In Which We Have Sushi and Coconut Pie

Yes, I’m still talking about our trip. It was just too much fun!

Tuesday was special, though. Because Mimi arranged for a cooking lesson (and lunch) with a sweet Japanese lady from church.

Mrs. K sits near Mimi and Papa in church, and when I would take the kids to see them before the service started, we’d always say hello to everyone near them. One day, Mrs. K was introduced to us, and she asked how she could pray for us.  Since that time, Mrs. K has had a special place in our hearts. And she’s been super kind to our family and a blessing to our kids.

Mrs. K reads the Bible in Japanese. She’s a prayer warrior. And she taught us to make sushi and egg rolls.

Mimi arranged everything for us, and we met at her house for our cooking lesson. Fidget and I were there to learn and cook – everyone else came later to eat.

We made egg rolls (or as Mrs. K calls them, wontons).

Mimi and Mrs. K were making sure everything was cooking properly.

While Mrs. G (a friend of Mimi and Mrs. K – and us) and Fidget supervised. (And I wandered about, taking photos of everything.)

Mrs. K taught us to roll sushi. We made it with crab (cooked), cucumber, and avocado. Mrs. K made it look pretty with the flowers!

Mrs. K also fried some of the biggest shrimp I’ve ever seen.

 

We had a great lunch together.

(Left to right: Mom, Curly, Mrs. K, Mimi, Trump, Fidget, and Mrs. G)

Maybe the best part of the day was listening to Mrs. K tell about her experiences; how God has called her and used her in her life, how He has taken care of her family, and how her prayers have been answered. She went to work in a factory (in Japan) at the age of 14 during WWII. She married a “GI”, came to America 50 years ago, and didn’t know English at all. She didn’t need to – she and her husband ministered to Japanese-speaking people. She continues her ministry today by investing in those around her. Mrs. K is a fabulous example of continuing to grow in your faith and allowing God to use you, even after you “retire”.

While we were eating and talking, the kids were playing.

Honor discovered the toy cabinet.

And Caedmon had a blast driving the jeep around. He was serious about it, too.

Papa even made him a service station.

I can’t wait until he can pump gas in my car!

Cousins Q and E were there as well, but I didn’t get many photos of them. I know Q wasn’t still long enough!

Of course, Honor had to mooch some food. During dessert time. And Aunt Trump was the perfect target. She didn’t want that Coconut Pie anyway, right?

We had a great time at Mimi’s that day. I’m grateful she made sure we got to spend some time with Mrs. K and cooked some good food! One of these days, I’ll figure out how to make coconut pies like she does. But until then, I’ll gladly enjoy hers!

The PD

Fidget is now working at the local police department and offered to take Caedmon to see some cool stuff before we left.

Here they are, going into the police station.

One of the Sergeants asked an officer to bring his car up for Caedmon to see. They were so accommodating and sweet to Caedmon! We ran into our friend Officer T and he came with us to check things out.

Caedmon and Fidget sat in the car, and he learned how to turn the siren and lights on and off.

He also got to play with handcuffs and learned how to use the key to unlock them.

The officers gave Caedmon his very own handcuff key. Maybe he should start swallowing it every Tuesday.

Officer N also gave Caedmon some flexi-cuffs to bring home. You know, the things that look like zip ties. He loves them. And? He shared some of his cheese crackers with Caedmon. I think that was Caedmon’s favorite take-away of the morning.

Leave it to my kid to get to turn on police sirens and cheese crackers end up being his favorite thing. At least he knows what he likes.

Fidget also took us to the fire station, but my camera battery died. Caedmon got to play on the giant truck, the Humvee, and check out an ambulance. He loved the ambulance. The fireman that showed us around was great with Caedmon and very patient with his shy, quiet, yet inquisitive demeanor.

Many thanks to Fidget for taking Caedmon for a fun morning!

Cousin Day at Mom and Dad’s

Honor got to meet Cousin E for the first time the other day. We all ended up at Mom and Dad’s for the afternoon and had a great time letting the Aunts, Uncle, and Grandparents wear our boys out while the girls hung out together.

Cousin E (1 1/2 weeks) and Honor (8 weeks)…6 weeks difference in age is a big deal right now. Very soon, it won’t be.

Cousin Q was getting ready to go swimming with Caedmon.

He didn’t really want to get in…he thought putting his feet in was just fine for a while. Caedmon swam with Fidget until she had to go to work.

Mimi and Dad supervised from their shaded spot.

Uncle HLB stopped by on his lunch break and loaded up the water gun.

Aunt Trump and Honor hung out inside, out of the heat.

Then the boys took their water gun fight to the trampoline.

Oh, but Caedmon wasn’t done swimming. He convinced Aunt Squirt to get in with him.

And then Q decided to get in, so Mom got in with Caedmon and Squirt swam with Q.

They paused for a while and Caedmon helped Squirt water her horses.

But he refused to take off his swim vest. Because that meant swimming was over. He was not done. He and Squirt ended up back in the pool for a while. I think Caedmon wore out three people that day – besides himself. He was one tired little boy when we got home. And that’s the way I like it.

Lots of Love for NLB

**I set this to auto-publish, not knowing if we would have power at home this morning to do it myself. Last night when I went to bed, we were expecting by now to be in the midst of what everyone around here is lovingly referring to as “Snowpocalypse ‘11.” My motto is this: “Ice isn’t nice.” We’re just hoping that we get less ice and more snow because not only would that be more fun, it would mean a lot fewer power outages for everyone involved.**

As we prepare for NLB to head to the Sand Box, we decided one last big family dinner was the way to go. Everybody was able to make it, thus the reason Mom & Dad’s yard looked like a used car lot on Sunday.

Yes, there are 12 vehicles. Just think what it would look like if we invited extended family and not just “us”!

We all hung out until lunch was ready.

Dad and Grade A discussing deep things with Papa…like fishing.

Deputy Guy was trying to watch something on TV. Quite a feat with that bunch.

Fidget (who is home from military school…for a while, anyway) deeply involved in a text.

Mom, cookin’ in the kitchen with Mimi taking her photo. NLB was having a meaningful convo with Curly.

Trump took the little guys outside for a bit.

And there had to be some goofiness.

And wrestling.

And eating.

And somehow, Mom was still in the kitchen. Don’t worry. She did eventually sit down and eat.

But then came the most painful thing of all. Pictures. Where we all had to stand still. And be nice. And pretend to like each other and stuff.

Trump wasn’t too keen on being lined up on the front row with the preggo girls.

(Fidget, NLB, HLB, Squirt; Trump, Curly and me)

Mom was trying to direct traffic.

Just for a brief second, we were all there (minus Cousin Q – he was napping).

(Back: NLB, Grade A, Deputy Guy, Husband, HLB, Fidget. Front: Trump, Curly, me, Caedmon, and Squirt)

And then we added more people. This is as good as it got.

(Everybody plus Mimi and Papa Sam, Mom and Dad)

Those of us who remained after all the picture-taking torture put the little guys down for naps and played cards. And ate more. It’s what we do.

We’ll miss you, little brother. Be careful over there and give those who participate in malfeasance for malfeasance’s sake a whoopin’. Stay safe and come home to us, preferably all in one piece. I will hold up my end of the bargain by praying daily for your safety and sending cookies (not daily). Caedmon will miss his wrestling buddy. I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun things to teach him when you get home and your niece will be old enough to give you some slobbery smiles.

Most of all, remember who you are, where you come from, to Whom you belong, and that we love you!