Good Housekeeping

Oh man, oh man! Today a crew from Okinawa Good Housekeeping came to do the initial cleaning. what can I say but amazing, awesome, glorious! The company sent three cleaners to do the first time cleaning and I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I think because my house will be in regular order, I will be a better mother. I am much more patient and joyful with L when the house is in better shape. I was telling my friend A this (the friend who had been doing my bathrooms and last week did everything) but I don't think she really appreciates how grateful I am to have support. And life really is so much better for L because I am better.
So any house cleaner out there--you make so much more of a difference for families than I think you can even know. My quality of life is greatly improved! Thank you helpers for helping the families who need you!


I was thinking about hiring help! At first I was ashamed that I needed or wanted help. Then embarrassed. Then acceptance. You know, back 100 years ago most moms were stay-at-home-moms and most moms had at least one full-time helper. Then along came minimum wage and that was the slow down of in-the-home helpers. For most of human existance moms had their family in the same village, then moms could hire someone to replace the family support for living far away. Now moms are to do it all on their own -- no wonder post-partum is rearing its ugly head more frequently.

I am not depressed, just tired from being pregnant with twins and doing life with a one year old. I am so grateful for the help we have now coming one per week! I am grateful for the support and love our news friends and church have provided. I am hoping to start giving some back since we have found a church home.

Some praises:
I am still sleeping better

L has been a JOY to be with the last couple of weeks. We went through some rough spots, so I am super thankful that the last couple of weeks have been so pleasant.

M is loving his job! He is in charge of a platoon and he is really enjoying taking care of Marines.

Okinawa Good Housekeeping

3 healthy children so far!

We are still liking living in Okinawa. The food is so yummy! The culture we are adjusting to.

Our new church is pretty cool


Hope you have joyful things going on in your life right now!

Twins Pregnancy!

First off, thank you, thank you thank you for your prayers! The last 6 nights have been full of sleep! I am so grateful that God would take time to answer a tiny little prayer about sleeping!

Next, I am so grateful to my neighbor A, who has been cleaning my bathrooms and last week the whole house! She has been such a servant with this wide-load who has trouble standing or bending over.

Third, I have to tell you that I am a stay-at-home-mom who is willing to ask for help. And I have a husband who is willing to support that asking for help! We are getting a Mama-san!!! I think I spelled that correctly. You see, help here in Japan is ridiculously cheap. For 4 hours a week, we can have a woman come who will clean the whole house for only $68. I find that a huge bargain. That is $17 an hour! With my ability to move, bend over, sit on the floor or stand for any length of time quickly becoming non-existent, we are getting help. I am so grateful to be able to say "I need help" and for M to say "I agree" and for God to provide the resources to take care of this request! We also recognize that my gift in life might be working with children, but it is definitely NOT laundry and dishes. I hate doing them, I hate looking at them and therefore they are done when I get up the gumption to just finally get the job done. So now we will have someone helping us along. We also agree that after the boys are born (AHHHHHH, twin boys!!!!) cleaning will not be a priority. Taking care of L, and the boys will be our focus and sleeping when they sleep. So I am grateful to be living in a place where we can hire trusted helpers to do just that...help us over the next several months.

You know you are pregnant with twins when:

* People ask you if you are due any day and you are only 5 1/2 months pregnant.

* All pregnant women have to roll out of bed, not usually until the end of the pregnancy. With twins, that starts in the 4th month.

* When people look at your stomach first, ask a due date and and then get wide-eyed when you tell them it is still 4 months away.

* You find yourself out of breath walking to answer the front door

These are just a few of the twins pregnancy funnies. Not that much different from a singleton pregnancy, just happens a whole heck of a lot earlier in the pregnancy.

Pray please

I am grateful to have two healthy boys growing. I am grateful that L is healthy and so are M and I. Just trying to let you know that I recognize what I have. Especially when I have a friend who lost her baby during childbirth, and just found out that another person I graduated with from high school has died of cancer. I am grateful for our health when missionary friends of ours are waiting for tests, tests and more tests to find out if their child has cancer. I am VERY grateful for our health.

I am tired though. Pregnancy-induced restless leg syndrome is keeping me up most nights now until after 2 am. Last night it was 4 am. The worst part is I will doze off for about 15 - 30 min. and then be awoken by the need to move my legs. I am so grateful that I do not have to try and get up and go to work the next morning! That L is patient and will just hang out in the house since I don't have the energy to get going. I am grateful that I have overall been feeling better -- much less throwing up and no complications so far!!! I am grateful that up until this week especially I have not suffered from insomnia like I did with L's pregnancy! But I am tired. Please pray that the Dr. can give me ideas on how to help this!

M has been so GREAT with this! Each night he rubs my legs which seems to help. He helps me get my ice packs and heat packs together...yes i sleep with both. One ice pack on one side of the leg and one heat pack on the other...seems to help some nights. Please pray that there is something easy I can do to help with the legs.

Thank you!

We're not in Kansas anymore.

Normally when someone makes a Wizard of Oz crack, I get very annoyed. It seems as though every person I have met on the planet makes some sort of reference to the Oz when finding out that I am mostly from KS. I say mostly because I am from NM, TX, KS, NE and have lived in 5 places since leaving NE. So after moving around so much and meeting so many people you can imagine that these "jokes" become crazily annoying. If you are one of those friends who made a joke about the Wizard of Oz, I have forgiven you! (Since we are still friends).

However, as I was driving to a home goods store today called Nitori, I realized here I am driving on the other side of the road, with the steering wheel on the other side of the car and the blinker is on the other side of the wheel as well. I am learning to understand signs in Japanese (no I cannot read them, but I am figuring them out). When I am out on the island, I make small attempts to use some Japanese. "WOW!", I thought. This is a far ways away from where I was 14 years ago. That is when the title of the post occurred to me...making fun of myself a little for how annoyed I get at people just being people.

You see, I am a somewhat strong-willed person. Ok, very strong-willed with lots of thoughts and ideas of how things should be done. Fourteen years ago, I was so much more strong-willed with the opinions of an 16 year old kid who had been no where and done nothing. I frequently stated that I would not leave Lawrence, KS and I was certainly not going to be driving outside of Lawrence, KS. Now here I am driving in a foreign country and really loving living here too. I am glad that I have learned in some areas to go along for the ride and enjoy the life that God has given me. To have stuck with my opinions of 14 years ago would have kept me going nowhere and now I get to go every where!

I still struggle with stating my opinions and thoughts. I frequently speak before thinking and blurt out ideas without all the facts. I often have to eat my words or apologize for what I have said. But, I am working on it! I am grateful for the opportunities God has presented in my life and I hope I continue to learn to keep my mouth shut and enjoy the ride.

Friends

If you read this blog, you know friends are important to me. You also know that I like to let others know how blessed I am for the friends I have! New friends have entered our lives. One gals name is A (not sure how she feels about me using her name). A is my one of my amazing next door neighbors.

You see, when we moved here I was praying that we would be able to live in a 4-plex so I could plant a flower garden. I have planted things in the past but have not lived in a place long enough to see anything grow back. I think I have probably killed whatever I planted, but I don't even know cause we move!!! Also, we knew we pregnant and I hoped for a place on ground level so that I could get the kids in and out more quickly and easier than an apartment building. We arrived on Okinawa and the only option was to live in a tower. We were frustrated for several reasons, but I figured God had a plan and even though I was disappointed that my prayers were not answered with what I wanted, I figured there was a reason. Turns out there were lots of reasons!!!!

The reasons being our fabulous neighbors. On either side of us live Christian families! God-centered families who were wanting to help and support and love the way you know --- the way Christians are supposed to be known for. Both families immediately jumped into our lives and we are making what I am sure to be are going to be amazing relationships. One family has two kids (one girl old enough to babysit!!!) and the other family is a couple. Both have offered help and support as we found out about the two creatures growing in me. Both have been just great!

That brings me to A. She has a SIL who just had twins and A called her to find out what kind of support a mom with twins would need. SIL shared that cleaning was a big thing, so you know what?!?! A came and cleaned my bathrooms. Both bathrooms!

The neighbor on the other side is a stay-at-home-mom who has offered to be the "in the middle of the night" support. If we have problems or need to get to the hospital, she has offered to be there for L!

Can you imagine being so blessed as to move into an apartment that you like surrounded by such God-given people. I truly believe God gave us these friends! I hope that in some small way I can bless them and love on them too!

Even though we did not get what I prayed for, we got more than we had thought to pray for. Isn't is so great when God does that in your life! Another terrific part of these new friendships, we are going to be having a weekly Bible study together. I am excited to really build God-based relationships in these new friendships. PTL!


Ok, now for some very serious prayer requests. My friends and family out there who pray, please oh please pray with me!

A friend from many years ago has been on my heart. She is about 21 weeks pregnant. Her baby is predicted to 100% die after he/she is born. To know this know as she carries her bundle of love is heartbreaking. She and her husband treasure each little kick and each little proof of life when the baby moves. Please pray for this family. I want a cure for the baby's kidneys and for the lungs to develop in spite of what the DRs. are predicting. The couple has been amazing and so focused on God!


Other prayer request...One of my mom's closest friends has an 18 year old daughter. On Sunday almost 2 weeks ago she was taken to the emergency room with stomach pain. Turns out this girl is in the beginning stages of kidney failure and the Dr.s can't figure out why. The girl's blood pressure was dangerously high and is now taking blood pressure medicine. The girl had just started college this past August and now probably needs to withdraw from her classes. She has a kidney biopsy on Tuesday.

Please, please pray for these two families. I am not sure how many people read this blog, but if you do, please pray! Prayer works and I know it can change the course of peoples' lives. Thank you.

Tired

This twins thing is killing me. I am so tired! For moms who have been pregnant with twins were you extremely tired during the pregnancy? The whole pregnancy or just until a certain point?


Few updates:

Matthew is out in the field for about 10 more days. We love him and miss him. L keeps asking for him so we talk about how he is at work. To fill in until Dada comes home, we are kissing pics of dada and saying good night to those photos.

The two babies growing in the uterus seem to be doing well. I saw them on a sonogram last week and the Dr. days all looks well. We go in Nov. 4 for the anatomy super duper sonogram so maybe we will get to see what boy or girl parts are in there. This will be fun cause Matthew was gone when we had L's anatomy scan. Will be nice to have him in the room with us rather than on the phone!

L is doing well. She has cut one tooth and 3 more are on their way in bringing us to a total of 12 toofers in the mouth. She is communicating up a storm! She has a very strong will, but is easy most of the time. When the will shows its ugly little head, there is no stopping her. She likes to kiss my belly. We are working with her on "how many babies are in there" and her holding up 2 fingers. She will show you that she is 1 when asked her age by holding up one finger. All of her hair now fits into pig tails which is super cute. She adores her uncle Brandon who we get to see about twice per week. She calls him "BaBa" and will run to him with open arms and the biggest smile when he shows up.

L is working on potty training. Every time mama goes pee-pee L sits on her potty. She lets us know when she has pooped by telling us "Butt." And she pees on her potty every couple of times when she sits without a diaper. I hope we can get potty trained before the bundles arrive!

We love living in Japan. My favorite part!?!?! It is cold in Jersey and not at all here. It is cold in KS and not here. I am enjoying that we still wear flip-flops and shorts. Though yesterday it was cool enough in the evening that I turned off the AC and opened the screen door. We haven't gotten out to see much but have tried a few food places. I love tepenyaki (sp). Where they cook it in front of you. A friend showed me the restaurant and I have gone back 4 times since. When I find food that stays down and tasted good, I stick to it.

Few observations about living in Japan:
**I think it's interesting that the many to most of the advertisements that the Okinawans use have Caucasians as opposed to Japanese or even Asian people in them

**I have been told , after expressing my surprise at the ugliness of the buildings, that it is Typhoon season. That is why everything looks as if it needs to be painted. They nationals won't paint because it could just get torn up by a Typhoon. Come Dec. the buildings will all be worked on again. This makes sense to me.

**Socialized medicine (and other Gov.-run programs) result in astronomical taxes and not any better care. Maybe everyone gets covered, but the quality of care drops significantly.

**Living in Japan is not too different than living in Hawaii as far as culture and interactions with the locals.

Weird

That was strange. My friend reminded me that I needed to change the name of my blog from Collins + 2 to Collins + 3. To make that actual change made it a little more real. Wow! We are going to be a family of 5 in 5ish months! Twins! Oh my goodness. I asked the Dr. how common twins are, he said on Okinawa twins are very common. Mostly because there are so many pregnancies to begin with which makes for the higher possibility of twins. I am glad to know there are other moms out there who are going to be able to let me in on twins secrets.

The other thing I keep doing is not what my friend did: my friend who reminded me to change the name of the blog also has twins. She was a mom of twins who does not dress the boys alike, she does not call them the twins, she even went so far to make them independent that she pushed them out on different days! Each boy has a different bday. I on the other hand have already imagined two little same outfits, two little matching hair bows (we don't know the sex yet) and even naming the kid rhyming names. So I am being a total dork about this.

Well, if we have girls, L had more than enough clothes for the girls to use, but they won't match. L was so blessed by those around her with cute girl clothes that we will have more than enough. Boys though -- we have nothing for a boy. My mom asked , "Didn't L have anything that was neutral?" No, she didn't. People could not resist buying the totally precious girl clothes (who can blame them!). If we have boys, or even since we are having twins, its a good thing M was promoted!! We now need the $.

Can you tell I am still taking in the reality of TWINS!!!! Oh MAAAN!!!

Double Trouble

I was apparently correct to be nervous about yesterday's sonogram. On the drive to the Dr. I was telling M, I hope they are not going to tell us TWINS! I have known in my heart from the beginning that it would be twins. But to have it confirmed was WOW! The Dr. was looking and looking at the sonogram screen and being very quiet. Then he looked at me and said, "I have news, its twins." My first response was, "That's going to be a lot of work." Then I said "Crap." Not the most motherly response! M, however, was smiling from ear to ear and immediately was on cloud 9.

M and I have had several conversations about twins because I had suspected. I told the Dr. that I thought we would find out there were 2 little beanie babies, and the Dr. said mothers usually know. Weird.

For the rest of Tuesday I was overwhelmed and trying to figure out how I was going take care of twins and an almost 2 year old. However, when we were able to FINALLY start making phone calls (the time difference is a killer) I started getting really excited. We are going to be able to do this! We can make this happen.

I had said I wanted 3 but I hate being pregnant so now we get to have 3 kids without ever being pregnant again! So Double Trouble here we come! I am going to enjoy the next 5 months with only my Lou Lou and hope that she gets as much as possible from our time with just us. Then we will jump in to a life with 3!!!

This does move my delivery date. We were originally due March 30, but because of twins the Dr. talked about taking the babies earlier. So lots of prayers please for continued health of babies, health of mama and that delivery will go well. Pray L will take well to having 2 babies invade her space and pray we are given the strength to do this!

Baby Jay

We are getting ready to walk out the door to go meet Baby Jay on the sonogram. I have been nervous about this for a while. With our first pregnancy the problems got worse with the sonogram. I know in my head this is ridiculous to be nervous, but in my hormonal pregnant heart I am nervous. I am hoping all is well and healthy. I am hoping that Baby Jay is developing well that we get to see little fingers and toes.

Bye Bye hot mama

So right around L's first birthday I announced I had been on a mission to become a hot mama. I was no longer the mama of a tiny baby and could take a little time to do my hair, pick out nice clothes and had lost some wight. Well, that hot mama has gone out the window. In July we found out we were expecting little bundle number 2. Those of you who know me, know that our first pregnancy was difficult. Difficult due to complications and and all-day sickness for the entire pregnancy. Upon finding out that number 2 is coming, I was hopeful that this pregnancy would go better. I hoped and hoped and hoped.

That hoping and lots of praying has lead to a less nauseous pregnancy. I am not sure if I know how to manage better or got the anti-nausea medicine sooner or the prayers of all who know us, but it has been better. While I still have gotten sick and am nauseous a lot, it is still better than it was with L. So that was an improvement.

Also, since last time the Dr.s were all nervous and I think they created more complications than we really had, I have been very hesitant to even go to the Dr. Plus with a move around the world, it was difficult to get to a Dr. I have been to the Dr. to confirm the pregnancy and for my first appointment with the nurse to get blood work, paperwork and all the first appt. stuff done. But I have yet to see an actual Dr. And I have had no complications so far! While I appreciate having healthcare and recognize that professionals who really do want to take care of me and the baby, I have appreciated not having nervous Dr.s who want test after test done involved. Anyway, that was a side track.

The point is, we are complication free so far and sickness is better. However, I have still been nauseous with lots of throwing up. So caring about how I look when I haven't even been up to showering for the day is low on the list. My hair is getting little longer and without thinking I went right back to pony-tailing it. It would have been nice to keep looking like a hot mama, but pregnancy just sucks that right out of me. So I am giving my self from now until the new baby is a year old to look like the dumpy mom I prefer to and feel more comfortable with. When this next baby is one, the hot mama is coming back. Until then, we are in survival mode. Though I have had several days of feeling really good, so maybe I will be feeling completely better soon. Plus on Mon. I get a script refill, so I am excited about that!

Bye Bye Hot mama for now. Will see you again in the future!

Ta Tas

My good friend is walking in a breast cancer walk. If you are so inclined, check out her blog and support her in honor of someone you love who has had breast cancer. This particular issue is close to my heart since all 3 of my grandmothers have had breast cancer. Please take a moment to just check out the blog. Dana is a preacher's wife and the thought of her wearing a T-shirt that states "I love my ta tas" is worth the read!

http://www.danaelaineellis.blogspot.com

Surprises

We have had a few surprises about moving to Japan.

Our apartment and apartment building are amazingly clean! The apartment was spotless when we moved in and so far the building appears to be close to spotless. Very well done!

The locals who work at the on-base food courts are hard and dedicated workers. I have yet to see a person standing around. They are always cleaning, cooking, serving, preparing. These people know how to take care of their businesses!

The island is not as pretty as I thought it would be. I had pictured the island of Oahu or the Big Island of Hawai'i. So far I have seen run down buildings in Okinawa. Lots of traffic. And tons of older people who walk everywhere. But no beaches, beautiful gardens or sun kissed skin. I am being told that the Northern part of the Island will more than fulfill my original expectations of moving back to an island, but due to our bundle baking I have not been up to being out and about.

The cross walks chirp at you. Is it like this in other parts of Japan? Each time I drive through a chirping intersection, I crack a smile. I think the chirping is for the blind people to know when and where to cross. It is an interesting concept and I am glad blind people are so well taken care of.

The storage we have in our apartment is astounding. Almost all of our things are put away. We only have about 5 more boxes to unpack of things that I actually need to put away. The boxes in our ginormous storage areas are our Christmas stuff, clothes I will not be able to wear while pregnant, clothes I will only be able to wear after delivery and clothes I hope to fit back into a few months post-baby-delivery. Then a few boxes of clothes L has outgrown and will grow into.

The speed at which JCPennys is able to ship and send things we can only order on-line. Though M and I have lived in 5 different homes, we have to buy curtains EVERY time we move! That is expensive!! Not one place has yet to be a place where we can reuse all of our curtains. But JCPennys had us covered! They had exactly what we needed, shipped it quickly and did not charge us crazy amounts to have it shipped! Thank you JCPennys! Walmart however SUCKS! They are saying it will take up to a month to get our order here and when I clicked an APO address, the shipping cost more than doubled. No more shopping on-line at Walmart!

The sense of community of base and in base housing. Do you know that a neighbor saw us moving in with our stuff. She came over to introduce herself. Me in all of my unshowered, pukey glory smiled and shook her hand. She asked if there was anything I needed. I said, "No, but thank you. Oh wait, do you happen to have tums?" I had been up the night before with the end of 1st trimester heartburn and was not wanting to deal with heartburn for the day. We only have one car and M was at work. The woman ran to her house brought out her bottle of 5-6 tums left and handed me the bottle. Later in the day, she rang the bell while I was showering. M, who had gotten home early and had stopped to get me Tums, answered the door. Do you know that my neighbor had gone to the store and bought Tums for me?!?!??!?!?!?!?! M thanked her and said he was actually able to get me some, but what a lady! Acts of kindness are a regular occurrence in the building. I am grateful to be surrounded by such wonderful people.

These are just a few of my most recent thoughts. Have a great day!

Dedicated to Auntie M and Uncle M

So actually this is more in appreciation of my dad and stepmom. You see, as I am putting away all our stuff from our big move, I am realizing how much my (parents) little brother (2 years) and sister (6 years) have passed along to my baby girl. There are wash clothes, bibs, the bumbo, the baby swing, clothes, towels, socks, toys toys and more toys, books, bottles -- so much baby stuff that has saved us tons of money! So thank you Trents for passing along baby stuff. L appreciates it, we appreciate it and our bank account appreciates it!

We are getting settled into our new home. Getting - that is the frustrating part. I have been too sick and tiered to be of much use, so M comes home after working all day and works on the house. Then when I am trying to get things done during the day, L is there to "help". How will she learn things unless I let her help, but how do I get anything done because she is helping? I put books on the shelf, she pulls them off. I put toys in the bin, she pulls them out. I put packing materials in a box to be recycled, she pulls all the materials out all over the floor. So as much as I get done, I still end up getting nothing done because of my helper! I will steal a phrase from my dad and say to her. "L, quit acting like you are one!" But she is one, she is healthy and she is so far learning lots and her brain is working well. So I continue to try to remember to be thankful for healthy arms and legs, thankful that she is curious and figuring out the world around her, and thankful that because of her smarts she is trying to "help".

Speaking of things she is doing...here is a run down for our family far away.

Using about 50 words
Used one 3 word sentence two different times
Used the potty a handful of times now
Following a ton of one step commands
Knows where the bathroom, our room and her room is in the house
She combines several two-word phrases "mama up" "dada down"
She is making requests through sign language and verbally
She is doing some pretend play -- feeds an animal or "talks" on the phone
She gives hugs and kisses galore
When she gets excited she stomps her two feet back and forth
She likes to read books and be read to

I am thankful that she is meeting her developmental milestones, and I repeat that to myself after I have heard "mama" for the 18 millionth time during the day. Some mommies never get to hear "mama". So pray for me that I can continue to appreciate the gift of my baby girl, especially when I am frustrated with picking up the books she has thrown on the floor for the 80th time.

We have our appointment on Sept. 29 to meet our little Baby Jay. We will have our first ultrasound and checks to make sure all is well. I am excited to see Baby Jay on the ultrasound screen. I will be 14 weeks along. At 15 weeks I could feel L moving, so I am hoping I get to feel Baby Jay in the next several weeks too. I like when you can just fee a flutter rather than a kick to the rib. The flutters feel magical to me. Oh -- great news -- it has been 2 1/2 days since I puked. Maybe I won't be sick this whole pregnancy!!!!! It would be incredible to me to have the nausea go away! However, I am already thankful that this pregnancy has had no complications. With L the multiple complications had already started. I had kept saying if I could deal with only being sick or only the complications, I would do so much better. So to have 2 1/2 days with no throwing up and no complications, I am grateful! Baby Jay seems to be growing well. I am in maternity clothes and my tummy is poking out. Though to look at me you would wonder if I was preggo or putting on weight.

I am headed to take a nap while L is down. Gotta take advantage of the quiet, because the unpacking can happen later. As long as it happens by the time Baby Jay arrives.

Have a wonderfully wonderful day!

Back to work

After having M home and with us for almost a month, he went back to work today. Here are the wonderful blessings we have enjoyed the last month:

Having the one other person on the planet who is 100% responsible for L around.

M would step up to take care of laundry, straightening up, and took most of the dirty diapers since they smell leads me towards gagging or worse.

M and L have SO enjoyed their time together! They reconnected and got reacquainted with one another which is priceless. M figured out her routine and her ways of communicating and L loved loving on her dada. If he is out of sight, she will shout "DADA" as loud as she can. This does not bode well for quiet Japan, so we are trying to work on whispering. But she's 1!

M was able to take L into another room or distract her when I was getting sick.

When I was tired, M would take L so I could rest.

Having M there to laugh with and joke with. To know that we could count on him! What a blessing.

We are joyful for being together again. We are joyful to find out that M won't be deployed nearly as frequently as we had first thought. And we are joyful to be moving into our apartment on Friday/Saturday if all goes well! Seven months of being homeless are enough!!!

Alright, now the blessings of the 6 months we had apart.


Living with my dad and stepmom was so good! I was able to hit Wal-mart or groceries after L went to bed. Got to go to quite a few movies after L was in bed too!

L LOVED being with her Uncle M and Auntie M. She absolutely adores them!

Got to teach Children's Church at m parents church, which helped with the teaching bug.

Got to make friends in SC -- Dana and Tara especially were friends who I have come to love!

Was able to loose some weight (though gaining it back with a baby cooking in the oven :) )

Was able to have my little sister announce to the family that Baby Jay is on the way. It was fun having a "Sister Secret"

The time with my family in SC was precious. I will always treasure that time, and when I am missing them over the next 3 years, I will get to think back to this 6 months.

We saved $$$$, which was great. So we are debt free with some savings. Thanks Dave Ramsey!

That is all for now! Can you tell I have not much to do in the hotel room with no car...the frequency of the posts will probably increase this week ;).

Japan

Things I like so far about living in Japan...

Toilet seat warmers
Toilet butt spray -- you push a button and get sprayed in the butt to help clean you off
Toilet wipes -- you get a piece of toilet paper, place it under the sanitizer sprayer, and then wipe the seat
(Can you tell I spend lots of time over the toilet, throwing up and pregnant peeing)

Noodle restaurants

Pocky and other pretzel/chocolate snacks

The friendliness of the people, especially when you try to use Japanese. They seem to LOVE when we try to speak their language

Performing arts seems to be a HUGE thing in Japan. It seems everywhere we go we see people performing -- and they are very talented

Fireworks -- of the 10 nights we have been here, we have seen 3 firework shows from our hotel room

Things I find funny about living in Japan...

People on the street wear surgical masks -- all the time. I don't like it because I can't hear what people are saying to me. My brother tells me I wouldn't be able to hear the Japanese w/ or w/o the mask because they are taught to talk so quietly

The blind people side walks -- are there really so many blind people in Japan that every sidewalk needs a bumpy path down the middle to help the blind people walk? I think this is cool, I just didn't realize there would be so many blind people

The Japanese girls giggling when L waves at them -- L waves at EVERYONE! and the local girls think this is hilarious

Hope you enjoy.

Smart or lazy?

While out and about today, I caved and bought L some toys. Those of you who know me, know that I am anti-buying new baby toys. I think it is ridiculous to buy new toys for a baby who is going to outgrow the toy fairly quickly. However, the thought of being in a hotel room for one more week while M is a work, leaving me with no transportation...I caved and bought a few brand new toys.

So I bought a little tea set, a shape sorter and bouncing ball. She seems to love all the toys so hopefully that will help the week pass. I was showing L how to use the shape sorter, you know, place each shape in the proper whole. I left L to her own devices to play with the toy. She tried placing one or two shapes through the sorter lid, then pulled the lid off and proceeded to fill the box with the shapes. She decided to skip the whole sorting thing and finished her project in a faster way. So -- lazy or smart? I am not sure which way to go!

Okinawa Japan

Since I have been up from 2 am and it is 6 am, I thought I may as well make a post seeing that I am not going to sleep for awhile. The time change is a killer!

We have arrived. We made the 2 1/2 day journey around the world. My brother, who is stationed here, met us at the airport with baby food and diapers! He is a wonderful man! We found out that the on-base hotel was full, so we jumped right into Japanese culture and were able to stay in a hotel "out in town". Out in town refers to anything not on-base. That means with our Internet hook-up, 1/2 my screen in in Japanese. That also means that I am scared to start trying to use my Japanese already (what little I have) and mostly just smile and nod to the locals around us.

Back to our journey. On the second day of the trip, we all 3 woke up with colds that got worse as we travelled. M ended up with a fever, L snotted all over everywhere, and I couldn't stop with a runny nose and sneezing. We all were pretty yucky during the rest of the trip. Thankfully for L and M, my brother stopped at the PX (military exchange) on our first day here and got some meds for them. Thanks to keeping the health of the tiny baby growing in my uterus I will not partake of the meds and just hope the cold passes soon.

The prayers for nausea to subside while traveling were not answered the way that I had hoped. But the blessing was that each time I barfed, I was able to make it to the airplane toilet. Each time I would come out of the bathroom, the people sitting close would look at me as if I were spreading the plague. At one point a lady offered my Pepto after asking if I was still sick, I thanked her for the offer and explained I was pregnant. Her whole family sighed with relief (knowing they could "catch" what I had) and then she told me she hoped I felt better. Made me smile all the people giving me looks. But I was not about to walk around explaining that I am 8 1/2 weeks preggo and pregnancy does not agree with me. They can just give me looks and deal with it.

Our hotel is nice. Though we have jumped into island life. With a baby running around there is food all over. So the little cockroach who was so lucky to sense out the food joined us in our room yesterday morning. For those who have lived on an island, you get it. For those who have not, even at our $200/night hotel cost, we are going to have bugs. That is the way of life on a island. I am trying to do a better job of picking up L's food trail, but you know...she is one!

Another funny story, with all of my puking L had yet to hear it. M had done an excellent job of keeping L away when I would puke. Living in a hotel room while M is out picking up food, L is bound to hear me puke. So I am hurling in the toilet and L hears me. She starts crying out "Mama, mama, mama" as she runs across the room. She climbs into the bathroom still calling "mama, mama, mama". She grabs my arm and then tries to check on me by looking me in the face. But I am puking so she leans over the toilet trying to place her face between me and the toilet. While I was sick, I was also smiling inside thinking that she has no idea what she is about to get in her face if she doesn't move quickly. I was able to pull her away and onto my lap before the next episode. But it still cracks me up. She was so sweet to come check on me. I am grateful for a little girl who already has a beautiful heart!

We were able to go to a Flight Line Fair last night on one of the Camps. We got to see big planes, little planes, jets, and helicopters. Along with tons of other military equipment. We got to meet some of the guys my brother works with because EOD had a booth set up with their robots and cool things they use to blow things up. My brother has been super amazing at being willing to drive us around and help us figure out this new part of our life. We are so blessed to have him here!!! And to have him so willing to help!

Have a wonderfully wonderful day, maybe I can get a little more sleep before L wakes up for the day.

Preggo

Warning...to men, this a gripe blog about being pregnant.

I did not like being pregnant last time and I am sharing the same opinion this time around. I am not a joyful pregnant lady. I am a grouchy pregnant lady. I have short patience and a mouth that does not hold back what I am thinking. I throw up frequently and if not actually sick, then nauseous most of the day. At least this time around I can still breathe through my nose and I don't have sore boobs.

It drives me crazy when people tell me they enjoyed pregnancy. I do not! Today I was too sick to go to Disney with my family for our last day in Orlando. Hubby was brave to take L alone, but I did not like missing out. At one point I showered trying to get ready to meet up with them and ended up over the toilet bowl hurling up my semi-lunch I had eaten earlier. For today, I have found that if I lie very still I can curb the nausea just long enough to not throw up.

Tomorrow we head out to go back to SC. We get to see my brother who is coming for a visit. He was in Iraq for just under a year and we get to see him finally!!! Then on Tuesday we head to Atlanta next Tuesday. We catch a flight on Wednesday from Atlanta to Chicago, Chicago to Seattle. Then Thursday morning we fly from Seattle to Japan. Please praying as we travel with a one year old and pregnant mama! We need lots of prayers!

Baby Jay

We are pregnant! We have learned about our little bundle who is due at the end of March. Lexi is going to be a big sister and we are excited. I am hoping that this pregnancy goes better as far as less sickness and fewer to no complications.

Baby Jay is what we are calling the baby until we have a name. You see, I am a Kansas Jayhawk fan and the little Jayhawk is called Baby Jay. So in honor of the Jayhawks, Baby Jay it is.

I cannot think of a catchy title for our blog post. I suppose welcome _______ Daddy would work. We cannot say welcome home daddy because we have no home. For a month and 1/2 Lexi and I have been traveling all over.

We drove to NJ to pack up our things to be shipped at the end of June. Did I tell you that we did the 13 hour drive up here. On the Monday before the Tuesday of the move, I was wondering why the movers hadn't called for an estimated time of arrival. Well, when I got on the phone with the people in charge of the move, they said the had no move scheduled for us. I was NOT happy! I explained that I had drive 13 hours with a one year old to be here for this move and something needed to happen please. As soon as I got off the phone, I burst into tears and called Matthew hysterically crying. NOTHING about this move as gone well or smoothly! It has been one disastrous headache after another. So I lost it.

Within an hour, the moving people at Fort Dix fixed whatever they had messed up and we were scheduled for a move on Wednesday. For the move to work out in an hour is seriously an act of GOD! So though nothing has been smooth, God has worked out everything last minute and usually better than originally planned. By the move being scheduled for Wed., I got to go to Pitman C of C and see all the ladies at Bible class. I was so grateful for that day with those girls. I really loved that church and I wish I could pack them up and take them with us. Also, because of the mess up, I was able to spend Monday afternoon with one particular mom of two twin boys who means the world to me.

Do you ever have a friend who is constantly trying to make life better for you! This mom of twins is that kind of friend. Truly, I do not understand why I have her for I certainly do not deserve her. She and her husband were there for me every time M was away. They were there for us with the complications from our last pregnancy. When we have been traveling all over, they will make a more than one hour drive (with twins) to see us if we are anywhere near close. This family is amazing! I have no idea how to show them we love them so much, and I hope that I have been at least somewhat of a friend for her!!!

Ok, so anyway we made our way to KS next for a dear friend's wedding. Oh my, her husband to be looking at Annie as she walked up the aisle is an expression I will hold in my memory for a long time. She was glowing....literally lighting up the room as she entered with her veiled face shining. So the wedding was amazing and the visit was great.

We were then able to go to Vermont with M's Godmother/Aunt. She invited us to Smuggler's Notch. If you are trying to find a place that supports family and is a fabulous place for family vacation. They have ptatoe sack races, water balloon fights with parents, Good Time Charley who leads the old fashioned camp fire, and pools galore...pools for the tiny kids to slides for the big ones. What a great week. I was even treated for a massage at the spa for my birthday and oh man, oh man!

Then yesterday we were reunited with M!!!! We will not be separated for a while!! L was so excited to see her daddy and I am thrilled. We have a going away party today for a chance to say good bye to the friends we've made and the family here in Jersey. More about that later, I just want to have fun and not say good bye right now.

Just a little about the latest goings on. Have a wonderfully wonderful day!

A few other new things

L has added a few words to her vocab and I forgot to add a few last time so here we go...
"ga ga" for grandma Reynolds, tried to say Walmart, "dog", "uh oh", "whoa", has tried to say Mason and Megan (her 2 year old Uncle and 5 year old Aunt), and says "hot."

We just got back to Lawrence, KS from going to Annie Keesee's wedding in Wichita, KS. The wedding was beautiful and I have never seen Annie more gorgeous than when she was dressed for the wedding and would think of Jared. They are on their way to Jamaica for their honeymoon. I hope that they have the kind of marriage that way God intended marriage to be.

We have started our goodbyes as we are one month out from leaving for Japan. It is not fun saying goodbye to people not knowing how long it will be before we see them again. This part stinks about being a military family.

I am also tired of being away from my husband. Six months is long! Six months of being the only one 100% responsible for our daughter is a lot. We are grateful that we will be together again in just a week and half. I can't even imagine how Matthew has been away from his baby girl for 6 months, we are grateful that this time is done.

Please pray as we transition being back together again. Pray that it is smooth, that I am patient with Matthew figuring out how we work at home, and that Matthew is not left feeling excluded from our little system we have set up.

Itinerary:
A quick run down of out upcoming events.

Tomorrow we head to Kansas City, MO. We spend time with some MO family. On Wed. we head to SC. On Friday we fly to Newark, NJ. On Saturday we head to Vermont for a week. Then on Friday July 31 we are with Matthew again!!!! August 5 we ship our express shipment to Okinawa. Then on August 6 we head to SC. We rest for a day and and then drive to Disney on August 8 - 16. My brother who is home from Iraq flies to SC on August 16 and we get to see him for several days. Then around August 20 we fly for Japan. I am excited and sad. We are ready to have our own home again and ready to be with Matthew.

I am grateful for an easy baby who travels well and loves being around all the people we meet.

Have a wonderfully wonderful day!

Virtous Woman

Several weeks ago I was in Bible study with wonderful women from Pitman C of C in Pitman, NJ. We were discussing our obituaries and what we would like one of the sentences to be when people talk about us. Based on scripture and the hearts of these women, this is some of how I would like for people to remember me.

She was a virtuous woman. She raised her children to love the Lord. She was a woman who feared the Lord. She spoke with wisdom and faithful instruction was on her tongue. The hearts of her family trusted in her, so that they would knew they would not be harmed. She brought good to her family. Many women have done noble things, but she surpassed them all. She stretched out her hand to those in need. Her light burned brighter to those around her. She kept her family together in love and in God's wisdom. She lived her days in kindness towards others.

This is a tall order. I hope that God can teach these things to me without me having to learn through hard hard lessons. However, we seem to learn best when we go through hard things. I am a loooooooong way from where I hope to be as a woman of God at the end my life, but hopefully God will take me there.

Lexi is doing lots and as most parents know, kids pick up new and crazy things each day. My favorite is when I get to talking about something I am passionate about and she begins to imitate my hand motions and expressions. S
he imitates like no baby I have seen before. She tries to make almost every little sound and expression from the people around her. She loves people by the way. Her favorite activity is watching people. She watches them eat, walk, do what they do. Then she expects EVERYONE to wave at her and adore her. I think we may have a future princess on our hands. She also loves to prance around the house wearing a crown, bracelets, necklaces, a purse, and even some rings. One of her favorite hobbies is swimming.

Update on new things Lexi is doing:

She has peed in the potty twice. She just pooped in the potty tonight.

She uses the following signs -- more, please, help, all done, ice cream, milk, water, cookie, food, apple, bath, and cracker. Some of these only mama can recognize, but she is doing well!

She speaks the following words -- mama, dada, water, shoes, toes, ball, bath, balloon, doll, toy, computer, up, down, duck

She can identify her nose, ears, head, tummy, toes, and almost eyes

She uses several 2 signs together

She will follow the following one-step commands -- come here, give me, dance, wiggle, swim, go there, get the ball, get the whatever you point at, touch "fill in body part", walk, jump, look for "fill in blank", shake your booty

We are so grateful she continues to develop at a healthy pace.

Other cute things she tries to do -- laughs when we laugh, tries to wiggle her eye brows, tries to wink, she tries to tickle, give zerberts, gives hugs and kisses,

When asked, she will usually says the sounds for the following animals/people -- dog, cow, cat, snake, daddy, war cry, duck, and a few more.

This girl has a STRONG will. She wants to do what she wants to do and no one should be telling her different. So we are learning to guide this personality trait without crushing it.

Other news -- we leave for Japan in about a month. We are currently in KS for one of my best friend's wedding. Congrats Annie! We then go to Vermont and Disney and the best news of all!!!! My brother has come home from Iraq! He is safe back on American soil. We are so grateful for his safe return. We get to visit him the week before we move to Japan (where one of my other brothers is stationed). We are grateful to God for keeping B safe and thank you for your prayers!!!

Have a wonderful day!

3000 lbs

So this past week we had to sort all of our belongings down to only 3000 lbs. Ok, so missionary friends who sort down to 2 suit cases per person, how? How do you sort all of your worldly goods to such small amounts? I am struggling with 3000 lbs! Part of my struggle has been dating back to a conversation M and I had when we were dating and talking about marriage. This is how the conversation went...

B - I love you and want to marry you. This Marine Corps thing can work for me. I do not like to travel (hahahaha because of all the traveling I do) but I would not mind living all over. The military moves our things, right?
M - Right
B - So, as long as I can come home to my things that make my home homey, it will be fine.
M - Nod

Can you tell M was not wordy back then either?

So now comes week before last. We are preparing for our 5th move in 6 years...that is a lot to begin with. Matthew calls to let me know that we can only take 3000 lbs of our allotted home goods because we are doing an overseas tour. That means none of my furniture id going. I cried and cried. This was not what I had signed up for. I thought our moves would look differently. Especially -- USMC -- if you are listening. Doesn't is cost just as much to store our things for 3 years as it would to ship our things? So I struggled...yes I am attached to my stuff. I look at my dining room set and think, wow, we bought that with my first pay check after we were married. Or I look at my brand new living room furniture and think, we took 2 years to find that and we finally have the living room that we wanted. You see, when we married, part of wanting to wait 5 years to have a baby was so that we could work on each room pay check at a time. We would be able to decide what we wanted and have nice things to live in.

We also feel that as a couple, we love to have people over. We love having Bible studies at our house, people for dinner, kids to play, etc. Part of our home being inviting is that we have a homey home. So now that is gone for the next 3 years. Overseas without any of my furniture that makes my home mine.

Then I struggle because Christians are constantly talking about this world being temporary and we can't take it when we go and that being attached to worldly things is wrong. So then I feel guilty about liking my home and the things in my home. Well, you know what, when you want to have a place for other Christians to gather, a comfortable home is better. God has blessed us with the ability to have a comfortable home that we like to welcome others with. Though during the last several years we have not as much because of recruiting, and M being gone for a total of 10 months since 2007, we haven't been able to have lots of events at our house. We have done what we could and I enjoy having a place where people can gather.


I have come to terms with this move not looking like I thought it would and we got to work. On Sat. M and I met up at the storage unit and sorted through all of our boxes, furniture and stuff. We stored away all big furniture. We stored away my books...I love to read and reread books, so this sucks...
We pulled out anything that would help make our home homey:
linens, decorations, wall hangings, Christmas stuff, decorative pillows, and all of L's items. Her dresser, crib, books and toys are going. I hope we have some how sorted our stuff down to 3000 lbs. If not we have to pay $4.00/pound if we go over our weight. YIKES!!! We shall see how this goes.

On a positive note, friends and family have helped me to think of the good things about not taking as much stuff:
* I had joked about going to the beach every day, but now since I may not like our home as much, I may really go to the beach every day
* L can throw up, poop on and spill things on the Gov' furniture and when I come back my furniture will still look brand new
* We are going to a a BEAUTIFUL island where there are tons of outdoors things to do
* We get to be on island with my brother who is stationed there
* We get to take several vacations not visiting family since we have been married 6 years on Sunday and have yet to Vaca w/o visiting family. We love our family of course, but it will be nice to get away just the 3 of us
* L gets to see a different culture, festivals, and experiences
* I might get to sub since the DOD schools really need subs. So I may get a taste of the classroom again
* God will be glorified for all the blessings we have!
* God is teaching me to live without my stuff and he didn't have to burn down my house for me to learn the lesson. He is teaching me the easy way to be more reliant on him
* The best of all...We will be with M on a more regular basis! Even though he will be deployed frequently, we will still see him more than we do now
* We are all healthy and able to go on this new adventure
* We get to think about what traditions we want to start with our daughter. Maybe we can have some cool traditions around moving and starting in new places. Any ideas??

So that has been where I have been, mentally, for the past couple of weeks. We are grateful to family and friends for supporting us through talks, letting us stay with you and just your overall love and prayers!

June so far

As you can tell by my posts, or lack there of, we have been busy. Of course, not having my own computer cuts out on posting time as well. Here are some key highlights for the last several weeks.

L now combines 2 signs "more bath" on her own! When she wants to go into the pool this is what she signs.

She will tell you what a cat says. She is saying "ba" for bath, "ba" for ball, "oooo ooo" for dog (that is her bark for dogs), "do" for doll, and she will say "mama" and lay her head on my chest. She says "ba" for binky and "aa" for yankee. She says "hello" and once held the phone to her ear and said "hello dada". Once in a while she imitates the syllable and tone for "I love you". She touches her toes, head and tummy, and just beginning to touch nose and ear. The following includes her list of signs she has mastered: more, milk, water, please, food, bath, down and beginning to sign cookie and trying to imitate several other signs. I LOVE baby signing!!!! It is so much better than her screaming at me and me not understanding what she wants. She only walks and is beginning to alternate feet while climbing stairs. She waves to everyone thinking they should all wave back and adore her. She picks any number of things and holds them to her ear and says "hello" as if talking into a phone.

The last couple of weeks have been crazy. I went up on the train for M's graduation for TBS and he and I drove down to SC for Memorial Day. We had a great 4 days and 5 nights together! Then on May 30, L and I flew to Bermuda for M's sister's (L's Godma)wedding. The week was wonderful! L got to meet one of her aunts she had not yet met. L swam in the ocean, went swimming in a pool, and we celebrated my 30th bday while there. M's family had a party for me and it was fun. Matthew flew in on June 5 for the wedding on June 6. L hardly let go of him all weekend. She is now at the point where she realizes that he is coming and going. So when he is here, she holds on tight so as not to loose him. L was the mini flower girl in the wedding and she laughed out loud when she realized that everyone was looking at her and stopped walking so she could take it all in. With some help from mama she did get down the aisle and enjoyed the wedding from the sidelines.

We are so excited for M's sister who just got married. She has chosen a fabulous man who will stand beside her on her journey to Heaven. They will be a happy couple with many many years of marriage ahead. We love you R and M!

When we got back to Sc, we had great grandma, great grandpa, an aunt and 2 cousins visiting. We were excited to see them! L loved all the craziness in the house but also was ready for peace and quiet. She would go lay in her crib for up to an hour, just to hang out by herself.

That is about it for our most recent activities. I am excited for the day when people ask me what we are up to and I say "oh, you know, same old same old"

We are trying to get ready for our big move to Japan, filling out medical screenings, shipping out household items (which I just found out we can only ship 3000 lbs, do you know how not a lot of stuff that is!!!). I am a little overwhelmed by what we have to do and by how not smoothly it is going. But, we just hammer one thing out at a time and know that we will eventually be in Japan with M and that will be so worth it! L and I are so excited to get to see daddy again and actually be living in the same place as him (at least the same place when he is not deployed)!!!

What are you up to lately?

Little time

So I get to take the train on Wednesday to see my hubby. The best part....BABY-FREE! That means I am traveling with no baby at all! My dad and step-mom are allowing me this trip by watching baby girl. Goodbye baby and hello Matthew!

Will write more about new things L is doing soon. Have a wonderfully wodnerful day! I am off to see the man who has made my dreams come true for almost 6 years!

BTW -- Bday count down, 13 days until it is my Birthday!!!

I feel sorry for me, but it is getting better

Being away from my husband for almost 4 months now and just over two months to go is taking its toll. The first 3 months I was so grateful to be off of recruiting duty that it was no problem being away from the man of my dreams. Now we are far enough away that I am just missing him and lonely without him. The past week 1/2 have gotten hard. I am not sure why the lonliness hit but its here. So, to try and get through this I am listing my blessings as I occassionally do when I need a kick in the butt to get over myself.

So it is time to count my blessings:

I am not the one away from my daughter. Matthew doesn't even get to see her that often and he doesn't complain at all!

Lexi is growing and developing as all parents hope a child would.

Inspite of me, Lexi is growing and developing well ;).

We have gotten to see Matthew 5 times, which is more than some families get to see their husbands/daddies.

We are in a good place with family.

The weather in SC is so WARM! I started working on my tan in April!

We soon get to move to Japan. While there, we get to see my brother Brandon on a regular basis.

My whole family is currently healthy.

Brain, one of my brothers will be coming home from Iraq soon!

We get to go to Disney this summer.

We get to see Matthew's sister get married and my friend Annie is getting married and we get to be there too!

At least we get to keep the spice in our marriage because we see each other so infrequently.

We are so blessed to be able to cover all bills and save some $$ right now!

Have a wonderfully wonderful day!

One Month Away

So one month from today is my birthday. i am not sure what I will be doing on the day. M's sister is getting married in Bermuda and we are flying there at the end of May. So maybe L and I will be on the beach!

Speaking of travleing, I would like to share my travel plans over the next four months because it is CRAZY!!! What am I thinking?!?!

May 19 -- Drive to Columbia, SC to catch a train at 4 am on May 20
May 20 - 21 in VA to celebrate M's graduation from TBS (The Basic SChool) I am so excited about doing this trip baby free!!!
May 21 -- Drive back to SC

M is with us for Memorial Day weekend

May 26-June 7 -- L and I catch a flight to Bermuda

July 8 - July 21 -- L and I fly to KC,MO to go to Annie's wedding!!!

July 23 -- Drive to VA

July 24 -- Drive to NJ

July 25 -- Drive to Vermont and spend a week there

July 31 -- Drive back to NJ

Augusta 3 -- Drive to SC

August 8 -- August 16 Driving to Disney to spend a week there

Sometime during the week of August 16 we are hoping will be our move to Japan.

We have a lot going on! At some point in there, I need to fit a trip in to NJ to be there when the movers come and pack up all our stuff. So this is our crazy life for the next couple of months. I am excited aobut moving to Japan, but sad about syaing goodbye to people for 3 years. However, I am trying to work a 4 day stop in Hawaii on our way to Japan, so that makes the move even better.

What are you summer plans?

Birthday!

L's birthday has passed, and that means that the count down to my Birthday begins! Just so that you know my Birthday is 7 weeks away. I typically start calling all my friends about now to remind them. Since I have a blog, I will pass the information along this way as well. I don't want presents. I just want you to know that it is soon to be my birthday and birthday month (yes, I get a whole birthday month, even if it is only in my head). June 1 I will be 30 years old!! Yeah!

Someone asked me a couple of weeks ago if I was freaked about turning 3 - 0. I said no, of course not. My dreams in life were the following:
to become a teacher -- check

to live in Hawaii -- check

to live and teach in Hawaii -- check, check

I accomplished those goals. Life from here on out is icing on the cake. I get to be a wife to an amazing man, a mother, and I will get to go back to teaching at some point in the far away future. So I am thrilled with the way my life has been blessed by God and I love my Birthday!

So happy birthday to me in 7 weeks!

Big 'ole Birthday number one!

L enjoying the attention and cake















Mommy and Daddy helping to blow out the candle



L had a fabulous Birthday. She was a pleasant creature suring the whole affair. We are so thankful for our baby girl! Check out our website for all of the updated pics.

Birthday Celebration!

We have had the most wonderful birthday week. L is one year old. We are so thankful that she has been healthy for one whole year! We are grateful that she is developing normally and we are so blessed to have so many people in our lives who love her too!

I am excited to share photos on our web page soon. Hopefully in the morning I can get them up. Until I share new photos, I wanted to share some of the cool things L is up to:

She will hold out one pointer finger when asked how old she is.

She will usually answer...
"What does a dog say?" "UUU UUU" which is Woof, woof

"What does daddy say?" She tries to answer with an Ooh rah.

"What does a cow say?" "Oooooo"

She roars for a lion and sometimes answers for a cat.


The cutest is when she is told "Let me hear your war cry" she will growl at you.

She is eating strawberry foods, cereal bars, tried watermelon, dried fruits, and she loves being the center of attention.

She is able to mostly walk across a room.

She enjoyed her Birthday and and loved being around family and friends.

Look for pics soon.

Weekend with M

Ok, I have to share one of the most touching things I have seen lately. On Friday night we got to Quantico to visit M. M was not quite ready and still had some things to take care of. So L and I pottied, diapered, and played around in the barracks while M finished up. L has a new habit of holding one of my fingers and walking along. So we walked through the hallway to burn off some of her energy from sitting in a car seat for 8 hours. The barracks looks just like a dorm -- a crappy dorm - but a dorm. So all the guys M is in school with live together on the one floor of the barracks. Most of these guys have been in the Marine Corps. many years, are extablished people with families. So as L and I are walking through the hall, the guys are changing over to the civilian clothes and heading out to get dinner. As many of the guys stepped into the hall, they would stop and look at L. This where I get teary eyeed... The guys would look at her and say something along the lines of she's cute, but then this look would pass over their faces. This look of sadness, joy and longing all in one look. You could see on their faces they were thinking of their kids. Then most of them would tell me about the kids they have at home. They would light up talking about the ages of thier children and the names. Whether the kids are older or one guy has 6 month old twin girls. When they saw L, they all thought of their kids and you could see they wanted to be with their children. I was so touched by these grown men who are trained to kill longing for thier children. So if you see an Acitive Duty military person, thank them for what they do and the time they spend away from their families. Let them know you think of the times they are sparated from their children and you appreciate what they do.

Onto the the rest of the weekend:

What a blessed weekend! We went to stay with the Leonards in DC while visiting M over the weekend. So you know what they did for us?!?!? Brad and Vanessa kept L upstairs with them Friday and Saturday nights. In case she woke up, they wanted to let us have time together. Then they kept her Saturday evening so M and I could have a date. We got to go to a movie and dinner baby-free and just spend time together! It was such a blessing to have that time! So thank you Leonards for the weekend! Getting to see M once per month is not fun so thank you for the gift of time together.

We are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives.

Please say a little prayer for all the people who are spearated from their children.

Loosing the baby weight

So now that L is turning 1 in just 6 more days, I am no longer going to look like a fat dumpy mom with an infant. That time in my life has passed so we are moving on.

I have been working to loose wight and have pulled off 13 pounds. I have 13 more to go and we are getting strict now! M's sister is getting married in just over 2 months, so this frumpy mom will not be dumpy for the wedding. Thank you to God who has helped me curb my cravings and thank you to Wii Fit who has motivated me in dropping those pounds.

I went shopping! You see, when I call to tell my husband that I bought new clothes, he responds with "Where did you go?" And he is not referring to me going to a too expensive store. He is referring to when I used to buy all my clothes off of the Sears clearance rack. (I LOVE to save $$$.) I had this addiction to looking like a frumpy mom even way before I was a mom. So when I say "Express, New York and Co. or Ann Taylor" he is a happy man. What would you give for a man like that? I do admit that I am still addicted to looking frumpy (that is naturally me and naturally comfortable) but we are making progress.

I got a new doo. I know that I look best with short hair, but when I had a newborn, the last thing I wanted to do was my hair. So I grew it out and put it in a pony tail or sloppy bun every single day. That is easy to do when a baby is crying. Well, now L is about to be one, so since she can crawl around at my feet or play with toys in the tub while I do my hair (my new SC friend had this suggestion, tried it today and it was fabulous) I have found time to actually do my hair. So it is chopped short with highlights and it is cute! Oh, when I told M that I got my hair done, his response was "You didn't go to Super Cuts did you? You went to a real place right?" And yes, I have been known to go to Super Cuts to save some bucks.

Eyebrows waxed. I feel so much better when my eye brows are done. But it is soo painful to tweese and I don't like to spend $$$. So I mostly do nothing. But yesterday I thought "What would Matthew do?" He would tell me to get my eye brows done if I wanted to...so I did!

So thank you God for providing $$$ to help me fix myself up and thank you God for providing a husband who says "Do whatever makes you happy." Thanks to R.S. and R.C. for helping with fashion.

I really wish that What not to Wear would come and help me, but maybe I will get this figured out. So here is to moving on and enjoying being and active, fit and hot mom!

Independent

So are your kids hugely independent? Does your child look you in the eye and then continue to do what he/she wants to anyway? Did your child start at 10 months testing you? Mine did.

One night I was giving L and bath and she tried to stand up in the tub. I sat her down and said "We're sitting." She looked up at me with the most precious expression, and then stood up again. My thought was, "Holy crap, here we go." She proceeded to stand up about 20 more times, all the while looking at me daring me to stop her. Each time I sat her down and said something along the lines of sit down, we are sitting, time to sit, etc. How does a 10 month old start testing!?!?!

The next night I could tell my method was working because she only tried to stand up about 6 times. Since then all I have to do is say "sit down" once and she stays.

Then came her testing int he high chair. She started a new thing of swiping the food on her high chair tray all over. She thinks its hilarious to send the food flying. The first time I said "No" in a firm voice. She looked me straight in the eye, yelled at me in baby Chinese and swiped again. Over and over we went through this. Does anyone know where this strong will comes from??? Couldn't be from me!

She swiped once with daddy and he told her no...oh you would have thought he just beat her. Her little lip came out and she sobbed for about 2 minutes. Then swiped again. Apparently daddy saying no has much more of an impact than when I say it. She just yells at me and does it again. So these are our new things! Is it normal for a 10 month old to do this?

I have spent many years working with people who have disabilities. People from age 11 months all the way to almost 70 years old. I was used to not being defiant until about 3 years old because my kids at school/work were so delayed. So this surprised me that L would test me so early. But I think this is a typical development at this age, so we are grateful for neurons connecting the way they are supposed to.

I am continuing to let her know when she is not supposed to do something, but also replacing the behavior. For example, when she goes to swipe, she can't swipe food, but can swipe with a wipe at the end of the meal to "help" me clean up. Hope all these strategies I've been passing out to parents for several years work with my little rascal.


Other new and cool things L is doing...
1. Following one-step commands "sit down and come here"
2. Walking 10 steps fairly well
3. eating big girl food -- bread, cheese, yogurt, apples, pears, grapes, blueberries, baby puffs, rice, chicken, beef, bananas, refried beans, tortillas, and some others I probably forgot.
4. Signing milk and more
5. Has imitated moooo, meow, and neigh
6. Laughs so much more -- she used to laugh at something only once. Now she laughs frequently
7. She tries to follow the big kids from room to room to play with them
8. This afternoon she may or may not have swallowed a penny. Guess we will find out tomorrow.
9. Looks like our little girl has an under bite, so at about age 6 or 7 she will probably have to wear a hockey mask to fix the jaw.

Have a wonderfully wonderful day! In just over a week our baby girl turns 1!!!!!

Birhtday Wishes

L's Bday is only 2 weeks away, any Birthday wishes you would like me to write in her baby book for her? I will include in her baby book all of the birthday wishes that have already been written.

More Friends

A follow up to my friends post.

Writing today to tell you about some more friends I have made since being a military wife. Please know that this does not include all friends nor the friends I've been able to keep since before I was a military wife. These are a few of my friends who have made an impact in my life and I want to bless them a little.

Carla D. -- You took to our family like white on rice. You found another extrovert who loved to meet up and hang out and you did that with us. One of my favorite memories was when you came to our pool, all 8 months pregnant of you and G was swimming and splashing and smiling. She was so joyful!

Sandee M. -- I enjoy how much you care about other people. You are truly looking for ways to help support people. Whether that is leading a small group, youth group, nursery or whatever. You look for ways to bless people.

Ivana M. -- You took us in right after joining recruiting. You knew what kind of life we were about to get into and you looked to support us as much as you could. You came with me to bible class, we met for lunch! You were a great support as we transitioned to the awful life of recruiting.

Whitney M. -- I love that we can be such good phone friends. You and Tyler have been an example of a strong Godly marriage that was somewhat lacking in our lives. We both appreciate your joyfulness and servant heart.

Lauren S. -- We've been through some rough times. Thank you for supporting me when we had major concerns about L. You answered questions and let me talk. It was a very rough pregnancy and you were there!

Gina S. -- I love that you share your true deep thoughts. In fact, I don't even always respond to your emails because they have touched me so much. You share what is truly on your heart and provide guidance through wisdom.

Kelly S. -- I love your exuberance. You are honest and sincere. You look to support people who may have known any love or support before. I love that about you!

Jo-Ann R. -- You are a servant with a wide-open life example of how God works in peoples' lives.

Christina M. -- When we got to Pitman, right away you looked to help our family. You helped to organize the shower for L, you organized meals for our family after L was born...is organizing your gift? Thank you taking to us as we figured living in a new area!

I hope that you have people in you life who have blessed you! If you can think of someone please let us know about them!

Happy Birthday

L's Birthday is just a few weeks away. These are a few birthday wishes to her...

I wish you many smiles and laughs.

I wish you one-minute moments. You know the ones where we belly laugh, we dance naked after your bath, we welcome daddy home the moment he walks in the door, the first bite of your favorite food. These are the moments to treasure in life.

I wish you another healthy year.

I wish you joy.

I wish for you to dance when your favorite song comes on.

I wish that you never for a moment feel far away from God.

I wish you know and choose God's love.

I wish for you peace.

I wish for to never wonder where your food will come from.

I wish for you to live in this moment.

I wish for you to know challenges and to know you can overcome those challenges.

Do you have any birthday wishes for L?

Life

L has been asleep for 3 1/2 hours! So I thought I would write a post rather than just waiting for her to wake up.

Life is very interesting as a military family. I have to say that one of the most unexpected issues I have learned about since marrying Matthew has been the issue of making friends. My family moved some as I was growing up and it was always easy to make friends. Then I went to college and made friends. Moved to Hawaii where I began to understand a little about discrimination and learn that making friends as an adult was not the easiest. In Hawaii I had one friend (a mom with twin 1 1/2 year old boys) who became my friend RIGHT away. But other people were slow to reach out. I think in part because I was not a Local and I think also that people assumed I would just leave. I did leave, but when I moved there I wanted to stay in HI. I had not planned on meeting a Marine. However, I made friends still fairly quickly; and then I married a military man.

You see, when most people meet us and find out M is a Marine, they are kind, friendly and make some of the following comments:
"Oh, you must move a lot."
"That can be a hard life."
"That must be hard."
"How long are you here for?"
and a few times, "Thank you."

At first I thought the "How long are you going to be here" question was a regular question of curiosity. I have now figured out what that question really means -- "Are you going to be here long enough to make it worth it to become friends." Most people move along and then greet us if they see us again. So, since becoming a Marine Corps. wife; I have learned, in the eyes of some, that most of the time I am not worth getting to know because I will be moving in a matter of time.

There is a second group of friends who will be our friends up until the day we move and then act as though we have disappeared. They never talk, reach out or communicate again.

Then there are the few who wade into our military lifestyle. These are a rare and special breed of people who take the time to get to know my family and myself. These are people who I have realized have a deeper faith and a great appreciation for living in the moment and taking advantage of friends when God provides them.
These are friends who model Jesus' true calling for his people. Spiritually these people, I think recognize that we are forever connected by God.

I am not this amazingly special person who all people need to know...but I do need, crave and desire close friends who will love me and who I can love back. Learning how rare friendships are, I have come to treasure them!

To those of you who have become our friends in spite of us moving away, Thank you!

So a small and insignificant tribute to a few of my friends...

Christie S...You were my first military move friend --- I think about you almost every day and pray for you too. I do love you so much!

Rebecca S...Your frequent phone calls and support are outstanding! You have guided me through several difficult times and I love you.

Katy M...You are a friend who stands the test of time! You become forever friends and we love you!

Pitman -- how do I narrow down the friends we made. The whole church understood our military situation (thank you Patti for opening some insight) --

Patti S. -- You and Dr. Sikes (I still can't say Mr. Steve) welcomed us and opened Pitman doors for us. It was so good to have a Yorkie connection all the way over in NJ.
Brenda P. -- You have the heart of a servant for new moms. You are dedicated and so loving
Mandy -- You have grown so much and you stretched your heart wide open for us
Melva T. -- You are an amazing model for us who are trying to figure out this Christian mom thing
Linda K -- You have been there and done that and share with those of us who are there now. We know we can make it because you are the example
Katherine C. -- Your joy is incredible and contagious. You keep your joy through trials which would knock many people down permanently
Marlene -- You love the Lord! You are learning to rely on the Lord! I love when you share how prayer works immediately in your life!

We are now in a new place and making new friends. There are already a few who stand out and I am excited to tell you about more friends to come.

There are more to write about but the baby is crying -- so pausing for now. Off to catch the tears...

Would you post about special friend/s you have had in your life.

http://www.bornagainamerican.org/

I love this website! It is about being American and getting back to what our country was built on. I especially LOVED the part of the website where you can directly send an email to your represenatives, Congressmen, and the President. You type your message and zip. The site sends your message to the people who represent you! I love it and will continue to send messages!

href="http://www.bornagainamerican.org/ ">


As a wife to a Marine, sister to a Marine and sister to an Army National Guardsman who is in Iraq; this website was meaningful.

Hope you click and let your voice be heard!

SC

We are living in SC now. After a very crazy month and 1/2, we are here and getting settled. You would be amazed at how well things have gone and how supportive people have been. Lets start with our trip to KS in Dec.

My mom was amazing. She had everything we could need for a baby. She was doting on her baby grandaughter and I even got to go out with my friends Pam and Annie (bestest friends from college). And I got to go to a movie by myself. Mom was such a joy to be with and we had a great visit. While in KS, we visited our Missouri family. They were incredible too. My step-grandparents made our lives easy. They drove us around and hung out with the kids. L got to meet Aunt Brenda and her crew. L got to meet great-grandma and other relatives. L got to meet adopted Aunt Pam and Aunt Annie. So we were thrilled with our trip and so blessed!

Then we went home for a day and flew to Bermuda. A wonderful friend of my in-laws had a place for us to stay. My MIL had toys, car seat, pack & play and a few more extras all set up for us. She made that trip easy as well. Matthew and I got some time alone and some time with other grown ups! We rode horses on the beach, had some rum swizzles, and spent lots of time with the whole Bermuda family.

Then we came home to finish packing our house. Matthew left on the 22nd and I was alone with the infant who pooped on the only sheet for my bed, threw up on the only sheet for her bed and was all around crying and fussing. That experience affirmed that we made the right decision to move to SC to get help!

L and I drove to Quantico on Friday Jan. 30 after checking out of the apartment...pause. The friends we had from Piutman Church of Christ were amazing beyond words. They helped clean up, straighten up and babysit while I closed out the apartment. Then several of us went to lunch right before L and I hit the road. It was hard to say goodbye.

Pitman. Our family and our marriage are stronger because of your support during the last year. You have met every need we had while experiencing life on recruiting duty with a newborn. Though this time has been the hardest in our marriage, we never waivered because God was with us. God was with us through you. Thank you and I don't know if you truly know how grateful we are for you. I will leave my thanks at this since I am not a writer. Know we love you and God blessed us because of you. We hope that we can pass the blessings onto the people we meet from here on out.

The mom with the twins...you know who you are...I will miss you so much! You have been a literal God-send since we were living in NJ. You and your husband took me in during all the time Matthew was away. You loved on me and have guidied me in having a better Christian life. Thank you! I love you and will see you soon. This is a practise good bye since we haven't had a real one, that might be too hard. July will be when my heart breaks for leaving you.

We saw Matthew become a Warrant Officer on Monday. Tears poured down my face...not so much for the promotion as that we were off of recruiting. I do not wish that job on anyone! So Matthew is in training for his dream job and we give God glory every day for the change in our lives from recruiting.

We pulled into SC last night and I felt a wave of relief and exhaustion set in. I am so happy to be here with my little brother and sister. I am so glad to be here where I have support in the house from my dad and R. And I get lots of time with them and get to help out with my brother and sister! I praise God for the blessings we have and the travel and experiences of the last month!

Oh...we have official word we go to Japan next! So we open a new chapter to the book we are writing and look forward with excitement. We will be stationed on the same base as my brother so the blessing of having family around will continue!

Off to unpack. If you are reading this, you have become a friend and I thank you for you love and prayers. We are joyful to close the door on this past year (can you tell recruiting was hard and we are glad to be out) yet mourn the changes in the relationships of the friends and family we have become close to while living in NJ.

By the way...NJ family (twins' family included)...I refuse to really say good bye since we will be back several times before we leave the country.

Here we go!

Check pictures of our travels on our pic website. The link is on the side. L on the beach are the best pictures. Maybe a future model?

Help please

Ladies of Pitman,
I am needing some help next Friday Jan. 30. I need to take a few small loads (the things we needed until the last minute) over to our storage unit. Would someone be able to stay with L. while I get this done? I will be having my last check out at about 1 pm and need things cleaned out before then. Thanks! I love you ladies!!! As of today I will have no internet access or computer access so please call me if you can help.
Brenda

Annie...

Annie...
You are to be celebrated today. You are one of the people who I would trust my soul with. I am so excited that you have found the person you are to be married to. You deserve a person who will honor and protect and adore you. Jared is so blessed to have found you and recognized that you are the blessing God provided for him. Annie, you enjoy these next several months and revel in the fact that you are to be MARRIED!!!! Yeah for you!
I love you Annie!

25 Random Facts

These are 25 random facts about me that you may or may not know. I was tagged by Terri Mello weeks ago, but have been way too busy traveling and packing. So here they are...
1. I want more children, but this last pregnancy was so complicated that I think I never want to be pregnant again.
2. I went to York College. A Christian college in York, NE that changed my life and made me a better Christian and a better person.
3. I swore I would never marry a person from a divorced family, then married a man who had a very complicated divorced family. This was a blessing because I really love my in-laws, they are wonderful people.
4. I knew that we would have a girl and told people so for several years before we got pregnant.
5. I love working with children who have Autism. That is my "thing" and I really miss all of the kids I worked with.
6. Making Matthew a happy and peaceful life is more of a blessing than I could have imagined. I never wanted to be a housewife--but serving him has brought great happiness.
7. I secretly (at least a secret up until now) watch one of the stupid soaps now that I stay-at-home.
8. I am a secret (though this is no longer one either) TV addict.
8. Frequently I wonder why I went to college to be a stay-at-home-mom. Though I do love knowing I will get to work with kids who have disabilities again!
9. I hate technology...using it and relying on it. But now that Matthew has been teaching me more about technology, I appreciate it even though I still hate it.
10. Being a mom is different than I expected. Though I have not yet been able to put into words why it is different than I thought it would be. Maybe this is because I spent so much time working with children who have disabilities, I keep expecting some disability to effect L. So that when the difference shows up I am not shocked.
11. Anxiety is something that has been passed down in m family and I am determined not to pass it onto my daughter.
12. Part of the anxiety I have bleeds into conviction that the worst will always happen.
13. I sometimes convince myself that if I speak aloud the worst case scenario, then the worst case will not happen.
14. I hurt myself a lot. I mean a lot. I am very clumsy and have many scars to prove it.
15. Dunkin Donuts Boston Cream donut is so delicious! I could probably eat 5 per day.
16. Never thought I would be fat (maybe donuts). Now that I am, each day I am shocked when I see myself in the mirror. (Don't tell me I am not fat...10 lbs ago my Dr. told me I was fat so I know I am now). It used to be so easy for me to be skinny. So I am going to be skinny again soon. Now that I have said this out loud, I know I will stick to it.
17. Making fun of my husband and his toys...think Star Wars...is a hobby of mine.
18. Wii is so much fun, and I love my Wii fit. I am so excited to get skinny on it!!!
19. I have 2 brothers...27 and 25....oh and one sister 5.....oh and one brother 2. This is how I respond when people ask if I have brothers or sisters. It is hard to remember to add the little ones after having just 2 brothers for 24 years. The little ones are the most amazing blessings and I would love for you to know them.
20. I have a unique life in that I am not really from anywhere. I have lived in New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey, and getting ready to move to South Carolina and Japan.
21. Being married to Matthew makes for a very good life since he is a God-centered husband who leads our family.
22. When Matthew and I get into an argument, he will usually crack a joke and then I bust up. So we have lots of laughs since I can get grippy on a regular basis.
23. I don't like to travel. I like living in different places, but traveling is not fun to me.
24. When I die, I don't want any carnations at my funeral. Carnations are ugh! I want lots of yellow roses and daisies. I want every one wearing white and celebrating the life that I lived. I have loved living and am happy with the way my life has been. So celebrate and know that if you are saved, we will see each other again! At the funeral dinner, I want lots of yellow and light purple...it will be gorgeous.
25. For our 25th wedding anniversary, we are planning a BIG party. With a band, lots of flowers and beautiful dresses. It will be a fantastic time and we are excited to celebrate and wonderful marriage.