New puppy...Fuff

This entry is out of order a bit, but I had to add a note about it.

I broke down under the pressure and got my girls a new puppy (around Kristin's birthday). It is a little cockapoo by the name of Fuff. (Kristin came up with the name, and it works.) It is teaching me patience...I think. It brings a lot of joy to Kristin and Amy, though! Dave, I know you will like these pics...

Kristin has used the potty a couple of times since we've been here due to Elmo's video about going to the potty. (great film...should have won an award...Elmo's daddy is spectacular) I just hope this puppy learns soon!

Night, night!

Moving into Texas

Amy, Kristin, and I had a blast in Okinawa and still miss it a lot. However, we have to move on and get settled down here in Texas. There are some nice things about being back in the States...

Our vehicles don't have rust and were made after I graduated from high school...look how pretty...

Moving is never fun, though.

We set Kristin up in a corner of the house so she could color and watch movies on her portable DVD player (Thanks Papa George!) while we unpacked all our "junk."

Once we got in our house, Mommy and Kristin got to work setting up phone lines, internet, cable, and all that other fun stuff.

I had to get to work, but Kristin and Amy always make the long commute worth it when I get home!

We have had the opportunity to see a lot of good friends from the past since we have been back in the US. It is amazing how small and tight knit the military community is world wide. God has blessed us with some wonderful people in our lives. These pictures represent just a few of those.

We love you all!!!

Kristin is 2 years old!

December started out with our family celebrating Kristin's 2nd birthday.

Mommy made a pretty pink cake, and Kristin blew out her candle all by herself! For some reason she liked eating straight from the big cake better than eating a piece off a plate...even though we had Dora plates.

Mama and Papa Hurt got her a new dress which she had to try on immediately. As you can tell by the expression, she loved it. Elmo really liked the dress, too. :-)

Kristin also got a chest full of dress up clothes. Now she can dress up like a princess any time she wants.

Hi everybody! I miss you!

On Sunday, Amy fixed Kristin's hair a different way. Her hair is now long enough to put it up in one bun or pony tail or whatever that is. (you can tell Jonathan is writing this...) I just know it is very cute. Good job mommy! Of course she had to wear her new birthday dress, too.

Decorating for Christmas

We put up the Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving and were amazed at how much space we now have in our house. In our Okinawan apartment (They called it a "mansion.") everything was very close together. When we put up the Christmas tree, I felt like Chevy Chase on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. :-)Thanks to a gingerbread house "kit" from some friends, we decided to start a new family tradition this year. As you can tell, Kristin has her mouth full of candy. She lined the tip top of the roof with all the gum drops...except for the ones she ate. :-) Mommy made a cool fence out of jelly beans. Daddy just made sure the frosting was edible. He tested it several times.

We are so proud of our creation!

Shopping in the States is fun!

After living in Okinawa for the past four years, shopping in the States for Christmas has been fun. Kristin scares Daddy to death because she already LOVES to shop with Mommy. San Antonio has some amazing shopping centers. Consumerism at its best!

Kristin didn't like this one much, but Mommy did. :-)

Kristin was dancing to the Christmas music in the store. She has some great moves. Daddy is trying to learn from her!

Kristin loves to hide out in the middle of the clothes racks. She shops from the inside out. I stuck the camera in to catch this picture of her looking at the clothes.

The only thing Kristin enjoys more than shopping for new dresses is the toy store! She loves music and decided the whole store needed to hear her sing a song. Then she played a little number on the piano. What a cutie! Unfortunately, like Mommy, she cries when we leave the stores. :-0 Just kidding babe!

After a long day of shopping we had a nice quiet ride home, and we had some delicious Wendy's burgers for supper. It has been so nice to see her again. :-)

Christmas lights

Kristin and Daddy put up some Christmas lights. We are pretty proud of our display. It's been a while since we had an opportunity to decorate outside.We will have fun adding to it next year!

Kristin's new house

our friends, the Waterman's, gave us this cute little house for kristin. she loves to play in it out on the porch.

she is talking quite a bit these days. she has added many words and partial sentences to her vocabulary. although, at almost 2, her favorite word is "NO!"

and, drum roll please... she peed in the potty for the first time a week ago. she hasn't done it since, but it won't be long!!!!

halloween #2

this year, kristin was a care bear! ha! ha! she was NOT in the mood for it.

kristin's first time trick-or-treating. we have a great neighborhood with extremely friendly neighbors.

kristin wasn't too happy about this bear costume! Happy Halloween!

Hello from the USA!

well, we made it to the usa!!! we are very sorry that we haven't been able to blog until now. our computer was broken in the pcs. also, i have no idea why my words are being underlined, but it's very annoying!
anyway... we really miss our friends back in oki. this has been a difficult pcs for us, but we are certain that God is going to use us where we are.

kristin has adjusted well. we have a great house that is big enough for her to run around in. she and i spend lots of time here and we are only too happy when daddy comes home from work.

we think we've found a church. you might have heard of max lucado. we have been going to the saturday night service at his church. they have a great children's program, and since it's on saturday, jonathan and i can worship together.

God has really been teaching me to "cast all my cares on Him." i'm not sure that the lesson is over yet, but i do know that He is a loving teacher.

we'll keep you all posted on what's going on in our lives. i'll blog more once we get our computer up and running again. until then, please email me and l

our dear friend, andrea, told us that we need to blog about our climb up mt. fuji - and she is right! this was the most difficult physical feat that i (amy) have accomplished. it was painful and cold and exhilirating and worth it! the pics are somewhat out of order so you can scroll down if you want to go from the beginning to the end. these first pics are of our descent. enjoy!

cell phone reception on fuji!

still smiling at the bottom!

my mountain man!

the path down.