Year in Review: 2004

Top 10 Happenings of 2004...


10. Blog: I love the venue to let those who care about us read about us

9. Experiencing Japan: cherry blossoms in Hirosaki, camping at Tanesashi Beach, hiking and snowboarding Mt. Hakkoda, Disneyland and Disney Sea in Tokyo, and the Snow Festival in Sapporo

8. Hawaii: celebrating our first year of marriage

7. Stateside: exploring Seattle and spending time with family

6. New job: no deployments (since January), feeling more productive, and wearing workout clothes to work

5. Trip to China: mystery revealed, history, and culture

4. Friends: leaving and coming in to our life in Misawa

3. Webers’ leaving Japan: we love ‘em

2. Sheila getting pregnant: Trish’s sister due around the same time

1. Our pregnancy: life will never be the same

Snowboarding Mt. Hakkoda

Today I went snowboarding with Curtis, Jeni, and Mike Alvarez at Hakkoda. The snow was so deep and powdery. That is good and bad. It doesn't hurt as much when you fall, but sometimes it is so difficult to get up. Curtis and I took the "Forest Trail" on our last run of the day. It was the best and worst part of the rip. You can see Curtis in the picture on part of that run. However, at the end, we had to traverse through five feet of snow for about 300 frustrating, exhausting yards.

What we did for Christmas

We went to the traditional Candlelight Christmas Eve service at the Chapel. Then we went to the Hospitality House where we (Me and Trish) stayed up till about 3 am (others stayed up till 5 am) playing games, watching movies, eating sweets, chatting, and just having an all around festive time. So we all spent the night there and then opened presents mostly that family had sent, or in our case, from one another. I made four grain pancakes for breakfast and then we did more of the same as last night for most of the rest of the day. Also, me and Curtis also went to the onsen (hot spring). And, me and Trish went with Curtis to Hachinohe (neighboring town) to deliver a package to a missionary family where we got a tour of their church and garden and ate dinner at a favorite restaurant.

I missed seeing my family for the second year in a row, but I am blessed to have so many close friends here to share this special time.

The Big 3-0

Today marks 30 weeks. I can't believe it! The books say she should be about 3 pounds and about 16 inches now. This morning I spent a couple of minutes feeling her hiccuping. What an awesome feeling! Believe it or not, it hasn't sunk in yet that I am 10 weeks away from being a father, a daddy. Actaully I guess I already am, but you know what I mean. Yesterday we bought a changing table (59% off) and a couple of days ago some one gave us a box of used clothes so our house is filling up. We'll be ready.

Orphan Yuuka

I can't believe I forgot to bring our camera when we visited the Akebono Orphanage for a Christmas party with people from our command and their families. Seven or eight-year-old Yuuka, who sat with us for lunch and performed in an adorable dance in her Santaesque costume, was a memory I regret not capturing on film. The children performed a few dances and songs and we “performed” by singing Silent Night and Jingle Bells.
We spent most of the day at the orphanage and had a smorgasbord of food that we brought and the orphanage provided. We brought PBJs. We sponsored kids and Santa gave them their presents. We had a nineteen-year-old girl, Aikiko, who opened her present at our table without knowing it was us who got it for her. Trish did a great job in picking out a watch, among some other things, that we saw her awe over.
Japan is a wealthy country and so your typical mental pictures of overseas orphanages in developing nations are probably not what it is like here. The children are well taken care of and seemed to be very loved and happy. So that is good to know.
I do not know how much they understand about Christmas. I think perhaps here it is purely a marketing strategy as it has in so many ways in the States. We even saw Christmas sales in communist China. I wish I knew Japanese so that I could tell them about “the reason for the season.” I will have to be content in my prayer that they and unknowing people all over the world will seek out and find the answer to why we truly celebrate Christmas and embrace Him when they do.

What???

It is a strange phenomenon in Japan how they use English. This sign is perhaps my favorite, glaring example. They are actually trying to say "Japanese people only." You would think that if they are going to spend money on making a sign that they would have it proofread. But, no, this is the norm. Another thing they have are shirts with English writing that make no sense or are just awkward sentences. One of mine reads, "I love the banana its cheap but its not free." Even American companies like Nike sometimes have weird sayings in their advertising. I don't get it... do you?

We probably do the same thing with Chinese characters in the States. They may look neat, but the may just say, "vital core fact funk," like one of Trish's sweatshirts.

Hiccups

Early this morning Trish had me fill her tummy for what we believe to be hiccups. It was too rythmic to be kicks and we've heard that babies do hiccup in the womb. Then I rolled over and went back to sleep for another two hours.

Holiday Party and Prizes

It's that time of year... holiday parties. Besides hanging out with friends, the best part of our command party was all of the rafle prizes. I won a treadmill valued at $99 that I took back to the BX for store credit. We also invited our friend Curtis and paid for his ticket and so when he won a HP PDA valued at $269 we split the store credit. So we made out with $235! YES!

So the next two weeks we get two four-day weekends and the other days we only have to work half-days. We are looking forward to the down time. I plan on reading up some more on childbirth and the first year.

Changes at Work

So our Commanding Officer doesn't want my job as Fitness Leader to exist because he wants to put more control in the hands of supervisors. So starting at the beginning of the year I will have a new job. In the meantime, I have been tasked to come up with and implement a plan for this reorganization. So that is what I have been doing at work.

I don't want to go back to my old job since I would have to deploy, and of course, I don't want to deploy since the baby is on the way. I think I will be able to do a job in our training department though. Let's hope and pray.

4D

Trish is in her 28th week now and of course showing a bit more. I love rubbing her belly. It seems that the time is flying by. We went to the Japanese clinic today with high hopes of getting a good 4-D ultrasound picture. As you can see it didn't turn out very clear, but hopefully next time. It is still awesome to ponder the miracle of birth as you look at the picture.

We had an ultrasound at the base hospital on Monday and everything is looking good. She was 2 pounds 6 ounces.

Our Trip to China

I actually wrote ten pages in my journal, but I don't want to bore you with all of that so I will try to hit the highlights. The first full two days of the trip were spent with a tour group of about 30 people. We woke up around 0600 and got back around 2100 so it was exhausting yet very rewarding. In that time period we climbed the Great Wall; wondered around the Tomb grounds of the 3rd Emperor of the Ming Dynasty; strolled through the Summer Palace grounds; crossed Tiananmen Square; passed through the Forbidden City; toured the Temple of Heaven park; rode on a rickshaw around a Hutong (traditional Chinese neighborhood); visited jade, silk, cholosine, rug, and tea factory/shops; of course, shopped; and ate who knows what and you don’t want to know (actually I ate four fried scorpions). We are glad that we did the tour because it made it so easy to do so much in such a little time. However, it was nice to get on our own.

So the next day we took a 1.5-hour train ride ($4) to Tianjin where we met up with Lonnie, an American professor teaching in China, who we got in contact with through Mark Lanker’s friend. We went to the International Fellowship and then ate lunch at Subway with Lonnie and another couple. Our two-hour conversation there is perhaps the best part of the trip because of the insight and perspective into China we gained (we were and are interested in living their someday). Lonnie showed us typical China and we spent a while talking at Starbucks.

We took a train back to Beijing and spent two days with Tania, a British friend we know from when she taught English in Japan (she teaches English there now). We shopped, explored, drank tea at a fancy Tea House, and ate lots of American food.

After that we decided to go back to Tianjin for a day and a half because it was familiar and a great city to live in if we decide to go to China. So we explored the city (7 million people), shopped at Wal-Mart, and ate dinner with Lonnie ($0.80 for all three of us). The last two nights we stayed at a five-star hotel in Beijing and tried to relax a little which involved shopping and eating at Outback.

This is an extremely abridged version of our trip. I love talking or writing about it so if you want to know any more about it, just ask.

If you want to see a slideshow of some of our pictures in China go to http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAOXDdm5ctWzpw…

To China and Beyond

On Thanksgiving day we are heading to China. It seems so weird to say "I'm going to China." It seems so exotic. We have it all planned out except for three of the ten days of the trip. We can't decide what to do, but settled on deciding once we get there. One possibilty is taking a train to the border with North Korea. We are interested in someday living in China so I am anxious as to how this trip might effect that desire. We will be meeting with an American professor, Lonnie, that has been teaching and living there for a while so I hope to glean some insight from him. We are also spending two days with a British friend, Tania, who taught English here in Japan and is now teaching it there in China. I am interested in teaching English there so again I hope that yields some good information. Plus, we are going to have loads of fun...

Who are you?

Have you ever noticed that the people you feel closest to or connect with are those who open up and make themselves vulnerable to you? Well, I have. Maybe it is simple psychology. I don't know much about that subject, although it intrigues me. Anyway, I have noticed this phenomenon among my friends and family. It is so refreshing when someone is real, an open book, sharing their shortcomings and weaknesses, and giving insight in to their strengths. I believe much growth, relationally and individually, can come from this type of sharing. On the otherhand, it is a stifiling downer when someone you feel you should be close to because of whatever circumstance is closed, simply cordial, and only let's you see their surface.

I think the distance is usually the fault of both parties because once one person opens up, the other usually reciprocates. So I encourage whoever may be reading this to open up to people, and in the same way, open up to God about your thoughts and feelings about life and about Him.

Over the past couple of years it has been very refreshing to experience this phenomenon with my mom as we open up to one another. It has given me much enrichment and insight into my life and hers. Open up and experience the difference.

First time I felt her move

Tonight was the first time I felt our baby move. How awesome of an experience is that? I think she was doing summersaults. We just stared at Trish's belly and every once in a while you could see it move. Amazing!

Hawaii or Seattle?

Decision: The Next Few Years

I feel like I have come a long way from being an indecisive person, but this decision is really weighing on me. I had my mind made up to get out of the Navy, but having a family changes a lot of things. I desire NOT to make these kind of decisions based on money, but at the same time I have to be responsible. If I want to stay in the Navy, I need to give them a decision very soon and probably should have already.

I thank God that I have so many great choices. However, on one hand, that is one of the stressful factors, too many choices. We have the world open to us: nothing to tie us down, money in the bank, education paid for by the Navy, and the Navy will move us anywhere in the States. We truly are blessed and thankful. Trish and me spend a lot of time just talking about all of the possibilities.

We are thinking about two main choices right now. One would be both of us getting out of the Navy early, August 2005, and me going to Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle and getting my Masters in Divinity and Trish finishing up her Bachelor’s degree. The advantage to that is getting out of the Navy, out of this no-so-enjoyable job, and regaining some freedom. I am also really excited about this school and ready to engage in what I think will be a life changing experience. The disadvantage is finances and perhaps less time with family. The other choice is for Trish to get out of the Navy in May and me staying in and doing a three-year tour in Hawaii with Trish and baby as dependents. The advantage to that is geography (we love Hawaii), finances, and it would be easier to have a second child and for Trish to get a degree (she is interested in getting a degree in Radiology leading to being an Ultrasound technician). Then after we leave Hawaii, she can have a good paying job while I go to seminary. The disadvantages are I don’t think I will like the job, I will perhaps have to do shift work, and the big one, it may delay us getting to the missions field by three years. Those are just two of the good choices. Others involve Korea, China, other seminaries, or other degrees.

So if you have any wisdom or advice to offer, I would really appreciate it. Thanks for your prayers.

It's a Girl

So I guess we will finally post that the results of our ultrasound. We are having a GIRL. Let's hope it's right because we will have one confused little boy with all of the pink clothes we have gotten. Oh well, there is an old saying from a T-shirt of a guy we know that says, "Real men wear pink".

29 Hours Later

Yep, it took us 29 hours on trains, planes, and automobiles to get back to Misawa from Ocala. Everything went smoothly, it just took that long. After a a couple plane changes in the US and a 4 hour train ride to a nearby town, our good friend Curtis gave us a ride home so we could finally get to our long awaited bed! Thank God for such a good friend! Now we need some time to rest from the busy time we had at home. We had such a wonderful time visiting with all our friends and family. We do wish for more time to spend with all of them in order to deepen and strengthen our relationships. I feel like relationships are the most important thing in life, our relationship with God being foremost.

Florida Leg

We also thoroughly enjoyed our time in Florida. I was pleased that I was able to see so many of my family members. On Saturday, we had two parties and I wasable to see so many people. We loved staying with mybrother's family and being able to be around my smart, adorable 2 1/2 year old nephew. Ken and Leah are great hosts. Leah even had a basket of goodies awaiting us in our bedroom. We also stayed two nights with my mom, also a great host, and visited an intriguing butterfly observatory with her. We visited the new and intriguing "downtown" area at The Villages a rapidly growing community with my dad and step mom.
One highlight of the trip was a pontoon boat ride down crystal-clear Silver River (where the first Tarzan was filmed) with my brother's family and skippered by Lamar, Ken's father-in-law. We saw lots of alligators (one hissed at us), birds, and had to carefully navigate through fallen trees from the hurricanes. Me and Ken also disembarked the boat for a thrilling experience with a rope swing.

Missouri Leg

Our trip to the Show me State was a blast. In St. Charles, we did a whole lot of eating, shopping for baby stuff, visiting Starbucks, and most importantly visiting with friends and family. On the weekend, we went to Branson and stayed in a cabin on Table Rock Lake with Trish's immediate family (parents, two sisters, and their husbands). We went to Silver Dollar City both days and I was overwhelmed by the myriad of old country themed merchandise, booths, and shows. Luckily they had an awesome roller coaster with the best drop I have ever been on. The other highlight was the gigantic cave below the park grounds. The first room you enter is so big that they fit 5 hot air balloons in there.

Baby Registry

Well today we had the joy of creating a baby registry at Babies R Us. Taking the scanner around the store was such a blast. If you want to check it out, go to babiesrus.com, click on Baby Registry, and then do a search for Dinkins, Trsih.

No Bushes in Seattle

Our trip to Seattle was very enjoyable, but not very eventful, save our ultrasound. The climax of our visit as tourists came a top the Space Needle on a cloudy, but not overcast day (as seen in the picture). We did a lot of exploring in our Chevy Imaplia and just basked in the missed pleasures of the good ole U.S. of A: street signs in English, Whole Foods, Quizno's, Cheesecake Factory, Mexican food, coffee shops, Old Navy, wide streets, diversity of people, commercials, and understanding strangers. We also noticed things we didn't miss: homeless people begging for money, waves of fear walking through the bad parts, tipping, and being conned (yep, conned out of a dollar). We saw so many Kerry signs as we explored Seattle and only spotted a single Bush sign. I think Seattle is one of the more liberal cities.
My visit to the school, Mars Hill Graduate School, proved to be a confirmation of what I imagined, and that's a good thing. I really connect the mission and emphasis of the school. It is a cutting edge school focused on contextualizing the gospel. If you want to check out their web site, it is www.mhgs.edu.

What should we name her?

If you have any suggestions for First or Middle names, please make a comment to this post.

Boy or Girl?

We still don't know. In two days we're flying to Seattle for three days and while we are there we are getting an ultrasound so hopefully we'll finally know. After Seattle we will be in St. Louis for 6 days and in Florida for 6 days. Trish is showing a little now so she's packing the maternity clothes.

Half Way

With the hopes of finding out the sex, the first day of Trish's 20th week we were finally able to get an ultrasound at a Japanese clinic in a neighboring city. However, to our dismay and frustration the doctor said it was too early to tell. By medical science, we know that it is possible to tell so to my best deduction, they just do things differently here. At the clinic in town, they won't even try till 25 weeks. The on-base hospital cancelled our appointment because of a base exercise. So we are thinking about getting an ultrasound during our trip to the States Oct 23 - Nov 8. Trish's sister is who is due five days later than Trish found out that she is having a boy. Yea, so exciting! So I guess the race is on to have the first Bundy grandchild.

Super Soldier

From an article I wrote for our command magazine (with minor adjustments):

The Super Soldier Challenge is an annual event designed to challenge the physical fitness and basic soldiering skills of soldiers in Misawa. Our Navy command fielded one team of four. Three teams from the Japan Ground Self Defense Force also participated, but competed amongst themselves because they were not allowed to handle the M16.

Since Sailors do not necessarily possess basic soldiering skills, we had to quickly attain the needed skills. The Army graciously instructed us and in two brief sessions of instruction, we learned enough to enable us to compete, and compete we did.

On the morning of September 21st we arose early to a gloomy, rainy day. I guess that was appropriate for the Army who says, “"If it isn'’t raining, we’re not training."” It literally rained the whole day. All of the teams started off at 0630 with a four-mile march hauling a 40-pound rucksack. After that, the teams rotated between six different events: the M16 (assemble/disassemble) Relay; the Hand Grenade Toss in which we had to duck behind bunkers and low crawl through the mud to access our targets; NBC Evaluation of donning MOPP-4 gear; Physical Fitness test of push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups for eight minutes; Evaluate/Treat/Evacuate a Casualty; and a Terrain Association in which there were 21 points to locate in 45 minutes in about a 30 acre area. At the end, all the teams ran in a 4X400-meter relay using a rucksack instead of a baton.

The continuous drizzle made for an interesting, slippery, cold, and muddy day. Waiting between events led to shivering so we were eager to start each new event. As the day progressed we realized that we may not win the challenge, but we still made a good showing considering our lack of experience. We finished last in only two of the events and ended up in fifth place.

We all agreed that the day proved to be one of the more physically challenging days of our lives. The soreness for the days to follow testified to our sentiment.

And oh yea, there were only five U.S. teams competing!

Saturday Night HH

Tonight I led my first Bible Study at the Hospitality House since the Weber's left. We talked about confronting people, namely Christians. I have struggled with just what to do when I see my brethren living in sin. My natural reaction is to distance myself from them or ignore the problem, but that doesn't do anybody any good. By not saying something, we are in a sense condoning their actions. Also, sometimes we might feel like we are better than the person, however, we need to realize that we all sin. We need to identify with them in their struggles, realize that we are part of the same body, and confront them in humility and with compassion.

Navy Ball

We attended our second ever Navy Day Ball and it was a blast. We invited along some of our non-Navy friends to join in the fun, and fun was had by all. The ball kicked off with ceremonial bliss. Then came the winded speech by "the Admiral" on base, followed by a delightful dinner and toasts. After that, we watched some Japanese style entertainment consisting of a sword battle scene and and a drum performance. The Ball concluded with a Liberty Call, and we changed into formal attire to end the night with dancing and socializing.

Mt Hakkoda Hike

Mt Hakkoda Hike

Yet another good friend, Kyle, is leaving in two weeks. One very sad aspect of the military life is having to say goodbye to so many friends. On the positive side, it gives us the opportunity to make friends that will some day be spread all over the world.

Kyle is fond of the outdoors and so he has been getting his last fill of Japan's gorgeous mountains. This overcast day, me and Mike Flickinger had the opportunity of accompanying our well-orientated friend on a hike through the Hakkoda mountains.

Is was foggy most of the day, but we didn't mind because it gave the mountains character. As you can see, the leaves are changing and the still green trees provided a beautiful contrast. We hiked about 5 km to the top of the mountain, Iko-date, where there was a 60 meter deep, 200 meter wide crater. It was foggy when we first arrived, but after about 10 minutes the fog subsided enough for us to get a peek at the bottom of the crater. The well-traveled path we took was quite muddy at parts and quite slippery on the planks that lead through the marsh. I believe Kyle managed to stay on his feet, but me and Mike got uncomfortably familiar with the ground.

The hike took five hours and provided a great opportunity for me to bond with my friends, one of my favorite hobbies. Also interesting and random, we crossed paths with a Swedish professional table tennis player, here in Japan for six months of training and playing.

My Turn

Well... I guess I should take a crack at writing something for our "Blog". It's me, Trish, in case you haven't figured it out yet. Today is a typical Sunday, not a whole lot going on here at the Dinkins' house. Paul went hiking with some friends this morning.

This past Friday was the start of my 18th week of pregnancy, which translates to about 4 months. But I still haven't figured out the whole week/month conversion. It's all very mysterious to me still. Anyways, I haven't felt any kicking or movement yet, but the doctor said that will come in the next few weeks. So I am just waiting...

Now that we are going to have a baby I feel like maybe I am starting to become an adult. I almost feel like I am getting old, which I never thought I would be one of those women who are anxious about getting older, but I guess it happens to us all at some time. I went to a Pampered Chef party a few weeks ago and actually had a good time. Then last night I went to a candle party with the same result, I had fun. Next thing you know I will be going to Tupperware and Scrap Booking parties. I feel like 40 is just around the corner.

Gonohe Sports Day

Every year since 1978 our Navy command has participated in our sister town's annual Sports Day. A day of serious and not so serious sports. Being the command fitness leader, the lot fell upon me to organize our group's participation in the event. It was mostly fun, partly amuzing, and slightly embarrassing. Some of the not so serious sports are practiced by the Japanese so our first time participations were sometimes quite awkward, as you can see by the picture. Part of the race was putting on the robe. Also notice, we are in last place. Oh well, at least we won tug of war.

154 bpm

We had a good doctor visit today. Trish is 17 weeks and still feeling well. The nurse "clocked" the heartbeat at 154 bpm as we got to listen to it through the doppler. We were able to hear he/she kick the doppler a few times. As the wives' tale goes (according to the nurse), we should be having a boy because the heartbeat was on the lower end of the scale. However, according to the ring on the necklace test, we should be having a girl. We should get to find out for sure on October 21st when we have our first ultrasound. I can't wait, literally... we have unsuccessfully tried a few times to get an ultrasound off-base.

Trish has gained a few of pounds, but it's hard to tell if she is showing yet so I guess she really isn't. She hasn't started wearing her lovely (sarcasm) maternity uniform yet.

Stuck in the Mud

Today we got stuck in the mud. We ventured off the beaten path to explore our near-by lake. On our way back from our short exploration, we happened upon a Japanese guy who got his car stuck in a 30 foot, knee-deep puddle. I tried to go around him so that I could get on the dry side of him to pull him out with my Land Cruiser, however I myself got stuck in the swampy edge. After our arduous bout with broken English and futile efforts, the lone Japanese man hurried off and about 45 minutes later returned with his Toyota 4-Runner. He then pulled his car out and next mine. After our episode of wading in the mushy puddle; lodging rocks and logs under the tires; and getting mud splattered on us, the Japanese man insisted on us following him, and he took us 15 minutes away to pay for our car wash and a fill-up. Then after many deep bows, he sped off.