Hallelujah!!!

Yes, it is true. We officially have internet set up at our house!!! It has been a long (looooong) time coming, but as of about 1:30pm today, we were live on the net (thanks to our wonderful friend Chris!).

Now, how do I even try to follow up news like that? Since it has been so long since our last blog entry, I suppose I have a few things new to share (although I still understand that none of these things can compete with the wonder of the internet in our own living room).


Most of you know that Hyatt headed down south to warm Okinawa on Monday for a few weeks, so the house is feeling kind of empty these days. (Our crib did arrive on Thursday, though, so that managed to take up some of the vacant space.) He's enjoying his time down there so far, and is studying hard. There's a chance that I may actually be able to fly down to visit him on Monday, so that should be fun! I was able to get a letter from the doctor to take with me with in case anyone asks any questions about my belly being ok to fly - so I have the hall pass until April 16th at midnight, when I turn into a pumpkin... oops, I mean I turn 34 weeks pregnant.

One of my more recent re-discoveries has been the joy of swimming. To tell the truth, my swim cap and goggles had not felt water since my university days. So, in a moment of adventure last week, my friend Tiffany and I ventured to the base pool for the lap swim. Picture, if you will (but if you won't, I won't be offended, because it was a pretty wild sight), my 30 week pregnant belly, a two piece swimsuit (the speedo wouldn't fit over the 30 week pregnant belly, and I just never got a maternity suit), and aforementioned swim cap and goggles. We had such fun, though, that we went again this week, and plan to continue!



Mom and Dad flew out for a quick visit earlier this month (I think they almost spent as much time traveling as they did with us here in Misawa). We did some sightseeing, but also just enjoyed getting to be together again. It was fun just getting to see and organize all of Mom's "finds" for the baby, and Dad helped fix things around the house and on the truck. Just some quality family time. One notable part of the week with them was our discovery of a steak house restaurant named Yoshino's. Granted, our friends had already made this discovery for themselves, but Hyatt and I had not yet tried it out. Monday afternoon we made our reservation for that evening. Tuesday afternoon we were still talking about the amazing meal that we had had on Monday. Thursday afternoon we were making another reservation for that evening, because Mom and Dad couldn't leave without tasting that goodness one more time. Let's just say that I did not realize before that experience (or should I say, those experiences) that food could do that (and I say "do that" only because I cannot find the words to explain the almost religious experience of watching the chef/artist create our meal, tasting that perfectly tender, flavourful steak, and then being surprised with the amazing spring ice roll with chocolate sauce for dessert).

For your viewing pleasure, here are a couple of pictures of my blossoming abdomen (you can only call it a belly so many times - and I apologize to those who really didn't want to picture my bare stomach earlier in the swimming tale), as well as today's new addition to our family (a gorgeous cabinet from the bizarre - you can see the height one of the pictures, because the fridge is on the right edge of the photo).






Alright, now that I have droned on and on, I suppose I will try and remember what other things I used to use this living room for, in the days before I had the internet at my fingertips...

Snow Festivals and New Home

This has been quite the ordeal - trying to finally update our blog. With interesting internet access at the library, and serious issues getting our internet hooked up in our home, I have finally managed to begin a blog update (against all odds!).

Having said that, our last month has been a whirlwind of unpacking combined with exploring. We managed to take in both the Hirosaki Snow Festival and the Lake Towada Snow and Light Festival. Thankfully, we went to the Hirosaki one first (it may have been a bit of a let down had we gone to Lake Towada first). The issue was that this winter has not been one of much snow (for this area), so the Hirosaki festival did not have a lot to work with. It was still very beautiful, and the castle (top picture) was gorgeous at night time.

Abi's question was, on a scale of 1-5, how did we like the festival. We agreed that it was around a 4, but the experience of the drive there (which was close to 3 hours) and learning what a snow lantern was (that they were not hanging lanterns, but rather standing lanterns with electric flashlight type things inside), was priceless.

The Lake Towada festival was the next weekend, and it is up in the mountains. So, it was a little more treachorous drive, but also gave us the greater reward of plenty of snow (read: snow stage, snow igloos, snow sculptures, etc.).

The highlights of the Lake Towada festival included a very interesting musical performance - an odd stringed instrument, as well as different drums than I have seen before, with plenty of Japanese commentary scattered between numbers.

We're still not sure if the main performance was supposed to be the lady who was talking (maybe she was a comedian??) or the musical performers. They had a fabulous musician, though, who played a type of flute, and that was my favourite part. Also, watching Sadie watch the fireworks was pretty funny (she's 11 months old), as she really wanted to see them, but they were too bright. So, she had her head tilted back and eyes squinting and blinking often. The ride to and from the festival was also an adventure, as 7 of us (6 adults and 1 baby) all went in our Mazda Proceed (which is a Japanese Mazda SUV with a third row of seats that flips up in the back).

Now, for a couple of pictures of the house, and an updated picture of my growing belly (picture taken at 27 weeks)!

Sunday afternoon

Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post.

We're in the library now. Church is over and we came on to base to get some lunch, check our email here at the library and then go buy some necessities to hang art work and speakers at the house. That's right we live in a house now!

We moved into our new place on Wednesday. They were so fast moving everything in. I had been running around base doing some errands for the move, and when I arrived at the house at noon - the workers had already finished moving everything in . . . into the house that is. There were books and dishes everywhere! We're slowly getting things put away and are having some friends over to watch the Super Bowl tomorrow morning. Who needs hotdogs and hamburgers, we are going to have a breakfast party.

Another friend, who is in the Friday night Bible study we have been going to, came over with his wife and baby yesterday to help me lift some boxes and things (well, he did the lifting and I stood around appreciating the help) and setup the satellite dish (they loan one to you for free if you live off base so that you can get the 10 channels or so that they provide in English, which is nice).

We are enjoying living off base and the wonders of four wheel drive. Nicole almost hit a pole the other day and I almost slid into a kid. It's not as bad as it sounds, but still, God is good.

We are finding fun restaurants that we like and every store that we go into feels like we have entered another world. A new favorite is San Wan Do (like San Juan Doe) which I think is the American equivalent to a Target or Walmart. Very fun and very funky.

We'll post some pictures of our house one of these days once we get more settled in. The first few days I was overwhelmed with all of the little things that make our place so special, but now after having been there longer things are becoming more normal. I suppose I should at least mention the toilet that has a faucet attached above that runs cold water for you to wash your hands in whenever you flush the toilet. I think it is a Japanese trick however as I am pretty sure if the water was any colder it would come out in cubes.

Getting Fat

I have told many of you over the past while that I would send pictures as I grew, so, I am finally putting that into action. I had Hyatt take a quick picture of me last night before we went out, because my outfit was one that particularly showed my growing belly. I apologize for the background, although it does give you a glimpse of where we have been living for the last 4 weeks. So, for that reason I did not crop the background out of the picture. Ah, yes, the Misawa Inn. Only 4 more days and counting:)

New Friends & Vending Machines

One of the fun and fascinating aspects to our stay in Japan has been the exploration of the Japanese Vending Machine. Whether you want a hot or a cold drink, french fries or a hot dog, or, dare I say, even a beer, you can buy it all from one of these amazing machines. A red or a blue background on the price indicates whether a drink is served hot or cold. The other day we ventured to taste test a few of these drinks, including hot cocoa (which tasted off, although we could not pinpoint exactly what was wrong about it), hot corn juice (just the the juice you would drain out of a can of corn, except hot, and with a few random kernels left in for good measure), cold C.C. Lemon (which boasted the vitamin C of 50 lemons or something like that - and it tasted just like my favourite British drink, Bitter Lemon, which is essentially carbonated lemonade), and another cold fruit drink (the fruit is still unidentified).

With the plethora of drinks to choose from, as well as the meals these machines can provide, the one surprising characteristic of the Japanese vending machine is that they do not sell candy, nor do they sell chips. I am rather disheartened by the thought of having to always go into a store to buy my treats, although my body (and blood sugar level) are grateful for this deterrant to my candy tendancy. I suppose we could now make the hypothesis that Japanese people must consume less sugar from candy and chips than Americans (or Canadians), on average.

While I sit at my computer, I also wanted to take this opportunity to introduce my friends and family back home to a few of our new friends here in Misawa.


In this picture, you will see us girls (L to R: Abi, Tiffany, Ellie, and I) after our Cranium victory. Granted, this is one of few (maybe even one of one, come to think of it) victories for the girls, so do not feel too sorry for the boys (shown below L to R: Brett, Hyatt, Brian, and Christopher).

Thank you for your prayers

I just wanted to pass a quick update to everyone to let you know that both Nicole and baby are okay. The doctor gave us a call late this afternoon to let us know that they had reviewed the ultrasound and that everything looked fine, and that the cause for alarm was a result of things that were still within normal parameters (i.e. nothing to worry about).

Thank you for your prayers. God is good, and we are glad to have such wonderful and supportive friends and family too.

It's a girl!

Well, if it is not a girl then we'll have one prude baby on our hands come June 4, 2007 (give or take 10 days :o)

Baby Murky is now a Murkette, or perhaps just Murki with an "i". For those who have asked, Murki is just the name we have been using for fun for our baby since we didn't know their gender. I suppose now we'll have to actually undertake finding her a more suitable female name, which certainly is not an easy task as there are so many females in the family who already have such good names.

Nicole was having difficulty at first transitioning to the realization that we will be having a girl join our family next and not a boy. However, I did find her shopping online for baby girl clothes just a little while ago, and am pretty sure that she is adjusting just fine now.

I'd like to show you our first picture of little Murki (we'll find a new name, I promise). It looked like she was picking her nose. However, we have no scanner with us, so we'll have to post it later.

Despite all of the fun news, the only reason we have this new is because of some complications that came up yesterday which brought about the ultasound ahead of schedule. We were not able to get the results back today, but should know more tomorrow. The baby looks fine and is developing normally, however there could be some difficulty in the pregnancy depending on the outcome of the results. I know everything is in God's hands. He has been so good to us and I believe that we will see his healing hand here as well. I appreciate your prayers for Nicole and Murki that Nicole will be at peace and be able to rest well and that Murki will continue to be fearfully and wonderfully made.

Blessings to you all.
hyatt iv

A Day in Hachinohe

First, I have to correct our post from last time - apparently Brian and Ellie took us to Towada, NOT Aomori... so, we have yet to see what is in Aomori. And some of you have been wondering when I am due, and why I'm not showing too much yet. Well, I'm due May 28, and I am starting to show, but you still have to see me in a more fitted shirt in order to be able to tell. And, since we are in cold Japan, and wearing big sweaters and puffy jackets, that means that most people still can't tell from just looking.

Now, to tell you about yesterday's adventure! We went with the Schulz's to the closest city to Misawa, which is approximately half and hour away from here (maybe slightly less using the toll road to get there, and more when you do not use the toll road). The name of the city is Hachinohe, and this was my first experience in a Japanese mall (where I purchased a cute babydoll dress that I wore to church this morning, and Hyatt says I look like one of the locals now). We also drove by the seashore here, and it was incredibly beautiful. It reminded Hyatt and I both of Monterey, except for the snow.

First Days in Japan

Well, Hyatt and I arrived in Misawa, Japan a little over a week ago, and it has been quite the adventure since we arrived. We have not yet found a place to live, but we did venture on an exciting jaunt with Brian and Ellie (and Sadie) yesterday to a town an hour and a half west of here called Aomori. Brian's ever positive description was that it was "like Lake Tahoe"... and of, course, me, wondering if Brian has ever been to Lake Tahoe, was exceedingly curious as to what his impression of Lake Tahoe was. So, we drove (and drove some more) up a mountain road towards this Japanese Lake Tahoe. I was excited when we passed the waterfalls , but even more amazed once we came upon the lake. Maybe it wasn't Lake Tahoe, but it was sure beautiful.