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Hi there,

Grandkids

We arrived back home on May 11th. It is good to be home, but we are so happy we had a chance to see our family and friends for 2 whole months! And my dad's 70th birthday party was really good, too! We are so glad we could be part of it!

Amy started to miss America about 4 weeks after we arrived to Hungary, but as we were packing our suitcases and were getting ready to leave, she wanted to stay. She said she didn't want to leave her new friends. : (

On the plane back home she told me she thinks it's time for church. : ) She missed her friends at church really bad throughout our trip. And since we are home she mentioned several times that she misses her "Hungarian friends," but she is so glad to be home and she wants to hug America, she just doesn't know how to. : )

Did I mention that Haley started crawling over a month ago (at 7 months), has only two teeth (still), can walk holding on to something (like furniture), and today (she just turned 9 month today) she started to let go off things and can stand unsupported for a second or two? It is so much fun watching her explore and learn new things. Since she sleeps with Amy in a different room, she normally sleeps 11 hours each night. Sometimes she wakes up once and nurses for 5 minutes and goes back to sleep, but most nights she just sleeps through the night. In case you think it is not a big deal, let me tell you it is! : ) She woke up every hour before (yes, you heard that right, every hour...), but one night I tried to put her in her crib in Amy's room (which is Amy and Haley's room now :) ), and she slept 8 hours straight. So I never looked back and it's been working for many weeks now.

We are excited to see our church family tomorrow and were happy to see some of them already on Wednesday. By the way, since it is such beautiful weather, the kids and I are planning on walking as much as we can this summer (as well). We walked over 7 miles on Wednesday (and by we I mean me pushing the kids in their double stroller : ) ). I love walking and am so happy I get to now!

God bless!

Amy painted this at the zoo

at the zoo

at Skanzen

Visiting Hungary

Hi there,

A few days after our previous post we were on our way to Hungary. Chris, the kids, and I started our 26 hour journey on March 17 and arrived to Hungary on March 18th. Amy and Haley did great throughout the day, as a matter of fact Amy said "this was so much fun" as we were waiting for our luggage at the airport in Hungary (about 25 and a half hours into our trip). Yup, we have a different understanding of what "fun" means.

at a fair

We had a busy month meeting with a lot of friends and family members. Other than my parents, no one has seen Haley before, and the last time they've seen Amy was when she was 15 months old.

Amy learned to speak in Hungarian pretty well within the first week or so and her Hungarian just got better and better every day, We were so proud of her! (Since we talk to her in Hungarian, she understands nearly everything, but she refused to talk to us in Hungarian before, so her speech was far from perfect. Now that she needed to verbalize her wants and needs to her "Hungarian family," she quickly learned to do so.)

We were so happy to see our dear friends and family after these years! We bought a monthly (transportation) pass, so we could go anywhere in Budapest without having to worry about tickets. We were on buses, trains, trams, trolleys, subways, and Amy loved them all. I don't think she remembers any of these, although we used public transportation when we lived in Hungary and she was little. Anyway, she loved the experience! :)

Amy at one of the playgrounds

One of my favorite memories of this month is that I finally got to meet my dear friends' kids for the first time. One of them is 2 and a half years old, the other one is 1 and a half, and the youngest one was born this year. I was so sad I never had the chance before to see them in person and finally I could hug them and play with them and see them "for real." They are all so precious!

It's only been a month but we already have so many great memories and treasured moments! While we miss the people back home in America, we are so happy to be able to see our loved ones here in Hungary.  

the day we arrived

Amy's first ice cream (with a cone)

friends

with Janka

Spring Is Coming

Hi there,

We are finally able to go for long walks again! Hope you are also able to enjoy this beautiful weather. Amy loves our double stroller and Haley loves to sleep in it! We even use it in the house sometimes. 

It is supposedly going to be 72 degrees (22 C) on Monday, in which case we hope to be outside most of the day. Cannot wait to be able to use our swing again! Back porch, here we come! :)

Haley's tooth finally broke through. Boy, it's sharp! We think there is another one coming, but she never lets us look at her teeth, so we aren't sure. : ) She is still a happy baby, and is now able to play with Amy! I am so glad they can play together! I am amazed how much newborns change in just half a year! All the things they learn in such a short time!

I cannot wait for Amy to teach all the things she knows to Haley. Amy is going to be a great mom, I think. She loves kids, and wants to have many children. Reminds me of myself at this age. :) Although instead of a mommy, she wants to be a princess queen when she grows up. You never know! :)

Chris and I decided that Haley is big enough now, so instead of our room, now she sleeps in Amy's room. I mean "the kids' room." : ) It is nice to have our room back! : ) Amy is a very good sleeper, so even if Haley wakes up, Amy is sound asleep. Never understood people like her. But I am sure happy she can sleep! : )

We are looking forward SPRING and being able to play outside. I missed walking so much. I hope Haley will enjoy walks as much as Amy does, and then we will have some amazing time together.

Have a wonderful day!

The James family

We Have a 4-Year-Old!

Isabelle Bryan

Hi,

Remember how in my last post I talked about having several of our friends give birth lately? Isabelle is the newest addition to our church family. She was born 3 weeks ago to our pastor and his wife. They have a 2 and a half year old little girl also. With Isabelle, we have 12 girls under the age of 7 at our church, out of which 10 is 4 and under. Our youngest boy is a teen... Yup, there is a lot of screaming during Children's Church. :D

Isabelle has 2 "baby friends" at church under the age of one, one being Haley, who just turned 6 months old today!

It is incredible how fast 6 months can go by. Haley can sit now, she even tried a couple of baby foods, and is working on getting some teeth. : ). She is a happy baby who loves to play. I cannot wait for her to learn to play with Amy, Amy is sooo ready to play with Haley! I think they are going to be best friends. It is so neat to see how much they love each other.

And our Amy is 4 years old! We celebrated her birthday by taking her to Bouncin Barn, then to Steak and Shake, the mall, and to Menchie's. She chose her own cake, and celebrated with her friends at church as well as with family here, at home. We didn't have a big party for her yet, because we will have one for her in Hungary in a little over a month from now. I wanted her to be able to celebrate at least one birthday in Hungary. :)

At the Bouncin Barn

At Steak & Shake

At the mall

At Menchie's

We are so proud of Amy! She is an exceptional little girl. We cannot be happier to have her as our daughter.

Here is a funny story of her: We warm up meals in our microwave and a few months ago she started to ask me each time I put the food in the microwave to only make it "one hot." I thought she meant to put it in for a short time. But a few days ago I finally understood what she really meant. When I took out the food, sometimes I said, "Sorry honey, it is too hot. You have to wait." So she thought I said, it is "two hot" and she knew if it is "two hot" she will need to wait, so she only wanted it "one hot." Makes sense... :D Looking back, I don't know how I didn't get that right away, but I was so happy to solve the "mystery." I love how her brain works!

Lastly, I had a doctor's appointment a couple of weeks ago (I had some questions about the medication I have to take), and as a side note I mentioned that my hair started to fall out more "intensely" than "normal." The doctor ordered some blood tests and it turns out that I have an underactive thyroid problem. So I got some medicine and I am doing so much better! I am myself again! It is amazing how hormones can change a person.

Chris is working hard and has a lot of projects on his plate lately. This is a huge praise! God has provided work for him constantly this past year, and we are really thankful for that! It is such a blessing that he can work from home. We are truly grateful! 

That's it for now! :)

What Do You Want to Achieve in 2015?

Hi there,

Let me start by wishing you a Happy New Year full of blessings!

As we get older, we have more and more friends who have babies. It seems that any given month we have at least 3-4 friends giving birth. This past month was no different! :) It is so neat to see how the families of our beloved ones grow. 

Emma Tóth

One of my very close friends from High School, Fáni, gave birth to their first child, Emma. She is already a cutie pie! While I wasn't able to be there with her in person, her and some of our other friends kept me updated throughout her labor and so I felt I was actually there. We are so excited for her and her husband as they get to know Emma better and enjoy the blessing she is. We cannot wait to see them in a few months! 

Now that we have two kids, I firmly believe that any mom with three or more kids is a superwoman! Sometimes having only one felt like we had 4. And with Haley, it more than doubled. Raising kids "well" is not easy.

Being a mom made me realize how wretched I am. I am very impatient with Amy, even though I was always so patient with other kids. I raise my voice at her way too many times, and I never did that with other children. I don't know how many times a day I have to tell her how sorry I am and how wrong I was and ask for her forgiveness! It is  humbling to see what is really inside of me. Not very pretty. And I didn't even know this was in me until I had kids.

On the other hand, I love my kids, and I know they do, too. I would give anything for them. They make Chris' and my life so very happy. I am thankful for an amazing, loving husband and great kids!

Chris and I will celebrate our 5th anniversary in a few months, and we are so excited to celebrate many-many more. It is amazing how much two imperfect people can love each other. I believe a happy marriage is a great foundation for a happy family. I can't imagine raising kids any other way.

Amy can put together this 100 piece puzzle by herself!
She does it in one sitting, too!

Talking about kids... :) Haley is growing so fast! She clearly knows what's going on around her, and loves to explore, observe everything around her. She can spend several minutes in front of a mirror just watching herself so attentively. One of her favorite things is to pick up a toy and just put it in one hand and then the other (of course it ends up in her mouth each time, though). She loves Amy and enjoys "playing" with her. And as much as she needs me to be there with her all the time, she is completely and utterly in love with Chris. :D

She is still a very smiley baby, and she loves to laugh. I don't even have to make her laugh, she just wants to laugh. And boy she can laugh for so long! :)

This year, our church has a Bible Reading competition. The congregation is divided into three groups (each led by an elder), and we are challenged to read through the Bible in a year. There are prices for the group that read the most in a given time period.

I use the Olive Tree (Bible +) Bible Study App (https://www.olivetree.com/) as a tool. You can create different reading plans and it helps you keep track of what you read. I used this app last year as well and am very satisfied with it. Oh, and it's free. :)

I encourage you to have a Bible Reading plan as well. You may want to read through the Bible in 6 months, a year, two years, or even 5 years. It is up to you. But having a plan helps you (at least if you are anything like me) stay on track. I personally prefer reading a whole book in a day or two, because it gives me a better understanding of what the writer wanted to say. But of course a lot depends on how busy my day is. :) 

Do you have any goals for this year? Anything you want to try, start, or learn? Anything you want to achieve? Don't let this year be wasted! Do something that matters! :)

For Unto Us A Child Is Born

Hi,

Can you believe it's December again? Another year is soon to be over. And what a year! We have a lot to be thankful for! We've been blessed through our family and friends beyond words. God lavished His love on us yet again. We praise Him for all He has done.

Last December (on Christmas day, to be exact), we learned that we are expecting. Now we have a 4-month-old baby! And an almost 4-year-old big girl. How exciting!

Our first snow 

A few weeks ago we had some snow. Amy wanted to build a snowman, but the snow wasn't quite right for that, so she made snow angels instead. I love how she makes the best of what she has instead of complain. I sure have a thing or two to learn from her!

Amy loves to play with Haley. Their favorite game is peek-a-boo. This video is not the best quality, but you will get an idea of how it goes. :D

51 piece puzzle

Tricia, a dear friend of ours, sent Christmas gifts to the girls. One of the gifts was a 51 piece floor puzzle. It is a very interesting puzzle. The frame (ocean) are real puzzle pieces that you can put together, but the states have the actual shape of the given state. So once you put the frame together, you just put the states (separately) where they belong, and at the end, the frame holds the states together. The box says 6+ (for age recommendation). We opened the puzzle, I had to go to the other room and a few minutes later when I came back, this is what I found... She did it all by herself. I was so proud of her!

Amy is growing up and is getting better and better at reading and writing. One day she just set down and wrote her, Haley's, and my name all by herself, with no help. Once she was down, she showed me the paper. Wow! I sure couldn't write at this age!

Amy's pretty hair ...

Her memory and creativity never cease to amaze me. Oh, and now we can do stuff with her hair! So far I didn't think it was long enough, but I may have been wrong. :) She loves putting things in her hair. She sure is beautiful!

... and pretty face

We celebrated Thanksgiving with both our family and our church family. It is always good to set apart a day to think about all the blessings we received and to praise God for them. Amy said she was thankful for Haley. So are we! :) We are so blessed to have such sweet church family. They really are "family" to us.

Last Sunday Amy and her friends sang "For Unto Us A Child Is Born" during the morning service. If you have facebook, you can see the video on my page. They did an amazing job! :)

Amy and I did some Christmas crafts (we both love crafts). I think they turned out good. :)

We were able to see Grandpa and Grandma James as well as Grandma Grassi and Melinda & Terry a few days ago. It is so good to be able to see family at least this time of year. They are all very dear to us and we are glad they got to see Haley. :)

Have a Blessed Christmas!

Amy decorated the tree

One of our crafts
(everyone used their own hands and foot, even Haley)

It's Snowing!

Hi,

(See some pics at the end of the post.)

Amy keeps asking when she can make a snowman. Maybe sooner than we thought! We had about 2-3 inches of snow today. She is super excited! : )

Last month Chris' grandparents from Florida came to visit. We always enjoy spending time with them, and it was their first time seeing Haley. I am so happy we had the chance to spend an afternoon together.

Chris updated his website, click here to check it out. He had tons of work this past month, and is still busy with different projects. Praise the Lord!

Haley turned 3 months old today. Hard to believe how fast she is growing, She is a very smiley baby. Amy is such a good big sister. I am really proud of my big girl!

Amy and I love to cook/bake together. Our favorite is chocolate chip banana bread. We don't have banana bread in Hungary, so once I made some, I couldn't stop making them. I can eat a whole loaf by myself within a few hours. I made about 10 loaves recently, and Chris had altogether 4 slices. : ) Sometimes it is gone before he can even look at it. : D And it is not Amy who eats it all. : ) I don't know why we don't have it in Hungary, it is the best thing ever!

Here is the recipe I use (from http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/banana_bread/) 

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• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 1 hour
• Yield: Makes one loaf.

No need for a mixer for this recipe!

The best bananas to use for banana bread are those that are over-ripe. The yellow peels should be at least half browned, and the bananas inside  squishy and browning.

Save Recipe

Ingredients

• 2-3 very ripe bananas, peeled
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup of sugar (can easily use 3/4 cup, or drop it down to 1/2 cup if you want it less sweet)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), and butter a 4x8-inch loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until smooth. Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.

Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes (check at 50 minutes) at 350°F (175°C), or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool completely on a rack. Remove the banana bread from the pan. Slice and serve. (A bread knife helps to make slices that aren't crumbly.)

I also add a cup of chocolate chips to it. (I mix it in at the very end.) And I use half a cup sugar and it is plenty sweet for my taste.

It's good stuff, you should try it! : )

God bless!