Counting Every Blessing

Hey everyone! I pray you are enjoying your fall. Is it just me or did fall literally come in a day? Seriously, it was in the 80’s here and then it just plummeted to the low 70’s to even the high 50’s. Where did my 75 degree weather go?! Anyway, that’s not what I’m here to write you about- you know the weather. Instead, I’ll share my heart with what God is doing in our lives.

So let’s start with this: you all know that Dan graduated from OCS and is now officially Lt. Dan! (See last post- and yes, he’s gotten at least 10 Forest Gump meme’s on Facebook alone LOL- no I did not post a SINGLE ONE.) Well, now he is in VA for training- till March. Logic would dictate that he would be put up into a hotel and that I would visit when I could (which I do anyway but I’m getting ahead of myself). However, upon arrival he was informed that he would be required to PCS (MOVE) to VA for training- oh and there’s no availability on base. (Are you seeing the panic here? Because there was slight panic…). So… Dan and I took a couple of DAYS (Literally 2 days) and found a lovely apartment about 10 minutes from base. Within 10 days we found our place, signed the lease and MOVED OUR STUFF to our 3rd FLOOR apartment. Shout out to our parents who didn’t complain once and were willing and happy to help us out.

Now that we’re mostly moved in, we really like it. However, we’ve decided not to fully unpack since we will be moving in about 5 months anyway… have to love living half unpacked. To give you an idea, our movies are in a tote and I have no plans to take them out of said tote just to put them back in the tote to move again. The good news is that even with only being “partially moved-in” I would say that it still has a “home” feel to it.

But would you like to know the best part? I (as in me, De) am not fully moved in. Instead, I have clothes here and things still in NC. So over the next few months I have to finish moving in with Dan. It’s been made interesting since I still have my port in my chest. I can live with Dan through the week but I have to see my mom by Sunday for a dressing change. So, it’s interesting around here to say the least. We travel literally every weekend.

HOWEVER, I have news for you all!!! Yes- I’m so excited I can barely contain myself. I am asking for prayer as I FINISH IV THERAPY!!!!!! Let me make this even better, On November 29,2018 at 8am I have surgery to NO LONGER BE A CYBORG!!!!!!!! Can you even comprehend this?? I will be able to go for a run and take a real shower- no more washing my hair over the side of the tub!!!!! I can’t begin to say how excited I am, and quite frankly I doubt anything I write could completely convey it.

So God has answered my prayers! I am finally going to be free of my port and back to only oral antibiotics to finish beating this Lyme beast down! But wait… there’s more news!!! Seriously ya’ll, God is blessing us in ways I could only dream of! So let me fill you in on our even more amazing news!

As ya’ll know, Dan is in the Army and one of the great joys (agonies) of military life is never knowing where you’re going next. For the last several months I have stayed with my family while Dan has been in training and now we are on the East Coast while he finishes his school for his new job. It’s been a long haul, but we’ve been waiting for orders to know where we’ll be living for the next few years. Seriously, the wait was agony and it was the day Dan was going to write his Detailer (Man who gives us orders) and request his top 5 choices with explanations. BUT GOD (ya’ll know this is my favorite saying)… BUT GOD went before Dan. He got orders!!

EUROPE!

That’s right! We’re moving to Europe for 3 years! It’s a dream come true and we’re beyond excited.

Thanks for sharing in our journey. Soon you’ll be getting stories from across the pond! We love you all and wish you enough.

XOXO,

De

 

 

Back to the Basics

Hey everyone! Wow it’s been a while since I’ve posted. So sorry I’ve been quiet on here. I guess there hasn’t been much to say. Since being diagnosed, life pretty much quieted down or halted it seems. I sleep roughly twelve hours everyday, so it makes getting out and about pretty tough. However we have come to a pretty good routine, Mondays and Thursdays Dan goes into the recruiting station to say “hi” (Ok so it’s more than that, but that’s basically what it feels like from my standpoint). The guys in there know me as well- they call me “Mrs.” Dan’s rate and rank which is super cute. They get excited with us when I have good weeks, especially when I walk more but they get to see first hand how the Lyme has affected our lives. They’re really supportive and we’re grateful.

Anyway, while I’ve been recovering, life has slowly been moving on. Seasons are changing. Here in PA we have gotten a LOT of snow. Luckily it has been melting pretty quickly. If you know me, you know that I like to LOOK at snow but I’m really not a fan of the cold. And now my joints REALLY hate the cold- so let’s just say that spring can’t get here fast enough. The groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil told us that we would have an early spring- since then I believed it’s snowed two to three times. I’m still hoping the weather breaks soon.

On a more exciting note, Dan and I recently received some pretty exciting news: Our household goods are in the United States! In fact, they’re in the area! What that means is that Dan and I got to do some apartment/ townhouse hunting. Within a week we found a cute half a house (it’s tiny), in a perfect location – I used to live on the road where it’s located at, so it feels like we’re moving home for me. So we will begin the move-in process on March 1st (or sooner if we can get ourselves together)! We’re super excited! It’s been a long haul since coming back on emergency from Japan. But we really feel like this is where the Lord is leading us to be.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support during this time. This coming year will not be easy for us as I continue to recover and Dan continues in his studies and career. We’re hoping that while we’re “home” we’re able to see more people -especially as we get settled in. It’s hard to believe we’ve come back to where it all began. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we continue on our journey and we will continue to take you with us as we venture onward in this military life. 🙂 Sending all our love!

 

Reflecting on 2015

Hey everyone! It’s been far too long since I’ve given you an update on how Dan and I are doing.Plus I thought I’d share some of my thoughts about this past year with you. It’s been a wild ride and I’m sure glad that you’ve been following our little life together as 2015 has thrown us some pretty interesting twists and turns.

First, I will tell you that Dan and I were blessed to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family in Pennsylvania. It was our first major holiday as Mr.&Mrs. that we actually got to spend time with family and not just each other or friends that became our family. 🙂  It was a lovely day and we enjoyed ourselves.

Since we’ve been back in the United States we’ve been working hard to get everything the military needed to get the humanitarian orders together so that Dan could get back to Asia to pack up our apartment (yup, we’re STILL living out of suitcases), sell our two cars, amongst other things in order to fully close out our life overseas and get situated into his new command. After a LOT of work and time, we finally had success! It meant that Dan had to miss Christmas this year, but the Lord has worked things out so that he could get things done and get checked into his new command just after the first of the year. We will be back in our hometown area for the next year (ish) while I am in treatment with my Lyme doctor. This is truly a praise and we are grateful the Lord has worked everything out in our favor.

For those of you wondering about my health, I have good days and bad days. I don’t know when I’ll have a good day or a bad day, so I just sorta roll with it. The best thing I can do is simply not overdo it, Dan has become a pro at knowing my limits (seriously folks, he knows my limits better than I do). But I’m in good spirits none the less :). Oh, and for those of you wondering about all the medications I posted about a couple months ago- I’ve added more. I’m taking roughly 24 pills a day and I have two different tinctures (drops to add into water). The Lord is really using this time to make me rest in Him and to rely on His timing and not my own. Believe me when I say, if it were up to me, I would be done with treatment by now. But alas, I’m only about 3 months in- and my doctor says it will probably take 9-12 months to get back into remission. So for now, I feel like I sit back and wait for life to pass me by- yet at the same time Jesus is teaching me so much about relying on Him and rest that it’s crazy.

Recently I was blessed with a care package from my high school mentor. She sent me three different books on Lyme disease. I’ve already finished one (took two days for me to read) called “The Lyme Diet”- I really found it to be eye opening as it explained more in depth why I have to eat the way I do. Not to mention it made me realize that I have to adjust my diet, yet again (pray for me). Not only do I have to be sugar and white flour free (that’s easy- I’ve done that for months now) but now I have to be gluten free (… Ok… that’s not TOO bad) and dairy free (this one might kill me- not really but I LOVE yogurt and cheese…). Right now I’m in the middle of “Healing Lyme” which is a bit overwhelming but also super interesting. It explains my disease and why it’s so hard to treat. It’s actually a really smart bacteria that’s super cool- when it’s not roaming around in my body. So basically if I read the book too long it starts to freak me out because I know that this is in my body. The third book is huge but looks to be really awesome. I plan to make Dan read these books as well so that he has a better idea of what I’m fighting and what he and I can do to make sure I don’t relapse ever again- because believe me when I say I don’t want to do this again. 🙂 So thank you Ms. Jill for the amazing resources!

Looking back, 2015 was one crazy year. Dan and I started the year by celebrating our first anniversary (some would say we’re lucky since we have two wedding dates- but we choose which one to celebrate based on his deployment schedule). We were able to take some time and experience our new country before I began working and before Dan was deployed. While Dan was gone, I was able to make a new entertainment center (thanks for the help Heather!), have some serious girl time, and even begin training for a half marathon (I ran 11 miles in the hot Japanese sun one Saturday and ended up getting burnt) before my illness became way too much for me to handle. Then the Lord really taught me humility and the importance of friends and asking for help. My Japamily took care of me until Dan could get off the boat and back to me. I truly believe my husband saved my life this year by getting me back to the United States and getting me the medical care I so desperately needed. When we got home, our family friend and doctor  saw me immediately even though he was on vacation- the plus side is that I got to see his family too (we’re all friends) and they were truly the hands and feet of Jesus. Since being home the Lord has slowly worked everything out for our good. Dan has been working with recruiting station that he came out of- but they have been nothing but supportive of us. It’s been truly amazing. I can see how the Lord is using my illness for our good and it is beyond anything I could have imagined. As 2015 ends in all of it’s craziness, I find myself excited to see what Jesus does with our 2016 and how he turns it on it’s head from what we expect. I really love that the Lord is making our life a true adventure.

We love you all and thank you for sharing in our lives with us. We hope you had a Merry Christmas and that you have a wonderful New Year.

Dear Japamily (Our Japan Friends Who Became Family)

Dear Japamily,

I want to start this open letter to you all by simply stating: I LOVE YOU! I truly mean that from the bottom of my heart. Dan and I talk about our time in Japan just about everyday, and how much we miss you all. Each and every one of you have truly enriched our lives in ways we never could have imagined, and for that we are truly grateful. So thank you to all of you for putting up with us for the past several months- you have helped us grow in so many ways. 🙂

Our time in Asia was truly way too short. We wish that we could have gotten to know everyone there so much better simply by being there longer however we are so glad to have been able to have the blessing of meeting each and every one of you. You are all so unique and truly show what America feels like in another country. Nothing felt better than after a long day of exploring than coming back on base and seeing one of our friends, it was wonderful. Or even better, going out all day and going exploring with some friends. We loved getting to spend time with you all- and you all showed us some pretty awesome places (shout out to Ramen- which saved my eating out life over there. 😉 ).

There are a few of you who when I became really ill truly stepped up to the plate, and you all know who you are- thank you! Knowing how bad my lyme is now, it is quite possible that the care you all provided, the meals, the overnight stays, the visits, the encouragement,even offering (because I’m a pretty stubborn person who doesn’t like to accept help at all)- you all may have helped save my life (not really exaggerating here either). So thank you for your sacrifices and for coming to my aid and for all your prayers, concern, and literally everything. I can’t even truly express myself well enough through this blog how grateful Dan and I are for you all.

Our time was too short, that much is true. However, military friendships are unlike any others I’ve ever encountered. You not only became my friends, you became my family. I had to call on you in my time of need, and you were there for me when nobody else could be (literally, I was in another country by myself…), and I had the honor of being there for some of you at times. My heart breaks knowing that we won’t get to have the time over there we were supposed to, but I am grateful for the time we had. I am truly blessed to have been able to meet every one of you- and I am excited to see where your lives take you. Thank the Lord we have Facebook, snail mail (yes, I still do that- though I’m not that great at it, so be patient with me), and email so that I don’t have to loose touch with any of you. I love you all and thank you for becoming my Japamily!

Lots of Love,

De

Making the Most of Our Very First Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! It’s the most wonderful time of the year; everyone is excited to unwrap the gifts under the tree, get together with their families, eat lots of delicious food amongst several other traditions. It was no different here in Asia. The children here on the base, were just as excited and everyone simply tries to do their best since we are all so far away from home. However, don’t focus on the sadness of the fact that we didn’t get to have our first Christmas as husband and wife with our family, instead focus on the happy fact that we got to have our first Christmas as husband and wife as our own family. I’m really excited to share our Christmas story with you (in case you couldn’t tell)- so focus on the happy, because there is a lot of happy, so that’s my ground rule. Ok? Happy thoughts only. Got it? Ok, good. Now you’re ready to hear about our first Christmas as Mr. & Mrs.

So let’s begin from Christmas Eve. Dan didn’t have to work very late at all- in fact he was home before lunch. What a blessing! He did have duty, but it only took 30 minutes and wasn’t impeding on our Christmas plans. We had to go to the post office, which is really packed this time of year. And we had three packages ready for pick up- or so they said. One package was from my friend Elizabeth and her fiancé Dawson- a care package full of yummy goodies from home (Thanks guys!), the second, from my mom with a couple of Christmas gifts for Dan and I (she says there’s another one on its way), and the third- well we’re still not sure who it’s from because while it is in the post office, they can’t seem to find it amongst all the packages. So we’ll go on Saturday to see if they found it.

Because we had to go to the post office three different times to see if they found our missing package, we were about 10 minutes late for the Christmas Eve service here on base. However, we made it- and really enjoyed celebrating the birth of our Lord with others around our community. At the end we had the candlelight ceremony which was simply beautiful. It’s something that brought back memories for me- I have always loved Christmas Eve services. Anyway, after service we ended up talking to the pastor and his wife for at least 45 minutes. We were the last to leave- but we really enjoyed speaking with them.

Once we got home, Dan and I put on our pjs- it was time for one of our favorite Christmas traditions- we started it about 2 years ago, and plan to carry it out for the rest of our lives. This year, Jacob and Heather joined us for the fun. So we had Polar Express Hot Chocolate (it’s homemade and REALLY rich) and watched the movie Polar Express. We loved it- and it was Jacob’s first time watching the movie, in which he conjured up a crazy complex theory as to how everything worked since the movie itself isn’t exactly logical. Anyway, they enjoyed joining us for our little tradition and it was nice to be able to do something that made it feel a bit more like Christmas.

The next morning, Dan and I Skyped with my parents, since mom wanted to see us open her package. Then she got to watch us open our two gifts to each other. Dan got me a purse (it’s lovely!) and a “jade tree” from a  festival here on base; and he got a shirt and a nice watch. From my parents Dan got a shirt, and I got a sweater, then mom got us some things we needed for the kitchen. So overall it was a nice, quiet Christmas- or at least the morning. Before long, I had to bake another cake (Heather and I baked a cake and some chocolate chip cookies a few days ago- but the cake didn’t last very long…) and then begin cooking for our 5:30pm dinner with Jacob and Heather.

I want this on record, I cooked for a major holiday and it was great! I made the ham, artisan bread, garlic-cheese dip, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and sautéed vegetables and Jacob and Heather brought some amazing mashed potatoes and baked macaroni and cheese. We had more food than we could ever have eaten. Kevin, a single sailor that Jacob and Heather have introduced us to before, joined us for dinner. He was grateful to have a home to come to for Christmas, and we were grateful for an extra mouth to feed. (Did I mention that we had more food than we could have ever eaten?)

The evening was lovely. We had fun socializing, playing games and eventually the boys played a video game while Heather and I cleaned the kitchen and talked. It was a really nice, relaxing Christmas. While it is not the Christmas we thought we would have for our first Christmas as husband and wife, it truly couldn’t have been much better. Once everyone left, we even were able to Skype with some of my family and Dan’s family. It was weird not seeing everyone in person, but Skype does help a little bit. 🙂 It was after 1am when Dan and I finally got to bed- so it was a really long day.

Anyway, I wanted to share our little Christmas story with you all. We love you all and wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas. Thank you for all your love and support as Dan serves in the Navy. Enjoy the photos I’ve posted below so that you can see our little Christmas. Sending all of our love.

Our first Christmas Tree as Husband and Wife!

Getting ready to eat our Christmas dinner. (This photo was taken from the back of our love seat)

Our Christmas Dinner!

Merry Christmas from Asia!

Ramen, Moving, Hobbits, Unpacking, and More!

Hey everyone! It’s been just over a week since I last posted, so I figured I’d better give you an update. 😀 So there has been a lot going on, but it’s not been interesting, so I’m only going to hit the highlights so I don’t bore you with our mundane lives. However, just so everyone is aware- it has been a crazy week, and this week is no different (yay for our first Christmas as husband and wife!!!) but I’ll tell you all about our Christmas adventures after they’ve occurred.

So, to begin- last Monday I volunteered at the Red Cross per my norm and I was talking to my friend Melissa about how I didn’t want to cook with the loan kitchen stuff since I would be returning it in the morning- dishes simply were not in my plans. She agreed that Dan and I shouldn’t eat at home and that evening she sent me a text inviting Dan and I to Ramen with her and her family. Dan wasn’t feeling great, so I went. Here’s some breaking news: THEY FOUND JAPANESE FOOD I LOVE! That’s right folks, they managed the impossible. I am grateful, and when I took Dan, Jacob, and Heather there later in the week- they loved it just as much as I did.

Susan, Rebecca, and I eating some amazing Ramen!

On Tuesday all of our things arrived. Talk about overwhelming much! If you have ever moved, you might somewhat understand, if you’ve moved with the military- then you definitely understand. It’s a hard, crazy, stressful, emotional day. They had numbers on EVERYTHING (I’m still finding these stupid stickers on some furniture and my totes) and they had to call them off to make sure that we did in fact, have all of our stuff. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to say that we do have a couple things missing (odds and ends), some of our bedroom furniture is wobbly (though, we honestly believe that is from the floors- years of earthquakes… let’s just say things won’t stay level…), and they didn’t assemble our dining room chairs well (Thankfully Jacob said that he will be taking a look at them for us- he was a carpenter before the Navy).

However, once everything was in, the chaos which is unpacking ensued. I’ve moved before, but I forgot how many boxes there were- not to mention most of my stuff was still in original boxes because I hadn’t unpacked or used them from my bridal shower and wedding. Let’s just say, I was really excited about the things I rediscovered. Heather is a saint and helped me put together my first kitchen, which didn’t take me as long as I thought it would, surprisingly. I had all of my stuff unpacked and within about 2 days, MOST of the apartment was done. As of today, everything is set up except for Dan hasn’t finished unpacking his clothes in the bedroom (he says it will be done before Christmas) and our spare room has things everywhere (mostly empty totes) – but I can’t put it away without Dan since it is all of our paperwork and important documents. Yet, we’re hoping to have it done just before or just after Christmas. Don’t worry- I haven’t forgotten that some people want to see our new home, thank you for your patience as I get it together before I show it to the world. 🙂

Anyway, amongst all the unpacking, Dan and I found an evening to have a date! We went to the theater here on base for our premier of the Hobbit which we were both excited about. At the beginning of the movie there were some people dressed up as hobbits WITH bows and swords and they lifted them up cheering as the movie began. We later learned that these people are IN Dan’s squadron. Can I simply say that I believe his command just got cooler. We highly enjoyed the movie  and it was a very welcome distraction to the move.

These guys are in Dan’s squadron. It was pretty amazing.

Finally, on Sunday after church, we went out to Vina walk with Jacob and Heather. It is a mall here in Japan and we enjoyed our time walking around and seeing what we could see. I also have to say, that we had Outback Steakhouse for lunch- Dan and I were thrilled. It is a little different from home, but not enough to keep us from going back. I was able to find some hair accessories I really wanted, and it was just interesting to see how the Japanese do things differently. Did you know they have stores dedicated to socks? Well… they do. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I won’t overwhelm you with the details, but seriously- it’s amazing. Oh and they have a lot of grocery stores in the bottom of their department stores, talk about an all-in-one shop.

Alright, as for today I am off to do some errands and bake Christmas cookies with Heather. We will be spending Christmas eve and Christmas Dinner with Jacob and Heather- we’re all excited. We miss our families, but it’s nice to have friends who become family over here. Please keep my family and Dan’s family in your prayers as we are apart this Christmas season. We love you all and wishing you the very best.

Our First Thanksgiving as Mr.&Mrs.

Wow! It’s hard to believe that it’s Thanksgiving already! For Dan and I- it’s our first Thanksgiving as Mr. & Mrs.!! However this year is different…very different. There was no family around our table, only some new friends. In fact, I didn’t even get to cook Thanksgiving dinner (our stuff hasn’t arrived in Japan yet). Nor were we around our table- we actually ate at the Galley, but I’ll explain that later. There wasn’t a lot of hustle and bustle, instead it was quiet- and nothing like the Thanksgiving experience that Dan and I enjoy when we are home. We are extremely grateful for our amazing marriage, the incredible opportunity we have to live in Asia, our friends, and those who serve our country- however I would be lying (and I promise to never lie on here) if I said that we weren’t a little homesick. I am incredibly proud to be a military wife, my husband is one of the brave few who defends America and it is a wonderful life, however sometimes the sacrifices we make because of this life are simply difficult to bear.

Today we were able to relax before going out for a super quick run. I was even blessed to be able to Skype with my mom, dad and grandparents. It was nice to be able to see everyone’s face- it makes me super grateful for technology. While it was Thanksgiving Day for Dan and I- it was Wednesday night for them. The time difference between us and our family and friends is 14 hours- so it is hard to find a good time to Skype.  We told them some of our plans, and were excited to meet up with some new friends from the command.

Before long, Dan and I went to pick up Heather and Jacob (they’re still at the hotel before moving into our building!!) and Brandon. We went to get some things from the convince store (the only thing open on base) and wait for the Galley (basically the military form of a cafeteria) to open. We had a nice time socializing- even though my cabinets are basically bear in the fact that everything I have is to make a large, nutritious meal- nothing for snacks or pre-meal goodness. However, our friends didn’t mind that, or the fact that our coffee table (loan furniture) is basically our desk right now and has paperwork and notes for different things and our dining room table (also loan furniture- OK, just to make this clear the only things I own right now in this apartment is our bikes, our roomba, the couches, food, and our clothes- everything and I mean EVERYTHING else is loaned to us from the military and isn’t very comfortable or high quality/ nice to use) is housing some mail, forms and believe it or not- screwdrivers (had to get them to put the feet on the couch…). They were super forgiving that our little place isn’t quite a home yet since we don’t have our furniture or a way to organize anything (it’s essentially four walls). But we laughed a lot and Jacob and Dan reminisced over bootcamp- that’s right folks, these two were in bootcamp together! Heather and I enjoyed some side conversation and laughing at some of the things that our husbands have done or been through together.

Around 4pm we all piled into our car and drove to the Galley. The line was LONG, and so was the wait. By the time we actually got to our food- I felt like I was going to fall over from lack of food. It was nice to sit around the table together and laugh and simply enjoy the fact that we’re not alone over here- everyone here is missing their families back home, yet we are all making the best of our situation. Dinner was OK, everything was good except for one thing (and to me it is the most important part of Thanksgiving) – the stuffing. Also, they only gave us a little bit (did I mention that I didn’t have much to eat and I was starving?!) so by the time I had devoured my plate (minus the nasty stuffing and hard bread) I was still ready for more.. but there was no more to be had  *insert sad face* so we all parted ways and Dan and I came back to our little apartment. I made some stuffing (finally some good stuff!) and Dan had a small snack before heading to bed for a few hours before watch tonight.

So like I said, our first Thanksgiving as Mr.&Mrs. was unique. It was not what we were expecting or had hoped for in some ways-but it a lot of ways, it was better than we could have hoped. We are grateful for our friends who fill in for the role of family and help to make the holidays more lively and ultimately a bit more like home. Now, while we wind down our Thanksgiving Day on this side of the world- we hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving back home. Take time today to be thankful for the opportunity to celebrate with your loved ones, but please don’t forget the people who aren’t home for the holidays- just know that while we’re not there in person, we are definitely there in spirit. We love you all very much and wish you the happiest of Thanksgivings! Thanks for keeping up with us as we embrace this new, crazy life- it means the world to us to have people reading our blog and praying for us. We love you all and promise to continue to keep you up to date on our lives. Happy Thanksgiving!

Making a “Home”.

Hey everyone! Sorry it’s been almost a week since I’ve posted. Not much has happened this week, except… WE GOT AN APARTMENT!!! That’s right, we actually have our first place as husband and wife AND we actually get to live together *insert gasps here*. Can you believe it?!?! It’s only taken 9+ months of marriage to finally be able to live together. LOL, it’s one of the many “perks” of being a military spouse- our married life won’t look normal until Dan retires… which will be a while. 🙂 Anyway, yes… we have an apartment and a car (I’ll get to that), so while we haven’t been able to go out into town much, we are making strides on the home front.

So our new home is small, but we will fit perfectly into it. Unfortunately there are no photos (yet) since I don’t want to show everyone the government temporary furniture and our stuff just on the floor (it’s just not pretty). However let me give you an idea, Dan and I sat on the sofa that the Navy provided for us while we wait for our things to arrive… we went out and bought the couch and love seat we’ll need (it was the 2 things I couldn’t get before moving) the very same day. Yeah, it’s that uncomfortable. Monday they’ll deliver the couch and love set combo, and Dan and I simply can’t wait.

I’m not really sure when our things will be here. The Navy says it could take till December 18th (pray that’s not true.. I don’t have truly warm winter clothes with me…) but everyone else is saying that it will probably be here sooner than that. But who really knows? Dan and I are simply making the best with the temporary furniture and home supplies that the Fleet and Family Support Center lends out (and it’s not a lot….). Needless to say, since we’re limited on cookware right now, we don’t have a lot of food, even though our kitchen has a tremendous amount of storage space. Hopefully once we truly get moved in, I’ll have a better grasp on what we need and can fit into our kitchen. 🙂

While our home is truly a work in progress, there are other things I can tell you about too. 🙂 Dan and I bought folding Japanese bikes! Once we get bags for them, we’ll be able to carry them on the train system and use them when we travel the country. They’re also really great around base to get around (a lot of people walk and bike, even if it is a bit slower it’s better for the environment). I am loving all the exercise I get from biking everywhere, however it can be tough when it is rainy or a windy/cold day. Yet, I’m thankful because it is still a LOT faster than walking everywhere :).

Today though, Dan and I bought a car! It’s a blue Honda Civic and to me it sorta looks like a giant jelly bean. It has low milage and we bought it from a guy who had to PSC FAST (this week), so we got a steal. It’s four door and has plenty of room- so to our friends and family who plan to visit, we’ll have room for you and luggage :). Hopefully soon I’ll have photos of the car posted (hopefully we’ll be able to give it a bath first). It is a huge blessing, especially for Dan since it means he won’t have to leave quite as early to arrive to work on time, he’ll be there in a matter of minutes now. So it truly is exciting.

Anyway, that’s basically what we’ve been up to this week. Getting *somewhat* settled and getting everything together in our new home. We love you all and we’ll be sure to keep you posted. Please continue to pray for us as we are embarking on this crazy adventure.

Mundane Life…

Hey everyone! Life on this side of the pond is pretty amazing so far (granted, it’s been less than a week…) we’ve been keeping you up to date on all the exciting things going on (see previous posts), but I decided to update you on the mundane side of life. 🙂 Since we last posted, Dan and I have simply been exploring the base, and sitting in class (yes, class… but it’s not like the classes I’m used to…). So, I’m going to catch you up on what we’ve found and what’s going on. 🙂

Over the weekend Dan and I took some time to go explore the base and get our mailbox!(If you want our address, feel free to private message me on Facebook OR ask my mother.) We found the apartment building we will be living at here- we’ll be on the 5th floor. When we took the elevator up, it was small but quick. I actually felt some sort of effect and felt like I was dizzy and could pass out, Dan felt it on our way back down- which made me feel worse. (Dan’s dizzy spells have since gone away, but I am still feeling the affects- and we’re not exactly sure why. Needless to say, there may be a doctors appointment in my future…) Anyway, we found that there is a small playground right outside our building (there’s swings!) and the gym is close by. Next to the gym is a beautiful little park here, where there is a volleyball court, pavilions, ect- it’s simply lovely. We’re near the back of the base,and will be able to see “real Japan”- which really excites us.

The other big thing that has happened lately, is that the Navy is putting Dan and I through a week-long class, which will end with us going out in town (using the train system) and (hopefully) getting our Japanese license. We’ve only done the first two days so far- which is basically the base introducing the different services they have here and then today, being thrust full force into trying to understand Japanese customs, culture, and language. Yeah… they’ve basically given us a bunch of phrases and within two hours we’re supposed to have memorized them (yeah…that hasn’t happened). However, we are trying to understand the language and customs, it is really important to us that we befriend the Japanese and not offend them since we are in their country and they have been so wonderful to us.

Anyway, that’s what we’re up to- told you it is nothing exciting. Oh, we did have Mongolian BBQ the other night here on base and it was simply AMAZING- though we both need to work on our chopstick eating skills. We love you all and we’ll keep you posted.

Lost, Misunderstood And Things In-Between

Hey everyone! Lately we’ve been struggling with the time zone change. We’ve been waking up super early, Dan was up at 2am here the other day to research phone plans since he was wide awake and found that phone plans here are nothing like the U.S.A. In fact, they’re not that great at all. (More to follow later.) And we haven’t been able to stay up past 8pm here. We’re usually dragging by 9 or 10am. Nobody told us just how hard this 13 hour time difference (for me) and 16 hour difference (for Dan) would be. However, we already have some great stories to share with you.

First, when we arrived from the airport we settled in and took a nap. Upon awaking, we found that we had slept till 9pm, thus missing everything we wanted to get started on (in our defense, we couldn’t function so we set an alarm to wake us, but it failed.) The second thing we realized is that we were HUNGRY- so Dan ventured out to find us some food. He brought back a pizza, which was from the only place still open on base. We opened up the box, and it looked delicious…and then we tasted it. We learned that marinara sauce here is WAY different than it is in the U.S. (even though we are on an American base…) Needless to say, we didn’t eat much. Dan made it through 1.5 pieces, while I couldn’t finish even one.

Another thing that has happened since we arrived is that we struggle with turning water on and off here. For over 20 years, we have successfully turned water on and off at water spouts. Yet we arrive here, and for days we consistently do it wrong. To turn water on here, we have to push DOWN on the spout handle no UPWARD which is normal for America. So we push down to turn the water on, then push down again to realize that we’re not being sprayed with the water instead of it going off- which always seems to confuse us for a few seconds before we remember to press up. It is truly a challenge.

Anyway, moving on. On our second day here, we decided to go for a quick run to try and figure out some things on the base. We ended up running around the housing area, getting a little lost, asking for directions and really just enjoyed exploring. On our second run, Dan decided to try and show me where he will be working when he is not deployed. Our original plan was to run the 5k route here on base. Yet we moved that way, and decided to take a left instead of a right turn to see where it went. We ended up finding a skeet range (Dan was super excited), a REALLY nice golf course, beautiful views of Japan, and a great trail to run/bike. Funny, we should mention the running and biking. Mind you, we’re both struggling with serious jet lag, and were just looking for a leisurly 5k route. As luck would have it, it didn’t turn out quite that way. Where we were going, while unbeknownst to us, was around the air field. Which is probably closer to 10 to 15k according to those who have lived here. We got roughly half way through, before we began to realize that the trail wasn’t ending, but our 5k should be and thus we began to walk a little, enjoying views and trying to figure out where exactly we were. Before long, we came across a super friendly Japanese man who said an avatar had giving him the nickname of “Butt-face” (I’m not making this up folks..) as he laughed and telling us that we were only 1/3 to 1/2 done with the trail- that’s when we found out that we were on the trail around the airfield NOT the 5k route we had hoped.

Butt-face was super kind as he laughed at us and stopped a random woman who was driving by. He explained the situation (I think) in Japanese and told her where we needed to go. She cleared her backseat, and we got in her car. Who this kinda woman was, we’re still not sure. There was a language barrier of monstrous proportions, as we sat in the back seat we heard Japanese radio being played- we didn’t understand a word. She dropped us off near the hotel and then turned around to go  back the way she came!  This kind woman drove out of her way several miles just to help these stupid Americans who were lost on base, all without complaint. We went back to the hotel room to get ready for our busy day.

Later on, we ran into a man whose wife works in Dan’s squadrin and he invited us out for drinks that night. We kindly declined due to jet lag but asked for a raincheck for next week. He gladly obliged and understood the challenge of getting adjusted here. Once we finished talking to him, we decided to go to the Fleet and Family Support Center to see what jobs are currently available for me- just to get an idea and see where I would like to go. The man who helped us was super nice and even walked us around the base to show me where the job postings will be. While we didn’t find that much that I was hoping for, he encouraged me to continue looking every couple of weeks or so because new jobs were always being posted.

Overall, we are really enjoying our time here. Everyone has been super kind and helpful. The area is lovely and we can’t wait until we are allowed to take an adventure out in town (that comes next week after a class here on base). Also, we want everyone to know that we are working on getting cell phones. However, the Japanese system is completely different than the American system and we are trying to figure out the best possible route for us. Please be patient as we work through getting our cell phones. Also, just to let everyone know. We have an apartment! We move in on November 4th, yet our stuff is scheduled to arrive in mid to late December (ugh!) prayerfully it will arrive before then… but with the Navy, who knows. (I was expecting mid to late November…) We love and miss you all, please know that the Lord is watching over us.