Update

So much to say. For starters, we've moved into our Japanese house! Our first night spent in the house was January 7th. We got settled pretty quickly since we brought almost nothing. No couch, no table, no dining chairs...It would probably be quicker to list what we DID bring. Our bed, an old dresser, china hutch, rocking chair, area rug, old desk, computer/TV and of course the little stuff like clothes and kitchen stuff. But that's IT! We left a few things back at Matt's parents house that we didn't want to get damaged in the move... my great Grandma's hope chest, a stained-glass lamp, and so on. Plus, Matt was hoping that by not bringing anything we would be more inclined to find a cool sailboat that we could dock and live in. Poor guy, the only boats in Iwakuni are old fishing boats and even he doesn't want to live in those. As much as we wanted to get rid of the hand-me-down furniture we left behind, we are accumulating free furniture left and right. Our friends Adam and Ivette gave us their teak table they bought at a bazaar which has a crack in it, but other than that is beautiful. Our friend Lisa gave us her old couches that wouldn't fit in her house and our friend Linda gave us her dining chairs that she also can't fit in her apartment. It's amazing! So, at this point, our house is filled with items screaming "replace me please!" We are so happy to hear that THE bazaars are coming back to the base this spring. At these bazaars, vendors from all over Asia bring their goods, mainly furniture. We are hoping to slowly fill our little Japanese home.

School is great. I love the people I work with and my class is really getting the hang of things. I tell ya, first graders will wear you OUT the first few months of school, but they totally redeem themselves the last half of the school year and make all that work feel worth it. We are rockin and rollin!

Matt has been using this fresh start as an opportunity to go back to school. They have great online programs here with the military, so he is taking advantage of those resources. He is currently going the business route, but that is sure to change. I am realizing more and more what a blessing it is to know early what your "calling" is.

Matt flew back to the states a few weeks ago on a "Space A" (Space Available) flight. We didn't even know these Space A flights existed before we got here, but MAN what a deal! There are military flights that are on a constant loop and, obviously their first priority is to transfer troops to various locations, but the leftover seats are up for grabs to military and civilian families for 27 bucks a seat. There is a direct flight from Iwakuni to Seattle, which is the one Matt hopped on. The only downside is that it is nearly impossible to get a seat when kids are out of school, so I will most likely never get to fly like this. Matt wanted to get back to help his parents move into the downstairs apartment and to wrap up some of his business stuff that we had to leave behind in a hurry last summer. That way, when we go home this summer it will be ALL play and NO work (that's the plan). I miss him like crazy, but so glad he is getting a little time to enjoy a few things we miss of home.