Sayonara, Japan!

Den's final flight at Misawa

Tomorrow we leave Japan after being here for 3 years. It is definitely a bittersweet feeling since we loved our time here but are ready to move on to our next adventure. It's been an amazing journey, with incredible people, and unforgettable adventures. We were skeptical at first about this assignment being so remote and being forced to live on base. But we slowly warmed up to it and found out that this base is a little hidden gem of the AF. We have traveled like crazy and had so many incredible experiences that we wouldn't have had back stateside. We have visited 5 different countries while stationed here and got to explore all over Japan. Our little lady, Heidi was born here and it will always be a truly special place in our hearts for that reason alone. But one of the best things about Misawa is all the friendships we have made over the past 3 years. Specials bonds were formed over pregnancies, play dates, baby wifi, TDYs, and a deployment. We are really going to miss and already miss some of the people we have met here in Japan. Thank you for being a part of our lives these past three years. We are looking forward to our little Misawa reunions throughout the years.

And who knows?!? We could always come back ;) 

Here are some picture memories....

A Heavenly Birthday

Early this February the world lost an extraordinary woman, my Grammy, Alice Muller. Grammy was like a second mom to me and my sister. She watched us everyday while my Mom and Dad were working and picked us up from pre-school and elementary school. We had countless sleep overs with her and never wanted to leave her house. She spoiled us and documented every moment of our lives with her camera. She was the best person to talk to about anything. Listening with love and no judgement. Even when I wasn't living close to her later in life she would brighten my day up with her loving facebook messages. She was famous among my friends for those. I can attribute my shopping addiction to her, my love for coke, and consuming an excessive amount of McDonald's chicken nuggets in my youth. I am so lucky that she got to meet her only Great Grandchild, Heidi Alice and that the days leading up to her death we got to say talk via Skype. It was her last good day and she got to sing to Heidi. It was God who was allowing us to have one last goodbye. We were so blessed to have that special moment.

Grammy with her Great Granddaughter

Grammy was someone I strive to be and live like. She taught me to love life, my family, and most of all God. She was like a real life Angel. She could see the good in any situation and would help out anyone in need. Her legacy will live on in all the people she touched and her family. We all have a little of Grammy in us. And if she taught us anything it would be to fill the world with more love.

Today would of been her 73rd birthday. Happy Birthday, Grammy. I think I will celebrate with a trip to McDonald's, a cold coke, and to buy something pretty online.

Trip to PA with Grammy

Disney Trip! I am sure Grammy bought our matching Ariel rainbow outfits. 

Grammy and I at Aunt Linda's Wedding

Swimming at the boca house 

Lake Worth Beach with Grammy

Beautiful Inside and out. 

Winter is here...that means we need to go on a vacation!

Heidi playing in the snow. 

Our small town in Northern Japan has officially turned into it's own little snow globe. We have about a foot of snow on the ground and more on the way. The first time Heidi ventured out in the snow she did not enjoy her little sledding adventure. I thought she might be traumatized but we have been out there since then and she seems to be warming up to it more and more. If we get some more snow soon I was thinking about taking her snow shoeing with Dennis. It could be a family adventure with Heidi on Dennis' back and he can consider it his workout for the day. 

First time sledding. Fail. 

Second time sledding. Loved it. 

Soon we will be escaping the snow to take a 3 week vacation down under to Australia and New Zealand. Visiting the city of Cairns first to enjoy some beach time and snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef. Then we will get a camper van and explore the south island of New Zealand for about 10 days. We end the trip in the big city of Sydney. It's going to be an amazing vacation that we are so blessed to take. I am sure I will be posting lots of pictures in the near future.

Now an update on the little girl.....Heidi went in for her 15 month appointment and our little lady is 29.2 pounds and 33.2 inches long. She is now in the 99 percentile not only for height but weight too. Her vocabulary is starting to expand. "No" has become a favorite word of hers lately...I am sure she learned it from imitating her mommy but "ball" and "dog" are still her go to's. And speaking of favorites her Daddy has become her favorite now. She gets so excited when he comes home and constantly wants to be held by him. It just melts my heart. She has started coloring but needs to be reminded a lot not to eat the crayons. Definitely a future artist in the works. Her favorite song is the itsy bitsy spider and she loves to do the motions with it. Elmo and Mickey are in competition for her favorite TV character at breakfast. Elmo's voice is pretty awesome to her but Mickey's songs mean she can get her dance on. We will see who the will win Heidi's love once she can start making requests in the near future. This little lady is beginning to pick up on more and more and it's exciting to see her learn new things. One thing that is not so exciting is she has also started to have opinions about things now and will occasionally throw a tantrum. This has been all sorts of fun but I am trying my best to be ahead of the tantrums by distracting her with something else. As my Grammy said to my mom and my mom tells me....it's all a phase. Hopefully, not a long one.

My Movie Star! 

I can't believe we only have about 6 months left in Japan. This assignment has been amazing and it will be so hard to leave but our 3 years are coming to a close. We have put in for our next assignment and will find out in less than two months. All we can do now is prayer to the assignment gods that we will get one of our top picks.

Thank you to everyone who sent presents and cards this Christmas. We are so thankful for all of your generosity and thoughtfulness. Please don't be offended if you did not get a card from us....we did not send any out. It's one of my goals for this new year.