During the holidays this year, I had an intense sense of gratitude that I have not had in quite some time. The last year brought quite a bit of struggle, and the difference between where my family and I are now and where we were a year ago makes me shake my head. In the fall of 2009, we bought our first house. Not everyone who saw it would necessarily call it a fixer-upper, but at this point, after everything we did, there’s really no getting around that phrase. I had my heart and mind set on doing the work of getting our new home in good shape by myself, but had to attack this project knowing that I was not, and had never been, handy. The goal was not to simply write a check, but to participate to the fullest extent possible, and gain some knowledge in the process. As nearly every single homeowner I know has told me, you never realize what you are getting into.
Fortunately, the list of people that helped us over the last 14 months is long, and full of experience, skill, and best of all, generosity. Before this new year gets into full swing, I could not properly begin looking forward without laying out what we have gone through to get here, and acknowledging everyone that was a part of it. So I have a few posts of before, during, and after photos, and I hope I can give adequate recognition to everyone who was involved.
While our living situation occupied most of our focus in 2010, my family had a ton of other great experiences. Hiroki turned two in February, and spent the year amazing us with his development, constantly learning new words, finding new things to jump off of and crash into, and growing into and out of clothes. He was excited to learn in August that he would be a big brother!
We put off a major trip to Japan in 2010 to focus on growing our family, and right after we took a short trip to Door County, Michigan, in August, our doctor confirmed that Michiyo is due in April, 2011. Getting through the first trimester was a hard-fought, team effort, made so much easier by the helping hands (as always) of family and friends. By the time the holidays rolled around, our house was shaping up nicely along with Michiyo’s belly, and her sister Masae came over for three weeks around Thanksgiving to be our first guest. Masae loved her third trip to St. Louis, and returned home just before our ultrasound in December, which revealed our April baby will be a girl!
My parents are excited at the prospect of a fourth grandchild, and their first granddaughter. For the last two years in March, and in the fold for 2011, we have enjoyed an entire-family getaway to a cabin in the woods of Carbondale, Illinois. Last year, one big cabin was occupied by Papa Joe and Julie Mama, my sister Lynn, her husband Rob, and their 0-year old son Henry (now 16 months), my brother Mark, who jumped off a houseboat into the backyard pond (Hiroki: “Uncle Mark, jump, SPLASH!), my sister Katie, and her husband Mike. In March of this year, we will share two cabins, and be joined my Katie and Mike’s new boy, Seamus, with Michiyo hopefully hitting the last month of pregnancy in good shape.
Finally, even with house chaos and Daddy duties over the last year, I found the time to fully engage in another year of entertainment. Both Abra-Kid-Abra and Complete Music kept me busy, especially in the summer and fall months. In June and July, for several weeks, I would perform 10-15 shows during the week, then DJ two and sometimes three events on the weekends. When all was said and done, at the end of the year, I received a trophy for being the #1 requested DJ in St. Louis for 2010. I am very lucky to have so many people that want me for their wedding receptions, bar mitzvahs, and other parties; after being #1 for 2008, I finished a close second in 2009, so it was good to take back the title this year.
I get asked a lot about my job and how I make a living. The answers always involve expressing how much I love what I do, being in front of people, helping them to laugh, enjoy an occasion, and make meaningful memories. In 2011, I am excited about new developments with career opportunities, and I look forward to keeping everyone up to date.
I know that Fingerhut updates have been non-existent besides word-of-mouth in 2010; I am not making any promises, but hope to be better about posting and being online in 2011 (maybe even Facebook, who knows?). Regardless, thank you for reading and being a part of our life. I hope YOU have a great 2011! Love Joe, Michiyo, and Hiroki
P.S. Please do not leave without reading the "Thank You" post, found on the right or clicking here: Thank you!
This hallway leads to . . .
These doors came with the house. Besides being old, nothing really was wrong with them. 
The dry wall mess was broken down and fit neatly into 32 heavy duty bags. My sister Katie and her husband Mike assisted with the removal of all these, involving a wheelbarrow and an old door serving as a ramp up the steps. My new neighbors assisted with the, uh, disposal.
We had a bunch of good times thrown in with the frustrating moments. Let's enjoy one "union break" with Mike, my friend since high school: 
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