First Day of School

We started our third year of Sakura Homeschool yesterday! Miss M is in second grade and the K man is in kindergarten. When I came in from my run they were both up and ready to start school. Their excitement was contagious and we had a great day. For the K man we are focusing on the basics of math, reading, and handwriting. For Miss M we do a bit more- we do reading/phonics, writing, grammar, math, spelling and we alternate between science and social studies. They will do a co op one day a week with the Boulder Valley Public Schools that does science, music, art and drama for homeschool kids. There are loads of options in Colorado for schools as they have open enrollment. You can go anywhere in the state if you are willing to drive. We will use this year to homeschool, settle into life here, and research our options before making a decision for next year. 

Scrapbook Day July 16, 2016

Scrapbook day fell on a Saturday this month. We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend. On Friday night we took the kids to see Finding Dory. They loved the chairs in the US theaters that reclined back to a full size twin bed. On Saturday, scrapbook day, we ventured on a hike in the flatiron at Chataqua Park. They complained part of the way due to heat and hunger, but once we found the picnic table and had some lunch, they were troopers the rest of the way. The flatirons are beautiful. We happened upon a theater group doing a performance of Goldilocks and the Three Bears in the field, which was fun since this is a library book we checked out this week. Once it is a little cooler we will try a bit longer hike. After our hike, we met up with some friends at the Butterfly Pavilion. The mom of this family and daddy went to college together. In fact, they played guitar together around Lexington when I met the husband. She now lives south of Denver. We enjoyed an afternoon with this family and dinner at Chikfelet. Needless to say the kids were exhausted after this very full day. The kids are adjusting well to life in Colorado. We are slowly finding community through this church plant we are involved in and through our future neighborhood. All of us are so ready to have our home and things from Tokyo and to finally have a place to call home. Miss M is interested in sewing  and she has taken a few sewing classes at some local fabric shops. The K Man is simply all about playing and is quick to find playmates at the local parks or dinners with our new church. The J Man may be the one who truly likes hiking as he did not complain at all yesterday walking along the trail. We have enjoyed the local library and go every week to get new books. Miss M and the K Man completed the summer reading program. Miss M read for 1200 minutes. The library is great for families as it has a nice set up for little kids to play while big kids browse for books. On Friday we got to watch a music show where a man showed different instruments from all over the world. Below is a picture of the K Man playing one of the instruments. I know I have been a bit behind on the blog...this is what happens when you move and are in the middle of a major life transition. It is a bit lonely but we are finding community as a family and growing together in our marriage, and for this we are thankful. We can see God's hand on us in this move and how He has provided along the way. It truly is amazing to experience His provision first hand and to see how He is writing our story for our family. 

Happy 4th of July

It is our first Fourth of July in America in over 6 years. Last night the husband and I enjoyed watching fireworks in a suburb over from our window. Today we are heading to a cookout where they will serve lentil sloppy joe sandwiches (Boulder cook outs are a bit more healthy than what we are used to in the south) and check out some fireworks at Waneka lake. Our new neighborhood does a bike parade for kids and a family camp out in the green space in the middle of the neighborhood so we will have to prepare for that for next year when we are in the new house. I continue to be amazed by the beauty of this place. Last night we drove to a trail by a creek after dinner to let the kids run and play. Except for the mosquitos it was beautiful. Our goal is to take a walk after dinner at least four nights a week. There are over 200 trails in the Boulder area alone, one of which will be right in our backyard, so after dinner walks should be easy to access. As I think about the freedom that is offered to us in America, I'm reminded of a greater freedom I have in Christ and long for the day when we are united with Him forever.