Its my little man's 2nd birthday!!

TO MY DARLING KENJI:

I can hardly believe two years have gone by since you made your grand entrance into my life. It's seems not too long ago you were still my helpless little darling baby. I can still clearly remember the first time I held you and felt your little heart beat against mine. What joy that brought me! You were such a sweet, fragile little bundle of love. You had this air about you of knowing so much and wanting to share all this knowledge of yours, yet you couldn't.

But look at you now you're all grown up - with a knockout personality, character and all! You've really changed a lot as well as learned so much this past year. I'm amazed with how 'alive' your mind is and how quickly you learn new things. Its so cute to catch you randomly burst out with a new word you've learned!

Some of the highlights of the progress you've made this last year are; walking, leaving diapers, learning so much scholastically, being weaned, understanding both Spanish and English, forming small phrases in both languages, learning about spiritual matters in a more in-depth way then most 2 year-olds do, and lots more.

I'm so proud of you, my love! And while I look forward to watching you grow up even more and learn lots and lots everyday for years to come a part of me wishes you'd always stay my darling little baby boy. I'm really excited about the future and I feel blessed to take part in your upbringing and life. I know that great things await you - my little yet mighty warrior.

Mighty and yet so tender and sweet, thoughtful and kind. I simply love the little hugs you give me whenever you sense I'm in need of a booster. And each time I hear your soft little voice say "Amo mama" coupled with that darling smile of yours I'm reminded of what it's all for and it makes everything and anything above and beyond worth it.

Truly my life has been blessed in many, many ways but the biggest and most special way has definitely been having you in my life. I'm so happy to have you as my son - my life would be pretty dull without you in it. And I'm even more proud to be your mom. I wouldn't change you for the world.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY my darling boy! I pray that this year will be one filled with fun, excitement, and happiness for you. Continue to stay close to Jesus, His Word, and your many spirit helpers. I love you soooooooo much - almost too much!!

Here are some pix of you when you were 1 years old. Just look at that somber, yet lovable, personality! Who can resist such cuteness?
























And here you are at your 2 year old birthday party! You're the sweetest, cutest, and lovable little man! I love you just as you are! Thank you for being my sunshine.

--- YAY! The long awaited b-day pix are finally up! Click on the 4 little arrows to make the slideshow full screen, if you prefer that. You will notice Kenji very dazed/overtired towards the last stretch -present opening- this is due to a fun all afternoon outing which tired him up real well. Good, I'm totally for utter tiredness at bedtime, tee hee! Enjoy! ---



I'm quite pleased with Flickr's slideshows. I can't believe I never tried it before! Oh and today it's my 1 year blogging anniversary! Hooray! 2 cheers for me! :D

P.S. I have some more pix coming soon (as soon as I can squeeze some more "free-time") of the boys adventure to this huge play-place. So check it out again in a couple of days. ;) Love you all and thanks for the presents and b-day wishes!

Angel's birthday celebration!

Seeing as today it's Angel's b-day and a day after his it's Kenji's and then a day after his it's Ezy's , (whew) mom didn't want to make a big deal about Angel's b-day. But I would have nothing of the like I told her, I did. :D

As I mentioned in my last post I really wanted to take him to a water park, but due to the weather we weren't able to follow through with that idea. So, we decided to celebrate his birthday with the foods he most likes - PIZZA and PASTA - and thus make it special for him. We were able to provision 4 big pizzas and a special pasta dish just for him from Italianni's. He loved it! TYJ! And Lord willing we will take them both to Piccolo on Kenji's b-day - as part of their b-days' celebration. Pray they give us a positive answer tomorrow.

I'm not sure if he really understands the meaning of "It's your birthday today," but nevertheless we endeavored to make it a fun and memorable one for him, as not only does he deserve it, but as we (family) all know, we just don't know how many more b-days we will celebrate with him. It's a miracle he has been here with us for these past 11 years and I hope there will be many more to come!

Here are some pix of his b-day celebration for your enjoyment. ;) And thanks guys for wishing him well and getting him presents. Love you!

Of creativity and the like

It's been a while since I post pics of the handsome one :) believe me there have been many 'worthy of a pic' shots, but it's not like I'm gonna walk around the house with a camera in hand :D. But the other day during our activity time the boys' (Angel and Kenji, both Virgos) creativity was in full bloom so I had to capture a shot of their creations. To tell you the truth I was quite amazed and impressed!

Angel built this cool little building/house with many levels and pine trees. Don't know what was going through his head at the moment, but it was very creative of him. Kenji built a little table with food, of course, food is something that lately has been more and more on his mind. It seems he's always munching on something, yet he is still so thin! :( Anyways, so he puts 4 little people on chairs to eat, then since there was still room on the table, but no more people, he decides that the trees might be hungry too! :) So cute!

Angel seems to really like building things with blocks/megablocks and since coming here I've tried to encourage him in this area and have noticed his creativeness improving so much! And it's quite amazing to me how his Virgo traits show up every now and again in spite of him being DS.

For instance while building something with the megablocks the other day he took note of making it color coordinated! I was really impressed! I only helped with the last top of the tower and the blocks sticking out from the main building, he did all the rest! It goes to show the progress he's made these last several months with a little attention in those areas that he needs help with.

Their birthdays are coming up real soon (Angel the 27th & Kenji the 29th) so we're trying to see how we can celebrate it in a fun way seeing as there aren't other kids in the home. Although we may possibly invite friends who have kids their age, we'll see as this will mean more planning, and organizing, simply put more work something that doesn't really appeal to me . :D

But one idea I had was to provision a water park to celebrate Angel's birthday as he just loves swimming. We were able to enroll him in a swimming school, 2 days out of the week, so he's real happy about that! But recently it's been raining every day or every other day and for the most part the weather is overcast, so I don't know if the water park idea will be feasible in the end. :(

And for Kenji's birthday I was thinking he would like something more like a 'Jungle Jim' or something to that extent. Lately he's been driving me up the wall with his running around like a crazy man; climbing anything he finds climb worthy like the back part of our coaches, (yep, he success- fully climbs our coaches from the back even though he gets a swat for it each time when we catch him doing it) jumping off anything he can get on to on his own like our coffee table, etc!

I realize he may simply have way too much energy, but in spite of his daily hour and a half at the park he still seems this wired up! Dear lord, what to do?!Well I'll leave you with some photos of the last couple of weeks, you can expect lots more to come with their b-days a week or so away!

Inevitable ...

That's right, when a little molar pops its little white head through the soft gum surface a next one is sure to follow it. Today Kenji's 6th molar (left bottom) made it's proud little entrance! :) I don't know how soon the next set of molars (top ones) will follow, hopefully not too soon :D, but in any case pray that this teething period will be smooth and easy. Thank you!

True to his name!

These past couple of weeks Kenji has begun to show a lot of interest in learning about spirit helpers and angels which consequently led to hungering more for the Word. Yay! As any mother will agree its so much better when they, out of their own accord, desire the Word rather then forcing them to sit still for 15 or more minutes while you try to get them to listen, yet to no avail.

The other day Grandma gave him a big kids Bible, "The Picture Bible," during parent time. I told him I would read one story after he got ready for bed. Seeing as his new Picture Bible has more text/narration then his Preschool Bible I thought that he would barely make it through one story. But much to my surprise he stayed still and attuned for 4 stories straight, and even had me read and re-read "Temptation in the Garden" story and every time I would close the book he would ask me for just one more! How could I say no to my little "Word-lover!" But I had to eventually give in and say "No more." Ever since then he asks me to read from "The Picture Bible" rather then his Preschool Bible.

Another thing I've noticed is how respectful and serious he is (and has been for sometime now) about prayer. At around 10 months he began to show a fair bit of respect for prayer - would close his eyes, fold his hands, and sit still as long as you kept the prayer short, heh. Then at about 18 months his level of respect for prayer went up a notch. Since then he's been able to sit still for a longer prayer, (typical grown-up in-depth prayer) all the while keeping his eyes tightly closed and will even lay hands on whatever we are praying for if it's something that is there in the room, of course.

And most recently he's learned to call upon his spirit helpers when praying. If I happen to forget to call on a spirit helper throughout my prayer he will promptly remind me of doing so. (His favorite spirit helpers right now are Tor and "Dite"-Aphrodite). Sometimes he will even interrupt prayer in order to run to our room and get my "Helpers and Hinders" booklet from my desk. He likes this booklet because of the spirit helpers it shows on the cover. He points to the male helper and says "Tor," even though I've told him many times that that particular helper is not Tor. It's Tor to him and there is no convincing him otherwise. So cute!

Alright, so what's the whole thing behind 'True to his name'? Well, here is what his name means. Depending on what kanji you use you get a different meaning. (Ken = sword = swordsman JI = grace, mercy).

Meaning & Definition of Swordsman:
1) someone skilled at fencing.
2) a person versed in the art of the sword.

Meaning & Definition of Grace:
1) a disposition to kindness and compassion.
3) a sense of propriety and consideration for others.
4) elegance and beauty of movement or expression.
7)(Christian theology) a state of sanctification by God; the state of one who is under such divine influence.

Meaning & Definition of Mercy:
2) alleviation of distress; showing great kindness toward the distressed.
3) a disposition to be kind and forgiving.
4) the feeling that motivates compassion.

In other words; A noble, mighty and skillful warrior/samurai.
Well at least that's my personal translation. :D

(Samurai is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. The word samurai is derived from the archaic Japanese verb samorau, changed to saburau, meaning "to serve"; thus, a samurai is a servant).

When I was in the midst of choosing a name for him the Lord reminded me of a prophecy I got when I was about 6 or 7 months preggers where Dad told me that my baby had a very special calling - the calling to be a mighty, precise, and valiant warrior in spirit for the Lord. And the reason why I chose a Japanese name was because of a traditional (family) custom due to our Japanese descendant.

To tell you the truth now as I dwell upon all this; the name, meaning, and his special calling I'm beginning to more fully realize the true depth of his name. It's amazing! I couldn't have wanted a more fitting and meaningful name for my handsome little man other than, KENJI. This is why. (His second name is a whole other story in itself, maybe I'll elaborate on it some other time). :)

Hasn't the Lord said before that the Word of God is like our sword in the spirit (Heb.4:12) as well as told us that the best and most efficient way to fight in spirit is through prayer (Isa.45:11b)? Well, there is no doubt in my mind that the Lord has called and ordained Kenji to be a great and mighty swordsman of the spirit fighting with the Word, prayer, the keys and the many other spiritual weapons He has given us. (Eph.6:10-18) But first and foremost a servant of the Lord!

Now isn't that something? I sure think so, and it makes me very desperate to do my part to teach and train him in His ways so that he can be ready and well prepared for whatever his special calling in the Endtime may be. Lord help me to be more faithful, desperate, instant in season and out of season, and on the ball when it comes to teaching Kenji about You, our spirit helpers, the Word, and the spirit world.