if you haven't noticed...

our countdown over there -->
22 DAYS! that's how long we have left in japan.
it's crazy and overwhelming and exciting and scary all rolled into one.

we've been busily trying to pack up our house and my classroom and are feeling some of the stress of moving across the country, but let me say that i am SOOOO incredibly thankful that ben is home and we are able to work on all of this together!!!! God is good. my amazing husband doesn't have to leave me for months at a time anymore!!!! it's hard to believe that part of our marriage is over, but i can't express in words how thankful i am to be finished with that part of life.

if you would, you can pray for us as we wrap up the last of things here and head on to new adventures that await us.....

thanks friends!!

snow day!

for the first time since i've been teaching here in japan, it snowed enough on a weeknight that we got a SNOW DAY! :) this is how it looks outside our window right now:

i'm definitely not minding the day off as we had a kindergarten potluck family night last night, and i was at school for 12 hours! sadly, though, the ship doesn't recognize or celebrate snow days =( (silly ship!) so ben is at work, but hopefully won't be have to stay too long and can come home and play!

some random updates:

*we went on a date last weekend to our favorite restaurant here in sasebo called "Steak Salon". it's definitely something we'll miss when we leave japan! it's a mom and pop type restaurant and is run by a cute older couple, with only enough seating for about 12 people. the food is SOOOO good! we've taken all our visitors there and they've all loved it as much as we do. :) here we are standing outside:

and getting some hot chocolate from starbucks on the chilly walk back to the car through the ginza:


*yesterday i finished a 40 card order from a friend of mine, and here are a few...




*we're still plugging away trying to get things ready for our move! reminds me of that song we used to sing at church "the countdown's getting lower every day"! =) please keep us in your prayers as we finish our time here in japan!

happy snow day!

the countdown's on!

not only is it new year's eve here, we also have an official countdown to when we leave japan!

in case you didn't see the one over on the side, here's a new ticker i made just for fun: (feeling a little pirate-ish today i guess?!)




in some ways it's hard to believe it's been almost 3 years since we moved here! and even though it's a little overwhelming to think about, we're very much looking forward to the new adventures we'll get to experience in 2010. =)


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

christmas break!

i'm officially on break from school right now, and have been working on keeping the house cleaner (at least trying to!) :), making cards for an order, making christmas cookies, checking things off my to-do list, and trying to enjoy a little down time! sadly ben still has to work this week and next, but he's been getting out pretty decent times the last few days, and although he does have duty (sleeping on the ship) christmas eve, i'll get to pick him up christmas morning and spend the day with my sweetie! :) so i really can't complain. and it's our last christmas to be spent in japan away from our families, so we're glad about that too.

times have been a little crazy as we are ending up our time here. we'll be moving back in just a couple of months, and we are experiencing all the emotions that come along with a big change such as that! (scared, excited, nervous, overwhelmed...) we are trusting God to direct and guide us into this next chapter of our married life, and if you think about it, please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for our big cross-country move back to the US! :) hopefully we can see much more of all of you in 2010.

merry christmas from the graves!