The Dog Days of Summer

It was bittersweet to visit our boy, Samson. He lives just down the street from the puppies. He is looking super. He didn't even jump on us when we visited! His new family says the 5 acres really wear him out! He's still a big puppy. But it's the little puppies that are hard to resist. . .
One of our young adults, Megan, shared her nine golden retriever puppies with us. There were actually enough to go around without any fighting! They soon learned to scamper away quickly from Naomi who loved to try and haul them around. She soon learned to sit down first. What a fun time!
Jonathan and Hannah are the ultimate animal lovers. As Daddy likes to say "we love animals, too, they're delicious!" These two just seem to have a gift with animals of all kinds. I wonder if someone could build a little house like this for us? I could think of several uses. . .

Our Blessings

I left Jael sitting contently playing on her blanket only to return to find her in a coonskin cap, sucking on a gun (play, of course)! Only in the Micu home, I am convinced. Ah well. That's what I get for leaving her unattended.
These two are too much! Decked out in their Daniel Boone coonskin caps from the trip they have been having a grand time. I pray that they will remain close brothers and friends. My favorite quote of the week may be from Jonathan (again), age 7. After desiring to retaliate to one of his brother's provocations, I exhorted him with "I will repay, I will avenge, says the Lord." Jonathan, never missing a beat, replied "I was just helping God." Hmmm.
Rebekah Ruth lost another tooth! This time is was yanked by big sister Sarah! I just love watching my kids interact with one another (usually). Today Bekah mentioned how loose her tooth was and I wriggled it. Yuck, it was. Sarah took charge and taking her hand led her off to tie the proverbial string around it and set it free. It worked! They returned victorious within minutes and Bekah proudly displays her new gap. I was grateful to not have to pull it. So far I have managed not to pull any teeth and I'm hoping to keep it that way.
Sarah managed to squeeze in time during her school day to make a dress (and matching headband) to wear to her Keepers at Home group (we are working on the sewing charm), see www.keepersofthefaith.com for more information. She's becoming quite the young lady!
I think we have a picture of little Miss Rebekah reading to all her younger sisters! She loved to "read" to them before she could read! For just turning 6 this summer, she is an excellent and avid reader. Jael is receiving some early literacy training.

Isaiah's Wedding

We were so glad to make it home in time to attend nephew Isaiah's wedding to Valerie on Saturday, August 16, 2008. One family reunion to another, in a sense. As you can see from the blurry photo, Paul has quite a large family (and there were a few missing). It's always a special time of being together and we were blessed to be a part of their special day.
The proud grandparents enjoy their first grandson's wedding. This is the second wedding of the 28 grandchild. . . so they have a few more to go!




Sarah, Bekah, Walker, and Jonathan enjoy dinner with cousins on Daddy's side. They look happy to be out of the car!










Filipino weddings always include dancing - which is usually all the little ubings running around the platform! What a fun time for all the cousins! Here the little girls kick their heels up - a good outlet after a full day's drive!













Cousins Jeremy, Janna, and Amy. Jeremy has completed college, Janna is now in a Ph.D. program and Amy is a senior in high school. It's fun to see them grown up! Janna is the oldest of the Micu cousins and Jael is the youngest. . .
This shot captured some very mischievous looks between the boys. Ya just wonder what's going on through those little heads. . . perhaps they are dropping mentos in the sparkling cider. . .

Sleeping Beauties. . .

Since this is my "on-line scrapbook", there are other photos I plan on including from our trip to Colorado. (Yes, I do have a bin in the garage of all the creative memories stuff I was convinced that I would utilize.) While we have moved on here and have other happenings to share, I thought I'd continue on a bit with a few photos of our sleepy heads on the drive home.
Sweet dreams! Snoozing helped the time pass more quickly. Naomi spent quite a few hours trying to escape her car seat. Looks like she made some progress before tiring out!
Sweet little Tweety bird head! This is deja vu - Jael has the same profile as Hannah. Does she look white to ya'll? We are still waiting for her pigment to come in! Personally, I think she's a white Paul. Strange. Good thing she's got a handsome Daddy.
Jonathan concocted his own sleeping method, resting his head on the shoulder belt. It looked very uncomfortable, so I tried to put the pillow rest in for him. He didn't seem to mind. You can see some of the exciting scenery we enjoyed. This is the nothing land of Nevada and Utah. Sometimes I think even Kansas might be a nice change! Naomi seems to be missing at this point. Fortunately it's difficult to lose her in the car, but this is somewhat mysterious.
This shot was taken in our room at the YMCA Camp in Estes Park, CO. Somehow the "roomies" both ended up in the queen bed before officially starting their day. I loved that they were sleeping in the same position. I think I need to frame this one for their room.

If the room looks small, it is. It hosts a full/queen bed and two sets of bunks. There is a sink in the room and a small bathroom. With a pack-n-play and 9 people, it was cozy. My folks had some of our children listed in their room and had planned on taking a few, but what's a family vacation without members of your family?!? So, it was really like a big slumber party every night! I think someone ended up in our bed almost every night! After living like the majority of the world for a week (actually, better. We only had nine in the room and it was a furnished room with carpet and running water.) we felt like our home had tripled in size!

It definitely tripled in heat. We left Estes Park at a chilly 43 degrees and my the time we unloaded at the hotel in Mesquite, Nevada that evening it was a toasty 112 degrees! Our house was 88 degrees inside. Home sweat home. I mean, home sweet home!

Original Sin, oops, Senns!

Here's a photo of the three amigos. Little brother, Tim on the left. Big brother, Jonathan in the middle. And of course me. The flower after the thorns. I loved being sandwiched between two brothers, but I have prayed for years for a sister. (Keep praying Emily Jean, my niece!) God has richly blessed me with 5 daughters, though!

Reunion Fun!!

A HUGE thank you to Gray-Gray and Papa (aka Daddy Warbucks!) for making the whole thing happen! They were the mastermind and wallet behind the 2008 Reunion. We love you! They look very happy with their 14 grandkids! Sarah is the oldest (her claim to fame) and Jael is currently the youngest. . .
Definitely the highlight of the trip was having incredible times with cousins! Everyone has at least someone close to their age and the three little Micu girls were popular with their older cousins. What a super time together! The four boys stuck close . . .
Bekah and Abigail are hiking buddies. . .

Naomi hitches a shoulder ride from Uncle Jonathan! We "got by with a little help from our friends. . . "







Gray-Gray takes a turn carrying sweet Baby J (who seems to think that Grandma's walking stick is pretty sweet. . .or salty? Yuck!)

Stop and Go

Snuggling in together at the hotel! What a treat - a TV in the room! The kids were sooo excited.. . .the staff was so sweet to us and even sent goodie bags with the kids for the remainder of the trip.

Jonathan meditating pool side!

We spent the night at a Country Suites and it was a blast! The kids all loved swimming and soaking up the hot tub.
We enjoyed a super time at Casa Bonita, http://www.casabonita.com/, upon entering Denver. It was like a Chuckie Cheese, Rainforest Cafe, Mexican restaurant, Disneylike setting all rolled into one. What a fun place to relax and eat!

The kids had a lot of fun just counting how many "millions and billions" of years ago this world just banged into existence! Creation demands a Creator!

All summer it seems we've been saturated with Creationism. Our VBS centered around it, see http://www.answersingenesis.com/. We listened to Jonathan Park CDs on our trip across the states, http://www.jonathanpark.com/ or http://www.visionforum.com/. So, when we were had to time to stop at a Dinosaur Museum in Fruita, CO, it was a thrill to again realize that this all didn't just "happen" but was created by a loving and holy God!

Road Trip!

Here we are traveling across this great country of ours to the Senn (Amy's side) Reunion. All I can say is, we miss that Big Red Van!!! We're all smiles here! I think it is a family record so far - no barfing! Yippee!!
Jonathan and his little friend pass the time. . .What a traveler!

Hannah's Happy Day!

A special family tradition involves breakfast in bed for the birthday child. Here, Hannah savors her special moment brought to her on the birthday tray by six beaming siblings and two proud parents. It's a moment enjoyed by all! And anticipated for months. . .
Everyone crowds around the birthday girl! We enjoy our time our gifts and sharing in the morning as the evenings can get full of activities.

A new dress-up gown compliments of an older cousin. Hannah is the FIRST to enjoy it's use!
She enjoyed her FIRST official "friend" party with two special friends from church and plenty of sisters! It wasn't a dress-up party, but who could resist. . .




The family joins in on the fun! Everyone is dressing up for the big day. The show begins.







Hannah and Naomi getting ready for cake! Naomi keeps saying it's "her birthday", too. Hannah shared graciously. . .
Hannah, now age 4, had the favorite quote of the week. "Mom, I can do this puzzle now because I'm 4." (The puzzle box had 4+ on the outside! Ha!)

Discovery Kingdom

Here we are entering into Discovery Kingdom. What a fun time together, with a few "discoveries" of our own. We discovered that our kids truly are fabulous and baby J is "the baby of the world." We discovered that having a large family provides many opportunities to converse with strangers. We discovered that amusement parks are so much more fun through the eyes of children. We discovered that we are growing older and we enjoy our children enjoying themselves more than actually going on the rides. We discovered that when a kid says they need to throw up, get prepared (Josh on the drive up). We discovered that no one really steals strollers and diaper bags at amusement parks.




We also discovered that precious Hannah did not like the big furry friends walking about, while little Naomi couldn't get enough of them! We had to pry her "death grip" off several characters. . .










It's also fun to have kids old enough, or at least tall enough, to enjoy rides together this year. (Why I believe in even numbers!) Sarah has become quite the roller coaster queen and Jonathan was tall enough this year to venture on a "big" thriller, as well.









The charming teacup ride is one of the kids' favorites. Paul was smart and grabbed Jael and took pictures! I realized that I am definitely too old for this ride. I am still dizzy!