Happy Birthday to Fabio!

Last Friday was Fabio's birthday! We didn't have specific plans, but he called me on the way home and suggested that we go out of town. ;) My spontaneous husband again!
So, I packed real quick, got online to figure out where we were going, made a few phone calls, and we were out the door.
We didnt go far ~ just to Schaumburg. Fabio had never seen Woodfield Mall, so we walked around there for a while, and spent some time browsing at the Rainforest Cafe's gift shop, which is where this pic was taken. Do you believe we went to such a huge mall and didnt find one single thing to buy??? Except our pizza, that is. ;)




After that we hunted down the cheapest hotel in the area and lounged for the rest of the evening. Unfortunately, Fabio was starting to feel under the weather, but other than that, it was fun!









See where Israel is perched? It's his favorite position, so Fabio rigged the chair up for him.
Dominique was the only one that didnt sleep super well. She is used to being in a crib where she can roll at will, but Joshua didn't appreciate her sprawling very much. So, several times during the night, I had to intervene when I heard things like this:
Joshua: Dominique, you crossed the line!
Dominique: Quiet, Joshua! Space!





The next morning we were able to enjoy the indoor heated pool, while looking out the windows at the snow on the ground! Kind of a weird feeling! I actually had to forego the pool fun, since Israel is still a little young for chlorine exposure. It was still fun to lounge and watch the kids having fun! Dominique and Joshua both could "swim" ~ that is, kick around in the water with no one holding onto them, with their life jackets holding them up. :)




Ready for some real deep sea diving action!



















After stopping at the Brazilian store and the Spanish Christian bookstore in Chicago on the way, we arrived at home in time for Fabio's surprise party with the hispanic group! He genuinely didn't know anything about it, but the "surprise!" part didn't exactly go off with a bang, since they don't tend to be punctual and everyone kind of trickled in! Oh well, it was still a good time. And remind me that if I ever have another surprise party with hispanics, to tell them to be there about 2 hours in advance! LOL!



The men and women always tend to segregate, so there are the men up there, and here are the women down here. My sil, Suzy, was the representative there from the Black fam, with the kids too. Too bad Aaron couldn't have been there with her, since he actually does speak a little Spanish! There were also a whole LOT of children there. I had a lot more pics from the party, but I can only upload 10 pics per post for some reason, so at least you can see a smattering. :)



Israel also had a little "birthday" last Wednesday ~ he turned one month old!
Isn't he just so cute??? On Wednesday, he measured 25 inches and weighed just over 12 pounds. I compared that with Joshua's record, and Joshua was 24 inches, but 13lbs3oz on his one month birthday. So, anyway, he is in 3-6month clothes now. He keeps getting stronger and loves to be on his belly so he can hold his head up. He likes that better than sitting here in his infant seat, but it's easier to take pics of him here.

Dominique had a big growth spurt too, and no longer fits in most of her 2T clothes! Her belly hangs out of her shirts and her pants are floodin'. :) So, I had to go diggin' in her bin last week to find bigger stuff I picked up at garage sales last summer, and put away a lot of the stuff that was in her drawers.





I think I am mostly keeping up with the basics of the housework now. Just the basics! We have also been more "into" doing homeschooling projects lately, especially with the kids having colds last week and not being able to get out or play outside. I love all the free material you can print from the internet! I found some really great worksheets for Joshua and he is learning to read so easily. I'm sure one day I will have a child who struggles to "get" it, but it is kind of nice to start out on one who barely even needs any instruction to pick it up. He seems to sort of learn by osmosis! (Don't tell him that though. He has plenty of confidence as it is.;-)

I've been thinking lately about what good ideas God has! In Levitical law, God in His wisdom ordained for a woman to stay at home and rest for 40 days after having a baby. I know we are not under the law now, but isn't it interesting that "modern" science recognizes that it takes 6 weeks (42 days) for a woman to recover from childbirth? I bet I know someone who knew that before the doctors did! Last night I was doing some reading on how important it is for a woman to take that time to recover fully and what happens if she doesnt... and it just made me wonder in awe of just how wise God is in all the details of His Word and how He cares for us in the small and in the big! I think we could surely learn a lot of practical tips for life even from the Old Testament law.
Our society puts so much pressure on women to get back to "normal" so soon after having a baby. I feel the pressure, from without and within! It wasn't long ago, maybe 50-60 years even, that society recognized the necessity of a woman's "confinement", as they called it. But now with the super-woman mindset, all of that has been tossed out, the baby with the bathwater! LOL, women these days don't like words like "confinement"! Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now, but it felt good to remember that God has provided for my rest and I don't have to feel bad about it. What a precious gift!