Gift #164- Home Made Bacon Cheeseburgers

Enough Said!

Gift #163- Base Housing on Halloween Night

Base housing is most definitely the place to be on Halloween night!  The kids totally scored!  They had so much fun going door to door with their friends.  I stayed behind and handed out candy.  Many of the children that came to the door were Japanese.  It was super cute hearing them say "Trick or Treat".  All of the neighbors were out.   The base is so small and everyone knows everyone.  There was such a sense of community.  The kids came home and poured out their loot and counted it and sorted it and traded the things that they didn't like.  I dug into everyones' stashes and stole the Almond Joys and maybe a Snicker Bar or two.  I tried to convince Sam to let me buy his candy for 10 cents a piece.  (Sam on a sugar high is madness.  Come to think of it, Sam not on a sugar high is madness!)  He said "no thanks".  I tried to convince Jack and Josh to pack their candy in our Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes.  I got an even bigger "no thanks" and some serious eye-rolling.   :0)  I knew what the answer would be before I asked, but just had to try.   It was a great night!
Another wonderful memory made in Japan!

On a side note:  The new Caramel Apple Milky Ways are Fantastic! I might have stolen one or two from the kids last night.  They hid their bags from me before they went to school this morning.  :)

                                          Rapunzel and Crash Jr.            Sam and Brandon

 Turbo the Marine Dog all tuckered out on Josh's angry bird costume.

                                      Japanese Kit Kats!                                The Loot!

Look at this sweet little Prince Charming that I found!

Gift #162- Craziness

I am behind once again on my posts.  The days have been completely crazy!   But somehow the Good Lord allows me to thrive in the chaos of the late library book and the mix up at the post office.  He brings laughter through the ketchup packet that sprayed all over Macy's shirt and the spaghetti that came out of the pot in one giant sticky clump.  I am not quite sure what I would do if the bicycles helmets were actually hanging on their hooks outside or if the cereal bowls got rinsed out after breakfast.  I just wouldn't feel needed.  :0)  So today I choose to give thanks for the craziness that is my life.  I thank God for the lost permission slip and the plant cell project that is due tomorrow and the upcoming PTA basket auction and the laundry buzzing in the dryer behind me.  Hopefully tomorrow, I will be giving thanks for the cell project that was turned it on time and for the laundry that is all folded and put away neatly.  But I have a feeling that, instead, I will be giving thanks for the Halloween candy wrappers that are all over the floor and the Scholastic order form that is overdue and the screen door that keeps falling off.  These are all signs of an incredible, crazy, messy, beautiful wonderful life.  I wouldn't change a thing.  Well..  maybe I would change a few things.  Nope-  I wouldn't change a thing!

Gift #161- Popcorn Balls

My Mom made these every year on halloween.  They were one of my favorite treats.  I made them this year for the kids and they were a big hit.   Especially after we watched this Tim Hawkins video.  Please click on this link and watch our favorite comedian share his feelings on popcorn balls!  It will make you smile.

Tim Hawkins on Bad Candy

Gift #160- Candy Corn

Candy Corn and the sweet little sticky hands that dug around in the cabinet and found her mama's candy stash. 

Gift # 159- A Good Pair of Jumper Cables

My Dad bought me a pair of jumper cables just like the ones pictured above for my 16th birthday!  I still carry around those cables.  They are here in Japan with me right now and I may or may not have had to use them yesterday at the post office after leaving my headlights on all night and day.  My dad must have sprung for the good pair of jumper cables because I always get compliments on them from my rescuer.  I blush and say thank you very much just as if they had told me that they like my new purse.  On more occasions than I care to admit, that pair of jumper cables have gotten me home.  A good pair of jumper cables.  A wonderful gift.

Gift #158- A Red Sparky Vest

I wore a red Sparky vest very similar to this one when I was Macy's age.  My Aunt Bobbie was my Sparks leader.  She was always very generous at signing off on my Bible verses.  Thanks Aunt Bobbie.  I love seeing Macy and Sam in their vests on Wednesday evenings.  

Gift #157- Ki-Ka-Yard

Hank planned a very thoughtful and romantic dinner for us on Saturday evening.  His favorite restaurant here in Iwakuni is called Kikutei (or meatfest!)  He recreated Kikutei for the two of us in our own little backyard!  The kids called it Ki-Ka-Yard.   It was delicious and so very heart-warming.  We even had live entertainment-  Sam came out and gave us a demonstration with his light up sword!  I don't think that the sword demo was a part of Hank's original plan, but it certainly added a little something extra!  Thank you Hank.

Gift #156- Ella Grace

Happy 8th birthday Ella Grace Thomas!  You are a precious gift!

Gift #155- A Laugh a Minute

Sam decided to play hide and seek with me outside of the commissary.  Can you find him?   Had it not been for the bright tie-dye shirt, I might not have been able to find him either.  :0)  Never a dull moment with this kid!

Gift #154- Martha Stewart Moments

I made the kids some chocolate chip caramel apples for their after school snack.  I usually just pop some popcorn or throw a few Cheetos their way so I am feeling very Martha Stewart-y right now.  I even used organic apples and all whole food ingredients just because I thought that it sounded like a cool thing to do.  I might have burned the caramel just a tad.  And I didn't have popsicle sticks so I had to use chopsticks, but they did the trick and are actually kind of fun.  The kids are not home yet.  My pretty little apples are sitting on the table waiting patiently.  I think that I might go can some tomatoes or dry some fruit, or knit myself a sweater.  Or maybe I will just sit and enjoy the last few minutes of quiet.    I love Fridays.