Our Snow Festival in Nayoro

Hello!  This is Emilie, and I'm so sorry that this is old news. I meant to post it awhile back, but was wanting one more picture, and sadly procrastinated.  But here it is!
   ~ February 3rd thru 8th ~
 I'd like to tell you about our busy annual Snow Festival that comes at the beginning of each February!
  The Lord has allowed me to be a part of it the last 3 years and now this year. There is always an international and University student Snow Sculpting competition, and I was asked to help with the interpreting (not interrupting - don't get me wrong! Was too nervous too interrupt anyone anyway. ;) )  
 This was my 2nd year to be one of the main interpreters. They were short on volunteers this year, and so I was scheduled to be there everyday. It's hard to believe that I was the main interpreter for such a big event! Other's could have done much better, I'm know! But it was the Lord's will for me, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity He gave me. :) First, was translating into English at the Competition Rules Explanation meeting. Then mainly I interpreted from Japanese to English at mealtimes during the competition, when there was a greeting from an executive or manager of a group, club, company, etc., who were catering the meals, then for each of the captain meetings. I felt a little more calm this year. :) At meal times it was basically the same kind of greeting each time - 'Glad you have come...we are looking forward to your beautiful creations...stay warm, healthy... hope this meal warms you and gives you energy to continue on..." ;)  It always sounds prettier or more polite in Japanese! I did my best to say it, but, I definitely needed the Lord's help, and am so thankful that He did help!
  It's always fun to see the sculptures take shape! The snow has to be so hard, and packed together, and it is a lot of work, especially when the snow blocks are 3m. squared, and for the university students who haven't had as much experience. They all worked hard!
  Unfortunately, I forgot to take the camera with me some of the days. :( Sorry! I took several with my simple cell phone, so they aren't very good quality.

Mizuki and I (I met her for the first time this year.
She speaks English and Korean, so it was nice to have her there for the Koreans.
I'm never sure which they speak better, Japanese or English. ;) )
 I was able to give Mizuki a gospel tract.

Pretty balloon arch waiting for the teams to arrive for the welcoming supper.

 At the entryway into the dining hall for the welcoming supper.
 The girl on the left has the same name I do in Japanese. :) 

 This was something interesting I hadn't actually seen before. It was called nagashisoba. They run water down the trough from a hose, and then run the soba (thin wheat noodles) down the water, and those who want some grab it with their hashi (chopsticks) as it goes by. :) Kinda fun

Full of delicious food!

The next day competition started at 9:00 AM with a bang - fireworks to announce it!

Off to work everyone was! I did not come till close to noon. This is a picture from the first day, that we cut out of the newspaper. This was the break/noon and supper meal room during the competition.

Left to right, Korean team, Spain team, Black Forest Germany Team. In the back is the main stage  with the ice slides and tube slides to the left and right. Big hit for kids!!

Nayoro Team - can't exactly remember what it was supposed to be.

Two more pictures in the newspaper of the 2nd day.  

First one is interpreting for the manager of the Duskin

cleaning and rental company who always caters katsukare (pork cutlet curried rice). Mmm!

The next picture was a money gift presentation to the teams from the 'International Cultural Exchange Promotion Association', or whatever they would be called in English! I was puzzled trying to figure that one out before we started. 

  Last day of catering, also in the paper. (It was kind of nice to show my family what it looked like, since I couldn't take pictures right then, and forgot the camera anyway! :) ) This was the Rotary Club I had to translate for this time. I'm still not sure what all they do... I'm not familiar with all the 'clubs' and groups in town.

Waiting for the captain meetings. 

Just after the ending fireworks went off.  They're finished!
The one in the foreground was called Space Castle, by another German team.

These three are by Japanese teams. 

All the teams lined up for the Judging Results and Award Ceremony.
Sorry it's so fuzzy!

Like the octopus?

Here are the finished products of a few.

One German team gave me a little pretty clock from Germany to thank me for my help. I thought that was very kind of them!

  I am very thankful for this opportunity the Lord gave me. It was good to be out among the people in this way. For some reason, I rarely see the other volunteers during the rest of the year, due to their schedules and different work, but I pray that the Lord will work in their hearts through the tracts they received, and that He might bring me across their path sometime again. Each of the teams received tracts and cookies from us, as well. It's exciting to think that the gospel, though in a small form, was taken back to their cities, and countries around the world. :)

Butterscotch chips on the pinecone! :)

Happy 24th Emilie!!!

To a wonderful loving sister!

Emilie............. that name says so much to me! Helpful, makes you laugh,

a hard worker, a pianist/piano teacher, roommate, patient, kind, 

lover of studies:), and a special friend!!

I love you Emilie! There is some much more that could be said..........

Thank you for being a steady Light for the Lord to all your students, 

and those around you! You are very special!

Proverbs 31:30

~Rachel~

Happy Birthday Emilie!

Happy 24th Birthday Emilie!!!!

Thank you for being a wonderful friend, and for always being there! We love you SO much. You are a very special part of our family. Thank you for your encouragement, and always being ready to laugh. You are a dear sister. <3

Valentine's Day!❤️

         I have always thought that Valentine's Day is such a cute holiday! This year I thought it would be fun to do something more than we have before. I saw some ideas for Valentine's day that I couldn't resist trying, and eventually, I had quite a few ideas that I thought would be fun to surprise our family with on Valentine's day morning.
        The more I thought about what I was wanting to do, I thought, "Hmmm, I'll have to get up extremely early if I want to get this done before everyone gets up!" I told Katie about my ideas, and asked if she would want to do it with me!?  When she said she would, we started coming up with more ideas together about it!
        For weeks, I scrounged up the things we would need like balloons, paper heart chains, sheets, home-made heart-shaped candles, teddy bears, tulle, and other sundry ingredients to the eatables that we planned to make, while people weren't around, and tucked them in our closet. :) A few times, I thought for sure somebody would see them, but they really didn't! It's surprising more information didn't slip out than it did! :D I asked Dad for some stiff wire. And Thursday morning when he generously stopped cello practice to find me some 2 meters worth of stiff wire, he handed me the wire cutters along with it, telling me that that would be the tool I would need when I needed to cut it. A rather perplexed expression crept onto his face when I happily told him I wouldn't need to. ; ) I excitedly took it upstairs, and hid it in the closet.
       When Katie came home from work, and I had just finished my school, we started preparing. : ) I wrote a list of the things we needed, and where we would decorate them. Katie was mixing and chopping things for her Valentine's day ice cream!! At the same time, I was sitting against the door working on balloons! So much fun. :D

 She put cashews, red food coloring, marshmallows, and heart shaped chocolates in it! I think cashews are perfect for ice cream. They are so soft, and don't get stuck in your teeth! The marshmallows don't freeze hard either! :) It was really yummy!

 The food coloring made neat swirls in the melted ice-cream before it was totally mixed in.
 So, Thursday night came and I ended up going to bed at precisely 11:50.  Can you guess what time Katie and I got up?? :D  I set my alarm clock for 3:50 and Katie set hers for 4:00. I actually didn't have a hard time waking up! (unlike usual) :] But never mind about that, I got up when my alarm clock went off!! ;D We had decided to match our clothes, and do our hair in a heart, so we did that as quietly and quickly as possible, and I attempted to quietly deplete the stash in our closet by taking it downstairs little by little, while Katie kindly ironed the white sheet. The door at the top of the stairs was so generous to squeak every time I went through it!! }:] I thought for sure Rachel or Emilie would hear it because their door was slightly open. But, if they did, they didn't wake up! :) Finally, we got everything downstairs, and started by putting these two teddy bears with hearts on the heater, and bookshelf.

Next, we hung up the sheet, and the paper chain hearts. The top hearts got really skinny because of all the weight pulling on them. :/ O-well the ones on the bottom were alright. :)

I

Sshhh! don't tell anyone that I was standing on the furniture!! 

                                              Making yummy heart-shaped caramel rolls.

By the time we had finished decorating, we had heard some movement upstairs! We were trying to be  quiet as mice!! When we thought that someone would open the door to the stairs, we would quickly shut off the light, and hope that they did NOT hear us.

                          Floating candles (although it was already day-light) added a nice lighting!

One of the ideas that I had up my sleeve, was to make parfaits! It was SO much fun!!! They were mocha parfaits. (I will attach the recipe at the bottom of the post)  I realized I didn't have enough whip cream for it, so I had to go upstairs to ask Rachel if I could use a little of her whip cream in the freezer. I didn't want to let on that I was doing anything out of the ordinary, but when do I wake up my older sister, and ask for some whip cream?!! ;D Don't worry, It was 6:50 by the time I went to ask her. She graciously said I could use half of it in exchange for some strawberries that I would give her.  So that worked out nicely. : )

                                                                  During Breakfast

 It was so fun to finally get all the mousse stuff squeezed into the flute glass, and shave chocolate onto the top, and add the strawberry, and pocky sticks.
A couple of weeks before Valentine's Day, I got the flute glasses at a place like a dollar store. But when I told Katie that I had, she looked horrified and worried, and was giving me the face of "Why did you do that??!! Those are wine glasses!"  I said, "I made sure to tell the clerk that I was planning to make parfaits for Valentine's Day." ;)  "But," she continued, "now, anyone who looks in our cupboard will think we drink wine!!" So finally we came to an agreement that we would put the glasses some where else when we weren't using them. ;D It was rather funny.

                                At Breakfast we found some goodies of chocolate from mom and Dad. :)

We were matching, so Mom took our picture.

Later on, at supper, Rachel dished up a piece of special pie for each of us, that she had made! It was very yummy. She made it with strawberries, strawberry ice cream, yogurt, and some other ingredients. ;)

Emilie gave us each a bag of little chocolates and and maple cookies! They were very yummy too, and were eaten up quickly. ;D

We ended up eating Katie's Special ice cream a couple days later, because of the other deserts, and treats that we were surprised with that day. :) When she handed us the bowl, she had drizzled a shape of a chocolate heart over top of the ice cream. It was very cute and yummy! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Mocha Parfait

• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon shortening
• Chocolate jimmies
• 3 tablespoons half-and-half cream
• 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• LATTE CREAM:
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
• 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

Nutritional Facts

1 parfait equals 606 calories, 50 g fat (30 g saturated fat), 234 mg cholesterol, 48 mg sodium, 40 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 5 g protein.

Directions

1. In a microwave, melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip rims of four parfait glasses in chocolate; sprinkle with jimmies. Let stand until set.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the cream, egg yolks, vanilla, coffee granules and remaining chocolate chips. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture reaches 160° or is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Cool, stirring several times.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve coffee granules in 1 tablespoon whipping cream. Add remaining cream; beat cream mixture until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar; beat until soft peaks form. Fold 1-1/2 cups of cream mixture into cooled chocolate mixture.
4. Spoon about 1/4 cup chocolate mousse into each parfait glass; spoon or pipe about 1/4 cup cream mixture over mousse. Repeat layers. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Yield: 4 servings.

I'm also attaching the caramel roll recipe.

I hope you all had a very special Valentine's Day!

~Kristen~