Japan-part 1

Yes, we went to Japan!  Tim has been traveling there for a few years now with his job, and we've talked about how neat it would be if I could join him.  The opportunity arose, and I jumped aboard.  He traveled there a week ahead of me to attend meetings and complete some tasks at Nissan.  I joined him at the end of his work week, and we spent a week of vacation traveling all over the country.  It was a very fun adventure, and I am so thankful I got to experience such a lovely country with my husband.

The first night was spent in Yokohama which is outside of Tokyo as well as the headquarters of Nissan.  Tim took me to a restaurant that served ramen and it was delicious.  When I thought of ramen, my mind went to the cheap bundle of noodles wrapped in plastic.  The ramen in Japan is so different and so tasty.

After Yokohama, we traveled by train and then bus to a mountainous region called Kamikochi.  It is in the "Japan Alps", and the scenery really was breathtaking.  We spent a night in a ryokan which is a tradition Japanese inn.  They served us an interesting dinner and breakfast in traditional Japanese style.  I can't say that everything was overly delicious, but the presentation and attention to detail was striking.  After I spent a week in Japan, I really appreciated how Japanese people take pride in how they present things, meticulously defining each detail in a way that is very attractive.  The country is very clean which is amazing in that it is such a populated place.  No one throws trash on the ground and everyone does their part to keep things clean.

While in Kamikochi, we enjoyed a morning of hiking which was highlighted by seeing several monkeys up close on one part of the hike. What a great way to start the week!

 practicing my use of chopsticks while waiting for a train

 a sitting area in our room in the ryokan

We slept on futon mattresses on the floor and could hear the rushing waters from a river outside our window.

 the beautiful but not as tasty dinner

We celebrated our anniversary on this evening.  Happy 13 years together!!

 outside the ryokan in Kamikochi

Konnichiwa

It has been an action packed week.  Jo will have to fill in the details later, but we are tired and about to go to bed for the last time in Japan on this trip.  From waking to a smallish earthquake while asleep on the 23rd floor to riding on a bullet train, we have had a trip full of new experiences.  Being away always reminds me how much I miss my kids, and I am ready to get home to see them.

Kamikochi - Wow a perspective of Japan I didn't know.

 New adventures in eating.

 The famous Shinkansen Bullet Train - speeds up to 186 mph make traveling by train quick!

 The Ginkaku Shrine in Kyoto has beautiful gardens around it.

One year

It has been one year since we left our home near Nashville and moved to the great white North.  Actually, it wasn't that white this year, but next year could be a different story.

As I reflect back over the year, I have a mix of emotions flood my heart.  We have had quite an adventure exploring new places.  I think of a beautiful, peaceful lake in Quebec and the loons that called so gently over the fog-covered water in the stillness of the morning.  I think of Ottawa with its grand Parliament buildings and a story to tell of a country made of immigrants.  I think of my son's classmate from Dubai and the tears his mother shed as we shared an understanding of being far from home.  I think of the sound of bike tires on gravel as I followed my boys through the green trails that weave in and out of our neighborhood.  I think of the kindness my Father has shown to me through a friend who has made a place in her life for me knowing all the while that I will be leaving almost as quickly as I came.  I think of my Bible study leader and the way she saw my broken heart when I had no words, just tears.  I think of my brother, my nephews and my niece, my dear sister-in-law, and another birthday party I am missing in Nashville.  I think of my husband rising to the challenge presented in this new role in Nissan.  I think of my little girl who has now lived in Canada longer than any other place she has been.  I think of the lump in my throat I desperately tried to force down as I walked my son to his new school back in  September, and I recall with great gratitude the way God perfectly placed him with a loving teacher who we all adore.  I think of my friends, my neighbors still in Nashville, still showing me they care.  I think of how I miss them and how great it will be to see them again.  I think of the way it will hurt to leave the new friends we've made here.

I think of how God has provided...not always in the way I had wanted...not always as quickly as I had hoped...but always in His perfect and wise way.

Spiritually, it has been a dry year for me.  At times, I have felt like I am simply going through the motions.  Yet, the truth is God has never been far.  He may have been quiet at times, but I know He has always been with me.  And I am thankful for in the last few months, I have felt the cracked, hard soil begin to soften.  It's not so dry anymore.

Happy Birthday, Graham!

Click below to see Graham's year at a glance in this video.

Happy Birthday, Graham!

Andrew

My cousin, Andrew, from Nashville came to visit us this past week.  I was really looking forward to seeing him as I am very close to him and have missed him a lot this past year.  We did have a great time together and we were all sad to see him leave.  I love how he always looks for ways to help like doing the dishes after dinner, throwing to baseball to Graham in the backyard, and entertaining the kids by making tied dye shirts together.  I'm telling you...some girl is going to find a great hubby in him!!  Know any single girls in their late 20's?  I'm always trying to set him up.

Adoption still rocks!!

Tim and I shed fresh tears tonight as we shared the story God wrote about our family to some friends from church.  It never gets old.  God's work never gets old.  The blessing of our daughter never gets old.  When we started the adoption process, we dreamed of changing one little girl's life.  We had no idea how God was going to use her to change us.  I thank Him everyday for blessing us with our three children.

Please take a few minutes and watch this video about Ordinary Heroes.  Maybe God is calling you to change one life and in return have your life changed, too.

Praise God that we serve a living God!  He never gets old!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFCtG40RdTE&feature=youtu.be

He cares.

This week I've been trying out new things with Lidiyanna's hair. I've spent more time than I thought I would watching Youtube videos trying to get tips from women who know a lot more than I do about African hair. I went to Whole Foods and bought some ingredients to make a hair spritz. I've listened to my sweet daughter scream while I tried to style her hair. I enlisted help from a friend and we worked together on Lidiyanna's hair.

At the end of the week, I felt more confused and discouraged about her hair than I did at the beginning of the week.

Then, at church of all places, I get a comment from a woman about Lidiyanna's hair that really made me feel even more insecure. It really irritated me and of all weeks to hear this! It seemed like really bad timing.

Here's how much my Savior loves me. Here's how much He cares about even the little, insignificant details like my daughter's hair and my hurt feelings. I'm at church today, and I see the woman. Oh, great! What is she going to think about Lidiyanna's hair today, I think.

Well, she comes up to me, puts her hand on my shoulder, looks me in the eyes and apologizes. She said God laid it on her heart that she should not have made that comment to me, and she never wanted to offend me. She kept saying how sorry she was, and I looked back into her brown eyes and knew she was sincere.

As Tim and I were walking away, he asked me who had told her that it hurt my feelings. What made her apologize? The God of the universe who is saving souls, caring for orphans, speaking through missionaries, and changing lives knows the private things of one mama's heart. He cares and He watches out for me!

A Brother's Prayer

Wesley's prayer tonight at dinner:

Thank you, God, for Graham, my best friend.

A Greater Appreciation

Tim's mom had planned a trip to visit us in Canada this February and had been hoping to see some snow since she doesn't get to see much of it in Memphis. Because we have gotten very little snow this year in the Toronto area, we thought it would be fun to take her a few hours north of Toronto to the Muskoka area. This is the area where we went with our small group a month ago. We rented a small cottage and enjoyed a weekend of playing in the snow. The boys were outside most of the time, but Lidiyanna preferred to stay cozy and warm with Perpy inside. We made some great memories, and enjoyed our time with Perpy. I'm glad we got to show her some more of Canada's beauty.

Graham and Wesley had fun jumping off of a snowman and landing in the fluffy, deep snow.

Graham and I did some ice skating in a park where they had flooded a road and made it into a skating trail.

My appreciation for Canada continues to grow the longer we are here. It has been a hard adjustment moving to Canada, but now I can say I'm thankful to be here. I'm thankful for the friends God has provided for us, the boys' school and their wonderful teachers, and the amazing adventures we are having here. Tim continues to have stressful days at work, and we wish his work schedule was not as demanding. Yet, we can see God's hand all around us, and I know we will look back on our time in Canada with tender and grateful hearts.

My Animoto Video

We just celebrated Lidiyanna's second birthday. She is such an amazing blessing in our lives, and we continue to thank God for placing her in our family.

My Animoto Video

Future Snowboarder

We got this great plastic snowboard (not a real snowboard-just one to use when sledding), and Graham has been loving using it. He wanted me to take this picture of him with it and he thought he would try to be cool and not smile. So cute!

Snow fort

Our friend, Evan, came over to play in the snow this weekend. The boys made a snow fort that they quickly destroyed. I guess that's part of the fun of it.

A Canadian Winterwonderland

One of the families in our church small group graciously invited us all to their family cottage in the beautiful Muskoka Lakes are of Canada. Let me tell you the snow was so beautiful and peaceful that I did not want to leave. It snowed most of the day on Saturday so every branch and pine needle in the forests were covered with shimmering ice crystals. Our children had so much fun playing with the other kids, tubing down the hill, and hiking through the forest. It was a great opportunity for us to get to know the other families in our group better. I'm so thankful for the time we had and for the great church and small group God has given us.

Snow Fun!

Disclaimer: These pictures were just taken with my cell phone so I am sorry for the pour quality. Better than nothing.

The children were so excited this morning when they awoke to find it snowing. We've been waiting for snow here in Canada for a month now. Of course, Graham still had school today, and I dropped him off in his snow pants and boots. He got to play in the snow during recess two times today. I took the younger two for a walk through the trails in our neighbor, and then we ended up playing at a park. What fun to finally get to enjoy some snow. We always say that if we are going to live in the cold North, we want snow to go with it.

The kids got these sleds for Christmas and they both worked well today. Lidiyanna's sled works perfectly for pulling her around so I will use it when we take the boys to school on snowy days. She really liked riding in it.

my beautiful snow angel

Wesley got creative with his sled.

Looking Back at Christmas

Looking Back at Christmas

Just click on the link above to watch the video of our Christmas memories.

Cute!

Lidiyanna brought down Graham's "big bear" which inspired an impromptu photo session by the Christmas tree. Aren't they so cute!!

Sweet Love

One of the activities I enjoy most during the holidays is baking. I love sweets, love to bake them, love to try new recipes, and love to eat them. My children share my love of sweets as well. I have great memories of helping my mom in the kitchen when I grew up and I still think about certain treats we made together at Christmastime.

To my delight, my boys have both taken an interest in helping me bake. Graham and I used to bake together during Wesley's naptime. Now, Wesley and I bake while Graham is at school and Lidiyanna is napping. I have a feeling Lidiyanna will have her turn helping me when she gets a little older.

A few years ago, we started packing up our treats and taking them to our neighbors as little gifts. The boys would sometimes make notes and cards to go along with the baked goods. They always seemed to enjoy the giving as much as the baking, and I've hoped that we passed along a little bit of love and kindness with each treat we gave away. I miss some of our dear neighbors from our Nashville home, and I thought about them today. Ms. Terry was across the street and always had little gifts and handmade cards for our children on special occasions. Alanna, next door, babysat our kids and would come over after school on days that she dreaded going to her empty house. The Keever kids, a few streets over, warmed our home on snow days when their mom had to brave the icy roads to get to work.

Now, we have new neighbors. We mainly interact with the ones we see on the playground after school. So, Graham packed cookies in a bag to take to his buddies, Mia, Josh, and Aaron. Wesley wrote a note to his friend, Karl, who is in his Junior Kindergarten class. We spent five or ten minutes getting on our coats, mits, and hats and made our way around the neighborhood delivering a little bit of love to go along with the cookies.

On a side note, I don't want anyone to read this and feel guilty that they don't like to bake or take cookies to their neighbors. Baking is not for everyone. (If it was, we might have a world full of overweight people.) Yet, I am sure everyone has special things that they enjoy and that they are good at. Take those gifts and passions and share them with others. That's what I want this post to be about...taking the passions that God has given you and blessing others through them.

Thankful

Yesterday was a very different Thanksgiving for me. I didn't eat turkey. I didn't spend the day with my extended family. Tim went to work and the boys went to school. I cleaned the house, volunteered in Graham's class, and served left-overs for dinner. We're in Canada now, I guess.

We did have a great opportunity to spend time with Tim's mom, sister and her hubby and kids. They came up to visit and we had a great time at the Great Wolf Lodge. Below is a picture of Perpy with her grandkids. After five full days of fun, our kids were very sad to see their cousins leave.

Earlier this month, our friends, the Fulks, visited us. Our friendship started in Michigan when we met them at church. At the time, we didn't have children and they just had one daughter, Emma. Our lives have changed a lot since then. A year after we moved back to Nashville from Michigan, they moved to Nashville as well. So, we had the blessing of living in the same city for four more years. As we were moving up to Canada this summer, they were getting ready to move back to Michigan. Although I'm very sad they won't be in Nashville when we return, I am thankful for the visits we can share over the next few years since they are less than four hours from Toronto.

As I reflect over the past year, I am filled with thankfulness at how God has been working in our lives. He is always at work around us, and we will be blessed when we choose to look at life through His perspective. His plan for us is not always easy, but it is the best way for us.

Going, going, gone...

For about a month, Graham has been wiggling his loose tooth waiting for the day when it would come out. He's actually been waiting for this moment for about a year. I got teary-eyed when I first discovered it was loose. My little boy is not so little anymore. The first tooth is gone and more will inevitably follow soon. As I am trying to enjoy each beautiful day of Fall, I want to treasure all of the precious moments I have with my little guy.

One of the few good things about having a little backyard and backing right up to the neighbor behind you is you can enjoy their gorgeous maple tree in the Fall.