Mama-san!

Oh we love our mama-san! And I wonder if we are adjusted to living here since L has played "mama-san" in the hallway with our 5-year old neighbor. I don't think L quite understood what she was pretending, but the girls asked for brooms, dustpans and mops. They proceeded to play "mama-san" by pretending to clean the hallway. Have we lived in Okinawa too long?

Several other nuances about living in Okinawa include:

1. The Okinawans like to drive in the middle of the road and MIGHT move out of your way if you don't move first. I think because by looking at the license plate you can tell if it is an American driver or National, the Nationals expect the Americans to move out of the way.

2. Okinawans respect when you try to use Japanese.

3. The fruit here is amazing!

4. The weather is still warm many days. Yesterday the high was 68* which I adore!

5. The Okinawans like to look at blue eyes. They are all in awe of L's blue eyes and repeatedly compliment her.

6. The local people are fascinated by the fact that we are having twins. Twins are not very common in Japanese people, so they are very interested in the fact that we are having 2 boys at the same time.

7. Okinawan women, especially older women, like to rub pregnant bellies -- even more so when they find out its twins. In America this drove me insane and I snapped at strangers who would are to touch me. Here it doesn't bother me that much. I just smile. Don't know why that is so different.


Now for some updates.

Today, several of my amazing friends and neighbors gathered for a shower in honor of Caleb and Connor. About 30 minutes before the shower I started getting really excited. I hadn't realized that this shower was going to be such a blessing for me! I have struggled with the idea of having two newborns at once, but this shower put excitement into the pregnancy for me! All the griping I have done to M, the sleepless nights, soreness, and my impatience with L have not been easy to live with -- for my family or myself. I then feel guilty about being such a pain in the neck on top of being hugely uncomfortable and grouchy. My women's' Bible study group is praying and helping me along with this...but man oh man are there days I think L wishes she had a different mama. So, this shower really came to mean a lot to me! I am grateful for the effort and thought that went into our blessing. I am grateful for the excitement that those around us are sharing with us! I am grateful for God using people in our lives. I am grateful I only have 5 to 6 weeks left of being pregnant!!!!

I hope that someday soon I can start to be a blessing to others! I feel like I have been just leeching others for help and support the last two years (while M was on the hellish year of recruiting and while being preggo with twins). However, I do recognize that I am not super-mom and at this point in our lives, our focus is on our family. Maybe in another 6 -8 months when we have gotten closer to having the twins thing under control we can find people who need support.

So thank you for kind words and loving on our family! We are so blessed to have 3 healthy kids who will hopefully grow into God-fearing, independent contributing citizens of the world! Thank you all for helping us along on this journey.

(I also hope that by being honest on this blog about my thoughts and feelings, that another person who may be in a rough spot will be encouraged. Its ok to feel your feelings! Just don't let your feelings control your life.)

Have a wonderfully wonderful day!
B

A few more pictures. On Christmas Eve Santa was brought to our housing area by firetruck. Since L kept saying "Ho, ho, ho" and signing all done, (little scared of Santa) we skipped going downstairs to see him. She was perfectly content to watch from our 6th floor balcony. One of the pics is at the table in the chow hall with dada and Uncle Baba (Brandon, my brother).

Today L was not feeling her best. Runny nose, horse voice, you know - a kid cold. She was a little irritating to both M and I so I asked L if we could sell her to the gypsies. She said, "No, Baba." I guess when Uncle Brandon gets back from his one month trip, she is going to live with him :) We both cracked up and fell in love with her all over again!

Hope you enjoy the pics...obviously trying to do catch up.

Soon to come are pics of the boys' room. We started painting today and it is looking cute! We have moved L into her new room and she is adjusting. After we finish the boys' room, we will be doing L's room too. We have her big girl bed all set up and are doing some playtime in there, but no sleeping yet. We will want her in the big girl bed in the next 6 months, but no rush. She has enough to deal with when adding in two newborns in the next 7 to 8 weeks.

Speaking of newborns. I get to a point where I am excited about having Caleb and Connor. Then, honestly, the next moment I am freaking out. Not looking for advice here, but just being honest. I think most of my struggle is not knowing what our lives are going to look like. I know what it is like to add one baby to the mix and I have a pretty good idea of what it would have looked to add a second baby to the mix. But 2 newborns at once is scary. Again -- no advice at this moment please - having pregnant moment and just venting. We are grateful for my mom who is coming for 2 weeks right when the boys are born and grateful to M's mom and step-dad who are coming for almost a month to help. Did I mention that M's step-father is a chef --- yeah us!!! So I keep telling myself and M keeps telling me it will be okay. Maybe once these pregnancy hormones are out of my system and I am holding the two bundles in my arms all will be well with the world!!!!

I haven't posted for family far away the new things L is doing for quite awhile so here goes:

Multiple two word phrases.
Trying to tell us stories.
Sitting and reading her books.
Jabbering (with lots of new sounds showing up in the jabber) as she plays.
She is probably up to about 70-80 words, but I am trying not to be obsessive and have stopped writing down each word.
Pretend playing with her dolls, toys and us.
She LOVES "Melmo" or Elmo as we know him.
She pees in the potty every couple of times when sitting on it. Has started to tell me when she is wet and tells me when she has pooped.
She is sensitive in that if you get hurt, she is there comforting you.
She is making friends. She LOVES to play with our 5 year old neighbor. This little girl is amazing with L! We are grateful L's first friend is so kind and sweet with L.
L likes to help with chores -- sweeping, putting dishes away, dusting.
If you have an itch, she likes to help you scratch it (can't figure out why).
She will say two and eight when counting objects.
She will answer "2" when asked how many babies we are having. She know the babies are in mommy's tummy. When we get new baby stuff, she points to it and says "baby" because that stuff is for the babies.
She loves to eat from shop sticks. And she especially enjoys Japanese noodles.
She will now tell you "No" if she doesn't like or want to do something.
She tries to care for kids who are younger than her and is very concerned if their mama isn't helping as quickly as she thinks the mama should.

Those are the newest things I can think of. Probably missing some because I have pregnancy brain times two, but you get the idea that she is doing well and growing up.

Have a wonderfully wonderful day!

Our Christmas Scene

Some pictures from our Christmas Scene. We loved decorating and being able to enjoy the decorations this year. The last two years in a row we were immediately moving right after Christmas, so everything came down quick. We loved having my brother over during Christmas. We had homemade waffles Christmas morning and then tried a meal the the Chow Hall. Will not be doing that again!

A few pics coming soon.

Lou Lou

Just a few pictures to share.

I heard L saying "Hewo" and when I walked in, this is what I found. L multi-tasking.






L helping get the carseats ready for Caleb and Connor.



L coming home from the hospital.