Gift #57- Legos

June is rainy season here in Japan.  It has rained so much over the past few weeks.  I am not sure how I would have been able to keep the kids occupied without Legos!  As I type, Sam and Macy are building with their friends Ty and Ray.   They are singing and making up different variations of the Pillow Pet Jingle.  I love that Sam and Macy's friends feel welcome in our home.  When the rain stops and they venture outside again, these same Legos that I am counting as one of my blessings will probably still be strewn all over the living room floor.  I will do my best to be thankful for them then too.  :0)

This is Jack's prize possession  It is a remote control Lego bull dozer!

Gift #56- A Good Book

I love that Josh loves to read.  It is ok that his favorite series are Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  I love to see him curled up in his bed or on the couch with a good book.

Gift #55- A Full Suitcase

Hank does A LOT of traveling.  He does not love to pack so he waits until the very last minute to throw his suitcase together.  Hank, even more so, does not love to UNPACK.  So after he arrives home from a trip, his suitcase can sit in the floor FULL for weeks.  He unzips it and takes out what he needs each day.  This has been a running joke between he and I for years now.  We have a stand-off to see who is going to unpack the suitcase.  He returned home from Guam a week ago today and his suitcase sits open in our bedroom floor.  Each day he has come home from work and asked "have you unpacked my suitcase yet?"  I just give him the look.  (Ladies, you know the look of which I speak.)  Every now and then I break down and unpack for him.  Not because I do not have the willpower to stick out our stand-off-  I SO do.  But because I know how busy he truly is and how much he really does not enjoy unpacking a suitcase.  Hank is always gracious and says thank you.  He might do a celebratory fist pump in his mind, but he doesn't let on.   I am not sure what I will do with this particular suitcase.  After he reads this post, I am not quite sure what he will do either.  This might be the stand off to end all stand offs.  :0)  Regardless, I will count his full suitcase on my floor as a blessing.  It means that he is HOME where he belongs.

When Hank and I saw this suitcase episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, we came undone laughing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpCr_IkZ7-4

Gift #54- Catching Tadpoles

There is a fun little park not too far from the base.  The park has big shooting fountains and a shallow pool area where the kids can run and play.  There are hundreds of tadpoles in the pool.  The kids love to catch them and throw them back.  Josh likes to catch them, but does not like how they wiggle in his hand.  He must have caught 10, but accidentally squashed most all of them while holding them too tightly.  :0)

Gift #53- Good Luck Charlie on Apple TV

We do not have cable.   No complaints from me.  We are finding that we have a lot more time for other things now and that has been a blessing.  But we have missed our favorite show-  "Good Luck Charlie".  A few weeks ago, Hank bought an Apple TV box.  We were able to instantly download the whole new season of our favorite show!  We made popcorn, cozied up, and watched all 5 of the latest episodes.  We were not disappointed!  My favorite character is the mom- Amy Duncan.  She is hilarious.  Her catch phrase is "Ba-Bamm".  I use that from time to time when I pull brownies out of the oven or hand the kids their lunch boxes, or make toast or match socks or...  Sam and Macy usually laugh.  Jack and Josh roll their eyes.  :0)  We are continuing to enjoy our time here in Japan, but we sure are thankful for the small things that make us feel at home.  Ba Bamm!

Gift #52- Backpack Surprises

I was cleaning out Sam's backpack this afternoon and found this lovely portrait that he drew of me.  Who cares that I have one peg leg and 2 broken arms.  I am carrying a super-cute handbag and I am quite sure that I have super-hero hearing abilities!  Who could ask for anything more.  :0)

Gift #51- A House Full of Laughter

When I asked the kids to sit down on the couch with their dad so I could take a nice picture, this was not quite what I had in mind.  I probably took 15 pictures hoping to get that perfect one, but this was seriously the best one of the bunch!  For a brief second, I felt a little frustrated.  But then I realized the kids were having so much fun that it would have been a shame to make them pose for a "real" picture.  Actually, this is about as "real" as it gets.  Never a dull moment at the Thomas House.  I wouldn't know what to do with myself if there were.

Gift #50- Our Dads

Happy Father's Day!  

Hank and I both were blessed with two of the WORLDS FINEST!

Gift #49- Dad is Home!

You know how I joked last week that I was not sure if Hank would come home from his trip to Guam after he learned that he had all of these crazy kids and pets waiting for him....  Well--  He Did!!!  He made it home yesterday after being gone for a little over 5 weeks.  We didn't let him rest though.  We got up early this morning and went to a professional baseball game.  In the picture above, we are on the tour bus heading to the Yahoo Dome to watch the Fukuoka Hawks!

Gift #48- Bunnies Wearing Samurai Hats

The kids learned how to make origami fish and samurai hats in culture class at school.  Today, Macy decided to make one for Fluffy.  We all laughed and laughed as we chased that bunny around the house and tried to fit a little paper hat on it's head.  We laughed even harder when the bunny finally gave up and "posed" for this picture!

Gift #47- Kindergarten Graduation

Sam and Macy- Kindergarten Cowboy Day

Logos Christian Academy

About 5 years ago this very week, I was at Hunting Island State Park in Beaufort, South Carolina for Jack's Kindergarten graduation.  It was a beach picnic so I was not expecting the children to put on a little program.  Well, they did.  They stood before the parents and sang 'Start spreading the news, we're leaving today.  We want to be a part of it 1st grade 1st grade!" Oh my goodness.  I still get teary just typing it out.  My girlfriend Wendy and I just looked at each other and started boo-hooing!  Our babies were graduating from Kindergarten!  The very next year, Josh put his mama through the exact same torture.  Thankfully, I was a little more prepared.  There were no less tears, but I did bring along tissue and I stood in the back as to not distract.  Today, the youngest of the Thomas Kids graduated from Kindergarten.  In true Amy fashion, a few tears were shed.  Sam and Macy were so proud as they sang "Kindergarten, Kindergarten its time to say goodbye to Kindergarten.  Look at the progress we've made.  Now it's time to go to First Grade."  Oh My-  I get a little teary typing that one out also!  It is the little songs that get me every time!!!  Just imagine how I am going to behave at their high-school graduations!  I will mostly likely need to be medicated.  ;0)  We spent the first 3 semesters in Fallon, NV  where the kids attended Logos Christian Academy.  We made so many wonderful memories there and had a difficult time saying goodbye. I worried that the kids might have a hard time adjusting to their new school, but my worries were relieved when I met their teachers.  They went out of their way to welcome our family.  The kids spent their final semester at MC Perry Elementary School-  Home of the Samurai.  It was a wonderful school year and today we begin enjoying our summer adventures in Japan!

 Sam and Macy's Kindergarten Class at Logos Christian Academy in Fallon, NV.  This little school, it's students, parents, and staff became a part of our family.  It was the very best way that Sam and Macy could have ever begun their school careers.  We love Mrs. Jung!

Sam and Macy with their new classmates at MC Perry Elementary School.  The teachers could not have made us feel more welcome and at home.

We were so blessed to be in Mrs. Lemos and Mrs' Horton's Kindergarten Class

At the graduation ceremony today, in true Macy fashion, Macy won the 

"Great Teacher Helper" Award

In true Sam fashion, Sam won the Class Wiggle Worm Award!  ;0)  That's My Boy!