family visit – Page 2 – The Ma Family

It is Well With My Soul

While we had some nice highlights, this actually proved to be a painful September for us. Our church family has been going through many challenges and has lost numerous staff from resignations and layoffs. We’re discouraged and like many, are unsure of our church’s future but we will stay and continue invest in this church home for the time being, until we’re called to plant our family into another church in this area.

In August, we discovered that I was pregnant. While it was surprising and daunting to think about having three children under the age of three next Spring, we were very excited that our family was growing again and to meet the new baby. After a few ultrasounds though, we learned that this baby died during the second month of my pregnancy. We’re devastated we didn’t get to ever see a heartbeat and that we won’t get to meet him or her next year as a family. It’d be understatement to say life’s felt so hard since receiving that news. I’m snuggling Timothy and Grace extra amounts these days. However my heart continues to ache heavily for the loss of our third baby, their little sibling.

BSF has been a great source of encouragement for me as I’ve been studying the life of Moses along with the history of the Israelites. I’m so thankful for God’s providence and timing in reminding me gently and firmly that he is sovereign and cares deeply for his people. As we grieve and process, I look forward to the day when the Lord wipes away our tears and death will be no more. Some of the songs that I’ve sung often lately include “It Is Well With My Soul”, along with other classic hymns. Timothy has quickly picked up, and “It is Weow” is a new favorite with him. I love hearing him belt out hymns while strumming hard on his ukulele or pressing into the toy electric guitars. His singing and playing fill the house and reminds me that music is an incredible gift from the Lord. I’m also thankful for the blessing of community who have been walking with me through this loss and point me towards our surest hope in Jesus the midst of despair, confusion, pain and a veritable rollercoaster of emotions.

Family visitors in September meant our family enjoyed plenty of extra help for me and attention for the children. It was so fun to watch Timothy interact so fully with extended family members and speak so much Cantonese to others. He loved having Aunty Alison, Uncle Kevin, Grampa & Grandma Ma, and Aunty Sophia stay here with us. Grace was giddy with all the extra attention and snuggles from everyone, too. Timothy’s been expressing that he misses people and it’s endearing for him to let us know when he misses relatives after their visits.

Sweet little baby Grace continues to be a joyous sign of Jesus’ exceeding graciousness towards me. Her happy and mellow disposition helps me enjoy recent difficult days with renewed perspective and gratitude. I’m blown away everyday by how much her presence and life is an immense blessing to our family, and I marvel at how wonderfully Grace has been created. She continues to crack up at big brother’s antics, “jokes”, and now loves to ride on him in addition to chasing him with our help. Grace has also progressed quickly from strongly sitting up to starting to crawl quickly in September. She seems to enjoy solid foods pretty well so far even she isn’t as voracious of an eater as her brother was at this age.

We took Timothy to the Museum of Flight and it was a blast to see him explore the many interesting
exhibits and have fun with the hands-on displays. Andrew and I actually hadn’t been there since we had our wedding reception there over 5 years ago, so it was neat to reminisce a bit and share with our son about our wedding day. Timothy liked pointing out how happy everyone was in our wedding album, and that the wedding cake was missing candles! I’m pretty sure he was pleased to learn that big festive cakes are for more than celebrating birthdays.

Block party water balloon toss

Pre-dinner park fun

Grace is happy at parks, too

Will he like wasabi?

Goofiness

His first quick violin lesson, courtesy of Aunty Alison

Picnic dinner at Snoqualmie Falls

Our happy climbing guy

With the Ma Grandparents

The extended Ma clan

See the sibling resemblance?

Back to Snoqualmie Falls for a hike

Taking in the last hot day of the year

Photo break at this neat structure

Enjoying the closer view

Back at Remlinger Farm riding Raisin

Happy in the hay

Farm life

Fun times with Papa on the steam engine train

Checking out the Concorde

Bummed the cockpit was blocked

The hands-on exhibits were most fun for Timothy

Enjoying the pilot’s seat

Trying to fly

Grampa Ma had fun, too

Timothy loved flying around

Loving on their granddaughter

Is Autumn almost here?

August was a fun-filled month of play dates, park picnics and family time for us. Grace has recovered well from her surgery and has become so much more active this month! It’s already been over half a year since we met our sweet little girl, which is hard to believe. Time definitely has flown faster with our second child since we don’t have as much time to slowly savor the early stages of development.

Even with the challenges of this age, two is such fun stage for us with Timothy. He’s learning a lot every week and it’s a joy to witness. He sings along to many songs and memorizes lines from books. He initiates pretend play and continues to imitate us and what he sees in books. Timothy makes so many loud observations these days that it really keeps me on my toes explaining things to him in Cantonese. He’s also taken to letting me know whenever people aren’t covered up with clothing, which makes for very chatty visits to the beach and park this hot summer! One of the newer sweet things Timothy does is call “Mama?” randomly throughout the day wherever we are, so I can answer with his name. We do this back and forth several times at varying volumes since he seems to just enjoy the call and answer with his mama. It’s silly, but endearing moments like those make me so glad to be at home. Timothy got to see his Grandma Tam this month and Grace got to meet her for the during her visit here. It was fun to hear Timothy use his Cantonese with another adult in-person.

Timothy is still fascinated with vehicles of all sorts and had a blast at both Kirkland’s Summerfest and Redmond’s Big Truck Day this month, getting to ride on lots of big rigs. Thursday mornings are still an event around here since our kind WM recycling truck driver stops to greet Timothy. Sundays are also a highlight as we worship with our church family and Timothy gets to watch the band play, sometimes bringing along some instruments from home, too. It’s fun how he re-enacts the drumming, guitar-playing and standing by a “wonderful cross” at home “like at church”. Some of his other oft-used English phrases these days are, “Timothy so funny!”, “Timothy too fast!”, “Timothy disobey…” “Nooo”, and “Jesus died on the wonderful cross to save us from sins”. It’s crazy what he winds up memorizing. While I find the “nooo” annoying, we’re trying to redirect it to be “no, thank you” and be glad that he didn’t figure out the English “no” till very recent months. Timothy often announces to Grace what “big brother” is doing and it’s endearing to watch him snuggle, talk with, and sing to Grace the way he sees Andrew and me treat her. At the doctor’s office the other day, he told Grace reassuringly that she didn’t need to be afraid when he saw her begin to look sad for her physical exam. Usually he says that to himself (like a self-pep talk) because that’s what I tell him about the car wash, our blender, and thunder. I almost burst into tears at his sweet encouragement to his sister!

Grace is growing quickly this month and is definitely on the move. She’s fast with rolling and pivoting to get to things she wants to examine and mouth so we need to keep a close eye on her. She is still very mellow and easily pleased though, and we’re quite thankful for that so far. Grace’s SUPER happy to see her Papa come home each day and it just melts my heart to see her gazing affectionately at him often, as if she doesn’t want him to leave again. She uses her cute little hands to explore all of our faces, and it’s one of the most precious things to watch her pet Timothy’s smiling face. One of their favorite activities together is Grace “chasing” Timothy up the stairs with our help. We can’t get enough of both their beaming smiles during the chasing game. Grace continues to be smothered with hugs and kisses from her big brother everyday. I continue to enjoy her big smiles, funny giggles, and rapt attention towards Timothy in all his busyness. The way she lights up when he dances and entertains her is too adorable to watch. I love that they’re already starting to play together a bit. No one else can make Grace laugh harder than Timothy right now, and he is happy to oblige.

This month, we wrapped up a 12-week summer book and Bible study with other mothers of young children. I was humbled and convicted to be more diligent during these formative early parenting years, as well as very prayerful in how I shepherd our children. The book work/Bible reading, weekly fellowship for us mamas to discuss, and prayer times were salve for my soul in this season. One week, we had 5 slumbering babies upstairs with a bunch of busy little ones keeping the babysitter busy downstairs in the family room, and I thought to myself, “How incredible is this season of craziness with wee little ones?!?”. I continue to be thankful for our home and the opportunities we have to be hospitable. We plan to keep opening our home to a women’s study, but I’ll take a break from leading this fall and look forward to being led by an older woman from our church. I’m also excited for next month when we begin our weekly activities of going to Classical Conversations and Bible Study Fellowship. As Timothy approaches school age, I hope these activities are a good primer for when we start some more structured homeschooling preschool times at home this school year. For now, we’re definitely focusing on obedience and basic communication!

Helping Papa dig

“Tow twuck!”

A Canadian Papa so excited for the Zamboni

Enjoying the Kenworth

Hello tired dog

Our littlest reader

Timothy and Mama needed haircuts

Baby gal pals…

…and big siblings eating dinner

Busy bunch of toddlers

Take your child to work day @ Groupon

Timothy took foosball seriously

Seaweed goodness before playing at Grass Lawn

Grace enjoys parks, too

Our sweet girl is half a year old

Time has flown with this one

We love these two so much

Banging at Redmond Town Center

Slide time

Kitchen assistant

1st stop @ Big Truck Day – food!

Of course it rained, too

Let’s get going!

“Fire twuck”!

Last stop of the day

This girl keeps herself busy

Playing along…

…and he’s plopped on stage

Despite his sullen look, he’s quite happy

We pray he truly worships Jesus one day

April showers, Easter, and flowers

This past month gave us some good time to be on our own as a foursome. We enjoyed a fun week with Andrew home after Grampa Ma left, and I’ve been learning the ropes of caring for two at home by myself recently after many weeks with help. Meals, nap management, laundry, cleaning and lots of play/reading time fill my days and I find them passing much more quickly and enjoyably than I did during Timothy’s early months. Amazing what some experience and adjusted expectations does. 😉

Some of Grace’s best expressions and “conversations” are towards her brother, and he is so cute with her. I’m so blessed to get to watch them grow in their interactions with each other everyday, and am pleasantly surprised at how much attention and care Timothy shows Grace. He asks often to see her, hug her, hold her hand, sit next to her, give her (wet) kisses and lay next to her. Grace is proving to be even more mellow than her brother thus far, and is sleeping pretty well already, so we’re quite grateful for that! She continues to be a great sport and makes us all gush with her happy expressions, frequent “talking”, and playfulness already.

To my delight, Timothy has been super affectionate with me lately and I love this season of our relationship. He demonstrates more understanding of rules, relationships, and even differences between Chinese and English; switching languages in appropriate situations. He refers to himself almost exclusively in the third-person so we’re working on that, although it occurred to me that he learned to do it from me! Oops – it’s so hard for me to kick this habit even though he’s learned all our titles and his own names. We’re also working on using other words for agreement since the only word Timothy has used to mean “yes” for months now is “sí”…but hasn’t taken to any other Spanish words I’ve tried to teach him; funny little guy. Adjusting to our new normal also means that any outings I get to take with only one of the children feels like a bit of a treat and turns into a little Mama date time. Timothy seems to appreciate these outings even though he is often eager to get home and see his baby sister.

Spring has brought rains and lovely blooms our way, along with some sunny afternoons to enjoy outdoors. Our fruit trees, tulips, lilacs, and rhododendrons have been in full bloom and it’s especially satisfying that Timothy points them out and enjoys them this year. We’re continuously thankful for where we live and it’s been fun to see the neighborhood kids engage Timothy when they’re out playing as he tosses balls to them and learns to catch. He is also intent on watching buses, trucks, diggers, cement mixers and Waste Management vehicles at work, recreating scenes at home with toys lately. Timothy’s imagination is starting to show and it’s amusing to see his sense of humor continue to emerge as well. Toddler and baby giggles are such music to our ears.

We celebrated Easter with our church family and some very dear friends. As we teach Timothy about our hope in Christ and the power of His resurrection, it’s been humbling for me to also show him how much I need to hear and receive that truth on a regular basis – that I’m a selfish sinner who needs forgiveness and daily (hourly!) help from my Savior. What a beautiful picture it has been to see Timothy begin to understand reconciliation when he apologizes or when I ask for forgiveness. To me, those are some of the most meaningful hugs and kisses we exchange. This has indeed been a tiring and trying season of transition and growth, but I’m also grateful that I get to grow so much and serve the Lord through caring for our family. April was a fast month for us and it’s hard to believe that summer is just around the corner already next month!

Papa, Grampa and Timothy ready for the symphony

Fascinated by instruments

Sliding with Grampa Ma

Such companions already

What’s Grace thinking about?

“Here, play with this ball”

Budding friendship with Sofia

Thanks for visiting, Grampa Ma!

One more “chat” before he left

Outoor instruments at Redmond Town Center

Noisy fun

Of course we need to stop for fluffy dogs

Happy Grace at 2 months old

Girl time

She’s trying to talk a lot

Hello world

He loves sitting with his sister and holding her hand

Construction trucks are currently all the rage with this one

We’re still working on storytime etiquette…

Timothy likes setting up funny photos at times, like this one in their hospital hats – his barely fits him now!

Nice day for his 1st aquarium visit

Mama has her hands full during toddler group circle time some days

Trucks galore in this classroom

Three little sisters hanging out

Sweet Grace face

Thankful for our mellow girl

Hanging out again with brother

Exploring a cool neighborhood park

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

With April and Elian at Easter brunch…

…while Timothy jams with Gabby!

Dainty pose

Mama and her sweet girl

Easter family photo

Stewie rabbit and Timothy about to make a break for it

Kirkland waterfront with the ducks

Swings for us all

Grace is a patient sitter

Timothy’s idea of “playing” with Grace one morning

How does this spray bottle work?

Love these sibling smiles

Life with two under 2 so far

The four of us had a fun March with the remainder of Grandma Ma’s visit and some days on our own before Grampa Ma arrived. What a blessing it’s been to have so much help with the little ones! Grace is growing so quickly that we can barely capture enough of her changing looks on camera. Timothy is still adjusting to having less of Mama’s attention, but he loves doting on his baby sister; often asking to see, touch, kiss, sit with, and hold her. It’s such a pleasure to see him love on Grace and grow to be a bit more independent recently. I get requests for extra snuggling as bumps and scrapes occur more often now that he’s running and exploring vigorously. He seems fine sharing Mama with baby sister Grace so far and it makes our hearts glad. Timothy’s enjoying frequent trips to the park with Grampa Ma during the sunny days in between all the spring rain we’re getting. He’s become quite the climber and animal-sighter! We also started going to Cantonese story times at a local library and we’re enjoying it. I also take it as a learning time for my rudimentary Cantonese! As Timothy’s language develops, I get to hear more of what goes on in his little head and boy, it’s sure a riot sometimes! Timothy especially likes to point out when Grace is awake (it seems to him she’s always sleeping) and calls out people’s flatulence with the help of his very sharp ears. 😛

While it’s hectic on some days to have two very little ones to care for, sometimes my heart feels so full it could burst! Though it wasn’t that long ago, I’d forgotten how precious it is to take in the coos and gurgles of a newborn. Grace’s sweet little sounds and increasing number of expressions melt our hearts. I look forward to the increased sibling interactions between the kids in the months/years to come, and love watching Andrew’s relationships with his son and daughter grow as well. The transition to this stage has been less arduous than I’d expected, but I’m still so grateful for all the help, prayers and encouragement we receive. Since scrapbooking is still not likely in my future, I hope to continue posting regularly here on our family blog so that between here and our hard drives of photos and videos, we can organize our family’s growing trove of memorable times. This post was a bit overdue, so the photo gallery is especially full. 😉

Happy Spring and season of Lent!

Slumbering bears 😉

Big brother and very little sister

Cheesy smiles

Our little blossom

Grace is awake!

Photos are extra challenging now…

He loves holding sister

Our little guy is getting big

Cousin time!

Grandma Ma and granddaughter Ma

3 generations of Ma women

Our family of four

Baby Grace was quite alert here

Timothy LOVES smooching Grace

Silly faces

Play date with Abigail and her new baby sister Sofia

Plumping up quickly

Yay for spring weather!

Coloring with Grandma Ma

1-month photo

Timothy’s 1st apple pie on Pi Day – delish!

Kiddos with Grandma Ma before her return to chilly Toronto

Fun with “Little” Andrew

More smooching

Timothy says smile for photos now – yay!

Sweet happy boy with baby sister

Humoring Mama with a pose

Riding on handmade Nessie from Aunty Sophia

Grace changed so much already at 6 weeks

Soulful little “musician”

Lots of clapping and dancing these days

When did our first baby get so big?

Filling out her newborn clothes

Police motorcycle fun @ RTG Carnival

Hanging with buddy Isaiah

Let’s goooo!

Silly boy wearing Grace’s hairband as a bowtie and Grampa’s watch

Learning from Papa

Rare capture of smiley Grace

Hello fluffy doggy!

Making his way to the slide

Conked out after a lunch date with Papa

Living it up @ Grass Lawn

Welcome Baby Grace Elizabeth Ma

Shortly after our last post on Tuesday, we welcomed the newest little member of our family: Grace Elizabeth Ma (馬恩怡)! She arrived at 5:45PM, weighed in at 5lbs, 13oz and measured 19.5in long. We were blessed with another very successful (and even quicker!) natural birth with Grace and are so grateful for God’s great mercy to us in this whole experience. We both think active labor and delivery felt more calm and smooth than last time even though it happened pretty much as quickly. From the time we entered to the hospital to when we first held our newborn was 40-something minutes, as it was with Timothy! As I was spending the first hours with Grace in my arms, my sense of the Lord’s providence and love on our family was overwhelming, even more so than when we first held Timothy and took in that big change to our family. Children are truly a gift from Him and it’s tragic that many aren’t able to catch a glimpse of the Father’s heart and delight in kids. I’m so humbled to have another little one join our family and take on this additional responsibility with Andrew.

Little Grace and I are doing well with recovery; resting, being nourished and getting to know each other. I look forward to the longer stretches of sleep eventually, but am overall feeling pretty good as I heal and take it easy. Andrew and I are a bit startled to see that Grace looks just like a delicate girl version of her big brother, right down to the double hair swirls on the back of her head. She’s been a bit more mellow than Timothy as a newborn, which we also appreciate. I love seeing Andrew snuggling and cooing sweetly with his baby girl so far, too.

Grandma Ma has been and continues to be immensely helpful caring for Timothy and us, our home, and cooking tons for lots of people; not just our household! Timothy loves having her around and it’s been so interesting to note how different his relationship is with her than with either Andrew or me. I was nervous about how Timothy would do this week since he’d never been out of my care for a long period of time and thankfully he’s doing well. He is talking up a storm and learning lots of Cantonese, especially ones associated with food and animals. He enjoys naming all of his grandparents by title in photos or with gifts he’s received. I’m excited for him to be a big part of Grace’s language development, too. It’s been so neat to hear him make associations and be able to show understanding of family connections, although most of it is still quite confusing to him. He’s slowly warming up to his little sister being around and getting used to sharing Mama with her. His tentative hugs and pats for her are pretty cute so far and we look forward to when he enjoys his little sister more.

We appreciate all the support and encouragement we’re getting as we adjust and transition into this new season in our family. =)