The Blessing

Guess what? I'm pregnant : )

Over the past few months I've been learning what a precious miracle a baby is and God has answered our prayers. Jonah and I are officially nervous, expecting parents. The baby should be making its grand appearance mid-April.

There's the facts, now I'll give you some details about how I told him!

I found out on a Thursday morning and hid the pregnancy test in the medicine cabinet. I didn't scream when I saw the test or anything, I was just in a grateful state of mind/good mood. Jonah and I had the best ride over to his work that morning because we were both in great moods and I thought he'd get suspicious because I'm SO not a morning person, but he was looking forward to flight time and was probably already running through checklists in his head. I wanted to tell him Friday so that he could let the thoughts sink in and just enjoy the moment (and not be interrupted by work). So, Friday morning after I dropped him off I went to the hospital to confirm the pregnancy. Next, I went by the store to get some stuff to decorate the house, along with some first gifts for the baby. I hung streamers and a sign and decorated the table with baby stuff for him to see when he came in. I went by Chili's and got "baby" back ribs for dinner and made gourmet brownies my brother Zeno sent for my birthday (thanks zeno!) That evening I picked him up and told him we were going to see a movie on base but first I needed to go home and get my jacket. He still had NO idea. In fact, he proceeded to call some friends we were hanging out with that night to invite them to the movie that I completely made up. Thank goodness they couldn't go.

When we got home I ran in to get my place and think of what I'd say. Jonah walked in and went straight upstairs (in our house you can go straight upstairs and never see into the living room). A little annoyed at this point, I called him downstairs and when he asked what was going on, I told him in a not so clever or thought-out way that he was going to be a Dad. His mouth dropped open and stayed that way for about 5 seconds while we hugged.

Some Okinawan gifts for the baby

I was really excited to find this tiger because Jonah's very favorite toy when he was a toddler was his stuffed tiger. I was surprised to find this one amongst the very limited selection on base.

When we talked to our families the next week on skype they asked us the usual "how was your weekend?" question. We told them that "the three of us went snorkeling." They sort of paused and someone said "wait, the three of you???" to which we replied "yeah, me, Jonah and the BABY!"

Hope you enjoyed the story! We love and miss you guys!

Bible Study

Hey guys!
I took some pictures of a recent cocktail party the girls from Bible Study threw. It was really fun to get all dressed up and the best part was that prizes were involved : )  We played a game called "KENU" (i think?), which is basically like bingo with a deck of cards and each player won a necklace in a white elephant style (of course we each brought one).

The food was as good as it looks and it seemed like we were in downtown Asheville or something, not on a balmy, tropical island.  I was super happy with the necklace I won. It came from my friend Elisa and it is gorgeous.

These are a few girls from the group. Don't they look great? I'm not sure where I got the idea to where an Easter dress to a cocktail party : )

Hope you enjoyed meeting some of my new friends! See you next time : )

Minnie at the Bark Cafe

Minnie and her new friends

Well you guys have received quite a bit of updates on Jonah and I since arriving to the island, but for those of you who are curious about Minnie, rest assured she is still the center of attention in the Warren household. She is so funny, she has developed a new trick of bringing me a toy to throw and then backing off, sitting down and growling at me until I throw her toy. The worst part is that obviously she doesn't get in trouble because the growl/whine is WAY too cute. She also likes to bring a toy up on the bed when I'm reading at night, and because it's only fun to play with the toy on the edge of the bed, she'll eventually drop it and then stare at the toy growling until I lean over and retrieve the toy for her. Sigh. She also enjoys tipping the trash can over in the kitchen, a new trick that is worth the punishment every time.

So, a couple of weeks ago I met some of my friends at a place called "Bark Cafe." I was expecting to sit outside with the dogs, but this cafe actually lets you bring your dogs inside. The corners of the room have hooks mounted to the floor where you can attach your dog's leash so that they can roam about.

Minnie & Jasmine

They have a menu of dog foods and human foods. I had ginger pork and Minnie split some muffins with her friends, Jasmine and Loki. There were dog bowls with water available as well.

Jasmine & Loki

The dogs had a really good time and we did too! The cafe was very cute, as most things in Japan are.

Minnie browsing the store

Minnie did some shopping but was unfortunately turned down by her mean, cheap owner. She was however, with the help of good friends, able to have a few bites of their tasty purchases.

Lots of good smells

The cafe owner took the dogs' pictures and now they are famous in all of, well... a little street in Okinawa. But posted on the wall of fame is their group shot, which looks something like this...

The humans took a group picture as well...

All in all Minnie had a wonderful lunch date with her friends and is happy to be an Okinawan dog : )

Greetings from Minnie!

Everyone have a great weekend!
We love you guys!

10,000 Eisa Dancers Parade in Naha

Kokusai Street

 Hi guys! I'm sorry this post is a little late this week! I wanted to share some pictures with ya'll of a festival Jonah and I went to on Kokusai Street last weekend. People of all ages participate in this festival which progresses like a parade down the street.   

It was so hot that day, but that didn't stop all the kids from dancing in their Ryukyu Kingdom costumes and knotted turbans. The Eisa folk dance has Buddhist roots, historically marking the end of Obon, where the dancers would dance and chant to honor the dead. It is now a Japanese tradition, but the bright costumes and different types of drums used for the rhythm are distinctly Okinawan.

My adventurous friends Leslie and Julia

This was my favorite dance. These guys were all ninja-like and were really fun to watch.

Hope you enjoyed! See you next week!!