Winter Is Almost Over

Hi there,

Amy's first time painting

We were able to go to the park several times last week. Amy was super excited to finally swing and slide again. We enjoyed going for short walks in the park and playing with Amy outside. Cannot wait for spring to come!

Amy speaks more and more Hungarian every day! It is fun to listen to her Hunglish. : ) So far it was Chris I turned to when I forgot a Hungarian word, but now I just ask Amy and she helps me out every time. Yup... and she is only 3!!!

Our curly haired baby

She loves to dress up as a princess, but she also loves to build towers and bird houses with blocks and "play ball" as she would say. She we haven't decided if she will be a girly girl or not. : ) Either way, she is extremely cute and sweet! : )

Chris is done with translating the book and already has different jobs lined up. Thank you for your prayers, God surely blessed us with several work projects. I am very proud of him and how he manages his time.

We still enjoy having Chris home all the time. :) Amy is thrilled to be able to talk to daddy whenever she wants to. I love to see their relationship strengthen.

Not long ago I mentioned to my parents how much I would love to have a specific Bible. A week ago we got mail and the Bible was one thing in it. I cannot tell you how happy it made me! It is the New Inductive Study Bible and I highly recommend it! I am so excited about it! Click here for a little information on the Bible.

We always like to hear from you. E-mail us with your updates!

God bless!

Amy Turned Three!

Chris no longer works at WTHI TV. Finally we can afford healthcare (which previously would have been around $800/month for the three of us), and so he doesn't have to work full-time. Instead, he can work from home. He has been translating a book into Hungarian the past month. After he is done with that, he will be doing other freelance jobs.

Amy LOVES that daddy is home all the time. She sure doesn't make Chris' job easy, because she constantly wants to be with daddy now that he is home. :) They go on "jungle adventures" together and have tons of fun. 

Amy turned three on February 8th! She had her first real birthday party with a bouncing house and everything. :) It is hard to believe she is three already. I still clearly remember when she was born. She lived in 4 houses and two countries so far. Not bad. :)
She is still very active, loves to play pretend games with us. She enjoys making us laugh (which she does quite often), and looks for opportunities to do so. I think she will be a funny one. :) We really like watching her personality develop. So far she is very James in many ways and very Vermes in others.

I received my diploma the other day! So I am completely done with school. At least for now. :) I enjoy being a stay-at-home mom and not have to worry about school papers. It really makes my days much easier.
On Tuesdays I am leading a Bible study for women based on Howard Hendricks' Living by the Book. It is so neat to learn from and with the ladies in the group. I also attend the Wednesday Bible study and love the discussions we have there. We are so blessed to be part of Cornerstone Bible Church.

Beautiful Wedding

Hi there,

On December 24th we got into our rental car (2013 Toyota Yaris), and left for Florida. It took us 18 hours to get there!!! (Though truth be told, we did stop once at a dear friend's house for about an hour. It was so neat to be able to see Lauren and her family--even though it was just for a little bit). I sat in the back with Amy (HUGE mistake) and felt uncomfortable the whole time. Chris was a hero, though! He kept me "alive" and encouraged me throughout the trip. Even Amy handled the trip pretty well (at least compared to me). :) So Chris drove about 17 hours and didn't complain once! I don't know how he did it! We left around 1 pm and got there the next day (Christmas day) at 7 am. Everyone but Amy crawled into bed and slept for a few hours. Meanwhile Amy quietly played with the toys the Maters left there for her. You gotta love her! :)

Later that day we had a cook-out with the Maters and I couldn't believe how big Novie and Eden are! Amy fits right in with her blonde hair and blue eyes. :) Amy actually looks a lot like Eden when Eden was Amy's age. Anyway, we had a great time with the Maters and their family. It was about 80-86 degrees the whole time we were there, so we went out for walks several times and played in the pool as much as we could. Amy loved it! Word of Life Florida is beautiful!

We also met the Hood family and were able to update each other. :) Unfortunately Tricia wasn't there this time, but we were happy to see her in November! The unicorn she gave Amy came with us, Amy wouldn't sleep without it. :)

Then the BIG DAY came! The wedding was at Fort Myers Beach (gorgeous place). Becky was breath-taking, and David didn't look that bad either. :) They had a beautiful ceremony, and a fun lunch afterwards. I loved the decorations Becky came up with. Amy looked like a little princess (though she always looks like that to me). :)

We are so happy for David and Becky! They are a great couple. We are excited to see what God has in store for them. (You just have to look at them to know how happy they are!)

After the wedding we went back to Word of Life Florida and spent a couple of days there before we left for Indiana. On the way back I sat next to Chris and was comfortable the whole time. It took us 17 hours to get home, and we only stopped for gas and food on the way back. Amy did amazing, too! She barely cried if at all! I was so surprised! She was able to go to sleep around 8 pm, I believe, and even when we arrived she was able to go back to sleep right away.

We celebrated New Year's Eve at home... in bed... sleeping. :) We were too tired to stay up. 

Since then I started to lead a Women's Bible Study at church based on Howard Hendricks' book, Living by the Book. I am really excited to learn alongside the other ladies.

More next month! :)

God bless!

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. : )