MLK: An American Prophet

"Since his assassination in 1968, Martin Luther King has become known and celebrated throughout the world as a champion of freedom. But there's another side to this man that's in danger of being forgotten - King the raging prophet of God's judgment on the West, the Baptist pastor who said that his mission was 'to redeem the soul of America'. Forty years after his death, politician and campaigner Oona King goes on a journey through the Deep South in search of this aspect of his leadership."

H-A-T spells Hat!

Violet's 1st Year in Pictures

Happy Birthday to our Sweet Violet

I can hardly believe one year has passed already. I still feel like we were given our precious gift just yesterday. At the same time it seems she's always been here. Violet is such an amazing person and we have so enjoyed getting to know her. She is blossoming into such a sweet little girl. I cherish her little smiles and giggles and I am thrilled that she still loves to nurse and be held close. She is walking so well these days and hardly ever crawls anymore. It is amazing how quickly things change. She is repeating a lot of words that we say and she tries so hard to talk to us. She has a few Japanese words in her vocabulary. Her favorite Japanese words are "happa" and "hana" which mean leaf and flower. She loves to be outside. She says night night ever so sweetly too... "nigh nigh". It melts my heart. She can answer to her Japanese name and she can also hold up her finger when asked how old she is in English and Japanese. She is really starting to sign well too. She can sign for milk, more, all done, want, and she is starting to learn how to sign for eat. Since she learned to sign for milk she asks for it ALL the time now. She wants to nurse wherever we are. And since I know that is what she wants it is so hard to turn her down. The other night we were in the bathtub together and she usually likes to nurse in there. She started to go in for a drink as usual but stopped and looked up at me and did the sign first. It was so cute. She really wanted to communicate with me. Another precious moment we have had this past week was with Daddy. He was starting to pray with her in the morning and she saw his hands folded together. She folded hers just like Daddy's and sat quietly while he prayed. When he said "amen" she said "aten". She now will fold her hands when we say let's pray and she says "amen" after we do. It is so beautiful. She is has a precious, loving spirit. She smiles and waves at people all the time. Especially the people who look sad or even angry. She can usually get a smile out of them in the end. It makes my heart so happy. I can't even express the joy I have in my heart and the love I have for this precious little girl. I pray that she will continue to grow in God's grace and love each day. Thank you to all of our friends and family who have helped us in this first year. Thank you Father for this most precious blessing.
Here is a picture of our sweet flower at exactly 1 year old to the minute.
at 2:32

 How old are you?

 くらふと　すみれちゃん