My Little Star Player...

This is my daughter Ju Ju. She's been playing soccer since September and she got the first medal in her team for being a great team player. Her team "Eagles" has not won any game, but Ju Ju always tries her best. Actually, she's the only one who scores goal (well, actually two other girls have scored one goal each). The first time they played, their team lost the game against Tigers 1-6. The second time they played, Eagles lost against Tigers 2-6. Third game, they lost again to Tigers 2-5. Fourth game, they lost again to Tigers 3-6. Then last time, again they lost 4-6 of which Ju Ju scored all four goals and most of the goals in the past for her team.

She always gets disappointed that her team hasn't won the game and she tell me, "Mama, my team will never going to win.." - but then, I tell her, "Remember what did your coach say?" And she answers, "It's not about winning or losing, it's about having fun!!" with a HUGE smile on her face.

She honestly tells me playing soccer has been the best thing she's ever done in her life, and that she can't stop thinking about the next game after the game. Sometimes, she tries to picture herself playing well in her head when she goest to sleep. She really loves it.

I never imagined that I would wake up early on Saturday morning being a soccer mom, but I truly enjoy getting up and watch my daughter play with her friends. Her coach is a great person and I'm grateful that he's taught her something that's very important in her life: patience and endurance.

I love my daughter.... I'm proud of her...

Go Ju Ju! Go Eagles! Let's win this Saturday!

My Little Sunshine...

I just want to squeeze her...

I Turned 36, But I Am Young At Heart

First thing first, thank you so much for all of your well wishes about my mom!! She's doing better and trying to get better back in Tokyo, Japan. She goes to physical therapy twice a week, and dialysis three times a week for four hours which have been tough on her body, but she's doing it to live. I used to tell her, "Don't live your life to do dialysis, but do it to live." She's optimistic and I hope she will be okay again soon.

So, it's been a hectic week for me and there are several reasons for it.

*My lovely sister was visiting us for five days after 12 days of business trip in Paris and NY. She got here last week Friday and we had such lovely stay. Good food, shopping and catching up with stories - I was soo happy she was here, but more so for my girls. Ju Ju and Soapy wouldn't leave her alone and they also ended up sleeping with my sister on the same bed..

* JT and I left our girls with my sister on Saturday night for my little birthday party. It wasn't like last year's 35th birthday; I didn't want a big party. So I went out with JT, his youngest brother and two of my BFF here in Florida. I had many glasses of vodka and pineapple and danced to great music, but I got sick in the car on the way home. Apparently, Ju Ju found me half naked in the bathroom sleeping, but I don't remember because I woke up in my bed with pearl necklace still around my neck.

* I celebrated my birthday again on Sunday evening with JT's family - My sister joined and we had a very heart warming dinner together. I love family. Family is number 1.

* Oct 12th was my birthday and I took a day off from work - fabulous!!!! JT took us to my favorite Japanese rstaurant that night and we had "shrimp tempra udon" and ton of sushi and rolls - oh they were delicious and the owner of the restaurant treated us with Japanese deserts :) I love deserts..

* My sister left us the next morning - it was very hard for me to say good bye. She is my best friend. She told me, "Why don't you move back to Hawaii?" - I miss her already...

In conclusion, it was very crazy week for me and my family, but it was one of my happinest week in a long time. I laughed a lot and my daughters got to know their auntie a little better. All I wanted for my birthday was my family and I got the perfect gift because I had my sister. I'm 36, but I still feel like I'm in my 20's. I don't know if it's a good thing or bad, but I feel a lot younger than before. I think I'm rebeling against time and aging. Do you feel younger or older after your birthday??

Have a sweet weekend, beautiful!!!

xoxo

Your Prayer For My Mom

I've had some tough days for the past week or so. I found out from my dad that my mother was in the hospital because of her condition which she has renal failure (kidney failure). Many of my blogging friends already know that she's been on dialysis for more than 9 years now. I've cried so much for the past 9 days, it's not even funny. The thing is when I'm with my daughters, I forget that my mom is sick - it's the strength of love. My kids get me through very sad and most difficult days... Or going to see Ju Ju play soccer or me being a backup player for my brother-in-law's kickball team and played for the first time since elementary school last week. These little things can temporary, but surely have escaped me from being scared about my mom.

But it gets tough when I go to bed; when I don't have to be the strong mom for my girls; when I don't have to put a brave smile on my face. I can't stop thinking about the worst thing that could happen to my mom and I haven't had a good night sleep. The fear of losing her is tremendous. I'm very scared. It's been very scary nights for me. Every time when I hear my cell phone ring, I think for a second, "Is this the call?" -- well, usually it's JT or my friends, but my heart would skip a bit...

Thank goodness, my mom is home now and resting. When I talked to her yesterday, she's doing better and sounded like her usual self - very cheerful and full of love. Again, she was the one telling me not to worry and everything is going to be fine, when I should be the one telling her she'll be fine - I was crying again like a baby and she said in Japanese, "Aww my baby, Maki-chan. Don't be sad, I'm fine, don't worry... "

My dad, on the other hand, is a very honest man. He wouldn't lie to me. So he did tell me it was very scary that he had to call ambulance at 3 in the morning and bringing her to the ER. He told me she's okay now, but he needs to stay by my mom's side for a while..

So, if I could ask you a little bit of help, a favor, to see if you could pray for my mom... It would mean so much to me. I know the power of prayer - I know it works... So if I could ask you your five seconds or ten seconds, please think about my mama - the person who means everything to me because I can't lose her now...