it's beginning to look...

a lot like christmas!

ben and i have enjoyed our break from work and set up the christmas tree yesterday, made christmas cookies and decorated them today. =) (yum!)



it seems crazy to me that it's almost december! hope you're all enjoying your weekends and recovering from your turkey comas! hehe

happy thanksgiving!

we had ours yesterday, you're having yours today :)
a few things i'm thankful for this year:

-ben is HOME! he made it home a few days ago, and we got to spend thanksgiving together for the first time since we moved here! =) it's so nice to have him around, and it won't be much longer til he won't have to leave for months at a time anymore! WOO HOO!! =)

-this is our last thanksgiving in japan! it hasn't really felt like thanksgiving to me, all 3 years we've been here and away from family and friends, and we're looking forward to being in the states next year to celebrate =) this year, though - we were invited over by some very nice friends we've made here and were able to eat turkey with them, and we're thankful for that as well!

-God is good all the time. we are fast approaching the end of our time in Japan, and while we're so thankful for this, there are a lot of unknowns as well - but we are thankful that God is faithful and we continue to trust in Him.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING friends! we love you! <3

field trip time!

it's been a busy month so far - can't believe next week is thanksgiving!
we took our kindergarten classes to the aquarium today and had a great time!
here are a few pictures :)

we got to see all kinds of fish and turtles and sea creatures






i kept thinking he was making a fish face: :)


we also got to see the fun dolphin show!


and then we ate lunch and took a group shot before heading back to school.


for this month - on facebook - i took a challenge to write something i'm thankful for each day as my status, a good thing to do always but especially this time of year as we get ready to celebrate thanksgiving next week. it's a good practice for me in general too as sometimes it's easy to get sad thinking about how tough things are or how much i miss my husband. i've found it to be a very useful exercise for me to try each morning to focus on something positive that the Lord has blessed me with, because there are so many things that fall into that category! hopefully you're reminded of things to be thankful for today as well. :)

here's something else to be thankful for, in Psalm 121:
5The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7The LORD will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.

october fun in mrs. graves class

on friday we wore our costumes to school and all my kids dressed up except one! (so we dressed him up so he wouldn't feel left out) :) i was a butterfly again...

here we are!


in other news, ben left a few days ago.. :( boo hoo!

it's been busy at school lately - this week is the end of first quarter for us which means teacher work days and parent conferences... "fun" :P

i've been reminiscing the last few days as i've been here hanging out by myself, how this is the third october i've spent in japan. in some ways it's hard to believe we've been here almost 3 years, and in other ways it feels longer. we've sure had a lot of adventures and changes and ups and downs (as life always does, i suppose). thank you for praying for us as we get ready for another big change and leave japan for new adventures!

happy november!