Tag Archives: titus israel

Our First Day of School

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.

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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!

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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…

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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.

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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!

Birthday Boys’ Report

The crazy thing about my family is that all of our birthdays fall in consecutive months:

October – Me (Judy)
November – Micah
December – Ty
January – Bentley
February – Israel
March – Manu
(The cats were adopted and we’re unsure of their exact birthdays.)


We got this pin a few years ago and we use it for all the boys’ birthdays. 
They get to wear it all day. 
Best investment ever.

The crazier thing is that EVERYONE in the entire Namm family was also born within these months!  For almost 6 months, it seems like we have a birthday every week!  There is a lot to celebrate.  Now, we are nearing the end of the birthday blitz and I finally have time write about our latest birthdays. 

December 12, 2012:  Ty turned 3.
Ty had a quiet birthday right before all of the Christmas festivities.  We took him to Chuck E. Cheese for games and cake.  I can’t believe his is already 3 years old.  He is such a happy and sweet boy.  He is getting sillier each day and loves to make us laugh.  He’s at the age where I wish he would never grow up.  We’re trying to make sure we take videos of how he talks and the songs he likes to sing.  He is a total mama’s boy and yes, he still totes around my shirt everywhere he goes.  My favorite line that he always says is, “That’s the biggest ________ that ever I seen!”  On Ty’s birthday, we also took our family Christmas pictures, wearing the matching love shirts that Justin & Rachel gave us (as seen on our new profile pic).

     

February 26, 2013:  Israel turned 33.
We celebrated with our family, which is what Israel likes best.  The boys and I made him breakfast in the bedroom.  After he came home from work, we surprised him with another little party for dinner.  We ended the fun day with a family movie night.

March 4, 2013:  Imanuel turned 7.
I can’t believe I have a 7 year old child.  And I can’t believe how blessed I am to have him.  Imanuel has been one of the greatest motivation factors for me to be a better person.  His sweet and sensitive disposition forces me to be more gentle and patient.  He is such a caring brother and will often plead on behalf of his brother’s mistakes.  It is my sincere prayer that he will continue to grow to be more like Christ and that I will never get in the way of that.

Manu’s birthday was exactly how a teacher’s kid would celebrate his birthday.  On Sunday, we went to Impression 5 with some friends.  Then on his actual birthday, we did some experiments from a kitchen science kit that John bought them.  It was a fun & educational birthday. 

 

Now we have a 7 month gap to recover from all of the extra calories!  🙂

Ty-Bizzle is Bipedal

I honestly thought this day would never come.  You know it’s bad when a mother is praying to the God in Heaven that her son would learn to walk.  But the day has finally come and Titus Israel Ramos, at a few days shy of 16 months, is officially a biped.

The real breakthrough came when we were at prayer meeting at Houghton church on Tuesday evening.  He kept walking from the side bench to Karen’s seat which was about 6 feet away.  It had been a while since I took the boys to prayer meeting since it was past their bedtime.  Well, after last week, I was kicking myself for not bringing Ty to prayer meeting 4 months earlier!

He is so chill, I can’t blame him.  Even now, he is quite the shy walker.  When you watch him walking, he can’t help but grin and more often than not, it causes him to fall over.  But I still think it is safe to consider this official.  Here are some pics of our baby who decided it was time for him to join the big boys club at last:

 
Now that he can walk, his favorite place to go is the pantry to see what snacks he can find.

 
He and Aroe definitely have a special bond.  Here’s Ty giving Aroe five.

 

We’re so proud of you, Ty! 

The Dedicating of a Yooper Winter Baby

For a pastor’s kid, being dedicated can be a little tricky.  Typically pastors prefer not to dedicate their own children so it requires finding someone else to come and do it.  Being a U.P. pastor’s kid makes being dedicated extra tricky.  The closest pastor around is hours away and it’s difficult to ask them to come on a Sabbath when they already have 3 churches in their district. 

Now, who would want to travel to the Great White North to dedicate a winter baby??  Ty was really pushing his luck.  So, you can imagine our gratefulness and relief that today, on Titus’s 15 month birthday, he was finally dedicated to the Lord at our church.  And of all people, we were blessed to have his African grandfather perform the dedication.  He has now dedicated our 2 Kwames – Imanuel and Titus.  Grandpa Pipim braved the cold, which is completely contrary to his genetic tendency, and spent the Sabbath with us.  We were all thrilled and blessed by his presence and by the message he shared with us.

 

The Lord spoke to me today saying,
Take this child away, nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.  Exodus 2:9 
I accepted the responsibility and the honor in prayer.

Last picture with Grandpa Pipim before he had to take off. 

Thank you so much for coming, Dr. Pipim.  You continue to be a source of courage and inspiration to our family and we’ve truly treasured our time we had together.  Our boys miss you already! 
We hope to see you again soon.

Titus Israel turns 1!

We celebrated our baby’s first birthday at home with our family.  We went to a church Christmas party in the afternoon, which was nice, and then after getting home at around 6pm, our little family party began. 

Earlier in the day, the boys helped us wrap some presents for Ty.  The boys were very excited to watch Ty open presents for the first time in his life!  We ate cupcakes first and really had a good laugh watching Ty devour his first sugary treat.  Then, we took pictures and Ty opened his presents.  After a while, Ty was so tired so we put him down for bed.  Israel had started this family tradition where everyone sleeps in the same room together when it’s someone’s birthday.  Our room was too cold for them, so we let the two older boys sleep in the living room together.  Israel and I joined them when we were ready for bed.  We all stayed nice and toasty from our wood stove.  We weren’t able to do anything super-special, but we had a memorable time together.


Ty wondering why he was never allowed to taste anything so good before!


Opening presents.


No more newborns in this house!  Just 3 little boys.  🙂

Since Ty was born, the Christmas season has become even more meaningful.  I’m thankful that Jesus gave me a perpetual reminder, through Ty’s birth, of the sacrifice Heaven made for us.  Over 2,000 years ago, another Baby was born to us and this birth is even more significant to me than my own sons’.  It is my prayer that I not only remember Ty’s birthday, but that Christ is continually reborn in my heart. 

Snippets of the Life of Ty

                                                TY AND BEANS

Ty is now eating more table food, but still with no salt or seasoning.  He loves cereal, fruit, rice, corn, and beans.  He now has 8 visible teeth.  He loves to give cheesy smiles which I believe evolved from Auntie Amy’s “viejita” face.  This started after we got back from Virginia.  Amy, if Ty has wrinkles around his nose by age 12, I will totally and completely hold you responsible! 

                                          TY AND BENTLEY

Bentley has become such a patient dog.  Ty has a fascination with hitting Bentley repeatedly on his face despite efforts to teach him be gentle.  Bentley still insists on sitting next to him.  What a lesson on patience, love, and forgiveness!  We think Bentley is the best dog in the whole world.  As you can see in this clip, Ty is definitely showing improvement.

                                           TY STANDS UP

He is yet to crawl.  He still scoots on his belly to get where he wants to go.  We always felt that Bentley played an instrumental role in teaching the two older boys how to crawl.  Ty seems to have picked up other behavior from Bentley.  His brothers have been great at making sure Ty stays in the safe areas.  When Ty begins creeping out of the living room, Manu will promptly grab Ty’s feet and drag him back to safety.  Micah resorts to yelling for me.  Either way, they are a great help during this time.  And in case this is the last time I can say this, Manu and Micah love to be with, take care of, and play with Ty.  We’re hoping and praying that their patience and tolerance will last forever.

Titus at 9 months!

Since Ty was born, he’s kind of been my neglected child.  Most of my time and energy seems to be focused on making sure Manu and Micah are getting along.  But he has been so laid back!  I’m not sure if I can attribute Ty’s chill personality to God answering my prayers or because he’s just so used to being left alone and has learned to be content.  It really boggles my mind.  I think the Lord knew that if Ty wasn’t an easy baby, I’d lose my mind.  So, I’m very thankful that the Lord gives each of us only what we are able to handle.  Definitely an act of grace.

He sleeps so much and so well.  He takes about 3 naps during the day and he goes to bed around 7pm.  Unless something is really bothering him, I just lay him down and he goes right to sleep.  Every morning at around 8am, he wakes up to his 2 big brothers climbing into the crib with him and bringing in all sorts of toys and stuffed animals.  They all sleep in the same bedroom…and they love it.  I know he’s probably starving, but he just plays with his brothers until I come in to get him at around 8:30-9am. 

Ty rarely cries.  When he does, after about 10 seconds, he’ll just pop his left thumb in his mouth and lay down wherever he is.  Sometimes I probably take advantage of this because at times when I’m supposed to feed him, I’ll end up leaving him in his highchair or on the ground with toys for sometimes up to an hour as I frantically finish up other chores or things to do.  He just waits patiently.  The good thing is that he has finally learned how to pick things up with his fingers so he can eat some cereal while he waits.

Ty eats anything.  He has never not finished a container of baby food and he has never rejected anything that was given him.  Once I decided to blend up some fruit for him to mix in with his rice cereal.  We had an old plum in the fridge that needed to be eaten, so I got that.  When I cut it in half, it was kind of brown and translucent inside, but it didn’t look rotten or anything.  So, I pitted it and blended it up and fed it to Ty.  (I know, I don’t know what I was thinking.)  He made a few faces and I assumed it was because it was sour.  But he kept eating and eating…not excitedly, – he’s never been super-excited about eating food – but faithfully, as opened up his mouth when the spoon came near.  I decided to taste some.  It was the nastiest, sour/bitter-tasting plum ever.  It was probably as good as rotten.  I actually apologized to Ty for feeding it to him.  But I just can’t believe that he is just so laid back!   

Ty is growing so nicely.  At his last doctor’s visit, both his length and height were in the similar percentile- in the 90’s, and his head was quite small.  I think it was like in the 45th percentile.  That has been unique for us since the other two boys had fairly large heads or at least heads in proportion to their bodies.  It makes Ty look like a mini person.  He is squirming around on his belly to get around now.  He can get up on all fours and take one lunge, but then he plops onto his belly and scoots to get to his actual destination. 

Sometimes he baby-talks, but usually Ty is quiet.  There have been times when we thought he was mimicking one of us, but it’s kind of hard to tell if it is just a coincidence.  He loves calling for me…especially when he’s hungry.  And he’ll copy me when I ask him to say, “more, mama”.  He is so sweet. 

He is very cuddly and loves to be held.  Manu and Micah always try to make him laugh mainly by tickling him.  Ty has a pretty good poker face, but when he smiles, it’s contagious.  With 6 crooked, gapped teeth, his smile closely resembles an old farmer who lost some teeth and never saw an orthodontist. 

At times, I wish he could stay like this forever!  But my curiosity is just too strong to know just what kind of boy Ty will become and how his personality will fit into our family. 

Here’s a short video we made of Ty at 9 months. 

Milestones & Memories

First of all, I can’t believe my baby is 6 months old.  Second of all, I can’t believe Micah is totally potty-trained (even at night).  And third of all, I can’t believe the triathlon is in 2 weeks.  

Ty is such an amazing baby.  ‘Tis true that the Lord only gives us what we can handle…and He knew that I’d only be able to handle 3 kids as long as one of them was virtually stress-free.  (I hope I didn’t just jinx myself.)  I believe he weighs about 23 lbs or more and he is very long.  Last time I weighed him was a few weeks ago.  He has become an avid left-thumb sucker this past month and he has also grown his bottom two teeth.  He has learned to roll over from tummy to back but has yet to maneuver himself from back to tummy.  And just yesterday, we moved him into his big brothers’ room so the three of them all share their bedroom.  They love it (-at least the two older boys).  🙂  

Micah has become fully potty-trained after about 3 weeks.  The incredible thing is that since then, he hasn’t wet all night either.  (Imanuel still requires a pull-up at night…but he is quite determined now to quit wetting the bed!)  It is amazing the amount of pee he puts out every morning.  He sounds like a man.  But I am proud of his progress.  Believe it or not, I used tips from watching the free DVD put out by “Big Kid Central” (from the Huggies/Pull-Ups Brand).          

Imanuel has been in learning mode and loves anything that involves books/reading, triathlons (-his daddy promised to train him for his first triathlon when he turns 7), and bells.  We started a little bell choir with our home school group and during our first performance at a nursing home, Imanuel played his bell notes flawlessly.  It shocked me…but it shocked me more to realize that he is 4 and he will be starting school soon!  We’re also going to enroll him in swimming lessons sometime soon (part of the triathlon training).

Israel completed his first triathlon, Hawk-i, on Sunday, June 6, 2010.  We were so proud of him as he finished nearly 20 minutes faster than his trial race a few weeks earlier.  On July 11, our 6th year anniversary, we’ll both be participating in the Belle Isle Triathlon in Detroit.  We’re both going to be on relay teams with Israel doing the swimming portion and I’ll be doing the biking portion.

We drove down to Michigan Camp Meeting 2010 in the Freestyle and Leon.  We’re thankful for Leon because Bentley was able to drive down with us and he’s come to view Leon as a second home.  On the first Sabbath, Israel was ordained into the gospel ministry.  That was a very special experience for our family and a true milestone in Israel’s life.  We’re so thankful for all of our family and friends who attended.  

In just less than 2 weeks, we’ll be heading down again for CAMPUS l.e.a.d.s.  A couple weeks after that, we’ll be at Camp Au Sable for Family Camp with Israel being camp pastor, then U.P. Camp Meeting at Camp Sagola at the end of July.  To top off the summer, we’ll be back downstate at the end of August for Stephanie & Jeff’s wedding!  We’re hoping sometime before then, we’ll be able to sneak in a week of vacation.  Lots of plans but hopefully lots of fun too.

This is also a memorable time for us because taking place right now in Atlanta, GA is the 59th General Conference session.  At the 58th GC session in St. Louis, Israel and I found out that I was pregnant with our first son, Imanuel.  So, within the 58th and 59th sessions, we’ve had our 3 boys.  And we now have a new GC president, Ted Wilson.

We’re so thankful for God’s guidance and leadership in our lives.  He has proven time and time again that He is in control and He has carefully mapped out plans for us and all we need to do is stay faithful and trust Him.  There are so many more updates that I can think of, but it’ll have to wait until another time.  

Here are some memorable pictures and a special video that the boys made to remind us of the importance of daily studying His Word (-they thank their buddy Elisha for teaching them the song!):

 

We are going to miss Ian & his family!

 

The boys & Abuelo.  Ty got to meet him for the first time!

 

Ty wearing the pink PJ set that was passed down from both Manu & Micah.

 

At “Harmuhnee & Harabuhgee’s mall” for lots of playing & yummy treats.

 

Brothers

 

Training partners

 

 

Ty’s First Haircut

So, on the evening of Monday, April 26, Ty was given his first haircut.  He didn’t have much hair to begin with since a lot of it started falling out last month, but the remaining strands were getting pretty long.  Lala and Nana were leaving the next morning, so Nana offered to cut Ty’s hair.  He did a pretty good job at sitting still and not fussing.  She didn’t bring her scissors and supplies, so she had to use our ghetto scissors and Israel’s beard trimmer, but the cut turned out so well!  Ty looked so different, but very cute. 

Ty sitting in his comfy barber chair.  

In commemoration of this milestone, all of the other boys (Israel included) supported Ty by also getting their haircut.  It was the boys’ first professional cut!  Nana used to cut Israel’s hair back in California when he was a little boy.  We really appreciate her for giving so many haircuts in such a short amount of time!  Israel got his hair cut after Ty.  The next morning before leaving for the airport, Imanuel got his hair cut.  And believe it or not, Micah got his haircut en route to Marquette airport in our big blue van, Leon! 

Now all of the boys in this house are well-groomed and looking sharp.  


Ty & Nana

The final results!

The Gracious Reunion

During our last trip down for Ian’s dedication, my sister met Ty for the first time.  It was special because not only did my sister name him, but Ty is also indirectly named after her.  My dad chose the Korean names for our kids.  Korean siblings (& cousins) often share a generational name syllable in addition to their family name.  So, in our kids’ generation, their common name syllable is “woo” which is derived from the chinese character meaning “friend”.  Imanuel’s name is “Sun-woo” (good friend), Micah’s name is “Hyun-woo” (wise friend), and their cousin Ian’s name is “Myung-woo” (bright friend).  Ian is named after my dad whose Korean name is “Myung-keuk”. 

When Ty came along, my dad decided to name him after my mom and sister who both share a common syllable, “Eun” which means “grace” (or “silver”).  So, Ty’s name is “Eun-woo” (gracious friend).  Their three names are special to our family because not only do all three of them share a common syllable though they span three different generations, the other part of their name is their generational name syllable shared with their siblings.  In our family, our names have been instrumental in giving us a sense of identity and belonging as well as pride in who we are.  It is my prayer that our boys will share in those bonds as they grow together in the Lord.        

Graces
Three of my favorite people, Ju-eun, Eun-bok, and Eun-woo, at their first reunion.