UPDATE

Happy Holidays. We hope you all had a great Christmas and Holidays. We did, and the week before was a great way to lead up to it. The kids and Kim went to the Nutcracker, we had fondue night, we watched tons of holiday movies, drove through neighborhoods looking at decorated houses, and had game nights almost every night. It seemed like every day leading up to Christmas that week the kids made a new gift for Kim or I , wrapped it and put it under the tree. On Christmas eve we set out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer. At around 3:30am Eva woke up from a nightmare and Tanner and Grace woke up ready to see if Santa had come. They were so excited and I was afraid they would never go back to bed. Grace pulled up her eye mask, that she has been wearing to bed every night, and said "Dad, I went like this (cupping her hand behind her ear to amplify sound) and I heard someone say "mmmmm" like they were eating cookies and then I heard clip clop on the roof!" Fortunately they went back to bed and in the morning we found out Santa had come. We later saw that pieces of the carrots were on our garage roof. So that is where the reindeer landed.

Ben is doing great and eating like a champ. He is starting to get a very impressive bosom. He loves baths and also loves his siblings holding him. He calms right down as soon as they hold him. He is getting very strong and seems to be doing great.

Tanner got a trumpet for Christmas and sounds great. He has been such a great helper with the kids. I am sure we rely on him too heavily and yet he is always so willing to help with the girls or Benjamin.

Grace had a great Christmas and is learning how to ride a two-wheeler. We took the pedals off one of our old bikes and she is getting the hang of how a two-wheeler feels.

Eva is the perfect age for Christmas joy. One of her favorite presents from Santa was a purse full of lip gloss and a package of lipgloss watches. Since Christmas she has carried her purse everywhere the only time it is not on her is when she sleeps and as soon as she gets up she asks for it.

Mom is doing great. Mom and Dad are tackling some house projects while we have some extra time at home.

One of the gifts we got for Christmas was the WII Fit plus. Since then we have all been playing it and having so much fun challenging each other. I caught part of it on tape with Grace running. It is a great way for all of us to get some exercise when it is so cold outside.

Sweet Ride and Baby Ben

Sorry we haven't post in a while. Our computer is out of commission.

First of all, many of you know me well enough to be shocked by what I am about to reveal. Yes, it is true, hell did not freeze over, but we purchased a mini-van. Although I had sworn I would never stoop to such an endeavor, I have to admit it is AWESOME! We tried out so many different SUVs to try to find one that could fit us and the dog comfortably so that we could go on road trips and it would be easy for Kim to load two in carseats. Ultimately, we and the kids loved the Honda Odyssey.

Back to more important things. Ben went to the doctor today and in a weeks time he has gained another 13 oz. Which puts him at 8lbs 10 oz. He is doing well and as you can see growing strong. These pictures were taken today after he got back from his appointment. I was taking pictures of him when Tanner, Grace, and Eva came in giggling holding a build-a-bear football helmet. They wanted Ben to try it on and as you can see it fits him beautifully. So if you have a hard time visualizing how big he is think of a teddy bear. Kim is recovering well and looks fantastic. Tanner, Grace, and Eva are so excited for Christmas and Christmas break. They have been doing great at school. Tanner is playing the trumpet and doing a great job. He also is also working very hard on his Shakespeare play. Grace really enjoys Chinese class, Spanish class, and art. Eva has been such a sweet sister to Ben and is always so gentle (for those of you who know Eva, you know gentle is usually not in her vocabulary.) And last, but not least, Annabelle has been very gentle as well. It almost seems that she is scared of Baby Ben. We are happy to keep it that way for now.

We want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, and hope that you year will bring joy and peace. We know since August 13, 2008 we have not been able to visit and see many of you like we would have wanted to. Please know we miss you all and hope to see you soon.

Love,

JR, Kim, and the Ujifusa Clan.

Some recent pics....

chemo

Grace had chemo on Friday and today she is definately feeling it. The purple circles under her eyes told us she would be worn thin today. She did a wonderful job at chemo and actually had a good day on Friday. In the car on the way home she told me, "mom-I usually feel like junk when I leave chemo, but right now I'm feeling pretty good." Hard, yet optimistic words from a little six year old. Grace is remarkable. Sometimes we even forget what she's going through because we have larger windows of normalcy now. Of course, I swallow pretty hard when I watch the Vincristine go through the plastic tube straight into her little body. Sometimes chemo is more bearable than others. I am saying that. Isn't that ridiculous? Our little girl sits there getting unbelievably strong medicine and I sometimes feel like it's unbearable. This time just socked me in the gut. Katie, Grace's nurse told me our doctor would be longer than usual. He was meeting with a "new" family. I heard the mother in the hall. I heard her crying. Her voice haunted me all day. I don't know why it bothered me so much, but I can't stop thinking about them. I didn't even see their faces. I don't even know what her child has. I just know I can't stop thinking about them.

Grace's next round of chemo is on New Year's eve. I can think of softer ways to ring in the New Year...but I know Grace will do it with a smile.

Baby Ben and the family

We had a great Thanksgiving week with a new baby, and family. Ben is doing great and we feel so blessed because although he was very early there have been small and few complications. He is almost over his Jaundice and he has a rigourous eating schedule to make sure he is gaining weight, other than that he is a beautiful, healthy baby boy. Grace , Tanner, Eva, and Belles are adjusting well and are all very sweet and gentle around Ben.

Thank you Shele, Glen, Max, Sam, and Nick for all your help. 4 can be busy and we couldn't have done it without you. You all were so thoughtful and covered every detail to make our week amazing. We all miss you hope to see you soon. And thank you Shele for introducing us to one of our new favorite song, Fireflies.

Thank you Marelis and family for watching our kids so that we could run to the hospital and be there throughout the night and the next day.