Birthdays 2005

I thought I'd post birthday pics for the year now that ours are all over, since they come in a clump I just waited. Of course I remember Sage's most since it just happened, but oh well..
31....The first b-day, mine! I was surprised in our new bedroom thanks to Kenji and friends! Totally surprised! They came in the door in our room and Kenji called me back there and wala! our kids, Toshi to the left, Orie-san and then Hiro-kun who was here for a month or so in the summer(an intern from Asian Rural Institute, an agriculture school where people from the Asian world come and live together in community, everything is in english and not many Japanese attend, Hiro-kun is Japanese however.)

admiring the globe Kenji and the boys got me, I missed having one so bad

4...Kai told me he wanted a space shuttle cake, this is as complicated as it got, but he was so cute when he saw it(I kept it a secret). I also printed out a picture of the space shuttle for his card. He has been so into space and the space shuttle this year. We've read a book he got from his birthday about space over and over, I've learned alot! Maybe I'll finally remember how many planets there are and their names, well, maybe after a few more times! We've also looked up the space shuttle and space station online and seen many launches etc.Kai has maintained that he will be going to space someday and so we also looked up those civilian space flights...pretty cool, vacation to space anyone?



Kazu and Ken-ken watching Kai

Sage, Lucas, Yohe, and Kai admiring a gift

2....Lucas' shared his cake with Rita(3)(Orie-san's-another worker on the farm- little boy), Toshi(23) who both share a birthday close to Lucas', it was a fun Saturday! Lucas thoroughly enjoyed the presents Rita gave from his toys. He was so cute and excited.

The happy birthday peoples

Look closely, it gets naked fast!

yum! we love marshmallow frosting

The good stuff is disappearing fast! of course there was plenty of the cake itself left! Why don't I just use cardboard???

A rhythm set from Jiji and Baba, Lucas likes music..

playing a tune...too bad a didn't get a picture of Baba dancing, it was funny! We had quite a parade going that night. Kai was in the hospital on Lucas' actual birthday, but he is young enough it doesn't matter much, I was so thankful we'd already had his cake.

Scaring Baba with his new growling flashlight, thanks Adam and Nadia, I love it!

35....I baked apple cobbler for Kenji.

7....Sage invited his whole first grade class(ten kids) to his party, all but two came, we had a blast! Here we are playing duck, duck, goose, a first for them

Lucas and Kai were a little shy and just wanted to watch, but enjoyed it just the same

Making pizzas, also a first. I had no idea that it would be, it's such a common thing in the States. They had fun and ate it all up!

Here are our pizzas!

Ours too..

The PINK barn cake...for some reason I haven't figured out yet Sage picked a barn cake when I asked what cake he wanted, maybe because we live on a farm, he likes connections like that. I gave up on getting the frosting red as I didn't have paste coloring. I warned him that it was going to be pink before he saw it, when he groaned, I said, hey at least you have lots of girls at your party they should appreciate it! He agreed and laughed. Whew...that could have been a major disaster, thank goodness it wasn't Kai who is very picky about girly things!

Playing a little game the kids made up based on a story they acted out in class. There are only three boys in Sage's class and one couldn't come. Of course Sage doesn't care, girl or boy, friends are all that matter!

We went out to see the new baby chicks, Toshi I'm leaving out the pictures of alll the kids, it might worry you too much!:)(Toshi took good care of the chicks when they were really little). It was even making me nervous so we didn't stay long.One little girl was freaked out by the chickens and poop and all that and could never relax while we were there. Kai, who is normally afraid of the chickens went with me to escort her out, kicking the chickens away...this kid is all boy folks!

Sage opening his gifts

The kids were so excited about Sage's party, they talked about it for weeks beforehand and Sage gave them a countdown of days left to RSVP...that's my boy! (This is also my boy...he asked me if it was okay to ask for his handdrawn invites back so he could use them next year because they were so much work...)I felt a little nervous after realizing having a big b-day party is not common in rural Japan, but my fears were quelled when I saw how excited the kids were and how much fun they had giving and playing together. They get along really well and are really good kids. It was fun to see their different personalities and how they interplay. There was one funny time during the gift opening that Kenji was reading one card to Sage and the little girl said, oh, no , don't let Izumi hear that...she had said one of the other little girls wasn't good at snowball fights....so funny! I was also amazed at how grown up the kids seemed. I guess school has trained them. I just couldn't believe I had 10 kids who lined up to wash hands, sat down at the table thru making pizzas, waiting for them to bake, eating them and eating dessert. I don't remember anyone walking around, except for Kai and Lucas. That floored me...ahhh, Sage is growing up.. 7...I can hardly believe it. Tonight he read half of a book in Japanese..a landmark, he really hasn't read in either language yet, hasn't been really motivated. I gave up the pushing and decided to wait for his own initiative as that seems to work better with him...guess what, after me casually mentioning, hey there aren't too many words on these pages, you could read it..(I thoroughly expected him to say, no I can't and not even attempt), he sat and sounded out that book(Kenji or I chimed in when he got stuck.)while I was reading to Kai so I wouldn't be hanging over him, reading at the top of his voice in that new reader stilt.....proud mama!

Winter pics, the snow is here to stay!

Kai and Lucas in our greenhouse, ready to go out in the snow, Kai is showing off how much he's grown since last year! Yep, this suit goes to Lucas, but we have more.





Daddy's making a sledding hill for us! It's nice that it's right in front of our house.

The winter view from the back of our house



Sage and Kai spent a long time out playing in the snow today, walking to the road and back with Nai-Nai and Neru, the dog and then sledding and sledding. They stayed warm at least.

This old barn looks best in the snow:)

The sun is setting, it must be around 4 or before





More snowy pictures will follow I'm sure!

Is it a full moon today by chance?

...because if it isn't, there is no excuse for the happenings of today. Well, okay, life itself may just have it's say.

Today, today, one of those days you want to strike off the record. But you've had a few, ...you know, the scream at your kids and make them feel really awful kind of days, when you feel as if your nerves are every one tingling? Today, my lovely Lucas had a frightful day, I am suspicious of the cold medicine prescribed last night and quit giving it as soon as I thought of it. Or of course there's also the lack of sleep, irritability from being sick, stress from having normal family life disrupted for several weeks to consider as well, oh and simply being two.. Endless screaming fits of anger, no answers to what or why, do what you think he wants and he screams more, stop doing it and another fit erupts. Sigh, I didn't handle it the best most of the time. Especially when he awoke from his nap with the same attitude. I just wasn't expecting that, and sometimes, especially at vulnerable times, crushed expectations turn me into monster momma! And then my fear of why he was acting out of character, what's wrong??? So we threw our fits together, sorry to say, my empathetic spirit nowhere to be found for the most part.

For all of God's grace and goodness I thank Him, and days are short here, it gets dark soon after 4 pm, so Kenji was home by 5. I began fixing supper with many dark feelings, the beginning of depression is never far away for me in such circumstances.

However, feeling sorry-for-myself stops right here. As I stood there, cooking chicken, my wise husband came up behind me and asked how I was doing. The screaming child, or perhaps screaming mother, had well been heard from all over the Village I am sure. as I muttered a feeble, uh...I'm okay, he hugged me and said, hmmm?? like, what is that you're trying to make me believe? So I took a deep breath, swallowed my spirit of martyrdom and said, It was a tough day, blinking back the tears. At that moment the healing began, as he said- you deserve a long bath tonight, without kids. and then offered to take over supper, to which I refused, preferring to cry a few tears in my carrot peelings while the kids entertained themselves nicely in the next room. (and they did too, not one fight and Lucas had become himself again right before Kenji came home...of course, right?!)

As I peeled those carrots and potatoes and cried a few tears, and later Kenji chopped a pineapple beside me, and we chatted about adult things...rather than kicking myself over and again for my nasty behavior, or trying to justify actions for which there is no justification, I marveled at the grace of God, who has brought me to this place, a place far from where I've been in the past. When a day like today, which follows many days of cares, could have sent me off into weeks or months of despair. How simple and yet how marvelously intricate and mysterious are the ways in which God has designed our relationships to intertwine. And to think the years I've put into finding the right formulas. I am more and more convinced that in no small way, we can and do bring healing to others by even a few simple gestures and words,( and never forgetting the power of healing touch). And not often focused on as the important part of the equation, and not well acted upon by me, accept healing from others who ache to give it, by being honest, rather than being martyrs and superpeople(I'm sure they had a hard day too, I should be able to handle just being at home with the kids, right), storing our hurts and disappointments for mega dump sessions(been there, done that),when everyone gets hurt and healing seems out of the question.

The evening of grace did not stop there, as my firm and gentle husband several times swept a once again freaking out Lucas out of my rankled territory and worked his magic to flip the switch back to our charming Lucas again, as I watched in frank jealousy and admiration, remembering my futile attempts earlier in the day. When we laid beside each other and he expressed sorrow for my rotten day, I could honestly say without a hint of martyrdom, oh, it's okay now, thank you. What? he says, surprised,(you must understand I'm not normally so easily consoled, I'm learning however:)),did I do?

you are my hero,Kenj.


Some of us have thought perhaps, ahem, that many words are necessary for healing hurts, and well, maybe we were wrong, Kenji- sensei, I rest my case.

A Kai moment

So Sage says to Kai, hey Kai feel this metal weight, (for holding paper down while doing calligraphy),it's heavy! Kai takes it and says, no, it's not heavy. Sage says, yeah it is, it's metal! Kai returns with, but I'm strong, really strong. Sage says,Kai! there're stronger people than you. To which Kai says deadpan, yeah, God.

Exactly, my Herculean son, exactly!

An early New Year's Day resolution-to our health!

Yeah, yeah they're made to be broken I know. Maybe getting a head start will help? So here's mine, join in if you dare! As a bunch of you already know, my family has had a tough time with health the last few months. Kai just got out of the hospital after a week's stay for pneumonia last week, and Lucas is recovering from tonsillitis at the moment. Then there is Kenji's back and well, anyway...so because I'm the worst at implementing common sense preventative strategies for anything..although I speak passionately about not wanting my kids to be on antibiotics all the time etc, I decided I needed to pull out the oh, so simple good habits that I/we never get around to doing. I'll share with you, maybe you have the same problem, or at least you can keep me accountable.

I REALLY want to help my family be healthier, and some of us have more trouble with catching things than others. So today in speaking with Nai-Nai, resident grandma and wise woman, about my aversion to getting the flu vaccine and my qualms about not!(my typical flip-flop can't decide what's best, drive you crazy kind of stuff!)she told me she has never gotten it herself and doesn't plan on it, and shared what she does to keep herself healthy during the cold/flu season. They are incredibly common sense things and she maintains that for the last two winters of doing them she has not had a bad cold or flu episode. I'll add a few things I've gathered along the way and don't do well enough, all very random and incomplete and all that...so without further ado(hmm, I'm good at ado I think...)here's my list!

1. avoid large crowds.........
HA! okay, threw that in because it's the one that makes you sigh and quit reading, as the same season that brings the cold and flu brings all kinds of gathering and shopping and going out, so outside of possibly me, we probably won't all become hermits for the winter..

2. Wash your hands and gargle when you return from being out.
I'd never heard of gargling to rinse germs from your throat on a routine basis(unless you already had a sore throat and used salt water) until I lived in Japan the first time. This is a routine drilled into kids from kindergarten, they do it several times during the day, Sage is no exception.Although I thought it odd and anal retentive admittedly at first, I'm all about it at the moment! I have read about it since then, for allergy sufferers after being out. Nai-Nai says after doing this for some time she can almost feel the moment she gets something foreign in her throat, she feels something sticking there or something and if she gargles right away she is fine, but if she is, for instance, at the hairdresser's under the dryer, (real story here:)and can't rinse right away, than she inevitably gets a cold.

3. Rinse your nose out twice a day and after being in large crowds...I was familiar with this one in the form of nose spray, but Nai-Nai says that what she heard and does is as simple as when you wash your face in the am/pm, suck a little water into your nose. Not only does it rinse the germs out, it moistens your mucous membranes, which is one of your bodies first defenses against attack by viruses and bacteria. Not only do viruses thrive in the drier weather, your nose and mouth tend to be drier which keeps them from being as effective at getting rid of them. According to a man she saw on TV or somewhere(great sources here huh!), after 40 years of chronic colds etc he started doing this and his colds were reduced to a few a year. It's good to do after you come home too, when you gargle and wash your hands.Despite the intial ewww response to this, which she said you do have at first, you get used to it. I tried it today and although it reminds you of those awful episodes when you sucked water while swimming, afterwards your nose feels fresh! And what better than a fresh nose I ask....
(remember the accountability thing, I'm waiting for "so, have you sucked any water up your nose today???")

4. And speaking of moist mucous membranes and dry weather...my mom's favorite...DRINK LOTS OF WATER. and no, caffeinated drinks do NOT count! My kids are getting called to the kitchen for enforced watering these days...ha! they're getting good at it too. Although Sage and I don't get sick as often, we get thickened mucous and postnasal drip/cough, yeah, aren't you glad you know that about us! from an MSN article today I read that although postnasal drip is a normal part of our body function, the mucous is normally so thin we don't notice it. However in dry conditions the mucous gets thicker and drier and then you get that cough and all that other nasty stuff, can I just say yuck!

5.Another interesting one from Nai-Nai, when you come home from being out and about, take off your coat outside and shake it off, then hang it ideally outside of your living area, in an entrance, or somewhere you won't have it around you, as it can harbor many germs.

6.Get plenty of sleep, ha, as I'm typing this one late at night.

7.Eat plenty of fresh fruits and veggies and hang back on the sugar and prepared foods---can I just say Thanksgiving and Christmas anyone---here's another one we're all going to compromise on- am I right??

8.Don't touch your mouth and face while out and about, nose too, kids! ha, I have yet to see my kids be able to not do this, but it makes you feel better to say it, right? We like to use those little bottles of alcohol handwash stuff when we are out, when we are on top of it enough to remember it. For those who care, it isn't like antibacterial soap, it's okay to use frequently.

9. This stuff won't work unless you make them true habits and do them everytime, which is honestly, for some of us, not a big probability. So I'm praying that God will help me in the task to be responsible and to remember and go the distance with being consistent in helping the kids develop the same habits. I am truly not good at consistency, so looking at forming new habits like these often just send me into despondancy as I look at my previous track record, so today, like Paul, I choose to look forward and not back, one babystep at a time(for those Flylady fans of you out there.

10. Oh, I almost forgot, last but not least, for my mother and those who know her best-DON'T SHARE DRINKS! hee, hee. And she's right, of course....

The pics I never sent! Sage's school concert, pics courtesy of uncle Masaru, Kenji's older sister's husband. He's an awesome photographer with an awesome camera! Here's Sage singing with his class and the second grader's I think.

He belted out those songs!

His class doing an instrumental song

Sage did great!

Singing with the whole school, the girl standing beside him is several grades above him, her mom told Kenji that she was thrilled to stand by Sage, he seems to be the school pet! He is front and center always as he is a head shorter than anyone else!

He stayed up a little late the night before because he was so excited and got up bright and early clothes and all that morning, so when he sang with his mouth open wide he inevitably yawned!

Doing the dance he refused to do at first because it was "too girly", and it was pretty much,,but it ended up being fun apparently

Being the leader for part of the dance, they decorated their own clothes..Sage and one other boy were neck and neck for how much tape they used!

Calligraphy Sage did with his Jiji of his name

more calligraphy

Japanese hiragana character practice book with some chinese characters, kanji on the left side

math homework, looks the same everywhere, huh!

More hiragana and kanji practice, Sage is beginning to read hiragana and the kanji they write in first grade now. He is not so confident with his reading but it is definitely coming. We don't practice at home, too much other stuff to do here, so I was glad when he started to get it.