to do, and to continue making small decisions that go a long way! How productive we could be!

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Discipline

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For the past several months now, the greatest challenges of mothering has shifted from juggling the physical duties a wife/mother faces, (diapers, baby scheduling, nursing, cleaning, meals, shopping etc.), to character training, as Imanuel has begun to exert his will. The physical, check-list duties are still there, but you come to a point of realization that if these are neglected, there no major damage. You can always clean later. Shopping can wait. You can always ask your husband to cook. 🙂 In disciplining your child, every opportunity that arises will impact the child’s character for good or for evil.

I have always appreciated Ellen White’s writings. However, it wasn’t until I read (and am reading again and again…) Child Guidance that I am impressed with how inspired and balanced she was. The section and chapters on discipline have been my meat for quite a while now and it always leaves me with the feeling that I CAN DO NOTHING apart from Christ, but at the same time that I CAN DO ANYTHING through Christ. A perfect balance of fear and confidence. Humility and encouragement. Challenge and victory. Her counsel warns against the extremes and gives biblical principles for success. This is what every mother needs!

Here are some profound principles that I am striving to implement as a mother:
1. “The object of discipline is the training of the child for self-government.” -223
The main purpose is NOT to teach the child to obey the parent. It isn’t to make them behave. It is to teach them to have self-reliance and self-control. To reason within himself to do what is right. She makes it very clear of the dangers that will come if parents exert total control or on the flip-side to over-indulge and give too much freedom. Both extremes will only result in bitterness, hurt, and unhappiness. Decided training and discipline is needed, but with this principle in mind!

2. “Let not one word of fretfulness, harshness, or passion escape your lips….Harsh, angry words are not of heavenly origin. Scolding and fretting never help.” – 219, 246
As a child, I always imagined that Mrs. White would be one to advocate “iron-rod” parenting, but it is quite the contrary. While she emphasizes authority and training, she urges us to do so in a loving, Christian-manner. Her counsel is to be firm, but free from all passion, having complete self-control. I am so grateful that at any moment, God is on His throne, ready to hear our petitions to Him. And He is always willing to teach us what to do.

3. “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Gal. 6:9
Mothers are often weary. We get worn out by all of the daily duties. However, I never want it to get to the point where I am too weary that I neglect my God-given duty as a mother. It takes extra will-power and discipline to loving correct a child for the 20th time when you’d rather just finish making dinner or you’re dead-tired and don’t want to get up from the couch. But this promise is sure! I want to reap!

4. “Let the mother study with care the experience of others, note the difference between their methods and her own, and carefully test those that may appear to be of real value….Mothers, above all others, should accustom themselves to thought and investigation.” – 238
In addition to studying God’s Word, she counsels us to learn from others in order to implement practical parenting methods. We should study and reflect and think of ways we can be better parents. Read books, search the Internet, observe others, and hold fast to that which is good. Because people are all different and children are all different, it is impossible for there to be one way to raise any child. I hope to never get to a point where I feel like I don’t owe my boys and God the time and energy to become a better mother.

Mothering is a life-long task and I’m finding that different stages of a child’s growth require different care and training. And I thought the majority of my studies were done while I was pregnant! But I know that somehow through God’s divine plan, while I am taking my children through various stages of life, those lessons are in fact training me, also, to make me who God wants me to be. There’s nothing to lose!

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Micah, Wild Strawberries, and Jen

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On July 19, Micah Christian turned 8 months old. 

He can now roll over,

eat solid food,

and play with toys.

(He doesn’t look very friendly in this picture…)

We have also discovered several wild strawberry patches in our backyard.  Jen was over for the past couple of weeks and one of the highlights was picking/eating the strawberries (among other things – like eating in general). 


Jen holding the yummy strawberries.


“I’m going to make us a mean strawberry and rhubarb drink…” says Israel.  It was quite interesting.


And finally, here’s Jen with her bee mask/welding shield/visor-in-one posing with the strawberries. 

Sikhu came up this past weekend and also was with us for a few days.  However we took all of the pictures during that time with Jen’s camera.  Hopefully we’ll get to post some up soon.  We had such a great time with them!  They left this morning so we’ll be keeping them in our prayers as the make the long drive downstate.

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Mass Updates

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It’s been a long time since we last updated.  So much has happened!

Micah Christian can now roll-over (P.T.L.), he has grown 2 bottom teeth, he can sit up on his own, and he has successfully eaten his first handful of Cheerios. Something interesting that has happened is he has grown attached to one of his blankets. We have affectionately named it the “magic blanket” because if he is in the least bit tired and you place the blanket on his face, his eyes will immediately roll back, his mouth will pucker and begin a sucking-like motion, and he will be knocked out within 30 seconds. I don’t know how this happened. It is quite a mystery to all of us. We forgot to bring the magic blanket to VBS two nights ago and we almost ended up leaving early because he just would not nap w/out it. Other soft blankets don’t work. He needs the one and only. So, this definitely has its pros and cons. I must admit, though, that it is very cute to see him hug his blanket and hold it to his lips.
Micah now eats 3 solid meals a day (-oatmeal for breakfast and veggies/fruits for lunch and dinner). I still nurse him 4 times a day even though he weighs as much as a 2 year old. I think once he turns one, I’m going to close shop.

This past month, we went to my parents’ place while Israel was at camp pitch for the week. It was nice spending time with them. I helped them clean out their entire house and have a big garage sale. It was a lot of work, but it was really fun. All proceeds went to my mom so it was nice doing something so that she could have extra money to use for herself. Some of the items that we sold included: the wooden rocking chair, our old dining room set (including the 6 yellow-cushioned chairs), a large portion of my parents’ rock collection, my a half size violin, my trumpet, bikes, lawn chairs, sports equipment, books, my mom’s house plants, nearly 100 picture frames, and lots of golf balls!  We even had a very large FREE section which kids were particularly excited about.  I think we made nearly $1,000!  God really blessed!

Campmeeting was lots of fun EVEN THOUGH our tent and gazebo was destroyed by a tornado, the kids got sick, and I was having nightmares about how “the raindrops fall with a pitter-pitter-pat…a pitter-pitter-pat…a pitter-pitter-pat”.  Imanuel loved his class.  In fact, on our way to VBS this morning, he was singing the “I’m glad I came to Campmeeting…(repeat)” song.    

Anyway, I’ll have to resume this post until another time when I talk about our 4th of July trip to Lansing, CAMPUS l.e.a.d.s, VBS, and Jen.  It’s been a crazy summer so far!

Anyhow, here are some pics from the past month or so.  More pics can be found on the photo strip!


When Daddy brought home a turtle (that was crossing the street).  They brought it back soon after.


Right before leaving to go down state for campmeeting, Daddy decided to try out our camping gear – IN THE LIVING ROOM.


Father’s Day 2008!  (Also the first day of Camp Pitch for MI Campmeeting)  We drove on Saturday evening then got a hotel for the night.  This was taken Sunday morning.  AND…the boys wanted me to mention that Israel is the best Daddy in the whole world.

While Daddy was breaking his back setting up for campmeeting…

 
The sales employee and financial manager
 
It was hard work, but at the end, we were able to get rid of a TON of stuff and do some major cleaning.

CAMPMEETING – Youth Field Trip to Camp Au Sable

The leaders of the Youth Tent:  Justin Kim, Jodi & Willie Iwankiw, Steve Conway, Christian Martin, and Tammy Conway


Manu’s first time on Go-Karts – He was so excited but he was sound asleep by the time it was over!  🙂


Both kids were knocked out by the end of the trip. 

Back at Home…

Just chilling in Manu’s bedroom our first morning back home.  The whole family got sick.
  

Hopefully I’ll be able to post again soon.  I also planted a small garden in the backyard.  If it is successful, you’ll be sure to see a post on that one too.  🙂  It’s nice to finally be back home for a while…

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The Other Side of GJC

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A few weeks ago (Memorial Day Wknd) we drove down to Berrien Springs for GJC.  It was a blessing (so they say…I hardly understood anything!)  And it was so much fun staying at the Sheppard’s place!  They are such a sweet family!  It was doubly special because my two brothers and my sister-in-law were all there and we were able to spend time with them.  Jukes and Aileen will be moving to Ann Arbor at the end of the month for two years.  My brother will be doing a cancer surgery fellowship at U of M.  Aileen is finishing up her residency and she will be looking for work as a pediatrician.  I was about to say that it’ll be nice that they’ll be so much closer to us…but they’ll still be 9 hours away.  At least we’ll be in the same state, ey?!  (That was my yooper-side coming out.)  And good thing we have plenty more family in CA so we’ll still have an excuse to go there to visit!

Here are a couple pics that Aileen took :

Auntie Aileen & Uncle Jukes meet Micah for the first time!


Manu had lots of fun playing with his uncles.  This was at Sydney’s first birthday party (where he got the sunglasses and learned how to throw up the “peace” sign).

Hope we can see them again soon!!  

In Virum Perfectum