Yukata Means Summer's Here

Cutest Girls Ever

So awhile back, not a couple days but months ago, a friend loaned us the shoes you see here on Izumi's feet.  The box the shoes came in is bright red and very ornate; of course Izumi had to know immediately what was inside.  When I explained I had borrowed the shoes from a friend for her to wear with her kimono, she said, "huh?  I have a kimono?".  Then I had to show her the goods and further explained my plan to have her wear them and be photographed.  

Super great, all except the part where I didn't make time to actual put the kimono (or is this a yukata?  Excuse my ignorance!) on her and snap the picture.  Not that day, or the next, or the next...

Meanwhile, with the same persistence I believed is mentioned in the Bible (somewhere!  I'm too lazy to go find it right now), she continued to ask me very regularly when I would put it on her.  

And so.  FINALLY I did, and thank the Lord (I mean it!), I had this pink yukata for Misaki to join the fun with.  Dressing them up and then retaining some photographic evidence was so fun and it didn't take that long.  

Note to self: Listen to the kids and say yes MORE.  I am the queen of saying no to them simply because what they are asking for isn't convenient for me at that moment.  I know I can't/won't/couldn't/shouldn't give them everything they want.  But our days are passing too quickly and I want to make them sweeter by flavoring them with YES.  

PS. Can you tell my Long Creative Project Group started up again tonight?!  I am infinitely grateful for inspiration and accountability.  And perhaps those folks would be interested in this little fact: before I wrote this post, I went into Google Reader and unsubscribed from a whole bunch of blogs.  If I have free time, I'd like to spend it here in my space and be free from other (written) voices echoing in my head.  

Four-Legged Monster

My knit skirt plus Tshirt formula is getting kind of boring, thought I'd liven it up by letting you see how skirts are also useful as hiding places or for playing monster. 

And, that's all for today, folks.  I played tennis so any energy I would have or should have is somewhere back at the court.  To be clear, that is fine with me, because I left my stress there too.  You should try it sometime!

Opus Magnum Balloonus

In celebration of the children with birthdays in May, June and July, the mothers of said children and the faithful members of the Event Planning Team had a quick, yet elaborate party last Thursday. I'd like to insert a photo of the party here, but since I was performing, I didn't take any. One thing we did at the party was Balloon Art. I learned to make a flower and gave it to Izumi. Making things out of balloons was more fun than I thought. So yesterday I went to Party City (Koji kept calling it Party Town and I didn't correct him 'cause I thought that was funny) and bought us some balloons and a pump. We went to you tube for instruction and found all that we might ever want to know. Pictured is our most successful creation, Blue Dragon. I know, he looks more like a Blue Diseased Rat with that red thing coming out of his mouth (flame!). But we are proud, so rejoice with us!

Intentions

photo by jmazzola

Misaki turned three, so as promised, she is now allowed to chew gum.  A couple of days ago, I gave her some.  A few minutes later it wasn't in her mouth any more, so I asked her where it went. 
"I put my gum in my stomach, Mama," was her solemn answer. 

Lately I'm reading Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle.  I'm finding it  very inspiring, yet also a bit bothersome.  It causes me to revisit this niggling question: how is it possible to be an extroverted writer?  As I ponder what it means to be a writer, sitting for hours (alone) to just write, already, seems to be a non-negotiable requirement.  But as a mother of smallish children, personality aside, when exactly would I have hours alone to do anything, even if I wanted them?  
I used to work for a couple who owned a business.  Their family life and their business were both admirable.  As I spent time with them, I got to know their daily rhythm, an integral part of which was early to bed and early to rise.  Sounds corny and cliche, but 20 years later (I'm a slow learner) the concept is starting to appeal to me.  My husband's been out of town for two weeks.  We have a habit of staying up too late, which makes no sense for me, because I have zero energy and often spend the time wishing I was asleep.  Left to my own devices for these two weeks, I've begun going to bed earlier and waking up earlier.  Are you making the connection?  This is a way for me to find hours-or at least "hour"-alone.  I have yet (until this moment) to spend my "extra" morning time writing but I would like to begin.

Instead of saying, "did you know?" for some reason, my kids say "did you notice?".  So instead of correcting them, because I think it's funny and cute, I just let them continue.  And now I find myself saying it too, like this:

Did you notice, in Japan and some other East Asian countries, blood type and personality are believed to be correlated?  Read all about it on Wikipedia.  The short, relevant summary is this: Type A is organized, neat and responsible.  Seems like nearly all of my Japanese friends are Type A.  Type B is random, unpredictable and irresponsible.  I am Type B.  The rational mind, which I don't employ often, agrees with this statement:

"...no basis exists to assume that personality is anything more than randomly associated with blood type." found here

But in my daily life, I feel as though I have a giant B stamped on me like a Scarlet Letter.  In addition to retiring early and rising at the same pace, I suppose I am declaring my intention to try and unbelieve that B blood=incompetent. 

Perhaps I'll believe better with coffee in me.  Happy Day, all!

Auspicious Days

Days worth noting in this space have come and gone un-noted, including but not limited to: Izumi's Sixth Birthday, Mother's Day, the first anniversary of the day I left my fourth baby in Rome, and our Eleventh Wedding Anniversary. All the while, I wore clothes. I know you are relieved to hear it.

I Read A Book

Never used to be big news, but I read a book.  Specifically, the book pictured above.  I read it this past Sunday while shamelessly and deliberately neglecting my household duties, and at times, my children (they were never in danger, not to worry).  

I thought it was great.  And I vow to never watch the movie.  How can a book that's less events and more inside of three different heads possibly be make into a good movie?  I'm not a filmmaker, but I just don't see how it would work.  

Did you read this book?  What did you think? 

Linguistics Around Here

Eggs In The Grass by Ed Hoskins

After owning this egg and muffin toaster for at least four? years, one would think I would be familiar with its functions by now.  Or not.  Just recently understood: it not only toasts bread, cooks sausage and poaches eggs, but it also steams eggs, which is the same as boiling them.  Only better, 'cause apparently steamed eggs are easier to peel.  I have a point here, and it's this: my girls LOVE hard boiled (steamed? now I don't know what to call them) eggs.  Misaki in particular asks for them regularly.  Like this:

"Mama, can I have rotten eggs?"

No, I haven't bothered to and don't want to correct her, because I need more humor in my life and this, whenever she says it, makes for a guaranteed smile-inducing moment.

Another speech quirk I let be: she'll tell me she's hungry, then I'll say "no you're not," (even though the parenting book I've been reading advises not to say that, oops) and then she'll say,

"Yes I mam"

It's not that she's trying to say "Ma'aam," I'm not from the South, nor am I striving for a higher level of politeness in my children.  She just thinks the word "am" has an "m" on both sides?  I guess?

Let me end by noting, this is a language related point though otherwise irrelevant, today I went to Koji's school for class observation.  The class I saw was "Kokugo," which directly translates as "the country's language" but means "Japanese".  The teacher first had the kids all stand and warm up their voices since they would be reading aloud.  He told them to try and make their voices come out of their stomachs.  Uh oh, now my English recall is bad; I know "stomach" isn't the word I want there but what's the thing called you're supposed to sing with instead of your throat?!

OK, moving on, the next thing he did was go over some proverbs  (very interesting link!) with them, the Japanese equivalent of things like "early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise" etc.  Now, I consider myself to be relatively fluent in Japanese, having passed Level One of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.  Alas, conversational and daily life fluency is just not philosophical enough.  Of more than 10 that were covered, I maybe knew two? One?!

This is where you slap me on the face and shout, "Snap out of it!  You don't need to know Japanese proverbs and you're not less of anything because of it".

Wow.  Thanks for that perspective, everyone.  Helpful.  Seriously!  Good night~

To My Heart Friends Far Away

When I was around the age Izumi is here (five), I distinctly remember the torturous after church hours, in which I was dreadfully hungry with no food in sight (back then, we didn't have snacks every minute all the time the way we do now).  My parents would be chatting to their friends, I would be pulling on them, begging and pleading, "Can we go NOW?! Please!".  They would say, yes, yes, brush me off a bit and continue their "fellowship" (that's what conversation was called for Christians in the 70s).  

In general, I don't actually have a great memory, especially for details.  However, I think there are a couple of reasons the moment mentioned above is still with me.  First, I'm not entirely sure it WAS just one moment, I think this memory is more of an amalgamation of many moments over multiple Sunday mornings, and Sunday nights, and Wednesday nights.  Also, somewhere in there, I said the following to myself, "When I get big like Dad and Mom, I'm not going to do that".  

HA!  Falser words have never been sworn to the self!  Indeed, if I had my way, I would certainly be the last person remaining in the church lobby after any given gathering.  Amend that to be, not just church lobby, but any space where numbers of people have gathered and I have been among.  So what am I doing?  Why am I flagrantly ignored my childish self--or perhaps more pertinently, my in-the-flesh children who have moved up to be the ones pulling on me?

Because I am hungry. 

Not down in my stomach, but in my heart and in my spirit, I MUST connect.  If you and I stand in the lobby long enough, and Sunday after Sunday enough, and then go to the movies together, and then you come here and I go to you.  And if we have coffee together and cry and laugh together, and if God gives us the miracle of the time and space and desire to just BE, just like that. 

Well, then. 

I will feel safe, I will know, even if you leave or even if I leave--though I haven't yet--and even if I am desperately, achingly sick with the longing for all sweetness and wonder that were those ordinary moments, even then.  You are still with me, so that when long times go by and we live worlds apart and have children we haven't introduced to one another.  No matter, all those things gigantic in our seemingly separate lives, because when we speak again, we may as well be in the church lobby or in the dorm room or in the office or wherever the unassuming space we first connected.  

Don't you think that moment holds just the very teeniest sliver of the glory, 

that Glory, the one where we will see Him? 

I do. 

Inspired by E who I was privileged to talk to today, for the first time in months (years?)

and also by this  

Lincoln Park Zoo

I'm wanting to try try try try to post something to this blog every day but I'm only two minutes away from tomorrow.  So I give you this picture of us at, well, you can see where we are.  It was that Zoo Lights thing, we went the day after Christmas, it was fun. The End.

The Fastest Nine Years of My Life

just went by, as of yesterday. They started when God gave Aogu and me him:

My fear of sounding cliche often holds me back from speaking my desperate and deep my love for my kids.  But in honor of Koji's birthday, I give you (and him and me): 

 above, he's pictured the day after he was born on April 20th, 2003 in Evanston Hospital. 

All I knew then was his smallness and sweetness, but they were enough.  And now!

Now, we know he is also clever, kind, handsome, athletic, dedicated, loyal, funny and quick...

 God's heart is so gracious, loving, trusting and patient towards us. How could it be otherwise for Him to give us such an amazing gift? And truly, our love for him has intensified as we've experienced sending his brothers and sisters ahead of him to heaven. Not every day with him is sunshine, snails and puppy dogs, but I would not trade any of them. The gift of sticking together through all of our ups and downs is what I treasure. I want to savor our ordinary days even more in the next year--I suspect it will move even faster. 

 So please, look at my boy now! Isn't he great?!!

Where Did Wednesday Go?

Oops! Aogu's in Japan again this week and it's silly but I can't keep the time here straight 'cause I'm so busy constantly calculating what time it is there. Which should theoretically help me do things earlier since it's 14 hours ahead there. Busted. Oh well, on with what I wore:

Last Friday some friends came over to celebrate Misaki's 3rd birthday.  I snapped this after the party and therefore I was trying to hide my dishevelment with balloons.  As for where these clothes came from, well, I snagged the printed shirt at the Goodwill recently.  The LS shirt and tights are from Target, the skirt was also a thrift shop find, and my trusty purple wanna be ugg s are from Kohl's. 

Saturday was more birthday stuff, this time we went as a family to Pump It Up to celebrate some friends.  My Doc Marten mules and the trousers are secondhand, black shirt is heat tech from uniqlo and the Tshirt is Old Navy.  I guess you can't quite see it but I'm trying to show you my owie.  Even (so-called?) adults have to do that sometimes.  Yes, I slid down at Pump It Up headfirst, which is not allowed.  Then I was promptly "punished," losing a big patch of skin off my right elbow right through my shirt.  I wouldn't bring it up but I'm typing this five days later and it still hurts. 

Easter: Jesus is Risen, Indeed!  Goodwill dress, Old Navy tights, Kohl's for the sweater and shoes (which are barely hanging in there, I must remedy my sad black shoe situation). 

On Monday I noticed my three previous outfits seemed to have a similar color scheme so I tried to break out by wearing orange.  Look at my fancy sleeves! The left side of my "tunic" (hate that word, it's so medieval squire) was a little too short for my leggings but I was too lazy to try and rig some kind of skirt.  So the sad truth is, I spent a good chunk of the day with my coat on.  In my defense, it truly was colder than anticipated...Goodwill top (note I avoided the dreaded word, though I don't like "top" much better), Uniqlo leggings and Nike outlet shoes. 

Tuesday Izumi was recovering from a low fever and it was also our last day to be lazy at home.  So at three o clock in the afternoon I put on the outfit you see here in order to make a trek to Target.  I'm feeling a little love hate about Target lately, but I can't dismiss this fact: more than 50% of my socks come from there.  As do the ones pictured.  And my shoes.  And that red tank top.  Grr.  But the culottes (another hideous word...) and the top are second hand.  This outfit also served me as I met with my book club so we could all discuss how much we hated the book we tried to read.

Yesterday, lo, the day I should have put this post up, I busted out my new pink wanna be ugg s.  They're not in the least bit elegant, but really, is elegant what I'm after most of the time?  Maybe it should be...anyway, my feet were very warm but I was also dismayed at how dirty these boot are after just one day of wear.  I guess I have to wipe them off and spray them with waterproofing stuff.  Or something.  Jeans are from Costco, sweater from Old Navy, heat tech from Uniqlo, scarf is a present from a high school friend, and I think she gave it to me in high school?

How was your week?

Recycling Mona Lisa

Good bye Mona Lisa. 

I will miss you a little, but not as much as you perhaps deserve.  For one thing, the "you" in this instance not so credible.  You are actually an unsolicited educational print we received in the mail from some company wishing to tempt us to sign up for monthly deliveries of this sort of "art." 

For another, Koji thinks you are creepy.  Sorry, Mona (or is it Lisa?  I've never sorted what to call you on a casual basis, and now I suppose I never will).  You have to wonder, and I do even if you don't, about your eyes that somehow seem to follow your viewer across the room.  Were they perhaps JK Rowling's inspiration for the moving paintings so commonplace in Harry Potter's world? 

I wanted to keep you and use you to teach the kids things like: Paris and Louvre and Jesus' Mama and Leonardo Da Vinci.  I haven't lost faith in you, Mona, after all, you've been around since the early 15th century (or what century does one call the year 1503? I'm confused). 

It's not you, it's me. 

I'm the one who's great at seeing potential and much less great at realizing it.  So please forgive me, but for these and myriad other reasons, I have to put you in the recycle bin and let you go.  As people love to say to one another, but I really truly mean it: 

"Let's meet again in Paris".    

Two Wheelin'

Izumi's been practicing riding her bike with the training wheels off.  Today she got it!

Congratulations to my biggest girl~

Today, My Baby Turned Three

A Day Behind, No Fooling

In the spirit of April Fool's Dayirony (here's something to cook), I will confess this truth:

 

I often "don't have make time" to write on this blog because I am too caught up in reading other blogs.  It's honestly gotten to the point where I don't/can't read books any more, etc.  So maybe I should scale back the number of blogs I've got in Google Reader?  THIS IS NOT A JOKE.  I NEED HELP.

 

One of my favorites is Sorta Crunchy.  These are some ways I've felt compelled to copy Megan (perhaps I can't help myself because I'm also an ENFP), and I hope she is flattered rather than annoyed:

 

• WIWW (scroll back to a Wednesday if you don't know what that is)
• Once Upon A Time (further comments below)

and now,

 

• What Are You Into this month, in which I talk about what I was into this month, but really means last month, 'cause I don't know yet what I'm into this month, seeing as it's the first and all. 

 

OK.  So, reading, um, The Forgotten Garden was the book I read most recently and that was probably in February, whatever.  Though it's not a style appealing to everyone, I enjoyed the way the story skipped around in time and challenged me to figure out who was connected and how. 

 

I'm also trying to read the Bible in 90 days with the reading plan portion of my app from You Version.  I've had to reset it several times already--God's grace is built into the plan in the form of a button in the settings called "catch me up," so I'll be closer to 150 days if I stay on track this time.  Though it's 12ish chapters of plowing every day (feels that way sometimes when it's lists of who was in whose clan, etc) I'm loving the daily reminders of God's amazing attention to individual lives while He simultaneously carries out His purposes.  Amazing. 

 

Watching TV: as I alluded to above, Megan loves Once Upon A Time, and I've been trying to love it too.  After all, it's fantasy and fairy tale, which I'm mostly all about.  And it's created by some of the same people that worked on Lost, making it an automatic contender for my rapt attention.  But I'm not loving it. 

 

I may give it up now that Megan has introduced me to Touch.  Because I maybe accidentally watched all three episodes available on Hulu right in a row.  Which was super fun for tonight but leaves me nothing to do tomorrow night.  Which also gives me my dream job: person who is in on the brainstorming/screenwriting of this story.  I can so easily imagine myself in some conference room, and the other people and I are practically yelling, we're so excited: "I know, then he'll put a number down with the popcorn and then the phone will ring and it'll be Clea's long lost mother only her mother doesn't say anything which of course makes you wonder, where is she and how come they aren't connected and how will they get connected?"  That's what the whole show is about--connections--and I can hardly wait for the next episode!!  I didn't even talk about how it doesn't feel like a coincidence that Keifer Sutherland plays the main character in the show, and that sends me right back to 24, mentioned first but not last here (because back when we were living in the downtown Tokyo room after which this blog is named, for Aogu and I, watching two, three or four episodes in row while huddled right up to the TV so Koji wouldn't hear was absolutely our drug of choice).

Is anyone still reading this?  Now I should talk about a movie I liked last month.  Alas, pretty sure I didn't watch any..., I know I didn't go to the theatre, and I was too busy reading blogs to watch Netflix...seriously, this is a problem.

Listening to music: was it TJ Maxx, or another random store I went into more than two weeks ago--I blame them entirely for the below: 
Heart to Heart by Kenny Loggins has been looplooplooplooping through my head only occasionally supplanted by Eternal Flame by the Bangles.  Now and then, a new song (as in, not from the 80s, though there could never be better music than the 80s, let's be clear) Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye was also in rotation.  The inside of my head is loud. 

Eating:
I made some black bean cookies with dried cranberries and chunks of dark chocolate.  They were pretty great straight out of the oven, but now they're in the freezer.  I can't be bothered most of the time to reheat them which is weird 'cause they're not that good cold.  I also made some peppermint patties out of coconut oil and they're irresistable.  I started with this recipe but I ended up tweaking it quite a bit so I should put it up on my other really woefully neglected blog.

Tomorrow, Koji and Aogu come back from two weeks away in Tokyo, after which I'll likely be more INTO cooking and laundry than I have been.  I'll let you know in my next edition of What I'm Into This Month!

 

 

Ten Things on a Tuesday

Random latte photo, meant to evoke peace in advance of you perusing this random, long-winded witty, interesting post.  See underlined points for the short version, but I encourage you to take in all the details as your schedule allows.   

One: as of a couple days ago, this blog is officially SEVEN years old.  In blog years (similar to dog years, because it rhymes), this baby is ancient.  Rather than analyzing what I may perceive as lacking, let me instead congratulate myself, for lo, I am still posting here!  

Two: in case I haven't mentioned it already (hey, if I can't remember, then you probably can't either.  Right?!), I'm in a group called "Long Creative Project" right now.  It consists of people who are working on books, screenplays, documentaries, and other Creative Projects that are, well, Long.  You know, instead of the short ones like coloring and sand castles.  OK, those can be long too, never mind.  Anyway, I would like to thank the group for some encouragement it gave me the other week.  I wish I had written it down.  One point stuck: they called me a writer.  Someone even said I have a novel in me!  Wow!  I wonder if I will ever get it out.

Three: a complete change of topic, but then again, I have specified "ten things" so anything goes, I say.  As of Saturday, March 10th, my 2 year old daughter Misaki is potty trained.  This is worth mentioning primarily due to the angst I felt about it before it happened.  I would talk it up and try to make using the toilet sound like the most fun she'd ever had and she was utterly disinclined to agree or engage.

Four: so the way I trained her was as follows (OK, I know this doesn't seem like it should be a separate point, but it is, trust me)-- on the aforementioned date, as we were out to the market in the morning, against all the anti-sweets/candy/food dye convictions I've formed lately, I said to her, "Misaki, if Mama buys you some m&ms, will you go oshikko (yes, that's the Japanese word for "pee," and yes, I mix languages when I don't want to be perceived as talking about pee in public) in the potty?"  And she said yes.  We came home, and put her underwear on.  She had one accident.  Following which, she had a perfect record all day, and pretty much since then, doing her business in the toilet.  Hallelujah!

Five: which means that in two weeks, right after she turns three, my "baby" can go to preschool with Izumi for two months until school is out.

Six: and that will allow me time to work and perhaps break even on their school fees, which I don't want to think about too much, because how does that actually make sense?  My tentative plan for working is to teach some private English conversation lessons to Japanese ladies, and perhaps kids.  I don't mean to be elitist or snobbish by only accepting Japanese clients.  But it makes sense for me since I'm able to explain elusive points (which are many, have you ever stopped to think how difficult English is?  Try explaining it and you'll see) in their native language.

Seven: not only will I make the school fees I need help with, I will also make my clients smarter.  If I succeed at moving them closer to bilingualism.  The project will probably work out better if I lower the bar to "I will help my clients make an articulate order at the deli counter in their local market". 

Eight: this could be two points if I insisted on splitting it, but I'm started to run out so I'll do a twofer.  Aogu and Koji are in Tokyo right now, having a grand time.  I'm truly glad they are making lots of memories.  However, Aogu has another engagement there the week after he comes back here.  The other day I made the mistake of noting to myself the following: "Between March 19th and April 15th, Aogu will be home for six days".  In other words, nearly a month of parenting on my own.  Dear Single Moms, I must publicly acknowledge this: you are amazing, and I admire you and pray you get support and help from your community!  Seriously, because this can be rough and I'm only on Day Eight. and I only have two of the three kids here...

Nine: Nevertheless, I'm trying to enjoy the Matsuoka Girl Time I've been given.  But the downside of point #2 is, I must wake up in the night to take M to the potty.  Which causes me to take hours to get back to sleep.  Which increases my cortisol and makes me want to eat exceeding amounts of dark chocolate.  So I should be slimmer in no time.

Ten: yesterday I returned this family heirloom rocking chair to its rightful owner after using it pretty constantly and faithfully for nine years or so--two years longer than this blog's been around.  Believe it or not, I am extremely sentimental and I can literally make myself cry at any moment if I think the right "gooey" thoughts, particularly about my kids.  So though I'm not crying now, I could, would and might if I indulged in any memory lane walking around the hours and hours and hours I spent in this chair with them when they were babies.  Thanks for the memories, sweet rocking chair!

And now, since I am talking to my former chair's ghost, it must be time to go to bed.  Good night.

Daffodil Glade

Yesterday was Izumi's last {weekday} of spring break.  The previous four weekdays saw her and Misaki out in their swimsuits every day as we enjoyed a completely unprecedented warmest March on record.  It was fine, so fine with me! 

However, on the day I'm speaking of, things moved back from summer-like to spring-like with some showers.  My Oregon soul was not deterred from visiting the Daffodil Glade, as you see above.  In fact, the rain, the cheery blooms, the girls' umbrellas and rainjackets all made for a really sweet (OK, it was brief, but still sweet) stroll through the glade.  Let me mention here: I saw Izumi's weekly trips to the Forest Preserve with her preschool class paying off and even influencing Misaki.  Neither of them was bothered a bit by the rain or the mud, and they quite enjoyed examining the flowers and exclaiming how pretty they were.  Perhaps the moment would have been longer, but the girls' little friend wasn't as enthusiastic as they were...

Thanking CLC for another adventurous memory ('Cause it's not like the day was done there, we also went for some coffee at Grounds for Hope Cafe so the girls could play at the KidStreet space of Trinity Lutheran Church, which could charge admission, but doesn't.  Throw in a random trip to the doctor, a delicious abundance of pita crackers, muhammara, spinach artichoke dip, naps on the sofa for the girls, a providential gift of lightbulbs, and I have all I need to be sure I won't forget the Day of the Daffodils anytime soon).  And thanking God for making daffodils.  Seriously.  He didn't have to do it, but He's thoughtful like that. 

Happy Spring!

One Year Later

The Great Tohoku Triple Disaster hit one year ago today. 
As ever, I long to go and help, if there is anything at all I can do.  God, in His wisdom, has not sent me there yet.  Perhaps He never will.  If nothing else--though I truly believe there will be something else--I was given the privelege of fundraising on several occasions last spring.  I pray those funds are making life easier for someone in Tohoku even now. 
And I anticipate, almost with trembling: from this horrible tragedy will come opportunities, things, events and people so gloriously from God they will nearly blind us. 
So I say, go Jesus, go Holy Spirit, keep on with what You have begun from this.  
Amen.

Like Mama, Like (Two Year Old!) Daughter

It *only* took her 37 tries to get this shot. I'm not kidding.

Expect Good Soup in Three Months

Betcha didn't make miso with your friends yesterday, but I did. Kinda weird for me to be all nanny nanny boo boo about it when the thought of making it or even the thought of eating it or even wondering what it is or even knowing that it exists has never even occurred to you before. So let me desist with lording it over and just say, if you've ever played with playdough or in a sandbox and thought that was a pretty good time, well, I think you would like this. But you might also agree that the part where you have to wait out the THREE MONTH LONG FERMENTATION PROCESS is not that great. Are you good at waiting? I guess anyone can be, as long as they really want the thing they are waiting for and believe the waiting is necessary. Who knew that miso could be such a philosophical topic?!