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! : )

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!!