Welcome to ITO NEWS

I'm going to break up my belated blogging into different sections, the happenings of the last month! Somehow with Baby-kun's arrival coming closer, I have been doing the "nesting" thing and cleaning, organizing, etc. I feel somewhat of an urgency--probably just due to my personality of wanting to be ready whenever. Anyway, the blog has been neglected--sorry.

Back in July we were blessed by a visit from Rita K. and Cheryl H. Andrew K. said I was brave to take a whole van of visitors (we had the Kinsingers come in too) for a Tokyo tour, but looking back, maybe it was kinda dumb of me. Thankfully the only mishap was a run-in with the motorcycle police! I was just about to Asakusa Temple and was trying to figure out this crazy 5 street intersection, when I turned right--at the same time a policeman turned left onto the same street. He pulled me over and told me there was a sign that I couldn't turn right from 8AM to 8PM. I saw no such sign, but know he must have been right--no one else was turning! I did try to get out of it (a bit difficult in Japanese), saying I was a dumb foreigner and not used to driving in Tokyo, but he reminded me that "you have a license" He gave me the ticket, apologizing that it "hurt a little". Anyway, we had a nice time together--here's a picture of part of our gang. You can check the Kinsinger's blog for more pictures--I need to ask Wanda if I can put a link on our page! The other girl is Kimberly Lehman, Jana's helper for a few months this summer.

We also got together with some of two of Akihiro's friends from medical school--Gen and his little girl Momoka and Ai and her son Shuntaro. They were so cute and we enjoyed our lunch with them very much.

Dear Marie Inoue hosted a baby shower at her home for me. There were about 23 in attendance--church people and Tokyo ladies' meeting attendees. The older Klaus girls had made a diaper baby cake for the occasion! As I am well outfitted with hand-me-downs from Jana and a few others, they gave me money--probably will go to buy diapers and practical things! We played a hilarious game where there were two different types of chocolate crushed in two diapers. The diapers were passed around and everyone could smell and look (no tasting!) at the contents and see if they could name the type of chocolate. It was funny to see these rather classy ladies putting their nose in an open diaper! It was KitKat and Pocky!

Speaking of Baby-kun, he continues to be a very active little guy. His activity and presence have really made me consider turning into a nudist! Poor Akihiro about freezes at night as I crank down the thermostat in our room. He said it was ok if I lower it, just so I give him an extra cover! At the last doctor appointment, his approximate weight was 2 kg! He's probably bound to be a big boy as his daddy was 4.2 kg--over 9 pounds. The other day I was doing my daily walk over to the house to check on the progress and I have to pass through a gate. It just so happened that there was another person passing through about that time. Well, I thought if I turned sideways I wouldn't take up so much room--wrong! I think my depth is larger than my width these days! My belly button is definitely an "outie" now. We had a funeral a few weeks ago and I was scrounging around for some black clothes. It was ok except my belly button protruded a bit. I tried putting a bandaid over it, but didn't suceed. I had a jacket to wear over it, so I don't think it was too noticeable! I am still eating small frequent meals--not much room in my belly for a full stomach, I guess, thus resulting in at least two "feedings" during the night--thus the tupperware of mixed nuts and raisins in our toilet room! Another discovery I made is that my abdomenal muscles have separated, which is why I was having some strange superficial pains. If anyone else had this ever, could you email me? It is no harm to baby, but post delivery I guess can sometimes result in some challenges as those muscles grow back together!

I've got my bag pretty well packed for the birthing clinic! As of this coming Sunday I will be 34 weeks! They gave me a list of things to bring, thus I have acquired some pretty interesting Japanese underclothes and pajamas! Don't worry--no pictures! I would appreciate prayers for a safe and smooth delivery--it makes me nervous enough to have my first baby, let alone in a foreign country where my language skills aren't the greatest yet!

We took Akihiro's secretary and fairly regular church attendee, Biren-san, her two boys, Kotaro and Koushin, and an elderly woman, Iwama-san, another regular church attendee (85 years old!) to Hakodate. Iwama-san had never been to the north island and had mentioned she would like to go many times. So, we hit a few birds with one stone and took a group. It was a lot of fun. We tried to go squid fishing, but only caught one--later we heard from Akihiro's dad that the squid had run away because of some bigger fish in that area. The boys got sea sick and slept for quite a bit of the time, but the ladies had a nice time--it was their first time to go fishing on the ocean! Biren-san caught an anemonae (?sp).

We also did some sightseeing and ate lots of good food. It was fun to see them experience how much more delicious the fish is from this north area than the Tokyo area. One night Akihiro's dad took us to a restaurant known for its extra big breaded shrimp. These things were huge--at least 10 inches, I would say! We all ate too much, but enjoyed it!

It was a trip of many "firsts" for Iwama-san. Can you believe she had never taken a shower before?! In her old style Japanese home, there is only a bath. She asked us how to use the shower in the hotel! She also had never used a hair dryer. It was fun to see her bravely challenge these things at 85 years old!

Dad had been taking a second line of chemotherapy but it was found this week that the cancer was not responding like we had hoped. The doctor is recommending a two week break at which time he would offer Dad the option of an oral cancer drug that isn't really chemo and has more tolerable side effects. Dad, John, and Jim will meet with the doctor in two weeks to learn more about it and most likely start it. The doctors are still amazed at how good Dad checks out--no signs of cancer could be detected on physical examination! The weakness and neuropathy are side effects of the chemotherapy. We appreciate your ongoing prayers.

For our fourth anniversary, we went to a beautiful French/Italian place. The food was delicious and served slow enough that my stomach could keep up with it. We reminisced about our engagement and wedding and talked about being a “family” instead of a “couple” next year at our anniversary—Lord willing. I am so thankful for my dear hubby who has become my best friend who I can easily respect and love!

For my birthday, Akihiro took me to a restaurant we have been curious about. It had the feel of a very old Japanese inn. We had our own little room with a nice view of a little Japanese garden. The best thing was the delicious trout, though—three different types that we grilled over hot coals in front of us.

I thought this little statue guy was kinda cute!

It brought back memories from our honeymoon in Colorado where Akihiro did a similar thing with some trout he caught by fly fishing. On another note, I did not expect to deal with the emotions of Mom’s absence on my birthday. I guess I haven’t put too much emphasis on birthdays since becoming an adult. I was reminded, though, by my mom’s sister’s very thoughtful card how mom always sent a carefully picked-out and meaningful card. My aunt’s card resulted in a bit of a meltdown, but that is ok—I’m used to “meltdowns” by now! The things you least expect can bring up lots of grief emotions. I had been warned to expect this and now truly understand—from smelling fresh green beans cooked the same way mom did—with butter and onions—to using her sewing machine. Well—enough on grief—today is a good day and Baby-kun is kicking me—as if to say—“I can’t wait to get out of this tight place and meet you all!” So thankful for this little guy who gives me such hope!

Our house is really starting to take shape. This week they put the frame up! It has been really interesting to see how they build things here. A crane came two days and lifted the beams up and the carpenters put them in place with big wooden mallets. Mostly they bolt the beams together. The wood is all precut at a factory and then numbered. The carpenters just have to put the "puzzle" together. I am thankful that it is all up and that they are safe--they climbed around on that frame like monkeys!

Catching up from before--The final basement concrete has been poured.
The second time was over the round tubes. Then they built some rebar walls that will support the walls in the house. Next, they poured the walls. It seems that any time they went to pour concrete, we got rain. One day it looked like our house's crawlspace was going to turn into a swimming pool! They had to pump it out several times.

The pictures will hopefully go in order--I should have posted a long time ago!

The concrete went in by this crane type truck.

This is our yard--up until all the junk on the right side. We will have some parking, and hopefully some garden too.

They had to bring a bigger crane to do the second day--I could see it as I walked from our house to there!

Yesterday they put up the flat pieces on the roof--it brought back memories of when a good friend and I went on the work team down in Florida--nail guns and all! If I wasn't pregnant, I would be tempted to go up there and show them myself! They also put up these guards around the house. These will be up for the duration, I believe. Because the other houses are so close, this protects the other houses.