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Micah’s Surprise 5

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This year, Israel and I decided to do an experiment with Micah for his 5th birthday. The plan was that we would try to keep the date unknown to the boys and then on the morning of Micah’s birthday, we would shock the daylights out of him with a birthday surprise…and he wouldn’t even know it was his birthday!  It seemed like a hilarious, yet perfect plan. Imanuel, naturally, was the most in tune with the date and so I had to try to throw him off. No writing dates on his school work. It worked out because the End of Season Bash for Team Revolution was the day before Micah’s birthday so it served as a good decoy. I was envisioning the surprise in my mind and it included Micah squealing for joy as if he had just won the lottery! Perhaps the overwhelming happiness would send him into shock and he’d pass out. Something like that.

On the eve of his birthday, after we had put the boys to bed, my brother Justin and I went to the store to pick up stuff for the birthday surprise. My sister sponsored the balloons and an ice cream cake and we got some presents. We had originally planned on doing the surprise in the morning, but plans changed when my little brother had to head back to Ann Arbor that night and Israel was leading the office worship that morning. We decided to do the surprise late that night. So, after shopping, we stopped by Sansu to get my little cousin, Brian, who had finished his shift there and then we headed home. After some preparation, it was game time. We snuck into the boys’ room and got Imanuel and Ty out of the room. They were a little groggy and confused, but we explained that we were going to surprise Micah for his birthday. With all the gifts wrapped and cards signed, we marched up to their bedroom where Micah was sleeping. Brian led the way with my guitar to accompany our singing. Then we followed with the balloons and gifts. Justin took the rear with his iPhone taking video.  Click HERE for the raw video footage.

We opened the bedroom door, turned on the light, and we began to sing “Happy Birthday to you” with as much enthusiasm we could muster. Micah didn’t move much. In fact, he couldn’t manage to open his eyes. Israel picked him up and we were trying to get him to see all of the presents and balloons. I even told him we had a birthday cake! All of the shaking and nudging and tickling didn’t work. He just didn’t want to wake up. He passed out alright. But the problem was that he never woke up in the first place!

Imanuel had to fill me in on what happened when they woke up the next morning. Micah woke up and seeing all of the presents, he thought it was Christmas. (So, I guess there was some sort of “shock and awe” play that happened.) He asked Manu which of the presents were for him. Then Manu told him it was his birthday and Micah was very happy and excited.  He loved the gifts which were “Angry Birds” themed per Justin’s suggestion.  He also loved the special gift from Grandma Karen which she personally brought to our place when she visited on Sunday!  He had absolutely no recollection of what happened the night before.  Maybe when he gets older, he’ll watch the video again and appreciate all of our planning and effort we put into the awesome surprise that never would be. 

His birthday was fun.  The boys took an amped up bubble bath in our jacuzzi and Israel made the boys green eggs and ham which is Micah’s birthday tradition.  In the morning, Manu wrapped up a present and gave it to Micah.  We didn’t know what it was.  It ended up being a sweater that was his but he wanted to pass it down to Micah.  He was very happy about that.  In the evening, we invited the boys’ local uncles and aunties over for dinner and cake.  Thank you all for coming and for the kind gifts.

While the birthday experiment didn’t quite go as planned, it was still lots of fun and Micah did mention that it was his best birthday ever.  So pretty much, we learned an important lesson for all you parents out there: Middle of the night surprises don’t work on kids.


Happy 5th Birthday, Micah-Likes!We love you more than you  know and Jesus loves you the most!

 

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The Ramos Reunion

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On Monday morning, October 8th, it was life as usual.  After a series of phone calls, Israel came into our bedroom and asked, “What do you think about all of us driving to California?”  After about 30 minutes of deliberation, I said, “Okay.”  It was the craziest, most impulsive decision of my life.  I immediately started the 2 loads of laundry, packed up our clothes and belongings, packed up Bentley’s things, made phone calls to cancel or reschedule appointments, asked Alanna to watch our cats every few days, gathered DVDs/CDs and toys to keep the boys occupied in the car, packed food and snacks, cleaned up the house, and prayed that we weren’t forgetting something important.  Within a few hours, we were saying good-bye to our cats and our home and we wouldn’t be back for 3 and a half weeks. 

It had been much too long since we were able to spend time with Israel’s family.  While my brain was shooting out a million reasons why this would be a ridiculous and even irresponsible decision, my heart was telling me to go…that it would be well worth it.  After all, there aren’t many things in life that are more important than family.  My heart was right.  It was such a wonderful trip.  God really blessed us.

I tend to be a doer, especially on vacations.  But this trip has taught me to appreciate just being, and finding value in just living out our lives together.  I will treasure all of the authentic conversations and hearing so many life stories and experiences.  It was a time of refreshing and happiness for us.   

Here is a slideshow that I pulled together from our trip.  It is especially dedicated to Israel’s mom who has been and continues to be the rock of this family.  Lala, we are so blessed to have such a beautiful, strong, and Christ-like woman in our lives.  Your 7 boys love and respect you so much and so do I! 

    

  

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A Little Catch Up

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It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about our family happenings, so I thought I’d play a little catch up.  We’ve lived through all four seasons here in DeWitt, MI and now we’re on round two.  I like where we’re at now.  I no longer feel like we’re getting used to our lives here.  We’re trying to conquer it.  Here’s the latest:

GRACE ORCHARD:
We had a great first season for our U-Pick Blueberry business.  When we first decided to buy the house, we had no idea about the blueberry bushes.  It wasn’t mentioned in the property description.  It did say there were “fruit orchards”, but we thought they were referring to the apple & pear trees.  After moving in, we got a good look at what we were up against.  The property had been overgrown for over a decade!  My parents began coming every weekend to help us clear the yard and we came across some amazing treasures.  The best was discovering the 10+ cherry trees in the northeast corner of our property!  The biggest project was the 2 acres of blueberry bushes.  My parents dedicated countless hours to pruning and tending them – especially my mom…which is why we named the business, “Grace’s Blueberries” and the land, “Grace Orchard”.  The business took off with the one Craigslist posting that I put up.  I posted that we have all-natural u-pick blueberries and if anyone was interested, email dewittblueberries@gmail.com to be added to a list.  Within the week, we had nearly 50 responses.  I then started a public Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/GracesBlueberries.  We had lots of people stop by and pick our all-natural blueberries.  We gave away free Balance magazines to our customers which we hope were a blessing to them.  We were able to eat blueberries to our hearts’ content, but hope for a bigger and better harvest next year. 

 

TRIATHLON SEASON ENDS:
We are done with our season training and are now in our off-season training.  This year Israel raced in one sprint triathlon (Hawk-i), one intermediate triathlon (Lansing Legislator), and finished his season with a century ride (Tour de Witt).  I raced in one sprint triathlon (Hawk-i), one olympic distance triathlon (Tri2Finish Holly), and ended my season with a half-marathon run.  Manu and Micah raced in their first triathlon, the Muncie ToughKids.  We’re planning our End of Season Bash for Team Revolution which will be on Sunday, November 18.  Endurance athletes can still sign up to be a part of the team for next season here.  We hope to stay in shape by going to the gym and getting on our bike trainer throughout the off-season until we get back into race mode in the spring! 

HOMESCHOOL:
This fall, Manu started first grade and Micah is in Pre-K.  Ty is trying to learn how to color.  It’s been different, but going well.  Last year, school wasn’t as structured and we did more projects and unit studies.  This year, I am following a curriculum for Manu so it is more structured.  I decided to go with a few different programs to try them out.  I’m using Christian Light for Math, Social Studies & Reading, and A Reason For Handwriting & Spelling.  Bible & Science are still on our own.  I’m enjoying it and it actually brings more independent learning which can be nice.  We also have taken advantage of being on the road.  This past trip, we were able to stop by Fruita, Colorado and visit a Dinosaur museum.  They were able to see many different dinosaur & “prehistoric” skeletons and also see real paleontologists at work in their lab!  The kids had a blast.

 
 

ADVENTURERS:
A couple months back, the boys signed their first official contract to be a part of the Lansing Lightning Bugs Adventurers program.  We had to miss their induction (since we were in California), but they are now legit.  Micah is a Little Lamb and Manu is an Adventurer Busy Bee.  Ty is a wannabe Little Lamb and every time it is time for a meeting, he has a pout on his face because he doesn’t have a uniform to wear.  The Little Lamb teacher is so sweet and she lets Ty participate in basically everything for that class.

   
 

POTTY TRAINING COMPLETE:
It is with great satisfaction that I am able to announce the promotion of Ty from being a baby to a Big Kid!  I decided to do a one-week intensive potty training session with Ty while Israel was in Austria.  That meant the diaper came off and we lived in our bedroom with wood (aka washable) floors where we ate all our meals, munched on salty snacks, and drank water like it was going out of style.  #1 was taken care of by day 3, but #2 took some time.  We went on a crazy, last-minute road trip to Cali soon after Israel came back and Ty successfully completed his training during our vacay.  Go Ty!  Diapers, I will miss you…said definitely not me!

 

BENTLEY SEES THE WORLD:
I already mentioned our random hiatus to Cali and a post will definitely be coming soon.  But something special about that cross-country trip was that we were able to bring Bentley.  He has never left the great state of Michigan, save the greater state of the U.P.    At first he was a little nervous during the drive.  He was a little shaky and didn’t eat much.  But by the time we drove back, he was hanging in the back with the rest of the boys begging for food and looking forward to each stop.  He was able to see Weimar, CA and chase some of their infamous deer, hike at Lake Tahoe, relax at the Im resort where he received his new favorite dog toy, meet his 3 cousins: Scooby, Sunny, & Brownie for the first time, and stay in the many pet-friendly hotels along the way.  He left a piece of himself (literally) in nearly every state we passed.  Just another way he is building his legacy.  He did miss his cat-brothers Aroe & Chance, though.  When we got home and he was reunited with them for the first time, he gave them licks and carried them off the ground as he ran under both of their legs.  They didn’t seem to mind it at all.

 

TRAVELS:
As a family, we have traveled from coast to coast in the past few months.  We also spent a wonderful weekend out in Camp Akita in Illinois.  The boys rode horses for the first time and ever since, to ride horses in Camp Akita has been a reoccurring prayer request!  We had a relaxing time at the CAMPUS vision retreat out in Williamsburg, VA.  The boys were able to swim in the Atlantic ocean at Virginia Beach for the first time.  We also took a tour of the historic Berkeley Plantation on the James River.  We have spent many Sabbaths traveling around to different churches in Michigan for Israel’s speaking engagements.  He and Sebastien preached an evangelistic series on the campus of Western Michigan University.  Israel also was asked to be the Pathfinder Pastor so he led out in his first Pathfinder Investiture.  And of course, most recently, we drove to the west coast and spent time in Sacramento for the Waterbrook wedding and then to SoCal to spend much needed time with Israel’s family.  It had been too long!  When we weren’t traveling, we were watering & harvesting my parents’ numerous tomato and Korean pumpkin plants!


 

This past year has required a lot of adjusting to new scenery, a new job, a new schedule, and the changes that come with a growing family.  We are so thankful to God for leading the way.  Challenges come and go, but one thing is certain: our family and friends make the journey so much more worth it.  We are praying that we can be more faithful, more loving, and one more step closer to Eternity.   

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Muncie TOUGHKids 2012

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Yesterday evening, we packed up our two cars and drove over to Muncie, IN.  We made a pit stop after Sabbath so the boys could carb up…at Taco Bell.  Then drove the rest of the way to the Signature Hotel where we would spend the night before the boys’ big day.

Jen, Manu, Ty, Bentley and I stayed in one hotel room and Israel, John, and Micah stayed in another.  We got in fairly late so we ended up going to bed around midnight.  The next morning, we woke the boys up, got the dressed and headed over to the Muncie TOUGHKids triathlon just a few miles away.  The boys were so excited.  This slideshow captures just a glimpse of this special day:

You made us so proud today, Imanuel & Micah! 

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Splash, Bike, and Run

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Next week, we are excited to spend a weekend in Indiana where our older boys, Imanuel and Micah, will be participating in their first triathlon race!  It is the Muncie TOUGHKids tri and they will be racing with other kids ages 4-6.  The race course will be a 25 meter swim in a pool, followed by a .5 mile bike, and then a 100 yard run.  They are so incredibly excited. 

After we mentioned the possibility of them doing a kids’ tri, they have made sure to talk to the Lord about it multiple times.  Micah told us that he’d be dreaming about the triathlon at night.  They began riding their bike around the grass trails in our backyard to “train”.  So, we had no choice but to sign them up.  We got them matching tech tee “uniforms” with their favorite colors – red for Micah and blue for Manu – and also some swimming Speedos.  They like to think that the Speedos also double as bike shorts.  Since we bought them their tri uniforms, they’ve worn them every day to train in our backyard. 


Aroe has been very supportive of the boys training outside.  He loves to get pets from them even when they are on their bikes!  Ty is currently potty training so he just runs around pantless and sometimes shirtless too.

Yesterday, we took the boys to the YMCA to work on their swimming.  Imanuel will be swimming by himself, but Micah will be wearing a life jacket during the race.  Unfortunately, their swim training was cut short when a child had an accident in the water which forced the staff to close down the pool for the rest of the evening.  We’ll have to try again this upcoming week!

This morning, we took the boys to Hawk Island park for a brick workout.  It was the first time Micah actually rode a two-wheeler on cement.  A couple weeks ago, we just took off his training wheels during campmeeting and he’s only ridden on the grass!  But he did great today.  All that trail training has paid off!  They rode for about a mile and a half and then ran for a quarter mile.  They were able to end the workout by cooling down at the kids’ splash area.  It was a fun morning and we are looking forward to next Sunday’s race!


Group shot before training.


Pep talk from Daddy. 


Cool down


Having too much fun!


Exhausted on the ride back home…and ready to eat!
 

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Our Bird Breeding Grounds

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Since the weather has warmed up, we have been doing a lot of yard work outdoors.  Most of the property was overgrown for over a decade and it’s been a huge task of trimming, pruning, and clearing.  My parents have been coming nearly every week and thanks to their hard work, things are really taking shape!  It has been amazing to see the transformation.  We have discovered so many little treasurers throughout the property.  The more we work, the more we are able to uncover what it must have looked like years ago.  As I was describing the yard to my sister, she said it reminded her of The Secret Garden.  It totally does…except there is no crying crippled boy locked up in a room.  But in many ways, spending time working in the yard is therapeutic.  It is mentally healing to be outside in nature and bringing order to the chaos.  I just love it.

The past few days, I have made it my mission to trim the pine trees by the side and front of the house.  I bought myself a brand new handsaw from a garage sale for $2 (since Israel doesn’t like me using the chainsaw) and I’ve been sawing away at the pines.  In the process, I’ve discovered 3 new bird nests!  Israel found one the other day, of all places, in our trailer.  So, the boys and I have been observing 4 nests and watching their progress from day to day.  We also enjoy watching and hearing the different species of birds that come to our feeders.  I seriously feel like we live at a bird sanctuary.  They are just everywhere so it probably isn’t safe to stand under any of our trees.  🙂

The first robin babies we saw (and I wrote a blog about), ended up being a heart breaker.  A couple days after hatching, the 3 chicks were gone.  It was very sad.  The nest was just too exposed and close to the ground.  The nests we are following now are in much better locations so we’re more hopeful.

To incorporate this as part of school, I’m having Manu and Micah make a nest observation picture journal.  I’m also trying to tie in as many object lessons as I can think of.  It is such an amazing experience and in the boys’ minds, I want it to be associated with spiritual and practical lessons that they will never forget.

Bird Nest #1:      
Israel found a red-winged black bird’s nest in the closet of our trailer, Bonnie.  When this mama bird was searching for a nesting place, she found a bonanza.  Literally.

There she is flying out of the door of her nest – the hole for the power cord.  It leads into a closet in the trailer.


This is an enormous nest.  She decided to take advantage of all the room.

5 precious eggs that are in a super-safe place.  Predators don’t have a chance as long as we keep the doors closed.  Only dilemma is whether these baby birds will fledge before we need to take the trailer to campmeeting!  We are hoping they will hatch tout-suite and get this party started.

Bird Nest #2: 
As I was sawing off a fairly large branch of a tree, I heard really loud flapping and it scared me.  I jumped away from the noise, and then I saw a mourning dove hopping around with its wing extended.  It totally looked injured, and for a minute I thought it was.  It was very convincing.  Until I had a thought that it must have babies nearby!  As much as I know how stressed that bird was, it was exciting to see a “broken-wing feign” live.  As I looked around the tree, I was in for a treat.  Two fairly large mourning dove chicks were sitting in a nest right above my head.  I knew they would be fledging soon.  They could barely fit in the nest.


Today when we went to check on them, they were gone.  The nest was empty except for a ton of droppings.  I think I can say with confidence that they have fledged! 

Bird Nest #3:
While I was trimming the trees where the doves were, I discovered that there were metal wires wrapped around each of them.  From the looks of it, you can tell it had been years because the trunk had tried to grow around the wire.  It was totally choking the trees!  I had to pry them open with pliers and it wasn’t an easy task.  I was trying to save the last poor tree, when I looked right below the wire and saw a nest with 3 perfect robin eggs in it.  Unfortunately, a couple days later, the egg count was down to 2.  But today when we checked on them, there was a hatchling in the nest and the second egg was cracked!  It was time!

Bird Nest #4:
Yesterday, we discovered this nest.  The pine trees by our mailbox were so overgrown so I was trimming the bottom of the trunk when I heard a bird take flight very close to where I was.  I looked around, and to my amazement, there was another robin’s nest with 2 eggs and a new hatchling!  I’m sure it had hatched that same day.  We, once again, had to postpone this trimming mission until after the babies fledge.  But, I don’t mind.  🙂


Mama Robin faithfully sitting on her nest. 

I’m sure there are dozens of other bird nests in our backyard that we just can’t see.  But I’m so thankful that we’ve found these four that are low enough so we can quietly watch from afar.  I just can’t imagine how many bird nests, animal homes, and babies are destroyed when entire forests are taken down…especially in the spring.  Well, we are looking forward to watching the progress of each bird family as time goes on.  So many lessons to be learned.  We are praying for special protection on these families. 

This post is definitely to be continued…!

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The Case of the Stolen Train

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Micah checked out a couple of books from the library on police officers that we read to them.  For school, I had planned on having a mini music lesson because Manu wanted to learn how to play the harmonica, but then Micah begged to learn about police officers.  In fact, this morning, he came into our bedroom dressed (as far as he was concerned) just like a mounted police officer (one on horseback).  So, I told them that we’d do both.  After our normal school routine, I taught them some basic music theory and then it was time to learn about the police.  One of the books had a small section in the back about fingerprinting and what detectives do.  It was quite clear that today the boys would be police detectives.

Here’s the plot:  In the early morning, someone had passed security and managed to steal a train from the Ramos Train Station.  They weren’t sure who it was, but one thing was for sure.  There were lots of fingerprints left behind.  The crook obviously was an amateur and didn’t wear gloves.  Detectives Manu and Micah were on the case.  They arrived to the crime scene and began dusting the fingerprints (with baby powder and their mom’s cosmetic brush).  One brushed the prints while the other repeatedly relayed through their radios, “There’s too much baby powder!”

They transferred the clearest print (using scotch tape) and began to narrow down the suspects. 

In this court system, you’re guilty until proven innocent.  We all turned ourselves in and got fingerprinted. 

First suspect:  Imanuel Alexander Ramos.  Detective Micah took his prints.

Next suspect:  Micah Christian Ramos.  Detective Manu took his prints.

Finally, Mama was the last suspect, but it seemed highly unlikely.  Why would she steal a train that she herself bought?  Was that even technically stealing?  The boys analyzed the data and compared all of the fingerprints.

The evidence was quite clear according to the detectives.  The print matched identically to that of Mama Ramos.  They couldn’t decide whether to handcuff me or not as they took me to jail.  Detective Micah insisted that we didn’t have to handcuff.  Then, as they were about to lock me up, once again Detective Micah erred on the side of grace and said, “Okay, we’ll give you one more chance!”  Detective Manu concurred.  In fact, they told me they’d give me one hundred more chances!  I don’t see a very bright future ahead of them in the field of justice.  But, it was fun pretending for a day!

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O Day of Rest & Gladness

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This was my things to do list for today:

– do laundry
– go to the bank
– drop off recycled goods
– take boys to the library
– buy pet food
– go grocery shopping
– fill the bird feeders
– read to the boys
– go running (in the backyard)
– tidy up the yard
– clean the house for Sabbath

And all this was on top of the normal daily grind.  I’m thankful that we were able to get everything done.  It was more difficult because I had to bring the boys with me everywhere since Israel is out of town.  Once we left the house to run errands, they had to get in and out of the car 5 times.  I must say that they were champs today.  After the final errand, I decided to treat the boys so we picked up some dinner and headed over to a local park.  After two hours of playing frozen tag (-and according to the boys’ rules, somehow I am always “it” no matter what), we spent some time by the rushing river, and then headed home.  We had worship and then spent some time talking with Israel over the phone.  (He is in Colorado for GYC Board meetings.)  I put the boys to bed and then I took the most magnificent shower.  Now, I am ready to fully embrace the Sabbath and all that it entails.   

After six days of truly legit work and labor, I can see how someone would be inspired to write an entire song dedicated to one day of the week.  I completely can resonate with these words:  

O day of rest and gladness,
O day of joy and light,
O balm of care and sadness,
Most beautiful, most bright,
On thee the high and lowly
Before th’ eternal throne
Sing, “Holy, holy, holy,”
To the great Three in One.


Thou art a port protected
From storms that round us rise;
A garden intersected
With streams of paradise;
Thou art a cooling fountain
In life’s dry dreary sand;
From thee, like Pisgah’s mountain,
We view our promised land.


A day of sweet reflection
Thou art, a day of love,
A day to raise affection
From earth to things above.
New graces ever gaining
From this our day of rest,
We seek the rest remaining
To mansions of the blest.

– Christopher Wordsworth, 1862

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Worm Sounds & Snacking Ants

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Today for school, the older boys and I did 2 science experiments using a great book we checked out from the library.  It’s called Backyard Science. 

The first experiment was called “Worm Sounds”.  We took a large worm from our worm farm, put it on a piece of aluminum foil, and listened to the sounds of its setae (- the bristle-like parts of the worm used to grasp) as it crawled around.  We used a paper cone to help us hear better. 

They never knew we could “hear” worms crawling, or that they had the bristle-like structures on their body.  Had to go indoors for this one since Grandpa Lewis was mowing his lawn next door.  We needed it to be quiet to hear.  Memorable moment was when the worm decided to defecate on Imanuel’s hand.  To make things less uncomfortable, I shared how that is great fertilizer and the reason why we have a worm farm.  He is such a good sport, that boy.

The other experiment was called “Ants on a Log”, except it didn’t have to do with the snack kids like to eat.  It was about what snacks ants like to eat.  The boys had lots of fun choosing what types of food to use in this experiment.  Here’s what they decided:

Small pieces of Veggie Meat, Tostada, Fruit Snack, Lettuce, Chocolate, Pistachio, Cheese, and Garlic were their offerings.

At first, we had a hard time attracting the ants.  We placed the plate next to an ant home, but every time an ant would come onto the plate, it seemed that it would always happen upon the garlic first and then flee for dear life.  We learned early on that they DO NOT like garlic.  We waited a couple hours and when we came back, we were in for a surprise.  The ants were throwing down!  First things we noticed the ants were going after were the lettuce and the pistachio.  After those were nearly exhausted, they were gorging themselves on the veggie meat.  They hardly touched the tostada, cheese, fruit snack and chocolate.  Oh, and of course they stayed away from the garlic.  We left the plate out over night and we’ll see if they ended up gathering the rest of the food eventually.  But it was clear what they preferred to take first from our ant buffet.

The boys were surprised with the results.  First of all, they totally thought they were doing the ants a favor by giving them the pieces of fruit snack and chocolate.  They couldn’t fathom how the ants would not take full advantage of the free sugar.  Secondly, we watched one ant drag a huge chunk of pistachio clear across the plate to its home.  That was pretty amazing.  So, the conclusion was that ants not only are crazy hard workers, but they are also healthy!  I, personally, was inspired by their self-control and temperance.  I guess there is a reason why they are so strong. 

We targeted the ants that reside under the rocks in our front yard.


Micah is following an ant that was carrying an enormous leaf.

 
After 2 hours 


**New Photo** : The Next Morning – They were still hard at work!

We had lots of fun learning today.  The next couple of weeks, we’ll be doing more of the science projects/experiments from the book.  I appreciate how it uses basic household supplies and incorporates backyard nature.  Super-fun and super-easy.  And I love having school outdoors!

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The Making of Little Church Members

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Recently, the Adventist Review put out an article called “Help!  My Child Can’t Sit Still in Church.  What’s a Parent to Do?”  After reading it, it got me thinking about the evolution of my experience sitting through church with my babies. 

When Israel got a call to pastor in the U. P, our firstborn, Imanuel was 6 months old.  Prior to that, both Israel and I would sit with the baby (if he wasn’t preaching).  Now, Israel was preaching every Sabbath…and 3 times at that.  It was fine with one baby.  Newborns are actually pretty easy.  It’s when they become toddler age and are incapable of reasoning (and whispering), and when you’re in your last trimester with another one, when things get difficult.  There were some difficult times, especially since Israel left to preach at the first church before 8am.  I not only had to worry about getting the boys ready to go to church, but I knew Israel would be unavailable for pretty much the whole rest of the day.  After church, he had prison ministry and sometimes more visits. 

But my overall church experience has always been so positive because of Grandma Karen.  I’m so thankful that she decided to invest so much in my 3 boys.  And that’s where I had an epiphany.  I realized that in order to help our kids love the church and to be active participants, it takes investment.  To be honest, at first, I thought it was a little over the top that Karen would switch out books and toys every single Sabbath from the Sabbath bag – for a 6 month old.  I mean, she even switched Sabbath bags from time to time because she thought maybe the boys would like the pockets on them.  She put in countless time, money, and thought, not only into teaching them for Sabbath School, but also into ensuring that the boys sat quietly and were engaged and happy during church.  Even when the boys were babies, she observed them and knew what each of the boys preferred to play with and what they struggled with.  But Israel and I truly appreciate what that was worth.  They responded to her.  With calm, loving-kindness, she taught them to not only be quiet, but to be reverent, which is essential to church.  Over time, she taught them how to participate in all of the preliminaries before the actual message.  She taught them to be active worshipers and most importantly, to love church.

It got even crazier when she would give a friendly reminder to the pastor when sermons would just go too long.  She would say, “Pastor, you need to think about the children…your children!”  I would just laugh.  Why should the pastor modify the message just for the children?  He should think about the other church members.  But it’s true.  I realized that church should be just as much for the young mother and her children as it is for the middle-aged members whose children are out of the house.  Church is a place for members of all ages and it should consider the growing families as well.   

While we are nowhere near perfect, I thought I’d share where we’re at in our family’s church experience.  I definitely feel blessed, and I’m thankful that my boys are at a place that allows me to actually hear the message too.  I’m hoping I’ll be able to look back on these days with fond memories of when our boys learned how to give and gain the most in the Church.

Here’s the weekly grind:

–  Friday night, I gather everything I need to bring to church for me and for the kids:  Bibles & SS lessons, tithe & offering, diaper bags, quiet activities/books, water/snack etc. 
–  Upon arrival to church, distribute Bibles & offering and give pep talk about reverence – even in Sabbath School.  When they behave, I try to make it a point to affirm them for making Jesus happy.
–  Sometimes we pray before church starts if they need extra reinforcement.
–  Boys and I go to the bathroom before church starts.
–  The babies always sat on a lap during church until they were ready to sit on the pew by themselves. 
–  We’ve always had them sit on the pew and face the front.  No playing on the floor or walking around.
–  Church is always a quiet time with only whispers when necessary, even when waiting for church to start.
–  Sabbath bag had only quiet toys and books and were different each Sabbath.  (I included a list of the boys’ favs below.)
–  To encourage participation in service, Sabbath bag doesn’t come out until after children’s story and when sermon starts.  They never know what’s in the bag, so they look forward to the surprise. 
–  We encourage them to stand/kneel/sing when the church does.  No exceptions, even with pregnancy or with a newborn.  Karen had a mini-hymnal for the boys that she would always bring.  They loved using the hymnal when it was time to sing.  Once they got the hang of it, they knew when to stand, what to sing, and when to kneel.  After time, they were able to sing along with all of the doxology/call to worship songs.  Sometimes we practiced the songs at home. 
–  No playing with any toys during prayer.
–  As the boys got older, they bring their Bibles to church and I help them find passages in the Bible at least for Scripture Reading. 
–  If Israel is preaching, it’s nice when we know what he will be preaching about and which songs will be chosen for opening and closing song so the boys can know ahead of time.  That makes church more engaging. 
–  The boys didn’t do it often, but there were a couple times when they participated in special music with a children’s group.  Manu has been practicing a song on the ukulele for over a year now and he hopes to play and sing for church. 

Ramos Boys’ Fav Sabbath Bag Items (through the years):
– lift-the-flap books
– little flashlights
– connecting toys with magnets (when they stopped putting everything in their mouth)
– stickers/markers and notepad – they like making cards for someone
– silly putty with plastic animals or stamps – by far their favorite. 
– Bible activity notepads:  dot-to-dots, puzzles, coloring pages

Imanuel is slowly weaning off of the Sabbath bag activities.  I find him listening to the sermon more and more as he gets older.  When I see this, I try to talk to him about the message and get an idea of what he is hearing.  Sometimes he likes to fill in the blanks if there is a sermon worksheet.  And when Israel isn’t on the road preaching, he is sitting right there with us.  Added blessing is his lap makes Ty narcoleptic.  Before, Sabbath was such a stressful, tiring day.  Now, it is our happiest day.  If any of you have any of your own Sabbath tips, please feel free to share.  Sabbath can never be too happy.