The Takenaka Family

Christmas 2010

Joanne — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:40:15 +0000

We finished 2010 on a high note. We spent Christmas and New Years in Perth, Australia. It was everything we hoped it would be…peaceful, fun and full of happiness!

This is Mya and Ava the day before we left. It is really difficult to find a Santa Clause in the malls in Jakarta! So this is their 2010 Christmas photo.

We had a memorable Christmas morning on the beach! What a change from our traditional Canadian Christmas celebrations.

Christmas day we had dinner at a beautiful winery in Margaret River. Unfortunately, I could not have any wine but Brad assured me it was fantastic!

Heading out for a day of shopping and lunch. Ava cracks me up in these sunglasses!

Exploring an amazing cave full of the wonders of nature.

This is something our family loves to do…going for long walks in a park. However, we cannot do this in Jakarta so it was another small but wonderful experience for all of us.

What a thrill to see lots of kangaroos hoping around!

We spent a hot and tiring New Years day at the Perth zoo. We still like the Calgary zoo better!

Our sweet daughters living life to the fullest on our last evening in Perth.

Joanne

Randomness

Joanne — Sun, 16 May 2010 06:22:26 +0000

To say that we have been busy is an understatement. With Brad and I both working full-time and the girls being in far to many activities our life is rather hectic. I have decided not to work at JIS next year. Instead of working at the school, I plan to explore other pursuits like volunteering at an orphanage, trying Pilates, spending more time doing school work with girls, attending church more regularly, blogging more often, golfing and playing tennis with Brad. I also want to move forward with a business idea. So much to do and so little time!

Here are a few photos of our life lately:

Ava and I at a 3D movie…

A flower in our backyard…

The girls latest passion is track and field. They are the fastest runners in their age group! Who knew!

Ava and her pal Barbara at the family fun fair…

Mya climbing high at the family fun fair…

Mother’s Day with our good friends, the Kay Family and the Ballew Family…

Joanne

Feeling Great

Joanne — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:22:49 +0000

Our family went to Singapore for Spring Break. We had a fantastic holiday. Singapore is clean, modern, and has all the amenities that we miss having in Jakarta. While we were there, we visited the pediatric cardiologist again and we received great news. Mya’s blood work is normal and it seems that she is back on track! Thank you to everyone for sending prayers our way!

We had a busy week and enjoyed spending time with our new friends, the Ballew Family. Craig works for Nike, Brenda is a stay at home mommy, Bryson is in Ava’s kindergarten class, and adorable little Berit is in preschool.

Here are the four children in front of the lion at the harbor.

We went for dinner at the Swissotel on the seventieth floor. We had an amazing view of Singapore at sunset and a delicious dinner.

We went to the night safari at the zoo. It was a little spooky at times.

The botanical gardens have a beautiful children’s garden and it’s free.

Universal Studios just opened on Sentosa Island which is part of Singapore. The rides were crazy fun!

Here are the girls after their fifth ride on a roller coaster.

Of course, it isn’t a trip to a theme park without a souvenir.

Joanne

Mya

Joanne — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:39:19 +0000

I want to update everyone about Mya’s health. She is steadily improving. As you know, she was diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease and hospitalized for five days in Hawaii. Once we returned to Jakarta, she returned to school and got sick again. Not taking any chances, I took her to Singapore to see a pediatric cardiologist. She did blood work and another echocardiogram. Unfortunately, she had another diagnosis. A mycoplasma infection. Also, the doctor discovered some fluid around the lining of her heart which is a new complication from the KD. The doctor prescribed antibiotics for the new infection and advised us to keep Mya out of school for several weeks. We have stayed home together for the last two weeks and completed a lot of school work. She has lots of time to rest as she needs it. Despite everything she is getting better each day. We are returning to Singapore next week where the pediatric cardiologist will assess her again. This will help us decide what to do next. If her blood work is normal and her heart is ok, she and I can return to school and work. Her appointment is on March 26th. I will let everyone know the outcome. Please pray for her to have a strong immune system and a healthy heart.

Joanne

Day Trip

Joanne — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:15:58 +0000

On Tuesday, we had another day off from school, for another Indonesian religious holiday. We decided to use the day to go with friends to Bogor. We went to the Gong Factory and the Botanical Gardens.

Once inside the Gong Factory we met the people who make the gongs. They were an interesting bunch.

The spots are from the sparks flying off of the fire where they mold the gong.

They moved the gong from the fire into this spot where some people banged a tune on it to entertain us.

We made it out of there without getting burned and proceeded to view some instruments. Mya thought it was fun.

Ava was not as interested in the factory. She had much more fun with her friends. I thought the kids were very patient and gracious throughout this tour.

We finished off the day by heading to the Botanical Gardens.

Joanne

Date Night

Joanne — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:19:42 +0000

Ava went on her first date! We purchased a new dress, new shoes, curled her hair and put a flower in it!

Ava joined the Girl Scouts and they have an annual tradition here in Jakarta where each girl joins their daddy (no mommies) for an evening of dinner and dancing. These two danced the night away until 8:30!

Joanne

Hawaii

Joanne — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:45:32 +0000

Hawaii is really beautiful. It is even more beautiful when you are there with people you love so dearly…

The food is fantastic. Especially when you discover a small roadside cafe like this one…

Watching the sunset is spectacular. It is even more special when you can watch your nieces taking it all in…

Besides all these things, Hawaii is special to us because we experienced a miracle while were there. Our precious little Mya became very sick. We had no idea what was wrong. Many doctors in Jakarta had assessed her deteriorating health and they had no answers. So, with no definitive information and some antibiotics to try to help heal her body we went ahead with our trip to Hawaii. After one day in Hawaii, we rushed her to the emergency department. The doctors asked Brad and I if we had ever heard of Kawasaki Disease. We had never heard of this illness. It turns out that our little Mya was precisely where she needed to be at precisely this time in her illness to get a diagnosis of Kawasaki Disease. The doctors admitted her to the hospital for five days. During this time we were so thankful that Mya was taken care of by one of the nations leading experts in KD, Dr. Marian Melish. A lovely, wise, calm person who has studied and researched KD for forty years. Mya had two intravenous doses of gamma globulin, high doses of aspirin, and lots of monitoring. This disease basically causes inflammation of the blood vessels throughout the body. The most devastating outcome is potential heart complications leading to death. God made sure that we were in Oahu when the time was right so that Mya could get the help she needed and so we could share this story of how God takes care of us…our family, your family, each and every one of us.

This last picture speaks for itself…

Joanne

Fishin’ in Hawaii

Joanne — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:00:01 +0000

This is from a fishing trip in Hawaii. We were using 10" live mackerel for bait. The smaller tuna (which I caught) were about 15-25 lbs. The large tuna (which I didn't catch) was about 100 lbs. The marlin (which I helped reel in) was about 150 lbs. it was an amazing day!

Joanne — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:48:52 +0000

I've always loved watermelon. One of the good things about living on the equator, is that watermelon is always in season. Its good for you, low calorie, cheap, and taste great. We eat a couple per week.

Joanne — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:42:09 +0000

HC down to 19...