The Ramos Family

Goodbye 2011

2012-01-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

The procreation department was not good to us in 2011. I am now surrounded by babies the same age as Asher and bellies the size mine should be if I was still pregnant with Azra. Not fair. I am not angry at any of these mommas, but there are some days it is hard to be around them and feel genuine joy for them or stay engaged in a conversation with them.

I took these pictures back in September when I was supposed to have been due with Asher. I have a big calendar on my desk at work which I happily wrote his expected birthday the moment I was given a due date by my OB.

When I tore off August, my breath caught in my throat when I saw this...my scribbled out due date. Then I growled (yes I growled audibly at work...oy)...but no tears, just frustration and "why". What could I do? I couldn't just rip September on the 1st. My desk is too small to keep a pile of papers over the infuriating note all month. I complained to a fellow BLM by email. She suggested the following...

...so much better. I just happened to have this picture tacked up on my bulletin board at work and it was just the right size. I have to admit though, there was a pile on my desk most of the September...not purposely, perhaps subconsciously. Thank goodness I didn't have a 2012 calendar during the summer so I don't have to repeat all this in February.

While a big part of me is happy to see 2011 and it's associated sorrow pass, another part of me knows that I have a lot to be thankful for. Two happy and healthy children who celebrated another birthday, the strengthening of our marriage, family and friends who love us so much and take such good care of us, jobs that help provide for our little family, the hope associated with Samuel attending school, and a loving Savior who gave up so much so that He could promise us that we will see our babies again.

Here's to 2012...it's got to be better, right?

Playing catch up!

2011-12-31T11:30:00.000-08:00

Between getting ready for Chrismas, working lots, my computer crashing, all of us getting sick within 4 days of each other and then celebrating Jesus' birthday, free time has been short and my blog has suffered. I am going to catch up on posts and back date them to their original dates, so scroll down for updates! Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T18:02:00.000-08:00

We had fully intended on going to church on Christmas morning before spending time with my in-laws, but with Sapphira still dealing with a croupy cough and having to go to the doctor for a breathing treatment on Christmas Eve, we decided to play it by ear and see how long she slept in. Well, since church started at 10 am and she slept until 10:45, we stayed home! :) Although I was a bit bummed to not go, it actually made for a much better day since both kids slept in and were able to get some good playing time in with their new toys before their cousins came over and they opened new presents. My in-laws got to our house right at lunch time so we baked some pizzas and ate quick before the kids exploded from anticipation. :)

Cousins

♥♥♥

Malachi loves watching us play Angry Birds on our phones. He was so excited to get a "red bomb" bird :)

One of her cousins gave her this Strawberry Shortcake coloring book. She colors everyday in it.

Malachi had also asked for a real soccer ball. Grandma and Papa got him his very own!

Her other cousin gave her a soft little puppy dog. It got lots of kisses.

Sapphira gave Malachi two transformer books. Yippee!

Sapphira loves toys where you fit shapes into holes. My mom found this one at a second hand store and gave it to us to give to Sapphira.

I made Sapphira this faux chenille blanket using this tutorial. She immediately pulled it out of the packaging and wrappedherself in it. ♥♥♥ I hope to get better pictures of this later.

Miss E, a dear friend I used to work with, gave Malachi this Transformer toy. He was so excited!!

I know this picture is soooo blurry, but it makes me laugh because the reason it is so blurry is because he just opened another Transformer toy from Samuel and I and was so incredibly excited about it. Two Transformers in one afternoon makes for one excited little boy!

Miss E also gave Sapphira a new tea set. I couldn't get it out of the box fast enough for her!

"Bumblebee to the rescue!"

Organizing her new tea set.

Happy to being playing with new toys with her cousins.

The Transformer we gave Malachi "transformed". Here Samuel is reading the instructions and trying to figure out how it works. A couple minutes later, Samuel gave up and let Malachi have it back. Two seconds later, Malachi has it "transformed". I guess you know you are getting older when you can't figure something out and you give it to your kid to do. Also, notice Samuel's red Angry Birds shirt? Malachi and Sapphira picked that out for him.

Sapphira begged her cousins until they played tea party with her. That room was clean when she woke up that morning! oy

This year, we decided to give Malachi and Sapphira three presents each since Jesus got three presents from the wise men. Malachi got a red Angry Bird and some Angry Bird band aids, a Super Why board game and a Transformer. Sapphira got the faux chenille blanket, the tupperware shape toy, and a Timmy Time doll (don't worry...I didn't pay that much!!! I got it on massive clearance over the summer). It was so nice to have a specific limit on how much to give each child, especially since money is so short this year. I have to say that they were probably happier with a few things they love instead of a bunch of stuff they think are ok. I think this will be a tradition we continue.

We usually make a big ham dinner with all the trimmings, but since Christmas was on a Sunday this year we knew making the whole dinner would add too much stress to the day, so we picked up take and bake pizzas the day before. I really enjoyed the no-planning aspect of the meal and something out of the ordinary. After we opened presents and the kids had some time to play, we sliced up some apples and opened up some caramel that I made using this recipe from a friend's blog. So stinkin' yummy! Maybe another tradition...

It was such a good day. The kids stayed in their comfy jammies all day, got lots of playing time in with Grandma, Papa and their cousins, and we had a nice quiet afternoon. Christmas always feels stressful while I'm getting things ready for it, but once it's here and happening, I'm able to relax and enjoy the day. Another wonderful Christmas to remember.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

2011-12-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

How incredible is it that our Savior came to earth as a baby so that he could eventually die and save us from our sins? Every year, I find myself overwhelmed with thankfulness that He was willing to so much for us icky sinners, especially since we have no way to repay Him. I'm at a loss for what else to say...

Thank you Lord. ♥

Christmas Eve part 2

2011-12-24T16:41:00.000-08:00

Usually for Christmas, we spend Christmas Eve at my grandparent's house, Christmas Day late morning/early afternoon with my in-laws, and then Christmas Day late afternoon/evening with my parents. This year since Christmas fell on a Sunday, we had to move things around a bit to make sure everything fit in and we had plenty of time to spend with everyone. Christmas Eve at my grandparents was held a bit earlier in the day and then we went to my parent's house on Christmas Eve around supper time. Since we had snacked so much at Grandma's house, we were hungry right away for supper, so we opened presents first.

Just a bit excited to open presents!

Listening to GaGa read the Christmas story.

"Cake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sapphira is really into Strawberry Shortcake right now and calls her "cake". She opened this gift from Bobo and Miss Jen first since she saw packages of Strawberry Shortcake stickers taped to the top. She was so very excited!

I just love this picture because of how excited Malachi is that Sapphira is getting a Strawberry Shortcake. ♥

Malachi asked for a rocket ship for Christmas. Bobo and Miss Jen got lucky and found this rocket ship with Buzz Lightyear in it that rolls along the floor when you shake it...love at first sight!!

A "baby" pillow pet!

Gaga and Boppa got him his own tool bench with tools like Daddy!!

Sapphira has been playing with a cash register in the toy box at my work and really loves it, so Gaga and Boppa got her one of her own...yay!

After we had some playtime, we ate a yummy ham dinner and changed the kids into their Christmas jammies. A good day filled with fun and family. ♥

Christmas Eve Part 1

2011-12-24T15:23:00.000-08:00

Each year on Christmas Eve, my mom's side of our family gets together. We always have so much fun together visiting and watching the little ones open their presents. This is one of the only times we are all able to be together so it is nice to catch up. The older I get, the more thankful I am for all my family.
But of course, the kids were excited to open presents...

Malachi showing cousin E his new street sweeper. E is a junior in college, but is so sweet to Malachi whenever they are together. When we are driving and Malachi doesn't recognize the route we are taking, he always asks if we are going to Eli's house. ♥

A new pink shopping cart form Aunt L and Uncle B. Lately she loves things that are pink (I think because it's a new word that she's figured out how to say), so this cart was just so perfect for her.

Malachi showing GG his new toys. I love my family ♥

Sickies

2011-12-24T13:46:00.000-08:00

Sick, sick, sick! It all started with Malachi on Saturday 17th. He had spent the night at Grandma and Papa's house the night before and had been complaining about his neck hurting before he left and then his leg hurting while at Grandma's. When he came home, I could tell by just looking at him that he was sick. As the evening progressed, he began to refuse to move his neck, putting his le-le blankets around his neck to make it feel better, and just plain bawling over little things...sooo not like him. At one point in the evening, his temperature was nearly 103 and just a little later was 95 and was accompanied by the chills and a belly ache. The advise nurse said to take him to the ER. We got right in and got settled in a room. Poor boy just layed in bed and watched Christmas movies on TV and Cars on the laptop. After a urine test and nasal flu swab (totally traumatic by the way!), it was determined he had a virus and the neck ache was simply some body aches. They have him a dose of motrin and sent us home. We were sad he wasn't feeling well, but soooo thankful it wasn't worse...that neck pain scared me!!!

The sweet nurses, gave him two Cars 2 cars to help him calm down after the nasal swab. Poor boy...Daddy had to hold his legs, and I laid on his upper body and arms in an attempt to hold him still. This special gift perked him up a bit. When we picked up Sapphira from my parents house, he showed her the cars and said "see these cars, Sapphira? They are so special to me!" ♥♥♥

On Monday the 19th, I came home from work with a sore tummy which progressed into the flu on Tuesday morning. I had been saying I wanted to take a day or two off from work before Christmas, but body aches and vomiting weren't what I had in mind! oy

Tuesday evening after we put her to bed, Sapphira began throwing up and continued to do so all night and the next morning. She had a high fever, but was unable to keep any Tylenol down or the water she kept begging for. We called her doctor mid morning and they scheduled her an appointment a couple hours later and they suggested we give her 2 teaspoons of gatorade every 5 minutes to try to keep her hydrated since often when your tummy is upset, it can't tolerate large amounts of liquid, but small frequent amounts are ok. We got 8 teaspoons in her before she crashed in my lap. Poor thing was soo tired since she hadn't slept all night due to her frequent vomiting. About an hour later she woke up, asked for more drink, so we gave her 2 more teaspoons and she vomited all that up plus the 8 teaspoons from earlier. Poor baby was so sick. Her doctor gave her an anti-nausea pill and a bit later some tylenol which she was able to keep down. After that she was able to keep liquid down and she guzzled gatorade all the way home. After sleeping for the rest of the day, she was back to her normal sweet self.

Thinking we had all gotten this from Malachi, I was surprised to be woken up Thursday morning by Malachi throwing up at the foot of my bed. I was so thankful he only did it twice and felt better later in the day.

Since Christmas was so close, I jokingly told Samuel that he had 24 hours to get sick and be done if we wanted to got to our Christmas Eve celebrations together. Thursday night was Samuel's turn, and felt normal by Friday night. Thankfully we were able to participate in all our usual Christmas get-togethers.

This flu junk is so bad this year!! I know of sooo many people struggling with this lately. Hopefully it will run it's course and be done with soon!!

Gingerbread houses!

2011-12-16T12:36:00.000-08:00

What a fun tradition! Malachi did this last year for the first time, and Sapphira was very excited to be able to join in the fun this year (she just watched and ate cookies last year since she was too little to understand what to do). I got a kit for each of them, Daddy put the houses together in the afternoon, and after supper we got started. Daddy helped Malachi and Mommy helped Sapphira by putting on the frosting where they wanted and so they could put the candies on. What a fun project to do together!

Work a little, eat a little! :)

Both of the kids thought the little gingerbread man, Christmas tree and snowman were for them to eat. hehehehehe

Missing my Babies...

2011-12-12T22:28:00.000-08:00

I've listened to this song many times, but never paid attention to the lyrics until I stumbled on another BLM blog (I can't for the life of me remember which blog it was as it was a blog I don't usually read...a God thing I believe). She had the words typed out and they spoke to me.

Winter Song Lyrics(feat. Ingrid Michaelson)

bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum
bum bum bum bum bum bum
bum bum bum bum bum bum

This is my winter song to you.
The storm is coming soon,
it rolls in from the sea

My voice; a beacon in the night.
My words will be your light,
to carry you to me.

Is love alive?
Is love alive?
Is love

They say that things just cannot grow
beneath the winter snow,
or so I have been told.

They say were buried far,
just like a distant star
I simply cannot hold.

Is love alive?
Is love alive?
Is love alive?

This is my winter song.
December never felt so wrong,
cause you're not where you belong;
inside my arms.

bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum
bum bum bum bum bum bum
bum bum bum bum bum bum

I still believe in summer days.
The seasons always change
and life will find a way.

I'll be your harvester of light
and send it out tonight
so we can start again.

Is love alive?
Is love alive?
Is love alive?

This is my winter song.
December never felt so wrong,
cause you're not where you belong;
inside my arms.

This is my winter song to you.
The storm is coming soon
it rolls in from the sea.

My love a beacon in the night.
My words will be your light
to carry you to me.

Is love alive?
Is love alive?
Is love alive?

Missing my babies tonight...wish you were here so I could hold you...

Christmas program

2011-12-11T12:07:00.000-08:00

Each year at the beginning of December, the preschoolers get to sing two songs they've been practicing for the congregation during the church services. It is always so much fun watching them and guessing how they'll react to being on stage. Although neither of them sang or did any of the motions, they did well and didn't fuss even though they saw us in the crowd.

During the first service. Not too sure about all this...

She spotted GaGa and Boppa!

Showing Malachi her jingle bells...can you see him behind the red shirt?

Oh Bubba...

During second service...much more sure of themselves. Sapphira found Malachi and left her riser to stand next to him. This makes my heart happy as Malachi was more excited to stand next to his sister than his best friend. ♥♥♥

Sharing her bells with Bubs...he was more than happy to have two sets. :)

Trying to get Bubba to follow the rules and stand up like everyone else...

...and Bubba saying "nope". :)

Waving to Mommy and Daddy in the front row. ♥♥♥

My Memories giveaway winner!!

2011-12-10T10:20:00.001-08:00

Malachi and I picked a winner a bit ago...

...Stephanie!!

We are so excited for you!!! Email me at samuelamyramos(at)msn(dot)com so I can send you your prize!!

For those of you who didn't win, you still have a chance to get My Memories Digital Suite at a discounted rate!! My Memories has given me this code STMMMS40397. Enter this at check out, and it takes $10 off your purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software! This makes the program only $29.97!! Plus, the code will also get you a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store!! Yippee!

Thank you to all who entered! I really had a lot of fun hosting my first giveaway...hopefully it will be the first of many to come!

Deck the halls!

2011-12-09T11:43:00.000-08:00

This year, a dear friend from work gave us a tree from his farm. Although we missed out on cutting down our own tree, we certainly had fun decorating our tree! This is the first year we have let the kids put ornaments on themselves (in the past we have always done it while they were napping or out of the house as a surprise), and they really enjoyed helping out.

Putting up ornaments

The finished product!

Malachi insisted I take a picture of his Thomas "ornamen". This is one of his favorites.

I tried changing the settings on my camera to play wih the Christmas lights...this was as good as it got. Made me a little sad I didn't have a tiny baby to do this with...hopefully next year.

A happy way to start the Christmas season.

10.15.11--Punkin' Pickin'

2011-11-23T17:37:00.001-08:00

Wow...I guess I didn't really realize I was so far behind! eeeeek

Every year I look forward to picking pumpkins. We take the kids to the same patch my brother and I went to as kids and try to get both sets of grandparents and our nieces to come with. We always have so much fun. The kids love to run and explore and I love watching them have fun just being kids. I also enjoy the fact that this activity is the first of the yearly traditions and begins to ramp up the excitement the end of the year brings. Anyways...back to pumpkins.

This year, only my parents (GaGa and Boppa) could join us so the six of us piled into their car and headed out. The weather wasn't sunny, but was warm enough for only light jackets and was only a bit muddy.

She found this pumpkin first thing and never put it down!

We brought home 6 pumpkins...two each for Natalie, Malachi and Sapphira...one for inside and one for outside.

Picking flowers with GaGa.

♥♥♥♥♥

Running and running and running...such a boy!

I know this picture is insanely blurry, but his smile makes me so happy!

Sapphira loves seeing "wheels" beside the road. She wasn't sure what to think when she actually saw one up close.

So proud of the gourd she found!

Look at the death grip on those things...

I have no idea was he was doing...

My kids love the corn maze!

I asked him to smile...this is what I got...oy.

She makes me smile!

Our yearly family picture at the pumpkin patch. We are all actually smiling this year! :)

Malachi couldn't stand it when the pumpkins were in the "aisle". Most of the he could pick up, but this one required a bit more effort...

My Memories Suite Review and Giveaway!

2011-11-21T17:37:00.001-08:00

You'll want to read all the way through this post...there's a surprise waiting at the end! :)

Recently, My Memories asked me to try out their digital scrapbooking software and offer a review for my readers. I downloaded the program and got to work! Initially, I was impressed by the simplicity of the program...the pre-formed pages are made in a drag and drop format, allowing you to put together a page in a matter of minutes. I bet you could knock out an entire album in less than an hour.

When I downloaded my copy of the scrapbook software, I also signed up to get their weekly emails. This last week, the email included a link to a video tutorial which I watched, making the learning process sooo much easier! I also learned in this email that if you "like" their facebook page, you gain access to an exclusive fan freebie each Friday. This last week was a set of Christmas cards. I'm a little bummed that I was actually on the ball this year and already have all my cards printed because don't you think this one is adorable?!

If you visit their website, they have a wide selection of kits to download and use in conjunction with the software. I was also impressed by their Free Kits section which includes some cute paper packs and premade pages that are ready to plop your pictures in! Gotta love beautiful and easy pages!

Once you get a bit more familiar with the program, putting together your own pages from scratch is super easy and fun. I was able to use some of the adorable paper and embellishments that came with the program as well as some I had downloaded to create pages like this...

This program also allows you to incorporate video into your pages...how adorable is that? I haven't been super diligent in taking videos of my kids since there isn't as much you can do with them as photographs, but I think this might change my mind!

The only downside to this program for me is that the photo editing portion of the software isn't super detailed. I'm accustomed to using Photoshop Elements and filters to edit my photos, so the simplified editing capabilities don't meet my needs. I'm sure for those who aren't interested in spending a lot of time messing with your pictures, you would find the black and white, sepia, sharpen, brighten, darken and flipping options (among others) inclusive enough to meet your needs.

I have to say that I am excited to continue to use and play around the my copy of My Memories Suite and discovering what other fun things I can make!

Now for the surprise! One lucky reader will win a copy of My Memories digital scrapbooking suite!! Yay for giveaways, right?!

To enter, visit My Memories, poke around for a bit and come back here and let me know the name of your favorite kit. That's it! Easy peasy!

For extra entries:

1. Become a follwer of My Memories' Blog

2. "Like" My Memories' Facebook page

3. Follow them on Twitter

That's 4 ways to enter! I'll randomly pick a winner on December 10th. Good Luck!

Another bonus...for those of you who don't want to wait to see if you won a copy of My Memories Suite, if you enter STMMMS40397 at checkout, you get a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software **and** a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value!

Sweet Azra

2011-11-17T23:46:00.001-08:00

Right after the devasting earthquake in Turkey in October, I was reading an article (this wasn't the exact one, but it was similar) about a 2 week old baby girl, her momma and grandmother being rescued from their apartment building nearly 48 hours after it collapsed. The little girl's name is Azra. The author goes on to state that the name Azra means pure or untouched in arabic. I had been feeling bad that the baby we lost in August didn't have a name, but we hadn't found a name that we thought fit or that we liked. I know that it was God who prompted me to click on that article, because I have been avoiding things that had to do with babies lately. I had a feeling that I might have been carrying another girl, so this name just fit. Once I saw it, I told Samuel about it and he said, "yah...that's good." and it was done.

Sweet little Azra...pure and untouched and snuggling with Jesus. Hope you are having fun with your brother and sister, running and playing...well, perfect and whole. We love you so much.

Puppies vs. Babies...which do you choose?

2011-11-06T16:01:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Puppies vs. Babies for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

The age old question...which is cuter? Babies or Puppies? Tiny babies (especially mine!) make me swoon. I have to admit though...a playful puppy at the park or an adorable dog sweater makes me a bit giddy! :)

Here's where you come in. Animal Planet is conducting a poll right now and is asking for your votes. Right now you can go their Puppies vs. Babies website to browse through photo galleries of both puppies and babies and cast your vote. Your votes help one lucky Animal Planet viewer obtain the grand prize...$5,000! I should have gotten my kids (furry and not!) in on that one!

Perhaps we should make a list of pros and cons for each side:

Baby Pros: their sweet newborn smells, their silly sleeping smiles, those teeny-tiny clothes, their hugs and kisses, when they giggle when you enter a room.

Puppy Pros: their loose wrinkly skin, how their ears and mouth flop when they come running to greet you, their fat little bellies, how they slip and slide on slick floors, their sweet puppy breath kisses.

Cons: they both often stink, they both need help with going to the bathroom, a full night's sleep is nearly impossible if you have either at home.

Well, from the looks of my lists, it seems like I'm having a hard time deciding. But when push comes to shove, I choose babies (with those pups coming in a very close second!). Which do you choose? After you vote ( Puppies vs. Babies online contest ) I'd love for you to comment and tell me what you choose! Good luck choosing!

I should have known...

2011-11-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

To say that we are struggling right now with finances is an understatement. Even with all the extra hours I have been lucky enough to pick up at work, since Samuel is not currently working, and his unemployment is on hold while his previous employer appeals it, covering all our bills is only possible through miracles. This morning, while in the shower (I am finding that I do a lot of my heavy duty thinking and praying there!) I was talking with God and telling Him that I know I need to trust Him and that He will take care of all our needs, but I needed a little help with my trust. This is something I know that I struggle with and is a big stumbling block for me, so this is a frequent prayer. A bit later, I found out someone had to go home sick from work so I got to work an extra hour. If that wasn't good enough, while I was at work, Samuel called to tell me that when he was walking back to the car with the kids after a quick trip at wally world, he found a gift card on the ground and just happened to pick it up. Once he got home, on a whim he checked the balance on the card...there was nearly $50 left on it! Thank you, Lord! I am once again humbled and so thankful that You humor a silly girl like me and send another little reminder that You will provide for us!

A to Z of me!!!

2011-10-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Things have been pretty slow-moving at our house this week. Samuel's in school, I'm working waaaaaay more hours (I'll post more about that later), and I'm trying to get sewing projects done for a holiday bazaar next weekend. Needless to say that since my house is completely trashed, laundry is getting washed but not folded and my sink is overflowing, I haven't had time to edit the pics of our trip to the pumpkin patch. I copied this post from my friend Melissa at HoneyScrap. This is kind of fun! :)

A. Age: 29
B. Bed size: Queen, but I'm sure when I elbow Samuel in the face or punch him in real life because of a bad dream I'm having, he'd prefer a king! :)
C. Chore you hate: Laundry and cleaning bathrooms
D. Dogs: Just one right now...the kids love our Sadie dog.
E. Essential start to your day: I have to have breakfast or I feel like I'm gonna ralph...cereal or at least a cookie! :)
F: Favorite color: Right now teal, lime green and lavender
G. Gold or silver. Silver/white gold not a yellow gold fan.at.all.
H. Height: 5'7"
I. Instruments you play: None. We had a keyboard when I was in grade school, and a little book to teach you to play it, but once it got to having to play with two hands at once, I convinced myself it was too hard and stopped. I regret not being able to pay just a bit.
J. Job title: Momma and wifey first, and warranty claims clerk a distant second.
K. Kids: Natalie: born March 14, 2006 and met Jesus March 16, 2006. Malachi aka Bubba, Bubs, Bubbo: 4-1/2 years old. Sapphira aka RaRa, Sister, Sis, Sissy: 2-1/2 years old. Asher whom I miscarried in February 2011 and then Azra (I just found that name...it'a Arabic for purity, untouched) whom I miscarried in August 2011.
L. Live: In the Pacific Northwest. I live in the same town I was born in and my parents still live in the house I grew up in. The only reason I ever moved was because I got married! :)
M. Mother's name: Susan, but goes by Sue...also my middle name.
N. Nicknames: My mom called me Aim when I was growing up sometimes, but I don't have any right now.
O. Overnight hospital stays: I had my appendix out in 2001 and stayed two nights and then stayed three nights with each of the kiddos (one before they were born but after I was induced, and two after they were born). Those beds are awful, but I love the warm blankets :)
P. People playing dumb or not paying attention. Don't get me started... People chewing with their mouth open or making noise with their mouths while they eat...I will ralph on you!
Q. Quote from a movie: "You can do it!" from the Waterboy. I know it's used in a kind of vulgar way in the movie, but I use it nicely when I say it! :)
R. Right or left handed: Samuel, Malachi and I are all righties all the way, but I think Sapphira might be left handed or very ambidextrous...my FIL and niece are lefties so that wouldn't be weird.
S. Siblings: Just one younger brother. I always thought it would be fun to have a sister to do girl stuff with...maybe I'll inherit one someday from my brother. :)
T. Time you wake up: Well...right now Malachi gets up around 7:30 and Sapphira around 9, so I usually let Malachi get in bed with me to watch cartoons until Sister wakes up so we aren't noisy in the living room right next to her room. I usually drift in and out of sleep while we are snuggling...I'm soooo tired all the time right now...there is seriously something wrong with me!
U. Underwear: Ummmmm...yes please!?
V. Vegetable you hate: Beets!!!! This would produce another ralphing situation. I also do not like fresh green beans...I grew up on the canned variety and the real things taste too much like dirt for me.
W. What makes you run late: kiddos for sure. I still haven't learned after 4.5 years exactly how much time we need to all get ready to go someplace. We are usually to church by the time the sermon starts! :)
X. X-rays you have had: Dental x-rays and then one on my foot after I kicked a pile of steel plates with the top of my foot and it swelled obnoxiously and hurt like the dickens.
Y. Yummy food that you make: I used to make good cookies and blueberry coffeecake, but I haven't done either in a long time. Samuel is the cook around these parts...I like using more convenience type foods and Samuel is used to fresh ingredients and from-scratch recipes, so shortly after we were married he took over dinner duties...gotta love it!
Z. Zoo animals: I really like the lions and tigers, but they are never out when we go to our zoo. I don't think either of our kids have seen them in the 3 or 4 times we've been! When we were there over the summer, there were some little guys in the African exhibit...I think they were mongoose (would plural be mongeese, mongi, mongooeses??) running around in an indoor exhibit. They were super cute scampering around. When were were on our honeymoon in Paris, we went to a zoo and they had the cutest little meerkats...they would stand up on their hind legs and just watch us and then run around, doing little tricks and barrel rolls like they were showing off for us. I guess I like the little guys. :)

Well, there you go...26 useless bits of information about me that I know you are so glad you read! I needed a light post right now...my brain is totally fried! :) Have a fabulous weekend! xoxoxo

Squirrely Friends

2011-10-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Recently, we seem to have had a surge of squirrels in our neighborhood. I remember seeing them all the time growing up running all along the power lines and nesting in the numerous maples trees around our house. Our current neighborhood has underground lines, the trees are much farther apart and we have many neighborhood cats so our yard has been pretty much squirrel-less in the last 8 years we have lived here...until this fall. We have seen many hanging out in the tree in the front yard (where the above picture was taken), running across the street, and in the neighbor's yards. Needless to say, I know two children this makes incredibly happy! Sapphira calls them "babies", Malachi yells "squirrel-mals!" whenever he sees them and they both love to watch them scamper around and scale our tree. Here's to making more autumn memories!

Wake-Up Time? Clock Tutorial

2011-10-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

We were having a hard time with Malachi waking up very early and then coming to get us up. Then we would have to try to get him back to bed, and best case scenario, he would go back to his bedroom, but play for and hour and a half or two hours until he was supposed to be up and make a huge mess of his room and be tired for the rest of the day. Worse case scenario, he would cry because he wanted to play, then wake up his sister (have I ever mentioned she is a light sleeper? oy) and I would have two cranky children and a very tired momma awake far too early and then they would be super grumpy for the rest of the day, go to bed early, and the cycle would repeat. I was trying to think of a way to help him know when it was okay to wake up since he doesn't tell time yet. A cd alarm clock that would start playing very quiet music once it was time? Didn't want to risk waking him up with the music. Putting a digital clock in his room and putting the number 7 next to the hour and he could get up when they matched. What if he woke up during the 8 o'clock hour? He might get confused and not come wake me up at a descent hour. Then it came to me...marking the time he can get up on an analog clock and putting a marker on the hour hand so that when the two overlapped he would know it was ok to get out of bed. I know that this isn't a new idea, but I thought I would try a tutorial. Here's my first feeble attempt:

Supplies needed:
*Analog clock (make sure you can get the front off to gain access to the face)
*Scrapbooking paper
*Adhesive (I used a scrapbooking tape runner)

Here we go!

I was so excited to find this green clock new in the box from Target that goes with Malachi's room. The second hand had fallen off, but I knew I didn't need if I couldn't get it back on. I checked their return policy and I bought it after I knew I could get a store credit if it didn't function. Do Targets all over give their leftovers to Goodwill? I found so many new Target items at this visit...too bad I didn't have more money! I digress...

I used a flat head screw driver to carefully pop the front off...

...and then traced around it on a piece of scrap paper to create a template for the section I wanted to mark on the face. I cut it into a pie piece shape.

I also took off all the hands so I wouldn't have to work around them. I also make sure to make a mental note of the order they went on so I wouldn't have to guess later. I had to trim the template just a bit and then tested the fit...

...before cutting the shape out of the scrapbooking paper I chose and adhering it with the tape runner over the time of day we decided it was ok for Malachi to get up.

I had this monster patterned paper from the same paper line and cut out his little monster bat that Malachi liked.

I adhered it on the hour hand. Because this shape has a "right side up", I put the hand back on the clock and set it to the "wake up" time and took note of the angle the bat would need to be applied at to be right side up at wake up time. I chose paper and not cardstock since I was concerned about the weight of cardstock being too much for the motor of the clock.

I also used a bit of scrap paper on the back of the bat to make it more sturdy.

Put the clock back together, and show your little munchkin the finished product and explain the concept. I got pretty lucky with the paper I chose. To help him remember where the bat needed to be to be able to get out of bed, we taught him "bat in the green means GO get momma!". Such luck! :)

Bubba was pretty pleased! :)

The first couple mornings after we hung it in his room, we asked him if the bat was in the green and he'd have to run back to his room to check. We'd send him back to bed telling him to check the bat next time we got up. It's worked well ever since! I love that I only had to spend $2 for this project since I had everything but the clock on hand.

One thing I would do differently if I make one again is pay attention the the shape I picked for the hour hand. The wings of the bat make the bat go into the "wake up" section at an earlier time. I should have either moved the face marking paper to a later time or chosen a thinner image.

I just thought I'd share a simple and fun idea that worked well in our family. Hopefully this will spur your creativity.

Linked here!

Remembering...

2011-10-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

"When a child loses his parent, they are called an orphan. When a spouse loses his or her partner, they are called a widow or widower. When parents lose their child, there isn't a word to describe them." President Ronald Reagan.

Today is pregnancy and infant loss rememberance day. Please light a candle from 7-8 pm in your time zone so there will be a wave of light traveling around the world in honor of our sweet babies. I will do so today in memory of all the babies I know who left too soon, but especially my three lovies:

Natalie Sapphira-3.14.06-3.16-06

Asher-2.2011

and Baby Ramos, whom we never got to meet-9.2011

I'm praying for all my fellow baby loss momma today as you remember your sweethearts. xoxo

9.14.11--We have Cubbies and Puggles, Oh my!

2011-10-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

After a rough time for Malachi last year, I was worried he wouldn't want to participate in Cubbies again this year. I was so glad he decided he would be fun to do it again this year. The idea of getting the rest of his badges sounded good to him, too!

Since I am a Cubbies leader, Sapphira gets to attend Puggles which she loves! She doesn't like being dropped off at Sunday School, so the first time going to Puggles she fussed, but ever since then, she nearly jumps out of my arms to get in her classroom and waves at her teacher when we see her on Sundays. Currently, the Puggles are studying what God made on the different days of Creation. After learning about the first and second days, she didn't have much to say about her lesson and couldn't tell you (more like she didn't know the words to be able to tell us!) about what she learned. The week that she learned about the third day was different. When I came to pick her up, her teacher whispered in her ear what they learned about and brought her to me. "Sapphira, what did God make on the third day?" her teacher asked her again. "Tree!!!" and she proudly put the picture she colored of a tree complete with apple stickers in my hand. Then she excitedly waved the two walnuts she'd been given to go along with the lesson and exclaimed "Tree!". Even now, she still knows what God made that day! This is also the first class she's attended that makes crafts with more than just crayons and paper. For the 1st and 2nd days of creation, she got to glue cotton balls for clouds to her papers, and for the fourth day of creation, she came home with a picture of a flower she got to glue tissue paper on. She is so proud of herself.

Malachi is also really enjoying Cubbies this year and is getting along with the other boys at his table. Last year, he was the only boy most weeks, so I think he's enjoying having some comrades this time around. He is excited to say his verses and do crafts and loves snack time...such a boy! :)

Here are some first day shots:

He was pretty proud to put back on his vest full of badges and his little Cubbie Bear.

When Malachi saw this picture, he said "this is a princess picture since princesses do that with their hand." :)

Goodness, I love him!

What a sweetheart!

Now for the outtakes!

"ticka, ticka, ticka!"

Sapphira wanted nothing to do with standing next to her brother!

Malachi has discovered he can curl his tongue and will do it any chance he gets, especially when I get the camera out.

Here's to another good year of teaching and learning about Jesus!

9.1.11--Spectacled Bubba

2011-10-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

In July, Malachi had an eye exam after he failed his mini exam at his 4 year and we started noticing him squinting and struggling to see things in near to mid range. I felt bad for him during his exam because when the doctor found out that I was a certified paraoptometric assistant (eye doctor's assistant) for 5 years, he had me put Malachi's dialating drops in. Needless to say, Malachi was not very happy with me. :) Malachi tried soooooo hard to sit still for all the tests and the doctor's assistants were so patient with him. We found out that he is hyperopic which means he has a hard time seeing things up close, but his seeing far away things are relatively easy. The doctor recommended we wait until next summer before school started to get him some glasses since that would give him another opportunity to get some more test results for Malachi (without going into too much detail and boring you to death, when children are young like this, it is next to impossible to get a really accurate reading like you can with adults, so although his prescription improves his vision, it isn't fine tuned like an adult's would be). We got to thinking more about this recommendation and thought that it would be better to get him glasses now instead of bombarding him with so many changes next fall. The fact that Samuel got laid off and our insurance ran out in just a few days also helped with the decision! :) Malachi helped me pick out these black and orange glasses...isn't he so handsome!? I soooo glad frame designers are making so many more fashionable and affordable options now!

So much glare on his lenses, but look at that adorable smile! :)

We couldn't leave Sapphira out! When we were picking out Malachi's frames, Sapphira got so excited and thought she would get some, too! So on the way home from picking up Malachi's glasses, we stopped at the dollar tree and Malachi picked out these black readers with "parkles" (rhinestones) and Daddy popped the lenses out so Sapphira could have her own "eyes" (her word for glasses)

She's pretty stinkin' adorable, too if you ask me!

Cheese!!!

After supper, GaGa and Boppa came over to pick blackberries and they got to show off their new specs and play outside. Malachi had already noticed a difference.

Malachi has done so well with his glasses and only asked for a couple breaks from them in the first few days. I know from my previous experience that sometimes when you go from wearing nothing to a prescription as strong as his, it can often cause headaches, eye aches and fatigue. After about a half an hour break, he would happily put them back on. We have not seen him squint once at the same things that used to give him trouble and he comments regularly about how much easier it is things. Part of me feels terrible that he went this long seeing that poorly before getting help. The other part is thankful we caught it early on so that his physical hindrance doesn't not contribute to mental blocks (for lack of a better word) later on. Samuel needed glasses in grade school, but it wasn't recognized until middle school. As a result, he does not enjoy reading and finds it physically difficult even with his glasses since it was so hard for him for so long. I'm glad to be able to provide the best for my Bubba in this area. Love you handsome boy! xoxo

8.23.11--Zoo fun!

2011-10-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Samuel had the day off and I was able to get off work early, so we decided to head up to the zoo since we didn't know when we would have the opportunity again on such a nice day. ***Warning*** this is a photo laden post (I weeded some out, too!), but if you stick with it, there'll be a giggle for you at the end. :)

I love how Sapphira is holding Samuel so close. Love these little moments.

The fish are always a hit with my kids.

Sapphira was quite interested in these turtles.

Malachi was so excited to see a real beaver up close since we had been watching an episode of Wild Kratts about beavers. He was looking for their dam.

Tag teaming the tractor.

Don't ask...I have no idea what I was doing. Samuel thought it was pretty funny though!

Every time we come, the polar bear is in the far corner of his enclosure so we can only see his paw or something. This time he came up to the glass and stood for a minute. Malachi was trying to pet him through the glass.

This guy was quite tolerant of all the people staring at him.

In the African Savannah area, there were these phones that played animal noises for the kids if you pressed buttons. Sapphira was running all around trying to find them before Malachi. I think you can tell she loved these "hellos". :)

Kind of washed out, but pretty good of the three of us.

But most of them turned out like this. :)

Love him!

Congratulations...you made it! I put together this little gif since putting just one of these pictures didn't do his little "waiting-in-line-for-the-tractor-jig" justice. I laugh every time I see this!

8.14.11--Winged friend

2011-10-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

While playing in the backyard one hot afternoon, this winged creature paid us a visit. We had seen several dragonflies zip around the yard that day, but this one landed and stayed put for at least 5 minutes. The kids are really into the Wild Kratts tv show and the characters on the program always give their "creature friends" nicknames that describe the abilites of the animal or how they met them. I'm sure this show was in the back of Malachi's mind when he names this guy Backwards Flyer, "Ford-wards" Flyer (I just love how he says forwards).

I can't help but imagine the Lord having fun creating creatures like this...look at all those tiny markings. So beautiful.

Daddy finished up mowing the front yard just in time for Malachi to show him his new buddy and help him get a closer look before it flew away.

8.11.11--Bubble fun & advice needed!

2011-10-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

I love blue hydrangeas...I even carried them at my wedding. I was excited when we moved into our house and there was a big bush in the front yard, but for whatever reason, it hasn't bloomed again since that summer 8 years ago...until now. Four flowers on one bunch bloomed...good as it gets at our house! :)

Enter advice giving. These pictures were taken after Sapphira and I got home from a church friend's orange

themed birthday party. Her guests were encouraged to wear their favorite colors, and since Sapphira doesn't have one yet, I made her this orange dress the night before using this tutorial/pattern. After we got to the party, I started to realize how plain it is and just needs something...that where you come in. I just stumped on what to do to perk up this little frock...

I think the main reason I'm not in love with it is because the pattern on the fabric is more subtle and I usually use fabrics with more contrast between the colors and bolder prints.

I am, however, over the moon with this sweet hair clip. I used this tutorial from Make It and Love it, but couldn't make the center look right they way she explained. I took a small retangular piece of fabric, knotted it up, and then hand sewed it down. Love it!

Thanks in advance for your help...I'm excited to hear your ideas! :)

I linked at:

Misc fun

2011-10-03T21:11:00.000-07:00

Sapphira loves to draw circles and then hold up her magna doodle or paper and proudly exclaim "Balloons!!"

Building towers with diaper boxes is so fun...but not as much as knocking them over! :) He used a kitchen chair to assemble this one all by himself!

This little friend was hanging out under the lip of our backyard pool. He stuck around long enough for Samuel to pick him up for the kids to examine before hopping away under the deck.

7.9.11--Our own 4th of July!

2011-09-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

Since we were out of town on the 4th, and we were able to get a bunch of fireworks for basically nothing during all the after-holiday sales, we decided to have our own 4th of July. The kids were so excited!

At one of the stands we stopped by to get sale items, the workers picked out a package of fireworks and gave both Malachi and Sapphira one. Malachi's was Transformer themed and Sapphira's had a big cat mask in it. I couldn't have picked more ones more suited to their interests! They were so excited!

Malachi decided it was necessary to wear a raincoat and hockey gloves to watch fireworks. hehe
Huddled together watching a purple smoke bomb. They didn't really know what to expect and stayed pretty close to each othe until they figured things out.

So stinkin' excited!

Sapphira's first time with sparklers.

Definately a favorite! Sapphira cried when they were all gone.

So much fun!

For the last couple years, we have been away from home on the 4th, so we haven't done our own fireworks. I think from now on, we will do our best to shop the after-the-4th sales to get our supplies for cheap. We found one stand that had and everyday deal of buy one get one free, but then had 50% off all items on top of that, and then another one that was 75%. Both stands threw extras in for free since they were trying to get rid of their stash. We saved some of the items we bought this year for New Year's, birthdays, and in case we are home on the next 4th of July and then just stock up next year. Have I told you how much I love bargains?!

7.8.11--Green Thumbs?

2011-09-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

On the way to the coast for the 4th, we stopped at Burgerville to get lunch. Since it wasa special day and the kids had been so good in the car, we let the kids get kid's meals as a treat. They were a little bummed, though that the toy that came with it was a package of vegetable seeds and a plastic cup to plant them in. I talked it up as much as I could, saying we'd plant them as soon as we got home, and if we were patient and took good care of them, they grow our very own vegetables we could eat...they were not impressed. :( One night after Daddy went to work, we went to W-mart to get some potting soil and found these pretty petunias to plant as well.

Apparently, I didn't get any pictures of planting the seeds, but they had so much fun filling the tiny cups with soil, and using their fingers to push the seeds into the dirt. A good evening of messy fun!

7.4.11--4th of July!

2011-09-17T09:08:00.000-07:00

Since we were at the coast for the 4th, we stayed up late and watched the fireworks the city put on around 10 o'clock. The kids really enjoyed them, cheering and clapping for them.

After a fun day of playing outside, swimming, and staying up past bedtime, we had no problems getting them to bed! Yay for great days and good memories!!

Didn't expect this...

2011-09-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

I knew having a miscarriage would be a difficult thing. I knew that it would be physically taxing at first and that dealing with all the "what if's" and emotions would be a struggle, but after watching Natalie die in my arms, I didn't expect them to be so difficult. Wednesday, September 7th, was Asher's due date. All of the ladies I was supposed to be pregnant with and deliver around the same time as are having their babies. I am so incredibly happy for them, but my heart can't help but ache when I see these sweet tiny new ones, hear the little noises they make, watch these mommas nurse their new little ones, calm their cries, and even change their diapers. These last couple days have been pretty rough. I wish the Lord would just tell me the reasons behind all this...sometimes I wonder if it'd make me feel better...

Fourth of July Weekend

2011-09-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

We spent the 4th of July weekend at the beach with my in-laws and our nieces. The kids had so much fun swimming, spending time with their cousins, and of course playing at the beach!

As soon as we got there, Malachi set to work digging, but his shovel just didn't cut it!

Sapphira decided to run and run!

After a little while, she decided to pick up handfuls of sand, run in a large circle and then put it back down in the same spot...crazy girl.

This has got to be one of my favorite pictures ever. I just love this girl and her sandy toes. ♥

I didn't get too many pictures of Malachi since he was too busy being a "soccer player" with his cousins, so he didn't want momma to take pictures.

I love that we are so close to so many different regions...beach, moutains, the valley...so we can experience so many different activities. So far, the beach has to be our family's favorite!

Missing them...

2011-09-05T18:22:00.001-07:00

source

Missing my 5 year old girl who should be starting kindergarten tomorrow...

Missing my nearly 40 week pregnant belly that should be beyond swollen in preparation for our new edition to our new family...

Missing prenatal appointments and the beginnings of little movements signaling the growth within my womb...

Missing my babies today

Click, click...

2011-08-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

I originally wrote this post a month and a half ago, right after we found out that yet another pregnancy might end in miscarriage. These are thoughts I revisit often and use to comfort my grieving heart...

Fans of the TV show The Office can relate to this story. At Jim and Pam's wedding, they vow to take mental pictures of their special day since it would go by too fast so they remembered the little things forever. I watched this episode and tucked this cheesy little anecdote away in my mind thinking it was kind of cute. Fast forward to February when I will still pregnant with Asher...I has always had an uneasy feeling about this pregnancy, but thought it was just worry about being able to handle three children and disturbing the "balance" at home. I just couldn't shake this terrible feeling, and was hoping that my second appointment with my OB would help calm my nerves. On Sunday, February 20, the day before my scheduled visit, we ate lunch out after church with my in-laws like we do nearly every week. We chose a Burger King (hey, don't judge! :) It's one of the only places we can get both kids to actually eat!) which has an outdoor eating area that faces the window near the table where we normally eat. Malachi asked to eat outside, but being February, that wasn't an option. All four kids (my youngest nieces live with my in-laws) were extra squirmy at lunch so we decided to let them run around in the outdoor area for a bit before taking off. I stayed inside with all of our stuff, but sat right next to the window to watch. The kids, especially our two were having a blast just running and running and couldn't stop giggling. Sapphira noticed me inside and would come running up to and put her hands and nose on the window and just cackle. Something inside me, later I realized this was the Holy Spirit, brought the mental picture taking to mind. I sat and watching with a stupid smile on my face, my brain snapping away these little moments. Deep down inside, I knew that life would be changing the following morning, and I needed to grasp at happiness while I could. Now again, as life seems so uncertain (and soooo not fair!), I cling to those mental photographs. Two ridiculously happy children, running, laughing, oblivious to life's troubles. Thank you, Lord...oh how I love these children.

6.21.11--Pool Party!

2011-08-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

It was finally warm enough to swim! Once Daddy went to work and we'd eaten supper, we headed to the back yard to play. Malachi insisted on wearing his life vest even though I was sitting with my feet in the pool so he would "be safe". Okay, Bubba, whatever you say! :)

Of course, our pool time started with Sapphira crying. Here's her progression...screaming for momma to get her out...

...sitting in momma's lap watching Bubba play...

...deciding after awhile it might be fun to splash...

...Malachi trying is hardest to coax her in...

...finally climbing in to play! Yay Sissy! :)

Malachi was telling me something obviously quite interesting judging from his facial expressions. Man I love this kid! :)

Cheese!

More cheese...along with some brotherly strangulation! :)

Splashing is so fun!

Sisters!

2011-08-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

At the end of July I was invited to a sweet friend's baby shower. They didn't know ahead of time the gender of the baby before she was born, so the sweet little baby was there to snuggle on and enjoy...so fun! This also allowed me to make some dolls for her three little girls. I had so much fun sifting through my scraps and finding coordinating fabrics and personalizing the hair and eye colors to match their new owners.

I used this tutorial/pattern for the dolls...

...and this one for these hair clips.

The two older girls seemed to like their dollies and my friend told me that these clips match some outfits she recently purchased for them...score!

I linked up to...

6.15.11--Father's Day Project

2011-08-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

While we had the girls staying with us, we went to a pottery painting place in town to make presents for Papa and Boppa. Samuel and I had already decided to have our kids paint a mug for each of their grandfathers, and once we got there, we picked out a flower pot for our nieces to paint since Papa really likes plants and flowers. We we got settled into our station, we let the girls pick out their colors...green as the background color since that's Papa's favorite color and then Bella picked red and Addy chose purple (their favorites!) to doodle with over top. We had Malachi do his painting in red and Sapphira's in purple as well, and then at the end the lady helping us assisted the all the kids in putting their handprints in navy on their projects. They all had so much fun creating, and my kids had never used paints before, so it they really enjoyed the process. I think Sapphira had more on her than she put on the mugs! When we were done, we had to quickly wash hands and run from the store since Sapphira wasn't having any part of leaving...oy! :)

I kick myself for not getting pictures of the finished product! The girls gave Papa his planter on Father's Day, and then our kids gave Boppa and Papa their mugs the Saturday after Father's Day when we had them over for their Father's Day breakfast. The kids surprised them by serving them coffee from their new mugs. Actually, when I told Malachi to ask them if they would like some coffee, he went over to them and said "Hey guys! Do you want to have some coffee from your new mugs we painted for you? They are a surprise for Father's Day!". What a sweetheart! I was glad we were able to give them something useful (they both drink coffee nearly every day!), memorable, and so fun for the kids to create all mixed into one.

Heavenly Welcoming Committee

2011-08-24T22:37:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of my blog's readers have already learned this news, but for the sake of memory keeping, I need to post this here as well. This kinda explains my lack of posting. :)

At the beginning of this month, August 3rd to be exact, I suffered another miscarriage. We found out June 10th that we were expecting again with an estimated due date of February 26, 2012. At that point I was only 3 weeks along and my OB had me come in for an ultrasound on July 1st to measure the baby for age and to help us feel better after losing Asher. At that appointment, the gestational sac appeared empty and measured right around 5 weeks which is often too early to see anything developing. They ran some blood tests and my hCG levels were right on track so they didn't order any follow up tests. On July 11th, I had another ultrasound which my OB performed. At this point, we still didn't see any fetal pole, baby or heartbeat, just a round gestational sac measuring the appropriate size, so my doctor suspected a blighted ovum, but wanted to wait a couple days to look again to be sure. He saw me again on July 15th for a third ultrasound and no change was seen. We decided at this point to wait a couple weeks and see what my body was going to do while being monitored by my OB. We had done a little research and had found some online reports of blighted ova being misdiagnosed and were just praying and trusting that the Lord would fill that sac if it was His best plan for us. I had another appointment with my OB on the 21st since nothing had happened and it was at this point we saw the sac was no longer round or oval shaped, but had started to fold in on itself and looked more like a "c" shape. Although we were still praying for a baby to bring home in February and knew the Lord could perform that miracle, we also were aware that this pregnancy would probably be ending soon. Two weeks after that last ultrasound, I had an uneventful miscarriage at home. This time, the process was quite a bit shorter and less painful and traumatic. I wonder if this is because there wasn't as much "material" to pass, or if it was because I didn't induce the miscarriage with medication and let my body do it one it's own.

From what our OB has told us and the research we have done online, a blighted ovum is when an egg and sperm are fertilized, and the baby starts developing for just a bit and then stops. The gestational sac continues to develop, however, so pregnancy symptoms continue as a normal pregnancy would. We believe that life begins as conception, so we know that we have yet another child waiting to meet us in Heaven. We haven't given this little one a name yet since we don't feel the pressing need to name it like we did with Asher. I wonder if this is because we never got to see our sweetheart or it's heartbeat...I just don't know.

I healed physically quite quickly, and it is easy to get lost in life with two children and ignore the emotional pain and sadness that another loss brings. We have our sad and mad moments, but they are getting fewer and farther between. We didn't specially tell Malachi and Sapphira I was pregnant but didn't hide it either and although Malachi came along for all my ultrasounds, he never got to see a baby, so he didn't really talk about it very much. There was one night, however when talking to my Mom he said, "Momma thinks her baby isn't growing. I just want to have a baby at my house." Goodness...what to say to that one?

We are again blessed and so thankful for the love, support and prayers we received during these last few weeks. I constantly wonder what people who don't know Jesus and have wonderful like-minded friends and family do when in these circumstances. I know I would be so much more of a mess than I already am. Thank you friends and family for your love and thank you Jesus for your promise of Heaven and for taking care of my babies for me until I can again. xoxoxoxoxo

6.14.11--Pretty Toes!

2011-07-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

(Goodness I'm behind!!)

We watched our nieces for a week in June while my in-laws went on an Alaskan fishing trip. It was a very busy week, but the kids had a lot of fun being able to play together all day long. One evening after Samuel went to work, I pulled out some pretty pink nail polish to beautify the girls' toes.

All forty...yes forty...pink toes!!!

Sapphira loved being able to do something like the big girls, and sat very still for the painting and drying process.

How could I tell Malachi "no, you are the only one who can't do it" when he was asking so nicely and sitting so still?? Daddy was peeved with me, but Malachi was excited to be like his big cousins. He wore lots of shoes and closed toe sandals while Daddy waited for it to all wear off. :)

6.4.11--Finally Warm!!

2011-07-12T23:17:00.000-07:00

It was finally warm enough to enjoy some watery fun! After Daddy went to work, the kids got their suits on and we headed outside to play in the sprinkler.

I had forgotten just how much Malachi loves the sprinkler!
Sapphira is afraid of our dog and won't move off of the back step until we can get her mind off of the dog being in the backyard. Here she is fussing about the dog and is also worried about Bubba in the water. :)

Finally got her to come off of the step (I may have just picked her up and put her near the water...I can't remember!) and Bubba is trying to get her to go futher in. She likes the water on her but is not sure about this at all!

Hey, this is kind of fun!

Malachi found Sadie's Kong toy...

...and discovered if he put it over the water he could make a "fountain" :)

She remembered that she was fussing and spent the rest of the time leaning on my legs. Goober!

Here's to more warm weather and back yard adventures!

6.4.11--Bowling!

2011-07-12T22:47:00.000-07:00

We were invited to one of Malachi's Sunday School friend's birthday party at a local bowling alley. I was really curious to see what he'd think of bowling since he had never been before. He had so much fun and I really enjoyed watching him!

Talking to a friend before hand. I think it is hilarious that she is just talking away and he's just standing there, looking at her like, "okay..." :) Typical boy/girl interaction! ha

Trying so hard to be patient while waiting for his turn.

Here goes nothing!

Waiting for the ball to reach the pins proved to be very nerve wracking! :)

I took some videos with my phone since his dancing was so cute! At the end of the second one, he is asking for a smaller ball...sorry Bubs, that was the smallest one they had! :(

He scored higher than all the other kids at the party by 10 points (he's the "M" above the red line). Granted he wouldn't have gotten a single point without the bumper guards, but his score was higher than mine usually is!

The birthday boy had a Cars themed cake which Malachi thought was the coolest thing ever! He was also excited by the stickers and candy in his favor bag. I love that our kids are getting old enough to start having friends and are getting invited to events. It's fun to watch him interact with his buddies and be himself.

Projects!

2011-07-11T22:55:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine was attending a baby shower for a couple who is adopting a boy and girl from Africa and are expected home soon. She said she wanted something that would be different since there were going to be so many people attending and asked me to sew up some felt food for the kiddos.

I had so much fun working on these! Love it!!! Toast with jam, donuts, carrots, orange slices and strawberries! :)

Gotta have a blue one for the boy and pink one for his sister! I just love making these! :)

Another favorite food is these strawberries. This time I made them with crinkly plastic sewed into the middle to a bit of noise. These will be fun to squeeze or chew on! :)

The same friend also asked me to make a stuffed owl patterned after this one from pottery barn kids for a friend of hers. I have never sewed something without some sort of directions or pattern, so this was a challenge to me since all she gave me was the fabric and a drawn out shape to indicate the size she wanted it to be. I had a lot of fun working on this and, since she gave me permission to use the pattern to make more, I will probably be making more in the future. My friend loved it and said her friend even teared up a bit when she opened it. I love being able to make people happy!

Thanks, R, for letting me work on these for you! I really had a ton of fun! :)

5.20.11--little visitor

2011-07-11T22:51:00.001-07:00

While Samuel was walking through the front yard one morning, this little bird chirped at him. It stuck around near the front door all day. We tried to shew him into the plants along the front of the house to hide from the numerous neighborhood cats, but it just kept coming back out. It even let the kids get close enough for a good look. In the morning it was gone...hoping it learned to fly! :/

5.16.11--Sticker Kids!!!

2011-07-11T22:37:00.000-07:00

These kids love their stickers!!! They have graduated from putting them on paper to decorating their skin with them...clothing just won't do!! They were given some sheets of stickers and I let them go at it!

Love that smile!

Her arms are her favorite spot for them!

This picture was taken with my cell phone, so it's not quite as good, but I love how happy they are and that they love each other!

5.14.11--Bella's birthday!!

2011-07-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

We spent part of the afternoon and ate a picnic lunch at a favorite park to celebrate cousin Bella's 8th birthday. It was an overcast day that was much colder than the weatherman said, so we didn't stay long, but long enough to have plenty of fun!!

Running!!!

Sliding down the double slide with Bella...weeeeeeeeeee!!!!

This boy loves to climb. This is one of my favorite pictures of him...didn't know I could love one little boy so much!! xoxo

Running free!!!

Whenever we come to this park, Malachi loves looking at "the world". It is made from an old acid ball from a (now demolished) nearby paper plant. Local artists created all the tiles that make up the continents, oceans, animals, and landmarks. It is really quite neat. Our kids love it!

Looking at the river to see if they could find anything "in-test-ing". They are having a little conversation about it, too. Love them!!!

5.10.11--Bubba's Birthday Day

2011-07-11T21:52:00.000-07:00

On Malachi's actual birthday, we were invited to another little girl's carousel party who is a birthday buddy! She was turning two so she and Sapphira are in the same Sunday School class, but her sweet momma invited all of us and even included Malachi in the celebration by giving him his own cupcake with candle to blow out!! I just love you C!!!

Before the party started, we got in a ride on the carousel...so fun (note Sister won't sit on her own horse...I have to hold her)

He loves riding the horses and picking just the right one!

Blowing out his special candle

It was really echo-y and loud in this room...Bubs wasn't a fan! :)

After we finished our snack, we headed outside to enjoy the first warm day of the year. I brought some bubbles which were a hit with everyone.
Modeling?? Whatever she's doing, she's just plain cute!!
After a bit more time outside, we headed back in for another ride since we needed to get going to Malachi's birthday supper. Sapphira decided it was time to ride her own horse...can you tell how much she loved it? :)

Malachi chose Red Robin for his birthday supper. GaGa, Boppa, Grandma, Papa, Addy and Bella joined us and Bobo stopped by for a minute after work. We opened a few small presents and got to eat a birthday sundae. It was a great day!!

5.8.11--Mother's Day Gifts

2011-07-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

I made a pillow like this for both GaGa and Grandma this year. Nothing special, but I thought the sweet little hands were fun. Both seemed to be pleased and my mom keeps hers on their couch. The kids always go and point their hands out as soon as they see it. I love how I was able to get Sapphira's crooked little finger (just like her momma!!) traced...so cute!!

On a side note...poor Malachi was barfing on Mother's Day morning so we skipped church and just Sapphira and I ate lunch with GaGa, Boppa, and Bobo. I think he ate too much junk and played too hard the day before at his party since after he threw up a couple times, he felt much better and his energy and appetite returned. He felt well enough and Grandma and Papa thought it'd be okay to eat supper together that night. At least he got to give one of them their present. :)

5.7.11--biker dude

2011-07-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

When we got home from the party, we had some nap/rest time and then headed outside to ride bikes.

One of his first times riding a big kid bike, so still a little unsure...

...but it didn't take long to get the hang of it!! Love that proud smile!
Love these kids soooooo much!!

5.7.11--Bubba's 4th birthday Party!!!

2011-07-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

Since the weather forecast was iffy (it turned out to be a cold, windy day!), we were able to reserve a room at church to celebrate inside instead of at the park like we had planned. Malachi decided on a robot party, and I sure had fun planning and decorating!! Google, Photoshop, and CopyMax were my best friends this year!! :)

Robot cupcakes!

Matching table decorations.

Since we made the decision to have the party at church at the last minute, I had to quickly come up with some games to play. I gathered up some different size containers around the house and made a bean bag and the kids tried to throw the bean bag in one of the containers to get a sucker. I thought this up the night before and was sure the kids would think it was totally lame, but they were so into it! Doesn't take much to make kiddos happy!

Malachi LOVED the suckers! :)

After the bean bag game, we played red light, green light. Malachi loves playing this game at Cubbies, and I thought we could make the kids walk like robots on green light to make it go with the party theme. It was hard to get a picture of them walking silly, but they laughed and laughed when they were doing it!

Malachi's best friend, N, gave him a garbage truck and snow plow! We had a really hard time getting him to open anything else after these! :)

N and Malachi playing with the trucks.

He was so good about letting others help him open and look at presents this year. These two buddies had so much fun together!

GaGa and Boppa gave him a new book about giant tractors and dump trucks.

New Word World books...yay!!!

GaGa found a robot pencil sharpener! When you open it's chest plate, there is a place to put the pencil and as you turn the pencil, you wind it up...

...and it walks! So clever and a favorite craft time item! (She found it at the Goodwill Outlet of all places! GaGa is really good at finding fun things for basically nothing there!)

Sapphira got him a Mac truck from Cars that he has been so desperately wanting! So very exciting! :)

He loved being sung to this year! (Last year he got mad and started yelling and covering his ears when we sang because we made him stop playing :) Crazy boy!)

Did it all on his own!

Yippee!!!

GaGa, Boppa, Grandma, Papa, and Momma and Daddy all chipped in to get him a new big boy bike! I wasn't able to get any good pictures of him discovering it (we hid it in a closet!) since he was so excited and jumping and moving all around. Once the excitement wore off and he started playing with his other toys, Sapphira got a turn!

Playing garbage trucks and snow plows with GaGa.

They must have been deep in thought ;)

Goodness...I love that smile!

Party aftermath! :)

We all had so much fun! Malachi really seemed to enjoy the company of all his family and friends and of course his presents, too! :) I know that I get really stressed out in the few days before the kids' parties, but I really enjoy the actual party and watching them have so much fun.

Goodness, Malachi! How can you be 4 already?? It seems like just yesterday that we brought our sweet baby boy home from the hospital! You are such a sweet and thoughtful boy and we couldn't have asked the Lord for a better boy for our family. We can't wait to see what great things this next year has in store for us! We love you so much Bubba!!!

Free Trip to Paris???

2011-06-11T22:18:00.000-07:00

Yes, please! I haven't posted a contest on my blog for quite a while, but this one is too good to resist! :) Ever since we went to Paris on our honeymoon, it has been a dream of mine to be able to go back. Wouldn't free airfare, hotel for seven days and being able to follow a local around of a couple days be incredible!!! Visit http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris to enter for your chance!

5.4.11--Year End Cubbies Awards

2011-06-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

Malachi did so well this year in Cubbies! He said all of his verses, can still remember a few of them, and even had a week when he said three verses to make up for a couple weeks we missed when I had my miscarriage. He loved being able to spend time with his friends (especially his best friend, N, who also attended), play games, listen to stories, and make crafts. The last night of club was the awards night (Malachi called it "cubbies ree-wards night") when the kids got the rest of their patches and a little stuffed cubbie bear to put on their vest if they finished their book. Grandma, Papa, Addy, Bella, GaGa, Boppa, and GG and Grandpa GG all came to see him get his awards.

He was supposed to be singing and saying verses, but instead is waving at his family that he just spotted in the crowd.

Next, he hugged on my neck...

...then decided it was time to go stand in front of another kid (facing him of course) for a couple moments. Crazy kid!

Standing with his silver team waiting to get their rewards.

His name just got called...

...and was given a baggie full of badges and the coveted cubbie bear. Here he is holding it up and yelling "I got a bear!!!" Gotta love the enthusiasm!! :)

It was fun to be able to help at Malachi's table and watch all these children learn about God and say their verses. But I have to say, trying to keep track of up to 7 three-year-olds is quite exhausting! Here's to next year! :)

5.3.11--Warm-ish Weather, Finally!!!!

2011-06-05T13:20:00.000-07:00

We finally got a day of weather warm enough to play outside without coats or raincoats!! We were all excited to be able to be outside, burning off some energy and soaking in some sun!

Sapphira loves to swing! She says "wee!!!" whenever I push her.

Bubba likes it, too!

Running and running and running!
We have to take turns with the lawn mower...so fun!

Sadie was so excited for some company outside. It was a long cold winter with not much play time! :)

Malachi teaching Sapphira how to dig (pardon our weeds...landscaping is not a Ramos family specialty!)

Finishing up the job!

My little sweetheart.

Malachi was convinced the Sadie would wants to play fetch with this length of PVC pipe...not so much!

We are definitely looking forward to more warm weather and more happy days playing outside!

In a Funk...

2011-06-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

My house is a disaster, the laundry is literally piling up, I've gained nearly 10 pounds in the last month, and I have been playing fb games again (soooo not good). I'm going to work, being nice to my husband, and feeding my kids, but that is about all. I find myself snapping at the kids for doing little naughty things that I can normally handle with a good attitude and even temper. I guess I'm just overwhelmed right now. Nothing has really changed to make life different, so I think that I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact I have just as many babies in Heaven as I do at home. I was complaining to a fellow BLM the other night and had to apologize the next morning after I was reminded how good I have it. Samuel and the kids came to bring me a coffee at work. Samuel gave me a kiss, and both of the kids said "I love you" and gave me sloppy smooches and tight hugs. I forget how much I have to be thankful for...many people have it much worse than we do. So I have decided to make an honest attempt to have good days, speak only nice, calm words to my children, and keep on the house...we'll see how this goes. :)

4.3.11--Family time!

2011-04-12T22:57:00.000-07:00

After running a couple errands on Sunday afternoon, we decided to pick up a pizza on the way home. Malachi asked if we could have a pizza picnic in the living room...why not? He picked his Toy Story blanket to spread out on the ground and insisted we all wear sunglasses while we ate, because "that's what you do at picnics". They both ate really good supper...maybe we'll have to do this more often! :)

CC and Granddad CC gave Malachi some new sidewalk chalk at Sapphira's birthday party, so since it was still nice out, he asked to go outside and use them.

Malachi's cousins must have taught him about hop-scotch, since he asked me to draw a "hot-spotch" on the sidewalk. He didn't know how to do it, so I had to wrack my brain to remember the rules. Goodness, it's been a long time since grade school! :)

Once our neighbor friend came out to play and Malachi lost interest in drawing, Sapphira became a chalk hoarder, running around picking them all up and clutching them to her chest while watching Bubba out of the corner of her eye. She carried them around for several minutes before she found the perfect spot to put them all down.

I am sooooo looking forward to warmer spring and summer days. I've had enough of this rain! :)

Bubba's Bad Day...

2011-04-12T22:27:00.000-07:00

Poor Malachi, started his Saturday by running into the door nob on his bedroom door. He had all of his lee-lee's piled up on his right shoulder, and went bolting through the door way to go to the living room, but didn't notice the door wasn't all the way open since the blankets were blocking that part of his vision. The lock switch got him right under the eye and it swelled up and turned black immediately. He cried for a minute or two and then asked for milk...? "Do you want some ice to put on it or medicine to make it not hurt so much, Bubba?" "No, Momma, I want some milk. That will help my eye." Okay Bubs...whatever you say.

The kids spent that morning at my parents house and it started swelling more there, so Boppa had the great idea of putting cold fast food ketchup packets on it to help it go down. What a good idea...they are the perfect size and shape for this owie. This picture was taken later that afternoon after a morning of using the packets. This picture just doesn't show the full damage...it was much darker and puffier than this photo conveys.

What a smart boy...he wanted to play, but was frustrated at not being able to use a "package" and have both hands available to play at the same time. I noticed him digging through his toy bins until he found his Super Why mask and then disappear into his bedroom. A little bit later, he emerged quite proud of himself. He did run into the walls a couple times since his depth perception was off, but after a couple reminders from us, he just slowed down and was more careful and deliberate in his actions. Silly boy :)

This day was just not a good day for Bubba...in addition to the black eye (which as of today is a nasty green, brown and yellow color and has gone around the inner corner of his eye), he slammed/closed a couple fingers in things, hit his mouth twice, once hard to enough to bleed all over and leave a scabby spot, and then ended the day by scraping his knee while riding scooters with his neighbor friend. Thankfully the rest of the weekend was far less traumatic for the poor boy!

Easter Eggs!!!!

2011-04-09T19:01:00.000-07:00

I found this adorable tutorial on One Pretty Thing and knew I must do it this weekend!! We needed something at the hardware store anyway, so I didn't even have to make a special trip...score!! I used a scrap of ribbon I already had, so it came out free!!!! Gotta love that!! :)

Don't you just love all these colors??? This picture makes me happy! :)

All done...my kids just love it!

Love how simple, easy to make, and colorful this is!! Thanks for sharing your great idea, Steph! :)

I am loved...

2011-04-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was my birthday, and the day was filled with facebook wishes, text love, and gifts from special people...

From Samuel...he told me forgot it was my birthday :)

So beautiful

From my lovely friend and co-worker, Emily..

Love these colors together

I know that I have so many family members and friends that love me, but it doesn't hurt to have a physical reminder every so often ;)

Sleepy Girl

2011-04-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

I love how Sapphira just falls asleep where ever she happens to be when she gets tired enough. She rarely takes naps anymore, so it just cracks us up when we find her like this...

Samuel was in the kitchen for a couple minutes getting a drink and came back to his chair to find her sprawled out

So very tired...she was snoring. :)

Goodness...those cheeks

Nothing sweeter than jammied toes

Photog Malachi

2011-04-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

At Sapphira's party, Malachi asked to take some pictures with my camera. With so many adults around, he couldn't do too much to my camera before someone grabbed it from him! :) He was so cute, walking around, holding the shutter button down for rapid fire pictures like mommy does. He actually got some really good pictures...we may have a photographer on our hands! :)

I do not care for this picture of me, but I think the face he got on Samuel is hilarious!!!

That's better! Daddy and Papa!

He got Papa to do some pretty silly things! :)

Detail shots of Sapphira's new oven and food.

He must have liked this red purse. (That purple one next to it is the Tinkerbell purse that Bella got for Sapphira...she loves it Bella!!)

Up close of the range

I can hardly believe Malachi took this picture! It's one of the only smiles I got of Sapphira all day since she was so shy around all the people and one of my favorite shots of Sapphira ever!

This is GaGa, CC and Granddad CC (my Dad's parents...their last name starts with "C" and "GG" for Great Grandparents was already taken, so CC is was!). He got people to make some pretty silly faces!

He had so much fun, and now asks to take more pictures every time I get the camera out. I may have created a monster! hehehehe

4.2.11--Sapphira's second birthday party!

2011-04-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

We held Sapphira's second birthday party at our home on Saturday afternoon. Sapphira loves animals, so I had fun finding different (and cheap!) ways to incorporate them into her special day. At Target, they had the cutest Valentine's Day paper plates with monkeys and napkins with dogs and frogs on them and better yet, I was able to get everything I needed for $3 total because they went on sale after Valentine's Day was over (yay!). We had coloring pages with cats, and cupcakes and a "cherry tree" branch with bird silhouettes. It was fun to watch Sapphira discover the animals one by one and get so excited over each one!

Malachi really wanted to make "day-ca-rations" for Sapphira's party. I was so thankful Samuel and I stayed up until 2 am the night before getting things done because it gave me extra time to spend with Malachi helping him with his project. I pulled a whole bunch of stuff out of my kid's crafting drawer and gave him some glue and away he went. He had so much fun and was so proud of himself.

Coloring some kitty cats with her cousins.

Malachi gave Sapphira a MagnaDoodle. We received a small dollar store one for Christmas and it gets played with every day, and doesn't work well anymore. This is definitely a favorite and Sapphira would barely open any other presents once she opened this one!

Grandma and Papa gave her some new pots and pans.

GaGa and Boppa gave her two little doggies she has been admiring since before Christmas. They move their heads and wag their tails when you pet their backs...so exciting!

A book about the moon (another favorite thing!) from GaGa and Boppa.

Trying to get her to take the blanket off her kitchen. She got really shy since she realized everyone was looking at her!

Look at all the levers, knobs and doors!! I'm in Heaven!

Trying out some new recipes. We also gave her a small cabinet that Samuel painted to match the kitchen as her "fridge". I filled it with felt food...a girl has to have something to cook in her new kitchen! We moved it into her new room later that night and the kids play with it every day. I am constantly hearing the doors closing, pans clanging, and "yummmm's" coming from her room...so fun!

Birds! I borrowed a big piping tip from a friend who gave me some good advise. These are my best looking cupcakes yet! Thanks Tina, for your help! :)

Singing "Happy Birthday". She suddenly realized everyone was looking at and singing to only her and she buried her head in my shoulder. She refused to even lift her head up to attempt to blow out the candle. Sweet girl...not used to so much attention!

Cake table!

Hey...is that cake up there?? Can someone help me, please!?!

She got frosting on her hands...everything must stop until it's cleaned up!

Yum!

Goodness...she's got us wrapped around her little finger! :)

Showing Boppa how her MagnaDoodle works.

Cousins getting in some quick kitchen time before Sapphira notices they are playing with it! :)

She decided to share with her cousins...can't say the same for Bubba...she wasn't keen on sharing with him that afternoon. ;)

Discovered that banging pots together is very fun!

I just love this girl!

Playing ball with Bubba. GG and Grandpa GG (my grandparents...GG for Great Grandma and Great Grandpa), got her a big ball she's had her eye on ever since they made their spring time appearance in all the stores. This is another favorite that is played with multiple times each day!

I just love my kid's birthdays. I think I enjoy myself as much as my kids do and I love being able to plan a special day for them. Although our tiny house was very crowed with 20 people in it, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and each others company. All of the kids played together well. I think Sapphira really enjoyed having all of her favorite people all in the same place. I noticed her going around the room talking to each person a little bit and showing them something she was interested in. A wonderful day for a wonderful girl.

Happy birthday Sister! We can't believe it's already been two years since you joined our family...weren't you born last week?!? You are the sweetest girl I know and you are truly beautiful inside and out. I love hearing you sing "I love you!" to everyone who is in the car with you at the time and it melts my heart when you come running into my arms for a hug for no apparent reason. We just love you so much!

4.1.11--Sapphira is TWO!!!!

2011-04-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

Our little April Fool's girl is two years old! :) Some of Sapphira's absolute favorite things in the world are balloons (and one of her only intelligible words!) so we tied two balloons to her crib and one to Malachi's bed while they slept so they would be surprised when they woke up. Malachi woke up first and came into our room to wake me up like he does every morning and didn't even notice them. A few minutes later, I hear Sapphira crying because she wanted out of her crib. I found her lying on her back screaming at the ceiling, but not even seeing the balloons floating above her. I got her attention and pointed at them and she gasped and started kicking her legs. She quickly hopped up and started yanking on the strings like crazy...she was so excited!!!

Look at that smile...we made her day! Also...that hair...sigh. This girl has reinvented bed head! hehehe
I just love this girl! :)

Since her birthday party was on Saturday, we had her birthday dinner on her actual birthday. This is something that we want to be a tradition in our house...the birthday kid picking out where they want to have dinner for their birthday. Obviously Sapphira couldn't tell us where she wanted to go this year, so we went to Mongolian BBQ, since they have something for everyone. GaGa, Boppa, Grandma, Papa, Addy and Bella all joined us for yummy supper.

GaGa and Boppa gave her a pretty pink pinwheel and a little dolly, and Grandma and Papa brought her two more balloons tied to a cute purse filled with candy. So fun!

Happy girl...spending time with all the people she loves so much!

We left with full tummies and happy hearts! Our sweet girl is two...can hardly believe it!

3.19.11--The beee-CH!!

2011-03-28T00:10:00.000-07:00

I love how Malachi says this word...he puts so much emphasis on the "ch". I love little mouths and the silly things they say!! :)

We spent last Saturday at a beach house with my mom's side of my extended family. We always have so much fun together!!

Running on the dock and so glad to be out of the car!!! (Don't worry...GaGa and Daddy were both watching her!!)

There were two dogs this time. A little, calm lap dog named Lexie whom she loved and gave tons of hugs and kisses to and a big one named Diggety, who was alot bigger and just a puppy so she jumped and got excited when my kids came near. She wasn't too keen on Diggety. She found Diggetty's pen and thought it was great!!

He was so excited to finally use his new Toy Story fishing pole GaGa gave him for Valentines day!!

Diggety was out again and Sapphira figured out the cage kept her safe! :) When we were at the beach later in the day, Diggety came, too and was on a leash. Sapphira noticed her a little ways away and waved. Diggety looked at her and Sapphira said "no, no, no" and put her hand up like a stop sign. She wanted to look at the doggie, but she needed to stay over there! Someone brought grapes to share! Both of my kiddos love grapes, but we aren't always able to afford grapes this time of year, so she was so excited to be able to have some! Aunt Debbie was helping her get the stems off. That tongue is stinkin' adorable! :)

He looks so patient here...but he wasn't! :) He could not understand the concept of casting the line out and letting it sit. He wanted to cast and reel in and cast and reel in. After he nearly hooked his ear when he casted too quickly once, Daddy put the plastic fish it came with back on the end so he could just play. So silly!

Reeling in!

Uncle Billy caught an empty clam shell. We have caught inhabited ones once when they clamped onto the bait, but we aren't sure how he was able to hook this one...crazy.

Not sure what to think after we explained to him about the animal that usually lives in it. I love this kid's silly faces!

About an hour before supper, the kids were getting restless. They were tired since they hadn't napped and I think they wanted something new to do since there weren't too many toys at the house, so we decided to walk across the street to the beach. Soooo glad we did. The weather was so nice and there was only a light wind. The kids had so much fun playing with the toys Aunt Laurie let us borrow.

♥♥♥

During the whole hour we were there, Sapphira never moved from this spot and just dug and dumped and dug and dumped...she had so much fun! At least she didn't eat any like last time! :)

Malachi really loves digging at the beach, too!

I love wiggly, sandy toes!

We had so much fun on the sand, but only had about an hour so it was a struggle to get the kids to leave. I'm already praying and watching the weather for another good day that lines up with Samuel's day off...maybe I'll have to rearrange my work day to make some more memories at the beeeee-CH! :)

3.16.11--Ba-loooo!!

2011-03-23T23:47:00.001-07:00

(Sapphira-ese for balloon!!) On Natalie's Heaven birthdays, we send her age in balloons to Heaven for her "Heaven party". This year, Malachi and Sapphira drew pictures to send with their balloons. It was a windy day...perfect for getting balloons for Heaven quickly.

Our yearly picture on Natalie's Heaven birthday.

Malachi was so excited to let his off!

There is goes along with his picture for Big Sissy

Sapphira was just so excited about all the balloons (they are one of her absolute favorite things!) and was a bit disappointed to have to let it go. After we told her it was going to Natalie, she full-body-waved at it as it got smaller and smaller.

Three left for Mommy and Daddy.

Off they go!

We can hardly believe it's been five years without you, Natalie. We can't wait to see you again and have you show us the home Jesus prepared for us. Love you so much, sweet girl. Snuggle close to Jesus until we meet again. xoxoxo

3.14.11--Celebrating Natalie

2011-03-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

On Natalie's birthday, we wanted to do something fun for Malachi and Sapphira instead of just sitting around the house moping...so fun for kiddos! We took them to a local children's museum that we've never been to before. The kids loved all the different exhibits/rooms and if it hadn't been so muddy and puddle-y, we would have spent a lot more time outside on the massive play structure. Here's the day in pictures...

1. I woke up to find Daddy and Sapphira having some cuddle time...so cute. 2 & 3. these kids love their baths...can you tell? ;)

1. Malachi loved using the scanner in the grocery room and pretended he was a "k-lerk" (clerk...his r's have a boston accent!). 2. Look Momma, a microscope like Sid the Science Kid! 3. Sapphira loved the grocery carts in the grocery room. She quickly rounded up all the carts in the room (thankfully we were the only ones there!) and started emptying shelves. 4. Malachi thought this huge panda bear in the China room was pretty neat.

1. The xylophones outside were a pretty big hit with both kids. 2. I love this picture of Sapphira...she was trying to get to Bubba, but couldn't quite do it...poor thing. 3. Daddy helping Malachi "milk a cow". He had the funniest facial expressions while trying to concentrate.

1. A wall of bubbles! 2. Working together to try to figure out a game. 3. Malachi telling Sapphira all about his lizard.

1. The train exhibit was a favorite, too...both kids loved it!! This model train set had a bubble to climb up into and they loved watching the trains go around them. We are all saying "train!" since the red one (the best one according to Bubba...his favorite color) was going right in front of us. 2. sliding down a dinosaur's back. 3. They both played with this extensive wooden train set for quite a while.

1. Natalie's birthday cake. Malachi picked out the chocolate frosting and we colored the cake purple. 2 and 3. after singing "Happy Birthday" to Sissy Natalie, we got to enjoy her yummy cake.

I found her! While we were outside at the museum, I sat down on a bench near a picket fence. Directly in front of me, this post leapt out to me! Hi Sissy!

Natalie, we hope you and Asher had as much fun on your birthday in Heaven as we did here! We love you!

5 years ago today...

2011-03-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

...was one of the best days of my life. (if I didn't have other children at home, this would most definitely be the best!!♥) The Lord answered our prayers. We prayed for Natalie's healing, and if that didn't fit in with the Lord's plans, for extra time (since the doctor's told us we might have 20 minutes with her) and hair to save as a memory. We got nearly 40 hours with her and she had tons of hair (head, shoulders, ears, back, even (pardon me!!) butt crack!!), so He really did answer prayers. This blessing-ful day we had with her was filled with visitors, diaper changes, feedings, newborn photographs (we thought we wouldn't get these while she was still alive!!), hugs, kisses, whispered I love you's in her ears, and tons and tons of love. I wish I could relieve this day over and over, because for those few wonderful hours, the world stopped and everything was perfect. I KNOW what Heaven on earth is like!!

Giving her her first sponge bath and changing her diaper. She hated the warming bed they always had us change her on and would wiggle and cry out a little. The only time we heard her make noise was when she was laying here. I think the heat bothered her left eye since she couldn't close it all the way. We were almost done, so I leaned close to whisper to her...it seemed to calm her down.♥♥♥
Dressed in the purple newborn dress we bought her. She was so tiny...she swam in it! But she was so pretty for her hospital pictures! A little bit later, we changed her into this snuggly jammie outfit a friend brought to the hospital for us. I have to admit, when I opened the package before she was born, I got angry and threw the box because I was mad that someone would buy us something that we had no need for and would just be another reminder of the things we didn't get to do with and for her. I ended up being so thankful for these jammies. You could tell she was so warm, snuggly and content all wrapped up in her outfit and warm blankets. In addition, because she was able to wear it, we have another keepsake in her boxes. Look at those chubby cheeks...can you see all the kisses they got? ;)Another wonderful memory we made because she lived so long was being able to feed her!! Because of her cleft plate and lip, we weren't able to bottle feed or nurse her, but the nurses helped us insert a tube into her stomach and taught me to gravity feed her with a syringe. I loved being able to snuggle her close and watch her enjoy her meals. When I'd start the formula, she was either awake or would wake up and then you could just watch her relax back into her blankets. After a minute or two, her eyes would roll back into her head and she would snooze away with a very content look on her face. It made me feel so good to be able to do something so basic for her since we didn't think we'd even get to think about doing things like this!

After her 4 am feeding on the 16th. She stayed awake through the whole feeding and once she was done, she put her finger on her chin and looked around the room as if to say, "what should we do now?". What a sweet girl!!

Love you sweet, girl!!! ♥♥♥

1826 days...

2011-03-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

...since I became a momma. 6:37 pm, March 14th, 2006. I can't believe it's been five years already. We should be talking about where she'll go to kindergarten in the fall, winding down from a season of Upward basketball, getting ready to loose teeth...so many things we miss out on. Instead, today we are trying to hide our grief a bit so the kids don't get worried, visiting a children's museum as a special "Natalie's birthday" surprise, eating birthday donuts without the birthday girl here to enjoy them with us. When we were getting ready to leave, Malachi asked where we were going. "A surprise", I said. "Are we going to Heaven?" "No, not today, Bubba". When we got to the museum, Sapphira was wiggling and clapping in her car seat. Samuel asked her if she was excited for the surprise. She shook her head no. Do you want to play? Another no with "Na-Na" (Natalie) added this time. "Do you want to see Natalie?" Samuel asked her this time. Sapphira gave a full body nod complete with clapping. Humph...

Natalie we miss you so much and your brother and sister can't wait to meet you and play together. I hope you eat tons of cupcakes with Jesus and Asher and you both snuggle close in His lap. We can't wait for the day when we are able to snuggle you again. We love you more than words could ever convey...xoxoxo Daddy, Mommy, Malachi, and Sapphira

Literally a minute or two old...taking everything in.

About 10 minutes old. She was so alert and moved her eyes around to see who was talking to her.

As I snuggled her close, talked to her and rubbed my finger on her cheek, she put her hand up on my face and gently caressed my cheek. It was then I knew that she knew I was her momma and that I loved her.

Looking into my eyes

She found her Daddy's finger. Whenever Daddy was close, they had ahold of each other. Adorable Natalie toes. She even had the funny second toe that stayed up above all the others like her Daddy. Most of her foot prints only had four toes on them...so sweet.
♥♥♥

Blue Plate Special!

2011-03-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to test a pattern for the lovely Jessi at Sweetie Pie Bakery. I have done this one other time, and I have to say her patterns are so clever, easy to follow and the finished product is sooooo stinkin' cute!

This time, I was given a portion of her new pattern, Blue Plate Special to complete. Once finished with this pattern, you'll have everything you need to set up your own restaurant. I love that this can be customized for a boy or girl.

Blue Plate! :)
Meatloaf and Potatoes Carton of milk It's a tie for my favorite between the strawberry milkshake

and the banana split. So adorable!

Be sure to visit Jessi's blog for the new pictures of the rest of the pattern and then check out all the patterns, kits and ready made food in her shop!

Baby Asher

2011-03-03T21:29:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to record this for a while now, but I need to now before I forget all these precious details.

On December 28th, 2010, I realized that I was late. Without telling Samuel, I bought a pregnancy test on my way home after work and tried to keep it secret while I took the test. He discovered what I was doing while the test was in progress and when I told him what I was doing, he got a little smirk on his face. A couple minutes later, there was a faint second pink line...positive. I was so excited and a little scared...could I handle a 3rd baby at home and what would Malachi and Sapphira think about a needy, screaming baby at our house?

I called my OB's office the next morning to get a blood test before work. A couple hours later, we got our confirmation. ♥

On January 4th, 2011, I had my intake appointment. I had to sit and politely listen to an insensitive nurse tell me that I needed to have an ultrasound because what happened to Natalie could be happening to this baby about that time. She sent me to the imaging department with a referral stating "history of neural tube defect". I left feeling pretty discouraged even though I knew what happened to Natalie was such a rare problem. I really try to not let insensitive people get to me, but when it comes to my babies...humph

On January 6th, 2011 I had my first ultrasound. I thought I was 8 weeks along, so we took the kids with us and were super excited to see our little one starting to take shape and see a heartbeat. We were bummed to discover I was only 5 weeks along, so there was no baby or heartbeat to see, but only a little sack. The technician said everything looked good for a 5 week pregnancy, but I was so disappointed and upset. I kept wondering if the baby had died early on and stopped developing. When we got home, Samuel reminded me that I had three cycles in October and November, so the measurements made sense. I comforted myself with the fact that my OB is so understanding and would let me have an ultrasound if I asked for one before my next appointment in three weeks.

On January 27th, I visited my OB for the first time. He gave me another ultrasound and our sweet little one measured 8 weeks and 1 day. We saw the wonderful heartbeat and our little bean moved his head back and forth and wiggled a little for us. Both of the kids were with us so they got to see the baby in Mommy's tummy and were very excited. Sapphira kept saying "baby, baby" and Malachi asked Dr F for his own picture to take home when he saw him give Mommy one. He carried it around with him for a couple days and made sure to show it to everyone he saw.
Such a proud big brother :)

During the weeks between my intake appointment and my first appointment with my OB, I started to feel a bit of morning sickness. I used Preggie Pops, toasted and buttered bagels and homemade Orange Julius drinks to help keep my stomach settled. Shortly after my visit with Dr F, it subsided, but this was the way my other three pregnancies behaved.

February 21, 2011 brought our second appointment with my OB. I was 11 weeks and 5 days along, so we were hoping to hear the heartbeat. My doctor couldn't pick it up on the doppler, so the ultrasound machine was wheeled in. He said not to worry. My heart sank. I had a bad feeling going into this appointment, so not hearing the heartbeat was just the last straw...I knew in my heart the baby was gone, but I was too afraid to say it out loud. My doctor looked at the baby for a couple minutes and I was afraid to look at his face because I didn't want to see his reaction so I kept my eyes glued to the screen. The baby wasn't moving and didn't look any bigger or different than the last time we saw him. I looked away and stared at the wall and then he said, "I'm so sorry, but your baby doesn't have a heartbeat." I wept out loud. I haven't cried like that since we lost Natalie. My wailing scared Malachi and he jumped up so he could see my face and kept asking me, "What's wrong Momma? What's wrong? Daddy, why is Momma crying?" My OB kept scanning for a couple more minutes before letting me sit up. Malachi crawled into my lap and asked me for an explanation. I told him that the baby in Mommy's tummy died and went to Heaven to be with Jesus and Natalie. When he asked why, I told him I didn't know and that we'd have to ask Jesus when we got to Heaven. After I had a minute to calm Malachi down, give him some hugs, and stop crying myself, my OB told me that sometimes these things just happen and that he didn't see anything in the ultrasound that would make this happen. He also said that the baby measured 8 weeks and 5 days...he died just 4 days after we saw him last. He gave me the options of letting my body take care of things on it's own, but that could take several more weeks, taking medication to start things up, or surgery. I told him that I'd call him in the morning.

Malachi struggled for a couple days. He was really talking about having another baby at home and even though he said he wasn't sad about the baby, he was acting out and even once yelled at someone "I just want my baby to come back!". Poor thing. He is also convinced that if we could turn into robots, we could go up to Heaven and play with Natalie, the baby and Jesus and hug them and then come home. The idea of going to Heaven forever terrifies him, so we would just visit a lot. Sapphira seems to notice our stress, but I don't think she has any idea what is going on.

The next day, we called to let him know that we'd try the medication since he indicated it might happen in a couple days. Samuel was home until Friday night and I didn't want to risk having things happen when I was home alone with the kids. I took my first dose on Tuesday night while the kids were staying the night at my in-laws house. Nothing happened. Wednesday and Thursday came and went with still nothing. I was so discouraged.

Sapphira woke up early Friday morning and I got up with her so Samuel could have a full night's sleep for his shift on Friday night. Sapphira and I fell asleep in our recliner. Malachi woke me up around 8:30 and I realized that things had started happening while I slept. Without being too graphic, it was horrible. Once things calmed down, I felt so faint from losing so much blood, and all I could do was lie down in bed. I dozed on and off until 11:00, when I called my doctors office to see what else to expect. The nurse thought I was done with everything, but when my OB called to check on me, he wasn't convinced I was done, because there is usually a lot of pain associated with miscarriages and I didn't experience that at all. He told me to take the rest of my medication and call with any questions.

Monday morning, February 28th, I called my doctor because I was just so discouraged and sick of the waiting game. Plus, I needed to go back to work since I had missed the entire previous week and wanted to be sure where things stood. I begged for an ultrasound, and he obliged. He said the ultrasound looked like everything was done and all I should have left was a heavy cycle. I left feeling pretty bummed. I guess I was hoping to see our baby one more time before he left and I was secretly praying this had all been a huge mistake or the Lord had performed a miracle. I kept it together until the doctor left and then I cried on Samuel's shoulder. Back to "normal" life.

Wednesday at work, my bleeding picked up severely and I went home. By the time I got home, I was bleeding very heavily and passed a clot the size of a small apple. I called my doctor's office and they told me to got to the ER. My mom came over to sit with the kids who were napping and Samuel rushed me in. We spent the evening in the ER, getting an IV bag of saline and they monitored what was going on. After several hours, they said that I was kind of in a gray area...they couldn't tell for sure if things were either tapering off, and things could get bad again in the next 12-24 hours, which would indicate surgery. Thankfully, my body seems to be tapering off.

Since I was nearly certain this little one was a boy (I have been right about the gender of all of our kids), we decided to name our sweetheart Asher, which is Hebrew for lucky, fortunate, blessed. We feel like he is very blessed and fortunate to have bypassed all the suffering of this world and go right to Heaven with his sister and our Lord.

Emotionally, we are doing ok considering. We have both been struggling with anger with the whole situation, but our pastor reminded us that even David, who God called a man after His own heart, was angry with God sometimes, and as long as we dealt with our anger so it doesn't come out as shrapnel, these feelings are ok. I had really forgotten how dark, deep and desperate the grief of losing a child is. Nothing will replace Natalie or Asher, and sometimes missing them is so overwhelming. I am so thankful that we know a God who promises us Heaven and that we know we will see them again one day. I just can't wait for the day when I get to Heaven and Jesus is waiting for me inside the gate and I get to run and jump into His arms and then right behind Him will be my two sweethearts who will run into my arms and I will get to hold Natalie again and see Asher's sweet face for the first time. How wonderful that will be!

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I wanted to make sure I got all these things recorded while I still remembered them. We are so thankful for all the prayers that have been lifted up on our behalf and all the love shown us from our wonderful friends and family. This would most certainly would have been a much harder and darker situation without all this love! ♥

Goodness Lord...

2011-02-21T11:42:00.000-08:00

We found out today at my OB appointment that our sweetheart died three weeks ago. Goodness Lord...not sure sure how we'll handle this one...

Happy Day!

2011-01-28T09:16:00.000-08:00

Introducing the 4th Ramos Little Bean! Due September 7th! We just can't wait to meet this little one!

Kid-isms

2011-01-24T23:58:00.000-08:00

Most of these have already been posted on Facebook, but I wanted to post them here, too so I don't lose them!

Malachi: Momma, the stars are the kids and the moon is the mom. Me: Really, Malachi? Malachi: Yes, mom, they are all the gruls (girls) over here (pointing) and boys over there. There is a boy named Teddy Bear and he has a mustache, and there is a grul and she has a mustache, too and the baby has a mustache, too. Me: Oh wow, Malachi! That is interesting! Malachi: Yah, momma...that's in-tes-ting. :)

In the middle of her full fledged tantrum, Sapphira heard an airplane outside, stopped crying, said "a-pa-la" (airplane) and continued to scream.

Malachi started the day by flinging his breakfast all over the dining area wall and back door so he could be like the people having a cake fight on the TLC commercial. Later that evening, while doing laundry, I looked into the kitchen and found Malachi standing on a chair, emptying the salt shaker on the floor. He wanted to grow a rose and was planting some seeds...half a shaker's worth...oy.

"Mommy, I have a fever in my tummy and my germs are singing!" "Does that mean you are hungry?" "Yup!"

After watching her brother work on potty training for a couple days, Sapphira asked to use the potty today. Only problem with that is she thinks she needs to stand up and got mad at me when I sat her down...oy

Samuel, Sapphira and I were eating dinner at the mall while Malachi was at Cubbies, when Sapphira asked to take her shirt off. When I told her "No, we don't take our clothes off in public", she made a whole body gesture as if to say, "aw man!". We may have a nudist on our hands! But it does make my laundry pile smaller! :)

Sapphira loves to dance to upbeat songs and always stops what she is dong to do her best fist pumping moves to the theme song of Turbo Dogs, complete with head banging, hip wiggling, and the biggest smile! So cute!

The other day Malachi says to me, "Momma, if I ever see a lizard, I will dead it with my shoe." ha I laughed out loud!

The other night, Malachi decided didn't like the "teeter" tots we had with supper.

While sitting with Daddy in the recliner one evening, Sapphira woke herself up by saying "no!" in her sleep. She looked all around so confused like "what on earth is going on!" and snuggled back into Daddy's arms.

When trying to get ready to got someone recently, Malachi said to me with a totally straight face, "Momma, Jesus wants me to barf." What do I say to that?

Those are just some of the recent sillies to come from the Ramos household. I just love these kids...they make me giggle every day! :)

1.8.11--Snow!

2011-01-24T23:36:00.000-08:00

Sort of! :) At our house, shaving cream is called snow and playing with "snow" is quite a fun event! The last couple times Malachi has done it, Sapphira was not interested in the least bit because it is so messy. But this time was a different story.

Malachi showing Sister what to do.

Rubbing it all over her hands... ...and arms. Keep in mind that this is the little girl who needs to have a napkin at most meals to wipe her hands (in the event they get a single crumb or drop of something on them! ha) and then those napkins have to be lined up in specific places on the table. Silly girl!

Malachi loves to get out his tractors and scoop, plow, and see how large he can make the piles of snow. He's definitely all boy!

Messy girl is quite proud of herself!

Needless to say, these kiddos got baths afterwards!

I just love how a $1 bottle of shaving cream can provide hours of entertainment. I also makes my table very clean and my house smells great afterwards! I'd call that a win-win! :)

12.25.10--Happy Birthday, Jesus!!

2011-01-04T20:50:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning was spent with Samuel's parents and our two nieces. We ate breakfast, opened presents, played for a while and then ate yummy Christmas lunch together.

Malachi gave Sapphira a Snow White ballerina doll...

...and Sapphira picked out a Mr. Potato Head head for Malachi (he calls it a Mr. Ma-tato Head. hehe)

She finally got her own laptop...so exciting!!!

He liked them! :)

My own strawberries!!!

The doll stroller was definitely the hit this year!

Malachi loved his new Woody doll.

Trying out his new Toy Story pillow and blanket. I think they work!

We got him a set of Trio blocks. They snap together pretty easily, say put together well and have tons of different types of pieces. They both play with these a lot.

After we relaxed and played for the rest of the afternoon, my parents came over to open presents, and eat leftovers for dinner.

Sapphira showing Boppa her stroller...told you she loved it! :)

She finally got her pillow pet!!

Matching Blazer shirts...Malachi was sooooo excited!

Malachi got one, too!

New play dishes!

Bobo got Sapphira the piggy bank I had been wanting for her, along with a whole sandwich baggie full of pennies! She has a lot of fun putting them all in her bank!

Boppa helping Malachi put together the new train tracks he and Gaga gave him. This was quite the exciting gift, too!

For as much stress as the days leading up to Christmas hold, they are so worth it when I get to see my kids play with toys they love, spend time with people they adore, and most importantly, begin to understand what Jesus did for us by coming to earth. Thank you Lord for your sacrifice and the opportunity to be able to celebrate You openly. We love you, Jesus!!!

12.24.10--Christmas Eve

2011-01-04T19:54:00.000-08:00

We always spend Christmas Eve at my Grandma's with all the aunts, uncles and cousins on my mom's side. It was fun to catch up with all my family and celebrate Jesus' birth!
My uncle loves to fish and makes the best smoked salmon. Sapphira loved the packages and carried it around with her part of the day! Crazy girl!! :)

When Malachi figured out he was a garbage man when he carried around the bag for the wrapping paper, he was all over it!

Family picture my brother asked for as a gift for our dad.

Playing with Boppa!!

"Sleeping" on his new blanket with Bobo.

They were really tired! :)

I made the kids Christmas jammies this year along with sets for their cousins as well. The pants were all made from flannel and I found white t-shirts at Target. So comfy! Sapphira had pink jammies with apples.

Malachi's were orange with construction vehicles. Addy's were sewn from pink flannel embroidered with daisies and Bella's were red with sock monkeys since that is her favorite color and she loves the monkey Bobby Jack. They were all pleased. Malachi made my day by waking up Christmas morning and declaring, "I love my Christmas jammies, Momma!!" I love my kids!

They were both asleep by 8 pm and slept so well since they played so hard. I love spending time with family!

Christmas outfits

2011-01-04T19:08:00.001-08:00

This year, I decided to make Sapphira's Christmas dress, and I was thrilled when I had enough leftover to make Malachi a matching tie! I had so much fun picking out the materials and sewing the clothing...maybe I'll make this a yearly tradition!! I used this tutorial for Sapphira's dress and this one for Bubba's tie.

This not only shows the back of her dress, but her adorable curls!! Love it!

Someone didn't want her picture taken!

I love these silly kids!

Gift for Grandparents.

2011-01-04T18:52:00.001-08:00

This year, I was really struggling to come up with a gift to give the grandparents. If I had any ideas, they either didn't pan out, or were more money than we had to spend. I was listening to my favorite radio station and they were having a donation drive for World Concern. This organization works with communities in Africa, Asia, and the Americas and provides them ways to develop their villages and also helps with disaster relief. What I thought was pretty neat was that you could buy specific items that are sent to the villages like wells, livestock and fish, medications, and crops. When we saw the good work they were doing, we decided that there was nothing our parents needed more than what we could give through World Concern. We decided on a solar cooker and they even provided little cards to give to our parents that said the solar cooker we bough was going to a family in Chad. They both were pleased that this blessing was given in their honor and we are happy to be able to bless another family like the Lord has blessed us.

12.23.10--Gingerbread house

2011-01-03T19:03:00.000-08:00

Our last advent surprise was making a gingerbread house. Malachi was so excited to be able to build a house and loved watching me put it together with the icing. So much fun!

Decorations!

While my back was turned, Malachi licked some of the icing off at the peak of roof. He said it was really good. :)

Starting to take shape!

The finished product! Notice the red chin...several peppermints never made it to the house!! This little boy loves peppermints and candy canes...he certainly got his fill this year! :)

Sapphira loved watching, too! Happy girl

Too Quiet...

2011-01-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

I thought they were being too quiet...

I found them both under the table, covering their eyes with their hands. Malachi fessed up right away and said they worked on it together, but that he had wanted there to be red on the chair. Oh boy, guess there will be no more unsupervised coloring at our house for a while...thank goodness for Mr Clean Erasers!!!

Advent Activities

2010-12-28T16:12:00.000-08:00

This year, since Malachi was old enough to start understanding the real meaning of Christmas, I decided to do an advent-type calendar. I made little cards with the date on one side and then wrote on the back side the "advent surprise" for the day. This included picking out our Christmas tree, getting out the kid's nativity set, turning in our cans and putting the money in a bell ringer's bucket, making Christmas cookies, new Christmas coloring books, making ornaments, and taking Daddy a coffee at work. Toward the end of the month as the days got busier, the surprise stopped happening every day...guess I'll have to plan better or think of another method for next year.

"Helping" to decorate the tree and sooooo excited!!! "This, this!!" The texture of the tree intrigued her. Malachi's tree for his room. He decorated it himself. The tree was maybe 6 inches tall and he put over 12 ornaments on it...more decoration than tree! :)Finally got to play with their Nativity set!

Making candy cane ornaments.

He is actually very precise and patient when it comes to stringing beads.

Malachi's best buddy, N, decorating Christmas sugar cookies

Malachi, too!!

The little ones could only watch and eat cookies.

N's cookies.

Malachi's cookies didn't stand a chance!

Another casualty!

I love this kid!

2010-12-15T22:28:00.001-08:00

We found him passed out like this when we went to put Sapphira down tonight...how can kids sleep in positions like this is beyond me. Also...apparently he requires his bed to be filled with stuffed animals in order to sleep since he raided his toy box after he put him to sleep. I just love this kid!!

I cried...

2010-12-11T17:36:00.000-08:00

Today I cried. We have a niece, Addy, who is 2 months older than Natalie. Most days, it doesn't cross my mind or bother me very much. She is blond haired and blued eyed, so I guess she doesn't remind me physically of my raven haired sweetheart. Well, today was NOT most days. We attended Addy's ballet recital this afternoon and as soon as I noticed all the little girls circled around their teacher stretching, my heart began to ache. My sweet Natalie should have been in that group, too. She should have been huddled with her friends, whispering in each others ears, while they fussed with their outfits. Once they began to dance, my eyes began watering and I had to stop myself from losing it. People would have been wondering what was up with that lady in the front row who didn't even have a girl in the program. Natalie would have been gorgeous dancing in her black leotard, white tights, and burgundy tutu with her black hair pinned tightly into a bun at the nape of her neck. I would have loved to help Miss R sew the skirts for the girls and brought flowers to my ballerina to celebrate her accomplishments. Sapphira would have loved to watch her sister dance across the stage and Malachi would have tackled his sissy and cousin with hugs after the performance was complete. There would have been two Ramos girls posing in front of Christmas tree. It is days like these when my heart physically aches and the words "why Lord?" enter my thoughts...I never thought these emotions could be so strong. Goodness I miss her.

12.5.10--Christmas Program

2010-12-06T22:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the little kids at church got to go up on stage to sing two songs for the congregation. This was Sapphira's first year, so it was pretty neat to see both of my kiddos up front. Malachi knew the songs, but did not sing once he got up there...bummer...he sings "Go tell it on the mountain" with quite a bit of gusto! :)

First service, Sapphira noticed me sitting on the floor at the front of the church and freaked out. I left the camera with Samuel, and ran up on stage to take her and sat with her in my lap next to the rest of her class. After a couple minutes, Malachi noticed me sitting with Sapphira and jumped down from his riser and snuggled in next to me. He kept saying over and over again, "Momma, I don't want to go back to Sunday School." I kept thinking to myself, how great is it that my son chose to sit next to me instead of with his friends? I'm going to enjoy this while it lasts! :) After we got both kiddos back to their classes, I met back up with Samuel and he told me that there was no memory card in the camera, so no pictures of the cuteness. Bummer...maybe Grandma will come through! :)

Before second service, I retrieved the memory card, so I actually got some pictures. Both kids did great and stayed on stage without Samuel or I helping them. Sapphira noticed me right away, but since she was sitting with one of my friends from work, she was comfortable and smiled and waved at me. A couple minutes later, she saw Daddy sitting in a different pew, and I could hear her yell, "Dada!!" and start laughing. Malachi decided that it would be a good idea to sit on his riser and peek around the person in front of him. He was tired since we had to wake him up to go to church that morning and apparently wasn't feeling the performance. Silly boy!

Looking around for us before going up on stage.

She found me! Look at that chubby little finger! Makes me giggle! :)

Hmmm...thinking about singing...then decided not to.

She found Daddy!

Taking a break, but have to keep an eye on everything. I love the pursed lips!

Coming down after getting done. He spotted me and is making a bee line. He didn't want to go back to Sunday School and suckered me into sitting with him in the foyer. Thank goodness for the matchbox car in my purse! :)

After church, we ate lunch with GaGa and Boppa at a Mexican restaurant. Between the kids, they finished 3/4 of a basket of chips and then each ate a good portion of their plates of beans and rice. I always pick Mexican restaurants whenever possible since I know that my kids will always eat there! Malachi kept asking when we were going to the "mexy-con place". :)

12.3.10--Christmas tree hunting

2010-12-05T22:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we headed out to find this year's Christmas tree. Sapphira wasn't walking this time last year, so it was so much fun watching them both run, explore and play together.

She loved the texture of the tree branches.

Rubber boots with ruffled jeans...doesn't get much cuter! :)

Taking her turn with the tree cart. She could maneuver it better than Malachi did!

I just love this kid!

Open space demands running and running and running and...

Going straight...for the moment.

Hi, momma!

Walking in these boots requires concentration and tongue action!

Peek-a-boo!

Our tree...look the sky was even blue! What a gorgeous day!

Malachi thought the baler was very loud.

I love being a momma!

2010-12-05T22:37:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about being a momma is all the little quirky things my kiddos do. Their funny saying and mannerisms make me laugh and uplift me on days I feel down. Take this conversation for example...
Malachi: Momma, the stars are the kids and the moon is the mom.
Me: Really, Malachi?
Malachi: Yes, mom, they are all the gruls (girls) over here (pointing) and boys over there. There is a boy named Teddy Bear and he has a mustache, and there is a grul and she has a mustache, too and the baby has a mustache, too.
Me:... Oh wow, Malachi! That is interesting!
Malachi: Yah, momma...that's in-tes-ting.

Malachi also thinks that the Toy Story 3 song words are "you got a friend, tummy!" instead of "you have a friend in me!"

The other day, Sapphira was in the middle of a full body temper tantrum when she heard an airplane outside. She stopped, mid-fit, said "a-pa-lain" (airplane), and continued where she left off.

Whenever we watch the kids show Mighty Machines, Sapphira dances, complete with headbanging and waving arms, to the theme song. This always makes everyone in the room giggle.

I also love finding little physical reminders of their quirks. Toys left strewn in the tub and toys or blankets hooked precariously on the closet door pulls make me laugh out loud every time. Recently, Malachi left these for me...
Buzz Lightyear must have been in the middle of a jig when Malachi left him here.
After the kids went to bed, I sat down to sew and found his race car like this. Must have been keeping watch over things for him.

I love my kids. ♥ ♥ ♥