Gift #104- Toes in the Sand

We found a great little piece of paradise today in Okinawa-  

a beautiful beach on Torii Station Army Base. 

    

Gift #103- Adventure in The Sky

Team Thomas is heading to Okinawa for a week!  We are all very excited.  This is the first time that the 6 of us have traveled together on an airplane.  We miss home, but are so very thankful for the unique opportunities that we have while living here in Japan.

Gift #102- A Little Boy and His Questions

Sam is, without a doubt, our most inquisitive child.  As I am typing these very words he is asking me "what does carry on mean?".  Some of his questions are funny.  Some are simple.  Some really make me think.  Here is just a sampling of some of the questions that Sam asked last week:

Will Santa live forever?
How many more Presidents are we going to have?
Are old people really full of wisdom and knowledge?
Is anything possible?
Will you draw a mustache on my face?
Will you make the ends curl up?
Is the tooth fairy real?
Are you the tooth fairy?
Can we go to the pool?
Can we go to the pool?
Can we go to the pool?
Why does everybody want to go to heaven but nobody wants to go now?
Can we get a cat?
What is a tidal wave?
Have you ever jumped off of a bridge?
Has dad?
Do rabbits have tongues?
Have you ever been in a rocket?
Are God and Jesus the same guy?
Do you have any tattoos?
Have you ever seen a meteor shower?
Is the Pope really Catholic?
What are bygones?
Is Jeff Gordon real?

Can Sam be any cuter?

Gift #101- Joy is Coming!

This is Joy.  We have known each other for as long as I can remember.  We sat next to each other in Sunday school and sang off-key together  in church Christmas pageants.  We were together during the culottes, big hair, and acid-washed jeans years.  We worked at Chick-fila-A together as teenagers and danced around in our bell-bottomed uniform pants and black high-top Reeboks.  I loved Joy through her clogging days and her Cher obsession.  And she loved me though my home-perms and whale-trainer aspirations.   Although we never followed through, we spent many a day dreaming of travel and big adventure and saving our pennies in jars labeled "Bahama Cruise" or "Trip to Graceland".  

(It was a simpler time.)  ;0)

Thanks to my sweet hubby, Joy and I will finally have the chance to live out an adventure-  She is coming to Japan!  Hank surprised me with this wonderful gift for my birthday!  I just love that man!  Joy arrives on October 5th and we have a whole week to visit, explore, relax and just be!  I can hardly wait!  Maybe I can convince her to give me a home perm while she is here.  :0)

Japan or Bust!

Gift #100- Hank, Boiled Peanuts, and Pecans

Not only did Hank arrive home safely, he came bearing FL boiled peanuts and AL pecans! 

Trifecta!

Thanks for the peanuts Mimi and Papa!  Thanks for the pecans Paul and Catherine!  You all certainly know the way to our hearts!

Gift #99- A New Box of Crayons

We did our back to school shopping today!  Macy was excited.  The boys... not so much.
21 days and counting!  

Gift #98- Pretty Bows on Sunday Dresses

Gift #97- Flip Flops on My Doorstep

There is something about little flip flops lined up neatly at my door that makes me happy.

Gift #96- Movie Night

4 cozied-up kiddos, a big bowl of Whirley-Popped popcorn, 

and the original 1968 version of The Love Bug.  I love movie night!

Gift #95- Like Father Like Son

I sat down at the computer a few days ago and just happened to glance into Jack's backpack that was hanging beside me.  I noticed that, inside, he had a copy of Backpacker, Macworld, and Black and White Photography magazine.  He had taken a day trip a few days prior and had packed these magazines to read along the way.  It occurred to me that those were the exact magazines that his dad would have packed for a short day trip.  I have known for a long time that Jack and his dad are very similar creatures, but in that moment, it struck me just how much Jack wants to be like his dad.

Got to admit I've got so far to go
Make so many mistakes and I'm sure that You know
Sometimes it seems no matter how hard I try
With all the pressures in life I just can't get it all right
But I'm trying so hard to learn from the best
Being patient and kind, filled with Your tenderness
'Cause I know that he'll learn from the things that he sees
And the Jesus he finds will be the Jesus in me
Lord, I want to be just like You
'Cause he wants to be just like me
I want to be a holy example
For his innocent eyes to see
Help me be a living Bible, Lord
That my little boy can read
I want to be just like You
'Cause he wants to be like me
(Phillips Craig and Dean)

Gift #94- Marker Mustaches

Sam has asked me several times to draw a curly mustache on his face.  I am not quite sure why he wanted one.  It is probably one of those things that will forever remain a mystery.  A few days ago, I finally gave in.  I don't know why I was hesitant.  It made him so happy.  He loved his mustache so much that he asked me to draw a unibrow also.  

Psalm 139:14 reads; "I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works, and my soul knows this very well." In the original Hebrew text, the word 'fearfully' means: with great reverence and heart-felt interest.  The word 'wonderfully' means: unique, set apart, uniquely marvelous.   That describes our Sam so very perfectly-  Uniquely Marvelous!