We're Here!

Well, we made it! Chris had the house and the car all ready for us and met us at the airport on Friday afternoon. The girls are thrilled to be reunited with Daddy and we are all settling in to our new life quite comfortably.
The trip was amazing and grueling and hard. Tess and Lucy both trooped right along through the whole thing and aside from a couple of minor melt downs (mostly mine, some from Tess) around day two of the journey we had a fairly easy time. The kindness of strangers was overwhelming and the support from the other military families traveling with us was really touching. I could not have made it without them and I find it hard to express the gratitude I have. There were really no strangers on that plane by the time we made it to Okinawa.
It took the girls a few days to adjust to the new time but for the last few nights we seem to be back on schedule. For my part I have finally stopped losing consciousness around 8:00 every night, so I suppose I am adjusted as well! Tess and Lucy love the beach. Tess splashed right into the waves and has been spending quite a bit of time searching the sand and water for new sea creature friends. So far she has met a few crabs, some minnows and loads of snails. Lucy spends most of her time kicking in the sand and water. She would love to taste the beach, but so far we have been able to keep her hands mostly out of the sand. We've been eating at restaurants downtown and everyone loves the new food! CoCo's Curry House is a favorite for everyone. We've also been to one very popular 100 yen store, which is the Japanese version of American dollar stores, only much better. It was a lot of fun to shop there and I know we will be going back often to pick up new fun, strange and beautiful finds.
The new house is great, Chris really took his time in choosing it and I think it is just about perfect. Inside we have stainless steel counter tops, all tile bathrooms, and the deepest tub I have ever seen! We are living with borrowed furniture, which is doing the job but we are all eager to get our things. They should be here at the end of this month so in the mean time we are grateful to have enough furniture to be comfortable. Outside we have a cute little front porch off of the kitchen that will be perfect for weekend breakfast and a nice little backyard that just needs a fence and a little herb garden and it will be perfect!
I'll get some pictures this week and post them this weekend.

Here we go...

Well, Chris is on a plane to Okinawa! He left yesterday afternoon and flew all day across trhe country, waited forever in Seattle and is now on his way to Japan, with a quick stop in Anchorage, AK. Once he gets to Japan he will have to find us shelter, food, and get to know his new workcenter for two weeks until we can join him.
The girls and I are hitting the ground running and getting the house ready for the final move out and inspection. It's a lot to do, for sure, but at least we will be able to stay busy while Chris is away. Also all of this work serves as a great distraction from the fact that starting on the 27th South Carolina time and finally ending on the 29th Okinawa time I will be flying around the world with two dogs, a toddler, and a crawling baby! We will be relying on the kindness of fellow passengers and airport personnel for sure, or we'll never make it!

The Happenings

Our move is so quickly approaching and we are rushing, rushing to get everything done and making plenty of time for fun too.
Lucy is now 5 months old and has doubled her birth weight! She is rolling over, smiling and laughing. She has most recently become strong enough to lift herself off of her belly so she will be crawling after her big sister in no time. Tess is just as wild and wonderful as ever. She is a great little buddy to her sister and loves to "read" books. Tess, Lucy and Mama have all been making new friends lately as part of a local Moms group. There are lots of kids Tess' age and Tess has a lot of fun getting to know everyone. Of course, I'm not exactly sad about all of the adult conversation I can squeeze in while she's playing, either! The girls are both just so much fun I am so lucky to be at home with them every day.
Chris is just working, working working and enjoying what little time off they are giving him with the girls. I don't know how his work center will survive once he leaves, he really does such an amazing job. The girls and I are extremely proud of the job he does- both at work and at home!
I'll go ahead and link the photobucket account for the last few months, since I have been so bad about updating here. Of course February will continue to be updated through the end of the month. I hope all of you are well!
http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r177/sunpeach1/November%202008/
http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r177/sunpeach1/December%202008/
http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r177/sunpeach1/January%202009/
http://s144.photobucket.com/albums/r177/sunpeach1/February%202009/