hello again! Sorry I'm a little late with my smile list this week... I went to Kobe yesterday and didn't get back until 3 am! But, here's what made me smile last week:

-people who talk to me in complete Japanese, thinking that I can understand them... I'm looking forward to the day when I can!

-bowling... and losing terribly!

-discovering another difference between my American teammates and I... they've never heard of 5 pin bowling!

-Masuyuki san's hilarious antics... never a dull moment around! (one example was when he played a bird noise on his iphone and hid it and then looked around the restaurant pretending to look for a bird... what a goof!)

-other peoples' smile lists... and knowing that I was part of what made them smile!

-Josh Groban's Christmas carols :)

-wondering why my flowers were starting to droop and then realizing that I forgot to put water in the vase! DUH! (yes, I actually laughed out loud at myself!)

-warm, cozy sweaters... and getting them for free!!

-new warm fleece pyjamas from Yumi :)

-inheriting a kotatsu from Bobby... I had no idea what I was missing out on!! It is the best invention for winter ever!!

-understanding more and more Japanese!

-grown men drinking out of dainty little tea cups!

-getting dressed up for the Christmas luncheon

-breakfast dates

-attempting to make a little boy smile only to make him cry and cling very tightly to his Mom for the next hour!

-a sweet little baby girl dancing along to Christmas carols :)

-getting an Il Divo Christmas CD from one of my students!

-realizing that I no longer have to lesson plan because I'm done teaching!! (except for my kids' class on Saturdays)

-getting a calendar from my gas company

-getting a letter and Christmas card from my Grammie in the mail :)

-getting a Christmas card from one of my students that was not written in (he wrote his message on a separate paper!)
...hmm I "got" a lot of things this week!

-hearing one of Amy Grant's Christmas songs playing in the grocery store :)

-finally finishing my triple batch of candy cane cookies for my students!! (Remind me never to do that again!!)

-"Friday Night" fun and games :)

-going to Kobe with 2 of my students on a bus tour

-the way that each passenger says "good morning" and "thank you" to everyone else on the bus as they get on and off (at the beginning and end of the trip)

-a lady saying "cake! cake! cake!" while chasing after the hotel staff who was bringing out a tray of cake to add to the buffet

-the way my mouth just automatically gapes open when I sleep!

There ya have it! I'm pretty sure there was lots more from my trip that made me smile, but I didn't write them down :( I have to say that my creativity is running low at the moment since I'm running on very little sleep! It's been a very busy week... with another one coming up too, but I'm still thankful for the many things I've got to smile about.

Just 6 weeks from today, I'll be going to church at Elim again! (if I can get out of bed that morning since I get home the night before!) It's exciting, but also pretty sad all at once. I'm of course looking forward to seeing friends and family again, but there's a lot of unknown's ahead and that's not so enjoyable for me! But, I'm thankful that I have someone to trust to lead my paths. I know He'll make things known to me as necessary so I've got nothing to fear!

I should get going since I've got quite a few little projects to work on tonight! Have a great week!