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.