Our First Family Visit!

Back when we found out we would be stationed here in Okinawa, we learned that my Aunt and Uncle has just recently booked a cruise that would stop for a day here! We have been awaiting their arrival and we had a wonderful day with them! It was so nice to have family close...even if it was just for the day! :) First, we took them to our house on base and showed them around, then we visited our lovely BX (base exchange)! We were all pretty hungry, so we took them to one of our favorite Tepanyaki restaurants, Capitals. It was very yummy!

Since Greg is into bikes, this was appropriate...a lowered scooter :)

After lunch, we toured around American Village!

Connie and I decided to dip our feet into the Doctor Fish and have a "fishy" pedicure! These fish eat off the dead skin on your feet. We tried to get Paige to do it, but she was a little scared. Connie and I laughed and laughed...it was a very wierd feeling!

Of course, you can't visit American Village and not go on the ferris wheel! :)

Connie is one of the only people I know that can fit comfortably on these kiddy rides!

After touring some of the hotspots of Okinawa that were close, we headed back to the ship. Greg and Connie have become good friends with the captain of the ship and arranged for us to take a private tour of the ship's bridge!

They even gave Paige an Ocean Princess hat to wear!

Of course, she made Daddy wear it, too!

The captain let the girls sit in HIS chair and wear HIS personal Captain's hat!

The logo in the background is the captain's tatoo and when he had a ship in his own command he had it painted on the ship!

It was such a fun day! Paige thought we were going on another cruise and was very disappointed to leave the ship! We are so thankful that we got to have this day with them!

Beach time and some other stuff :)

It's April already! The weather has finally started to "warm" up and that means that being outside is a must here in beautiful Okinawa! This weekend we not only got the house cleaned and got the baby's room started, we went to the beach! It was just beautiful out and the perfect day for it! We went to a beach called Toguchi Beach...it's small but it has alot of stuff to do. There is a giant roller slide (which was very full today so we didn't play on it) and beautiful scenery and a big beach. The tide was out big time so the coral was exposed up to about 1/4 of a mile! Jason, Paige and another friend of ours walked out and explored all of the sea creatures that were "stuck" in the little pools of water. They had a blast. They even brought back a bright blue starfish for us to see! Paige picked up a sea cucumber and admired the clown fish :). As you can see, I take the pictures, I am not in them. I sat on the beach and managed to get a crazy sunburn...oops!

This week was also an exciting week for us...we found out (earlier than most expected) the we are having a BOY!!! I was very impatient and couldn't wait the 4 weeks to find out at my appointment. I decided to go off base to a Japanese OB/GYN that does ultrasounds for Americans who want to find out the gender earlier than on base! It was quite the experience and words can't describe it. It was a great day and we are very excited for Tucker Andrew to arrive!

pregnancy, spring and a terrible disaster

As I sit here to update everyone, I am thinking about the last month and what we've done. As you know, I am in my 2nd trimester now and have mainly spent the last month being sick. Jason has been so amazing taking care of me and Paige. During the week, he comes home at lunch to check on us and makes sure Paige is being a good girl! :) She has been so wonderful as well. She helps around the house and in any way she can. She tells me all the time that when the baby comes out I will feel better. I love her.
Over the last week, Paige and I have been trying to make a trip back to Arizona...with no luck. The last couple days have been even harder due to the major earthquake in mainland Japan. We watch the news daily and are still in disbelief of what has happened there and all of the damage. Here in Okinawa, we felt nothing at all. That night and into the next day we were in a tsunami warning, but nothing happened. We are very thankful that we are ok, but we are praying for those on mainland that are not. There have been several troops from Kadena sent to help in the relief efforts. Jason is on alert and they are ready should they be called to go help. Please keep everyone involved in your prayers. It's very devastating!
We are doing well here and are anxiously awaiting summer and getting in some much needed beach time. Spring is in the air and we have all the windows open and feel a nice breeze and the birds singing! We are so blessed!

The First Half of February

This month started off pretty good! We decided that we needed a bigger house to accommodate a new baby in September. We were VERY lucky to be able to get a bigger home in a matter of 3 days! We had a week to move, but we did it. We now live in a 3 bedroom 1 1/2 bath, 2 storied duplex with a very big back yard! It is perfect for us! When the rain stops I will take some pictures of the outside (by then the inside will be put together...haha). Sightseeing has been very scarce with the weather and with moving and being sick. We are very anxiously awaiting the arrival of summer!

These pictures were actually from December, but I just forgot to post them! We took an afternoon trip to Kurashiki Dam behind our now "old" house. It is beautiful and peaceful.
This is the MEN'S bathroom! It's a little small.

Happy Valentine's Day! This is our little Valentine (she said she was hehe)

january...and new beginnings

Christmas has come and gone...in a blur. We jumped right into January with lots of training for Jason. This month is entirely devoted to training. We can't complain, though, we have had alot of 3 and 4 day weekends, along with a 2 week break for Christmas!
This has been a big month for us! I am no longer in my 20s. I have jumped over into my 30th year with a bang! In December, we decided to pursue fertility treatment again. The doctor put me on Metformin, which is usually used for type 2 Diabetes, but has been known to help with Polycystic Ovarian Syndroms (PCOS), which is what I have. I was on that for a month and on my birthday I went in for a checkup to see how the medicine was working. I had some blood tests and would have gotten the results that day, but I was a late-in-the-day appt, so I had to wait til Tuesday (since it was MLK day). Tuesday morning I got a phone call from my doctor telling me the pregnancy test I had done friday was POSITIVE!!!! It was quite that shock, but we are so happy to be expecting baby #2!! We had a little scare this week and had to go to the ER, but everything is ok so far and I even got to see the little miracle inside as well as it's strong little heartbeat! We are trusting God to take care of this little one and our family. His timing is perfect! I am due September 24!
As the end of the month approaches, Jason is in the field for their final test and will be out there all week long. We are managing at home...the morning sickness has made it kind of tough, but that's ok. We are looking forward to February and being able to get out and spend some time as a family and do some more exploring.
I cannot thank you all enough for all of the prayers...they have been amazing! We are really looking forward to the expansion of our family. Paige cannot wait to be a big sister! I will be more diligent in keeping you all updated as the pregnancy progresses and all the fun things we do! :)
God bless you all!

Merry Christmas to all...

Greetings from Okinawa, Japan! We hope this "letter" finds you all well! We are very thankful we get to celebrate our Savior's birth. Rejoice!
This has been a very eventful year for our family and for those of you who haven't seen or heard about our year, let me fill you in!
Let me take you back to last December (2009)...Jason joined the United States Army.
February: Jason left for basic training for 10 weeks to Ft. Benning in Columbus, Georgia. Rachael and Paige are on their own.
March: Jason is still in basic. Rachael and Paige took a trip with her parents to Nebraska to visit siblings. They stayed there for 3 weeks (so thankful to have something to keep them busy while missing Jason).
April: Rachael and Paige flew to Denver to see Jason's sister and took a small road trip back to Arizona. Once in Arizona for a week, they, along with Jason's mom and sister, flew to Georgia to see Jason graduate from basic training!! After graduation, Jason flew to Ft. Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma where we found out that he will be there for 20 weeks...not 10!
May: Rachael visited Jason for a weekend in Oklahoma.
June: Rachael rented out the house and began packing...
July: Rachael and Paige loaded up the truck and travel trailer and moved to Oklahoma!
August: Paige turns 3! Yikes!
September: Jason graduated from AIT and they all headed back home to Arizona for 2 weeks, say goodbye and MOVE TO JAPAN!! Made the 15 hour flight to Okinawa.
October: Moved into house on base! Lots and lots of sightseeing!
November: Furniture and belongings come! Oh happy day! Attended first military ball. Our first Thanksgiving without our family...very strange.
December: Wondering where this year has gone, but thankful it went fast! CHRISTMAS!

We thank each and every one of out family members and friends that have supported us and prayed for us! We love all of you and are so blessed to have you in our lives! We are very lucky to be in this beautiful country! We wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!!

Thanksgiving weekend

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! We invited some friends, Alex and Suji, over for dinner and another single soldier came as well! We started this week my making some pumpkin spice muffins. Paige is becoming my little kitchen helper and she loves to bake!

On Black Friday, we ventured out to a few stores on neighboring bases to pick up some little gifts. We decided to finally ride the huge ferris wheel that we see just about every day! Paige has been begging us to take her so we finally gave in. I think we picked the most windy day to go...it was a little unnerving, but still fun!

Saturday, we decided to see some things that are close by our house! We had heard about a egg farm that also had a zoo! Sounds strange, I know, but it was actually very fun! They has several animals there and a huge store filled with not only eggs, but other fresh baked goods!

this monkey did not like my camera, he was holding on to my lens while I took this piture...when I was done he hissed at me!

got eggs?

On Sunday, we ventured out yet again to the Southeast Botanical Garden! It was SO much more that we had expected...it was so beautiful! We walked in the gates and found out we could rent bikes...maybe next time. They had a play area for kids and Paige zip-lined for the first time! They are currently setting up for their Christmas show and is looking to be similar to the Valley of Lights that they have back home. We will definately be going to see that! :)