Ben & Kristi

New Home

2010-05-20T23:10:00.002-04:00

Hi friends,

Kristi's blog has a new home! :)

Check it out HERE!

cake pops!

2010-05-08T15:32:00.006-04:00

thanks to my friend ashlee for giving me the recipe to try these adorable cake pops :)

i made these for my mom and grandma for mother's day, and although i need to practice more, they turned out cute and taste yummy! :)

here's my cutie grandma...

happy mother's day to all you moms and mom's-to-be out there, especially my sweet, wonderful momma!!

busy bees!

2010-05-03T16:47:00.005-04:00

we've been super busy the last month visiting family and friends, and figuring out what we're doing next, haha. :) we've gotten to see lots of people near and dear, and are thankful for the downtime we've had.
here are a few pictures from the last month:

as nice as it's been to travel around, see people, and live out of our car :P (haha) -- we're also ready to move back into our own space, and get to unpack all our stuff and use it again! (some things we haven't even gotten to use since there was no space for them in japan!) :) we have a busy rest of the month, but are excited to be able to see more friends and family before we pack up the BIG moving truck!

big things:
* all our things from japan arrived last week and are in boxes! :O
* we found an apartment in dubuque!
* we'll be moving in about a month!
* ben will be finishing school over the next 2(ish) years
* kristi will be subbing/possibly more :)
* we'll have a guest room, so visitors are welcome!!

happy spring! :)

one step at a time...

2010-03-27T17:00:00.002-04:00

we are now the proud owners of a 3 pc. sectional couch and an entertainment console!!! (courtesy of the pottery barn outlet store we visited yesterday). we got a great deal - such a blessing!

now all we need is a place to put it all..... =D

ps: to see a picture of our entertainment console click HERE

Nike + Running + Ben + Kristi

2010-03-24T18:03:00.003-04:00

Ben and I have been trying to get back in shape - especially now that we have some extra time on our hands =) So we started running about 2 weeks ago.

To help with motivation, (and partly because it's just fun) we bought some Nike Plus gear to keep track of our runs - it tells you how many miles, time, calories, etc. =)

You can see ben's run on nike+ if you go HERE! (i can't figure out how to link mine for you to see)
It has a neat graph to show you how you did on each run.

We didn't even have to buy the fancy shoes, all we bought were these fun bands, and the holder for the sensor that straps onto your shoe!

I'm hoping we can keep it up even when we get busier, it's been fun to run together!
I'm really not a very good runner, but Ben's really helped me - he's wonderful =)

Happy Spring and love from Georgia!

what a blessing :)

2010-03-14T22:15:00.003-04:00

we were able to buy a car last week!

here it is :)

it's a Honda Civic LX, and we love it!
God is good.

we're slowly taking care of things here and adjusting to life back here in the US -
we definitely enjoy being back!

ps: happy "pi" day! :) (3.14)

3 years ago today...

2010-03-10T10:50:00.002-05:00

was our wonderful wedding!! :)

happy anniversary my sweet!
what a crazy adventure we've been on these last 3 years!
now we're at the start of a new adventure, and i can't wait to spend many more years with you! <3

it's nice to be back :)

2010-03-06T15:14:00.005-05:00

we've been having a great time being back in the USA!
relaxing, sleeping in, hanging out with my parents, getting to go to church again! we're also car shopping (which isn't the most fun, but a necessity!) :)

we've been able to do some fun things already -- for instance, we went with my parents earlier this week to the mall of GA and saw AVATAR in their IMAX theater :) here we are with our 3D glasses on...
my parents:

us:

i've also been busy working on cards!
i'm really trying to sell some during this downtime to make a little extra money (and it's something i enjoy doing, so that's a blessing!)

here are a few i've made recently..

and here's the link for my brand new ETSY shop! CLICK HERE

i love etsy and have ordered a few things from there, and finally decided it was time for me to give it a try. :) let me know what you think if you get a chance to go look :)

happy march! looking forward to spring weather which should be here soon!

ps: our 3rd anniversary is next week! :)
and we're also SUPER SUPER excited for our dear friends charity and tony who are expecting a baby this fall! :) visit their blog to read their story, it's an amazing testimony of faithfulness to our Great God.

a red eye and a missing tooth...

2010-02-25T16:20:00.002-05:00

funny name for an update, but it's what's been going on here!

*ben finished up his paperwork/meetings/checking out today and is flying to atlanta on a redeye flight tonight! SO glad to be seeing him soon and getting to relax together! it's been a crazy roller coaster ride up to the very last step (even the plane ticket home was a headache!) but we can now say bye bye navy!! =)

as for the tooth...
**i unfortunately had to get a tooth extracted last week unexpectedly, and went in to see the oral surgeon this week to try to get the ball rolling for the next step. it rolled quickly and just as i was healing from my extraction site, they had to re-cut it open yesterday morning to do a bone graft in preparation for the implant they'll be putting in my toothless space. needless to say it's been kind of crazy week battling jetlag and surgery pain and on top of that i also seem to have come down with a cold! =X i'm kind of a mess right now! but God is good and i do have pain medicine, which i'm thankful for!

***in other news, my dear friend charissa recently got engaged and is getting married this fall! we've had a ton of fun tossing ideas around and planning for a beautiful october barn wedding, and my bridesmaid dress arrived in the mail today and is so cute! =) weddings are such fun and i'm so thankful we were able to move back in time to be a part of it!

that's all for now, as a pain pill and some rest are calling my name... but i hope all is well with all of you! =)

we're back!

2010-02-22T18:52:00.002-05:00

after 30+ hours of traveling and multiple flights this past weekend, we're in the US of A! =) we're apart right now as ben is processing out and i'm here in atlanta waiting for him.

we're still jet lagged and feeling kind of out of it, but we're here! thanks for praying for our safe travels!! we're glad to be back, and when we're together and more settled we'll try to post more =)

hope to be seeing lots of you soon!!!

Japan

2010-02-15T04:10:00.002-05:00

things we will NOT miss...
-strange looking (and tasting!) food
-crazy tiny roads
-scooter riders that go around you and go slow!
-poorly insulated apartment
-crazy trucks that scream from their speakers
-annoying neighbour's bass thumping through our walls at night
-rainy season
-not being able to watch tv online due to copyrights
-limited shopping selections at grocery store and NEX
-14 hour+ time difference
-being so far away from our friends and family

things we WILL miss...
-polite people
-clean-ness
-nice scenery
-sasebo elementary
-cheap cell phone plans
-100 yen stores!
-our shower and heated toilet seat
-steak salon
-interesting culture

less than one week left!

if you haven't noticed...

2010-01-29T03:10:00.003-05:00

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!

2010-01-12T17:22:00.009-05:00

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!

2009-12-30T23:01:00.006-05:00

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!

2009-12-22T19:49:00.003-05:00

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!

it's beginning to look...

2009-11-28T06:35:00.003-05:00

a lot like christmas!

ben and i have enjoyed our break from work and set up the christmas tree yesterday, made christmas cookies and decorated them today. =) (yum!)

it seems crazy to me that it's almost december! hope you're all enjoying your weekends and recovering from your turkey comas! hehe

happy thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T18:20:00.003-05:00

we had ours yesterday, you're having yours today :)
a few things i'm thankful for this year:

-ben is HOME! he made it home a few days ago, and we got to spend thanksgiving together for the first time since we moved here! =) it's so nice to have him around, and it won't be much longer til he won't have to leave for months at a time anymore! WOO HOO!! =)

-this is our last thanksgiving in japan! it hasn't really felt like thanksgiving to me, all 3 years we've been here and away from family and friends, and we're looking forward to being in the states next year to celebrate =) this year, though - we were invited over by some very nice friends we've made here and were able to eat turkey with them, and we're thankful for that as well!

-God is good all the time. we are fast approaching the end of our time in Japan, and while we're so thankful for this, there are a lot of unknowns as well - but we are thankful that God is faithful and we continue to trust in Him.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING friends! we love you! <3

field trip time!

2009-11-18T05:57:00.002-05:00

it's been a busy month so far - can't believe next week is thanksgiving!
we took our kindergarten classes to the aquarium today and had a great time!
here are a few pictures :)

we got to see all kinds of fish and turtles and sea creatures

i kept thinking he was making a fish face: :)

we also got to see the fun dolphin show!

and then we ate lunch and took a group shot before heading back to school.

for this month - on facebook - i took a challenge to write something i'm thankful for each day as my status, a good thing to do always but especially this time of year as we get ready to celebrate thanksgiving next week. it's a good practice for me in general too as sometimes it's easy to get sad thinking about how tough things are or how much i miss my husband. i've found it to be a very useful exercise for me to try each morning to focus on something positive that the Lord has blessed me with, because there are so many things that fall into that category! hopefully you're reminded of things to be thankful for today as well. :)

here's something else to be thankful for, in Psalm 121:
5The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7The LORD will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.

october fun in mrs. graves class

2009-11-01T00:19:00.006-04:00

on friday we wore our costumes to school and all my kids dressed up except one! (so we dressed him up so he wouldn't feel left out) :) i was a butterfly again...

here we are!

in other news, ben left a few days ago.. :( boo hoo!

it's been busy at school lately - this week is the end of first quarter for us which means teacher work days and parent conferences... "fun" :P

i've been reminiscing the last few days as i've been here hanging out by myself, how this is the third october i've spent in japan. in some ways it's hard to believe we've been here almost 3 years, and in other ways it feels longer. we've sure had a lot of adventures and changes and ups and downs (as life always does, i suppose). thank you for praying for us as we get ready for another big change and leave japan for new adventures!

happy november!

long overdue...

2009-10-21T06:05:00.005-04:00

...pictures of my classroom, and a few more from hawaii.
it's been very busy since we got back, and i've also been sick since last week...
sorry for the delay! we had a wonderful vacation - it was hard getting right back into "real" life.

this year i only have 12 kids, which is a nice change of pace from last years 23! and i have a ladybug themed room... as you can see from the word wall...

and bulletin board...

here are a few fun shots from hawaii - our camera got sand in it while we were in maui and stopped working, so we unfortunately didn't get as many pictures as we wanted... but we had lots of fun relaxing and ben and i went on an awesome snorkeling adventure which was very neat. we also saw a magic dinner show, went to the polynesian cultural center, visited pearl harbor, shopped at the swap meet, and went mini golfing that was with black lights and neon golfballs! we ate lots of good food and had an amazing view from the hotel. it was a great vacation :)

here we are...

hope all is well with all of you - october is a busy time at school, and has been busy for ben too. he'll be out at sea again before we know it :( but i'm so thankful we've had a good amount of time together the last 2 months!!!! love from japan....

guess where we are!

2009-09-27T22:17:00.004-04:00

...on our vacation in HAWAII!!!!!! :D

we met my parents here saturday morning and are having a nice stay here in honolulu!
yesterday we hit up the north shore, dole plantation for some yummy dole whips, ate at a local mexican restaurant... and today we visited pearl harbor and saw the uss arizona memorial, took a shopping trip to the huge "swap meet" and ben and i visited the beach for a little fun while my parents relaxed and read books. what a nice time! it's the first real "vacation" ben and i have ever taken since we got married, and we're enjoying it! we're headed out soon to eat some yummy steak for dinner, and tomorrow we go to the polynesian cultural center before we leave on our island hop to maui on tuesday.

just wanted to check in and say hello from hawaii! :)

here are a couple of pictures as always...

he's back!

2009-09-01T03:09:00.004-04:00

yay!! my sweet hubby got home about 2 weeks ago, and it's so wonderful to have him home :)

schools starting up and he's studying for his next computer test, thus we've both been busy working bees. we can't wait for our vacation at the end of this month!

here's a few pictures of us from this weekend...

i'll try to take some of my classroom soon.

happy end of summer from japan!

summer trip 2009

2009-08-07T18:44:00.006-04:00

well, it was a fun few weeks. it was jam packed with shopping and seeing people, and it was such a blessing to have a change of pace for a little while, especially while ben is away. the only thing missing on the trip was BEN! it felt strange to be there without him, and i'm glad that won't be the case much longer. when he's gone, a part of me is just missing - no matter where i am or who i'm with.

but speaking of ben! he's amazing. he passed another computer certification test and is already working towards another one! he's plugging along and will hopefully be home soon. i'm sooo proud of him! he works so hard and does so much. i can't wait to have him home!!!!!!!

as always, here are some pictures. i took a TON!
if you go HERE you can see the rest, but i will just summarize and pick a few to share now.

i left on jul 6, having an overnight layover in korea (:X no fun!) and arriving in atlanta on tues jul 7. i was a zombie! my parents picked me up and i spent a few days with them, then thurs night i flew to north carolina to surprise the charity and jan and join them and charissa for their beach getaway. here are a few pictures from that trip. it was so refreshing to get to spend time with dear friends! i hadn't seen charity or jan since our wedding over 2 years ago!

sunday afternoon we even got the treat of meeting up with rachel thorpe for lunch, and having jan's boys come up for the day! i hadn't met matthew yet. what a cutie!!

sunday night we met up with gwen and RK and i got to spend a few days hanging out with them while joel was away on a pastor's retreat. what a sweet time! we went shopping at our favorite: TARGET, watched girly movies, and had long talks on the porch. it did my heart a world of good. love you gwen!! :)

look at this precious smiley riley!

we took RK to a grassy spot outside starbucks and did a photo shoot. there were too many to choose from! but here's 2 :)

i headed back to atlanta on the 15th and spent 2 weeks hanging out in atlanta with my parents. mom and i did lots of shopping :) dad and i went to have thai lunch, and it was great spending time with them. i also spent the night with yammie (my sweet grandma!) and we got together with my aunt, uncles and cousins for an evening, too.

here's my mom with her brothers and yammie

and yammie with a few of her grandkids

my parents and i met up with my friend Adrian (who i've been friends with since 8th grade) and got to meet her sweet TWIN girls!

i also had the pleasure of getting to spend a day with kent and brook, and a photo shoot of sweet lilley! the lighting was perfect and we got some great shots here are a few of my favorites from that! brook and i spent the evening catching up while lilley slept and kent was away at a lock-in, it was a great time!

isnt she precious?

this is definitely my favorite picture from the whole shoot, (maybe the whole summer). her eyes just sparkle! she's such a sweetie.

jul 28 i boarded yet another plane to head to arizona to visit jodie and jess. more shopping, eating out, helping jess set up her classroom, an afternoon in the pool where i became a lobster, and lots of laughter! it was a quick visit, but such a fun one. i also did one more photo shoot - this time of sweet cambria joy! i was so glad to get to meet her!

look at this grin! she's adorable.

here's the 3 muskateers:

and here's cambria with sunburned aunt kristi :)

i got back aug 1 and spent the last few days in atlanta before boarding the looong flight back on wednesday. now i'm back in japan, feeling jetlagged, counting down the days til ben gets home. school starts back in a couple of weeks, and once it does i'm praying the time will fly and our life in japan will be wrapping up! Lord willing we will be finished here this coming spring, and heading on to new adventures. :)

so that's my trip in a nutshell! i got to do lots of shopping, eating out (i started my diet yesterday! haha), visiting, chatting and lovin' on sweet babies! it was great to see some of you, and hopefully we'll get to see even more of you in 2010! thanks for all the love, support, prayers and encouragement you've been to us over the last 2 1/2 years! :)

surprise!

2009-07-17T14:25:00.001-04:00

go here to see what i got to do last weekend :)

God is so good!

last weekend i was able to pull off a HUGE surprise to my sweet girlfriends and show up in time to go to the beach with them! i'm in the states for a couple of weeks while Ben is away, and it's been exactly what my lonely heart has needed. the Lord provided some great plane ticket deals, and i've been able to see lots of friends in the last week that i've been in the states.

pray for my sweet hubby as he's working super hard, and that we can get through these next weeks before we can be together again. i'll be back in japan the beginning of august.

ps: i can't put any of my pictures up now, but i'll post a ton when i get back.

happy summer! :)

it's beginning to look a lot like....

2009-07-04T23:25:00.004-04:00

christmas?! well, not really! haha. i say that only because i got my first christmas card order on friday! so i busted out all my christmas paper that has been tucked away since last year, and got started. here are a few i've done so far (the order is for 50)...

funny side note - her name is "MERRY" (spelled just that way) - seems fitting for christmas cards, doesn't it? :) she is actually my kindergarten aid at school, and is a big help to me in the classroom! we got together on friday to do a little classroom shopping at the wonderful 100 yen store, and when i showed her the cards i've been making, she told me she wanted some! she also ordered 25 thank you cards, and i've been working on those too:

what a blessing! the Lord is so good, and knew i needed something like this to put my energy into. He always provides. this summer has been tough and exhausting emotionally, but the Lord is teaching me, and using this time to show me i still need to work on being dependent on HIM alone.

ben has had a few days off this week to relax, and got to go snorkeling the other day! he said it was very neat :) i'm always thankful when he gets a break cause he works so hard!

happy 4th! i spent the 4th here working on cards as i didn't really feel up to a big crowd, and we can actually see the fireworks from our apartment, so i watched them from the window in my pjs. exciting stuff, i know. :P hope you all enjoyed your holiday! love from japan...

July!

2009-07-02T04:51:00.002-04:00

A new month when Ben is away means it's just a little closer to when he's coming home. :) That's always encouraging to this girl who's here anxiously waiting for him. :)
It's been raining NON-STOP all week. Today was the first break, and it was a welcome one! Because it's been so dreary, I haven't really done too much this week...
Except of course make a few more cards, and today I painted a sign to use in my classroom this coming August. Here, take a look:

I am still trying out that card book and playing around with different layouts:

And here's the sign. Let me preface it by saying I am definitely not the world's best painter! At all! And I wasn't the happiest with how the "welcome to" turned out, but I think it will still work. :)

So that's all the news here.
Ben's been able to relax a little this week, which is a blessing! He works so hard. We are planning a little vacation this fall too, which we are super excited about! We haven't really taken one since our honeymoon, so it will be wonderful. :D

Let me leave you with these words for today...
Very familiar verses, but ones that hit home especially as we are trying to figure out our future, and what to do next. It's such a comfort. I read it today in the Message, and thought I would share it with you, too.
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
He's the one who will keep you on track."

card layout #2

2009-06-27T04:31:00.008-04:00

well, for the moment this has turned into my card blog! haha.
there's not much else i'm doing worth mentioning right now, i guess :P
but thank you for all your sweet comments and thoughts!
here's the next layout i tried from the card-making book! :)
this time i made 2...

i didn't intend this, but looking at the bottom picture - it almost looks like it's making a smiley face with the "hi" and the stamp underneath...hmm, maybe i should've put the flower as the nose! :) haha.

new card

2009-06-26T06:30:00.006-04:00

well, for those that wanted to know - the card making book (see my last post) has lots of fun ideas! i used one of the layouts suggested tonight, (of course they all turn out differently depending on what you use) -- and here's how mine turned out:

i was pretty pleased with it, as it's different than the ones i seem to be making lately, which is what i was going for! :) let me know what you think.

nothin' exciting

2009-06-25T06:38:00.006-04:00

just been hanging out.
mostly finished with my college class - i worked on it for a while today, and it's my goal to be all the way done this weekend! :)

been making lots of cards this week...
here are 2 i made tonight:

ben got me a neat card making book for my birthday, and i'm going to try to shake up my cards a bit - i've noticed i am in a rut! even though they are all different, they are all kind of the same :P

and other than that, nothing exciting going on here!
it's rained a lot since last week, although yesterday and today we had a bit of a break which was nice. my shoulder's been bugging me - super tight for some reason - so i went to get a little massage yesterday, which was also nice.

ben's working nights right now, so we have opposite schedules, (not so nice) but he's so good about finding a way to talk to me a little each night. he's such a sweetheart!

i'm trying to stay focused on the positive and in the word each day...
here's 2 verses i read today that really encouraged me:

psalm 92:1-2
1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning
And Your faithfulness by night,

i'm so thankful for a faithful God. even when i'm feeling lonely, He is always there. His mercies are new each morning.
so... that's all from japan for now. :) just wanted to say "hi".

ladybug love

2009-06-19T02:41:00.008-04:00

i made these cards using ladybug stickers that came from etsy.com!
i ordered a set from ladybug labels and they have been great additions to my cards!

i also was reminded of my ladybug bulletin board that i didn't ever get around to posting. the other kindergarten teacher gave me this set for christmas cause she found out i like ladybugs :)

to go along with it, i read my kids the "goodness guerillas" book from chicken soup for the kid's soul, and had them "catch" each other doing random acts of kindness. when they were "caught" we put their name on a ladybug and put it on the board. :) it was a great way to encourage kindness and it didn't take long for them all to be up there! they seemed to like it and i fully plan on doing it again next year. and to be even cuter, my mom sent me a ladybug bulletin board border! i'll have to take a picture of that when it's all done.

as far as things here, it's been a rough week, harder than even i thought it was going to be. :/ but i'm trying my best to hang in there. i have a headache and i sure do miss my husband, though. keep praying for us, and thanks in advance for doing so :)

trying...

2009-06-16T03:09:00.003-04:00

to stay busy!
so far, in the 5 days since school's been out and ben's been gone, i've cleaned the house, gone to the gym, gone to the pool, called to make appointments, gotten the car worked on, made some cards, mailed a package, and watched some tv.

also, i finished a puzzle we started before he left...
here's a picture!

i still have a class to work on, but my "to-do" list is dropping much quicker than i thought, and i need more ideas of things to do!!!!!!! i'd love to make some money somehow this summer too, but i can't seem to think of a real good way to do that. anyone got any thoughts for me? :) help!?

school's out...

2009-06-12T08:04:00.002-04:00

for summer!
yesterday was our last day with kids, today was spent cleaning/organizing/getting ready for next year, and at 3pm i left school until august!
i should be more excited, but ben is gone - all summer! :( so i'm kind of dreading long lonely days without 22 crazy kids to keep me distracted and busy! haha. i am praying that God will provide another friend as mine have all moved away, and most of the teachers head to the states for the summer... i am supposed to be having coffee with one of the moms of my kiddos, so hopefully that will work out, and i know that God provides. i just need to be faithful.

but back to my crazy cute fun kiddos... we did our play, and they did SO well, i was so proud of them :) after the dress rehearsal i wasn't so sure, but they pulled it out! here are a few pictures...

i am going to be making lots of cards this summer i think, so if anyone wants a pack - please let me know! :) praying this time goes quick - especially for ben as he is working so hard. he's studying so hard too, he's amazing.

thanks for your prayers and thoughts, friends...

been a while!

2009-06-03T06:05:00.002-04:00

it's been almost a month since i posted! crazy!

life has been busy as school is winding down for me, and ben's been studying like crazy to get A+ certified (computer cert.). he took his 2 tests yesterday and passed them both!! i'm so proud of him, he's amazing. next week is my last week of school before summer break! the kids last day is thursday, and i have a teacher work day friday to clean up my room and then we're out til the end of august! :)
ben and i have been talking and talking and praying and praying about... our future. we are trying to see what the Lord wants us to do, and are leaning towards and working towards getting OUT of the navy this coming spring when our time in Japan is done. would you do us a favor and pray about it too? :) it's definitely what we want, but we want to make sure it's what the LORD wants as well.
it will be challenging in a whole different way and test our faith in different ways as well, but we're looking forward to the possibility of getting to be closer to family and friends and be done with this part of our journey.

my class is doing a musical tomorrow and friday called "the little red hen" and i hope to get a few pictures i can post... i have the songs going through my head at night because we've been listening to them every day for the past month to get the kids ready! haha. :) "hey little red little red little red hen... little red hen, what did you bake? hey little red hen smells like a cake...."

happy june! hope the weather's not too hot yet and you're enjoying the start of summer!

field trip

2009-05-09T18:33:00.002-04:00

It's been a busy week! On Thursday night - Ben came home!!! :)
Friday my class was going on a field trip to the zoo, and Ben didn't have to work - so he came with us! What a blessing and a treat! Neither of us had been to this zoo yet, it's called Bio Park - an interactive zoo where you can pet and feed the animals. It was a blast. :) Here are some pictures!

as always, it is soo wonderful to have Ben home. :)

2 years ago today

2009-04-17T03:56:00.004-04:00

we moved to Japan!
we got in a plane on the morning of april 16 and landed in japan the evening of april 17, 2007. it was the craziest traveling we've ever done (besides my space a flight to california about six months after that).

we left from virginia, i actually threw up on our first flight that was only like 30 minutes long - to wash/dulles - because we had such bad turbulence we circled around for 30 extra minutes! i have never thrown up on a plane before that or since that! we barely made our connecting flight to tokyo because of that delay, so that was stressful. we got to the flight to find out our seats were'nt together, so had to sweet talk them into moving someone else so we could be next to each other during the 14 hour flight... we got to tokyo and had a short layover, then made it to fukuoka which is where we thought we were staying for the night only to discover we had another 2 hour bus ride to sasebo! and this was at 10:30 at night and we almost missed that too! then we got on the bus and found out our hotel reservation for the lodge on base wasn't starting until next week cause they had the dates mixed up! so at 1am we had to treck into town and find a hotel. we grabbed a few hours of sleep before having to get up by 6 to get ben to the ship to check in, dragging all our luggage with us. talk about an adventure!! :) haha.

here's a picture of us from that first week in japan:

in some ways it feels like we've been here longer than 2 years, but in other ways it's hard to believe it's been 2 years. we sure have gone through a lot since then, and done a lot of learning and growing and loving. you just never know what God has in store for you!

speaking of -- we are praying about the future and what God's plan is for us, if you would do the same we would appreciate it so much. we'll update on that when we know something more definite. :)

thanks friends!

ps: my mom and dad made it home safely on monday night, and are recovering :)

arita and hirado

2009-04-10T04:55:00.002-04:00

We took our MWR maps and Dad's good navigational skills to do some driving adventures around here the last 2 days. Yesterday we went to Arita and Imari (big pottery towns) and saw lots of neat pottery... Mom found some treasures! :) We also went by the Noritake China Outlet where she found a really neat Christmas china plate. I didn't take a ton of pictures as we were mostly shopping, but I did get a few. It's been great weather, too!

here's one of the shops we went into...

Today we headed out the other direction to Hirado Island and toured the Hirado Castle. Took a few more pictures today. :)

We have tomorrow (Saturday) to relax and pack up and do any last minute shopping here, and then Sunday we head to Fukuoka to spend the day and see a neat mall Ben and I like. I have to sadly leave them in Fukuoka Sunday night because I have to be back at school Monday morning! They fly out from Fukuoka airport on Monday morning and head back to the states.

We've had fun exploring and it's been great showing them around where we live and our life here. :) Hope everyone has a Happy Easter Weekend! Praise Him, He is risen!!

nagasaki adventures...

2009-04-07T23:28:00.003-04:00

yesterday we took the train out to nagasaki!
we walked around and explored a lot... saw the peace park (for the atomic bombing), the peace hall, the museum, and a neat temple. here are some pics! :)

peace park had neat huge statue, and beautiful fountain in the shape of wings...

they called this ground zero:

my super cute momma!

and the temple

we are staying busy and enjoying our time together.... more pictures to come... :)

they're here!

2009-04-06T06:29:00.005-04:00

mom and dad made it to japan from the states to visit during spring break.
ben was able to be here for a day, but he's already gone again out to sea :(

here are a few pictures of our visit so far!
it's been great to have them here... just wish ben was too!

cherry blossoms!

at an overlook to 99 islands...

at the zoo by our house...

on a boat taking a tour of 99islands...

more pictures and adventures to come... :)

2 years ago....

2009-03-10T05:48:00.005-04:00

I married the love of my life! :)

Some pics (as always) of our last 2 years.
wedding

moving to japan

trying new things

having fun

climbing mt fuji

and here is us today!

Love you honey!
Looking forward to many more years as husband and wifey! :)

guess who...

2009-03-09T03:10:00.002-04:00

made it home just in time for our 2nd anniversary?! :)

and can i just say that life is SOOO much better when he is home!!!!! :D

a day in the life...

2009-02-28T01:53:00.006-05:00

of Mrs. Graves' Kindergarten Class. :)

(click on above picture to see their faces better) :)

This year has definitely been interesting.... there is never a dull moment when you have a classroom full of 21 hyperactive, full of energy 5 year olds!
I have stories that I should have been blogging about.. but last week we had one that I couldn't resist sharing. (DISCLAIMER: Bodily functions will be talked about here..) :)

On a Friday that had already had it's share of drama, my aid came in during my lunch break with one of my kids at her side, and announced to me that "John peed on his pants". My response was "Umm, that's not John." (thinking that this was incredibly obvious). She said - "I know - John PEED on Dan's pants." (Dan was the one standing next to her). "I'm sorry, WHAT?!" *I was super confused at this point* How did JOHN pee on DAN's pants!? Well -- apparently Dan had accidentally peed on John's hand while they were in the bathroom, so what does John do? Whips it out and pees ALL over Dan's pants. I'm talking SOAKED! OHHHH my. Haha. Thankfully he had a change of clothes and I didn't have to do much... except give John a stern talking to. (ps: names were changed to protect the not so innocent... haha)

Boys. :P

But speaking of boys... There is in particular that I sure do miss.... my wonderful husband! This week was pretty rough as we had very limited communication.... but I was able to talk to him for a bit yesterday, so that was great. I am anxiously awaiting his return.... and we are quickly approaching our 2 year wedding anniversary! Hard to believe March is only hours away here in Japan!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekends.... :)
Love from Japan!

happy heart day

2009-02-14T03:01:00.002-05:00

funny enough last year i got our taxes done on v.day. this year i got them done yesterday - the day before v.day. haha. :)
i also had some fun with my 5 year olds as they passed out valentine treats, and i thought i'd share a few pictures...
here are my crazy kiddos:

we made and decorated these mailboxes out of covered cereal boxes and they stored all our treats perfectly! :)

this was a craft we did earlier in the week...

and because he is amazing and he loves me, my sweet wonderful hubby sent me these BEAUTIFUL flowers to school and totally brightened my day! (he spoils me!)

so, all that to say, happy heart day from japan! <3

blessings and sorrows...

2009-02-07T03:59:00.003-05:00

This week has been a tough one.
Finding out one of your dearest sweetest friends has lost her baby full term is never news you want to receive, especially when you are a million and a half miles away. :(
Please be praying for our friends and the terrible sorrow and loss they are experiencing right now. If I could transport myself to NC this weekend, I would be there in an instant.
We certainly don't understand God's reasons all of the time, and this is definitely one of those instances for us. Her name is Alethia (means Truth in greek) Joy. There is no telling how many lives she will touch, and I have been clinging to this verse...
"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1:21

Also I have started going to a Bible study on base. There are about 6 (older) ladies that go, and we are doing the Beth Moore study on Esther and getting to watch the videos. If you haven't ever done a Beth Moore study, I highly recommend them. It was especially a blessing going to study this week after hearing the awful news and not having Ben here with me. I was able to share the loss with the ladies and have them pray about it that night. God knows what we need and always provides it.

I have also been blessed by friends and a husband who, even though far away, have been supportive of me this week too. My husband has been amazing and is such a blessing. He always makes time for me even though he is super busy, and lets me know he is thinking of me. When you are separated for months at a time, I can't even begin to tell you how much that means. It is hard to be so far away from people we love, and I have gotten a few emails of friends telling me they are praying for me. I appreciate that so very much. God is good, even in the midst of sadness and pain. Thank you, friends...

back to it...

2009-02-01T01:56:00.004-05:00

that applies to a few things lately.

back to being alone. :( ben left again and will be gone for a while. sigh.

back to making cards... i had some time this weekend and wanted to be creative again. :) so here are a few of my favorites...

also said goodbye to my friends jen and kelly both in the last few weeks, so that's been kind of tough too. so i guess back to trying to find more friends for the last year we have here! but i know that God provides... and i'm trying to rest in that.

other than that... well, school has been kind of stressful these days, and ben is working hard and taking classes again this underway. plus we are praying about and trying to figure out where God wants us to go next. it's something we need to decide over the next few months, and we would appreciate any prayers you say on our behalf. :) thanks, friends! happy february from japan!

winter wonderland

2009-01-24T19:31:00.003-05:00

this weekend we had our first real snowstorm since we moved to japan!
we went for a walk, threw snowballs, built a tiny snowman... and this is what it looks like outside our apartment.

it's been fun to enjoy it together.

also, we went for a walk the other day when it wasn't quite so cold... and both wore red hoodies. (aren't we cute) :P

we are trying to enjoy these last moments together before ben leaves again for a while. hope you're having a fun weekend too!

the trip home: part two

2009-01-09T17:10:00.007-05:00

after spending time in kansas, we went down to georgia for some time w my family!

we were able to see our friends brook kent, gwen joel, and their cute little babies...

we got to see my sweet yammie (my mom's mom)! (and ben got some new glasses)

and some sweet friends from church and the hallmark where i used to work (which i found out is closing next month! so sad!)

we went to the chick-fil-a bowl and saw ga tech lose :/ but still had fun watching...

and got some nice time in with my family

we were so thankful to get to go home and see people near and dear to our hearts. we can't wait to get to come home again! :)

christmas at home: part one

2009-01-07T01:46:00.009-05:00

ohhh man. we finally were able to go home after almost 2 years of being here in japan, and what a wonderful time we had!!!!! we spent the first part of our time in the states in kansas with family and friends, and we had an awesome time! we were able to stay with jessie and joe and were able to see lots of people dear to our hearts. as always, here are some pictures...

here we are at the start of our journey, boarding the first flight...

and here we are over 24 hours later, still smiling...

our nephews have gotten so big!!

our sis and brother in law

mom-o and don-o

my handsome hubby!

we love the hawkinsons!

people came from miles away to visit us! we felt so loved.

we got to see ben's dad (who i hadn't met yet!)

and we toured the capital building which was super neat! this is us at the very very very top of the dome. SUPER cold but awesome!

also, my sweet amazing husband surprised me with THIS a few days before christmas. he and joe had been scheming, and when we dropped off our rings to get cleaned and re-dipped, this is what i got when we picked them up! he's so sweet, isn't he?!?! :)

all in all we had a wonderful time and are so thankful we were able to go!
there are WAYY too many good pictures to choose from, so go to our flickr to see them all :) and look for the trip home part two: georgia sometime this weekend, hopefully! we are still recovering from jet lag and i am running a little slow.. haha.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

all dressed up

2008-12-06T21:02:00.004-05:00

with somewhere to go! :)
first let me say that ben is home again!! woooo hoooo!! it's sooo great to have him here, he's wonderful.

last night we got all dolled up and went to the ship's christmas party, and as always - here are some pictures!

here's my handsome man

here's me

my friend kelly was there w her hubby too

and here is ben and kristi!

we also decorated the christmas tree together yesterday, which was super fun.

less than 2 weeks to go til we are on a plane headed for the states!
can't wait! hope you are enjoying the holiday season!

love from japan!

hong kong

2008-11-27T21:57:00.002-05:00

here are some pictures of our wonderful mini vacation. it was so great to be together again. we had a great time exploring, shopping, eating, and enjoying each other's company! :)

at the top of victoria's peak...

so happy together :)

more pictures on my flickr (use the link at the top of this page)

lots to be thankful for.

2008-11-27T01:22:00.006-05:00

i am back in japan now, after having an amazing time with my hubby. pictures to come soon as i get them all on the computer. he is so great and i am so thankful for him, and the time we had together!

also, look who i got to see today! :)
my friend jen's little amelia is here! she finally made her appearance, and look at how cute she is!

precious baby girl!

sweet family of 4 now!

all bundled up in the hat and blanket mommy made her.

i enjoyed some snuggle time with her, too :)

happy thanksgiving from japan!

guess who...

2008-11-23T07:19:00.002-05:00

is together right now? :)
here's a hint.

we're on a mini vacation and after over 2 months of being apart, it is wonderful to be together! :D

been a while...

2008-11-14T06:51:00.004-05:00

since i last posted!
things have been a little crazy around here.

hmmm, let's see. some updates:

*one of the biggest things we found out -- WE GET TO COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!! =D so far, everything is working out, and we are excited to see everyone! we have tickets booked and plans made! it is so hard for us to believe we haven't been back to the states for over a year, and not back home since we moved here -- going on 2 years now! crazy.

*things w school are fine. still busy. i have a very active little group of kiddos! haha. but i really like them, and enjoy their energy. i've been trying to upload pictures of our halloween costumes, but i have been having technical difficulties. here is one of all of us, though, that i finally got to work.

*my friend jen is about to have her second little girl... we are awaiting the arrival of amelia any day now!

*my husband is amazing! he just got his air pin - which wasn't an easy task! he is also taking college classes and always amazes me at how well he accomplishes everything even while working 12-14 hour days. and he doesn't complain! he is definitely worn out though, and we are so ready for him to be home. if you think of it we would still love your prayers!

*so that's really all for now. still just here, living day by day, waiting for my hubby to come home to me, and trying to rely on God's faithfulness and goodness.

miss y'all! hope all is well and you are getting ready for holidays w loved ones. we'll be apart on thanksgiving again, but we are looking forward to seeing many of you next month =)

candy for cuties...

2008-10-25T05:41:00.004-04:00

although i'm not really a big fan of halloween, i still appreciate the fun of dressing up and getting candy! last night there was a base wide candy walk and i ran into these cuties along the way.. =)

trick-or-treat!

busy week!

2008-10-22T05:38:00.002-04:00

yesterday was pumpkin day...
we cut open, floated, drew and explored pumpkins - ate pumpkin choc chip muffins for snack, and made these way cute pumpkin pieces of art:

then today we took a walking field trip to the base and visited the fire station!
we got to see real firemen and feel their suits and i thought this picture turned out cute..

and here we are with our fire hats!

tomorrow night we have a potluck parents meeting after school.. so the busy week continues! hope you are all having a good week even if it's busy like mine! :)

hi from japan!

2008-10-18T06:38:00.003-04:00

well, it's saturday night, and dinner is cooking.
i have been feeling kind of down the last few days... :/
but talking to my husband always helps! even though it's only for a few minutes at a time. i sure do miss him.

it also cheers me up to hang out with this cutie, which i did last night while jen and sam went out to celebrate jen's birthday:

i think i'm getting a little burned out from putting in lots of extra hours at school, these allergies won't seem go away, and i stupidly (accidentally!) let in a few mosquitos this week and have bites all over me that are now starting to itch! :O oops. sorry for venting, but thanks for listening. :) i'm sure things will get better soon.

on a brighter note - it's looking a bit more hopeful that we can come home for christmas! we still don't know for sure, but we are trying to make plans and praying that it all works out. :)

well, dinners ready so i better go eat it! miss y'all.

"bee" happy.

2008-10-11T18:59:00.003-04:00

this week for an art project we made bees. the kids and i have been enjoying singing "i'm bringing home a baby bumblebee" (and the variations that i learned from the internet - rattlesnack and dinosaur! haha). so i thought they might get a kick out of making their own bees. they turned out super cute!

here's my example:

and a few of theirs:

we also celebrated national fire safety week with a visit from a few firefighters on base. that was fun and to go along with it, i made this bulletin board

here's a close up of us with our fire hats on:

and, for those of you that asked -- here are a few of my kiddos!

as usual, i'm missing ben like crazy - but hanging in there. we have a long weekend because of columbus day tomorrow. i'm trying to get caught up on some projects and some rest, and trying to kick these allergies that won't seem to go away. i've had a raspy froggy voice off and on for the past week! :O it was basically gone one morning this week at school, and one of my sweet girls came over and rubbed my throat to make it feel better. haha. she said "aww, mrs. graves! your voice!" :) they sure are cute most of the time. ben is staying busy as ever on the ship, and we are just counting down the weeks til we get to be together again!

whatever you are doing this weekend, hope you enjoy the fall weather and each other. miss you!

randomness.

2008-10-04T05:13:00.005-04:00

here's a little look at my life these days. (in pictures, of course). :)

this is my cuddle buddy while my husband is away. hehe.

this is what occupies my time most weekends lately.. coloring, abcs, making centers with beans (and other classroom things), trying to read my new magazines that came in the mail (real simple - it's a good one!) :)

lots of baby cards and packages are sent from japan these days, as almost all of our married friends are in the next phase of life. :) (don't worry, not us yet!) we are excited for them and wish we could be a little closer to all the fun!

i get bored easily at night while i'm by myself.... hence silly pictures like this:

it's finally starting to feel like fall, and i'm hoping before too long i can wear this great vest my husband bought me before he left! :) he's super sweet because he isn't really a fan of vests (i am!) but he knew i liked this one, so he got it for me anyway! i sure do miss my thoughtful hubby.

so that's a look at life in japan for kristi right now. my kindergartners are certainly keeping me on my toes and i come home pretty pooped out every day, but so thankful for something to keep me busy and help the days go quicker. they are cuties and i get lots of hugs too haha. :) lately i have been trying to teach them about having good attitudes when they don't get their way, and we have a phrase that i started - "it's ok, maybe next time!" one of them said it all on their own a few days ago and i was so tickled. :) i hope that i am teaching them more than just their ABCs and that i'm letting the Lord use me. you can keep praying for us, for my hardworking amazing husband, and that we still can work out those christmas plans, if you think about it. thanks!!

have a wonderful weekend, dear friends. miss you!

this week.

2008-09-27T01:17:00.002-04:00

was kind of long.
i basically lost most of my voice on thursday, i can't decide if it's just a cold or what... but my little cuties were pretty good about being quiet yesterday as i really couldn't talk very loud! haha.

but on a brighter note, my husband sent me BEAUTIFUL flowers! he is gone again :( but a few days after he left, these amazing things were delivered to my desk at school! he is such a sweetie.

today (saturday here) i went to babysit little lola girl while jen and sam went shopping at the noritake sale! we had fun, here take a look:

this one totally cracks me up:

cheese!

it's finally getting to be nicer fall weather here, and i really wish i could take a walk outside with ben! but alas, he won't be home until the winter. pray for us if you think about it - that we can go home for christmas! that's what we really want to do, but we are still working out all the details. thanks, friends! hope y'all are enjoying your fall weekends! :D

a cultural date night...

2008-09-14T02:39:00.002-04:00

ben and i got tickets to go see the broadway version of "the lion king" :)
we went yesterday - got dressed up, took the train to fukuoka, did a little shopping at the mall we like there, and saw the 5:30 show. even though it was in japanese, you could figure out most of what was going on, and it was a neat experience. :) we couldn't take pictures inside the show, but here are a few from before we went in!

eating some ice cream at the mall...

self portrait :)

a nice girl saw our self-portraits and took this one for us, too...

today we are just hanging out... i think i'm catching a cold, and we are both worn out from a long stressful last week. ben leaves again really soon, so pray for us if you think of it! thanks, friends!

a peek....

2008-09-12T04:18:00.003-04:00

at my new kindergarten class!

welcome!

word wall...

meeting spot...

centers...

As with most things, it's a work in progress... but then again, so am I. :)

busy busy busy!

2008-09-09T06:15:00.003-04:00

Sorry it's been so long since I posted, life has been SUPER busy to say the least! Seems like we are always on the go!
BUT -- The best news is that BEN is HOME! =)
Here is a picture of us when I went to visit him on the ship...

We've been having a great time hanging out and spending time together again. It's way to soon before he leaves again :( So we are trying to make the most of it. We tried a new restaurant on a date the other night (yummy!) and we are going on Saturday to see the Broadway Show "The Lion King" in Fukuoka! So excited about that! =)

In other news, I got the full-time job in Kindergarten and started yesterday! It's been yet another learning curve for me and certainly has it's frustrating moments, but I am hoping and praying that I can get settled in and into a good routine with these kiddos. It's nice to be back to full-time pay, but there are definitely days I miss the part-time hours! haha. Especially when the apartment starts to get dirty and the laundry starts to pile up. Thankfully I have an amazingly sweet understanding husband. He is so great and takes such good care of me - I LOVE having him home!!!

So yeah! That's the big stuff here. Ben is working hard as always, trying to decide what college class to take next. We have some big decisions coming up over the next year and a half as we quickly approach our 1/2 way mark of being in Japan! (YAY!) =) So you can pray for us if you think of it, and that we can endure these times apart.

Hope all is well there and you are enjoying the Fall weather. We miss you!

just another manic monday...

2008-08-25T01:26:00.003-04:00

well, sort of.
today was the first day of school for the kids!

i am doing only part time right now, so i got done about noon, which i must admit was kind of nice! haha. :) i am teaching little 1st and 2nd graders, and they are CUTE! i had fun getting to know them and doing some fun activities with them today.

this weekend we continued our crafty streak by making more frames, and helping amindia make this awesomely cute french memo board! here, take a look...

(for those of you that don't know what a french memo board is, you can hang notes or pictures from it. we made it by covering a cheap bulletin board with batting, fabric, ribbon and buttons.) :)

here are the frames kelly and i made. (mine's the one that's black and pink).

we've really enjoyed making them. if anyone is interested in ordering one, shoot me an email and we'd be happy to make one for you! :)

nothing much new besides that here. ben is still gone, and we are hoping the next few days go quickly so he can be home again! although it won't be for very long.... :/ i am also hoping to start doing a bible study with these girls, so you can pray about all of that if you think about it. thank you, friends! hope y'all had a nice weekend! :)

last day of freedom.

2008-08-19T04:06:00.003-04:00

today was it.
i gotta be back at school tomorrow morning.
and i have mixed feelings about this. :) haha.

still being crafty w the girls, yesterday we decorated frames from the 100 yen store (our dollar stores) using scrapbook paper, stamps, and embellishments. i think they turned out super cute - here, take a look!

been a little while...

2008-08-17T00:58:00.004-04:00

since i posted! sorry about that.
i went away for a few days last week and got to ride on ben's ship actually! that was fun and we had a nice time together hanging out... (i don't have the pictures, though - they are on the camera he still has with him).
since getting back i have been trying to get ready for school - teachers have to be there on wednesday! but it is kind of hard to get ready because i still am not sure exactly what job i have! haha. thankfully the LORD knows, but i'll certainly be glad when i know too!
yesterday i went and explored w some girls i have been hanging out w lately. they are very sweet, and we had a nice day - even though we got soaked from the rain! we didn't get to see as much of this temple as we wanted because of the rain, but i did get a few pictures of the sites, and the girls.

after wards we watched movies, made cards, and ate chicken salad sandwiches :)

hope you all are enjoying the last days of summer! its hard to believe that school is almost back in swing. i am looking forward to being busy again as ben is not here, and i am really missing him! i am not looking forward to a long fall away from my hubby, that's for sure. if you think of it, please pray for us - we are getting weary of being apart and being here. thanks, friends. we miss and love you all!

on a card-making kick...

2008-07-31T20:08:00.005-04:00

after being asked last week by a sweet friend if i've made many cards lately, i realized i really hadn't! and after complaining of being bored this week while ben was at work, i decided i needed to do just that! :)
so i did!

here are a few that i really liked
(the pictures aren't that great... but you get the idea anyway i think). :)

and you know i've been making a lot of this kind lately,

especially since we have more than 12 friends right now who are having babies between now and feb. (isn't that nuts?) - one friend who's having a baby today!! angie, we are excited to see pictures of brady and praying all goes smoothly!

that's all for now. hope you all have a great weekend! can't believe it's already august, can you? :)

2 of my favorite....

2008-07-30T01:44:00.008-04:00

... people! on either side of me! what a blessing. :)

thanks for posting your pictures, charissa. miss you!!

sunday "funny"

2008-07-27T17:51:00.006-04:00

so yesterday afternoon we were all set to go see batman. i was pretty excited because i have been really wanting to see it. so we got in the car, and headed to the 2pm movie. the first sign of trouble was when we got to the base, we realized we didn't have ben's id, so we had to go home to get it. but that's ok. we had left in enough time to get back to the movie before it started, so we quickly did so. we got there pretty close to 2, and i was so focused on getting in there that i just said 2 tickets please (there is only 1 showing at a time in our little base theater), we got our runts, and found a seat. i was surprised there were not more people in the theater, as batman just opened this weekend here. but i was just glad we were there. after a few minutes of sitting, the welcome lady came over the speakers and said "thank you for choosing the showboat theater, and we hope you enjoy the feature film - hancock". ben and i looked at each other and said - HANCOCK!? yup. in such a rush i hadn't double checked to make sure i was remembering the schedule correctly and hancock was playing at 2pm, batman wasn't playing until 6:30. oops. so we saw hancock instead (which was funny, btw) and hopefully will get to see batman this week one night. sometimes i am such a blonde. :P hehehe.

happy birthday!!!

2008-07-18T20:26:00.001-04:00

to my goofy...

adventurous....

wonderful...

and amazing husband ben!

i love you and can't wait to spend another year with you!!! :D

fuji-san and friends :)

2008-07-17T06:12:00.003-04:00

what a whirlwind these last 2 weeks have been.
seems like just a day or two ago that we went to pick up our friends... yet we were there today saying goodbye! :( so sad.
time flew, and what a great time it was.
little recap:

for those of you who have asked -- YES! we survived fuji!
i know i need to put up more details... heres the readers digest version for now :)
it took 8 hours to get to the top with our group of 25 or so...
we stayed up there for about 30 min. (it was cold!!) and then made the climb down in about 3 1/2 hr. it was the hardest thing any of us has ever done, and let me just say that the way down was like 12,000 times worse than the way up! i know that doesnt sound right, but it was all downhill gravel/volcanic ash, and it HURT! my big toe is not in very good shape... but we did it!! haha. :) we can say we climbed fuji and lived to tell about it, but as ben would say... Never Again! hehe.
charissa and i got bought sticks and had them stamped at the bottom, the middle, and the top of the mtn... (you can get them at every station - about 20 stamps in all!) we were a little sad we didn't go ahead and get every one, but they were about $2/a piece... but we at least have our stamp that says we reached the top! and they were a HUGE help in the balance department, too!

as always, here are some pictures from our adventures:

at the start of the climb - about 5am

during the climb:

at the top!

friends :)

we have had a wonderful time with our friends, and are so glad they were able to come. what a blessing to have a taste of home again. we played games, went shopping, explored, ate sushi, climbed fuji, saw a waterfall, visited a hot springs -- just had a visit packed with fun times! the only downside of their visit was the heat... (its pretty hot here now that the rainy season is over!) and that it was too short! we were certainly sad to see them go today! i guess now we have to get back to "normal" life here in sasebo. :P

but... anyone else want to come use our guest room?!?!?! :)

so fun :)

2008-07-10T18:48:00.004-04:00

We are having a blast. It's been great to be able to share our life here with our friends from home, and we have been staying busy! It's also really HOT here! :O And we are packing up this morning to get ready to leave for FUJI this afternoon! Hard to believe it's already here! I am sure we will have lots of stories to tell when we return from our adventures.... but for now here are some more pictures from the last few days! :)

Charissa and I did some shopping and had coffee with my friend Kelly:

and yesterday we took them out to a waterfall:

We've also taken a boat ride around the 99 islands and played Apples to Apples... :)
Well, that's all for now... Wish us luck as we head out this afternoon for the biggest adventure yet!

they're here!!!

2008-07-08T06:36:00.004-04:00

our friends arrived safe and sound last night (monday night japan time) =)
we drove to the airport (an adventure as we had never done it before), made it without any trouble and were so thrilled to drive them back! they were super tired - didn't sleep at all on the flight here! what troopers. but i am pretty sure that made it work out for them in the end to get a good nights sleep last night and feel semi-rested today! they felt pretty good all day today and dont seem to have a lot of jetlag, which is such answer to prayer! =)
here are the faithful travelers:

i woke them up this morning in hopes to keep everyone on a good schedule, and we went out to the ginza to explore. and i showed them one of our favorite video games - we call it "drum drum" but i don't think thats the actual name of it... haha. =)

ben has duty today, so we didn't get to see him much =( but we got to take him dinner and visit for a bit so they could see the ship, and him! here we are! all in japan - crazy!

more adventures and pictures to come.... =D we're so glad they are here!

exploring japan....

2008-07-06T02:12:00.007-04:00

we've been going out and trying some of the directions we picked up on base to see different spots around sasebo. so, on friday -ben had the day off - we drove about 30 min. away to see a very neat waterfall!

we ran into someone who offered to take our picture for us...

we also ran into a few of these guys:

we've definitely been enjoying our time together. :)
hope everyone had a happy 4th!
ps: our friends get here TOMORROW!

friday fun

2008-06-28T01:41:00.004-04:00

yesterday ben and i went on a little drive to mt. atago - about 10 min. from our apartment, for a little hike. i was told it was good prep for fuji, so we put on our hiking boots, filled our hydration system with some water, grabbed the camera, and we were off! it was fun and definitely a good workout! :) nice view at the top too!
here are some pictures:

here's the starting point of the hike...

taking a little breather!

one of our famous self-portraits :)

great view!

rockin' the shades... haha.

hard to believe june is almost over, our friends will be here in just over a week, and we are climbing fuji in exactly 2 weeks! :O cwazy! hope you all are enjoying your summer adventures, too. :)

:)

2008-06-25T17:43:00.003-04:00

after another long 2 months apart, we are happy to be together again!!!!

helllooooo...

2008-06-23T19:34:00.001-04:00

...from kristi and lola!

say cheeeeeeese! :)

june 22, 2008

2008-06-21T20:58:00.005-04:00

one of my very dearest friends is getting married!
a sunset wedding, on her parent's farm in iowa.
i cannot BELIEVE i wont be there to be a part of it... :(
but i wish them all the best in their new adventures as husband and wife! :)

congrats jess and marshall!

rainy monday in japan...

2008-06-16T07:22:00.006-04:00

today was the first official day of summer break, and here's what i did.

called my pops to wish him happy fathers day :) (still sunday in the states!)
went to the dentist for my 6 mo cleaning
ran a bunch of errands on base

then - went to spend time with my friends jen and lola...

and get my hair highlighted!

jen did a great job, i love how it turned out!

and after lola and i played!
she has started saying my name "she-she" and it is the cutest thing! :)
they have been great friends to me these past 6 months!

i <3 my dad!

2008-06-15T03:19:00.007-04:00

happy fathers day to my awesome and wonderful dad!!

no more teaching...

2008-06-13T04:22:00.006-04:00

no more books... no more students goofy looks...or something like that, right? :o) haha. i am a FREE woman! i worked alllll day to clean my room, then turned in my keys! it is officially summer break from now til august!

the status of next year's job is still not 100%, but it's looking as though i will be teaching 1/2 grade in the morning and then back to 5/6 grade in the afternoons. (essentially 2 part time jobs). i am looking forward to the variety and challenges that will bring, and glad that i can still have a job while we are here. its definitely nice having 2 incomes! it helps me not be so bored while ben is gone, and i have met lots of nice people on staff at the school. God is good. if you would have asked me before we got here if i ever thought i'd be teaching the whole time, i would have laughed! but obviously this is where God wants me right now, and i am trying to make the most of it and learn what He is teaching me.

couple more weeks til my sweet husband gets home... i am trying to fill next week with all kinds of errands so that i wont be bored - i wont know what to do with all that free time! haha. :O hope you all are staying cool, the summer weather is definitely arrived here! happy summer!!

score!

2008-06-08T01:31:00.004-04:00

thank you girls for your sweet encouragement about my running.
and if it weren't for my amazing husband, i never would have stuck with it.

but i am happy to report that on friday- i made my goal!! :)
i ran a mile without stopping!

it's been a busy weekend full of cleaning, reading, researching, trying to plan things for our visitors, and trying to get this fuji trip squared away. after realizing how expensive it was going to be to do it ourselves, we decided to go through the place on base. definitely a LOT cheaper. also crazier, though, because we get in a bus at 2pm on friday, ride 12 hours, get out, climb the mountain, climb down, have dinner, and then get back on the bus for the 12 hr. ride back. we get back sunday afternoon! haha. we're nuts. but we're excited about the adventure!! :)

got this fun new hat at the store today for only $6!

tomorrow starts the last week of school until summer break, and boy are we all ready! hopefully only couple more weeks til ben gets home, THANK GOODNESS because i miss him like CRAZY!!!

hope you all are doing well and enjoying your weekend! :)

ONE WEEK!

2008-06-04T03:40:00.003-04:00

That's all this girl has left of school. A week from tomorrow (thurs) is the kids last day, and a half-day at that! Between now and then: Friday we have a picnic, next Wednesday is a pajama-party/read-a-thon, next Friday we have a teachers work day - and then its SUMMER! :) I am definitely looking forward to the break....

But I am looking forward to something else even more....
and here's a hint:

BEN COMING HOME! Still don't know for sure when that's going to happen, but we are praying its before our visitors get here next month!! (If you think to could you pray for that as well? Thanks friends!)

Since he left, I've been trying to make it to the gym 4 times a week and even though some days (like today!) it's a struggle to make myself go, I have been sticking with it so far... really trying to get in better shape for Fuji this summer. My personal goal has been to be able to jog a mile without stopping before Ben gets home. Now, I know some of you can do that in your sleep, but I've NEVER been able to do it, so I'll gladly celebrate when it happens =) I can do about 8/10 at the moment, so I'm getting close, and it looks like I still have some time til Ben gets here, so maybe?? We'll see!

That's all for now... Hope you all are enjoying the start of June!

today at school....

2008-05-27T03:05:00.003-04:00

my nickname was "mrs. sunburn". ouch! =P haha.
i went to the pool yesterday with my friends jen and lola, and we were out there for a while... and i didn't realize how cooked i got!
see, take a look -

we had a nice time though and i even went down the waterslide a few times. i felt a little funny letting some of my students see me in a bathing suit, but i guess there's no getting around that as i'm sure it will happen all summer! haha.

hope you all had a nice memorial day weekend!

I've Been Tagged..

2008-05-22T05:48:00.005-04:00

Twice! By Jessie AND Reagan! SO I guess that means I have to play too!
Here are the Rules:
* Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
* Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
* Let them know they are tagged by leaving comments on their blogs.

Here goes.
#1 - I used to (and still sometimes do) dream of being on broadway... especially in the Phantom of the Opera. =)

#2 - I have a love of pajama pants - fuzzy, capri, pink, blue, striped, polka dotted. I have to tell myself not to buy them when I see a cute pair because I already have enough to wear a different one each night for 2 weeks! =D (and I even gave some to Good Will before we moved here!) haha.

#3 - When I was younger, people used to tease me about my long toes and call me "French Fry Toes". Some still do.

#4 - I never turn the lights on unless I have to. Usually in the mornings when I wake up for school, I stumble around - brushing my teeth and even showering in the dark - waiting until the very last minute to turn on the light, because I think its too bright. I also get scolded constantly for not having enough light when I am reading, and I am even sitting in a dark apartment as I am typing this! =P (My only light of choice are twinkle lights.. which I love and use anytime of the year, not just the winter.)

#5 - I took a semester of photography school my sophomore year of college. I learned a lot and really loved it, but thought it too competitive as a career, thus going back that spring to Emmaus to catch up and graduate with my freshman El Ed class.

#6 - I absolutely Hate haunted houses. I won't go in them, and get tense being near them if I think something (or someone) might jump out at me. I know it's rather irrational, but I was traumatized on more than one Halloween as a kid, and just have never been able to move past it, I suppose! My sweet husband has witnessed this firsthand - I couldn't even make myself go in with him protecting me! =O

#7 - I cry at old Hallmark commercials. Do you remember those ones they used to show with the kid getting a card from his teacher, or a kid giving a card to his mom? Every single time I see one of those I can't help but get choked up. =)

Who I am tagging:
Marcie
Gwen
Robin
Charity
Cristina
FennyJ
Angie
I'm cheating and tagging 8 -
Jen and Lola

field day fun and lessons being learned.

2008-05-21T07:00:00.007-04:00

today at school we had a fun field day. outside, sun, water sports... the kids had a blast. here are a few pictures =)

after field day the kids went home wet and we had some teacher meetings (it was a half-day) but after school, i also had fun watching this little cutie...

it was a long day, but pretty good all-in-all.

i have been learning more and more that i still have a lot to learn about classroom management, and the kids were quick to let me know that today too.... one of the other teachers came in this morning and said "excuse me boys and girls" and the kids immediately quieted down! so when she left i said "wait, why dont you do that for me?" and they said "we're scared of her! not of you!" ha. =P now most of you that know me know i am not a scary person... but i am still trying to learn the balance between "scary" and "too nice" (which i tend to be). i'm a work in progress. =)

on the bright side however, 3 weeks left of school after this one!
we have a field trip on friday, too - so i hope to take more pictures there... we are going to a space museum.

also, please keep praying for my sweetiepie when you think of it - we are ready for him to be back on dry land and be back together again for summer adventures, but thats still a few weeks away. we are hoping they go quickly! hope you all are having a nice week and enjoying the warm weather!

happy mothers day!

2008-05-11T04:13:00.004-04:00

To all our friends that are moms, but especially to our sweet moms!
(ps: Marcie, Happy First Mothers Day to you!!!!) :)

In case you didn't know or haven't met them, we are blessed with 2 very wonderful, caring, godly mothers, and I hope they know how much we appreciate and love them! :) Happy Mothers Day from Japan! We miss you, wish we could be there with you today, and hope you have a wonderful day!

"And her children shall rise up and call her blessed" Proverbs 31:28

lessons in teaching, and in life.

2008-05-05T03:46:00.005-04:00

So the teacher I took over for left one of those little day calendars on his desk that I have been reading every day, and the quote for one of the weekend days was something like this (I read it this morning). The goal of a teacher should be to have a kid leave at the end of the day loving himself just a little more than he did when he got to school that morning. It stuck with me all day, and I wondered if I was accomplishing that goal. It's definitely something to strive for, especially as the end of the year is drawing close, and my job status for next year is still unknown. I need to make use of the time God has given me to spend with these kids!

It's Teacher Appreciation Week this week, and I got a cute little basket and nice note from the Principal, an apple from one of my students (haha!) :) and a backrub from another! I really do have some cute kids... take a look:

In other news, I have been hitting the gym the past week or so trying to get in shape because this summer we are taking Rob and Charissa out to Tokyo and we are all going to climb Mt. Fuji! I am pretty stinking excited about that! :)

Other than that, I am hanging in there... missing Ben like crazy, and anxious for him to get home again... I never sleep as good when he isnt here, and the past few nights have been no exception! Maybe tonight I will get a bit more rest.

Anyway, just wanted to say Hi again. Miss you guys a lot!

that time once again...

2008-04-29T05:37:00.007-04:00

...Ben is out to sea yet again!
I know you are probably tired of me saying that, and I am tired of having to say it! haha. But alas, that is our life right now, and for the next 2 years.
I make it as best I can while he is gone, counting down the days and trying to just keep taking things day by day, staying busy, and teaching... but there is always an ache in my heart that I can't really explain when he isn't here to come home to. And days like today when I have a long kind of rough day at school, I long for one of his comforting hugs!
But on a brighter note! He will be around for a while this summer, and we are having VISITORS!!! Our first visitors since we moved here over a year ago! We are pretty stinking excited. Our bestman and maidofhonor are coming for 2 weeks in July to see Japan and us and we couldn't be happier to be able to show them around and share our life here with them!! =)

Hmm. Not too much other news. Last weekend we volunteered at the school carnival and ran the "Jail". That was a tiring and fun day. It involved us standing guard and taking peoples tickets to put their friend/parent/teacher/etc into the Jail (which was a small wooden box!) We rolled in a lot of tickets though, and enjoyed watching all the kids be excited to put their teachers in jail (even I got put in jail a few times! haha). =) Here are a few pictures...

Other than that, life goes on here. Teaching is tiring -- especially now that Spring Fever has hit! Haha. =) Say a prayer for Ben as he is out to sea, and one for me if you think about it, that I can make it through the last 6 weeks of school and finish strong! I still have so much to learn. I am looking into taking a college class this summer, and looking forward to spending time with Ben, our friends, and maybe having some time to make some cards again! (And keep the house cleaner! haha). =) Well, I gotta go make dinner - just wanted to say Hi once again from Japan!

Monday in Japan.

2008-04-21T05:58:00.006-04:00

Ben has duty and is stuck on the ship tonight, so while I am home bored without him, I thought I would say Hello! We are still here and doing well. Just been busy and tired trying to get back into the swing of things after break! We had a FABULOUS time on the rest of our spring break - even though it rained 2 days. We went to an amusement park on that Saturday and had a blast -- here are a few pictures from that!

We rode a HUGE ferris wheel...

And lots of coasters...

And I even got to ride a horse! =)

Also, Ben has been able to post some VIDEOS on his flickr! You should go check them out when you have time, because they are super fun. I don't yet know how to post them on here, but I will try to ask him before he leaves... which is sadly coming up WAY to soon once again. =( He is never here long enough, thats for sure!

I looked at the calendar today and realized that there are only 8 weeks left of school though! We are excited about the prospect of a summer visit from a friend or two, and some more trips and adventures to tell about when he gets home next.

Love you all!

spring break adventures, pt 2

2008-04-08T22:16:00.006-04:00

So. Here we are. It's Wednesday morning in Japan, raining like crazy and so we are staying in - catching up on some rest, playing guitar hero, and posting pictures from yesterdays adventures! =)
I am really proud of us, because we were super adventurous yesterday. We got in our little car and drove 3 hours west of Sasebo to go explore! We stopped first to double check our map and directions, and then we were off! We saw some great sites along the way, and stopped first at Shimabara castle. very pretty.

then we were off to mt. unzen. its a set of 3 mountains all together - one of which i guess is really a volcano that erupted 10-20 years ago! it was very cool, we drove on the mountain up this windy road and hiked up some of them. it was a perfect day for it, beautiful, sunny and warm. =) it made me wish we had many more days like that in japan - both off of work with places to go and sites to see. but since they are few and far between i guess it makes me appreciate them more. =) here are some shots we got of the mountains!

On the way to all these places, we came across a sign for a waterfall. But we didnt have a good chance to turn off and find it - but we did on our way home! It was in a park and was very peaceful. Great way to end our long fun day of exploring. =)

As always, we have tons more pictures on our flickr sites. =) Check them out if you have time! Hope you are having as fun this week as we are!

they're here!

2008-04-06T07:00:00.003-04:00

the cherry blossoms have arrived, and they are just beautiful!
and perfect timing as its my spring break this week! =) ben was able to take a few days off and we get to go explore and hang out, so we are thrilled. we started today actually! so here are some pictures...

it was a great day with wonderful weather, so there were lots of families out - and i spotted this cutie climbing up the slide:

we had a great time, and are loving these days of getting to hang out! =)

also last week we took all the kids to the park for lunch and games, and they convinced me to get on the tire swing... i think this picture says it all! haha.

happy spring to all from us here in japan!

guess what?!

2008-03-24T20:16:00.002-04:00

....HE'S HOME!!!!

Hope you all had a nice Easter! =)

Love from Japan,
Ben and Kristi

another saturday in japan.

2008-03-14T22:39:00.004-04:00

it's finally starting to get nice and warm here!
the spring weather is coming, and so are the cherry blossoms!! i cant wait to see them as we just missed them last year when we got here.
speaking of - next month is our 1 year anniversary of moving to japan! its hard to believe all the things that have gone on and changed and all the adventures we have had. =) God is good, all the time.
so i decided to do a little spring cleaning this week - of myself. haha. i gave myself a pedicure and some highlights and today i got in the mood to straighten my hair! i also got a fun new dress to wear on a date with ben (shh, he doesn't know about it yet!) when he gets home... in just over a week!!!!!!! =D (can you tell i'm excited?!)

so thats whats up with us right now. counting down the last few days of being apart.

well, i'm off to enjoy the nice day and lunch with my friends jen and lola right now... but i hope you all are enjoying your weekend. =)

love from japan!

march 10

2008-03-10T04:06:00.006-04:00

a year ago today
we became husband and wife! =D

its been a crazy year full of ups and downs and adventures
growing and living and laughing and loving
and i couldn't imagine spending it with anyone else! =D

happy anniversary, honey!
i can't wait til you are home with me!!!

Pottery shopping...

2008-03-08T05:33:00.006-05:00

Today was neat. Earlier this week I got asked to go out for a day of shopping and exploring with a few of the teachers I work with. I decided it would be a nice way to get to know them a little better, plus we were going to places I hadn't been before, so I accepted and met up with them this morning to start our adventures. It ended up being a longer day than any of us thought, but it was fun and we saw some cool things! We started out by going to the Noritake Factory, its like an outlet I guess with all kinds of cool china, and every couple of months they have a sale - which this weekend was a part of, and everything was 20% off! I didn't buy anything, but definitely found some things I would have liked to! Then we went and ate at an authentic Japanese Steak House - where they cook the food in front of you! It was very yummy and filling! I was ready for a nap after that, but our day had just begun! We then trecked on to this village (that I cant for the life of me remember how to spell or even say) where there were TONS of shops full of authentic Japanese pottery! There were so many neat things, and it was so pretty. Here are a few pictures.

We ended the day in Arita, where we visited a Porcelain Puppet museum, and got served some tea in the home of a very sweet Japanese woman that one of the teachers knows.

I can't wait to take Ben around when he gets home so he can see all the pretty scenery and pottery. All in all it was a good day, and I just wanted to share my latest Japanese adventure with you, our dear friends. I will take any of you there if you come to visit us! =)

Hope you all are having a nice weekend. Only a few more weeks and Ben will be home!!!

Jumpin on the bandwagon...

2008-03-01T03:59:00.000-05:00

You girls that have updated your sites have inspired me. I tried to pick a background that wasn't too girly, because this is a blog for Ben and I to share... what do you think? It reminded me of the sparklers we ran out to as we left on our wedding... almost exactly one year ago! =)

long weekend.

2008-02-19T02:19:00.002-05:00

hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend! i didnt do a whole lot, because i am still fighting this silly cold/sinus infection it seems, but i did have lunch with a friend, and got inspired enough to make a few cards again! its been a while since i have had the energy to sit down and work on them with all the school stuff going on, but here is one i made - i got the idea from a magazine, and tweaked it around to make it how i wanted it. i think it turned out pretty cute. =) today it was back to school, and i am just continuing to count down the weeks til ben gets home! keep praying for him if you think about it, because he is super duper busy! we dont get to talk much, but when we do i can hear how tired he is in his voice. he is such a hard worker, and i am so proud of him, but i know he needs a break! so pray that he gets one soon. =) thanks friends!

heart day.

2008-02-14T03:07:00.003-05:00

well, all things considered it wasnt too bad.

i went to school, got some chocolate from the kids, tried to convince them not to eat more than one pixie stick for breakfast... haha. and then just before math, this wonderful surprise was delivered to my room!

even though my valentine is out at sea, he still got me flowers! isnt he amazing? =) they totally made my day. =)

hope you all have a happy heart day!

how romantic.

2008-02-09T21:08:00.000-05:00

so guess what i will be doing on valentine's day?

getting our taxes done.
haha.

how romantical.

(i miss ben!)

Camping out

2008-01-19T06:21:00.000-05:00

(ben)
Well it has been a busy month and soon it will be time to go underway again for two months. This is not exactly my favorite thing in the world to do because it involves leaving Kristi alone. I wanted to hope that it would somehow become easier to go after deploying twice now but it has only become harder. We try not to talk about it a ton, we just prepare together and wait.

The past weeks in Sasebo have been great though, and I've throughly enjoyed the time I can spend with Kristi. Work has also become enjoyable for the most part as I've finally found a niche and am staying quite busy. Happily I am also nearly done with my AA degree, and have completed 21 college credits in the past 9 months while working full time. Praise God for that! I actually got an A in my last two classes, Western Civ and Biology! Hopefully by summer I will have achieved my AA degree, and can set a new goal to work towards a BS.

Today Kristi and I picked up some of my uniforms from the dry cleaners, picked up a few toiletries, and I dropped off a seabag full of clothes on the ship. Since then though we've felt kinda ill and have been relaxing at home. About an hour ago we decided we should make a fort and put up a few blankets in the living room. We're now laying on the floor with some blankets and a sleeping bag, and a few blankets above us. We're not sure why we both felt the sudden urge to do it, but it's been a lot of fun to just do something random and silly. I'm throughly enjoying it, and we're about to watch some of Heroes season two on the laptop while hiding out in our tent.

Other than all this, things are going well. I've had no time for photography, but have happily gotten small digital camera to take along with me underway and port visits. It won't replace the lens I broke in Cambodia, but it's much smaller and less of a pain to lug along with me on all the random adventures while underway.

This will be my last post for a while as I can't log in to google services on the ship, but I'm sure Kristi will be updating on occasion. I hope all of our friends are doing well, we love you all and miss you much.

B&K

End of the year

2007-12-31T05:16:00.000-05:00

(Ben)
Well it has honestly been what feels like a short year for me. I suppose that any time I am gone underway for almost half of it it should be short. I am looking forward to 2008 of course, as there are many more adventures to be had, and the biggest one my wonderful wife. I guess in a way I do look at our new life together as an adventure but also as we grow together I am curious to see how we will mature and change throughout the years, and I know it has already begun as I look back on a year spent with her. It's really fantastic to me, and humbling in a way. I suppose it's selfish to have thought I would never need another person in my life like I have now, but I can honestly say it has been the best thing for me and I have grown and changed for the better because of her. All in all, I look forward to another year with God in our lives, and striving to become more like Jesus. It has never been easy, but I'm glad to have someone with me again this year.

Christmas was a great time for Kristi and I, although we spent last Christmas together this year was our own as a family. We may have spoiled each other a bit, but alas that is how a first Christmas should be I think! =D

We have been busy the past few days preparing for a few new changes in our life, and that is always exciting but a bit stressful. It's been amazing to see how like minded Kristi and I are on things, despite being so different. I appreciate her help in the littlest things, and in the big ones!

Well time to eat some dinner, a few more hours and the new year will be upon us!

Thanks for all your comments and kind words friends, we appreciate them! Have a Happy New Year!