Daddy Dolls

The "Daddy Dolls" have arrived. They are amazing. I love this company! If anyone wants to buy one or sponsor one for a family, please visit hugahero.com

We were able to rush order the voice recorder boxes and they arrived before Jim left. He recorded a message for each child that runs when they squeeze him. They love to hear Daddy talking! Katie said, "It's Daddy's sound and I can hear it in my ear. Daddy's talking to me!"

The kids take Daddy everywhere with them. They talk to him, sing to him, hug him, kiss him, and show him to EVERYONE. Seriously, everyone. I think the Japanese think we just have weird dolls in America.

A Few Purchases

One of my favorite things about being here in Japan are the wonderful Japanese things I can buy for the house. The base has annual bazaars that are amazing. This past bazaar happened to be the day after Jim left, so I felt a little sorry for myself and made a few purchases. Here is my new obi hanger and obi, hanging in our stairway. Obis are pieces of thick, ornate fabric used to tie around the waist of women wearing kimonos.



Here is the new bench in our entryway - actually from Indonesia, not Japan, but still very cool and useful.



And here is our new hibachi - an antique iron pot that held smoldering ash (this one is small, so it was used for warming hands, not cooking). I, however, have changed it into a slipper-holder!



I thought I would share our count down calendar, too. The flag above is a service flag, meant to hang in the front window of a home where someone is serving in our nation's wars. We thought it wouldn't be wise to show "Hey - this house is without a husband!!" - even though we are living in such a safe place! So instead, our flag hangs in our kitchen. The kids love crossing of the days - right now, we are counting down until we leave for VA.

A Day in the Life of...

There are no strange sights in our house anymore. I just thought I would share a few with you...





Really, I have no explanation.

Youth Rally Weekend

Our church had an outreach this past weekend, our annual Youth Rally where American families host Japanese students for the weekend. That definitely kept us busy and the kids had a blast. Our two students were awesome, Saki and Rie. They are both college students and enjoyed practicing their English.


We went bowling, ate pizza, baked 6 cakes (Japanese houses have VERY tiny ovens, so they were amazed at our baking capability, and don't even get me started on the KitchenAid!), went to the BX and commissary, and just hung out here at home. The kids were all over them and they loved being a part of our family for the weekend. Hopefully, we can have them back next year!


The service on Sunday was especially awesome. The praise songs were in both English and Japanese and for me, it is very powerful to worship in Japanese! The guest preacher was a Japanese man from Tokyo who is an evangelist who works with young people. His sermon was awesome. There were many who came forward during the invitation at the end who wanted to know more about Christ and there was also a girl who was baptized (she had asked Christ into her heart during a previous Youth Rally!). What an awesome time.

Crowded

Jim has arrived at his FOB (Forward Operating Base) in his Kansas training and did NOT get the 6 person room we were hoping for. Instead, he is in a barracks with 39 other men... but he says it isn't too bad, all things considered. It is relatively new, he has the bottom bunk and no one in the top one, and each bunk is separated by tall locking cabinets. So there is privacy and most importantly INTERNET!! The connection and Skyping is better in the barracks than in the dorms, so we are happy.

He does have some free time there in Kansas so I will be sending him some things. If you are really interested in sending some small trinkets, you can email me privately for his address and I will happily give it to you. Things like candies and magazines are good - not anything huge.

There is other very hopeful news for us - Jim may have a four-day pass over Memorial Day weekend! We switched our airplane tickets from arriving on Memorial Day Monday to arriving the week prior. It is not set in stone yet and depends upon lots of things, but we are praying for a few days with Daddy before he travels "abroad". We appreciate any and all prayers for this visit!

Ft. Riley

Jim has arrived for his training and is enjoying the week in a single dorm. By week's end, however, he will either be in a 40 person barrack or a 6 person room. We are praying for the latter! He bought a new MacBook (since we heart the one I am currently typing on) and we have been able to Skype today. The kids LOVE talking to Daddy on the computer! Hayden's favorite part of the day was when Daddy was being a "robot" - his computer froze up on us and he looked and sounded like one really!

Hayden and Katie continue to do fine during the daytime with the adjustment. It helps that we have been busy! Jim did a great job reading a million books into the computer for bedtime and also recording our prayers so that even if we can't be in live contact, the kids can still enjoy Daddy reading and praying with them at bedtime. I know I sound like an old fogey when I say this, but technology these days really is amazing! It sure helps when families are left behind.

I really thought I would get more done in the evenings being alone. But Facebook still sucks me in, and man am I tired! I am blessed to have a husband who does either dishes or baths (we trade off), brushes kids' teeth, gives medicine, changes into jammies, and reads the books at night. I am so tired by day's end that I haven't started any of my organizational projects yet! I guess I do have some time left...

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

The timer has started! Jim left this morning from Misawa and is headed to the states for his training. What an awesome two weeks this has been. God is so good to us that He made the time crawl by, and we packed in LOADS of memories. We even were able to have a small getaway to Sendai (the largest city in the Tohoku region of Japan, where we live) and Matsushima (one of the most picturesque sites in all of Japan). Posts on those adventures to follow, as soon as I can get some pics downloaded!

Thank you to all who are praying. We feel such a peace knowing we are covered in prayer. There is no getting around it, 8 months is a long time and it will stink at various times. The good news is that the kids are doing GREAT, I am doing well, and we are headed to the states at the end of May for three months.

There were so many people there at the airport this morning to see Jim off. It was quite overwhelming to see people from his flight, squadron, and group, as well as friends from church... we practically took over the whole seating area of the airport! Thank you all for your support. There were no tears, again thank you God! And the kids were able to wave and blow kisses once Jim got past security through a window. Hayden and I got to talk to him this afternoon, too, when he surprised us with a call from Tokyo. We count our many blessings!

Hayden keeps asking funny questions about "the desert". This morning at the airport, in a panic, he asked me where Daddy was going to go to the bathroom in the desert? He also asked Jim if he thought he would see an oasis there. Would he drink from it was the next question. Katie keeps asking if Daddy is on his trip now. So precious.

I am new to the blog world, so bear with me as I learn! Thanks for going on this journey with me of single-parenthood and military spouse.

Our Life in the Land of the Rising Sun

So, we love love love living here in Japan!  Everything has been perfect, from finding a great off-base house to eating like a local to finding a wonderful church to plug into.  The one tiny little detail that is not perfect here is that Jim has to deploy and will spend 8 months away from our adventures as a family here.

The deployment sounded great - it was originally going to be 6 months long with 10 days of training.  We found out 2 days ago that the original training was a mistake and that he, in fact, will have 2 months of training.  He leaves in 13 days... on his birthday!!   Ouch.

We are so thankful to God for being in control of our lives.  We know that there has to be a reason why Jim has to go to this particular training and we are grateful to not be in charge of the big picture.  I have created this blog as a means of recording the adventures we go on while Jim is gone and also to record things our precious children say and do in his absence.

Hope you enjoy reading - thanks for thinking of us during this time!