Saying Goodbye

This weekend at our court potluck we formally said goodbye to Makiko and Yoshi and their three kids. They were leaving back for Japan on Monday because Yoshi's mother is very ill. It was a bit sudden and so we didn't have much time to process them leaving.

Once we had all eaten, we had a prayer time for them, took a few pictures, and I gave them a framed picture of all the court kids. It was hard because I felt like we had really connected with them after our parent meeting in February. I was feeling so bad for Joel, his best friend is Soh, whom he would have to say goodbye to.

After the potluck and Easter egg hunt, Makiko rushed back home and continued to pack. I can't imagine packing up my entire household in a matter of days. Joel and Kezia spent the entire day outside playing with Soh, Shiki, and Kazu. It was a bit bittersweet for me seeing them all play so well together.

On Sunday after we came home from Tim and Gertrud's, Makiko asked if we had supper plans. Since we didn't, she said that they would like to go for supper with us and Budi and Lily and all our kids. I was quite surprised and honored that they wanted to have their last supper with us. We were home for about 90 minutes before we packed up our kids and headed out to the Japanese restaurant. It was one of those places where they cook the food right in front of you. All the kids were giddy with excitement as the chefs tossed their knives and lit up the grill with fire. I have never eaten so much, it was all so good. I knew that I would have a stomach ache from eating two large meals in one day.
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After we returned home, all the kids headed to Nate and Maddy's to play Wii. It's been a weekend tradition for the last few months, and Nate and Maddy wanted one last time with all the kids together. We could hear them laughing and screaming from across the courtyard, but at 9:30 we had to go over and retrieve our kids. I was dreading that because I knew we'd have to say goodbye to Soh, Shiki, Kazu and then Makiko and Yoshi. We smalled talked with Nate and Maddy before we went over to say bye. Joel and Kezia gave some hugs and kisses and then Carl and I went in to say farewell.

It's weird how attached you can get to a family over just a few months. I think I was sad for myself because I would miss Makiko, her smile and her sushi! I was sad that Kezia and Kazu wouldn't have the chance to deepen their friendship. I was sad that Asha wouldn't be held anymore by Shiki. I was sad for Joel because he was saying goodbye to his best buddy. And I was sad that Yoshi was leaving school, packing up his family, and moving back to Japan to care for his dying mother.

Maybe it's harder to be left behind when someone moves away. You are keenly aware of their absence whatever turn you take. Ever time I went outside I look across the courtyard and saw a closed door, and I listened and it was too quiet. Is that how some of our friends felt when we left Winnipeg?

I woke up at 5 a.m. on Monday when Asha stirred and went to look out my kitchen window. The light was on at Makiko and Yoshi's, and I knew they were getting ready to go to the airport. This morning when I was getting breakfast, I looked out again, but knew that they were already gone. In the morning, Joel puttered around but by the afternoon he was heading over to Soh's, only to realize after a few steps his friend was gone.

Parting is such sorrow...

So it was Easter

Easter was a bit different for us this year. Instead of being in church all weekend, leading the services, and then running from family gathering to gathering, it was quiet.

On Friday our church didn't have a Good Friday service. We talked to a few other people who attended different churches, but there was no service there either. I was a bit disappointed about the thought of not going to a service on Friday because I'm such a creature of habit, not going meant breaking a 29 year tradition. We did however watch a few minutes of a Good Friday service on television with some pretty frank atonement theology. Last week at homegroup we started talking about atonement theories and so I've been mulling that over in my head for the past couple of days....

On Saturday we had court potluck (which I'll blog about in my next post) and then an Easter egg hunt. Carl and I and another couple had purchased jelly bean filled eggs plus chocolate eggs to scatter around the courtyard. The kids and adults all had a great time. Some of the chocolate eggs however were melting all over everyones hands because they were sitting in the sun too long. Oops!
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On Sunday we all woke up and had a pancake breakfast. Again, I was a bit disappointed that our church didn't have an Easter breakfast. I always enjoyed sitting around tables with my fellow Braesiders celebrating Christ's resurrection, especially after having gathered on Friday to contemplate his suffering and death.

As we got dressed, Kezia was thrilled out of her mind to wear her new Easter dress. I bought her and Asha matching dresses, Kezia's was pink, Asha's green. Joel got a new yellow and blue striped dress shirt with nice khakis. I made an impulse purchase and got a new green skirt and white top and cardigan. And poor Carl didn't get a new Easter outfit. Well, he wasn't that disappointed; he looked handsome in his blue shirt and khakis.

Church was pretty empty. Most of the people we connect with weren't there, probably off to other churches or gone for the Easter weekend to see family. The singing was really good and there were some nice readings in between. But there wasn't a celebratory feel to the service, nor were there indications that proclaimed, Hey! Christ has Risen! No exchange of He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed (which I miss because Helen and Betty always greeted me with that on Easter morning, accompanied by their famous hug).

And then the pastor got up to preach and it only went downhill from there. If I thought I was slightly disappointed up until now, I was completely let down as the morning went on. Now I'm no theology buff, but there were some serious holes in his preaching and applications. The sermon started off in one lane and rapidly changed course a number of times. I couldn't follow his reasoning and was getting more and more upset. I wanted to shout out, What kind of sermon is this buddy? Is it me or am I the only one who realizes it's Easter? Why come if you aren't going to celebrate?

Thankfully Asha was fussy and I had to take her out twice, which was my escape. Poor Carl endured it; he chose not to walk out. And I have to be fair that my expectations of sermons are quite high. I've had the chance to hear good sermons, which most often have come from my husband.

After church, dressed in our party garb, we walked home and took some pictures in the garden. Then we piled into the van and headed to Carl's professors home for lunch. I was very pleased to receive an invitation for Easter lunch (we actually received two!). A few days before I was wondering if we would be home alone over Easter, and for a brief moment, started to feel sorry for us. Well, we were one of many families and individuals over at Tim and Gertrud's. There were 19 of us all together and it was a lovely meal. Joel and Kezia had extra helpings of the potatoes and ham. My heart leaped for joy as I saw Gertrud putting gelatin eggs on the table because that's what we have at my family's Easter gathering; how sweet little reminders of home can be!

After lunch, we had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. Joel and Kezia really enjoyed themselves because they now had even more candy and Asha had her first taste of chocolate! As I stood out in the lawn in the sunshine, I was feeling really blessed. The host family made sure that their guests felt right at home by extending a hand of hospitality and love.

I guess this Easter was unique. Some things I could have done without, some parts I really missed, and other aspects were quite enjoyable. I've never gone to a March Easter service in sandals nor have I ever done an Easter egg hunt outside with my kids. But I think more importantly, I have had more time (and less running around) to ponder what Easter really means and how I can come to a deeper understanding of God's love for us.
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Fresno in Spring

For the past few weeks, I have been taking pictures of flowers that have been blooming around campus. I had intentions of posting my pictures sooner, but with all the company and exciting news, it didn't happen. But as I got to thinking, it's probably more appropriate to post spring time pictures when spring equinox has actually happened. And it's Easter weekend, so with the new life springing up around us, we can be reminded of Christ's resurrection and the new life we have because of him.
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HAPPY BLESSED EASTER!

Ethan's Visit - Part II

After our horrendously long drive back from Monterey, I wasn't sure if the kids would get up for church in the morning. Not likely, they were all up by 8 a.m. I had hoped for a leisurely morning, until I heard Maegan yell to Carl while I was in the shower, "Hey, Carl, do you have an fire extinguisher?" Huh? What's going on out there? When I came out of shower, the stench of burning plastic was almost unbearable. Apparently some little fingers turned on all the elements and the ice cream pail, lid, and a plastic dish all met their slow death upon the stove...their remains oozing all over the elements. What a mess. Well, we'd just have to clean it up later.

I didn't think that Maegan would stay home breathing in the carcinogenic air, but I didn't think she would come to church with us, she hasn't in the past. Well, she surprised me and asked what time was church. I sheepishly said, in 15 minutes, and she told me that she could shower fast. So off we went to church, with 3 minutes to spare. Maegan was glad she could drop Ethan off in the S.S. class with Joel and Kezia (Carl was the helper that day) and followed me into the sanctuary. She enjoyed the music, but the sermon, well, not even I was that impressed. Oh well. Church isn't perfect and the possibility or hope of perfection isn't why I go.

After church, we walked home and then started the clean up process in the kitchen. It took about 45 minutes to chip away the melted plastic from each of the coils on the stove and to wipe away the extinguisher residue from the walls and counter. Then I made the Thai vegetable rolls, while Maegan made her lemon grass and coconut soup. By 1:30 we were all sitting outside eating a lovely lunch. That afternoon we had quiet time and I think that evening we watched a movie, the first that we have rented since living in Fresno.

The next day at 10:30 a.m. we packed the kids up and headed to the zoo. The park was quite busy because it was spring break, but the kids had a great time. We stopped about 12:30 and had a picnic lunch and basked in the warm sunshine. By 2:30 the two younger children were tired and the older two were getting cranky, so we decided to head home. Joel and Kezia had a nap on my bed, but Asha learned how to stand up in her crib that day and chose to sit-stand-sit-stand-yell-sit-stand-holler all afternoon. Ethan decided that he wasn't going to sleep either. Arg!

At 4:00, I finished my torte and then packed up the kids for homegroup. Maegan decided to stay home with Ethan and head to bed early that night.

The next day Joel and Kezia went to school and Maegan and I drove to a little tea shop in the Tower District. We bought some loose tea and enjoyed a drink and some Red Bean Steamed Rice buns before heading back to our place to pick up the kids from school. Maegan did a bit of laundry and I made the preparations for Mexican tacos. I was quite proud of how they turned out. We turned in early that night, but only after we packed our overnight bags, again.

Yes, we were headed out to San Francisco to take Ethan and Maegan back to the airport. They weren't leaving until Thursday morning, but we decided to check out Pier 39 on Wednesday afternoon. We had a nice time there and even bought a few things. From there we went to a Spanish Tapas Restaurant on 22nd between Mission and Valencia. It was highly recommended by Kezia's preschool teacher who used to live in San Fran. The food was great, but I think the kids were exhausted. Kezia fell off her chair twice and Joel refused to eat anything because he said he was too tired. Well, just great for you, but what do you expect after 21 days of company? I think the kids hit "the wall". Once we got back to the hotel, Maegan and I dumped all the kids into the same bed and had plans to sit in the bathroom and visit. But Asha decided to do her sit-stand-and-holler routine, and it was 9:45 before she was whisked off to dreamland. By then Maegan and I were too tired, and just ended up going to sleep. How wonderful it was not to be kicked in the middle of the night by my bedmate!

Thursday morning came too quickly. We had breakfast in the hotel from the cooler I packed the morning before. By the time we got all the kids ready and fed, it was after 9 a.m. and we needed to get Ethan and Maegan to the airport. She insisted that I just drop her off and not try and lug three kids into the airport with her. I'm glad that she did, because I was dreading the idea of hauling three tired and cranky kids through the airport, plus I wasn't keen on hunting for parking. We exchanged hugs and kisses and waved goodbye before the airport guys blew their whistles and chased us away from the loading zone. As we drove away, Kezia started to cry and whimper that Ethan was going away. I told her that in a few short weeks we'd see them again in B.C. on our way back to Winnipeg. That made her feel a bit better.

The drive home was quiet for us all. I breathed a sigh of relief that the visit went fairly well and that all the plans went off without a hitch (well except for the drive back from Monterey). I was looking forward to having our life of monotony back. I was looking forward to being bored in the afternoons. I was looking forward to lounging in my pajamas until 11 a.m. and not going anywhere for 3 days straight. And I was looking forward to eating junky fast food, just once though. Oh, it's been ages since we've eaten that crap.

We've had a good time with all of our company, but man, it's good just to be, just the five of us.

p.s. on a totally different topic, Carl in FINISHING his thesis draft tonight!

Pics from Ethan's Visit

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Kezia and Ethan had a great time having a tea party.
Asha bonded with Maegan
And we had a great time chatting on our couch
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Over the weekend, we went to Seaside Beach near Monterey.
The next day we went to the Aquarium, which was amazing.
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Ethan loved the fresh California oranges
We had a fun time picnicking at the Secret Park
Joel and Kezia were thrilled to have story time
And you can't have overnight visitors, without having an all kids bath party!

Ethan's Visit

The first few days of our visit with Maegan and Ethan were quiet and spent mostly outside. On Wednesday we spent the day at the secret park by the administration building. The kids enjoyed playing with their new friend. And Ethan thought that Asha was the cat's meow. On Thursday while Joel and Kezia were at school, Maegan and I went shopping for maternity clothes - for Maegan. It was fun to go along and pick thing off the rack and entertain Ethan and Asha. I was amazed at all the deals and was a bit sorry that I didn't come here this time last year! They even offered me free orange juice!

This past Friday we took a little overnight trip down to Monterey to go to the beach and Aquarium. We left on Friday a little later than we had planned to because the pictures at the preschool for Joel and Kezia took FOREVER...well not really, but it certainly felt like that when you have a place to go to. Well, we got going around 11 a.m. and the ride there was pretty good. The kids traveled well probably because we kept them busy with 6L of popcorn.

Once we got to the beach, we realized it was a bit windy but we decided to head down to the water anyways. Well, once we got closer to the waves, the wind was really strong, but not too chilly...yet. Poor Ethan fell into the water right away and was chilled to the bone by the cool wind. Joel ran after the seagulls and kept warm for a bit, Asha huddled against me, and Kezia sat very still and tried not to shiver. But we stayed for just a bit, eating our greek salad and trying to keep the sand out of our eyes. We didn't anticipate a weather system coming in. We were here for an experience!

After 12 minutes, we packed up and left to go back to our hotel. We managed to get a great little hotel for $65 instead of $200 which is the average price for a hotel in Monterey. Thank you Priceline! We put the three older children into a hot shower and then Ethan and Asha went for a nap. I took Joel and Kezia to the park and then I wimped out and picked up hot chocolate and tea to take back to the warm hotel room. I think it was 16 degrees, but it felt like closer to 5 Celsuis.

We got ready for supper, Joel, Kezia, and Asha in their new Mexican outfits (I'll post pictures of their outfits soon, okay?). It was fun to dress up for supper. We walked across the street to the Sushi restaurant and quickly got a table. I love sushi and Maegan loves it even more. We ordered some tempura right away for the kids and then ordered a whole bunch of sushi rolls (with rice) and sashimi (pieces of raw fish). I was really looking forward to the scallops, which are my favourite. The kids ate their tempura and then we ordered some chicken, noodles and salad for them.

I was pretty proud of Joel, Kezia, and Asha because that night they all tried something new. Joel tried the scallops and the tuna, Kezia tried the mackerel and Asha tried avocado. Joel tried the sashimi and said he'd rather just finish his chicken, Asha smiled after the avocado, but Kezia raved about the mackerel and wanted more! I couldn't believe it. She's the one in the family that isn't that keen on trying new things, but that night she surprised me.

Once we got back to the hotel, we got the kids ready for bed, shut off the lights, and then Maegan and I sat in the dark until our kids were sleeping. It was 9:00. We looked at each other and then realized, hey, I guess we're going to bed too. Sigh, the benefits of sharing a hotel room with your kids.

The next day we got up and went across the street to Grandma's Diner; we decided sushi for breakfast probably wouldn't be the most appetizing! Then we headed for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We were fortunate enough to borrow two adult passes for the day, so I only had to pay for Joel and Kezia. The Aquarium was amazing. Some of the tanks were huge, others close and beautifully lit and there were so may different kinds of fish to see. My favourite was the kelp tank with all the schools of fish and the otters. Upstairs there was a new area made just for the kids. It was the neatest thing I have ever seen. They had little tanks where kids could crawl through and look all around at all the fish swimming around them. There were squirting tables and a huge clam and manta ray slide and even a little section for babies. It made sense to me that they charge you $25 for admission!

After 2.5 hours, the kids were tired, and we decided to head back, even though we had a whole section left to see (well, Carl and I and the kids will have to come back!) We had 15 minutes left at the meter, so we quickly fed the kids leftover chicken and noodles on the curb. Maegan and I packed everything up and then we headed back to Fresno. All the kids fell asleep and it was quiet and peaceful.

We decided to stop just eat of Gilroy at Casa de Fruita to buy an apricot pie. When Maegan came back to the van, she told me that the clerk said the road up the way was closed because there was a fatal accident and traffic was stopped. Oh no. I went and spoke to another person and he said that there was no point in trying to go around that highway 152 was blocked and it would be at least a 2 hour wait. Well, at least we were at a place with a playground, restaurant, pie shop, and about 300 0ther tourists. We took the kids to the bathroom, played at the park and had supper and killed about 3 hours. I told Carl we probably wouldn't be home until 8 p.m., about 4 hours past our estimated time of arrival.

Well, we got on the highway and drove at 70 miles an hour for about 5 miles before the traffic became more dense. Then we were going 40 miles an hour and then after about 2 miles, we slowed down to 20 miles an hour....and then around the bend we stopped. We sat there for a bit before we accelerated to a racing 10 miles an hour. And that was our average for 2 hours....Maegan said at this rate it would take us 15 hours to get home.

To pass the time, we sang songs, passed around an entire package of gold fish crackers, took Joel and Kezia for a pee on the side of the highway (Joel misunderstood me when I said turn around, no one wants to see your pee-pee and turned to face about 70 cars downhill of us while he peed!), switched drivers so that I could feed Asha.....it was a bit agonizing. Thankfully the kids were pretty good and we Moms were able to keep our cool. Finally at 8:15 we passed by the third and last accident; a mini-van who was probably gawking slammed into the back of a police cruiser, witnessed the worst, most maddening merging of vehicles into a single lane, and finally got to a comfortable cruising speed of 70 miles an hour again.

Maegan, the kids, and I got back to Fresno at 10:00 and we were all so tired. Our beds never felt so good.

So that was the first part of the visit. It's getting late and I think I need to get to bed. I'll be back in a few days to tell you how the rest of the visit went.....stay tuned!

A Crazy 36 Hours

So, our visit with Mom and Dad was over and ours eyes had dried up a bit....but no time to sit back and relax. The next 36 hours were jammed packed, and as I go on with this post, will explain why I have been so sporadic in writing.

After we dropped Mom and Dad off at the airport it was 9 a.m. once we arrived back home. I helped Carl in with the kids and then turned on my heel and headed to the grocery store. I was back by 10:00 with 7 bags of groceries and Carl quickly helped me put the perishables in the fridge. We all then jumped back into the van and headed up to north Fresno.

On the Saturday before Mom and Dad left, we got a phone call from Vic and Wendy W. (folks we know from Braeside) asking us if we'd like to get together with them for coffee. They were in Fresno for a week and wanted to see us. So at 10:30 we met with them and had a lovely visit at Starbucks. Seeing them made me miss our Braeside family....

By 12:00 we needed to say goodbye and headed back south. Once we got home, we had some leftovers for lunch and I put the kids down for a nap. Carl headed off to do some homework and I quickly baked a cake at 2:00. After I was done with the cake, I sat down at the computer to edit our MBBS promo video (I made it with 2 other girls from MBBS to submit for a contest...we might be winning some cash....I'll keep you posted). Then I got a phone call from Sarah and Laura saying they wanted to add to our movie. So they came over while I put together my trifle and we organized the last part of the video. At 3 p.m. we were filming and editing the last scene because it was due that day.

Okay, I wasn't done because I still needed to put away the rest of the groceries and then I decided to make some soup for my neighbour. She was feeling ill and her husband has been gone to Japan for the last 2 weeks. I figured she needed someone to care for her. Then the kids woke up sooner than I expected, but I managed to sweep the floor before Asha got too needy.

It was 4:30 and I quickly jumped into the shower and got the kids all in the bath before homegroup. By 5:30 we had the trifle, all three kids and a diaper bag in the van. The evening at homegroup was quite enjoyable but we didn't stay too long because we were all tired.

The kids headed to bed once we got home at 9:30, but I had some cleaning to do and I probably blogged a bit (I can't remember).

I fell into bed at 11:30....

The next morning I got up at 7:30 to get the kids ready for school. I left Asha at home with Carl while I walked Joel and Kezia to school and reminded them that they would be there all day. I quickly stopped by the administration building to meet Laura for my weekly coffee date. By 10:00 we had visited up a storm and said our goodbyes and I quickly went home.

At 10:30 I was packing up a few things and feeding Asha and probably blogging!

By 11:30 I piled into the van with Asha and headed off to San Francisco.....San Francisco!? I was picking up my friend Maegan and her son Ethan from the airport. They were flying in from B.C. to see us all for 9 days. The ride there was event free and we arrived 10 minutes before their flight came in at 3:30 p.m. It was a happy reunion with Maegan and Ethan. I hadn't seen Maegan in 2 years, when Ethan was a newborn, and she hadn't met Asha before. We made the long trek back to the van and made it out of San Francisco by 4:30 p.m.

We drove until Gilroy and stopped at this wonderful little Thai restaurant and we ate ourselves full. I could tell I was getting a bit tired because my sense of direction was a bit lax. And that's all I'll say about that! We got into Fresno about 8:30 p.m. Joel and Kezia were thrilled to see us all. We unpacked Maegan and Ethan and visited for a while before we headed to bed at 11 p.m. Man what a busy two days!