Konnichiwa!

John and I just got home from a week in Japan! I knew I was in for adventure when I married John, but I had no idea the places we would see throughout our lifetime. We are so lucky and blessed!

Our dear friends, Rich and Corina Clark invited us to attend their Youth Conference 13 years ago in Japan. Now they are back living there, and put in charge of Youth Conference again! So, with the help of my amazing family who offered to babysit our 6(!) kids (THANKS MOM AND AMY AND MARSHALL AND JENNIFER!!!) we agreed to speak, which turned from Youth Conference into also visiting the Tokyo missionaries as well as speaking to a couple of groups for the American School in Japan. It was so much fun!!!

We began our trip with a rather long train ride from the airport, but in Japan, most people don't own cars, and trains are the only way to go! By the end of the vacation, we were pros! Loved this sign posted in the train station. This is typical of their culture...so RESPECTFUL of everyone around you. I bet I could count on two fingers the pieces of litter I saw the ENTIRE TRIP.

Having "American" breakfast in Japan (thanks to our hosts, Rich and Corina!)

We met for Youth Conference outside the Tokyo Temple! The Angel Moroni is a new addition since our visit 13 years ago. Our friends, Rich and Corina Clark
We headed to Youth Conference, about an hour away from the city of Tokyo (little side-note: they do NOT heat this facility. Bring battery-powered socks next time.)

Our traditional "futons" on the floor
I loved the slogan on this ice-cream vending machine in the cafeteria: "Good taste, health and happiness. With the angel, the messenger of happiness, as our symbol, we have contributed to a richer life." Oh.

Eating "cafeteria style". (note: do not be fooled. In a room that was probably 50 degrees, the Japanese "spaghetti" was cold...as was the rest of the food. Good thing they serve hot rice and miso soup! Too bad I didn't have my camera ready when we ate the Nato...fermented beans. No need to say more.) But we LOVED the curry!
But the rest of the time in Japan we ate like KINGS! Our new friends, the Hymases (sp?) took us for a really nice dinner of (I forget the traditional Japanese name) some pork, breaded and fried...SO AMAZINGLY GOOD! Check me out with the chopsticks!
I forget what this was called. It was like really stiff jello in texture, but SO GOOD!
Our amazing dinner
Sister Hymas (this woman is around 60. WHAT????!!! She is so BEAUTIFUL!)

If I remember correctly, this is tofu. It was so yummy with the ginger on top!
We also tried another little place. They served Kimchi (LOVED IT) and we cooked our own meat on a little hibachi grill. SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD! (These are the LEFTOVERS! You wouldn't believe the rest of the meal. Huge, even by American standards.)

Hard Rock Cafe Tokyo. (I laughed out loud at King Kong when I saw him).

Visiting an observatory with an overview of the city of Tokyo. I'm not sure what motivated the "spider" artwork outside. Up close, you can even see an egg sac. (I think the camera caught John off-guard.) From the top of the tower, you can see the Tokyo Tower in the background. It was a bit overcast, but we could see the base of Mt. Fuji from here!
We left the Clark's home and stayed with the Millers. What gracious people all of our hosts were! We are so lucky to meet so many great people! Their neighbor, Diane Harris took us to a nearby shrine.
We drank the Holy Water
and just enjoyed the tranquility of this place inside the buzzing city outside.
We were luky enough to be there during the Cherry Blossom festival. It was FREEZING outside, and we were rushing to get to church on time, but saw these beautiful Japanese dancers and grabbed a quick picture.
We are so thankful for the people who made our trip possible, and for all of the new friends we made! We love you all! Thanks Family, old friends, and new friends! Domo Arigato!

Visions of Sugarplums

Christmas is a full 9 months away, but those visions of sugarplums dancing in Timothy's sleepy little head are less and less like visions, and more and more like REALITIES.

This is how he looked when he woke up yesterday morning.

I guess I'm a bad mother. I have NO IDEA where he got the sucker in the first place, and well, the cookie? That was his breakfast. (Thanks, Amy for that GIGANTIC bag of chocolate chip cookies....but maybe I need to hide them!)

Last night when I went to tuck them in around 1 a.m. (late night with the cousins at Grandma's house) he had ANOTHER sucker in his hand! WHAT??? I'm going to go on a "search and destroy" later today...

It Aint Easy Being Green

Well, St. Patrick's sorta sneaked up on me this year, and in an effort to try and be a teensey weensey bit like my mother and create memories for my children, I ventured to make green shamrock pancakes for the kids for breakfast, which really looked more like green misshapen circles, blobs, and well, deformed flora. Oh well. I think they tasted good.

Andrew was so funny. I dropped a bit of green food coloring in the bottom of his glass, so when he came and ate first, he poured his white milk from the carton, and it turned green in his glass. I've done this many times before on other occasions, but for some reason, he was confused.

"Mom, why is the milk doing that? Why is it green?"
"Well, it IS St. Patrick's day. I guess it's just St. Patrick's Day magic!" (wink wink, because, hey, this kid is TEN YEARS OLD!)
"WOW."

That was it for about 5 minutes, when suddenly he bursts out..."oh. I get it!" (He had looked in the other glasses and saw the food coloring. I wonder why it took him so long! I guess they still like surprises!)

That night we were invited to "green dinner" with my mom and a few cousins, and of COURSE I forgot my camera! Ugh!

Oh well. I did manage to sneak chocolate gold coins into their lunches without them seeing. Not much else happened. I guess we'll find that rainbow another day.

Feelin' the Love

Yep. I turned 35. I wasn't really thinking much about my birthday. For me, this year, it seemed the real reason for celebrating was so that my children could have some cake. I remember not too many years past my birthday was a sort of colossal event that took days of planning and filled weeks with anticipation. Now, it kinda seems like "just another day."

But I was wrong. It started like any other day. Matthew had a program at school, so we went. I came home, helped John shovel the driveway from our surprise snow storm, and checked my email. That's when the celebration began. There were so many messages from friends and family, many on facebook wishing me a Happy Birthday. As I was reading, my doorbell rang, and a couple from my ward (it was also his birthday) came and gave me a gift certificate for a 60-minute massage (she is a therapist!). I was feeling so LOVED!!!

I left and ran to Zupa's to catch lunch with my awesome family that could make it (Dad, Tiffany, Carrie, Amy and her two daughters. What a great time we had just talking and laughing. Tiffany shared some very cute and personal thoughts with me about a dream she had regarding me. It was just a very sweet afternoon.

We followed up with pastries from Cafe Normandie, and took them down to Jennifer who was tending all of the children so that we could enjoy lunch (I forget her "lame" excuse for not joining us, but she offered babysitting, and when she makes up her mind, there's no changing it.) We delivered the pastries, then sat around and laughed hours longer with her. I came home to sweet little notes from my children, and a kitchen decorated by John and Timothy with crepe paper. (Nice deco Job, boys!)

The day continued with gifts and surprises and phone calls from my amazing friends and family. I can't believe how MUCH each little call and visit meant to me. It really MADE MY DAY. My cousin, Bryan, lives in Boston, and somehow convinced a friend here in Salt Lake to even bring some cookies by my house. WHAT??? Molly, Carol, Kate and Erik, Lynette, Michelle and Linda, Marjean, Mary, Elder Swinton, and of course, my FAMILY!!!...you are ALL so thoughtful. I feel so lucky!

I then dropped pastries off to my mom (she was diagnosed with pneumonia!) and spent a few minutes visiting with her. Later, John wanted to go to the Roof for dinner, but I was feeling more like a low-key kind of celebration, so we ended up at Outback Steak House for my favorite "chicken on the barbie." Yum. We went home, rented a redbox movie, and just relaxed with the kids.

It really was a perfect day filled with friends, family, FOOD (my GOODNESS, the SWEETS!) and lots and lots of love.

Thanks to ALL OF YOU for making my day!!!

Where Has the Time Gone?

I'm facing turning 35 this week. I think that's a sufficient excuse for not having blogged for the past four months. It's either that or those six "other" little reasons running around under my feet asking for cereal and peanut butter sandwiches and diaper changes and baths and trips to McDonald's and new shoes and tadpoles (WHAT???) and the like that have kept me from this site.

Not that I haven't been on my computer. No. I've got 100% record on 69 games of FreeCell right now. THAT'S something to be proud of. (Really, if John dies early, and I need a new husband, that's going on the dating resume).

So, while the rest of the world accomplishes goals, runs marathons, makes science fair projects with their kids, I'm jumping back into the blogging world. Here we go. Jump.

The past four months. Do I recap? There is TOO MUCH! Let's sum up in a list (Thanks for the "boost" idea Steph!)

CHRISTMAS. I don't think a whole lot needs to be said, here. I managed to stay within my Christmas budget this year, and still surprised my kids with a Wii. I remember the first time I sat down to play the new game "Super Smash Brothers Brawl" with my kids, Ashley, Andrew, and Matthew. I was pumped, because with the Playstation, they CREAMED me at every game, because Uncle Christian had a playstation long before we did, and I could never beat my kids at ANYTHING. The Wii, however, is new to all of us. Within 3 or so minutes, all of my 5 lives had been lost. To Matthew (my 5-year old.) Huh? Are my remote batteries charged? This button IS the jump button, right? Come to find out, Super Smash Brothers Brawl is a newer version of a game Uncle Christian had on his game cube. BUMMER. At least I can still beat them at bowling (the REAL version without bumpers.)


BIRTHDAY. Natalie turned eight years old. She gets more excited about holidays and special days than any of my other kids. Being Christmas vacation, we got to spend the day together with cousins having all kinds of fun. I splurged and bought her a really nice baby doll to play with. She carried it around with her every day, changing clothes each morning and night. It was interesting to watch her do that, because she had never really played with dolls before.

BIRTHDAY. Bethany turns 2!!! My baby is 2!!! Time has flown. I can't believe what a little angel this girl is. She is really so sweet. She hardly ever gets upset, and when she is, can usually be calmed down quickly. I guess Heavenly Father knew with 5 older siblings we needed a little "calm" to our storm around here!

BAPTISM. Natalie got baptized. I love this girl. She honestly exudes joy and light and happiness everywhere she goes. She flits around the church hugging all of the neighbors (gathering fruit snacks in the process....it's all coming clear to me now...) but everyone LOVES her. I get at least one person every week telling me how much they love her. And it's obvious why. She loves everyone. She was baptized by John the first Saturday in January. I found a little "necklace pack" at Walmart that I gave her for Christmas. It's one chain with 5 charms you change out. One was a locket. Forget the other 4 charms. It's her favorite. She calls it her baptism necklace, because I put a picture of her, me, and John on her baptism day inside. Love her!

BIRTHDAY PARTY: I've never been one to do "friend" birthday parties, so I told my children they get one when they turn 8, 12, and 16. Natalie wanted to do her party at the Lion House. They put on such a beautiful and classy party, and play pioneer games and tour the Lion House. They pull taffy and eat special ribbon sandwiches that they even served when I turned eight! At the end, they surprise the birthday child with a beautiful porcelain doll to take home. Such a great party!


BABY MADISON IS BORN: After a long and sometimes scary pregnancy, including MONTHS of bedrest (some even in the hospital), Baby Madison finally was born on January 12. She is absolutely ADORABLE just like her sisters. This makes girl #3 for their family, and Amy and Marshall couldn't be happier, and neither could we! Love her so much!

BRACES: Ashley got her braces. She was so excited. I remember as a child wanting braces so I took a paperclip and bent it along my teeth so it appeared like I had a retainer. Ashley got the real deal (*lucky*).


AND ALL OF THAT SQUISHED INTO TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO OUR AMAZING TRIP OF A LIFETIME TO ISRAEL.

TRIP PREPARATIONS. When most people plan to leave the country, they get lots of time to prepare and get things in order. With Christmas, birthdays, braces, parties, and the like, I had no time to think about our vacation. About 12 hours before we left, I threw some clothes into a suitcase and called it good. I had tried in the previous months to "read up", but my "study" was minimal. After putting children to bed and doing scripture study, there wasn't much time to do more than just fall into bed each night.

We were at a bit of a loss as to what to do with our children. When someone offers you a trip to Jerusalem, you say "yes" first, and worry about the details later. We originally had my older sister, Jennifer, tending our children, but figured that with she being pregnant and working, it was too much for her to handle, especially on the nights she was working and her poor husband would have to worry about "crazy" time (bedtime/scriptures/bath/prayer at our house) all by himself with our 6 kids and three of his own. She was almost DESPERATELY wanting to help us, but we just felt like it wasn't fair to her husband. She's too kind anyway. She does SO much for EVERYONE around her.

So, "cue the second angel." Tiffany called me one day and said, "don't say "no" until you hear me out." She then laid out a ridiculously organized and well-thought-out plan as to how she would care for my SIX children in addition to her FIVE. CRAZY. I've thought about this many times since it all happened. There are special places in heaven reserved for people like her, but I think most of them will be wearing straight jackets.

The plan: borrow a 12-passenger van from a neighbor (who charged SO MUCH LESS than a rental agency), and get ALL 11 kids in the van by 7:50 in the morning, including the ironed, pressed, and combed 7 school-aged kids (all having been fed, of course). Drop her own children off at their school in SANDY, then drive 30 minutes to SUGARHOUSE where my kids go to school. (You see where the straight Jacket imagery comes into play, here.)

She had the bedrooms all set up, chore charts, menus, snacks, and even a piano practicing schedule. AMAZING. She figured out the meal budget, and dotted every "i", and crossed every "t." (Even with just 6 kids, I don't know how she did it all.)

The trip itself is its own blog post. But I wanted to mention that if she wasn't busy enough with her 11 children, she STILL found time to set up a blog: "From Utah to Israel With Love" where she posted pictures and kept us updated so that we could check on the kids while we were gone. Unbelievable.

Meanwhile, she and my other sister, Jennifer, still managed to take care of our cat who was still living at home, and Jenn even "rotated" which lights she left on every night so that it would look like we were there. My sisters are honestly too good. How can you plan a family like that? Boy, did I SCORE!

(Watch for an upcoming post about Israel. No promises as to when....just a promise that it will happen.)



RESUME PAST 4-MONTH UNBLOGGING RECAP:

CALLING: I get to work in the Relief Society Presidency with some of the most amazing women I know. LOVE LOVE LOVE them. My job is to work out "Sundays." I think that my title is officially the "education counselor." The task is simple enough. I organize who teaches what, and when. We have two regular teachers, then have a "floating" spot that we ask sisters in the Relief Society to fill for a one-time teaching day. I LOVE this idea. It gives those who don't otherwise have a teaching calling currently to share what's in their hearts for a lesson. So great. In addition, we had a goal to visit all of the sisters. WOW. We do lots of visiting and have had some very important talks with sisters that I otherwise might not have gotten to know very well. My current job is to take everyone's pictures (just a headshot) and make a book of their faces. We have so many new move-ins, that we thought it helpful if we all had a picture reference for us to learn each other's names better!

BIRTHDAY: Timothy turned 4!!! He is such a smart little whip! He loves puzzles and loves making his own cereal and peanut butter sandwiches. He had an interview for pre-school (for the upcoming fall) and it seemed a little strange to see this teacher take him by the hand and lead him away down the hall. He just seemed so LITTLE. He is a tiny little thing (I think Bethany outweighs him by a pound). I'm going to miss him so much in the fall, even if it is just 3 1/2 hrs. a day!

VALENTINE'S DAY: John agreed that WE would speak at a Valentine's dinner in Tooele for our Friday Valentine's day. Yep. But actually, I like speaking with John, and we had a chocolate fountain AND cheesecake, and a GREAT group of the most generous and kind people to share our evening with. What more could a girl want? And top it all off, I got a round trip long drive in the car alone with my husband. (That doesn't happen very often.) Perfect!

BIRTHDAY: Andrew turns 10!!! This brilliant little guy is so great! He loves to make his own board games and is tutoring Matthew at all of the ins and outs of BYU football. He is so helpful and kind (when he wants to be!) and such a delight in our family. He is a great big brother! How did I get such cool kids?

NEW BEGINNINGS: Ashley turns 12 this year. She is definitely mature, but so child-like and innocent in so many ways. It's strange how I seem to date my life according to how old my children are. Am I ready to parent a Young Woman? Do I remember all of the "issues?" Wow.

DESERET BOOK AUTHOR DINNER: Every year Deseret Book hosts a nice dinner for those authors and artists that have published with them in the previous year. It is one of my favorite nights of the year. Elder Scott, Elder Ballard, and presiden Eyring attended this year, along with the "who's who" among LDS authors and artists. It's not your typical church meeting. They play a silly movie (John played "Robin"...as in "Batman and Robin") starring Superman, Mr. Incredible, and other notables. So funny. Elder Scott and President Eyring also spoke. What an amazing group to be with. John had a very tender personal exchange with President Eyring and Elder Ballard. What an amazing night!

And now, it's March. I'm going to be consistent. No more eternal "recaps." Hope you enjoyed the read, both of you readers out there. Thanks for the support!