Alison For President

Yesterday we were driving to Owen's school and a news flash was on the radio talking about the DNC convention. Owen heard this and asked me who the President was. I told him it was still George Bush, but that an election was coming up and we would choose a new President. He asked who it would be and I said "I hope it's John McCain" to which Alison replied "No, Me!!" 

So I started thinking about how the world would be if Alison were in charge. Everyone would have a taggie and a silky blanket. And no problem would be too big for a glass of milk to solve. A nap would be had by all around 12:30pm. Everyone would be encouraged to climb to their hearts content. Watching "wo's" would be a must, especially Boz. Smiles, hugs, and kisses would be the greetings of the day. Everyone would have "Happy Cake" on their Happy Birthday. And really what couldn't be solved over some "happy cake". There would be tantrums, complete with screaming and throwing oneself on the ground, but they would easily be resolved when no one paid attention to them. Oh and especially if goldfish were involved the attitude would readjust. Leisurely walks would occur on a daily basis, because why hurry when there is so much to discover. Yes, Alison's world would be a happy place. Too bad people don't vote for two year olds. 

This little girl sure has made me smile a lot this week. She repeated "Happy Mommy" about a hundred times a day which meant "Happy Birthday Mommy". And tonight she had to put on her princess dress so she could "dance at ee's house". She sure makes me happy. So I guess "Happy Mommy" is an appropriate description. Hope you like the pictures of my little angel.

Owen Goes to Kindergarten

8/22 Updated with a picture of Owen when I picked him up from school on the first day.

Today was the first day of kindergarten. I thought it would be easy. I thought since Owen attended OCSI last year and was in an all day program it wouldn't seem like such a big step to start K5 but I was wrong. Yesterday I found myself in a daze of flashbacks coupled with running around like crazy making sure Owen had everything that would make his first day of school great. You know things like new underwear, a new cup, and a few thousand pieces of candy to put in the treasure chest I was going to hide for him for when he got home.

I was doing laundry and I actually found myself smelling his t-shirts and hugging them as if he were in them. I watched him playing with his friend, Taryn, and all I could see was that huge baby grin he used to have. We went to buy him new underwear because I thought he should graduate to the big boy size instead of his old size 4T's. That about threw me over the edge. You can't buy size 5, you have to buy size 6. He's not six, he's barely five and why are they trying to make my boy older faster than he has to be. Then I started feeling sorry for myself because I was going to have to drop him off for the first day by myself, again. I understand that it is hard for Jeff to get away from work, but I felt like we needed him. Or at least I needed him. I was enrolling my baby to start his life and I wanted some support. I didn't want to have to face the tears by myself again. Owen's or mine.

So we got everything packed up. Clothes laid out. And went to bed. It wasn't a good night's sleep. Every time I woke up I would pray for O and his teacher and that the first day would go well. The morning went smoothly. My sweet friend Erin made O muffins for breakfast and Owen got to watch a video that Aunt Heather and Uncle Brent made for him. He was so excited to see that baby James was excited for him to go to kindergarten. So we were off. There were no tears or even attempts to get out of going. When we got to the school we went to find out who Owen's teacher was and he is in Mrs. Ikehara's class. She is a very sweet lady and I am completely comfortable with leaving Owen in her care. As we were waiting for the orientation to begin I started to feel at peace. We were greeted by the Principal, Mrs. Bezner who I greatly admire. She is a neat lady. We also were able to hang out with our Pastor and his wife who were there with one of their sons. They are always encouraging to be around. I knew without a doubt this was the right choice for Owen and I was praying the goodbye would go well. We were told to keep the goodbyes short and to turn and walk away. I knew that would be the best idea so I tried to stick to the plan. O did have some tears in his eyes, but I told him I loved him and that I would see him at 3pm. Alison hugged him and said bye O. We turned and walked out the door. We had to put our shoes on outside the class and another mom came and said "Owen's crying". I wanted to tell her to shut up, but I just smiled and said "I know, he'll be OK". We walked to the car and headed home. I only shed a few tears this time.

When we went to pick up my O I was hoping for a good report. He was smiling when I spotted him and I knew that was a good sign. When he got in the car he said he had a good day and that he only cried for a few minutes and then he was OK. God answered our prayers. I'm looking forward to seeing O grow and learn throughout this year. And I'm glad the first day is over. Now I'm going to go get some sleep!

I was going to post a first day picture but it won't let me for some reason. If you can stand the suspense I'll try to do it tomorrow.

You Know You Live in Okinawa...

When you pay $5.19 for 2 peaches and $12.08 for 5 apples.

I had never seen peaches at the commissary so I bought them anyway. Please enjoy your summer fruits for us. I'd love to have a big bag of Ukrop's peaches and a tub of blueberries right about now. I guess we'll settle for frozen.

T-Ball Season is Finally Here

Yesterday was the start of Owen's first T-ball season. He has been waiting for this day for years. After a few last minute changes Jeff is now the head coach of Owen's team. Unfortunately because he became head coach at the last minute he is unable to attend the first 3 practices. Thankfully we have a great assistant coach and some dad's who don't mind filling in. The practice went well. They were cute to watch. Some kids didn't grasp that they needed to turn and run to second after first base. They just kept running, kind of like Forest Gump. Then there was the time when Owen was determined to tag someone out and ran all the way from 1st base to 3rd just so he could get someone out and prove he knew how to play. I think I sense a little of Uncle Devry in him. I think it's going to be a fun season. We'll keep you posted on O's stats. :) Since they don't keep score we'll have to make them up but those are minor details.

On the way to practice. Cool as a cucumber

Playing first base

Not to be out done by her older brother just before we left the house Alison went to the closet and got her pink glove too. If Owen does it she'll try it too. Note her pink Phillies hat too.

Do Do Do Looking out my Front Door!!

This was the view from my front door this weekend. We went to Okuma on the northern part of Okinawa. The East China Sea was beautiful and the kids loved the time at the beach. It wasn't OCNJ, but it sure was fun. We went with our friends and next door neighbors, the Hardings. It was a great little break from regular life. Although, Jeff was only able to stay one night and then head back to work in the morning. We enjoyed swimming, lounging, a surrey ride (almost as eventful as Uncle Brent's last summer :)) mini golf, batting cages and Erin's yummy sangria. Here are some more pictures of our stay.

Owen, Master Mini Golfer

Ian and Alison, Master Mini Golf watchers

Uh, maybe I shouldn't have dumped the sand on my head

The Sand Man

Beach Kids: Ian, Owen, Alison, and Taryn

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

Last week our church, Calvary Chapel Okinawa, held vacation bible school. It was a VeggieTales theme using the latest movie "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything". It was our first experience with VBS since Owen was finally old enough to participate. I helped by being a "shipmate" which meant I had a group of kindergartners to take from station to station. I didn't think that was going to be very hard but at the end of each day I found myself exhausted. I had 7 kids in my group and we were part of the bigger kindergarten group which had about 25-30 kids. Three of my kids were in Owen's class at OCSI and are Japanese. It was such an honor to have them with us for the week. However, after a week of getting them to pay attention and participate I have much greater respect for Owen's teacher. Those boys are ACTIVE!!! All in all I think everyone had a great time. The kids did great learning their memory verse "I can do all things through Christ because He gives me strength" Philippians 4:13. It was awesome to hear all those little voices shout that out. I only managed to get a few photos of the whole week but I thought I'd let you see some of the kids I spent my week with.

Tomoro posing during morning worship

Owen, Marina, and Lizzie waiting in line for the bible theater

Craft time. Owen, Yuma's mom, Yuma, Tomoro, Fuga all on the left side of the table.