Garneau's

A big wedding….and a fun day at an amusement park

Micah — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:11:03 +0000

The three of us are back in the US, doing well and had a terrific time in India. Evangeline’s (rebekah’s sister) wedding was very big and beautiful. Over a thousand people came to the wedding in Chennai. Apart from that, almost 800 people attended their reception in Ebenezer’s (Evangeline’s husband) home town (almost a 9 hour train ride from Chennai). The newly married couple will soon leave for Yorkshire, England.
Couple of days after the wedding, we had a blessed opportunity to take 55 girls from an orphanage near Chennai, along with their supervisors to have a fun day at the amusement park. The girls enjoyed the whole day with many rides and spent time in the swimming pool. We had lunch together with them, which they really enjoyed. Rebekah has known some of these girls for the past 10 years. It’s been good to visit them every time we go to India. They absolutely love Jonah and they try to communicate with him in English and Tamil.

We are glad to be back to MN…just enjoying the very few last days of warm weather, looking forward to the first day of snow.

R & R

Micah — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 08:14:38 +0000

It has been good to come home and spend time with my only sister before she gets married in two weeks. We have been having some good times with laughter and fun. Jonah is up all night, seriously ALL NIGHT (the time difference), so my sister is the one who is awake with him the whole night and plays with him and I hear them giggling and watching cartoons like 3 in the morning. Oh well, hopefully he will adjust well in a few days.

There isn’t much space at our home for Jonah to run around, but, he did have fun chasing the bunny that lives in our terrace. He enjoyed very much watching the love birds and chasing the bunny and finally got a hold of it (not on his own though), like three of us helped him catch the bunny. The first thing he did to the bunny was tickle its belly.

I love being pampered. There is no place like home…in the sense that a place where I lived for 24 years before I came to Bethany. The same house for that long. Anyways, we just wanted to pen a few lines just to let you know how we are doing. I have uploaded a few pictures of Jonah taken in the past few days. Here is the link…

http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm196/garneaus/Jonah%20in%20India%20Sept%202008/

A peaceful journey

Micah — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:44:20 +0000

My grandmother (gama, as I call her), passed away on August 28, 2008. My younger sister, who is soon to get married called me from India and said that our gama had a peaceful death. She said that she was smiling when she died. I am sad and I will miss her because she was a great influence in my life. Yet, I am happy that she is happy in a better place. I am trying to upload a picture of her but I haven’t figured it out yet, and will try to do it as soon as I can.

My grandmother

Micah — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:03:19 +0000

A woman I look up to. She is a tiny little woman with a huge heart. My dad’s mother is 89 and I just learned this morning that she has been struggling to breathe because of various health complications. The last time, I saw her was in March 2008. She loves Micah very much and has been blessed to see her first great grandchild, Jonah.

My grandmother’s name is Ruth Margaret and it sounds very English and Biblical to me for someone who was born almost 90 years ago in India with not so much Christian influence around them. It happens that her father, worked for the British people since British ruled in India for almost 200 years (atleast something like that, I don’t pay attention in School History class). As a young girl, she once showed me a post card that her father wrote her while he was living in Sri Lanka. With what I understand, he not only loved his daughter but had so much respect for her. My grandmother was well educated and worked as a Registered Nurse in a Missions Hospital built by Europeans.

As far as I can remember, she has been deaf and couldn’t hear in her early 40s. She was smart to read our lips and understand and would relate perfectly well to our conversation. She has such deep love for the Lord and it was evident. A quiet and humble lady who has endured through many hardships in life, by raising three children by herself after she became a widow while was 38.

I am honored to be her granddaughter and have been blessed by her for investing so much into my life. I love her so much and I just know that should the Lord call her home even today, I can visualize her big smile and the way she would gently place her hands on her cheeks when she sees Jesus as she enters into Glory.

Jonah and I will be in India in 8 days and I am not confident that she will be able to prolong and fight for her life that long. I just have peace in my heart although I may or may not see her again on earth, there is hope and assurance that she will be in a better place and she can finally hear after many decades.

Disney World….Florida

Micah — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:51:56 +0000

Yes, we just got back from India and we had a great time. But for some reason, going on a family vacation is different from going to see and visit family. This was our first family vacation with Micah’s mom, his sister, Shelby, her husband Jim and their beautiful daughter Olivia (2 years) in Florida. We had FUN for four full days. We went non-stop from place to place, visiting parks as much as we could. Within 4 days of our time in Orlando, we went to Downtown Disney, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Magical Kingdom, Sleuths Mystery Dinner, Wet n Wild Water Parks. We had an amazing time watching Jonah and Olivia play together and trying to talk with each other.

You know, they say, all fun must come to an end and our time in Orlando just flew so fast and it was time to get back to MN. Rebekah was sad to leave Florida. It reminded her of warm weather like in India and she saw tons of Indians at the disney world. Jonah was trying to keep up with Olivia and he definitely enjoyed all the rides that he was allowed to go. For some rides, he was just speechless…not that he says much anyways.

http://s296.photobucket.com/albums/mm196/garneaus/Disney/

Check out our pictures from this above link….

Back from India..

Micah — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:56:57 +0000

It’s been a while since I posted any article in our website. The three of us were in Chennai, India. It was so good to be home, enjoy home cooked meals, have people wait on you….I can live with that. My beautiful younger sister got engaged while we were there. We are happy for her - it’s an arranged love marriage, yes that’s right, that is what I will call it. She met her fiance for the first time on his birthday and they went on a date. They both decided that they will be happy with each other and decided to get married. Ebenezer, my sister’s fiance, is a fun loving guy and works in Bristol, England. A week after their first date, there was an official engagement ceremony. It was wonderful to celebrate my sister’s engagement and Jonah had a fabulous time.

Jonah did pretty alright while travelling, although I should say that travelling alone with him was not very smart, but oh well, anything for family right? Jonah is 18 months old now and is very very very busy. He definitely keeps me busy. We have moved to the first floor now and we are closer to the children’s park. Jonah loves to play all the time. We are all doing good. Would love to hear from you…do drop us a line…

It’s good to be 30!!!!

Micah — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 21:49:54 +0000

Yes, I just turned 30 on December 2. It was a wonderful birthday, one of the best in recent years. Micah took me out for a nice lunch at Red Stone… a fancy restaurant, kinda famous because the Vikings usually hangout there a lot, and few famous people go there. It was so wonderful to have varieties of appetizers and drink strawberry lemonade and oh, the big piece of the birthday cake with the sparkling candle. On top of all this, Micah gifted me a gold watch with a rectangle dial that has diamonds on it. Oh, just my style….bling, bling, bling. He totally surprised me with it and I was over thrilled. The whole day was fun and fun to celebrate with friends and my own little family. Above all, I thank God for carrying me through 30 years of life. I am thankful that I am alive and healthy and blessed with marriage and a darling boy. Check out our new pictures from December 2. Love to you all….Rebekah

Jonah is one

Micah — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 17:03:56 +0000

Jonah turned one on October 26. Can’t believe it’s been a year already. We thank God for blessing Jonah and taking care of him and keeping him safe. To celebrate what the Lord has blessed us with, we had a fun birthday party for Jonah. It was special to have Micah’s mom, Grammie Garneau, to be at his party on that day. The party was at the Bethany Barn, for those of you who haven’t seen this place, it’s very very cool. The barn is also place where Micah and I had our wedding reception. Micah was able to take the day off and the three of us went out that morning to the mall, costco (to pick up the cake) and party america. It was so much fun and the three of us had a fun time. On our way home, we picked up naan (indian bread) and butter chicken gravy from our favorite indian restaurant. Rebekah had cooked vegetable gravy that morning before we all went out. The whole day was busy but I enjoyed every single moment and yes, Jonah was so happy to hold on to his birthday balloon.
The dinner party started at 5:30 in the evening and almost everyone we invited had come to the party. There was this fun blow up thing (i don’t know what to call that), where kids can jump in. Everyone had a good time. We were both thankful that it was a blessed time for the kids and their parents. I have posted some pictures of his birthday party in this website. Check it out, if you can.

Apple Orchard at Jordan

Micah — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 01:18:57 +0000

The three of us went to the Apple Orchard in Jordan, a small town, only half an hour away from where we live. Almost exactly last year, Micah and I, went apple picking last year in Jordan. Jonah was not born as yet when we went apple picking last year. I was just thinking what a huge change it is in one’s life in just a year. This year, in October, Jonah went to the Apple Orchard with us, he went running and kicking the pumpkins and picked apples from the trees, tasted them and loved riding in the tractor. We all had a great time! It was a beautiful day and the weather was perfect. We had lunch in somewhat like an old fashioned tavern. Micah shared his apple crisp with me. I got almond brittle, a pastry brush, pop-corn and of course, we bought a huge bag of apples (the ones we picked ourselves, at the orchard). It was a good family outing day. Check out our new pictures we took at the Orchard.

cartoon fest birthday party for Micah

Micah — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 02:29:57 +0000

Happy Birthday Micah!!!! Even as I am typing this article, Micah is standing by our entertainment centre and taking a vote on who wants to watch archives or he-man or teenage mutant ninja turtles. Yes, he said that he wanted a cartoon party with cake and ice-cream and invited a bunch of friends over. First, I thought it was a silly idea, but ended up being really fun and everyone is having a great time. There is a variety of cartoon collections here in our home tonight and I am sure everyone is enjoying and having a great time. Right now, they are watching he-man.

This is the first birthday for Micah with Jonah and it was very special. We had a great lunch at Pei Wei (asian diner) and it was a very great birthday for Micah.

running now…

Micah — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 19:45:28 +0000

our little boy, 10 months now, is running all over the apartment. Jonah likes to go to the playground and watch the other kids play football. All he does for now is to hold on to the football (he doesn’t know to kick as yet). He loves to run around in the big field and walking in the grass makes him happy.

Busy running around….

Micah — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:20:07 +0000

I just couldn’t wait for Jonah to start walking and he did almost three days ago. It was pretty cool to see him take a couple of steps on his own without holding on to any support. Jonah is busy all the time when he is awake and just cannot stop thinking, i guess. He is a very happy baby and also loves to keep me running after him. He does not get frustrated although I pick him up and put him right where he started. He keeps trying again and again to get what he wants. For some reason, Jonah pretends that he cannot hear the word “no” Probably this is the age where most babies try to get away with what they can. Parenting is much challenging than I thought it might be. A friend of mine, let me borrow a book, “Shepherding a child’s heart”. We both desire to parent Jonah in a biblical manner. I truly understand that no matter how many books I might read or listen to advice, we as parents will make mistakes. Yet, I am assured that learning together
and growing as parents will make this a beautiful journey. I am so looking forward to it.
Jonah has gotten so big too. I have posted some pictures of him taken last month. Please check it out….

A Saturday swim

Micah — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 20:28:11 +0000

Jonah, our 8 month old, loves to be in water. Even while Micah is holding him, he wants to get away from Micah and thinks that he can swim. All I can say is what my 8 month baby boy has been brave to do, I have been able to do the same, only at 29 years old. Still, you would think that I would be fearless in the water after taking 8 swimming lessons. That’s not quite what happened this past Saturday. Micah, Jonah and I were all having a good time in a small swimming pool in a Community Center and after a while, I just decided to get in the big lapse swimming pool. Micah was holding Jonah and they were both watching me. I was proud of myself that I could backfloat to the end of the pool (12 feet deep) and all the way back. Micah was very impressed and I wanted to do the lapse again. Only this time, I went to the middle of the pool instead of swimming by the side (wall) of the pool. I was doing fine until I realized that I am not at the edge, so I can’t get a hold of the wall. I wanted to land on my feet and stand up and when I realized that I couldn’t touch the bottom of the pool, I started to panic. I was coming in and out of the water surface, trying to catch a breath. I could have just relaxed and I would have been fine. When I came to the surface, I saw Micah and Jonah and I did see the lifeguard not looking at me (she probably thought I will be fine). I went in the water again and this time when I came to the surface, I screamed “help”. Still I couldn’t get the attention of the lifeguard and I saw Micah tell the lifeguard to go get me. It was very dramatic, and of course funny, but it wasn’t funny when I swallowed enough water to feel pain. Well, I was glad that there wasn’t many people in the pool that day to see the drama and also I bet the lifeguard felt pretty good bout not letting me drown. Although, Micah says that it takes awhile to drown and I wouldn’t have gone that far.

two wonderful years…

Micah — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:56:37 +0000

Yeah, today is our second wedding anniversary.

mother and son signed up for swimming lesson

Micah — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:43:31 +0000

Yea, the time has finally come for Micah to sign me up for swimming lessons. I don’t know to swim and Micah loves swimming. Even before I could start on my first lesson, Jonah had joined his swimming class. Being the youngest of all toddlers, Jonah is more comfortable in the water than I ever thought he would be. Shame on me if I can’t even be brave enough to give it a try for myself. Our little family has been driving to a Community Pool, 15 minutes away from our home for 4 days during the week. This has been a fun experience for us. I am learning much quicker than I thought I would and I am having fun too. I hope to be able to swim before Jonah does. Can’t believe I wanna compete with my 7 month old son…hehehe…

Nancy, Micah’s mom, visited us this past weekend and it was so good to see her. Jonah loved hanging out with her and of course being spoiled. She left today for North Carolina and will be travelling again in a couple of weeks to visit her grand daughter in Maine. Yup, this is what she does now, travelling a lot to see her grandkids.

Prayer Request for Jonah

Micah — Fri, 25 May 2007 01:44:11 +0000

Jonah has been fighting cold and cough for the past 4 weeks. We did take him to see his doctor couple of weeks ago, but he still didn’t get better even after taking over the counter cough medication. We had to go to the clinic again and he has pneumonia. Poor little guy…he has been doing alright. Could you please pray for his healing. Hope you will have a great weekend….

Crawling everywhere

Micah — Fri, 04 May 2007 21:13:09 +0000

I just couldn’t wait for my little son to grow up, but as he is getting a little bigger now (6 months), he has been crawling everywhere. He doesn’t get frustrated even though I only say “no” like a million times a day. Jonah keeps trying to explore every nook and corner of the house, curious to know what the door stopper does and he really likes to get a hold of the laptop. Probably he is more like his dad, brilliant. I really wish I knew how to get pictures in this website, excuse me for not being a computer savvy like Micah. Gotta go…little Jonah just woke up from his nap.

Travelled half way across the world…

Micah — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:22:51 +0000

Hi friends and family, We three are back to Minnesota after having an amazing three weeks of vacation in India. Can’t say that it was a vacation for Micah since he had to work for his company even while he was in India. But guess who got the most out of it???? our little guy, Jonah. He traveled pretty good and of course he had humpty number of people stopping and waving to him and trying to get his attention….a charming little fella. Rebekah’s parents and her sister and her grandmothers just couldn’t wait to see little Jonah. He connected right away and would always smile and giggle for them. He was held a lot, even while he was sleeping…ridiculous isn’t it? My parents LOVED to see him and us (i guess)…it’s all about the grandson now. Jonah was given gold as gifts, he got a gold necklace and a bracelet from his aunt (my sister) and his great grandmothers. To sum it up, the whole trip was AWESOME. It was good to see Rebekah’s family almost after two and half years.

Micah — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:21:04 +0000

Oh my, look at my boy…

Micah — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 02:49:05 +0000

Yes, can you believe it? Jonah is 3 and half months old now and he is a very fast growing baby. He loves when people talk to him. He smiles and he laughs a lot. The sound of Jonah’s laughter is the sweetest sound I have ever heard. I love my boy… I should say that he is a very happy baby and is having fun holding stuffed animals and rattles. He always wakes up with a big smile and it just makes my day. I enjoy being a mother, although it is hardwork, it’s definitely worth it.