Autumn Joy

Apple-picking in North Andover with the Cioffis

Many more pictures to come, but I couldn't wait to post this one!

Vienna for the Holidays

We're off to Boston on Friday for a few weeks.  I can hardly wait to see all my dear friends there.  It will be surreal!  And hopefully the autumn weather will be in full force.  I love Boston in the early autumn...

But as exciting as that is (and it really is!), we have an even bigger trip quickly approaching about which I cannot help but post:  We're off to Vienna on October 17th!!!

We're not actually moving to Austria quite yet, but we're going for two and a half months to take a couple intensive German courses and then apply for our residence permits.  Despite the hard work of learning German (which we both love actually), we are so excited to have this time to begin to know Vienna, meet our colleagues there, and simply get a feel for where God has called us to live.

This decision came about somewhat quickly within the last week.  A couple weeks ago, we were informed of a newly released requirement for our Austrian residence permits:  we both must prove A1 proficiency (in EU standards) in German before applying for our residence permits on January 2!  This is estimated to take around 200 hours of language study or about two months of full-time study.  After much prayer and discussion with colleagues, we decided the best way to assure our success is to spend two months learning German in Vienna before applying for residence.  The pressure of learning the language is simply too great for us not to go and immerse ourselves in the language; we cannot move to Austria in 2012 if we do not pass our exam in December!!

So even though I've fallen away from posting much on this blog recently (do you see why now?!), I can assure you that come the end of October, I should have some great stories and pictures to share!

On a completely unrelated note, here are two picture of Nathanael helping Greg wash the car on Saturday.  He was so busy working that I couldn't get him to look at the camera!

Two Teeth and Still Counting

Our sixteen-month-old finally popped his first tooth this past week, with his second close behind.  I'm suspicous that he understood the doctor a couple weeks ago when he threatened a visit to the dentist for x-rays since we hadn't seen any yet.  It is a little strange to go so long without teeth, but it sure has not held him back in eating!  One awesome advantage of him being this old: Nathanael was actually the one to tell me he had a tooth!  That's right; I had taught him about teeth and told him constantly that he should tell me when he had one.  And the day of, he kept looking at me and pointing to his mouth.  We were so excited and made up a tooth dance and everything!  I must say that I am hugely relieved that we don't have to make an appointment with a pediatric dentist to check on the existence of his teeth.  (We are thankful for God's timing!)  Not only was I not looking forward to fitting that into all of our traveling (nor the cost!), but let's be realistic; that would not be a fun appointment for any of us.  Nathanael does NOT sit still long enough for x-rays!

The next photo like this will show teeth!

In other news, Gregory heads to Detroit tomorrow.  I'll join him alone on Sunday to visit a church, and then we're back again for a few weeks before taking off as a family for Boston on Friday, September 16th.  I make no promises about another blog post for a while!

Video clips - Cheerios, corn, cars, sprinklers...

This is more for the grandparents and aunts than anyone else, but if you like watching youtube video clips of Nathanael, I've posted a few more in the past month.  Simply follow the link:  http://www.youtube.com/yekings.  My favorite is the most recent one of him eating his cheerios and milk with a spoon.  Who knew you could fit so many cheerios on a tiny spoon?!  Of course, eating corn on the cob is pretty cute too...

Tractors and Food

While Dad has been away, we've stayed busy playing with tractors...

(With Grandpa at the farm where he grew up)

(Wishing Dad were home to take him for a ride)

...and playing with food.

(Helping Grandma can tomatoes)

(Rolling around a sweet potato)

Waiting expectantly

A friend recently brought this verse to my attention.  (Thanks, E!)

"But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me."

It is from Micah 7, verse 7.

During Ramadan, as I pray for my Muslim friends for the eleventh year, I find myself asking, pleading, "How long, oh Lord?  How long will they remain in darkness?  Bring forth your light!"  Something about this statement from Micah -- in the midst of the dark and desolated, seemingly hopeless lives around him -- something about his words gives me great strength.  I know that I am not alone in my pleas.  Many others join with me in crying out for God to bring His light into their lives.  I am determined to press on -- as Micah did -- in faith and wait for God to show Himself as only He can -- worthy of all glory and honor and praise, worthy of their lives.  And I trust that my friends will one day see and believe and intimately know this all glorious God.

source: http://faithsteps.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/not-constantinople/istanbul-sunrise/

In six days...

In six days, Greg will return.  And we'll have many more opportunities to take pictures like this:

and this

and this

and this,

and this.

It sure is difficult to go without a husband and dad for 17 days!!!