On our way to the doctor....

We are all decked out in our pack pack and rainy day gear for the trip to the doctor. This little one is a trooper when it comes to doctor's visits and shots. She hardly cries.

Daddy met us at the clinic and Mia and I had our check ups and shots. Mia got to see the baby for the first time and was fascinated by the doctor covering my belly with gelly for the ultrasound....she kept patting my head and wanting to go 'night night' with me as I was laying down.

Daddy had to go back to work after the appointments so Mia and I went on a date to Starbucks.....apple juice and toffee nut latte! "Yummy!" as Mia said!

We also averted true disaster by having someone point out that the front tires on our wagon were truly in a horrible state. As we have had so many cars since being here I have not really committed myself to this one. I've just been holding my breath until we leave. I took it down to the shop and had the tires replaced with no accidents....although, I think Nykolas would have LOVED a blow out and a crash!

One MUST be like ones brother.....

A horse and his boy.....

....and his boots! Feasting on Okinawan lavender.

Texas Game with the Aggies....

....I mean Reilly's! Fun day full of brisket, leftover Thanksgiving sweets and great fellowship....with the occasional football banter....ok constant football banter. HORNS HORNS!

Nykolas' 3rd Birthday Party

As we will have just moved to Korea on December 22nd and will not have had time to make friends we had Nykolas' party here the day after Thanksgiving. We found a great park that has a skate area, open grassy fields, a beach and a smaller people geared playground. We all had a blast and Nykolas and his new friend Joshua bonded quickly with a cool slide, sticks and yucky mud! Mia befriended a stray cat.....and the "Herbie" birthday cake was a big hit.....though pitifully homemade looking....ahhh if I could only be like my amazing cake making sister!

Nykolas received THREE (3) Herbie's....one for each year of his life....cowboy boots from Mamsie and Grandan and a yummy cozy quilt for cold Korean nights is on it's way from Gran. Oh, and as we 'speak' Chad is putting together the all too complicated race trac set I bought....all the directions are in Japanese and there are at least a million pieces.....isn't that some sort of rite of passage for every father...at least one terribly complicated toy to put together?

Thanksgiving!

Shower!!!!

Ladies from the Bible Study I've been attending gave me a shower today! So amazingly thoughtful! Feeling truly blessed....and this little one will be all decked out in very cute things!

Yesterday.....

To avoid the risk of sounding dramatic, I'll say it this way - our day yesterday was awful. Mia awoke at 2:00am with a raging fever and wouldn't settle back down to sleep again even with motrin for 2 1/2 hours. Then Nykolas woke us up earlier than usual. Poor Joy was miserable so I cancelled my plans for the day (which included a pedicure and lunch with a friend...I know 'poor me') and we stayed home. Since we were home, I thought, 'good day to start potty training'.

Everything was going pretty well. Nykolas didn't even have one accident in the morning! Until in the afternoon.....I thought it would be good to get us out on a walk. I needed to post some letters and pick up some lettuce and chicken for dinner. Plus everyone seemed to be feeling fine and needing some sunshine. So off we went....

When we arrived at the post office Nykolas had his meltdown. There is nothing more humiliating than being told very loudly "no" by your two year old and hit....in a public place! I know all the Japanese were internally shaking their heads and thinking 'American children...so out of control!'

Then as we were walking toward the grocery, Mia had hers. And what a spectacle it was! Never in my life have I seen a child fall apart and for the extended time that she did. We still aren't sure exactly what was wrong...did she want to walk and not be in the stroller, was she frustrated because she couldn't buckle herself in ('me do' is her favorite quote at the moment), did she feel bad, OR was she just testing out her two year old behavior BEFORE she turns two?!?!?!? She screamed all the way home....about a 30-40 minute walk....arching her back and head so far back in the stroller that I am sure the on-coming cars thought I had a headless child....she was pitching so far that her feet were scraping on the ground! I tried everything to sooth her...NOTHING worked. Finally, toward the end I carried her and she thrashed even more and screamed "NO". I am so glad she and I look alike otherwise people would have thought I was kidnapping her.

Can I tell you how tiring it is to be pregnant and wrestling with a 20 pound child and walking home....I wasn't sure I would make it. Finally we reached the front door. I settled Nykolas down with Ya-ya (after a spanking and a short conversation of how NOT to respond to mommy) to watch a movie then Mia and I both fell exhausted into our beds. She didn't even peep....after thirty or forty minutes of screaming and thrashing she was tuckered out!

One hour later I heard Nykolas very upset downstairs. He had had his first accident....on the sofa. Ya-ya was trying to change his clothes and put him on the potty to 'try'. I think two things were in play here....one, boys have a one track mind and really "The Herbie Movie" is riveting....ha...so I think he forgot that he wasn't wearing diapers....and two, he is totally responding to the encouraging words and wanting to please momma and ya-ya and could care less about the 'prizes' I have. Anyway, in feeling that he disappointed his ya-ya he had his second royal meltdown of the day. We quickly encouraged him that he was still a big boy and that an accident is ok and we would just try again....he finally settled down with clean Thomas the Tank engine briefs on.

Whew! I made a quick dinner and put all under two years old in bed. Then I had ice cream and watched "Remains of a Day" with Anthony Hopkins...ahhhh....those old British Manors were run with such order and dignity...both of which my day was parched of....although, I must admit there is one scene in which the butler, Mr. Stevens, is ironing his master's newspaper....that, I believe, is taking order a bit too far! And when you watch the sadness and solitude of Mr. Stevens life, occasional chaos doesn't seem so bad....actually preferable to the monotony of too much order.

When I lay down in bed I listened to the rain fall and the grasshoppers sing and I missed the song of the frogs surrounding my parents house. My parents have a creek not too far from the front porch and I remember nights when their joyful song was almost deafening. Always made me feel safe somehow....I mean if someone was traipsing in the woods up to no good they would be silent and not full of sounds. Then I got to thinking of the creaks and groans of my family home. It always made sounds as if adjusting to the needs of the family....expanding as we grew and seeming to shrink a bit to make life more cozy for just mom and dad. Our house here, to weather the typhoons, is made of solid concrete....not a creak or a groan ever to be heard. Funny when 'missing home' things hit you.

We've started this morning on a much better note.....no fevers, plus pancakes and sausage always puts you in a good mood AND Nykolas woke up with dry pants!!!! So we are off to a good start....

Did you know....

...that kitty kitty's here in Okinawa wear clothes and say "neow" not "meow"? Yes, we have adopted two kittens not children....does tend to wear out the knees in clothes! But is really "toot" (cute) as these kittens also say....

mountain climbing....

Our extreme sport boy......

The ever growing me....

I know I don't look so big but I feel 'so' big!

Check out this beautiful smiling baby.....

Nykolas Hilarity.....

We are at a very silly 'almost' three year old stage....Kola is constantly running and bumping into things on purpose and laughing a funny forced laugh....sometimes I am sure it hurts but he still laughs...Chad and I have decided to steer him away from football as this one would get injured think it was funny and go right back in the game...

Sometimes in utter frustration Nykolas yells at Mia, "No, Joy stay, go away", slightly mixed message there....but I think the underlying wish is that she would STOP bothering him!

He is very insistent on when I should "Go" and "Wait" at a traffic light. Sometimes getting the green and the red instructions confused....I have chosen not to listen too intently to the loud voice in the back seat telling me what I should do.

He loves to have "tea" when we have coffee in the mornings. His "tea" consists of watered down apple juice heated in the microwave....makes him feel so old!

Okinawa Franklin Graham Festival

....the sound of Asian Believers filled with God's Holy Fire.
All God's children singing
Glory, Glory, Halelujuah
He Reigns.....

The event was fabulous! Chad did an amazing job! Well worth all the blood, sweat and tears shed during the preparation time. Over all, there were 30,792 people that attended the Festival and 82% were Japanese...a miracle, considering the culture! There were 1,560 people that accepted the Lord and are being integrated with local churches. Which is a 15% increase of the church on Okinawa. Wow! As worship was sung in Japanese and English on the last evening, the rays of sunshine from behind the stadium filled us all with the knowledge that the angels in heaven were celebrating along with us as new babies were being birthed en mass! Thank you ALL for your prayers!

Nykolas and Mia were absolute darlings as I drug them to most all the events. There were always plenty of people to play with and take walks as neither kiddo is very good at sitting still for long. Nykolas has a wee plastic turtle named "Hurry" that he had on a leash the whole weekend...you should have seen the smiles on people's faces as he trotted by with a turtle dragging behind.

Scott and Susan Moore and two of their four visited and attended with us. It was so good to spend time with them even though it was MUCH too short and jam packed with activity. The Korean Office Manager for the Busan Festival also came. Rev. Kim has made us all look forward to being in Busan...he is great AND is married to a pediatric surgeon....great contact for an OBGYN!

My camera isn't made for pictures of the masses and I felt a bit of an intruder snapping shots during a sacred event but I did get some pics ....Click here for SLIDE SHOW....

Funny Joy....

Mia was, how shall I put this delicately, messing in her diaper and she produced a very loud noise from that region....she looked at me with big eyes and said with the cutest pursed lips "Whoa".

As I was eating pineapple Mia threw a truck in my direction causing the bowl I had to topple juice all over my shirt....quickly summing up the situation she said, "Joy mess!"

Her favorite movies these days are the Veggie Tales...she wakes up saying "Bob", for Bob the Tomato....and claps and whirls in delight when I say ok.

Nykolas still refuses to say Mia so our little girl is more often called Joy than not. Nykolas calls her that so often, Joy no, Joy pank, Joy go, Joy stay etc...that she now calls herself and Nykolas ~ Joy. It's nice to have so much joy wafting through the house!