Pictures of the Nemeth's

Above - church in Kophaza - where my Nagypapa Presits is from and his family.

Above- The Presits family church in Sopron.

Church that my Dad was baptized in and Nemeth family church in Fertozseplak.

Above - In front of my Dad's home in Fertoszeplak.

Above- The bedroom of my Dad's home. He slept in the wooden piece that pulls out into a bed.

Gage standing next to my Dad's home and behind the well.

Gage and Alexa standing in front of Nagypapa Nemeth's workshop.

Inside Nagypapa Nemeth's workshop. Those are his original tools.

In Sopron, with my mother's and her family's Catholic church in the background. This is where she was baptized.

In Sopron at our favorite Ice Cream Parlor.

In Hotel Angela south of Debrecen. The first week we met the children.

At the Budapest Zoo on the Pest side. The two little girls in purple are our Adoption coordinator's girls.

At the Buda Castle in Budapest along the Duna River.

Above - In Budapest at Pizza Hut.

Hi from Tom

Hi - Tom here,
I'm been blessed to meet family here in Hungary. A couple Sunday's ago we visited Andrea, her Dad, Estee, and her Husband - 3rd cousins on my Nagymama Presits side (Mom's side). We also met with my 3rd cousin on my Dad's side (Laci Ujvari) and his wife. They invited us to his Father house for Easter. We had a great time. This is my Grandfather's younger sister's son and grandson on my Dad's side.

Now to the kids. They are adorable!! Loving, Cute, Happy. All of them. They love to be tickled before bed. They love to kiss and hug and are very affectionate. What a blessing. They are adjusting well to the adoption. We are all coming together as one family. Praise God!! Laci has a great smile. A lot of energy, loves trucks and balls. He loves Gage and Cole and rough housing with them. He has to be cuttled and held before going to bed. If it not Monika or Kira Alexandra doing this, guess who is next! Kira is talkative and outgoing. She loves talking on the phone and helping in the kitchen. She is a handful, but very loving and caring. Monika is quiet and strong. She is a peace maker and comforter to her younger siblings. She is also very caring and loving. They all love to wrestle and play and be held.

That's all for now. Thank you so much for you prayers.
God Bless you all,
Tom

We just got back from Sopron!

Hi Everyone,
We are still here!!! We did not fall off the face of the earth. I know that a lot of you think we might have, but no we are working through some internet frustration. It comes and goes and to get someone out to even look at the situation has taken 5 weeks. Hungarian time is not the same as American time. We are learning that tomorrow maybe 4-5 weeks or so. I am getting a perfect opportunity to work on my patience. All fun aside I have been growing in understanding!!! We will be home in just 2 weeks, which is unbelievable to think how the time has gone. We went to Sopron last Friday and the train ride was beautiful. The city of Sopron is something out of a movie. It is so well looked after and historic. The people all speak Hungarian and German because the border of Austria is just a few minutes away. We went to the neighborhood where Tom's mom lived and her family lived. It was beautiful. We also saw the Catholic church they attended and Tom's mom was baptized in. We ate ice cream like it was coming out of our ears. Everyday we would go to the ice cream shop and get a scoop. It was amazing!!!!! One word of caution - if ever in Hungary at a Pizza place -don't order "pepperoni" because you'll get green peppers. They know what salami is though. The hotel we stayed in was beautiful and historic. The newest additions had never gone swimming before so that was very interesting at first. Monika still has the skin off my back under her finger nails!!!! OUCH!!!!! Once they got used to it they really got into it. I had to use my life saving (lifeguard) techniques a few times and save some cute little Hungarian's. They were not quite sure what to do with the goggles but they wanted them just the same. We visited many of Tom's relatives on all sides literally. Saturday we went to Fertoszeplak to see where Tom's Dad, aunts, and grandparents were born and to see the home his Dad lived in that has now been turned into a museum. The museum was closed even though it was supposed to be open. We had already paid the driver so we went to the Catholic church and took pictures. We saw a lot of Nemeths on a plaque from the first congregation and later found out that they were all related. WOW!!. We then met a kind old woman who lived next door to the museum and she knew Tom's name and that he was the son of Laszlo Nemeth. It was weird to be half way around the world and have never met these people and they knew things about Tom's family that I did not even know. She pointed to where some Nemeths lived and said they were all family, so go say hi and they will have the key to the museum. Sure enough they were right, Tom's Nagypapa's (dad side) oldest bother's son (Gyula Nemeth) and his sons live right there in that village. They all look like Tom!!!! We were welcomed into their homes and treated to pastries (and Coke) because after all Tom's family are the Bakers for the village and the surrounding villages!!! (The other son (Tom's 3rd cousin) is a wood maker.) Oh boy can they BAKE!!!!! We also had the opportunity to see the Bakery under the home of Tom's cousin. Well need less to say, we never got back to the museum that night because we had to hurry back to the Hotel to see Tom's cousins on his Mom's side (Presits) side who were coming in from Austria. We can not leave the country with our Newest additions. We had dinner with them (Eva and Heni) and did not get to bed until very late that night. The next day in the afternoon, we went to the museum and it was awesome to see Nagypapa Nemeth's tool shed and the actual tools he used. We also saw Tom's dad's (Laszlo) bed and the stove that Nagymama used to cook for her family. The people who run the museum for the tourist department of Hungary guided us through and let us take pictures and see, feel, examine all the things of Tom's family that was still there. It was something to see time stopped and preserved for the public to see and experience. There were four houses next to each other that were in the museum. One was set up in the 1850's (Tom's Grandfather's home), another 1900, 1930, and 1950. It was great to see how people lived back then. We left the museum with postcards, flowers, pamphlets, honey, baskets, and a written history about the Nemeth house. They treated us like royalty and were very kind. That morning before, we visited with one of Tom's other 3rd cousins - Martha (this one is his Dad's Mom's sisters's granddaughter. We also met her mother (Margaret) and he husband. Martha teaches English in a high school in Sopron. We enjoyed our time with her. She was extremely helpful in getting us a driver for all 8 of us out to Fertoszeplak. She also told us a little about the history of what happened to the family after Communism took hold in Hungary after World War II. The Russians were not supposed to stay in Hungary, Romania, ect. after the war but, they did. The world just looked the other way because we did not want a WWIII on our hands and the Russians were so so so powerful. Many families including Tom's were in direct opposition to Communism and all it stands for so they were targeted after the Revolution of 1956. Martha tells us of a time when the Communist soldiers came and took her father away for four months. The Communist tortured him and did terrible things to him that I can not even say because of all the kids reading this blog. The people here in Hungary have suffered for years in a state of FEAR!!!! They are only just now feeling like the nightmare is over. I have a hard time even understanding what that would be like to be told what to do, how to do it, and still knowing even if I did nothing wrong I still could be drug off and tortured or worse killed like so many I have personally heard about since coming to this country. I pray the Lord will protect the minds of these dear people and heal their memories of such a terrible time in Hungarian history where the rights of all Hungarians were taken away and could only be dreamed about. The six children and I went to Bascilla Castle, Heros Square, and a Roman Catholic Church that seats 8,000 people today (while Tom worked). Of course, it was very beautiful and the art work out of this world!!!! Monika, Kira Alexandra, and Drew Laci are really starting to fit in well with the routine of this family, which is no easy thing to do. If you know us we are pretty routine and Tom likes things a certain way. In all actuality I think it has helped the children to know what to expect and how things are done. Tom is not much for change so the toilet paper will always roll from the back down and the kids will always have milk for meal times even if they are in their thirties. I love that man so much it is no easy job to balance all that he is between work, foreign currency, language barriers, extended family arrangements, and did I mention the reason we are here adding THREE new members to our family (kind of like triplets). God Bless you all and keep up the prayers because we feel them!!!! Pray the credit cards hold out because we have maxed out one already!!!!!! I almost forgot to tell you all!!!!!!! last week right before we were to go to Sopron we were awarded a grant for $7,500 by the Gift of Adoption!!!!!! WoW!!!!!!! Praise the Lord!!!! When the Lord calls you to go you don't ask how???? He is faithful to finish the work in You that He has started. We are living on FAITH and the LOVE of our Father!!!! Oh and we also found out that if we did not come along to adopt all three children (siblings) they were set to be separated for a quick adoption!!!!!!!!!!! God is Good ALL!!

Hello to the States!!!!

I have email! I thought this day would never come!!!!! Everyone said it was Hungarian red tape but, I did not believe them. Well now I am a believer! Things are never what it seems. Ok so I am back on the internet after three long weeks and do not know what to say. I don't know where to start. We have been in Budapest for about two and a half weeks. Wow !!!! OK. Between fixing meals, cleaning up, baths, and dealing with a lot of emotional children trying to adjust I do not have much time for anything else. I think I am learning more Hungarian then the kids are learning English. No I am just kidding but, really the children fit right in here with the Magyar people and there is very litttle English spoken here in Budapest. The people are very reserved to say the least. The culture is very different from the USA. People are very interested in us but, do not want us to talk to them. Grocery shopping can be a bit stressful with six children and no meat is labeled in English so we have had lamb, pork, liver ect.... thinking it was ground hamburger. Liver is big here!!!! The three youngest Nemeths have been raised on Liver and a whole lot of it. They love Liver!!!! The three oldest Nemeths are disguisted by the sight of it. So I have them literally gagging and Cole actually threw up his lunch watching the three younger ones eat liver patae or however you spell it.

The city is very interesting and we are getting quite good at mastering the metro system. The law here prohibats any building higher then 15 stories but, I have not even seen one more than 10 stories as of yet. We have gone to the Circus, Zoo, Parks, and many musuems. We went to the Buda Castle last weekend and saw a spectacular site from top the Buda Hills on to the city which is the Pest side.

We live in a two hundred year old apartment (flat). So that can be very interesting at times. Between water ice cold or burning hot or not at all, no electricity, I think I will never complain about my home again. The air is full of dirt and smog. People wear masks over their faces to protect their lungs from all the dust in the air. Communism has definetely taken its toll on these people. We went to our interpretors house on Sprinkling Monday which is an Hungarian Holiday. The men and boys will take colgne say a poem and spray the heads of all the women and girls in the house. I smelled like a cheap perfume store that night but, I was in good company because every other female did too. We have gotten close to our Andrea and her family through this whole thing and will continue a relationship. Pray for Andrea and her four girls they have suffered the lose of a wonderful husband and father through a bomb blast in Turkey. They hurt so deeply it is painful to all who care for this wonderful family.

On to the Nemeth news. We are doing well. The children are adjusting to eachother and we are bonding as a family quite remarkably. Gage and Cole have taken Drew over completely. The girls are very close to me and will fight for my attention. When Tom comes home from work he is about knocked off his feet by a stampede of Nemeths ready to greet him. We get all kinds of looks when we walk down the street because we all hold hands so its like a wall coming at you and poeple are not quite sure what to do. The children have poor hygiene which we are not surprised, the first night I gave them a bath they just screamed and screamed. When Tom went to help brush their teeth they did not know what to do. Monika and Kira have major decay. Monika has her permanent teeth so this will be a major undertaking. Pray for Monika she has had a very heard time in her short life and will need some abdomanal surgery as well as follow up with a cardiologist in the states. Monika is strong and very responsive to the entire family. She is very open when I show her affection and has had to be the Mommy way to long!!!! She has gladly is passed that job to me. Kira (Alexandra) is very loving and mommy's big helper. She loves to sweep, clean bathrooms, chop vegtables, and wash dishes. She has a very strong personality and emotionally takes over if I am not on it. She is very intelligent and is picking up English very quickly. Drew (Laszlo) is very much the all boy kind of kid. He only knows try and try until you hit a brick wall and then climb, climb climb. He is the snuggle bug and the baby of the family in everyway. Tom has taken an immediate liking to him and Tom usually can be seen with his lips wrapped around Drew. The five older Nemeths miss home desperately and can't wait to go home to the point of tears sometimes. (I just hold Tom until he stops crying even if it takes all night!!!! HAHAHA) We have not been gone from home for a month ever so it is very hard.

The three youngest Nemeths are amazed at everything from escalators, boats, elevators, dvds, cell phones, restaurants, and well just about anything that is modern. They can not help pushing buttons on everything from the refrigerator off button to the subway emergency door opener! OH ohyahhh!!! That was fun!!!! Washing machines absolutely undue them, they can not figure out how the box can clean clothes.

We have enjoyed seeing Tom's family I think the most of all. They are so excited to see all of us even the newest additions. They have alot of family stories and alot of missing pieces to the Nemeth/Presits history. These two families as well as all the Hungarian people are resiliant, strong, and most of all determined to never give up!!! in the face of all kinds of difficulties. I did not know that the biggest Jewish synaguage in Europe is right here in Budapest. 250,000 Jews were killed during World War 2 here in Hungary. Thousands were shot into the Duna River and as a Memorial they have bronzed hundreds of shoes right next to this terrible site all along the river. Well I don't want to end on that note so I will end on this one! I am missing you all terribly and my prayers are with you in the States as you pick out homeschooling materials, go to work, recovering from surgeries, ministering to others, and going about your lives as well. Jesus is Lord of ALL! He sees ALL!!! He LOVES ALL!!!! But!! MOST OF ALL HE IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD AND HE IS LORD!!!!!!!EVERY KNEEE SHALL BOW AND EVERY TONGUE CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!!!! Until we meet again, Kristin

Hello to the State

Hi again from Budapest

Friday, April 3rd,

Tom Here.

Okay, our apartment email has been down for a week and I haven't had time a work to post. Thus, the late posts. Kristin is going nuts not having internet on in the apartment. It should be on in a few days.



It's been a pretty good week. We went to the zoo Tuesday. The kids (and us adults) had a great time. Our adoption coordinator met us there with two of her children. Very nice zoo, I had trouble pulling Kristin and the kids away from the Hippos. (I think after 30 minutes taking pictures of Hippos is enough). They were very friendly and quite interesting. The kids were able to feed them Alpha hay. We were able to get very close to them as with many of the animals there. You can't get that close in the US.



Each night we would make a trip to the local playground next to the Duna River just south of our apartment. Last night we walked Raday Ut. Each night it is lively, with many restaurants, shops, and people. We stopped for Dinner and had some amazing fries.


The kids are picking up some English words and are beginning to call use Mommy and Daddy instead of Kristin Neni and Tom Ba'csi. This morning at 3am Kira Alexandra had a bad dream and decided to get in bed with us. A couple hours later I put her back in her bed as she likes to turn sideways and push us off the bed. Drew Laci does that also.



I made contact with some of my relatives and our calendar is starting to look a little busy. This Saturday, Laci and Viki Ujvari will come to Budapest for the afternoon to meet me and my family. We have spoken on the phone but not in person. He is my Nagymama (grandmother) Ottilia Nemeth's (on my Dad's side) sister's Grandson. So we are 3rd cousins. His mother has invited my family for the day to Gyor for Easter Sunday. Gyor is about 2 hours north west of Budapest.



Next Sunday we are visiting Andrea and Estee Gyuracz. They are my 3rd cousins on my mom's side. They are my Nagymama (Grandmother) Presits' (mom's side) Sisters' Granddaughters. We've been invited to Andrea's apartment for Dinner.



On Sunday, April 19th we will visit another 3rd cousin and her family in Sopron. Her name is Martha and she teaches English in the schools there. She is my Nagymama Nemeth's (Dad's side) sisters' granddaughter. (My grandmother Ottilia had 9 or 10 siblings)


Also, while in Sopron plan to meet with other cousins on my Mom's side of the family. So our calendar is filling up a bit.

The kids - They are all getting along very well. Gage and Cole now know how to play chess and lot it. Alexa loves being the older sister and Kira Alexandra and Monika love even more Alexa as an older sister. Laci is really enjoying Gage and Cole.

That's all for now.
Szervusz (hi or bye)
Szia (see ya)
God Bless Tom

Hello from Budapest

Hi from Budapest, Hungary

Sunday, March 29, 2009
This afternoon we thought we’d take a quick trip out to the grocery store for a few things. So we got all the kids ready and took off out the door. But when we arrived at the store it was closed. In fact everything accept McDonald’s was closed. So we walked along the Duna River and heading south. We came to a circled tower and the kids enjoyed running up and down it. Next to it was a maze of bushes. The kids enjoyed that the most as they ask me to navigate them through the maze. Next we went a little further south to the Ludwig museum. We found out that every Sunday they have crafts for the kids. And the last Sunday of the month is free to all children and adults accompanying a child. The kids did pretty good while walking through the exhibit halls. After that we headed back toward the apartment, but stopped along the way to have fun in a playground we found. By this time it started to rain, so we headed back.

Monday, March 30, 2009
Today, I went to work while Kristin and the kids made that grocery trip.

Hi From Hungary

Hi from Hungary

Friday, March 27, 2009

Well, this was the day we dropped Gage, Alexa and Cole off at the foster home with Monika, Alexandra, and Laci as Andrea (Hungarian coordinator), Kristin and I went to Debrecen than to Hajfuboszormeny where we met with the adoption people there to sign paperwork to legally take the children. We will go back on April 28th to finalize the paperwork and our acceptance of the three children. We then went back to the foster home, where the foster mother fed us one last time. They are sweet wonderful people and we will miss them.
Kristin helped the foster mom pack and we were off for Budapest. Laszlo and Alexandra cried a little as we left. It was difficult. Monika, the oldest, comforted her brother and sister extremely well. Monika fits the older sister role extremely well. Last night I went out with Andrea to get A LOT of groceries. Andrea has been a wonderful help in so many ways.

Saturday, March 28, 2009
Well, our first day as the Nemeth family of EIGHT!! This afternoon we took a trip in the city – a very large city. We are starting (a little) to get to understand the tram and subway system around here. We ended up (accidentally) in a festival right by the Duna River. We had some awesome Hungarian sausage and I managed to get Kristin out of there before buying out half the jewelry. Ha Ha. We plan to go back, as the festival will last until Easter.
From there we headed out to the zoo area and found a nice park and playground. The kids had a blast on a sort of bouncy town. We didn’t get to the Zoo today, but we’ll have plenty of opportunity over the next several weeks.
That’s all for now. Tom