Two Crazy Beautiful Years

I cannot believe in just a few short weeks I will have a two year old. I wanted to take a few moments and share about my last two years and the things I have learned from them. It has been the hardest two years of my life, but they have also been my favorite years as well. And it’s not just because we added a child to the picture. No, it also includes, moving overseas, spending one entire summer living in six different places, packing up our whole lives into nine small boxes, saying good-bye to family, and diving head first into a new culture. Oh, and jetlag. But that’s another story.

And I have slept less and I’m not caught up on the TV shows I used to watch and certainly haven’t a clue about what has been happening at the movie theater. And I have had food poisoning (twice), had morning sickness, and went through labor and breastfeeding. But I have grown so much as a person and I wouldn’t change it at all. I have had more joyous and happy moments than I have in other years and my heart is so incredibly full. So without further introduction: What I have learned in the past two years.

I’ve learned that family will always be there. No matter how far the distance and no matter how long it is in between visits. I’ve also learned that family isn’t just the people who you are related too.

I’ve learned to not worry so much about money. Sometimes you don’t know how everything is going to work out. But I’ve also learned not to look back and try to figure it out…because it does work out, and most of the time it doesn’t make sense.

I’ve learned that I can in fact live without Target and Chickfila. And no, my friends, this isn’t a joke.

I’ve learned that it’s ok to cry. Even if there isn’t something specific to cry about or even if there is. It’s far worse to hold it inside, trying to be strong. Because eventually the tears will come, whether you like it or not, and it won’t be quite as pretty.

I’ve learned that learning a new language is tough. I’ve learn to celebrate the little accomplishments of learning a language instead of looking at the big picture. Because the big picture seems impossible. And you might just give up if you don’t celebrate the little things.

I’ve learned a whole lot about what it means to be patient, and how I wasn’t patient at all before little feet ran around my home.

I’ve learned that you can substitute almost anything when it comes to cooking. There are countless ways to get around ingredients when you live in a country that doesn’t have them.

I’ve learned that love gets oh so much stronger when you share beautiful moments together. Our little family has never been this close and this in love, and it’s because of the moments we have been through, good and bad, over the past two years.

I’ve learned that it’s never easy to do the right thing. Like a big move, or breastfeeding, or waking up in the middle of the night to feed a hungry baby. Just to name a few.

I’ve learned that most of life does not turn out exactly like you had planned it to. And I have also learned that it is perfectly ok for that to be true.

And this is just a small look into what I have learned. I know even as I am pressing the publish button on this posting I will think of another thing I should have added. But that’s ok. It’s been an amazing two years. I am partly sad to see it pass, but oh so excited to see what the future has for us. So, here’s to yet another beautiful year, full of new adventures and discoveries.

Happy Monday

Sometimes it's hard to get started on Monday after a great weekend.

So, here's a little something to make you laugh.

It doesn't matter what language they speak or what culture they live in, kids still say the funniest things.

What I Like About Winter.

I am NOT a big fan of winter. Not even a little bit. In fact, we have never been friends.

I much prefer it's cousin, Spring, or even Fall, and yes, definitely Summer.

Every year, for as long as I have lived in a place that actually has a winter, my husband has heard about it. I get into this mood that doesn't quite leave me until it is warmer again.

And I ask myself every year why in the world I live in a place that actually has this dreadful season. Winter.

I guess you can take Florida away from the girl but...well, you know the rest.

But there is one thing I do like about winter.

This.

And watching him play in it.

And seeing a place you always live in and see everyday turn into something different and almost magical.

And for one day out of the whole winter season actually saying: "I kind of like this winter thing."

I guess this proves in everything, there is something to be thankful for.

Our 100th post! Woo-Hoo!

I just noticed today that this is our 100th post since we started this blog. 100 times we have wrote about the joys, struggles and excitement of living overseas or preparing to leave for our life overseas. I hope you are enjoying reading about our family and the things God is doing with our lives. Thank you for reading.

So I thought it would be fun to share some stats with you since I love stats...so here we go:

The most read post of the 100 we have written:
And So It Continues: A update post about how to pray post earthquake.

Our Blog Audience:
#1: The USA, #2: Japan, #3: South Korea, #4: Canada, #5: Malaysia. And also on the list are Germany, Spain, Kenya, India, Belgium, Ecuador, Spain, Kenya and the United Kingdom. How neat is that?

Our Most Referred Websites:
#1: www.google.com, #2: thislifeasmommyandwife.blogspot.com (this is Amy's site by the way...check it out!) #3:www.facebook.com. Also on the list are my wonderful guest bloggers and great friends: Missy Mom and Marla Stanley (Thanks Girls!)

The "Most-Traffic" Month on our Blog:
March

Well, there you go. Thank you to all who read our blog, pray for us and financially give to our ministry. You are such an amazing support group while we are living overseas!

Our Bowling Adventure

Please excuse the blurry picture of my son. I really need a new camera.

So this weekend a group of us got together and decided to try bowling in Japan. And here are some things I observed from our little adventure:

Japan has better bowling shoes. In other words, they don't look like they were borrowed from the circus.

Japanese bowling balls were not made for Americans with big fingers. So as you can imagine the majority of us were major failures when it came to big numbers.

And I'm pretty sure the food is way better at the bowling alley here. Check out this value meal. Yeah, I'm pretty sure this would have filled all of us up.


All in all it was pretty fun. Different in some ways, the same in others. Will we go again? I think so, we gotta try that burger!

Down that Country Road

You don't realize just how loud the city is until you visit the country.

And that's just what I realized today when we were heading to the other side of the city to run some errands. There is a shortcut Justin found to get to the stores we go to in that area that takes you straight though a little country road in Nagoya. This area is filled with vegetable gardens, rice fields and traditional Japanese homes. I love it out there. I look forward to my trip through the area when take the long ride over to that part of the city.


It's so neat because you are riding through the busy city and then you turn down a long street with no sidewalks and in just a few minutes it is silent. You can hear the birds chirping. You can hear the wind blowing. You can hear the sounds of nature that you wouldn't ever be able to hear in the hustle and bustle of city life. It gives you a moment to think while you past the acres and acres of rice fields.


I needed that moment today. Having a yard in Nagoya is unheard of. If you saw the little patches of grass we call yards here it would make most of you laugh. There is no such thing as owning an acre lot or having a swing set and a doghouse in the backyard. So as you can imagine it is a treat to be able to look out and see acres and acres of land. It was wonderful.

My Little Astronaut.

We were unpacking a printer someone gave us and Noah thought the box would be fun to play in. I decided to play spaceship with him and so we pretended to head into space. I pushed him all around the living room. On the second ride around the living room, Noah decided to pack some essentials to take with him. He chose blocks, a book, and his teddy bear.



That's my boy.

My Baking Disaster.

I love to cook.

I enjoy it so much. I love mixing different sauces and spices together and coming up with something new and delicious. But baking on the other hand is not my strong point. I can do it if it is a pre-mix, packaged, all the ingredients but eggs and water are already in there kind of baking. But from scratch baking? Yeah, you better ask someone else to bake it for you.

We were having a dessert party with a group of ICAN teachers. It was probably for a holiday or something. I can't quite remember what it was for. We had all signed up to bring something. I decided I was going to make some kind of dessert bread, pretty much like I always do when desserts are to be brought to a party.


Why you ask? Because they are easy. You just throw a bunch of ingredients together, mix them up and put them in a bread pan. Ok, there are a few more steps than that but you get my point. They are very hard to mess up. Unless.....

You can't read the labels of products at the grocery store.

I was running late. Noah was in one of his "I'm going to scream and cry because I'm kind of bored" moments. So in a rush I ran into the baking aisle to grab my ingredients.

Flour. Check. Brown Sugar. Check. Sugar. Check.

I had everything I needed. I rushed to the checkout line so I could get out of the store as quickly as possible since we were already being stared at for the dramatic fit my sweet boy was throwing. I paid, bagged my groceries and headed home on my bike.

I got home and started baking immediately. I put everything in that the recipe called for and as usual I took a sampling of the batter, which in my opinion can taste even better than the bread itself. I put my sampling in my mouth and I couldn't believe what I was tasting. It was awful. Actually, awful is being generous. It was beyond disgusting. In fact, there are no words to describe the horrible taste I had in my mouth. As Noah sat on the floor laughing at my reaction to the mess, I was pretty sure I knew exactly what was wrong. I had bought salt instead of sugar.

Later on in the day, when I had eaten enough other things to get the gross taste out of my mouth and Noah was sleeping soundly, I had to think about what I could get out of this mess to help change my thinking.

And it came down to this simple fact.

This bread batter that I made looked so delicious, I was convinced that it was going to be as delicious as ever. But it wasn't because something I put into the mix just wasn't right.

And salt is good, in the right amount and in the right recipes. Salt can make something taste extremely delicious. But too much of it or in the wrong place can lead to an unpleasant taste in your mouth.


So I had to think, what is the salt in my life right now?

Mine was (and still is) most definitely the internet. The internet helps me in so many ways. I find recipes for dinners, figure out the "how-to's" of raising a child, communicate with my family back home, etc. But when I spend hours on the internet when there are other things that need to be done around me (AKA: play with Noah, wash the dishes, my quiet time) it can become something that isn't so good very quickly.

What is the salt in your life right now?

Japanese For Dinner: Tempura Night

One of my favorite things to eat at Japanese restaurants in America is tempura. When I found out that God was calling us to Japan I knew for sure while I was there I was going to learn how to make this fried goodness. So tonight was that night. I thought it was going to be hard but it wasn't. In fact, you can make it too! Here is the recipe:

Tempura Veggies

Step 1: You Will Need:
* some vegetables (I used carrots, white potatoes, green peppers and yellow peppers)
* 8.8 fl oz ice cold water
* 7 oz plain flour
* 5.3 oz cornflour
* some oil , for deep frying
* 1 pinch of salt

Step 2: Chill ingredients
Before you begin, put 7oz of plain flour, and 5.3 oz of corn flour together in an airtight bag and place it in the freezer. Cooling these ingredients will help to keep the tempura batter light.

Step 3: Chop the vegetables
Slice into small, bite-sized portions.

Step 4: Make the batter
Get the chilled flour mixture out of the freezer and tip it into a mixing bowl. Take 8.8 fl oz of water. Add a little to the flour and roughly mix with chopsticks, or a fork. Add the rest of the water a little at a time. Be careful not to over-mix - the lumps give tempura it's unique texture.

Step 5: Heat the oil
You can use any deep heavy bottomed pan or wok. Fill the pan about 2 inches deep with oil - there needs to be enough oil to fully cover the tempura pieces once they are in the pan. Put the pan on the hob over a high heat. It will take about 10 minutes for the oil to reach the right temperature.

HANDY HINT
To check if the oil is hot enough, drop in a little of the batter mixture. If it doesn't rise quickly it's not hot enough. It should bounce back up to float at the top of the oil.


Step 6: Dip and Fry
Dip each vegetable piece first in a little plain flour, then in the batter, making sure that it is completely covered. Then use a chopstick or whatever you are comfortable with to place it in the oil. Repeat this process for all of the vegetables. Put the smaller vegetables, in this case the asparagus, in last as they take less time to cook.

Don't cram the vegetables in - each piece needs to be able to float freely. Move them about frequently to make sure that the tempura is covered in oil and cooked evenly. Once they have turned golden brown, which should be after about a minute, they are cooked.


Remove them from the pan one by one, shaking off any excess oil as you go, and place them on some paper towel.

And there you go! We really enjoyed this tonight at dinner. We had it with a salad and Panko Fried Chicken. (I will be sharing this recipe next week!)Even Noah enjoyed trying it! My favorite was the peppers and my least favorite was the white potato. I think next time I will go with a sweet potato. But all and all it was a fantastic dinner! Let me know if you make it, I'd love to hear how yours turned out!


To read more about the recipe I used or to watch a video about it click here.

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

I know, I know, I know. It is January. Christmas is over and I really should not be using a Christmas song as my blog title, especially since one of my own pet peeves is celebrating Christmas when it's not Christmas. But today I couldn't help but hum that song in my head.

This morning when I opened the curtains to let the sunshine in as I do every morning I was surprised to see that it was snowing outside!

Wonderful, beautiful snow.

Now bear with me because although I have seen snow, snow skied, and have actually had one white Christmas while we lived in Fort Worth, I am a Florida girl. No doubt about it. I get excited at even the smallest amount of sleet that falls down from the sky because I have no idea what it is like to live in a place where it snows constantly during the winter.

But today there was enough snow to bundle my 10 month old up and go outside to let my baby boy experience something new.



I love watching Noah experience something new. His eyes light up and his mouth opens and then he starts kicking and jumping up and down in my arms. It is the most precious thing. And today I got to enjoy one of those days as he laughed and giggled at the snow falling down all around us. Of course he instantly started trying to catch the snowflakes and when he finally did get a few in his hands I could see the shock in his face when he realized how cold the snow was. It made my day.

This is one of the many sweet moments I have experienced since becoming a mom.



What are some joyful moments that you have experienced with your children?