The Marines and God

I still don't think I have the time or frame of mind to write a good post about all that has been going on. It's still sinking in everyday that we live in Japan. Jeff has all but mastered driving on the left side of the road. I haven't tried it yet. I'm saving my debut for when my "super charger" minivan arrives. We should be able to pick it up on Tuesday. Oh yes I am the proud owner of a toyota estima minivan. You've never heard of that, well neither had I until we got here. It's not quite the oddysey that Jeff promised me after residency but it is a van with plenty of space and some sweet privacy curtains. I can't figure out the curtains in the cars here. Maybe they like to nap in their vans, or change their clothes in the car or I don't want to think about what they use the curtains for. Anyway we bought our van and a car for Jeff for just under $8000 which includes all of the insurance taxes, registration etc. Pretty good.

Yesterday we came home after our morning of car shopping to eat lunch and nap. Well the nap was foiled due to a fire alarm. There is a loud speaker that comes on to tell us that there is a fire on the first floor please exit the building. Owen, was so afraid. He cried from the minute he heard them say fire until long after we came back into our room because there was no real fire. We tried to reassure him that there was no fire and that even if there had been we were safe and our things could be replaced. I asked him "who keeps us safe?" expecting him to say "Jesus" because we always used to say that to him when he heard thunder. Well his answer was priceless "the marines and God". Amen. With the marines and God on our side whom shall we fear.

Can You Say Jet Lag?

Fourteen hours on a plane was much better than I expected. Thank God for economy plus seating and free wine on international flights. As always Owen was a terrific traveler. Alison has some areas for improvement but all in all she was good. The fourteen hour flight wasn't bad, but getting to that second flight was an adventure. One day I hope to speak a little Japanese but I'm quite sure I'll never be able to read it. I'm so thankful that they put English on the signs too or we might still be wandering around Tokyo's airport. Jeff has some funny stories about me interacting with the Japanese immigration people. Once we got to our second flight we all crashed. Our sponsors picked us up and brought us to our hotel. We got here around 11:15pm and Jeff had to be up and ready by 7:15am. We've been going non stop since then looking for cars, dealing with the housing office, newcomer's orientation, driving tests etc. We are now both licensed Okinawa drivers. Scary!We don't have cars yet but I'm sure we'll post some pictures when we get them. We're excited about all the fun things to do here. It is quite beautiful and green. We went to our first Japanese restaurant last night and it was great. We're running on fumes. THe kids keep waking up at 2am and playing until about 6am and going back to sleep. It's getting old. We have no where to be in the morning since it is Thanksgiving and for that I am thankful. I'm praying for a full nights sleep.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

Don't know when I'll be back again. We are getting ready to leave for the airport. Pray for us. It's bound to be 17 hours of good times. We'll be talking to you from the other side of the world.

I LOVE Being Right!

So Jeff and I were on our way to meet some friends for lunch today when my cell phone rang and it was my mom. She said "Kristen I'm mailing your packages and your zip code is wrong. It's wrong on the card do you know what it is?" I have no idea what it is mom. I'll check it when I get back to the house. Maybe Jeff wrote it down wrong. I copied it from his folder. I hung up and proceeded to tell Jeff that I thought he wrote it wrong. When I made the postcards I used the address that he had written down on a folder and he told me it was correct. So in all my self righteous rightness I told him he had been wrong and now I was going to have to email everyone with the new address. So efficient. Because it's fun to order 100 postcards, address and mail them only to have to re do the whole thing. He said, "maybe your mom wrote it down wrong, etc etc etc. " Lets not worry about it until we get home and can check it". Fast forward to the mall food court where I'm ordering my last American food court meal, which was Panda Express, and my phone rings again. It was my mom. "Kristen, it is wrong on the postcard but your email was right" "OK, mom I'll figure it out when we get back". I bring my last American meal back to the table and proceed to tell Linda and Russell how all of our postcards are wrong and blame it on Jeff. Because who else could be at fault right? Certainly not me. We have a great lunch, look at a few shops, and head back to Jeff's house. I walk into the computer room to check the address and the folder with the misinformation is right on the desk. I walk over to it ready to show Jeff where he has done me wrong and I look at the number and realize that Jeff's small handwriting was actually a 6 not a 0 like I had originally thought. OUCH! I was wrong. I had looked at the folder in the dark at the hotel and made the postcards on line. I was sure I had typed it correctly. I was wrong. It was a 6 not a zero. In my attempt to be efficient and ahead of things I actually made more work for myself. So in case you're wondering I apologized to Jeff for assuming it was his fault. But in fairness to me it usually is. I think this is preparation for all the mistakes, trials, and misunderstandings that are sure to find us as we navigate another country. So for all of you who want our correct address please change the zip code to 96362 instead of 90362. I really am starting to feel like I'm driving upside down on the world.

A Home For the Homeless

Thusday after Owen got out of school we pulled out of Jacksonville and drove about 9 hours to Richmond. After 2 stops for gas, a stop for dinner, and a stop for a tantrum we arrived to my parents house around 1am. It was a long trip. I didn't even take a turn at driving and I was exhausted when we arrived. It is very emotionally taxing for me when we move. I guess I shouldn't take that as a sign of weakness but rather know that it just reflects the love I've had for the people I've spent the last 2 years with. Jacksonville was a tough place for me. It took me a long time to connect, to the town and to the people. But I did. And I have some great friends to leave behind. It hurts to leave people behind. But I think I would always rather have that hurt than to not have invested in the lives of others and have them be invested in mine. I will always be thankful for the way God used people in my life in Florida. We have been truly blessed by the friends God put in our lives. Especially in the last month, with so many dinner parties and play dates, and airplane goodies for the kids etc. etc. etc. Thank you for loving us with your words and actions.

So now we're in limbo. It's a strange place to be. Everything we own is packed. We have no real address. Even my parents will live in a new home when we return for a visit next year. So we have memories of what "home" is. Thursday as we were driving to pick Owen up from school there was a song on the radio and one of the lines mentioned the day of Jesus' return. And for the first time I realized I'm really ready for my eternal home. Don't get me wrong I like being here too, but If Jesus came back today I'd be fine with that. So I don't have a "home" right now but I have one in heaven. I may feel homeless, but I'm not. And God willing I will get a "home" when we arrive in Okinawa that I will do my best to make "our home".