Along for the Ride

Yard Sale Experience

2011-06-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

We had our mission trip yard sale this morning. We had quite a bit of baby items that we were trying to sell. About halfway through the morning a man walked up and was asking about all of the things on the baby table. He said he was going to be a dad soon and didn't know what the baby would need.

So we talked about what a newborn needs vs. an older baby. Part of the way through the conversation I asked him if his wife would be nursing because I had a pump for sale too. He said she wouldn't be able to nurse (which is a strange thing to say because most women are "able"). Later in the conversation he explained that his girlfriend was in prison and she would have the baby there and then he would raise him.

Wow. I was not expecting that. I was already helping him pick stuff out that was essential but after hearing about his situation I started really explaining what a newborn needs in detail as well as asking him if he had other items already.

As he was about to leave I asked if we could pray for him. He looked surprised but agreed. He said "I like praying" : ) So Nick and I prayed with him before he left. I can't imagine what he will experience as a new dad on his own and I have no idea how his girlfriend will feel when she will no longer be able to be with her child but I do know the God that created that life and I can rest assured that He will take care of their needs. I will continue to pray for Clint, Erin and baby Wesley.

2011-01-05T15:07:00.000-08:00

It's been so long since I put any pictures on here...or anything else for that matter. I can't imagine why...maybe because I have 3 kids and no time? :) So here are some pictures from Christmas.

Baby Caleb!

2010-09-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

Caleb arrived at 1:01 pm on Tuesday this week. He is the sweetest little thing! He was the smallest of our three at 7 pounds and 5 ounces. While we were in the hospital he got down to 6 pounds 12 ounces so he was so teeny and cute! He is a great eater so he will soon be a big boy.

He is so mellow and calm. He sleeps really well right now and wakes up every 3 hours or so to eat and then goes right back to sleep. I have been praying for an angel baby and I think I have one!

Nick wasn't able to stay at the hospital at night because hospital beds aren't too good for backs and his just went out last week : ( But he was able to come up and see Caleb during the day and take care of Lucy and Mark at night. So glad I have a great husband!

My sister came on Monday and stayed in the hospital with me since Nick wasn't able and that was a great blessing. She got up and handed Caleb to me whenever he cried and changed diapers and all that fun stuff.

So you probably just want to see pictures so here they are! There are pictures from right before as well.

Mark and baby Caleb

Lucy and baby Caleb

Mark being so adorable!

One last family pic before the C Section.

I was so nervous...

But here he is!!

My sister and Caleb holding his head up.

Lucy is so proud!

Lu's New Glasses!

2010-07-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

Nick's Genetics

2010-07-14T06:44:00.000-07:00

Both of our children look a lot like Nick which is fine cuz they are so darn cute! Obviously Nick has some dominant genes and we notice it most in the looks. We'll see if this next one follows the crowd!

For Lucy looks aren't the only thing she has inherited from Nick. We have always had to tell her to pay attention when she's walking because she always bumps into things (Nick no longer bumps into things but he did when he was a kid!! ).

The other night on our walk she was holding her baby doll and looking around and walked into a parked car (apparently Nick did the same thing!!) I thought that maybe it was because she wasn't looking where she was going.

A few weeks ago we both started to notice that one of her eyes was turning in and the other wasn't. Nick had this problem when he was little and had to wear a patch. So we decided to take her to the eye doctor. Nick and I both wear glasses but we were hoping that maybe she was just tired when her eye turned in and that she wouldn't need them.

She sat on Nick's lap while the doctor checked her eyes. He told us that both her eyes needed help. She is pretty farsighted in both eyes (which explains why she walks into parked cars!) and has a lazy eye. We have to take her back in a few months and if the lazy eye hasn't gotten better due to wearing glasses then she may have to wear a patch.

I'm nearsighted so obviously this is Nick's genetics!! Haha! She looks really cute in all the glasses we have put on her. We will go today to get her glasses and she should be wearing them all day long starting tomorrow. I'll take pictures and post them later!

Mark is ONE!!

2010-07-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Mark is already a year old! He is a booty scooter like Lucy was but he is starting to crawl as well as furniture walk. He hates shoes and has fat feet. He's really cute!

He's also much more serious than Lucy was. She would smile all the time and it takes a lot of work to get Mark to smile. He looks at people like he's sizing them up and only after he decides you're an okay person will he smile...maybe!

He is a talker more than a mover. He says a lot of words that we understand but probably no one else does. He eats more than Lucy and loves food! His weight (23 pounds) is in the 50th percentile and his height (31 inches) is in the 80th percentile.

He loves music and will dance to just about any beat. He loves when Nick plays the guitar and gets upset when Nick puts the guitar away.

So that's a little bit about Mark right now.

We celebrated his birthday in Abilene with family and friends and had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures...mostly of him and cake!

He didn't particularly like the hat!

Wasn't too sure about the cake and the candle either...

Hmmm, maybe this isn't so bad!

Yup, this stuff is good!

Wait, my hands are getting dirty...

Can someone please come wash off my hand?!!

Nevermind! I'll do it myself!

This was fun!!

And here are some pictures of Mark and Lucy looking cute in sunglasses...

Lucy and Nick have started to draw together. Nick will draw something and then Lucy will add to the picture and they go back and forth. In this picture Lucy wanted to draw Nick and herself which I thought was cute. Some of the other parts of the picture that Lucy did include an airplane and water (next to the plane). I thought this picture was really cute :)

And the last picture is of Lucy in her new robe. She stopped using her thumb at bedtime and one of her motivations for stopping was that she would get a bathrobe of her choosing. She really wanted the robe and would look for it everyday in the mail. It just arrived last night. She was SO excited! We are pretty excited that she no longer needs her thumb...although she still wants to use it since Mark is a thumbsucker!

Isn't she cute?!! Well, that's all for now.

Pictures!

2010-06-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

At IHOP with cousins!

Sweet Lucy and me.

Mark eating pasta for the first time. He loved it!

Here are some pictures of Lucy and Mark with their cousins Gwyn and Cassie. Gwyn stayed with us for a night and we went to the zoo, went on a train ride and went swimming in Nonni and Poppy's pool all in one day! Whew! Fun times!!

Pu Pu!

2010-06-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

Last night Nick and I went out and had a friend watch the kids. Our friend, Shiomi, is from Japan and the kids love her!

We always knew that in Japanese there were different sounds for animals, etc. Apparently Lucy doesn't know that. Last night Shiomi picked up the hula hoop and was pretending like it was a steering wheel and said "Pu pu" instead of "Beep beep". Lucy took the hula hoop and then looked at Shiomi and said "Pee pee!"

Shiomi said she didn't get it at first and then realized that Lucy thought she was saying "poo poo"!! Lucy thought she was talking about the potty!! Shiomi kept apologizing but Nick and I thought it was pretty funny!

Randomness!

2010-06-12T17:48:00.000-07:00

It's so strange to me that I was pregnant this time last year as well. I can't believe that Mark is almost a year old and that I'm three months away from having our third child! I'm not sure I'm ready for that!

Lucy is excited to have another baby around. She's a great big sister and such a joy. She has named this baby Jericho! That is not this baby's actual name but until we decide on a name he is called "Baby Jericho"!

She loves to sing along with our praise and worship songs and recently we heard her singing the song "Days of Elijah". Her words are a little mixed up though...

The words to the real song are "Behold He comes, riding on the clouds, shining like the sun. At the trumpet call lift your voice. It's the year of jubilee and out of Zion's hill salvation comes!"

Lucy's version is just a little different! Hers goes something like this...

"Holy Lord. Riding on the cross. Octopuu--uus. Lift my Lord. A year of what of me. Saa-aaa--aalvaa--aa--ation!!"

Like I said...just a little different!! It's funny that those words are the ones she actually hears. When we try to correct her she asks to sing by herself and continues to sing her own lyrics! She has done this with several other songs as well and it's pretty funny. Oh well!

Mark got his first real haircut yesterday. He's had a couple of trims on the sides but this time his hair was cut all over! He looks like a little boy now instead of a baby. It made me sad at first but then I thought...I'll have another baby in about three months so no need to be sad! Baby stages are not over for us for a while! I'll post pictures later!

Mark and Lucy

2010-04-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Mark's helmet and Lucy just being beautiful!

Pictures!!

2010-04-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since we posted some pictures. The kids have grown so much. I will be taking pictures of Mark in his helmet and posting those soon : )

Lu is very creative like her Papa. She was concentrating so hard!!

My dad came to visit and both kids loved hanging out with him!

When I was in the hospital I was put in the "bariatric room". Apparently that means if you weigh over a certain amount you go to this room...gee thanks! But really, the nurse told me that I shouldn't use this toilet because she thought I would fall in!! Pretty funny!

If you don't have Facebook...

2010-04-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

This update is for the people who don't have facebook! It's kind of strange putting the same info here and on facebook but I have been told that my blog needs to be updated too!

So...a lot has happened since I last updated. I went to the ER about 4 weeks ago because of pain on my lower right side. They said it wasn't appendicitis or an ectopic pregnancy but just scar tissue. Two weeks later I couldn't walk because I was in so much pain. I kept telling myself it was just scar tissue.

So I went in for my regular checkup at 14 weeks pregnant. My doctor sent my to the hospital to see a surgeon and a couple of hours later I was scheduled for surgery! The doctor took out my appendix and I was in the hospital for a couple of days.

I went to my in-laws for a week and they took care of the kids because I'm not allowed to lift more than 20 pounds and Mark weighs more than that : ( When I went back to the surgeon she said that my appendicitis was the earliest case she's ever seen! I'm just glad they caught it this early in the pregnancy.

We were still able to go home for Easter and got to see family. While we were there Lucy was given a necklace, bracelet and ring. We told her not to leave the jewelry on the floor so Mark wouldn't choke. Somehow the ring ended up on the floor right next to Mark...hmmm.

He, of course, decided he wanted to eat the ring. I didn't even know he was choking! I thought he was just spitting up until the ring flew out of his mouth! Ahhh! I'm just praying Lucy doesn't leave any more presents for him to choke on!

I will be posting pictures of Mark in his helmet soon. Nick did an awesome job decorating it like a globe. He looks so cute!!

.

Choking Experience

2010-03-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

Lucy likes to play with rocks. She sometimes brings them inside the house. One day I told her she could have her rock as long as she didn't let it near Mark. She is normally really good about that.

Yesterday I cleaned up the living room really well so I knew that there weren't any small items on the floor. I set Mark down to play while we got ready for dinner. Lucy played with Mark until I called her to the table.

About five minutes into dinner we heard Mark spluttering and gasping. Pretty scary thing to hear. So Nick and I rushed over to him. I picked him up, turned him somewhat upside down and started hitting his back to try to dislodge whatever it was that was blocking his airway. It wasn't working and Nick ran to call 911. At this point I was starting wonder if the ambulance would get here in time.

As he continued to choke I tried to look in his mouth to find out what it was he had in there. I couldn't tell but I could see that it was bigger than his throat. So I went ahead and put my finger around the object and was able to pull it out. Nick hadn't dialed 911 yet so he set his phone down and checked on Mark.

Mark was no longer purple and looked happy to be breathing. Immediately he smiled at us! We let out a sigh of relief...then Nick turned to Lucy (who appeared clueless during this entire event) and he showed her the rock. She got a good scolding but still didn't quite understand!

Apparently she was playing with the rock next to Mark while she waited for dinner and just set it down next to him when I called her to the table. Needless to say, no more rocks in the house!

Ummm...

2010-02-15T18:12:00.000-08:00

When Mark was born I had to stop eating dairy and tomatoes because it upset his stomach. I've really missed eating cheese. I know, how sad! Anyway, a few weeks ago I decided to try dairy again because Mark has been eating some baby food. I thought he would be fine now. He seems to be doing well.

So after I started eating dairy again my stomach started hurting and I felt a little queasy. I thought "Hmmm. Maybe my stomach doesn't like dairy!" So I took some pepto and felt better in the morning. Then my whole family got sick...maybe not the dairy...maybe a bug.

Maybe not. Maybe I was so totally shocked and surprised and TERRIFIED when I took a preggo test just to be 100% sure I WASN'T pregnant and saw the plus sign. These things can be wrong...right. Wrong. I am definitely pregnant. It wasn't the dairy.

So Mark and this new addition will be about 14 months apart. Like I said, surprise! Totally not planned. Please pray for us as we prepare to have 3 children. Due mid September.

Snow and other Random Things

2010-02-13T19:42:00.000-08:00

Thursday morning we were pleasantly surprised to find snow all over the place! Nick didn't have to go to work Thursday or Friday so we all got to build a snowman together. Lucy absolutely loves the snow and had a blast. Mark stayed inside and napped while we were out.

This snowman that Lu is playing near has an awesome mohawk! It's the same one that she is next to in the picture above. This is just the next day when there was a lot more snow to build with!

Someone built this huge snowbunny.

Here Lucy is looking at her snow snack before eating it!

One of the families here had a great idea and brought out their daughter's ducky bath for a sled. Lucy took a turn going down the makeshift snow hill in it!

And now...here's Mark! He is such a cutie. It takes a lot to make him smile but when he does it is really adorable!!

Bathtime with Mark!

Pictures

2010-01-28T10:28:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent pictures of Lucy and Mark!

Helmet Head

2010-01-22T13:49:00.000-08:00

I have always thought that Mark had a misshapen head! Still adorable of course, just a little off! When we took him in for his 2 month check up the doctor said that he had plagiocephaly but it would probably work itself out because he was so young. But he still preferred to sleep on his right side which made the problem worse. He also has torticollis (it's a lot better than it was but we are still working on it).

So when we got to Fort Worth the doctor here said that it was time to send him to a cranio-facial specialist. He will be going to see this doctor in February to get a helmet to help reshape his head. It's only minor so he shouldn't have to wear it long but it's better to get it done now while his head is still moldable!

Overview

2010-01-06T17:10:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I last updated here. Sorry about that! We have successfully moved and have already been back to Abilene to visit three times! Of course, the holidays came right after the move so that was expected.

We went to my dad's for Christmas and ended up spending 8 hours in the car when it should have only taken 2 hours. We left about 2 hours after my sister and dad left our place. They made it through but the blizzard (yes, Texas got snow!) hit harder while we were on our way. The poor kids! They did great but it was still the worst trip any of us have been on! We were at a standstill for about 4 hours. So that was fun!

We got to spend some time with my sister who flew in for Christmas and New Years. We had fun. Lucy and Mark kept her busy but I think she enjoyed it! Who wouldn't enjoy my kids? They're awesome! : )

My little chunk Mark is starting solid food and seems like he could take it or leave it. Lucy talks nonstop and asks questions all the time. Her favorite thing to ask people is "So, how was your day?" while she holds her hands on her hips. She is too funny.

So there you go. That's my overview. It's short but really, who wants to read a really long post about my life in the last few weeks?!! : )

Moving!

2009-12-03T05:08:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a crazy week so far! We found out last Monday that Nick got a job on campus at Southwestern. We weren't sure if we would all be moving (because of our lease on the house here) until this Monday. Our friends who own the house are awesome and let us out of the lease a month early!

So, of course, it's been one of the busiest weeks we've seen in a while. There's a lot to do and only a couple more days to do it! We are excited! Lucy is excited too but she doesn't know why!

Please pray for us this next week! On top of us moving, Nick has finals and also starts his first day of work on Monday. Also, Mark has two ear infections so he's not too happy...which makes packing really hard! Thanks!

Joys of Parenting

2009-11-21T13:27:00.000-08:00

We know that Lucy pays attention to us when we talk to her. We also realize that she listens to us even when we aren't talking with her or about her. The other night while watching a movie with her she let some of our sayings slip...

(Movie takes a little too long loading...)

Lucy: You've got to be kidding me! (Throws her hands up in the air!) What's wrong?!!
Us: (laughing) Who did you hear that from?
Lu: Does that crack you up?!!
Us: (laughing too hard to answer her...then) Yes Lu, you crack us up!

We love listening to her talk because she always says something that doesn't sound like 3 year old stuff. For instance, "That's amazing!" or "Spectacular!" or "You are doing a wonderful job Mama!"

She is such a joy! And a ham!

Down the Nile

2009-11-19T18:32:00.001-08:00

Amanda: "So Lucy - Do you remember this baby? His Mama put him in a basket and he floated down the river."

Lucy: "Oh oh oh - Yes yes yes - It's baby Doofus."

Amanda: "Right...that would be Moses."

Personality!

2009-11-08T18:20:00.000-08:00

It's amazing to see the differences between Lucy and Mark already. This weekend I thought I would be able to sleep in a little. When Lucy was a baby she would wake up in her crib and just look around and entertain herself...quietly. *sigh* I thought this was how all babies acted.

Wrong. Mark is a social guy. His personality is completely different from Lu's. He wants to be looked at and talked to. He wants to hang out with everyone and watch everything going on. He wants to be held all the time. Lu wanted to play alone on the floor. Don't get me wrong. She loved seeing us but would rather do her own thing.

On Saturday at 5:45am Mark woke up. And stayed up. And talked and talked and talked in his bed. At about 6:15, after praying that he would fall asleep again, he started to get mad that no one was coming to talk with him. I got up and he immediately started smiling and laughing.

He was so excited to have company. So, while I will definitely miss the days of sleeping in, I will enjoy my alone time at 5:45am with my cute, chubby Mark.

Big Guy

2009-11-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

Mark had his four month check up the other day. He weighed in at 17 and a half pounds and measured 27 inches long. When the doctor came in he said Mark was off the charts! Especially in his height. I knew he was big but geez! No wonder my arms and back have been hurting so much! He's such a chunk!

I find it funny that the first few weeks of his life Mark was struggling to gain weight. He has no problem now! This boy loves to eat!

Lucy got her hair cut this last weekend. She did really well. The last time we tried to cut her hair she was 15 months old and freaked out when the woman sprayed water on her hair. Needless to say, she didn't get much cut off that time! This time she got a few inches off. She still has really long hair but it looks much nicer and it doesn't get in the toilet! That's the important thing!

Random...

2009-11-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

The other day we were getting ready to take Mark to rehab for his neck (he has a short muscle on his right side) and Lucy and I had this conversation...

L: Mama, are we gonna go to diarrhea?
M: ...I'm sorry, what? Diarrhea?
L: Yes, diarrhea.
M: No, I really hope no one has diarrhea!
L: Oh, oh, oh (her way of saying - you have no clue!) I mean when we take Mark and stretch his neck.
M: You mean rehab? It's rehab, not diarrhea sweetie!
L: No Mama, it's diarrhea.

Lovely, so when we go to rehab she tells people we are at diarrhea! Oh well!

So here are some pictures from the last week or so. Mark is getting really big and Lu is pretty much the same so seeing them together is funny. Mark looks humongous especially right next to Lucy.

Lucy playing the guitar.

And Mark with Lu's guitar!

Lu is in ballet and is doing really well. She loves it. She looks really cute too!

Here is a video of Lu trying to get Mark to laugh. Normally he laughs just when he sees her but he was making her work for a smile this time! Then she got distracted!

Growing Up

2009-10-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how big my kids are getting. I feel like it was just yesterday that Lucy was a baby. Now Mark is my little chunk and Lucy is my big girl.

Lucy is really loving ballet. She "teaches" her imaginary friends here at home. It's really cute.

We went to the pumpkin patch last weekend. Here are some cute pictures. We wanted to get a family pic but Mark was too tired!

Lucy and her Papa.

Lucy has been learning Bible verses for awhile but she hasn't let us record her saying them. Last week a friend taught her the fruits of the Spirit with hand motions. She really enjoyed it and let us get her on film...with a little help!

Cutie Pie

2009-09-23T18:55:00.000-07:00

This last weekend our whole family was sick and so I was trying to rest. Mark started crying and I started to pray, "Please God, let him find his thumb already so I can rest!" A totally selfish prayer - I felt bad and started to get up to get Mark.

All of the sudden he stopped crying! Since it was so sudden I thought...I hope he's okay!! I was getting up to check on him right as Nick was coming into the room. He said, "Mark found his thumb!!"

YAY!! Thank you God for answering my selfish prayer!! I was thinking that maybe this was just a one time deal but he has calmed himself down all week!

Nick's parents gave us one of Nick's outfits from when he was a baby. I wasn't sure if Mark would be able to wear it because he is growing so fast and it's normally hot until October but the other day it was pretty chilly out so I put the outfit on him. Nick thought it was great and Mark looked super cute!

Lucy's Birthday!!

2009-09-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Lucy turned 3 this past Monday and we had a party for her yesterday. We were supposed to have it at the park but we have been getting a lot of rain so we decided to change it to our house. The only problem being that we did not have any games or anything prepared!

I got a few ideas for games and thought they would last a lot longer than they did! I guess I wasn't thinking of how short 3 year old attention spans are! We tried to play the games I had but they didn't go as planned...so Anissa (my new party planner for any future party I have!) came to the rescue with some really cute game ideas (on the spot!). Thanks!!

Here's a preview of the madness...

Who's hiding behind the kitty? This game was a lot of fun for the kids. They couldn't really quite figure out who it was. Here we have Mr. Mathis hiding...

Surprise!!!

Piling up on Gwyn!

This was the cutest! Sarah Mathis used her mad skilz and created this yummy cake. Thanks Sarah!!

This is where Mark sat for most of the party. He was very content and so was Grandpa!!

After the party the kids got shirts from their Pops. They look so cute!

Happy Birthday Lucy!! We love you!!!

Mark is BIG - Lucy is little!

2009-09-06T09:49:00.001-07:00

We went to the doctor the other day for Mark's 2 month check up and shots and Lu's 3 year check up. We knew that Mark was big... he weighs in at 13 lb. and 2 oz. and is 23 inches long. He's in between the 75th and 90th percentile for his age!

Here's a really good close up!! He's makes this face alot!

He is such a cuddler...very different from Lucy. She just wanted to be on her own while he never wants to feel furniture!

Here's another smile picture!!

Lucy weighs 28 lb. and is 35 in. tall. She is in the 10th percentile! Wow. I didn't think she was that small but I guess her hair makes her look taller and bigger! That means that Mark is half her size in weight!

She started ballet and looks super cute. My sister bought her a pair of shoes for her birthday and those are the only ones she wants to wear...even with her ballet outfit!

Lu started Cubbies this year at church and really loves her new vest and Cubbie book.

Lucy loves hugging and kissing Mark...

...sometimes she gets a little carried away!! He's a little squashed!!

Here's Nick and his mini-me's!!

I tried to get Lucy to be silly for the camera but she was a little distracted by Mark's crying!

And more cute pictures!!

Smile!

2009-08-23T15:04:00.000-07:00

Well, Mark has been smiling for a week or so now but we just got it on camera. He is a little chunk! He weighs around 12 pounds and loves to eat. I love that he is starting to "talk" (as Lucy says). Lucy loves being around him and is anxious to have someone to play with. Here he is smiling!

And here is Lucy all dressed up for ballet. She starts her ballet class in September and loves to wear her new ballet outfit.

This is Lu and her good friend Noelle. They are so cute!!

Poor Thing...

2009-08-14T04:42:00.000-07:00

If you are a parent you have probably experienced this situation. A couple of days ago I decided Mark needed a routine...at 6 weeks old! Yes, it needs to happen for my sanity (and Lucy's!). It may be awhile though!

I thought that it would work out great if I could schedule his naps, awake time, tummy time, etc. I chose the times that he was already kind of used to and tried to stick to it for two days. He was crying and fussy but I thought it was because of the scheduling. At the end of two days I was frustrated because he was crying a lot and would stop immediately if picked up. What a spoiled child! He was fine once he was being held. Still a little fussy but no real tears. So I let him cry a little and then pick him up and repeat!

Yesterday morning I decided to call the doctor because his appetite was decreasing and he was sneezing a little. I went in confident that it was normal... I was wrong. The times you think all is well are normally the times you should have called the doctor sooner!!

Mark has a double ear infection and a sinus infection! I felt horrible. He was crying and fussy because he was sick. If you've had an ear infection you know it's really uncomfortable to lay down flat sometimes. That's one of the reasons he liked to be held! Poor thing!!

So I guess I can be the paranoid mom who calls the doctor for every little thing because it's better than waiting until my kids are really sick and not even realizing! Sorry doc!

Oh yeah! He weighed in at 10 pounds 14 ounces and is 23 inches long. The doctor said that he's gained 32 ounces in 16 days and said "That's impressive!". That means he's gaining an average of 2 ounces a day! He's a little chunk!

New Pictures

2009-08-09T19:55:00.001-07:00

Wow! I am still in the black hole! It's been awhile. Mark came home and I don't even know what happened in the last month! It's flown by. He lost 9 and a half ounces the first week and so we were trying to get him to eat every two hours...so not much sleep was happening! Thus, the memory loss! No worries though. He gained a pound in a week so he's good to go now!!

So here are some more pictures of Mark. My sister came into town for a couple of weeks and we had a lot of fun just sitting around (because I couldn't really go anywhere!). While she was here she and Nick took a lot of pictures. I will explain some of the crazy ones!

Here is my sister with Mark. She did lunges whenever he cried and he would fall right to sleep. So in the middle of the night when he cried I tried to do lunges...didn't have the same effect!

Me and my two kids! Crazy!!

Our first family picture with all of us.

Okay, so this next one needs some explaining. One of my brothers is in prison and whenever he gets his picture taken with his friends he poses like this (where one person holds the other persons hand and they look really tough...cuz they are!). So here we are with his girlfriend who came to visit. We wanted to send him a picture that he would really love. This is me, my sister (Melissa), my brother (Tom) and my brother's (Matt's) girlfriend. Fun times at the Olive Garden. They thought we were crazy...maybe we are!

My sister and I normally take pictures together whenever she comes home. We always have some fun pose and here it is for this visit!

Well, maybe more than one silly pose! Nick wanted to take my picture by myself and Melissa decided it would look better with her in it. I LOVE this picture. Every time I see it I laugh until I cry!

Hope you all enjoy the pictures! I'll try to update more frequently!!

Photo Update!

2009-07-06T18:24:00.000-07:00

Well after that first post we got a couple of...how shall I say "unsatisfied" messages asking for more photos. You know who you are! :)

Well as we say - Good things come to those who wait! The photos will go on this blog and ( in an attempt to boost readership ) I'll post the story on the other blog Uncharted Territory. Shameless right?

Most of these you'll notice he's laying down or sleeping - he's still pretty lazy! :)

And we promise these aren't reused photos of Lucy!!!

Baby Mark!

2009-07-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

Baby Mark has arrived!!! Born July 3rd at 3:45pm.

8lbs 8oz and 24 inches long!

Amanda & Mark are both doing great and recovering nicely.

We'll post more photos really soon!

Thanks for your prayers!

Uncharted Territory

2009-07-01T18:12:00.000-07:00

Well I know it's been a while since I ( Nick ) wrote anything on this blog, but I want to leave a short message to tell anyone interested, about my new blog. Some good friends of ours have "his" and "her" blogs and so we thought we'd give it a try!

My new blog is called "Uncharted Territory" so please check it out and let me know you visited! I'll try to be good about putting posts and stuff on there so make sure to leave some feedback.

Thanks! And now back to our regularly scheduled blog updates!

Estimated Time of Arrival

2009-06-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

It's crazy but Mark will be here soon! My doctor said he will induce on Thursday of next week if I don't have Mark before then. This pregnancy has been so different from my pregnancy with Lucy. I was so ready to have her with me.

Right now I am feeling so rushed to get things ready. I guess since I have Lucy to keep me busy I lost track of time. When the doctor said he would induce next week I thought surely that was way early!! Nope, I just don't feel ready. Oh well. God will take care of it all.

My last week with just Lucy has me down too. I can't believe it won't just be us anymore. I know that Mark will be a great blessing. Many moms have told me that when I see him and hold him my heart will just double in size. My love for my kids will just grow. So I am praying that I don't favor Lucy over Mark!! How can any other child be as good as her?!! With God, all things are possible...which means I will just have another awesome kid!!

Pregnancy Brain

2009-06-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

The other night I was talking with Nick near my bedside table. I realized that I didn't have my glasses on and was a little confused. I couldn't remember taking them off. I said out loud, "Where are my glasses and why did I take them off?!" Nick just stared at me, half laughing, and then said, "Are you serious?!" Then I was really confused. Why would he say that!? Then he proceeded to tell me that I had just taken them off about two seconds before and set them down on my table. I didn't remember taking them off or why I would take them off.

Seriously, it's the pregnancy! I even forgot that I had an appointment the other day and was reminded by Nick. Normally I remember things like that. Oh well. Only two and half more weeks until Mark is due. Maybe he'll come early and with him, my memory!

Recently Lucy has been wanting to be more and more "like a big girl". Apparently, part of that is being just like her mama and papa. Nick put on his running shorts the other night and she asked him why. He told her he was hot and she replied that she was also hot...and where were her running shorts?!! Nick let her know that we would have to go out sometime and get her some of her own.

Tonight we went to the store and she was so excited to pick out some shorts that look just like Nick's. She didn't want girly shorts! No pink. Papa's shorts are dark and so that's what she wanted! She is so funny. Here they are. She insisted on wearing them to bed and I have a feeling these shorts aren't going to come off easily!!

Memories from Japan

2009-05-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

We have been reminded of Japan a lot lately...mainly because Lucy has a phenomenal memory! She has been relating almost everything back to something that happened in Japan, or 'Apan, as she calls it!

We went to visit family this past weekend and spent one morning at the Japanese Gardens. When pulling into the gardens Lucy saw the architecture of the buildings and exclaimed, "I lived here!" We had fun walking through the gardens and talking about our experiences while over there.

The girls had a lot of fun playing around! It's hard to get a good picture with all three looking at the camera!!

Uncle Hugie helping the girls feed the carp.

We don't get our picture taken often and since I'm a little larger now I try to stay away from the camera! But here's a pretty good picture of us.

Lucy talks about Japan a lot! The other day it rained here and as we were driving she started telling me about her school. I thought she was talking about church here because sometimes that's what she calls it. I soon realized she was talking about school in Japan. She recalled riding our bike in the rain. She said, "Mama, this is like 'Apan! With bicycles and boots and my bumbrella. And Lucy was in the carseat on the bicycle and Mama rode like this...LOOK Mama!" Here she wanted me to see she had her hands up like she was holding handlebars. Then "And my hat (her helmet) and rain and my hello kitty cat coat and SCHOOL!!!" I was really surprised that she remembered all of that. She went into more detail too. Here are some pictures from Japan and her rain gear.

I'm glad that Lucy has good memories over there. I find that I think of the negative too much! It wasn't all culture shock over there...that's just what happens to come to mind. Lucy reminds us that there were good times too. There are nights when she just starts talking about things we did while there, like going for rides on our bikes and walking to the train station. She talks about specific train rides when she saw certain things. When I think of riding my bike in the rain to get Lu to school I think...UGH! I got wet and I was tired, etc but Lucy was thinking...this is awesome!

Anyhow, I'm glad I have a child who sees the positive things. I hope to pick up on that habit!

Easter Fun!

2009-04-13T09:50:00.001-07:00

Lucy was involved in a few egg hunts this year and she had a lot of fun! The first hunt was at a park where there were swings and slides and all sorts of distracting things...needless to say, she found three eggs and called it quits. She wanted to play instead. That was fine with me but I knew once she realized the eggs held candy she would want more. So she picked up a couple more and then went to play. She saw other kids opening eggs and eating chocolate and it dawned on her that playing could have waited! Oh well!

Here she is playing on the swings with that strange half smile!!

The second hunt was a little more serious for her (because she knew there was candy involved). We had all our nieces over for an egg hunt in our backyard. They colored eggs and played before they went out to find the eggs. Lucy was running for the eggs this time! They had a lot of fun as you can see in the pictures below. Nick read the Easter story to the girls after the hunt and they all laid down the same way! They were so cute!

Here's Cassie coloring an egg.

Gwyn
Nick having fun helping out!
Ashley and Madyson
Lucy is wondering when she can take the egg out.
Madyson
Lucy playing with her smallest of cousins, Lylli.
Gwyn finding an egg.

Isn't she cute?!!

They are all looking at the camera...or at least in that direction!! Amazing!
Lylli is so adorable!!

Tom and Ashley with their kiddos.
Lylli hung out here while Uncle Nick read the Easter story.The girls.

She had another egg hunt but I thought we had plenty of pictures by this point! But we did get pictures of her in her ballerina outfit. She loves this skirt and will take off her pants and put it on instead. She then wants to lead people around by the hand...don't understand that part but she is still so cute.

Lu is leading Mady around...

Seriously, when we found out we were having a girl I didn't realize what that entailed...apparently it means a lot of pink and ballerina stuff!! She is SO cute if I do say so myself!

Obsessed!

2009-04-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

The other day we were driving to Ft. Worth and were bored. So we started to play I Spy. Lucy is not really familiar with this game but we decided she should have a turn. I asked her to pick a color she saw and we would guess the object she was looking at. She immediately said PINK! Okay, so we start listing things in the car that are pink (and there weren't too many). Here's the conversation:

Us: Is it your backpack?
Lu: Nooooo!
Us: Is it your toy spoons?
Lu:Noooooo! (She laughs...)
Us: Is it your bunny?
Lu: Noooo!! (Begins to laugh more!)
Us: Lucy - There isn't anything else in here that's pink...is there? (We are now wondering why she is giggling so much) What is it that's pink?
Lu: My BOOTY!! (And she laughs for the next 10 minutes as she says over and over - the trees are tooting...the trees have booties!)

Wow...that's...interesting. What do you do with this?!!! She is really obsessed with her booty right now so if she walks up to you and talks to you about yours, sorry!

It's been awhile...

2009-04-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

A lot has been going on so sorry that we haven't posted in so long. Lucy is getting so big and speaking so well! She loves to sing and dance. There are many times when we walk past her room and she is singing to herself. She makes up words to tunes she knows! She loves to sing "Jesus loves me...slith sly snow!" and also "Do Re Mi" tunes which can be any song from The Sound of Music! She is also loving her apron that her Nonni made her as you can see. Here are some pictures to show you how big she is!

Too cute!!

This is her half smile...

Here she is eating some chocolate snack...she is so messy!

She and Nick were cooking pasta!

She is so cute and knows it!

Ever since coming back from Japan she loves to wear hats, even in the house! She wouldn't take it off and decided she wanted a picture of it!
And here she is singing "Jesus loves me" with a little help from Mama and Papa!

So that's all about Lucy. As far as Nick and I go, things are pretty much the same. We're the boring part of our family!! Lucy is the cute one so we'll focus on her!

I guess I should let you all know that our little boy - Mark (after my dad) - will be arriving on July 7 by C Section (if all goes as planned)! He is moving a lot and feels really big (or maybe that's just me that feels really big!). Lucy loves to kiss my belly and talks about hearing his heart! She got to see the sonogram and hear the heartbeat. She has no idea what this all really means!! She loves baby Mark as she calls him but I think she loves our attention more! We are praying for a smooth transition!

Thank you God for my Feet

2009-03-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

One of the things we have struggled most with as a family has been having a family devotional time. We have always prayed with Lucy at night but we rarely read the bible together, sang together or shared prayer concerns together.

We have come to see the importance of these aspects of our family and have taken steps to correct this problem.

Anyone who has children knows how they are prone to say the funniest things. It's often difficult to keep a straight face when Lucy says very confidently that she wants to thank God for "her feet." My first thought is to laugh at the silliness of her thankful attitude but I am quickly humbled by the fact that far too often I overlook giving thanks to the Lord for the "simple" things in life.

Does it really take a miracle to make me thankful? No - but I should be grateful for the fact that I can walk from one room to the next. I should give thanks for being able to breath and think and function at a...well...semi normal level.

I am reminded of when Jesus says that unless we become like little children we will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. So often we try to make ourselves big - when we're supposed to be small.

Tonight Amanda and Lucy were looking through her alphabet cards and naming off the pictures depicted on each card. The image on the letter "K" card is a king. Amanda and I were so happy when Lucy looked at the card and said, "That's God." We laughed and said "It's a king." to which Lucy replied, "Yes...It's God." Pretty cool.

Lu's Gratitude List:

Monkeys
Her Feet
Her Kitchen
Blankie
"This Picture"..."This chair"...etc...
"My Foof" ( food )

The New Baby

2009-03-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

This pregnancy has been so different from the one with Lucy. There have been lengths of time when we don't really think much about what's going on in the oven because of all the time and attention life demands.

Then we come to times like today.

Today we had our 22 week sonogram and discovered the gender of our newest addition to the Bonacci family. We didn't have any preferences but we were of course happy to hear that the baby is healthy and coming along nicely.

We thought about trying to play some sort of game, but...well - It's late and I'm feeling lazy so we'll just tell you. We are happy to announce that we will be having the first BOY on both sides of our family! We are excited and a little nervous.

All of the clothes we have are for a little girl so that should be fun being able to pick out little suits and stuff. haha It will be a new experience all together. We are naming him after his grandfather "Mark" and so the name we are planning on right now is "Mark Edmund Bonacci."

We always try to pick names that mean something special and Mark Edmund means, Warlike and Wealthy Protector. Now if you don't mind - please start praying that we will know what to do with a boy!!!

The Mysterious Turtle: And Other Silly Faces

2009-03-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

Sometimes Lucy comes up with the craziest faces and we try to understand where they come from. This one has yet to be determined...

And now - without further ado..."The Turtle Face":

We were sitting down to breakfast one morning when Lucy looked across the table at us like this. We all started laughing and when we asked what it was she said it was her turtle face...whatever that means. Then she just proceeded to be silly for the camera!

Here she is blowing a kiss! How sweet.

Lucy is such a joy to watch! Thanks for enjoying her with us!

Good News

2009-02-24T13:34:00.001-08:00

I've been meaning to write a new post for sometime now. Topics keep piling up and yet I don't seem to get around to putting any of them on here!

God is so good.

I know that the last few posts have been a little hum-drum and things have been up and down for Amanda and I for awhile now, but God has been so good during this whole time. We have been learning so much about ourselves and our walk with the Lord.

Our first bit of news came when our crate arrived from Japan. To be honest it was quite bittersweet. I was glad to have our things but when the boxes were in the garage and the door was closing down behind me it was a somber reminder that this is where we are for a time.

We were so excited when it was time to go to the field and now we are back after so short a time. God has been revealing to us our weaknesses and faults in such a way that we are able to learn from them. I am grateful for that.

We've been going through a study at church on "Who God killed and Why." As we've been learning I am finding myself more and more grateful that God didn't vaporize me and my whole family. Instead He has been patient with us and taught us many things.

The second bit of exciting news is that I have been accepted into the Masters of Missiology program at Southwestern Theological Seminary! I am very excited about being a student again and working on preparing to go back to the field someday. The program is about two years and then, God willing, we'll be headed back to the field.

Through all this time God has provided for our family in a way that we cannot understand. I still have not been able to find work yet God has taken care of our every need. We don't really know what to expect next but we know that God has it under control.

P.S. - I know that many of you are dying to see some new photos of Lu so with that in mind I promise that we'll have some on soon! We took some of her making her "turtle face" and it's priceless! Thanks again for your encouraging words.

The Night We All Cried

2009-02-13T19:13:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those times in life when it seemed like everything was falling apart?

Wednesday night I received a call that my grandfather would likely not live through the night. As it turns out doctors get it right every so often.

I remember going to my office and closing the door and crying as I prayed to God for my grandfather's pain to be eased. I knew that his time had come and I knew he was prepared but I hated to think about him in pain.

Amanda came to check on me and we all ( Amanda, Lu and I ) huddled together on the floor thanking God for my grandfather and asking for him to be received with grace and comfort. I prayed aloud through my tears and I knew that Amanda had begun crying as well.

In all of this I can say that I am confident of my grandfather's spiritual condition. He was a believer in Jesus Christ and I trust that he is now with our Lord in Heaven. Our tears were not for him but for ourselves. We miss him. We long to see him again some day, but we are glad for him.

As I prayed I looked up at Lucy to see her trying to muster up tears. She could tell we were sad and wanted to share in our pain. Romans 12:15 says "Rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those that mourn." What an amazing example of how we should treat others!

In the end Lucy was not able to bring about tears of sadness however she did cry when she dropped her bible on her foot trying to comfort us and it really did become the night we all cried!

As difficult as it has been being back and the stresses that life keeps throwing at us, there has also been so much good. The fact that we are able to be here to support and encourage my family in this difficult time; being able to hold my grandfather's hand and pray with him days before his passing; going to his service and simply hugging my parents. All these things would have been impossible while we were away.

We have been able to heal many hurts and mend relationships since we have been back. We have seen the way God can work to bring about good even during difficult times. And for that we will always be thankful.

My grandfather is in heaven. I don't doubt it because we have a Lord who is trustworthy. I miss him, but I will see him again.

No Longer Blind

2009-01-29T19:55:00.000-08:00

How many times have I read through the actions of the disciples and echoed the words of Christ - "Are you still so dull?" It is normally in those moments that my own inadequacies are revealed as I hear the words ringing true in my own life.

So many times God has provided for my family and still I wonder how He will do it again. We've come through a difficult and trying time only to discover that God is not finished with us yet.

Before we left for Japan I would have been annoyed, or perhaps even offended, if someone told me that I was blind to the difficulties of serving on the field. I was certain that I had given it due concern and that we were as prepared as we would ever be - perhaps I was correct. I know that in this matter I would have been upset, but I can now see how true those words would have been.

God provided a clear leading to "go" and Amanda and I were faithful to obey it. The command to "stay" was decidedly less clear. The transition of coming back and getting back into life here has been a difficult one. There have been days when I felt as though my life could not go on, days when I was ashamed and days when I did not dare step outside my front door. I hated the way I felt, and if I am honest, there are days still when the sting of disappointment nags at me from somewhere inside.

As difficult as these weeks have been - there has also been joy. There have been encouraging words and stories that uplift us. Peoples prayers for us and the smiles we receive from friends. ( Dana I really appreciated your story about the eagle - you don't know how that encouraged me. ) God has shown Amanda and I so many things and has transformed our relationship with each other as well as with Him.

We have been praying about missions in the future and we feel that God still has that in mind. We are so grateful for this chance to see what our weaknesses are and have the time to work on them. We know how to fail - but that also means we know how to succeed.

I'll end with an encouraging story and a big "Thank you" to someone I don't know.

Tonight, Amanda, Lu and I went to "Lifeway" to buy some new bible studies geared toward preparing us for future missions service. I had just finished one and we have both been experiencing a hunger to know God better like we have not had in a long time. We have both really felt God leading us in this direction and so have been preparing for if and when He says "go" again. As we were looking through the studies we knew that it would be difficult to buy them, given that money is a little tight right now.

Just then the "Lifeway" clerk approached us and handed a gift card to Amanda explaining "A man just bought this and told me to give it to you as a gift from his church." Some stranger gave us this gift and left. We didn't know how much it was for but we chose a study for me, one for Amanda and one to do as a family. We went to pay for our stuff and the bill came to around 46 dollars. I handed the clerk the gift card expecting it to be about 10 dollars and she handed it back saying "Looks like you have about 4 dollars left on there." I felt like I was going to cry.

I was blown away that God had swooped in at just that moment and provided exactly what we needed to prepare ourselves for His service. What an encouragement to know that God is supporting us and that He lets us know about it! THANK YOU to the person who gave us the giftcard - God has used your obedience in a mighty way! Thank you!

Thank you all so much for your prayers. I know this has been a long message but I hope you know how much we love you guys and are grateful for your partnership.

Random Pics of Lucy

2009-01-23T18:57:00.000-08:00

Alright, it's Lucy time...so here are some pics for your enjoyment. She's really cute and knows it. She even looks in the mirror after getting ready in the morning and says, "I cute!". And if we buy her a new shirt or something she asks, "I pretty?"...of course we say yes! She is dramatic and will reenact any story she thinks is worthy of playing out again. This means that if she falls or slips and doesn't get hurt she will still tell you all about it and make it look like it was more than it was...she will even act out falling again (and may even hurt herself for real in the process!) She's funny. So here you go you Lucy fans!!

Here we are climbing the stairs to see the monkeys at the zoo.

Every morning my dad puts on his glasses and does the crossword...apparently Lucy has picked up on this habit!!

We went bowling with Nick's family on his birthday. This was the first time Lucy bowled and she had so much fun!

Here she is with her cousins.

We went to the Jump Around and Lucy freaked out. She didn't like the blown up air castles so she played in the little house instead. Of course, she needed Papa in there too!

This is her favorite spot in the mall.

Lucy loves to dance. So when we were at Nick's birthday thing with his family and the music was playing outside she just couldn't contain herself! People actually stopped to watch her dance in the parking lot! She is something else! And just think...there's another one on the way!! Can there be any other child as cute as Lucy? We'll find out in July!!

Derailed

2009-01-15T23:08:00.000-08:00

Well it's been awhile since I wrote anything on this blog. ( This is Nick writing ) Things have been pretty crazy for us here since we got back. There have been so many feelings, both good and not so good.

I don't know how many of you will recall the photo I used when we changed the name of our blog to its current moniker. I remember being at ILC training and hearing something about being "Along for the Ride". I used a photo of a roller coaster because I knew there would be ups and downs along the way. I just didn't know how big they might be...

I feel like I've been riding the Texas Giant and the bottom just dropped out. I'm free falling toward the Earth and I'm sure I'm about to die. It feels like my heart is being sucked out through my eyeballs and my stomach is crashing somewhere between my feet.

The car has certainly slipped the track and I'm going to die.

But...it hasn't. I haven't died. That's not to say that I still don't feel like my innards are all askew but somehow I am still breathing. My heart is still beating. Much more sensitive perhaps since it jumps at the smallest blip on this ride, but we're still here.

Over the last several weeks, God has been doing a work in our lives. The process of having faults revealed to you is not a pleasant experience however it is so refreshing to know that God still cares to work on us.

I am praying that God will bring us again to His service on the field, and we intend to keep up this blog because even though we have come back - we have not been derailed. We're still on this ride and we don't know what is beyond the next bend or over the next rise. We'll hold on tight and fix our eyes on Christ as we continue to be along for the ride.

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-24T20:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, some of you have asked for updated pics of Lucy. Sorry that it's been so long. We have been busy trying to get over jet lag and catch up with friends and family. Here are some pics of Lucy...

Before we left Japan she took a picture with her teachers. They were so great with her even though there was a language barrier.

When we got back Lucy made a cake with her Aunt Dani. She really enjoyed that!

Then she got to visit with her cousins Gwyn and Cassie and her Uncle Hugie! She loved the guitar!

She made cookies with her cousin Madyson...that was quite a mess but they had fun!

We went to the store and Lucy got to ride in the buggy! She loves that thing but it made her hair stand up everywhere!

We didn't think we would be home for Christmas this year but we are so glad we are. God has been teaching us a lot since returning home. There have been several things that have helped us see that we are here for a reason. So...God is awesome...like you didn't know that!

Okay, Merry Christmas. I couldn't leave you all without a video from Lucy telling you all Merry Christmas herself! Here she is with her Auntie M!

Time Travelers

2008-12-10T15:38:00.001-08:00

Well it's been awhile since our last update, but we have arrived back in the States safe and sound. We got in late on December 2nd and have been asleep pretty much ever since!

In coming back we traveled for 31 hours, arriving in Atlanta 2 hours earlier than when we left Tokyo. Pretty amazing huh...

Our first flight was from Osaka to Tokyo followed by a 6 hour layover. We then flew for 12 hours from Tokyo to Atlanta arriving earlier than when we left, and then finally a 2 hour flight from Atlanta to Dallas followed by a 2 hour drive to Abilene.

Anyway - somehow it added up to a really long day! Now the job search begins and the arduous task of trying to settle in again. We are happy to see our friends and family again but it has been difficult leaving the greatest job ever and trying to find something to pay the bills.

We still hope to be a part of missions and pray that God will grant us another chance to work with the IMB. Thank you to everyone who has prayed so fervently for us while we have been going through this process and our time in Japan. We will continue to update this blog and hopefully it will be filled with good news of great changes.

We love you guys and appreciate your encouragement and friendship!

I'll Be Home for Christmas...

2008-11-21T16:49:00.000-08:00

Well, for those of you who don't get our newsletter, we have some huge news for you. I will give the best news first!! We are expecting our second child! We are so excited! We know you are excited too because who wouldn't be?!! Okay, well maybe not as excited as us...but you should be!

The other bit of big information is that we are returning home. This has been really hard on us and it was a very difficult decision. We weren't planning on coming home but were hoping to just be transfered. The IMB has been awesome during this time. Although they are sending us home rather than transfering us we know they have our best interest in mind. They would rather us go from a stressful situation to a less stressful one before jumping back into the mission field. We know this is a wise decision but we can't help but feel sad.

Anyhow, thank you for praying for us while we were here and while we go through this process of getting home. We will leave Japan Dec 2 and arrive home Dec 2...we are going into the past!

We are thankful for the time we had here and for all that the Lord has taught us. We would ask that you pray for us as we pack and leave and start over in the US.

I don't want to leave this post feeling depressed so back to the great news...we are expecting!! Okay, now I feel better!

"I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."

Phil. 3: 12-14

A New Blog!

2008-11-17T01:13:00.000-08:00

Hey there - Well we know it's been a bit since we last updated so sorry about that. This post is to finally ( officially ) announce the arrival of my ( Nick ) new blog.

This current blog will continue to serve as our family site where we will give updates on how things are going; but the new blog will be specifically for my creative projects.

I've always been a "projects" kind of person in that I like to have things to be working on. I began the new blog as a way to be able to share what I am working on with anyone interested. There are about 4 or 5 posts right now so if you feel bored you can go back and read from the beginning...really...don't feel obligated!

Anyway - the blog is http://www.bonacciawip.blogspot.com/ ( The AWIP part is for A Work in Progress ) but the actual title is "A little bit of Everything". I have a lot of hobbies and so therefore there will be a little bit of everything commented on. I probably won't update it as often as this one but if you want to check every so often you might find something of interest.

Well - I'll thank you in advance for your comments and be clear to explain that I am open to constructive criticism as well as positive. Thanks for the interest! And now...back to our regularly scheduled blog posts...

Feeding the Deer!

2008-11-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

Well, as you know, we went to Nara this past Monday and they are famous for their wild deer. They sell cookies that you can feed to the deer and they aren't afraid of people at all! It was kind of crazy! Lucy loved it until they started coming at her for the food. Here are some pics and videos for your enjoyment!

This video is pretty funny. I'm trying to give Lucy the other cookies but the deer are faster! They ate them right out of my hand. You don't see it in this video but one deer actually head butted me in the stomach because I wasn't going fast enough! Here Lucy became a little afraid!

What a Bargain

2008-11-04T07:13:00.000-08:00

For those who get our newsletter, this story will not be new however the photos to accompany it will be posted here. ( For those who do not receive our newsletter - let us know and we'll add you! :) )

Amanda and I took a trip to Nara this week for one of my Japanese lessons. The trip was a lot of fun and there will soon be a much more interesting post ( full of photos of Lu ) on our blog. However, alas, for the time being you'll have to content yourself with my dull posting!

As we traveled around Nara my teacher wanted us to visit the Daibutsu or, literally translated, "Big Buddha". It is the largest wooden temple in the world and it houses a Buddha just shy of 50 feet tall. The place has an ominous feel and the sound of the chanting and gong is ceaseless.

As we walked around the base of this tremendous Buddha we came across a series of signs that really seemed strange to us. Coming from a Christian background where prayer costs nothing the idea of having to pay for a prayer is as foreign to us as the fried eel that is so desired here.

In this photo you'll see wooden plaques used for writing prayers on. These plaques must be bought for 600 yen and the prayer can be written on it to be read later. To be honest 600 yen seems a pretty cheap rate for having a guaranteed prayer answered. For indeed it must be answered if payed for right? Why would anyone lay down their money to write on a slate of wood unless they expected their prayer to pay back dividends? Perhaps I'm being too cynical.

If 600 yen is too expensive for your taste there is always the fortune method. These fortunes have a going rate of 200 yen and are amazingly adaptable. The person pays their 200 yen and selects a small wooden drawer from among hundreds of choices. They open the drawer and pull out a slip of paper which is supposed to hold their fortune.

Hopefully it's a good fortune because if not they just wasted 2 bucks. If they like what they read they'll tie it to a tree or a special "prayer rack" and the fortune should take effect. If the fortune is not quite what they were hoping for it simply goes into the trash. I seems the fortune is not effective if it doesn't go like they hope.

Probably the sign that made Amanda and I the most sad was this final sign. It was posted at a Shinto shrine which is famous for having over 10,000 stone lanterns designed for prayer.

In Japan, land is scarce and so therefore very expensive. Yet if you look at any Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines you'll find palatial grounds that are well manicured. Often you'll see a row of BMW or Lexus sitting discreetly to he side of the temple and you'll always find plenty of money boxes...incoming money boxes that is.

The Buddhist and Shintoist must pay for everything...births, deaths, new job, marriage, prayers, new car, family blessings, etc... And these payments are not one time deals either. After the death of a parent a yearly payment must be made to the temple on behalf of the deceased. For a simple reading by a monk at a Buddhist funeral typically cost at minimum 80,000 yen. ( Approx. 8,000 dollars. ) and that's just to read from their "holy book".

The Shinto shrine we were at had posted 500 yen for "worship". How sad that you cannot spend time with the Creator of the Universe unless you pay first. The shrine actually had a line set up like Disneyland where people could stand to pay their money before being allowed to go into the shrine to worship. Needless to say they did not receive anything from us.

I think I'll always remember standing there looking up at the 50 foot Buddha and thinking how terrified I would be if it came to life and began walking around. It would be a giant. I think about how the people there came to pray to it and hope for it's favor. And yet - it's only metal. It will never move or breathe. It could not stand even if it wanted to.

I think, as I look up, how massive it seems and then it strikes me how fantastically big my God is. How big the true God of the Universe is. What is 50 feet of bronze to the Maker of Heaven and Earth? What is 10,000 feet of bronze? Nothing...insignificance.

It makes me sad to see these people who day in and day out have the desire to speak to God - they long to know Him. And yet they do not. They feel they must pay for that connection and instead pray to a god of men.

Trick or Treat!

2008-11-02T01:27:00.000-07:00

Japan does not normally celebrate Halloween with trick or treating. We weren't really disappointed or anything but when one of the people in our building approached us and asked if her children could trick or treat with Lucy (by this I mean she would go to their room and get candy and her children would come to our room and get candy) we were excited to have the opportunity to meet a new family. This turned into something a little bigger! When we told another family that we wanted to have sort of a Fall Festival they took it into their own hands to organize a type of party with many children participating!

We prayed about how to handle this because they are really into scary Halloween here. After talking to several friends we were given the idea of handing out salvation bracelets along with American candy. We had the explanation of what each colored bead meant translated into Japanese and prayed that this would impact our building.

The night came and we weren't sure what to expect. Lucy was dressed up in a German dress outfit that my dad got while he was there last year. Her favorite movie of all time is Sound of Music (which she calls "Doe a Deer") and she thought she was straight out of that movie! She looked SO cute as you can see!

Lucy wasn't too sure about this whole thing until we went to the first door and recieved the goods! After that first door she was ready to say trick or treat to anyone with a bag to offer her! It's funny because she liked our bag the best...it had jelly belly jelly beans! Anyhow, here is a shot of the kids after the trick or treating.

Here is proof that they don't normally dress up for this...this is one of our friends little boys who had to borrow a costume for trick or treating! He looks cute but I didn't recognize him at first!

And, of course, a picture with her favorite friend Lily!

Here I tried to get Lucy to talk...to say anything for the camera. She is a very stubborn child but in the end I hope you can at least see her excitement at the doorbell ringing! I don't know what she was trying to tell me when she said, "No Dounce!"!!

Afterwards we all met to take pictures. They loved Lucy! She's used to them following her around now and kind of brushes them off!

Because of this event in our building we were able to meet many other families. We were invited to two other family's rooms to get to know them better! The kids loved the bracelets and we are praying that they actually look at the paper explaining why they got that instead of more candy! Please pray that these relationships with new families would become good friendships! Thanks!

Trip to Kyoto and More

2008-10-29T22:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from our trip to Kyoto. Some of you requested some more videos of Lucy so here you go! Enjoy!

This is me throwing a ninja star thing...or whatever it's called!!

At Toie Movie Land: Lucy wasn't sure if she should shake her hand or what!

This is a bridge they use in the movies.

There was a section in the movie land where you could feed a mini horse. Lucy had no fear and many Japanese people around us were very surprised at how "jotsu" she was at it...skilled!

After feeding the horse you could have your pic taken with it...Lucy was fine with this...at first.

When the horse started to move she was ready to get off!

Here she is throwing around a little wooden sword...look out!!

This is our friend Kosuke who came with us!

Lucy being silly.

I can't believe how big she is!!

We went to Nijo Castle and Palace. The grounds were really pretty even though it was raining. Here's a shot from where the castle used to be...that's the palace. The castle burnt down during a war.

Me being a ree ree before entering the palace.

We went to the top of Kyoto tower and I guess this thing is supposed to represent the tower...it doesn't look like the tower...oh well!

We also went to the Golden Pavilion...or Kinkakuji (I think!). It was really crowded but pretty.

This is at the golden pavilion along the walkway. People throw their money there and hope that these statues appreciate it. As you can see, they don't really care.

The first video is of Lucy swinging around the wooden sword. The second one is of Lucy playing with the fabric my sister sent me for my birthday.

I will take more videos of Lucy and post it later!

False gods

2008-10-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

One of the most stark contrasts of living in this new country is the presence of so many false gods. In the States peoples "gods" are their money or cars or jobs but here there are the physical manifestations of these in the form of statues.

I can, and will forever, remember the first time I saw one of these statues in person. My blood ran cold ( and I'm not just being figurative ). It was so chilling to see this snarling face staring down at me as if wanting to attack.

Most of the statues are poised with an arm back usually weilding some sort of weapon ready to bring it down upon you. They are, with a few exceptions, painted in either red or a greenish blue. Most appear to be snarling or otherwise completely hacked off.

The thing that strikes me most about these figures is how the Japanese can find pleasure in worshiping and praying to them. Granted, some are meant as figures of protection but many as the physical form of the demon itself. It's difficult to see how someone could look up into that face of extreme hatred and feel a sense of longing to worship.

How grateful it makes me to know that our God is worthy of praise and respect. God does not stand over us waiting to strike us down on a whim but rather longs for us to be connected with Him in a right relationship. As I look into the faces of these terrifying demons I am reminded that God is Lord of all - even the scary things; and that one day "at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth."

The Most Glorious Month...October

2008-10-26T05:23:00.000-07:00

Some of you may be asking yourselves, "Why is October the most glorious month?". Let me tell you...it's my birthday month!! Okay, okay. So I can't claim the whole month but it's fun to tell Nick on October 1st that it's really close to the most wonderful day ever!! But seriously folks... I had a great birthday this year despite the fact that I was away from family and friends in the States.

This year when Nick asked me what I wanted I told him I didn't know...typical response. So he did a great job and created a scavenger hunt type of activity where I had to find the next clue, etc. At the end was a wad of cash! Well, coins anyway! Here coins can get up to the equivalent of 5 dollars so this was a really good thing! Good thinking on Nick's part. Now I can get whatever I want whenever I figure out what that is!!

We also went to Kyoto, Japan for the weekend. It was a lot of fun. We saw Nijo castle and palace, Toie Movie Land (where they make all the samarai movies), and went to the top of Kyoto Tower at night. We have pictures and will post them later.

I also got many emails wishing me a happy birthday. So thank you to all of you who remembered me on that day. I felt really special! And of course, Lucy sang to me...Happy to you!! over and over which was great! All in all, it was a great day...and month!

Well that was certainly...unexpected

2008-10-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

It's been an interesting trip to make this move into such a "homogeneous" society. Coming from America where everything is pretty much individual and different it has been surprising to find the way that even foreign things can take on Japanese qualities.

If you see an Italian flag outside a restaurant take heed - it's probably Japanese food. Perhaps the menu will include spaghetti but if you ask you'll find that it's actually "Japanese spaghetti"...however that works!

You might notice a clothing store with American or any number of European countries decorations hanging in the window but do not let yourself be deceived! Inside you'll find...that's right - Japanese clothing. These clothing articles may be emblazoned with Romanized letters reading something to the effect of "Happy smile, make day happy, lucky happy, smile lucky", "Micky Mouse is a independent, a lucky, a born leader." or perhaps "I great happy when eating potato." ( those last two are real ).

Just the other day I was riding home on the train when a single word caught my eye. "Picasso" I saw, in bright lights across the side of a building. "Wow," I thought, "I like Picasso, maybe Amanda and I can visit there to see some of his work." Though my excitement quickly faded as I drew nearer and learned that "Picasso" is not a museum with his artwork but rather an apartment building who apparently thought that "Picasso" was as good a foreign word as any!

Some of these adventures have been quite funny while others...not so much. We find that no matter how foreign something may appear - underneath it's still Japanese. ( And sometimes you don't really have to dig that deep. )

In the end, we find this to be one of our greatest hurdles ( and possibly greatest strengths ) to sharing the gospel with the Japanese. Many find trouble in accepting Christ, not on the basis of whether they believe or not, but rather that they are afraid that in changing from their roots they will cease to be Japanese. Let us pray that these Japanese individuals brave enough to make a decision for Christ will also be brave enough to share that choice with their friends. Perhaps in the future the Japanese will accept Christianity as the truth they have been searching for and we'll see how widespread it goes then!

And now...for your viewing pleasure: one small example of the Japanese idea of "Mexican food". Please enjoy...

Attack of the Culture Shock...

2008-10-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

I have turned into an extremely pessimistic person and so I want to tell everyone I am sorry. Today, Nick and I were talking through some culture shock issues and all I could think was negative. There are definitely times when feeling low is not necessarily a bad thing but at the same time, there are many things to be grateful for.

For instance, Lucy is a very "genki" child...as in extremely healthy and active. She is such a blessing and there are many times that I miss that because my view is clouded over with negative things. Instead of enjoying her dancing and singing I tell her to be quiet because...who knows why! It's difficult being surrounded by a foriegn language and culture but she seems to be doing okay so why not me!!?!! I am determined to have her perspective from now on!

Also, I am married to a wonderful husband. Every time I break down and totally lose it (which happens more often than it should I'm sure!!) he is there to hug me and tell me it's normal, etc. He is an amazing cook and photographer (we have a million plus pics of Lucy for this reason!!). He helps with me with many things. He is a great friend. Instead of seeing the blessing, there are many times when all I see are the things he doesn't do! How horrible. So from now on, I will try my best to see how awesome he is and how much God has blessed me in this marriage.

There are many more things that I am thankful for. Skype is amazing. I can see my family and friends in the States for free! My family is supportive of me...thanks guys! I have awesome friends back at home and here who pray for us. I'm healthy...at the moment! See, I really need help!!

Satan attacks in many ways and I am calling him out on this one. It took me long enough but I will be thankful even in the midst of my culture shock. It will be hard but there's nothing more satisfying than glorifying God and shoving it in Satan's face!

Club House Rules

2008-10-13T08:01:00.001-07:00

You know, some days are just better than others...today was, unfortunately, not one of those days.

Despite this nasty little raincloud that hovers above my right shoulder things really are beginning to get better for Amanda, Lucy and I. We all have our up days and down days, however more up than down we hope.

We wanted to share this post with you who keep up with us to say two things ( Well technically, say one thing and ask one thing... ) We'd like to say "Thank you" for your prayers and encouraging emails to us along this journey. There are days when we long to return home to you all and be back in a place of familiarity, however God reminds us of His calling to this place and these people. Many of you have been able to share such exciting or sometimes difficult news with us and we long to be near you to share in your joy or pain.

Secondly, we ask that you please keep praying for us and more specifically share with us how you all are doing. We know your lives are busy and filled with more things than any of us can count but we can't express how much we love getting messages from you all! It's amazing to be in one of the most crowded cities on the planet and still feel so alone at times! We miss you guys and we love knowing that somewhere in the world you're thinking of us too.

We do have a bit of exciting news to share! We recently met with that family in our building and the mother feels that she has decided to follow Christ. We're not entirely certain of the sincerity of her decision however she has clearly decided that what Scripture outlines about Jesus is something that "is very important and needed for her." Praise God for opening her eyes to His truth! We have explained the idea of Japanese sharing the Gospel with other Japanese and we will soon begin a lesson on how to train her to share her faith effectively. The first several lessons cover the decision for Christ and make sure that the person is certain. Please be praying for her as we begin these lessons and for her to see if her decision is genuine. Also, please be praying for her husband as he has expressed an interest to "research the original religion of Japan." Pray that he would see a change in the behavior and outlook of his wife and that he too would make a choice to follow Jesus.

Thanks again for your prayers and continued encouragement! Please be praying for Amanda, Lu and I as we go through the roller coaster emotions of this new life. Please remember us as we, truly, continue to be "Along for the Ride."

Lucy!!

2008-10-12T00:37:00.000-07:00

We moved Lu out of her pack and play and onto her own futon! It's not that hard to switch here because her bed just lost the sides. I think it would be harder in the States because I would be paranoid that she would fall off the bed. When I went in to get her this morning she was in the middle of the floor about two feet away from her bed! So it's a good thing she's on a futon!

She is growing fast and has outgrown many of her shoes and clothes. She is really funny too. A couple of weeks ago her school had their sports day (oondokai) and she got to run in it. Here she is practicing at home!

And at the actual event...

Lucy went to her first Japanese birthday party here and had a lot of fun. She was the youngest one there!

Here she is in her new rain gear. She loves her "bumbrella".

Here she is just being cute!

Well, In this case...

2008-10-08T17:47:00.001-07:00

I'm so glad I don't remember having to learning English!

Amanda and I have discovered why Japanese is such a difficult language ( Pretty good huh? And after only 3 months! ) and you might be surprised. If spoken languages were put onto a scale measuring: sentence structure, grammar and vocabulary; we're convinced that Japanese and English would be on completely opposite sides of the scale!

Surprisingly, the writing isn't that difficult ( Well...we haven't even gotten into kanji yet ). And if you can learn to speak backwards then the grammar might not get you ( i.e. "Watashiwa watashi-no tomodachi-no uchi ni ikmashta." - "I, my friend's house to I went." )

The thing we have discovered and has been the bain of our language learning experience is the sheer number of exceptions in this language! Truly, it seems that there is no consistency! Obviously there must be some form or else people would not be able to speak to one another however these unwritten rules are simply known by the general population...but not by us!

In the end, Amanda and I have become accustomed to the phrase "Well...in this case" which is then followed by an explanation on why what we just tried to say made us sound like complete buffoons. Ah well...the learning process!

No Autographs Please...

2008-10-06T06:27:00.001-07:00

I remember seeing a shirt before leaving the States that read, "I'm huge in Japan." Apparently it was referring to me.

On Sunday Amanda, Lu and I went to visit our supervisors to have worship together with our Osaka team. After we finished we decided to indulge Ron's craving for McDonald's and so traveled to the nearest location. We ordered our food and chose a table in the back of the dining area.

Something about Japanese teenagers that closely mirrors American teenagers is the "herd" mentality as well as the idea that McDonald's is the ideal hangout. Anyway - we were sitting next to a group of about 12 Japanese teenagers all conversing amongst themselves on who was going to try to speak English to the white people.

After much prodding from his friends one of the young boys, who had gotten our attention by this point, called down the table "Where from you?" ***It should be noted here that I am NOT making fun of his English - because my Japanese is awful and I would have no room to talk!!!*** Our supervisors explained to us that it is better to let them believe that you cannot speak Japanese because it will embarrass them for trying English. We explained that we were from America and they had all sorts of questions.

The noise level began to grow ( never a good thing in Japan ) and they grew more and more excited by the conversation. The boy who originally began the conversation stood and by making some kind of gesture with his hands, explained to us that he was a boxer. Well, after having told our supervisors some time ago about Amanda and my Judo experience, Ron told the group that I was into practicing Judo...

Apparently I'm famous. One of the younger boys at the end of the table started yelling "YES - I know him!" Part of it was in Japanese and so after it was translated we discovered that he was convinced that he knew me and that he had seen me on television ( I think ). I guess I just have one of those faces...or we just all look alike to the Japanese!

Anyway - my moment of fame was very short lived. Lucy had been sleeping in her stroller but was awoken by the noise. When Amanda went to get her, the last thing I could hear was Ron saying "Here we go..." The noise brought the manager in.

Lu's shy smiling face now graces the screens of cellphones across Osaka. Apparently Lucy from "Charlie Brown" really is "huge" in Japan because when we told them her name the manager asked them to leave because of the uproar.

Well, it was nice to be included for awhile. Now we're back to being the weirdo foreigners! I guess we'll have to visit McDonald's more often.

What Are The Odds?

2008-10-04T01:36:00.000-07:00

We went out today to look for a Mexican food place that one of my teachers told me about. I was pretty excited because she had lived in South America and understood my need for some really good Mexican food! So we headed over to the train station that it was in. We wandered around and looked at the shops for a while before we went to eat...

Well, it turns out that there isn't a Mexican food place there...we figured this out after searching the huge train station for two hours. That's right. We were that desperate for Mexican food. Chips and salsa were on our minds but it was nowhere to be found. We started to become very frustrated at everything.

Pretty soon we were convinced that we had come to the wrong country and were looking at the signs that said "Airport"...not a good thing! After starting to get frustrated with one another for no reason we decided that we should just go to McD's. This was dissappointing after anticipating good Mexican food!

This is how good God is...we are in a city of about 3 million (in our area) and we are in one of a million McD's around...and VERY angry at everyone and everything. I am praying at this point that something happens...anything, to prove that we are supposed to be here.

All of the sudden, out of all the Japanese voices I hear English. Praise the Lord! It's Charlie Seelan. One of the other missionaries here in Japan. Really? Out of 3 million people and who knows how many McD's in a huge train station? The odds are 1 in 3 million!! God knew that we needed a familiar face and kind words. Charlie ate lunch with us and was encouraging just by being there.

So thank God for friends in strange places and thank God that He loves me even in my most horrible moments! I know I am supposed to be here...even without Charlie showing up at just the right time.

Yes...It really is that weird.

2008-09-26T00:37:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had that experience where you pick up a drink expecting Dr. Pepper and instead it's Lemonade? Hmm...not real fun.

Today's experience takes that to a whole new level.

I was going home from language school and decided to stop off and grab a quick bite. Pretty much all the stores here carry "Onigiri" which is basically a rice ball with assorted fish in the middle. Anyway - I grabbed my food and got in line.

A short side road is needed here to explain a general concept about the Japanese...I promise it's important! The Japanese are incredibly kind and helpful...with a few exceptions. I've seen people shove little old ladies out of the way to get onto a train ( and believe me, I've seen plenty of old ladies do the shoving too! ) When it comes to finding placement in a line or in a crowed store the Japanese become completely different. Wow!

With that in mind, I'm standing in line waiting to pay when I realize, "Hmm...I forgot a drink." I turned to look at the stand right next to me and the person behind me, seeing an opportunity, started to push around to get in front of me! I hadn't even gotten out of line! I quickly turned back to my spot as the would be "cutter" behind me opted for a shorter lane.

So to sum it all up, I had about 5 seconds to grab a drink ( within arms reach ) and pay for my stuff. I grabbed a Fanta, paid and left. I stuck the drink in my bag and walked to the station eating my lunch as I walked ( a big "No-No" but...Oh well ) . I sat down on the train ready to enjoy the drink I had just purchased. I sat back and popped the tab just as the the doors closed beside me. Settling in for the long ride home, I lifted the can to my mouth and poured in...Not Fanta.

I wasn't exactly sure what it was but it wasn't soda...Good grief - it wasn't even liquid! So I'm sitting there holding this can ( written completely in Japanese ) and with a mouthful of gloopy, slimy weirdness and there was nothing I could do...so...I swallowed. Hmmmmmmm......... Let's just leave it that I won't be buying any Fanta products for awhile. In the end it did have a taste of grapes but with it a "consistency" that I'll never forget. I guess I should be grateful it wasn't bean paste!

Daily Routine

2008-09-20T23:59:00.000-07:00

Now that we have been here for a couple of months, we have a somewhat regular routine. Mondays I take Lucy to school at 8:45 and Nick leaves at the same time to go to language school. After I get back from taking Lu I start my lesson at 9:30. That's over at 12:30 and Nick's is over at 1. Nick starts back home at this time and gets back around 2:20 which is right when I am leaving to go get Lucy. Sometimes Nick stays out until 5 and he walks around practicing language on random people. Afterwards, we go to the park or store and use our language and try to make relationships with people in our building. Then we do dinner and play with Lucy. Then homework.

Tuesdays neither one of us has language and Lucy still has school so we are able to study the whole time. Nick may still go out on this day and practice language with strangers! I get practice at the school with other moms as well as at the park.

Wednesdays and Fridays are just like Monday. Thursdays I have language as usual and Nick has a language helper in the afternoon at our house. Everything else is the same.

So Saturdays and Sundays we have "off" so to speak. We still use our language (what we know...which isn't that much!!) and we try to go to the park with Lucy or do something fun with her...since she still wants to go to school on those days!!

Sundays have been different for us because we don't have a set church that we go to. There isn't a house church for us to attend regularly so sometimes we do church with our supervisors and last week we went to an international church in Sakai City with our language teacher. It's been fun and interesting!

We took Lucy to the Osaka Children's museum last weekend which was really fun. They have it set up on several floors and there are so many things for them to do!

Here she is dressed up as a Japanese postal worker!

Here's Nick being a doofus!

And here's Lucy following in his footsteps!!

And, of course, we couldn't leave without her dressing up as a football player. This is what they had in the booth that was labeled America...that's pretty funny!!

After Lucy took her bath the other night she put on her robe...it's getting a little short as you can see!!

Here's a cute pic of Lucy and Nick...

Here is Lucy playing the drums. Seriously, this place had so much stuff to do!!

Keeping Busy...

2008-09-16T08:02:00.001-07:00

As you can see Lucy has been quite a handful lately!!! We had a lot of fun today and I was able to put this together from shots at the park behind our place.

Not a lot has been happening lately. As we are beginning to fall into our normal schedule the hectic nature of being in this new place has begun to fall away. Routine begins to take shape and we find ourselves following the same patterns more often. Ahh...some sense of normalcy!

The weather has begun to cool off and so we have been able to spend more time out of doors and in the community. It's always a little frustrating when you actually get the chance to speak with someone yet your vocabulary only contains "Nice weather today isn't it?"...and nothing more! Language study is going well and we are starting to find that some of the pieces are beginning to click - at least some of the time! Japanese seems to be a language riddled with exceptions but I guess that's one way it's like English!

*One more small item of note*: Today I experienced something that has never come up in the 26 years of my life. As Amanda, Lucy and I were riding our bikes to the store I got hit by a car. I rounded a corner just in time for a car to back out and hit me. I was knocked back but not injured! Both of the people in the vehicle jumped out to see if I was alright so I just laughed and told them I was fine. To be honest I wouldn't have known what to say even if I was hurt!!! When I told a friend about the incident he asked "So does that count as being persecuted for Christ?"

First Day of School!

2008-09-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

Just a little note for those of you who were worried...Lucy did awesome!! She had her first day of "school" which is really like daycare but they do a lot more. We walked in and she went right to playing with the toys, more specifically the play cameras ( She is definitely a mini-Nick!! ).

In Japan, there are SO many rules to follow. She has a bag for absolutely everything. There's a bag for her obento (lunch), for her cup, one for her clothes, one for her notebook that the teacher writes in, and so on! There is a place for everything. She puts her cup in one area, her hat in another along with extra clothes, her thermometer goes in another place (yes, we have to take her temp. in front of the teacher and then write it on a white board so they know she's alright!), then a spot for her thermos, her indoor shoes, her outdoor shoes, her napkin, her lunch, her sleeping towels, her diapers or panties, etc. As you can see, this was no easy task to leave her!!

I was there with a supervisor who helped me understand where everything went! Her teacher is great. She speaks no English but is so sweet. They send out a little newsletter each month and on the 8th was an announcement that "Rushi" Bonacci was coming! So everyone in the school was expecting her! Her teacher even called our supervisors last week to tell them how excited they were to have her!

Anyhow, when I was done putting everything in the right place I was planning on leaving Lucy without her noticing me...the teacher called to Lucy to say "bye bye" to me and she immediately started crying! I thought, "Why did she do that!!??" Apparently in Japan greetings are big and you must say bye even if the child cries! She cried for about 5 minutes after I left and then had a blast! She took over the slide and wanted to do it all by herself. She has already made many friends and seems really happy!

Thank you to all of you who prayed for her! I will post pics of this eventful day but until then, enjoy these cutie patootie pics!! She is rooting for the Yankees, as you can see! She is following after her Great Grandma Lucy Bonacci, her Bapa, and her Papa!!

Lucy is 2!!!

2008-09-06T06:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it!! Lucy is 2!! It's crazy...it seems like yesterday that I was in excruciating pain...I'm glad that's over! Here are some pictures from her younger days...I just can't believe that she used to be that small.

Here is Lucy at age 1. Isn't she adorable?!!

And here she is now...she is so big!

So we had a party for Lucy here at our place. It was a fun get together. Lucy enjoyed opening gifts and eating cake. Nick travelled for over an hour to get the cake mix and then he made the frosting from scratch...very talented! It was great!

She wore her dress that a friend made for her (smocked by hand and all...thanks Sarah!!) Also, thanks to our crate arriving this week, there were so many toys that she hadn't seen in a long time so we wrapped them up and gave them to her and she thought she had hit the jackpot!! There were some toys that she hadn't opened from Christmas that were from our parents so she opened those too!! Here are some pics from the party.

Lucy didn't really know what to do with the candles and got some help from her Papa!!

Here is the video that Nick put together for her second year!

Happy Birthday Lucy!!

Video Requests!

2008-08-30T18:10:00.001-07:00

The other day Lucy and I were out riding on our bike and we had a horrifying experience, in my opinion! We were riding to get school supplies for her and she tapped me on the back and told me she was all done with the book that she was reading. I reached back to get it and it fell...seeing as this is one of her favorite books I stopped to get it. It was only two feet behind us so I put on the stand (they have great bike stands here) and I stepped back to get the book.

As I was bending down to get the book I had this thought of the bike falling...and I thought to myself...I just left Lucy in the bike and I'm only two feet away but if it fell I wouldn't be able to get to her in time. As I thought this I turned around to hurry back and decided that I wouldn't leave Lucy alone on the bike ever again...too late.

I watched in horror as the bike teetered (it was windy and this had never happened before). I started towards her in slow motion trying to get to her but she fell...OH MY GOODNESS!! I ran to her and thankfully Nick and I make her wear a helmet and the child's seat is designed so it protects her legs and all. She was screaming of course and I got her out and held her. She only had a scratch near her eye and she was fine. Still...terrifying experience.

She isn't the only one afraid to get back on the bike!! I feel so bad and keep thinking, what if. We were on a main road and if the bike were one foot over to the right it could have fallen into the road where cars were coming...Nick keeps reassuring me that she's fine and to just learn from this. As a mama, I can't forget her screams and I feel terrible! Ah well. I can't do anything about it now.

On to more positive things!

The other day we were chatting with some friends and they said they wanted to see as many videos of Lucy as possible...so this is for people who just can't get enough of Lucy!!

Here's Lucy dancing...she LOVES to dance and she wants us to dance with her. Pretty funny!

We have taught Lucy to pray at night and normally have a fixed prayer that she can now say on her own. This was before that and Nick would direct her! She says Amen after reading all books and all prayers! It's pretty cute when she's reading her favorite book "No No Yes Yes" and then says AMEN!

Here is Lucy on her own train! She loved this and she looks adorable too!

The ItsyBitsy Spider is a favorite song. We sing before she goes to bed and she normally picks out "The Wheels on the Bus" or "The ItsyBitsy Spider" or "My God is so Big!" She likes the ones that have movements! Did I tell you she was adorable?!!

More to come!!

For Picture Lovers...

2008-08-25T16:12:00.001-07:00

Okay, random stuff first...

Me and Lu outside our building. She was helping to take out the trash...which she just loves to do!

We bought Lucy's first outfit over here and she looks too cute!! She LOVED putting on the new clothes in the store. We had her try them on because they have different sizes over here. She started throwing a fit because she didn't want to take off the clothes!! We almost couldn't get them because we told her if she didn't stop she wouldn't get to take them home...fortunately she stopped crying! She loves wearing this hat!!

We went to the mall the other day and were talking about how much we missed the food from the States. Even the "American" food here is Japanese style. Their desserts are also very different so you can imagine my delight as we turned the corner at the mall and found this!!!

This is Lucy in a box...no need for actual toys here...she loves boxes!!

The other day Nick and Lu were playing around and somehow her booty got bigger! She had stuffed her pants!! I don't know if this picture does it justice but she was so cute!

Nick got to go to a baseball game here. They are called the Tigers. He won this hat and Lucy likes it a lot! This is her cheese smile!!

The main reason for this post is because we went to Osaka Castle. The outside was very beautiful...the inside was like a museum.

In any case, we had a lot of fun. Before we got into the castle gates there was a train and we, of course, had to get on...Lucy was so excited!

We stopped to get our pictures drawn like characatures and waited for about an hour...that was fun. Then we asked him to draw Lucy first. The picture may not really look like her but she does have a lot of hair! Then it was our turn...apparently this guy doesn't draw white people very often! (More on that in a minute)

As we were sitting there a whole crowd of Asian people walked up and started gawking at Lucy. They were not Japanese people but tourists from some other Asian country...we're not sure. All we know is that they don't ever see white kids because they all got out their video cameras and still shot cameras and went crazy...what were we to do?!! Lucy was kind of confused but smiled all the same! They sat there and stared for about 20 minutes and ran to get their friends. Soon we had a HUGE group of people around us as we were getting our picture drawn. That was funny! So if you happen to see some random video online of Lucy at a castle, that's why!

Okay, so this guy finished drawing us and we got our picture and the crowds dissappeared. I looked down at the pic and apparently I look like the wicked witch of the west...hook nose and all! Nick looked just like Nick and Lucy still looked cute even if it didn't really look like her but for me...I looked horrible. We had to cut off the part that had me in it. Seriously, it was that bad! I didn't post it here because you would have all laughed and I would have cried!!!

While the crowds gathered Lucy was playing with her purse. She ALWAYS carries her small Bible with her. We try to have her keep it at home because we don't want it to get lost but she insists on taking it with her. So as the people came to see her she pulled out her Bible and looked at them all and then...started reading (or pretending to read)! She looked at them then down at her Bible and pointed to it and talked! She is definitely a missionary!! Preaching the Word!!!

As we walked in there was a monk standing just inside the gate. They wait there for offerings of food. He was chanting and when Lucy saw him she started to cry so we stopped and prayed for him.

Here are Nick and Lucy right before we went in.

Gotta love this one!

I think Lucy's favorite part was the birds...she loved to chase them and they seemed used to having people all around them.

We eventually made it to the top of the castle. The view was of the concrete playground (that would be the city we live in!) In the second picture you can see all this beautiful green and then...the buildings take over!!

As we were leaving the castle there was a group of very cheerful (and possibly drunk) Japanese men who welcomed us to the country! One guy shouted out from about 20 yards away "Hey...welcome to Japan!" He was waving his arms around crazy like. Then he said "Please see my friend here, Areh..." So we looked at his friend who started dancing and singing "Areh Areh Areh!" We have no idea what happened there but they went on their way after that!!

Lucy was pretty worn out by the end of it. Good ole thumb and blankie!

Here is a video of...I don't know what you call this! Anyhow, it was pretty cool!

This is Lucy attempting to count and sing her ABCs. We aren't quite there yet as you will see. Oh well. She sure is cute!

A Little Goes a Long Way...

2008-08-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

It's OK - You can call me spoiled...I'm used to walking into McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's or Chicken Express - ordering my food and grabbing a handful of 7 to 9 ketchup packets before sitting down to enjoy my entirely unhealthy meal. Normal right?

Here's a funny little story for you.

Amanda, Lucy and I decided this evening to go riding to find a particular store that we have been wanting to check out. We set off in the cool of the evening with the sun just beginning to show signs of setting. The air was nice and we rode comfortably...

With each street we were just certain that the store was around the next corner or beyond the next light - We were wrong! In the end we never did find the store and we had been riding for over an hour.

The sun was really setting fast and we decided to turn back. As we rode we realized that much of the trip to where we had gone had been downhill coasting...which of course made the trip back that much more fun.

After riding for almost an hour we noticed a refuge from our toil in a face that has become our close friend and ally - The Colonel. We stopped in at KFC for dinner and found that we were the only people in the store. We walked to the front counter and proceed to ( expertly ) order "Ichi ( point at an item ), Futatsu ( point at a different item ), Seto ( hold up two fingers ), Coka Cora" This transaction is normally followed by several "Hai...Hai...Hai" in which I am agreeing to who knows what and we eventually get our food.

Well Lucy, like any other child, has discovered the joy of ketchup. So we're standing there with a tray of chicken and three bags of french fries when Amanda asks politely "Ketchup kudasai?" The attendant smiles and pulls out a draw from behind the counter and removes exactly ONE packet of ketchup. Seriously? ONE???

Meanwhile, I'm looking down at this mountain of fries and trying to decide if this is annoying or really funny while Amanda says "Arrigato." and receives our bounty of ketchup. I guess when you consider that a small container of ketchup goes for about 6 bucks in the store you've got to be careful of customers selling the extra packets for a profit.

There's No Place Like Home

2008-08-20T00:20:00.001-07:00

This last Sunday, Amanda and I were going through Philippians 4 and discussing the importance of sharing one's burdens. About how we try so hard to live like we don't have any troubles or worries because we don't want to appear to be lacking faith.

Well I think a little transparency is needed here.

Things have been really difficult since arriving here. More difficult than I think either of us expected. It's not that we don't still feel as though we are walking in God's will ( Quite the contrary ) it's just been so much more difficult than we could have imagined.

The feeling of isolation is a terrible burden to carry and to think that we will not be able to have a meaningful Japanese conversation for at least two years is really hard to think about. We read stories of colleagues learning other languages and being able to communicate ( however primatively ) and we still have a hard time with the most simple phrases. I don't think we can even put together a complete sentence yet!!! There have been times when we both have wanted to come home, but the realization of God's unmistakable calling has kept us going.

I don't really know what I expect as a result of this post other than to share some of our truly personal experiences with you all - our friends. Thank you for your prayers and encouragements, I promise they are very much welcomed.

So that's it - our burdens on the table and hmm...I think I do feel a little bit better.

A New Addition!!

2008-08-19T00:06:00.000-07:00

I have a new niece...Lyllian!!! She was born sometime on the 19th ( Iguess it still may be the 19th where she was born!! It's the 20th here so...) ...I don't know the time or anything, just that I got an email letting me know that she is 7 pounds and 7 ounces!! No pictures yet but I am really excited. I wish I could be there!!!

Climb Every Mountain...

2008-08-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

I just love the Sound of Music...hence the name of this blog! We were invited by our supervisors to go hiking in a really beautiful part of Japan. It's called Takarazuka. We took the car, then the train, then walked for about a million miles before getting to the actual trail that we were going to go on. One of our supervisors hikes every weekend so she is in really good shape. I, on the other hand, am out of shape! I have gained a little endurance just because I have to walk everywhere here but still, not good enough for mountain hiking!

When we got there it was already really hot. Lucy would need some coverage! Cindy had brought an extra hat and so we put that on Lucy and she looked extremely cute!!

The trail was mostly flat but we held Lucy for quite a bit of it. Uncle "Non" (Ron, our supervisor) held her as well. We went through tunnels and climbed over old railroad tracks and picked up a LOT of rocks! Lucy loves the rocks!! (Notice in the picture above that she is holding one of these rocks!) The view was really beautiful.

After we had been on the trail for awhile, Lucy got tired of her hat and wanted to trade with Ron! Here are the results...

We stopped to eat lunch around noon and there wasn't really anywhere to sit. Apparently when you have lived here awhile you get used to carrying these mats everywhere just in case! We ate right outside of a tunnel that we had gone through.

Nick always sees things that I don't see. I wouldn't have even noticed that there was a crane way up in the trees! This picture was taken with his big lens so this bird is really far from us but still, I don't know how he sees these things...!!!

Towards the end of the hiking Lucy decided she wanted to walk! She fell several times but didn't want any help! Here is one of the times when she didn't mind holding a hand!

We had a lot of fun on the mountain and are extremely exhausted!!

On another note, we got our table and desk the other night. It was delivered to our house in these big boxes. Lucy loved this one particular box! I cut a door in it and it became her house!! Too cute!

Karaoke and Sushi!!

2008-08-10T00:23:00.000-07:00

This is the picture of the advertisement for karaoke!! Are they serious?!!!

We were invited by our friend Rika to do Karaoke with her and her daughter Lily. We were kind of nervous because we hadn't done this before and in the States it's in front of many people you don't know. So we went and found that we would have our own room and would get free drinks and free refills!! This is very rare here in Japan!

So...we got in the room and Lucy was really excited when she realized it was all about singing! Lily sang the first few songs and she has a great voice! So then I picked a Sound of Music song because that's Lucy's favorite movie...turns out that the videos that play with the words on the screen don't exactly match up with the song you pick!! Lucy started screaming at the top of her lungs...she was terrified.

The words flashed up on the screen for "My Favorite Things" but so did some random pics of scary looking people. These were 80's looking dressed up rockers who looked like they were going to kill someone! Then a woman in scantily clad 80's clothes came up and it scanned her whole body...this is to "My Favorite Things" and these were not any of our favorite things!!!

Lucy ran to Papa and he held her while we tried to change the song. The really funny thing is that this was the only song that had really weird pics to it. All the other songs were 80's but somewhat normal. So we changed it to a Disney song and here is a video of Lucy "singing" with Lily!

Nick bought some sushi the other day and Lucy wanted to try some. She has had it here before and liked it with just the raw fish...she got Nick's weird taste buds!! Anyhow, he got some sushi and Lucy ate some and we got video of it...so gross to me!!!

Flipp'n Sweet Rides

2008-08-07T04:34:00.000-07:00

Well - We're finally mobile! Amanda and I picked out some new wheels and we've been cruising all over Osaka in our flashy new...Grandma bikes!

***At this point we'd like to issue a standing apology to any offended Grandmas out there with a bike like ours. No offence was meant by the aforementioned description!***

Flipp'n Sweet Ride #1 : Old Blue Remix

Flipp'n Sweet Ride #2 : The Silver Blade

Flipp'n Sweet Ride #3 : Pomp and Circumstance

Of course it's hard to feel silly riding these since everyone here rides the exact same thing! Basically you have a choice of color...that's about it.

Here's the Pink Avenger ready to "wide". She really loves it! She has started coming to Amanda and I throughout the day, hugging our legs, looking up with big beautiful eyes and..."Bikes?"

We went for a walk today and Lucy had such a great time walking and carrying her purse "just like a big girl." If you're wondering - it's very popular to hold two fingers up ( like the peace sign ) when taking photos here in Japan...Lucy decided to give it a try!

Finding things from America really get us excited lately and so we were especially excited when we found some Mexican food items. Mexican is Amanda's favorite food and so tacos were a welcome treat. They were basically the same as in the States but much saltier. Maybe next time we'll need to add more meat.

Here's Lu being a big helper. She loves to "cook" with us and her favorite toys to play with are the kitchen items. Our little chef!

In the States Lucy hated to eat veggies so we were quite surprised by this next photo. Lucy loves edamame beans! Who would have guessed? This has become a normal snack for her - edamame and ( of course ) peanut butter crackers!

The last thing to add for now is the video of our new baby swing! We like to go to this park when it's not too hot and Lu and I found a fun use for the swing. Night-Night Lucy!

Sushi Abounds

2008-08-04T22:55:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I thought of a little game. Before coming to Japan we read in many places how expensive everything is here...

Let's see shall we:

***Disclaimer: These prices are approximations and rounded to the nearest whole number. Also the translated amounts are for comparable quantities***

~Apples ( 1 bag: 6 count ) : U.S. - $2.00 ; JAPAN - $12.00

~Bread ( 1 loaf : 24 count ) : U.S. - $0.84 ; JAPAN - $5.00

~Watermelon ( Large ) : U.S. - $3.99 ; JAPAN ( Cantaloupe size ) $12.99

~Doritos : U.S. - $2.50 ; JAPAN - $5.50

~Salsa ( Import Store ) : U.S. - $2.50 ; JAPAN - $6.00

~Coke ( 12 Pack ) : U.S. - $3.00 ; JAPAN - $12.00

~Chicken ( 6-8 Count ) : US - $7.00 ; JAPAN - $15.00

~Bananas ( 1 Pound ) : US - $0.88; JAPAN - $4.00

~1 bottle of “Bertolli” pasta sauce : JAPAN - $5.50 ( We’ll pay it! )

~1 Stick of butter in Japan - $4.00

~$6.81 a gallon for gas

...And of course you can buy sushi for about $4.00 anywhere!

Maintaining the Missionary Stance

2008-08-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

One of the most difficult things about being here has also proven itself to be one of the most practical.

When I was a boy ( and after much begging on my part ) my parents lovingly put my into a Karate class. I was so excited to go to class and wear my Gi and get ready to kick some serious tail... until I learned what it really meant to study Karate.

There was so much training and conditioning to be done before the real action could begin. And in that training I found that "standing around" can be much harder than we often give it credit for.

I had seen those guys out there...standing in formation and holding the "Horse Stance" without flinching. Sure - I could that - No problem - Sign me up. Looks easy? Try it for a few moments and then say it's easy!

Well, over the last few weeks Amanda and I have discovered the difficulty in maintaining "The Missionary Stance". How many times did I get frustrated in the States and take it out on some poor clerk in a store? Who remembers? Does he know my face? To him I was just another grouch who passed through and blended in.

But here?

What if I get angry? What if I'm rude? Will they remember? Will they know my face?

Absolutely.

It becomes difficult when we are faced with trying circumstances and find that we must maintain our goal. If I blow up on this clerk - how will I share Christ with him later down the road? If I get angry because I don't understand him or because he can't read my sign language - How many other Christians will walk through his door? Talk about accountability.

I walked out onto the gym floor. My brand new Karate Gi shone as brightly as the excitement on my face. I took my place among the others here for training - determined to be like Bruce Lee by the time I left that evening. The instructor walked onto the floor and called for attention - "Horse Stance!" he bellowed. Following my comrades I spread my feet and sank into the stance of warriors. My focus was set - my determination firm.

And then, quite suddenly, a fire was set in my legs. The heat that grew and spread worked it's way through my muscles and down into the very bones of my legs. My thighs began to shake, turned to Jello and within an eternity of maybe 3 minutes I was off the gym floor deciding that Karate was perhaps not all that I thought it was.

Now again I face this problem. My focus is set - my determination firm. Will I maintain this stance...or will I quit? And all at once it comes home to me that in His moments of anguish and pain - our Lord Jesus didn't quit...He didn't walk away - and so neither can we.

Lucy's Favorite Video!

2008-07-30T20:46:00.000-07:00

We were watching one of our friend's blogs the other day. Noelle was singing and Lucy got so excited. After the video was over she asked for more. When I asked her to say "Hi" to Noelle, she looked around for her as if she were here! Too cute. So this is for Noelle!!

Lucy and School...Sorry, this is really long!!!

2008-07-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

Nick and I have been praying for Lucy's care for quite some time now. We thought she would have a nanny and be by herself but after getting here we realized she would do better in an environment with other kids. She is really social! So we started looking at options for daycare. The public daycares are all full and have a huge waiting list so we knew that wouldn't work out. We looked at some private ones and the one closest to us had about 70 kids and it didn't look like there would be a playground. We didn't know much about it! The day after we looked at that private school we were with our new friend Rika and she called one of her friends to help us. In the previous blog you read about how we went to the school for the bonfire and met the pastor (it's part of a church which is rare around here!). So we weren't sure if there would be a spot for Lucy and we still didn't know much about the school. Our supervisor called the next day and asked about it and it turns out that there is a spot for Lucy and she will be starting the day after her 2nd birthday. I went to meet the teacher and see her room yesterday. Cindy (our supervisor) came with me and translated.

We walked about 10 minutes to get there in really hot and humid weather. When we got there I felt kind of weak but thought nothing of it. Towards the end of the conversation (which included the million rules of this school...like Lucy has to have 4 towels, 4 napkin size towels, a specific type of shoe to where inside, bags for everything, a smock, a special shirt with her name attached somewhere, a toothbrush, etc...) anyhow...I almost fainted. I interrupted Cindy and told her I felt really sick. She quickly asked for a bathroom and when I got there Lucy's teacher told me (in Japanese...which I don't understand!!) to take off the house shoes I had put on earlier and put on the bathroom shoes. Okay...I understand the whole thing with shoes and feet and all but here I was about to throw up and I was trying to change shoes without getting sick all over and fainting! After getting the shoes on I went in to get my face wet, etc and soon thereafter heard Lucy screaming! Great, I leave and she cries. This wasn't going the way I thought it would!! Apparently she was fine until she pinched her finger in a toy and realized I wasn't there to kiss it! She got into the bathroom and knocked on the door until I came out. I felt better and Cindy said that the heat may have been the problem. I think she was right because I felt better after I was able to cool off. It is ridiculously hot and humid here!

So,back to Lu's new school...there is AC and heat, which is abnormal for a school to have. Also, she will get Christian teaching instead of Buddhist/Shinto teaching. Her room will have up to 10 kids in there so she will get extra attention. And get this...there is a notebook that the teacher fills out everyday that has everything she did that day (it includes her temperature which I have to take before the day starts). Then I am supposed to keep a record of what she eats, her sleeping habits, bowel movements, etc so the teacher knows how she is doing at home. This is different for us but apparently normal for Japan! So, all this to say that our prayers have been answered! Praise God!!

On another note...we went to a festival at an elementary school and Lucy wore the yukata that Rika let us borrow. She looked so cute!

Here she is looking surprised...she didn't understand why people were pouring water on the ground. They were taking the water from the small pools where they were playing games and pouring it on the dusty ground! She couldn't believe they were doing that. She finally started crying and saying "water...oh noooo!!" She kept trying to go over there to stop them!

Many people have come up to Lucy and touched her cheek and talked to her in the English that they know! Teenage girls especially think she is cute. There were many who just came up to us and stared...I mean, just stared!! We'd smile and try to start a conversation but normally they would run back to the crowd of friends and giggle and act like they just won a dare!! It's pretty funny most of the time. Here is Lucy with some people she doesn't know (we don't know them either) but they and their parents wanted pictures with Lucy in them! We do know one girl in this particular picture! Lily is Rika's daughter and she is in pink.

Here is Lucy and Rika.

Here is a video of the Obon Dance at the festival.

On Sunday, we went with Kosuke to the aquarium here and to the giant wheel (it's a ferris wheel that is giant!!). We had a really good time looking at the fish.

The glass that was between us and the fish was extremely thick as you can see!

The ferris wheel was fun too. Lucy really loved it! I was kind of terrified when we got to the top but I made it!!

The ferris wheel at night.

We got dinner afterward and guess who we found...the Colonel!! I'm really not ready to try Japanese fast food yet. I asked Kosuke to help me find something but it was all too different for me at the moment. So I went to KFC!!

Takoyaki!!

2008-07-24T20:22:00.001-07:00

Well, we have been taking Lucy to the park even though it is crazy hot out here. She really likes this one park. There is a really big dome looking thing (see pictures) and she can climb it herself and slide down. She could do that all day. Unfortunately for her, I can't sit there in the heat for that long! It is also unusual that she would play in the sand. She doesn't like sand at all and still requests that her shoes be taken off so it doesn't stick to her feet when she's done. When she gets out of the sand she asks for a "napin" which is a wipee so she can clean herself off. It's pretty cute!

Here she is on the rocking horse.

We were invited over to a friend's house this past week. We met her when we first moved in because she is the welcoming chairman's wife. Her husband was out so she welcomed us with a gift of some dishes and a pot to cook with. She is very nice and is willing to help with anything! So she asked us to come over to try Takoyaki...for those of you who don't know me I am not a seafood person. This dish is octopus cooked in flour with some other ingredients. It is really popular here in Osaka. She put octopus, ginger, green onion, and baby (very tiny) shrimp in hers. I was the first to try hers and I had to really hold myself together. It's not that it tasted bad but the texture really got to me (octopus is really chewy). Nick ate some and asked that I try another. So I did because I didn't want to seem rude. After the second time of almost losing it I decided that I would have to be rude by not eating any more. It would be more rude if I lost it all over her kitchen!! Now, at training they try to prepare us for this kind of situation with "special meals" but they aren't like this octopus!! It's actually really good at training. Maybe they do that so you aren't so afraid of eating new foods!! Rika (our new friend) ate the octopus raw! I was impressed and she thought my reaction to her doing that was funny. Needless to say, I ate a lot of rice that night!

Here's Nick making the Takoyaki.

Lucy found Lily's (Rika's daughter) ballet slippers. She really liked them and so put them on. She looked really cute walking around in these slippers!

After our meal Rika was telling us about a festival at Lily's school that would be going on that weekend. They wear these traditional outfits called yukatas and she had one that was Lucy's size. She put it on Lucy...here she is showing off!

Here is Lucy with Lily...they look so cute in their yukatas!!

We are looking for a day care for Lucy because I think she would do better if there are other kids to play with (versus a nanny by herself). Rika asked one of her friends about it and found that this friend takes her two oldest to this Christian school about 10 minutes from our house! So we had the opportunity to go to their bonfire (apparently it's normal to have one of these at the end of the year right before summer vacation). Lucy had a great time playing in the water and hanging out with other kids. She is still really shy around them for some reason. They kind of look at her strangely so maybe that is throwing her off. I am ready for her to have some friends though! We got to talk to the pastor who is also the superintendent of the school and he introduced us to the teacher that would be Lucy's if she ends up going there. All in all it looks like a great atmosphere and everyone there was really nice to us. It's unusual to find a Christian school for Japanese kids. We have been praying about Lucy's care for months so it's really awesome to see how God works these things out. We'll see what happens!!

Here she is playing in the water with some bouncy balls.

Here are the other kids in the water area.

This is the front of the school.

After leaving the bonfire, we were hungry so decided to stop somewhere to eat. We found a KFC. Yes, the Colonel lives in Japan!! Here's a picture to prove it!

Squatty Potties and Other Adventures in Japan!!

2008-07-20T03:25:00.000-07:00

There have been many fun adventures and discoveries during our first couple of weeks. Here are a few things you may want to know before coming here!

1.The squatty potty - I was under the impression that since this country was very prosperous and up to date that all bathrooms would have western style toilets...I was wrong. Apparently they like the squatty potty still. So there I was in a dept. store and needed to go. My supervisor was with us and told me that I might have to use the squatty potty. I thought she was kidding. So I go in and sure enough there it was. Well, I had to go so I used it. It was pretty interesting!

2.The trains - The other day I had to go to the doctor's office to get some medicine and Nick had to go to a meeting. So we parted ways at the train station and I thought I could do it on my own. I had Lucy with me and really didn't think that it would be that hard to get from one station to another. I had done it before several times but Nick was with me then. So, of course, I get on the one train that isn't going where I want! I got off after about two stops when I realized that the stations we were stopping at weren't on my route. I quickly reassessed the situation and chose to get on another train on the opposite platform that I was on. God was watching out for me because that train went where I needed to be. So I almost got lost but figured it out! Be aware that there are a million different trains and if you can't read the language you can get lost rather easily!

3. The smallest vehicle wins - We recently found out that in Japan the smaller the vehicle the better. If there is an accident and you are in the smaller car...it's the other guys fault because he has the bigger car so he carries all the responsibility. Also, pedestrians win over any vehicle no matter what, even if the person walks out in front of you when you are in plain sight. So if you happen to buy a car here, get the small one and don't worry about insurance!

4. Translations - We went to the ward office the other day to look at day care stuff and I saw a pamphlet for senior citizen insurance. In English it said "Insurance for old-old-old people"!!! The translations here are pretty funny! Here's one for Kevin! What does this shirt mean anyway?!!

Okay, on to the apartment and pictures.

This is the plane that we were on when we flew over here. It was a two level plane...we were on the bottom. It felt like lower class but oh well!!

Lucy has really enjoyed the playground behind our apartment. Here she is hanging out on the bars!!

Here is Lucy with her "hat". After seeing Noelle on the Mathis blog the other day she thought her underwear as a hat was a great idea!! You can see Papa in the background with his "hat" that Lucy gave him to wear!

Here is Papa and Lucy asleep. Lucy would get scared at about 3 am for a few nights so we would get her and put her in bed with us. These are our futons in our tatami mat room. We put the futons up at night so this room is empty during the day.

Here is our new kitchen table which is very low. Lucy really likes it!

Our fridge.

Our washer. We don't have a dryer and hang the clothes outside.

This is our oven, microwave, grill and steamer. In Japan we get a stove but have to get our own oven. Here is our first meal in the oven. The pepporoni here is a little different!! Or a LOT different!

Here is a shot from the dining area into the tatami and kitchen area.

More pictures to come so stay tuned!!

Our time in Boston...and other places!!

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Well, we are in Japan as you know but we haven't posted our pictures from Boston. We had a great time hanging out with my sister Melissa and her boyfriend Aaron. After we were there a day we went to New Jersey to see some more of my extended family. We all had a great time. Lucy got to spend time with some of her great grandparents and also with great aunts and uncles. We also met with some cousins that we haven't seen in several years. I am so glad we had the opportunity to see them before we left!! They are such a great part of my life and one of the ways God used to reach me!!

Lucy enjoyed playing with one of my cousins, Maggie.

When we returned to Boston my brother Tom and his daughter came to visit. While he was there we went to Maine for the day. We got to see some lighthouses and also go to LLBean...one of my sisters favorite places ever!! We had a fun day running around.

Lucy and Madyson were out before we even got there!!

Here are Melissa and Aaron in Maine.

Madyson and Lucy just hanging out.

Is anyone coming...?!!!

Here's me with my brother Tom and sister Melissa.

This is a fish tank at LLBean. Don't we look like we fit in?!!

This is how we felt at the end of the day!!!

My dad came in on the fourth of July and we went to this really cool village. There were fireworks that went for about 25 minutes and they were awesome. Lucy was terrified but fell asleep about two minutes into it!!

The next day we went to the children's museum in Boston. That place is amazing. There were so many things to do. Madyson and Lucy had so much fun in the play area for kids their age.

Now you have to understand that my dad is a huge Yankees fan...so this picture is crazy!!! This was in one of the sections of the museum.

Melissa bought the girls some converse shoes while we were there. They loved them and wanted to wear them with every outfit! Lucy still wants her red shoes and doesn't care if she is wearing a dress...she just loves them!! Thanks Auntie M!

The last night we were there we went to the North end of Boston and ate at an Italian food restaurant. It was so good. Afterwards we went to Mike's Pastries...or I think that is what it's called. You have to go there if you are in Boston!!

Madyson and Lucy had a great time together as you can see here!!

Okay...I know that you are anxious to see our new place and other pics so I want you all to know that Nick did a video but I didn't want to post that along with all of this. Stay tuned and in a day or so I will put the video and other pics up! Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!!