January updates

I really ought to update this more than I do because I end up having to remember all the things.  I've already forgotten half of what happened in February let alone January.  What I do remember is that it was cold.  Japan isn't actually that cold but it's really, really windy.  I get gale alerts on my phone daily and the wind just makes everything so cold. I walk Felicity to school every morning and spend the entire walk there and back wiping tears from my eyes.  I'm pretty sure everyone we pass thinks I'm a really emotional woman because every time they walk by me I've got tears running down my cheeks.  The wind and cold is not a good mixture for my sensitive, dry, eyes.  No amount of eye drops has brought me relief yet, but it's okay.  I'm happy to get out each morning.  I actually think I'll be really sad next year when Felicity has to move to the main campus and ride the bus.  I'll miss my excuse to get out each morning as well as our daily talks.  She literally talks from the minute we leave the apartment until I drop her off.  I love to hear her interesting thoughts.  Most recently, she has been creating games to play with her friends at recess that involve practicing evil laughs, dark magic wands, and dark spell books.  

Okay, so January.  

Will participated in a robotics tournament and their team won.  He has spent a lot of time after school each week working on their robot and winning was really cool for them.  They were invited to a big tournament in TX but it costs so much money for each kid that the entire team decided not to go.  

Will also participates in the philosophy club (as does Isaac) and the brain bowl.  He's a legit nerd.  Haha.  I am so happy that this school has given Will so many opportunities to grow in areas he is interested in.  It's been really fun to watch.  They didn't win the brain bowl but came in second place.  He's got a few more competitions ahead, I think.  The first competition was all day long online.  Every time I'd walk by his room I'd see him with his hands clasped like he was praying--it's his deep thought mixed with anxiety gesture.  

Isaac has been working on studying for the SAT.  He has a few more chances to take it and he's nervous but he's put in a lot of hours of prep so we hope it goes well.  He takes it in two weeks and he hopes to do well enough to not need to take it again.  For years and years Isaac has said he wanted to be a dermatologist.  The big surprise for us this year is that he has discovered that he loves Chemistry.  He's starting to think maybe being a Chemical Engineer is something he'd like more. 

Mike traveled to Singapore and Korea for two weeks in January. We are getting more comfortable with him being gone.  He also got a vasectomy.  Poor guy.  I've had an IUD for three years but some random bleeding led me to the OB and a discovery that the IUD had gone rogue and punctured my uterus.  This happened right before Christmas.  The Japanese doctor wanted to do surgery and we discussed getting my tubes tied because at his point, 1. I'm old. 2. I've had six babies and eight pregnancies. 3. I've been on a lot of birth control and I felt I'd exhausted my options. 4. We aren't having more babies.  We wanted a second opinion and honestly, after Eli's surgery, I really didn't want to have a surgery in a Japanese hospital.  We were able to get on base for an appointment and the OB there was able to take the IUD out without surgery.  That made us start thinking about next steps and Mike offered to get a vasectomy.  That happened between his trip to Singapore and his trip to Australia (that he just got back from).  The procedure went much better than we expected.  He felt traumatized the day it happened and the fifteen minute procedure turned into an hour which had me in the waiting room quite worried, but everything went fine.  

I just want to take a minute to pause and laugh that I just wrote about Mike getting a vasectomy.  I'm not sure who all the twenty people are that read this blog but you are getting some really intimate information about our family.  Haha.

Okay, shifting gears.

Piper is going through a rough patch.  She's growing beautifully but the gowing comes with some pains of the emotional kind.  It's new territory for me since I've only helped boys through this stage so far.  We are learning together and I love her so much.  I hope I'm doing the right things to help her but I think regardless, it's going to be hard for us all for awhile.  She's discovering new talents and making new friends.  She and I had a really good time at a science museum with the kids in her activity days group.  I think I already wrote about us getting lost at the train station and getting snacks at a kombini for an impromptu lunch before getting back at finding our way home.  She loves to go on adventures with me, even if they include getting lost. 

I think all I've missed is Eli.  He's just steady Eli. I honestly can't think of anything of note that happened with Eli in January.  He has a lot of friends and Mike teases his brothers that Eli goes on more "dates" than them.  He is gone a lot--going to the movies, spending the day at Disney, grabbing Ramen for dinner...he's going to make us broke with all his social engagements.  He and Isaac walk to the gym at Mike's work almost every night and he says, "I know you are going to tell me that my body isn't an ornament but dang, it looks good!"  Haha.  He's so funny.  

Well, I think this actually ended up morphing into a January/February post and it's late so I'm going to stop writing.