February 16, 2012
-
Hang with me
I really do not wish to keep apologizing for not writing. Between busyness and a handful of internet problems here and there and a general desire to not write for various reasons, I just simply haven't written.
There are so many things I would love to say, but after I think them through more carefully, I find I just can't share for various reasons. So, I don't. My goal is to just hang in these last few months before the local international school ends. After that we are going to end our time as dorm parents and move on. My hope is that once we are resettled into a different place that my time won't be so monopolized, and I won't be so tired. Then, I hope to get back to writing.
In the meantime, hang with me while we get all this worked out.
The run down here:
Skyler finishing 5th grade. Can this be possible? I placed an order for 6th grade books this week, so I guess it is happening. Moreover, I also ordered 1st grade books for Tomo. Eeks! When Skyler became a 1st grader, it was just another day and was greatly anticipated. Now Tomo joins the ranks...this is a little bit sad for me. When Maya gets there, oh my. She is starting to cover the things that her oldest brother went through at the same age and have been using some of the old books from the boys. I have Maya and Tomo working on the same Bible memory work. I am not sure how it will be homeschooling two kids full time with an overly curious toddler underfoot, but I am sure it will be interesting nonetheless.
Tomo is finishing up his second year at the Japanese kindergarten. Mid-March will mark his last days at the kindergarten. We have enjoyed our time at this kindergarten and we will miss all the friends we made there. This has been a rough year for Tomo health-wise. He has also done a lot of growing, so I do not know if there is a correlation there or not. He has struggled with various childhood illnesses, ear infections, allergies, colds, rashes making this year sharply different than last year when he hardly ever missed a day of kindergarten. There are seasons in a kids life, isn't there?!?
Maya just turned 2. She is ever the little mimic. It suits her well. She has all but potty trained herself. She was definitely the easiest to potty train. She doesn't quite get the bowel movement thing, which has made her more of a challenge than her brothers, but her fierce independence has enabled her to keep dry throughout the day. She is also the little mama trying to make sure her brothers fall in line. Don't think she is not in her own right a great big stinker, though!
As for this country, it has still been trying to recover from the massive earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear reactor melt down from nearly a year ago. Lots of progress has been made, but it will take time. This winter has been a rough one as a cold weather pattern has been hovering over North and Western parts of Japan. Snow has caused big problems in some of those areas. A big danger of avalanches causes trains to not run. Earthquakes that happen run the risk of creating avalanches. Yes, we still experience our fair share of shaking. For the most part, things have tapered away, but the aftershocks still continue to come. A few quakes in the Niigata area have had people on edge as they worry about the dangerous amounts of snow that have fallen. Snow and cold related deaths are up this year. I was told of an elementary student on the way to school who got caught in snow that had fallen from the roof of a house. It took a while for the student to be found, but now doctors are not sure how extensive the students injuries are. Unfortunately, snow falling off of people's roofs on to people is not an usual thing and even more unfortunate is that sometimes it result in death. Please continue to pray for this country. With the one year anniversary looms on the horizon, Japan can still use your prayers.
