Sugoi!

The Japanese movers never fail to impress us. I already had a glimpse of their skills from our previous move. This time was no exception. They were fast and efficient, packing up to 6k of household goods in only ~3.5 hrs. They break everything down to bits, so I'm really hoping the Americans can re-assemble everything correctly, especially the Japanese furniture! When you live on higher floors, they will often rope and lower items out the balcony instead of weaving their way down flights of stairs. Since the neighbors below us have a small yard directly below, they couldn't do that method and instead created their own elevated path from the staircase using empty crates and boards. Wow, way to make it work!

 Leyna n Daddy watching, before they pack up what they are sitting on =) First time Danno could be home for a pack out!

Innovate and get the job done!

 

 Behold, all our stuff in boxes.

Pack out complete!

It's That Time Again...

...time to see your life packed in boxes and hope you see it all again in one piece -- time to PCS! Wow 3 years being stationed here in Okinawa go so fast. Especially when you arrive 7 months pregnant with your first child and that first year is full of play dates, doctor appointments, being glued to every move your baby makes, all while getting accustomed to the foreign land... Then spend the 2nd year traveling via unpredictable Space-A flights, back n forth across globe, coasts to coasts, while hubby is deployed (not to mention fitting in a move to another house in Oki while he's still away).... Then by the time the 3rd year comes around, hubby is home just in time to start thinking about the next duty station. Having the kid in school during the day makes more room for working from home, which keeps you busy and definitely makes time fly... Soon you're already saying farewell to other friends PCSing and helping them move... Finish out the tour with fitting in all the last minute shopping you can (empty out the 100 yen stores and gift shops, buy the cool Japanese furniture you've been eyeing for so long), but at the same time you try to sell off your unwanted things to the other islanders enduring the limited shopping options on island you're happy to escape...

So on to the next duty station we go. The movers are coming in just 2 days (yes 2 days!!) and soon we'll be back to 'camping' in a temporary lodge, waiting to fly back to our home state of Cali where we continue living out of suitcases for over a month. We're happy to announce we will be stationed in San Diego. Not having to cross oceans to see our family and friends again is going to be a huge treat! We're very excited...but first let's get through this joyous task of moving...

These are some family photos we took a year ago when Danno returned from his deployment. Okinawa is a beautiful island, we love the Japanese people and culture, and we're definitely going to miss all the good times we've had here!

Photos by Kimberly Mitchell Photography

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from Okinawa! Leyna came home from school very proud of the flower arrangement she made for mommy & daddy. She did a great job! Instead of giving her classmates candy, we decided to get a little crafty and make heart crayons. (It's hard to avoid all the wonderful ideas from Pinterest!)I knew she'd enjoy peeling off all the labels on her crayons, afterall, she's in the habit of doing that anyways. We did 2 batches of peeling, cutting, and sorting all the crayon pieces into the heart molds, melting them in the oven, and hardening them in the freezer. I put together a quick graphic and came up with a packaging method to securely hold the crayon in place (and this way parents need to open it for them so they don't mistakenly eat them!) Luckily a heart punch accommodated the size of the finished crayons perfectly. Punch the cards, cover the heart with saran wrap, fold and seal the card shut with double-sided adhesive. I admit there were enough trial and error hours spent finishing them that I was tempted to reach for the back-up box of Lightning McQueen lenticular cards. But in the end, I'm happy with how it turned out. Plus, knowing how Leyna has been developing her mom's sweet tooth at a rapid rate, I'm all for promoting the crafty, not-candy Valentine options for the kiddos! =)

Our Lil Trooper [Part 2]

She's awake! Little by little Leyna was gaining back her energy and appetite. The moment she woke up she asked for bread. Her first meal she devoured 3 rolls, 2 go-gurts, some milk and juice. Then not much time for chit chat, immediately back to sleep she went.
She'd wake up for short moments, just enough to eat a bit then pass out again. Meanwhile we were always uplifted by visitors. Our friend from small group dropped by, and later another family from our small group came to deliver us a meal. (Not to mention our church has been arranging dinners to be dropped off to us at home these past few days. Our family here really takes care of us!)

At night Auntie Precious and Uncle Mike came to visit and brought her an awesome electronic Lightning McQueen car that sure got her to smile! Cars has been her faaavorite movie so far
...and this was her less than 5 minutes after the excitement, ready to dose off again...

Finally by 9pm that night Leyna was up and ready to walk around, but not so fun since she was limited while connected to her IV. She watched some Top Shot episodes with daddy in the lounge.

Once she was freed, she could go roam the halls with her doggy and car......and she was happy to get out of the hospital pjs... ...then a full day's worth of energy sped down the halls!

To no surprise, by morning Leyna was back to her usual self. Trying to carry things, running around, hiding, playing with stickers, and being photographer. She was also back to singing and my goodness, was she was screaming louder than I remember she could.

She was doing so well she got discharged in the morning. Farewell hospital!

Since we've been home, Leyna continues to run around the house just as playful as she was before the operation. Sometimes she complains her throat hurts but she refuses to take any pain meds. She's been going several days now without any medicine and without complaining, so she's definitely a tough lil girl! Since she doesn't even notice her wound, I'm constantly having to monitor her that she doesn't climb with her chin or do activities that could risk poking or pulling at her throat. So far so good.

Thanks again to all our visitors, for your the gifts and delicious food deliveries, and especially thanks for the thoughts and prayers sent our way. Praise the Lord everything went so smoothly. We'll continue praying about thyroid nodule and will keep you updated. Many blessings to you all our friends and family both near and far! We are so thankful for you.

Our Lil Trooper [Part 1]

Leyna's surgical adventure began bright n early at 0700 for check in. She had to remain on an empty stomach since the night before, so I was relieved she never asked for milk like she usually does first thing in the morning. They got her outfitted in some hospital gear and id tags, and she was able to enjoy some cartoons while waiting.Then we brought her to prep for general anesthesia. They provided an oral syringe of "giggle juice" to help her stay calm before they would wheel her away from mom n dad to go administer the laughing gas and IV. It's always a challenge to get her to intake any kind of oral medicine (she's never convinced "it taste's like candy!") But after she lost the wrestling match to some tough love, we kept her occupied with the nurse's iphone game and waited for the juice to take effect.

As one doc put it, it would be a similar to being drunk. We thought it was funny when we finally started to notice it take effect on her, so here's a little video of what it looked like...

She was so good-to-go she didn't bother to say bye. At 0830 they wheeled our baby girl (and her doggy) off to the OR. The surgery was estimated to finish at 0945, but they finished at 1015. The mass was larger and deeper than they expected, and to their surprise there was so little bleeding during excision that a drainage tube wouldn't be needed anymore. Yay! Sealed up with some dissolving stitches, dermaglue, and no dressing or bandage, the wound was barely noticeable.

Reuniting with Leyna post-op was my round 2 wrestlin match with her. At first arriving to the PACU was nice. A doc was carrying her and she was peacefully resting her head on his shoulder. They positioned me on her hospital bed to receive her and once they laid her on me, our lil beast went on a rampage to remove the IV from her hand, get out from my arms and out of the hospital bed! Imagine trying to hold still a freshly caught 25lb fish out of the water (at least I imagine that could be just as difficult!) They practically taped up her entire arm and she still managed to get the wrap off. After more re-taping, repositioning, wrestling, and calling "Popsicle stat!"...Leyna suddenly knocked out and started snoring away.

Ah the calm after the storm. They told me sporadic waves of cranky spells and sleeping are normal behavior by a toddler recovering from the anesthesia. The melting popsicle sat in a dish awaiting to be eaten, and doc was on the phone warning the patient ward about the feisty one on the way.

Doggy checkin out her IV and cool "light sticker"

Finally we settled in to her room where we over-nighted. Being in a hospital bed with her like this reminded me of Independence day '09!
Here's a view of her cyst before removal, and the incision site after. It's about 2 inches wide, but is hidden high enough under her chin that it should be hard to notice.
The next several hours were spent watching TV, resting, waiting for her to wake up and being ready to distract her from taking out the IV. (Ultimately letting her layer it with stickers helped!)
It was hard for me to sleep of course, so I was being a nerd killin time taking photos (hey it took many shots to time it just right!)...A lot of sleeping goin on...
Doggy was always ready to push the call button whenever the IV's alarm sounded for adjusting.All peds patients get this ankle bracelet to ensure they don't leave the floor. No alarms sounded this time around, unlike when I set it off while walking her around as a newborn!...stay tuned for Part 2...

Prayers for Leyna

"Dear Jesus, heal my neck!" Leyna recites everyday while touching her throat. She may not understand what exactly she's asking for and why we are walking her through that prayer, but we know that there are two issues we've found necessary to pray to God about.

Firstly, this Thursday morning Leyna is scheduled to undergo a surgery. Ever since Leyna shed her babyfat we've notice a peculiar lump under her chin, and recently we had it checked. Turns out it's a congenital defect (meaning she's had it since birth) called a thyroglossal duct cyst. To save you the trouble of googling what it is, here's a brief explanation. During early development, cells that make up thyroid gland originate up near the base of the tongue and make a journey down the midline of the neck to its final destination on the lower neck. That tube-like path it traveled is supposed to close up and disappear, but in cases where it doesn't do so completely, an open space remains resulting in the cyst. The cyst isn't painful or bothersome to her, but to prevent the possibility of infection later in life, it's best to remove it. The surgery will involve an incision across her throat and removing not just the cyst, but all it's "branches" associated with it's path -- which is a hyoid bone and some tissue at the base of the tongue. The procedure should only take about an hour or so, and we'll be over-nighting in the hospital with her. So please pray for the two surgeons and medical staff involved; for Leyna's comfort, cooperation and quick recovery; and mommy n daddy's energy in the week to follow!

Secondly, in the process of taking ultrasounds in preparation for this surgery, they've also discovered a nodule on her thyroid. This is a completely separate issue and different location from the cyst. Thryoid nodules are commonly found in adults, but it's abnormal to be found in young children and pose a greater concern since the chances of malignancy are much higher. At the moment the ENT specialist says the nodule is 2mm and too small to biopsy. We still have yet to hear a report of her latest ultrasound, which we expect them to address after her surgery. We are thankful the cyst issue is what led to the discovery of the nodule, so we continue to wait and pray for whatever lies ahead.

We'll try to keep you updated on Leyna's progress. As of now, she remains our super energetic firecracker as usual!

Leyna's First Day of Preschool

Our big 2 year old had her first day of preschool today! Mentioning "school" to her in the morning really woke her up and eager to get ready. She literally shrieks in excitement. Yes Leyna, please keep up that attitude as loong as possible! haha. Taking photos of her before she left the house, it was funny how she would only stand with her back to me to show off her backpack. She's so proud to buckle it up and wear it all by herself. Love the look on her face.
Preparing for her first day was fun. Homework was to fill out some facts about various favorite things of hers, another thing being "What I want to be when I grow up" So I made sure to ask her without a imposing a parent's wishful answer. Starting with things I know she loves, I asked "Do you want to be a singer?"..."Noooo"...."Do you want to dance?"..."Noooo"..."What do you want to be when you grow up?"... "Doctor"...Really?... "Doctor!" OK I'll stop asking there and we'll take that as your answer for now. =D

Then of course, Mommy was happy to pack Leyna's first mini bento lunch. Some pasta with flower shaped carrots. I thought she would love to dig into it since she screams "nooooodles!" at any other hour of the day she can get her hands on some, but turns out Leyna didn't really eat much. Apparently she was asking for crackers the whole time! Note to self, pack crackers...Dropping her off was easy, she was blowin kisses goodbye and ready to get on the playground. During my 4 hours of freedom, for the first time I was finally able to sit in on one of Danno's trials and see both counsels in action in the courtroom. Then it was nice to get some work done, uninterrupted - sweeet! Leyna came home with a folder of crafty things. My favorite being her cute lil handprints as they learn about "family." So it was a great first day...could've have been terrific had Leyna napped in the later afternoon. I'm not surprised she's packed with too much energy for preschool to wear her out completely. Overall, it was a great first day!