2 Mile Stones

This weekend marked two big milestones for James and myself. First of all, James was promoted to Captain on Friday!! They had a short ceremony for him in the squadron bar on Friday, and then they had a big party for all of the people who also got promoted at Kunsan that night. Unfortunately, none of the guys had a camera so I don't have any pictures to post. But I am very proud of him!!

Secondly, today (May 31st) is out 2 year marriage anniversary! It's crazy to think about all that we've done in that short amount of time. But even with all of that - I think this next year will be our most eventful and exciting yet! Unfortunately, I couldn't travel over to Korea this weekend with the other wives because I still haven't fully recovered. I really wish I could have been there to celebrate these big mile stones with him... but we have found other small ways to commemorate the day. I sent him a big care package which served as an anniversary gift, and he had no idea it was coming so that made him very, very happy. And we've spent the day today talking on skype so we've at least gotten to reconnect and give each other our undivided attention on a day that is all about us. =^)

The "Cockapeeder"

A scary story from the unpacking process...

As I was getting things organized in the bedroom, I flipped my clothes hamper over, and squealed in shock and dropped it because there was some sort of giant, unfamiliar bug on it. Before I got a good look at it, it shot off under the bed and disappeared. For those of you who don't already know - I have a HUGE fear of creepy-crawlies like that. My usual impulse would have been to run out of the room and wait till James could come kill it... But that is one of the problems with having a husband who is deployed. I was on my own.

One thing was certain - there was NO WAY I was going to be able to sleep with that thing loose in my bedroom... Shaking, I put on some big, heavy shoes, grabbed a flashlight and got down on my hands and knees to try to see where it went. But it was gone. I couldn't see it on the floor anywhere, which in my cowardly mind meant that it had crawled up inside the furniture and could possibly get up in the sheets with me!!! After a 30 minute search, I finally saw it shoot out from under the bed to the crack underneath the dresser. Again, it was moving way too fast to get a great look at it let alone catch it - but it was clear that it was brown and long like a centipede, but that its legs were somehow different than pictures of other centipedes I've seen. So, for lack of a better word, I took to calling it a "cockapeeder" because it seemed to be some strange hybrid between a cockroach, centipede and a spider. (Pretty much my worst nightmare!!)

Deciding there was very little I could do, I went into another room and tried to stay busy until I could think up a solution. When I told James about it later that night, he started searching websites about Japanese bugs to figure out what it was. (We figured it would be good to know whether or not it was harmful before I climbed into bed.) That process of elimination was not fun for me because the pictures he kept sending me were of insects that were about 10 times as big as the very large one loose in my house. I swore he was going to give me nightmares if he didn't cut it out...

But thankfully, we figured out that it was a "Geji" - or Japanese house centipede. They look really scary, but don't bite. They just hang out and catch other small bugs and spiders. That made me feel slightly better. But I still couldn't resist calling one of my neighbors to come over and help me look one last time before crawling into bed. Kendall, a girl from our squadron, came over in her dress clothes and heels fresh from a nice dinner out and got down on all fours and helped me look. Apparently bugs do not bother her so she was kind of laughing at me and my irrational fears. That gave me the kick in the pants I needed to suck it up and go to bed.

I didn't see it again over the next couple days so I prayed that it had died and tried to forget about it. But later that week when I got out of the shower and walked into my bedroom, I stopped short. I didn't have my glasses on so I couldn't see clearly, but there was a long, dark spot on the carpet between the bed and dresser. Quietly, I sprang away into the kitchen and grabbed a large tupperware container, then crept back into the bedroom and - WHOOSH! - trapped the Cockapeeder under it. I grabbed the heaviest thing within reach, which happened to be my iron, and placed it on top so it couldn't escape while I put on my shoes and rain coat and grabbed my camera. I was afraid that if I tried to squish it, it would get away again. So instead I slid a piece of cardboard under it and carried it outside - VERY far from my house. That was SO scary!! I was shaking and kept thinking that if my hands slipped it could get out and crawl up my arm!!! But thankfully, it seemed to be on it's last legs (so to speak) because it wasn't moving very fast anymore. I got some good pictures before running back inside.

When I posted the picture on facebook, everyone freaked out and said they couldn't believe I caught that thing. That made me feel a little better because they somewhat validated my cowardly behavior.

I am very proud that I was able to deal with it on my own, and know that I will probably have more problems with bugs as the summer progresses. But hopefully they will be SLIGHTLY smaller in the future... =^/

Moving In!

Last I wrote, I was enjoying exploring Misawa with new friends while James was settling in to his new position as a deployed pilot in Korea. Shortly after that, I received a surprise email from James saying that our household goods shipment would be delivered on Thursday, May 20th. We weren't expecting it till the end of the month, so I had to kind of scramble to get ready to receive all of our stuff.

The first order of business was painting before the movers arrived. All of the units on base come with very sterile white paint which drives me crazy. The base is totally fine with us painting as long as we're willing to paint it back when we move out. Normally I'd say that was too much work... but since we're going to be here for three years I figured it would be worth it to invest some extra time and money in making this generic apartment look like a unique home. Thankfully, my friend Lisa was an art major in college and has some good experience with painting so she volunteered to help me. We ran over to the Japanese home store and picked up a couple of cans of red paint and created a few accent walls in the living room and dining room. It looks pretty bright in some of the pictures, but it's actually a nice deep burgundy which matches a lot of our home accents. I absolutely LOVE IT!

Then, the base agency that leant us some furniture while we were waiting for our stuff to arrive had to come pick that all up. The way the timing worked out, they had to do that the afternoon before our shipment arrived... so I spent the night over at Lisa's house while my house was empty. (Have I mentioned how awesome my neighbors are? ;^)

Thursday morning, the movers arrived at 8:20 am. After confirming that these were indeed our crates, 5 Japanese men started prying them open and unloading everything. The Japanese may be short, but they are incredibly efficient. It only took them 3.5 hours to unload everything, move all of the boxes into the house, unpack their contents, and reassemble all of the furniture and place it where I wanted it. It was such a whirlwind! Since most of the movers speak little to no english, they had me number the rooms, so as they brought the boxes and things in, I could hold up a certain number of fingers to tell them where I wanted them. The language barrier was actually kind of funny because they were all talking to each other and laughing as they unpacked our things. I'm not sure, but I think they were very amused by many of our strange American possessions...

While it's nice that the movers are willing to take everything out of boxes for us so we don't have to dispose of all of the boxes and paper, it's a little annoying because they just leave everything out on the floor in a jumbled mess. Our second bedroom especially looked like a tornado had gone through there as all of our books, papers, and other random items were piled up together. I'll admit that I was a bit overwhelmed and had no idea where to even get started...

Since I was still recovering from my surgery at that point and couldn't do much for myself, several people came over to help me get everything organized and put away. That first afternoon, two ladies from my Bible study came over and washed everything in the kitchen and put it away for me. That was such a blessing because it usually takes days to get all of the dishes and appliances cleaned and organized. But by that evening I had a fully functioning kitchen and dining room!

Soon after that, I had the living room, bedroom, and bathroom completely set up as well. Right around that time, though, I came down with a bad cold and kind of lost the energy and motivation to keep going (which is why this post is so long in coming.) But I finally got the office all organized this afternoon. So now I just need to work on the final cosmetic touches - hanging curtains and pictures. I don't know when that will all come together, but at least 1842-B is starting to feel like our own home. =^)

I wanted to wait until all of the pictures and things are hung to take pictures, but that might be weeks away so I went ahead and did that so you can see what I've been up to.

The first change you notice when walking through our heavy, metal front door is that we painted the wall behind the sliding pocket doors in the living area to make it more of a feature than an awkward stretch of empty wall. I plan on printing large black and white photographs to stick on there so it's truly a feature!

Here's a shot from the middle of the living room so you can see where the accent walls are in context. As you can see, the other big red accent wall continues from the living room into the dining room.

It was a challenge to figure out how to orient the furniture in the small living room, but I like our set up now. It's nice and cozy and gives you a view of the TV and the backyard. I'll be hanging some large, custom framed photos from the wedding on that far wall by the TV.

Looking backward over the love seat, you can see that we decided to put James' desk out in the living room. We probably could have fit it in the second bedroom, but then we literally would not have ANY space to house guests. I'll be hanging some of his Academy photos and awards on the red wall. I also plan on getting navy blue curtains to put over the sliding glass door so that the room will have a sophisticated red, white and blue theme. =^)

Here's a shot of the dining room. I picked the red paint because it goes with all of our accent pillows and cushions and things from our previous homes. I'll be making a photo collage on that red wall, and put up a navy valance on the windows in the kitchen to make the space feel cohesive. I'd also like to get an area rug to make the dining nook feel a bit more like it's own distinct space.

The kitchen is about the same as the last time you saw it, except that all of the cabinets are full.

Our bedroom looks terribly bare right now. I decided not to paint in here - and instead left that whole wall behind the headboard blank so that James can paint a mural there when he gets back from Korea! But I think that once I get pictures hung and our red curtains up over the window, it will look a bit more colorful in there. Hanging those curtains will be a big help anyway because Japan doesn't do daylight savings time, and we're so far north that the sun rises before 5 am every morning. It's very disorienting waking up at 6:30 or something and having it be completely light in the room...

The bathroom is pretty much the same except I now have my shower curtain hung. I'm planning on painting the walls in there a light blue-grey that will match the stripes in the shower curtain.

And finally - the office. We don't have a guest bed yet, so I put my desk right under the window for now. I like looking out at the trees in the backyard while working. I realized as the movers were placing all of the furniture in here that we have a black and white theme going in here... So I may end up getting some curtains with a black and white graphic print and painting the walls a bright color like yellow or blue. But that will require a lot of help to move everything out now that I've got all of the books up on the shelves...

And that concludes my house tour for now. The backyard has been nice and trimmed up but it's still empty so I didn't take any pictures. Eventually I want to put a grill and patio set out there and make it into a fun party space. But that requires a lot of money that I'm not sure I'm willing to spend right now. I have to keep in mind as I'm making all of these household adjustments that we're planning on doing some international traveling after James gets back from Korea so we need to be saving up for that.

I'll post a few more pictures once I put all of the finishing touches on. Till then - hope you enjoyed this not-so-brief glimpse into our new home on the other side of the world!

Miss Veedol Beach Adventure

Over the weekend, a bunch of the girls from the squadron went down to a big festival and took tons of fun pictures of them sampling Japanese cuisine and frolicking among waist-high yellow flowers. I was invited, but figured that would be a bit much for me just yet. Between the long car ride, huge crowds, and fatty food, I just didn't think it was a good idea. But after their pictures were posted on facebook, I was very sad that I missed out on the adventure. I hate to miss out on big group events like that - ESPECIALLY ones that offer such great photo opportunities!

So when my friend Lisa Gee (who lives right across the street) called on Monday morning to see if I wanted to join her and her mom on a quick beach excursion, I accepted without hesitation. The coast is only a 15-20 minute drive from here, and it's far to cold to swim, so we would mostly be walking and taking in the view. I figured I could easily handle this adventure, so I grabbed some sunscreen and my camera and hopped into Lisa's front seat, eager for an experience worth documenting. I believe I got my wish! =^)

This particular beach is named after "Miss Veedol" - the first airplane to make the trans-Pacific flight from Japan to the U.S. Miss Veedol is kind of the patron/symbol of Misawa, and so I appreciated learning the history behind the name. They have a replica of the plane there at the base of a huge observation tower that gives you a great view of the ocean. We climbed up the tower first, then took some fun pictures with the plane before going beach combing. We gathered lots of sea shells and even more snapshots of us doing crazy poses on/in front of the natural elements.

It was definitely a memorable excursion and I am glad to have some more pictures of me and my friend having adventures in Japan!

I took the one below for James and sent it to him. O=^)

Looking forward to going on adventures

with him when he returns this fall.

One Goal Achieved...

Last April when we arrived in Phoenix, I decided it would be good to try reading through the Bible cover-to-cover once again. I did it in college because James and I decided it was important for both of us to have read the whole thing before getting married. But it had been a while since I did some in-depth scripture study so I figured I would try it again - but this time do it in half the time and with a slightly different method.

Instead of reading the Bible in order (which can get very tedious...) I printed up a check list and decided to skip around and really dig into whatever book struck my fancy, then check it off when I finished so that I would know how much progress I've made. I'd do a little bit in the New Testament, then read one of the big history books in the Old Testament, then maybe Psalms or a couple of the minor prophets before reading through one of the Gospels. It may seem erratic but it was actually great because I started to pick up a lot of associations and was able to appreciate the history a lot better when I didn't have to trudge through it all at once.

The goal was to finish it in one year - so by the end of April 2010. I was right on track to achieving that goal, but I fell behind with the move and my surgery. However, I spent some good time reading this week and am proud to say that I finished Revelation this morning!

I'm not as excited about the goal as what I really achieved by completing it. I know how much reading through all of this helped keep me grounded and remind me daily to trust God when I was stressed out. I've grown a lot and look forward to continuing to grow as I read more and more... It never ceases to amaze me how the words never change, but you can get something new out of them every time you reread it. The Bible truly is the living Word of God!

Now it's time to figure out what to do next... Maybe read it in a different translation? Or just take a lot more time and do manuscript studies? We shall see...

While The Guys Are Away, The Ladies Will Play...

All of the other pilots were able to take off on Friday morning, and so we wives have been trying our best to get together and have fun while they are gone. All of the parties and get-togethers have been great because I've made a lot of new friends, and being out of the house with other people definitely lifts my spirits and helps pass the time.

Friday night, our sponsor Sharon Gilmer had anyone interested over to her house for a special Thai themed potluck dinner. She and her husband Andy went on a vacation to Thailand before the deployment, and while they were there, Sharon picked up some cookbooks that she wanted to try. I couldn't eat any of the spicy food, but decided to go anyway and hang out. There were about 10 of us there (with lots of little ones in tow), including a couple of spouses that I hadn't met yet - so that was fun.

Saturday morning we threw a huge joint baby shower with the ladies of the 13th FS for our Commander's wife Jenn Steffens. They were a part of the 13th before her husband got promoted to our squadron commander so there were many, many people who wanted to be a part of this event! Jenn is expecting twin boys (almost unheard-of in the fighter pilot community!!) so the theme of the shower was "Two Peas in a Pod". Sharon made a stunning cake to match all of the napkins and cups, and everyone brought a favorite brunch item to share. Most of our time was devoted to chatting over food, and then watching Jenn open her mountain of gifts. I brought my camera and was asked to take a bunch of pictures so the hosts could put together a nice scrapbook for her. Of course, I was happy to oblige!! There were all kinds of fun plane and Japanese themed gifts. Those boys are going to be very well dressed!! Here are some of my favorite shots. There are more of them on my photography blog or facebook if you're interested!

Only in Japan... ;^)

These were, by far, the crowd pleaser of the day.

One says "SAMURAI" which is our squadron's mascot.

The other says "WOOD" which is what we all say as a toast or

to emphasize something important. SO cute!

Some of my new lady friends!

Sunday, I was invited over to our Key Spouse Deb's house for a How I Met Your Mother's Day marathon on tv. haha. Since there are a bunch of us in the squadron who enjoy this show, we got together and laid around in our pj's eating kettle corn and laughing. Everyone has been so great about calling me up and inviting me to things, so I imagine that I will have all kinds of fun this summer!

Our First Deployment

Well, James left on his first deployment early yesterday (Wednesday) morning. Our squadron is going to be operating out of Kunsan AB in South Korea for the next 4-5 months, helping with special air support. While deployments are never easy, we really lucked out with this one as our first. He is so close that we are in the same time zone, which will make keeping in touch a lot easier. All of the officers have their own hotel room, complete with internet access, so we can skype every day when he is not working. He also has several close friends outside of our squadron who are going to be heading over there soon, so I know he is excited to see them again. Most important among his new comrades, however, are his older brother Jon and his wife Claire who are currently stationed there. This will be a great opportunity for them to reconnect after having spent so much time apart! Best of all, though, is that I am allowed to go visit because Korea is not considered a war zone. I'm definitely not up to that right now, but look forward to making the trip over later this summer.

Having said all that, I'm not going to lie - it's pretty rough having him leave only a few short weeks after we arrived here in Japan. We knew this was coming, but I think the separation would have been easier if I was feeling better. I broke down several times this weekend (when I was tired or in pain) and couldn't imagine how I was going to make it on my own. At one point I was in such a pitiful state that he seriously considered calling up the commander to ask if he could stick around for an extra week and take care of me. However, I knew that I would be fine and didn't want to cause any more problems. We were right to trust that this timing was purposeful and let it happen because I have been feeling a lot better over the last couple of days and am managing just fine without him... but that was not an easy leap of faith.

Since he left, I've been trying my best to keep busy and not wallow too much. It's been kind of hard because he was one of the few officers who took the big, group flight over to Korea with all of the enlisted guys. The rest of the pilots in the squadron are flying their jets over, and therefore got to leave a little later. They were supposed to take off this afternoon, but it's been incredibly foggy so they got grounded and - oh joy! - all of the other wives got an extra night with their husbands. I'm happy for them because many of them have small kids or are pregnant so I know that they have very good reason to dread this separation. I just wish we could have had a couple more days too!! Oh well...

I got to talk to him on Skype last night and he said he's settling in well. Tonight he is out having dinner with Claire. I assume they are having a great time, and that he is getting a good feel for his new temporary base.

If you would like to mail him any care packages, etc. here is his mailing address:

James Wentzel

14 EFS/OPS

PSC 2 Box 5000 TDY

APO, AP 96264

Of course, he will be able to answer any emails you send him, or if you have skype you can chat it up on there as well.

More on the adventure as it unfolds. Till then, be praying that both of us will adjust well and get the emotional support we need. Thanks!

Cherry Blossom Season

It's the most wonderful time of the year - in Japan, anyway. The cherry blossoms are blooming. Winter is over and the roadsides are lined with beautiful flowering trees. I have been looking forward to this for a long time. Unfortunately, because of my condition after the surgery, I haven't been able to go outside much so I feel like I've missed out on the best of the festivities. However, I insisted on taking a short walk down the street to take pictures of the ones in our neighborhood before it was too late. Enjoy!

Gall be Gone!

Sorry for the long hiatus! I'm sure many of you have been anxious for more news from Japan! I just have not felt up to writing much in the last week and a half due to a very sudden admittance into the Misawa base hospital to have my gall bladder removed!

I was diagnosed with gall bladder disease right before we left Phoenix, so I knew that I would have to have it out at some point here in Japan. However, I was thinking it would take a much longer time to get that organized. Last Monday I went in for a check up and consultation with the general surgeon to find out how I was doing and what he thought our plan of action should be. He asked me A LOT of questions about my digestion, diet, discomfort, etc. Based on the way he was phrasing the questions, and my responses, I started to think he was going to say that my case really isn't that bad and that I didn't need to have it removed at all. But, the conversation shifted abruptly when he said that he had seen my ultrasound and that I do have a lot of stones in there - so the medically responsible thing for him to do is to remove it before my pain gets worse. He also said that there was nothing scheduled for the operating room the next day and that was his scheduled day for duty so - how did 6:15 am the next morning sound? =^O

That was a shock and no mistake! Thankfully they let me use their office phone to call James and see what his opinion was before making that huge decision. He was as shocked as I was, but agreed that doing it that quickly would probably be a good thing so he could be there to take care of me during the worst part of my recovery. So I spent an hour and a half running around the basement of the hospital - filling out stacks of paperwork, having some blood drawn, and talking to the anesthesiologists so we could go over the whole procedure and its possible risks and complications.

By the time I walked out to my car, my head was reeling. Not only did I have the operation itself to worry about, but all of the logistics of finding people to drive me around and take care of me while James was at work. I decided to call our commander's wife Jenn to let her know what was going on and to ask for some help with the planning. She is awesome and always eager to help so I figured she was a good person to go to. She thanked me for calling to let her know and invited me over to her house to talk it all through. She and her husband are both solid Christians so she was a great comfort.

After making sure I was ok and determining all that I would need during my recovery, she got on the phone and started calling all kinds of people who might be available to pick me up from the hospital the next day if James wasn't available, plus 2 back-ups just incase. She also arranged for several people to come over in shifts to sit with me during work days for the rest of the week. Finally, she called the spouse who is in charge of arranging meals to be dropped off when families are in need. By the time I left, we had a solid plan of action for the week. All that was left to do was to pick up several cans of soup and some applesauce on the way home and I'd be set.

Because my check in time was so early on Tuesday morning, James was able to drive me to the hospital and be with me for about an hour before the operation. I was the only patient in the surgical wing so I got a room and bathroom all to myself, and even had my own personal TV to watch while I waited. (Not that that was TOO exciting as it only got the Armed Forces Network, which meant there wasn't much programming to choose from.) About 30 minutes after James left, they wheeled me into the prep room where they hooked me up to an IV and I had an opportunity to ask any last-minute questions before going under. They really did take remarkably good care of me, and I couldn't have asked for a better experience at a normal U.S. hospital.

As it turns out, the unexpected timing of my operation was clearly appointed by God. The surgeon said that he found a large stone that had worked its way down into the neck of the gall bladder and would very soon have started causing a dangerous blockage - something that would have probably landed me in the emergency room in a few weeks if left untreated. It's such a blessing that things worked out the way they did, because not only would I have been in way more pain if we had waited, but it would have complicated the surgery and my recovery would have been even more difficult.

Speaking of great timing, I don't know how he worked it out, but James was able to be there when I woke up back in the recovery room - and he was carrying a gigantic bouquet of flowers! (He likes to go over-the-top when it comes to things like that. :-) I really am SO thankful that he could be there for this because my recovery was a lot more difficult than I was led to believe it would be. The anesthesia made me extremely nauseous on that first day so I was glad he was the one there to hold a bucket for me instead of having to ask one of the wives from the squadron to help me with that kind of stuff. Also, the time when I was in the most pain and needed the most help was at night, so the fact that he was here with me meant I could recover at home instead of needing to sleep over at someone else's house and wake them up multiple times during the night.

I took this picture of James' flowers a few days after the fact

so they're a little wilted...

but as you can see, they were stunning!

I know it was hard on James seeing me in so much pain, and having to juggle caring for me with all of his responsibilities at work. But he did an excellent job and never complained. In some ways I think this was a great period of growth for our marriage because it gave him a taste of what my family and I went through after my back surgery. He said at one point that he understands and appreciates me more than ever, now. =^)

Everyone has been so generous this week. People keep stopping by with all kinds of free food, flowers, books, movies, and anything else that might help keep me entertained while I recuperate. It's been a bit overwhelming, actually. I've had to call several of our neighbors to come help me out of bed in the morning, or to fix me meals, or sit with me while I was feeling woozy. But they've all done it very cheerfully and I am very much indebted to them.

It's now been a little over a week and I'm still not feeling the greatest, but I have made little steps in the right direction every day. I can get myself in and out of bed now - which was a huge obstacle since I can't strain my core muscles without hurting myself. I'm also off of the vicodin, although I'm still taking Motrin every six hours for pain. The bandages were removed from all 4 of my incisions late last week. (They're still being held together with steri strips, though. It'll be a couple more weeks before they really start to disappear.) I can also eat more solid foods now. I limit myself to soft fruits and veggies, whole grain bread and pasta, and very lean, simply cooked chicken though. I do not yet feel ready to tackle dairy products, red meat, or anything very fatty or spicy yet... but hopefully I'll be able to eat more normally in another week or so. Today's big accomplishment was managing to take a shower and put my clothes on without any help. (Well - actually I had a little help from my handy-dandy rubber-tipped cooking tongs. I've been using them in place of a medical "grabber" to help me get things off of low shelves, etc.)

Things that I have yet to accomplish include wearing jeans, bending over, lifting anything heavier than 2 lbs, and driving. There is plenty of time for that, however! Right now I'll be content with the fact that I'm in less pain and able to survive in the house by myself. I've said it a lot over the past week and I'll say it again - God is faithful and will provide all I need and more!!