Halloween in Japan

As you all know we are ahead of you so Halloween is over in Japan and tomorrow we ring in November - closer to seeing Rory!

We started the day off with Mommy at the gym and Dylan at Ms Armies where they had dress up time. Here is Dylan dressed up as Mr Policeman.

Here he is either shocked that he is still Mr Policeman or just caught off guard:) Ms Armie has an awesome play room at her home that Dylan just loves! Dylan loves his time at here home. I must say she is truly a blessing to Dylan and I!!!
Dylan in his outfit for the day jeans and the cute bones shirt that Nana and Papa Steve sent him. It does glow in the dark but Dylan didn't seem to care or notice during his nap time. This being the only time it was dark enough for him to notice. I did try showing him before he went down but it was a who cares mom.

These next shots aren't of great quality but I had to add them. They show you Dylan being Dylan! I know I know I will eventually add a post about how much Dylan has changed and what all he does to pass the days - be patient:)

He wanted to wear a backpack so mom emptied it of his diaper bag essentials and let him tromp around the house. Does he look excited or what!

We are a shoes off home which is how I grew up. Mom didn't have any desire to try and get the red clay out of white carpets. I do it because it is great for reducing dirt and germs in the house. It is normal over here in Japan and most homes are built with a special foyer area for shoes to be removed before entering the rest of the home. The best part about it all is the maintenance guys leave their dirty work boots outside the door and slip into house shoes to work in out apartment. They carry the shoes with their supplies:)

Ok back to the picture. I had told Dylan it was time to leave for Ms Armies and we need to get our tennis shoes on. I think he picked the wrong pair I couldn't even get my big toe in the ones he left for me. Sure would be hard to run:)

This was during our handing out candy time. This little Tupperware holds his letters and numbers. I guess he thought it would hold him as well. It does but barely. I had nothing to do with this. Ok so I guess I am mistaken on that statement. As I was reading on the couch DYln grabs for my hand. He used it for support as he put his second foot in the Tupperware. After he was standing in it he let go and squeezed down.

The look and pointing finger is because someone had literally just rung the doorbell. I think it was a ooh ooh mom someone is at the door. I need to get out and go with you. A veyr urgent I need to go with you by the look on his face.

We had more visitors tonight then we did the 3 years we lived in Virginia. 21 different groups about half in half American and Japanese.

The very first time the doorbell rang Dylan beat me to the door and knocked on it:) I opened it to reveal two American boys in scary masks. Dylan stood right next to me as I handed them their candy not scared just taking it all in. As I closed the door, Dylan cried because he either wanted them to come in or he wanted to go out. The boys thought he was scared of them. I heard one of the guys say Yea the first one! Ha ha I guess if it made them feel big and tough they can think they scared Dylan. When really he wanted to hang out.

Dylan proceed to come with me to the door for the first 10 groups. At that point he was tired of the whole deal and would continue to play. But by group 16 he was back at it smiling at all the Japanese families who would say kawae or kauai (like the island) (not the correct spelling but the correct pronunciation) which means cute. One little Japanese girl who could not have been more than 6 years old thought he was cute enough to pat on the head! Tonight Dylan made it into two more Japanese families picture albums. This is a regular occurrence - I wonder by the time we leave here how many Japanese people will have pictures of Dylan? Sometimes people ask me and I always say yes. Other times I just notice the cameras flashing or see the people crouching down for a better angle. But I am getting ahead of myself - I will save those stories for our posts about the different parades we have seen

A Parent Smiles

OK so I am going to guess many of the parents out there reading this blog will immediately have a similar time come to mind. I urge you to share because life is truly made up of the small things.

As many of us do, I began the picking up process after little Dylan was in bed when I made it out to the foyer (doesn't take long in this huge house) this is what greeted me. I paused, smiled, even giggled out loud and thanked the Lord for blessing us with a son. Like I mentioned earlier it is the small things that make life worth living - for example filling shoes with toy balls:)

We are sending you our love from the Far East and imploring you to enjoy the day the Lord has given you as well as those precious random acts of your children!

Going out for lunch

Today is already Thursday of the week my girlfriend and I said we were going to go to the Fresh Foods Market for lunch. Last night we said we would be flexible and see if today was the day. As I was heading out the door to the gym, Emily called we are on! After a quick cardio session and speeding through my shower we were off. I thought it would be nice to invite all of you to see where we went.
I have only captured a minute portion of the Fresh Foods Market which is in the basement of two department stores. The sights, sounds, smells and colors are overwhelming. The first time I went down there by myself I was so overwhelmed I had no idea what to buy - I left empty handed. Not this time!! We ate lunch there and brought dessert home.

Above is a tea display. The air around the booth was fragrant and some how very warming. I know come this winter, I will be trying some of the Japanese tea as I work on staying warm.

My favorite display - rotisserie cake? I have no idea since I can't read Japanese but I do know it was cake. Once again the aroma was so strong and delightful you wanted to lick the air (I refrained hee hee) We brought some home with us. I was surprised by the texture and flavor. I guess my mind was thinking exotic since it was on a rotisserie. Essential to my taste buds it was a very good pound cake with a creamy icing. Once I was over the fact that it tasted normal I was loving my treat.

A not so delicious looking display. Can you click on the picture and make it bigger? Fish in all of its eyeball glory. Needless to say I passed this section:)This display case showed numerous "meat" kebobs. I have already gone there once. Do you remember our Kamakura trip where I wrote that I can only hope and pray what we ate was tofu and not organ? I may try a kebob again but not unless I give it a really good look first.Oh my heavens - one of the most splendid aspects of Japan:) There are bakerys everywhere. As you enter the store you pick up a tray and tongs. Then as your eyes grow larger and larger you fill the tray with fresh baked goodness. At the register the clerk bags each item separately (so you can bring it home if need be) I have tried many a baked good and have yet to be disappointedI have no idea?? I think some of it is vegetables? Many some boiled eggs and raw something. But look you can get it on sale:) It is quite splendid how the Japanese use the English word for sale!! Not sure if they don't have a word that means the same in Japanese, but I love sales so am thrilled to see it in English. I loves sales except sales of this stuff.

Here is my lunch:) Mom are you proud I cleaned my plate:) Ok so I did give my friend half of two options. They were the tasty ones though.

If you want to learn about each item, look at the tray as if you are sitting in front instead of me using the picture at the bottom of the description not the top one. OK lets start with the back right corner: There are two beige foamy squares covered in sauce and stringy mushrooms. I believe the squares were tofu and cooked to an undesirable mushiness. The sauce was rather flavorless making the tofu texture that much more prominent. The back middle: These mounds were light brown in color incorporating multiple colored pieces and drizzled with a slight glaze. Delicious! Think strange but tasty meatloaf. Far left back corner a rice ball filled with torn green pieces of what I am now going to guess is sea weed. I found it very tasty with a shocking saltiness compared to the other rice ball I ate first. The saltiness was not over bearing and I would recommend this as a snack. This brings us to the top left corner where though you can't see it are a pile of vegetables and a yellow square. The vegetables were pickled giving me a unique and bold treat. I did enjoy these vegetables and would love to know what they are so I can buy more. The yellow square tricked me. It looked to be solid like a small biscuit. Oh no not a biscuit it was solid in a gelatin sort of way and tasted like gross eggs. I can eat scrambled eggs though I do add lots of goodies. This square was just not so pleasant! On to the middle front square two triangle pieces of a fried batter filled with green, yellow, beige and white. Don't you just love how I have to describe food. I can't say it was full of spinach, egg, cheese and almonds because it wasn't. I have no idea what the filling was but thoroughly enjoyed. I believe this was my favorite part of lunch - go figure the fried part right. Top right corner was a speckled pink rice ball. This is the item I started with because I thought it may contain fish. Making it best to get out of the way. I am sure it was fish but it wasn't so dreadful. A mild flavor spread throughout the sticky rice. All in all it was a great tasting lunch - a pleasant surprise!


Little Sadie trying to jump in the pictures on the right:)

Dylan did not get the opportunity to be adventurous with us today. We packed his lunch which he ate happily in his stroller.

Here is my friend, Emily and her three precious children, Sadie, Eli and Evelyn. Who all got delicious lunches from the bakery. You can't go wrong there (usually) Ok so after eating we went to a 100 yen store to pick up some goodies. After which we realized it was raining pretty good outside. Remember in Japan you walk! So here we were with no options but to get wet since Emily's van was parked on base and nap time was quickly approaching. Emily did have one umbrella oh but not me cause it was beautiful this morning:) So there we go out into the rain:) Good thing is I am not so sweet that I melt. Laughing we made it to Emily's van where she was kind enough to take these two soaked folks home. The purpose of the below pictures were to capture how wet we were which was soaked through and through. You can't really tell but I thought I would add them for Rory/Daddy and anyone else who misses our faces:)

Amazing Birth!!!!

Addison Nicole Miller has arrived!!!!

Congratulations to Nikki and Michael on the arrival of their little girl.

October 20 at 8:10am

6lbs 12oz

19 3/4 inches

Blue eyes and head full of black hair - I will let you know when pictures are available:) I for one can't wait to see her. It is tough being overseas at times like this!!

WARNING:

if your imagination is vivid and you aren't so great with birthing stories don't read any further

The Amazing story of Addison's birth:

Nikki awoke on October 20th around 5 am to use the restroom. Of course we all know this is nothing unusual for a pregnant woman to feel as though they live in the bathroom. She had a sharp pain in her lower abdomen but went back to bed waking at around 7:15am. At that point Nikki was experiencing strange contractions lasting only 10-20 seconds but the pain was sharp. She did some walking, threw in a load of laundry then told Michael I think this is the real deal you better get ready. Now Nikki's contractions were so sharp and painful that she was doubling over and hitting the ground. They were super low as if Addison was grabbing her bladder in a vise grip.

At 8 am Nikki went back to the bathroom room to find that she was bleeding a lot. They tried calling her doctor whose office didn't open for another 30 minutes. As we all know you then call the emergency number but no one answered. Knowing this was too much blood to ignore Nikki and Michael were heading to the hospital.

At this point Nikki was on all fours crying in pain and having to crawl to get anywhere. She told me she was thinking oh what a wimp I am if this is the beginning of labor. I am never going to make it where is that epidural!

Because she was bleeding so much Nikki wanted to use the restroom one more time before getting in the car to head up to the hospital. Once she made it in to the restroom crawling all the way it was about 8:10am.

She sat on the toilet and was hit with a contraction so painful that she lifted herself off the toilet with her arms hollering out in pain. Michael came in to see if she was OK and the decision was quickly made to call 911. Michael then ran and unlocked the front door before coming back to Nikki's side.

There was no heading to the hospital Addison was making her arrival. Michael told Nikki she needed to lay down because he saw Addison's HEAD!!! He threw the bathroom carpets out of the way. He said Nikki helped with this though she has no recollection of doing so. As Nikki lay on the ground with her head propped up against the bathroom door Michael turned into Dr Miller. He was receiving directions from the lady on the 911 call when Nikki hears him say "skip ahead I already see the head". Michael later related that he heard the lady flipping pages trying to find what to tell him next. Thank the Lord, Michael remained calm through the whole delivery which didn't last very long at all. The 911 operator told Michael that he could pull on the head as Nikki pushed and Addison should arrive. Nikki reached over head to get another much needed towel for the lovely mess that is childbirth. Then She pushed as Michael barely pulled and out swooshed Addison. She was not breathing so Michael calmly cleaned out her mouth, started patting her on the back and messing with her feet until she began to wail. What a blessed sound that was for Mom and Dad in their bathroom at home in Deland, Florida. Addison was wrapped up in bath towels and laid on Nikki. When the EMT arrived they found a happy little close family Addison was still attached to mom. They cut the cord and wrapped Addison in the foil shock sheets then back in a blanket. The placenta still need to be birthed so they all waited. Unfortunately for Nikki there was no doctor there to help knead her stomach and remove the placenta. One of the medics was directed to help by kneading Nikki's stomach but instead she just stared at Nikki holding a plastic bag between her legs. Finally more contractions came and the placenta was bagged for the trip to the hospital. The EMTs carried Nikki out of the house onto a stretcher for the ride to the hospital. Michael cleaned up the mess, threw in some laundry and went up to the hospital to see his wife and new child.

Everyone is doing well!! I was thrilled to be able to talk with my sister this morning (my morning their night) It is amazing how Addison was born especially since my sister was all about the hospital and epidural:)

Hakkeijima Sea Paradise

Our Last adventure before Daddy left AGAIN was to Hakkeijima Sea Paradise. The day before we knew it was to be a rainy overcast sit on the couch sort of day. Sitting on the couch was not an option we wanted to explore. After doing a little research we decided on Sea Paradise Island. Of course it would be a fantastic destination on a sunny day since the whole island is essentially a theme park. You don't pay to get on the island. You can purchase "package' deals or single events once there. I am sure we will be back for Rory:) There is a nasty looking roller coaster the surf coaster that goes out over the water. Our goal was to get inside out of the rain and enjoy the aquarium. Dylan was very excited about the view out the train window. He is a toddler handful always trying to stand :) Our rule is only knees or bottom on chairs, couches and benches. We are still learning:)
Above is a picture of the second half of our train ride out to Sea Paradise Island. The elevated train ride was pretty fascinating if I do say so myself. As you figured, if you thought about it, the train had to go over the water out to the island.

The ticket we purchased was for the aquarium, dolphin fantasy and a Lagoon. The dolphin fantasy and aquarium were next door to each other so we only visited two of the three.

Dolphin Fantasy was a building which held a giant dolphin swimming pool which you could walk under watching them play. As you see in this picture we were blessed to be accompanied by our good friend Jason.

check out this guys nose!

We thoroughly enjoyed the aquarium:)

The whale show was great though a little strange since we didn't understand a word that was said. As you can see Dylan was pointing and squealing with delight. The excitement of a child is contagious and such a blessing
No he does not usually sport a bib as part of his outfit:) The show corresponded with lunch time.

A bit of Engrish for you to enjoy. I am not sure if you can read this ladies sweat shirt or not

Here is what it said

HUNTING

"Hey boys can't you leave me alone for one second?

(not sure the first word)??, I get fired of being chased"

Some more Engrish for your reading pleasure.
We couldn't even begin to try and interpret what they thought they were telling us in this sign.

It was great seeing Dylan's eyes grow as wide as saucers when this shark swam right by his little face.

Back in Time - Dylan's 12 month pictures

I realize that I am very late at posting these pictures. Better late than never right? I am starting to use that phrase way too much something needs to change in life. Oh wait, I am a mommy therefore my time is not my own:)

During the time Rory took off to see us in Florida and celebrate Dylan's first birthday we had pictures taken. The main reason being we wanted to capture Dylan at his one year milestone. We called Jamie with JLS Photography. She did a great job and was so patient. Believe it or not Dylan was not camera ready. The smile didn't instantly appear because the sand was way too fascinating.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! We are having a tough time deciding on which ones to buy. Please take the time to go to JLS Photography's websites

http://jlsphotographysite.blogspot.com/

and

http://www.jlsphotographystudio.com/

Not only did she do a splendid job but she is very reasonable. If you are in her area and need or want:) pictures taken please look her up.

To those of you who may want pictures please email me and let me know. I will either get you in touch with Jamie or Christmas is coming though I have already bought some presents :)

Kamakura and Hase

For our next adventure with Rory we headed to Kamakura and surrounding area.

Kamakura is home to 65 temples and 19 shrines, hiking trails in the mountains, and Pacific Ocean beaches. Needless to say we will be back to Kamakura many times while we live here in Yokosuka. Thankfully it is only a short train ride as long as you don't get stuck in Zushi:)

Below you see the Great Buddha or Daibutsu.

This is supposed to be a representation of the compassionate Amida. The colossus is 40 feet in height minus the pedestal and weighs in at 93 tons. I don't want to get in a sumo ring with this guy:0 The features of the statue were purposely created out of proportion so that when you are standing 15 ft in front of the statue the features look proportional.

The casting started in 1252 but I am unsure of when it was finished. By 1268 historical records show that a Daibutsu Den was being built to enshrine the statue but was plagued by calamity after calamity. In the late 15th century due to numerous natural disasters the statue was no longer sheltered but has survive the onslaughts of earthquakes, typhoons, and tsunamis.

Please notice the people in the bottom left of the above picture. The child being held over the large altar is dropping in coins after which the child was directed to clap twice. This is the Buddhist custom after which you kneel as you see the person doing before the statue.

You can pay to go inside the statue which we chose not to do. As you can imagine you enter near the rear of the statue. Ok pause for a moment and think about that as if you were a worshipper. Would this disturb you? The Japanese lady giving our orientation told us about this option then said, "oh how gross".

Below is the private electric trolley - Enoden Line. We took this "trolley" from Kamakura to Hase where the great Buddha was located. The Enoden Line began operating in 1902.
After departing the "trolley" I was working on getting pictures when I turn around to this grand site! The story being Dylan pointed at this balloon hat that a Japanese man had. In my head, I can just hear the squeals of delight, curiosity and desire. At the very moment he was pointing Dylan was granted his wish as the Japanese man gave him the balloon hat.

This delightful hat soon became something for mom to carry. I did say carry not wear:)



Just wanted to give you a little dose of Engrish. I realize that at times I can be the queen of run on sentences that could bring my English teachers to tears. Never have I had a run on word such as this:) You could tell the owners were trying to go with a Mexican theme on their food choices, but oh my. It was interesting to see the combination of Japanese food items made into wannabe Mexican dishes. Once back to Kamkura we headed down a couple streets until we found one that could be the main road:) Mind you there are no AAA nor are there maps that you can read. We were trying to make it to Tsurugaoka hachinman-gu Shrine. We went the wrong way but were blessed with this view
Consulting a map I have here at the house in my book from the US, I believe this is a view of Oshima Island in the Pacific Ocean. Oshima is one of the 7 islands that make up the Izu Shichito
Heading back the other way we came to this large torii gate after passing by another just as large but gray.

I don't have a picture that does this setting justice it was quite stunning.


In case you were wondering we didn't get a chance to have s'mores:)

Journaling time:

Train Fun:

Zushi is the train station where the cars undergo maintenance. I though they detached and actually went into a maintenance shed. Oh no they work on them as they sit on the track. We found this out the hard way - the way many foreigners do:) As the train emptied we too got off since I had warned Rory about the maintenance. Needless to say, we were really confused when it didn't leave so back on we went and sat there. What we really should have done was exit cross over to the other tracks and get on that train. Instead we waited and waited until we decided this train was probably going back the way we came. They like to do that to you, pull a quick directional switcharoo. Of course, they only pull one over on those of us who can't understand what they are saying

The Shrine:

Due to the late hour that we arrived at the shrine we did not have the opportunity to fully appreciate our surroundings. We will surely return to take in all that is the Tsurugaoka Hachimn-gu especially now that we have an English print out about each section. On our next visit, I will work on capturing the stunning height - the jogu shrine, one of the many that Tsurugaoka Hachimn-gu encompasses, sits a top sixty steps providing you a view of the whole city of Kamakura.

An Experience:

Ah on to our dinner experience in Kamakura. As I mentioned above dusk had fallen and we were traveling with little man. It was time to get some sustenance and head home. Easier said than done at times - this being one of them. Being conscientious we were looking for a restaurant which seem to appeal to families. Though Dylan is a doll and well loved, he doesn't yet have the table manners or inside voice that some restaurants require. Finally we found one that was going to work. We held the elevator doors open for another family to enter. Once inside the restaurant we were thrilled to see a menu hanging on the wall with English as well as Japanese. The family we arrived with showed us were to sign in. I know my name in Kanji but don't have it memorized. It is like memorizing shapes - maybe by the time we are heading back to the states:) I wrote our name in English because would I really even recognize our name if the gentleman called out after reading in in Kanji?

As the "host/waiter" came up for the next family he called the Japanese family that came up on the elevator with us. Being so kind, they deferred to us since technically we would have been there first. We were seated, started giving Dylan his dinner and chose our meals. Then we waited, waited and waited. Two families that were behind us in line were seated and SERVED. As you have surmised the one family was the kind Japanese family who allowed us to go first the other was a couple. The woman looked Asian but not really Japanese and the man was a white guy. Maybe American maybe British but pretty much a white guy. So was it because we didn't have an Asian friend with us? Looking around the place we saw plenty of children and Dylan was behaving wonderfully. The menus had English text and we could mutely point if our waiter was scared to try and speak with us.

If we closed our menus and stack them would the server come?

Rory tried to make eye contact multiple times, yet every time the server came near he averted his eyes. Finally we received a box of chopsticks and spoons then we waited, waited and waited some more. Enough was enough. Rory was mad because his wife and child were not being fed and I really wanted to go home to the blessed US. After waiting approximately 15minutes after being seated and watching others seated after us being served their dinner we packed up Dylan and left.

Feeling dreadful we went to a nearby market and picked up random "stuff". Then the challenge was trying to find a place to sit and eat. We ended up sitting at a bus stop to eat our dinner (if you can call it that) as a steady stream of Japanese walked past. I am sure they were staring but I was beyond caring. If they wouldn't serve us in an establishment they could watch us eat in the open. Eating out in the open, on buses and trains is not really a "polite" thing to due here in Japan unless it is a designated picnic area. One of our kabobs was for sure "stuff" I would have to say it must have been organ of some kind. I can guarantee you no meat has that texture!!! I can only hope, pray and tell myself it was tofu!

Our Faithful King:

Across from the bus station we saw McDonald's. Ok so it was time to get an McFlurrie to finish off the evening. This is when the Lord sent an encouraging blessing to his downtrodden children! As we are waiting in line an elderly Japanese man engaged us in conversation. At first in my tired, jaded mind I knew I was soon going to hear him rant about horrible Americans and their nuclear powered carriers! What a blessed surprise Rory and I were given. He asked if we lived in the town to which we told him no Yokosuka. Then he smiles and says Ah American Navy? We said yes. This sent them man off with a sparkle in his eye about how Japan and US have strong bond. Good for everyone and Yea Navy (obviously not his exact words) Let me tell you he was thrilled we were American Military. I can't describe the blessing it was to Rory and I after our dinner rejection. As I was taking in this man's kind words, I realized he was of a generation that knew... He was more than likely around during WWII though I can't be sure. Think for a minute with me - how does he know Americans. Was he a soldier? Was he captured and treated with respect? If not what type of interaction did he have with Americans?

Praise the Lord that somewhere along the way he grew to love Americans and our military!

Also Praise the Lord for giving us something to smile about on our train trip home.