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!

Our First NBA game!

Hi there,

I few days after my last post, we surprised dad by taking him to an NBA game (Pacers vs. Milwaukee Bucks). It was his first time (as well as our first time) watching an NBA game live! Dave, Karen, Kevin (Karen's brother), Becky, and David (Johns) joined us. It was a good game! (Final score: Pacers 102-Bucks 78) I love how they entertain us during the breaks and time-outs. We even got a Dunkin Donuts gift card for being the loudest section! Oh well, some things don't change... :D

The game was in Indy, so we went in a few hours early and walked around downtown. (If you click on the pictures you can see them bigger.) We spent the night at Stephen Long's place but unfortunately we didn't have a chance to see him this time. But we loved his house! :) The reason we stayed in Indy for the night (other than the fact that the game was over around 9:30-10 pm and it would have been another at least 90 minutes to get home...) was that we were invited to Kevin's (Karen's brother's) birthday party the next day (which was also in Indy).

The last time I was in Indy was over 2 years ago when I was pregnant with Amy, so it was good to see the city again. We took tons of pictures and a lot of videos. It was fun!

Amy was a little tired at the game

and so was Chris... :)

March 25!!!

A day or two after we got home from Indy the weather decided to be silly and we had a lot of snow. (See picture on the right.) Amy enjoyed it, but I think she might have been the only one... :) The weather was quite chilly while dad was here (most of the time Amy had to wear winter jacket and winter hat), and about 4 days after he left, it was around 80 degrees for a week... We wear sweating in our summer dresses. This year the weather was very weird...

As you can see on the picture on the left, Amy likes my cooking. Or at least likes to make a huge mess out of it. But as long as it is gone from her plate at the end, I don't care. :)  She can eat so much spaghetti, it is crazy (just like her daddy). Though Chris is a lot cleaner after he is done... :) 

Amy is a very good eater, and she is not picky. I am convinced that she eats more than Chris or I do. But she is also extremely active, so I guess she needs all the energy she can get. 

We are very proud of her and love her personality. We are blessed to have her! We taught her to say, "Mommy/Daddy may I have some _________ please?" But she doesn't say it as a sentence, she says it word by word and pause each time she says a word. It is so cute. But she is very proud of herself once she gets to the "please" (and so are we!).

Dad also wanted to see WTHI's building (where Chris works), so we went inside and Chris gave us a tour. :) This building is so much nicer than the other one was!

Since dad left, Amy looks at the videos he took everyday. She really misses "papi" (grandpa) but she has a lot of memories with him. Now we await "mami" (grandma) to come. She will be here in a couple of months!

I have three more weeks left from this semester and then I have 3 months off!!! I cannot wait! After the break I have 8 more weeks of school before I graduate! How exciting! :) Not sure what I will do once I am done, but I will definitely not be bored. Amy makes sure of that. :)

God bless! 

Grandpa Is Here!

Hi,

at the airport

I finished another two classes at Baptist Bible College (American Literature and History). So I have 5 more to go before I graduate. I am currently taking two classes, so after these I will only have 3 left (I like the sound of that). My graduation date depends on when they offer those three classes, so I am still not sure when that will be.

Dad arrived exactly 2 weeks ago and since then I spent more time outside the house than I usually do in months! He was even able to play GO with a Rose-Hulman University student. 

Grandpa and Amy

The weather is pretty cold (around 32-37) so we were only able to go to the playground with Amy three times so far, but she enjoys it so much. Yesterday we went to the Holocaust Museum in town. We also went shopping several times (to different stores). We are planning on going to Indy tomorrow to do a little sightseeing. Hope the weather will be a little nicer.

At Nursery with other kids

Amy enjoys being with Grandpa. They are so cute when they play together. I made tons of pictures and videos. When Amy wakes up she says "papa?" (Grandpa) and I have to reassure her that yes, he is still here. : ) I am not sure 

what will happen when dad flies back... We will see. 

Dad has been cooking and baking as well. He takes care of the kitchen completely! This gives me more time to spend on school or Amy. As much as I love cooking, it is nice to "take a break." 

Dad made us lunch

Yummys

God bless!

Amy Turned 2!

Hi there,

One reason I like to keep a journal is so that I can make sure that I don't leave anything important out of these blog posts. Although we talk with my parents regularly, we unfortunately cannot talk with all of our friends and family on a weekly/biweekly bases, so many of them only know what is going on with us through this blog.

Word of Life Hungary had its annual Mission Conference last month and Chris made a video for it. If you want to watch the whole conference you can do so online. Click here to see the first meeting, which starts with Chris' video. I recommend you watch the whole conference and praise the Lord with us!

Chris' grandma passed away last month. While it is never easy to lose a family member, we are very thankful for the time we had with her. Amy was always excited to see her, we could tell she loves her. And of course great grandma felt the same way about Amy. We have several precious pictures of the two of them.

at the basketball game
(with Aunt Becky)

Amy and I attended our very first American basketball game. We went out to celebrate Karen's birthday by watching the Sycamores win! We had a fun night. A week later we celebrated Amy's birthday (a little early so Dave could be there before he left for the Philippines to teach). It was Amy's first time eating a cake (I don't give her any cookies, cakes, or candies yet). Well, she ate the icing and left the cake. I don't blame her! : )

Chris and I try to be involved with our church. We love Sunday School and getting to know the people there. We also enjoy serving in the Nursery and I even started teaching Jr. church (which I do only once in 2 months or so). Other than these "Sunday activities" I attend the College Bible study (weekly) and the Women's Bible study (monthly) as well as the College Dinner (biweekly). I am very glad I can be part of these ministries and learn more about God. Unfortunately these are at night, so Amy and Chris are asleep (or at least in bed) by the time I leave. 

Next time I write, I will tell you how my dad's flight went and all the fun we had since he came. Yup, he is coming in less than 3 weeks! We are very excited to have him with us. I am sure he is, too! Please pray for his trip!

God bless!

Happy New Year!

Good morning, afternoon, or evening (depending on when you read this),

We had a very good month! We spent Christmas at Chris' parents' house. It was so nice to fellowship with each other (and I don't only mean eat), spend time with each other, and see Amy get so excited as she was opening her presents. She was even nice enough to help all of us open our presents. : )

after

before

I attend a monthly women's Bible Study and a weekly Bible Study for college students at church. I love to go to these meetings and learn more about God, each other, and myself. It is amazing how many times we can read any book of the Bible and still learn a lot of new things from it. We are in Ester right now, and there were a lot of details I never paid enough attention to before. Whether Ester was a believer or not, I can learn a lot from her character.

We got Amy a Sesame Street toy organizer and a Sesame Street chair&desk (early birthday present). I put them together myself (from 11 pm to 1 am), so it was done by the time Amy got up. We also got her a Princess tent. (BTW the chair&desk had several pieces and needed over 20 screws, so I felt good about being able to put it together with very minimal instructions.) Amy loves them so much! She spends the majority of her days (since she got the chair&desk) coloring books.

Chris is busy working on the Missions Conference video for Word of Life Hungary. Their theme is "Across the Street or Around the World." You can click here to find more information on the conference and on the bottom of the page you will find an option to watch the conference online (the conference starts this Friday). They will show the video Chris made on Friday. BTW WOL has a Missions Conference every year in January and it is always a blessed event. Please pray for the people attending, and for the faith promise.

Many of our friends and family have their birthdays in January, so Happy Birthday to all of you who have your birthday this month!

God bless!

The Jameses

Have a Very Merry Christmas!

Hi there,

12/12/12 12:12:12

Yesterday my dad surprised me with the greatest gift, he bought tickets to visit us! He is coming for a month in March. My mom will come in July (also for a month). Unfortunately because of their work schedule, they cannot come at the same time. But I am sure we will have a lot of fun with both of them. Most importantly Amy will be able to see them and play with them. Although she does see them through skype, it is not the same. So we are very happy they can come. Hopefully we will be able to go visit our friends and family in Hungary in 2014. We will see. 

We also had the opportunity to redo our bathroom floor. A lady from church was kind enough to offer her help, so Dave (Chris' dad), Chris, and Elaine (the lady from church) redid the whole bathroom floor in only 3 days! I wish I took pictures of the whole process (at one point we could clearly see our basement from our bathroom through a huge hole), but I only have pictures of the almost finished and finished floor. Oh well... : ) It looks very nice now! Also, Dave got us a brand new vanity! 

End result

Amy and I were invited to a play date. We had 6 moms and 5 girls. It was a lot of fun! The moms also exchanged cookies. I came home with tons of yummy cookies. I really like spending time with church people outside of church. We are very blessed to be part of this church. The more we get to know the people there, the more we see how much they love the Lord. 

I am done with school for this year! Yay! Although my break is not going to be long (next semester starts on January 7), I will most definitely enjoy every day of it! : ) I have 7 more classes and I am done for good. I love BBC, but I cannot wait to be done. 

Chris has 9 days off now. Although he was busy redoing the bathroom floor this past 3 days, it is nice to have him home, and to be able to wake up next to him. I wish he had more vacation, but we are very thankful for his job and that he can be home around noon after work.  

I love the Christmas season. For us, Christmas is not about the tree, decoration, or even the presents. Although these are great things, and being together with our family and friends is very important, Christmas reminds us of the hope we have in Christ. Jesus Christ came to earth, died for our sins, and rose from the dead. He offers us eternal life, all we have to do is accept it. I was 15 when I first heard this good news, also knows as the Gospel, and I accepted it. It was the best decision I have ever made. Even more important than saying yes to Chris. I encourage you to talk to someone who is a Christian--if you are not--and ask him why he believes in God, and if you are, I encourage you to share with others the hope you have in Christ.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Giving Thanks

Hi there,

Today is Thanksgiving, and although we are always thankful for what God has blessed us with, it is a good day to share it with you all! God has never stopped providing for us. We don't only have what we need, we have so much more than that!

First of all, we are thankful that we can be His children. We don't want to imagine what our lives would be without Him. The more I learn about God, the more I am in awe of Him. We have the privilege and honor to serve the Almighty God! 

I am thankful that we are free to read the Bible, go to church, and practice our faith. I realize that it is a blessing by itself!

We are also thankful to be married to each other. After two and a half years Chris still says "Thank you for marrying me" everyday. We are very grateful that we can share our lives with each other and spend the rest of our lives together. It is an adventure and an exciting one of those! 

Amy is going to turn 2 in a couple of months. We are very thankful for her. She truly is a blessing from God and a joy to be around. She is very active (and that is an understatement), talkative, and smart. I have no idea how she has so much energy, though she sure eats good. : ) She is our little sunshine.

We are also thankful for our amazing families and awesome friends. We thank you for your love, care, and support! We know that we would not be here today without you. God blessed us with truly great people, and we are thankful for all of them!

A huge praise we have is our new church family. Words cannot describe how blessed we are to be part of Cornerstone Bible Church. The families at church have helped us in so many ways and cared for us. This church family is a great representation of Jesus' body. The best thing about it is that this is natural to them. They do not boast in their own achievements but do everything to the glory of God. We are honored to know them!

Audrey (Amy's friend from church)
and Amy

In 2010 we got married, in 2011 we had Amy and moved to the States, in 2012 we bought a house, bought a car, and I started to finish my degree. It is not hard to remember all these things and to be thankful for them. Although not every blessing might be as obvious as these, we should not forget that God is blessing us daily! It is so easy to take things for granted (such as our health, the fact that we have a place to call home, friends, food on the table, etc.). Be thankful for the everyday things!

We are thankful for you! It is so good to know that our friends from all over the world are able to "see" what's going on in our lives. Thank you!

Have a blessed thanksgiving!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

Rebeka Has Arrived!

Hi there,

Rebeka Szanyi

I guess I should start with the biggest news of all, my friend, Regina (who took me to Word of Life where I got saved) gave birth to her first child on October 23rd. Both she and her daughter (Rebeka) are doing very well. I cannot wait to see them! Meanwhile, the facebook pictures of her will have to do.

WTHI moved into the new building so everyone is very happy there. : ) I heard a lot of compliments on the new HD system and its quality. Last Friday we went to pick Chris up from work and he told me to go in and look around but Amy just fell asleep in the car so I didn't want to wake her up. Maybe next time! In any case, it looks very nice from the outside! : )

Amy started to talk. What this means is that she would "talk" and say one or two real words in her sentences. Something like "habalu milk flo no no daba cereal." It is the cutest thing! I am convinced she knows what she is saying because she can repeat what she said if I ask her to. Also, she can say (in Hungarian) and point to 13 body parts already (hair, eye, nose, ear, mouth, neck, shoulder, chest, tummy, bellybutton, hand, leg, knee). She repeats after us every word we teach her, even if she doesn't know what it means. She understands most of our instructions and is very obedient. We are truly blessed to have her! She knows a lot of words and finally tries to put them together! I cannot wait for her to start to talk in sentences!

Totally unrelated, her wall is almost done (see picture). 

I finished another 2 classes and started my last Session this year. I have 4 more weeks to go and will be done for 2012. After this year I will have 7 more classes before I can graduate. This year I had 10 classes (30 credits). As much as I love BBC (Baptist Bible College), I cannot wait to graduate. : ) I think Amy feels the same way. : )

We had the opportunity to have a free photo shooting session at Sears. We don't have the pictures yet, but they turned out pretty good!

Thank you for reading our update! God bless!

We Are Never Bored

Hi there,

We had a good month! I keep a journal since Chris asked me to marry him (September 20, 2009). Everyday I write in it. Well, I actually skipped a year (exactly 365 days) when I was pregnant with Amy and a few months after she was born, but in any case, I have a journal of 2+ years. That's over 730 days. It is so good to go back and see how my life changed to "our life." God has blessed us tremendously. We have a daughter (who is turning two in a few months), awesome families, great friends, a beautiful house, a car, Chris has a job, and I can do school. And most importantly, we have a loving Father who has never let us down. I think we are doing pretty good! : ) I couldn't ask for more (other than a dozen more kids of course...)!

BBC (Baptist Bible College) keeps me busy. I love this school and I have learned so much through my classes. I love to be able to discuss different subjects with my classmates. I made a friend, Heather, who is an incredible young lady. I am very thankful for her. It is neat how others can encourage me and I can encourage them even though we live so far away. I enjoy online school so far and I am already half-way through!

The more I study the Bible, the more I see how awesome God is. He never stops to amaze me. We server a mighty God!

Chris and I love our new church. We've only been there for a couple of months now, but it feels like family already. We had the privilege to have lunch with a couple of families and Amy and I were invited to a play-date, too! God truly blessed us with this church family!

A month ago I started to attend a weekly College Bible Study a church member of ours holds. I love it! We studied Philemon and Ruth so far. Wow! I don't know how many times I read those books already, but there's always something new or a very needed reminder. Ruth was known in the city as the woman of excellence (Ruth 3:11). There is a lot I can learn from her. : )

WTHI (the TV station where Chris works at) will move into their new building this weekend. Everyone is very excited! Chris said that the building is beautiful inside (I can tell it is beautiful from the outside, too)! Recently he told me how happy he is that he works from 3 am to noon because he can have lunch with us everyday and see Amy for many hours before she needs to go to sleep. Since Amy's bedtime is at 7, he would only see her for an hour or less if he had the "normal hours." So we are very thankful to God for his hours as well.

We go visit Karen and Dave every other week, and Karen comes to see us sometimes during the week, too. A few weeks ago Dave took all three of us boating. It was Amy's first time and she loved it. So did we! The lake was gorgeous, the weather was awesome and we had a good time! I am so thankful for my in-laws and my sister! I am also very thankful for my family back in Hungary. I am able to talk with my parents a couple of times every week.

Click on it if you want to see it in big

I redecorated Amy's wall. Since Amy is a big Elmo fan, I thought I will do something educational and still fun for her. Well, she loves it. : )

Well, a lot more happened this month, but I am sure this war more than enough to read. : ) Thank you for reading our posts. We really appreciate each one of you!

God bless!

James family