Summer Recap!

This summer has been an absolute whirlwind! 

Once Will left, I knew the only way to make it through these few months, and fast, was to keep as busy as possible. This included a flower festival, a trip to Singapore and Thailand, my birthday, July 4th activities, canyoning/white water rafting, and a water slide in Tokyo. As far as staying busy and time passing fast...mission accomplished. 

My sweet friend Jenn

Singapore and Thailand trip with my friend Cait:

Our hotel we stayed in Singapore!

The rooftop pool was amazing

Our resort in Thailand 

One of the coolest parts of our Thailand trip was the fact that my childhood friend Whitney was traveling through South East Asia and was in Thailand! She was in the same city, at the same time as us...talk about fate. It was amazing to see a familiar face and to have this experience together for a few days! 

My birthday was the day after we got home from our trip, so a few of my favorite girls got together and grilled out! They did such a great job making me feel so special and I am so thankful to have them when I miss my husband and miss my family so much! 

July 4th in our American Flag Chubbies!

The next weekend a few friends and myself drove about 2.5 hrs north to Minakami. We went canyoning and white water rafting! Canyoning is when you slide down waterfalls, which I had never heard of before. We didn't really know what to expect, but it was so much fun! It was nice to be around nature for a bit and get out of the little town/city feel. 

Side note: guy on the far left...not in our group

After doing some research on Tokyo summer events, I came across "Slide the City". It is a huge slip n' slide that sets up and travels through different countries. My friend Victoria and I knew we couldn't miss it, and I'm so glad we did it! 

Before we knew it, it was the end of July and about that time for Mid-cruise break with our husbands. They would be here the month of August and then back out on the boat until the end of the year. To say I have amazing girlfriends out here is an understatement. Summers in Japan without your husband or family can be really hard and lonely most the time. I am so blessed to have met so many great girls out here who helped keep me busy and smiling all summer long! The best part about the summer is about to happen though and I cant wait to see Will again! August...hurry up! 


Love y'all!
xoxo,
Caroline 

Be Still

So usually my blog is an update on our day to day life in Japan and traveling, but I have had some words on my heart lately that I would like to share and I hope they might relate to some of you too. 

The subject: Being Content in the "now"

Ever since I can remember, mainly in my school days, there has always been a need to look ahead and/or wish time away. Whether it was for summer vacation, prom, a sleepover, leaving for college or waiting to visit Will at school on the weekends...wishing time away has been a constant in my life. I'm not trying to say that being excited for something or looking forward to something is a bad thing, I just know its sometimes hard for me to live in the moment and to be content with the "now". 

More recently this has applied to our new life here in Japan and the speed bumps that have surrounded us. Ever since day one of moving here, I have had a countdown of when we get to leave. Of course its hard moving across the world suddenly leaving everything you know and love behind, and on top of that your husband being gone more then half the year, but I have realized lately that wishing our time away here is keeping me from truly understanding our purpose of being put here in the first place. I know Jesus has such a bigger plan for this time of our lives and I need to set my focus on the "now" instead of the "after now". 

I feel like so many of us can relate to this in more then one way. We get so caught up in our day to day lives and what is to come, and forget about how the Lord is using us in that exact moment. 

The verse that has been in my head lately is Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God".

Be still. Two small words but with such a great impact. It is so hard for me to just "be still". So many times I want my prayer answered right now because waiting just seems impossible. Life can be so busy and can pass us so fast but all God wants from us is to be still and let him handle the rest. Such a simple message yet so easy to forget. 

Moving to Japan is such an easy go to when I think about wishing time away, but there are other areas in my life that this applies as well. With waiting for Will to come home, waiting to see my family again or waiting for orders to our next duty station...there are constant unknowns surrounding me. 

Probably the hardest and most emotional time of waiting in our lives recently is waiting for a baby. This subject probably hits close to home in so many people and even makes me partially uncomfortable to talk about something so personal. This past year God has really asked us to trust him and to know that his plan is perfect, even if that means waiting to be parents. Automatically I want to look ahead and try to get answers right away, to know when that day of being a mother will happen, but instead I have been praying to try and understand what he is doing with my life right "now". I have had to learn that God doesn't make us wait for things to punish us or to make us feel abandoned. God wants us to trust him in all situations, big or small. 

I hope some of you can find comfort in reading this in some way. We all have reasons to wish time away and to not be content with our lives in the now. I will be the first to say I struggle with this every day. Whether its waiting for a new job, an engagement, a marriage, a baby, or even just smaller day to day things, I encourage you to find your contentment in the now and listen to where God is leading you. 

Please continue your prayers for us as we continue this sensitive time and get more answers! Pray that I can just "be still" and find peace that I am not alone even when I feel like I am out here in Japan! 

Deuteronomy 31:6, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Love you all, 
xoxo
Caroline 

Making the Most of Little Time

It's 11:45pm and I'm lying in bed with an all too familiar feeling of sadness. I just got back from dropping Will off at the boat to begin Deployment number 2...womp womp.  Driving away from him once again as he walked to the Ronald Reagan was tough but I have decided to take a page out of my sweet husbands book and try to make this post a positive one. With a few unexpected extra weeks together, Will and I have stayed busy exploring Japan and making the most of what little time we did have together. 

In the military you meet people constantly. We have been so blessed with the friends we have made out here in Japan, especially those certain ones who instantly feel like family. Sadly with 3 year orders, its only natural that your friends start rotating out of Japan and headed to their next duty station. After Will got home from training in Nevada it felt like we were having a lot of "goodbye" dinners with some of our favorites. As bittersweet as they were, we know our paths will cross again at some point whenever and wherever that may be! 

The last weekend in April we had Friendship Festival. This is when the base opens up for all the Japanese locals to come enjoy the day and activities. The flight line has every aircraft parked in a row so they can see them and take pictures, along with squadron tents where everyone was selling items. It is always so fun watching how excited everyone is to be there and how much money they spend on merchandise! It was an exhausting day but well worth it! 

Always find me with the babies

My english students came!

After we heard the boat wasn't going to be pulling out on time we were SO excited. Not knowing when it was going to actually leave, we packed every weekend with whatever we could so we wasted no time together. This included a trip to Mount Fuji for the Shibazakura festival, a weekend in Tokyo, a day at Disney Sea, and a trip to Shimoda Beach. 

Picture of a Picture...jumping with Japanese girls

Soba noodles with fresh wasabi 

City of Shimoda from the gondola 

I could not be more thankful for the extra time we got together. Being away from Will is one of the biggest challenges I have, and will ever have to face. He has a heart of gold and to say I'm proud to be his wife is an understatement. I know he gets to do what he loves everyday flying jets, but he also sacrifices a lot and never complains. It would be so easy for me to be negative right now but being able to write this post and relive our past month together is just what I needed. 

Please pray for everyone on the Ronald Reagan and all the families who stay behind to wait for their loved ones! 

I am excited to see what this summer has in store and the places my girl friends and I will visit. Visitors always welcome...seriously...anytime. 

Love you all! 

Caroline