I’m not sure if it’s because we’ve been in Japan for a few days, or the fact that she is jetlagged and didn’t take a nap, but something deep inside Chloe was awakened last night.
It started at 5:30pm just before dinner when I felt the Earth shake. I thought it might have been an earthquake, but then I looked at Chloe’s face and saw that her tired puffy eyes started glowing red.
After our trip to the doctor, I was hopeful that things would improve. But I kind of figured it was going to get worse before it got better. It seems that things always happen that way.
Well, it turns out all of Ellie’s whining during the plane ride was for a very good reason. When we put Ellie to bed that first night, she had a mild fever. And by morning it had blossomed into a full-fledged cold complete with runny nose, sore throat, and a cough. I guess all that excitement finally caught up with her.
To complicate matters, Chloe also had a fever and a cold started by morning. Oh boy, our 2014 Japan Christmas Extravaganza was off to a rough start!
I love shyabu shyabu! It’s like Japanese fondue. This was one of my first meals that Aya’s mom cooked when I visited and met her parents for the first time 12 years ago. Other than sushi two or three times and some miso soup, I had never really had much Japanese food before I visited them, and I loved everything!
We are very grateful and excited to be spending the holidays with Aya’s family in Japan this year. However, a long (did I say long? Because I mean long) international flight can bring about a certain level of anxiety. And based on our experience during our last visit just over three years ago, complete with strangers asking to pray for us, we had every reason to be nervous making this journey again, especially since we would be traveling with not one child, but two this time.
