Here are the rest of the pics, I had trouble loading them all at once. I got em now!

Here's more recent pictures of me, well, from yesterday, at the park! Last weekend we went to Abilene so that Jon and Sherwin could lay new flooring in their house, it was a big job for the guys, but they are so handy, and we all had a great time! I had a baby shower last night, put on by a couple ladies from my church, at sister Savoies house, it was a lot of fun and there was some really great food, and a beautiful cake, with lots of great gifts! We are so blessed!

Bambino on the Way!

Here are a few pics of me, before all the pregnancy weight started to show, now we don't take so many pics! I'm jokin, I will take some more recent ones, so you can see how big this boy inside me is! Here is a pic of our thanksgiving! LaShae fixed an incredible feast! It was a great time, the one of me on the couch is at Thanksgiving too, with Shi and Matt, Matt's parents are missionaries in Japan, too, Ben, he says that he has met you! Well, gld we finally made it on! Love you guys!

Snow Much Fun!

You're looking at two amateur snowboarders! This is when we were up in Hokkaido during New Years time, staying at Michiko's parent's home. The first day of boarding was pretty rough because we didn't know the slopes (and they weren't marked well), but the second day was a lot better as we found a spot that suited our level. These other two are the rental people .... they were really cool! Do you guys like to ski or snowboard (or stay in the lodge)?

By the way, what do snowboarders and deer have in common? They both have white tails! That's what happens when you fall down, anyway!

Ella has been doing a Mommy and Me dance class at the YMCA, and as you can see, she has an absolute blast until her batteries run out. The other week Erin and the girls went down to Portland and visited Jerry, Erin's Dad, as he was in town auditioning for a job at Cascade college. They had a great time together and visited Multinoma Falls with its beautiful landscape and frostiness this time of year ( Hannah used to say she is 3 ears old, FYI). Then in the next picture we had a Valentines party, with one of the girls friend (depending on who you talk to her name is either Onion, Negan or her mother calles her Meghan.) They made cupcakes from beginning to end, strawberry marshmellows dipped in chocolate and sprinkles, and crafts galore.

Update on the other things we had posted earlier, Not sure if we are going to get the babies we were praying about, but continue to pray to that end for us anyway please. Also Even if Jerry does get offered the job, they are not offering enough pay/benefits to make it feasible for them to move up here right now. TTFN. Love from the WA state Berrys

Who are those girls?

Here we have hannah writing her name out in its entirity for the first time! Very proud parents.

This is the girls after taking Mommy, Daddy and Sophie out for a long walk in the snow.
The local library has an Art pass that allows us to go to the local art museum and paint. The girls had an absolute ball, and drew some great pictures too. I think we will frame a couple of them and hang them in the bathroom to contemplate during my down time.

This weekend Jerry, Erin's daddy, is being flown up to Portland to inquire about a job for Cascade Christian College as the head of their financial department. Erin and the girls are driving down to see him. Please pray that this will work out, it would be great to have Erin's parents only 3 hours away (not to mention save tons on plane tickets and driving miles).

Hey there peoples, They grow Berry's big up here in the Washington land. As you can see our girls have a great time playing no matter how cold it is outside. Here it is above freezing, but it is called the snowman festival in Puyallup. They shipped in snow from the mountains and people built the snow people. The girls are in an air jump place for little people, as long as they are not made of snow.

We have a request for prayer. There may be an opportunity for us to adopt a child in the near future from someone I know through my line of work... Ok she is a patient and her great grand-daughter needs a family to take care of her. Then also her mother (age 16) is pregnant again and does not know what she is going to do with that baby either, so If it is the Grace and will of God, we may be in the running for not one but 2 children here in the near future. This would be wonderful! Please pray that God's will will be willed out for our family.

Love butchi and Erin aka Emmy

Faces of Japan

Allow me to introduce you to three Christian friends from here in Japan. The girl on the left is Chihiro (actually, I don't know her). Next is Judith Alexander. She's a missionary in Hitachi-taga. We especially work with Judith doing youth ministry events with the middle school/high schoolers in the Ibaraki area. Anna McLain, next to Judith, is one of those students. She's 13 years old and has a precious heart for the Lord.

Love you guys! Say a quick prayer for these three, okay?

Ben

What Did God Have Against Lobsters?

That was once a sermon title by Phillip Yancey. Isn't it great?

Have you guys read any good books lately?

Love you!
Ben

Here are some pics of the family from Christmas time, we had a blast both at home and in Iowa. And Hannah expresses how we all felt by the time it was all over... wiped out! Thank you all for your marvelous gifts, but most of all thank you for your love! We are blessed and look forward to all the blessings the Lord has in store for us in the coming year.

Christmas time

Hello. Here are some pictures of our most recient things going on in our house. And our new bathroom. Hee hee hee.

We had a great time having Thanks Giving in Wildomar with the Cassatt's. Ella loves black olives and ate a great Thanks Giving meal of a bowl of black olives. She had every finger covered with black balls.

Here is the whole family. We sure did miss you all had lifted up thanks for all of you at this time. We are very much looking forward to seeing you guys at Christmas and find it to be a great blessing to come together at that time. We will miss you Ben and Erica but we know you will be in great company.

ERIN

Halloween Pictures of The Paul Family

Gospel Festival

This last Saturday our team put on our special singing voices and became the group known as "Offering." Every year for the past few years, Sendai City has been hosting the Sendai Gospel Festival. There were 54 groups that sang in various areas downtown. People can walk around listening to different groups. We sang twice this year; once at 3pm and then again at the "Final Stage" at 5:30pm. I'd say that at least 60 gathered to hear us both times. Here's a few pics.

One more thing. Erica's family got into Japan tonight. Their flight was delayed 6 hours! Anyway, thank God, they got in safely and they're staying at a hotel near Tokyo tonight. They'll take the train up to Sendai tomorrow. I'm excited ... Erica's REALLY excited!!

Watage!

"Watage" means dandilion. The idea is that people who struggle with various difficulties can come, receive love and help, and then fly off somewhere where they can put down roots and live a happy and productive life. This is where Joel and I volunteer once a week. I teach this English conversation class. I bet that if you guys joined sometime you could really learn a lot!

Here's a shot of yours truly teaching a bit of English to the kids at Watage. In this particular lesson we were studying sentence patterns like, "This is Vincent Van Gogh. He's not a truck driver. He's a painter." Notice my pointing stick -- it's a shoe horn.
Here's the best part of the class...the kids. Average age of about 17. And we have any where from 5 to 20 kids who attend each week. We have lots of fun playing games and enjoying each other!
This is a picture of what my black-board looks like sometimes. I try to make it as enjoyable for the kids as I can. One of the reasons that I love this class is because it helps the kids become comfortable with me. Some of the best conversations happen with them because they've learned to trust me and know that I care about them.