Emma's 1st Birthday!

We celebrated Emma's 1st Birthday this last Friday. Earlier that day we went to a Christmas market in Aachen, Germany and when we got back we celebrated her birthday. We Skyped with my sister and her family, then she opened her presents and ate her cake. Emma did a good job at opening her presents and she enjoyed all her gifts. She loved eating her cake! She took her time eating and did not get very messy. I was hoping she would have gotten messier but she didn't want to. ;) Happy Birthday Emma...we love you!!

London Trip

Last weekend we went to London. We left Friday and came back on Monday. We had a great time and saw many famous sites. We saw Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Clock Tower, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, The Eye of London, Westminster Abbey, and Stonehenge. We also went to their famous Christmas market which had just opened on the day we got there. We both really liked London and wouldn't mind going back again!

Atomium

Last week we went to see the Atomium in Brussels. This was built in 1958 for the world fair. The top sphere provides a panoramic view of Brussels and a restaurant. The other spheres contain various displays and even a little coffee shop. Too bad the weather wasn't nicer because I wanted to go to Little Europe which was right next door to the Atomium... maybe next time. :)

Happy Halloween!

We didn't do much for Halloween because there wasn't much to do since the Belgians don't celebrate it. I didn't buy Emma a costume because I figured we wouldn't do anything, but my friend really wanted me to go to the halloween festival the Americans were putting on at a local school. Since I didn't have a costume for Emma another one of my friends let me borrow a Tigger costume her son wore last year. It was the perfect size and everyone at the festival loved the costume! I also carved a pumpkin and let Emma play with the inside, but all she wanted to do was put it in her mouth. ;)

Family Photo Time!

We tried to take a family photo yesterday for our Christmas cards, but unfortunately none of them turned out decent. They did however turn out rather funny! I couldn't stop laughing when I saw them, so I decided to share some with you all. Enjoy!

Extreme Prisoner...

China: Al Ling

"You are saying it wrong," the exasperated guard instructed the elderly Chinese believer. "You are supposed to say 'Prison is good,' not 'Jesus is good,'"

Al Ling smiled. "But prison is not good. That's the point. Am I supposed to lie?"

"Then give me fifty push-ups!" the frustrated Communist guard commanded. "Just like yesterday."

Seventy-year-old Al Ling did her push-ups and returned to her camp. Ling's husband had been arrested for spreading the gospel, and he had passed away. Now she was in prison for telling her fellow Chinese people about the love of Christ.

"Food is good, prison is good!" the prisoners were forced to shout as instructed after a hard day's labor in the field. "Jesus is better!" Her strong voice stuck out from the crowd.

"Al Ling, do you want to do more push-ups today?" the guard asked.

"I want you to know how much Jesus loves you," she smiled in response. She was thrilled at the opportunity to tell the Communist guards and other prisoners how good Jesus was, even if it meant doing daily push-ups. Upon her release, the guards decided to interrogate her one last time. "Where does your husband work?" the young guard asked.

"Oh, he is doing underground work," she answered. The interested guard took out a notepad. Al Ling smiled, "He passed away years ago." -The Voice of the Martyrs, Extreme Devotion.

I read this story in my devotional the other day and I couldn't help but chuckle at the responses Al Ling gave to the guards. After all she had been through, she still had a positive attitude about her situation and she wasn't going to let the guards change that. I just wanted to share this story with you all because it reminds me to try to have a positive attitude no matter what we may be going through. I can bring glory to God regardless of my situation, I just need to make sure I have the right attitude in order to do that. Hope this encourages you all as it has encouraged me! May God bless you!

10 Months Old!

I can't believe Emma is 10 months old already and in 2 more months she will be 1! Time sure does go by fast! Emma is growing so much. She "talks" a lot! It sounds like she says, "dadda" and "momma" but I can't tell what else she says. She has 8 teeth now and loves to eat pretty much anything! She waves and claps her hands. She stands more, but still needs assistance.