Blogger in Japanese...

It's a good thing I'm familiar with blogger, because these computers are set with Japanese characters... ::snort::

Keep the questions coming and I'll use them as a basis for blog posts. We are trying to make time to go to a wifi spot to upload some photos to Photobucket and then we can add them and blog from these computers.

Beach - Misawa has a BEACH - nice lake and a sandy beach...with cabins. I can't wait for a bit nicer weather to go out and explore.

Driving - We have to have both a valid American license and a military issue license to drive in Japan....and believe me...when you can't READ the signs, you do appreciate the crash driving course the base requires. It's quite funny to get used to the left side being the passenger side too. ::snort::

TLF - Temporary Living Facility....we are currently in the TLF. They gave us adjoining units. Each unit has a bedroom, a living room/kitchen and a bathroom. Each living room has a couch and chair that make into beds. They are built very solidly. This gives me hope that our neighbors may not strangle us when if we are assigned to apartments. LOL We'll be in the TLF until we are assigned a home. It is looking promising that we'll be given two units....not sure two units of WHAT? Mike asked for two units in a 4plex...making that 4 plex a duplex. I think this is a GREAT solution for large families and one they should plan on permanently now that they require us to live on base..... Surely, other large families would come along and take the other sides.....BUT what they've done in the past is give two apartments....so either way will work. They will either give us that exception or I would expect an exception to live off base. I'm disappointed not to live off base...but there are advantages to living on base as well.

Gotta go....Stacia is DONE with computer time.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

We're in Misawa

Whew! That's a long trip. LOL We arrived 4 hours ago....

We made it. We're suffering jet lag...probably worse tonight than last night. Mike is merciless and making us stay awake. ::snort::

First impressions:

Japan is BEAUTIFUL!

I've received the BEST customer service (bell hops, waiters, hotel clerks, airline personnel) HERE and you don't tip. Proving, once again, that while outside perks are sometimes nice motivators, there is something internal that is a far better motivator.

In Japan you take the LUGGAGE CARTS on the escalators....yes, you do. I did it....and opted to take the elevator the second time. Talk about an adreneline rush. ::snort::

The bathrooms were so different that I took photos...and Stacia refused to use them. More on that later. LOL

We've met two chaplain's families.....

I can't believe there are no Internet connections in the billeting...but at least there is a computer room. I'll have to bring the laptop down tomorrow and load some photos.

Ryu, Kim and Jun are AMAZING hosts...and we are so grateful of the time they took out of their lives to minister to our family. It was wonderful to see a familiar face when we made it out of customs. I had no trouble with my passports.

Misawa is GORGEOUS. Driving is going to be freaky for a bit of time. We ate dinner with Ch. B and family....our sponsors. Renee and I were able to visit a bit, while the kids and men ran wild at the Weasel's Den. This is an indoor play area.

Mike took us a tour of the base...it's rainy and overcast but we can see the potential. LOL There are some lakes, parks and playgrounds that we'll have to visit as soon as I get a license to drive.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

We're doing it

Ten minutes to the shuttle. All our bags are waiting in the lobby. Phone calls, glow sticks, crying kids....we're doing this. Poor Stacia is going to be glued to me....she panicked when I stepped out the room to put a suitcase on the cart......wants to go with me.....I told her she'll see Daddy soon.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

One More Sleep

Yep, just one more day until we begin our journey to Misawa....wellllll.....let me rephrase that...I have a key chain that says, "Every step of the journey is the journey," or something similar. We've begun THIS journey months ago, but one more sleep until we board the International flight to take us to Japan.

The suitcases are packed, AGAIN. I've printed boarding passes. We've checked liquid sizes and packed snacks.

Today, we fed the ducks at Tukwilla Pond.

We walked to Sizzlers for lunch.

Stacia and I walked to Target to buy a few "things".

We played games.

We swam.

We walked to McDonald's for dinner.

We talked to all the family we could reach on the phone. I couldn't reach Dad and Mom G all day and will try again tomorrow. I did talk to Mike, our 4 adult children and my parents.

We're winding it all down.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Something Fun

Have you ever visited Bible-College.net? I hadn't. ::snort::

However, they've written an article on 100 Blogs for Christian Homeschoolers and Choosing Joy is number 20. It looks like this will be a fun list to visit. I haven't a clue how they found me....but I look forward to checking out some of the others they've listed.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Prayer Request

Jared woke up not feeling well.....please pray its nerves and he's fine in a couple of hours...or pray for healing of whatever it is ...either way, he can't have the flu. We fly tomorrow.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Falling in Love with Seattle, Again!

This was a LONG day and this post is destined to be long.

It began with a bus ride into downtown Seattle. Several gave us various options for stops and we ended up right where we needed to be. Thanks, Lauri, for the bus schedule.



Notice everyone leaning BACK....this was a steep decline (and of course later it was a STEEPER INCLINE!)

We stopped here at Ivar's for fish and chips....or rather *I* had fish and chips and the kids had chicken and chips. ::snort::

I thought the setting was idyllic....
until I noticed how aggressively this bird was watching my fish and chips.

Notice the bird has his french fry



After lunch we visited the Seattle Aquarium (military discount).




Just Keep Swimming....Just Keep Swimming...




FINALLY - we made it to the Seattle Passport Office. Did you know that it is "illegal" to take photos in a Federal Building. You should have seen the guards snap to. It was great that the lady at the window is the one who had helped us Monday. She called me right up and gave me the passports. Stacia is hugging them below.
We loved the tunnels for the trains and buses.

These were big buses! I can't recreate the entire story...but Zander held court on this bus....told our entire life story (or at least his) to everyone in the back of the bus. This resulted in a Goth escort when we got off the bus and lots of well wishes.

Jared and Arielle sat in the "accordion" part of the bus...two joined together....and they had quite a ride. They thought it funny to hear their name and look back to see everyone waving at them and calling them by name. ::snort::

We came back to the hotel and swam.

We walked to dinner. YES, it is still hot here...yes, we did walk all over downtown today. No, the AC doesn't work on the buses in the tunnels. Yes, it is MUCH cooler down on the waterfront.

Deja called tonight! Yahoo! We're going to watch a movie in our room and call it a day.

Did you catch that we have our passports? I was going to put them in the safe deposit box downstairs, but Jared mentioned that I might forget to take them if I do that. ::snort::

The plan is to fly on Friday.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...