It's Not GoodBye, But Until Next Time

It is 1:45 am and we leave for the airport in less than 5 hours. We found out we were moving to Japan in September and some days it seems like time has flown and other days the time has drug on (especially on days when Matt was already in Japan and I was having a trying day with the kids). But the day is here and it is mixed with emotion.

Today my heart broke watching Emily burst into tears after she finished her gymnastics meet (which she did awesome at, but that is a post for later) and several times throughout the day as she said good bye to those who she has grown to call her sisters, brothers and second mothers and fathers. It broke my heart watching her friends cry. Sam cried, but well it's Sam. She feeds off those around her right now. Chris hasn't shown much emotion, but since he is still awake with me, my guess is he is more worried then he lets on (hey we will at least be on Japan time, ha ha). I have to, once again, be the strong one for my children. I can't cry or let them see just how nervous I am about this whole move (well honestly right now it is just the flight with these three that have me terrified).

It is hard to leave our friends, our family, our house, the area we have grown to love and the schools. I have four friends who are going through personal struggles and I hope they know how I am there for them no matter the distance. It will be hard to see family for a large chunk of time rather than 2 or 3 times throughout the year, even though we will actually see them more days than what we do now. It was strange leaving my house tonight, empty, knowing that some family will be living in it (hopefully) until we return. But in the end, this is temporary, and we will be back. That brings a sense of peace.

At the same time, I know that this is an opportunity of a lifetime for our family, especially our children. The experiences they gain will help mold them into the people they will be. No matter what, this is a time they will never forget. They will get to travel to places not many people, let alone children, get to travel. They will get to learn another language and culture. They will get to go to an amazing school. Emily will train at a premier gym in Japan. I won't get into it, but there are so many things that have happened that there is no doubt in my mind that this is a complete God thing and this is where we are supposed to be. And this is what I remind myself when I get worried, nervous or upset.

So no, this isn't a goodbye to all my American friends and family. It is just an "I'll see you later." And stay tuned, I have a feeling there will be some interesting and silly blogging ahead as we embark upon this journey. With us Jacobs', how could it not?

Feeling Beachy

This past weekend Emily's friend from gymnastics invited Emily, myself, my mom and another friend and her mom to their beach house as a final get away for the girls before we leave. The weather was nice (60s on Saturday and 50s on Sunday) and we had a blast just hanging out and goofing around.

These girls practice 5 days, 20+ hours a week together, plus sleepovers and other hanging out activities. They are more than friends, they are like sisters. I know it will be hard when we leave. Leaving the gym won't just be leaving friends, it will be leaving family. Don't pull out the Kleenex quite yet. Emily has already made plans for when we return this summer with them, plus has managed to sucker me into sending her to camp next summer with the team here.

Here is just a sneak peek into our short, yet incredibly fun trip.

Emily is considering changing her name to Dolly after this shot. I have no clue why.

We had such a wild and crazy night that we stayed in after dinner and us moms the girls sang some karaoke.

However there was some OJ, Skye Vodka and wine involved so by the end of the night the moms were doing gymnastics. And before you ask, no, this is NOT me.

Sunday morning the girls were nice enough to make us breakfast.


The girls took out the tandem bike, only for the chain to come off so we had to bring "Barney" to come fetch them.


My mom taking a walk down the beach.

Emily and I posing for a picture.

Emily running towards the water. Don't worry, she stopped once she hit the edge.


When you take gymnasts to the beach there is never any question if they will do any jumps and flips.

The girls stopped flipping to "stand" around.

We went to this restaurant in Swansboro for lunch that was filled with Elvis, Marylin Monroe and James Dean memorabilia. In fact Elvis even talked to you while you peed!

I think Emily's eyes popped out of her head when they brought her lunch. Those onion rings alone made me want to run for diet pill.

"Friends are God's way of taking care of us."

First let me say that I am feeling much better today. After a good cry on the phone to my mom (and she should be privileged as I don't think she has seen me cry in 6 years), chatting with some friends and a long talk with Matt (who btw is on a plane home right now! He will be here tomorrow!) my pity party is over. And spending two hours in my office last night just sorting through my 800+ books was a huge stress reliever for some reason. I was half temped to roll around in them but that would have been a sure indicator that I needed a little visit to a padded room.

So now I need to say "Thank You." Thank you to all those who read my flipout post from yesterday. Thank you for all your kind words. I think of each of you as a friend. Thank you for all those on SN. It is so strange to know that some of my best friendships are with those whom I have never met. Thank you to my awesome IRL friends who just let me "flipout". Words cannot express how much you guys mean to me.

So back to the title of this entry: "Friends are God's way of taking care of us." I got a call a little bit ago from my awesome friend and neighbor Keri informing me that I am being kidnapped. Her husband is taking my kids after school, I am to pack a bag and Keri and I are going for some girl time and not coming back until tomorrow morning. I am to forget about all my to-dos and post-it notes for 12 hours and just have fun. Wow. Sometimes I think our friends know what we need more than we do ourselves.

Wordless Wednesday: "Just Like Sisters"

Wordless Wednesday: Hangin' Out at Caesar's Palace

Wordless Wednesday: Best Friends Forever