Package from Japan; What was inside?

It has been a pretty busy day for me today and when I came home after picking the kids up from school, I found a package on my front porch. Actually, my kids spotted it even before I did and they were so excited. It was a package from my mom and my sister for my birthday and Christmas.

They send me a package like this every year, but the excitement never seems to dull. The kids are always SO excited to see what's inside. I usually call my mom as we are opening the package, so even though she is not here, she can at least hear how excited her grand-kids are.

In the package, there was...

Cute goodies for bento making...

Small bottles covered with stitched beads that my sister made... (aren't they so pretty?)

Lots and lots of my favorite Japanese food. Believe it or not, some things are not in the picture... because kids already ate them before I was able to take picture!

and, there were lots of washi-tapes and one of my favorite magazines.

Ahhh... I can't wait to tuck the kids into bed, relax and enjoy the magazine page by page... (huge grin)

It is so funny how they know me so well. I moved to the United States 18 years ago, and I haven't been going back that often; I feel like they are very close to my heart. When I went back two summers ago it was the first time in 11 years; it felt so natural and we just picked up where we left off and enjoyed the time together. I guess that is family.

We are not a picture perfect family. We have our quirks and a skeleton or two in the closet. There were many times I couldn't wait to grow up and leave home. Though, now I live so far away I miss them very much. My sister and I always talked about how we wished there was a transporter somewhere in our homes, so we could see each other all the time.

If you live close to your family, don't take that for granted, go visit them often! What I miss the most are the small things in everyday life; cooking in the kitchen, telling funny stories and laughing together, watching TV and making small comments and such... treasure the moments everyone. I guess I am trying to do that with my family here. Some days are harder than others and it gets frustrating at times, but I know my kids will grow up and leave before I know it. I guess my big secret plan is that I create lots and lots of fun moments as a family, so they would miss us and would want to come back to see us, hehehehe...

In America, Thanksgiving and Christmas are the big holidays and it seems like we talk about family a lot around this time. For me, New Year is it. The celebration of New Year's is important in our culture and centers around the family. I miss my mother's traditional Japanese New Year's dishes and other traditions.

I found a picture of traditional Japanese New Year's dishes; I love how it looks so beautiful
I guess my family just didn't send food and some goodies, I found some sentiments in the box as well. I am almost ready to ship my Christmas package to them soon, I hope they will enjoy opening it.