Christmas Day

The husband took off on Christmas Day so we could celebrate as a family. After a late evening the night before I was hoping the kids would sleep in but no such luck. Miss M was up at 7:30 and woke her brother up shortly thereafter to check out the goods from Santa. We let the kids open stockings first and then after breakfast they can do presents. I try to keep a few toys in the stockings that are small so they have something to play with while I prepare Snowman pancakes with homemade whip cream and fresh berries. The K Man was quite content playing with his new fire rescue matchbox Dusty airplane. Miss M was quite unsatisfied wanting to open the rest of her presents. After breakfast we opened gifts. The ones from grandparents were as many as the ones from us. Again, the K Man would play with his presents for a bit after he opened one, but Miss M just wanted to go to the next present. Everything for the K Man revolved around transportation: shinkansens, a helicopter, a taxi, and a red local train from Kyoto. For Miss M, it was princess toys, Rapunzel dress up and legos. Last year we had a delayed gift from Mrs. Clause when we realized Christmas Eve night the one thing she wanted did not make it in the amazon order. We made up a story that Mrs. Clause was sending a gift to thank her for the cookies Santa shared with her. A few weeks ago she mentioned how she needs to leave Mrs. Clause cookies so she can get another gift later. Well, would you not believe the one thing she wanted (a Callico critter camper van so she can take her animals on "holiday" like Peppa Pig does) had to be ordered from the UK and is delayed! So, we made up the story and once it arrives we will pull out magna tiles for the K Man as a thank you from Mrs. Clause. Maybe next year I should shop in June! After presents and playing, we ventured out to church for an evening Christmas service, the first one our church has had. Overall it was a fabulous day as a family. For New Years Day we had a lazy day. The husband fixed traditional Japanese New Years Day foods for us and the kids tried everything. Like Thanksgiving, they asked for more rice and seaweed! We used it as an opportunity to explain that they will grow to like these traditional foods and they get the best of both worlds as they can have both American and Japanese traditions. The husband and K Man ventured to the park while Miss M and I stayed inside all day playing with our toys and Uno attack, a new family favorite from Christmas. We have so much to be grateful for from 2014 and I look forward to seeing what is in store for 2015. Enjoy the pictures - they highlight decorating Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve, a last meal with our dear friends who moved back to England on 12/23, Christmas Eve dinner and a skype date with our friends in the Netherlands, Christmas morning, and New Years Eve sunset from our balcony, New Years Day meal and enjoying our gingerbread houses, and the view of Tokyo Tower from our balcony New Years Day night. Happy 2015! I cannot wait to see what is in store for us and for each of you. I pray we know God better a year from today than we do right now, and we are serving him as a family and loving others well.