Yuto

The newest member of the Tokyo meeting, Yuto Yachidate.  Stanley loves him!

                                                                 wee bundle

Yuto

Showa at night

Showa Kinen park was one of the very first places I ventured to off base with the children back in July.  Since then we have gone back numerous times and have always had a wonderful time exploring and finding something else unique to enjoy about this place.  Winter has been almost nowhere to be seen here in Japan and I have really struggled to get into the 'Christmas spirit'.  When I heard Showa did a Christmas light display It did not take much convincing in my mind to go see what they had to offer.   This is what we found.

 

                                                                         Tree of candles

                                                         Yup, Audrey was tired!

                                                   This was a maze for the children....the highlight

                                 She was cold and miserable and extremely unhappy hot chocolate was

nowhere to be found!

                                                                         reflection

We loved what we found!

its these things

When we moved to Japan as is the obvious I knew no one.  The sense of overwhelming loneliness hit me almost as soon as we walked off the plane.  I was a stranger in a strange land.  But I am so incredibly thankful that the Lord has given me some truly wonderful friends.  Not just surface friends, but lifelong friends that I can share my joys and my struggles, laughter and tears.  I could never have dreamed this possible, and I am so very thankful for this.

One of these woman, Heather and I try to walk each Monday and Thursday as the weather and schedules allow.  We walk about  half of the perimeter of the flight line (the runway all the planes take off and land from).  She also has a little girl 3 years of age, and pushing her double stroller we set off.  It feels so good to get the walk in, to hear the little girls chatting and giggling, to watch the planes take off and land and to admire in awe the magnificent Mount Fuji in the distance.  But what I appreciate most is our talks about the Lord.  We share what we have been enjoying, and what we need prayer for with our children and husbands. She challenges me and holds me accountable and as I walk home with Audrey after we have completed our walk I feel refreshed and encouraged.

The Lord has been so good to me here, this is just one of too many to count!

                                                           Audrey and Sidney starting out

                                                             Audrey and Sidney upon our return

snowflakes and sugarplum fairies

Our little Molly is a girlie girl.  She can hold her own against her brothers just fine, and can let her point be heard loud and clear.  But however, she loves nothing more than to wear skirts and dresses, sparkly shoes, and to twirl and dance all over.  Oddly though if I dare try to brush out those inevitable tangles that come with being a girl, she would be more than happy to sport the birds nest look.  Sigh.

So you can imagine her delight when I told her we had signed her and Audrey up for ballet.  The shrieks and giggles could be heard for miles and we counted down for that first class for no less than 4 weeks.  An eternity to her.  So every Friday they eagerly pace the floor until its time to go, and for 45 minutes she twirls and spins as Ms. Christi instructs them.

The girls have been practicing on their first recital, and this past Saturday was the big day.  Audrey was a little sugar plum fairy and Molly a dancing snowflake.  It was their special day.  Wearing their tutu dresses, having their hair done, even wearing sparkly lip gloss and eye shadow was almost more than they could take.  I will never forget their shining eyes that day...I love my little ballerinas.

Thanksgiving

So last weekend we celebrated our first Thanksgiving in Japan.  This was also our first major holiday without family, and I was dreading the homesickness that I knew was inevitable.  This holiday though, is about being thankful and the many blessings the Lord has given us and I need to remember that more often.

Andrew and I decided to invite our friends from the Tokyo assembly to celebrate with us.  Though they do not celebrate here as we do, we wanted them to know how very thankful we are for them and the fellowship and kindness they continually show.  The actual day of thanksgiving was obviously not a good day for them, so we decided on the weekend before.   They arrived with incredible gifts (you always bring a gift if you ever visit anyone here) flowers, chocolates, soaps, appetizers, cheeses and even gifts for the children.  The turkey was photographed dozens of times (they don't eat turkey in Japan) and they really seemed to enjoy it and all the trimmings.  I am very glad we had them over.  The language barrier is always difficult, but with a shared love of Christ and what he had done for us it overcomes all barriers.

I do hope this becomes our yearly tradition.

Mt.Takao

In Nova Scotia, the first 2 weeks of October were always my favorite time of year.  In Ohio, the last 2 weeks of October and first week in November took that place.  Now, here in Japan, it looks like November, and even some of December will be when I hear the leaves crunching beneath my feet and the stunning fall colors are to be admired at every turn.  Japan is famous for its cherry and plum trees in the spring, but from all accounts its Japanese maple and Ginkgo are equally gorgeous in the fall.

The weather has been ideal, in the mid sixties most days dipping into the forties at night with beautiful sunny days.  I have been loving it and looking for any opportunity to get off base and see the colors.  On Veterans Day, or as I know it Remembrance Day, we took advantage of the day off school and work to explore Mt. Takao.  Mt. Takao is about 40 min from Yokota Air Base and famous for its hiking trails and gorgeous views of Tokyo on clear days.

Being a Monday, and not a Japanese holiday, I had hoped for less people with the same idea, but to no avail.  I can't imagine going to such a place on a weekend.
The children fussed and complained most of the time about being hungry or having sore legs, and this being no fun, but if you ask me they had it made.  What other hiking trail gives you the option of a chairlift up, and down, with vending machines and snack shops all along the way.  Cake walk hiking if you ask me.  It was hardly a resounding success with the children, and the leaves were not quite at their peak in most places but I am glad we went, a day spent together is not a failure in my mind, always a success.

                                             Veterans Day Ceremony with our two cub scouts

Andrew towers above most Japanese.  Waiting in the very long line to go up the lift   

              

                                                      Going up, chair lift with no bar in the front.
                                                       Very nerve racking with a fidgety 3 yr old!

Tommy and Stanley were loving it behind me

                                                                 View from the top

                                                               Sibling love

                     Sticky rice on a stick. Daanga is very very popular here, but very disliked by
                                                                    us all

                                              It looked good!  before the first bite.......

                       Woman praying at a shrine.  There was a long line to pray at this particular one.

                                                                      Coming down

                                                               My little sunshine

                                         These last 2 were taken at the trick art museum across from the                                                                      mountain, the children especially loved all the optical illusions.

Fulfilling a dream

When I was growing up I made some wonderful memories of visiting my Grandma Allan's home in Ottawa, Ontario.  I used to spend hours pouring over old photos, reading books, and thumbing through stacks of Uncle Phillips National Geographic magazines.  On one such occasion, I remember coming across a photo of a young Japanese woman reading a book in a little shelter on the edge of a pond.  The caption described the setting as a park oasis in the middle of Tokyo, a city with such a dense population but teeming with wonderful parks such as this one.  The setting looked idyllic, and I have just never forgotten that picture.

Well, when we found out this spring we were moving to Tokyo, Japan, I have oft remembered that park picture and dreamed of sitting in that same place.  As most of you know, I go into Tokyo most every Friday, and have been to a lot of these wonderful parks.  Ueno, Yoyogi, Showa, Hibaya, Shinjuku Gyoen....I looked for this spot to no avail.  Did it exist?  Was I daydreaming the location?   These were all beautiful places...but not what I was looking for.    Last Saturday as I was reading on yet another visit Japan website, I saw it.  The spot.  I couldn't believe it.  Happo-en park truly was a tiny park in this city and not in any of my numerous sightseeing books.  I had finally found it!!

So today I went.  I can't say it was the most beautiful spot I have ever seen (for there are so so many here) but it was an utterly tranquil, quiet, and wonderful place.  There were very few other people there, it is truly a unknown treasure for it was mostly full of brides getting there photos taken.  I think I counted 8 different bridal parties.
So I had my photo taken in the spot by my friend Jamie...and I fulfilled a dream...

                                                 the location...my iphone camera could not do it justice

                                                                 Finally fulfilling my dream

 

                                                                 The best exploring partner EVER

                 

                                                          Other views of Happo-en

                                                          One of many brides    

See ya later!    

1000 warrior procession

So last Thursday I decided the pull the kids out of school for a special field trip.  I think once in a while should be ok, and the school here actually heartily encourages this if it is to see and experience Japan.

I had heard a month or so ago about this festival and thought the boys would especially find it interesting.  I mean what boy would not want to see 1000 samurai in full costume?  This festival is staged every year on October 17, and May 17th.  The procession is made up of calvary, warriors carrying guns and others with spears, archers with bows and arrows, and so on.  It is fascinating to observe and gives you some insight into 17th century Japan.  It is believed to be a reproduction of the funeral ceremony of the First Shogun of Tokugawa, namely Tokugawa leyasu (1542-1616).

I awoke the children at 4:30 to be out the door at 5.  The procession began at 11, but we had no idea what traffic would be like, and, being a three hour trip, the bus we were taking decided to leave at 5:30 to be sure we arrived on time.
We arrived around 9, to the most stunningly beautiful day we had yet experienced in Japan.  The temperature was perfect and the smell of cedar was heavenly.  We walked around the area until the procession was due to start.  It did not disappoint.  The whole day, being with good friends, seeing the festival, wandering the shrines and woods around them was wonderful...worth the task of pulling 4 tired little ones out of bed even....after all...this is Japan!  Where else could we experience such a thing?

                                                                         Saying Hello....

     Gorgeous cedar trees and stone....

                                                                       Pagoda

                                                 

                                                                 Waiting to begin

                                                                     Buddhist Prayers

                                                                         Samurai

                                                   The procession begins

                                                                Ouch!!!

                                                Some of the food they offer to the gods

                                                          Shinkyo Bridge  (no rain this time!)

We left feeling exhausted, but happy, the kids enjoyed it, but I loved it!