International Potluck

Every year Asbury Seminary celebrates God's global vision during a week-long Kingdom Conference. Though we have not participated in it much in the past we do look forward to seeing and hearing all about what God is doing around the world. This year our family was asked to represent Hungary during the annual International Potluck (held at the end of the eventful week). We were honored and excited to represent. Viktor prepared a delicious Hungarian dish, we all dressed in our Hungarian attire, and we grabbed the few decorations/books we had on hand to help decorate our table. We were super surprised by the turnout at this great event. If any of you have ever attended a potluck at ATS you know they don't get more than 30, 40 or maybe 50 people in attendance. Boy were we shocked to walk into the cafeteria filled with nearly 400 people, representing 50 nations!! It brought tears to my eyes several times as I reflected on God's glory and the representation in this one room. Asbury really is a special place! :)  We enjoyed visiting with our friends and neighbors from other countries and sharing a little about Hungary, too. The food was delicious. Perhaps the best part was listening to the various choirs that came to share. We heard the Burundi children's choir, Korean choir, Indian choir, and a Ukrainian youth choir. So, so beautiful! Sadly, I only got one picture before the festivities began, but here is one of our family ready for the evening...

                            

Choo Chooooo

 Emily is really into imaginative play these days...and I love it (see princess post below)! It is so cute to watch her think of new things, mimic things/people she sees, etc. This past week as I was cooking dinner she found something to keep herself entertained. She had gathered our chairs and lined them up to make her very own train. First she sat in it and pretended to be on a train ride, then came Mr. Ducky and Minnie Mouse, and then she yelled upstairs for daddy to take a break from studying and come join her. How could he resist!? I'm not sure where her "choo choo" was going, but I'm sure it was some place fun!

I can be a princess!

This morning I threw a load of laundry on the chair to be folded and went upstairs to get something. When I returned Emily had dressed herself in our clothing, complete with a pair of my socks, and she was dancing around the living room saying over and over, "I can be a princess!" Yes, baby girl, you ARE a princess! :)  

Perhaps it is time we get her some dress-up clothes! haha!

Back to the Orchard!

We were able to make it back to the orchard this week with my small group from Asbury. It was a bit colder this time around, but we still had a blast and enjoyed another beautiful fall morning. Instead of picking pumpkins this time we picked apples. I was a little concerned Emily wouldn't be as thrilled to pick apples as she was picking her pumpkin a few weeks ago, but I almost think she enjoyed it more. Their trees are really short so she was able to pick them all by herself without me having to hold her up. We also got to go on a hayride this time, which was super fun (but chilly with all the wind)! Enjoy the pictures...

Emily enjoying her donut while we wait for the hayride...

With Missy and Sophie on the hayride...

And she is off to find her apples.

The first one she picked was off the ground. Haha. I checked it over and it looked like it had probably just fallen off so we kept it. She was so excited I couldn't resist.

Picking her second apple off the tree.

Here we are with our sweet friend Phoebe. Phoebe and her husband are here from Singapore for a one-semester sabbatical. I was assigned to welcome them when they first arrived in August. Emily and I have really enjoyed getting to know Phoebe over the past few months and will certainly miss her when they return to their ministry in December.

Emily didn't like the goats any more this time around. :)

Our friend Chandra is a lot of fun..and was trying to convince Emily that this silly picture was something fun to do...it didn't work. :)

Look at that beautiful baby (and her beautiful mama). We love our Missy and Shoshie. :)

Em loved climbing on the bales of hay and crawling through the tunnels.

The bigger girls are stealing all of Sophie's puffs...or maybe she was being super sweet and sharing with her friends. ;)

Digging in the sand...one of her favorite things!

Swinging with Missy.

Our fusion group (minus 2 who couldn't make it) with our kiddos. So fun and so sweet!

Emily enjoying her apple before we left.

She kicked the habit!

We did it! We have successfully moved on from life with a paci! It has been in the works for months and we finally did it. I have wanted to do it for a while now, but it always seemed there was a sickness, teething, moving to a big girl bed, or travel that would interfere with it being an easier transition. At the beginning of last week I said we would get rid of it by Thanksgiving...by the end of last week I said we were getting rid of it after our little trip this past weekend. Ha! Emily has only had the paci for nap and bedtime so it wasn't too much of a nuisance, but for the sake of her cute little teeth I figured we should kick it sooner than later.

Here is how it went down: First, I bought an inexpensive, soft baby doll from Target last week in preparation. We have also been talking about it for several weeks that we would soon have to throw the paci away. Yesterday the paci got "broken" (scissors...). When she went to put it in at bedtime it had a hole in it. She gave me a very pitiful look and said, "fix it mommy." Ok, so that broke my heart just a little (ok, A LOT). But, it was the only paci we had and there was no turning back. Viktor walked in a few minutes later and she looked at him and said, "It's broken, daddy. Fix it." Again, sad, pitiful face. By then my anxiety was growing by leaps and bounds just thinking about the night ahead of us. Oh, but wait! The new baby doll! Surprise, Em...tonight, since the paci is broken (she actually threw it in the trash herself), you can have a new baby doll to help you go night night! A smile!

We went through our normal routine, read a few extra books before bed, and tucked her in. She fussed for about 20 minutes and I went to reassure her a few times, but she was soon in lala land. I did think we had made it through the worst part...until about 2 hours later when I settled into bed. Then the crying began. The funny thing is that she wasn't even awake. She was crying out in her sleep. Every time I would go into her room she was asleep, but crying. I would put the baby in her arms and she would gently snuggle it and roll over back to sleep. Silly girl! After an hour of off and on crying she slept the entire night until her usual 7am wake up! Yay, Em!

Nap time wasn't much different. She asked for her paci (I actually found her digging in the trash for it once today), but after about 20 minutes of fussing she went to sleep and took a good nap. And now, she is tucked snugly into bed and I haven't heard a peep from her at all yet. Here's hoping for a peaceful night for all! :) I am proud of her!

I leave you with a little picture of my sweetie (enjoying her new Dora pj's) and "quack quack"...just because she is the cutest munchkin I know! By the way, did you know that chip clips can also serve as hair clips...Em is trying to start a new trend!

A little weekend getaway

Last weekend we were able to get away and enjoy the fall weather at General Butler State Park in northern KY. We did this last year to celebrate my mom's birthday and we thought it would be a great idea to do it again! Last year it was raining and cold and we had a blast, but this year it was in the 70's and sunny which made it even better. We didn't know we would be stumbling upon the annual Tobacco Festival in the local town of Carrollton, KY, so we were in for quite a cultural experience when we went to town for dinner Saturday evening. haha. It was so nice to get away for even just 24 hours and we are thankful for the time with Pop and Mimi!

Checking out the lake out back from our cabin...

We did a lot of running around and enjoyed the open spaces to play!

Hold on tight! Pop was running laps with Em while she giggled away.

My two favs! How sweet is this picture! LOVE THEM!

Going on the train ride around the park. Cute and fun!

A visit with Mimi is never complete without her bag of goodies (crafts, new books, alphabet and number learning tools, etc). She keeps Emily entertained, that's for sure!

Or maybe she keeps us ALL entertained! :)

This makes me smile!
She loves her lemons and limes and they keep her quite occupied when we are out to eat!

This is a sight I love to see...my husband relaxing! It is a rare moment, but when it happens it sure makes my heart happy.

Bambi came to visit us...and Emily asked for him/her the entire evening and next morning.

Helping get the camp fire started!

This was her reaction when Pop lit the fire. She literally jumped out of her chair and was so in awe of the fire. It was too cute.
Roasting some marshmallows. Yum!

Pop teaching Emily about the fire being "hot!"

Relaxing with my girl...such a peaceful night!

Of course Emily talked Pop and Mimi into a few more minutes of swinging before we got back on the road the next morning!

THANK YOU, Pop and Mimi for a great weekend!

Going to the orchard!

A couple weeks ago Emily and I went with some friends to Boyd Orchard. We have done this every year since we've lived in KY and have really enjoyed the tradition. In fact, we're going again next week! Sadly I'm not sure we'll make it this year with daddy due to his super crazy schedule, but we will enjoy some fun and he will enjoy hearing all about it.

You never know what the weather will be like here in KY during the month of October. A few times when we have gone the first or second week of the month we were all wearing shorts and t-shirts. I was actually a little excited when the weather was going to be a bit cooler with a lot of sun for our trip this year. It was such a beautiful day. We enjoyed some delicious donuts, apple cider, feeding animals, playing on the play grounds, and picking pumpkins. And Emily hasn't stopped talking about it, so I'm sure she will be excited when we go back next week.

Enjoy the pictures!

Sydney and Emily are cute little buddies.

Olivia beat the girls to the top to be the first one down the slide.

I didn't even think Em would go down, but she loved it!

She played hard.

Feeding the animals. Emily was not a fan of sticking her hands in the fence, but she did like running around to see all of the animals.

She was teasing a chicken at this point.

The three kiddos checking out the bunnies.

On our way to pick pumpkins.
She found the perfect one in less than 30 seconds!
They were on an adventure!
She was so happy with her little pumpkin!

I'm sure we'll have more pics to share with trip #2 to the orchard! Stay tuned!