21 days.

I've been counting down since the day I flew back from Japan on April 10 this year.

That was the last time I held my brand new grand son in Japan. My visit there lasted 10 days but I made the most of it! Little Ray Andrew was born on February 26 (USA) time, February 27 (Japan) time, so he was a little over 1 month old when I first held him. I can't say that I haven't seen him since! Thankfully, via Skype, Facebook and email, I have been able to literally watch him grow. He will be 10 months old when I see him again and even though I fell like I know every inch of his sweet face, mine will be that of a stranger. I am hoping that he will at least recognize my voice...who knows. At 10 months of age, babies are usually fairly aware of people around them and very sensitive to new and strange faces. His initial reaction may not be at all what I expect as a doting grandma...so I will have to be patient. My son, his wife and her brother, will be staying with us for about 10 days! We will be celebrating Christmas together...a first for Naomi who is Japanese and has no idea what Christmas is.



I spent 3 Christmases in Japan when I went to visit my son there. Sadly, even though there are plenty of Christmas decorations, music, and lights everywhere, it is only a "shopping" holiday and nothing more. Ironically, while it's been deemed politically incorrect to say "Merry Christmas" in America, in Japan it is completely fine! In fact, I saw so many banners and signs depicting Mary and baby Jesus that I had to laugh at the irony of it all.

Check out these statistics:

84% to 96% of Japanese adhere to Shinto and Buddhism are not based on self-identification but come primarily from birth records, following a longstanding practice of officially associating a family line with a local Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine. Furthermore, 64% do not believe in God, and 55% do not believe in Buddha. With this said, Japan is a country full of temples and shrines.


My son said that Naomi is curious about Christmas and would like to go to a Christmas eve service at my church. I am so excited about this and am looking forward to sharing the Christmas story with her!

For now, I am in the final 13 days of my semester for grad. school. Three more projects and a final stand between me and a much needed Winter break from classes. To top it off, I off on Christmas break on the 17th from where I work and I can't wait! It's that time of year where a much needed break will not only help me regain some rest but hopefully help to get rid of the bags under my eyes. I can't wait to only be able to focus on getting the house ready and doing some much needed stuff around the house.

I made a list. It's long and dare I say--a bit overly ambitious? But, even if I don't get it all done, I will have fun trying.....right?

I still can't believe that tomorrow is Friday! Where did this week go?

I haven't decorated the house yet...but, hope to at least get the lights up outside this weekend. I have a huge paper due on Monday so unless I finish early, the inside of the house will have to wait until next weekend.