Florida Here We Come!

Hi,

I am pretty sure the biggest news this month is that Chris shaved. : ) If I remember correct, he started to grow his beard about 2 years ago, and recently he told Amy and I that he is seriously considering shaving it off. A couple of weeks ago he did so! So here is a picture from the day before the "big shaving" and the day of the shaving.

Several people at his workplace and elsewhere did not recognize him at first! Definitely a big change. : ) I think Amy needed the least time to get used to it. Chris jumped each time he saw himself in the mirror for the first couple of days, but he is okay now. : )

A couple of Sundays ago we had the chance to visit our "former" church in Paris, IL. We really miss the amazing people there! It was so nice to see many of them and be able to talk to them a little. Amy even had the chance to play with a friend, Livi.

And this Sunday we were back at our church in Terre Haute, worshipping God with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are so thankful for our church family. I am especially thankful for the Sunday School and Wednesday Bible study. I love to study the Word of God in depth with other Christians. I can learn so much from them and grow in my faith. What a blessing!

We spent Thanksgiving at Dave and Karen's house. Karen's brothers and David & Becky were all there. We had yummy food and great fellowship. We had our Christmas party early this year due to the wedding (Becky is getting married in a couple of weeks). Unfortunately Kevin (Karen's brother) couldn't make it due to the weather, but Ken (Karen's other brother) and the rest of us were there. Amy got tons of presents and she really enjoyed opening all of them and playing with her new toys. When we came home I packed all her "old" toys and left only the new ones out, and she's been only playing with those ever since. I think her favorite at the moment is the "Chatimal," a little hamster that repeats whatever people say. Amy loves to talk to it and listen to the hamster repeat everything she says.

We are getting ready to leave for Florida. We are leaving in a week and has been preparing for the trip for over a month now. : ) I am pretty sure we are almost all set. Amy has plenty to play with on the 14 hour trip. : ) Prayers are greatly appreciated for the travel, weather, and most importantly the wedding. We are so excited!!!

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Tricia Came to Visit!

Hi there,

Tricia and Amy

We had a really eventful month! Our good friend, Tricia, was able to come and visit us a couple of weeks ago. We loved to have her here! I am very grateful for her friendship and the time we could spend together. The day after Tricia left Amy came to my room and said, "Mommy, where is Tricia? Let's find Tricia!" : )

We were also able to see a good friend of ours, Breanne, while Tricia was here. Bre has a 3 months old son, Noah, who is a cutie! Both Tricia and I were very happy we had the chance to see Breanne and meet Noah.

We are so thankful for our friends and family. It is so encouraging to be surrounded by people who love us! We even have the chance to talk to my parents at least once a week. We sure are blessed!

Chris and I cannot believe how fast Amy is growing up. She is such a people person. She wants to befriend everyone she meets. :)

Unrelated... She just learned how traffic lights work, so all day I was listening to her telling me when I have to stop and when I can go as I was driving the car. Well, she doesn't know that I can turn right on red (unless a sign says otherwise), so when there wasn't anyone behind me, I waited for a green light before I turned so she wouldn't be too confused. : ) 

She is such a joy! We love her so much!

Our beautiful princess

Last week I started to memorize Scripture. I was so surprised at how fast one can memorize a verse. I thought it will take me 2-3 days to learn a verse but I could learn 6 in a week! I am using the Topical Memory System verses. Howard Hendricks recommended it in his book, Living by His book. It really works great! It lists a couple of verses under different topics, so now when I think of a topic (such as "honesty," "God's faithfulness," etc.) I am reminded of these verses. I don't know why I never consciously memorized Scripture before. But I am glad I started it!

Chris is also doing very good. We love his work schedule. Most of the time he can take his "lunch break" around 7 pm, so he can be home when we put Amy down. Amy, of course, is in love with Daddy. They can be very goofy together. : )
Today, after Chris came home, he said, "I finally did it!" I looked at him with a puzzled face, so he continued, "I am finally considered overweight!" : ) (He had a health check-up at work and he learned it there.) Just so that you can put things into perspective, here is a 2-year-old picture of him and a recent one. And nope, it is not just the beard. He does weigh more! : )

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

I am a College Graduate! : )

Hi there,

Words cannot describe my joy! : ) A week ago I officially finished my last classes at Baptist Bible College. I am very glad to be done with school and looking forward to some "well deserved" rest. Just for one of my courses these past 8 weeks I had 9 papers to write, 7 pages each. 

Chris really likes his new hours! These past three weeks he had to cover someone else's shift during the weekends, so he had two weekdays off instead. So we were never sure what day of the week it was, but finally we are "back to normal."

Since I am done with school, we had many opportunities to go to places. I love spending time with my family. Amy is growing up so fast! Sometimes we wish she would just take her time... : ) She still enjoys putting puzzles together. She is very good at it, too! And she started to reason with us. I love it! : ) She brightens our days. Oh, and she can ride her bike! She was a little short before, but finally she can reach the pedals. She can go all by herself! She loves it! And she does somersaults, too! One day she just realized that she can do them. We never even showed her how to. Since then she does them a lot. And she is pretty good at it! 

Glóri Pál

A very good friend of mine just had her first baby on October 13. While I dislike the fact that I cannot be there and see the gorgeous little girl in person, I am so glad that I can at least see pictures of her. It is hard to believe that the first time I will see her she will be 1 and a half years old...

We love our church family. The more time we spend with them, the more we love them! : ) Our church participates in the "My Hope America with Billy Graham" (a nationwide effort to reach people across the United States with the Gospel of Jesus Christ). If you want to check it out, here is a link: http://myhopewithbillygraham.org/?. Please pray for lives to be changed! Our God is Almighty!

Tell us how we can pray for you! We really enjoy reading updates from our family and friends.

God bless!

2-Year Anniversary of being Indiana Residents

Hi,

2 years ago on the plane...
on our way here...

It's been two years since we said goodbye to Hungary and moved to the States. Crazy! This also means that Amy is 2 and a half years old now. She puts 24-piece puzzles together completely on her own. Oh, and she already knows some English words I don't. I knew this day will come, but honestly I didn't think it will come so soon... :) 

She loves to be silly and goofy. I think "that's goofy" may be her favorite expression. She puts new sentences together everyday and she uses more and more new words as well.

We love her so much! She is such a blessing!

There are a lot of exciting things happening:

School. I have 4 weeks left before I graduate. I am so excited! I think I will celebrate for about a month once I am done. : D (Just to put it in perspective: Just for these two courses I currently take, I have to write over 70 pages [15 papers] in 8 weeks.)

Bike Rides. Ever since we got my bike, I try to go everywhere by bike. I love it! Amy really enjoys the ride, too. Church is just over 2 and a half miles away, so we can get there very fast. It takes us about 15 minutes. The other day we went into town by bike and it was so nice that we didn't have to worry about parking. It is definitely much faster to ride a bike downtown than to go by car.

Chris' New Shift. Chris switched shifts this Monday. Instead of working from 3am to noon, he works from 2pm to 11pm. This is a huge blessing to all of us! A

my gets to see him for even longer than she did before, Chris gets to sleep significantly more, and I have several hours after Amy goes to sleep and before Chris comes home to do school. It's a win-win! Everyone is happy. : )

And the most exciting news:

Tricia and Amy

Tricia Hood, a close friend of mine is coming to visit us in less than two months! Moreover, we will see Breanne Ziraldo Fuller and her gorgeous baby, Noah! I cannot wait to spend some time with Tricia. The last time I saw her, Amy was a baby. It will be really nice to be able to hug her for real after all this time. 

A book I started to read is Living by the Book by Howard Hendricks. If you want to know how to study the Bible, I highly recommend this book. He explains the three steps of Bible study, 1)Observation, 2)Interpretation, 3)Application, and their importance. The chapters are very short, easy to read, and full of information. If you play games on your computer, you know the "just one more game" attitude many players have. I felt the same way with this book. Once I finished a chapter, I said, "just one more chapter." Even when I was dead tired and knew I should go to sleep, I couldn't put the book down. Yes, it is that good!

Have a blessed week!

The James family 

Things We Look Forward To

Hi there,

Before mom left Chris and I had the opportunity to go mini golfing. It was my first time and I really enjoyed it. I honestly didn't think it can be this much fun! We already decided we want to go sometime again. Terre Haute people, we highly recommend the mini golf place behind Honey Creek Mall.

Mom left over three weeks ago, but Amy still asks where "mama" is. I have to explain to her that she went home to be with "papa." So now she asks me to call "papa" on skype so she can talk to them and see them. She really enjoyed having my parents here and so did we. 

My last two courses start in a few days. So I will graduate in October! Isn't that awesome? I didn't have any courses during the summer, so I hope I will be able to get back to the "routine" soon. Once I am done with school, my dearest Tricia is going to come visit us! I cannot wait to see her! It's been way too long. 

We are also planning our trip to Florida this December. Chris' sister, Becky is getting married on the beach! We've never been to a beach wedding, so this is going to be a first! I had the privilege to go wedding dress shopping with her and I love the dress she chose! It is truly breathtaking.

On that note... My very good friend from High School got married a couple of weeks ago. I was very sad I had to miss the wedding, but I am glad they could get married and start their lives together. She was a beautiful bride!

These past few weeks Amy and I had a lot of opportunity to walk to places (dentist, doctor, Kroger, park, etc.). We walked for an hour or more every day. It is so nice to be outside! As a matter of fact, I decided that I will walk or bike to any place I need to go unless I have to carry something heavy back. So we bought a bike and a child carrier with it. (I already bought a bike for Chris for Father's Day.) So hopefully we will be able to go on bike rides together. Amy loves to sit in the child carrier and she refuses to get out. : )

Enjoy the nice weather!

Catching My Breath

Hi there,

We have a very busy month behind us. I honestly don't think that we've been to this many places since we moved here (2 years ago)! We really enjoyed having mom here, and going to places with her. We (mostly mom, though) worked in the yard and around the house a lot. I am very thankful for her help! Now the yard looks so much better. We have a really nice back porch and she cleaned that, too. So we can sit out there and enjoy the good weather. I will try to remember to post pictures of it next month. It looks really good!

This was mom's first time in the States, so I took her to the 4th of July Parade in the morning as well as the concert and fireworks at night. Amy enjoyed the horses and tractors. We even had the chance to meet Chris there, since he was covering the event. Chris gave a tour of the TV station he works at and showed us where "the magic happens."

Mom and Amy were able to go to the park several times (just the two of them). I loved the stories mom told me afterwards. Amy loves attention and usually knows how to get it... : ) She tries to befriend everyone at the playground. I am so glad God entrusted Chris and I with her. She sure is a blessing!

at Holiday World

Chris had a week of vacation, so we went to Holiday World one day, where we spent over 11 hours. Mom and Amy spent most of their day in Splashin' Safari, Chris and I tried to ride as many things as we could. We went on 2 (wooden) roller coasters, 6 water rides (out of which one was insane and made me sick to my stomach for hours!), and rode on a train with Amy at the end. While Amy didn't seem to miss us during the day too much, the next few days she didn't let me or Chris leave her sight. : )

We were invited to two pool parties these past couple of weeks, and we enjoyed both so much! Both pool parties were hosted by church members, so when I told Amy who she is going to see, she just said, "church." Well, kind of. : ) She loves to go to church and really dislikes to leave. Almost everyday she says she wants to go to church and does not like the idea that we can only go once a week. She loves her friends there! Also, whenever we mention Jesus at home, she automatically says "Jesus, church." So cute!

at the Fair

Karen (Chris' mom) mentioned that there is a Vigo County Fair where they show all kinds of farm animals and tractors, and almost anything and everything that has to do with farming. Amy really enjoyed seeing all the animals and we saw some very interesting ones for sure! There was a cow that was taller than Chris, and bunnies that were bigger than some dogs... : ) Dave and Karen met us there (at the fair) and we could spend some time together.

Yup, those were big...

My sister-in-law, Becky got engaged a few days ago! We are very happy for them and cannot wait for the wedding! A couple of days after the engagement we (Chris, Amy, mom, Becky, David (her fiance), and I) went to Turkey Run State Park. I wish we knew how beautiful this park is! We would have come much more often. We spent about 3-4 hours there. Although it was extremely hot, it was awesome! Chris and I are already planning on going back. : )

 

Mom Is Here!

Hi there,

A goat eating Amy's dress

We had our anniversary in May, and celebrated it by going to the movie theater (we watched 42). Then Chris took me out to dinner. It was a really awesome night. (Thank you Becky for babysitting!) It is hard to believe that we got married three years ago. Time flies by... Amy's anniversary gift for us was that she potty trained herself in a day! So she is diaper-free since May 20th. Very proud of her!

We had VBS at church and I was able to teach one night. This was my first time being involved with VBS, and I love it already. My church did such a good job organizing it and making it very special for the kids. While we only have a few members (under 100 including kids), they are very dedicated and love to serve. We are honored to be part of this community of believers.

Chris and I are amazed at how much a 2-year-old "baby" can learn. We love to see Amy put together sentences and expressing herself in new ways. She is a very good girl, but she is also quite stubborn (just like her mommy)... :  ) She likes to argue with me and tell me "No, no! It is ..." (as opposed to what I said). And in these situations there is no way I can convince her that I have lived longer and might no better. :  ) Oh well... : )

trying to catch a butterfly

My mom arrived last Friday. We picked Monca (our missionary friend from Hungary) up from Indy the same day. It was a 5-hour drive altogether and Amy didn't have any accidents meanwhile! So proud of her! We got home Friday night and went to sleep almost right away. On Saturday we went to Goodwill, Walmart, Honey Creek mall, Dollar Tree, and met Karen (Chris' mom) at Starbucks. It was a long, but very productive day! On Sunday, Monca spoke at our church (unfortunately I forgot to take pictures...). After church we went home, had lunch, and left for Lafayette.

After a long day, on the way home...

We dropped Monca off at her "next destination," and spent some time at the Colombian Park in Lafayette. I highly recommend that park!!! It has a free zoo with little kids in mind, a huge playground for all ages, a small train that the kids will most likely enjoy (along with their parents), a big lake, and much more. They even have a big pool and big-size water slides there. And we didn't even see the whole park. I am sure we will be back sometime, it was an awesome experience!

Have a good day! God bless!

Mother's Day

Hi there,

I seriously don't understand how 30 days can go by so fast... : ) But it is time for another update on our lives. Let's see...

School

I am done with this semester, which means I have 3 months off before I start my last two classes in August. I really needed a little break, I had 14 classes since last January. As much as I like learning new things, I will be very happy once I am done! : ) I had to write 6 papers in 8 weeks for one of my last classes (which is not rare), and just the last two of these papers were 23 pages. 

Mother's Day

Chris bought me flowers and Amy gave me a Mother's Day card she colored in Sunday School. I am so thankful for my family! I would not be able to do school without Chris' support and Amy's awesomeness. I am so grateful for my loving and caring husband. He does not miss a day to tell me how thankful he is that we are married. He makes me so happy! What a blessing it is that we can spend the rest of our lives together. And we are so proud of Amy. She truly is an amazing child. We get compliments so often from friends and strangers alike! What an honor to be her mommy. 

Mom and Amy
(Amy was 6 months old here)

Mom is Coming

Talking about moms, my mom is coming to visit us next month! We are excited and cannot wait for her to come. I am sure Amy will love to be able to hug "mama" (grandma) for real (she likes to hug the laptop when we skype...). Mom will stay for a little over a month, and hopefully it will not be 100 degrees outside, so we can actually do things outside other than melt.

Church

There are 3 different universities in Terre Haute, so we have a lot of college students each year. Our church saw a need and started a ministry toward these students. I joined both the College Dinner and the College Bible Study when we moved here. Unfortunately we only had seniors in our Bible study group, so this Monday was the last time we had a Bible study with these students, though I really hope we will have new people join us next school year. I truly enjoyed being a part of this ministry.

God bless!