Packed Bags

Well, this past month or two I have done a terrible job here to keep you updated.

I went on two road trips with Brandon. We are soaking up our time just the two of us while we can.

Been growing this baby. It's like a weed growing each and everyday. This past week I have

 noticed I'm slowing down but I try to keep my normal pace. Sleeping has been wonderful. Jet lag is going to mess that up pretty nice I'm sure. 

Been spending lots of time with other wives here. It's like we've become teammates of our own. Going to miss them lots this offseason as we go our separate ways. Always a bummer but feel super blessed to have made friends with them and hopefully our paths cross again.

 

And that's about all. Seriously the past few months in Japan have been great.

But, the time has come and our bags are packed.

Tomorrow, yes TOMORROW, we catch a flight to Hawaii to celebrate our two year anniversary a little early and enjoy our last vacation as a family of two.

By Sunday evening we will be sleeping (or not depends on jet lag) in our own bed.

Monday I will be cruising to Target and having Chick-Fil-A for lunch.

Cue angels singing.

 

 

So that's our plan. This is our journey. We've loved having you along. It doesn't end here but for now... we are closing this chapter of our Japanese adventure.

 

Sayonara!

 

 

Final of Parent's Visit

The day has come! Here are the lasts pictures and places of my parents trip. And while I am a day late, it's fitting to share more photos of them because they just celebrated their anniversary!

 

And these happen to fall in no particular order because I have lost all track.

We took the rope way up the mountain, enjoyed the scenery and then mom and dad had a quick herbal foot bath. There was so many people waiting that day that I just decided to sit this one out. When we go to the top there was a school class there and they were so excited to try out their English on us. We then hiked down the mountain, a good leg workout to say the least.

 

 

 

Another afternoon, we headed over to the port of Kobe, pretty close to where we live. They have a bunch of shopping and restaurants right near the water. We decided to go up in the tower before the sunset, sit and have a snack and drink while the top revolved, and then enjoyed the sunset. Afterwards we grabbed dinner at a buffet that offered all kinds of different Japanese cuisine. I think I mentioned a while back we took in plenty of baseball, four games overall.

 

 

Then we ventured into Osaka to check out the Umeda Sky Building. Brandon I had never been before but he sees it on his daily commute and I had heard neat things about it. It is two separate buildings connected at the top with an observatory deck. Thinking we would get a pretty view we headed up before dark and stayed while the sunset. It was pretty hazy that particular day but still offered up a great view!

 

 

And I forgot this one from our time in Hiroshima. Mom had heard about these famous pancakes, which I now see everywhere but before their visit had no clue about them. So we found a little shop right near peace park. I wasn't so sure about it but I was starving and needed to eat something. They are actually pretty good and we had them once more during their visit.

 

 

And that...concludes my parents visit from MAY! I can't believe we leave in a month because looking back to when they visited seems like yesterday! I have no idea when I will start recapping my sisters trip. She actually said she would write that for me, but obviously I'm in no rush to get things done, possibly before Christmas.

 

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

 

A Bigger Purpose

I received some reading material from our church family a few weeks back. Normally Brandon leaves shortly after I wake up, if not before, and I have time alone to eat my breakfast. As I flip through different articles and devotionals I try to find something to kick start my day. A nugget of wisdom here or a bible verse there, whatever jumps out at me.

 

I stumbled upon this article titled Embracing Change in the July issue of Homelife and knew it was right up my alley. For whatever reason, I didn't begin to read the article, instead it was laid open to the page on the floor of our bedroom for several days. I knew it was going to slap me in the face with truth and I guess my instinct was to avoid the convictions I knew were written upon the following pages.

 

Then one night as I was trying to fall asleep, Brandon already off deep in dreamland, I found myself anxious and unsettled. I couldn't pinpoint the exact reason but I have no doubts that it had part to do with hormonal changes and part to do with this season that seems to be dragging on.

 

Of course, I pick up the article and start to read. Basically a couple gets married, has a baby, moves across the US, on one income.

 

Seems pretty familiar. I found my gut in my throat...gulp... and pressed on reading.

 

Word after word I couldn't read fast enough.....

 

...if Christ is at the center of your marriage, your job isn't to create a comfortable life but to develop a life that's securely grounded, despite uncomfortable circumstances.....

.

Japan, uncomfortable, surely not. I can put food on the table, take a hot bath, and live more comfortable than lots of people in our world.

 

...trust ... it's the result of an intentional, daily commitment to submitting yourself, your plans, and your personal comfort to the authority of God...

 

Not so easy, my plans, whatever they may be, feel only achievable from the land of the US and personal comfort - goodbye favorite restaurants and Target shopping. I know what it sounds like, you snob. And I won't deny it, I can't hide in my sin and selfishness to want these things. And yet I read on.

 

...Abraham and Sarah announcing to their entire family that they were to pack up because God told them to travel to an unknown place (Genesis 12)....when Noah told his family God commanded him to build an ark because it was going to rain (Genesis 6)...reflect on Job, who was determined to trust God even when his wife didn't (Job 2)...the most shocking of all, Mary telling Joseph she was pregnant and the father was God...

 

Whoa. I'll let that sink in for a second.

 

...God doesn't promise stability; however, submission to His will does promise security - in your marriage and in your life.

 

Like I knew it would, the article stirred in my heart many things.

• Our marriage is securely grounded in Christ whether we live in Alabama or Japan. Amen for that.
• My attitude (as of lately) has not been intentional in submitting to the authority of God's will and not my own. In my eager attempt to rush home I may be missing daily opportunities to serve others. My dad told me a few years back that I have a tendency to always want to be somewhere else, instead of being where I am. He is right.
• Knowing that we very well could be returning for a second season, with a child, has triggered some (okay a lot) of questioning of our purpose and time in Japan. The answer may show tomorrow or this week, but mostly likely we are seed planters and the harvest may not show for years. Who's lives are we supposed to touch while we are here? Maybe its someone back home reading our story? Where do we find maximum opportunities to love others and live out the truths we read daily? Or are we here, Brandon and I, for our marriage? For the bad to be whittled away (cause lets face it we are not perfect) and the good to grow into something even better. Now that to me is exciting stuff. Opportunities to change and impact others... I like it!

This past week I have only been able to feel this nasty cloud of restlessness, an unsettled feeling, and angst (none of which can be good for baby). I've been trying to hash it out daily. I thought perhaps spending more time being grateful for the small things would help or talking with Brandon. Each time I tried to bring it up the words just came out sounding like, "I hate this place get me home."  I reasoned that it was okay to feel that way, ready to be home, and while I know that it is okay to feel that, I cannot go on feeling only that.

 

Then last night I started writing a version of this post in my head and I started to feel better. Only problem was it was 3:30 am and I was snug as a bug, with the hamster wheel turning. I woke up today with one goal -- to shake the feeling that has been bringing me down. 

 

Okay so its more of a three part goal to work on.  To seek and find contentment in our circumstances. To trust the architect of my life's plan. And to focus on the positive outcomes that my very small presence could make to someone or in someone's life.

 

Really long story short, whatever or however it may appear our life is, it is nothing short of a life full of trials, both happy and sad, moments of anxiety and worry, frustrations, and insecurities. I do try to keep this blog a happy place, same with my Facebook and Instagram feeds, chocked full of good happy memories. I use this little space to share and open up, because a lot of times after I do, I feel much better, even if no one else reads what I have to say. 

 

 **Bold text is borrowed and paraphrased from Embracing Change by Wynter Pitts. July 2013 issue of Homelife**

Finally September & A Birthday Shout Out

I have almost caught up completely with my parents trip but going to take a little break before I finish the last few days worth of activities.

 

First - Happy Birthday to my younger brother! Can't believe he is 24 today. It's totally sinking in that I need family time. Family time being a holiday game of balderdash or something of the like. Boy am I excited to get home to see everyone.

 

It's our last full month of living in Japan!! Can I get an AMEN? Yep, we will hopefully be home mid-October so this is the last full month residing in Japan...until next year. (Possibly/Probably/Still unknown) I am pretty much over this baseball season for many reasons I can't explain here. We are trying to get our flights booked that include a mini vacation on the way home. But still don't have an official day of when we will be finished. All the rainout games get tacked on to the end of the season, as if it needed to be any longer.

 

Last week we went to the doc for our 20 week checkup, at 21 weeks but whatever. Dr. said everything looked good and didn't give us any accidental indication of whether a little lady or gent will be joining us. At this point we still have not purchased anything for baby. I guess it's because I know that luggage space on the way home is hard to come by. Sorry kid.

 

Speaking of space, someone hast totally take over my space in the last eight weeks and I love it. I knew I was getting bigger but didn't really see it until I put on the exact same outfit. I'll admit getting used to this new body of mine has been a little weird and made me selfish at times but now that I'm feeling this baby moving and shaking its beyond worth it. And that's all I got for now, just counting down the days until we head home.

 14w2d/22w2d

Nara. Take Two

And although Kyoto is one of my favorite cities here in Japan, Nara just happens to be a close second. It's just peaceful and relaxing and so much like being in the country with all the surrounding deer. We went to Nara on the last day my parents visited. It is about an hour train ride but there isn't a huge hurry to do or see a lot in a small time. It was relaxing and didn't involve a ton of walking which we thought would be a good thing the day before a long flight.

 

Kyoto. Take Two

I had already visited Kyoto once before. I thought I had a pretty decent idea of how to tour the area but the truth is a hired private tour guide is probably the way to go. Because Kyoto is such a busy city, the old capital of Japan, and top priority for many sightseeing visitors it is not easy to get around quickly. Especially if one decides to visit the day of one of Kyoto's famous festivals. But we did it anyway and enjoyed the parade and culture along with a few shrines and temples. Kyoto, you are still one of my favorite cities.

Hiroshima - May 2013

You read that right, MAY 2013, I won't even apologize for being this late on this post or the next few for that matter. I just have not felt like editing pics, writing posts, or doing much of anything except resting and feeling baby move around constantly. Oh yeah and eat. Plus I am pretty sure pregnancy excuses me for such tardiness. I'm working on some virtual nesting to get caught up on all the posts I have planned and want to write about so for the next couple of days while Brandon is gone on a short road trip I plan to tackle them with a vengeance.

Hiroshima. It's heart wrenching, tragic, and hard to completely capture the devastation that took place. It is a quiet place, one where most are there to pay respects or learn of a significant historical event. I'm not a history buff so I won't get into the war and reasons for the bombing but below are photos of and around Peace Park Memorial including the A-Bomb Dome and Children's Peace Monument.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hiroshima Castle

7 and Counting

Baseball in August. I don't love it. But I don't have to. It's hot, high 90's and the team is on the road for most of it. Brandon has been gone the past week and won't be back until the late Thursday. While he is gone I have more time to miss home and I do. I think it has more to do with knowing the next chapter, the baby chapter, is quickly approaching and I'm ready to do some things to get us ready for that. I've loved Japan and all it's brought this year but I'm ready to pack up from this season and get home.

Round Here

For starters, Brandon is gone on a long road trip and I thought about going along but with the heat I just decided I'll tag along in September. Also maybe by then I will have adjusted my wardrobe to have enough outfits that fit instead of Brandon's gym shorts. Stylish, I know.

As of today we are in the 19th week of this roller coaster ride of pregnancy. I must say that with each day I'm loving it more and more. Especially since I've been feeling the baby moving around. Mostly late in the evening (a little night owl like me) or after a big meal.

16w3d/17w5d/18w6d

While that number is slowly counting up, we are also counting down until we COME HOME! I think its around 56 days until the last regular season game, not that I keep track. We already started trying to make some travel arrangements home to save on expenses but since we don't know for sure what day we can leave nothing is final. Sure is exciting talking about it though!

Besides that I've been working on clothing projects for a friend. Which entails borrowing a sewing machine, which is absolutely fine by me. Here are a few of the things I've been making. I thought for sure after five months I would lose some of my skills but I actually think not sewing for that long made me better. I don't want to do it again, just looking at the bright side.

 

 

 

I know it's a bit ridiculous but, the bear was all I had and I needed to check for size. It feels SO good to be making stuff again. Plus I am getting in some good practice before our own little one arrives, especially if it is a she.

 

And that is all that goodness happening around here. Growing a baby and sewing with a little bit of baseball and lot of missing our dog!

 

 



Baseball Mom's, a Thank You.

First things first - don't teach yourself an awesome skill that will come back to haunt you. Say maybe something like making a peach cobbler. I sat down to find a recipe for a peach blueberry cobbler and decided that three cobblers in less than two weeks might be overkill BUT truthfully we don't have a lot of other junk food in the house so I guess it evens out.

 

Totally not what I sat down to say. I didn't even intend to write today but my heart is still full and overflowing from the past week here on the island and I thought I'd share a little about what has been going on.

 

 

There are two teams that get housed on the island. There are a total of nine American families, fifteen children ages 18 months all the way up to seven year old twins. Three of the families are expecting babies this off season, us being one of them, and another recently adopted a one month old here in Japan. Careful drinking the water.

 

Within the last month, one of the moms and her two kiddos headed back to the States to be home in time for school to start. Then this past Monday two more families and four total kids learned they would be relocating as well. This is my least favorite part of the baseball life. At the beginning of this year I had no idea what type of women I would meet this year and get the privilege to spend this season. Wow did I get lucky!

 

To be honest, I often found myself not spending time with them for a few reasons. First, they all have the common bond of children so they would hang while their cute kiddos were running off their excess energy. Second, because I don't mind and enjoy spending time by myself working on craft projects or spending time with Brandon or family traveling to sight see new areas of Japan. Sometimes our schedules just didn't line up and I was okay with it.

 

But then of course, I found myself wanting to hang out with them and their kids, maybe the kids more, and the opportunities presented themselves for that to happen. While Brandon was on the road I was invited to dinner countless times by one of our teammates and was always entertained by their three awesome children. Or we would go to Costco, without their kids, and I could see just how much each of these mom's loved their kids, but also loved the afternoon free of mom duty.

 

On Thursday when we had to say some goodbyes it hit me just how much I've grown to admire and respect the baseball moms of this season. Heck not just the moms but the dads too. Seriously, every single one of them in one way or another has taught me something that I hope to be able to remember in the next few years. Somehow they make it work. From taking care of their husbands, keeping the kids occupied, disciplined, happy, fed, etc, putting dinner on the table (delicious amazing dinners I might add), and so much more, in a foreign country. It seems so overwhelming but they all make it look easy.

 

And then there is a special gift they've given to me that they probably don't even realize. When I'm with their kiddos, or watching them play, it makes me SO excited to be a mom.  Listening to all of them at the different ages and the things they do and ask. I don't need to be around kids to be excited for my own, I've always had a special place in my heart for them, but it has made this pregnancy and this season here in Japan that much more enjoyable. So to those momma's, thank you, for sharing your kids with me and letting me have a little bit of the joy that I know they bring you. I will never forget our time here and it won't just be about baseball, but the relationships that were made and memories shared.  Okay enough on that before the hormones start raging, it's cobbler time.

 

Peach Cobbler

I've found myself in the kitchen quite a bit lately. One of the things I never realized is just how much life revolves around meals and eating. In college cooking dinner consisted of boiling noodles and pouring jar spaghetti sauce over the top. I just never had the urge or desire to spend lots of time in the kitchen preparing delicious tasty meals. Which is why it was always such a treat going home for breaks because my mom would spoil us with our favorite meals.

 

Then when I started dating Brandon, it didn't take me long to figure out that they key to his heart is actually through his stomach. I began cooking more substantial meals when I would visit him during the weekends. I know the type of food and quality that is typically served to ballplayers and just felt that I wanted to cook him something that would actually fill his belly. I also knew that he was away from home cooking for eight months and some home cooked meals would hit the spot.

 

Now we are married and isolated in a foreign country that has even more limited food options and so my skills as a cook in the last five months have far succeeded what I thought I was capable of. The first meal I cooked in this apartment was hamburgers and a box of Kraft macaroni. Not my proudest moment but we didn't go hungry and at that point I imagined we would have lots of burgers and lots of macaroni. We ate them on bread with ketchup and that was that. Fast forward a few months I made burgers again but with homemade macaroni, lettuce, tomato, and bacon to top the burgers and we had them on buns. I remember thinking, 'wow I've come a decent way in the cooking department.' It wasn't a huge accomplishment but what I realized is just how much more comfortable I've become in our new surroundings. Little victories.

 

Even more so in the last month, Brandon often makes comments like the following, "You know what sounds good? That mozzarella cheese dip you make. Do you think you could make that?" My first instinct is to say no way, I will never find all the ingredients I need but for some reason I don't have the heart to say no. I understand what he is going through as far as wanting certain things from home to eat or snack on. So I make the efforts and attempt to fill those requests with a positive outcome more often than not.

 

Thus began the real advancement of my cooking abilities. Dip turned into potato salad, which turned into his Mema's chicken and dumplings, which turned into me wanting a peach cobbler. I don't know where the notion came from in my head that I couldn't make any of the above but it was there. I'm happy to say that it has since been removed and I now feel like I could attempt to make just about whatever Brandon's requests. Other things I've cooked include chicken fried chicken, a cheesecake, meatballs, curry and rice, beef bowls, cinnamon rolls(fail), biscuits(semi-fail), lemon garlic tilapia, vegetable soup, stuffed chicken, and chicken and noodle soup. I will admit that some evenings the last thing I want to do is cook dinner, or maybe it's getting the groceries, but the satisfaction I feel after making something delicious and seeing Brandon dig in for seconds or thirds far exceeds the workload.

 

I've taken for granted the amazing cooks in my life and this year has made me appreciate their talent and gift so much more. I can't count the number of times I wished I could pick up the phone and called to ask how to make a certain dish. Maybe it's knowing I have my own child on the way and that I want to be able to always provide delicious meals. It could be just the simple fact of knowing that if I don't cook, our options for meals here are extremely limited. Either way it has sparked a passion for cooking and learning how to cook some of Brandon's favorites and some of my own.

 

With all that being said, summer is not summer for me without a peach cobbler. Usually I just have to sweetly ask my mom and wam-bam-thank-you-ma'am a peach cobbler is served.  However not this year. After a long discussion via facetime with some secret tricks and tips I slapped on my apron and gave it a whirl. Ok there was no apron but what's a little flour on your shorts going to hurt?  So I now present to you the makings of my very first ever peach cobbler. I know I have one proud grandma in Heaven.

 

 

If you are wondering if it tastes as good as it looks then I will lie to you out of the sheer kindness of my heart that it was awful. No good. Not making it again, until Brandon gets back on Monday. This one I plan to dish out to some of the gracious friends I've made here. Ones that borrowed me the sugar and the glass dish for which this delicious treat wouldn't be possible otherwise. And probably to anyone else who knocks on the door between now and when it disappears.

 

Cooking and baking has also helped fill a small void that I've had to create. I truly miss sewing and crafting, and even writing here regularly. But again a passion has been ignited for me lately and I hope to continue to share these things with you, just from the kitchen instead of in front of my sewing machine, at least for now.

 

As always, thank you for letting us share pieces of our life with you! It means show much to be able to not only experience this adventure but to share with everyone back home just how much God is richly blessing our lives and helping us grow in areas that are lacking. Amen for that.

 

The peach cobbler recipe can be found here.

Cheat tips:

Slice peaches into dish. Immediately add lemon juice over peaches.

Add 1/4 teaspoon almond extract with step two.

Eat with vanilla ice-cream.



Parents Visit Revisted..(the first few days)

Lets travel back in time.. to my parents visit two months ago. I keep saying I will recap their visit and just have not made the time to do so. Now that I am in a writing groove I'm going to try and keep the ball rolling with an update of their visit! Whoo hoo. Plus it's like I get to relive it again!

We are a bit out of order but I'm positive no one is going to mind. The day they arrived they got in around 3:30 pm, putting us at our apartment with two tired travelers close to five. I fixed an easy meal of beef bowls and then we tried to keep them awake to kick the jet lag.

The following day we headed into Sannomiya, a giant city center, to shop, look around, and pretty much not do any crazy sightseeing on their first day. We went to a rooftop nursery. I introduced my dad to the bakeries and his favorite, cheese bread, and then we decided to go catch the Buffaloes game at the outdoor stadium. On our way to the field we stopped at another shopping area where my parents delighted in some crepes. Then they experienced their first Japanese baseball game.

 

The following day we were greeted with rain. I had not planned ANY activities for rain and had no idea what we could do. My dad, Ken, found a couple sake breweries not to far from our apartment so we headed out to those. It was a wet nightmare but after my dad stopped and got directions, with my assistance, we set out to find the brewery. If you've seen one you've seen them all but it was neat to see just how it used to be made.

 

 

Then the days start to mix together so it gets confusing. We went to have a Japanese dinner one evening at a Yakiniku. There is a grill built into the table and you order your meat choices or vegetables and cook them yourself. At this particular restaurant it is timed and you can eat all you can in 90 minutes. At this point, I don't believe we had shared the news that they would be grandparents. I was super nervous that the raw meat sitting in front of me was going to make me sick, but I enjoyed the entire meal with no problems. I even had tongue for the first time and it was pretty good.

 

 

The first few days allowed them to get a feel for traveling by train and the general idea of our life here in Japan. Our first all day excursion was to Awaji island which you can read about here and then we will be ready to move on to the next big travel days of Hiroshima, Kyoto and around Kobe.

 

But first...a special video. We decided to tell my parents the night before Mother's Day because Brandon was busy all day that Sunday and wouldn't be around. A little back story behind the gift. There was some sort of pop up sale  in our building that had all sorts of Japanese goods. My mom spotted this really pretty lazy susan she wanted but didn't buy it. When she told me about it, I told her not to get it because it would be to hard to get home. The next morning we walked right past the sale again, she had a massage, and it was still there, which is when I got the bright idea to buy it and use that to surprise her with our news. While she was getting her massage I hurried, bought the plate and got it back to the apartment, hid a special surprise inside, and kept it until after our dinner pictured above. She thought she was just getting her lazy susan but ended up with so much more! I love that Brandon captured her reaction because they are the only two people we got to tell live in person.

 

All -Star Break 2013

As much as I've tried to establish a regular schedule around here, it just isn't going to happen. Which is what I need to get used to because that is probably how it will be once this baby arrives.

It's the final day of all-star break! We had two entire baseball free days but a week filled with fun.

Wednesday:
The final game before break, I met Brandon at the stadium and we left after the fifth inning. I picked up dinner, Domino's, for our train ride and we headed to Tokyo for the two days off.

Thursday:
We planned to get up early and go to Disney Sea but that didn't happen. We staggered out of bed around 11 and headed over to the Disney resort to grab some lunch, shop, and hang out. Around 3 we decided that we would stick around and go to Disneyland for half price after five, which we thought wasn't until six, so we killed the next two and half hours.

We rode some rides, watched the magical light parade, and grabbed some waffles before the rain came and the park closed.

Friday:
We checked out of our hotel and made our way to DisneySea. I originally thought it was going to be more like sea world inspired by Disney but not so much. It is pretty much like Disneyland but with some water rides and a huge pond in the park where they do all kinds of fun shows that spray water and the characters dance. The ride where you get wet was actually my favorite and we even went back just to watch the people having a good time. We had to skip several rides because I now fall under the expectant mother category but tried to get Brandon do go with out me. He said he would pick the baby over the rides any day so we skipped them. We decided if we were going to catch a train back to the apartment we couldn't stay for the final show so we left a little bit early to head home.

Saturday:
I met Brandon after practice and our translator (who is the BEST by the way and we appreciate so much all that he does for us) took us to Costco to get some groceries for our BBQ we were having on Sunday. Having a car makes that trip SO much easier.

Sunday:
We had a cookout with some of the other Orix baseball families. Our building has a BBQ patio that you can rent out for parties and have access to tables, chairs, and grills. Another group had it booked until six so we crammed our party in from six -eight. Once we found some lighter fluid we were up and running. The guys ran the grill, the girls brought some side dishes, and a good time was had by all, I hope.

Monday:
After practice I met Brandon for an afternoon movie date. For a few seconds before the movie started we accidentally thought we purchased tickets for the Japanese version of the movie.. luckily we didn't. After the movie we headed to the Dr. for a check up on our little baby and I can't believe how big he/she had gotten. My favorite part is the tiny little leg bones. You tell me a 2cm femur is not adorable, cause it is! Doc said everything looks good and to come back in four weeks so until next time I'll just be watching our latest ultrasound on repeat.

Tuesday:
We finished all-star break tonight with Outback for dinner. I'm exhausted from going, going, going, but have loved being busy and spending time with Brandon before we finish off the last 12ish weeks of the season. Where has the time gone? I'm getting pretty antsy about going home. Things like seeing my puppy again, family time, visiting my sister's new house, cuddling friends new babies, driving, and all that fun stuff. Until then, it's Japanese living.