Seven weeks!

I'm here in our new rental home in Salem, Oregon and I just can't believe it's been seven weeks since we left St. Kitts.  SEVEN WEEKS!!!  It doesn't quite seem real that this is our new home now.  That may be due to the fact that we've been "camping out" in our rental home with our essentials that we've brought in our suitcases.  Thankfully, we have some wonderful friends that have been so thoughtful and helpful in letting us borrow some big things (like mattresses, towels, pots and pans...etc.) to make our "camping out" a little more comfortable until our stuff arrives.  We actually got a confirmation today that our container will finally be delivered tomorrow afternoon.  Yay!!!  (insert a happy dance here! :-)  So perhaps having our belongings will help us feel like this is our permanent home and that we are not back here just for a visit.

Our last month in St. Kitts was full of crazy busy days but also days filled with precious time with dear people.

Before Mike officially finished his work at the dental clinic, we took a day to visit Nevis with the S.D.A. Dental Clinic staff and the family.  We took the boat together and enjoyed a potluck style picnic at the lovely botanical garden.  It was a beautiful, relaxing day!  We are so thankful for all the hard work they've put into making the clinic what it is today and for working side by side with Mike!

The S.D.A. Dental Clinic staff and the family!

"Nevis Nice!"

The packing was really really slow with two kiddos...and it was overwhelming at times.  But sweet sibling moments kept me going.  Before we knew it, the day to load up our container was here.  We are so so thankful for our next door neighbor who watched our kids for us so that we could focus on packing up the truck.  

Beautiful flower arrangement that Megumi made for me with our incredible neighbor! 

Packing up for our container!

On our last Sabbath, Mike had the privilege of preaching at our church.  We are so thankful for the wonderful people we were able to meet and to worship together with during our time in St. Kitts.  

A plaque given to us as a "Thank you" for our service in St. Kitts!

Before we left St. Kitts, we had to make a special stop...the post office.  Over the almost-three-years we lived on the island, we developed a special friendship with the wonderful staff that works there.  Unlike in the States where the mail and packages are delivered right to your door, we had to drive to downtown to pick up our mail/packages.  Megumi looked forward to our weekly trip there and she would run to the arms of our post office friends to say "hi".  They've gone out of their way multiple times to help me carry big packages to my car when I couldn't do it by myself with two kids or hold an umbrella when it was raining.  They were truly a blessing to our family and we had to make sure they knew that before we left.

Our mailbox!

It was really a blessing in disguise that the only day that the company was able to pack up our container was a week before we flew out of St. Kitts.  With the house packed up, we were able to relax and enjoy some time in the sunshine with dear friends!

My dear friend made us a special St. Kitts photo book filled with personal
messages from friends we made while we lived on the island.
What an incredible gift that made me cry!
It's a gift that I will treasure always!  

 
...and just like that, on May 7th, we boarded the plane back to Miami.  But of course, things didn't go as planned.  Our flight was delayed, had to make a stop in Ft. Myers instead to refuel, more delays...etc.  By the time we finally had landed in Miami and checked into our hotel, it was 10:30pm.  We had a very late dinner.  Then a really quick sleep.  Only to get up at 3:30am to catch our next flight.  Our kids were such troopers through all the craziness of flying.  But by the time we made it into Seattle, WA on Friday, Megumi was sick.  We spent our weekend trying to get her to feel better and thankfully she was well enough to travel on Sunday to Japan.

Although we spent the first week in Japan mostly in bed recovering from all of us getting sick and trying to adjust to the 16 hour jet lag, we had a wonderful time with our family.  We were spoiled with home cooked meals, relaxing walks through the country side and just special quality time with family that we've missed so much!

This picture pretty much summarizes our first week in Japan.   

The view of the country side by my parent's house!

After all the flying, this one is still excited to get on the airplane!

So many incredible moments packed up over the last seven weeks.  I miss them.  I really do.  But I am oh so thankful that I had the privilege of spending time with them...in St. Kitts and in Japan.

Treasuring people in our lives

Time is flying by these days!  As we prepare for our big move back to the States, I find myself thinking back on all the wonderful visitors we've had this year.  Between the end of January and the middle of March, we've had four different families visit us.  We LOVED every single minute of it!  It's so much fun to be able to share a little bit of our life here on the island and experience our favorite places with our friends.  It's an added bonus that when we have visitors, we feel like we are on vacation too! :)  With every family, we were reminded of how blessed we are to have had these wonderful people placed in our lives over the years.

This picture sums up our wonderful day together!

Shipwreck Beach

Love this beautiful mama! 

We got rained on along the way...but we made it up to Sofa Stone!  Friends since pre-babies! Love them! :)

Dads and their precious kiddos!

Downtown Basseterre

Group picture on the top of Monkey Hill! Love this family! 

Sharing our favorite island drinks.

"Look what we found!"

Rainforest Hike

Crushing it open and enjoying fresh almonds!

Major's Bay

We got rained on AGAIN...! But it made it more adventurous! We love Uncle L & Auntie L!!! 

One of our favorite beach meals..."the veggie platter"!

Trying to re-create one of our college pictures...!

Mount Liamuiga Hike - Looking down into the volcano!

Happy birthday Uncle R!  

M family - Love them!!!

Back in February, I celebrated my birthday.  Since we felt like we had been partying several weeks straight with all the visitors, we had a very low-key birthday celebration.  My only request was to bake my birthday cake as a special family activity of the day.  So we spent the day making my "lemon iced raspberry yogurt cake".  It was scrumptious!!!      

My 31st birthday ended up being a very memorable day not only for the special time spent with my family but because of the phone call I received that evening.  I got the news that my grandmother passed away very unexpectedly.  I couldn't believe it.  It had been a few years since we last saw her and we were so looking forward to seeing her in May in Japan.  We were going to have her meet our kiddos.  There are days I still can't believe she is gone.  I have random moments throughout the day when I come across something that reminds me of her.  Just the other day, while I was organizing my things to pack up, I came across an old letter from her.  "My beloved Yuki..."...immediately my eyes teared up seeing her beautiful handwriting.  But rereading her letter made me happy because it flooded my mind with all the little things that made her so so special to me.  She didn't live close to us growing up, so the time spent together in person was always treasured.  Whenever I visited her home, my grandmother and I used to have a special tea time- just the two of us.  We'd talk about anything and everything and she used to make me feel so valued.  So loved.  Over the years, we wrote letters to each other and she loved seeing pictures of her great grandchildren.  Every time we talked on the phone, she'd always end our conversation by telling me how blessed she was to have us in her life and that we were always in her prayers.  How lucky am I to have had a grandmother that made me feel so loved even from miles and miles away? Although I miss her more than ever and I so wish I could've shared one more tea time together with her, I know that I will see her again.  She loved Jesus and her love for Him was evident in her service for others.  My precious grandmother is asleep in her grave, waiting for our Savior's return.  Oh what a glorious day it will be when we will be reunited with our God and with each other!  I am so thankful for this great hope we have in Jesus!  You can be sure we will be having a very special tea party.  Until then, I will treasure the memories I've shared with her and I look forward to retelling all the precious stories to my kiddos.  It's true, life is precious.  I was reminded of that on my birthday.  So I am making a conscious effort to appreciate the people in my life everyday and not to take the time I have with them for granted.  Okay, enough typing.  I'm going to go cuddle my son and go have a tea-party with my daughter :)  Treasure the people in your life; God placed them in your path for a reason! 

"A pebble dropped in the ocean disappears quickly, 

but the ripple it creates continues long after its initial splash is gone." 

-J. Hohnberger