Moving Day Approaches

The countdown has begun. We only have 14 days left in Japan. We arrived here in 2005 after being separated for a year. (It wasn't our idea - it was the Air Force's.) Four years later, we're ready to go, but it's definitely bittersweet.

This is where we got to know each other again. This is where I finally learned to use chopsticks. Where I got a job that gave me a great sense of accomplishment and confidence. We made wonderful friends, most of whom we had to say good-bye to over the years, and a few who are about to hear it from us. This is where our family really began. Our precious daughter had the privilege of being born here in the Land of the Rising Sun. Where I survived without my husband for two deployments. Where I discovered the joy of being a wife and mother staying at home.

Japan has been a real home to us. I grew up loving Japan as my father had served a mission here more than 40 years ago. I was familiar with the culture, the language - and I was eager to experience Japan for myself and have that to share with my dad.

Now that we're moving to Oklahoma, I am returning to the land of my mother. She was born and raised there. Because my grandparents still lived there, I grew up loving Oklahoma, too. I am familiar with the culture, the language - and even though I've only visited before, it already feels like I'm going home.

I am so blessed to be experiencing life as a military spouse, but I am even more blessed in knowing that "home is where the heart is." My heart is my family. Wherever we go, we're home.

We're coming home.

Just Too Smart

Lily has been blowing our minds lately with how smart she is. She talks very well and has an amazing vocabulary of over 450 words. (Yes. We're nerd-parents. We counted.) She puts together sentences already and likes having conversations with us.

Lily is very observant and has started noticing that grown-ups have things she doesn't have. When she sees something she likes, she wants to know what it is, who it belongs to, and if she can have one. So far, Lily has asked us for a bicycle, a backpack, a watch, a ring, a car, and an airplane, but a small one.

"Lily a cycle?" "Lily a pack-pack?" "Lily a airplane? A small one?"

She has decided that she likes yellow apples better than red ones. She likes to ask us if things are big or small. She asks for things like "ock-pus tandy" (sour gummi octopus candy), cold "bater" (water), and "pink milk." She says "sess" (yes) more often than the traditional toddler favorite, "no." She says "domo" to the Japanese. For some strange reason, she needs to smell everything. She likes to go to the gym to get exercise. She likes going to the "ground" (playground) and the "shop-up" (military mini-mart actually called the Shoppette) and church.

We've talked to her a little bit about moving, but she doesn't seem concerned about it. She's excited about getting a backpack for our trip, a big-girl bed, and having a party for her birthday. I can't believe she's only turning 2. She seems older to me somehow.

If I have any complaint, it's that she doesn't hold still for pictures. Hence, the obvious absence of her most recent cuteness, something I hope to remedy soon.