Tanabata 2010

Last night, 7/7/2010, was Tanabata. Tanabata is a special time of year when two stars cross paths in the sky. In Japan, it's tradition for couples to dress up in summer kimonos and go out to watch the twinkling stars. Most of Tokyo, the largest city in the world, turns off its lights for Tanabata. People also adorn bamboo boughs with a variety of beautiful decorations and brightly colored papers where their deepest wishes are written.

Last year, about 2 weeks after my brain surgery, my husband and I were asked by the hospital staff to fill out 2 pieces of brightly colored paper to place upon the brain surgery wing's bamboo bough. We decided to write our greatest wishes. We wrote the promises God had made us (I will write more about how those answers came later in another post). The promises were 1.) that I would, against all odds, recover from this and 2.) that I'd not only recover, but that we'd go on to have our 6th child too.

There are so many details, yet, suffice it to say, this year at Tanabata, we have a lot to celebrate. I'm now cancer free and 25 weeks pregnant. Last year, the three of us, my husband, my mom (who had flown in from the USA to help take shifts with him at the hospital), and I (after a nurse helped me dress in a deep plum summer kimono adorned with pretty pink and white flowers) went to the Tokyo Tower together. We took pictures and, due to my health, we were given special permission to skip the extremely long ticket line out front. This year a different version of the three of us (my husband and pregnant me-in the same deep plum summer kimono, yet a tad frumpier looking this time) decided to go to the Tokyo Tower again and take pictures in the same places we did last year.

I'm going to have to search for those pictures from last year, yet I cannot wait to post them here plus the new ones we took this year. Taking this year's photos was definitely one of those "Oh my goodness! Thank you, thank you, thank you, heavenly Father" moments!!!!!!!!