November

November was the busiest month of the year over here. We had a shift in work schedules, a chock full calendar, and a baby who was sick for the very first time. We shared an incredible Thanksgiving meal with our friends here in Japan. And we were lucky to have my parents under our roof the next day for the most delicious second feast, featuring the tastiest Apple Sausage Sourdough Stuffing. Anabel was in heaven having her Grandma and Papa in town, and she still requests to see them every day. We adventured to Mount Fuji and to Tokyo Disneyland. We drank spring water that began at the top of the Mount as snow and spent 80 years melting and traveling to the very bottom to 8 different springs. We met Mickey Mouse and ate too many buckets of curry, and honey, and caramel flavored popcorn. We stood under rows of trees with golden leaves, and shuffled our feet in piles of gold beneath them. I took our family photos, and we were able to order and get our Christmas cards -that doubled as ornaments!- in the mail on time for the first year in...well, ever, I dare say. (We chose to go with Tiny Prints this year!) Our house is now quieting down, and the sickness has been chased away with our trusty oils and humidifier. The holiday season is now in full swing. A tiny wreath hangs on our condo door. Icicle lights dangle above our balcony. A tree that is mostly half-decorated, due to a very helpful toddler running around, illuminates our living room. And just the palpable happiness that sits heavy in the air this time of year is all around us. This country is lit up everywhere you look, and the best Christmas soundtrack plays nearly everywhere you go. November was chaotic and busy and beautiful in its own strange way. I have no doubt December, and even the New Year to come will follow suit.