Saturday, September 19, 2015

Grace City Family of God BBQ

Today kicked off the Silver Week holiday...most companies have off Monday through Wednesday of next week so we have a little fall break here in Tokyo. We started it today with a church BBQ by the Tokyo Bay. We had a great turn out with both families and singles, hoping to mix crowds within the church and allow the families and singles to get to know each other. The kids loved playing games, running around and getting dirty. They also made a lot of friends with people around us who were also having BBQs. We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and had some fabulous fellowship. It was a great event to kick off the fall season. We are looking forward to the long weekend and have some fun things planned for the family, so I will be sure to update the blog with good pictures. For now, I will head to bed as we are a bit exhausted from being outside all day.

Flower Girl and Ring Bearer, take 2

Last summer the kids got to be in our niece's wedding in Little Rock, Arkansas. Well, a few weeks ago they had the honor to be in our friends' wedding here in Tokyo, a American/Japanese wedding. The K Man wore the same suit he wore last summer even though it was a bit snug...it worked! And Miss M wore her Cinderella dress from Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique at Tokyo Disneyland. It was snug as well so she had a reception dress from Zara to change into...she is quite the princess. It was a lot of fun to celebrate our friends and fellowship with other people from our church. This was also my first Japanese wedding. Although the bride was American, the reception was quite Japanese and was very ceremonial with lots of speeches, toasts, and formalities (i.e. we all wait to be seated together, we all walk into the hall together). The kids did great walking down the aisle and were quite cute!

A New Park

A friend introduced us to a new park the other day nearby. I think it will become a favorite. It is small, quiet, and has a beautiful view of the Sumida River. We are so thankful that there are lots of parks nearby since we live in a city of concrete. It helps to have parks close when you do not have a backyard.




Scrapbook Day September 2015

Scrapbook day fell on a Tuesday this month. Normally on Tuesdays I have a babysitter and this month was no different. I did school with Miss M in the morning and then met a friend for lunch in Ginza at Eggs n Things. It was a nice little break from the normal routine. We picked the K Man up from youchien and played at the mall next door to our building for nearly three hours with some of his friends from school. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed being outside in the fresh air. Normally on Tuesdays Miss M and I go to BSF, but this night daddy could not get home in time so we stayed home. When we do go, it is a very late night for her as we do not get home until about 10/10:15. She was very sad we could not go as she was looking forward to it. It is a bit different for her this year as she is in the school age program and has "homework" questions to do each week just like I do. But it is fun trying to study the Bible together with her. The kids are doing well...J Man is growing and eating more solids. He has had pear, carrots, pumpkin, apple, banana, avocado and sweet potato. He still though does not have any teeth. The K Man is still in youchien. They are practicing for their undokai (sports day) in October and he loves to race kids. For being as big as he is, he is really fast and just plows past people. We joke that he runs like an offensive lineman. Miss M is doing well in school. I switched math programs and am using Saxon math. I am really liking it better than I thought I would. It is so thorough and is really good for Miss M. She is a great reader too and is enjoying reading.

Enjoy some recent photos of the kiddos. I included a homeschool design Miss M made with pattern blocks last week.