I was reading through my blog looking for something I had written about the girls and it was so much fun! I had forgotten some of the cute things the girls had said and a few of the parenting struggles we'd gone through. As I was reading I realized that I should keep up this "recordkeeping" in some shape or form. I was cleaning out our loft and I came across my baby book. My mom wrote a lot about my first year and then after that for birthday or other events she would write little snippets of what I was like at that age. I'm sure my youngest brother would be shocked to learn that "it was heartwarming to see how much Sarah takes care of Joel". I know I was! So even though it may be of no interest to anyone but me and my family I am going to try and continue to write about our lives.
2010 has proved to be a more interesting year than I anticipated in all sorts of ways.
January- recuperating from the holidays
February - a bad throat infection for me, another febrile seizure for Natsuki
March - went to visit my brother and his family in Arizona for Spring Break, got another throat infection
April - school starts (Emi - 4th grade, Misaki - 3rd grade, Sakura - kindergarten), my doctor runs some tests and discovers that I have hyperthyroidism (my dad had this when he was about my age), Natsuki gets chicken pox
May - Golden Week (awesome!), get a reaction to the first medicine for hyperthyroidism, Natsuki figures out how to use the toilet!
June - Chikara tears his Achilles Tendon playing basketball and has to have surgery to repair it, Natsuki has another febrile seizure this time because we all contracted Hand Foot Mouth Disease! She also is completely potty-train, even wearing panties at night. Yeah!
July - I have an allergic reaction to the second medicine for hyperthyroidism, Chikara continues physical therapy for his leg and fortunately is still able to go to work since it is his left leg that was injured, also I had a minor car accident while borrowing my friend's car
August - found out that the DMV will accept my driver's license (long story) so I'm on the way to getting my Japanese driver's license. Just a driving test left to pass! To top it all off, our car starts acting weird and now it overheats if we use the A/C.
So that's the first part of 2010 in a nutshell. Amazingly even in the middle of the craziness God really protected us. For example, we were informed that it would cost around $2000 (after insurance) for Chikara's surgery but it ended up costing only $500. Phew! Also the guy on the bicycle that ran into me when I was completely stopped in my friend's car never made a claim. Double phew! Through everything I find the most exhausting part was just all the thinking and planning and coming up with answers for every possible scenario. Also, usually I'm pretty healthy but with the hyperthyroidism, although not severe, still made me tired and the allergic reactions were a huge distraction. But we made it this far in one piece and the kids have been very helpful. So glad we didn't have to take care of a baby through all of this!
We still have a few hurdles in front of us. We will be going to the my doctor on Tuesday. There are no more types of medicine to treat my hyperthyroidism so the next step is using radioactive iodine to kill off part of my thyroid and if that doesn't work then I'll have to have surgery to remove part of it. We'll see what happens on Tuesday. Also, our car is acting weird so instead of buying a new car in October like we planned we'll have to do it now. I hate making rush decisions so I'm praying that we find the perfect car for us quickly. Lastly, I need to pass the driving test to get a Japanese driver's license within August. We're just too busy from September for me to be going over there all the time. For those of you who don't know, the driving tests in Japan are killer. There is just a certain way they want you to drive the course and if you don't do it exactly right then the tester just sends you back to the beginning without an explanation. Fingers crossed that everything goes well on the 13th.
What else can I say? I have been very thankful for my friends during this time and of course my family supporting us through the phone!
Please enjoy these pictures of us...
 |
| November 2009 - Our First Trip to Disneyland |
 |
| March 2010 - Most of my family together in Arizona! |
 |
| August 2010 - The girls in their yukatas for a summer festival |
Well, that's it for now.
8 comments:
I'm really glad you posted.
I think this has been a busy year for you and your family and definitely many hurdles to overcome. Though I knew about Chikara's surgery through our email. I want to say again, that I hope he fully recovers, also so glad the surgery was $500 versus the $2000.
I hope you can get the hyperthyroidism undercontrol with treatment. I'm so sorry you are having to go through this.
Cars do find the worst time to break down sometmes don't they? ; ) I hope that you guys find a good car.
And having gone through the driving test myself. I want to wish you luck. I know you can do it Sarah. : )
PS, loved all the pictures. You have such beautiful girls. And your family reunion in Arizona looked really nice. Your family seems like real good people.
Yeah, it was great to hear from you! I remember that Gina had a great post about getting her driver's license! Maybe that would help you too!
Glad you've decided to start posting again. Your girls are just beautiful. 4th Grade - that must be about 10y is it? Thats a milestone.
What a full on year your family has had so far. Is Hyperthyroidism an overactive thyroid? A friend had that it seemed to be quite a lot to deal with, even harder for you if you are allergic to the drugs :( Good luck for the next appointment.
And good luck for the driver test and the car search. We have a Honda StepWagon and it is pretty good and very roomy. Definitely big enough for a family of six :D
Hi Sarah!
Sounds like you guys have been having A Very Busy Year so far. That's the best kind! :)
Well, we're catching up to you in the kid department -- Cara just had a boy 6 weeks ago. I was hoping for another girl, but I suppose a boy is ok, too.
We also moved back to Canada for a year or so. Although I haven't bumped into your sister or mother/father yet, Cara did. Too bad they live way out in Chillowacky Town.
Perhaps one day we'll swing by and visit you guys in Japan. That would be fun!
(Say hi to Chikara.)
Gina- thanks for the encouragement! Chikara took his driving test at the same place I'm going to so he's been giving me lots of inside info. Hopefully things will go well.
Kim- I've been enjoying reading about all the reverse-culture shock going on in your move back to the US. I'm praying for you!
gaijinwife- you must have a real name! Emi will be 10 in December and the tween attitude is definitely coming out. Hyperthyroidism is an overactive thyroid but fortunately mine is mild, it was found on accident so I'm lucky in that way. My husband and I have been fighting over what kind of car to get next. I wanted an Estima and he wants an MVP but all of that is moot since we have to get one right away on a little lower budget than planned. We'll probably get another Odyssey because besides 6 people we also have to be able to fit Chikara's guitars in!!
Henri- Congratulations on your son! People still ask us if we're going to try again for a boy so you should be happy that you have both sexes covered! Next time we'll definitely be going to Chilliwack so we will plan to get together. Is Cara still writing on her blog? I guess now with Facebook it doesn't really matter. Take care!
Wow, how did Henri beat me to commenting? That's weird. I was just going to say that I am happy you are posting again (as I don't see you much on FB) and it's somewhat inspired me to get back to my blog. :) Also I am so jealous that Natsuki is potty-trained! I guess she's been watching her sisters do it for long enough that she just "got it"? I hope we do get to catch up in person one of these days. Your mom and sister came to my shower and a couple of my friends thought that Hannah was my sister. :) I hope all goes well at the doctor and getting a new car. We're still squishing us all into a VW Golf believe it or not. Crazy times, but cheaper than forking over for a minivan. We'll see how long that lasts.
I was wondering where super mom was. With all that going on I must say that you are looking fantastic! Great hair. The girls are lovely. I have my fingers crossed that this last quarter of 2010 is a breeze for you and your family.
Although I already know all those crazy things that happened to you, when I read them all in one list it's amazing! How are you even sane? The thing that is equally amazing is that the kids don't seem to be bent out of shape by all this hoopla. You must be doing something right. I'm proud of you guys for continuing to put one foot in front of the other in spite of the hassles.
Post a Comment