Book-loving Sisters

Both of my girls love books.  I love that Miriam loves to read to Hannah, and that Hannah loves to listen.  Miriam is just starting to read for real, but she knows so many books by heart, plus she loves to ask Hannah "where is the ......?" or "what does the cat say?" while they read.  It always makes my heart smile to see them sitting in the chair together reading.

Spring Sneak Peek

(These pictures belong to February 25th)

Friday was a beautiful day.  High 60s, sunny, and a light breeze.  We headed outside late morning to PLAY play play.  We (and some friends) went over to the playground that's across the street from us and ran around and had a great time soaking up some much-needed Vitamin D.  :)

Flat Stanley

(This pic is from February 24th)

This week we received Flat Stanley in the mail from some friends in Maryland.  Caleb is in 1st grade and his class read the book and mailed their Flat Stanleys to friends in all sorts of different places.  I wonder if Japan is the farthest that one traveled?  Anyway, we're supposed to entertain him for a few days and then send him back with some information about what he did with us and about Japan in general.  On Thursday, Miriam took him to school with her to introduce him to her class.  Here is a picture of Miriam, Stanley, and Miss Annie (Miriam's primary teacher).

Daddy Dolls

I had heard about "Daddy Dolls" from a friend, so I decided to get them for the girls.  I though maybe they would help to keep Daddy close while he's away.  They arrived in the mail today and the girls (especially Hannah) immediately fell in love with them.

Better Than Starbucks

We order coffee for our Keurig from Keurig's website.  They have a "coffee club" where you earn points for ordering things and then can use the points for 1/2-off certain items.  I finally used some of our points and bought the milk frother from their website.  The first drink that I made with it was a homemade caramel macchiato.  It was delicious!  :)

Two-Fisted Drinker

(This photo is from February 14th)

Have I mentioned that Hannah is silly?  Today during lunch she decided that she was going to drink out of both of her cups at the same time.  Silly girl!

Kaylee's Birthday

(This photo belongs to February 12th)

This weekend we had another birthday party for another of Miriam's school friends.  This one had a "Tangled" theme, and all of the girls were invited to dress up as princesses.  They played "Hit Flynn with the Frying Pan" and had lots of fun.

Nap Time Hair

(This is the photo for February 10th)

Hannah's hair is getting to be a bit crazy - long enough to brush, too short to do anything with it.  It's especially funny when she wakes up from her nap.  :)

Ladies' Night

Tonight for dinner we had a "girls night out" with our friend/babysitter Bethany.  We went to a local Italian restaurant and then Baskin Robbins for dessert.  Yum!  :)

PWOC Tea Ceremony

(These pictures belong to Tuesday, February 8th)

The Japanese Women's Bible Study ladies sponsored a Japanese tea ceremony during our normal Bible study time.  They showed a video about Christianity in Japan, and it talked about the similarities between communion and the tea ceremony.  In fact, during a period of heavy Christian persecution in Japan, many Japanese Christians took communion disguised as a tea ceremony!  Isn't that amazing?  I have seen a tea ceremony before, but it was neat to see it from a new perspective.

Preparing the tea

Sweets are served before the tea to offset the bitterness of the tea.  These are signs of spring - an orange slice and an "ume" (plum) blossom

My tea bowl

Choking down the Matcha - not something that I particularly care for!

Kayla's Birthday

(These photos belong to February 5th, and were taken by my guest photographer... yeah, I was a slacker last week!)

Joe took Miriam and Hannah to celebrate Kayla's birthday on Saturday while I attended a baby shower.  The girls had fun, and I'm happy to report that Joe survived in tact.  :)

Miriam with the birthday girl

Hannah making new friends

Cupcakes - YUM!

AWANA Awards

(This picture belongs to February 1st!)

Just a quick pic of my T&T kids during our weekly awards at the end of club.  :)