I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

Our tree

All three of us have been pretty sick the last two weeks. There is a nasty cold/cough going around. On Christmas Eve, Ellen started throwing up, so we canceled all of our plans and just stayed in. We spent most of the night up with her. We all felt pretty bad Christmas day, so we spent the whole day in our PJs. We had planned on having friends over for dinner, but we had to cancel that too. It was kind of a bummer, but we still enjoyed Christmas together.

Santa came!

Santa brought Ellen this couch. You can't tell by the photo, but she really loves it!

Opening stockings

We are so grateful for technology. Thanks to Skype, we were able to open presents with our families in the States! It was so cool and a good substitute since we couldn't be there. (And they were glad they could be with us, germ free!)

 Ellen couldn't stay awake for all the present opening, so we spread it out into two days.

A rare smile during those two days :)

My family's traditional Christmas meal is a brunch. My favorite part is a sweet bread called "Braid." I was pretty proud of myself for making it on my own. It was disappointing that we all got sick and couldn't have everyone over. We talked about rescheduling, but it was pretty obvious that wasn't going to happen anytime soon so, a few days later, we had a family over that had been just as sick as us. I am happy to report that braid tastes just as good on December 27 as it does on Christmas!

We are all starting to finally feel better, thank goodness. Here's hoping that 2011 is healthier!

Getting Settled, Part 2

One of my new year's resolutions for 2011 is to update the blog with something every week. I don't want to start the year behind, so I'll just do a quick sum-up with a few photos from the last few weeks:

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends from Little Rock

Ellen and Matthew

Ellen and Cody

Good food and good friends!

Ellen's friend, Matthew, had his 2nd birthday soon after we got here. It was fun to be a part of and all the kids had a great time.

Just out of reach... :)

Wanting to be one of the big kids!

One of our first adventures off base was to "Joyful Honda" It is a HUGE store with everything you need for your home and yard

When people said Joyful Honda carried EVERYTHING, I didn't realize that included goats!

Joyful Honda is so large it has its own food court. I thought Jon did a great job ordering when he couldn't read the menu!

The Japanese are famous for their gardens. I loved these trees we saw on the way there.

Ellie had a great time riding our purchase up the elevator to the apartment. This is why kids have dads. :)

Jon's job often takes him out to the base of Mt. Fuji. Not a bad working environment!

What exactly do you think this sign is telling motorists to do?

Jon also left on his first trip. He was gone for four days to fly to the Philippines and southern Japan. He was excited to be flying again. While they were gone he went to a sushi place and tried blow fish.

He said it was chewy. I told him to update the life insurance. :)

 Ellen is growing up so fast. I am already seeing her stubbornly independent side.

She loves to feed herself...

...but she also helps clean up!

Merry Christmas!

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 

--Luke 2:10-14

 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Getting Settled, Part 1

The past two weeks have been such a blur. Every day has been so full, I feel like a lot more time has passed. We have been really busy doing all the little things to set up life here. I figure I better get some stuff down quick before I get too far behind.

Some highlights from the last two weeks:

We took a class and got our Japanese drivers licenses. They drive on the left side of the road here, so it has been a bit of an adjustment. The hardest part for me has not been driving on the left side, it has been sitting on the right side of the car. I keep going to the wrong side of the car to get in and I turn the windshield wipers on instead of the turn signal. :)

We also bought a car. It is a silver Nissan Cube. It is a cute, 4-door little car. We love it so far. This will probably be Jon's car. We are still looking for a car for me. I can't decide if I want a car or van. I am getting pretty comfortable driving on base, but I haven't driven off base yet. Jon has driven up off base several times. He is a natural!

We also moved into our house! We are in an apartment building on the 9th floor. That is the top floor, so we joke that we live in the penthouse. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and two balconies (one off the living area and one in the master bedroom.) We have two friends from Little Rock that live in the same building, so it makes it already feel like home. It has been really nice to get all our things back. We have been busy unpacking and getting things settled. It has been a slow process. It usually goes like this: I unpack two boxes, Ellie unpacks a cupboard. I hang up all our clothes, Ellie pulls all the shoes out of the closet. :) We are getting there though!

The before pictures:

Welcome Home!

Kitchen

Kitchen

Dining Room

Living Room

Front Bathroom

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom (built in closets)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Views from our house: 

It has also been really nice to go to church. We attend a military branch that meets just off base. We even walked one week because the weather was nice. Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming. It is such a blessing and has made moving across the world so much easier.

It will be hard being so far away from friends and family, but we are so grateful for our military and church families that have taken such good care of us here. It has really helped the transition.

We have an APO address and a US home phone number. If you want them, let me know and I will email them to you. :)

Stay tuned for Part 2: Thanksgiving, Birthday parties, Christmas parties and adventures off base. :)

Some views of the base from the top of the shopping center:

Ellen and her friend, Matthew, having a pajama party

Buddies

More Sushi Please!

Our first night off base in "Real Japan."  Sushi fun with the Copelands. It was delicious. I am in heaven!