Thanksgiving and the start of Advent

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving is always a hard holiday to be away from family... however, we marvel at how the Lord has provided "family" here in Osaka. We remain grateful for the opportunity to spend a day praising and thanking God for His many blessings.

playing Jenga while we waited for dinner. We may have hit a new record with 32 rows!

Phillip and Ponga carving the birds! They were delicious and Jeph was esp. excited to be able to have enough leftovers for a turkey sandwich the following day.

Here we are skype'ing with Andrew and Amberly. They spent the weekend together in Cambridge (Amberly had to work). Kristin was graciously welcomed into the Ernst family festivities in PA. Although it was sad to not be all together, it made us that much more excited for when we are all together later this month!

First week of Advent

Here's a pic of our Advent wreath-Osaka version. Advent has always been one of my favorite seasons (I love having time set aside to prepare our hearts for the celebration of the birth of our King and Savior ) and it has also become a favorite family tradition as well. Each night during the four weeks leading up to Christmas, we light a candle(s), take turns reading special Scripture passages, pray and end by singing Christmas caroles and hymns.

I have to admit, this season of Advent is the time I miss being gathered around our dining room table more than ever, yet we rejoice! Not only do we have the kids' upcoming visit to look forward to, but far greater, the time when we will celebrate His return- Come quickly, we pray!

Joy to the world.. the Lord has come!

Small World/Big News

Yesterday, Jeph and I had the pleasure of having lunch with one of Amberly's co-workers! Mutsi is originally from Osaka and she and her hubby have been living in NH for the past 17 years. She started work at Youville Hospital about 6 months before Amberly and has been such a wonderful support for Amberly-and has really been like a second mom. What a treat for J and I to see her here- made the world seem so wonderfully small!

Below is a picture taken from last week's West Line Dancing Bash we had at school- it's so fun having a job that allows me to play with my obsession for themes! Speaking of my job, I am humbled and grateful that the "interim" has been removed from my job title and I have been offered a permanent position! So... looks like we'll be here in Osaka for a few more years!

With much to be thankful for, we'll soon be heading off to church where we'll be celebrating an early Thanksgiving, complete with turkey (thanks to a Costco here in Osaka!), mashed potatoes and I've heard rumors of pumpkin pie!

Minoh Waterfall

This past week included a first-time visit to the Minoh Waterfall. We enjoyed a great hike and the start of seeing momoji (fall leaves).

not really sure where to go... which is the way to the road less traveled??

The waterfall!

Jeff and I at the half way mark up to the waterfallAlong the road leading up to the waterfall, there were lots of little shops selling food, souveniers, etc. Here are some "fish on a stick".... and nope, we didn't try any this time!

October Highlights

It"s hard to believe that October has come and gone.... still not sure I'll ever understand the passing of time but we do remain thankful that we know the One who holds us in His hands!

A few highlights from the month:

this pic was taken along one of J's favorite trails. It's a park bench, designed to prevent folks from sleeping on it! Guess that is one way to handle the situation!?

Here's J with his new scooter. We really do love scooting around, esp. to and from school!

Yep, pink toilet paper. A first for Japan! (and it is soft too!)
In keeping with a tradition that began long ago, J has gotten the entire math department (total of 2!) here at OIS to join in the fun of dressing up for Halloween! Here's to the world's greatest nerds!

Last week, we hosted an in-house college fair where our students were exposed to the 43 colleges/universities around the world that our faculty attended. It turned out to be a great event and I think the teachers enjoyed it as much as the students. (This is just one of the things I get to do as the counselor! It's a great job!)
Jeph contacted West Virginia University (where he got his Master's) and they sent a huge box, filled with all kinds of admissions "stuff"- pens, post-it notes, flyers, CDs, brochures, stickers, etc. His booth definitely looked the most professional and I wouldn't be surprised if a few students ended up applying as a result! Go Mountaineers!

Another big event that took place in October was Sports Day. (this is a BIG deal in Japan) As the Senior Class Advisor, J was part of the (winning!) RED team-

The Elementary School also participated in Sports Day and enjoyed some none-competitive fun games. I was a member of the Green team.

In the midst of the craziness of school, we remain grateful for our church and the fellowship that we share there. J has been leading the Sunday morning English Bible Study/Sunday School. We've been enjoying Philip Yancey's video series on The Jesus I Never Knew. It's a great study!

Below is a little "sample" of our worship here in Osaka. The song, Amazing Grace, was sung during part of an engagment ceremony (which explains the young couple standing in front of the pulpit!)

Now that our coaching duties are behind us, we hope to be more frequent bloggers and look forward to being in touch! Happy November!