chasing

Oswald Jonathan Chase

2011-01-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

After 3 months,... I think it's about time I finally introduced you all to our newest addition! Meet Oswald Jonathan Chase!! Born 20th of October 2010, at 11:32am, weighing 7.6lbs and measuring 19in long. He has filled our house with much joy and it's hard to remember what life was like before him. That might just be because of the sleep deprivation and complete fatigue :) I'm sure it was a little less hectic, but we wouldn't have it any other way. We adore this little boy SOOO much. What a precious gift we have in him.
I had to spend eight days at the hospital with Os after he was born. I was so worried about being away from home for that long, but it really was such a restful and quiet time to recover and bond with my newest little boy. Matthew did a wonderful job taking care of liam and Hudson, and they came to visit us almost daily. (even if they only lasted for 15 minutes sometimes :) too many nifty things to get into at the hospital! My favorite part about them visiting was when they first walked into my room, they would be straining their necks trying to find Os. We had a lot of fun moments introducing them to their baby brother.
It was my first time to have a baby in Japan, and I can honestly say that I had a great experience. I loved all the nurses, and the traditional Japanese food that I got to eat (once they finally allowed me to eat again after my c-section... I didn't eat for 2 whole days!!) was SO yummy.
Here's Os moments after he was born! Matthew was able to stay with him like this while I was still in surgery.
Finally home with his brothers!! I think Os was wondering why his world got so noisy all of a sudden!
I am not exaggerating when I say that Os must be the most kissed baby around!! He is kissed CONSTANTLY, especially by Hudson. He is forever covered in slobber :)
Liam has also taken to Os beautifully and he will sit holding his baby brother for good chunks of time, 20-30 minutes at a time! (and if you know Liam, sitting still for any amount of time is quite an accomplishment!)
It's hard to believe that Os is already 3 months old! He has really started to interact with us lately with lots of smiles, and talking too! and for the most part we think he has a very laid back easy going nature. Sometimes I'm sad that I don't get to spend as much time as I'd like with him... I'm busy running after the older two. So take the moments that I can, and have been thankful that I am forced to sit down and be with him every 3-4 hours. I think God knew what he was doing when He made babies :) Even though these last 3 months have by no means been easy, they've been really really hard, adjusting to three has been more difficult than I though it would be! I'm already looking back and remembering fondly...

pregnant tummy!

2010-10-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

I have about 2 weeks left till I finally get to meet the little babe that's been kicking me and nudging me from the inside! I can't wait!!! I can't wait to hold this little one, to snuggle and love on this baby face to face. I some times also look forward to not having such a 'Big' tummy!! It just makes life that much more difficult, although I generally like being pregnant, the last few weeks can be a little rough....
Then I remember my gorgeous Mama!! WOW! and almost never without a smile on her face :) She is beauty, so thankful for her and all the babies she had. Here she is carrying my youngest sister Esther!! Then I also remember I've got nothing on her :)

Big Boy

2010-10-06T22:22:00.000-07:00

Some new friends of ours gifted Liam with his very own 'Big Boy Bike'!! It's one that their son had grown out of (is that what you say for bikes??) and after Matthew spent a few minutes here and there, tweaking this and that, it was perfect. Liam could not be more thrilled to have his very own bike!! He has a bit to learn as far as actually riding it, but he loves to just go out to the yard and sit on it. The simple pleasures in life!!

Chase Mt. !

2010-10-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

All the boys lovin on each other!

expectant

2010-09-21T05:57:00.001-07:00

I love their little faces, filled with expectancy! Praying that God would fill me with an expectancy... He is ALWAYS working, in our hearts, in the lives of those around us, in this land, in the world... He has a plan of redemption and it is being worked out every day all around us!! Excited to see how it's worked out in my day.

family day out!

2010-09-17T00:13:00.000-07:00

What a fun day we had out and about at the aquarium! It's always a treat for the boys when we get to ride the train, and an extra treat to have their 'Gi' (my Dad, who was in Japan for a little while) join them.
It's also special to have so much time with Daddy!! and I love any opportunity to get a family shot :)

The rate at which Liam is growing, it probably won't be long till he out grows me!!
Watching all those big fish!! Liam and Hudson were both mesmerized.
I was too really! such beautiful and amazing colors combined with such unusual shapes!! What a creative God we serve!! So thankful for fun times together.

funny faces

2010-09-14T05:14:00.001-07:00

Matthew and Liam were having a fantastic time cleaning in the kitchen, I had to go grab the camera.
I LOOOOOVEEE that Hudson wanted to join in on all the fun! His smile just about kills me.

We're still here!

2010-09-10T21:51:00.001-07:00

But don't ask me how these boys got to be so big!! I have no idea...

Sakura :: Cherry Blossoms

2010-05-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

These are definitely a little old and the sakura season is mostly passed except for the very rare late bloomer. We had a REEEAAAAALLLLLYYYYY long winter this year and it seemed like the sakura would never bloom. I confess I was more than a little grumpy about it... But God is good and when they did finally bloom they stayed open for an unusually long time! We had lots of opportunities to go on 'hanami' picnics! (That literally means flower watching!) So here are a few pics from our picnics!!

The color blue

2010-05-03T18:38:00.000-07:00

Would you look at those blue eyes! He has the biggest, bluest, most expressive eyes. I love it, and I love him.

Little Goofs

2010-05-02T20:31:00.001-07:00

These are a little old but still I thought they were worth sharing, they sure make me smile. We were eating our breakfast and the boys were playing nicely in the other room, when all of a sudden they start giggling, and come out to surprise us looking like little goofs. I'm so glad we had the camera near by.

Hair Cut

2010-04-29T17:00:00.001-07:00

:: BEFORE ::
:: AFTER ::

koinobori :: For the boys

2010-04-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

There is a little river about 10 minutes from where we live, and during april and may the town hangs 'Koinobori' across the river to celebrate 'Boys Day' or more recently, 'Children's Day'. We had a beautiful sunny and warm day on sunday, so we took a little drive out to enjoy the river side and all the big fishies!! What fun! The boys, especially Liam, loved it. And I did too!! Time with family, beautiful country side and fun Japanese traditions.

A year old already!!

2010-03-16T05:24:00.001-07:00

I can not even begin to put into words the amazement I feel when I think this was a year ago! Hudson, you have truly filled our lives and we are SO grateful and praise our Heavenly Father for giving us YOU!! Happy Birthday Big boy!!!

Little Pirates..... A wordless Wednesday.

2010-03-03T03:18:00.001-08:00

okay, just a couple of words... I LOVE how he looks up to his big brother, so sweet.

Over heard at my house.

2010-02-25T16:03:00.000-08:00

Following along with The Noll Family I've been wanting to do this for a while especially as Liam is speaking more and more. And since some of our other friends'The Glenns' have also started an "Over heard at my house", I thought I could too:) So here it goes, I have a few I've been wanting to share.

Liam LOVES the movie Cars, and he has watched it A LOT, especially as we raised support and as we've been settling into our life here in Japan. I became very aware of this fact the other day when he was getting frustrated with Matthew and yelled... "I'm SO not taking you to dinner!"

::::::::::::

Liam's been sick off and on since we arrived in Japan, he most recently had about a week of diarrhea.... We were eating lunch a few days after he had recovered and he had a rather large burp. He looked at me with big eyes and a shocked expression and said "Mommy! I just did Diarrhea in mouth!!" MMMMMmmmmmm.....

::::::::::::

We were ridding in the car and talking as we do...
Liam exclaims to me "Mommy, Jesus took my sins away!!"
Me: "Yes that's right buddy, Jesus died on the cross to take all our sins away!!"
Liam: "Mommy, Jesus NOT take my cars away. Okay?!!"

Aunt Essy

2010-02-22T22:25:00.000-08:00

We just had the amazing privilege of having my sister Esther stay with us for about a month. Liam loved ever minute of it, well except for maybe a few times that esty had to discipline him. They became best of friends and I began to wonder how we would ever make it without her... The first week after she left was rough, but we're back into a good groove and now we can talk about her and miss her without having tantrums. Liam and I both!
I wanted to share some fun quotes from liam as we've been talking about Aunt essy. "Daddy bad guy, Hudson bad guy, Gi bad guy ..... Essy's good!"
Here's another one "Essy not a boy, essy's a giiirrrrrl ....... Essy's MY girl."
We sure do miss her.

Our Boys :: Our Generation

2010-02-21T17:41:00.000-08:00

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands. - Deuteronomy 7:9

Trying to start this week with the right perspective.

A lazy saturday.

2010-02-18T05:20:00.000-08:00

Sometimes... no, it is always nice to have a lazy saturday morning. We were just hanging out in our living/dinning/one warm room in the house room. The boys love it when Daddy gets down on their level, even when He's 'sleeping'. It is So wonderful just to BE together, I am thankful... very very thankful. Especially for days like these.

'Fighting the bad guys!'

2010-02-12T17:05:00.000-08:00

These pictures are a little old and a little grainy, but I thought I'd share them anyway... Liam is into 'fighting the bad guys' in a BIG way! Everything and everybody are 'the bad guys', he will sometimes look up at me and in a very serious voice, say 'mommy, we are bad guys'. I'm not sure where this has come from exactly... except that other moms of boys say that theirs boys are the exact same way. He loves to 'fight' and wrestle with his daddy and it's a great way to get some energy out!!

Chiba Zoo

2010-01-17T02:57:00.001-08:00

Engrish Fliday

2010-01-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

'Save More... on our Picnic Specials! In America picnicking has become an integral part of our culture due to the fun.' A cute diaper bag that esty and I found while out on a short shopping trip!! I wish picnicking was an integral part of my culture! What fun that would be!!

Treats!

2010-01-14T04:19:00.001-08:00

Sometimes it's hard to get through a shopping trip without a 'treat'.
Eating an Ice cream with Daddy after a looonggg day at Ikea. (I got myself a treat too!)
Eating Ice cream (Again:) with Aunt essy outside the super market. Is it bad to use so many 'rewards' while out and about?? What do you do?

Japanese tastebuds

2010-01-12T03:23:00.000-08:00

Japanese Baby food!! I couldn't find any baby food in the normal supermarket, but had to go to the drugstore to find it!! It is always nice to have some jarred baby food handy.
Hudson is about to try some 'Rice porridge with fish and seaweed'.
See all the seaweed in there?!
What do you think Huddy?
YUMMY!! I think Hudson will have the most Japanesy tatsebuds in our family. He gobbled up all his 'rice porridge with fish and seaweed'. MMMMmmmmmmm..... 'おいしい！！’

Engrish Fliday

2010-01-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

" Amour. Everything in flower and fruit looks fresh on the tableland."
Hudson sure thought it was funny!!

Just in case...

2010-01-06T04:09:00.001-08:00

you thought we had it all together! It's easy, especially on a blog, to show only the good pictures where everyone and everything looks perfect and happy. So here are some of our not so perfect moments...
Notice the MESS!! On a side note we are finally starting to feel a little more settled, unpacked and organized!

I spend a lot of my days making sure that Hudson is not smothered by his brother's affection for him!! Don't worry, I went to save Hudson as soon as I had taken these photos :)

A Live Nativity

2010-01-02T16:26:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks before Christmas Matthew and I had the honor of being Joseph and Mary for the Live Nativity that CCSI puts on every year!! Every night there were many people who came to watch and hear the Christmas story for the very first time. While we acted silently, there was a narrative running in Japanese, beautifully and articulately telling the story of Jesus, and God's plan of Salvation. We hope and pray that they would, even now, realize the true miracle of Christmas.
Please continue to pray that Christ would be worshiped in this country. I better get going, as we are off to church now, to do just that!!

A Christmas Party

2010-01-02T15:29:00.000-08:00

On Christmas eve we had the privilege of being apart of a neighborhood christmas party, with lots of kids, games, fun and a Christmas cheer. We had a great time sharing Jesus birth with these precious kids. I got to read the Christmas story to them, and Nagata-san, the host and pastor of the local church shared a message about why Jesus was born as a baby!! It was special to be apart of these children hearing Christ for the first time!! . . . They also wanted Matthew to dress up as santa, and give out presents! He made a jolly old man and the children were delighted.

Liam on the other hand.... didn't know quite what to think?!? He was very confused and after watching 'santa' for the longest time, looks up to me and asked 'mommy, where daddy go?'. Of course he eventually figured out that daddy was santa, and now whenever he see's santa in a book or whatever, he points and says, 'daddy!! daddy santa!'. It's pretty cute :)

The faces on the kids say it all! Hudson also couldn't stop starring at his daddy.

Engrish Fliday

2010-01-01T17:38:00.001-08:00

'The inside of the world which a dream spreads out in...'
HAPPY NEW YEAR to you, may all your dreams spread out in front of you! Praying God's richest blessings!!

Just a few shots...

2009-12-29T04:15:00.000-08:00

to share our Christmas morning with you!

A taste of home.

2009-12-29T03:56:00.000-08:00

This was Matthew's christmas present this year... a taste of home!! A fun family tradition that I'm trying to uphold. It was a little hard the first time in a different country with a new oven and ingredients, but it was well worth it to see Matthew enjoying them so much Christmas morning!!

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-25T15:36:00.000-08:00

Praying that your day is filled with the joy of Christ coming to earth as a baby!! The BEST gift EVER! With much Love & Joy, Merry Christmas from Japan!

Engrish Fliday

2009-12-25T15:25:00.000-08:00

HAPPY CHRISTMAS Best wishes and heartfull greeting for christmas. Christmas Greetings the Engrish way!!

stuff. lots of stuff.

2009-12-22T03:08:00.000-08:00

After a long journey over the ocean, our extra luggage from america arrived just a couple of weeks ago. Now that we've put away a lot of it it doesn't seem like a lot, but when we first got the boxes I was wondering where it was all going to go. It has been so nice to have things from our home, it was a huge encouragement to me... and opening all those boxes!! It was as if Christmas had come early!!
Matthew and Liam worked hard unloading all those boxes! Matthew is relaxing with a cold 'drink'. and boy were we thankful for such a warm and beautiful day!! We were able to keep our doors wide open while we carried stuff into the house. Thank you Lord!
Hudson loved all the packing material, and we loved that it kept him occupied!
Liam was an eager helper giddy with excitement as we unpacked his 'old' books, toys and blankets!!

Look who's standing!!

2009-12-19T05:35:00.001-08:00

well kind of!! He's pretty proud of his accomplishment and smiles over at us when he's pulled himself up, he loves to just stand there and bounce. He's still pretty unstable and when you pair that with liam running up to 'hug' him, well, the falls are plentiful.
:: It won't be long till Hudson really can hold his own... ::

Engrish Fliday

2009-12-17T19:56:00.000-08:00

I wanted to start a weekly blog entry where we appreciate the wonderful way in which the Japanese sometimes use english. I love it and thought this might be a nice way to celebrate 'Engrish!'

So here is the first Engrish Fliday!!
On a box of cakes that a sweet friend gave me.... it reads....
"people gather to Tokyo from here and there with memories of their home. And then, Tokyo gets everyone's home town. Tokoyo Banana"

Our 'Silly Nilly'

2009-12-16T04:51:00.001-08:00

Liam is definitely our 'Silly Nilly'!!! We love that he can be silly and laugh at himself... I hope he keeps that up through out his life. It is always good to slow down a little and laugh! He sure had us laughing on this particular day... He will randomly bring me these goggles and ask me to put them on him! He'll then spend about 15mins or more running around being silly.

Hope that you got a laugh out of our Silly Nilly too!

The boys!

2009-12-14T20:34:00.000-08:00

Here's a small taste of the boys as they are growing up so quickly!! Liam is sporting a pretty fresh hair cut, and doing one of his cheesy camera smiles :) Hudson is just simply thrilled to see his daddy! Contrary to the pictures of them in this post, they are whining and fussing and demanding that I give them back my full attention! Hudson may also need me to rescue him from his 'loving' brother... So I'll be back later.

Gotta love those smiles... makes all the stress and hardship of parenting worth it.

Settling In

2009-12-14T18:30:00.001-08:00

We are slowly settling into our house, and it is slowly becoming 'Home'. We really do love our house and praise God for His wonderful provision. When we come home liam yells out, 'Our House!! We made it!'. To be honest, that's a bit how I feel... It took as so long to get here, but we made it!! In God's perfect timing.
The houses here are placed VERY close together. As they need to be with half the population of america living in an area smaller than the state of California! This picture was taken out of our bedroom window.
We also love the location of our home. We have a park just several houses down from us. (to the left of me in the picture.) and we also have a small grocery store just about a minutes walk away. (I'll have to post about that later!) Now that we are finally starting to settle down I hope to be posting a little more frequently, but I won't make any promises that I can't keep :)

ARRIVED!!

2009-11-08T03:07:00.001-08:00

My Littlest Boy

2009-09-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

Love those smiles.... oxoxoxo

Sherando lake

2009-09-19T11:17:00.001-07:00

A story in pictures...

Away.

2009-09-04T11:27:00.001-07:00

Off to spend the weekend with this little guy, plus LOTS of wonderful girls!! yay!

Not too late for a: Wordless Wednesday!

2009-09-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

A Special Date

2009-08-31T06:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Matthew and I got to go on a special date together!!! It was so wonderful to spend some quality time together, focusing on each other. I'm so thankful for this great guy I get to call my husband. It was pretty awesome to see this beautiful rainbow at the end of our day together, what a great reminder of God's faithfulness to us.

Riding on the Train!!

2009-08-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

waiting so patiently...
All aboard!!! I think I must have been looking forward to this more than I realized!!
What a fun ride, we got to go around the track 5 times. Liam loved every bit of it. His favorite part? The "Hunnels" (tunnels :) the "DAAARKKKK Hunnels", he talked about them for days!
And Hudson?? He slept through the whole experience!

Photo Fun!!

2009-08-24T07:16:00.000-07:00

So sorry about my last post... to tell the truth I was just being lazy and didn't feel like re learning how to do links etc... It's been way too long since I did any of that. But I really do want to share with you all. (well, the 2 of you :) I've been reading this fabulous blog lately called My Charming Kids. Jennifer has an amazing heart for Jesus and a great blog, I LOVE reading her stuff... everything form healthy eating, to marriage, to fun Photography tips!! So the other day when I posted that picture I had been experimenting with some of the tips I had learnt off of her blog!! I'm not sure if the photos publish big enough for you to tell exactly what i did... but I was blurring the background, and making the eyes pop! I hope that you'll go over and have some fun too.

::Before::

::After::

Mckmama really does take some aMAZing photos!! Check these out. What I love MOST about Mckmama though is her heart for Jesus and how it shines through in her writing. They have been through a really hard time with their youngest son.. lots of health issues, life threatening! and I just can't imagine... my heart aches as I read about stellan and pray for him. (their youngest son.) He has been doing great lately, and such an amazing testimony of God's mercy. If you have time read this post. It will touch your heart, and encourage your spirit, and will probably make you cry!!
and of course this post won't be complete with out thanking Sara-Beth for directing me to My Charming Kids in the first place:)))) Thanks SB!

Just playing around...

2009-08-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

I Love to play around with photos. I tried out a new technique this morning, so thought I'd share with you all!

Just Hangin around...

2009-08-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

Spending the evening with the ones I love.

Waiting for our train...

2009-08-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

This is one of Liam's most favorite places. Can you see him.... ?
We have a beautiful park not far from were we're living. It has a TRAIN that runs on the weekend, with ducks and a great play ground. Matthew used to come here when he was a little boy, and even Matthew's mom came here when she was a little girl!! I'll post some pictures of us actually riding the train soon. Liam waiting for the train to come.... reminds me of where Matthew and I are in life right now, waiting for our 'train' to come. waiting on the Lord. I know HIS timing is always perfect.

Me and my little BOYZ

2009-08-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

These little dudes are such an amazing blessing! They push me towards Christ in ways that I have never known before. In awe of the love that I feel, but painfully aware of my inadequacies... amazed that my Heavenly Father loved me enough to give up Christ!! Leaning on HIM everyday, to love them in a way that might reflect even a little bit of HIS love.

Everyday FUN

2009-08-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

Trying to keep Christ the center of what I do, think and say is a daily challenge... I deeply desire for Him to be my focus and my constant Joy, my strength when I am weak, (which is ALL the time :) Here's one of the ways in which I try to remind myself.

Why Hello There!!

2009-08-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

It has been waayyyyyy to long since we have showed our faces here... 4 and a half months to be exact! so here we are, and we're doing well. As you can see Hudson is growing up way too fast, we're trying to savor the moments, the smiles and the cooo's, although we're glad that all the crying seems to be done!! (He basically cried the first three months of his life... and it is just SUPER to see him enjoying life!!!) We hope that your enjoying life too :)

a BIG brother!!

2009-03-14T17:45:00.001-07:00

Hudson Paul Chase!

2009-03-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

Introducing Hudson Paul Chase. Born 03.13.09 at 2:45pm... weighing in at 8lbs and 10oz, measuring 17.5In long. Loved dearly by his Mummy, Daddy and Big brother. We are overwhelmed by the blessing of his life, we praise God for this precious addition to our family.

My Valentines!

2009-02-19T05:29:00.000-08:00

The men in my life... I don't think I could love them more if I tried.

2009-02-16T06:29:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentines Day!! I got to spend my day with this little cutie :) I missed my man though...

Flying Home

2009-02-14T11:12:00.000-08:00

Liam really loved watching the planes as we waited to board our own. and he did great on the plane ride home, even making friends with a little girl from the netherlands. She was 7 years old and even though she couldn't speak english, loved 'taking care' of Liam. What a blessing to Matthew and I!! Liam didn't sleep on the flight home, but it wasn't nearly as stressful as our ride over... Thank you Lord :)

A month gone by...

2009-02-14T11:07:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe a month has gone by since we first met this amazing group of people. We have been blessed, challenged, encouraged and served by this group, and in a short month they became like a family to us. It was with sad, but thankful hearts that we said goodbye just a few days ago... We praise God for each and every one of these friends and how our lives have been impacted by them.

A Special Day.

2009-02-10T06:10:00.001-08:00

I was here in Belgium for my birthday this year, and I also got to share it with David and Robert!! Their birthdays are just days apart from mine... we were all showered with love and singing and lots of yummy pastries. Everyone here made it a really special day and I praise God for His goodness and many blessings through them. It was truly a birthday to remember.

For those of you who have been asking!

2009-02-08T00:29:00.000-08:00

A quick shot that matthew took for me before uploading some photos last night. I know the lighting is bad, but it still shows how big this kid is getting!! It's had to believe that we still have a month and a half of growing to do, me and the baby. We can't wait to meet this newest Chase.

Notre Dame

2009-02-06T04:57:00.000-08:00

This was by far my favorite part of Paris, mind you we were only there for about 8 hours, I know there is so much more we could have seen. It was absolutely beautiful. It was sad to see it turned into a tourist attraction and not so much a place of worship, though we did get to be a small part of the mass. I pray that this building would be a place where people would still meet God, or maybe begin to wonder for the first time the majesty of our gracious and loving God.

Paris

2009-02-04T11:02:00.001-08:00

More pictures to come soon. . .

Rainy day in Paris

2009-02-04T10:35:00.001-08:00

We had a free day on monday and so matthew and I joined some others and took a trip to paris! We were blessed by two wonderful ladies who offered to watch Liam for us, and so we were able to go with no worries of how Liam would do.... and wow, were we thankful. It took us about 5 hours to get into paris and there was slushy snow on the ground with steady rain coming down. despite the weather we really did have an amazing day! We were surprised at how much we got to see in a day. I was amazed by how old and beautiful all the buildings were.... just incredible! Here are just a couple of pictures, and hopefully I'll post some more soon. Matthew really took some great shots.

Hello there!

2009-02-01T10:50:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking in on us! Please pray for us as we begin our last week here in Belgium, that we would learn a lot and love on those who we're with.

Just Because . . .

2009-02-01T10:35:00.000-08:00

We love this little guy so much. He's been having so much fun exploring our new home here. I had to give Liam's hair a little trim yesterday... though you can't tell much from these photos. At least his hair is out of his eyes :)

Our local park

2009-01-31T02:05:00.000-08:00

We've been greatly blessed to have this park only minutes away from where we're staying. We take Liam over to get some fresh air, and let him run around chasing the ducks. He points and yells and says "du du". and as all little boys do, he likes to throw rocks into the pond. When we went over yesterday we found the pond had frozen over! We knew it had been cold, but didn't realize it had been THAT cold. It was funny to watch the ducks walking across the pond, slipping and sliding. In the last picture you can see some 'belgian' houses in the background.

Special Times

2009-01-28T13:07:00.001-08:00

Something that has been a huge blessing while we've been here is special time Liam has got to spend with our dear friends. One of Matthew's long time friends is here with us, what an amazing blessing for all of us. It is neat to see how God is placing people in Liam's life to love on him and disciple him.

Our daily lives

2009-01-27T13:52:00.001-08:00

This is where we are staying in Brussels Belgium, The OM Zav center. A modest building with simple rooms, that has quickly become our home while we are here. Being the only 'family' here with a young one we are blessed to be in the only 'apartment' with our own bathroom and kitchenet. (Being pregnant and having to use the bathroom several times a night, I am very VERY thankful for this blessing.)
Everyday with have classes and lectures, so far they have all been wonderful! Matthew and I are both learning a lot, every thing from language learning techniques to church planting, to conflict resolution. We're looking forward to the rest of this month.
The evenings are usually spent here in the library, where we get good internet connection. we're usually talking to different people, working on assignments, we've even watched an episode of the office hanging out in the library. It is the happening place to be :) Since Liam goes down around 7:30, matthew and I hang out here until we're ready for bed. It really has been a great place of fellowship.

Brussels

2009-01-16T12:33:00.001-08:00

Since we have arrived here in Belgium, we have mostly been busy with different lectures, group discussions and such, but we had some free time thursday afternoon, and so we took a little adventure and went to visit Brussels central, it was absolutely beautiful, especially with the evening sun hitting all that gold. It was amazing to think that some or most of these buildings have been standing for about 400 years!

Our flight to belgium!!

2009-01-16T04:40:00.000-08:00

We made it! We are in belgium and settling in nicely. Liam slept through the night last night!! Praise God :) Our flight was only 7 1/2 hours and we all got about 2 hours sleep... the rest of the flight was spent walking up and down the isles and trying to amuse Liam with various things. He really did LOVE the plane, especially the first 20 minutes or so, lots of new things to look at, new sounds, people... It was exciting to watch and experience the awe along with him. The center that we're staying at is only minutes from the airport and so we see alot of air planes. I'm expecting "Air Plane" to be one of his next words. Here are a couple of pictures from our trip over....

After what seemed like hours of screaming... sleeping baby :)

Learning...

2008-11-03T08:06:00.001-08:00

... and LOVING it. Loving time with his daddy.

Animal lovers

2008-10-25T06:07:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered, I don't know why I didn't think of this before, that Liam LOVES the pet store. He gets SO excited to see all the animals, it's hilarious and too cute. So here are a few photos of Liam and Jude, who was equally as excited, enjoying their trip to the pet store :)

Pumpkin Picking

2008-10-21T05:45:00.001-07:00

A little while back Amby, Liam, Becky, Levi and I went to pick out some pumpkins at a Pumpkin Patch. There were SO many pumpkins and the boys loved it. Here's a picture of Liam getting a piggy back ride from his aunty!
The JOY of running through rows of pumpkins!! I brought back a plate of small gourds to display in the house, they are now one of Liam's favorite toys to play with.

One of the best things about our trip was how much Liam and Levi enjoyed being pulled in the wagon. They enjoyed it so much... Liam even tried to pull Levi along, and was able to move him a few yards on flatter ground. I know I say this a lot, but we are so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Special visits from special friends

2008-10-17T07:01:00.001-07:00

We've recently had fun visits from some very special friends! Liam and Noa had a blast reuniting over Martha's wedding. Liam was only a couple of months old when Noa went to Japan, and almost a year later it was so wonderful to see them playing and interacting together. We hope we'll be in Japan with them soon.

We also had the sweet blessing of hanging out with Phoebe, who recently moved all the way to L.A. They were in Virginia for 2 different weddings, so we got to spend a good week with them. Liam and Phoebe have always been such great friends, and it was neat to see them remember each other and start playing again.

Over the past six months or so...

2008-10-15T08:57:00.001-07:00

Being a cool dude with daddy. This if I remember correctly was one of the hottest days this year.
All swinging together. A fun play date with lots of friends.
I love this picture because I think it really captures who Liam is... full of energy and lots of fun, always on the go, making up games and playing with anything that he can, though he is usually making those around him laugh and smile along with him.
This was a moment to remember for us parents! One of the first times that all our little ones were actually playing together.
And here he is after we had built his first fort ever, to my surprise he played in it for quiet a while. I'm sure with the weather getting cooler we'll have many days to make more forts.

Time

2008-10-14T10:46:00.001-07:00

As you can see from this picture A LOT of time has past since I last uploaded pictures from our point and shoot camera. These pictures are both old, and were both found on my camera!! I couldn't believe it had been so long. This probably explains a little of why my posting has been so spars lately... I'll post some more pictures that I found over the next few days!

Changing Times

2008-10-13T06:41:00.000-07:00

Fall is here and with it lots of change... It is truly beautiful to behold.

In all our craziness.

2008-10-11T05:57:00.000-07:00

A moment of quiet and peace...
Trinity and Daniel Josiah stayed with us for a few nights over the weekend of Martha's wedding. Liam had such great fun playing with his cousins, and Matthew and I enjoyed catching up with Danny and Kimberly.

Being Away

2008-10-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

It's true we've been away.... but not for the whole time that I've been gone from the blog. We recently attended a conference held by MTW. It was an amazingly refreshing time, we came away blessed and recharged. We got to spend time with some wonderful friends, and got to make new ones too. I hope to be posting a bit more this week... we'll see :)

Sand!!

2008-08-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

Hope you enjoy these pictures of Liam discovering the joys of playing in the sand! He absolutely LOVED it and by the end of our time at the park, he was completely covered in it.

BBQ

2008-08-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

A few nights before Sarah and Levi had to leave town we all went out to dinner at a BBQ place... very 'valley' of us I thought.
Liam has spotted the red civic!
craning his neck to see phoebe.
There she is!! These 2 are such great friends and it's sad to see them separate just as they were starting to interact so much more.
Phoebe enjoying her daddy's milkshake!! We are going to miss these dear friends more than we could say.

WALKING

2008-08-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

That's right, Liam is walking! He started one day out of the blue, just walked half way across the living room and has never looked back. He's now turning corners and walking into different rooms, even trying to run when daddy's chasing him. He now spends the majority of his time up right like the rest of us! It is amazing to watch as he learns and grows... an amazing privilege.

There is nothing better than to be on the receiving end of those out stretched arms.

with a little help

2008-08-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken well over a few weeks ago, and he is walking fine with out the 'help'. I still had to share these photos with you, look at that proud smile!!

We have a ONE YEAR OLD!

2008-07-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

We just recently had the joy of celebrating Liam's first birthday! We planned a joint birthday party for Liam and Phoebe (whose birthday is just a day apart from Liam's). We invited family and friends, lots of people who we are SO thankful for in Liam's life. We wanted it to be a celebration of God's blessings in our lives, especially these precious little ones. We are praising Him for this amazing 1st year. We made it!!!

This was the first time Liam had cake, and boy did he devour it!
The birthday kids!!
Check out all the babies that were able to come and celebrate with us! (This isn't including at least 2 other babies that weren't there when this picture was taken.) Liam and Phoebe are blessed with many, many friends.
Covered in cake and I couldn't have been more proud.
At the end of everything we stripped him down and let him play in the kiddy pool! Liam loves his daddy who is always willing to make him & others laugh:)

The reception

2008-07-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

The Wedding

2008-07-07T11:15:00.001-07:00

Rehearsal

2008-07-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful time to remember all the many blessings God gives us. More photos of the wedding to follow...

Nikon Boy

2008-06-30T18:24:00.001-07:00

My Big Boy

2008-06-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

Super DAD

2008-06-26T10:42:00.001-07:00

A little late in posting i know... I just wanted to say... HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!! to this handsome, loving , fun, caring, reliable, helpful, devoted, Godly & trustworthy Dad. Sometimes i still can't believe we're parents. I am so thankful that we are:)

Buddies

2008-06-26T10:27:00.001-07:00

Liam LOVES Titus and as if to prove just how much he loves him, his very first word was "DOG"!! It is sweet to watch Liam get excited as he sees Titus approaching, and literally leaps out of my arms toward him. Titus is a pretty great dog and even lets Liam give him big ol hugs.

Summer is here!!

2008-05-29T06:07:00.000-07:00

It seems like it has taken forever, but the weather is finally getting warm. Warm enough to enjoy a big piece of watermelon!! By far my favorite fruit growing up... So I was thrilled to see how much Liam enjoyed his first piece. He devoured the entire thing in no time.

yumminess

2008-05-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

crazy kid

2008-05-16T13:25:00.001-07:00

Bath Time

2008-04-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

Splashing in the water to your hearts desire...
Being tossed about in a towel...It can't get to much more fun than this!! No wonder he loves his bath time.

2008-04-27T16:49:00.000-07:00

Breath taking!

2008-04-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

These trees are right outside our apartments, and every time I drive by I am amazed at how stunning they are!! I love that the branches are heavy with blossoms. How lovely would it be to have a tea party under these branches?

Locally

2008-04-26T09:05:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we all got up early and headed out to our local farmers market. A lovely day to walk around and enjoy all the different things the vender's were offering. We shared a cinnamon roll:) and got some fresh flowers... ahh... if only every saturday were so quaint!

Ground Hogs

2008-04-24T08:02:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned before my love of ground hogs. Over the weekend we spotted one looking around outside his home. I consider this a love note from God, He is fun and loving and just when I'm not expecting it He surprises me with this sweet gift:) Keep your eyes open for all the different ways God is saying 'I love you'.