Happy 4th of July

I am writing this on the evening of July 4^th here in Japan. Yesterday Loren got called on an emergency business trip back to America and headed out quickly to make a delivery over the holiday. It definitely doesn’t feel like a holiday here. The girls are still chugging along at school and everyone is a little cranky in this hot weather.

It is always good to write, because I have to reflect back on what has been going on here and my focus zooms out from the negative things and I can see all the unique and wonderful things that have happened in between. I guess even the challenging situations turn into a good story eventually. Also, when things get tough our family leans in more. We lean more into God, more into each other, and into any willing helping hands.

We definitely don’t have any shortage of drama here. The owners of our house are having the outside walls painted in the middle of the summer and rainy season. More then half of my windows are blocked off and there are fumes wafting into my house.

The kids cannot play in the backyard and I cannot hang clothes out on the line during the week to dry (and I do a lot of laundry with only a washer!). We are half way through, so maybe two more weeks to go depending on the weather. We also started our license conversion. Not every expat and spouse obtain a Japanese driver’s license, mostly because they live in a bigger city with no kids and rarely need a car. But we do need to drive here in Japan and our international drivers license is only temporary, so that is why we are gritting our teeth to get through the painful process. We were told to show up for day one registration day at 0700, to bring a ton of paperwork and that we will need to pass a vision test and a written exam. And side note, it is not guaranteed that you can finish all in the same day and children are not allowed in the testing room. Construction and no parking at the driving center meant we had to leave the house at 0530 to catch the train, then the subway, and then the bus. Long story short God provided, and our awesome American neighbors The Newkirks (www.newkirksinjapan.com) helped us out with the kids. Matt even drove us an hour to the driving center so that we did not have to leave so early and our translator offered to hold our spot in line at Hirabari. Also, we finished that day and both passed the exam, yaaaay! So now we have a practical driving test scheduled at the end of July. We will need to pass a driving test in the car with an instructor. I do not know the exact passing rate, but for foreigners it is very low…maybe 20% pass rate for the first attempt? To increase our chances of passing and to avoid another full day at the driving center, we are taking a practice test, which can only be scheduled in person up to two weeks in advance. Because of the construction, the driving course is changed every month or so, and the date automated for our practical test is one day after they switch to a new course. This means we have only the evening before to practice on the new course and London and I will travel by train, then subway, then bus on July 17th to schedule the practice test for just the right day. **whew**  Good news is I found someone to be with the kids that day!

But I did have a wonderful birthday weekend here in Japan. Loren bought me Japanese pearls and a message. We relaxed and ate good food. I cut Avalyn’s hair the same weekend. So many Japanese girls here in Japan have bangs and also the same short hair, so we were inspired and I really like how it turned out. Raising girls is so tricky and it has been interesting seeing them in this new environment making observations. They are aware that they are very different from everyone else and in general it has been positive and not negative. I feel so blessed to have a bike, and we bike all the time. I love the feeling of pedaling through parks and roads and hearing London’s little voice say “weeeeee” every time. Our time has been filled with church, school field trips and lunches, potty training, cooking…rain, heat. Avalyn is reading and writing Japanese and the kids are enjoying swimming at school. In his workplace, Loren has tackled his Japanese keyboard and is really thriving at work. The kids will get a summer break for a month in August and we are all looking for to it. In the meantime we continue to learn, grow, explore, and work hard.