Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Facebook Fast

So, today is September 1 and I have decided to take a month away from facebook. Shocking huh? How can a girl, especially one living 7,000 miles away from lots of family and friends, go without facebook for a month? Well, I am not sure, but I plan to do it. There are many things that brought me to this decision, but for the most part, I simply spend too much time on it. Yes, it is a fun way for me to keep up with people all over the world, but do I need to check it every time I feed the K Man and sit big sister in front of the television? No. I need to focus more on my family and less on other people. It is not like I am "serving" people or helping them by checking their profiles! There are other factors as well that have led me to this decision, but for the most part, I just want a break from it. Now, facebook is a means for me to email people as well, and I have a few friends I email consistently via facebook. I am not deactivating my account and will continue to email these friends this way. So, if you see me on there, that is what I am doing - a quick email. But, in terms of updating my status all the time with something quirky to say or checking out other peoples' status updates, I am declining for the month of September. I used to read all the time when I nursed Miyako - I miss doing that. So I am going to read some books during those nursing times or read to Miyako and play with her while I nurse the K Man. I know some people may "miss" my updates or pictures, but you can check them out here. I am not giving up the internet - just facebook for now. Although some times I do think an internet/computer fast would be good for me as well. We will start with this though. :) And I will break the "rule" if for some reason we have a major natural disaster again and I need to let the world know I am ok...let's hope I do not have to do that.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Can't Say Enough








I really cannot say enough about our two kiddos. Oh how I love them. Enjoy the fun pics as of late...and BTW, Miyako took some of these pictures.

Friendship Day







Saturday we went to the US Embassy Friendship Day. It was a little taste of America hear in Tokyo. When you think carnival or fair, what comes to your mind? Elephant ears (funnel cakes), clowns with balloon animals, hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled pork sandwiches, snow cones, Sesame Street characters, and a large American flag...these were all seen at the US Embassy Friendship Day. Miyako started the day fairly rough and did not like the crowd or noise. But once she saw went on the playground with daddy, got a piece of pizza, and saw ELMO she left saying, "Mama, that was fun." Afterwards, we hung out with friends at their place and enjoyed great conversation, Mexican pizza, and some wine while the kids played super together. It was such a fun day. I am so grateful for the friends we have here. After being here almost two years, it is finally starting to feel like home - looking forward to friends coming back from vacation so you can see them, weekly schedules of sports class and music class, cook outs, girls nights - life is good.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Hurricane Irene

You know how when you go through something really hard and someone says something to the effect of, "One day God will use this situation for you to help or encourage someone else." You look at that person and think to yourself, "Shut up. I do not want to help someone else if it means I can avoid the current problem at hand." But then down the road you find yourself being a source of encouragement to someone else and you are grateful that you have been there, done that, and can help someone else along. This is where I find myself right now with Hurricane Irene.

One of my best friends is currently living in the Bahamas. She was able to escape the storm through a missionary charter service with her three little ones; however, her husband remains behind to ride out the storm and shepherd the church congregation God has provided for them at this time in their ministry. As I have been emailing with her through this process (do we stay or do we go? how do we do life in the US for this time?) God has brought me to a place where I can actually thank Him for our earthquake experience. I would have never been able to help my friend walk through this with full understanding had I not gone through the March 11th earthquake here in Japan. Sure, I could have given her my opinion on what I would do, but I would not have really known what she is going through - the emotions of confronting a natural disaster and the mental anguish it puts on you as you try to do what is best for your family. In a way, walking through this with her has been very therapeutic for me. I survived the biggest earthquake in the history of Japan on the 48th floor of an apartment building at 33 weeks preggers and with a two year old. How did I survive? Well, God took care of me. There is no other answer but that. It was not of my own will and strength because going through something of that magnitude takes all of your strength away. The simple truth is that He took care of me.

Dear friends in the Bahamas, I know He will take care of you too. Thank you for letting me walk along side you with this difficult situation as it has helped me come full circle in this truth. Praying for His protection over your family.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Hotter than Hades








So, it is blazing hot here in Tokyo. What do you do? You go to the new splash pool in your neighborhood. I had Nena come today since it was Thursday. She kept Kei in the cool comforts of our apartment while Miyako and I did a double date with her buddy and my dear friend. We spent a hour at the splash pool and then had a special lunch filled with an ice cream cone at McD's. It's hot y'all!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Please pray

Please read the following link and pray for my friends and their little boy T. He came to meet his forever family in March from the Dominican Republic of the Congo and has been diagnosed with leukemia. He is now in need of a bone marrow transplant, but finding him a match is very very difficult (1 chance in a million). Our God is bigger than any statistic. Please pray with us.

http://oh-bla-di.blogspot.com/2011/08/curve-ball.html

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Friday Fun






We love Fridays around here because it means Daddy will be off work! And it also means Anpanman is on TV. Today it meant the pool was open at the mall next door. A friend who lives nearby joined us and we had a blast. The K Man got a bit hot but for the most part he was a trooper and took a short cat nap in the stroller. Miyako had so much fun. They were only allowed in the pool for ten minutes at a time, then had to take a five minute break. So the kids would come to our spot, have a quick bite to eat, and then run back to the pool when they were allowed back in. The best part, besides the company, was that it was right next door so no train commute in this horrible, awful, sticky, nasty heat. Unfortunately today was the last Friday they will be having it. Not sure why since we still have a good 6 weeks of heat left here, but we enjoyed it today nonetheless.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Summer Festival Fun





August and September are known for lots of festivals around Japan. Last night we walked up to one in Tsukiji, which is the area of Tokyo known for the fresh fish market, a must visit if you come to Tokyo. We thought it would be fun to check out the festival. Well, we lasted for about 10 minutes. The drums were a bit loud for Miyako. But we enjoyed taking in the atmosphere, for the brief amount of time we were there, and then had dinner at Denny's on the way home. I know those of you in the US might find that funny - dinner at Denny's - but the Denny's in Japan is really good. And we had a large booth where Kei could lay down while we eat. The school next door to us will have a festival in a few weeks. This one will be a bit more kid friendly - last year they only had one large drum and did not play it non-stop. I enjoyed watching all of the people enjoy their Friday night fun.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Holding the K Man









Lately Miyako has shown a bit more interest in Baby Kei. She asked to hold him and Kan got several fun shots.