Baby Warren

Last Friday I was able to meet baby Warren for the first time. I saw baby's hands and feet, head and belly. When I saw baby's heart beating in its chest I literally laughed out loud. The nurse quickly told me not to laugh because it messed her picture up and we had to find the little one all over again. I was even able to hear baby's heart beat, which was so encouraging because it sounded quick and strong. When I saw the baby moving around it made me so joyful that we've come this far already together and I hope you guys will keep praying for the baby's development and health. I can't believe I have the honor and blessing of having this miracle take place inside me. Here's a picture for you all to see!

 

From left to right is the head and then the hands and feet. Look at the baby's cute belly!

We love yall!! I'm really craving American food, so hopefully I'll get to come home soon : )

Zamami Island Part II

Zamami was such a beautiful island. This was one of our favorite lookouts. It reminded me a lot of Hawaii, but very undeveloped in comparison. We spent most of the second day driving the mopeds around looking for scenic spots, which were everywhere.

This is my favorite picture from the trip. This is the other side of the lookout pictured above. I seem to have developed a case of pregnancy brain, so this blog will probably just be lots of pictures with captions.

This lookout was so Japanese and beautiful. All those steps are probably meant to be some path of meditation. We didn't feel like being too enlightened, so we just took a picture from the distance : )

This was our final lookout because we could see the rain coming from a distance and so we raced on our mopeds to this shelter Jonah found for us to wait for the storm to pass. It was really neat to see the sheets of rain from a distance get closer and closer. I'm wearing booties in this picture, which you wear when you swim in the ocean here because there's lots of coral and sea creatures you wouldn't want to step on barefoot. They made good moped boots too!

After all that driving we were ready to jump in the clear waters and snorkel. This first beach was sandy and Jonah hopped in to cool off.

One of the beaches we visited had awesome snorkeling that reminded me of Hanauma Bay in Oahu. Within a few feet of the shore was coral galore and more variety of fish. The beach was nice because there was a small beach shack that sold Japanese-style lunches and rented out swim fins and masks. I don't know the name of the beach, but if you're going just ask me and I'll give you directions! (It's not too far from the port)

As we were driving the mopeds around the small town I noticed this Japanese residence. This would be my dream Japanese home. It has a cottage-like feel to it, very shabby chic. I think this would be Rachel Ashwell's Japanese home pick too. The sage green siding with cream roof is a unique color combination for Japan. The shisa dogs guard the beautiful gate at the entrance of the home. There's already a mess on the porch so it already looks like it could belong to me : )

Not the best background, but a post-dinner picture before we returned the mopeds for the night.
We'll see you next week!!
Love,
us

Zamami Island = Moped Bliss

Moped Bliss

Well, I'll start off with an image of the beautiful moped that I drove around the island of Zamami. When I first thought about living in Japan I sort of imagined myself owning a moped like this one, cruising the narrow streets of the small island town. I didn't realize a.) how big that island was b.) how bad Okinawan drivers are c.) how often it rains.  So, I do not own a moped like the one pictured above, however, I got to follow Jonah on one through the streets of Zamami for two days of bliss : ) He had a blue one. It was fun.

So, how we got to this cool spot on the beach with our mopeds will be the end of the story, well of part 1 anyways. First I'll give you the details of how we got to this picture.

The Japanese program we watched on the ferry.

We wanted to get away to an island and after a friend's advice, I got MCCS Tours + to translate for a reservation on the ferry and hotel for us. In case you were wondering we took the "Ferry Zamami" from Tomari Port. We stayed at Cat's Inn Kerama, which I would not recommend unless you are the adventurous type and appreciate not being in a tent. It's better than the hotels with tatimi mats for beds, but not as good as some of the pricer, western-styled ones. I really liked the place (mostly the price) but I have to say that the food was very foreign, which is not usually a problem for us, but lets just say we weren't served sushi. It was some kind of fried minnow-like fish (what Americans would call "bait") with sauteed onions. Not good for a pregnant woman. But, there were side dishes I liked, as well as a good breakfast in the morning (I think they noticed the westerners at dinner that night) with eggs and toast. The staff was friendly and room clean.

When we arrived on the island we rented our mopeds and asked for a lunch recommendation. The local told us about this place, which turned out great! And it was packed with locals, which is always a good sign. I really liked the atmosphere and view of this place, which overlooked the port bay. I know sometimes you guys like to see the Japanese food these kinds of places serve, so here ya go.

Jonah finished of the sashimi in the middle before I got a picture, but the other stuff you see is soba noodles, miso soup and some kind of noodle stir-fry. It was delish. By the way, you might notice there's no spoons. After the waitresses kept forgetting my spoons I one day wised up and realized you don't use them here. You use your chopsticks to pick up the noodles and slurp them up. Then you just drink the broth out of the bowl (like I do the milk when my cereal's gone...). TMI?

The town was really cute and so much easier to navigate than Ie Island. For starters, there actually was a town. Ie island buildings were spread out and did not have many dining choices. This island seemed a little more developed in the sense that you could easily walk from the port to restaurants, hotels and moped rentals.

It's a shame I can't read kanji.

So with our luggage at the hotel and food in our stomachs we set off to explore the island. Unfortunately, the map was in Kanji, but pictures alone get you pretty dang far. Jonah was the master navigator and helped us stick to the outlying roads so that we could circle the island and learn where everything was. It was this way that we found the glorious beach we snorkeled at the next day, along with some picturesque scenic spots that will be included in the Part 2 post.

Check back soon for Part 2 and have a great week! : )