I forgot to add that we got the boys cookbooks for easter.  I know, you all think that I am nuts for giving boys cookbooks.  Before you all judge me or throw stones at me, please let me say that cookbooks are fun.  I wanted to encourage the boys to be more involved with meal planning with me and actually helping me more in the kitchen.  This is something that I want to instill in all my children as we prepare to relocate... Oh, that reminds me that we have said in various other forums about our relocating, but that I have neglected to mention in Xanga-land that we are relocating. 

Ok, so here it is.  We are moving back to Niigata in June.  Woohoo!

Anyhow, I want the kids to be more helpful in the kitchen and grow in their independence as young men and young lady.  I bought the boys each their own cookbooks.  For Skyler, he now owns the Star Wars Cookbook referred to as Darth Malt.  Tomo is the proud owner of the Star Wars Wookiee Cookies book.  All day today the boys have been looking at their books, and plotting what to make.  Tomo did make a Skywalker Smoothie, but time did not permit Skyler to actually make the Darth Malt.  Maybe tomorrow.  I am happy that the boys like the books, but I am wondering if the novelty will eventually wear off or if they will become fanatic kitchen helpers now.  Judging by today...I am maybe in for a run for my money with them trying to do all the recipes.

Oh, the funny thing from school today was when Skyler was reading his how stuff works book for science, he read about a toilet that is high tech and more sanitary.  The book didn't say where the toilet was from, but we had a good laugh because we have seen that toilet by the maker that was listed in the book (a common toilet maker here in Japan).  Those high tech toilets don't seem so high tech to us because we see them and use them all the time.  Kind of like, "Whats the big deal?"  We also think that of the common grey squirrels that we sometimes see inside zoo exhibits here in Japan.  

There is so much jumbling around in my mind right now.  The past several day have been busy, fun, exciting, emotional, and hard.  Good and bad all in one.  I don't this I really want to dwell on the bad.  Thinking about the bad isn't good for me.  I dwell on things and grow more frustrated over the issues that nag at me.  So...the good...

This weekend we had a very nice church service on Saturday.  The group regulars are starting to form which is nice.  Relationships are deepening which is great.  On Easter we had a very nice meal which was only going to be about 9 people, but ended up being 15.  Yes, it was sort of surprising, but feeling like a bit of a loaves and fishes experience, there was enough food and a bit leftover as well.  God is quite amazing.  We had marinated lamb that was cooked on the grill, and despite being told that Japanese won't eat lamb, everyone ate and enjoyed it.  While the adults talked a bit, I had the kids dye eggs.  What an energetic group of dyers we had!  Quite creative too!  On a whim, we decided to do a small egg hunt as well.  We filled some plastic eggs the night before and while the kids dyed, Corey and another father hid eggs at a small nearby park.  After hunting for eggs, we returned to the house and enjoyed desserts!  I knew people were enjoying themselves because they lingered for a long while.  I can always tell when people are enjoying themselves because they linger as long as their schedule permits.  It was nice to give the kids a chance to play and the adults a chance to chat.  A friend invited a family to come, and in this is where we met 5 new people.  An interesting family and it was fun getting to know them.

Today we started a new school year in our home.  The Rising Sun Academy has kicked off a new year.  Skyler is in 6th grade now.  Tomo is in 1st, but it is a bit of a transitional first grade.  I know it is a bit of a jump for him, so we will see over the next few weeks and days what we need to do to help him in areas that are struggles for him.  I know that we will be in a bit of adjustment period while we figure out how we all work together.  Anyhow, after one day done, things went pretty well.  I am getting the idea that Tomo will be fine in math.  Maya worked on puzzles and drew circles and apples.  She seems fascinated with shapes.  Oh, and her apples do, well, really look like apples.  When I get the chance I want to see what more she can do or even that she wants to do.  She is growing quite verbose, so watch out world..Maya is up and coming.

Mr. T is still trying to get a handle on what it means to be in elementary school and has a bit of an oversized notion as to what it means.  I sent big brother on an errand today.  Tomo asked if he could go, but I said no.  He asked why, and I explained that to him.  I thought that we understood each other.  Then I got busy with Maya, we were having a disagreement about going to the potty before we went outside to play, and by and by I realized that Tomo was gone.  It created a bit of a scare for me, but I did find that Tomo caught up to big brother and were walking home together.  Little man didn't like the trouble that he created by doing that when I brought him home.  Hopefully he gets it now.  No, means, no.

It has been a wild day and I am very ready to call it a day.  Now to find a piece of leftover Easter dessert and relax with my husband who also had a busy day.

Here is hoping that day two goes as well as today, but maybe with a tad less busyness and drama as today.

This has been a short week for CAJ students, which has made this week fly by fast for our tribe of ten (minus the one at the Far East Basketball Tournament).  Skyler is on his last 20 lessons of 5th grade and it also seems to be winding up pretty quickly.  Tomo is in his last few days as a Nenchu-san (middle grade kindergarten).  It feels like the typical wrap up to another school year in many ways; except for the part where the American school in town still goes on until June.  This time of the year makes things a bit busy with the end of the year and preparing for the beginning of another year.  Japan changes their school year, jobs, and the like in mid-March to early-April.  Last Friday of February?!  Where did this month go?!  We do not have Japanese class next Wednesday because it is a fifth Wednesday.  It really seems strange to be talking about a 5th weekday in February.  Silly leap year.

Another gorgeous day today.  I could get used to this.  I am going to bike to class tonight.  The family I teach for has been insisting that I take public transportation during the winter.  They pay for it, but I prefer to take my bike.  Public transportation is great but the bus that I take to get back home never ever comes on time.  I have stood at that bus stop for as nearly long as it would have taken me just to walk back to the house.  The buses are supposed to come every 10 minutes or so.  I am guessing that the bus schedule changed but the posted schedule doesn't reflect that.  OR it could just be that far behind on a Friday night.  Just glad that the weather is great to be out on a bike today!

I have been seeing some FB statuses, newsletters, blog posts about missionaries asking for care packages from the supporters.  This got me to thinking about the whole issue of care packages.  It occurred to me that other than my parents shipping Christmas gifts or things we ask them to ship to us, we have not received a care package in about a year.  This got me thinking about missionary care.  Thinking about all those recent comments and my own family's situation, made me think about why those packages are so nice.  As far as needing items, we don't need anything.  I am sure any missionary will tell you this especially if they live in a 1st world country.  It isn't the need that sparks the desire to ask for packages, it is the want.  But isn't so much as the want as it is the mental boost from getting something from home.  When we get a package, we think how great it is that such-and-such was sent to us, but it more the feeling of so-and-so sent me this item.  Usually sent items are things that cannot be gotten easily on the field or comes at a huge price.  Items might be unique to the home country or be given with the knowledge that the item is just a certain thing for the receiver.  It just feels good.  It feels like being loved all the way across the ocean.  It is a reminder that we have been forgotten.

People/churches who send care packages are sort of like cheerleaders for the missionary family living on the field.  My challenge to any people from churches reading this blog...

How have you loved on your missionary lately?  

I know a number of people who could sure use a little love and a reminder that their support base is still praying for them and thinking about them even though they are millions of miles away (ok millions of miles is exaggerated, but I hope you see the point).  I am not challenging you churches, friends, families not for my own families sake, but for the many families I know who could surely use an encouraging boost.  However, if you would like to love on our family, we never look a gift horse in the mouth.

I am very happy to report that the Momo trees are blossoming and the Ume trees are budding.  Yes, spring is in the air.  With the two beautiful trees doing their annual thing, spring is making its approach.  Today was absolutely gorgeous.  I am so thankful for days like this.

The Momo (peach) tree in my son's kindergarten yard is a beautiful shade of pinkish-purple.  I have always thought those flowers really popped against the darker color of the wood from the branches and the tree's trunk.  Soon the Ume (plum) tree will go from budding to blooming, and I am looking forward to this.  Last summer we left the country, so we didn't get to make our yearly Ume juice concentrate.  When the Ume is ready to pick, I fill up a jar with sugar and Ume, and a touch of vinegar.  After a couple of weeks and daily jar shake-ups, we get a super thick syrup which we dilute with water for our own juice.  Delicious!  Looking forward to that this summer.  And surely once the Ume is done blossoming, then the Sakura will begin its spring march.  Then it will be truly be spring!  This has to be my favorite part of spring here in Japan.

Getting antsy for spring.  I am ready for winter to be over.  I am waiting with great anticipation.  The feeling that good things are coming is starting to well up inside of me.  In many ways, it feels like not just a change in seasons physically , but a change in the seasons of the soul as well.

Today during nap time, my little one was not going down so easily.  She usually does all right with nap times choosing to be more resistant at bed times rather than nap times.  I returned her to her bed a couple of times and then I thought for sure that she stayed in her bed.  In the meantime, the boys are rough housing and I cannot hear stray noises on the second floor from the first floor.  I sat down to research what to do with the kids tomorrow while the baby napped and the boys played together.  Corey is away today laying groundwork for the future, so to speak.

About a half hour rolled by, getting no where with figuring out plans for tomorrow, my little one strolls down the steps in different pants than I had her in before I laid her down.  Immediately I feel suspicious.  Traveling back up the steps, I find that she had tried on all her nighttime pull-ups on.  Lovely.  I found her original pair of pants, and they were wet.  However the panties she was wearing were not wet.  Feeling more suspicious.  I see that her shirt is wet.  Ok.  Then I noticed her eyes drift to the second floor bathroom.  Oh no.

I notice two things right away when I entered the bathroom.  The toilet paper roll in empty and the toilet is brimming full.  I have had to tell her before about the amount of TP we put into the toilet and why we do not put a lot in the toilet.  She is too curious for her own good.  I think she realized that she made a mistake and tried to correct it by flushing it.  As you  might well expect, flushing does not work.  Gathering from the wetness of her shirt (on the sleeves and at the belly) and her pants, she must have decided that the wrong needed to be further amended by reaching in and trying to fix the problem.  

I have to admit, I was livid.  Yes, I am pretty sure that livid is the right word here.  I was yelling at her to tell her it was wrong to put all the toilet paper in the toilet and that it was wrong for her to be out of bed during her nap all the while trying to strip her, clean her, and reclothe her in clean clothes.  I punished her and then put her back into bed with the admonition of what would happen if she got up from the bed again.

Fuming still, I hollered for Skyler to bring the downstairs plunger up to the second floor bathroom.  He could tell from my voice that he dare not delay.  I guess 10 years teaches you when you don't even let it cross your mind to disobey your mother.  In the meantime, the toilet water is just sort of slowly rising over the boundaries of the bowl only to seek a new place to flow across the floor.  

I have learned that you can learn a lot about your house by spilling liquid on non-carpeted flooring.  You find out which way the floor slants.  No level surfaces in my house.  Earthquakes have a way of unleveling houses for sure.

Skyler brought the plunger and water displacement sets in as I push the plunger in, I have to quickly run for my shower room shoes.  You know the cheap pink ones from the hundred yen store that allow up to go into the bath area and clean without getting your socks all wet.  Yes, those hideous things.

I return to the toilet room with proper foot ware  and take the plunge.  A few good plunges into the bowl and finally the tides change and recede down the drain.  Meanwhile I send the boys to the laundry room to grab my stash of rag towels.  These are the bath towels that are good for nothing but to be used in ignoble ways.  Cleaning up toilet water counts.  It took me 5 full sized bath towels to sop up the mess on the floor.  I think that I was able to keep the water from flowing to the hallway carpet.  

I admit that I was fuming the whole time.  I was hot.  Livid.  Cleaning up the mess and dragging the heavy soaking wet towels back to the laundry room to do an unexpected load of laundry, I fumed the whole way. 

When I finished up the cleaning work, I decided to check in to see if the little one was obeying.  

I found her in her bed.  

Sound asleep.

Her little hands folded in prayer.

In that moment, I think God was trying to teach me a lesson.  Yes, God I am sorry too for being so angry and for yelling.  I am sorry that I showed a lack of patience with anyone at all.  Hopefully we both learned something today.

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.

I hardly know what to say or where to start.  I have been getting over a bit of a cold.  At least that is all, I hope.  After a half dozen trips to the doctor with Tomo, we might have him on the mend too.  Hopefully.  It has been such a rough year on him.  So much growing going on, and his poor body responds with illness.

These past couple of days have reminded how fragile life and how broken this world is.  Not due to colds or ingrown toe nails or rashes that have gotten infected.  None of that.

One of our supporting churches had asked people to pray for a 5 year old boy who has been sick and in the hospital for some time now, but we learned that the little boy was swept away into the arms of Jesus this past weekend.  So sad.

This weekend I have learned of a precious friend whose marriage is on the brink due to her spouse's unfaithfulness, and I am reminded of this broken and imperfect world.  My heart breaks, and I long for Heaven.

My initial response is to want to cling to what I have.  Hold my children closer.  Hold them just a few minutes longer.  Thankful for my husband and want to snuggle into his arms to feel safe and secure.  Actually I would like someone to just tell me that 5 year old boys do now just die and that people's marriages do not just crumble.  Unfortunately, this sinful world does not work like that.

But in a second it could all slip away.

We got a vivid reminder of how quickly things could slip away this past March 11.  A single moment in time...a moment that would be recorded in the annals of time.  

I do not want my assurance to be in my children or my husband and certainly not my things.  My assurance comes from Jesus.  In that moment, when life sweeps away, the only thing left is Jesus.  Don't get me wrong, I will steal as many cuddles from my loved ones as I possible can, and I will do my best to serve the Lord while it is still called to today, but I am never assured of a tomorrow.  

Sorry that this is a bit of a heavy post.  Just trying to process some of the weekend news.  And am being reminded how I need to keep my eyes focused on Jesus.

I do not mean to write about my girl so much lately, but she is that age where she is just embodies cute which serves her well to save her skin.  

Like...

She bumped her head on the table.  She pauses a moment and then rubs the side of her head and says, "Funny bone."  I should back up and say that her brothers very goofily refer to any time they hurt themselves as having hit their funny bone.  Skyler claims it is because when you get hurt people laugh, so it is the "funny bone".  Anyhow, now poor Maya thinks she also has funny bones all over the place.  The pause for the pronouncement of "funny bone" was times quite perfectly too.

She is so independent minded.  I am not sure yet whether I am proud or frightened.  I want to cultivate this in her, but to do it right it the important thing.  She asked for milk.  I was planning on getting right to it, but I really needed to get the Corey and Tomo out the door this morning.  Corey was helping the kindergarten with the mochi pounding day.  Mochi means sticky rice cake.  The kids all pound the rice to help to make the rice cakes.  Corey went to help with the pounding and the folding up the rice to be pounded.  At any rate, they needed to be their by 9 and the clock was showing it was just 2 minutes until 9.  Plenty of time via bike, but they really had to go!  Meanwhile, someone left the milk out of the table.  It could have been anyone because I do feed 9 others breakfast in the morning.  I hadn't eaten yet, but I certainly had not gotten the milk out.  It doesn't matter who left it out but that Maya decided she would fill her own cup.  Let me say that at 23month she does not QUITE have the pouring skill down yet.  

At class today, she decided to charm everyone that included not just saying good morning in Japanese but also trying to say the traditional New Year's greeting to people when you see them for the first time after the new year.  

I took a puzzle for Maya to do.  It occurred to me that I wasn't sure of the word for barn in Japanese.  It isn't a word I have encountered here because I do not live in a farm-like setting.  Different words for different things too....where food is stored....where animals are kept...where farming supplies are kept.  I decided to grow my vocal and ask the child-like question.  The teacher asked how to say barn in English.  Maya rose up so she was eye to eye with the teacher and said, "BaRn", yes, she laid heavy on the r.  The teacher laughed and proceeded to tell another teacher that Maya was teaching her how to say barn.  The other teacher said, "Oh, she is telling how to pronounce it correctly."  Too funny. Oh, I do now know how to say barn in Japanese and although I am not sure I will have a chance to use it anytime time soon, I will not likely forget it.  

Someone asked Skyler a question and apparently Maya thought it was taking him way to long to respond, so she said, "Skyler! Hai...Hai!"  The look on her face could have fleshed out the sentence to "Skyler, he asked you a question, so answer it now with hai (yes)."  

I still get tickled when I hear her say Skyler-chan.  Skyler hates it but it is so precious.  She loves her brother so much.  

Speak her mind, yes she does.  Midway through class she told me, "I want to go outside."  This is her code with I am bored and really want to go, mom.  When class was over she grabbed her coat and grabbed mine and got upset that the teacher was trying to help her with any of it.

I could go on.  Finding items and returning them to their owners with a "Hai, douzo!" (Here you are),  or the random shouting of "Zoo-wee-mama!"  Yes, seriously.  She is a living breathing parrot.  She mimics everyone's every word...TV-yes, brothers-of course, parents-uh huh, friends, family, the boarders that live with us, toys that talk-yes, yes, yes, and yes.

All this and we are still weeks away from 2.  I can hardly wait to see what 2 brings us, but I am certain that whatever it brings, it will most certainly keep us on our toes.

Now that I finally feel more relaxed and not so frazzled, I think I will try to get some things done.  Time is just so relentless and people do tend to get hungry at the same times everyday.  Gotta get some prep work done for dinner tonight which is a vegetable stir fry with udon noodles.  I will throw in a little pork for those who insist they need meat.  Off to chop those veggies before Maya is up from nap.

I set this puzzle in front of her to see what she would do.  She has done so well with her shape sorter that it seemed time to move up to puzzles.

Here she is being very silly with her brother's toy.  Her brother is to the side encouraging every giggle out of that girl.  I am so not a fan of whoopee cushions, her laughter just tickles me.
 

The New Years holiday is big and the way it worked out this year is that the holiday spilled over until today, Tuesday.  Businesses will start to get back into full swing tomorrow.  The international students head back tomorrow.  Tomo's school is still out until next Tuesday.  We have a whole week, so our groove will only be partially back for another week yet.  

That I am typing tonight reveals a couple of things.  One, the internet situation has been resolved.  Everyone can use the net at the same time and it isn't working at a crawl.  A vast improvement.  Another thing that is revealed is that the kids are either in bed or finishing cleaning up their room, so I have time.  With no school to prepare for tomorrow and the grade book caught up and breakfast ready to roll in the morning; I am free the remainder of the night.  Woohoo.  I think I will relax because it will be a bit of a sprint until spring break time in late March.  

One big news item I can share is that Tomo will not be doing his third year at the Japanese kindergarten.  I can't go into all the ins and out of why, but from April, he will join the ranks of homeschoolers.  I will finish up the homeschool kindergarten materials that we have been using and work on bringing up his speech level.  Then we might, this is a big might, we might start him on first grade materials come fall time.  He would be the right age for starting first grade by the American calendar, but not by the Japanese calendar.  I just can't believe that he is THAT age already!  I am leaning towards purchasing the first grade materials when I place the order for Skyler's sixth grade year.  He has 55 days left of 5th grade.  I know, crazy, huh?

Tomorrow we have to get Tomo to the doctor.  He has been sick for about two weeks now.  The initial sickness is better, but there are still some lingering issues that we hope to get some answers on.  This may mean being referred to a specialist.  He also has a nasty ingrown toenail, that I have done what I can at home, seems like it needs medical attention.  Lucky kid.  If we can't get the toe better by next Tuesday, playing soccer will be a no go.  

Maya is barreling towards the big number 2.  I cannot decide if I am happy or sad about this fact.  She is getting to be such a big girl.  She is so independent minded.  We really have to keep an eye on her because if we don't she may just be out the door on her tricycle.  So determined, so daring.  Her talking is really starting to take off and we get some good chuckles at the things she comes up with.  She shows pretty solid aptitude at using either Japanese or English.

Wonder what all this year holds for us a family...Just reading the above alone looks like this could be a big year for our family!