Remember

The best part of Memorial Day seems to be the day off of work/school, but as I think about it, the best part is the freedoms we have because of those we memorialize this day. Thank you to all those who sacrificed including the families and friends of those who died.

On Thursday, I participated in a Memorial retreat ceremony (lowering and removing the flag). I wasn't too thrilled to have to stand in formation (parade rest hurts after a while) for what turned out to be an hour and fifteen minutes, but I am glad that I took the time to remember and honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. I actually got a little choked up as the base commander talked about the uncle he never knew because he died in the Battle of the Bulge.

Camping Trip

Saturday we headed south and went to Rysendo Caves with Dan and JB Blauwkamp. It should have been a three hour drive, but with feedings (one Roxy, one adults) it took four. We rented a "bungalow" then headed to the cave which claims to have the third largest underground lake in Japan. It was about a 45 minute walk-through with the water being the most interesting part. The rest of the evening we kept a fire going for about four hours while we ate all sorts of tasty camp food goodness. The night was clear and I witnessed the most stars I've seen here in Japan.

In the morning we took our time, ate more tasty goodness, packed up, and then hit the road for a drive along the coast. We stopped at Kitayamazaki Point where we have been once before, and is the best view of a coast I have seen, save Big Sur. This day, however, was foggy. The lookout at the top was obstructed by the fog, but Dan and I trekked down about 700 stairs to the shoreline where the view was still awe-inspiring.

Then back to Misawa it was. I love camping, but the preparation and clean-up upon return is so draining. Until next time when I forget the trouble...

In the Cave

Japanese Bat

I was fortunate to catch a bat (far right of the pic) in flight inside the cave.

Kitayamzaki Point

j

Chubby Bunny - the aftermath

Trish and I tied with eight marshmellows. I fit >nine, but I couldn't say "chubby bunny."

Finding Faith

I just finished Finding Faith by Brian McLaren (see links for his web site). The book seems to be geared for those who "think faith requires turning your back on truth and intellectual honesty." A friend of mine is struggling with his faith so we both endeavored to read it so that we could discuss it. Another friend had returned to the Chirstian faith after reading it so I thought it a good idea. The following is from a chapter called How Might God Be Experienced:

"Imagine a person whom you love a great feal - a friend, a spouse, a parent - but someone from whom you are frequently seperated, or perhaps someone who has died. If that person whom you miss so deeply suddenly, unexpectedly appeared in front of you, you would no doubt embrace with unbridled enthusiasm and speak fervent words of your love... and perhaps cry too, for joy. Well, that's something of what I felt that day during a time of worship. God, whom I love but from whom I always feel some degree of distance simply because God is invisible (among other reasons), suddenly felt so near and real. It was as if God were standing right beside me...right inside me...or even bigger, so I was right inside God...and I felt embraced, contained, filled, saturated by God and God's love."

I hope you have encountered this. Of course, there isn't a formula to enter this experience. I don't understand it, but no doubt, it helps me know God is real.

Another Hirosaki

My friend, Mike Alvarez, gave us some amazing pictures from our trip to Hirosaki in April (see April 30 post). Here is one of them.

Baby Paul

This is my favorite baby picture of me (thanks to my brother for the scan). Do you see any resemblence with Roxy?

Please Pray

My mom's dad had a heart attack. He is in stable condition now. My mom and aunt flew up to North Carolina to be with him and my grandmother. This is all the news I have. I am anxious to hear more.

Nanny

So Roxy is going to have a nanny, Amy Culver, now instead of going to daycare. It all came about when Amy was having a conversation with two other friends that she would love to nanny for Roxy. One of the friends mentioned it to us, and we liked the idea so Trish gave Amy a call. It all worked out, and she is going to start May 31st. Trish has off the next 10 days. It is going to cost us about $40 more a week, but it is defintely worth it because Roxy will have one-on-one attention. Also, it will save us about 45 minutes a day in driving and washing bottles.

Nanohana Festival

Saturday we went to another festival. It seems the Japanese come up with any reason they can to have a festival. I think it's great because it allows communities to get together. There are always lots of vendors, most of which are selling food on a stick. So this time we went to the Nanohana Festival with the Blauwkamps. Nanohana is the flower they use to make canola oil and called rape blossom in english. I don't know where they came up with that name. Anyway, there wasn't much to it (you can see most of it in the background). However, it was a beautiful drive and the festival grounds had a view of Mutsu Bay on one side and mountains with huge, modern windmills at their base on the other side. It was a good day.

Bubble Girl

Look at the size of that bubble!

Tall Traveler

So the conclusion is that Roxy is tall at 24.5 inches and over 95 percentile. She weighed 12 lbs 8 oz, somewhere around 90 percentile. She also got three hots in her thighs today. I was very proud of my little baby because she only had a ferocious cry for about 10 seconds and then she was fine. I expected a lot worse due to other's war stories.

I never mentioned it, but we got Roxanna's passport a few weeks ago. It's something you have to do over here, but I am glad we have it. Now she is ready to travel the world with us. We're thinking of going to Korea before we leave. It's cheaper to go there than to Hiroshima, Japan another place we wanted to go before we leave.

If you're counting...

Roxy is two months today, and here is her latest picture. We have a doctor's appointment on Friday so I'll let you know her dimensions then. She also getting shots, and we are not looking forward to that.

She is interacting with us more and more so we are happy parents. We say "ah" a lot because she makes the cutest faces and sounds. I hope that's not her first word. Mine was "uh oh."

Her First

Mother's Day! I can't say we did anything memorable although I wish I could. I am so proud of the mother Trish has turned out to be.

Genocide

Have you heard of Hotel Rwanda? I just recently heard of it and then watched it tonight. It's a powerful true story of a hotel manager who helped over 1200 people survive the genocide in Rwanda that in 1994 left one million dead in only 100 days. It is humbling to realize how little I knew about this horrific tragedy. I am coming to believe more and more, we need to be made aware of such atrocities so that as a whole we can prevent them from happening in the future.

With that said, today such a tragedy is again happening in Africa, and many of us know very little about it. Genocide is happening in Darfur, a region of Sudan. At www.savedarfur.org it says "Not since the Rwanda genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of slaughter, rape, starvation and displacement. It is estimated that at least 250,000 people have died. More than 2 million people have been displaced from their homes and over 200,000 have fled across the border to Chad." I encourage you to visit the site, step out of your world, learn more about these people, and perhaps even take action.

TAP

The last three days me and Trish were in the Transition Assistance Program workshop. It was slightly painful to sit through with sparse tidbits throughout. It mainly covered obtaining a new job. We enjoyed the time away from work in civilian attire. It will still be at least a few weeks before we know if we can get out early or not.

On another note, taking care of an infant is time consuming so we have been very busy. Sorry if we haven’t been keeping in contact with you one-on-one very well, but our thoughts are still with you. As I write these blog entries, I think of all my friends and family in hopes they are feeling a bit closer to us by reading them.

Bracelet

My mom sent us the cutest little bracelet. The silver beaded squares spell out "ROXY." She is making lots of noises now in her happy awake time that melt your heart. Why are babies so cute?