Remembering Japan -- Two Years Later

Today my heart is heavy. I have been laying in bed for almost 2 hours (it is the middle of the night here in Japan) and I can't stop thinking about the people up North and the anniversary of the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake.  I am sure many of you have seen pictures of the rebuilding that has happened over the past two years. Wrecked cars and debris have been taken away. Roads have been cleared. The airport has long ago reopened. Buildings have been repaired and some have even been rebuilt. The Fukushima nuclear plant has been contained. Amazing work has happened.

What lays on my heart at 3:21 am, is their hearts. Even two years later, aftershocks occur. Some of them large. Who comforts them each time the ground shakes beneath their feet? Do they close their eyes at night and relive the horror of watching the water come and take away everything they have ever known?  People lost friends. People lost family members. Some people lost both. Have they found peace? What about the children who ran screaming as they were rushed to get to higher ground?

I was blessed to have been able to go to the Tohoku region two different times to help in the relief efforts. The first time was three weeks after the earthquake and the second was 2.5 months after the earthquake. I went on these trips hoping that I would be able to do something, however small, for these people suffering such a tragedy. What happened, was I walked away with more than what I probably ever gave back.

So today, March 11, take a few moments in your busy day to think and pray for the people in Japan who are still haunted by what happened at 2:46 pm on that day. And then take a few more moments to hug your children, call someone you may not have talked to in a while, tell someone you love them, cuddle with your pet on the couch. In a heartbeat, it could all be gone.

It's the Little Things

There are many quotes that start out with the phrase It is the little things... that mean the most, that matter in life, that make a house a home, that make you smile.  You never know just what may be the little thing.

My kids and husband love to tease me about my weird love and fascination for The Muppets. When I was younger I belonged to the Muppet Fan Club. I received a monthly newsletter in the mail. I had watches, collected the glasses from McDonald's, owned the stuffed animals. My TV schedule centered around The Muppet Show and reruns. I even begged my parents for a Muppet theme bedroom. I am embarrassed to say that at 37-years of age my childhood bedroom is still decorated with Muppet wallpaper and bedding, and I have no desire to have it changed.

My mother also loved The Muppets. In fact, when my brother got married this past summer the mother/son dance was to "Rainbow Connection" from the 1979 Muppet Movie. Tonight I was flipping through the TV and the 2011 Muppet movie with Amy Adams and Jason Segel was on the Encore channel. As Kermit and Miss Piggy started singing Rainbow Connection at the end of the movie, it reminded me just how much I miss my mom. It has been 68 days since I last spoke with her. Sixty-eight days since I last heard her voice. There has been so many times in the past two months I have picked up the phone to call her, to talk to her, to vent to her, and a even a few times to cry to her, to instead remember that she will not be the person on the other end of the phone. (Although dad you are great to talk to!)

I was blessed with 37 years of having a mother. That is so many more years than many people get. Don't get me wrong. Not all of them were rosy. My mother was not perfect and to be honest I was many times a pain-in-the-butt daughter. But she was my mom, one of my best friends, and I miss her deeply. There are times when a daughter just needs her mother. (Especially when raising daughters of her own!)

So sometimes it is the little things. Little things like a shared love for The Muppets. Because you never know when the little things, may just be the memories you remember the most later in life.

"Life's like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending." ~ Jim Henson

Fall Break, 2010 -Phuket Thailand

Our school has a week off for Fall Break every October. It is the time many expats here will choose to travel within Japan or to other parts of Asia. This year we decided to take the kids to Phuket, Thailand.  Some of you may remember, Matt took me there for our anniversary in 2008 as a ploy to make me fall in love with Asia and move. Obviously his plan worked (although Japan is NOT Phuket).

We decided to make this a very low key, relaxing vacation as Matt has been working crazy hours and the kids were more than ready for a break from school. So instead of doing a bunch of tours we mainly just explored the areas we were staying and did small activities like Go-Karts, kayaking, swimming, shopping and lots of eating.

We split the trip up and stayed in two different areas. The first was Patong Beach. This area is known for being very busy and full of nightlife, shopping and different types of restaurants.

Looking down one of the shopping alleys in Patong.

Me and my beautiful daughter at dinner.

The kids loved playing in the pool.

Patong Beach

Ronald McDonald thanks us for eating his ice cream

Can you tell Chris enjoyed a burger at the Hard Rock?

Many of the restaurants in this area have fresh seafood for you to select for dinner.

The guys had a need for speed while the girls shopped.

Gas anyone?

You cannot visit Patong without making a stop at the banana pancake cart

After a few days in Patong we wanted someplace a bit quieter and relaxing so we moved on to the new Westin in Siray Bay. It is located about 10 minutes from Phuket Town so it was easy to go into town at night on the shuttle for dinner and some shopping. The area was absolutely stunning and very relaxing.

View from the lobby

My kids

Some beach soccer

Don't we make a cute couple?

Matt's great find

Our whole family loves Thai food.

Our family

The girls were off to explore

An afternoon treat

I treasure each one of these vacations, not because it is a great way to keep my golden color, but it has hit Matt and I hard how short of a time we have left with all our kids at home. They grow up so quickly and the memories and experiences we can have with them now are priceless. I hope when they are our age they can look back at our time as a family with a smile on their face.

You can see many more pictures here. 

Happy Japanniversary to Me! (Well and the kids too)

A year ago I was laying in a hotel room, unable to sleep, writing my last blog post before moving to Japan. I had absolutely no idea what to expect once we got here, and that unknown was terrifying. It was an emotional night. But through the tears, fears and excitement, I felt in my heart that God was about to take our family on an amazing adventure.

So we left our house
and some amazing friends
and went to the airport

to board an airplane
bound for Osaka.
The kids and I said goodbye to America for the last time
and flew almost 17 hours
to say hello to Japan, our new home for the next 3-5 years.
Reflections from our first year as expats living in Japan will come soon. I promise.

Where's the Turkey!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. As an American, I know the whole historical significance of the holiday, but for me it has always been about family.

As a child, Thanksgiving was a very memorable time. We always went to my Uncle Bob's house in Wooster and all my aunts, uncles and cousins would be there. In my younger years, my cousin's would have a friend or their boyfriend/girlfriend with them. (Which was fine with me because my one cousin had some cute friends!) As we all grew older, the tables became full of spouses and grandchildren. The serving table overflowed with turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry relish, baked corn, sweet potatoes, salad, rolls, and homemade pecan pie. My Aunt Judy always brought the best pumpkin pie from a specialty bakery in Cleveland. I kid you not, the pie was 6-inches in height. After we ate so much that we gave ourselves bellyaches (you know, the feeling when you wish you had a few apidexin to pop), we walked from my uncles house to Wooster College's campus, before settling in front of the TV to watch Thanksgiving Day football. The year I was pregnant with Emily, my aunts threw Matt and I a surprise baby shower. Some of my most favorite memories are from Thanksgiving.

Once Matt and I started dating we used to do Thanksgiving lunch at his family's house before heading to dinner with my family, as his parents lived only 12 miles from my parents. I loved working in the kitchen with my two sister-in-law's, preparing the meal. You can do some great gossiping in the kitchen! As we all started having kids (there are 9 now), Thanksgiving became more and more fun.

It is so weird being in a place where Thanksgiving Day for us is just a regular day for everyone else. Doing a traditional Thanksgiving dinner isn't very easy. Costco does carry a small number of turkeys, but we are talking $30 for a 10-pound bird, if they do not run out. Price Club has a 25 pound bird for almost $90. And some of the fixings you normally would have–– forget it. There are a few dinners being planned by some of the other Americans living here. Saturday we are attending a Thanksgiving Dinner hosted by the Shoiya Club, an area several Caterpillar expats live. And next weekend we have a dinner planned with a few other family's that live in our area. I am looking forward to creating some "Japanese Thanksgiving memories."

In 34 years, there has been two Thanksgiving's I have not been with my family. The first was the year Allison died. That year was such a blur that I honestly cannot tell you what we did. The second was in 2007, when we stayed in North Carolina and I hosted a Thanksgiving meal at my house with two other family's in my neighborhood. This year will make the third, and I am having a bit of a hard time adjusting to that.

Next Thursday will be a bittersweet day. I will miss my homemade cranberry relish (one of my favorite parts) as you cannot get fresh cranberries here. I will miss watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. I will miss Thanksgiving Day football. I will miss watching my nieces and nephews run around like wild children, hyped up on pumpkin pie and too much whipped cream. I will really miss my parents. Matt will be at work, the kids at school. The day won't be bad. It will just be –– different.

"Some people make the world special just by being in it."

Last Wednesday, while the kids and I were in the taxi heading back to our house in Japan, I received a call from Matt telling me that his grandma (Gram) just died. We all wanted to go back, but thanks to Obon (a Japanese holiday) there were only 3 seats left on any airline to get us back to the US on Saturday. So in the end Chris and Matt went back to say goodbye and I stayed back with the girls. As much as I wanted to be there, I know there was no way Sami would have been able to handle turning around and going right back to the States so it all worked out in the end.

My grandma on my mom's side died when I was 4 and my grandma on my dad's side lives on the other side of the country so we only saw her 1 time a year growing up. For the past 16 years I have had the privilege of having a "grandma on loan".

Matt's mom was diagnosed with MS when he was a small child. So Gram stepped in as a mother figure to Matt and his brother, Adam, and sister, Becky. Gram and Pops just lived up the street from them so it was easy for her to help out and for the kids to spend lots of time with their grandparents. Gram always enjoyed telling me stories of just how ornery Matt was as a child (and believe me there are lots of stories). I loved hearing her tell stories about my mother-in-law and about her and Pops cross country camping trips. I remember looking forward to Easter dinners because Gram always made special ham dumplings and pickled eggs. At Christmas I looked forward to all her yummy baking, and most importantly her homemade vanilla Italian Pizzelles. When Allison died, I remember Gram just hugging me as I cried. I can still picture each of my kids as babies nestled in her arms as she rocked them when we would visit her. It was easy to feel like part of the family with Gram.

Gram buried her daughter in 2000, her husband in 2001, her great granddaughter in 2002 and her daughter-in-law in 2003. Gram wrote a letter to each of her family to be read upon her death. In Matt's and my letter she told us that she had lived a wonderful and full life and that she was ready to go home and be with her family. It brings me peace to know she has been reunited with Pops and my mother-in-law. I know she missed them very much. And I can already see Allison being held tight in Gram's arms, just as she had done with all of my other children.

Gram was a special lady. I know she left imprints on many people's lives. I hope when I am old and gray people will think of me with as much fondness and love as people do Gram.

Our family with Gram this past Christmas.

Sami & Gram.
Gram and 6 of her great grandchildren.

My kids adored Gram.

Speed Blogging

Our summer consisted of 8 weeks covering 9 states and sleeping in 11 different beds. Needless to say no free directory assistant would have been able to find us this summer. So to share some of our summer adventures I thought I would do a bit of "speed blogging".

The kids and I flew back to the states on June 12. We spent the first week at the beach with Keri, Shannon and their kids. It was relaxing to work my jet lag off with my feet in the sand.



See more beach week #1 pictures here.

The following week Emily went to gymnastics camp, the kids and I spent visiting North Carolina friends, at the pool and attending Sami and Ryan's "wedding".




See more Hanging in NC pictures here.

Matt flew into North Carolina June 26, where we spent our annual week at the beach with college friends and their families. This year the beach crew consisted of 5 houses with 23 kids aged 13 and under.





You can see more Beach Week #2 pictures here.

On July 5 we headed to our parents house, but not before stopping in Columbus to attend a "Blackburn Hall" reunion and staying overnight with our friends Josh and Laurie.


The next 3 weeks, before Matt flew back to Japan, were full of spending time with family and friends, soccer camp, an overnight trip to Put-in-Bay, a family reunion at Lake Erie and camping with all our nieces and nephews.






Lots more pictures can be found here, here and here.

Matt flew back on July 23, while the girls and I took a road trip to Missouri and Illinois for a week. (Chris stayed back for some one-on-one time with the grandparents) It was a very nice and relaxing week.







Lots of Missouri pictures here and Illinois pictures here.

After Illinois it was back to Ohio for 9 days, before driving back to North Carolina for a day and then flying out.





It was a jam packed summer, as you can tell. But it was also a summer full of memories, laughter and even some tears.