On Sunday night I woke up in the middle of the night with a bad dream that I couldn’t shake.  In it, Annie had taken a step and we discovered that she was standing on a landmine (we had just watched a war story the night before…).  I was standing about ten feet away with a growing crowd, and everyone kept telling me I couldn’t get near her.  I kept yelling, “stay still!  don’t move..” and hoping someone would come soon to rescue her.  Later in the day, I realized why I had probably had that dream…

After yochien (preschool), Annie came running over, hugged me, and told me the same thing she always tells me first upon greeting me:  “Mommy!  I didn’t cry today!”  On the way into yochien on the bike, we always pray for children who might be sad and who might cry when they leave their mom.  Owen and Annie try and comfort them.

Even though she didn’t cry, Annie’s teacher came to talk to me on the playground.  She said that again, like on Friday,(she had told me this on Friday as well) Annie would excuse herself frequently to go to the bathroom, but then – not come out.  After a while, her teacher would go looking for her and try and get her to return.  With her teacher there, I hugged Annie and asked her why she is hiding in the bathroom.  Her answer nearly broke my heart:  “Because I can’t understand. I hide in the bathroom because I feel sad.”

I translated this for her teacher, who told Annie it’s ok that she doesn’t understand everything yet, and she doesn’t have to worry.  She hugged Annie, and kept trying to reassure her that it’s ok. She said that Annie talks a lot in English and is quite verbal — in English.  I can picture her trying so hard to win friends and to be included and using what she does so well in her normal environment — talking!  But it’s not working…

Tonight Eric and I tried at different times to encourage her, and to remind her of the Japanese words that she has learned.  She seems to be fairly adept at language-learning, but we all know that language learning is a process.  I told her that I still feel sad sometimes when I go to a long meeting all in Japanese and don’t understand a lot of it… that I want to hide in the bathroom too.  But if I did, it wouldn’t help me to keep learning Japanese.

Would you pray for Annie and Owen?  We’re really proud of them for walking everyday into an environment that is completely Japanese.  It will get easier, but these first few days for Annie are probably going to continue to be a challenge.  And pray for her teacher, Aiko Sensei.  We want to love and encourage both of their teachers as well.

Thanks for your love and encouragement for us.  Even just reading the two blog entries below helps a lot.  We’re glad that we’re not in this alone!

The other day I got quite a surprise

Olivia and I were upstairs putting clothes away (I should say- I was putting them away;  Olivia was trying to take them all out again!).  Annie came upstairs and showed me her finger and said, “Owen broke the table and hurt my finger.”  There was a bit of blood and a scratch- nothing too bad. I assumed that Owen had moved the small Japanese table onto her finger or something… Olivia and I went downstairs a few minutes later and discovered this:

This is our antique coffee table (photo from above looking down).  It was a large wooden urn (?) used for pounding Japanese mochi (rice cakes).  It is covered with a thick piece of glass.

Owen and Annie were playing “travel” together (nice practice for the coming 9 months!), and they tried to put a big suitcase up on the table.  You can see what happened.

Well, these were smart kids!  They thought if they could fix it themselves, there would be no problems.  When I came down, all 3 large cracks had been repaired with glue sticks and scotch tape…. and 2 scratched fingers to show for it.

I wasn’t mad (I’m sure they were afraid I would be!) but we talked about why they need to call us right away when something breaks… That day, Eric called the glass man (we had had a previous break), ordered a new one, and it was delivered several days later.  In the meantime, it made a fun little resting/play spot for the kids…

That same day, I had been talking to a friend on the phone about her job.  There were a number of areas where she was not feeling content about it – some things clearly needed to change.  And I asked if she had talked to their supervisor about it.  “No… he just tries to fix everything.”

The next day, I was talking to another friend about some family problems she was dealing with.  Lo and behold!  Who was trying to fix things now?  Moi.  I had lots of solutions.  Of course, none of them were really going to “solve” the problems.  they probably felt a lot to her like — elmer’s stick glue and scotch tape on a glass coffee table.  I called her a few days later and apologized.

I love brainstorming ideas… helping people come up with options. That much, I think, can be useful. But my trying to find easy fixes is not going to help. Thank goodness for glass-makers…and, hey- our Maker.   God must chuckle sometimes at the things we try and do in order to maintain control and not get in trouble!  I’m sure to be one of His classic cases.  But He’s working with me… reminding me who to talk to right away when something breaks.

When our neighbor friend Naoko put the cute pink child seat on the front of my bicycle, I didn’t realize the controversy we were inadvertently entering! The front seat is for Annie; the back seat that has been on for several years is for Owen. Now, I can ride both of our children on our bike to yochien (preschool/kindergarten). Somehow, I felt quite proud the first time we went for a spin around the block — I really have ARRIVED as a mom in Japan! Although it’s a bit awkward to pedal the bike with a seat right at your knees, I have adjusted my riding posture and enjoy the extra challenge as I join many, many other moms across Japan who are transporting their children in the same fashion.

Now- the controversy. There have been a lot of news programs recently on the desire of the Japanese government to outlaw the 3-seated bikes because of safety concerns (it is a lot more challenging to steer with a child on the front). I’ve been told this past week that there is actually a law against this, but that it is not being reinforced because so many moms have thrown a fit. For so many, this is their main — only– method of transporting their children. One woman interviewed on the news said she needs to take her children 5 kilometers on her bike to school, and then go to work. Many who live in the cities in Japan don’t have a car because parking is unfeasible and too expensive.

But, on the news, they are saying that Osaka police are going to start cracking down this summer. Women are threatening to stop having children, thus further decreasing the declining birth rate in Japan. Who will win? Meanwhile, bike makers are exploring options for making safer 3-seated bikes. Our solution, for now, is biking defensively, but more importantly using bike helmets, hardly worn here in Japan. We’re hoping to start a trend at yochien. We’ll keep you posted!

What a day! — of great celebrations.

In the morning we had house church at the Sakamotos, and at the end they surprised us with a fun birthday celebration for Olivia.

Then, we rushed home to get ready for Annie’s music recital. She and I have been going to music classes for 3 year olds at Yamaha music school. Annie loves music, and it was a great chance to build relationships with other moms and children. Two of the girls in her music class are now in her new preschool class. The recital was at a brand new, beautiful concert hall recently built in Sanda. The only damper on the big event was the fact that the moms had to go up on stage with the children, and stand and sing behind them! Not my cup of tea, but I got through it and Annie did great. We thankfully found out in time that the kids REALLY dress up for this event, so we were able to get Annie a dress that made her feel like a princess! Megumi was staying with us for the weekend, so did Annie’s hair and even a little makeup….

Here’s a video of one of her 2 songs:

We were so thankful- surprised- amazed! – at the friends who came out to watch Annie’s first recital! Four friends from our house church, Yasko, Megumi, Bobby & Claire, and our family. Annie REALLY felt special.

We hurried home from the recital in order to celebrate Olivia’s 2nd birthday! It was a fun, fun evening with lots of food and lots of laughing… 7 kids and 10 adults gathered to celebrate and each other. Olivia’s favorite character is Scrat, one of the “supporting characters” from the Ice Age movies. Whenever Olivia sees Scrat on the movie, she just squeals with total delight… we sometimes will put on just the Scrat parts of the video to enjoy watching Olivia watch it. So, we had to do a “Scrat” theme, and everyone had a chance to enjoy watching Olivia watch Scrat for a few minutes before we pulled out the Scrat cake. Megumi helped me make it the night before — she has graduated from being a cake assistant to be a partner! Eric made the design, and we stayed up (2:30 am!) doing the decorating. It’s a crazy, fun habit.

As the party was winding down, Claire and I went upstairs to put Olivia to bed. She’d had quite a full day! And I couldn’t help but start crying. This night was the last family event we would have with this family… while we are back in the US the next 8 months, our friends Bobby & Claire, and Megumi, will be moving away from this area. They have SO MUCH been our family the last 3 years! It is hard to imagine celebrations without them. There is so much that I love about being a missionary, but I will never get used to the frequent goodbyes that are required by our lifestyle.

Despite the final shadow that fell on emotional me, it was a wonderful day. We are very blessed, and very thankful.

This week was Annie’s first week of school… the first for many, many years to come (If I try and add them up and times it by 3 children I might faint so let’s just leave it at many many years).

On Tuesday we had the special rite of passage, “nyuenshiki.” This is the opening ceremony of preschool/kindergarten, important enough to warrant businessman fathers with very few vacation days to take off work… the cause of many diets as moms try and fit into their best social suits. Hairdressers’ busiest days of the years are spring break as parents and children gear up for school opening ceremonies with the latest coiffure. (More about the dressing up at this previous post!)

Even with the smallest size outfit, Annie still swam in her new uniform…but her joy could not be hidden behind her hat and over-sized jacket. She was quite delighted to be joining her big brother and going to yochien! Our friends Yasko and Ishida-san came to see us off…

Once we arrived at the school, Annie met her new teacher, who pinned her name badge on. Annie was happy to greet several friends she has played with in the past.

Annie marched with her new classmates into the opening ceremony, where all the moms were sitting in chairs and all the dads were in the bleachers taking photos. There were a number of chidren crying, going through anxiety separation from their moms, but everyone seemed to somehow make it through the event. Owen was asked to memorize and recite a sentence in Japanese as one of the older siblings still at the school. He did a great job!

We loved watching the teachers up front leading in several songs. These are “our” teachers: from left to right, Owen’s current new teacher, his last year’s teacher, and Annie’s new teacher.

As much as I sometimes complain about the length and trivality of some events in Japan, I have to admit that I love the “ritualness” of such celebrations. There was no question for the young children, the parents, or the grandparents that this is a very significant event in the life of a child. The decorations, the order of events, the regality — all of these helped to create a significant ritual that will not soon be forgotten. We had some very tired children at the end; tired, but ready for the adventures of a new school year to start.

Yesterday was Annie’s opening ceremony into yochien/preschool.  It was a special day-a real blog to come soon about that.  It’s a HUGE deal in japan… all the moms dress up more for this event than even weddings.  Every mom wears a spring suit, high heels, nice jewelry…

The most interesting thing about the dressing up, however, occurs when we all have to go inside for the ceremony, and to go in to the classroom for the initial “meet and greet” time.  At this point, all the moms and dads reach into their bags and whala! pull out their favorite house slippers.  Although we’ve gotten used to it, I suddenly got the giggles in this large auditorium as I looked around at all these beautifully-dressed adults, decked with diamonds and pearls on top down to very expensive designer hose…topped off by – house slippers. It really is worth a good smile…

Last week our family had the chance to spend 4 nights in Okinawa, the southern-most island of Japan, and the most tropical! We went to visit our good friends the Wilsons, choosing this particular time because Mike, the family dad, was in the US for a month… we wanted to both help out/hang out with MaryJo and the kids, as well as soak in the sun. We had a chance to do both!

It was a great few days of spring vacation… we came back on Thursday night, and Owen started yochien (kindergarten) the next morning. Here are some favorite memories.

The kids love the adventures of travel! From finding our seats on the plane…to Owen helping Eric now get the luggage of the conveyor belt…each little step that we are so used to is still a big adventure for them, making it fun for us, too.

We stayed for 2 nights in cabins on the east side of the island, and went canoeing on a large dam there. Owen and Annie loved the chance to go out on the water…

That day, our other American friends, the Sonnenbergs, Nozomi, and Elizabeth, came to play as well… after canoeing we all went to the nearby beach, which was beautiful! It was also the lowest tide day of the year, so there were lots of locals who came out to the sea for a rare chance to gather clams and fish and other specialties from the low tide. Our kids had just as much fun with this rare chance to find shells and their own special treasures.

Olivia was a wannabe snorkeler… the kids had fun later doing bubbles with their friends Charlotte and Luke…and the last 2 days they were able to go swimming in a pool, which just added to their delight.

One definite highlight was staying near the Okinawa Aquarium, and getting to use some of their free facilities. We had a chance to see the dolphins fly, and all 3 kids enjoyed running through the kids’ fountains on a hot day.

The last day we went to an amazing pizza restaurant at the top of a long, winding road that we thought could only lead to a dead end. It was well worth the drive – it’s worth a trip to Okinawa just to experience the pizza and ambiance of this restaurant!

We loved each day… each part of our time. Thanks, Wilsons, for making our time so special. Sonnenbergs and Nozomi and Elizabeth- it was so great to see you and we appreciate your carving out time to see us. Even with typical kid mishaps (Olivia spilling her juice into my purse on the plane, etc etc!), I realized how much I love traveling with our family. This trip had the unexpected benefit of preparing me for our upcoming home assignment, which will hold lots of travel, and lots of adventures (both the fun kind and the juice-in-the-purse kind), with three little ones. God really used our days in Okinawa to take away the dread and fear that I had and to replace those with excitement and anticipation for what is ahead. More adventures, here we come.

April 14th is the day that one of our favorite stores opens near us in Kobe — Ikea! We passed it going to the airport on Sunday, and saw the huge size announcing it’s grand opening. We probably can’t get there for a few weeks, but it will be great to have it nearby (about 40 minutes or so).

Also, for those who have been reading some of the recent posts… in case you read about the contact incident, and read only some of the posts — I didn’t really find the contact – if you followed the link you would see that I wrote the post about finding the contact on April first…it was an APRIL FOOL’S joke.

(This was written on Sunday, but for some reason didn’t get published until Friday night)

We have had a really neat week. It was so great to have our friend Alene visit us, as well as her friend Jennie. Alene worked with Asian Access for a good number of years, and now she is living in Baton Rouge working with her family business.

As Alene interacted with our kids, and some of the neighbors who we met, and our (and her) friends the Thomsons, I was trying to figure out what makes her special. Alene is – unassuming. She has a “normal” job, a fairly routine life. But she has lived anything BUT a normal life. Ask me sometime to tell you her car wash story… or the story about the 200 streakers who surrounded her car… Her unassuming ways still somehow stir up a great deal of excitement.

But what makes Alene so special, I think, is how she loves people. She cares for people immensely – in an unassuming way. I loved watching her talk to our children- they felt like a million dollars, I could tell.

I’m reading a book right now called Anonymous. It looks at Jesus’ life, which was lived in large part in anonymity, and brings perspective to the “anonymous” time periods in our lives.

The iceberg is up to 90% invisible, Chole writes, mostly submerged and unseen. But because of their mass, and that proportion, icebergs are indestructible.

“The most influential life in all of history reflected the iceberg equation. Ninety percent of his life on earth was spent in obscurity. Ten percent of his earthly life was spent in the public eye. And all of his life was, and still is, absolutely indestructible.”

I’m not very good at being unassuming. I have a lot to learn from friends like Alene, and Jesus. Thanks, Alene, for the way that you live, and love. You’ve once again touched me!

Some photos with Alene, Jennie, and the Thomson family at a picnic together…

We found it! The missing contact. It was a bit messy to find, and a bit messy to clean, but it’s working just fine in my eye and you’d never know the journey it’s been through. This will make a good story to remind Olivia about when she’s older! (Please follow this link for the original story if you haven’t read it yet, and then BY ALL MEANS read this link for the very latest contact update.)