Day 100- I'm a Mac

Stone definitely takes after his daddy... he is a big fan of Apple... he can even find his way around the iphone better than me!  His childhood will be so different in this world of instant technology! 

Day 99- Who is it?

Loren carved this pumpkin as the likeness of someone "who is loved by many people all over the world"... who is it?  Leave a comment with your guess... from the correct guesses I will chose a winner at random and will mail a little special something to the lucky individual!

**DIsclaimer... if you are the carver or were here that evening you can't guess and win!  Sorry!

Day 98- SPIKE

Just a little bath time fun... 

Day 97- Sew Much Fun!

I was busy sewing a gift this morning and when I finished Stone asked it we could make something for him... so off to the craft closet to get some fabric... an old pair of jeans and a scrap of fabric and we are set to make a bag.    

Stone helped hold the ruler while I cut the material! 

He was so intrigued by the sewing machine. 

He turned the wheel while I got to control the fabric. 

Holding up and playing with the pinned bag... OUCH! 

Mommy with the finished product.. he is not too bad with the camera!

Stone and his new bag...

filled with toys in 5 minutes flat!

Day 96- Pumpkins, Animals and Corn

Last Saturday, we headed to the Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch.   We met up with the Chans there and it was so much fun for Stone and Freedom to run around together!   

Enjoying a little swing ride before the madness of all the other fun stuff began! 

Stone the Kickin' Cowboy...I love these funny cut-outs!

The hay bale maze... They enjoyed running on top of it more than through it which is a good things since most of it was crushed so it would have been hard to run through it...

Stone helping Freedom get out of the middle of one... next was looking for the lost shoe! 

Life is better when you have a friend to share a hammock with!

The corn maze... the boys just took off running on the straight path...

until they met a fork in the road and  which way now?

While Charity and I waited in the hayride line the boys went to the petting zoo... and this was the only picture Lj got!  

Waiting on Mommy's back for the hayride to arrive!  This has become his favorite way to travel lately!

Family photo on the hayride! 

Stone and Freedom watching for all the pumpkins that lined the path! 

Time to go home... but first Stone got to chose one pumpkin to take home!

Which one? Which one?

This one feels good... maybe this is it...

YUP!  This is it... 

We had a great day of fun at the pumpkin patch and the fun ended with a nice cold beverage at Pops Cafe.  

Day 95- Lj's Photo Tour of Japan?

Well, since Lj was the one who was in Japan the pictures are lacking... he only took 41 pictures in 8 days... I think I took over 200 the last time we went for 8 days!  So, without further ado...

Anpan Man arrived safely at Narita... it was a tiring flight but Anpan Man and Lj had 5 seats between them... so no complaints! 

Anpan Man got to hang out at IC in 5100 for a day or two... 

The main reason Lj went to Japan was to have meeting with IC... everything went well but the highlight of the trip was hanging out with Pat and Yumi

Lj got to meet baby Ayano and Maki... Maki was a lifesaver to us when we lived in Japan and I am so happy she has a sweet little baby now... she is just so precious! 

Yamato and his family visited Lj in the Hotel one morning.. it was an arranged meeting for a gift exchange hand off... Yamato keeps Stone up-to-date on all the new fun stuff out in Japan  while Stone keeps Yamato up-to-date on all the fun holiday stuff here!

Lj stayed at a hotel right outside the Southside exit of Mito station... It has changed so much since when we first moved to Japan... this is a hopping little station now!  Lj showed us this view every morning and night... Stone now understands that when we are awake Japan is sleeping and vise versa- gotta love technology so we can concretely teach him concepts that are hard for even adults to grasp.  

Daytime

Nighttime

Another view

Lj's last day in Japan was spent at Mito Churches 60th anniversary celebration... these ladies are an anchor of the church in Japan.  

Day 94- Friends

Since Lj did not want to sit in sardine class from Dallas to Oklahoma City; Arianne, Stone and I made the trek to Dallas to pick him up.  Of course, a trip to Dallas means a stop at Ikea, World Market, and time spent with friends!  We got to spend a fun filled evening with the Herndons; who originally they were going to be out of town as we crashed at their house but their plans changed we got to enjoy time with them.  It is such a wonderful blessing to be with those who God placed in our lives while we were in Japan... Kelsey and Lisa helped us out in so many ways our first year there that we can not even begin to repay the blessings! 

Stone loved playing with Kaylen and Ezra... they had so many fun toys!  

Day 93- Friends, Dogs and Fun

On Saturday, we headed to Tulsa to visit the Klutz family... Stone had so much fun playing with Tara and Elle!  Stone really wants a doggy to call his own but we (ok me) are just not 100% ready for that yet!  It is always great fun to catch up with old friends! 

Day 92-SuperStone

Stone has taken to being a superhero of sorts lately!  He always makes sure he is wearing his cape and if for some reason he is not wearing it he has to make sure it is with him at all times. Since he has a love of capes I tried to convince him to be Superman for Halloween but he insists he wants to be OLD Batman... now we are on the hunt for a Stone size Batman costume!   

Day 91-Thank You, Grandma L.

Day 90- YUMMMM...

there is nothing better than licking the beater after making cookies... Rei Rei gave Stone the whole beater after they made cookies... I am sure there is no turning back now! 

Day 89- Peace...

or cheezu??

Day 88- TOO COOL!

Stone believes he is too cool to smile for the camera so it seems that every picture I get of him he is either looking away or not smiling... I guess I took way too many pictures his first year of life and he is DONE!

Broken But Beholding Blue!

Coming back to the place where you shed the hardened skin of your past to find a more pliable being capable of God-sized endeavors is as humbling as the original...just at breakneck speed compared with the first. Several days ago, I stood in the office of a colleague who proposed the question, ‘When did you stop noticing the sky was blue?’ I half-heartedly offered with a jest, ‘When you had to balance a budget!’

Leaving Japan was rough. I have previously shared how the past year has been “tough”. And the kick in the pants is many don’t understand, or claim to have a understanding based on a move from one state to another state! Of course, over the last year, Kari and I have spoke with wiser souls than ourselves who have shared with us both sides of the coin...as much as others don’t understand what we have experienced, we don’t understand them. How much is not understood? How much is not shared because of some feeling of not being understood or accepted? Such a waste! I have never told my story in such a nutshell...stripped to the bone...painful exposed.

Japan received me and when I had nothing to give. I was prideful and sinful. I didn’t care. Japan still received me. I offered nothing and I wanted nothing. I had no direction. I wandered in and out connecting with few. Japan received me. I had no skills and couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t communicate. I had little interest in the language and culture of the natives. Japan received me. I took. Japan received. Despite my aloof intentions, Japan received me and out of that receiving came a change. A change God orchestrated and enhanced to the “out-of-control” stage until the day came I hit the wall going 180 miles an hour. I had two choices, continue broken or continue broken with a better understand of who God was and what he could do in and through my life. I chose the the latter.

Experiencing Japan after being broken was like a butterfly IV in a rolling vein...painful, but knowing I was on the mend felt good. I can’t say it was all fun...I am sure Abraham wasn’t in his happy place climbing a mountain to kill his son...but he obeyed. Following the Father warms your face even when the world’s bitter cold closes in. I obeyed. My eyes were opened. I could see the hurt in the world. I had a mission to touch all I could...and when I did, I would bring them to the cross to show them why I was the way I was. It worked sometimes...most times it didn’t...but I was sharing! I was receiving! Not for me but ALL for HIM.

Then I came “home”. Imagine the world’s worst bank collapse with no economic stimulus package on the house floor to put a band-aid on the open wound...you may then have an idea of the staggering effects moving back had on Kari and I. We were in trouble...for some reason I believed God had finished his work and moved on. It was dark. Recently, Kari and I went to a “re-entry” seminar where we hit the wall again...broken and ready to obey...wanting to receive. I walked out on of the seminar and took some wisdom with me...but where was God?

I walked out of my hotel this morning and saw the most beautiful blue sky! I promised God as I wept surrounded by hundreds moving about to their morning train I would not leave him in Japan again. I saw a blue sky! God let me see the blue sky...broken but beholding blue! I love Japan! I love Kari and Stone more! I love God the most...and in coming back where Yahweh broke me...He has allowed me a chance to recognize I can receive, share and obey despite being broken because He is not! Praise God! Kari...I love you! Stone...you’re daddy’s little man! God...I will obey!

Day 87- Growing Monsters in #1018

I picked up some growing capsules on a whim yesterday at target... Stone was so excited to watch his monsters grow and pop out so then he could play with them... all this fun for just $1.00... can you believe it?!? 

Day 86- Stone Singing

Mom... just click the arrow in the middle of the picture to watch the video!