Violet's Shichigosan Movie

I am finally going to post the video I made of Violet's Shichigosan Celebration. It was a great day. There were so many beautiful photos taken by Naomi Musashi Stilp that I couldn't narrow it down. It is a long video and I don't expect many people will want to watch the whole thing. But for those of you who are interested take a peek and let us know what you think. :)

shichigosan11.18.12.MOV from stephanie Craft on Vimeo.

11 months and first steps (pics and video at the bottom)

Our little flower is 11 months old today. I missed the update on her 10 month...oops! So often I would think to sit down and write about her 10 month accomplishments but someone was keeping me busy. ;)
Violet has grown so much and she is bringing so much joy to us each and every day. Her smile and beautiful laugh bring so much peace and hope to each passing day. She offers a friendly wave to everyone she sees and smiles her toothy grin (she has 4 teeth now). She loves to wave at elderly men especially because they usually wave back. :) Violet started saying Daddy and Dad very clearly this past month. She has started saying Mama again these days too. Yeah! She also says "hat" and she knows what she is saying. She looks at a hat and says "hat"! She also says "duck" and "hot". She loves to wash mommy's face in the bath and she loves to brush mommy and daddy's hair. She loves to stack the rings on her stacking toy and put the ball in the hole. She pretends to talk on the phone. She giggles with abandon when daddy tickles her. She plays peek a boo all the time. She tries to do the hand gestures for "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" too. It is so precious to see those tiny fingers come together. She claps to rhythm and she claps when she has done something. It is so cute! I love to see her clapping. It is amazing to see her eyes light up when she learns something new. It brings me such joy to watch her try something new. And..... She has started WALKING!!!
Her precious little feet took those first steps on August 17th. And since then she has been taking more and more. She is up to 9 consecutive steps with out falling down. She now pretty much refuses to sit and eat. She stands and eats. :)
Violet still nurses quite often and eats 3 meals of food a day. I was a little worried about her weight because she doesn't eat as much food as I think she should. But yesterday we went to the doctor and he said not to worry. He said she was small but not that small. :) She weighs 16lbs. now and she is 25.11".
When I hold her and rock her at night it amazes me at how much she has grown these past 10 months. I remember when I would hold her in one arm and she would nuzzle in so close. Now I struggle to hold her with two arms. She loves to stretch out while she is nursing to sleep.

I just am so thankful for each day with her. She truly is a miracle and perfect gift that I do not and never will deserve. Her little smile melts my heart. We love you Violet!

10 months

11 months

Here are some more summer pics on facebook to check out if you like. **warning...there are a lot of pics** :)

Here is a video of Violet walking to Daddy

7 Steps from Musclecars & Meditation™ on Vimeo.

SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Dear family and friends. We are so thrilled that spring is finally on its way here in Iwate, Japan. We have had a long cold winter and finally it is starting to warm up. We are enjoying watching the world come alive around us and it is so amazing to watch Violet experience this for the first time. I so want to see things through her eyes. You know that feeling when you see something for the first time. Your heart races as you try to take it all in. How amazing to experience that every day. She makes us appreciate even the littlest of things in such a miraculous way. Today I watched her eyes glitter and gleam with delight as she touched a green branch for the first time. I found myself reaching out to touch it too. What a miracle God has created! What a miracle that He has granted us another day together as a family in this beautiful world that He created. Happy Spring to you all.

Violet learns Peek-a-Boo from Musclecars & Meditation™ on Vimeo.


Untitled from Musclecars & Meditation™ on Vimeo.

Violet's 6 month pic

Early Christmas celebration

We had an early Christmas celebration with our dear お父ちゃん　と　お母ちゃん.
They drove from Tono to visit us and we had a wonderful time. Mrs. Yoshida made a delicious apple cake that we shared over coffee, (mommy had chocolate milk :) )
We had such a wonderful time visiting. We usually spend the night with them in Tono on Christmas Eve but this year we will be in America. We will miss our quiet celebration with them and look forward to the next time we can spend Christmas together when Violet is older. I know she will love spending the night with them. They live in the mountains and in gets cold and snowy for Christmas. They have a fireplace and it is such a cozy place to be!
Well here are some pictures from our day together and a video too. Love and blessings to you all.

 

 

 

 

Holy days with Jiji & Baba from Musclecars & Meditation™ on Vimeo.

"Squeakers" & Smile

Why we call her "squeakers":

Squeakers from Musclecars & Meditation™ on Vimeo.


Squeakers 2 from Musclecars & Meditation™ on Vimeo.

Video: Sweet Pea's Beginnings

Sweet Pea's Beginning

The maternity ward of the hospital and Sweet Pea's feet

Last Tuesday we went to the hospital for our 32 week checkup. Sweet Pea has moved into a breech position...we are trying to change that though. Luckily we still have about 8 weeks give or take. So we are not stressing just trying to relax and pray that she will move in her own good time. I think she just wanted to get her mommy into a bunch of crazy positions for a good laugh. It must get boring in there sometimes :) Anyways, here is a short videos that Gabe took after the ultrasound while we were waiting to talk to the midwife about hospital procedures.

12 Week check-up (Pics & First VIDEO)

Hello everyone! Steph here,
Today we went to the doctor for our 12 week check-up. Gabe came with me today. It was our first time to go together. We were both so excited. I was a little worried that they wouldn't let him come back with me because they way the exam rooms are set up. They are only divided by curtains. But they did! We were expecting to get a regular ultrasound (the kind on the tummy) for the first time and to be able to hear the heartbeat. But for some reason he decided to do the inner ultrasound again and told us we would have to wait until the next appointment to hear the heartbeat. Because of our lack of Japanese we were unable to fully understand the reason. But it's ok because for the first time we got to watch the baby on the screen! It was amazing. We could really see baby's heart beating away. It's an absolute miracle the way God creates life. It is so beautiful. I had seen the pictures but to actually see the baby on the screen was wonderful. I just couldn't believe that all this was happening inside of me. It was indescribable. We are so thankful and so blessed. The doctor said the baby was growing perfectly healthy. The baby is 2.2 inches now. Gabe was so sweet and caring. He held my hand during the exam and took a video of the screen when the doctor was explaining the parts of the baby. He's going to be a wonderful daddy! So without further ado...for your viewing pleasure here is the first video of our "Sweet Pea". ps the video is after the pics :)

11 Weeks belly shot

waiting for the ultrasound....
12 week photo
on the big screen
when the picture is flipped upside down I think you can see the baby's profile. If you look closely.

HERE'S THE VIDEO: (click the Google button for a full-screen view)

11 Week check-up

Today I went in for my 1st trimester testing (blood work, blood pressure...etc.). I also got another ultrasound. Unfortunately I didn't get a copy to bring home and I forgot to take my camera to take a picture of the ultrasound pic. I really wish I had because for the first time you could actually tell that there was a baby in there. I could see a definite head and body form. The doctor said that the baby was growing at a healthy rate (crown to rump 1.63") and that the baby's heartbeat was , in his exact words, beautiful. It was wonderful news. My blood pressure was normal and I will get the results of the other tests later. I go back again next week for my 12 week and we will finally be able to hear the heartbeat! We are really excited about that! All in all things are going really well.
I did think that my morning sickness was passing but unfortunately it caught me by surprise this morning. But not to worry, I will make sure to have my trusty banana beside my bed tonight so I can eat it before getting out of bed. (^-^)


We also received good news about our housing situation. Our current landlord is going to let us move whenever we like and the new landlord is going to allow us to move in a the end of this month. With a few days rent free for moving our things over. The new house is actually right across the road from where we are now so it shouldn't be too hard. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways. Thank you all for your prayers and love!
Here's a fun video for you to enjoy...note I am eating organic all natural peanutbutter.

5 Years of Wedded Bliss

Today we will celebrate 5 blessed years together! Thank you to all of you who helped to make it such a beautiful day.

Aidan Born Nov. 2, 2006

Gabe here... been awake since 4:30 AM.... uploading pictures to flickr (a great site where you can privately or publicly store your photos without a limit for 25 bones a year)...

Well, flickr also allows you to upload and short video clips now (Yay!)

Here is a rare one from our archives:

My lttle bro Aidan Elizondo on his birthday (November 2, 2006)

First Snow 2008

Video: Stopped by our beach today

The rainy season has begun here in Japan. Last week we had many gloomy days but finally this weekend we had some sunshine. So we decided to head out to the local beach to soak up some sun! We had a great time, it felt like a mini vacation!

Thailand Pictures & Short Video (finally!)

Hey everyone...Steph here...sorry for the long absence.
School is back in session here and Gabe and I are getting back in to the swing of teaching after a month straight of days in the office. With, of course, the exception of the week we spent in Thailand! We had a wonderful time relaxing on the warm island of Koh Samui! Which sounds funny if you speak Japanese because samui means cold in Japanese! (^_^)
Anyways here are just a few pictures to wet your appetite! Gabe and I want to make a little movie with videos and pictures so we will post more later! Love you all!

Video & Pics: Four Years of Marriage

Today we give thanks for 4 years of blessed marriage. Each year on our anniversary we are reminded of all you who made our wedding so perfect and we think of each one of you with love and give thanks. Thank you all so much for all of your support on that day---and continued prayers and support.
Love, Gabe and Steph



And...
Some Pictures from Our Wedding

Video & Pics: Christmas Eve in Tono

Some Pictures of Christmas Eve & Day

Video: Hoshigaki & Train Ride Home

Steph happened to catch locals drying persimmons at one of the five rural train stations she passes through. She took some pictures and videos and we put them together with some local autumn folk music. You can also see some of the mountains and seacoast of our area on her train ride home. Hope you enjoy!

Video: Light In Darkness

It's getting dark early these days...it's a tough time of year. Tonight we watched an episode of Northern Exposure. This is a clip from that episode. It's one of our favorites.

Video: All Saints Day 2007

Last Sunday we went to Tono to see our dear friends, the Yoshida's. We were able to join then in worship at Tono church for All Saint's Day. Here is a video of our Sunday. There were some amazing fall colors and the sky was astounding.

Video: Halloween 2007

This is a video from the Halloween Party we attended last weekend in Murone village. Our friend Greg, from North Carolina, and his wife organize this Halloween party every year. We had a great time!



And if you would like to see the pictures check out this online album.