December Happenings!

  I hope you like pictures, because our December was very busy, and we took lots, and lots of pictures, and I'm not even attaching them all!!!

Kristen's 16th Birthday!

Grandma Hatanaka and Mama at Church. I think she is one of the most adorable Japanese Grandmas I have ever seen. I love the way her eyes sparkle so when she smiles!

The Christmas program was on the 14th, and we practiced and practiced. Cocoa wanted some attention though. She's so cute! :)

Miho and Emilie decorating the morning of the Christmas program.

Setting up chairs and cushions to sit on.

Practice, Practice!

Chocolate cupcakes, poppyseed muffins, and carrot cake for tea time.

We were playing For Unto Us a Child is Born, and since it was instrumental and most Japanese don't know the words, we were showing slides of Jesus, and his birth, and miracles, etc. That's why it's dark.

Telling the people about a song before we sang it.

Tea time and visiting afterwards

We showed the puppet skit again to those who came late and didn't get to see it.

The next day at church, before the afternoon service, Dad was outside and we dressed up his cello case. ;) Mainly Kristen's doing. ;) It is wearing Kristen's coat, my purse, and even has a pair of slippers. We left it there, and watched Dad to see his reaction once he saw it. ;) He saw it, and kinda paused with this strange look on his face. It was so funny! Inori laughed really hard. :)

On Tuesday, we had English class parties. 

Spritz cookies

Ladies English class party that evening. We did a word puzzle where you have to unscramble the words, and all the words had to do with the Christmas story. Then Daddy went over them, and explained the meaning. Then we had coconut cream pie and apple pie, and visited.

  The next day we went to a nursing home that has invited us the past few years, and sang the Christmas songs and hymns of Jesus' birth that we sang at the Christmas program. This is the only picture we have of any of us singing or playing instruments because it's the only one Dad wasn't in, and he took the picture. :)

We get to go around and greet the dear people there. Some are not able to talk, or understand, but many are and really enjoy visiting.

  I prefer staying with a couple of people, and having an actual conversation with them rather than just going from one to the next, trying not to say the same thing, so I visited with this lady, and the one whose head is turned away. That lady was one of 15 children!

This gentleman is 93 (?), and told Daddy that he has been a Christian for 70+ years! 

Rachel made several plates of really cute spritz cookies, and took them and calendars with Bible verses, and tracts about the true meaning of Christmas to the teachers she teaches with here in Nayoro, and in Shibetsu too!

  I had fun putting together these little packages.  The packet on the left I made for some of my friends, and the one on the right with instant drinks, was for the managers the one in the middle is what the packets look like on the other side. ;) It's the new Christmas tract we got this year. It's much more attractive, the content is really good, and it's more interesting than the ones we've had for years and years!

On the 23rd, we went to Teshio for the Mansell's and their church's Christmas program.

Uncle Ken preaching

After the program and clean up

On Christmas Eve. We went to the Wilhites, Miho's and Inori's and sang a few songs, and took a couple gifts to them. I think Miho and Inori were really surprised to hear singing outside their door. ;)

Then, on the 25th, we had our candlelight service that Kristen already posted about.

  Every year we try to have a time when the Missionaries can get together, and unwind somewhat, and enjoy fellowship, encouragement, food, games, etc. :) This year our Christmas with Friends was on the 26th. The Minks are still on furlough, and Uncle Ken and Aunt Vicki Mansell left for America the day after their Christmas program,  so, it was different in some ways, but almost everyone else was able to come.

Napkins! :) Killing time while waiting for people to arrive!

Inori had the whole day off, so she got to come! It was so much fun! She was quite nervous at first, and although she is pretty good at English, almost everyone who talked to her talked in Japanese, so I think it helped her feel more at ease. She really enjoyed herself.

After lunch, we all gathered together and sang songs, and shared testimonies, and Dad preached about the different people involved in the Christmas story, and how they responded to it all, and how it God used it in their lives.

  After that we played a game that included everyone, and it was SO funny! It's like telephone, only it's with gestures. We had 3 lines going at once, each line doing something different. Dad would tell the first person in the line, and then they would tap the shoulder of the person in front of them, and show them. Then the next person would do the same thing. It was pretty hilarious to see the end results compared to the first, and then go back down the line, having people show what they saw, and see where it got goofed up!

Inori and I having fun visiting with the Evans girls.

Several people who can play portable instruments like to bring theirs and play hymns together. It gets pretty loud in that room!

The community center where we all get together has a ping-pong table, so 'Round the World commenced!

These gatherings are always special. It's nice to get together with missionary kids you haven't seen for a long time, and ones you see often, and encourage each other, and have lots of fun too. The day went way to fast though! :(

 This year, we wanted our family's Christmas to be after all the business, so we enjoyed it on the 30th. So,  some of us were scrambling to try to finish Christmas presents, such as yours truly. :( I got most of them done... Well, they are all done now at least!

Some of Kristen's photography

We don't have a Christmas tree, so we hang our tinsel (garland according to some people ;P) and balls and lights around the house. It makes it so cozy, and inviting! Sitting around the heater with only the Christmas lights on has always been one of my special Christmas memories.

  Grandma's egg noodles were mixed up a few days early, and set on newspapers to dry. Another special memory is after they are all cut and dried, mainly us 3 younger girls would like to snitch a few. Yummm!

  Merry Christmas! Christmas morning, Kristen was downstairs to greet everyone with this hairdo! (It's a wig, just in case you weren't sure). I already knew about it. We kinda conspired together, and beings we are roommates it might have been a little difficult to keep it hidden. So, we smuggled her downstairs, (which wasn't that hard, because no one was in the hallway!) It was funny watching everyone's faces as they came downstairs. :)

 Then! Exactly on our Christmas morning, we got a big box! It was from Grandpa and Grandma Smith! Packages are so exciting! (Unless it's something like English class books! :o{) So, we Skyped them, and they watched us open the box.

  Grandma even made Sweet Trash (above) and peanut brittle, cashew clusters, and cookies etc. for us! YUMMMM!!!!

Grandma and Grandpa!

While we were Skyping with them, the Wilhites came by and caroled to us, and gave us a beautiful Thomas Kinkade calendar!

  After that, we had brunch. VERY unhealthy, I must say! Ann sent us a box, and it was SO sweet of her! Lots of the things in it we had for our brunch. Such as jalapeño Cheez-its, and Fruit roll-ups etc. :) We had cheese and crackers too. Yummy! But, there's a reason we only do this once a year!
  After our brunch, we had family devotions, and Daddy read the Christmas story. It's so special! Amazing too, that God loved us SO much to send his Son to be born, to die for us!

  Then we called Preston and Abi, and Ann (she was there for Christmas and New Years), and got to talk to each of them, and that was really nice!
 After that we opened presents.  I'm very blessed to have such wonderful family! I always have fun deciding what to do for every one. Some are easier than others!

  Our Christmas dinner takes some time to get ready. We use Mama's china, and silver, and set the table all pretty, not to mention preparing the food. Mashed potatoes, Grandma's egg noodles, Cranberry salad, Rolled Chicken Washington, Cresent Rolls, Green Beans, etc.  We have a tradition in our house that Daddy always makes the Rolled Chicken Washington. It is SO yummy!
 This year, we wanted to take some of our Christmas dinner's blessings to the Hatanakas. So, Daddy, Mama, Rachel and Kristen went, and Emilie and I protected the potatoes and noodles from scorching. ;)

Grandma Hatanaka giving Rachel a hug. She's SO cute!!!

Missing Ann, yet having a special time together. We always try to have our Christmas dinner almost candle-light. It's a little bit too dark with only a few on the table, so we had the Christmas lights and a  small light on, but it still was a nice atmosphere.... more special memories... :)

Aaahhh! Christmas yummyness!

Then of course clean-up

After supper, we listened to a new Lamplighter story called 'A Candle in a Window'. Some of us worked on a puzzle, and some of us drank hot cocoa while we listened to it. It's a really sweet story! Almost made me cry! I think we had a pretty special Christmas, and I hope you did too!

  Now, here are some of Ann's December Happenings, since she can't post anything on the blog at college. She's doing very well, and we get to talk to her each week. She had a very busy December too.

In the Heritage Center, where the girls dorms are, there was a contest for decorating their suites. Guess whose suite won? Ann's of course! I was sure it would! She and the girls in her suite decorated it like "Grandma's House". They covered the doors with wrapping paper, hung up their stockings, got some cookie dough, and flour and put it on the table, with a mixing bowl, and rolling pin, etc. They sprinkled Ann's apron with a little flour, gathered the ornaments they could find in their possessions, and decorated their tree. :) And for the tree skirt, they took the Taylor flag, and arranged it so that the 'T' wouldn't be seen. ;) ( They didn't need it then) One of the girls had a really little tree, so they put that on the table, and someone gave Ann a small one too, so that is somewhere in the room as well. I think they did a really good job!

Ann, and an MK from South Africa. They are really good friends. :)

'The Messaiah'

Ann got to sing in the college choir, and they sang most of the songs from Handel's Messiah. It was 3 hours long! Can you see her there in the back row? She really enjoyed it! She and us girls didn't know that when the Hallelujah Chorus is sung, everyone stands up, so they did, and it was really thrilling for her.

Then some of the people from BCM did a play called the Wayfaring Stranger. You can see pictures of it if you go to the website.  http://www.bcmedu.org/index.php/about-bcm/photo-gallery

Ann wasn't able to come home for Christmas, but she was able to go to Preston and Abi's, so that was really nice. Don't they look alike in this picture?

Christmas day!

We got to talk to Ann several times on Skype while she was down there, and while Preston and Abi were at work, Yuki (their dog) kept her company. Yuki LOVED Ann, and she's SO cute!

Well,  that's an overview of our busy/fun December! I hope you enjoyed reading it, and all the pictures!

~Katie~