Picture Post

Our life has been very busy since the Pre-School went to five days a week in April. However, we have tried to make the most of the time that we have together as a family. These pictures are from the past few months. 

They don't have baby swings here, so we swing with Samuel and he laughs the whole time, he loves it!!

A 'child's plate' at a local restaurant. Samuel could never eat that much food right now so we got to enjoy some of it :)

Playing at a park.

Sleeping guy.

Samuel's robe given to us from the clinic he was born in. 

Blueberries, veggie medley, and apples. I made all of Samuel's food until he finally got some more teeth and he's beginning to chew more things.

Checking out the Pre-School bus. He's the same size as some of my 2 1/2 year olds :)

Wisteria Tunnel, Kawachi Fuji Gardens in Kitakyushu, Japan.

Mother's Day 2014

I wanted to go to a park and let Samuel walk around. I think he enjoyed it. 

So thankful and honored to take care of this little person. 

Walking around near our apartment.

Water play on the balcony!!

Lunch at Hard Rock Cafe!! A rare treat :)

Some college students we had over, most of them studied English and we enjoyed a great lunch together.

Father's Day 2014-When out in an area called 'Mojiko' we saw a 'Fish Spa' and decided to try it out. These little fish ate all of the dried skin off of our feet. It felt very ticklish, and was quite fun!!

Our friends watched Samuel, so we enjoyed the 'Fish Spa' for about 20 minutes alone. 

Fun with Daddy!! 

On the boat ride back to Shimonoseki from Mojiko. 

Spending the last few moments of Father's Day watching the World Cup!!

Well, that's all for now. We currently have about 5 more weeks of classes then a week to pack before returning to the U.S. Please pray for us as we finish up teaching and prepare to return for our first furlough. Thank you.

April and May 2014 Update

Well, it looks like we missed the entire month of April for our blog. I guess that tells you how busy we've been. The Pre-School began full-time and both David and Samuel were sick. I have been wanting to do a picture post full of Pre-School pictures and give an update, However, I realized that I've been doing that on our Facebook page. You don't have to have Facebook to see the Pre-School's page because it's public. Just click on the link below to go to this page. We upload pictures and videos at various times throughout the week. It will give you a look into the classroom, activities, and events that we've done in the month of April and so far in the month of May.

New Beginning Preschool

Stay tuned for a blog about grocery shopping and some updated pictures of us and Samuel from the past few months. Until then, I will leave you with a picture of us visiting the  beautiful Wisteria Tunnel, Kawachi Fuji Gardens in Kitakyushu, Japan. More to come...

May 5, 2014

Japanese Lunch (Bento)

Making a lunch for your child in Japan is not very easy if you are a foreigner. In the states we take sandwiches, chips, cookies, fruit, leftover suppers etc. In Japan, it seems to be an art to how lunches are prepared. They call their lunch 'bento.' Which sort a means 'lunch box.' Almost every bento includes rice, if no rice then a bread of some sort. There is a certain lunch box used, and for the food there are certain colors, order, and things that are included in the bento. I haven't quite figured that one out yet, but hopefully soon. Below I will show some photos of bento's and my feeble attempts at creating them for my lunches at the Pre-School. 

First attempt at a homemade bento.

Normally the lunch box is wrapped up in a handkerchief of some sort and placed in a lunch bag.

I finally bought a real bento box 

I've been taking leftovers and sometimes buying pre-made meats and sushi rolls for my bento. You can pack a lot of food inside these small lunch boxes and maybe it's my American appetite but I'm usually still a little hungry!!

What a Japanese bento should look like:

What I wish my lunches could look like :)

Picture Post of Recent Happenings

Greetings from Japan!! Not too much change here since returning home from Christmas break. But we wanted to post some pictures:

Building a fort

Out with friends!!

Ena and her daughter Luna.

Helping Dad do computer stuff at the Pre-School.

First chocolate chip cookie.

Sleeping guy!!

Enjoying some ice cream at the mall.

David calls this picture, "The tractor ran out of gas."

And this happened!! 

Ladies prepping the yummy food for the Valentine's Day International Cafe.

International Cafe.

Pre-School students.

Some of David's students.

Two of David's adult students.

Okonomiyaki. A cabbage based dish that could have anything from octopus, pork, shrimp, noodles, egg or other meats. It varies in style from location to location in Japan. 

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts for us as we work and live Shimonoseki.