It's so much fun for us to read comments on our blog posts; we LOVE them! Not only does it motivate me to keep blogging, but your comments will also be recorded in our yearly printed blog books! So whatever thoughts you may have, however short your comment is, would you please write them down every so often? Many thanks!
We've had a lot less snow this winter compared to last year, but last week we got enough to play in and oh boy, that's exactly what Daniel did! He had a blast and stayed outside with Jonny for about 3 hours in a row! We were so happy to see him enjoying the snow because he didn't really enjoy it that much the previous two winters (he was just too small to enjoy it for long) and he had been waiting expectantly to play outside in the snow this year.
Here are some photos of all the fun:
Confidently walking on the snow on his own...
Sledding with papai!
Sledding alone!
Building a "snow house" with Takumi...
Sledding with Enya...
Sledding with snowball!
Loved being pulled by papai and looking up at the moving clouds -- that's exactly what he told me!
Back at home in his snow suit and hungry, ready for lunch!
Exactly 4 years ago today, at 9:01 pm, our first son, Jonathan David, was born. Less than two hours later, he left us and went to be with Jesus...
It's hard to believe it's already been 4 years. We wanted to remember him in a special way today and in particular, share more about him with Daniel. I was hoping that today would be more of a day to celebrate his life and that it wouldn't be too sad... However, it was... I spent a lot of the day in grief...missing him terribly. This surprised me; I didn't expect the grief to be so strong after 4 years. But I received an e-mail today from Pastor Dan, the Pastor who faithfully stood by us during my pregnancy, birth and first months after he passed, saying:
"Just wanted you to know that I am praying for you today on this anniversary date. Much has happened since then, but I am sure the mother's pain will never completely disappear."
Yes, Pastor Dan, you are absolutely right. Today was confirmation that a mother's pain will never completely disappear. I hope to remember this for the years to come, so that I won't be so surprised by the sadness that took over me today...
Despite it all, we still managed to bake a birthday cake for Jonathan David with Daniel. And we talked a lot about him. Daniel still doesn't fully understand, but at least now he knows he has a brother, his name is Jonathan David and that he lives in Heaven with Jesus. It was very special to hear him articulate this...
Here is a video of us singing Happy Birthday to Jonathan David together and some photos. Daniel was so excited about the cake!
To our first born, Jonathan David:
We miss you so much... We still grieve your loss. However, in our grief, we still have hope! Hope that because of our Lord Jesus, we will be with you again one day, and it will be forever.
We love you!
Papai and Mamae
Psalm 139: 13-16
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them,
In the last 2 months or so, Daniel's love for books has gone to a different level. Now he wants us to read him stories, books with a plot and several words. The old word books are no longer as fun. He listens very carefully and often remembers and recites words of the books we have read a few times. We are loving this new phase!
So a trip to the library every other Wednesday or so, has become a very special thing to do on our "date day." Last Wednesday we chose about 12 books and we actually sat on the sofa in the library for about an hour and read through several of them. What a wonderful way to spend quality time together! And then in the evening, when papai got home, Daniel enjoyed going through all the books again, as you can see in the photos below:
Yesterday's "date day" we couldn't go out because it was snowing, so we decided to make cookies. Daniel now enjoys this, helping mamae put the ingredients in the bowl and mixing them together. At times it is challenging because he wants to do things "his way", like put the flour in the butter before we have mixed the sugar in first, but he is learning to follow directions. :-) He particularly loves placing the cookie balls on the baking sheet and pounding them down before baking! I didn't get any photos of the cooking session (I will next time!), but I got him enjoying the final product and a cup of milk (which he now likes!):
Hi loved ones! Since we're snowed in tonight (I was supposed to go out), I have time to blog! Praise God, we are all doing as well as we could have hoped, despite the frequent exhaustion at the end of each day...
Key highlights regarding the big changes we are experiencing:
1. I'm loving my new job! It is a perfect fit for me. The work is very interesting, my colleagues are great, the commute is so easy, and the 4 day schedule is working out perfectly for our family. My main work right now is very similar to what I used to do, providing technical assistance in Research and Evaluation for a Behaviour Change Communication Public Health Program in Zambia. I have never worked for Zambia before and it's been very interesting to learn about that country in Southern Africa.
2. Daniel is doing well at school, though he was very sick the previous week with a high fever that lasted 5 days. So going back to school after all those days at home took some adjustments but now he is doing better (he is still shy when we drop him off in the mornings but is always reluctant to go home in the afternoons!). Also, many of his "older" friends - those who are already 3 - moved to a different classroom and Daniel was sad to see them go... But he is now happy with those friends that stayed and is getting to know the new ones.
3. Jonny had his first MBA class last night! He is taking two classes the next 8 weeks: "Business Communications" and "Accounting and Financial Reporting." He already has assignments due each week, so the workload is large. He has 6 hours of class per week (currently Tuesday and Thursday nights), which means that he should expect to study 12 to 18 hours per week at home (2 - 3 hours per hour of class). What this means is that he will have to study most evenings and on Saturdays. We decided that Sundays will be our family day off -- to go to church and enjoy being together. It's a big change but we will be taking one day at a time and are trusting God to guide us on how to fit everything in and continue connected as a couple and family.
Special Wednesdays: My "date day" with Daniel
I was so happy that my new supervisor agreed with my proposed schedule to be off on Wednesdays. It works perfectly because after just 2 days, I get lots of quality time with Daniel, before working another 2 days and then there is the weekend. It is a good break for us both from work and school.
I have been very intentional to make our Wednesdays together special and so I have been planning different activities for us to do together. I have been calling it our "date day" so that Daniel also knows it's a special day with his "mamae." We are likely to be going to the Gymnastics Open Gym session we used to go to last year, as Daniel loves it and they only have it during the week.
Here are some photos of Daniel the last time we went. To my surprise, he spent most of the time there jumping into the "foam pit" over and over again! He barely spent time on the trampoline this time. The foam pit is great but it's hard work to get out of (last time we went, around May of last year, he couldn't get out of the pit alone) but Daniel just kept jumping and climbing out for about 40 minutes. I thought he was so brave to jump from so high too, but he wasn't afraid at all and just loved it! Before each time he jumped, he wanted me to say "One, two, three, go!" or "Ready, set, go!"
(Sorry most of the photos are not correctly oriented -- I can't get them to turn around.)
Better get to bed now! Tomorrow we are likely to be snowed in, so we hope to play outside! This will be the first proper snow fall that we had all winter, so we are excited about it - and hope to post photos soon too!
Hi loved ones! Just a quick update tonight since time is short, but all is going great with my new job! People have been so welcoming and the work is very interesting. An unexpected blessing is that several people like to get together for lunch everyday so I have been enjoying that too!
We have all been battling colds recently and Daniel had a very high fever last night, but he is doing better today. We pray that we will get through this winter season without too many more illnesses.
Another first for Daniel happened last week: he had his first ever dentist appointment (age 2 and 10 months) and we are so relieved that it went very well! Though it has been getting easier, it has generally not been easy for us to brush Daniel's teeth. And we were getting concerned with some tartar building up and so decided to take him to a paediatric dentist. They were fantastic! They made him feel very comfortable, Daniel fully cooperated with them, and the dentist was able to clean his teeth and let us know that his teeth are healthy and that there are no cavities - what a relief!
Jonny took Daniel and took some photos with his mobile phone -- he forgot the camera. So though the photos aren't great, you can get a general feel of how it all went!
This is the waiting area - with lots of toys and Daniel loved it!
And then, look how comfortable he was in the dental chair!
We were so proud of him and so relieved it went well! From now on, he will go every 6 months to get his teeth cleaned and checked.
The New Year is here and with it, our family will soon be experiencing many new things.
Tomorrow I start my new job and I am excited and just a little nervous, wondering what it will be like. God has been so gracious to provide me with a new job, it all happened very quickly and unexpectedly. I worked at my previous organization for almost 7 years but commuting an average of 1 and a half hours each way to work or working in isolation from home was really starting to get to me... So after I got back from Europe, I did a quick internet search and was amazed to find a job that fits my interests, qualifications and experience perfectly, less than 20 minutes from my house. I decided to apply for the job and 2 days later, a 5 week process of interviews and negotiations started which ended with me accepting a new job offer and resigning from my previous organization. Little did I know during this process that God was leading me to change jobs for much greater reasons... I wish I could write down all the details of what happened but due to confidentiality issues, it's suffice to say that if I hadn't resigned, it was likely that in the near future, I would have been out of a job because of serious organizational problems I was unaware of until the day I resigned. God protected me from that situation and when I realized what He had done, I was just amazed at how my Heavenly Father takes care of me in such a personal and direct way! Thank you Lord!
So tomorrow our family will be starting a new phase, with me working 4 days a week instead of 3, but much closer to home, with a team of researchers (something I have greatly missed), still in the area of International Public Health Research...
Daniel will continue at his current pre-school but will change to one much closer to my new job at the end of June. I also thank God for helping us find Daniel a new school so quickly -- this time I only had to look at 6 schools instead of 12 to find one we were happy with! :)
The other big change that is coming soon, is that Jonny will start an MBA program, part-time, at the end of January. He will be studying two nights per week for the next 3 years -- though it is a flexible program and he can do it in up to 6 years if he needs to. This will be a very big change for us and we will have to be very careful of how we manage our time, but we both feel this is the time and right thing for him to do. The MBA will provide him with the opportunity to change careers -- still stay in science but leave the laboratory and instead, work more as a technical consultant and in scientific investments. He is so excited about this which is a joy to see!
So all in all, we will be experiencing some very big changes in 2011! We are trusting God in all of this and are at peace about it all. We ask you, dear loved ones, as we come to your mind, to pray for us. We are praying to adjust well to these changes, to experience joy and peace, and to know how to manage our time, so that our family does not suffer from the extra commitments. Most importantly, we pray that we would continue to grow closer to God and seek Him more through all we experience in this New Year.
I hope to continue updating this blog, but it may not be as frequent as I would love to, due to us adjusting to these changes. I expect to be extra tired in the evenings for a while! I have enjoyed blogging more frequently this past week and a half but it's because I have been on holiday. :) But tomorrow, I new phase begins, so we will see what that will look like...
WE ARE EXCITED!
(Note: The photos in this blog were taken in Giverny, France, during our visit to Monet's Garden, this past September, 2010. It was one of the most beautiful gardens we have ever seen! Just amazing and a visit we will treasure forever.)
Our first son, who would have been turning nine soon. Your precious life a blessing, your memory a treasure. Loved beyond words and missed beyond measure.
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