Copy Cat

Micah is so darling at this age that I have to record some of the things he is doing at 2 years and 3 months to be exact. I would best describe him as a copy cat.  Everything that is spoken to him, he repeats the last word. 

 If I say, "Do you want to eat?" He will say "Eat!"  

If I say, "Do you want a spanking?" He will say, "Spanking."

He is a sponge and we can see him soaking up his little world around him.  Language is big right now for him as he repeats everything.  As Olivia listens to her German teacher online, he is repeating the German words too, to the best of his ability.  He listens to our conversations around the table and then re- tells the stories we tell with as much exuberance and hand gestures as possible.  There is no mistaking what he is saying.  

Today I heard one of his older siblings reprimanding him and Micah came running to me to tell me all about it.  He babbled away while hitting the air and adding the word "Stop!" to his jumbled sentence.  I instantly knew he had gotten in trouble for hitting and that his sibling had told him to stop it.

 He is so cute as he doesn't just say "yes" but "yep" nor does he say a boring "no" but a lively "nope!"

I like this picture of him making indentations in the sand with his toes.  

Today Rich killed a bug and I was curiously watching hoping he would get it before it got away.  Normally I'd kill a bug myself but this was a rather large critter.  Micah came peeking around the corner to see.  He said "Ewww!"

Every morning when my alarm goes off I get up and after doing the things all people do when they wake up, I prop up my pillows so I can sit up in bed and read my Bible.  Micah always wakes up around that time and comes in to join me with his blanket.  Yesterday I noticed that he had gotten his own book and propped up a pillow behind him and was turning the pages pretending to read too.

Always watching, always mimicking is the 2 year old.

Micah calls Olivia, La la

AJ is Day Jay

Julia is also La La

Reece is Weecie

Every night before bed he has to give everyone a kiss and hug.  He loves running around the room to each one of his siblings and won't ever forget anyone.  Then when I scoop him up to go tuck him in he yells "Night Night!" to everyone and sometimes "Bye!" as well.

Micah loves eggs cooked any which way.  He gobbles them up and always asks for more.  If he sees us putting salt and pepper on them he has to have the same.

He has learned to jump off of the fireplace hearth and will do it over and over until he is sweaty and out of breath.  I also taught him how to do a summer salt and he tries his best but basically puts his head down on the carpet and then says "Two!" (for 1,2,3) and then falls to one side or the other.  He can't quite push himself over yet but he will do that until he runs out of steam which takes much longer for him than me!

He loves to have his picture taken and usually will say "cheese" and then run to see it in the view finder on your camera.

Last Sunday at church he was making faces at the little boys behind us and then I caught him blowing kisses at them!  He is so affectionate. Not shy at all.  He loves people and warms up to others right away!  One of Olivia girlfriends came over who he doesn't know, and he greeted her at the door with a big "Hi!" and then he held his arms out and said "Hugs?" Kisses always follow hugs so that was the natural next step.  Amazing!

We've never had a child with so much character than this one!  

He was in trouble this morning and came running in my room, paniced.  He yelled "Spank!"  He climbed up on my bed as fast as his little legs could hoist him up.  I said, "Do you need Mom to save you?" His response was a matter of fact "Yep!"

Gotta love this boy!

California- part 2

  Well, I'd like to share some more pictures with you from our trip to California.  When we planned our trip we wanted to show the children 3 things that Texas doesn't have.  One being waterfalls.  The closest waterfall that I know of is in Oklahoma and it can hardly be called a waterfall at a 10 foot drop.  So a few posts ago I shared our pictures from Yosemite.

 The 2nd thing we realized that Texas doesn't have is big trees.  Now I'm in no way trying to complain about Texas because I really like it here but the "woods" here don't even compare to where both Rich and I grew up.  The wooded areas here look more like big scraggly bushes.

 Unfortunately we did not get to go to see the Sequoias but these trees at a local park in San Jose did give us our tree fix just fine.  They were magnificent and this park is not known for it's trees! Big trees are so common there it's no big deal.

 I did not realize how much I took for granted when I lived in California all my life.  

 The 3rd thing we wanted our kids to experience was the ocean.  Now we can go to the ocean here in Texas but it's a long ways away and right now with the oil spill it's all messed up plus it's humid down there near the Mexican gulf.  I do want to go some day but just can't get excited about it yet.

Rich's parents live 30 minutes from Santa Cruz, California.  I can't believe we never took advantage of this place before!  This is not a postcard.  We were really there and enjoyed every minute of it!

We found a parking place right up the street and just walked down to the beach on a 75* day in October!  No fee to get in, no crowds to fight, and God's handiwork everywhere we looked!

 It was a wonderful parenting moment where you get to experience a "wow" moment with your children.  They were stunned to see the vastness of the ocean and waves so big!  They are used to the lake.

 This is every child's dream to be engulfed in white foamy water with nothing but soft sand beneath your feet.

Olivia says she doesn't like to swim in lakes because you never know what's under the water.  This she could get into!

 AJ was obsessed with digging a deep hole and then watching the water either wash over it or fill up from the hole itself!  They dug and dug and then reached water.  Amazing!

He is my science kid!

Of course, Julia was not afraid to get in on the action.  She has always loved dirt and especially mud!

Oops, lost her there for a minute!

We really had to keep track of Micah.  He loved the water and kept wanting to go in it.  We would race to the edge of the tide and then run away so it wouldn't catch us.

 He'll never remember his visit to the beach but we will!  And these pictures are to die for!

 It was a perfect day and so incredibly relaxing.  What beautiful greatness God has made for us to enjoy!

GFA Christmas Gift Video

See how you can bless someone in Asia this Christmas

A Found Sheep

Olivia is our first born child.  She is sweet but stubborn, dramatic but fun, loves a routine but can be flexible in her own timing.  She is 15 and dying to drive.  The past two years, she has been fighting for an independence her parents were not ready to give.  There was a maturity not yet there but we can say she is well on her way to gaining that independence.  The past 2 years have been hard on her and us.  She has been struggling with her faith in God.  She was not tempted by the world in the sense that most teenagers are.  She has no friends that party or drink.  In fact all her friends were pointing her to Christ and praying for her.  Her rebellion was internal.

Surrendering is hard for us all don't you think?  We want to do things our way and not have to depend on anyone.  Olivia's questions were quite mature.  How do you know God is there?  If he's real, why doesn't he answer my prayers?  We gave her all the right answers and met these questions as best as we could but for 2 years it was not good enough.  We resolved to pray for her and build a trusting relationship with her.  Whenever we asked some personal questions about her relationship with God we met with resistance.  A wall would go up.  I can't tell you how hard this was. Mixed with her teenage independence that she so desired, she was also grabbing after an independence from God!

She understood the seriousness of this decision.  No one can walk the wide road and the narrow at the same time.  You can't do all the right things but have a cold heart towards God.

Rich and I struggled with our perfect family not being so perfect.  One of our sheep had strayed.  How could this happen?  We did all we knew to do.  We banned together as a family and prayed, fasted, patiently waited for God to move.  It's been a long two years but God was working the whole time!
Little did we know that he was slowly softening her heart.

Last Friday, October 29th, she surrendered her life to Christ!  She spent the night with a girlfriend, who has been praying for her and through their conversations that night and much praying together, she laid it all down.  She said later that she felt a battle raging within her and that Satan and Jesus were pulling her back and forth.  She had to make a choice.  Of course, she had to choose Jesus for his love is overwhelming!  She came home crying with joy and in awe at how much God loves her.  She was so excited she had to tell ALL her friends.  Her brother, Anthony, was so moved that he began to cry too.  He has been fervently praying for her for so long and God answered his prayer!  His BIG prayer had been answered.  I was stunned because I never saw it coming.  Just goes to show that we need to keep praying even though it appears that those we are praying for are still hardened.

This week has been rough but nothing is as bad as when you try to live without God.  Olivia's attitude has changed.  I can now direct her towards her heavenly Father for help when it's rough and my advice is not falling on deaf ears.  She is eager to know God.  The lost sheep has been found and we are rejoicing!