Budapexan

Goings on at ICSB

2012-01-23T21:44:00.002+01:00

This past week at the International Christian School of Budapest was Spiritual Emphasis Week. Students of all grade levels had chapels everyday to refocus on the One who deserves our attention: Jesus. I do not know who the speakers were for the middle and elementary grades. But the high school students heard and hopefully learned more about what sin is and what our responses should be to it. We'd appreciate all of your prayers for our students.

My bible study girls are planning a hot chocolate outreach on January 30. We will be serving hot chocolate at a bus stop for those who would like it. With the hot chocolate, we'll provide a tract in Hungarian about how they can have a relationship with Jesus. Please pray that this would bless our community of Diosd, Hungary!!!

Also, the upcoming weeks will be full of preparations for two major school events: Senior Auction (Feb 4) and the annual basketball tournament (Feb 9-11).

Justin will be especially busy helping the juniors organize all of the concessions during the basketball tournament, a three-day event! The money they make on this food will go towards their senior trip. Please pray specifically for

Justin to be wise and patient in decision-making
for parents to step up and really be involved
for the juniors to really take ownership of this job and realize that their part in pricing serving the food is important

Christmas 2011

2012-01-03T15:00:00.001+01:00

For those that are interested in seeing photos of our Christmas, here is a link to our picasa web album:

https://picasaweb.google.com/102590199588958038674/Christmas2011Pictures

Enjoy!

A New Year Resolution!

2012-01-01T15:45:00.002+01:00

I (Michelle) never make new year's resolutions, but here I go: I will focus on updating our blog on a regular basis. I know there are some people who read them and have been disappointed with me not posting! Sorry! I've had the wrong thinking: I need to have photos! Those are nice, but not really needed to update people.

Family wise: We are doing well, had a great Christmas here in little Diosd, Hungary. For Christmas Eve we spent dinner with friends who have kids the same age as William and Joshua. It was a very nice evening and I think Kim got a great photo of us all. The kids are even looking at the camera I think! The Rickards had a visitor who was leaving on Christmas day, so it was nice to meet Melanie.

Christmas day we went to church. It was wonderful to be around our Christian family and worship the Lord. There were four 10-minute sermons and I appreciated them all, but the first one stood out to me. Jesus was (and is) and unimaginable gift! God's plan was to humble Himself to wear human skin, in the form of a baby, to allow him to grow up and die for us so that we can have a relationship with Him. Wow. No, I wouldn't have thought to send the Savior of the world to do that!!! Wow.

After church, we had a light lunch and sent the kids to bed for naps. When they woke up, we skyped with grandparents and opened gifts while they watched. (The kids are young enough that we didn't have to open the gifts in the morning.) It was so much fun watching William (2 1/2) open gifts and play with each one. It was the year of the train for him. He got THREE different types of trains: Thomas and Friends, IKEA extra track, and a complete Dinosaur Train.

He was a happy boy and really didn't leave the floor for three days! :)

And Justin's break is two and a half weeks long! It's been so nice to have him home all day! I love hearing him play with the kids, wrestling and making them laugh.

Upon ending 2011, I am really thankful that recently I've been able to chat almost every night with a friend in Texas! I love her and am overjoyed that the Lord has brought us closer despite our distance. We have decided to read the Bible in 90 days. I am already a week behind, but that's not discouraging me. I am listening and reading every night on biblegateway. The amount of time doesnt' matter to me, but the reading does. I have never read the entire Bible and I look forward to hearing and reading about God's plan for us.

Happy New Year!

More photos with Oma and Opa

2011-09-28T15:19:00.005+02:00

Just realized we don't have many actually with Oma and Opa. :(

Joshua loved his swing!
The boys enjoying some PBS cartoons.
William about to go swimming with Dad.

Summer 2011- Oma and Opa

2011-09-28T14:56:00.003+02:00

Here is our time with Justin's parents, "Oma" and "Opa". ")

William helping Opa replace batteries.

Opa had a knack for helping Joshua get to sleep.

William enjoyed taking pictures of his own.
Dad and the boys
Sweet sleep.

Summer 2011- Pop Pop and Grandmom West

2011-09-07T14:14:00.005+02:00

We traveled back to Texas for the summer to raise additional financial support for our ministry. Of course, the bonus of this part of our job is getting to spend lots of time with family! Here are some photos of the month of June with Michelle's parents.

We celebrated William's 2nd birthday. I made a balloon cake.

William with some of his gifts.

Grandmom and Joshua

William loved "painting" with PopPop

William LOVED getting on PopPop's "tractor"

We're back and will hopefully be more consistent with our blogging

2011-09-07T13:09:00.005+02:00

Hi Readers,

We've not blogged in a LONG while. Sorry. It hasn't been a priority of ours. We'll try to do better now.

And we have a new addition! From April, we welcomed Joshua into our lives. :) He has been such a happy guy most of the time and his smile will melt your heart. At the moment he is really into tasting his toes and trying to gnaw on everything! Drool is everywhere. His naps and nighttime sleep are getting more on a schedule. He always smiles at William. He loves to watch what his big brother is doing. William is a SWEET big brother and occasionally gives kisses and hugs to Joshua. He also likes to share his blanket, his toys, and the occasional goldfish cracker with him. (I'm sure Joshua will love the crackers when he can have them!)

So, here are some photos of our growing family. We praise the Lord everyday for these precious boys!

Mommy meets Joshua!

2 or 3 days old

almost 2 months old!

Oma and Opa celebrate Easter with us!

Area Staff Conference: Eastern Europe and Russia

2011-02-06T21:37:00.010+01:00

Psalm 46:10

Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted among the earth."

Wow. That's what I (Michelle) have to say to the Campus Crusade conference we went to a few weeks ago. There were about 20 Eastern European nations and Russia that were represented in the over-1000 Campus Crusade staff at this conference. I was blown away to be able to worship with them and learn more about the ministries in their countries. Pray for this area of the world! God is doing amazing things! Twenty years ago the Iron Curtain fell and slowly these countries realized what had been kept from them: God. They weren't allowed to to talk about God. Many had never heard of Jesus. Anyone who was openly Christian were given menial jobs and not treated well (I know this is an understatement!) Again, wow. Freedom in Christ has a different meaning for them since they've known what it's like to not have freedom. I say this as an American who has always known freedom, especially of religion.

There were several times when we sung, that it was in one of the languages represented. It was beautiful to hear! I can only imagine this is what heaven will be like.

And like us, we didn't take many pictures. But we did take a few, so here are a few. The conference was in Portoroz, Slovenia, right on the Adriatic Sea. We saw a lot of nice sunsets!

This beautiful conference center hosted over 1000 missionaries!

This was a nightly view from our room.

Some of the conference attendees.

Standing on the edge of the Adriatic near Piran, Slovenia.

Beautiful!

Happy 33rd Birthday to Justin!

2010-12-02T12:25:00.003+01:00

Justin's birthday was November 29 and we had a pretty low key evening since both he and William still weren't feeling well. (Justin has a cold.) Justin had a pretty full day with school and then Bible study. So we just had a nice dinner and then he and William took naps! :) I had made Justin a special cake on Saturday. (We were hoping to have friends over, but decided to cancel since the guys weren't feeling well.)

After their naps, we enjoyed this chocolate cake! If you know Justin, he's always on the computer! :)

(I got the idea from the Internet, but those cakes represent an actual computer keyboard and mouse. I didn't have the patience to figure out all the keys. So, I call this a "cartoon computer" cake. )

Thanksgiving and Now Snow

2010-12-02T11:48:00.006+01:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. ICSB did not have school on November 25 and 26 for Thanksgiving. We spent Thursday with three other families and had quite a yummy feast! Hungarians do eat a lot of turkey, but you can't find a whole turkey in the stores. You have to special order it from a butcher. We had a huge, delicious turkey made by our friend and co-worker, Becca. She did an amazing job and it looked beautiful. Justin got the honor of carving it! :) It was nice to have a relaxing dinner and share praises and prayers with each other. Sadly, William was not feeling well and was fussy much of the time, but he did ok. He fell asleep as soon as we got home around 6 pm! He woke up the next two nights with fever and was really clingy. Thankfully, that has passed and he is a much happier kid now. :)

It snowed for the first time this season that weekend! It was so nice to see fresh snow! It is currently snowing now and just looks beautiful! William is interested in it, but it's so cold out that we only spend about 5 seconds outside! I think we need to buy a sled though, because we have a great backyard full of snow! :)

On Sunday, November 28th, Michelle's english class came over to experience a small Thanksgiving meal. Seven came and we had a great time talking about this holiday and what it means. I had already put up Christmas decorations, so they also had questions about that holiday and we discussed the differences between our cultures about Christmas. Here, and in other European countries, St. Nicklaus comes on a differnt day than Dec 25. In Hungary, Saint Mikulas comes on December 6 to deliver candies and little gifts to good children. He puts it in their boots the night before. (If they are bad, they get coal or a switch.) On the night of December 24th, the baby Jesus comes to deliver gifts and bring a decorated tree! Traditionally, Hungarians put up the tree the night of December 24 and keep it up until Feb. 6th. It's very special for kids to wake up on Christmas morning to a beautiful tree with gifts underneath! (Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of this time!)

Over the weekend, we also got to see a friend, Lorn, whose family used to live here. A while back, we had asked for prayer for them. Last year, his wife.Libby, passed away from ovarian cancer. It was hard to hear of this news and that especially that his kids, Micah and Eliza, will grow up without their mom! It was really great to see him and to see his kids again and for him to meet William!

Time flies

2010-09-25T11:13:00.010+02:00

But you already know that.

Justin and ICSB are in their 3rd week of school already. It's going well and Justin is enjoying his classes. He has started meeting with a few sophomore boys for Bible study. First meeting was a pizza party here at our house and somehow ended with a few shaving their heads before leaving. Not sure why, but I won't even try to understand what teenage boys do sometimes....or even my husband.

We have both started taking a class: the Gospel of John. A staff member of Crusade is offering it 1. because everyone on staff with Crusade is now required to take Bible classes 2. Justin can use it towards ACSI certification and 3. I could get graduate credit!

Sadly, I missed our first meeting with the 8th grade girls because both William and I have colds. :( This year we will be reading and discussing a book called "Lies Young Women Believe". Your prayers are coveted while we discuss some pretty important topics.

I am continuing to teach english to Hungarians and we've met once so far. I think that it went well! More about that later...

And we are expecting Baby Custer #2 in April! We found out while in TX and it was fun sharing it with family. :)

And now for some pics:

We are expecting Baby #2 in April!

William at Bush airport in Houston before returning to Hungary.

William exhausted after a fun summer in TX!

The boys and their haircuts.

Summer 2010 Update

2010-08-13T16:31:00.003+02:00

We are currently in Dallas, TX, staying with family and enjoying our time. William is swimming everyday, playing with a big black lab named Carly, and scooting everywhere. :) It's been such a blessing to spend a lot of time with family and for William to get to know them!

We've met with a few people about our ministry and are thankful for those opportunities. This coming Sunday (Aug. 15) we will be speaking at an adult Sunday School class about what we do at the International Christian School of Budapest. We appreciate your prayers!

It's been hard to balance family time and working. Because we've lost financial support over the past years, we really need to find new financial supporters to help us stay in Hungary. So this is another facet of our ministry. It's almost like a second job! We have to talk on the phone a lot and try to make as many appointments with people as possible. I have to be honest about not being the most motivated about it. I just want to spend time with family and friends while we're here!

And it's funny about not being motivated, because we LOVE what we do at ICSB! And we've gotten such encouraging words from so many people. The Lord just needs to continually work on me (Michelle) as far as trusting Him to provide, despite my weaknesses. I could go on about this, but I won't now. Just please pray for me!

"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27

A beautiful tapestry

2010-07-18T21:38:00.003+02:00

This morning we were able to attend New Beginnings Church. It was wonderful to hear from our pastor Jerry Reeves. He just returned from a teaching trip to Malawi, Africa. He reminded us of the body of believers everywhere. As we took communion, I thought of how people around the world were connected by Jesus. We look, speak, and act differently, but with Christ we are one!

One day, I look foward to meeting all of my sisters and brothers in Heaven. :)

Back in Texas

2010-06-14T23:29:00.006+02:00

We are back in Texas for the summer. We'll be in the Houston and Dallas areas while here and we'll head back to Budapest on August 23rd. We are back to see family, but also to raise additional funds for our ministry at the International Christian School of Budapest. If anyone in these areas would like to hear more about what we do, please leave a comment! :)

The flight here was really good. William got a bassinet that we placed at our feet and he took two naps! There were two sweet little girls sitting next to us and William loved watching and "talking" with them. Jet lag wasn't too bad. William slept 11 hours last night and we slept well too!

It is great to be back with family. We are currently at Justin's parents' house in Magnolia. They have three horses and William has already ridden one! :) Oma and Opa were right there holding him on Dandee as she walked a little ways. William was fine, not too excited, but not crying either! He was actually quite interested in the loud tractor in the next pasture.

June 13 was William's first birthday and we were able to have it at the neighborhood's swimming pool. It was a fun time and we enjoyed burgers, hot dogs, and ice cream cake with friends and family.

William loves swimming!

William riding Dandee
Putting together his wagon
Swimming with Uncle Patrick
Enjoying ice cream cake!

Here are some pics from our first week. Enjoy!

Boasting in the Lord

2010-05-20T09:50:00.002+02:00

"Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:31

I am not one who boasts about things, but there is something I need to boast about now! The Lord is amazing! He has reminded me of what He is accomplishing through me and it is wonderful. Not easy, but wonderful!

He is helping me develop closer relationships with Hungarians. (Friendship in the Hungarian culture is highly valued and important. Hungarians may have a lot of people they know, but only a few that they would call "friends".)

Last night at ELI, one of my students arrived first and unlike me, I was early. :) He started to ask me about my summer. This is quite a shock because he is very shy and doesn't really say a lot. I then asked him about his summer, and he told me what him and his family do every summer IN DETAIL! There was even a word he couldn't remember in english but he was able to describe it and I told him the word! His english is improving so much and so is his confidence in it! This made me quite happy, but I didn't realize how amazing this whole event was until this morning. Praise the Lord for my student!

Another student I have invited over for dinner next week. He is quite talkative and I enjoy hearing about his finishing school and the excitement he has for his future job. He certainly isn't a pessimist. (Many hungarians are.) Well, his family won't be able to make it, but he can! Pray that we have great conversation with him and just a good time overall.

These two students of mine have come to both of my "english hours". Please pray for them. I don't know where they are with the Lord.

Also, kind of a fun thing. Mary, another student, recommended her hair dresser after I asked her if she got a haircut. She said that the lady is very good, but doesn't speak english. Mary said she would be happy to help with translation. (And a bonus is that this lady can come to my house and cut my hair! So, I wouldn't need a babysitter if I wanted her to come during the week!)

This is truly the Lord's doing. I wouldn't have met any of these people without being involved in the english classes. Continue to work through me, Lord!

Spring At Our House

2010-04-20T11:43:00.000+02:00

Physical and Spiritual Health

2010-04-18T09:13:00.004+02:00

On Saturday, April 10th, I invited the students from our Wednesday night english classes to my house. It was to give them another time to practice english. (I had learned from my class that Wednesday night was really the only time they spoke english. So obviously, they didn't need to , they WANTED to learn english!)

I had seen an news article about a World Health Organization report about Hungary being one of the most unhealthy nations. So, this was our topic to talk about. And I was pleased that four students showed up pretty much at 4 pm. Jeff, one of the other Wednesday night teachers, also came and had brought one of his students that he was tutoring in english. I was happy to meet Balazs. They were sweet to bring food with them for us to snack on, even though I said they didn't need to do that. One even brought palinka to share, that his father had made.

The conversation was started by me asking what they thought might be the reasons that WHO report found this nation unhealthy. And it came to no surprise that they agreed it was poor diet, poor exercise, smoking, and alcoholism. One student had lived in Denmark and so he was able to share about that culture. Then I asked, "Could the poor physical health of Hungary be related to poor spiritual health?" From the conversation I got the impression that those with a faith in something or someone were happier than those that didn't. Many Hungarians are poor and the students talked about how it seems that having things like money, cars, nice house, were desired to increase happiness. But those that believed in God, or were close to family, or enjoyed recreational things, were happier than those that didn't have those things. The man who had lived in Denmark, said that the people are financially wealthy but that they rarely spent time with each other and that they were lazy. It was good to hear that from him, because another man said that if he could leave Hungary, he would. He doesn't like it here.

I thought this was a good time and it seemed the students enjoyed it too. Please pray for me as I'm planning two more times like this before June. Also pray that the Lord would use this to bring others to Him and to bring Him glory!

Dancing on Easter in Budapest

2010-04-06T17:18:00.002+02:00

A former student shared on facebook about a dance that happened on Heroe Square here in Budapest to celebrate Christ's Resurrection.

Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyXVjDyFtAk

Spring Break and Easter 2010

2010-04-06T09:47:00.008+02:00

Justin's mom, Nancy, and his cousin, Lindsay, visited us during our Spring Break and Easter holidays. We has SO much fun with them and REALLY enjoyed having them here. Justin's mom has visited us before, but this was Lindsay's first time across the Atlantic. We also got to tak them to Prague! And I have to say the William has LOVED seeing them everyday! He gives them the biggest smiles! :)

Here is our time together in pictures:

Mom and Lindsay at Hero Square in Budapest.
William's first train ride! He did great!
The fam at Prague's Spring Market.

Justin and Lindsay in Prague.

Ok, I've got way too many pics to show, so here's a link to my google photos.

We also had a wonderful Easter at our friends' house, the Yaikos. There were two other families there and great food and conversation. The older kids had an egg hunt outside. :) Unfortunately, I forgot our camera, so there aren't any pics for ya. Happy Easter to everyone! Christ is Risen!!!

Working on a Nice Day

2010-03-15T18:27:00.005+01:00

Justin grading papers on his day off! :O

A house in Diosd

A street in Diosd

William loves to get his picture taken. :)

As I said in the previous post, today (March 15) is a Hungarian holiday. It was a really nice relaxing day. Since Justin had a lot of papers to grade, William and I went on a walk. The day was really nice, but chilly because of the wind. (William's nose is a bit pink.) So, I took some pics of our walk in Diosd and our day.

March 15th Hungarian Holiday

2010-03-14T13:31:00.006+01:00

Monday, March 15 is the nation of Hungary's holiday remembering the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. It's a big day with events in every city and town where they celebrate with speeches, poetry, and music. Also, no shops are open. Hungarians do not work on this day, unless it has something to do with the events.

ICSB is also closed on this day, so we get a day off too! Justin really looks forward to these days because he gets to spend more time with William during the week. Justin normally leaves for work right as William is waking up then returns just a fews hours before William's bed time. So a whole day to spend together as a family is great.

If you think of us, please remember to pray for the people of Hungary to become a nation that seeks to be led by God!

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determine the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. Acts 17:26-27

ICSB Basketball Tournament

2010-02-25T10:15:00.003+01:00

February 18-20 was the International Christian School of Budapest's annual basketball tournament. It is THE biggest event of the year. Everyone looks forward to it: 1) because it's basketball 2) we get a day off of school 3) several schools compete.

We had four schools compete with us: International Academy of St. Petersburg (Russia), Kiev Christian Academy (Ukraine), American International School of Budapest, and Fehervar (Budapest). Thursday night started us off with wins for both our boys' and girls' teams!
The girls went on to win 3rd place and the BOYS WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP! This was the first time in over 6 years that our boys won 1st place! Way to go bulldogs!

Here are the photos and video that Michelle took of the games she was able to go to with William. Justin, as in years past, helped out by being the medic. Fortunately, there were no big injuries during these games, however, our girls' team lost two key players right at the start of the tournament! :(

St. Pete vs. AISB

ICSB vs. KCA

Teaching, William and SEW

2010-02-02T12:42:00.006+01:00

Sorry it took so long for an update!

Michelle is teaching 8th grade Life Science again. Please pray for Becky Ham, who is the teacher that is replacing Michelle. She is still raising financial support to come here. Since she isn't here, each middle school science class has a sub. (Michelle would love to do them all AND take care of William, but that's just not possible for her.) Please give thanks for the other two teachers filling in: Sharon for 6th grade and Becky for 7th.

The first question my 8th graders asked was "Are we going to have science fair?" :) To most of the students (and parents), it was good news that we are not.

William is growing by leaps and bounds. He can sit up with support now and is eating mushy solids while in a high chair! He likes to squeal occasionally and laugh at Mom and Dad! He'll be 8 months old on Feb. 13th.

This week (Feb 1-5) at ICSB is called Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW). It's a week that the students go to chapel everyday (in place of one of their classes) and hear from a guest speaker. Please pray that the students would have ears that hear God and His Truth!

Update on William

2009-12-10T19:40:00.004+01:00

He continues to always make us laugh. This picture of William with his sock in his mouth made both Michelle and I just laugh and laugh.

Two big milestones this week: William began rolling over from his back onto his tummy. He hasn't gone the other way yet. Also, we began feeding him solids. This is his first mushed-up apple. I think most of it ended up on him, not in him.

It's fun to see his personality emerge. He started this game with Justin. The rules are pretty simple. He would quickly touch Justin's foot, pull back his legs, wait, then laugh when Justin would touch him. This went on for probably a solid five minutes.

First Post by Justin!

2009-12-05T20:14:00.006+01:00

We wanted to let you know what's going on in our lives and in our ministry. So I thought that I, Justin, would take a minute to share about what I do at the International Christian School of Budapest (ICSB). In short, I wear many hats.

My primary role is one of the high school science teachers. I teach fresman Biology, sophomore Chemistry, sophomore Physical Science, and Physics for upper classmen. The picture above is of some students from the physics class working on an experiment.

But also, Michelle and I are the class sponsors for the freshman class. I also lead Bible study for the freshman guys once a week. Last, Michelle and I both volunteer for lots of events and activities.

All said, we're been involved with ICSB for over seven years now. It's been a rewarding time and I know that we wouldn't have traded this time for anything else.

It's been a while!

2009-12-01T22:07:00.003+01:00

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a while, time has just gotten away from me. I can't believe it's already December!

English classes are going well. I'd like to do something special for my class, maybe invite them for dessert at my house or something. You can certainly pray about that, that the Lord would give me direction about what to do.

School is going well for Justin. However, the day before Thanksgiving, school was cancelled due to illnesses that affected about 30% of the student body. (Justin's entire physics class, four students, were out sick!) The school administrators felt it wise to give the students another day during the holiday break to get well. Thankfully, most students are feeling better and are back at school.

The 7th grade girls' Bible study is finishing up studying about characteristics of God. We've looked at how God is like a rescue worker (He's saved us from sin), like water (He refreshes us and purifies us), like a gift (He gave Himself as a gift to us), like a listener (He hears our prayers). Hannah (my co-leader) and I have encouraged the girls to apply what they've learned and think about how they are reflecting Christ to others. How can you be like a gift to someone? Who have you refreshed (encouraged) recently? It's been a good study and we'll end this semester in two weeks with a Christmas party!

Justin recently helped Boy Scout troop #839 on a camping trip. He taught them rope skills: tying knots and lashings. (I'll be honest, I got a little jealous when I found out he had eaten s'mores!)

Thanksgiving was great! This year we felt blessed to be able to host the meal with our "family away from family." I cooked turkey breast and green bean casserole and baked a pumpkin pie. Two other families were able to join us and combined they brought stuffing, corn pudding, salad, gravy, mashed potatoes, and apple pie. It was certainly a feast and we were thankful to eat great food with great friends! Thank you McLemores and Langs!

English Classes

2009-10-19T13:12:00.003+02:00

Here are some pictures of the english class that I teach once a week. There are four levels offered and I teach the third level, so my students know a lot of english but want to improve. These classes are an evangelistic outreach for the community. We hope to spark discussion about the Christian faith. There is a 30-minute break in the middle of the classes so that we can do this and we want to develop relationships with our students so that we can share the love of Christ with them. Many ask why we chose to live in Hungary, which is a very good question! Please pray for me and the other teachers, Attila and Jeff.

Jeff's class

My class

This is the room we meet in for the break.

October 4, 2009

2009-10-12T13:14:00.004+02:00

October 4th was my birthday (and my twin brother, Matt's! :)) and a lot of great things happened.

First, Justin made me breakfast in bed: Waffles!!!! :)

Second, William was dedicated at church. This means that he was prayed over by the pastor and we were prayed for as well. William did great and everyone when "awwwww!" when they saw him. Even the translator wanted to hold him. So sweet!!!

Third, we met a bunch of friends at Pizza Hut near our church. It is an annual occurence and I LOVE inviting people to share pizza with me because I just love pizza!! :) You can see what William thought of it.

Fourth, earlier in the week my in-laws sent me a Sacher Torte from Vienna. When they were here for William's birth, they took a trip to Vienna and brought one of these chocolate cakes back for us. I believe there is apricot jam in it, so it's a unique cake. We loved it! So I was so happy to get another one!!! We cut into the cake after Pizza Hut. And I was glad that two friends, Hannah and Scarlet, were able to share it with us! I didn't think to take a picture of it, but I have no doubt you can "google" it to find an image. :)

Laughter

2009-09-22T14:35:00.003+02:00

What a creative God we have that He made laughter!!! It's wonderful!

A New School Year Has Begun

2009-08-31T12:38:00.006+02:00

Wednesday, August 26th, was the first day of school at ICSB. Justin is teaching chemistry, physics, physical science, and biology this year. I am not teaching this year so that I can concentrate on raising William, who is growing like a weed!! :)

So, Justin's first day went well. He described it as typical first days (he's got block scheduling, so some of his classes don't meet everyday): passing out syllabi, going over procedures, rules and consequences, etc. And yes, he does give homework on the first day of school. :)

I've been doing fine at home, but it is odd that I am not at school. I LOVE being here for William, but I miss being in the classroom and getting to know the kids. And since there are new kids every year, I'll have to visit school at least once a week. I'm thinking that will help me stay connected. Also, I am continuing a Bible study with the 7th grade girls. That will be a lot of fun!

It's nice that I can have lunch with friends or just hang out with them and their kids. My wonderful friend Becky gave me a scrapbook that she wasn't using and so I'll start a new hobby with that. We'll see how it goes, because I'm not the craftiest person.

William had a doc appt this past Thursday and weighs just over 13 lbs now and is 25 inches long!!! Like I said, he is growing like a weed. It's SO awesome to see how he is growing and developing. He's still small but not as small as he was! And he's talking, smiling, laughing, and drooling! br>

Here are some pics. I wish I had gotten Justin to take some pics of his first day...but oh well.

William tired out Daddy! :)

Friends

2009-08-09T22:09:00.002+02:00

This past weekend we spent a lot of time with friends!

Friday for lunch we went to hang out with the Andersons...Zach, Julie, Eli, and Jasper. Julie made these really great chicken quesadillas and I baked her and Jasper a chocolate cake to celebrate their birthdays. Eli and Jasper apparently really like cake. When it was time for cake all they could yell was CAKE! :) And Julie and Zach held William practically the whole time we were there! :)

Here is Zach and Eli playing a video game. It seemed as if Justin and Zach had their own language when they were playing these games and talking about them. (Julie and I just don't "get it".)

Saturday afternoon we had Emily over for lunch. She teaches AP Calculus, Geometry and Algebra II at ICSB, but don't let that fool you! She is a lot of fun to hang out with! :) And she loved holding William...as you can see, he enjoyed it too!

Isn't William a cutie? He's our little Aggie!

Saturday evening we went to have dinner with the McLemores and the Langs. Since Julie and her fam loved the chocolate cake, I made it again for this evening. It was just a fun, relaxed time. The McLemores have a 10 month old son, Thomas, who is adorable! And he really likes William and wants to touch him a lot. Here is a pic of one of his attempts. :)

Lunch with Friends

2009-07-31T14:01:00.000+02:00

Wednesday, I had lunch with friends, Kim and Pam. They have some cuties of their own and it was nice to have lunch and chat. Thomas is looking at a book my in-laws sent William. It's called Gallop and it's a pretty cool book. Thomas seemed to enjoy it, he liked turning the pages. Can't wait for William to be able to focus on it!

Our Favorite Part of the Day

2009-07-26T17:48:00.000+02:00

When William smiles!!! Justin finally got it on camera. He's been smiling in his sleep since he was born, but we never knew when he would do it. Now it's possible for us to make him smile! :)

Enjoy!

Fun Gifts!

2009-07-23T11:52:00.001+02:00

While Oma and Opa were here, they got to know a few of our friends, including their kids. Miriam and Zach had great conversations with them and J's parents wanted to send them each a gift. They LOVED them!!! Here are some pics and a video from last evening when we gave the gifts to them: three horses for Miriam and a Dinobot for Zach. :)

Thank You Hatcher/De La Garza Family!

2009-07-18T11:07:00.004+02:00

I don't know if this family knows about my blog, but they sent us (which means William) a care package! They are good friends of Justin's family and they sent lots of cute 12-18 month clothes, which he doesn't have yet, and two board books! One of the books is "First Words" and the other is "The Little Golden Bible Storybook". William and I have already read through the Bible story book. :)

William's gifts include two board books, socks, two jackets, two pairs of pants, two t-shirts, and a onesie!

THANK YOU SO MUCH HATCHER/DE LA GARZA FAMILY!

Sleep, a Bottle, and Ice Cream

2009-07-18T10:50:00.003+02:00

William slept from 10:30 pm last night to about 6 am this morning! This is the second time he's had a long stretch of sleep! He did it once before from midnight to 6 am. Ahhhh! We all slept through the night. :)

And yesterday we gave him a bottle for the first time. He had no problems with that and drank 2 oz. of milk. We tried the bottle because we'd like to have regular weekly date nights. This past Monday, Justin and I left William with our friends, the Langs, and headed to the Cukraszda, a nearby cafe. We were only gone for an hour, but I was worried about William since he had been asleep for two hours by that point and we didn't have a bottle of milk for him just in case he got hungry/fussy. Well, he slept the whole time! Talk about an easy baby-sitting job! :) Miriam and Zach were a little disappointed with that because they wanted to "play" with him. (THANK YOU BECKY FOR BABYSITTING!)

So yesterday after we fed him, we headed to a nearby mall to enjoy ice cream and air conditioning with our friends, the McLemores. (It was 97 F yesterday!) It was nice and Pam and I even bought something for our sons at H&M! :) That was the first time I bought William any clothes, since we've been given so much from baby showers and care packages, so that was fun for me.

BBQ With the Hajdu Family

2009-07-13T11:03:00.001+02:00

Yesterday we had a BBQ with the Hajdu Family. Attila works at ICSB as assistant to the director and is invaluable to the school! He is also the head of the english language classes that I taught this past year to Hungarians in the community and has started a church in Diosd. He has a real burden for reaching Hungarians for Christ! His wife's name is Kati and they have two cutie children and are expecting another in November! (Congrats!)

We had a lot of fun with them and it was a perfect day for a cookout! We had pork, chicken shishkabobs (sp?), salad, and ice cream! I was very happy to introduce them to a "Coke Float". Their words to describe it were "it's not too bad." :)

Here are some pics from our time together.

Attila and Kati
Sara and David (Sara's really studying a fly on the table.)
Kati LOVED holding William!
The men cooking

4th of July

2009-07-08T14:46:00.003+02:00

Justin, William, and I spent the 4th with our friends, the Langs and McLemores. Aaron made some awesome cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and bratwurst. There was also corn on the cob, chips and dip, salad, cheesecake, and ice cream! We enjoyed hanging out with them.

Here are some pics from our time there...I am bummed I didn't take pics of the McLemores. :(

William enjoyed a nap most of the time.

Miriam and Zach look so cute holding him!

Becky and William
Fun kids!

Martonvasar

2009-07-03T16:10:00.003+02:00

July 1 was our 9-year anniversary and we decided to celebrate by going to a nearby park. The park is in a town called Martonvasar and the palace on the park grounds used to belong to the Brunswik Family. It is now a Beethoven museum because Beethoven would visit the Brunswik's often. I believe they give Beethoven concerts throughout the summer as well.

It was a GREAT day! It started out overcast and a bit wet, but it cleared up soon and we had a little picnic with William. Here are some pics from our time there.

Happy Belated Birthday and Happy Anniversaries!

2009-06-26T15:36:00.007+02:00

Ok, so I know I've been a bit busy with a newborn, but I feel TERRIBLE about forgetting my brother's birthday. It was yesterday, so HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY MICHAEL! I hope you had a GREAT day and you were surrounded with lots of friends!

Dr. Michael West

And believe it or not, today is the anniversaries of both Justin's and my parents! What are the chances of our parents getting married on the same day? I believe my parents have been married for 38 years!! And I believe Justin's parents have been married for 27 years! (I know they'll correct me if I'm wrong!)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARIES, MOM AND DAD!!! Thank you for being a wonderful example of what a marriage should look like! We love you!

Michelle's parents

Justin's parents

Got My Stitches Removed

2009-06-26T15:19:00.004+02:00

I have to say I was somewhat nervous about getting my stitches from the C-section removed. I've never had stitches before and so the feeling is completely new. Well, they are out! And yes, it felt a bit weird and stung for a very short time. My doctor was great and explained what he was going to do before he did it. He said the incision looks great and that it's okay to take showers without a bandage now. (I've had a water proof bandage over it, so showers were fine.)

Sadly, I forgot our camera. I wanted to take a picture with Dr. Kosztin and William. Now we'll have to wait a month because that's when I will see him next. But until then, I've copied his photo from the clinic's website! He is such a sweet person and he was beaming when he saw William today! :) (Unfortunately, he did not deliver William because he was out of town. The doctors at Telki hospital delivered William, but Dr. Kosztin was in constant communication with them throughout my labor.)

More Visitors

2009-06-24T15:05:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we ventured out to a nearby mall with William and went grocery shopping. William slept through the whole thing and we even bumped into a friend and co-worker while at the mall. She got to see William for the first time and she also came over later on. This is Lisa with William.
Lisa and William
William wearing a cute onesie his Oma and Opa bought him while they were here. It's got lions and elephants and other animals on it.
Mom and William

Today a student of mine and her dad and brother came over to see William. Masha was excited to hold him and I got a great photo of the two. Her and her family are Ukranian and were here for one year working for Campus Crusade. They will be returning to Ukraine July 1, and I will miss Masha a lot. She has such a sweet personality and is a very loving person. Masha, I pray that the Lord provides more than you ask or imagine in Ukraine!
Masha with sleeping William

Meet our doula

2009-06-22T18:13:00.000+02:00

We hired Reka as our doula for the birth of our son. She was INVALUABLE to us before labor, during labor, during delivery, and even after I delivered William. She not only helped me and Justin get through labor, she also helped communicate with the Hungarian nurses and doctors at Telki. Please check out her website if you are going to give birth in Budapest: rekamorvay.com

Today I wanted to get a picture of us when she stopped by for a post-partum visit at our house. She answered more questions we had about what to expect with William (he has some baby acne now) and we also just chatted. She's wonderful!

Oma and Opa

2009-06-22T18:04:00.000+02:00

Last night was pretty low-key being the last night of my in-laws visiting. We ate a great mexican dinner together (see previous post) and for dessert, Opa had gone to a nearby Cukraszda and brought back four different kinds of pastries. All were delicious! After that Oma and Opa just spent time with William. We gave them a picture of William in a Hollo Muhely picture frame (one of the stores they went to on Saturday). It was SUCH A BLESSING to have them here.

Oma and Opa, we will miss you a lot! We love you! And Opa, since we have an above average son, William told us in so many "words" to tell you "Opa, it's your grandson William, I love you!"

William snoring

2009-06-22T17:39:00.003+02:00

Here is a very short movie of William snoring while sleeping on my chest. You may have to turn up the volume to hear him though.

More Photos and Visitors

2009-06-20T18:48:00.003+02:00

Here are some more photos of William with Oma and Opa.

Oma and William
Chatting with William during breakfast :)

Since Oma and Opa fly out early Monday, we wanted to take them to two stores that we thought they'd like. So, William had his first excursion into Budapest. He amazingly slept through most of it!!! It was fun to use our new stroller travel system that Oma and Opa gave us. Oma took a picture of us with her camera, so I'll have to post it later.
Oma and Opa at the Hollo Muhely store in Budapest

We've had a couple of visitors since we've been home. Today the Olson family visited us and it was great to see them. They fly to the States on Thursday and will be gone until the end of January. They are expecting their second child!!! Congrats!! AND they brought us a Mexican dinner to have one night!!! Trisha wanted to make us something before they left. Super excited about fajitas! Thanks Bjorn and Trisha!
Bjorn, Trisha, and Lianna Olson with the Custer family
Tina brought us a very delicious roast beef dinner!!

Sexy Daddy

2009-06-20T18:34:00.003+02:00

Need I say more? (I know this is totally embarassing for my husband, but I don't care!)

William is Home!!!

2009-06-18T14:00:00.004+02:00

Yesterday, Wednesday, June 17, 2009, we asked if we could go home since I was feeling fine and if the next pediatrician exam said that William was a healthy little boy. They said that would be fine and around 10 am, the pediatrician examined him and said he's a perfectly healthy baby. :) At that time we also asked one of the nurses how to bathe him and I got to bathe him as she described what to do. William was a trooper through it all. And it helped me to realize how fast he'll get cold after a bath, as his hands started turning blue once he was out of the water!! So, quick dressing after a bath has been learned early!!!!

And so, we arrived home around 11:30 am yesterday. It is so great being home and William is learning where he'll be living now. (He is LOVING the pack n'play many of our friends gave money towards as a shower gift!! So, THANK YOU ALL AGAIN!) Our first night with him here gave us quite a lack of sleep, but since neither one of us is working now (being a teacher is GREAT!), it's been great to sleep in (once William did sleep) and/or take a nap whenever William naps.

For many who are wondering how I'm doing after having a C-section, I am doing SURPRISINGLY well. I figured major abdominal surgery would slow me down quite a bit, but the more I move, the less I find that I am stiff and sore. Since Justin witnessed the C-section, he was telling me about the experience and he said they did a great job, very efficient and quick. I'm sure I owe the way I feel now to an exceptional staff at Telki Hospital! And William is helping me out with moving! :) I'm doing pretty normal things, with the exception of taking naps. I never was a nap-taker, just ask Justin.

So, the moment you've all been waiting for...more pictures!

William finding rest in his pack n'play.

Justin's mom got us this Boppy and I love it! It makes nursing SO easy!

Here we are a minute from leaving the hospital. The blanket was from my parents and helped shade him on the way home. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Some wonderful nurses at Telki. Wish I thought to take a picture of them everyday since they rotated shifts every twelve hours. So, there were several nurses that helped us with William. The nurse on the left helped show me how to bathe him. :)

Our Stay at Telki Hospital

2009-06-16T06:57:00.005+02:00

Just thought I would update you about us in the hospital. We will have to stay until Thursday for a total of five days, because I had a C-section. I am doing well. I am moving very slowly but I am up and about as much as I can be. My incision feels like a really bad bruise with some tingling here and there if I move the "right" way. But the nurses have been giving me a wonderful shot in the butt for the pain as well as to help my uterus contract back down to normal size.

Justin is really amazing with William! Since I haven't been able to do much the first two days, he has been working really hard to take care of both me and William. Please pray for him, as his back is hurting from bending over to change William's diaper and to help me nurse him. Both he and William are sleeping right now. These men in my life are SO adorable!

And from Diosd or Budapest, I think the drive is about 30-40 minutes, so we have really appreciated our friends coming to visit us. And they've been so helpful with transporting Justin's parents to and from the hospital.

Here are some pics of our friends, The Lang Family, who came to visit us yesterday. (They actually took more pics than we did!)

Miriam, Becky, and William

William, Oma, and Miriam

Photos of Willliam and Family

2009-06-16T06:39:00.004+02:00

Proud Daddy

Proud Mommy

A Sweet Kiss

Opa, Dad, and Son

Mom meeting William for the first time!

A new family!

Oma and William

Our Baby Boy!

2009-06-14T17:34:00.004+02:00

We are happy to introduce to you William Lee Custer! He was born by C-section around 1:30 pm Budapest time on June 13, 2009. He weighed 3.75 kg (8.27 lbs) and was 57 cm (22.4 in). Isn't he a cutie????!!!

Kurtos Kalacs in Diosd

2009-06-09T23:00:00.005+02:00

After our doc appt on Friday, we stayed in Budapest and took J's parents to lunch at Gerloczy Cafe. It was fantastic! Justin and I both got fish and chips and the fish was "nagyon finom" -very delicious! J's mom got tomato basil soup with mascarpone and she enjoyed that. I can't remember what J's dad got...

Then we came back to Diosd, where we live, and walked to the center of town to get some very tasty "kurtos kalacs". It's a pastry unique to Hungary and SO good! Here are some pics, but sadly I forgot to take a pic of the actual pastry. :(

Sitting in a little park

The kurtos kalacs stand

The lady making the kalacs

ICSB Graduation

2009-06-09T22:44:00.003+02:00

Friday morning at 10 am we took Justin's parents to our school's graduation ceremony. There were 15 students in this year's graduating class. I taught 9 of them, 6 of them were in my very first class in August of 2002. They were in the 6th grade and I had them first period. Congrats Liz, Luke, Priscilla, Jiya, Peter, and Anna!

Since we were hurried to get to a doctor's appointment at noon, I managed to get a picture with one of my first students, Jiya. Justin taught her AP Physics this year. She will be going to Cornell to study engineering. She is beautiful and brilliant!

Baby Custer Is Too Comfy

2009-06-09T22:29:00.004+02:00

He or She is still in my wonderfully warm womb! My due date was yesterday and so now we wait. I've learned that a first-time pregnancy can be 5 days overdue on average. So we wait.

Here is a photo of J's parents when they arrived in Budapest. Most of what they packed were gifts for us and baby!

Here is a picture of us next to our pack n'play and stroller that J's parents brought over. It's been fun having them here!

Budapest's National Gallop 2009

2009-06-07T08:51:00.006+02:00

The weekend of May 30 was Budapest's National Gallop. It was started last year, I believe, and it is an event for horse racing. The city transforms Hero Square (Hosok Ter) into a racetrack and the surrounding area is like a fesztival. Many people come to compete from various villages around Hungary. It is also a great way for the villages to advertise to tourists and so there are many booths with information on each village.

This event made me think of my in-laws who own three horses. So I sent them a link about the event and on this website was a video. On the video was a man who carved a horsehead into a piece of wood. When they saw him, they asked if we could find him and buy four of whatever he was carving. So, I was excited to go shopping for them at this event. :)

Believe it or not, he was not there to sell things and make money, but to draw people to the booth to learn more about Csongrad, his village. He was carving the other end of a wooden spoon into a horse head and just selling it as he made it. He had none pre-made! When I asked a lady at the booth that we'd like four, she got wide-eyed and said it would take about 3 hours since he makes them one at a time! So, we spent another three hours at the fesztival while he made them. :)

Golgota Church Service in the Park

2009-06-07T08:15:00.005+02:00

The church we go to here is a calvary chapel. It has grown SO much since we've been here and now has three services on Sunday mornings. As a way to encourage unity and fellowship, the church decided to have one outdoor service on May 24. They rented an outdoor theater and it was a really great service. Many people came and there was a wonderful spirit of worshipping the Lord. Here is a pic and a video:

The Chocolate Game

2009-05-23T12:11:00.010+02:00

On Friday Hannah and I had our last Bible study with the 6th grade girls. We celebrated our last time together with ice cream and games. :)

Hannah organized a game called The Chocolate Game and the girls LOVED it! You can tell in this video:

Basically it's a dice game and when you roll doubles you have to put on all this clothing and then try and unwrap a chocolate bar (which is extra wrapped in newspaper!) and eat it with a fork and knife. Not so easy with garden gloves on! BUT after you roll, then next person rolls and so on. If someone else rolls a double, then you have to take off that clothing and give it to that other person. So, really, it took a while for the girls to unwrap the chocolate bar and take a bite. :) Like I said, they loved it!

Then, as we ate ice cream, the girls went outside and found some flowers that could only "bloom" in a special way. I had gotten this idea from our Hungarian teacher Zsuzsa and the girls LOVED it too! Basically, you cut out a flower from construction paper and fold over the petals to cover up the middle. On the inside I put a Bible verse from our Bible studies this year. But in order for the flower to "bloom" you had to place it in water. As the water gets absorbed into the paper, the petals unfold and you can read the verse. Here is a pic of mine, before and after:

We had also bought some glass frames from IKEA for each of the girls to place a group photo of us in. Hannah created a border around the photos so that the girls could write a little note and once all had signed each one, they put them in the frames. We also gave them small journals to keep a record of things that happened during their summer. So in the fall, they can share with each other what happened.

I enjoyed the time with the girls. They are so sweet and fun to be around! (I will miss teaching them too.)

My Last ELI Class

2009-05-20T20:47:00.004+02:00

Tonight I had my last ELI class (English Language Institute). The students surprised me with a baby gift! It's an activity bar that goes over the baby's car seat. I was so surprised and blessed by it!!! I will miss teaching them. I am thinking I'd like to continue in the fall, but we'll see how it goes with Baby Custer. If Justin and I can work it out so that he can watch Baby, then it may work. It's only for two hours once a week...

Attila, the man in charge of ELI, honored me and Kristen (she teaches level 2) as well and gave us flowers and prayed for us.

Anyway, here's a few pictures from tonight.

Baby Shower

2009-05-16T21:04:00.004+02:00

This morning some friends hosted a baby shower for me and it truly blessed me. They prayed for me, Justin, and Baby Custer, we played games, ate GREAT food, and I received so many great gifts for Baby. Here are a few pics, but you can see all of them on my online photo album: Michelle's Baby Shower.

4D US

2009-05-14T16:17:00.005+02:00

That means 4-dimensional ultrasound. We got one today and it was pretty cool to see our baby 3-dimensionally in real time! So we could see the baby moving! However, he/she always had his/her hands by the face, so we never got a clear shot of the face.

I guess Baby Custer is camera shy...

Enjoy the pics. I'll let you figure out what can be seen. :)

Surprise!

2009-05-10T20:59:00.002+02:00

This past Friday, May 8, my 6th grade girls surprised me with a baby shower!!!! They were so cute and they really blessed me!

Another teacher and I co-lead these girls for a Bible study and she helped them plan this surprise. So, I'm walking with them right after school to go to Hannah's (the other teacher) apartment across from the school. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Then as we're just about to enter her building, the girls say "change of plans Mrs. Custer- get in the van"! Two moms were helping and I get in and we go to one of the girls' houses. They made me close my eyes and two helped lead me into the house. There was a beautiful cake that another mom made and it was in the shape of a carousel horse and she obviously decorated it with an icing kit! It was so pretty!

There was a veggie platter, fruit, Oreo cookies and homemade brownies. We ate outside since it was beautiful day, then I opened gifts from the girls and we played two games. Not sure what the brand was, but I am exactly 8 squares of toilet paper around my waist! And the girls really impressed me with how fast they can put a diaper on a teddy bear. :)

I wish I had pics to show you, but they were taken with Hannah's camera and I'll have to post them later. It was such a fun surprise and I was quite impressed that 10 6th grade girls were able to keep it a secret for a month! :)

ICSB Spring Concert

2009-05-03T17:10:00.009+02:00

On Friday, April 24, ICSB had the high and middle school Spring Concert. Rebecca Lingenhoel teaches 7-12th grade band and choir and Hannah Wood teaches elementary through 6th grade music. It was a great night and both teachers have such a gift to bring out our students' talents. The performances were amazing and really blessed me and the rest of the audience. There was even a "sneak peek" at some of the music from the high school musical Bye Bye Birdie. (They'll be performing that on May 15 and 16.)

Here are the 7th and 8th graders performing:

Here are the sixth graders:

Here is the high school choir performing Phantom of the Opera:

Easter

2009-04-17T15:02:00.011+02:00

After church on Easter Sunday, we headed to our friends' house for Easter lunch (and dinner). It was a lot of fun and just a beautiful day to hangout together. Here are some pics from that day.
Me and Justin

Cute little Thomas, only 6 months old
Zach showing off his Easter eggs!

Us with Becky and Kristen

The kids take a break after finding all the eggs!

The dads take a break too. :)

Miriam shows off her Easter eggs too. (Zach's her brother.)

A side view of large, pregnant me!

A growing family: Oliver and Pam are expecting twins!

Our New House and Spring Break!

2009-04-17T11:37:00.008+02:00

No, we didn't by a house. We are renting, but have never had a house and a yard and a garage! We moved into this house on April 4th and were so blessed by so many of our friends and co-workers helping us move. We started at 8am and had all of our boxes in our house AND the apartment cleaned before noon! There were about 15 people who helped and I couldn't believe how fast it went. Thank you to all who helped!

This week, April 13-17, is our Spring Break from school and it has been a great time to get unpacked and settled into the house. The kitchen we have is really cute, but there was only one drawer with the rest of storage space being cabinets. We bought a neat little kitchen shelf from IKEA and Justin put that together. It has two drawers to hold our silverware and we'll eventually buy some baskets to hold more kitchen items underneath. The living room is pretty much set up. The baby room is being put on hold as we figure out how to move this huge hide-a-bed couch downstairs to the office. When we have visitors, it would be nice if they could have their own room and not have to sleep on the couch. :)

The living room in three pics from left to right.

The kitchen and our IKEA buy.

Yesterday, April 16th, I went shopping at a place called OBI. It's like a Home Depot and I bought several flowering plants and Justin and I did some landscaping in our yard. (The weather has been really nice lately and it was great to be outside for a few hours.) Our landlord had these bricks beside a wall in our yard and I used them as a border around a cherry tree right outside our porch. I planted pink impatients and blule lobelia under the tree. Can't wait for them to bloom, and hopefully in those colors! :) I also planted red geraniums in window containers. Almost every Hungarian has red or pink geraniums on their windowsills and I can't wait to see if they bloom for me they way they bloom for them! :)

Landscaping around the cherry tree.

Pregnancy Update

2009-04-17T11:04:00.003+02:00

Here I am at 28 weeks.

Here I am at 30 weeks.

Baby Custer is quite active and has a strong heartbeat. We just recently saw the doctor this past week and heard the heartbeat and he was pleased about it being strong and rhythmic.

You may notice a change in the way our place looks. That's because we moved! There was a house for rent that was advertised in Diosd. The rent was much cheaper (surprisingly) than our apartment. It was also much closer to school....we walk to school now! (It only takes us about 8 minutes!) So, not only do we save on rent, we also save on gas! :)

Calling All Moms

2009-02-22T08:22:00.003+01:00

Hello beautiful and amazing mothers!

As I am finishing up my 24th week of pregnancy, I know I have a ways to go, but I would like to form a checklist of things we'll need for our newborn. And I would like your help (esp. Kristin, Julie, Becky, Trisha, Pam) in forming this list.

What is it that I HAVE to have for our little Custer?
What is it that you wish you'd had, but didn't, when you had your little one?
What should I ask friends and family in the States to send b/c I can't get it here in Hungary? (I'm thinking medicines?)

Thanks for your help and I look forward to reading your "must-haves"!

Middle Schoolers and Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T20:09:00.007+01:00

It's really not what you think. I am the advisor for the middle school student council and they wanted to have a Valentine's party to raise funds for a particular charity.

So on February 13 from 5pm to 7:30 pm we had a party at school. The kids wanted a "coffeehouse" atmosphere and we transformed two classrooms into a coffeehouse. The student council brought white christmas lights and other decorations to make it look nice. Everyone wore red and black for the evening. We sold baked goods, Nescafe, Coca-cola, cocoa, and auctioned some donated items to raise money for the organization To Write Love On Her Arms. It was a really great event. Some of the students have their own band and so they gave a mini-concert. It was quite amazing! Everyone had a good time and we raised $200!

Here are some pics. I will try to put video on here too.

Another teacher helped tape these lights to the window in this heart shape!

One of the rooms.

The band "Ally" was really good!

Fun Girls

2009-02-13T22:37:00.005+01:00

Here is a great picture of the 6th grade girls in our Bible study. It has been a great year with them so far. They are so teachable and honest with us and each other. I am enjoying seeing them grow spiritually.

MS Basketball Tourney

2009-02-13T22:29:00.002+01:00

Well, I've been having trouble getting these videos on here, but managed to get the boys team. Check back later to see if I was able to add video of the girls.

Student Teacher

2009-01-29T17:55:00.002+01:00

I appreciate your prayers for me and Nathan Lattanzi. He is going to be my student teacher starting Monday. He arrives from Chicago on Saturday morning and he'll stay until May. He'll be observing me teach science, as well as other teachers and other subjects.

I've never had a student teacher before so I am both nervous and excited about it. Nervous, because he'll be learning from me! Excited because at some point he'll have to teach my classes on his own and that will be helpful for me as I go into my third trimester of pregnancy.

Please pray for the following:

that Nathan will learn a great deal (not just about teaching) while he's student teaching here
that he has a smooth transition from college life to working life in a different culture
that he quickly develops good relationships with other singles here (he already knows two women who live here now...small world.)
that I have wisdom while working with him
that we both will have complimentary personalities and it won't be an awkward thing to work together
that my students would be respectful towards him (he's in his early twenties)

Thanks!!!!!

English Language Institute (ELI)

2009-01-29T10:43:00.000+01:00

Unfortunately I am battling a cold right now. Yesterday my nose was SO sore and I was really tired, but had to teach ELI.

ELI is a free night of english classes during the week. Many hungarians are participating and appreciate the teachers. Attila Hajdu (pronounce Hi-Doo) teaches Hungarian and European history at ICSB and really has a burden to share the love of Christ with the community in Diosd. So he is the organizer of these classes. There is another group that organizes classes on two other nights during the week, but I wasn't available those nights, so I was excited when Attila announced he would be doing this. (Being a teacher in an english-speaking school all day kind of limits me to getting to know a lot of Hungarians.)

There are four levels of English that we are teaching and I am the teacher for level three. Many of my students know english quite well, but need confidence in speaking and listening. Well, because I wasn't feeling well yesterday and my voice sounded funny, I decided to give them a lot of worksheets for writing activities. There were times that we talked, but not as much as I normally do. BUT I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT COMBINING CLASSES! We have had temporary teachers for Level 4, which is mainly conversation. So, my 15 students plus the three students from level 4, brought my class size to 18!!! It was quite a full classroom. And I'm not sure how much the level 4 students got out of it, with them being used to mainly speaking. I'm sure it was helpful, and they always say "thank you" to me afterwards, but I'm going to have to think about some different strategies now so it can be worthwhile for everyone.

And there is a 30 minute break in the middle of the classes that Attila uses to spark spiritual discussion. There is usually an odd short movie to watch, which leads to questions that Attila wants the students to discuss at their table. And there's always water and pretzels or cookies too. (Oh, and this part is in Hungarian.)

I appreciate any prayers for these classes and the relationships that develop from them!

Pinewood Derby

2009-01-25T18:02:00.005+01:00

Today Justin went to a Pinewood Derby organized by the Boy Scouts. The Cub Scouts built their cars and participated. Here are some pics that my hubbie took of this fun event. You can check out his blog for a video or two, but probably not until later this week.

the cars

the track

Trevor, the son of our 5th grade teacher at ICSB Noah is one of my 7th graders (he's the big kid in the middle)

Worship at Calvary Chapel in Budapest

2009-01-25T17:10:00.005+01:00

My mom was interested in seeing our church and I found that I had taken a short video of the worship time last year. Justin and I attend Calvary Chapel in Budapest, or Golgota Kereszteny Gyulekezet.

This church is growing abundantly and is now up to three services on Sunday morning! Praise God! You can see how crowded it is and we are sitting in the overflow seats on the side.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2009-01-24T10:05:00.003+01:00

Unfortunately our internet was on and off on Saturday, so I couldn't publish this right away.

Here is my Dad. His birthday is today (Jan 24) and I hope you had a great day, Dad!

I love you very much and we are so excited to give you another grandchild!! :)

Baby Custer at 20 weeks

2009-01-22T20:13:00.006+01:00

Here is the latest pic of Baby Custer, now 20 weeks and 2 days. :) He or she is growing and healthy. (Only the doctor and the Lord knows what the sex is- we are choosing to wait to find out in June.)

The one above is of the upper torso and head. The lower pic is a magnification of the head. Any bright white that you see is bone. On the lower pic there is a small arrow pointing to the nasal bone.

Earlier in the week, we got to meet Zsuzsanna, the newest arrival at our school! I am pictured here with her mom, Edit, who taught Hungarian and German at ICSB. I've enjoyed getting to know Edit this past year, as her middle school classroom was right next to mine. We had lunch together a lot. She is no longer working at school, but taking care of her little girl now (she's around 20 days old). We had taken them dinner Tuesday night and got to spend about 30 minutes with them. Before we left, I remembered (which is a rare thing) that I had our camera with us.

Remove Completely

2009-01-15T14:14:00.005+01:00

Here is a REALLY adorable and funny picture of my new niece. Her name is Amerie and she is my twin brother's second daughter. Her older sister, two-year old Zara, happened to see her on the floor sleeping and decided to put a sticker on her forehead, as well as some toys and diapers. (Mom was away for about one minute!)

For those wondering, no, Zara did not understand what the sticker said . :)

Here she is with my brother, Matt.

Science Fair Time

2009-01-15T11:30:00.005+01:00

So, being the only middle school science teacher, I get to organize the annual ICSB Science Fair. (There is not one for high school to the relief of the students.) It's fun to see all the ideas of my students and the learning that occurs from such an event, but it is rather stressful preparing them (and their parents) for it. Since I teach international kids (American, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Korean, and more) I need to be very clear in what a science fair is and what is expected. Even many of the American students have never been in one since they've lived abroad most or all of their lives. It's a milestone in life for sure.

Every year I improve as far as my planning goes. Last year I decided to place a large calendar in the hallway specifically for preparing for science fair. There were several deadlines to remind my students as they passed it in the hallway. Well, I liked that idea and have done it this year, but this year I have more specific deadlines and each student got a copy of the calendar. I think it's certainly been a help to me to make sure my students are on top of things and their experiment won't be a last minute kind of thing.

It's really cool that in this community of missionary families, there are so many adults with science or math background. So it's been a blessing for the students to actually be judged by adults outside of school and can give them objective views about their experiments. And there are winners too! There are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place medals awarded to students in each class. And one overall winner gets a monetary award, equivalent to about $50.

If you think of me, please pray for me and my students as we prepare for the science fair. It will be Monday, March 16, so we still have lots of time. And I still need to secure judges for that day. Since families are constantly moving, every year there are new judges I need to find.

Thanks for praying!

Here are a couple of pics from last year's science fair:

Ice Day and Teaching English

2009-01-15T11:11:00.005+01:00

Today we have an "ice" day, meaning there is no school due to too much ice on the road. We have many kids who come from downtown Budapest, so it's just safer to stay home. It was a pleasant surprise to me. I really didn't think we'd get a free day due to weather. It's been cold, but there's been very little snow and just yesterday we got icy weather.

Actually, the staff at ICSB was allowed to go home early yesterday (2:30 pm) instead of staying after school for our weekly meetings. Any after school activities were also cancelled. Needless to say I was really excited to come home early, but then I remembered that I teach english to Hungarians on Wednesday nights. Since there is no way to contact all of the people coming to these free classes, we still had our classes. So, Justin and I just stayed at school until my class was over (it's from 6-8 pm). I got a lot done while we were at school, which was great, but I really did want to go home!

And my class started with three people and ended up with five! And only one of which I had taught before (a 13-year old). So, I was happy that I had new students to get to know. (Since this is an outreach to the community, anybody can come if they'd like to learn English, so I have all ages that I teach, from 13 years to about 60 years! One of my newest students is probably around 60 and he reminds me of Santa Claus!) It's an interesting class, but despite the difficulty with teaching different maturity levels, many have said how much they appreciate me and that they are learning from me. That makes me feel so great, especially since I am a science teacher by training and background. (I have to say, I am learning more about the english language myself!)

Christmas Break

2009-01-04T17:21:00.007+01:00

We've been on Christmas break since December 18. It's been so good to get such a long break! We've been sleeping in VERY late, which is unlike me. But I guess that's what I will want to do now. Monday, January 5, we start school again. It will be a hard week for everyone, I believe.

December 17th was the night we had our staff Christmas dinner at Trofea Grill in Budapest. It was so nice! Here's a pic of us from that night.

December 19 through 21 we visited Krakow, Poland. Because of the train strike, we had to drive 7.5 hours to get there. Going through northern Slovakia and into Poland, it snowed. We arrived in Krakow around 2 pm and met up with a lady to show us to our apartment. It was so cozy and warm! I loved it. After meeting with her and putting our luggage in the apartment, we walked around. The location of our apartment was great! It was in the Old Town and when we turned the corner, there was one of the main streets all decorated with Christmas lights. The only thing I didn't like about visiting Krakow was how cold it was. We always had to duck into a shop or cafe to get warm, instead of being able to comfortably walk around as long as we wanted. Plus, I get tired more easily now. But I am glad we went and go to see some sites. I think going back in warmer weather would be more enjoyable, but who knows when we will be able to do that with a baby.

at Wawel Castle

Sadly, Justin got sick Christmas Eve and so we had to cancel dinner with the Andersons Christmas night. We were going to make grilled pizza again!! :( But I did make it to our other friends, the Rickard's house for lunch, minus Justin. It was nice and we had ham and all the sides: mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, bread, strawberry Jell-O. It was all delicious. There was another friend/co-worker of ours there without her husband too. He was also sick. It was nice, but would have been nicer with Justin.

Instead of going to the Andersons that night, we went ahead and opened our gifts. (I had stopped by school to pick up three packages!) That was fun and I think made Justin feel a bit better as it was a small escape from feeling terrible. Receiving an iPod helped too. :) Check out our web album of that time.

On New Year's Eve we went to a party of another family, which was a lot of fun. We met some new people and chatted with friends while munching on artichoke dip, cocktail weenies, mexican dip and chips and drinking punch. Dessert was also delicious with some hot chocolate. Around 11 pm, Justin and I participated with two other couples in The Newlywed Game. None of us were newlyweds, but it was fun nonetheless. We tied with another couple and learned a few things about each other for the next time we play it. :)

Other than that, we pretty much hung out at home, slept late, and watched movies. My brother will be proud to know that we watched the first three Die Hard movies in one day. Also, we watched Wall-e(thanks Mom and Dad!), A Christmas Carol with Patrick Stewart, National Treasure 2, Transporter 3, and A Night at the Museum. Not in that order, though. (I did get to hang out with my friend, Andrea a few times too.)

And tomorrow...the vacation ends. But I am anxious to hear about my students' holidays. They LOVE to share what they did.

Happy New Year!

Finally....another entry

2009-01-04T14:40:00.008+01:00

Ok, so it's been a LONG while since I last said anything on this blog. A really cool thing has happened since my birthday...

We are PREGNANT! I am in my 18th week of pregnancy and am doing great. All doc appts have gone well and I've had no morning sickness, can you believe it? I've been tired a lot and get headaches more frequently than I ever have and my pelvis is sore. I've been reading a lot about being pregnant and labor and taking care of a baby from two books that our parents have sent: What to Expect When You're Expecting and Great Expectations. (Thanks, Moms and Dads!)

And I am only one of many women at our school that have recently had babies or is pregnant. The recruiter at our school, Kim, who is 8 months along, has told me that in this past year there have been 8 pregnancies! God is so good! We are really blessed to have so many new moms to go to if we need anything.

Justin and I will have our baby here in Budapest. Because of so many births recently and in years past, we know that the medical care for being pregnant and giving birth is safe and good. Our OB-GYN works at a clinic called First Med and the birth will take place at a hospital called Telki Hospital. We really like our doctor because he is a very sweet man and very caring. Surprisingly, we've had four ultrasounds already! They do them far more often here than in the States. It has been so great to see our baby growing inside me! Here are three pics:

6 weeks (confirmation of pregnancy)

10 weeks

16 weeks

It is so cool to see the heartbeat AND hear it!!! :)

Praise the Lord with us at this exciting time!!!

Pizza Hut!

2008-10-05T18:19:00.005+02:00

The day AFTER my birthday, we had let friends and co-workers know that we would be at a particular Pizza Hut for lunch October 5. We knew around 22 people were going to be there, but we had 30 people! It was such a fun time and this Pizza Hut is really cool. There are three large round booths that can fit between 10 and 15 people! This is one reason we go there with a group...the other reason is because pizza is my all-time favorite food!

I think our Pizza Hut lunch will be a tradition on my birthday and that makes me REALLY happy. (Sorry, I forgot our camera, although, someone else took pics, so I'll post them later.)

My birthday

2008-10-05T17:47:00.013+02:00

Saturday, October 4, was my birthday. (Justin was at our school's High School Retreat and had been since Thursday morning. He was getting back around 4 pm on my bday.) So, Friday night I went over to my friend Julie's flat to make grilled pizza and watch a "girly, sappy movie". It was a lot of fun and she has two beautiful and fun little boys. We watched Nicholas Nickelby and I really liked it.
On Saturday, my friend Hannah and I went back over to Julie's and we took a tram to the Budapest Christian Library. Julie takes Eli there on Saturdays. I found a book that I needed for the DVD graduate course I am taking. :)
Eli was jumping in puddles on the way to the library. :)
Then Hannah and I went to what it called the "covered market" to do some shopping. I didn't have anything in mind to buy, I just really like going there to see what they have. If you ever come to Budapest, this is the place you'll find cheaper souvenirs like chess sets, glassware, tablecloths, T-shirts, etc. Surprisingly, I found a really cool linen to place on the table for Fall. I rarely buy things for myself, but it WAS my bday. :) And Hannah found some things too. We also went to a little Asian market downstairs for some hard-to-find-cheaper groceries. I bought tortillas and some spices that I didn't have.

Then we headed to The Coffeeshop Company for lunch! They have bagels there, which you won't find anywhere in Budapest that I know about. I had a smoked salmon bagel sandwich and Hannah had a Mediterranean sandwich. We both had really good hot chocolate with sweet whipped cream! It was perfect for the rainy, cold day it was. We had a really good chat over lunch.

Hannah and I about to enjoy our hot chocolate!

Then we had to head back to school. I had to drop off Hannah at her apartment and then pick up Justin. The high schoolers were back and he was waiting for me. :)

When we got home I opened his gift: a cool "Chocolat" mug and chocolate bar. I also opened my parents' package that I received earlier in the week. They sent me some magazines to read, taco seasoning, ranch dressing packets, milano cookies, my mom's homemade washcloths, and was paper. :) (Wax paper is another item that you can't buy here.) Oh, and a cool, fun scarf!

Here I am with my parents' bday package. They sent the Sunday comics!

Then we had dinner and watched a movie I borrowed from Julie: In America. If you like drama, reality movies, then you'd probably like this movie. I loved it.

That was my day...ON my birthday....so much fun!

Champagne, Staff Retreat, and Our Street

2008-09-30T21:10:00.007+02:00

On September 6th, we walked down the hill to a wine festival. It was a lot of fun. Torley produces champagne and I have to say it's pretty good. :)

September 12-14, the staff at our school went to Vajta, Hungary, on a staff retreat and to work on our ACSI re-accreditation. I thought I would take a picture of what we had for breakfast: sliced meat and cheese. There was also bread, OJ, cornflakes, and unfortunately, instant coffee. Overall, the weekend was very productive and we drank a lot of coffee from the cafe above the cafeteria.

A car we don't normally see on our street.
Ariel loves attention!
We drove home last Friday and passed up a pretty neat car on our street. So, I took a pic of it, and then as I was walking home, I took a picture of Ariel, a very gregariuos dog a couple of houses down from us. She's really cute and we used to call her Blondie, but then found out her name from the daughter of the family living there.

Love the Weekend!

2008-09-28T21:54:00.003+02:00

Saturday was so great! We had no obligations during the day and slept in. I made oatmeal with apples and a bit of sugar and it was so yummy. It was a beautiful Fall day yesterday and we had some co-worker/friends over for dinner, so we just had a lazy day. (Justin would say otherwise since we had to clean before they came over, but it really wasn't a big deal.)

For dinner we planned raclette. We got the grill from our friends, the Whites, who moved back to the States over the summer. It was really a nice time with Lisa and Paula, as we grilled several types of marinated turkey and melted four types of cheeses. We also had wine, bread, potatoes, and broccoli, so it was a pretty filling meal!

You might have figured out that I like to cook. :)

Looking for Suggestions

2008-09-19T19:04:00.011+02:00

Many people would not even think about becoming a teacher, especially a middle school teacher. But being a teacher has its benefits...all the time off to enjoy holidays. :) Being a teacher overseas has even more benefits with all the options of travelling. :) :)

Justin and I would like to visit Krakow/Cracow, Poland, either for the Hungarian holiday at the end of October or during the American Thanksgiving holiday at the end of November.

I am looking for suggestions:
From Budapest, which is the best way to travel to Cracow?
Which hostel or hotel would you recommend?
Know of any good and cheap places to eat?
What recommendations do you have as far as sight-seeing?

(Keep in mind that we will be travelling during colder weather, so outside activities might not be available.)

Thanks for any help you give!!!

First Bible Study of the Year

2008-09-19T19:04:00.009+02:00

Another teacher and I started a Bible study with the 6th grade girls from our school. Today was the first one! Our study was on Matthew 5:21-24, about reconciliation. After reading that passage, we realized how serious God is about restoring relationships! But how do you do that?! It is quite risky to say to someone you've hurt that you're sorry. But we all agreed it is something necessary even if it may hurt to say you're sorry. There was a great discussion and the girls had great thoughts on this topic. I am looking forward to getting to know these girls better. Here is a pic of a "kickoff" we had a couple of weeks ago. (On that day we had them over for breakfast and games to get to know each other and gave details about when we'd meet for Bible study.)

Such fun girls!

Update on my parents' home in TX

2008-09-19T19:04:00.004+02:00

Please continue to lift up the Texas Gulf Coast. Hurricane Ike left a lot of damage and people without homes and electricity.

Thankfully, Dad said there wasn't any damage to the house...no flooding...no broken windows. However, one of their trees is laying on the roof of their house! Here's some pics.

front of their house

back of their house

the uprooted tree

Ike

2008-09-12T00:36:00.004+02:00

Please pray for the Texas and Louisiana coast as they are about to be hit by Hurricane Ike. I believe the rain and wind will start Friday evening and the bulk of the rain will be on Saturday. This storm is wider than Hurricane Katrina, so will affect a larger area. Here is the projected path as of Sept. 10, 2008.

School Pics

2008-09-06T16:25:00.007+02:00

School is going well and got off to a great start, I think. We are going on our third week. Here are some pics of things that are going on in the middle school.

Here I am with my attempted 80's style ensemble for the "Dress As Your Favorite Decade" themed day of the middle school party. There wasn't any way to get my hair to be high.

One of my 8th graders finding out which diaper absorbs the most water.

Two of my students who won the Decade competition. They each got a root beer, which you can't find in Hungary, except by very few people.

Video from Switzerland

2008-08-24T13:46:00.002+02:00

Update: This video for some reason will not work. I apologize for any disappointment.

I am so thankful to our tech guy at school, Alex! The morning I left Kandern, Germany, my computer would not turn on correctly. A blue screen kept popping up and it just wasn't working the way it normally did. Naturally, I was nervous about it because my school work and ALL my pictures were on this computer!

But Alex was able to retrieve all my data from that laptop! :) So I am happy to present to you a short video of when I went hiking in Switzerland. The cows are wearing the bells that you hear. It was unbelievable!

Happy to Be Back!

2008-08-24T12:31:00.005+02:00

Sorry, I haven't blogged in a while! I started blogging in June when I had LOTS of free time, and now that school has started, I have to really fit in a time for me to blog.

After landing in BP on August 11th, I REALLY struggled with jet lag. I think I stayed up till 3 or 4 am each day of that week! I just couldn't sleep! It was not enjoyable. And on top of that, my muscles ached. I must have caught something before we left Dallas, because on the plane I had a headache during the whole flight and my body felt achy as if I was coming down with a cold. I woke up Tuesday morning with a fever, took some Aleve (thanks to Justin's parents for taking us to Sam's for things like that) and that helped. However, the muscle ache continued througout the week. I think Friday (Aug. 15)was the first day I felt better.

Of course, the ICSB teachers and staff went back to school on August 13 and had teacher meetings until this past Monday. Tuesday was pretty much working in our classrooms getting ready for Thursday, the first day of school!

I feel unbelievably blessed to be a part of this staff! Six years ago I had no idea what exactly God had in store for us when He brought us here. Reflecting back, everyone we've worked with has been fun, encouraging, and challenging. We've all raised financial support to be here and have one goal: to reach our students for Christ while providing them with a fantastic education. It is such a unique place to be and I ask that you praise God for what He is doing through the school.

And don't get me wrong, it's still hard to live here. All of us are struggling with the language and culture. There are definitely bad days, but there's always someone to talk to about it who can help or sympathize. Expats around the world know what I am talking about.

So, Thursday we started school and it went smoothly. Crazy as it sounds, Justin taught every class period (there are 8) with only lunch as his break. Usually, a teacher has at least one planning period, but this year his schedule doesn't allow it on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Tuesday and Friday, thankfully, he has more free periods to plan. I teach the first two periods and the last two periods each day. In the middle of the day I have a study hall.

I will also be sponsoring the middle school student council this year. We'll have elections this next week. Our first item on our agenda is the Middle School "Welcome Back" party.

I forgot my camera for the first day of school, but remembered it for the second. Here are some pictures.

Before students...
With Students! :)
This is my 8th grade class. I teach them two different classes: Health on Mondays and Thursdays, then Life Science on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Movies With Zara

2008-08-13T01:40:00.004+02:00

Movies With Zara

This is a link to my Picassa Photo Album. There are several movies with Zara and my family. Enjoy!

The Last Few Days In Plano, Texas

2008-08-12T14:53:00.010+02:00

We are back home in Budapest now. Our flights Sunday night through Monday went smoothly and safely. Here are some pics from our last few days in Plano, including the wedding of a good friend we attended. Justin was his best man. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of Justin's brother, Patrick, and his girlfriedn Ermista! I can't believe I didn't take any! Patrick, I hope no hard feelings. This just means we'll be taking way more than you care for next summer! :)

Justin's father and stepmom and little sister (Pat, Tracy, and Cameron)

Zara grabbing my camera

Zara showing Dad that she can dress herself. It was unsuccessful. :(

Breakfast before Justin's mom and dad went back to Houston.

Doesn't Justin look good in a tux?

The cute couple: Jeff and Helen Huynh!

The wedding was an Aggie reunion of sorts...there were 10 of us!

Zara's Dance

2008-08-06T05:35:00.005+02:00

Here is Zara's dance before she goes to brush her teeth. My brother just made up the song and it's so cute! She gets so excited about brushing her teeth! (And at the end of this film, she has to turn off the light switch.)

Zara Loves Thrills

2008-08-05T22:11:00.007+02:00

Zara loves...

...for me to hold her while I spin around. And I mean LOVES it! She'll actually let go of my shirt and fall back as I'm spinning. It's funny to watch her eyes when I stop.

....to be hung upside down by her legs. Spin around with her like that and it's an extra thrill. She laughs so hard!

...to be thrown onto the couch or bed.

Justin is about to thow her on the bed. Look at that smile!

Zara is laughing so hard.

I have been meaning to get a video of Zara dancing to my brother's "Brush Your Teeth" song. Stay tuned...

Cute Shoes and BBQ

2008-08-05T21:32:00.007+02:00

Yesterday we spent most of the day with Justin's parents, Nancy and Luis Guzman. They are absolutely wonderful people and have such a joy for life! They always seem to smile and laugh at things. Luis is notorious (yes, notorious) for bad jokes (no offense, Dad). And they both are notorious for telling you the same story from Justin's childhood for the 57th time. And they have three horses and two huskies, so they always pop up in conversation too. :) True Texans.

We first went to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, which is a soup-n-salad place and had really good food! Then we went shopping at Kohls, which was so much fun for me, but for some reason, Justin wasn't too thrilled at how long we (meaning I) spent there. But I got some really cute shoes and few new clothes. Here are the "very comfortable and perfect for teaching all day in" cute brown shoes.

Then we headed over to Sam's for some bulk American grocery supplies to take back with us to BP. We got chocolate chips, Rotel tomatoes, Pace salsa, and Oreoes, among other things. While there we had a freshly made (and very salty) pretzel! It was SO good.

Then we travelled about half an hour to the town of Howe, Texas, to see Justin's cousin's house. It was REALLY nice. It was like a cabin and very spacious. It was built in the early 1900s. They've done a lot of work on the house, including uncovering original wooden floors that the previous owner had glued carpet to! I had my camera, but forgot to take a picture. :( It was so great to spend some time with Lindsay (Justin's cousin) and her boyfriend, Jeff. Living so far away and only coming to Texas occasionally, we do not get to see them often.

Then we all headed to Texas Roadhouse, which is a BBQ place. I had 1/3 rack of ribs, sweet potatoe and salad. It was delicious!

Jeff and Lindsay
Justin and his Dad

Odds and Ends

2008-08-02T20:12:00.004+02:00

So, yesterday we spent about an hour at the DMV here in Plano. I realized upon landing at DFW that I should check the expiration of my TXDL. Sure enough, it's this October. I am glad I thought of that because I was not able to renew it online. The reason is because I had previously renewed online and this time I had to renew in person. It wasn't that bad, but when they took my picture, I had to take off my glasses! No one really sees me without my glasses, so that bugged me. (I do have contacts, but rarely use them due to laziness.)

And I got my haircut. The lady was really nice and made sure that I knew what she was doing. My idea was to have an angled cut. I really don't know what you call it. A lot of people have it, but they have straight hair. It's when the front is longer than the back. Anyway, I wasn't really sure what it would look like with my wavy, sometimes curly hair. But she cut it that way anyway. It doesn't really look like it's angled, it looks more like a bob, but I think it's because of the waviness of my hair. I'm not sure I like it, but maybe I just have to get used to it.

Feel free to tell me what you think.

The Moment You've Been Waiting For!

2008-08-02T19:28:00.014+02:00

Pictures of my niece! Sorry, it's taken so long... and she is MUCH better with a beardless Justin. She actually let him hold her this morning on the deck! It was so cute. She still gives him the look when she first sees him in the morning though. We call it that "he's still here?" look.

As you can see, she's adorable! :)

She's a bit distracted by our camera cord.

She loves her "bouncing zebra," especially when she has an audience!

She usually rides her rocking bear next.

She isn't too happy here b/c she really wanted to go outside, but had to wait for Aunt Michelle to take a pic.

She was very clingy to Daddy (my brother, Matthew) today. So cute!

We're in Dallas!

2008-07-31T14:09:00.003+02:00

We made it to Dallas safely and smoothly. No problems at all.

Cool stuff for those that travel through Heathrow:
The store where you can buy bottles of overpriced alcohol gives out samples! We tried gin with cucumber, something like a mohito, and Prim's lemonade. I was hoping they'd offer Bailey's, but no go this time.

Then I had a dark mocha light frappucino at the Starbuck's kiosk. We had a two hour layover.

We flew American Airlines from Heathrow to Dallas. It seems everytime we travel now, the time to go by faster. I'm sure it has something to do with all the movies and tv shows they now have available. I watched two movies, an episode of The Office, an episode of Monk, and I played Tetris. I also read the magazines they have available, one of which has Rain Wilson (Dwight Schrute) on the cover, so naturally we had to read that article.

The flight wasn't full and I had an open seat to my left. But the plane was just freezing. I am so glad I thought to take a sweater. (I had planned on just wearing shorts and a tank as Dallas temperatures are around 100 degrees F. )

We flew out of Budapest at 8:30 am (1:30 am CST) and arrived at my brother and sister-in-laws around 7:15 pm CST. Zara, my niece, is so much fun. She cried upon immediately seeing Justin because of his facial hair. But she laughed with me! :) (We knew she didn't like facial hair, but Justin ran out of razors Sunday and decided to wait until we got here to go buy more. I'll keep you posted as to how Zara reacts when his face is clean shaven.)

And oddly, I didn't sleep well at all last night. Usually I can sleep fine the first two nights, so we'll see how easily I fall asleep tonight. Justin slept fine.

I'm Home!

2008-07-27T10:01:00.004+02:00

I arrived safely to Budapest yesterday (Saturday). It is so great to be back with Justin! And he greeted me in the airport with a bouquet of roses and a gift! Thank you to everyone who prayed for us while we were apart!