First thing in the morning: make some coffee!
Watching a video on YouTube is really only a highlight reel of what people want you to see.
But to really get to know somebody, you’ve got to spend the day with them.
After getting the coffee going, the first thing I do is check my instagrams, check my social media
It's...no. That's not what I do first thing.
That's a terrible thing to do first thing in the morning!
What do I do?
I open up the Bible and I start reading.
And when my coffee comes, oh, it's just a perfect combination.
Good morning.
Good morning Sarah chan.
You're the first one up!
As the day starts, the kids start coming out one by one, looking for a good spot to hunker down and start the day.
The Kotatsu Table is a favorite spot.
The Momma-chan's all comfortable.
And Sarah all comfortable in her spot.
Whoa Dude, good morning!
Big hug!
Oh! Or just crash into me!
Joshua is the snuggle bug of the family, and we love our morning hugs and kisses from this guy.
There go the not-so-littles, ready for their Bible time.
Is that in Japanese?!
No, the ad. The ad. Oh, the ad was?
Yeah, because it' s on YouTube.
Because it's on YouTube? Oh, I see.
Everything moves towards 7:00 AM, when we get together as a family for breakfast.
But before breakfast arrives, there’s some time to finish up chores
and make some calls with loved ones on the other side of the world.
Can you carry it all at once? Yeah.
Don't drop it.
Mommy just folded it so nicely.
Today we’re getting ready for something super special: visitors we haven’t had in nearly 4 years.
Hello! Hello.
Are you all packed?
Yep, I just finished.
And if not I'll just have to stuff it in other places and throw some stuff out.
Good morning, Anna.
Good morning.
Becca!
Oh, Daddy's taking a video?
That's why she was like... Waaaaaa!
On most weekdays breakfast happens at 7 in the morning
And we do our family devotions—
Have breakfast together
And then go get going for the day.
Everybody fold your hands.
Joshua.
Dear Jesus, thank you for this wonderful day.
Help this food to be good.
Thank you that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.
Bless this food in Jesus' name, amen.
Amen!
Too Many Sons...
Once the day starts, everyone will be off in their own direction with their own responsibilities to take care of,
but here at breakfast we have a chance to be together as a family, something we highly value.
We have Sarah, Joshua and the Twins. What about the Twins here?
When they get back from school, they need to put their backpack in the right place,
And throw away mask, change clothes,
Put the hashi (chopsticks) in the sink,
And do your homework.
And you need to clean your room and put away clothes.
What's this down here? "throom sink"
No! Bathroom sink.
Oh!
And then super dishes?
Supper dishes. Oh, I see.
Oh, I see. Super dishes.
Some super dishes!
Sarah, what's your special chores?
Ah, clean room and Kotatsu (heated table)
Joshua, how about you, Dude?
Put away the shoes.
Put away and organize the shoes.
I need to wake up!
Alright, you guys need to finish eating!
Oh, the last piece goes in! Oh!
And you did it for the camera, everybody's so happy!
You're making your uniform look spick and span, huh?
You get all the little fuzzies off of it, Becca?
Yea, can I go to the bathroom?
Can you go to the bathroom? Yes!
Joshua!
Where's your teacher's notebook, honey?
It's right here. It's not there.
I have to write his temperature, check his homework,
I'm going to check his reading, get out all his papers.
Anna was about to practice but it's go-time, huh?
Go-time. Go-time.
What in the world! This does not look like go-time guys!
And momma's ready for her walk.
Mommy's going to see me doing English at school and see how easy it is.
Good.
I hope you don't mess up.
I never mess up. Wha? Uhhh...
Big tests sometimes I do — I know it, but I mess up.
Oh, ok.
Sad fact of life in Japan, my feet are too big.
I have to buy men's shoes.
Yea, and I think what the saddest thing is is that it's just a half of a size too big for the ladies shoes.
Oh that's sad. I probably could find some...
But I went to three stores — no... Yea?
Four? Three stores.
Joshua wait!
Ready Josh? OK, who are you Josh?
I am the head and not the tail
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength
I have the mind of Christ
They joy of the Lord is my strength
I'm [awesome] inside and out, full of the Holy Spirit
I'm blessed that I'm blessed...
You're blessed to be a blessing!
You're blessed to be a blessing.
Sarah...
We've come up with these declarations, they all come from the Bible
And they're truths about who we are
And so we have the kids say them before they leave just to remember who they are
I'm blessed to be a blessing.
Yes, awesome! I love you guys. Have a blessed day today!
Got some really ominous clouds today. Warm, windy spring weather.
Bye guys! Bye!
Bye girls!
Once the kids are off to school then it's my turn to get going to work.
But today, since I was filming everybody,
I didn't have a chance to get ready and shower myself,
So I'm going to do that now and then get to work.
So the girlfriend's back from the walk, how did it go?
[sighs]
Alright, I'm heading to work. That means I've gotta give Ruth a little kiss here
I love you!
A study has been done — this is a real study —
That men who kiss their wives before going to work each day live on average 5 years longer than men who don't.
How about that?!
Now I don't believe that it's just because kissing adds 5 years on average to your life
I believe it's because these husbands had relationships with their wives that they wanted to kiss them every morning
That they prioritized their wives and they prioritized that relationship.
And it created a good atmosphere in which they lived all the days of their life.
I rent a small home office where I can focus on my work.
And while I check things off my to-do list, Ruth is busy doing the same thing back at home.
OK, so I just did a little bit of cleaning,
Now I have some bills to pay, so I'm going to run to the post office and pay some of those.
I love my job and all the different aspects of what I get to do.
There’s such a variety to it and it keeps moving forward, just like life.
Look at my hair!
It's so windy and rainy!
I had to walk in it to pay bills.
But you gotta do what you gotta do.
I'm glad to be home now.
Spring rain — hey, that's alright. It brings the flowers.
Over lunchtime I usually do my Duolingo, my Japanese study.
I've been doing this now for—I think I have a 980-some day streak going on.
It's pretty good.
So now I can go to the girls' school for class observation.
For the twins, so...
The clouds really got epic, it stopped raining
And look over here...
The kids are being released from school
They'll be back soon.
One thing I love about this school being so close is you can watch them walk home the whole way.
Hey guys, welcome home!
Hi!
So! How was school today, guys? Good?
Good.
Anything awesome happen? No.
Just a normal day at school.
Tomorrow! What's happening tomorrow?!
Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma and Grandpa!
Daddy, I'm hungry. You're hungry?
For some chocolate pretzels.
We gotta have something else! I know what it is!
Oh! Oh! That's a good thought!
We can eat the Pokemon things.
Yea!
So you guys have to practice your piano lesson today, huh?
Aww! You're about to have that in just a little bit.
How about homework?! Did you get some homework?
Yes.
Yes, that will have to be done too, huh?
It's Pikachu! Uh huh!
How- how was school today?
Good. Good?
Anything special happen today/not really?
Uhh...
And all while drinking a drink...
So- mommy came!
Mommy came!
Wow, mommy came! Now that's special!
Mommy saw me doing the easy English.
Did you do it alright? Yes.
Alright, I grabbed a black coffee and a carbonated water and now it's back to work for a few hours
Gotta get these videos done and keep everything else moving forward.
While the kids do their homework and piano lessons, I get more work done before heading back home for the evening.
Ok, so once we get home, we usually have dinner together
Tonight is a little different because the girls have jyuku [cram school], there were piano lessons and everything
But we have a special family time of praise and worship,
And it's really fun. We do the dances,
it does marvels for changing the atmosphere in our home.
After all the responsibilities are done, free time can be enjoyed a number of ways.
Sarah, are you getting your turn on the Switch?
Yeah.
How many minutes do you get? Thirty.
Thirty minutes. Here it goes.
Alright, today things are busy. I'm going to run out for my jog here real quick,
And the girls have their phone at one percent [battery]
The girls are heading to their cram school.
And my phone is one percent.
Here we go. Getting out and jogging again.
Today it feels nice. It doesn't always feel nice everyday...
But it's a good thing.
Whew! Today I reached the bridge which was my goal
And then I'm going to run back — just taking a quick little breather here.
The not-so-little little Reutters have taken their baths, right?
And what do you got there? Sword!
Whoa, a master sword! Nice.
Nice.
And Sarah, what time is it right now?
Berenstain!
Berenstain Bear time — we're gonna read some Berenstain bears!
Daddy just needs to sit in the middle — look out!
Computer Trouble? Computer trouble or?
Oh let's do Safe and Sound. Does that sound good?
Berenstain Bear voice coming up!
Here we go...
One Saturday afternoon brother and sister bear took off down their driveway on their skateboard.
OK, we're done with our Berenstain Bears and that can only mean one thing...
No!
Ha ha! Joshua knows! No!
Joshua knows!
Did you do your homework, Dude? No.
You didn't do your homework Mr I-love-homework-it's-my-hobby?
What's your favorite hobby? Me?
Yeah you. Me? Um...
Doing homework! Doing homework?!
Well... I'll remember that one later.
How about you go do your hobby, huh?
I'll do mine - ticking kids!
Well the girls are at Jyuku [cram school]
So I'm just trying to wash up some dishes...
We have some friends coming over for dinner
I fed half the crew, now I get to feed my friends!
So we have our friends Seth and Jess are over here enjoying dinner.
Oh, they're back!
So girls, we made it to the end of the day. Now what do you want to do to chillax a little bit?
Any ideas?
No video.
No video? Oh!
Let's watch a movie or something like that.
And watch a movie or something, alright, that sounds great.
No, but listen to this!
I went to their school and—
You know they always come home and they're like "ah, blah blah blah."
Dude! Their friends were just blabbing away with these girls,
They were laughing, having the time of their life!
Is this true?!
Mmm hmm. So true.
Alright, let's watch something and chillax here. Yeah, yea!
We made it to the end of the night.
Anna, let's do 3, 2, 1. 3, 2, 1!
Oh! I thought no more recording!
Ha ha ha ha!
This is us chillin!
Look, you're chillin.
Don't you want to see this later and be like "that was us, chillin."
Why stop now? Just click the video for another great episode of Life in Japan!