Six Years

We recently (a month ago almost) celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. Last year, unfortunately, I don't think we did much. Other years we've been apart on that day. And the other ones. . . I guess we just do low-key. So THIS year, I decided that we would actually do something different! So I decided to plan it all out and surprise my wonderful husband. I started looking around for a nice hotel on the island for an over-nighter and found a few that met my criteria. The only problem I was having on the booking site were the apparent lack of queen and king sized beds. All the pictures of all the rooms at all the hotels had what looked like slightly-larger than twin-sized beds, and the description of the rooms read "Standard with breakfast." Eventually I gave up trying to find a room that said it had a bigger bed. I thought, "Maybe all hotels here just have smaller beds." So after I booked a room at a hotel right on the beach in the middle of the island, I called to try and resolve the issue. In my broken Japanese, the front desk clerk understood I had a reservation, but when I said words for "beds - move?" (thinking we could just push two tiny beds together) we just went around and around in circles. Eventually, he said the words "double" and "King", I said "hai!" and he said ok. I hung up hoping we'd have a room with just one bed! 
I did manage to surprise hubby that day. He thought we might be heading off to some adventure zip-lining park in the area. Thankfully for me, we ended up at the hotel, where we both proceeded to try and nap in our (individual, twin-sized) beds while baby J. kept us awake. The moms from my English class paid for our 5 course, 6 course? dinner that night at the hotel restaurant. It was really, really kind of them. It's so nice to eat without toddlers. It almost makes us giddy when it's so quiet at the table. J. slept on Daddy during dinner, so it really was quiet. And there were only 2 other groups in the restaurant. As we sat down to dinner, a familiar tune floated our way. . . "Wait a minute, is that. . . is that Pocahontas?" Why indeed it was, a more subdued version, in English still. Over the course of dinner, we were serenaded with Pocahontas, "Under the Sea" with a reggae beat, "It's a Small World" on steel drums, Snow White, "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah" with picked guitar, and "When you wish upon a star." We could have easily been dining at one of Disney's upscale resort hotel restaurants. :) 
I picked the hotel because it had free breakfast, because if you know me, I could eat a day's worth of calories at breakfast and still not be full. So we went down for breakfast expecting loaded plates of waffles and sausages. We did find a few American type foods for breakfast - some thick potato fries, scrambled eggs cut into blocks, and 3-inch diameter pancakes. Sitting next to the pancakes was a miniscule little syrup pitcher that probably held all of 4 tablespoons of syrup. You know, the size they give you at IHOP for each person's pancakes. We laughed about that as we each poured about 3 drops of syrup on our pancakes, trying to ration the rest for the other 50 people there. We supplemented the pancakes with some fresh fish, some fresh stir-fried vegetables and what big J. thought were cheesy potatoes but were really just onions. 
Overall, it was probably the best anniversary we've had, since we actually did something this time. :) We couldn't have done it without our good friends, Ingrid and Nic, watching the girls for us though. You know you're family when you can trust your kids with friends like that. 

Here's our breakfast food. It was yummy food, even if we didn't leave stuffed. 

Loved their smooth tile floors. It left us wondering why all hotels don't do tile after walking on so many dirty, nasty black carpets at hotels. I guess carpet feels homier. . . So I'll admit the beds were closer to the size of doubles, but not quite there. Maybe like a twin and a half. One of my moms in English class works at a hotel and she said her hotel only has this size of bed, so it does seem like that's standard here. I think they would expect 2 people to be able to share a bed this size, too. It'd be pretty cozy for people of our stature, though. Oh, and the beds did happen to be on rollers. :)

The view from our window. I actually booked this one for the 2 jacuzzis they had here, but they were covered. Bummer. When we finally get a house, a jacuzzi would totally be my house splurge. :) We toed the water in the morning. There was a couple who were taking a dip, but the water had started to cool already by that time of year. 

We decided once a year isn't too much to ask in getting away from the kids for a night. 

Now if next time we can just go without a baby in tow so we can sleep right up until check-out. :) 

Around the House

2 1/2 months - J.J. holding his head up like a champ. He actually likes tummy time, and just rolled over today for the first time. Yea!

"Hey, Mom." 

Daddy made them "sock heads"

Isn't he so sweet?! 

Typhoons and Confidence

We had yet another typhoon pass over us last weekend. Sanba was a super typhoon as it made it's way toward the island, and let up a bit as it hit us. But do you know the emotions we feel when there's a typhoon on the way? Let's see. . . excitement, expectation, confidence, calmness, eagerness and total peace. The same feelings are prevalent in everyone here on the island, manifested in Facebook posts like, "It looks like the eye of the storm will be going right over us! So excited!" or my own excitement at finally being on the island for one of the storms this season. This is the sign that Housing put up in the elevator. Notice the last sentence. 

 Happy and safe. I kept contrasting those emotions in my mind with those felt by Americans living along the Gulf Coast when storms come their way. In America, people flee rather than be caught in the pounding winds of a hurricane. We did that once ourselves when we lived on the Gulf Coast, not knowing if we'd come back to broken windows and wet possessions. But why the panic? Why the fear? It's simple really. Most Americans living along our coasts have no reason to be confident in their dwellings, or in the place their dwellings sit. Buildings aren't built to withstand that type of wind and rain. Also, it's a bit like a game of  Russian Roulette with storms there. The storms will come, but how many years between each one hitting the same place twice? And why build a house to withstand the storm if it may never hit you? 

In case you haven't seen it, here is where we live on Okinawa. One of many big, tall, pure concrete and steel 9 story towers. 

This building is why we're confident. We get to have Typhoon parties with our friends and watch the driving rain from behind our double-paned storm windows. Getting 1.2 million people evacuated off a tropical island for every storm is not a practical idea. We're stuck here. Stuck to weather out storms. Stuck, but confident, and happy. 
Why should our confidence in the Lord's provisions be any less? David writes, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?. . .For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock." Psalm 27:1,5. We are stuck in this life. There's no getting off the "island" until we're called home to be with Him, which means we know the storms will come. Maybe the storms pelt you like they do Okinawa - we've had 3 big ones in the last 2 months with another coming this weekend. Maybe the storms in your life are a little more sporadic and unpredictable like in the states. Life is hard, but if we have a firm foundation, if we're the wise men who build their house on the rock, then there's nothing to fear. Maybe your fear doesn't turn into pure excitement to see what will come of the storm, but the fear should be replaced with confidence. Confidence that God works through the storms in our lives and that He can sustain us when they come. Sometimes I live as a timid believer that doubts that God could sustain me through less-than ideal circumstances. Instead, I should feel just as I do when typhoons strike the island here - relaxed and at peace, knowing that the King of the Universe is on my side. For "if God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). 

A. eating a tomato. She and I both recently discovered that she loves the things, and spinach too. Tonight she asked for another tomato for dinner, and the words actually came out of my mouth, "No, I think you've had enough tomatoes for the day." Really?! Said to a 4-year old. Must remember that. Oh, and there's D. above in one of her own creations. The girls both LOVE dressing themselves. They will each change outfits about a dozen times a day if I let them, and the outfit usually involves winter gloves, hats, and some new "high heels" that A. got from a friend. 

And here is the sweet, chunky face of #3. I think he looks more like A. at this point. He is all smiles nowadays. I can't believe he'll be 3 months soon!

The Third

A few more from a week or 2 ago. I couldn't even get him squashed into newborn poses, because he's so long and chubby already! Oh well. 

Beach Cuties

We went out to Araha the other evening to try and hit the sunset hour. Daddy didn't want to lay J.J. in the sand, so that's why there are manly arms in half the pictures. :) 
We should really go the beach more often than we do, with such warm water. 
I've been feeling more and more comfortable here in Okinawa. I have been for awhile, but it really feels like home now, so much that I want to stay for longer than we will. I think one of the biggest draws for me is how safe I feel here. Japan in general has a very low crime rate, and on top of that, we never hear about crime out in town on the news because we couldn't understand it if they were talking about it. Ha. I'm just thankful to live in a place that gives me so little fear in my heart. I didn't feel so peaceful in CA lots of the time. 
Anyway, enjoy the pics! I think the girls get more gorgeous by the day. D. is the most talkative and spunky 2 year old EVER. She even uses proper English a lot of the time, thanks to her big sister. 

Some more of J.J.

Here are a few more of him at 12 days new. We just went to the Dr. today at 20 days new and he already weighs 11 lbs. 15 oz! Just checked D's calendar, and she was only at 10 lbs. 12 oz. at her 2 week. I almost feel like he's not a newborn already. Part of me laments them growing so fast, but I know from experience now that watching them grow is so very fun and satisfying, so I'll pray that he keeps growing and stays as healthy as he's been so far. 

4th of July

We had a great first fourth of July here, although it was a little sad to celebrate D's first birthday without fireworks. The air base did have their big show a couple nights before, but the girls missed it. (J. and I got to see it in passing as we drove to his birthday dinner.) We let D. enjoy her morning with some presents, pixelated Grandparents on Skype, and a try at the cake. She just ran her fingers through the frosting and refused to take more than a bite of it, which was probably because of the random fever she was running. Bummer. (Turned out she had the fever stage of roseola.) After her nap, we were ready to go set up for her party at the beach. I think there were about 25 of us there, and we were definitely over-prepared on the food end, so we ate burgers, dogs, chicken kabobs, and pasta salad for awhile. I guess we've never tried to reserve a picnic table at the beach before, but it seems that here they all have kind of steep reservation fees. We had gone the week or so before to reserve a picnic table and a tarp tent to go over it, and managed to get it all figured out with the language barrier. I was ready with my "July 4th - Monday - 1:00" phrase and we got the idea of a grill across, too. We had wanted to bring our own grill, so she pointed to a price that was cheaper than the one to rent theirs. So they charge you here to bring your own stuff. At every big beach we've been to they rent out grills, and people grill up their yakisoba noodles and veggies while we Americans cook meat! We were lucky to have picked a beach where they let you even bring your own food to grill, because we heard that lots of the beaches here make you buy from their own little restaurants to cook-out. It'd be like planning a small wedding every time you wanted to go to the beach! Next time we might just have to rent one of their grills, as it was hard labor for Jose getting our huge grill (that I'd found on the sidewalk) down from our place to laying flat in the back of the van with all the seats folded down. God gave us a beautiful 4th of July here - no rain, only heat. I'm already eyeing spots for next year's party. :)

She didn't feel like getting her hands messy. Poor girl. 

I had to try some new cupcake "styles" from a book my sis gave me for Christmas. So the ones above are supposed to be coals on a grill. Does it look like that? I made the frosting too black. And that's the raw hamburger sitting next to them, made from rice cakes. :)

These cherry and berry pies were a little prettier than the coals. We still have about 2 big bags of M&Ms left of all the other colors, haha. 

Saw the idea for a round flag/fruit pizza. After I had made the crust, I realized I could've just put it in a rectangular pan and had a real flag shape. Our fruit from the commissary is not very good most of the time, but at least the flag looked alright. :)

Everyone else had gone home, but we ended the day watching the warm sun fall below the horizon. We were happy to celebrate this day together as a family. Looking back on the year past is always bittersweet. Happy 1st birthday, D!