Safe and Sound

Oh, it sure feels good to have all my chicks under one roof again!  Michaela took off from Grandpa and Grandma's house about 8pm our time on Tuesday.  We were able to have brief contact with her (over sketchy wi-fi) while she stopped over in Beijing.  Then once she got to LA she had her cell phone to use to call us.  It was so good to hear her voice and know she was safely on U.S. soil!  She said she kept trying to speak Japanese to everyone.  Ha!

Unfortunately she had some delays at LAX, but it wasn't near as bad as when the rest of us flew in last month.  We had all planned to meet her in STL, but as the delay stretched on and on we decided it was best for just Benjamin and me to drive to meet her.  She finally landed at 11:45pm and we couldn't wait to see her.  She was a bit emotional, too!

These two missed each other a lot.  They are so funny together.  I love the relationship they have!

Johanna and Ami had made this sweet sign and wanted to make sure I would still take it to the airport without them.  Also, notice the heart bracelet I'm wearing that Ami made for me to give to her big sis. 

When we finally arrived home at 2am we woke everyone up for hugs.  I think most of them remember it!  She is still soundly sleeping this morning, but we're anxious to have her up and chatty.

Michaela packed back some treats for us, including our favorite cream filled rolls.  They are a bit squashed from their long journey, but I'm sure they will taste yummy just the same!

Six weeks was a long time for this mama to have her eldest away, but it was 10 weeks for Daddy.  Having Skype made all the difference and sure helped the miles between us seem not so many.  I'm looking forward to seeing how this experience has shaped Michaela.  I already know it has given her a big boost in confidence and independence.  Now on to her senior year of high school!

Mom's Weekend Away

Ahhh, typically twice a year I get to enjoy a 3-day weekend with awesome girlfriends.  It started out as a scrapbooking retreat, but we do everything from scrapbooking to reading, to crafting, to sewing.  There is no schedule.  It is truly relaxing.  This time we tried renting a different place, a house on a lake.  It was wonderful!  I love hanging out with these ladies, going on walks, chatting way into the night, eating breakfast in our jammies, laughing, crying, relaxing. 

Um, with all the rain the dock was a bit flooded!

My view from the easy chair.  I spent most of the weekend reading Unbroken, an incredible WWII story that I highly recommend.

Meanwhile Chris held down the fort at home and took over some regular Mom duties.  He had to take Benjamin to the eye doc for a follow up on Friday morning.  Then in the afternoon he had to take Benjamin for his 6 mth CT scan (more on that later this week).  Then Sunday morning he had to take Elijah to Urgent Care for his poison ivy reaction.  Thanks, Baby!

Twenty Years Ago

On this day in 1993, Chris and I pulled into town.  Chris was driving our small moving truck which pulled his car.  I was following behind in my vehicle.  We communicated with walkie talkies.  We had just spent three days on the road traveling from our home in California, then we spent a couple of days with his family in Joplin before heading to our final destination.  We had only been married eleven months.

We had no jobs, no home, but were eager to settle in and see what adventures lay ahead.  We spent our first night at the Christian Campus House and eagerly began our apartment search the next morning.  By that afternoon we had signed a lease and were moving ourselves into a 2-bedroom townhouse.  We couldn't believe that for $370 we could get such a large and nice apartment.  We had been paying $550 a month for a tiny run down apartment.

The humidity stifled us and sapped our energy very quickly, but each morning we set out job searching and getting to know our new surroundings.  We signed on with temp agencies.  Our plan was to work for a year, save money, then attend MU grad school after we had become state residents.  God had other plans.

My first temp job was working the front desk at a doctor's office.  I remained there in various capacities until Michaela was born four years later.  Chris worked a few different temp jobs, but within that first month he temped at a small emerging company called Carfax.  There were twelve employees.  A special segment on the company had just run on 60 Minutes and they were expecting a deluge of phone calls to their 800 number.  Chris helped field those calls.  As the calls died down, the office manager kept finding things for him to do.  In October he was officially hired after working the 90 day temp contract. He's still there, one of about 500 employees.

We bought a house.  We made lifelong friends.  We gave birth to three kids.  We traveled.  We bought another house.  We adopted two kids.  We traveled some more.  We made more lifelong friends.  We never went to grad school.

We had no idea what lay ahead of us when we pulled away from that $550 apartment in California.  Now looking back we stand amazed.  First of all we can't believe it has been twenty years.  We still feel young, and at times it feels like yesterday that we were heading out for a day at Balboa Beach.  I never would have dreamed all that has happened, but this I know.  God has blessed us more than we could have imagined.  He has grown our family in ways we never thought of.  He has provided in amazing ways.  He has made us look forward to the next twenty years, whatever they may hold, wherever they may take us, however we get there.  Wow!

School is Out!

Well, we're mostly done!  Poor Michaela will have a bit more chemistry to finish up when she gets home, but it shouldn't take too long.  We will do some reading this summer, and possibly a bit more review for one kiddo, but we're calling this school year complete.  We now have a senior, freshman, eighth grader, seventh grader, and second grader!

We're moving on to some fun summer activities like swimming, hiking, archery, horse care, gymnastics, and lots of free time.  Woo hoo!

Last week after archery class we went to a nature center with friends for a picnic lunch and enjoyed a hike.  It was hilarious trying to get all eight kids up on the rail at once.

Unfortunately when you don't stay on the paths....you can end up looking like this.  :(  Poor kid learned the tough way not to tangle with poison ivy.  Chris had to run him to the Urgent Care Sunday morning while I was out of town.  The swelling is down, but he's still resembling a chipmunk a bit. 

Mother's Day

It's 4am, but jet lag is beating me badly, so I gave in and got up.  I usually don't allow myself to do that and try to stay in bed, but I just couldn't, so I'm making the most of it and getting something done.  :)

We didn't make it to church yesterday as we were all still in quite a fog.  To top things off, Ami was feeling sick and threw up throughout the day in between napping on the couch.  She hadn't had anything to eat since Saturday evening and couldn't even hold down water.  Poor thing.  The only thing that seemed to perk her up was holding a kitten. 

 

Finally, in the evening, Ami seemed to be a bit more chipper, so we decided to try to go out to eat for Mother's Day.  Unfortunately, she lost it in the parking lot as we were going in.  So, Chris went on in to order dinner to go.  We also made a quick stop at the grocery store.  Chris stayed with the kids and I ran in for some basics.  I'm tellin' ya, the size of the store was huge, the aisles were way wide, and the carts were enormous.  Reverse culture shock!

So, we made it home, but I seriously had a hard time riding on the passenger side of the car and letting Chris drive on the right side of the road.  So weird.  I've traveled back and forth a lot to Japan, but I guess because we stayed such a long time this trip, things there became more normal to me. 

I've been up and down since 12:30am because Ami is apparently feeling better.  She's been hungry and not tired.  Hmmm, wonder why!  She's been keeping down crackers and water and is now sharing the couch with me.  We are supposed to get back into routine with school tomorrow (I mean today!), but I'm thinking that just might not happen. 

Anyway, I felt very much like a mom today with the task of cleaning up after a sick one.  But, it was a nice day of relaxing, napping, unpacking as I felt like it, and just being with my family.  I did get to Skype with Michaela and my Mom.  I'm thankful for a Godly mother that set such an example for me.  I'm also thankful for the last two months that I got to spend with her.  And I also can't help but think of two birth mothers that gave life to their children, such that I now have the privilege of hearing them call me mom.  Many blessings all around.

Okay, now I'm off to see how many more crackers Ami has snuck.  ;-)

Home

It feels kind of surreal to be home, but I think it's the terrible jet lag and tiredness that is making it all seem like we're walking through a dream.  Chris and I slept from 7-10am and then made ourselves get up.  I slept again from 2:30-4:30pm and made myself get up.  Oh, it was hard.  Everyone was dropping like flies here and there.  I let them sleep some, but was also trying to keep them somewhat awake so that they will sleep all night tonight.  It may be hopeless, but I was trying!

 

 Sorting through 2 months worth of mail:

We got a good bit unpacked today, but there are lots of piles all over the house.  Thankfully there was plenty of frozen food remaining that I had left for Chris's "bachelor days".  I don't think either one of us could have driven to the store safely for food!  I am so ready for bed tonight.  I feel like I could sleep until 4pm tomorrow.  It has been well over 48 hours since we left Osaka.  We are very thankful to be home safely.....and ever so thankful for our beds tonight!

Tomorrow - Heading Home

Bags are packed, kids are tucked in, lots of hugs have been given.....we head to the airport early tomorrow morning.  Can't believe the time to leave is here.  My heart is full, but it will be hard to leave, as part of my heart is always here in Japan. 

We got a lot accomplished today.  Kids enjoyed playing a bit more before taking apart their fort.  I went next door to say good bye to Keiko.  She has been given less than a year to live.  We shared some memories with each other, prayed together, cried together.  I will miss her.

Dad and Mom treated us to dinner and then we came home for our last evening devotion time together.  Dad and Mom have been so good to have us here for seven weeks.  We are all at home here and the kids have been great helpers with dishes, chores, cleaning and trashing, and more.  We are blessed to have the relationship that we do with them.  I am so thankful that despite the miles, our kids have great contact with them and know their grandparent's home in Japan.

Good-byes at the airport will be hard, as always.  But it is time to go home, time to be with my amazing husband again, time to get back into the groove of life at home.  God has been so good to us, so very good.  Thank you, Dad and Mom.  Thank you, Father.  Thankful.....

Packing Up and Making Memories

Today was the last day of Japanese class for Benjamin and Johanna.  We have been so blessed to have six hours of lessons a week for FREE.  The volunteer teachers at the library have been so kind to our kids and have enjoyed having them.  I went in at the close of class today to say thank you and they were so sad to see Benjamin and Johanna go.  They asked if we would be coming back next year for a visit.  I wish!  Michaela will continue on with lessons for her remaining six weeks here.

Aren't they the cutest teachers?  At 5'3" and 5'4", even Michaela and I feel tall here! 

After Japanese class, Michaela and I picked up bentos and had a lunch date at the park.  It was beautiful today!  I am trying not to think about not seeing her for the next six weeks (although I have been remembering to use my waterproof mascara this week!).  I am so excited that she has this opportunity, yet it will be hard to hug her good-bye on Friday.

This afternoon we finished up some clean up in the yard from all of our sorting and trashing.  Then this evening we celebrated by going out to eat at sushi-go-round again.  This was kind of a last hurrah to thank Grandpa and Grandma for their hosting and to take them out for an early Mother's Day and Father's Day treat. 

Gotta love ya some baby squid sushi!  Yes, that would be the tentacles hanging down.  :)

Oyster sushi:

Salmon sushi:

We also made one last stop for one of the kids' favorite treats....taiyaki.  It's sweet red bean paste or sweet custard cooked in a batter.  They love it!

Another great day to fill up our memory banks.  We got a lot of packing done today, but our last full day here is tomorrow.  Even though I miss my husband dearly, it is going to be hard to leave, so hard.

Clean Up - Part II

So today was another long day of sorting, moving, and trashing.  Unfortunately I don't have any "before" pictures so that you can more appreciate the major change, but my siblings know!  I took pictures at the beginning of the day today, but by the end of the day the piles were nearly doubled.

This would be the "special request pick-up" pile.  We had to call and give a specific list of the contents of each piece.  You are allowed a limited number per month. 

The wood pile was pretty empty when we arrived, now it is full and has about 2-3 cords of wood.  To the right of the wood pile, there was a pile that was about 6x6x6 feet....now gone!

This a sorted pile for "special garbage" in a neighboring city, again labeled and ready to go:

There was a major pile here that we cleaned out....now just lawn care stuff:

There was a pile about 8 feet high and 6 feet wide and deep here at the back of the garage.  Now all that remains is garbage, ready to go out.  We doubled the pile that is in this picture.  There are about 20 bags to go out to "regular" garbage.  There are about ten bundles of garbage to go out on book/paper/clothing recycle day.

This pile is now about twice the size!  It's all metal, glass, and old electronics that will be picked up by a recycle guy later this week.

This pile is now almost double....it's all plastics that will go out on plastic garbage day.

The garage....it was totally packed.  Most of the contents that we removed were things from my grandparent's house.  Now it is in the shed in the back that we also cleaned out.

Tonight, we all whooped and cheered as Dad was able to pull the van into the garage after MANY years!

I know the neighbors were also cheering at all the stuff being cleaned up in the back.  Our minister's wife brought over cakes for dessert because she knew that the kids were all working hard.  I am very proud of the boys for all their work helping outside, and for the girls that helped with meals and cleaning up in the house.  I know Grandpa and Grandma are very thankful for the work that was accomplished, too.