Sweet Innocence

We started the day with a BIG breakfast (not really normal for us during the week) but it was a special day. We had scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, bisquits and Sammy made chocolate chip & blueberry mini muffins. Sakura ate a little of everything but went back for seconds on the chocolate chip muffins. The kids all played Super Mario on the Wii. Trenton loves playing Wii with Sakura. She just smiles & laughs everytime he speaks to her. We headed to the farm to check on the bunnies. Sakura petted the smallest one today. We laughed at the goats as they greeted us. The piglets were somewhere in the shade as it was quite hot out. We then headed back to town. We ate bow-tie pasta, corn & oranges for lunch. Sakura brought us each our own set of chopstixs. She tried to teach us how to use them. Sammy, Kailey & I did pretty good although we don't hold them correctly, we are able to eat. Trenton used stabbing as his method of choice. Sakura laughed & laughed. I think he had way more food on the floor then he did in his belly. After lunch we headed to the pool. Sakura has the most adorable swimsuit that I have ever seen. After seeing her swimsuit and the swimsuit on the other young lady from Japan I have decided Japanese teenage girls are wayyyyyy more modest than their American counterparts. I really like that! I noticed yesterday when she arrived that she had a lot of Winnie the Pooh items. She also loves Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck. There's just something about her love for them that speaks sweet innocence to me. Those are characters Sammy hasn't really made mention of since Kindergarten. Kailey too has replaced them with names like Justin Bieber & One Direction. We spent our evening at a dp/t-ball party at the pool. We had hot dogs & chips (no chopstix). When we returned home Allison, Addie & Joycelyn came over to meet our new friend. She shared her album with them and even some Japanese money. Sammy & Sakura spent some time playing outside with them. I must say that I am completely fascinated with her. I have never been out of the country so this is quite an experience for this small-town girl. Last night she would not admit to being tired, tonight when asked, she quickly said yes. I think we all are.


Favorite Memory of the Day: I LOVED watching so many kids at the pool welcome Sakura.

She's Here!

Meet Sakura

She made it this evening after a long road trip today. We had so much fun this evening just getting to know a little more about her. We had dinner in our home tonight. We had American food with a touch of Japanese mixed in. We had chicken strips, Japanese style white rice, Italian Green Beans w/onions followed by Pineapple. She tried everything and even cleaned her plate (which is more than I can say for my own children, they were too excited) She got really excited when we got out the Pocky (a Japanese snack we picked up at the grocery store). Then we took a drive out to a farm where we checked on some bunnies for some friends. She was grinning from ear to ear looking at the bunnies. We then showed her their pigs and all of the new piglets. I don't think she had ever seem a pig that close before. We then returned home where we played a high stakes game of UNO ATTACK. Kailey beat us all this round. She brought us all gifts so it was like Christmas morning around here. T really liked the Japanese candy she brought. I think he ate the whole bag! She brought us all chopstixs so we will give those a try tomorrow. We finished the evening by looking through a book that she made for us. She shared about her family, their home, her school, holidays they celebrate & their vacation last Summer. It was a true learning experience for me. In my last post I said we are growing, meaning by one in our family (for a time). But I know through this experience we will all be growing so much more! We have NEVER had any one in our home for more than a week (& that was family & a close friend). I was impressed by our 13 year old this evening by how she treated our guest with such poise & grace and how in spite of communication challenges she continued to make conversation with our new friend. I am looking forward to the weeks ahead and I plan to share as much as I can. Thanks for all of the prayers for safe travel and smooth transitions. God is so good!

Favorite Memory of today: The look on Sakura's face as the much taller Sammy was showing her around our home. Sakura kept looking up at Sam like she was a giant. It was classic!

We are growing....

Our family is growing (for a few weeks) and we are so excited! We are hosting a young lady from Japan. She will arrive on Monday and she & Sammy will be sharing a room for 4 weeks. She will also be joining us for Super Summer Church camp as well as several other activities. Brandon has wanted to host for a few years now so after much prayer, here we go....

Prayers for safe travel and smooth transitions will be much appreciated.